7 STEPS TO DEFEAT TEMPTATION
Rom. 6:14 NASB
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Christine Quinn was at work and boarded an elevator. It malfunctioned, leaving her and several others stranded. Seeing a sign that listed 2 emergency numbers, she dialed the first and explained their situation.
2. After what seemed like a very long silence, the voice on the other end said, “I don’t know what you expect me to do for you; I’m a psychologist.”
3. “A psychologist?” she said. “Your phone is listed here as an emergency number. Can’t you help us?”
4. “Well,” he finally responded with a measured tone. “How do you feel about being stuck in an elevator?”
B. MISSIONARY ACCOUNT
1. A missionary led a caravan of cars through the interior of Africa. They were bush roads through dense jungles.
2. Heavy rains had drenched the jungles making the road one continuous mud pit, and impassable.
3. The missionary party took refuge in some empty buildings on the side of the road. The next morning they woke up to soldiers pointing guns at them.
4. The buildings belonged to the government. Miraculously, they were not arrested nor was their equipment confiscated.
5. They were forced to slog on down the road. A few miles later they were held up at gunpoint and their equipment was stolen. They traveled on and – praise God – were able to buy back their equipment at the next town!
6. They finally arrived at the town of their destination. The town was Muslim dominated. The town council voted to NOT let them show their Jesus film. They fasted and prayed.
7. Miraculously, the top Muslim leader had a supernatural dream and let them show the film.
8. 200-300 came to see the film. Every last one of them gave their hearts to Jesus as Savior & Lord!
C. THESIS
1. Was this accidental? No! It was spiritual warfare! Spiritual warfare not only is a battle fought on the mission field, it’s a battle fought in the life of every Christian.
2. This morning we’re looking at how temptation works and the 7 steps you can use to defeat temptation.
I. HOW TEMPTATION WORKS
A. WHEN DOES TEMPTATION USUALLY COME?
1. IN YOUR WEAKEST MOMENT
2. WHEN UNDER PRESSURE
3. WHEN PHYSICALLY SICK
4. BAD CIRCUMSTANCES
B. WAYS THE ENEMY WORKS
1. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” Jn. 10:10.
2. Tempts (Gen. 3:4, Eve); Slanders Us (Job 1:9); Inflicts Disease (Job 2:7); Opposes any Righteous act (Zech. 3:1); Steals away God’s Word (Mt. 13:19); Inspires Evil People (Mt. 13:38, sows tares); Lies (John 8:44); Ruins Lives (Lk. 13:16, demonized boy); Brings people into bondage (1 Pet. 5:8).
C. SURRENDER IS THE KEY
1. God wants the area of your weakness to become the area of your strength. You are the master of your own destiny.
2. The key to victory is surrendering all, or the death of all that you were and allowing Christ to live in you. If you’ve surrendered all, then there’s nothing left of you for the devil to get a hold of.
3. The devil tempted Jesus but could find no area of weakness. Satan attacked Jesus’ hunger, His knowledge of His Sonship, His pride about being the unique Son of God, His knowledge of the Word of God and, at last, His fear of the suffering of the cross.
4. Yet in all this, Satan could find no weakness. It was so because Jesus had surrendered His life completely to God and did not hold onto any aspect of it. He was devoted to doing the will of God whatever it cost.
D. YOU’RE LIKE A WALLED CITY
1. We should picture ourselves as a walled city. Areas where we have sinned in the past are like breaches, or holes in the wall.
2. "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?” Job 1:9-10.
3. When Satan comes to tempt you – it’s like an invading army trying to take your city. Your enemy will always circle the city, looking for weak spots in the wall to try to get in.
4. You can be sure that Satan will come back to the same breaches/ weak spots he’s used before. Your past sins have been your weakest points before and always will be, unless you change that.
E. WHAT THE GAP MIGHT BE?
1. Maybe one of your weak spots is anger or a quick temper. For some it’s an old addiction such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, or a sexual addiction. For others it’s money, pride, possessions. Maybe it’s insecurity, fear, or hate.
2. Whatever your old weakness is, you can master it. Cain’s weakness was jealousy and hate for his brother Abel. He determined to murder him.
3. God warned him, “Sin is crouching at the door and desires to have you, but you must master it” Gen. 4:7. You see – WE CAN “MASTER” ANY SIN IF WE WANT TO.
F. WE NOW HAVE POWER OVER OUR SIN
1. If you’re a new creature in Christ, then you share in Christ’s victory over sin! We don’t have to sin any more. To be tempted is not sin. If we do sin, we should confess our sins (1 John 1:9-10). But we are BORN DELIVERED!
2. Not only are we NOT under the devil’s dominion any longer, now HE’S UNDER US IN CHRIST! Let’s put sin and Satan under our feet in Jesus’ name!
II. SEVEN STEPS TO DEFEATING TEMPTATION
A. COMPLETE SURRENDER & CONSECRATION
1. The main reason people are susceptible to temptation is that they have not fully surrendered to Christ. It involves “counting the cost” of following Christ.
2. Peter, James, John, and Andrew had to leave their old life behind; they walked away from their fishing boat and answered the call of Jesus to follow Him.
3. Jesus must be Lord OF all, or He’s not Lord AT all. Lk. 9:23-24; Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
4. REPENT OF ALL KNOWN SIN
a. Sin separates you from God; Isaiah 59:2.
b. You are dead even while you live --1 Timothy 5:6, and under God's wrath (John 3:36).
c. God is anxious to forgive you. Psalm 86:5.
5. DYING OUT TO YOURSELF
a. Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
b. The mortification of your “flesh,” that is, your carnal nature, is an ongoing process that will go on the rest of your life. It is to subdue your natural tendencies
B. BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. In the first Century, the early Christians recognized that being filled with the Holy Spirit was the key to victory over the sin nature. Notice the following Scriptures:
2. Ezekiel 36:26-27; “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
3. Lord Jesus said, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about….in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” .…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses” Acts 1:4-5,8.
