REVIEW
FLIP CHART: SOM’S KEY VERSE, GOAL, MOTTO
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness ….” (Mt. 6:33a).
The law sends us to Christ for justification; Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification.
FLIP CHART: Show new “Perfect Righteousness” chart explaining steps to coming to Christ (As a worm, mourning, meek, spiritual hunger/thirst with the result of legal righteousness). Explain: moral righteousness, immediate moral change at conversion, gradual change through life’s challenges and speeding up moral change via CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection and Confession/Thanksgiving). Key verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14).
FLIP CHART: John Stott’s outline of SOM.
This then is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:7-13)
REVIEW:
God forgives us our moral debt. People will wound us and sin against us. As He has forgiven our moral debt we forgive others. In this respect our Father is more stubborn than we and will not forgive our moral debts / sins if we refuse to forgive others. Though we are His children because of judicial forgiveness, we will not experience parental forgiveness until we forgive others. Our unforgiving spirit will put chill and block in our relationship with our Father.
Our Father will not and in fact cannot tempt us because it is not His nature to do so. Yet He does permit trials and they are good for us and can lead to character change and maturity. Yet with every test there is also the possibility of a temptation. We should so despise sin and so fear displeasing our Father that the emotional cry of our heart is that we are not lead into a trial that is too much for us to handle. Always remember that the evil one is active, seeking to destroy us, and that we are no match for him.
The sixth petition is more of an emotional request, “Father, please do let me enter a test that is more than I can handle” (Like a child crying to her father not to drop her) than it is a theological statement intimating that God would lead us to be tempted.
INTRODUCTION
Trials are necessary if we are to grow in grace and faith but they also increase the potential of sin because trials can lead to temptation.
William Barclay, the commentator writes, “In one sense temptation is the penalty of being human; it is also the glory of being a human.” (Barclay, 225)
QUESTION: Why would he say “temptation … Is the glory of being a human?”
James explains how temptation works: Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin’; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:14-15)
It is clear that our “own evil desire / lust” starts the process. So we cannot blame the devil for that. But the devil entices us. He baits the hook.
Animals are trapped because a hook is baited so that the hook is disguised. The bait is interesting, enticing.
Satan uses the world (the system of evil that permeates the globe) to make sin look okay, interesting, desirable. Man’s lustful nature takes the bait and falls for the temptation.
Temptation due to our fleshly nature, the wiles of the devil and the attraction of the world system is unbelievably powerful. Sometimes a person will say that the temptation was so powerful that they gave in. But anyone who gives in has never felt the full power of temptation.
TABLE ACTIVITY: We are middle Americans or probably upper middle class Americans. What are some of the ways people like us are tempted in this day and age?
Some Answers: overeating, watching TV programs, movies that do not edify, speeding, consumerism / materialism, laziness, avoiding devotional life, living a life of fear of the future, gossip, dishonesty, avoiding serving, e.g. using our time for selfish pursuits, procrastination, selfishness, e.g. not giving or not giving as much as we should .….
OUTLINE FOR TODAY:
1. Live a Life Focused on Loving God
2. Humility – Remember Who We Are
3. Use the Whole Armor of God
4. Actively Resist the Devil
5. Use the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit
6. Pray
7. Flee
8. Cling to the Promises of God
DELIVERANCE FOR DUMMIES
(KEYS TO OVERCOMING TEMPTATION)
I. LIVE A LIFE FOCUSED ON LOVING GOD
“Love the LORD your God with all your heat and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Mt. 22:37-38).
Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) was a Scottish Mathematician, moral philosopher, social workers and leader of the Scottish Free Church. He gave one sermon (23 pages) that has been well known throughout the centuries. It is titled “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” Here are some quotes:
READING: From “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.”
There are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world – either by a demonstration of the world’s vanity, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon simply to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment, so as that the heart shall be prevailed upon not to resign an old affection, which shall have nothing to succeed it, but to exchange an old affection for a new one.
