WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.720 About a year ago, I got a note that says 2 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:08.160 this pastor Rick. Every morning I start out with great 3 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:14.199 intentions to change my ways. I think today is going 4 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:21.199 to be different, but it never is. Somehow, in some way, 5 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:24.679 I always seem to fall back into the same old 6 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:28.760 pattern of relating to people and my old bad habits. 7 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:32.320 Sometimes I feel like there's a tug of war going 8 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:35.840 on inside of me. Honestly, I really want to do 9 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:42.799 what's best, but I always end up disappointing myself and God. Rick. 10 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:53.560 I have tried everything, prayer, resolutions, self help tapes, even hypnosis. 11 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.119 Nothing seems to work. Why do I keep making the 12 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:04.640 same mistakes over and over and over. Why am I 13 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:10.799 so resistant to change? Why do I think? Why do 14 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:12.840 I do things that I know are bad for me? 15 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:22.079 I'm really discouraged and I need help getting unstuck. If 16 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:24.359 you're honest, every one of us have felt that way 17 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:26.920 at different times in our lives about different things in 18 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.680 our lives, because the reality of living on this planet 19 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:37.120 is good intentions are never good enough. Good intentions are 20 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:41.439 never good enough if your life is going to change, 21 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:44.359 if you're going to break free from the hang ups 22 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.400 in your life, from the stuff that messes you up, 23 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:51.280 from the past, and from your temptations, and from bad 24 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:53.560 thought patterns and all kinds of things. It's going to 25 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:57.079 take more than just well, I hope I'll do better tomorrow. 26 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.200 And the reality is we often get stuck in this 27 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:09.039 cycle of good intention, failure, guilt, confession, good intention, failure, guilt, confession, 28 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.479 and on and on, around and around in a circle. 29 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:14.280 Is that the way God wants you to live? No, 30 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:18.080 that's why you need well we're going to talk about 31 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:22.319 this week in the prayer of deliverance. Now, we've been 32 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:25.520 looking at each phrase of the Lord's prayer in depth 33 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:29.919 and in detail, and this weekend we come to lead 34 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:36.599 us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Now. 35 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:38.719 The fact is some of you want to start checking 36 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:40.759 out right now, So well, thank God, I haven't been 37 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:48.800 tempted in fifty years, right. We often think temptation is 38 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:52.680 an enticement or a llure to do something evil. We 39 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:58.560 could mean bad and nasty, the really bad stuff, murder, adultery, 40 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:05.520 and fornication, all of these different sins that other people do. 41 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.639 And we tend to think that temptation is just about 42 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:12.840 the big things in life. The forbidden the evil things 43 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:17.719 in life. But actually I found that Satan is much 44 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:22.400 more subtle in my life, and some of those things. 45 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:27.439 I'm not tempted to murder anybody. I'm just not. And 46 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.080 you can train your mind to think in certain ways 47 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:33.840 that certain things just don't tempt you anymore like they 48 00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:35.840 used to in hard ways. But I made a list 49 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:37.680 off of the top of my head of what I 50 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:40.159 call the subtle temptation. I don't know if any of 51 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.599 you deal with any of these, but I do. Number one, 52 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:51.240 the temptation to do what works, not necessarily the right thing, 53 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:55.759 but what works. The temptation to do what's easy, like 54 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:57.759 when you're a parent and you set your kid down 55 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:03.159 in front of the television, them babysit, and a thousand 56 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:07.280 other ways we do what's easy. The temptation to do 57 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:11.919 what's quick, the temptation to do what works in the 58 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:17.079 short run, the temptation to do what is self serving 59 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:22.800 or best for me. I find myself often tempted by 60 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:27.160 the temptation to do what's unimportant, to not do what 61 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:29.519 really matters in life, the essential things in life, but 62 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:32.160 to do stuff that Why am I doing this? Why 63 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:36.959 am I frittering away my time, procrastinating, I'm doing the unimportant, 64 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:43.439 The temptation to do what I've always done, the temptation 65 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:49.279 to do what's right for the wrong reason, the temptation 66 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:54.680 to do nothing. When you see something that I know 67 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.560 I could help that person. I know I could help 68 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:00.160 in that situation. I know I could do that, But 69 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.120 you don't do anything when you see the poor, you 70 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:07.279 see the sick, or you see the needy. The truth is, 71 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.079 temptation is a lot more subtle than we think it is. 72 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:14.759 But the answer to the temptations that we experience in 73 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:19.199 life is this verse, which is the prayer of deliverance. 