[0:00] Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to the book of Mark, chapter 1. Did you know that God wants you to live in victory? His plan for you is that you would have a victorious Christian life.
[0:13] And so today in the story you're about to read and study in the life of Jesus, you're going to see Him doing battle with sin and winning, and we're going to see from the Scripture we're taught to do that.
[0:25] Now, years ago, I certainly can't trust Trump, John Pearson's story. So I don't know about this commanding presence, but I know this humor was far better than any I ever have here.
[0:38] But years ago I was a youth director, and I was teaching on how to overcome temptation. And so I was showing the young people that God had victory for them, and they didn't have to fall in sin.
[0:50] And Kenny came to see me, and Kenny said, he said, I am just a red-blooded American boy. And he said, I can't look at girls without thinking things I ought not think.
[1:01] And he said, I don't think I ought to think those things. And you said I could have victory. And so I taught him much of what I'll show you today, and I showed him that. And so I was actually at the pastor's house that afternoon.
[1:13] And so he left, and about an hour later he came back in, and he said, it did not work. Nothing you said worked. I tried it. It don't work. I said, well, what did you do?
[1:23] He said, I went down to the swimming pool. And the girls were there in their bathing suits, and I got to looking at them. I got to thinking thoughts like I did before you told me that. So it doesn't work. So I will just tell you, Kenny had to learn it does work, but you might not have to go back to the swimming pool.
[1:38] Amen? Turn with me, if you would, to Mark chapter 1. Let's work our way through a beautiful passage of Scripture. So the first thing I wish you'd notice is to prepare for battle.
[1:49] Every one of us, every one of us are going to be in a spiritual battle. Porn seems to dominate the society today. Everybody's looking at it.
[2:00] Everybody's talking about it or not talking about it. But it's a big problem that people have. Then adultery and fornication and divorce and families falling apart.
[2:11] And we don't want the drugs and alcohol. We don't want that. We trust Jesus. We love him. We want victory over sin. And even when we fall in sin, as soon as it's over, we're like, I didn't want to do that.
[2:24] I don't want to be that person. That's not who I am. I don't want to live like that. How can I have victory? So the first thing I want you to look at is that you should prepare for victory. Read with me, if you would, Mark chapter 1 and verse 11 again.
[2:38] The Bible says, And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit drives him into the wilderness.
[2:48] The first thing I want you to realize is this. You must watch and pray. Does that ever seem like a weird thing to you? You know, when, I mean, if you thought about that a second, you're kind of like on your knees like this.
[3:02] And you're like, what's he mean watch and pray? So I'm a Christian. I love Jesus. I want to do right. Maybe that describes you. And the very next thing I know, it seems like I'm doing wrong.
[3:15] It seems like I'm not being who I want to be. It seems like sin's getting a victory in my life. And you were here this morning saying, I don't have any problems at all. I'm on the top of the mountain. I'm already living in victory.
[3:26] My life is going great. You can't beat the story here that the Bible tells us. Jesus has just heard from heaven. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
[3:39] I mean, if you want to talk about victory, if you want to talk about being on the top of the world, have God open heaven and tell you he's proud of you and he loves you and he's bragging on you.
[3:50] Wouldn't that be great? Amen. Now look at the next word in Mark chapter one in verse 12. And what? Say the word with me. And immediately. Immediately. Oh, I would have thought if you were on the top of a spiritual mountain, if everything was going great and God was happy, you would not have to worry about temptation.
[4:07] But obviously Jesus was going into temptation. It happened immediately. The second thing I want you to notice in that sentence, if you've got your Bible open, you can underline it.
[4:19] It says the spirit. Look at that. It's right there on the screen. But look at it in your Bible. The spirit drove him, pushed him, impulsed him to go to the wilderness.
[4:30] So the Holy Spirit led him right into a place where he would face temptation, where he would be tested and where he would be tried. That's what ends up happening in the story.
[4:42] So my first thing I'd like to say to you is don't relax. First thing I'd like to say to you is don't relax. Watch and pray. Keep praying, but keep watching.
[4:52] Keep praying, but know the devil would like to attack you. Keep praying, but know Satan's there. There's an Old Testament story of a guy named Hezekiah. And Hezekiah was having a great time, and his ministry was being blessed.
[5:04] And some enemy kings came on a peace trip. They came to see him, and he was so blessed of God that Hezekiah took him in, and he showed him all of his treasures.
