Southeast Christian Church - In The Beginning: Don't Open the Door

Hey, this is Kyle Idolman from Southeast Christian Church, and I'm going to thank you

for listening to the message today.

As we open up the scriptures together, I pray that this message inspires you, challenges

you, and is the right word at just the right time in your life.

Enjoy the message.

Today, we're going to continue in our study through Genesis and BracoDal will be teaching

us.

One of our student pastors, he plays a huge role in our commitment to reach the next

two generations.

I am truly grateful for his leadership at our church, for his passion to teach God's

Word.

So get out your notebooks and open up your hearts as BracoDal comes to teach.

Good morning, I am honored and excited to get to open God's Word with you all today.

We're going to jump right in if that's cool with you all.

So we are in our series called in the beginning, in the series, we are studying through the

book of Genesis together.

Today, we're jumping into week four of our series, and so probably a little helpful if

we start with a little bit of a refresh of where we've been, in case maybe you missed

a week, or maybe this is your first time with us, which if it is welcome, we're super glad

you're here.

So let's do a refresh real quick.

So week one, we talked through Genesis one, quite literally, page one of your Bible, and

week one, we looked at this story of a creative God who created everything from nothing.

God created everything that was good.

We talked about how God created mountains and rivers and snowflakes and peacocks and

Chick-fil-A sauce, like all of the good stuff God created it.

But then week two, we talked about how God's favorite creation, like his pride and joy,

the pinnacle of his creation was when God created Adam and Eve.

And God created mankind.

And the Bible uses this really beautiful language.

It says that Adam and Eve, man and woman, were created in his image.

And then last week, we looked at how Adam and Eve, God's favorite creation, they were

tempted to disobey God.

They were tempted to betray God.

The story kind of went like this.

So in the garden, everything was good and perfect, but then there was this serpent.

And we get to witness this external dialogue between the serpent and Eve.

And the serpent is trying to tempt Eve to betray God by eating this forbidden fruit.

Now, unfortunately for us, Adam and Eve both do what we probably would have done if

we were in the same situation.

They take the bait, her and Adam, they take a bite of the forbidden fruit, and in that

millisecond, God's perfect creation is creased.

Sin enters the picture and it begins destroying anything and everything that God had called

good.

Quite literally, sin is bringing death where death was never supposed to be.

And that's where we're going to pick up our story today.

Hopefully, you got your books with you where on page 26 today, if you got it.

And I would encourage you to write these words at the top of your booklet or if you're

taking notes.

This is the sermon in one sentence.

Here's all we're talking about today.

Sin is always knocking, but you don't have to let it in.

Before we jump into Genesis chapter 4, I want to do one other quick refresher from a verse

that we talked about last week from Genesis chapter 3.

After Adam and Eve, they take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

God has a message for the serpent.

God is speaking to the serpent and it's the first blank in your book.

It comes from Genesis 3.15, this is what it says.

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her

offspring.

He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.

So this is quite literally the first prophecy that we see in all of scripture and pretty

cool.

This prophecy is from God himself and what God is doing here, he's giving us a picture

and he's saying that a descendant of Eve is going to come and crush the head of the

serpent.

The descendant of Eve is going to stand victorious over the serpent's devious lies and sinister

plans.

A descendant of Eve is going to win is what God says.

Now what we know now is that this prophecy is all about Jesus.

We talked about this last week, that's also the next blank in your book.

This prophecy is all about Jesus.

It's about Jesus the son of God, Jesus the Lamb of God who is slain to take away the sins

of all mankind.

We know in 2026 that this prophecy is all about Jesus, but what I want you to think about

this morning is what did they know?

What did Adam and Eve think when they heard God say those words?

Well, what they knew is that one of their descendants was going to stand victorious over

this serpent.

So that is what they were looking for.

That is what they were waiting for, that's what they were hoping for.

So we're going to get ready to jump into Genesis 4.