74 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:24.319 And the prayer of deliverance always leads us to the 75 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:28.639 path of escape. Now, Jesus said, you are to pray 76 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.240 thy kingdom. Come, I will be done on earth as 77 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:34.800 it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 78 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:39.040 Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin 79 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:41.319 against us. We've looked at that the last two weeks, 80 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.879 and he says, lead us not into temptation. Now, if 81 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.000 we didn't give into temptation, we wouldn't have to worry 82 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:51.879 about the two sentences before the sins, the guilt and 83 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.839 the resentment. They wouldn't have to worry about that one. 84 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.839 But God says that the prayer of deliverance is the 85 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:02.720 path of escape. And what is the path of escape? 86 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:04.480 I want you to take your outline, and I want 87 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:07.839 you to read this verse with me one Corinthians ten thirteen. 88 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:11.480 Read it with me. The temptations that come into your 89 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:16.000 life are no different from what others experience. Okay, stop 90 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:21.439 right there. If you say nobody knows what I'm going through, 91 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:25.920 you're wrong. The temptations that come your way are no 92 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.959 different from what others experience. We all have the same 93 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:35.519 basic temptations in life. You are not unique in the 94 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:39.360 fact that you're tempted. Some of your temptations are more unique. 95 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.480 But temptation is not you need. We all get tempted 96 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.319 and they're not any different. Then he says, and read 97 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:49.759 it with me. God is faithful. You will keep the 98 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:54.480 temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up 99 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:57.079 against it. Now, let me stop right there. When you 100 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.240 say it was so strong, I just have had to 101 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:05.000 give in. Then you were calling God a liar. Because 102 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.879 God says I will always make a way out. I 103 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.839 will never put more on you, or I will never 104 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.879 allow more on you than I put in you to 105 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:17.319 bear it up. And when somebody says I just couldn't 106 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:21.439 help myself, they're not telling the truth. Because the truth 107 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:25.199 is temptation is a choice, and you only do what 108 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:29.319 you choose to do, so don't blame anybody else. Temptation 109 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:31.720 is a choice to do do right or do wrong. 110 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:35.399 And he says, God will keep the temptation from becoming 111 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:37.639 so strong you can't stand up against it. And then 112 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.000 read the rest with me. And when you are tempted, 113 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:43.439 he will show you a way out so that you 114 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:45.759 will not give in to it. And I want you 115 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:49.000 to circle show you a way out, because this weekend 116 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:52.759 we're going to look at the way out. Number one. 117 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:56.240 The first step on the path to escape from the 118 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.639 prayer of deliverance, as the Bible teaches, is first to 119 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:05.319 have to identify what makes me vulnerable. I must identify 120 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.720 what makes me vulnerable. Now, notice I didn't say identify 121 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.399 what tempts you. You already know what tempts you. What 122 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:17.360 you may have never really thought through is what causes 123 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:21.360 me to be tempted by that? What makes me vulnerable 124 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.480 to that temptation. What makes me weak, what makes me susceptible. 125 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:31.120 And more important than knowing what tempts you is knowing 126 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:33.720 the when, why, how, where, and all the other factors 127 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:37.159 that go into that temptation. If you're serious about permanent 128 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:42.039 life change. Now, Jesus said this in Matthew twenty six 129 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:48.039 forty one. He says, watch and pray so that you 130 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:53.159 will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but 131 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:56.440 the body is weak. In other words, you may be willing, 132 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:00.919 you may want to overcome your temptation, but will not enough. 