[5:15] He explained everything that was going on. He's like, man, I got it knocked. My life is good. You don't have to worry about it. Man, I am the man, and this is my stuff. And the prophet showed up and said, hey, buddy, while those guys were here visiting, what did you tell them?
[5:31] He said, I showed them everything I had. He said, well, they're coming to get it. You see, he relaxed. He thought he wouldn't get in trouble. And that's a lot of what happens with Christians.
[5:42] Christians tend to get the idea, hey, I'm going to church, I'm reading my Bible, and I'm doing right, so my marriage is indestructible. Hey, I love my wife, and my kids are doing right, and everything's going good.
[5:53] And you relax, and you are not watching and praying, and you don't realize that Jesus, and the story that the Holy Spirit gives us here, He showed them, hey, it's right there in the middle of when you are having a good time.
[6:09] And that story, for those who are going to check me out, 2 Kings 20, verses 13 through 18, you can get that story. We must work and pray.
[6:19] Prepare for the battle. Watch and pray. Be aware that you are going to be tempted. Be aware that it could happen to you. Nobody ought to ever think, that couldn't happen to me. Nobody ever ought to think, I am too far for that to happen to me.
[6:33] My marriage couldn't fall apart. I wouldn't fall for that sin. I wouldn't do that. I have victory. That's not going to happen. The second thing I'd like to ask you to do is not just watch and pray, but work and pray.
[6:44] Work and pray. Look with me, if you would, at 2 Chronicles 12, verse 14. See, you and I need to prepare for battle. You need to know, you need to know that the devil would love nothing more than to destroy your faith, your testimony, and your walk with God.
[7:01] In 2 Chronicles 12, verse 14, the Bible said, And he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord.
[7:12] That is a crazy verse to me. It doesn't say that he did evil because he went to the brothel. It doesn't say he did evil because he was smoking weed. It doesn't say he did evil because he got drunk.
[7:24] It said he did evil because he didn't prepare himself for the battle. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready when the stuff happened. Now, Jesus is ready. He just heard the Father say he was well pleased.
[7:36] Immediately, he's driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, and immediately, he's going to be in the middle of a life-and-death battle. But he's ready. He knows God. He's right with God, and he's going to have the victory.
[7:47] So you must prepare yourself. Let me give you a preparation that you make. Look at Romans 12, verse 2. To saturate your mind with the Word of God.
[7:58] How does a Christian live out his Christian life? You are born into the family of God. You are a new creature. You are on your way to heaven. You have eternal life.
[8:09] And you are so excited about what you have, but you're not ready to live. You're not ready to fight that out until you learn to change the way you think. Until you learn to saturate your mind with Scripture.
[8:24] Because people that love God don't think like people that don't love God. Those that don't love God have a whole different mentality. They think more about this world. We think about that world.
[8:34] Well, they think about pleasing themselves. We think about pleasing Him. It's a different lifestyle. So I need to have that verse. Look at Romans 12, 2. Look at what it says. Don't be conformed to this world.
[8:45] Don't be like this world. Now, when it says world there, that's not talking about human beings. That's not talking about flowers and trees and mountains and hills. That's not talking about rivers. What it's saying is there's this system in place that doesn't like God.
[9:00] There's a system in place that rebels against God and says, we don't want you telling us what to do. We don't want you getting involved in our lives. We want to live like we want to live. We'll do our own thing. You stay in your place and I'll stay in my place.
[9:12] I don't want anything to do with you. That's the world. That's the world. So he said, don't let the world press you in to their mold and make you like them and make you think like them.
[9:23] Because just to be honest with you, you're kind of headed that way already. You were born in this world. You were raised in this world. You've heard this world. You watch TV from this world. You read books from this world. You listen to things from this world.
[9:34] We're a lot like this world. But we don't want to be. We've been born again. We want to live our life that we found in Christ. Amen? We want to be who he made us to be. So, look at the verse. Be ye transformed.
[9:47] How could I be changed? How could I be transformed? How could I really live out who I am? How could I be this new person? He said I'm a new creature. How can I be that new person?
[9:58] Here's what it says. By the renewing of your mind. By the renewing of your mind. So, I need to take this mind that I was born with.
