Appetite Part 1 (Sunday Sermon Notes)

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Yesterday, The Chosen Church congregation was inspired by Pastor Craig Walder Jr.'s powerful message from his new series, Appetite. The message, titled Activated Appetite, was thought-provoking. He referenced Matthew 4:1-4 (NIV) in his scripture. Pastor Craig posed a poignant question: Are you a good steward over your current season? We gained insight into the concept of appetite as a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need. Our appetite plays a vital role in determining our alignment with God, which impacts our advancement in life. Recognizing transitional moments in life is essential, as advancement encompasses spiritual growth beyond material gain. However, we often become stagnant in our current season due to our inability to align or realign ourselves, indicating spiritual complacency. The enemy doesn’t need to attack your purpose; he simply tempts your appetite. Pastor Craig shared five insightful nuggets to illuminate how activated appetites thrive spiritually. Nugget #1: Whatever holds your appetite holds your life. Nugget #2: God may lead you to a place that doesn’t resemble God. Nugget #3: The wilderness reveals your willingness. Nugget #4: Your appetite remains activated when aligned with God’s Word. Nugget #5: Your desires determine your temptations. Question: What’s your spiritual formation? Last thought: Foster a hunger for God and allow Him to sustain you.

The Chosen Church
Speaker: Pastor Craig Walder Jr.
Series: Appetite Pt. 1
 Scripture: Matthew 4 :1-4 (NIV)
Title: Activated Appetite

Question: Are you a good steward over the season you are in???
Appetite is a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need. Our appetite determines our alignment with God. Our alignment determines our advancement in life.

Question: Ever felt the season of being stale, dry, stank, lifeless repetitive non ending cycles?
Sometimes season ends, God has moved on. We made a cycle of dysfunction and chose to stay in cycles of dysfunction. You didn’t steward the season well and you stayed while God left it! How? Because our appetites can become deactivated because our alignment becomes misaligned.

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Our desires become our distractions. Some allow their pain to become their prison when it should be a moment of preparation. Do you steward your assignment (The season you are in) well?
Message: Don’t miss the transitional moments of advancing in life. Advancing in life is not earthly gain, its spiritual formation. Sometimes instead of adjusting, we get stuck in the season that we are in. because we refuse to align/re-align ourselves. I equate this to spiritual complacency.

Newsflash: You would not have to diet if you chose to eat right. People diet when they do not like the way they look. Most seasons start with exposure, not with answers. Favor is fair for those who are living according to God’s will. When you live righteously, you earn the favor that God chooses to give you!! Thank You Father God for the favor!!

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Pause——Real favor attracts real attacks! The enemy doesn’t have to attack your purpose. He just tempts your appetite. Jesus backstory regarding His ministry and His wilderness experience:

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Before Jesus preached Before he performed any miracles Before He ever healed anybody Before He chose any disciples…He was led into the wilderness where He experienced REAL spiritual warfare. The enemy, the tempter tested Jesus’ hunger temperature.

Nugget # 1 WHATEVER HAS YOUR APPETITE…HAS YOUR LIFE.
Jesus in Matthew 3 was just affirmed. Matthew 3:16 He was just baptized and announced. The Spirit led Him to be tempted. Vs. 1 Spirit led Him to a dry place. The Spirit led Him to a desolate place. The Spirit led Him to a non-attractive place.

FYI: GOD does not tempt us! God will allow the enemy to tempt us. Reminds me of Job and Joseph. James 1 - God uses things to train us when the enemy tempts us. Jesus was development Jesus was sent BUT before He was sent, He was tested!! Jesus was developed and deployed before He was sent. Message: We all need tests and development! We all need testing and training as a part of our development journey. God will only allow Satan to do to you what’s going to benefit you.

Note: You’re tested the most when you need something the most. Scripture presents testing and temptation together. In scripture testing and temptation are not identical, but they can happen at the same time. Testing - Temptation- The difference can be in the intent itself, not solely in the event of a thing. God sometimes test us to reveal us, to strengthen us and to prove what is genuine. The enemy attempts to distract, weaken, distort or to cause failure….

Don’t bite the bait!!! Genesis 22 God tested Abraham. It was to reveal and refine the faith that was already in him. God never wanted Abraham to fall or fail.

FYI: Testing shows what’s already in you! We forget to fail because we fail to realize that we ARE the Kings kids and don’t have to fall to the devil’s tricks. Trick NO good devil!!! The enemy tricks us (test us) so we can compromise. He wants us to turn a moment of testing to a moment of compromise, a moment to miss the mark, a moment to shame and condemn us. Don’t bite the bait!!

Somethings we rebuke GOD assigned it. STOP REBUKING WHAT GOD SENT YOU!! He rebukes things that’s sent by God for our good. We need to understand God’s voice and stop rebuking things. When we don’t know God’s voice, it’ shows that something is off. When you align with God, you know and hear His voice. Alignment with God is an activated life.
Question to ask self: Who’s leading who? Is God leading you or are you trying to lead God.

Nugget # 2 GOD WILL LEAD YOU IN A PLACE, THAT DON'T LOOK LIKE GOD!
We cannot take our lives out of the hands of the one who gave us life. Spirit led Him in. The devil appears in the testing and begins to offer alternatives to obedience…..which is the temptation. Many get in trouble because they want relief, not obedience. We want God to relieve us BUT we don’t want to obey Him. Why??

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Because no one wants to go through a wilderness season, no one wants to be tested. Nobody wants to be tried, and nobody wants to deal with pain BUT there is NO purpose without pain!! Note: The wilderness is a proven ground. YOU NEED THE WILDERNESS!!! Is a proven ground for Jesus!! Temptation shows our humanity because it exposes our pressure points. Temptation itself is not the sin Vs 1 “Jesus Himself was led to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Jesus never sinned, YET He was tempted. Why was Jesus tempted? Because He was hungry. He needed food Vs 2. Jesus Christ as tempted in what He needed. It showed His humanity!! He was being tested and tempted. Question: What do we do in the moment of temptation? Testing reveals, Testing redirects.

Question: Ask self if you are built to handle both temptation and testing at the same time.