133 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.679 The spirit is willing. Have you learned that willpower is 134 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:08.559 not enough. It'll work for a while, but after a 135 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:13.279 while you get tired and willpower burns out. No lasting 136 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:17.879 change ever happens with willpower. I'm gonna lose weight, I'm 137 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.559 gonna stop smoking, I'm gonna whatever. Well, yeah, you can 138 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:24.720 force yourself for a while, but as soon as you 139 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:31.159 get tired, the will poops out. So he says, the 140 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.440 spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Now he says, 141 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.799 watch and pray. So when Jesus says, as you are 142 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:40.600 to pray, lead us not into temptation, he's even saying 143 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:43.840 that's not enough. It's important to pray the prayer of deliverance. 144 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:46.799 But besides praying, you aught to got it. You also 145 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:49.759 have to do some watching. And what is he saying 146 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.720 you need to watch for? You need to watch for 147 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:58.279 the circumstances that make you vulnerable. You need to identify 148 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:01.159 those and work with them. Explain what I'm talking about. 149 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.440 You know that the Bible teaches that every human being 150 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:10.039 is unique. There's nobody in the world like you. Everything 151 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.679 about you is unique. God never makes copies, he never 152 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.919 makes clones. He will never make anybody like you before 153 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:19.679 you or after you. And we call this your shape. 154 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:24.720 Your shape determines what tempts you. It's why some things 155 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.519 tempt you and don't tempt other people. Why some things 156 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.840 attempt other people don't tempt you. You have a unique 157 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:40.039 susceptibility to temptation based on your shape. Some are caused 158 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:44.000 by nature, your own said nature, and some are caused 159 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:47.200 by nurture. The way you grew up and if you 160 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:49.159 grew up in a house that was prone to blow 161 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.639 up in anger, you probably learned that pattern. If you 162 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:55.080 grew up in a house where you learned to stuff 163 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:59.440 your emotions, that's pattern you learned. So some temptations are 164 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:02.399 by nature, and some are by nurture, Some are caused 165 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:05.720 by your DNA, and some are caused by your environment, 166 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.519 Some are caused by your character, and some are caused 167 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.720 by your your circumstance. What am I saying is this, 168 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:20.559 you don't get to choose your temptations. You don't get 169 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:23.840 to choose them the things that really tempt you. Sorry, 170 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:26.919 it's just part of the negative side of your shape. 171 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:30.960 Now what does that mean. Well, the implication of that 172 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.399 is you cannot be self righteous about anybody else's temptation, 173 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:38.200 and you can't be self righteous about your own. And 174 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.080 what does tempt you and what doesn't. And so when 175 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:46.159 you see somebody who's tempted by drugs, or you see 176 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:49.679 somebody who's tempted by gossip, or you see somebody who's 177 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:54.480 tempted by pornography, or you see somebody who's tempted to overeat, 178 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:59.240 really doesn't matter where that temptation come from. From DNA, 179 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:03.600 from gene, from nature, from nurture, from environment, from choices, 180 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:06.919 from circumstances. All of those things fit into that. But 181 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:10.279 the fact is they're all the same thing, and one 182 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:12.799 is no better or less evil than the other. The 183 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:17.559 Bible says sin is sin, so we have no right 184 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:22.000 to judge and say, well, my sins are okay, yours 185 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:28.480 are nasty. How could anybody do that? Okay? Now, what 186 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:32.720 I'm saying is that you have a pattern of vulnerability, 187 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:34.799 and you better figure out what it is, because I 188 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:36.720 want to tell you for sure, Satan knows what it is. 189 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:42.559 Satan knows your vulnerable points, and he's plotting the moment 190 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:44.960 you wake up. If you wake up in the morning, 191 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.039 you don't hit Satan. Fir his face on just means 192 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:52.519 you're head in the same direction. To identify your pattern, 193 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:57.600 you identify what makes you vulnerable. Now to get specific, 194 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:01.120 let me give you five questions you need to ask yourself. First. 195 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:04.559 You need to ask yourself when am I most tempted? 