You're going to notice today that there are going to be a lot of firsts.

And what I mean by that is we're at the very beginning of creation.

We're talking about the first men and women to ever walk the earth and so any and every

action that they would have done would be like a new world record.

Nothing has been experienced yet.

So there's a lot of firsts in Genesis 4, see if you can keep track of them in your head.

Let's go.

One, this is what it says.

Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife Eve and she became pregnant.

When she gave birth to Kane, she said, with the Lord's help, I have produced a man.

All right, so there's a lot happening here.

Not only is there some adult content going on, but there's a lot of firsts that I want

you to think about.

So we are now seeing the first pregnancy in human history, which is a big deal.

Adam and Eve, they didn't have access to baby wise.

Some of their friends were able to tell them what this experience was going to be like.

This is fresh.

They don't know what's happening.

I picture it going something kind of like this.

Honey, my stomach is growing.

Baby, don't you worry.

I love you no matter what.

Adam, I'm serious.

It's not like that.

Something's like wrong.

It's like swollen or something.

You're kind of right.

You didn't go eat any more of that forbidden fruit, did you?

No, Adam, I didn't eat any forbidden fruit.

I don't know what this would have been like, but it's the first pregnancy in human history,

which comes with a lot of firsts in it of itself.

Eve would have experienced the first pregnancy cravings in human history,

which I don't know what that would have been because Krispy Kreme wasn't around yet.

But regardless, pregnancy happens, which leads to the birth of the first human baby.

Everborn, his name is Kane.

Now think about all of the firsts with this baby.

The first baby sounds, I think they call them coos, in all of creation.

The first messy diaper, in all of creation.

The first blowout in human history, if you're a parent, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

The first swaddle in all of creation.

The first cry-filled sleepless night.

The first cuddles with an innocent child.

Then think about this.

This baby would eventually grow to become a toddler.

And creation would experience the first tumbling, unsteady steps of a toddler.

That toddler would someday begin to talk.

And creation would hear the first mispronounced words in all of creation.

Things like, pescatty or fire truck.

That's a really dangerous one.

There's so many firsts.

But what I want you to see here is that we get to see in Scripture the first set of siblings.

Check this out.

So Scripture keeps going and says, later, she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel.

So we have Cain.

We have Abel.

We have two brothers.

Now, don't forget where we've been.

Because it's pretty fresh, pretty recent, that both Adam and Eve.

Both mom and dad, they sinned against God in the garden.

And creation was infiltrated with sin.

And then with sin came all the deadly consequences that come along with sin.

The midst of that betrayal, God, He makes this prophecy.

He promises that a descendant of Eve is going to come and destroy this serpent once and for all.

And so as Eve holds these boys, as Adam plays catch with his sons in the front yard, is it possible?

That they think, is this the one?

Could this be the one that is going to restore what we shattered?

Maybe this is the one.

Maybe this is the boy who's going to become a man who is going to slay that serpent once and for all.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

So we have two sons.

They're both growing up in a home where they are hearing about this descendant that is going to stand victorious someday.

Scripture continues.

When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd while Cain cultivated the ground.

So a couple of things worth pointing out here, they grow up.

A lot of time has passed.

Babies became boys and boys became men.

There's a lot of stuff that would have happened in this time frame.

Think about the family vacations that this little family could have gone on.

Maybe they got a family dog and the puppy phase was the worst.

I don't know.

But what I want you to think about is not just the good memories that this family probably had as they grew together.

But I want you to think about the potential animosity that would have existed.

I think it's fair to assume that there would have been some family drama, some family tensions and animosity because Cain is a part of creation now.

And everywhere Cain is, there is pride and there is hurt feelings and there is battles.

I mean, for one, these two toddler boys would eventually become teenagers and they would get that tone.

You all know what I'm talking about?

They perfect the eye roll where like every word ends in awe like mama, right?

So there might be animosity between these teen boys and their parents.

