The Lent Series - Part 1

 

   This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on 1st March 2026, by Colin. For the audio , please click here.  For the worship, please click here. 

From the River to the Wilderness: Standing Firm in Times of Testing

Last week, we began reflecting on the Lenten season — a time of lengthening, a time of preparation, a time to center our lives once again on Jesus.

Lent marks the forty days leading up to Easter. In the busyness of life — work, responsibilities, gadgets, endless notifications — we can easily lose focus. These forty days invite us to slow down, to practice spiritual disciplines, and to realign our hearts with Christ.

Jesus said when you give, when you pray, when you fast — not if. These are not optional extras for the Christian life. They are expectations.

But today, we turn to a powerful moment in Scripture that teaches us what it means to stand firm in testing.

A Mountaintop Moment

In Gospel of Matthew 3:13–17, Jesus comes to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.

John hesitates. “I need to be baptized by You,” he says.

Yet Jesus insists. Though sinless, He identifies with humanity. He humbles Himself. He steps into the water — not for His own repentance, but for ours.

When He comes up from the water, something extraordinary happens:

• The heavens open.
• The Spirit descends like a dove.
• A voice from heaven declares:
  “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

In that moment, Jesus’ identity is publicly affirmed. The Father speaks. The Spirit descends. The Son stands in obedience.

It is a mountaintop experience.

But immediately after comes the wilderness.

From Jordan to the Desert

In Gospel of Matthew 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Notice this carefully:
He was led by the Spirit.

The wilderness was not accidental. It was purposeful.

Life often swings like a pendulum. One moment, everything feels aligned. The next, we find ourselves in a dry and testing season. Mountaintops are often followed by valleys.

Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. And then, at His weakest physically, the tempter came.

The First Temptation: Appetite and Identity

“If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus was hungry. Hunger is legitimate. The need was real.

But the temptation was to satisfy a legitimate need in an illegitimate way — to bypass trust in the Father.

The enemy also attacked His identity:
“If You are the Son of God…”

Yet the Father had just declared who He was.

Jesus responds with Scripture:

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

He quotes from Deuteronomy, recalling how Israel failed in the wilderness by grumbling and doubting.

Where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded.

Fasting reminds us that we are spirit before we are appetite. It trains our spirit to lead our body, not the other way around.

The Second Temptation: Presumption vs. Faith

The devil then takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and even quotes Scripture:

“He will command His angels concerning You…”

Yes, the enemy can quote Scripture — but often misapplies it.

The temptation here was not faith, but presumption. Faith trusts God. Presumption tests God.

Jesus replies:

“It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

How important it is to know not just what is written — but what is also written.

True faith does not demand signs. It does not manipulate God into action. It rests in obedience.

The Third Temptation: The Crown Without the Cross

Finally, the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world:

“All this I will give You, if You bow down and worship me.”

This was a shortcut. A way to gain the crown without the cross.

Jesus had come to redeem the world — but redemption required suffering.

He answers:

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

No shortcuts. No compromise.

The same temptation exists today — success without integrity, glory without sacrifice, gain without obedience.

But the way of Christ is always the way of the cross before the crown.

The Good News: We Have a Victor

Adam failed in the garden.
Israel failed in the wilderness.
We fail often.

But Jesus did not fail.

He passed every test. He resisted every temptation. He remained faithful where humanity fell.

And our hope is not in our righteousness — but in His.

He is our great High Priest. He is our perfect sacrifice. He stands victorious on our behalf.

Standing Firm in Our Wilderness

Lent is not just about reflection. It is about preparation.

When we leave the safety of worship and enter the “wilderness” of everyday life, our faith is tested:

• When we are misunderstood.
• When finances are tight.
• When illness strikes.
• When prayers seem delayed.

In those moments, remember:

• You are a beloved son or daughter of God.
• The wilderness is not permanent.
• God is shaping your heart.
• The Word of God is your weapon.

Read Scripture until you are fed. Pray until your spirit is strengthened. Fast until your appetites are aligned.

And when the testing ends — as it did for Jesus — the angels minister.

This Lent, Move Forward

As we continue this season:

• Let your giving be generous.
• Let your praying be persistent.
• Let your fasting be sincere.
• Let your identity remain secure.