196 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:07.879 You know? You need to figure out when are you 197 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.000 most tempted? You know I can handle any diet till noon. 198 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:19.360 I mean, that's nothing. It's the hours between about six 199 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:25.080 o'clock and midnight. That's my pattern of temptation. It's when 200 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:28.720 I want to eat everything in the refrigerator and buy 201 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:33.840 an extra refrigerator. Now I could go out and blame 202 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:36.519 my genes and say, you know what, I just came 203 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:40.679 from an obese family. Well, just because it's genetic and 204 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:43.240 me doesn't mean it's right or it's healthy. No, it 205 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:47.960 is not. It is not. And so you have to 206 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:50.679 say when am I most tempted? You need to ask where? 207 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.200 Where am I most tempted? Do you get tempted at 208 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:57.039 seven eleven's? Do you get tempted at a sports bar? 209 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:03.879 Do you get tempted at the beach? A lot of 210 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:08.440 you get tempted in front of a computer. You need 211 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:12.440 to know your area of vulnerability. When am I most tempted? 212 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:15.799 Where am I most tempted? Then? Number three? Who who 213 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:18.320 is with me when I'm most tempted? You need to 214 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:21.679 know your pattern of vulnerability. Who is with me? Am 215 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:25.559 I most tempted when I'm alone? Am I most tempted 216 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:28.960 when I'm with friends who lead me in the wrong direction? 217 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:32.159 You know you can't soar with the eagles if you're 218 00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:38.840 flying with the turkeys. You need to figure this out. 219 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:43.919 This is your pattern. Identify what makes me vulnerable? When where? Who? 220 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:49.200 Number four is what what temporary benefit do I get 221 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:54.000 if I give in to the temptation? There's always a payoff? 222 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:56.919 You know the Bible even says that. The Bible says 223 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:00.759 there is pleasure in sin, It just says there's pleasure 224 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:03.559 in sin for a season. In other words, it doesn't last. 225 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:06.200 You have your kicks, then you get the kickbacks. So 226 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:08.320 what of the temporary benefit I give in when I 227 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:12.080 give in the temptation? Do I get comfort? Do I 228 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:15.960 get excitement? Do I get joy? Do I get pleasure? 229 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:19.360 Do I get a false sense of confidence? You need 230 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:24.360 to know what's the payoff when I do this? And 231 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:26.200 then the fifth thing you need to ask is how 232 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:31.799 how do I feel right before I'm tempted? Right before 233 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:35.480 I'm tempted? You need to know what your emotional triggers are. 234 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:38.399 You need to know what makes your you vulnerable? Is 235 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.440 it frustration? And then all of a sudden you get tempted? 236 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:42.960 Is it stressed you get tempted? Is it when you're bored? 237 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.559 You get tempted? When you're lonely, you get tempted? When 238 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:50.240 you can't sleep at night, you get tempted. You need 239 00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:53.559 to know these things. Once you know that pattern, here's 240 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:58.559 a step number two. Plan to avoid it. You plan 241 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:03.080 to avoid it. You don't wait until you're in the situation, deside, 242 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:06.240 Am I going to give into this or not? No, 243 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:10.960 you decide before your emotions kick into gear. Now, the 244 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:15.080 Bible says, as plan carefully what you do now. Temptation 245 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:20.960 always begins with a natural desire in you. Temptation. If 246 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.159 you didn't have a natural desire, it would never key 247 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:28.679 into it. And often temptation is fulfilling a legitimate desire 248 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:32.559 in the wrong way, or fulfilling a legitimate desire at 249 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:36.960 the wrong time or in the wrong amount. You have 250 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.360 a natural desire to eat, You have a need to eat. 251 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:44.559 You have a natural desire to drink, to sleep, you 252 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:48.080 have natural sexual drives. These are natural. Where do you 253 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.360 think you got those? God gave them to you. Those 254 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:54.679 are not evil. What is temptation. Temptation is when we 255 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:58.879 abuse and misuse what God has given us. That's temptation. 256 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:01.759 When we abuse, use and misuse something that God has 257 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:05.000 given to us for good. Fire is good, but if 258 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:07.960 you amuse it, use it and misuse it, it's going 259 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.119 to burn up your house. Water is a good thing. 260 00:17:11.240 --> 00:17:13.519 Your body is ninety percent water, but if you get 261 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:16.960 too much of it, you're gonna drown. And so there's 262 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.880 nothing wrong with water. It's just misused and abuse. It 263 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:25.920 becomes a temptation. So temptation what it does is it 264 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:31.039 turns a routine desire into a runaway desire. I gotta 265 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:33.720 have it, and I've got to have it now and 266 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.799 now now, now, wrong time, wrong way, wrong amount, and 267 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:40.680 it becomes more than any important, than anything else, and 268 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:44.799 it's all you think about, and any good God given 269 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:49.039 desire out of control becomes a sin. So you have 270 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:52.759 to plan in advance. I say, you know what I know. 271 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:55.160 I get tempted in sports bars. Well, simple, don't go 272 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.519 to sports bars. Okay, I get tempted to pick up 273 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:04.759 the porno magazines and seven elevens. Don't go to seven elevens. 