Now why is there animosity?

Because the parents are sinful and the teen boys are sinful.

Sin is there.

But don't just think about from kids to parents.

Think about from brother to brother.

What rivalry could have existed between these two boys as they each, as they each privately pondered the idea?

Could I be the one?

Am I going to be the one that's going to save this family?

Maybe God was talking about me.

Now, teeny bit of a rabbit trail, sibling rivalry.

It's a very real thing and the Bible and it's a very real thing today.

Cain and Abel is the first instance of sibling rivalry that we see but this thing spirals and gets out of control really quickly.

And you're going to see that as we continue to study Genesis together.

So Cain and Abel, they both grow up.

They take different career paths.

Abel cares for sheep.

Cain cares for plants.

They're both important jobs.

Necessary jobs for the family.

But do you know I find so interesting?

Maybe some of you noticed it.

This verse on the screen here.

What do you see?

Anything stick out to you?

Whisper the answer to the person next to you.

Whose name is written first?

Oh, I bet that drives Cain crazy.

I was here first, you know?

Right?

So Cain and Abel, they're just a pretty normal set of siblings.

Rivalry and all.

Now because of their own sin, because of their own insecurity, their humans, they've got sin, they've got insecurity.

They probably live in this constant power struggle of some sort.

Scripture continues for three through five.

When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.

Abel also presented a gift.

The best portions of the first born lambs from his flock.

The Lord accepted Abel and his gift.

But he did not accept Cain and his gift.

And this made Cain very angry and he looked dejected.

So it's the next blanks in your book.

Cain is gifting some of his crops to the Lord while Abel is gifting the best portion of his lambs to the Lord.

Now you can feel it.

The story's getting juicy.

The tension is building in a palpable way.

Let's talk about Cain first for a second.

What do we see here with Cain?

On the surface, it appears that Cain loves God.

On the surface, it would appear.

Look, Cain is giving God an offering he wants to worship God.

On the surface, it appears.

Look at how selfless Cain is.

He's giving God some of what he has out of his own abundance.

It's just like mom and dad taught him to do good job, Cain.

But the Bible tells us that God rejects Cain's gift.

And we can oversimplify this part of the story if we're not too careful.

We can be like, oh, I get it, I get it.

God accepted Abel's gift because he gave more.

And God rejected Cain's gift because he gave less.

Yeah, that makes sense.

There's a problem with that line of thinking though.

What the Bible is trying to teach us here,

it's the next blank in your book, is that God's rejection of Cain's offering wasn't exclusively about the amount of Cain's gift.

It wasn't exclusively about the work of Cain's hands.

It was about Cain's heart.

His heart.

And if I'm being honest with you, let's just be real.

In my humaneness, I don't love that.

Because it reveals that I'm a lot more like Cain in this story than I would like to admit.

Because I too have a heart deep problem.

I have a struggle that is below the surface.

And here's the thing, the story starting to teach us,

that God isn't primarily concerned with what we do on the surface.

It's not that God doesn't care about what we do on the surface,

but it's not his primary concern.

God doesn't want Cain's obligation to give.

God doesn't want Cain's sacrifice for sacrifice's sake.

God doesn't want Cain's gift if it is separated from Cain's heart.

God wants Cain's heart, all of it.

True worship of God is about your heart and your actions.

And so it feels like an appropriate time to stop and ask the dangerous question for my life, for your life.

Are you currently worshiping God with your heart and your hands?

Because it gives you so easy for us, Cain.

It can be so easy for us to work so hard at presenting well.

We want to look like we love God on the outside.

We want to do the Christian things that make us look like we're in love with God when our heart isn't really in it.

Kind of like Cain.

On the surface, we're like, yeah, I love God.

Check out my Instagram bio.

I put that little pink cross thing.

Yeah, I love God.

I go to church every Sunday.

Check my attendance record.

Yeah, I love God.

I give and I tie.

