Temptation on SermonAudio

The Lord teaches his disciples important lessons that search the heart.

This sermon explores the final petition of the Lord's Prayer, focusing on the believer's dependence on God to avoid temptation and be delivered from evil. The preacher distinguishes between trials that test and strengthen faith and sinful temptations driven by the devil, emphasizing that God provides a way of escape for every trial. Key themes include the necessity of prayer, the reality of spiritual warfare, and the importance of resisting worldly affections through a renewed love for God. The message concludes with an exhortation to pursue holiness by relying on Christ's strength rather than human effort.

Continuing a study through the seven dispensations, the preacher examines the era between the fall of man and the flood. Beginning in Genesis 3, he shows how Satan's temptation mixed true statements with fatal omissions, and traces the consequences of Adam's transgression: shame, separation from God, and a cursed ground that yielded thorns without rain. He compares what was commanded then with what changed afterward, noting that men ate only from the ground until Genesis 9, that the curse on the earth was lifted after the flood, and that human lifespans were shortened to 120 years. He then takes up the sons of God of Genesis 6, arguing from Job, Jude, and 2 Peter that these were angels who left their first estate and are reserved in chains unto judgment. Throughout, he urges confidence in the plain words of Scripture over the shifting claims of modern criticism.

In "The Sons of God, Part 4," Pastor McNutt returns a fourth time to Romans 8:14, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God," asking again how a believer may know he is a child of God. Opening with the memory of a Sunday school teacher who wanted nothing but his good, he presses the far greater truth that God has placed the Holy Spirit Himself in every believer as the One who is in our corner. Drawing on Galatians 5:17 and James 4:5, he shows that the Spirit exerts a strong, jealous influence against the flesh, yearning for our sanctification and final glorification, and that this jealousy is the same holy jealousy God declares of Himself in Exodus 20. He then answers the practical question of what such leading actually looks like: a spiritual outlook that hungers for the Word and the company of the brethren, a citizenship in heaven that loosens our grip on what is seen, a life aimed at God's glory rather than self, a growing desire to know Christ, a deepening awareness and grief over indwelling sin that drives us to confession, a watchfulness against temptation, and the active putting to death of the deeds of the body. God leads, but we must walk; sanctification is cooperation with the Spirit and the Word. The evidence is the singular fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, increasingly manifest in a changed life. God did not save us merely for heaven, or He would have taken us home at once. He saved us to make a difference now, and the Spirit will transform us into the image of the Son.

The sermon presents the Tower of Babel as the culmination of mankind's recurring desire to reject God's authority, exalt itself, and become like God—a temptation first introduced by the serpent in Eden and repeated throughout human history and false religion. Rather than obeying God's command to fill the earth and spread His glory, humanity unites in Shinar to build a city and religious tower reaching toward heaven, seeking to make a name for themselves and establish their own kingdom through human power and works. Their unity becomes an anti-God, anti-dominion project in which mankind attempts to seize what belongs to God rather than receive His blessings by faith. Yet their supposedly magnificent tower is so insignificant that Scripture pictures God as having to "come down" merely to see it, exposing the foolishness of human pride. God therefore confuses their language and scatters them throughout the earth, both judging their rebellion and graciously preventing a unified wicked humanity from destroying the faithful line through which the Messiah would come. The sermon concludes by contrasting Babel's false unity with the true unity accomplished by Jesus Christ: at Pentecost the confusion of languages begins to be reversed as people from the nations hear the gospel and call upon the name of the Lord, showing that humanity does not ascend to heaven through its own works, but heaven comes down to humanity in Christ, whose kingdom gathers redeemed people from every nation into one blood-bought people united around His name rather than their own.

This sermon explores temperance, the final fruit of the Spirit, defining it not as human willpower but as a spirit-empowered ability to submit desires and actions to God's authority. Using Daniel and Jesus as biblical examples, the message illustrates that true self-control begins with pre-decisions made in advance and is sustained by relying on Scripture rather than fleshly strength. The preacher outlines three practical steps for cultivating this virtue: surrendering personal desires, strengthening spiritual disciplines through daily engagement with God's Word, and submitting daily decisions to divine authority. Emphasizing that willpower is a limited resource while the Holy Spirit provides inexhaustible power, the sermon challenges listeners to move beyond temporary resolutions toward lasting spiritual growth. Ultimately, it calls for a response of faith, urging individuals to surrender fully to Christ to overcome temptation and bear eternal fruit.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image, choosing faithfulness to God even when it meant facing the fiery furnace. From Daniel 3, this message examines their courageous and uncompromising stand, their confidence that God was able to deliver them, and their submission to His sovereign will even "if not." Their example highlights the importance of biblical convictions, godly friendships, and standing firm when the world pressures believers to conform. In the fire, they experienced the presence and preserving power of the Son of God, and their faithfulness ultimately brought glory to God throughout Babylon. A powerful reminder that it is better to face the fire with the Lord than to gain the favour of the world through compromise.