[10:08] I need to take this mind that's been rebellious since I was a child. I remember one time my dad said to me, he apologized to me. I was turning into an adult. And he said, I probably whipped you sometimes when I shouldn't have.
[10:22] Because it was like in the old days when they used to just enjoy beating the living devil out of you. Back then it was called spanking. Today it's called child abuse. Amen? And he said, maybe, maybe I spanked you sometimes when I shouldn't.
[10:37] And I looked at him and I said, oh no you didn't. You missed a whole bunch of times. And then he looked at me and said, but you wouldn't have lied to me, would you? And I said, no sir. You and I both.
[10:48] See, I have that mind of this world. I have that mind that says I want to do my own thing. I want to live for me. Everything revolves around me. How many of you got that mind? Say that. Say you do. So it needs to be transformed.
[10:59] I need to learn to think how God wants me to think. So I do that by renewing my mind so I can prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That's why you need the Bible so much.
[11:10] Because you need the manual on how to live in his kingdom. You need the manual on how to live out who you are in him. The next thing you do to prepare for battle. You're watching and praying.
[11:22] You're working and praying. You want to live a spirit-filled life. You want to live a spirit-filled life. Look with me, if you would, in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18.
[11:33] I want you to go with me to Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18. The Holy Spirit's not something bad that you don't need to know about. He is the Holy Spirit of God. He's a part of the Trinity. He's God. And he is wanting to work in our lives.
[11:44] And he is wanting to move in our lives. And so we're given some verses here. And I want you to look at this. See, I want a spirit-filled life. I want the Holy Spirit of God moving and working in me. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 18.
[11:57] Be not drunk with wine. We're in his excess. Now, that's a comparison. So what he's doing is he's starting off by saying, You don't need to be controlled by alcohol.
[12:08] You don't need to be controlled by alcohol. You ever known anybody that's controlled by alcohol? You ever been around somebody that's controlled by alcohol? They really don't make their own decisions. They really don't know what they're doing. And I graduated from McEwen High School in a little country place up in Tennessee.
[12:26] And for our senior trip, they took us on this worldwide trip to Atlanta, Georgia, brother. We came here. We went to Six Flags. And we went to Atlanta Braves.
[12:37] And all the students got drunk at night. And I was the only one that didn't. Because I was still trying to live out my Christian life. And so my best friends were coming up. In fact, this is one of my friends was the president of the senior class.
[12:49] He was coming up the hallway drunk. And his mother was the teacher. And she was in this room. And her curtain was open. And he saw me. And he said, Gardner, doctor, get over here and help me, man. She's going to see me. And so I went over.
[13:01] And I'm trying to help him get by his mama's room. Don't tell anybody I was helping sinners sin. Amen. Anyway, we walked by. And he was falling down. And he hit his watch up against the wall. And he started yelling at me for breaking his watch.
[13:14] Like, buddy, I'm trying to help you keep out of trouble. I didn't break your watch. But he don't even know what he's saying. He doesn't know what he's thinking. Because it's taking control. Now, look at the verse. Be not drunk with wine wearing his accent. But be filled with the Spirit.
[13:28] Be controlled by the Spirit. Have the Spirit, not spirits, take control of your life. Have the Holy Spirit of God do a work in your life. Read with me the next verse, if you would.
[13:39] Verse 19. Speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. In other words, what's happening is I got the Holy Spirit living in me.
[13:50] I'm liking his book. I'm singing his book. I'm thinking his thoughts. I'm thinking his songs. That's what's in my heart. And I'm giving thanks to him always. In Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16, you find a word very similar to that.
[14:02] In Colossians 3, 16, it's a parallel passage. And it says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. See, as a Christian, you want to do battle. You want to live right.
[14:13] You want to save your home. Would you just listen to me? Good Christians get divorces. I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you you're probably okay and your marriage is going to be all right.
[14:27] But I can't tell you that. In fact, I would tell you your marriage is in trouble. Did you know good Christians do things they ought not do? And one of the reasons is they don't prepare for battle.
[14:38] One of the reasons is they don't watch and pray. One of the reasons is they don't prepare their heart to serve the Lord. And good people do things that they're embarrassed about and don't want to have happened in their life.
[14:50] So what do we want to do? I want to fill up my heart with the word of God. I want to be saturated with the Bible so that I am ready for battle. So that my mind is on what God thinks.