Then I serve just like mom and dad taught me to do.

Just like the preacher challenged me to do.

But what about your heart?

God wants your heart.

The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 16-7.

People judge by outward appearance.

But the Lord looks at the heart.

True worship of God is about your heart and your actions.

It's not one or the other.

It's about both.

And so as we turn back to our story, we spend some time talking about Cain.

Let's spend some time talking about Abel for a second, the younger brother.

I believe that God has Abel's full heart.

And I think this is why Abel gives the best portions from among his flock of lambs.

For Abel, God was his priority.

For Abel, he had complete faith that God was going to take care of him.

That God was going to provide for him and because he loved God and trusted God so much,

Abel makes a sacrifice.

He gives a sacrifice that actually costs him something.

Abel truly loved God in his heart and the generosity of his hands followed.

Check out verse 5 again really quickly.

I don't want you to miss this.

It says, the Lord accepted Abel and his gift.

But God did not accept Cain and his gift.

And this made Cain very angry and he looked dejected.

So what's happening here?

Cain is angry.

Cain is embarrassed.

He's humiliated.

He's humiliated having to watch his brother's gift get accepted while his own gift gets rejected.

Are you kidding me?

And I read this part of the story.

I get a little bit tempted and maybe you do too to be like,

isn't God being a little too harsh here?

Like, come on, God.

Cain's trying, isn't he?

Isn't that all you want God is for us to try?

And that's why I love these next few verses.

Verse 6 and 7 are going to reveal something about God.

It's not like God rejects Cain's gift and walks away.

Now, God desires conversation with Cain.

God desires a connection with Cain.

God wants a relationship with Cain.

And so right here in verses 6 and 7,

we are going to get a front row seat of God's kindness towards Cain.

We've talked so much about rivalry today, about Cain and Abel,

but make no mistake, Church, today's story is not so much about Cain and Abel.

It's about God and God's love for them.

So we're going to get a front row seat at God's undeniable love for Cain.

Check out verses 6 through 7.

Why are you so angry, the Lord asked Cain?

Why do you look so dejected?

You will be accepted if you do what is right.

But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out.

Sin is crouching at the door eager to control you.

But you must subdue it and be its master.

So what do we see here?

It's the next blanks in your book.

God loves Cain and God offers him a warning.

God cares about Cain's emotions.

God cares about Cain's feelings.

Just like God cares about your emotions and your feelings.

But God cares so much about Cain that he also offers him a warning.

God warns Cain and he's like, buddy, sin is crouching at your door.

It's coming for you, my child.

Sin is eager to control you.

And either sin is going to master you or you need to master it.

Basically God is saying, sin is always knocking.

But you don't have to let it in.

Do you know what I find so interesting about this bit of scripture?

So in Genesis 3, before sin had entered the world when everything was perfect in the garden,

we get to witness an external dialogue between the serpent and Eve.

It's an external dialogue.

Temptation is literally out loud.

It had to be out loud because sin had an entered mankind yet.

Now fast forward to Genesis 4, now that sin is a part of creation,

did you notice that we don't see any external dialogue between Cain and a serpent?

We don't see any external temptation from Cain and Satan.

And this is because temptation is no longer external.

Now that sin is a part of creation, temptation is internal.

There is an internal dialogue of temptation happening inside of Cain's heart.

We don't get to see it as the reader.

But there's an internal dialogue of temptation.

And guess who does see it?

God, God knows Cain's heart.

God sees and hears this internal dialogue of temptation and God attempts to intervene.

And God tells Cain, he's like, buddy, you have to make an intentional decision to fight.

Fight the urge, confess your temptation.

Don't open the door.

Reminds me of what James tells us in the New Testament scripture.

James 1 verse 14 through 15, it says this,

temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

These desires give birth to sinful actions.

And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

And this is exactly what is happening inside of Cain.

This is what God is warning Cain about.