274 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:07.279 It's real simple. If you don't want to get stung, 275 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:12.480 you stay away from the bees. So you know that 276 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:14.640 the when, the where, the why, the who, the what 277 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:17.519 the how that makes you vulnerable, and then you plan 278 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:23.440 to avoid that area. Step number three, I guard my heart. 279 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:29.839 I must guard my heart. Now, this is very, very 280 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:36.200 important because the Bible says, out of the heart. Everything 281 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:38.759 comes out of the heart a man speaks and all 282 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:44.039 of the issues of life. Temptation always starts inside of you. 283 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:46.960 We think temptation is on the outside. No, it is 284 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:50.960 not the triggers on the outside, but the temptation is 285 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:55.640 actually inside you. And if there were no natural temptation 286 00:18:55.799 --> 00:19:00.279 inside you, based on your shape and your nature having 287 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:02.880 the attraction to you, it's like a magnet, you know, 288 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:05.960 if a magnet doesn't attract plastic because there's nothing inside 289 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:11.079 the plastic that's metal to pull it out. The Bible 290 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.480 says this up here on the screen James one fourteen. 291 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:18.039 We are tempted by our own desires that drag us 292 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.720 off and trap us. And look at this next verse. 293 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:26.359 The Bible says, it is inside you. It's inside you, 294 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:28.880 out of a person's heart. That's why you have to 295 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:33.720 guard your heart. Come evil thoughts, a sexual immorality, theft, 296 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:41.000 the desire to kill people, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceitfulness, that's 297 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:47.599 when you manipulate other people, lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. 298 00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:53.680 All these vile things come from not outside, but from inside. 299 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:56.519 And the Bible says this. Look on the back of 300 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:00.480 your outline. It says, do not give the death a 301 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:03.359 foothold circle the word foothold. How do you give the 302 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:06.799 devil a foothold. What is a foothold. It's a mental state. 303 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:11.920 It is a negative emotion. Anytime you hold a negative 304 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.359 emotion in your life for an extended period of time, 305 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:19.119 whether it's anger or worry, or fear or bitterness or 306 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:23.240 envy or jealousy or all of these other things, the 307 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.920 longer you hold that, you are allowing the evil one 308 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:30.880 to get a stronghold in your life, in your brain. 309 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:36.839 So you've got to guard your heart, all right. Number four, 310 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:39.480 The fourth thing you need to do is you need 311 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:44.000 to pray for deliverance. Pray for deliverance, and what I 312 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:46.519 mean by that is just ask for God's help. And 313 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.119 the Bible tells us God is ready to help. He says, 314 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:52.759 we're to pray lead us not into temptation, but deliver 315 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:56.880 us from evil. That is the prayer of deliverance, and 316 00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:01.000 you ask God for help. Now, the prayer of deliverance 317 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:09.160 is often just one word help, Okay. It doesn't have 318 00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:13.119 to be our gracious, heavenly Father. And knowing no you 319 00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:15.240 can do when you come to the prayer deliverance, you 320 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:21.200 can do a microwave prayer help. Okay, you know I'm 321 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:24.680 walking through Keep my eyes straight. You know I'm going 322 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:27.000 through this time. I don't like this person. I'm gonna 323 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.079 have to deal with that clerk who's a jerk. And 324 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:30.960 I do not want to get impatient. I do not 325 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.559 want to get angry. I do not like the way 326 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.119 my relative treats me. And I'm gonna see them today. 327 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:41.039 And oh God, you got to help me because I 328 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:44.440 just I lose my Christianity when I'm around that person. 