From the river to the wilderness, from the cross to the crown — Jesus has shown us the way.

And because He overcame, we too can stand firm. Amen.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org. 

TEMPTATION - Why can't I say no?

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on November 19 th 2023  by Navaz. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

TEMPTATION - Why can't I say no?

 James 1:12-21 

¹³ When tempted, no one should say,“God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

INTRODUCTION

I love spy, detective, and medical dramas. What do they have in common? They both uncover the truth that lies behind the mystery of a crime or a disease.

WHY DOES TEMPTATION COME?

  You may be wondering about this: why do I fall into the trap of temptation over and over again? I turned away from my sinful past and gave my life to Jesus. I am a Christ follower who is supposed to live a victorious life. Then why does this happen?

We need to go back to the beginning. Was there absolute freedom in the Garden?  From God’s perspective, YES. The world and the devil would like to tell us otherwise and therein lies the problem. This is what the devil tempted the first couple with and that is to believe that they were not truly free as long as they obeyed God and lived within the boundaries, He gave them. Satan tempted them with independent thinking outside of God’s instructions and got them to change their belief that God could be trusted and had indeed given them true freedom. The boundary around the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a boundary of love.

Thank God the story does not end there.

CHRIST SETS US FREE

God always had a plan of redemption; to set us free from this trap once and for all. He sent His son Jesus who did not fall for the tree of temptation rather he took all our sins on a tree by being crucified so that we could know freedom. The cross sets us free from the penalty and the power of sin. This is why Jesus’ resurrection is so pivotal to our faith. Just as sin could not control Jesus, so it is powerless to control those who’ve been placed in Jesus by faith.

However, many believe that a magic wand is waved over our heads when we are saved and that is why they get disillusioned when we find those old habits still around.

We know that our old nature was crucified on the cross along with Jesus. We were made alive and new in Jesus. Our old self was not raised to life. We are Born again – a new creation in Christ. The old is gone! Yet we find this struggle in our hearts. While need to realize that while we are new creations, and our desires are changing we still need to deal with sinful habits.

What we know by faith we must act upon.

We need to distinguish between temptation and sinful habits that we form because of giving in to temptation repeatedly.

WHY DO I STILL GET TEMPTED?

Even as a Christ follower there are behaviours, sinful habits lifestyles, and thought patterns that we need to work on. This process is called sanctification. Our behaviour is influenced by how we think which is influenced by what we believe.

I want to pause and ask a question. What are your core beliefs?

WHERE DOES TEMPTATION COME FROM?

Firstly, understand that God does not tempt us nor make us sin. (James 1:13). God may allow us to be exposed to temptation as Jesus told us that in this world you will have many troubles.

FIVE ELEMENTS TO THE PATTERN OF TEMPTATION

James shows us the structure so that we can slow down and examine what is happening in our hearts. You must have seen this while watching cricket/football on TV. They do a replay in slow motion to show you how the wicket was taken or how the goal was scored. So, we are doing a slow motion to the process of temptation. This will help us detect the presence of the evil one, resist, stand firm or flee.

1 ATTRACTION

We see things or experience things through our senses, and we are then lured by “our own evil desires” (James 1:14a) which lead us into temptation. As one preacher put it so well, we need to see everything through our ears!! This is true from the beginning of scripture. The devil gets Eve to rely on what she sees rather than God’s word spoken to them.

David saw Bathsheba and the rest followed.

2. DECEPTION

V16. Don’t be deceived. Satan deceives us by blurring our vision. When we think and start to rationalize our behaviour repeatedly and then the reasons we give ourselves become truth rather than ‘THE TRUTH’.

3. PREOCCUPATION

Each person is tempted when he is lured or enticed by his own desire. What does enticement do? It draws you in. It is like holding something so close to your eyes that you cannot see anything else (tunnel vision) and it fills up your mind.

4. CONCEPTION

This is the real clue to what James is thinking. Then desire when it is conceived gives “birth to sin”. Sin begins in the thoughts and emotions before we act upon it.  

