The Path

We think that satan is somewhat just a bible story - but the bible says that we must always be watching for him; he is still active today. 1 Peter 5:8

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Today I want to talk about one of his chief weapons: temptation. Temptation is one of those things that the average Christian struggles to beat.

eg. Porn is a viral temptation that most Christians struggle to kick.

and to be honest - I think it’s because the average Christian goes about battling temptation in the completely wrong way.

We give in to temptation because we don’t know a way out.

It’s so important that we know how to tackle temptation biblically or this is something that will keep returning to haunt us.

while temptation in general is unavoidable - we can certainly grow better at resisting it.

Pray

Segment 1: The Origin of Temptation

James 1:13–15 (ESV)

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

One of the greatest mistakes we make when it comes to understanding temptation - is knowing its origin.

The most common belief is that temptation is external to us - it comes from outside. It’s when we step into dodgy places, when we visit dodgy websites, hang around dodgy people.

Now - this is not false - there are situations, places and people that can make temptation greater for us. They can exacerbate it. But this is not the ORIGIN of temptation.

According to this passage in James temptation comes from within - it is an INTERNAL thing.

The source of temptation is your own desire. It is the sinful nature that is already within us.

This is such an important distinction to make because it affects the way that we deal with temptation as a whole.

If temptation were purely external - well then we would be able to say, remove yourself from the situation and that would be about as easy as it gets.

But we know that this does not always work - and the reason is because you can’t run away from the source of temptation - it’s literally inside you.

No - temptation must be battled, and the battle is not where we may think it is, it’s not on the outside - with the computer, with our friends, with our distractions, with our girlfriend/boyfriend. We begin fighting temptation by battling it WITHIN ourselves.

Segment 2 - We’re meant to overcome temptation - not be overcome.

This is actually so misunderstood that it has begun to affect us as a church.

Christians have some weird idea that as we grow older and more mature in the faith - we somehow just passively develop a resistance to temptation because we’ve grown up.

Not only is this completely untrue and false. But it conditions us to losing to temptation - we keep giving in and almost build an expectation that we will lose to it.

Eventually - we stop fighting.

Can I tell you something definitive today? If you are constantly losing the battle to temptation as a Christian, and I mean constantly. Something is wrong.

1 John 5:4 (ESV)

4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Can we REALLY say that our faith has overcome the world if we can’t even defeat temptation? If we can’t even overcome ourselves.

We’re meant to overcome temptation - not BE overcome by it.

God gave us a mandate to OVERCOME the world - not just to EXIST in the world but to THRIVE as Christians in the world.

Our faith is not meant to be infected by temptation - we’re meant to HAVE an INFECTIVE faith.

We’re not meant to be conquered - God says that we are more than conquerers.

What I want to tell you today is that God wants you to live a life marked by VICTORY over temptation.

If you’re listening to me tonight, used to giving in to temptation then God wants you out from under the lie of the enemy tonight.

You’re meant to OVERCOME, not BE overcome.

But we will lose this battle if we are caught unaware that temptation comes from within, from inside. We lose out when we don’t take responsibility for it.

ILLUSTRATION: Youth quitting porn

When I was a youth pastor I remember counselling a youth who was struggling with porn. In our first catch up - I remember it blew his mind that I would have struggled with porn before. He was like “My pastor looks at porn?!?!” “I was like USED TO - keep your voce down!!”

We met together for weeks and we saw very little progress. I asked him - ok so what practical steps are you taking to quit porn? He was like - alright, yeah so I’m trying to not look at my phone late at night. I was like ok how’s that working out for you? He’s like… I still look at my phone late at night. This battle continued for months until one time he met with me he told me, Pastor - I can’t beat it, There’s just something inside of me that can’t win this fight. It’s almost like I don’t want to myself.

That’s when I told him this story “Every person has two dogs inside of them - one black dog, and one white dog. And they’re constantly fighting with each other until one of them wins. Do you know which one always wins?” The kid shook his head. “Whichever dog you choose to feed.”

There’s a side of you that wants to watch porn, and there’s a side of you that wants to fight that temptation. what are you doing to feed the side that wants to fight?

Segment 3: Walking by the Spirit is walking out of temptation

See, I could overcomplicate the solution and give a million steps to “effectively battle temptation” but the simplest way is summed up here:

Galatians 5:16–17 (ESV)

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

See this is why we can’t just ignore temptation in our lives. Because the source of temptation is always there, the flesh side of us is always there - and that wants to sin, that wants to give in to temptation.

The only way to effectively battle temptation, just like the story about the dogs, and what is highlighted here in Galatians is WALKING BY THE SPIRIT. And THEN You will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The way to combat temptation is not to leave it be, not even to RUN away from it - it is to WALK by the Spirit.

We can try every practical, man made measure to combat all forms of temptations - but the only way we can truly learn to not give in to temptation is by walking in the Spirit.

What does it mean to Walk by the Spirit?

All believers have the Spirit residing within them, but it does not mean that we are depending on Him. The Spirit waits to be depended on.

We Walk by the Spirit by committing spiritual acts - “feeding the right dog” to put it bluntly.