[15:01] Because I need to think like he thinks. Because if I think like this world, you just get tired of you. I've been married 44 years. Ain't there time for a return and exchange or something? That's the way the world thinks?
[15:13] Come on. You heard about the man that said his wife, he got married when she was 20. Now she was 40. He was going to turn around and get 220. 220. That's the way the world looks. I don't want to do that.
[15:24] I want to honor God. I want my life to count for him. So you got to act on the truth that you learn. Second thing I want you to write down there if you would. Go with me to Luke chapter 4. Write this down somewhere.
[15:35] It's a life and death struggle. It's heaven and hell in a fight for glory. It's heaven and hell in a fight for glory.
[15:47] Now Mark gives a real short explanation of this battle. Mark gives a real short explanation of this battle. Luke gives you a lot more detail. So I want you to look at Luke chapter 4 and verse 5.
[15:57] The Bible says, And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it.
[16:14] If thou wilt therefore worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan, for it's written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
[16:28] You realize what's really happening in the story, even in Mark chapter 1? You realize what's really happening? You see, Satan is attacking, and God is blessing.
[16:40] Satan wants to take God's glory. If Satan can get Jesus to doubt God's word, if Satan can get Jesus to doubt God's character, if he can get Jesus to doubt God's person, then God will look bad and Satan will look good.
[16:56] It's a life and death struggle. That's what's going on with you. Just to be blunt and honest, this thing to get you to sin is really not about you. I mean, I know you think it's all about you, and you think the whole world revolves around you, but the truth is the devil wants, with everything in him, to destroy God's work in you so he can say, God blew it.
[17:17] God's not good. If he can destroy our marriages, if he can destroy our families, if he can get us eaten up in porn or drugs or alcohol, if he can mess us up, then Satan thinks he can get the glory from it.
[17:32] It's not about you. It's about destroying the work of God. Satan wants to stop God. Isn't that what was going on in the Garden of Eden? Wasn't it God or Satan trying to cause people to doubt God?
[17:47] Wasn't it Satan wanting Eve and Adam and Jesus all to live for themselves and not for God? Let me show you a Bible story that you know all too well.
[18:00] If you want to know what goes on when temptation is taking place, let's go back to Job's story for a second. You remember Job? Job was a very rich man. He had 10 kids. His whole life was great. Job sought for God and spent time in prayer, loved God and worshiped God.
[18:15] And one day, according to the book of Job, up in heaven, God was there and Satan came and they had a discussion. And God said to Satan, you ever see my man Job?
[18:27] That guy loves me. He loves me. And Satan said, well, sure he does. You protect him. You bless him. You give him everything. That's why he loves you. And God said, no, no, no, no.
[18:38] He loves me because he loves me. He don't love me for the toys. He loves me for who I am. And Satan said, that's not true. That's not true. You take away his stuff.
[18:49] He won't love you. And God said, well, go take away his stuff and we'll see. He went down and took away his stuff. And the devil came back in and God goes, still love me or not?
[18:59] Yeah, he does. But you haven't let me take his health. Let me take his health. And he took his health. And Job still loved him. You understand what's going on under this temptation? Did you ever consider that right now somebody wants to break up your marriage somebody wants to end your marriage?
[19:15] Somebody wants to end your purity? Somebody wants you to fall in sin and you think it's just you and the devil when the truth of the matter is it's the glory of God on the line here. It's the glory of God on the line here.
[19:27] It is God looking bad. It is God being blemished. It is God. It's not about you. Satan wants you to live for yourself. I'm going to show you the next thing. Go with me to Mark chapter 1 and verse 13.
[19:39] We saw it was immediate. We saw it was the Spirit. But I need you to know something. Before we move to the next parts of this, I need you to know something. It ain't going to get over quick and easy.
[19:51] Look at the verse and notice what it says. Forty days. Underline forty days. Forty. You know how long forty days is?
[20:03] That's a long time. That's a long time. You know what happened is when Jesus went into this battle with the devil, it was up front.
[20:14] It's going to be, it was forty days. That's what's six times seven is forty-two. It's almost six solid weeks. And the devil was after him and tempting him.
[20:28] He waited until he was hungry and he offered him food. He waited until he was like abandoned and nobody cared about him. And the devil is attacking Jesus and said, Jesus, you should doubt God.
