Lessons from the Battlefield, Part 3

God will never let you get into an impossible situation. The only way the temptation came your way is if God looked at it first and said, All right, you can handle it because there is a way of escape.

Isn't that good news? This is your destiny Christian fellowship in Fremont, California. If you're struggling with temptation today, if it seems impossible to resist or overcome, remember God's promise to you in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out. Coming up next, some wisdom from Pastor Paul that will help shed a little light on this passage. So stay with us now or stop by pastorpaul.net anytime to hear today's message or any recent Destined for Victory message on demand. Again, go to pastorpaul.net.

You can also subscribe to the podcast at Google Podcasts or wherever you get your programs. Let's join Pastor Paul now as he shares today's Destined for Victory message, Lessons from the Battlefield. 1 Samuel chapter 17.

But let me get everyone caught up. We are currently learning lessons from the life of David, the great king of God's people in the Old Testament. And we're learning now from his early life some important lessons.

The story of his life is not in the Bible just to give us good historical information. But we are doing this because it gives us practical lessons that can be applied to our own lives. Now we began this part of our study of David's life by learning lessons from the pasture. And now we are learning lessons from the battlefield where in 1 Samuel 17 the people of God find that the Philistines have gathered their forces together to war against the people of God.

Here's what we've covered so far. Number one, that challenges and conflict are inevitable. Just as sure as the Philistines gathered against Israel, so there are enemies in your life and mine that gather against God's best in our lives. We've talked about the fact that we have a spiritual enemy. The devil and his demons are a spiritual enemy.

And it doesn't matter how you want to think, how rationally you want to believe, how you want to believe that everything that's real is in the sensory world. But I'm here to tell you that there are spiritual forces that we cannot see that are every bit as real as what you do see. The Bible says we're not wrestling against flesh and blood, we're wrestling against principalities and powers, against rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in high places. What that means is the devil and demons are real and they are warring against God's purpose for the lives of the people of God. But not only did we discuss the reality of spiritual warfare, we discussed the fact that we have an enemy that's in a me. That you have to deal with your own fleshly desires that want to oppose God's plan and purpose for your life. And how many know you can't blame everything on the devil.

There are some things if you want to point a finger, go find yourself a mirror and say there's my problem right there. Because every now and then we have to wrestle ourselves under submission to the will of God. And so there are conflicts and challenges that are going to be inevitable when you walk with God. Secondly, we learned that we must become familiar with the enemy.

And I want to pick it up on that point. We must become familiar with the enemy. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2 and 11, we are not ignorant concerning Satan's devices. And he was able to make that as an emphatic, true statement about his own life. But the fact is all of us need to be able to eventually say that same thing.

That we are not ignorant concerning the devil's devices. You ought to know what the enemy is trying to pull in your life. And we talked about the fact that he is always lying to us.

So you have to watch the voices you listen to. Because the enemy is always going to oppose the truth of God with his lies. He is a liar. Jesus said in John 8 44, the devil is a liar and the father of lies. He is the inventor of lies. God is a God of truth. The devil is full of lies.

He's a liar. We also said that he's a deceiver. The enemy loves to deceive. And in Genesis 3 we see the first and most deadly deception of Eve. You know that story.

I don't have time to recount it. But you know that the reason we are in sin and in need of a savior is because in the beginning mankind was deceived by the enemy. Where the enemy took a statement of God and turned it into a question. And said half God said that you shouldn't eat of this tree.

That the day you do you will die. And then he flipped the script with his deception. And he began to sell a bag of goods that Eve bought into and old weak need Adam bought it with her. Don't get mad at Eve by herself now. She had company. The Bible says she ate the fruit and then she gave to her husband who was with her. Old weak Adam standing right there. She said baby eat this.

He said okay. And he ate with her. And she was deceived and as a result we were plunged into this fallen state that the world has been in ever since.

But thank God for Jesus who was the second Adam and he came to make right what was made wrong. And then we saw that the enemy loves to tempt you at moments of weakness. Moments of weakness. The enemy loves to tempt you at moments of weakness.

