Sermon Notes from Morning Worship

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Series: “Dealing With My Feelings”

Today: “When to Trust My Feelings”

 Scripture:  Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'” ⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Intro:  One of Webster’s definitions of the word “feeling” is: often unreasoned        opinion         or        belief        .

A.   The question for today: When can I       trust         my feelings?

B.   You have to be disciplined enough to       slow down        and question your feelings… to ask these questions.

I.    ARE THESE FEELINGS BASED ON       FACTS         ?

A.   Temptations are       feelings          — feelings of want and desire.

B.   Finding out the        facts          is often the single most effective way to deal with feelings!

II.   DO THESE FEELINGS SQUARE WITH      BIBLICAL       TRUTH?

A.   Jesus refused to elevate His       feelings         above the truth of God.

B.   Feelings lead to       disaster       when they rule over eternal truth!

* Philippians 2:13 (NLT) – “For God is working in you, giving you the desires and the power to do what pleases Him.”

III.  WILL THESE FEELINGS        MASTER         ME?

A.   The Apostle Paul wrote: 

1 Corinthians 6:12  “Everything is permissible for me”– but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything.

B.   God does not want us consumed with anything or anyone other than      Himself       !

Colossians 3:17  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17 (NLT) – And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Conclusion:  A powerful prayer taught in Philippians 1:9-11.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.

 * We need God’s divine      discernment      when it comes to our “feelings.”