5. ENTRAPMENT

Ironically the very freedom that you chased eludes you. You become a prisoner of your sin and the consequences thereof. Sin results in bondage to that sin.

 

HOW ARE WE SET FREE? DEBUGGING THE BRAIN

BELIEFS

We must get rid of old beliefs and thought patterns and replace them with new ones. What do we replace them with? We replace them with the truth found in the Bible. In John 8:31-32 we are told that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.

You might say that you read your Bible Day in and out, yet do not experience freedom. Why? This knowing is not head knowledge. It is not information. Information that challenges us to change our beliefs and thoughts will lead to transformation.

Do not try it on your own because you will give up. We need His empowering enabling Grace in our lives that comes by being immersed in the Holy Spirit.

THOUGHTS

What you believe about God, yourself, the world etc will affect how you think. Beliefs are like the filter or lens through which we perceive life. If you believe you are unloved it will be the filter through which you experience the world, and it will colour your thoughts. The Bible tells us as a man thinks so he is. What this means is that your thought life dictates how you live and respond to your environment.

FEELINGS

What the mind is preoccupied with will preoccupy the emotions.  Feeling can only respond to thoughts and through what lens we experience our world. If my thoughts about a situation change my feelings will soon follow feelings are very subjective, and we can control them by what we feed our minds on.

BEHAVIOUR

Our behaviour is a sum of what we believe, think, and feel. The former three are the drivers of our behaviour. That is why it is so important to renew our minds. James clearly shows this progression in his text.

 

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THOUGHT PATTERNS I NEED TO BE SET FREE FROM?

What I have seen is that the battle for freedom from wrong beliefs which lead to wrong behaviour is one of the biggest battles, we face as Christ followers.

Let us look at only 3 patterns or idols of the heart that become strongholds of thinking. An idol is anything I over-desire and desire more than God.

LOOK GOOD

 This is all about keeping up appearances. You live life pretending to be someone else. This happens when we do not live out of our identity in Christ. So, you lie, cheat, deceive and create false impressions.

Because you want people’s approval you find it difficult to say “NO” because you want the maintain the image of the ‘nice guy’.

This idol will mask itself in good works. Also, because I want to feel good about myself, I indulge in comparison and unhealthy competition.

FEEL GOOD

We live in a very sensual world. You can make some harmful lifestyle choices if everything is about making you feel good. You can’t always feel good. God has given us a lot of emotions. God feels angry, grieved, jealous, sad, happy, joyful etc. So, while we are NOT ruled by our emotions, they are markers about how we are experiencing the world around us.

Our feelings are a response to our thoughts which are dictated by our beliefs. If we believe that all negative emotions are from the devil or an indication that we do not have faith; the result will be that we deny those emotions and live with unreality. I suppress my true feelings masking it with religious mumbo jumbo. There is a place for the right confession. While we declare the truth, we do not deny the fact. E.g.) I am sad that my daughter is unwell (FACT) but I know God can and will heal her (TRUTH). I am sad I lost my job (FACT) but I know God is my provider (TRUTH)

Feeling driven people don’t like to move out of their comfort zone. Comfort and pleasure are idols. The need to feel good can also result in self-medicating addictive behaviours that give you that constant “high”.  This is seen with overconsumption of social media, movies, gaming, and porn.

 

BE RIGHT

This behaviour is fuelled by the belief that I need to be perfect. Perfectionism drives what I do and how I relate with people. It keeps me from being who I truly am because there is no place for weakness.

So, we need to be right at any cost. This leads to lying, cover-up, deceitful behaviour, rationalizing our faults, blaming others, and inability to take responsibility for our behaviour. Apologizing and owing up is the hardest thing for them to do because their identity and self-worth are attached to what they do and not to who they are in Christ.

All of us have elements of all 3 of these wrong belief systems. But as we renew our minds, we will get healthier and learn to walk in true freedom.

 

HOW DO I FIX THIS PROBLEM?

God has given us several means of Grace viz His Word, His Grace and His people.

Knowing the word is critical because it changes our thought patterns. People need to know that the Word does its work through the Word. We are transformed by the renewing of the mind. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

God’s Grace is always sufficient. He will not allow us to be tempted more than we are able to resist. His grace is empowering and gives us the strength to say no to sin and yes to godly living. Titus tells us that the Grace of God that has appeared to all men teaches us to say no to ungodliness. Those who call this legalism have not understood grace.