[20:40] Why'd he leave you like this? Why'd he abandon you? Why'd he cause you to live like this? Where's he been? Why don't he help you? Why are you so hungry? Hey, what, what, glory?
[20:51] What glory? You ain't got any glory. I tell you what, I got glory. You won't, I'll give it to you. It was a long, hard, lonely battle.
[21:02] Look at the verse. He was there in the wilderness for forty days, tempted of Satan. And who's with him? Wild beast. That's a crazy thought. I mean, you're alone.
[21:14] You're scared. You're hungry. You haven't had anything. There's wild beasts right there.
[21:25] The noise. I was a little boy. I lived on a farm. And the only lights are the lights in the house or at the barn. And often my daddy would say, boy, run to the barn and check on the pigs out there.
[21:37] It'd be dark. And I could, I could walk to the barn pretty good. The whole time I'd be saying, what time I'm afraid I will trust in thee? What time I'm afraid I will trust in thee?
[21:48] What time I'm afraid I'll trust in you? I'd be scared to death. I'd get to the barn and turn the light on. It's a welcome thing when you turn the light on. You ever been out in the country and it seemed like you walked a country mile and the dogs are barking and you're all kinds of other animals and you wonder what they are?
[22:05] And when you're about eight years old or ten years old, you want to wonder what they are. I mean, I'm wondering what they are. And then I'd turn that light off and head for the house. When I headed towards home, I ran like a Comanche Indian, buddy.
[22:18] I was scared to death that everybody in the world was chasing me. I ran like crazy because I was afraid. I was alone. And there weren't any wild beasts around. Just a horse snorting over here and a cow doing something over there and a dog barking over there.
[22:31] I thought them dogs wanted to eat me. So here's the deal. He's alone. And it's a long, long time. What's that mean? You realize this?
[22:42] I hate to tell you this, but you're not going to have one little battle with the Lord and it's all going to be over. with Satan and it's all going to be over. So you're not going to have one battle with sin. It's all going to be over. You look at me and you say, well, he's a pastor.
[22:53] He certainly doesn't know what it's like to be tempted. He doesn't know what it's like to have these ideas of doing sin. Oh, you're crazy. I do have. Jesus got tempted. That means all of us under him are getting tempted.
[23:05] And so we are going to have to learn to stand and do right. No food, no friends, no water. I want you to look at Luke 4, 13 now so you'll see something.
[23:17] I really don't want you to look at this verse. Put your seatbelt on. It's a hard verse. Look at this. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him forever.
[23:31] Look at what the verse says. For a season. So it's like 40 days hand-to-hand combat. 40 days Jesus and the devil in a hand-to-hand combat.
[23:46] Jesus wins. And you'd be like, he's got his black belt now. He's got his trophy. He's over. He's won. It's all done. He'll be fine. That's not the way it is.
[23:58] When Betty and I were in college, when Betty and I were in college, one of the teachers told her she was in a class and this was still our first year and she was in a class and a doctor of psychology or whatever he was said, most marriages end before two years.
[24:15] And Betty came home that day and she was all distraught and I said, what in the world is wrong with you? And she said, Dr. Bottle Stopper said. You know that, he said that, you know, our marriage is probably in trouble.
[24:28] He was talking about how marriage is in. I told her, I said, well, we ain't them and we ain't doing what they do. I think we've proved that 22 times over. But anyway, but anyway, listen to this. you don't save your marriage once.
[24:43] You don't beat sin once. You don't do right once. You don't get a medal and it's over. Hey, to be blunt, honest, if a guy served in an overseas war and came back and got his medal and he ain't going back, that's a good deal.
[25:00] That ain't us. We don't ever get to quit the war until it's over for a season. Did you see that? Now, before I go further to show you the last thing I want you to see from the passage of scripture, we're preparing and we know it's a life and death struggle.
[25:15] But let me show you how you can use your temptation to get victory even when the devil comes. See, the devil doesn't know it, but if you'd use it right, you could get victory. So open your Bibles with me to James chapter 2.
[25:28] James chapter 2 if you would in verse 12 and we're going to read down from 12 down to 16. Now, you listen to this. You see, here's what happens. when you're tempted, you're only tempted about things that you've got a problem with.
[25:43] You're only tempted about what you personally have issues with. In James chapter 2 and verse 12, excuse me, that's 1-12, did I write 2? I wrote 2, but I think, yep, I wrote, but it's chapter 1, isn't it?
