Stronger Than The Struggle

INTRODUCTION

OPENING SLIDE

I have something for you that we can all relate to.

Have you ever found yourself fighting the same battle over and over again?

Maybe it’s a temptation you’ve wrestled with for years.

Maybe it’s anger.

Maybe it’s lust.

Maybe it’s bitterness.

Maybe it’s worry.

Maybe it’s discouragement.

Maybe it’s a habit you thought you had defeated long ago, only to discover it waiting for you again.

Most of us, Christians or those who are not, know exactly what it feels like to struggle.

The struggle is not usually the problem.

The discouragement is.

It’s when we begin to think:

“Why do I keep fighting this?”

“Why can’t I move past this?”

“Will I ever have victory?”

“Am I the only one who struggles like this?”

The enemy loves to whisper those kinds of lies into our ears.

He wants us to believe that we are weak, defeated, and hopeless.

But what if the greatest lie we believe is that the struggle itself is proof of our failure?

What if the struggle is actually evidence that a battle is taking place?

No one wrestles against temptation who has already surrendered to it.

The truth is that every follower of Jesus faces spiritual struggles.

Every follower of Jesus faces temptation.

Every follower of Jesus faces moments of weakness.

That is why Jesus included our passage today in the Lord’s Prayer!

Jesus did not teach His disciples to pray, “Lord, remove all temptation from my life.”

Nor did He teach them to pray, “Lord, make me strong enough that I don’t need Your help.”

Instead, Jesus taught His followers to pray a prayer of dependence.

A prayer that recognizes the struggle.

A prayer that seeks God’s strength.

A prayer that trusts God’s sovereignty.

And that is good news because our hope is not found in being stronger than temptation.

Our hope is found in the God who is stronger than the struggle.

Today, I want us to see three truths from this prayer.

If you are facing temptation today, you will want to listen closely because God’s Word has encouragement for you!

Jesus concludes the Lord’s Prayer in verse 13.

Matthew 6:13 NET 2nd ed.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

MAIN POINT 1 SLIDE

SERMON

I. The Struggle We Face

The Struggle Is Universal, nobody is exempt.

Adam struggled.

David struggled.

Peter struggled.

Paul struggled.

If Jesus taught His disciples to pray this prayer, then He expected His disciples to face temptation.

“Temptation is not evidence that you are failing; temptation is evidence that you are human.”

The Greek word translated “temptation” has two distinct meanings that live in tension with each other.

First, temptation means test or trial—the kind God sends to strengthen faith.

Hebrews 11:17 describes Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a temptation—God testing his faith to prove it genuine.

James 1:2–3 NET 2nd ed.

2 My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

The word translated “trials” is the same Greek word translated “temptation” in Matthew 6:13.

That's temptation as a refiner's fire.

It's meant to build you up.

The other meaning for the word translated as “temptation” is enticement to sin—the pull toward evil, the seduction away from righteousness.

It's the bait.

The trap.

James 1:13–14 NET 2nd ed.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.

When James 1:13-14 says God doesn't tempt anyone to evil, he's using temptation in this second sense.

"Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin."

The same word describes both what God does (test your faith to strengthen it) and what the enemy does (entice you to sin to destroy it).

The difference isn't in the word—it's in the source and the intent.

God sends temptation to reveal what's real in your faith.

The enemy sends temptation to exploit what's weak in your flesh.

One builds. One destroys.

Same pressure, different purpose.

The word choice suggests we could be carried into temptation.

We're vulnerable to it.

We have a tendency toward it.

Without God's intervention, we'd walk straight into the trap.

So Jesus teaches us to pray, "Don't carry me into it." Don't let me be led into the testing I can't handle."

When you pray "lead us not into temptation," you are asking God to help you overcome tests instead of removing them.

The Greek word "lead" literally means "to carry into" or "to bring into."

It's not guide or direct.

It's lead into.

The preposition “into” means the destination, not just the direction.

You're asking Him not to hand you over to the kind of testing that's designed to break you.

Not to carry you into the trial that exceeds your capacity to resist.

Not to expose you to the enticement you can't handle.

The Struggle Is Personal

Satan doesn’t tempt everyone the same way.

Some struggle with pride.

Some struggle with lust.

Some struggle with anger.

Some struggle with fear.

Some struggle with bitterness.

The enemy knows where we’re vulnerable.

The person struggling with pornography knows that one click leads to hours lost.

The person with a drinking problem knows that one drink leads to a spiral.

The person prone to anger knows which words will detonate a relationship.

You know it, and the enemy knows it!

In this prayer we are asking God not to be lead into those situations.

The Struggle Is Predictable

One of Satan’s oldest tricks is making us think: “Nobody else struggles like I do.”

But Scripture says otherwise.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NET 2nd ed.

13 No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.

The translation of “trial” is the same word as the translation of “temptation” in our passage.

You are not the first.

You are not the only one.

You are not alone.

The struggle is universal, personal, and predictable.

The struggle itself is not the problem.

The danger comes when we stop fighting.

The good news is that Jesus didn’t just teach us to recognize the struggle.

He taught us where to find strength for the struggle.

The struggle is normal; surrender is not supposed to be normal.

Let’s look at our passage again.

Matthew 6:13 NET 2nd ed.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

MAIN POINT 2 SLIDE

II. The Strength We Need

In the second part of verse 13, we are told to ask God to deliver us from evil.

