Adjusting Your Appetite | Wayne Brown | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

Adjusting Your Appetite

Union Church • Apr 20, 2026 • 38 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this message, Pastor Wayne Brown outlines three stages of discipleship—survival, testing, and maturation—to help believers move past spiritual stagnation. When we stay comfortably stuck in survival mode or run from spiritual tests, our spiritual appetite becomes distorted, pulling us back toward old dysfunction. Through intentional discipleship, God matures our spiritual palate, shifting our desires from worldly compromises to a deep hunger for His word and presence.

Themes

DiscipleshipSpiritual MaturityOvercoming TemptationIdentity in ChristPerseverance Through Testing

Pastor's Points

1.

1. The Survival Stage

2.

2. The Testing Stage

3.

3. The Maturation Stage

Key Points

1.
Discipleship exposes believers to new biblical truths so they do not default back into familiar worldly dysfunction.
2.
Staying in a comfortable situation too long can turn what was meant as a temporary blessing into spiritual bondage.
3.
Remaining in survival mode distorts our perspective, making harmful or inappropriate things look appealing.
4.
Stepping out of survival mode requires humility, coming to our senses, and remembering our identity as children of the King.
5.
The wilderness represents the testing stage of discipleship, where God tests believers so that He can trust them with greater responsibilities.
6.
Running away from life's tests or changing external circumstances does not remove the test; God will keep it before us until we submit and pass it.
7.
Believers can pass spiritual tests by staying connected in community, declaring God's promises, and remembering where God brought them from.
8.

Sermon Moments

“When people are not exposed to something different, they tend to go back to the same things that they've been accustomed to.”

“Discipleship allows you to begin getting exposed to some things that you have never been exposed to before through the word of God.”

“If you stay somewhere too long and you get too comfortable, something that's meant to be a blessing could turn into a bondage.”

“God never called you to survive. He called you to thrive.”

“If you stay in a place where you're barely surviving, even things that shouldn't look good to you will start to look good to you.”

“If God keeps putting the test out there, He will leave it there until you take it and you pass it.”

“Those who are tested can be trusted.”

“You know when you're being discipled when you start to hunger for the things of God.”

This Week

Evaluate what you are spiritually feeding on daily and intentionally adjust your spiritual appetite toward God's Word and prayer.

Identify areas in your life where you have settled into comfortable survival mode and invite the Holy Spirit to bring spiritual vitality.

Remind yourself of your true identity as a child of God whenever you are tempted to accept low standards or worldly compromises.

Surrender to current trials with patience instead of trying to bypass or run away from God's tests.

Engage actively in a Christian small group or connect group so you can walk through spiritual testing within a supportive community.

Speak and declare God's promises daily over your life and circumstances when facing spiritual or practical hardships.

Avoid dwelling on past worldly habits or surrounding yourself with negative influences that pull you back into old bondages.

Remember This

Spiritual growth requires intentional discipleship that shifts our daily appetite away from worldly survival and toward a mature hunger for God's righteousness.

A Challenge for You

Get on your discipleship journey, and say, "God, whatever You want to do in me, do it. Whatever You want to do in me, do it."

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.