[25:57] Chapter 1 and verse 12. Check that out for me back there, guys, and see. Well, you know, some preachers should just be shot. Look at James. That wasn't their fault. That was purely mine. James chapter 1 and verse 12.
[26:08] Blessed is the man that endures temptation. Happy is the guy that deals with temptation, but it's when he's tried, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised.
[26:21] So, you're going to go through testing, and you're going to go through trials, you're going through stuff, and God's going to reward you. Verse 13. Verse 13. The Bible says this. Let no man say when he's tempted, I am tempted of God.
[26:34] For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man. Now, you need to understand something. You can't blame the devil. Now, you know, I'm so old that none of my illustrations work.
[26:46] I was in the office this morning, and the young people were in there, and I said something about a Dick Tracy. And they said, we don't know him.
[27:00] What's wrong with you people? How many of y'all know who Dick Tracy was? Say amen. Glory to God. All these wicked people don't know who Dick Tracy was. Well, there was a guy named Flip Wilson.
[27:11] He was a real famous comedian. And Flip Wilson used to say, name of all, the devil made me do it. Well, the devil didn't make you do it. And God didn't make you do it.
[27:22] You weren't predestined. You weren't predestined to do it. You don't have a besetting sin God gave you that he makes you keep. If you got one, it's because you got it and you want to keep it. So look at this.
[27:33] He doesn't tempt any man. Next verse. James 1, 14. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust or his own desire.
[27:46] Circle the word lust, draw a line to the margin and write lust, a desire. A lust is a desire. It's what you want. You know how you get messed up? You get tempted to do what you want to do.
[27:59] Years ago, I was working in a grocery store, Big Star Foods, and I was going into management. And I was out working the counter one day. And I was like the grand old age of 22.
[28:12] And this cute face, can you imagine it? Skinny and 22. I mean, it was probably good looking. At least it thought Betty made it. Betty thought it was. Y'all didn't laugh, so that means you really agree with me. Say amen. So Ian walked this person, this man with very long hair and a purse.
[28:29] And it wasn't exactly common. And he picked my aisle to come down. And when I came to ask him for the money, I tabled it up, I asked him for the money.
[28:40] He put it in my hand and he went and rubbed my hand. I was a happily married man. I just looked at him like, whoa, what you doing?
[28:50] Well, that was okay. I mean, it was one time he came in every day. And it didn't matter how many aisles were open, he always picked my aisle. When he came down to my aisle, I'd say, put the money on the counter.
[29:02] He put the money on the counter. I'd take the money. Because I wasn't tempted that way. You see, that's what it's saying here when of your own lust. Now, that doesn't mean I'm somebody super special.
[29:14] It doesn't mean I wasn't tempted that way. Now, some beautiful girl would come in, I might have been tempted the other way. Just being blunt honest. But see, when you're tempted, don't blame it on God, buddy.
[29:26] It's you. It's what you're hunkering for. But every man is tempted when he's drawn away of his own lust and enticed. So, I have something I want and an opportunity presents itself.
[29:39] A bait is given to me. Look, if you would, at verse 15. James 1, 15, if you would. You're drawn away of your own lust. And when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it's finished, brings forth death.
[29:53] So, the devil makes an offer of something I want. That's why he offered, that's why he offered Jesus bread when he was hungry. That's why he offered Jesus glory when he's God in human flesh and wanting the kingdoms of the world to respect him and honor him.
[30:08] He came to him with what he wanted. But Jesus knew that wasn't how to get it. He had to trust God for it. Look, if you went to James 1, verse 16.
[30:19] James 1, verse 16. Do not err, my beloved brother. Don't you, don't you let anybody fool you into thinking you can't help it. Well, I just can't help it. I'm just drawn to this woman that's not my wife.
[30:31] Oh, you can help it, buddy. Oh, you can help it, sir. Well, I can't get a victory over porn. If you're a born-again Christian, you can get victory over porn. You can say, well, I can't beat that.
[30:42] You can if you're a born-again Christian. You have victory in Jesus and you can. Let me give you the last thing here. Go with me, if you would, back to Luke chapter 4 and verse 13.
[30:55] In victory, we strengthen to serve. Now, Lord willing, by the way, I need to show you what this, I think maybe I rushed too quickly on the, see, if I know I got a wrong desire and a temptation comes, so the second I know I got a wrong desire, you know what I need to do?