329 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:49.000 And God, I really need your help today because everything 330 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:52.319 in me just wants me to slugger you know, or 331 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:55.240 him or whatever. You know. You just that relative out 332 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:59.880 there who just irritates you no end, okay? And so 333 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.279 you pray for deliverance. Now, the Bible is full of 334 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:08.119 examples of people who prayed for deliverance. David, Daniel, Peter, Paul. 335 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:14.359 And God provides assistance for anybody who asks, why can 336 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:16.440 I expect God to help me when I pray the 337 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:20.519 prayer of deliverance? Because God has promised it. Look at 338 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:25.680 this verse Psalm fifty, verse fifteen. Call upon me in 339 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:31.799 your day of trouble. I will deliver you and you 340 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:35.039 will honor me. God says, you don't have to have 341 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.720 a long conversation. You can just say, hell, may day, 342 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:42.039 may day, may day, sos God, I'm facing something now 343 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:46.359 that will powers not enough to keep me being nice 344 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.680 to this person or whatever. God, I need to pray 345 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.240 the prayer of deliverance. And you know what, God's sympathetic 346 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:54.680 to your situation. He knows everything that's going on in 347 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:58.240 your life. He knows how irritating those people are. He 348 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:00.279 knows the things that tempt you. In fact, look at 349 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:04.880 this next verse. Jesus understands our weakness, for he faced 350 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:07.279 all of the same temptations we do, yet he did 351 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:13.319 not sin. So let us come boldly to our gracious God, 352 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:18.279 and then we will receive his mercy and grace to 353 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:22.839 help us when we need it. Notice, he says, Jesus 354 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:27.680 understands why is he sympathetic? Notice he faced the same temptation. 355 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:33.240 Underlying that Jesus faced the same temptation. Wait a minute, 356 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:36.559 You saying Jesus was tempted to get angry. Yes I am. 357 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.400 You're telling me Jesus it was tempted to have self pity. Yes, 358 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:45.480 you're telling me that Jesus had sexual temptations. Absolutely, you're 359 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:48.799 telling me that Jesus sometimes was fatigued, and tempted to 360 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:54.119 be cranky, absolutely every basic temptation. The Bible says he 361 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:56.359 was tempted in all ways like as we Yet he 362 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:00.920 sinned not that's the difference. He never gave in, And 363 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.000 so he had the freedom to choose. How do we 364 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:09.759 know that Jesus had the freedom to choose? I meant, 365 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:13.359 didn't he just have to be perfect because he was God? No, 366 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:16.880 he didn't. He had the freedom to choose. That's why 367 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:19.839 even at the cross the night before he's going to 368 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:22.680 be crucified, and he's thinking, I don't want to be crucified. 369 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:24.720 I don't want to go through all that thing. And 370 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:27.440 in the garden against him and he's praying and he's 371 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:32.559 struggling with it, and he says, Father, not my will, 372 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:36.119 not my will, but yours be done. What does that mean? 373 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:42.839 Jesus had a choice, and he suffered the same temptations 374 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:47.480 we do in life. And so he understands. And in 375 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:49.559 John six thirty eight he says, I didn't come to 376 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.680 do my will. I came to do the will of 377 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:56.519 the Father. He was God in a human body. But 378 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:59.240 even better is that he never sinned. What does that 379 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:02.200 mean he can help you overcome. And so the Bible says, 380 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:05.599 come boldly to God, come and say, mayday, Sos, I 381 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:09.160 need your help. God isn't ticked with you when you 382 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:13.160 get tempted. He's not gonna scold you when you tempt me. 383 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:17.079 He said, I'm ready here to help. So I pray 384 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:22.079 for deliverance. And then number five, this is a real 385 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.079 key on the six steps on the path to escape. 386 00:25:25.640 --> 00:25:31.480 I turn my attention elsewhere. Here's the little secret to temptation. 387 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:40.559 Don't fight it, just refocus. Don't resist, refocus. Whatever you 388 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:43.440 have in your life that you resist, you're just nailing 389 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:49.640 it harder into your life. Whatever you resist persists. Did 390 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:51.559 you know that in the Bible, not once are you 391 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:55.400 told to resist temptation. We are told to resist the devil. 392 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:57.960 And that's a whole different issue. That's another sermon. But 393 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:02.279 in temptation, the key to overcoming temptation is not push back. 394 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:06.039 The temptation has just changed my focus, and all of 395 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:08.720 a sudden, I'm not interested in not anymore. When I 396 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:11.799 get a new focus, when I refocus, all of a sudden, 397 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:15.839 that which had my attention I forget about. It's not 398 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:19.559 that I'm resisting it, I just forget about it. And 399 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:24.559 that principle works in every single area of life. Whatever 400 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:28.039 gets your attention gets you. The battle for sin always 401 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:32.240