Sermon Notes - Escape pt 4
Sermon Notes – Escape pt 4
Subtitle: Breaking Free from the Power of Temptation
Purpose: To help believers overcome the common temptation of presuming upon God by misuse of His Word/promises.
Passage: Matthew 4:5-7
Main Point: Humble submission resists prideful presumption.
Exegetical Outline – Matthew 4:5-7
1. The second way in which the devil tempted Jesus to demonstrate His deity was by commanding Him to throw Himself off the temple in order to wrongly prove the Scripture of Psalm 91:11-12. (5-6).
2. The manner in which Jesus responded to the devil was by quoting more Scripture that brought clarification to the presumption the devil made in using Scripture (7).
Homiletical Outline
INTRODUCTION
Consider one of the following question sets when shaping the introduction:
What is the question I am answering with this sermon? What can I do to help my audience want to know the answer to that question?
What is the tension this message will resolve? What can I do to help my audience feel that tension? (personal example, illustration, scenario, etc)
What mystery does this message solve? What can I do to help my audience want a solution?
Me: Start by sharing a personal example that surfaces the problem/tension/issue to be resolved by the main point
We: Now draw the audience into the problem/tension/issue by exploring the various ways they have experienced it. Examine your audience for a variety of ways. Don’t leave this section until you have created a tension or need in your audience that needs resolving.
HEART
God:
1. I am tempted to TEST God with WRONG assumptions.
a. Show how the devil misrepresents Ps 91:11-12.
i. Explain context of Ps 91.
ii. Summarize Truth of Ps 91.
iii. Did the devil accurately represent this Truth?
b. Other common examples of this temptation
i. “God is a good God, so He will forgive me when I give in to this sin. He would never let His own child experience severe consequences. That’s just for those really bad sinners out there.”
1. This is a wrong assumption based on partial Truth. We learned differently last in our first message of this series.
ii. “God said He’ll provide, so I’ll purchase this and trust He’ll provide.”
1. I can’t find a Scripture where God’s promise of provision extends to cell phones, designer clothes, new cars, bigger homes, etc. He certainly may provide this. However, we wrongly presume if we think He guarantees this kind of lifestyle.
iii. “I know he’s not a Christian, but I really love him. Surely God will save him after we get married.”
iv. “Yes, I know she’s got some bad habits, but God will change her after we’re married.”
v. “That must be a sign that God wants me to do this or that.” Signs cannot be properly interpreted without Divine revelation. We will often interpret signs the way we want them to read.
vi. “I just know in my heart that this is what I’m suppose to do” Again, without Divine revelation, we just don’t know. We must humbly move forward based on God’s clearly revealed Truth.
c. This is the heart of what is called the health & wealth gospel. This is preached in so many churches today. We believe only the parts of Scripture that we like and agree with our personal experiences. Here’s some things that you’ll hear or say if you are in the grip of this temptation:
i. “I’m believing God for promotions, for financial blessing, for better health, for success in my business, etc”
ii. “If you just believe enough, you will be healed, you will receive that new job, you will get that raise.”
iii. “I’m just going to step out in blind faith . . . “ Biblical faith is never blind faith. It is always faith in God and His revealed Truth. It is not something that we muster up more of so we can get what we believe or hope is God’s will.
iv. When we fall victim to this temptation we often neglect the whole counsel of Scripture and usually base arguments on personal experience over God’s revealed truth. We may be able to quote some Scripture, but rarely is it understood in its context, nor is it understood in light of other Scriptural Truth. We may also rely heavily on our own personal experience or feelings to make our case. This is not to say that experiences aren’t true. It is simply to say they do not define Truth. Therefore, experiences must be understood in light of Truth, not the other way around.
v. This is a very popular belief system. How could it not be? It appeals to our selfish nature and makes God our good luck charm, in contrast to us being His humble children.
So what is the solution to falling to this temptation?
2. I must accept ALL of God’s Truth, not just my PREFERENCES.
.
You: We all must admit there are times when we have wrongly presumed upon God. In fact, hardly a day goes by when we don’t struggle with wanting God to do what we want rather than us humble accepting what He wants. What area in your life has God surfaced today? Where are you wrongly testing God and expecting Him to come through on something He never truly promised? How have you misunderstood or misrepresented God and as a result, been disappointed in Him? Resisting this temptation takes supernatural humility.
CONCLUSION
We: Visualize the impact if everyone embraced the truth and applied it in their lives.
Illustrations
Zoo visitor presumes God will save him (Ps 91:13)
In 2006, the St. Petersburg Times reported the death of a Ukrainian man who was mauled by a lioness at the Kiev Zoo. He encountered the animal on purpose, believing that God would protect him.
A zoo official said the man lowered himself by a rope into a concrete enclosure holding four lions. Shouting, "God will save me, if he exists," the man took off his shoes and strode toward the animals.
One lioness came to meet him. She knocked him down and quickly severed his carotid artery. Zoo officials stated that the incident—which occurred in front of a large crowd—was the first of its kind.
Brittany Tarr, Wheaton, Illinois; source: "Lioness in Zoo Kills Man Who Invoked God," Yahoo! News (6-5-06)