[31:13] And you say, ooh, I was tempted to do that. I need to get some Bible in me and get some gospel in me that change it. Let me tell you some things I'm very tempted with.
[31:25] Pride. I mean, I'll just be blunt on this with you. I'm kind of eating up with it. So I have to constantly be studying the Bible and saying, that ain't right, boy. I'm going to be honest with you.
[31:36] I like money. I know y'all are going to say you don't. That's why you all came up in nice cars that didn't cost any. We all, we got, we got desires.
[31:47] That's why I tithe. That's why I give because I got a, as John said one time in one of his offering devotions, don't let your money tell you what to do, tell it what to do, tell it to get the offering plate. Huh?
[31:58] And so I have temptations. So what I need to do is when, when temptation comes and temptation pushes me and temptation aggravates me, I need to say to temptation, I see what you're working on and I'm going to confess it and fill my heart up with scripture.
[32:13] I took our daughter to the hospital years ago and prude. She, she, well, I don't, I don't, I don't take that back. Betty will tell me which kid it was later and say you was totally wrong when it struck. I took one of the kids. There was four of them and I think it was while we was in Peru and I think I took them and I think it was a hospital because I have never been right on a, on a story I've ever told.
[32:34] I told Betty one time, I told, I was preaching one time, I said, that guy had hair to his shoulders. She came back, she said, he's about to hear. Well, I wasn't measured, but anyway. So I took the, I took her to the, I took her to the doctor and the doctor said, oh, well, what's wrong?
[32:46] She said, my stomach hurts. Well, you know, doctors are so nice. He laid her up on that examining table. I'm standing there beside her and he did just like as he went and he shoved real hard down into her stomach.
[32:57] He said, does that hurt? She said, yeah. And he let his hand go. He said, that didn't hurt that bad. And he pushed her again, he pushed her again and finally went, boom. He said, oh, that's where you really hurt. You see, you don't know where you're weak until the devil shows you.
[33:11] So when the devil shows you, why don't you go get some Bible and renew your mind? Huh? So all of a sudden, that girl gives you that text message and you really think about how sweet she is and how you might ought to text her back and you're a guy, I'm not talking to the girls, and you're going to text her back.
[33:28] You know what you need to think? He said, I really do think I want to text her back, but I'm not supposed to want that. I better get some things in my life to help me not fault for that trap.
[33:40] You getting that? Oh, money, money, money. I'm going to serve money no matter what. I'm going to put God on the back burner and they're giving me this job offer. They're giving me this here and all I got, I'm not even thinking about what God wants here.
[33:55] Well, I think I better back off a minute and find what God wants here. That's spirit-filled life filling up on the Bible. Can I get an amen right there? You understand that? You understand that? So the third thing is now that we have won this victory, we strengthen to serve.
[34:09] Look at Luke chapter 4 and verse 13 if you would. The Bible said, and when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And I love this part. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.
[34:26] You know what you're thinking? You're thinking Jesus just spent 40 days getting the devil, letting the devil beat on him. He's weak and he's going to need to be in ICU, spiritual, not in ICU, but SICU, spiritual intensive care unit.
[34:43] And that's where he's going to, but that's not what happened. When the battle was over, Jesus came out of the desert saying, glory to God, I got victory and the power of the Spirit. That's how you can. So what do we need to do?
[34:54] I need to know, number one, that I ought to prepare for battle. Number two, that it's a life and death struggle for the glory of God. And number three, that God's with me and going to help me so I'm strengthening myself.
[35:09] Look if you would in Hebrews 13, 5. Let me give you three or four verses real quick and I'll close. Hebrews 13, 5. He said this, I will never leave you. So when Jesus was in the garden, when Jesus was in the wilderness and he was being tempted and the angels were with him, but when Austin's in the middle of the, when Austin's in the middle of the mess and things are happening, I'm not alone.
[35:31] He's with me. He will never leave me nor forsake me. He never has and he never will. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4. Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.
[35:45] Now you listen to me. You have no reason to let sin beat you up. No reason your marriage should fall apart. No reason that alcohol and drugs and pornography and junk should destroy you.
[35:56] No reason if you're born again. Now some of you are pawns in the hands of the devil this morning because you're not saved. So you have no victory. You have no power because you don't know Jesus.
