21Days of Prayer and Fasting: Day 2 - Blueprint for Fighting Temptation with Ps. Mike

Blueprint for Fighting Temptation CLICK LINK FOR THE NOTES: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C... Building without a blueprint is just "piling bricks"—you look busy, but you have no sanctuary. This is especially true when facing temptation. As Pastor Michael Harlan teaches, temptation is not a sign of weakness; it is evidence that your faith in the Word is being tested. You cannot defeat temptation with willpower alone. Fasting is the process of realigning your soul and disciplining the body so it becomes a "Powerful Servant" rather than a "Poor Master". When you build with reverence for the Word, temptations lose their voice because God’s Truth speaks louder. BLUEPRINT FOR FIGHTING TEMPTATION DURING 21 DAYS OF PRAYER & FASTING: “Temptations are not a sign of weakness; it is evidence that you are human and that your faith in God’s Word is being tested.” 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 (ESV) 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 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 shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. - Matthew 4:1-4 (NIV) “You cannot defeat temptation with willpower alone; you must fight it with the truth of the Word of God.” BIBLICAL TRUTHS AND PRACTICAL WISDOM TO OVERCOME TEMPTATIONS AND URGES: 1. REMEMBER THE PURPOSE OF THE FAST 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” - Mark 9:28-29 (NKJV) “Let your fast not be just a thing to do, but let it become what it’s doing for you and through you.” “Fasting is not just about denying the body. It’s also about realigning your soul.” 2. DRAW CLOSER TO GOD THROUGH PRAYER AND FASTING TO RESIST TEMPTATION 7 “So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you…” - James 4:7-8a (TLB) “Resistance invites opposition, but obedience to the Word releases the power to resist.” 3. TURN TO PRAYER WHEN YOU FEEL WEAK IN YOUR FLESH 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”- Matthew 26:40-41 (NIV) 4. DISCIPLINE THE BODY SO IT DOESN’T DISCIPLINE YOU. “But I keep control of my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” - 1 Corinthians 9:27 (KJ21) 14 “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.” James 1:14-16 (CSB) “The body can be made a Poor Master or a Powerful Servant.” “Temptation and Urges lose their voice when God’s Truth speaks Louder .” 5. LEAN ON GRACE, NOT ON PERFECTION “ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) “Your victory in fasting is in faithfulness, not in flawlessness.”