{"id":26711,"date":"2022-10-23T16:51:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T16:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/?post_type=avada_portfolio&#038;p=26711"},"modified":"2022-11-14T16:26:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T16:26:23","slug":"from-blessing-to-testing","status":"publish","type":"avada_portfolio","link":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"From Blessing to Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>From Blessing to Testing [or The Wilderness Test]<\/h3>\n<p><b>Matthew 3:13-17, 4:1-11<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. God descends on Jesus and proclaims his love and pleasure over him. Just following this event, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness and is tempted by the devil. Jesus goes from the blessing of His Father to the testing from his adversary but is able to overcome in the end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>The Wilderness Test<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>The tension is in the transition<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark 1:9-13 \u201cAt that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: \u201cYou are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Immediately<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Christian life is characterized by both battles and blessings<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes the things we feel so sure about in the season of our blessing can be the thing that shakes us in the season of wilderness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, \u201cThis is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before Jesus entered the wilderness or did anything in his ministry, God expressed affirmation of His love for Jesus<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This truth should be an anchor to our soul: I am loved; I am a child of God; He is pleased with me<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes in the middle of the storm, we\u2019re searching for a word that we should\u2019ve been listening for during the blessing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can\u2019t wait until a storm happens to decide what we\u2019re going to do in response to the chaos<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t make a decision in the testing that you\u2019re going to regret in the blessing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The approval of Heaven attracts the attack from Hell; when you make a move for God, the enemy gets nervous<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ephesians 6:12 \u201cFor we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He may not always remove us. But He will always improve us.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>When facing an attack, remember 3 things<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You must remember WHOSE you are<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You must remember WHERE your help comes from<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You must remember WHAT is at stake<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Facilitating Discussion<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What word from heaven have you been given to help you navigate the wilderness?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How have your wilderness experiences given you ammunition against the lies of the enemy?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Blessing to Testing [or The Wilderness Test] Matthew 3:13-17, 4:1-11 Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"portfolio_category":[260,160],"portfolio_skills":[],"portfolio_tags":[164],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>From Blessing to Testing - Rock Church AVL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Blessing to Testing #3 in a series delivered by Pastor Justin Conway at The Rock Church in Asheville, NC, on October 23, 2022.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Blessing to Testing - Rock Church AVL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Blessing to Testing #3 in a series delivered by Pastor Justin Conway at The Rock Church in Asheville, NC, on October 23, 2022.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rock Church AVL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-14T16:26:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/\",\"name\":\"From Blessing to Testing - Rock Church AVL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-23T16:51:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-14T16:26:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"From Blessing to Testing #3 in a series delivered by Pastor Justin Conway at The Rock Church in Asheville, NC, on October 23, 2022.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Portfolio\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"From Blessing to Testing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/\",\"name\":\"Rock Church AVL\",\"description\":\"Here for Better\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From Blessing to Testing - Rock Church AVL","description":"From Blessing to Testing #3 in a series delivered by Pastor Justin Conway at The Rock Church in Asheville, NC, on October 23, 2022.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Blessing to Testing - Rock Church AVL","og_description":"From Blessing to Testing #3 in a series delivered by Pastor Justin Conway at The Rock Church in Asheville, NC, on October 23, 2022.","og_url":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/","og_site_name":"Rock Church AVL","article_modified_time":"2022-11-14T16:26:23+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/","url":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/","name":"From Blessing to Testing - Rock Church AVL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-10-23T16:51:03+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-14T16:26:23+00:00","description":"From Blessing to Testing #3 in a series delivered by Pastor Justin Conway at The Rock Church in Asheville, NC, on October 23, 2022.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/from-blessing-to-testing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Portfolio","item":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/portfolio-items\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"From Blessing to Testing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/","name":"Rock Church AVL","description":"Here for Better","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio\/26711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/avada_portfolio"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio\/26711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolio_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_category?post=26711"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_skills","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_skills?post=26711"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rockchurchavl.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_tags?post=26711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}