The heart must have something to cling to – and never, by its own voluntary consent, will it so denude its attachments, that there will not be one remaining object that can draw or solicit it.
It is seldom that any of our tastes are made to disappear by a mere process of . . . mental reasoning. . . . But what cannot be destroyed, may be dispossessed and one taste may be made to give way to another, and to lose its, power entirely as the reigning affection of the mind.
The only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection, is by the expulsive power of a new one.
We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our heart, than to keep in our hearts the love of God – and no other way by which to keep our hearts in the love of God, than building ourselves up on our most holy faith.
Our goal is to love God with all our hearts. Thus we want to live with a clear conscience that we have done nothing to displease Him.
“The goal of the command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience ….. holding on to faith and a good conscience” (I Tim. 1:5,19).
ILL: Once President Garfield was urged to take a profitable, but dishonorable, course of action. It was said, “No one will ever know.” His answer was, “President Garfield will know – and I’ve got to sleep with him” (W. Barclay, 231).
II. HUMILITY – REMEMBER WHO WE ARE
We need to remember our inherent weakness. The sixth prayer request in the Disciple’s Prayer shows how vulnerable we are to the devil and how much we need help.
The Bible speaks again and again of how we are flawed, hopelessly given over to sin.
“For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean. (Mark 7:20-23).
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. (Eph. 4:22)
Each person’s soul has its own patterns of fleshly desire as a result of its environment, upbringing and personal choices. What may be a temptation to one may not trouble another.
One man wrote that our baptism did not drown our flesh.
The great promise of I Cor. 10:13 is preceded by a very important warning, “So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.
ILL: Remember Peter’s boast, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” (Mt. 26:33) A tremendous douse of humility would have saved Peter from falling into the trap the devil had set for him.
III. USE THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
QUESTION: What are the parts of the body armor referred to in Ephesians 6:13-17 and what do they stand for?
READ: Ephesian 6:13-17 – 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesian 6:13-17)
The belt gathered his armor together, kept his clothes out of the way and secured his sword. The breastplate protected his vital organs. Shoes had some nails in them to give him traction. The shield was made of wood and animal skin and was very tough. The animal skin was soaked in water so that during a battle fiery darts would not ignite the shield. The sword was a short thrusting sword.
Of course the goal of the enemy is to find a weak spot in the armor. Does he have his helmet off? Is his shield held the wrong way? Does he have no traction? Is his sword dull? Are his breastplate adequate.
“In every person there is a weak spot, which, if he is not on the watch, can ruin him. Somewhere in every person there is the flaw, some fault of temperament which can ruin life, some instinct or passion so strong that it may at any time snap the leash, some quirk in our make-up that makes what is a pleasure to someone else a menace to us.” (W. Barclay, 230)
Soldiers of Christ Arise:
“Leave no unguarded place / No weakness of the soul; / Take every virtue, every grace; / And fortify the whole.”
IV. RESIST THE DEVIL
Peter pictures Satan as a roaring lion seeking those he may devour. But even though a roaring lion, we can resist him and his power (I Peter 5:8)
Paul writes: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Paul then explains that using the whole armor of God is the key to standing against the devil.
“Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7).
The Bible abounds in verses that show us that we have power to resist the devil and overcome evil. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. … For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus in the Son of God.” (I John 4:4. 5:4-5)
V. USE THE WORD OF GOD, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT
Paul specifically refers to the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6.
QUESTION: What were the three temptations in the wilderness and what Scriptural answer did Jesus give to stand against each temptation?
Turn stone into bread: Man shall not live my bread alone (Deut. 8:3).
Worship me: Worship God alone (Deut. 6:13).
Throw yourself from temple: Don’t put God to a test (Deut. 6:16)
Then Apollyon espying his opportunity, began to gather up close to Christan, and wrestling with him, gave him a dreadful fall; and with that Christian’s Sword flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am sure of thee now; and with that he had almost pressed him to death, so that Christian began to despair of life. But as God would have it, while Apollyon was fetching of his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good man, Christian nimbly reached out his hand for his Sword, and caught it, saying, Rejoice not against me, O mind enemy! When I fall I shall arise; and with that gave him a deadly thrust, which made him give back, as one that had received his mortal wound: Christian perceiving that, made at him again, saying Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. And with that Apollyon spread forth his Dragon’s wings, and sped away, so that Christian for a season saw him no more.” (Pilgrim’s Progress).