4. Eph. 5:18; “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
C. HIDE GOD’S WORD IN YOUR HEART
1. "I have hidden your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against God”(Ps. 119:11). One aspect of the Word of God is that it strengthens us against temptation.
2. Any breaches in the walls of our lives due to past sins are filled in and made inaccessible for our enemies to use them again.
3. The Word of God within us teaches us -- helps us discern -- what is truth and what is error. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the words of God that we need to combat any subtle deceptions of the enemy.
4. FILL IN THE GAPS
a. To defeat the old temptations, it’s necessary that you do like the Lord Jesus and take steps to fill in/ strengthen your weak spots. [When tempted, Jesus repeatedly said, “It is written!” (Mt. 4:4,7,10). We must be able to quote it too!]
b. You do this by honestly writing down your strongest temptations, finding examples of them in Scripture, and memorizing verses of Scripture that defeat the temptation.
D. SET UP EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS
Put a buffer zone between you and the areas where you are tempted. Insulate yourself from temptation. Examples?
1. Don't go near establishments which might cause temptation. An alcoholic shouldn't walk down the street where the bar is.
2. What would be the sequence of your thoughts if you were going to give in to temptation? Anticipate those thoughts and don’t let yourself go that way.
3. Don't allow yourself to get into situations which might lead to temptation. Don't be alone with a woman/man late at night by yourself. Don't get on the computer when no one is around.
4. Choose your friends carefully. If you run with dogs, you Will get fleas. "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."
5. Beware what you watch/read. "Garbage in and garbage out." Any channel of thinking that takes you back toward your sin should be rejected.
E. WATCH YOUR HEART
1. “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life”(Prov. 4:23). “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”(Mt. 6:21).
2. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”(1 Jn. 2:15).
3. Keep a close eye on what is the center of your desires/attention. Keep God first priority.
4. HUMOR: HOT STUFF
a. Paul Meyer, a married man, was having lunch with his daughter Rachel, who's three, at the local mall and was feeling particularly macho for a 46-year-old.
b. All morning, women had been smiling at him and giving him the eye. He was beginning to let his mind wander.
c. Getting up to leave the table, he ran his fingers through his hair – and discovered two yellow-ducky barrettes that had been lovingly placed there by his little girl hours before. (RD)
F. RESIST THE DEVIL
1. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
2. We must recognize that we have power over the devil. We have power to bind him; power to loose people who are bound. At times our resistance will be with verbal commands: "The Lord rebuke you!", "Get behind me, Satan!"
3. The “engrafted” Word of God (memorized) is stored up as ammunition for battle -- and the specific type of ordinance fired back at the lies and deceits of the devil when they come.
G. TAKE THE WAY OF ESCAPE
1. “No temptation has 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” (1 Cor. 10:13).
2. If you really don't want to be enticed, there is always a way out.
3. The way out is usually the more difficult path.
4. Do the right thing in every situation and you'll be fine.
5. IN TEMPTATION, CLING TO GOD. The battle is not yours, but God’s. You can’t defeat the enemy in your own strength or by any formula. At the point of temptation, begin asking Jesus to save you from the temptation and don’t stop asking until the temptation is gone!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Keeping a Cuddly Tiger in Apartment
1. On October 4, 2003, police raided Antoine Yates' seven-room apartment in Harlem, New York.
2. To their amazement there was a 425-pound tiger and a 5 and half-foot alligator in the apartment. Yates had kept Ming the tiger and Al the alligator in his apartment for years, raising them as pets. Yates' mother became terrified and moved to a suburb of Philadelphia.
3. As Ming grew, Yates, feeling hard pressed to control the tiger, apparently moved-out too, to a nearby apartment. He continued to feed the tiger by throwing raw chicken through a door opened just enough to keep a paw the size of a plate from swiping through, neighbors said.
4. The animals were taken by animal control and will be placed in a zoo. Yates was arraigned in court on charges.
5. Limping, caused by a tiger bite to his leg, and with his arm in a sling, resulting from when the tiger had knocked him down, Yates continued to profess his love for Ming, "I never feared him at all. He was like my brother. He was my best friend. He's my only friend, really."
6. Sin appears to be your friend at first, but in the end you find out that Satan is masquerading behind it, looking for a chance to destroy you!
7. "Every temptation that comes to me is packaged as a good." - Eugene Peterson. By Peter Kennedy.
B. ILLUSTRATION # 2
1. What do you do if you have a temptation that seems to be too great for you?
2. John Burroughs, the naturalist, has long observed hawks. Hawks are birds of prey (hunt other birds for food), but they’re not as strong as kingbirds.
3. So when a hawk is attacked by a kingbird, his approach is NOT to have a lengthy battle.
4. Instead, the hawk, after beating off the initial attack, begins to climb higher and higher. The kingbird can’t flap into the higher, thin air.
5. So eventually the kingbird calls off the attack. That’s what we Christians must do. (7,700 Illus. # 6525).
6. When the enemy attacks, we shouldn’t pridefully think we’re up to the battle, but immediately move higher toward God.
7. As you come into the presence of God, you can be sure the devil will fall away, because he can’t stand the presence of God, which is grace & soft cloud toward us, but judgment & fire toward him!
C. THE CALL
1. The first step is to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Only with His power living in you can you conquer sin.
2. If you have a mastering sin, you MUST conquer it or it will eventually destroy you. You must die out to your old life and let Jesus live through you in newness of life.
3. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!
4. I invite all to come and find a place to pray. Let’s join together in prayer, repenting and making a new start for God.
