Sermon Tone Analysis

I Need Thee Every Hour- Annie Hawks

I did not un­der­stand at first why this hymn had touched the great throb­bing heart of hu­man­i­ty.

It was not un­til long af­ter, when the sha­dow fell over my way, the sha­dow of a great loss, that I un­der­stood some­thing of the com­fort­ing pow­er in the words which I had been per­mit­ted to give out to others in my hour of sweet se­ren­i­ty and peace.

How to Overcome Temptations

Matthew 4:1-11

·         Intro

o    Story from pastor John MacArthur about how a pastor learned a lesson from a dog

§  He would place a piece of meat in front of the dog and say, “don’t eat it.”

The dog would eat the meat and the man would hit him.

He would do it again and then hit the dog.

Dog got the message- man telling the story noticed something, the dog would never look at the meat just into his master’s face- if he looked at the meat, he would be tempted to disobey and eat the meat- he never took his eyes off the master’s face- temptation never caused a problem

o    That right there is the nature of temptation

§  The more we stare at what is being dangled in front of us by satan- the more susceptible we are to it

§  Problem with many of us is that we entertain ourselves with temptations rather than disciplining ourselves to fix our eyes on our master

o    The scriptures tell us that in the love of God- He sent his only Son

§  Incarnate God not only to die for us- but to also be the perfect model for us in every way

§  Scripture also tells us that He is able to sympathize with every temptation known to man therefore, being our high priest Heb.

3:15

o    So today, we will make our attention in addressing the number one problem by looking at our perfect model

§  Whenever I speak to someone about their future- it amazes me how backward their logic is

·         They just don’t know what they want to be

·         They are told what they want to be- whatever is hip, the trend- pharmacy

o    You go to school, not looking at the strength, emphasis of the school but only on prestige

o    You get there only to be discontented, even more lost than ever before

·         You should work your way backwards- look to those who have achieved and look at how they achieved it

o    Many ways, we are as equally lost in addressing the problem of temptation- just deal with it, it’s just part of life, no one can overcome temptation

o    Just put on the Christian face and be holy, be good, try hard and rely on God’s grace and get on with it

§  It all adds up- the guilt overcomes us rather than us overcoming temptations

§  So we are going to look at our model and work our way backwards

·         Not only our high priest, Heb.

2:18 “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

·         "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.

But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able but will, with the temptation, also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

- 1 Cor.

10:13

·         We are not looking to Christ for sympathy but rather victory

 

Reading of the Passage

Opening Prayer

·         To overcome temptation is to */live the Christian life/*- what do I mean

o    To live the Christian life is to consistently  be practicing the conscience presence of Christ

§  That is what I shared with you before in regards to praying- how does one pray without ceasing?

§  It is to always be living in the consciousness of God

The Preparation, vv.

1-3

o    We pick up right after His baptism

§  As he is coronated into His ministry, we see His temptation

·         After He is anointed by the HS to be recognized and empowered

·         He is then blessed, commissioned by God

·         Then He faces the temptations of Satan 

o    Interesting observation

§  */When we are endowed for special service/*- we will face the greatest temptations

·         “take heed lest he falls”  Satan knows we are the most vulnerable when we are on the pinnacle of accomplishment- when we may try to usurp victory for our own name- pride makes us vulnerable

§  Whenever one makes a committed stance- you are going to experience a heighten spiritual presence and battle

·         We had a revival in our church- we just felt a heaviness- spiritually slothful- oppressive spirit- we prayed

§  Maybe some of you are trying to make the turn- commit yourself to true godliness, you are going to be attacked

·         Don’t give up and I think today’s sermon will be most beneficial for you

§  When you have experienced spiritual victory, that is not the time to take your eyes off the ball, “I’ve arrived, I made it”

·         It is one thing to become a champion, it is another to maintain that championship

·         Jesus said, " Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Matthew 26:41

·         It’s the perception that when you graduate- you finish studying- you keep on studying- if you really want to excel

o    The reason for His preparation

§  */He was lead there by the Holy Spirit/*

·         He was there, a desolate place

   The Place:  The Wilderness

o    The Old Testament calls this area the Devastation

o     George Adam Smith described it this way: "It is an area of yellow sand, of crumbling limestone and of scattered shingle.

It is an area of contorted strata where the ridges run in all directions as if they were warped and twisted.

The hills are like dust heaps.

The limestone is blistered and peeling.

Rocks are bare and jagged.

Often, the ground sounds hollow.

It runs right to the Dead Sea, and there comes a drop of 12,000 feet down to the Dead Sea.

In that wilderness," says Smith, "Jesus would be alone, more alone than anywhere else in Palestine."

·         Why was He there?

Preparation

o    40 days spent I prayer and fasting for his earthy ministry, to find refuge, to find solice, to contemplate the overwhelming task that lie before Him

o    This was His strength

§  And as the verse I just shared, He was not only watchful of satan, but the key here, */communion with God/*, how “in prayer”

§  He was also accompanied and under the direction of the Holy Spirit

o    Jesus knew He was going to be confronted by satan

o    And by the time Satan arrived, it was too late, it was hopeless

o    Story of young girl who became pregnant and confided in her pastor

§  “how could this happen?”

we prayed before every date

§  What did you do after you prayed?

§  Jesus in perfect fellowship with God in prayer and fasting

·         */The greatest problem is to be spiritually unprepared/*- unprepared Christian is a defeated Christian

o    If we do not put on the full armor of God, if we are not living in constant consciousness of God, not in regular prayer- you can expect to fall to temptation

o    */Peter is the perfect illustration/*

§  He was so pious in his accompaniment of Jesus

§  He was warned that he would deny Christ three times

·         In his absence, being away from Jesus- he exactly what Jesus said he would do

The Person- Satan

·         Satan is a real person

o    Notice the roles, the purposes- it is always satan who tempts, never God

o    James says, may no one every say he is tempted by God, James 1:13

§  It is satan who tempts, he can only tempt with the permission of God

§  Satan is God’s instrument- he is God’s adversary, he is God’s opponent but he is also used by God

The Plan- strategy, v. 2

·         You notice right away we can’t relate with these temptations

·         fantastic lesson here: */Satan tempts us at the point of our own abilities/**/./*

Did you get that?