And in the last message we talked about the fact that you must become aware of your weak moments. And do your best to be careful. The Bible calls it in one place walk circumspectly. Paul said in Ephesians 5 what that means is walk carefully.

Don't be careless. Don't just be presumptuous as you walk. For those of you who have been in icy environments in the winter time you know what walking circumspectly is. It's the way you walk on ice.

You can't just go bounding out the door when there's ice. You've got to be careful. You've got to have sure-footedness.

Okay is this going to work? Okay alright I'm alright. You've got to walk carefully. And the Bible says that ought to be the walk of the child of God. Be sure-footed because the enemy loves to catch you at moments of weakness. Moments of weakness. He loves to pray on weakness. And I ended the last message talking about the fact that you've got to be watchful in your moments of weakness because whatever your besetting sins are, whatever the weakness of a moment would dictate, that's what the enemy is going to send along.

If you are a single trying to live right or if you're a married person who's fussing and fighting with your spouse and shutting up the shop to express your anger. You all know what I'm talking about. You look holy but you know what I'm talking about. And if that kind of stuff is going on, you've got to be careful because whether you're single or married, the enemy would love to pray on a moment of weakness and float somebody into your life who really rings your bell, floats your boat, gets your attention. Now if somebody comes hitting on you and they don't do a thing for you, the devil didn't send them. That's just somebody taking a shot. That's what we said in the last message. That's just somebody taking a shot saying, hey, you never know unless you try. So they figured they'd take a shot at it.

How you doing? See what kind of response they get. But if somebody comes hitting on you and your only response is, oh, please. The devil didn't send them. You can know the devil sent them because it makes you start praying right on the spot. It doesn't matter where you are.

You can be in the gym, you can be at work, wherever you are. And they come in, you say, oh, Lord Jesus, my Savior. Oh, God, help me right now, Lord. If you have struggled with addictions in your life, you've got to watch your moments of weakness because the enemy will bring to your mind the feelings of getting lost in being high. And so he will reintroduce that thought at the key time of weakness. You've got to walk carefully. You can't just hang out anywhere because you've got to watch moments of weakness. You have got to be careful, in other words, in your life so that you can become familiar with the enemy's devices. And again, we're not just talking about the enemy in terms of Satan, but you've got to become aware of your own stuff. I want to encourage you to not be in denial about your own stuff. You've got to learn who you are. You've got to learn your strengths and your weaknesses. You've got to learn your idiosyncrasies if you're going to win your battles.

And you've got to plot out what's going to happen in your life. You can't just live any old kind of way, but you're going to have to be careful as you live your life because God knows what he is up to in your life. And so you must plot, you must plan, you must strategize so as to be able to escape the snares that your flesh will draw you into and that the enemy will try to take advantage of. And in fact, the Bible says that the reason Jesus was in all points tempted as we are so that he would teach us and show us that there is a way of escape. The reason why Jesus was tempted in everything is because he created the way of escape. When Jesus lived on the earth, he was in all points tempted, but the Bible says yet without sin. And what he did by going through his temptations is he made sure there was a way of escape so that all of us could get out of the traps that were set for us by the enemies of God's will in our lives. There is a way of escape. First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13. Very important for you to understand this truth.

Here's what it says. There have no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. Stay with us. The second half of Pastor Paul Shepherd's message is coming right up. We want to thank all of you who support Destined for Victory with your prayers and financial support. Gifts that help Pastor Paul share the joy, the gospel message with a growing audience.

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That number is 855-339-5500. Now, from the early life of King David, let's rejoin Pastor Paul Shepherd for the rest of today's message, Lessons from the Battlefield. Then it says, God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that which you can stand, but will with the temptation create a way of escape that you might be able to bear it. Now, let's dissect that.

There's wonderful information there. First of all, Paul tells us what you're going through is not unique to you. And some of us need to know that because some of us, when we get in the thick of things, we start telling God, I don't know why you let me go through this. I don't know anybody who's ever been through this. Fact of the matter is, what you're going through is common to man.

