Victory Series

Victory!

Matthew 6:13

First Baptist Chenoa

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

3-31-19

Marshmallow Test Video

This morning, we come to the end of our series on what we call The Lord’s Prayer.

Like the disciples, we have sensed our need to grow in the area of prayer and intimacy with the Father.

We have learned that we are a part of a huge family, that God chose to adopt us as His children, and that He is the mighty and majestic King. Daily we ask that His Name be hallowed, exalted, and revered in our lives and the world. We have prayed for His kingdom to come in our lives, in the world, and in our churches. We have go all in and ask that His will be done in our lives as it already is in heaven.

We’ve learned to depend on Him for our daily bread and all that we need. And last week, we experienced an incredible move of the Spirit as we sought forgiveness for ourselves and the strength to extend that same amazing grace to people who have sinned against us.

This morning, we will be studying the last petition:

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.” (Matthew 6:13)

Standing on the Promises

We are going to look to at several passages of Scripture and answer some very practical questions this morning.

* Is being tempted a sin?

* Why is temptation so powerful?

* What’s the root cause of temptation?

* What are some practical ways of avoiding temptation?

* Can we actually have “victory” over temptation in this life?

Join me as I pray for the Spirit to do His work today.

What is Temptation?

The Greek word for temptation means “a test.” Temptations come through trails, tests, and disappointments. God does not tempt us, we’ll see that in just a minute, but He does allow us to experience testing to grow our faith and strengthen our resolve to serve Him.

But these trials can be used by the Evil One to tempt us. These temptations serve his purpose to draw us away from God and, ultimately, destroy us.

John MacArthur paraphrases this verse:

“Lord if you can spare me from this trial, please do it. But if I have to go through the trial then please deliver me from the evil potential that is there.”

This is shepherd language. Lord, lead us…

Temptation is an ever-present reality. But it’s been that from the beginning. When Cain was seething with anger and thinking about killing his brother, God says,

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen 4:7-8)

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

Throughout the centuries, theologians have focused on three areas that can bring temptation into our lives – the world, the flesh, and the devil.

When we talk about “the world,” it does not mean the earth or the globe. The word is “cosmos” and means system or order. Literally, it’s the system of thinking that permeates this world that is opposed to God.

The apostle John wrote:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the craving of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.” (I John 2:15-16)

James, the brother of Jesus wrote:

“Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

When we hear the word “flesh” we often think of our skin but the Bible defines our “flesh” in terms of our inclination to do evil. It is in our nature to sin. To paraphrase Lady Gaga, we are all born this way!

It is so easy to blame God, or anyone else, for our own evil desires. James makes it clear that God does not tempt us but that our own evil desires often lead us to the path of destruction:

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God can not be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but 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 1:13-15)

The third source of temptation is a person the Bible calls, “The Devil.” Some of you are old enough to remember Flip Wilson’s old line, “The Devil made me do it!” That’s funny, but just not true. The devil cannot make us sin. He can entice us, he can bait the hook, he can whisper in our ear, he can arrange circumstances, and he can accuse us, (in fact that one of his main hobbies – he’s called the “accuser of the brethren”), but he cannot force us to sin.