Community – We are not called to live in isolation but in community. There are so many ‘one-another’ verses in the New Testament. We are told to confess our sins one to another so that we might experience healing.

We also need to change our appetites. If you have eaten junk food all your life you will not know how good gourmet food is till you have experienced it. We do enjoy our sin till we begin to cultivate a new appetite and then the old sin will not be enjoyable anymore.

So it is quite simple. What we feed our minds with will fuel our behaviour. Is it the world or the Word?

FROM REPENTANCE TO RENEWAL

What does renewing the mind look like?

Renewing involves removing and replacing.

Recognise – First, we need to recognise or acknowledge the area of sin we are struggling with. What beliefs have helped the sin stay in my life?

Repent- Realize that your sin breaks the heart of God. Seek His forgiveness and decide to change what you believe and do.

Replace – You cannot leave that space in a vacuum. Replace your beliefs and thoughts with the Word of God and find new patterns of behaviour or responses to situations. It will take time and you might slip into old habits but don’t worry. A step each day is 365 steps in a year! If you read James carefully, he gives you the clue in v21. God speaks to us and saves us through His Word.  The Holy Spirit may remind you of His word while you pray. In Ephesians we are told that we attack every flaming dart of the evil one with the Sword of the Spirit, the word of God. In Romans, we are told to renew our minds by soaking it in the WORD.

Renew- When you replace your beliefs and thoughts a renewed cycle of behaviour will be easier to follow.

CONCLUSION

WHAT IS MY RESPONSE?

I respond by changing my beliefs by identifying the patterns.

Here are two samples of how you can track what you believe, think, feel, and do. You can do this exercise for any temptation. Just ask the Holy Spirit to shine His light into your heart.

Remember, we will never reach perfection on this side of eternity, but we can get healthier. One day when Christ returns, or we go to be with Him we will never have to fight temptation ever again. But till then, fight the good fight of faith for God is also as work in you.

Be blessed in your journey of faith.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.  

 

 

 

What do we all struggle with? How do we overcome ?| Colin D Cruz

This message was preached by  Colin D cruz at Word of Grace Church  Pune, on the 16th of March  2014 . You can listen/download to the audio by clicking here.

What is something that we all face in common? How do we deal with it? How do we stay on top of it and not get defeated?

I want to share something that I face and each and everyone of us face. Its temptation. To be human is to face temptation.We live in a world that bombards us with temptation all the time. But today let’s look at how Jesus handles temptation. He lays down a pattern for us to follow.

In Matthew 4-  How can ordinary mortals like us with the power of the Holy Spirit handle temptation.Jesus portrays to us, how we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit resist and overcome the different kinds of temptations we face.

Before this, in Matthew 3: 13 Jesus came to Galilee to be baptized. He did not need to, but he identified himself with man and laid the pattern in which men to live in.

v 16- The heavens were opened and Holy Spirit came down and a resounding affirmation from the Father on Jesus' baptism. And as the spirit descended He led Him into the desert to be tempted by the devil. This was a preparatory time for Jesus.

Temptation comes to us not because we are sinners but because we are human. Jesus was not a sinner yet he was tempted. To be tempted is not a sin- its you do with it, that can result in sin. Temptation is an invitation to sin but we have to resist and fight it.

The temptations of Jesus:

1.      Jesus was hungry 40 days of fasting in the desert. In that physical weakness, the devil comes to him and says, “if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Was Jesus the son of God? Yes, but the first temptation was to cast doubt on God’s love. He was essentially saying, if God loved you, He would have provided for you.

The devil casts doubts on the character and motives of God. Even in the Garden of Eden, this was the strategy he used- “Did God really say...”

Jesus could easily turn the stones into bread.  Later in his ministry he did multiply 5 loaves and 2 fish, he turned water into wine. Jesus could have done ti and there would be no sin in doing it, It was not a sinful thing to eat bread.So there was no sin in the temptation but the sin was in doubting God’s love, His provision and care and trying to fulfill this need through another means.