It is common to man. To be tempted, which means to be enticed toward evil, is common to man. And so the Bible says your temptation, there are others who have escaped it before you. Don't feel like you are in an impossible situation. God will never let you get into an impossible situation. The only way the temptation came your way is if God looked at it first and said, all right, you can handle it because there is a way of escape.

Isn't that good news? Let me illustrate it this way. The building we sit in and any public building you go in, the only way the owners and the occupiers of that building got an occupancy permit was there first had to be planned roots of escape in the event of trouble. The fire department would not have allowed us to occupy this property and it's true of all public facilities until it was known that there are posted ways of escape. They wouldn't just let you show up and put yourself in a position where if a fire hits or if an earthquake hits, you have no way out. They would be unjust to allow you to occupy such a dangerous facility. And so what they do is they make sure that you have planned roots of escape and that they are posted throughout the facility. Well, let me tell you, as it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual. And Jesus says to you, whenever temptation comes your way, don't worry about it because I went in ahead of you to make sure there was a way of escape.

Now, let's get real practical. Sometimes your way of escape is to get in the wind. Sometimes your way of escape is to run. Your way of escape isn't always a cute way of escape, a strong acting way of escape, a self-assured way of escape. Sometimes the only way you get out is you have to run.

I know your pride doesn't want you to believe that, but it just happens to be the truth. The Bible says, talk about your escape roots. They're all listed in the Scripture. And one of the escape roots given you in your Bible is run.

We see it by precept and by example. Paul told his spiritual son Timothy, he said, flee the passions of your youth. You're a young man. There are a lot of passions that are going to try to bring you down. He said, you've got to learn, son, to run. You've got to get out of temptation's neighborhood. You don't sight see in temptation's neighborhood. You don't hang out in temptation's neighborhood.

You've got to run so that you can do the will of God. Think of the example of Joseph. The Bible says that on that one occasion mentioned in Genesis 39, Sister Potiphar who had her eyes set on that young man said, I want him for myself. She was trying to seduce him and he kept on turning her down, but one day she was really feeling it and she grabbed him. The Bible says she grabbed his coat and she said, you are going to bed with me right now. And the Bible tells us that Joseph ran out of his coat in order to maintain his integrity. Now see, you know, if you don't have that kind of determination to take the way of escape, you would just say, well, she hold my coat. What am I supposed to do? I mean, I've been ducking and dodging her for days, but shoot, she got my coat now.

No, no, no, no. Joseph understood long before Paul said flee the passions of youth. He understood he was a man of destiny called according to God's purpose. He knew he was pursuing a dream that God had given him and he didn't see Sister Potiphar in the dream, which meant he knew that he's got to get away from this woman.

So what does he do? The Bible says he runs out of his coat in order to maintain his integrity. Let me tell you something. When you're in the grips of one of those moments of weakness, you've got to run. You have got to run away. You've also got to know yourself.

One of the best ways to fight off those moments of temptation and to be successful in your battle is you've got to know yourself, not only know your ways out, but you have to understand yourself. Don't be in denial about your own stuff. Have you ever met anybody in denial? It's not a pretty sight. Don't be in denial. Allow denial to remain a river in Northern Africa. But don't you be in denial because denial will only lead you away from God's best for your life.

You've got to get in touch with your stuff. What are your besetting sins? What are your idiosyncrasies? What are your tendencies under certain conditions? What are the things that lobby hard to bring you down?

You've got to know yourself. You've got to understand. And remember now, the enemies of God's will in your life are not just the big 10, you know, line stealing, adultery, you know, that sort of thing, murder, hatred.

It's not just a big thing. Sometimes it is the little foxes that spoil the vine of God's purpose in your life. God is after a lot of things in your life. He wants to clean up greed out of our lives.

He wants to clean up impulsiveness out of our lives. One of the fruit of the Spirit is temperance. That means the ability to stay under control, the ability to temper things, the ability to regulate your life, to treat your life, to set a thermostat in your life rather than to be a thermometer. A thermometer just reflects the temperature around it.