If we could summarize James, this is what James is saying.

It's saying temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death.

It's the next blanks in your book.

Temptation leads to sin and sin leads to death.

Some of you are tempted to throw up right now because you can't fit the word temptation on your small blank.

But we're going to get through this together.

Hang with me, it's okay.

Cain is feeling a temptation.

He's feeling this temptation to get revenge.

He's feeling this temptation to let his anger drive.

And Cain now has two choices.

He can either confess those temptations to God and others or he can open the door.

And he can let sin in and let it drag him away.

I am more like Cain than I would like to admit.

I've been a pastor for 14 years.

Which means I've been around Jesus for a long time.

I've been following Jesus for a long time.

And some of you who are showing up new here, maybe you're here today.

And maybe you have this notion.

Maybe you've been led to believe that that Christian people always assume that they are holier than thou.

And if you're new today, just hear me.

My prayer is that that would not be your experience at this church in this time.

Because to truly follow Jesus means you recognize that you are deeply broken, deeply flawed,

deeply full of sin and temptation.

And the only way for you to be safe is through a relationship with Jesus.

I couldn't save myself.

I've been a pastor for 14 years.

And I am still tempted every single day.

I've been a pastor for 14 years.

And I am still tempted every single hour of every single day to do things,

Brock's way, instead of doing things God's way.

And so it's not hard for me to close my eyes and picture what God is saying to Cain.

That God is saying the exact same thing to me.

That God's like Brock, watch out.

Sin is crouching at the door and it's eager to control you.

I am tempted to go to websites that I shouldn't go to.

I am tempted to stay up all night worrying about finances and not trusting that God's going to provide for me.

I am tempted to go through this life, prayerless.

I am tempted to go through this life, white knuckling, working really, working really, really hard,

just to be impressive so that people will give me credit for it.

I am tempted to do things my way, not God's way.

And here's what I know.

I don't think these words that God spoke to Cain, that God speaks to me.

I don't think they're just for me.

I think they're for you too.

Well, we might not know each other super well.

I feel pretty confident that you too feel tempted every single day to do things your way instead of God's way.

I don't know what your temptation is.

Mine might be to do something online that I shouldn't do.

But what's your temptation?

Maybe you're tempted to pick up another bottle.

Maybe you're tempted to pop another pill.

Maybe you're tempted to hook up in that hotel room.

Maybe you're tempted to return to that website.

Maybe you're tempted to gamble.

Maybe you're tempted to steal.

Maybe you're tempted to cheat.

Maybe you're tempted to cuss.

Maybe you're tempted to return that hateful remark to that person because that's what they deserve.

Maybe you're tempted to stick your finger out the window of your car when that person cuts you off in the intersection.

Maybe you're tempted to hoard more things for yourself.

Maybe you're tempted to lie about that person or to lie about yourself.

Maybe you're tempted to just go through this life, paying no attention to the God in the universe who has better plans for you than you could ever have for yourself.

I don't know what your temptation is.

I don't know.

No, but for Eve, Eve was tempted with an apple because she wanted knowledge.

Kane is tempted to lash out an anger.

Brock is tempted to go to websites that I shouldn't go to, but listen very carefully.

I don't know what your temptation is, but you need to hear this.

Temptation is not a sin.

You are not evil because you are tempted.

I know this because the Bible clearly points, clearly paints a picture.

That Jesus, the one who was perfect, he was tempted to do things his way instead of God's way, but Jesus didn't give in.

So it's the next blank in your book.

Temptation is not a sin.

Here's what sin is.

Sin is when you give in to the temptation.

It's when you follow through on doing things your way instead of doing things God's way.

It's just like James tells us when temptation turns to sin and sin is allowed to grow, it brings death.

Death to your joy.

Death to your relationships.

Death to your spiritual senses.

Here's what I'm saying, Church, you might still have physical breath in your physical lungs as you go through this life,

but if you continue to go in sin, living outside of God's will for your life, of course that can't be good for you.