The word "deliver" carries the idea of rescue, deliverance, drawing someone out of danger, and saving someone from a threatening situation. or snatching someone away from peril

Look at the plea from Paul

Romans 7:24 NET 2nd ed.

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

The word “rescue” is the one translated as “deliver” in our passage.

That's the word Jesus teaches you to pray.

"Deliver us from the evil one."

You're admitting you can't do it yourself.

Here’s what Jesus is teaching us to admit: we cannot do it ourselves.

Temptation is too powerful, sin is too deceptive, and Satan is too crafty.

We don’t come to God boasting in our willpower or determination.

We come asking for deliverance.

We come asking God to intervene.

Jesus is teaching us to pray, “God, don’t leave me to fight this battle by myself."

“When I’m weak, rescue me. When I’m vulnerable, rescue me. When I’m about to fall, rescue me.”

When you’re about to click that link, reach for the bottle, say the words that could destroy a relationship, or stand at the edge of a life-changing decision, you need God to deliver you.

You need Him to reach into your situation and pull you back from the brink.

For example, a firefighter carrying someone out of a burning building is deliverance.

A lifeguard pulling someone from a rip current is deliverance.

A soldier extracting a wounded comrade from a battlefield is deliverance.

The Greek word Jesus uses, translated as "deliver," isn’t a picture of God standing on the sidelines offering advice.

It’s a picture of God stepping into the danger and delivering His child.

This is not a passive word.

Jesus is teaching us to pray for active rescue.

We are asking God to step into the battle and pull us out of danger before temptation becomes defeat.

The word means to rescue someone who cannot rescue him or herself.

You don’t pray because you are strong enough to fight.

You pray because you know you aren’t.

You ask God to rescue you before temptation becomes sin and before weakness becomes defeat.

You acknowledge that the battle is too great to win alone and that your only hope is God’s power and God’s deliverance.

This part of the prayer continues with the theme throughout the prayer, dependence upon God rather than self-sufficiency.

We need to understand that the strength we need to overcome temptation comes from God!

We have a role in this deliverance, and 1 Corinthians 10:13 confirms this: God provides the way out, but you have to take it. 

When that conviction hits and tells you to close the browser, you have to close it. 

When that phone call interrupts the moment, you have to answer instead of ignoring it. 

God provides the escape route, but your feet have to walk it.

Romans 6:12–13 NET 2nd ed.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.

You offer yourself. You refuse the temptation. You choose righteousness. That's your part.

God's part is providing the strength and the way out. 

Your part is actually using it. 

Sovereignty doesn't mean you're a puppet. 

It means God is strong enough to help you win the battle, but you have to fight. 

You have to say no. 

You have to take the escape route God provides.

That's the tension that makes this prayer so hard. 

You can't do it alone. 

But you can't do it without doing anything either. 

You have to pray, ask for help, receive strength, and then act.

Let’s take a final run at our passage.

Matthew 6:13 NET 2nd ed.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

III. The Sovereignty We Trust

The question is simple with this point: do I trust God to deliver me, because the God who delivers is the God who rules!

What threatens me does not rule me; God does.

The struggle may be powerful, but it never has to be in charge of me.

We have to trust that God is sovereign over Satan!

Satan is real.

Satan is dangerous.

Satan is active.

But Satan is not sovereign.

Look at Job; Satan could not touch him until God allowed it.

Look at Peter in Luke’s gospel.

Luke 22:31 NET 2nd ed.

31 “Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat,

Satan had to ask.

He was not operating independently of God’s authority.

The devil may roar, but he still wears a leash!

God Is Sovereign Over Temptation

Many people feel defeated because they believe temptation is stronger than they are.

The truth is, temptation may be stronger than you, but it is not stronger than God.

1 Corinthians 10:13 fits here again.

Not only is temptation common, but God remains faithful in the middle of it.

The enemy wants believers to think, "This time there is no way out.”

God says: “I already have one.”

God Is Sovereign Over Failure

Some here today may not be fighting temptation.

They’ll be living with regret.

They’ve already failed.

They’ve already fallen.

They’ve already sinned.

REMEMBER THIS IF YOU ARE THERE TODAY!

Peter failed.

David failed.

Jonah failed.

Yet God was still working.

The cross exemplifies this!

The greatest act of evil in history became the means of salvation.

What appeared to be Satan’s greatest victory became Christ’s greatest triumph.

God is so sovereign that He can take what Satan meant for destruction and use it for redemption.

Jesus did not teach us to pray because temptation is weak.

He taught us to pray because God is strong.

He did not teach us to trust ourselves because we will fail.

He taught us to trust the Father because He never fails.

The struggle is real.

The strength is available.

And the Sovereign still sits on the throne!

CONCLUSION

CLOSING SLIDE

As we close, remember what Jesus is teaching us in this prayer.

The struggle is real.

Every Christian faces temptation.

Every Christian faces battles.

Every Christian has moments of weakness.

But the good news is that God never intended for us to fight alone.

When the struggle comes, we have strength available through the One who delivers.

And when the battle seems overwhelming, we can trust the God who is sovereign over every temptation, every attack of the enemy, and every circumstance of life.

The struggle may be greater than you.

But it is not greater than God.

So don’t leave here trusting your willpower.

Don’t leave here trusting your determination.

Leave here trusting the Father who hears your prayers, provides your strength, and is able to deliver you.

Because in Christ, you are stronger than the struggle.

The struggle may be greater than you.

But it is not greater than God.