But a thermostat sets the temperature and causes everything else to respond to it. And temperance is that God cultivated fruit that will allow us to live that balanced tempered life so that you are not controlled by impulses and compulsiveness. And that's one of the things God wants to develop in us. And you've got to know yourself. You've got to know.

You know what? I just have a difficult time living in self-control. And it manifests in different ways. For some of us, it manifests in your inability to regulate your spending of money. And you've got to know that about yourself. You've got to know some of us can't handle in our current state showing up at a mall.

It's downright dangerous for some of us because we have not yet allowed the Holy Spirit to develop to cultivate the fruit of self-control. And you show up and, you know, you go in a mall and you can't handle it. There are too many sale signs.

Come on, be honest with yourself. Now, some folk know how to go to the mall. They know ahead of time why they're going. They know what store they're going to go to to look for their item. They know the one thing they went to get and they go in the store, go to that item, take it to the counter, pay for it and walk out. Oh, but there are some of us who when we go in, it's a ball of confusion. You go in there and the signs begin to call you, sale.

And you find yourself drawn in. You didn't go for that particular store. In fact, some of us, if we get real honest with ourselves, when you go to the mall, you don't know yet what you're going to get.

Oh, come on and be honest. And if somebody, if you were on the phone while you were walking in, they say, what you going in there for? I don't know. I'll see when I get in there.

I'll let you know what I come out with. And you got to know that about yourself and then be able to give that over to God and say, Lord, I want to be in the center of your will. And since my finances are your resources, I want to use them in a way that glorifies you. And so you got to know that about yourself. You can't handle a sale and you sure can't handle a clearance sale.

And some of us see that sign clearance. Everything must go. And you can't handle it. You don't understand that if everything must go, it doesn't have to go to your house.

Talk to me somebody. That's their store's problem if everything must go. That's really not my issue. God bless you all as you all try to unload your inventory. But it's not my problem.

I don't feel obligated to help you out. And so you got to learn what's going on inside of you. You got to learn if you have tendencies toward unforgiveness and bitterness and resentment. If you hold a grudge, can't hardly let anything go, it's still very much alive right now.

Just like it was years ago, months ago, it's still alive right now, unresolved, undealt with in some way or another. You got to know that about yourself. You got to know your ability to be a hypocrite, to hold people to a standard that you yourself don't live by.

You got to know those things about yourself. You know, as believers in Christ, we have access to the only cure for what ails us. His love and mercy toward us. His power within us. Give us the authority to live victorious lives on earth as we anxiously await eternal life in heaven.

The world does not have this power. There's so many people who need the saving grace of Christ. So many souls need to be rescued. And Pastor Paul's primary focus through his radio program is to lead as many people into that knowledge as he can. And you can help by becoming a Destined for Victory partner. As our way of saying thanks for your partnership, we'll send you a few thank you gifts, including one of Pastor Paul's most popular CDs, the best of Let My People Smile. So call 855-339-5500 to find out more about how to become a Destined for Victory partner for as little as $20 a month. Make your pledge over the phone or mail your gift to Destined for Victory, post office box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. You can also become our partner from our website, pastorpaul.net. Now if you can't become a Destined for Victory partner, but can make a generous donation of $25 or more today, we'd like to send you a pair of special gifts from Pastor Paul. The first is his book, Why God Created Dads.

The second is his audio CD, A Tribute to My Dad. So thanks for all you're doing to help keep Destined for Victory on the air. All the soldiers of Israel saw Goliath with their own eyes, but only one of them had vision. Here's Pastor Paul.

Let me tell you something. You've got to understand that we are called to live not by our sight, but by our faith. And you've got to see your enemies through the eyes of faith. When you look at the enemies through the eyes of faith, it's a very different view. That's tomorrow in Pastor Paul Shepherd's message, Lessons from the Battlefield. Until then remember, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ, you are Destined for Victory. . .