Such things like meditating and properly reading scripture AND following its instruction, spending dedicated, intentional time in prayer, committing to church as a priority, cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. And so much more contained within the word.

All these are actions that constitute Walking By the Spirit.

The bible never guarantees a life free from temptation. But it does give us a way to beat it - walk by the Spirit.

Segment 4: It’s one or the other

QUOTE:

You know someone once said “Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will make a man cease from praying.”

v17 says that these two natures - these two dogs are always fighting with one another, and only one can win because the natures are opposed to one another. You cannot please both natures - you cannot walk by the Spirit and still walk in the flesh.

So the question becomes today: which nature are you choosing to feed?

Are you feeding the Spirit by investing in your spiritual walk, your walk with Christ?

Or are you feeding the nature of the flesh - by investing in worldly things?

Only one of these natures leads us away from temptation.

Can we be real for a second? - ask yourself how long are we watching netflix, youtube, scrolling socials for? And then compare that with how long you spend reading the Word and in prayer.

Are we, therefore, surprised when temptation seems to keep winning?

Am I saying that you need to read your bible 4 hours a day? No not necessarily. But the principle behind it is - how are you expecting to beat temptation in your life, beat addiction in your life, beat sin in your life if you can’t commit to even reading the word or regular prayer?

ILLUSTRATION: All talk no show

We all have friends who are heavy on the talk but light on the actions. I have a friend that after 4 years I’m still trying to get to the gym. The first time I actually managed to get him to go he had purchased all this unneccesary stuff - like had lululemon outfits, gym GLOVES (ewwww), even like a wrist sweatband, latest nike metcons like the works. It didn’t look like he was going to the gym, it looked like he was going rollerblading in the 70s or something you know what I mean?

Anyway I managed to get him to go for the first week - but then the excuses came. And you know, like gym excuses get wild sometimes. “aw man I didn’t get a good sleep last night” “aw bro work’s been busy hey” “man my alarm just weirdly turned itself off hey like I swear it was on though”

And I’m like a nice person right?…guys? So I’ll put up with all the excuses and keep pressing on. Until one day we were at dinner with a bunch of mates and there’s a lot of banter going around and all that - and someone tells him that he’s getting a bit thick about the middle. And he laughs it off and then says, “Well it’s on Jon - he keeps saying he’ll bring me to the gym but always asks when I’ve got stuff on!” hahah -_-

Now, I know he meant that as a joke - and it was lighthearted. ha ha ha.

But seriously this can sound way too familiar because it’s what we do as Christians. We get our little bible, buy our church outfit, we’re so keen and excited to get to church for the first couple of weeks. We’re reading our bible, we’re praying constantly - And then we start to get bored - and the excuses start to come out “aw man I didn’t get good sleep last night” “aw bro work’s been busy hey” “man my alarm just weirdly turned itself off hey like I swear it was on though”. And then when we get tempted, when we get into trouble, when temptation inevitably turns into sin “God you said you’d protect me, God you said you’d keep me away from temptation, God you said you wouldn’t leave me.”

But honestly - who left who? We can be so full of talk with so little show.

Segment 5: Temptation requires an active, not a passive approach.

Matthew 26:41 (ESV)

41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Do you know what jumps out most about this passage to me - there is an implication here that EVEN the willingness of our spirit CANNOT overcome the weakness of the flesh.

This alone should be alarming for us, shouldn’t it? Just this statement alone should show us how seriously we’re meant to take this - how prepared we’re meant to be.

It’s terrifying to me that even though my spirit is trying to lead me toward God - my flesh is so strong that it can potentially overpower my spirit - AGAINST my will.

It’s not playtime anymore - if we’re talking about battling temptation then you need to know - the flesh doesn’t play around.

Here’s something to remember: “Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

you may not realise it at the start - but this is always the story. It’s never anything more than that - and it never changes. This is always the case.

Ever wonder how Christians fall into sin and then can’t seem to escape it? - regardless of how long they’ve been a Christian, regardless of the title they hold, regardless of how many ministries they’re serving in?

I think the answer is relatively obvious - we let our guard down. Put faith on auto pilot. We fall asleep.

ILLUSTRATION: The porn kid

You know that kid that I was talking about earlier - the one who was trying so hard to quit porn but not finding success? About a year after we had our first conversation - he had a breakthrough. And managed to quit porn to the point that he hadn’t watched it in over a month consecutively. He was so happy with his progress, he took me out to dininer just to thank me for walking him through what he originally thought was an impossible journey.

And so after the whole dinner I asked him - you know, if you had to narrow your success down to a lesson what would it be?

You know what he said to me? “Pastor Jon, I learned how to read my bible and pray like my faith depended on it. Because I finally realised that it did.”

Can I let the apostle Paul finish off this message? I feel like he puts it better than I ever could.

Back in the day they used to read the Word and that would be enough - people used to respond to it. Let it preach to you instead of me today and I pray that it convicts you.

Romans 7:21–8:14 (ESV)

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Walk BY the Spirit - this is the freedom that Jesus died to give you! Walk By the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh - walk by the Spirit and you will walk a path that leads you away from temptation.

It is the only way - it will always be the only way.

Altar Call

Recommit to pursuing spiritual things - to be alert and on guard to battle temptation.

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