“The Way of Escape”

S: 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

O: One of the major themes of Lent has been temptation!  This makes total sense when you consider a 40+ day focus, new disciplines (especially fasting or “giving up something for Lent”) and the nature and plan of our enemy.  When you think about Lent on a spiritual level, Lent is really absolute warfare!  It is a storming the beach of the strongholds of the evil one in our thinking, in our sinful flesh, in our condition as fallen and corrupted people!  It is our D-Day!  One of the MAJOR tactics of the evil one to thwart Jesus’ reign over us is temptation.  He leverages our weakness and our desire and uses it against the purposes of Jesus in our life!  He keeps us distracted.  He keeps us un-focused.  He keeps us scattered.  He keeps us stirred up in our flesh.  He lies to us.  He scares us.  He accuses us.  He rages against us.  Why?  He hates us and wants to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10).  The devil is NO joke!  And God’s children would do well to have the wisdom of God’s Word about him, his nature, his tactics and his plan against us.  In short, we need “intel” on the enemy!  The reason we need this is so we recognize it when it’s happening in our life and in the lives of others.  We also need to understand how to resist and escape his tactics!  This is especially true in the case of “temptation”.  

As our text reminds us, temptation is “common to man”.  In other words, it’s something that impacts us ALL!  No-one is immune and no-one escapes from the attack!  BUT, as our text reminds us there IS a way “out”!  There is an “escape”!  There IS VICTORY over the temptation of the evil one!  So what is that?  Well, one thing we would do well to study, is how Jesus dealt with temptation!  In both Matthew 4 and Luke 4, the Gospel writers record what we know as “the temptation of Jesus”.  In them you will notice many dynamics going on IN temptation (like physical hunger, fatigue, an apparent lack because of the environment, isolation, etc.).  You’ll also notice “how” the devil progresses in his temptation (physical, relational, spiritual).  You’ll also notice the devils persistence (three times) AND, you’ll notice his inability to force Jesus to DO anything!  The  devil DOESN’T “make you do it” as the old excuse goes!  In sin, we cooperate with the plans and schemes of the evil one’s temptations.  So while, yes, we can blame the devil for tempting us, we must also blame ourselves for falling for it!  And this is why Jesus teaches us to pray against it (“lead us NOT into temptation but deliver us from evil” - Matthew 6:13).  But this is also why Jesus entered into temptations just like ours, so that when we are tempted, we can know we have someone in the foxhole with us!  We have someone in the “valley of the shadow of death” with us!  We have Jesus!  And HE was victorious over ALL the schemes, the plans, the tactics, the onslaught, the “fiery darts” of the evil one, AND was and still IS…VICTORIOUS!  So, when we are feeling tempted, we can go to HIM through prayer.  We can sit at His feet through His Word and learn how the evil one is operating against us.  We can enter into the disciplines of “prayer and fasting” to over come an break through the strongholds and we can eliminate the weak points in our defenses by forgiving those who have wronged us.  We can also learn about the “Armor of God” from Ephesians 6:10-20 and learn to “put on the whole armor of God” (v.13) and learn to FIGHT against the host of darkness!  Look, here’s the deal about spiritual war.  We are IN it….NOW!  It’s happening all around us!   And when you have “eyes to see” and “ears to hear”, you realize a completely different plane on which you understand “why” the world is the way it is, AND what your role in it is!  So this Holy Week, why not wage war on the enemy of your soul?  Why not wage an offensive push on the kingdom of darkness that is seeking to win the eternal victory over your family?  Why not take back the ground the evil one has taken and is occupying?  How? By putting on the Armor!  By fighting on your knees in prayer!  By fasting of the earthly things you love so you can spend time on the heavenly strategy of spiritual warfare?  

A: How will you “escape” the temptations of the evil one in your life?  AND, how will you fight the battle before you?

P: Lord Jesus, You have been victorious over the devil, over death, over the darkness of the kingdom of darkness AND over my sinfulness.  Lord, teach me to “fight” the evil one’s schemes.  Teach me to “resist” and to see him defeated in my life.  Reveal to me every area of stronghold he has in my thinking, my doing and in my situation around me and help me to fight my battle with faith in YOUR victory!  In Jesus Name.  Amen!

Pastor Tim