Jesus has two significant experiences before His ministry begins - first His baptism and then He is driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan. First he receives a declaration of love and approval from His Father before He has done anything, and then He is driven into a harsh physical wilderness. In this episode Jo and Steph discuss Jesus' wilderness journey in Matthew 3:13-4:11. They look at the three temptations Jesus faced from the enemy and discuss where the enemy has similarly tempted them in those areas: 1) Appetite 2) Approval 3) Ambition After facing those temptations, Jesus comes out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. Steph shares about her wilderness journey into ministry, where God broke down her desire for approval from others, and Jo shares how God made her step out of worship for a season to address unhealthy ambitions. Take-aways: 1) The promise of the wilderness is God's power. God's Spirit is with you in the wilderness and it is God's power which will lead you out. 2) Surrender to God in the wilderness. Not necessarily surrender to it, but surrender to God. He is still the safest place to be. 3) Let God expose those three A's in your life. It is the safest way. Discussion questions: 1) Which of the three A's are you struggling with right now? How is that affecting your life in a negative way? 2) Where do you need to surrender to God in the current wilderness? Do you believe God is the safest place? Why or why not? 3) Think back to a wilderness you have come through. Where has God's power been manifested in your life as a result of that season?

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