Instead, what was His response? In verse 4 He says, “It is written..” This is a key phrase! The way we fight the devil is by learning the Word of God. Jesus probably meditated and memorized scripture.

Then he goes on to say, “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In our materialistic world, we only believe and trust in the things we see, touch or feel.  

People including christian and consumed with the material. But Jesus says that our sustenance comes  not just from food etc from the spiritual things. SO the lesson is this if you are a Christ follower know that Hie cares for you and loves you and He will provide for you.He is in control! Trust in His word. The way we fortify our belief is by storing the Word in us.

2.      The second temptation- “Throw yourself down. For it is written:…”  The devil is cunning. He uses the scripture to tempt Jesus in the area of testing God’s love. We are not called to test God.

In Mark 16:18, Jesus says that “they will pick up snakes with their hands, and when they drink deadly poison, it doesn't hurt them at all” etc. it is a sign of God’s anointing and protection, but not an invitation for us to test Him. Sometimes people can say, if you do something for me, I will believe you. Don’t!

Jesus in response says, “it is also written:..” we need to know what is also written- a holistic theory. Because the devil can twist scriptures. He quotes Psalm 91 but mis- uses it. We better know scripture to counter his cunning.

so here the temptation is to test God's love. However we are called not to test God. Deut 6:16. Paul was protected from a poisonous snake but he did not go looking for it. Don't jump off a building and expect to be saved. That is not faith but presumption.

Some say "I'll believe in you if you do this" don't test God. We are called to believe by faith not by testing God.

What is testing God? We should take precautions eg" Wearing a helmet, a seat belt is taking pre caution and not testing God. Lord I believe you will look after me but I will not put you to the test.

The only place we are asked to test God is in one place.Malachi 3:10 is the only place where God says, “ test me and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven.”  We acknowledge that all we have is from God and we are only bringing a portion of it.

The storehouse is the local church that you belong to not your church back home.There is blessing and prevention from damage.If you are facing a financial lack ask yourself if you are honoring God by bringing your tithe into the store house.

Temptation 3

3.      Matthew 4:8 Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth in their Splendor. And Satan says bow down and worship me and all of this is yours.Jesus had come as a man to lead a sinless life and suffer at the cross. Only through the cross could our sins be forgiven. 

Jesus would only go to glory through his suffering. Satan was trying to short circuit that. He was trying to subordinate God’s love. WE are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart soul mind and strength.

 Today people want fame, money comfort etc.Whatever you want today, the devil can give you these things, but it is temporary. He has power but its limited and its a fools paradise. Only Jesus can give you something that lasts forever.

IS GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE?

We will all say yes, we don;t worship idols. What is it to put God first. My fulfillment, desires and contentment is in doing God's will. That does not happen with two hours on a Sunday. Lets not kid ourselves. Many people  give time to worship their Gods. Is God the focus and priority of your life? Are you seeking the kingdom first in everything? We don't need to have an idol  to have another God. Just ask yourself what is your life pre occupied with, what preoccupies your thoughts?

Satan is tempting each one of us in all these 3 areas. 

But God gives us help in responding to them:

·        1 Cor 10:13- everyone is facing the same thing. We’re in it together. But the promise is that when we are tempted, He will show us a way out.

·        Hebrews 2:18 says that because He himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Later, in Hebrews 4:15 it says that he is able to sympathize with us.

Some practical ways of handling temptation:

>       Psalm 119-11- ‘hidden your word in my heart’.  Memorize scripture. If you have a particular temptation, see what the word of God has to say about it, and repeat it to yourself when you are being tempted.

>       Matt 6:13- Pray; Matt 26:41- watch out and pray.

>        1 Peter 5:8- the devil is looking to see who is available to devour. Make you are not caught aloof.

>       1 Peter 5:19- Resist.

>       2 Timothy 2:22- Flee. There is a time when you flee temptation and pursue righteousness. If you are running from temptation, run into righteousness and not into another temptation or sin.

Shall we then, by the power of Holy Spirit that  is alive in us, overcome temptation? Amen.

 Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log ontowww.wordofgracechurch.org.

    English Language Service Sundays at 10am. Please check google maps for directions!