God's not asking for your obedience because he wants to control you.

God is not interested in controlling you.

He's interested in rescuing you.

So will you let him?

God loves you.

God wants life for you.

God wants joy and freedom for you.

And just like God loves you, God loves Cane.

And so as we teleport back into our story, we're going to jump right back into the part where God's trying to initiate this conversation with Cane.

But I want you to take notice of a really sad reality that we see in verses 6 through 7.

It's the next blank in your book, Cane, never responds to God's warning.

We have no record of Cane answering God's questions.

No record of Cane acknowledging God, at least at this point in the story.

Instead, Cane opens the door.

Cane opens the door because of his pride, because of his hurt, because of his anger.

Cane gives way for his temptation.

He opens the door.

He lets sin in.

His desires give birth to sin and sin gives birth to death.

Check out verse 8.

One day, Cane suggested to his brother, let's go out into the fields.

And while they were in the field, Cane attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

Church, today we are confronted with a story that could have ended so differently.

Cane just desperately needed some help.

He desperately needed some help, barricading the doors of his heart.

Cane just needed to confess to someone.

He just needed to open up and tell someone what was going on inside.

Cane needed to respond to God, but instead, Cane chose to harden his heart towards God.

And Cane's temptation turned to sin and sin turned to death.

Here's what I'm saying, Church, Cane was mastered by his sin.

And his sin ended his brother's life.

His sin ruined his own life and his sin shattered his family.

Sin did what sin always does.

And another way to say that would be today in 2026, sin still does.

What sin did back then?

Sin will wreck your life.

Sin will wreck your family's life.

Sin will wreck the world that we live in.

But there is good news for us.

Cane's story doesn't have to be your story.

Cane's story doesn't have to be your story.

It doesn't have to be your story because we have a different model.

We have a hope now that Cane didn't have back then.

We have access to power now.

That Cane didn't have back then.

And this hope and this power that I'm talking about.

We don't receive it.

I'm not talking about a power that you get because you come to church or do spiritual practices or habits.

It's not by your own willpower.

All those things are good.

Church is great.

I love church.

I love confession.

And I love community.

And I love opening up.

But the power that I'm talking about.

The power to overcome temptation and sin in your life is only received when you submit to Jesus Christ as Lord.

Listen, Christians, if you submit to Jesus as Lord, if you submit to Jesus as Lord, then you can have victory over temptation and sin in your life because Jesus was victorious over temptation and sin in his life.

If you submit to Jesus as Lord, then his victory becomes your victory.

His power becomes your power.

If you submit to Jesus as Lord, the Bible tells us that you become God's son.

You become God's daughter and he gifts you.

He fills you with the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the person that enables you to have the victory that Jesus did.

You are not destined to the same outcome as Cain.

You have access to the power of Jesus.

But are you using it?

Do we Christians use it?

Or do we feel that temptation?

Do we feel that temptation?

We feel evil for wanting that thing.

And so we just give in.

I'd encourage you at some point on your own time this week to go and read Matthew chapter 4.

When you go there, what you're going to witness is an external dialogue between Satan and Jesus.

Satan is crouching at Jesus's door and he's tempting Jesus to do things his way instead of doing things God's way.

But Jesus doesn't open the door.

Jesus resists the temptation to provide for himself.

Jesus resists the temptation to prove himself to Satan or anybody else.

Jesus resists the temptation to promote himself.

And instead, Jesus models what it looks like in complete power and humility.

He models what it looks like to resist temptation and to not open the door.

Brothers and sisters, sin is crouching at your door.

And I don't mean to be bleak, but I need to tell you the truth.

If Jesus is not the Lord of your life,

then you are fighting a losing battle against sin and temptation.

If Jesus is not the Lord of your life, then you do not have the Holy Spirit.

If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then your heart is like a door frame with no door on the hinges.