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD: The Prince of Darkness grim / We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, / For lo! His doom is sure; One little word shall fell him.
VI. PRAYER
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary (our weapons) have divine power to demolish strongholds” (I Cor. 10:3-4)
Remember the sixth request: Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Our Father puts the major tactic in overcoming the evil one right in the Disciples Prayer as a prayer request, a point that we should pray for daily. Are we praying every day to be protected from the evil one?
We are not to fight a secret, single-handed war against sin. We are to ask our Father’s help. He knows our weaknesses and knows how to help us! “Single fighters” / “Lone Rangers” will never make it in any struggle with sin. We must pray!!!
In His great priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (John 17:15).
VII. FLEE
“Flee sexual immorality” (I Cor. 6:18); “Flee from idolatry” (I Cor. 10:14) “But you, man of God, flee from all this (the love of money) …” (I Tim. 6:11); “Flee the evil desires of youth” (II Tim. 2:22).
QUESTION: Why are we told to pray, resist, use the Word of God etc and then told to flee? Why not just flee?
You have the same paradox. Jesus tells us to rejoice when persecuted (Matthew 5:10-12) but then in Matthew 10:23 says, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.”
ILL: Joseph is the best example of someone who fled. She must have grabbed his clothes and as a young man he certainly was attracted to a beautiful woman.
Fleeing certainly means avoiding be in a place where we can be enticed by a temptation. George Whitefield, the great British evangelist preached in one of his sermons, “How can you say, ‘Lead us not into temptation’ in the morning, when you are resolved in run into it at night?”
But, let me caution you about something. Do not pray this prayer if you plan on placing yourself in places and situations where you will be tempted. For instance, do not pray for the Lord to deliver you from the temptation of lust if you plan on going home and turning on an explicit video. Do not pray for the Lord to deliver you from the temptation to commit sexual sin, if you are going to engage in flirtation and sexual activity outside of marriage. Don’t pray for the Lord to deliver you from the temptation to drink, if you insist on eating your meals in a bar. Don’t waste your time praying this prayer if your feet constantly lead you toward evil. (David Hoke, from the Web)
One aspect of fleeing is using “Distraction Skills.” In other words, by learning certain skills we can help avoid falling into the Devil’s traps!
APPLICATION: Obviously in situations like Joseph’s we flee. We don’t set down and read a book. But in so many other temptations, we can distract ourselves in simple ways. Find your Bible and read some verses dealing with fear or read a good book or sing a song that brings you great comfort. Don’t dwell on your fear. Don’t keep rolling it over in your mind!
VIII. GRASP THE PROMISES OF GOD
The answer to the prayer, “Lead us not into trials but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt. 6:13) is found in the promise given in I Cor. 10:13, “No temptation as seized you except what is common to man. And god is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
God know our limits and will not let us face a test that we can’t bear. He will give us a way of escape.
Other great promises:
He will present the church to the Father without stain or wrinkle or any blemish but holy and blameless (Eph. 5:27)
He will present us holy to the Father, free from accusation (Col. 1:22)
We proclaim him admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ (Col. 1:28).
And the promise in the wonderful doxology:
“Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and present you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy; to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever (Jude 24).
SO WHAT???
1. The best defense against temptation is a life focused on loving God.
2. Being aware of our inherent weakness, our fleshly desires should drive us to put on the whole armor of God living a life of dependent prayer.
3. We must know the Word and use the Word when resisting the devil.
4. We need to flee and sometimes we flee by turning our attention to something that will take our mind off of the temptation.
5. Remember, it is Christ who is investing in our life with a goal of presenting us faultless before the Father.