Elevation Point Church

No matter where we are in life, how long we’ve served the Lord, or how well we know the Bible — temptations still show up in our lives. Jesus Himself was tempted. This is why it’s vital that we know and understand God’s Word while continually drawing near to Him. When we begin to think we are strong and/or smart enough to face temptation on our own, we’ll give in. Temptations are not always obvious, but they are often present. Jesus was tempted, as we are, with things that seemed innocent — yet, He knew…it wasn’t worth it.

Everyone who has experienced life has likely encountered relational wounds. In Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob endured such a wound, resulting in a lasting limp that served as a constant reminder of his struggle that night. Despite this setback, Jacob persevered, refusing to let it hinder his life's journey and purpose. Similarly, when we face wounds in our relationships and friendships, it's common to feel inclined to shut ourselves off. Instead of succumbing to bitterness, we should strive to learn and grow from these experiences, using them to fortify our future connections.

Relationships come, and relationships go. Lost or missed relationships are often things that cause us to remain stuck in a season or moment of life. Regret of what happened, or even what didn’t happen, can cause us to stay frozen — rather than moving forward into the new that God is trying to bless us with. If we’re not careful, we can miss new relationships and seasons because we’re still mourning past relationships, seasons, hurts, or opportunities. The Lord doesn’t intend for us to give that type of power to others that forces us to remain stuck — but rather, He desires that we choose to step into the freedom of the next season He has for us.

We are often tempted to treat others the way they’ve treated us. But the key isn’t to treat others the way we’ve been treated — it’s to treat others the way we want to be treated. In Luke 23:33-34, Jesus found Himself in a difficult situation that He didn’t belong in. However, His response wasn’t to react negatively and reciprocate what had been done to Him. Instead, He showed love, forgiveness, and grace. It’s no different in our lives. Our response is always a choice. You may not be able to choose what happens; but the way you respond is up to you.

True love is the glue for all aspects of every relationship. If we love, there will be peace; if we don’t, there will be strife. If we love, we’ll honor others; if we don’t, there will be strife. If we love, we’ll put others first; if we don’t, we’ll put ourselves first. The list goes on — but the truth is, we all want to feel loved. With our friends, family, romantic relationships, coworkers, we want to experience love. Romans 12 teaches us that true love begins with…us. It begins with our own hearts. Once we learn to properly live a life of true love towards others, it will impact the love we experience from others.

One of the most difficult things for us to do in life is be consistent, no matter the circumstances. It’s easy to remain consistent when things are easy and everything is working; however, we tend to quit being consistent when it’s difficult and we see no change. But what if our consistency in the difficult moments is what would bring about growth, change, and breakthrough? In I Corinthians 15:58, Paul encouraged that we remain steadfast — that we not allow our circumstances to sway our trust, faith, and confidence in the Lord. It’s through our consistency that we are able to see the completion and finished work of what God has for us.

In this one passage of scripture, we see two stories that needed a miracle from Jesus. But specifically, we see the lady who had been subjected to bleeding for 12 years. See, it’s a lot easier to believe Jesus will change your story when it’s a new problem than it is to keep believing that when it’s an old problem. For this lady, it wasn’t her pastor, doctor, spouse, or friends that gave her the strength to believe. It was her trust in Jesus, it was her faith. Jesus said, your faith has healed you. In this message, we look at 3 habits to develop and/or strengthen if we’re going to see a positive change in our outcome.

As we enter a new year, we tend to pray for new things. We pray for God to bless us with more, so that we can experience greater — More talents, more opportunities, more abilities. We read the Bible, we pray, we learn from God’s word; and yet, we’ve made a habit of missing the most important step — putting His word to use. We won’t see God provide more until we first are willing to take what He’s given us, and put it to use.

When it comes to believing and working toward anything great, we tend to disqualify ourselves in our own minds. It’s often easier for us to believe what we’re facing is stronger and more able than we are. For the Israelites in Numbers 13, they viewed the people in Canaan as giants, while they viewed themselves as grasshoppers. However, Caleb was able to adjust his vision and see the Canaanites for what they were — already defeated. God had spoken and said it was already handled, and Caleb shifted his vision to match God’s word over what it may have looked like. Because of this, he was able to experience all that God promised.