And sin and temptation are free to come and go as it pleases.

Sin will wreck your life.

But the good news for you today is this.

Jesus can become your Lord today.

Not only can Jesus become your Lord today, he wants to become your Lord today.

Jesus has a gift for you.

He wants to give you the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and temptation in your life.

And so if Jesus is not your Lord,

if you've never been baptized and submitted your life and your eternity to Jesus,

here in just a couple minutes at all of our campuses,

someone is going to tell you how you can make that decision today.

But I want to talk to the Christians in the room as we get ready to close.

If you are a follower of Jesus, if you submit to Jesus as Lord,

listen very carefully to what I'm about to say and don't forget it,

because the enemy wants you to forget this.

If Jesus is your Lord, then victory is already yours.

You don't have to earn it.

You don't have to give in.

You don't have to sin.

Because of Jesus, you can have victory over temptation and sin in your life.

Don't open the door and let sin in.

Let's finish with your final three blanks for today.

After your life is surrendered to Jesus,

here's three helpful habits to put into practice as the Holy Spirit teaches you

and sanctifies you to not open the door to sin and temptation in your life.

Number one, listen to God's warning.

Be encouraged that the God of the universe can see and hear the internal dialogue

of temptation happening in your life and the Holy Spirit is offering His help.

But the question is, are you listening for God's voice?

Does the Holy Spirit have space in your life to be heard?

Number two, confess to God and others.

We talked about this today while temptation is not a sin,

it is still helpful to learn to confess your temptations,

to confess the evil desires that you intend to do,

even if you haven't followed through on doing those.

Trust me, you would rather confess your temptations than confess your sin.

Because confessing temptation, it's not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength.

When you learn to confess your temptation, it strips it of its power before it can turn into sin.

My nine-year-old daughter gets this.

She'll go out play in the neighborhood, we got walkie-talkie,

she'll be at a friend's house and she'll walk yes and she'll be like,

hey, mom, dad, can I have a sprite over?

We'll get on the walking, we'll be, hey baby, no.

No sprite right now, we don't want you to ruin your dinner.

She'll come home 30 minutes later. She'll say, dad,

everybody was telling me that I should just do it because you would never find out.

And dad, I really wanted to.

I really thought about it, but I didn't.

My nine-year-old gets this. I can wrap that girl up.

My goodness, I love that girl.

You can say no, too.

You can tell God and others what you want to do and not do it.

Number three, resist temptation.

Follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Read Matthew 4, read Ephesians 6.

It is not your willpower that will give you victory.

It never will be.

It is obedience to the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you.

Sin is always knocking, but you don't have to let it in.

Let's pray.

Lord, today's message would be really bad news.

If we had to work harder, if we had to earn something,

that's not the gospel that the Bible teaches us.

Your Word is filled with good news for us.

And I thank you that we have access to the power of Jesus today.

Not by building up a Christian resume, not by our church attendance,

not by how many scriptures we have memorized, but simply by letting go of everything,

by stepping off the throne of our own hearts,

by stop being the king or the queen of our lives,

and instead getting in the baptism of waters and letting it all go

and saying, Jesus, I make a terrible king.

I make a terrible queen of my own life,

so I just need you to take over.

Jesus, thank you for that.

Your desire is not for us to pick up more,

but for us to fully let go of everything, so that you can drive.

God, I'm sorry for the times where I let temptation win.

I'm sorry for the times when I have access to the power you've given me,

Jesus, I have access to listen to the Holy Spirit's voice,

but I haven't listened.

I'm sorry for the times where I have a simple desire and I don't even fight.

I just give in right away.

Would you change me? Would you change us?

Would you transform me? Would you transform us?

Would you tune our ear to the Holy Spirit's voice?

Sin is always knocking.

Thank you that we have power and that we don't have to let it in.

And Jesus' name, everybody said.

Amen.

Thanks for listening.

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Have a great week.