USE THE PLAY BOOK

Introduction

What’s up inverted?

wasnt last week so good?

who remembers what we talked about? (Pastor Matt from Seattle)

We’re continuing Prison break

whos been liking the series?

who Heard Pastor Omar’s sermon from this sunday?

can anyone recap it?

Sunday sermon Recap

Pastor Omar preached that real breakthrough comes from understanding and breaking spiritual strongholds, reminding us that Jesus defeated the enemy in the wilderness not with emotions or arguments but by standing firm on Scripture with the words “It is written.”

He explained that prayer and fasting don’t give us power but position us, aligning our hearts with God and emptying us of ourselves.

He also warned that many Christians unknowingly agree with lies that become strongholds—especially division in the church—and taught that true authority comes from alignment with God, not from living in compromise.

Using the story of Jericho, he showed that public victories only happen when we walk in private obedience and faith.

His challenge to us was simple: to have dominion over darkness, start by taking dominion over your own flesh; breakthrough next week starts with obedience this week, and without Jesus, there is no real dominion.

He ended by inviting people to salvation and announcing a churchwide fast from Wednesday to Sunday, encouraging everyone to participate as we prepare for breakthrough.

Setting The Stage

so i really felt like God was leading me to speak on the authority of scripture

has anyone heard of the concept of scripture having authority over us?

who here has ever played a sport?

what do they call that book that the coach uses for the teams position? (playbook)

What’s awesome about the playbook is it has key plays you can use for any situation.

It’s like if you know the team plays more close up to you and they aren’t as fast of runners, then you’d probably do a hail mary to get yourself some yards in football (explain to anyone if they dont know what hail mary is)

what happened there is that the team was able to identify their opponent ant situation, and the playbook was able to give them a way of overcoming the obstacle and find victory right?

in the same way, as believers in Christ, scripture is our playbook.

it has every type of play needed

it tells us where our position is in the play

and so today the title of my sermon is “USE THE PLAYBOOK”

scripture is the playbook of our life

it brings us clarity

reminds us who were are

gives us solutions

helps us fight battles

Matthew 4:1–4 CSB

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

lets pray

1. PROVISION

The first thing that came to my heart when it comes to scripture is that its provision for us.

who can tell me what the word provision means?

(supply with food, drink, or equipment, especially for a journey.)

its the idea that scripture:

gives us what we need

prepares us for our journey

completes our need, not wants

Jesus responded with “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

This models for us the weight and role of scripture in our lives.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the word of God that became flesh so he knew all scripture when he came to earth

in the face of temptation he used scripture to combat temptation

but something popped out to me that i wanted to briefly talk about

did anyone notice that happened in the first verse?

Matthew 4:1 CSB

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

does anything stick out to you guys?

The spirit led Jesus to the wilderness

on one hand this makes sense because Jesus needed to be tested to prove he is the perfect sacrifice offering for our lives

but when I read this the first time, I was confused, I asked myself:

“Why did the spirit lead him to temptation”

I realized something:

Has anyone ever started getting close to God and all of a sudden hardships came, things started to become more difficult as time went on?

this is by design, let me explain

why would an enemy attack someone?

out of fear

out of defense

out of hatred

well heres the thing, Satan is all of those with us.

the moment we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives the enemy:

becomes afraid

gets defensive

his hatred for you and the things of God amplifies

so when you guys start getting attacked, know that it’s because you are doing something right and the Devil is afraid.

the moment you invite the holy spirit inside of you, you become a threat to the kingdom of darkness. you become a target

in other words: if you say you accepted christ and you dont face any temptation or trouble, maybe satan isnt as afriad of you.

there’s an amazing quote from Francis Crawford Burkitt, he graduated from Cambridge university (a super prestigious school) but he also is one of the most influential new testament researchers.

this is what he said”

“Christ is no sooner out of the waters of baptism than he is in the fires of temptation; whence we learn that great manifestations of the love of God are usually followed with great temptations from Satan.”

Francis Crawford Burkitt (Patristic Scholar)

im not saying thatr you should always be having problems, God provides for us, but we will almost garunteed face temptation or trouble the closer we get to God.

so going back to Jesus, and how the spirit led him into the desert, but God doesnt tempt us to sin, but God aims at the greater good we may not understand.

He intends for us to grow and for good to come out of struggles,

ultimately heres a truth i want you all to write down:

“when the spirit leads us into difficult seasons, it’s not punishment or abandonment, God is orchestrating circumstances where we can grow in faith, prove our allegiance, and develop spiritual strngth we couldnt gain any other way”

So going back to Jesus’ response to satan, the word of God is the provision or the food that we need to live on.

not just regular food, but spiritual food.

This is God’s provision.

Through his word he provides a way for us to learn and to grow in preparation for the road ahead of us.

Through his word he provides a way for us to find freedom and live freely in him.

scriptures are our provision as believers, and just like real food, we will never get stronger, happier, better, without the food we need.

the same way we need food to be alive, is the same way we need food to keep our spirit alive in God.

ULTIMATELY:

God’s Provision Isn’t About Comfort—It’s About Character. Not What We Crave, But What We Need.