[36:07] If you don't know Jesus, you can't beat sin. You're a slave to sin. But to you Christians, I'll talk just for a minute. I'll get to you others in just a second. But to you Christians, you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you.
[36:18] Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. Victory is yours. In 1 Corinthians 10, 13, there is no temptation taken to you but such as is common to man.
[36:30] And God is faithful and he will not allow you to be tempted above that you're able but will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. You know what God's doing?
[36:40] God's like, I'll see to it. The devil don't put more temptation than you can handle. I'll give you victory if you'll just keep your eyes on me. You as a Christian do not have to be defeated by sin.
[36:52] Porn doesn't have to win. You don't have to be laying on the ground a beaten foe and a porn standing over you saying I got him. You don't have to have that. You don't have to have your marriage destroyed.
[37:04] You don't have to have that. You're going to be in a life and death struggle. It's going to go on but you've got victory. If you're born again you have victory. In Romans chapter 8 and verse 37 it says we are more than conquerors through him.
[37:19] We have victory. We have victory. James chapter 1 and verse 2 and this is it. I'll close. James chapter 1 and verse 2. Did you know that totally different than anything we would ever think.
[37:36] James writing scripture Holy Spirit inspired scripture said this. Hey my brothers in Christ hey my sisters in Christ count it all joy when a bunch of testing and trials and temptations come your way.
[37:53] Be excited about it. I'm like are you kidding me? I don't want to be 40 days in the wilderness alone with animals that are crazy and wild that want to hurt me. That's not what I want.
[38:05] Are you crazy? Are you crazy? But he said count it all joy. Look if you would look if you would at verse 3. Knowing this that the trying of your faith works patience.
[38:19] So you've got all kinds of stuff happening. I mean it seems like doubts are assailing you and it seems like stuff is trying to mess with you but you're going to use this as a time to draw close to God.
[38:33] You're going to pump yourself full of the Holy Spirit of God and full of the Word of God. You're going to memorize scripture. You're going to be in church. You're going to get with some people to pray. You're going to have victory because you know this.
[38:45] You have victory in Jesus. And you know that before it's over you're going to come out with victory. The Bible says in verse 4 but let patience endurance have her perfect work that you may be perfect.
[39:01] It's how he matures you. Years ago I returned to Peru after my first furlough. I came home on furlough and I went back to Peru as a missionary and when I landed the missionary the senior missionary there who was an old guy like me and I was just a young guy like 35 years old 36 years old and he met me at the airport and he said I have never seen a missionary return to the field with so many problems as you're fixing to have.
[39:24] Everything in your whole ministry is messed up. He said they've stolen your vehicle they've blown the motor in your vehicle they've gotten your stuff out of storage. I mean you've really had a lot of junk happen while you've been going and I'm sorry.
[39:36] I said man you're a real encouragement you wait a lot of land to get off the airplane and walk out and you tell me that and then he said hey no battles no stories. You've got to go through some battles so you can have some stories to tell someday and someday when you're an old missionary you're going to be able to say this happened and I won.
[39:56] You know what happened? It happened and I won. The devil wants to beat you but he can't beat you unless you let him. You have victory in Jesus.
[40:08] You can live a holy life. You can protect your marriage. You can raise your children. You don't have to live in fear. The devil wants you to live in fear. God doesn't want you to live in fear. He's not giving us a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind the Bible says.
[40:24] You've got victory if you want it. Today you need to make some decisions. I'm going to start filling myself up on the word of God. I'm going to quit skipping church services. I'm going to be here where I can learn more and know more Bible.
[40:35] I'm going to have family devotion. I'm going to get involved in discipleship and foundation. I'm going to work at growing and being who I ought to be as a Christian. Let me go before I quit.
[40:46] Let me just say this. If you're here and you're visiting or you're here and you're a member even and you're not saved, you have no chance of winning. According to scriptures, you're a slave and sin owns you and it's going to whip you and beat you and so you can go ahead and live in fear.
[41:05] You ought to. Fear of dying, fear of eternity, and even fear of what sin might do to you while you're here on this planet. But he loves you and he wants you to be saved. He has paid everything for your salvation and you can trust him today and he'll save you and give you eternal life.
[41:22] And I invite you today to stop living in fear. I invite you today to stop being a victim and become a victor through Jesus Christ our Lord.