This leads me to my second point:

2. POSITION

This is where our alignment matters.

the point is for us to align our heart with God’s heart,

And the ways we can position ourselves in alignment with God is through Prayer and fasting.

(explain fasting and its significance)

(explain how prayer then adds to alignment)

heightens awareness of God’s power and nature

which then produces greater faith and confidence in God

bottom line is we can never earn any kind of power on our own, instead prayer and pasting positions us to receive God’s power.

It’s putting on armor and strength through the holy spirit.

so when you use a playbook in sports, you end up playing with the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent, and as we pray and fast, we are able to play to our strength in God to overcome our weakness but also overcome the attacks of the enemy

as a result of you positioning yourselves to God, you grow spiritual maturity.

What fasting reveals becomes the focus for prayer, bringing you to understand what you must pray about and giving you clarity, insight, and focus.

Fasting redirects your attention from physical demands to spiritual realities.

When you fast, you humble yourself and keep your focus centered on God’s power rather than your own,

this helps in maintaining awareness of spiritual realities so you don’t become discouraged, and keeping your flesh submitted while elevating your spirit.

so what happens is Prayer becomes the battleground where you fight and win spiritual battles;

knowing your focus means knowing how to pray effectively

what you win in the spirit becomes breakthrough that transforms you from within, bringing new commitment, discipline, strength, and faith.

3. OBEDIENCE

this is where we can really see victory in our battles. this is where we fully trust in the playbook for the directions we need to find victory.

Private Obedience Precedes Public Victory, Personal victory must be gained in secret first.

This isn’t about hiding your faith, it’s about the spiritual reality that the public and private realms are intimately related to one another

Your won’t experience breakthrough in their schools, families, or friendships until they’ve first obeyed God when no one

David’s example:

David spent his early years in private, unseen places tending sheep, worshiping, praying, and learning to trust God when no one noticed.

In those hidden moments, he defeated a lion and a bear, private victories that prepared him for future battles.

When David heard Goliath, he responded with confidence because his identity had already been shaped in private with God.

David reminded Saul that the same God who helped him in secret would help him win in public, his public breakthrough was built on private obedience .

He didn’t worship for attention; he gave God his best when no one was watching.

For students: breakthrough at school, with friends, or against temptation begins in private choices, choosing God when no one sees.

Like David, the strength they need for public challenges comes from their private time with God .

So there’s some of you who are struggling and you cant seem to find a way out.

You get overwhelmed easy, you lose your focus on God easily, you never spend time with God; Then you wonder why you’re not doing good.

So heres the deal: Obedience to God is essential to Christian spiritual transformation

but you can’t be obedient out of obligation, it needs to be from your love to God.

Obedience Flows from Love, Not Obligation

if it doesnt come from love, it becomes legalism

CLOSING

Ultimately:

we have a playbook that can help us through every situation we encounter

lets go back to Matthew 4

Jesus fought back with “it is written”, Jesus understood the playbook.

just like David as a shepheard, Jesus in the wilderness alone, spending time with God, know his word, led up to him ultimately having victory in public on the cross.

so i have a few questions for everyone. and you can take it as a challenge:

What wilderness are YOU in?

Will you pick up and learn the playbook for your life?

Will you position yourself through prayer and fasting to align to God’s heart?

Will you trust in God as your provision through everything?

Will you learn to obey God through loving him?

ALTAR CALL

Personal Anecdote

There was a season in my life where I was trapped in a prison of shame. It started when I was young and followed me into after i graduated from highschool. I carried secrets, sins, and failures that I was too afraid to be honest about. I knew I needed help, I knew I needed accountability — but shame kept my mouth shut. Pride kept me hidden. Fear kept me isolated.

And because I stayed silent, I ended up hurting the people closest to me. When everything eventually came to light, I watched trust crumble between me and my family. And the weight of that broke me. I remember thinking, “They would be better off if I wasn’t around.”

In that moment, when all the consequences were staring me in the face, I finally broke down. I cried out to God like I never had before. And even though I had hurt them, my family chose to walk with me. They didn’t excuse my sin, but they didn’t abandon me either.

Trust didn’t return overnight — it took time. It took honesty. It took showing up consistently.

And in that season, Psalm 23 — a chapter I had memorized as a child because of my mom — suddenly meant something completely different to me. It wasn’t just a memory verse; it became a lifeline. One line hit me deeper than all the rest:

“He restores my soul.”

And I realized — that’s exactly what I needed. Not just forgiveness. Not just a clean slate.

I needed restoration.

I started experiencing peace again. I started regaining confidence again. I began walking in victory, not condemnation. But it didn’t happen passively. I invited accountability into my life. I prayed more. I got into the Word again. I set boundaries. I stopped hiding. And every time I started drifting, God gave me strength.

What He taught me in that season was this:

Restoration takes partnership.

Partnership with the Lord… and often, partnership with your family or spouse.

Breakthrough isn’t God doing everything while we sit still — it’s God meeting us as we step out of the prison and into the light.

And just like He restored my soul, He can restore yours.