Talk

No Deal

Earl McClellan
January, 14, 2024

We need to say ‘no deal’ to the enemy because we’ve already said yes to the glorious savior, Jesus Christ, and we have given our hearts and our lives over to him. Earl McClellan teaches us to avoid the shortcuts we may be tempted to take in life and instead fix our eyes on the Savior for the long haul, giving Him all of us.

Key Takeaway

The enemy can offer us fickle things to satisfy us temporarily, but God is the only one deserving of our full affection and our entire life.

Many of us have faced the temptation to take shortcuts when faced with difficulties in life.

When we show up to church every Sunday and leave the party early, it can be easy to convince ourselves that it's okay to slip into sinfulness and justify it by looking at the sins of our friends that seem greater.

Earl McClellan flips to Matthew chapter 4 and reminds us of our perfect Savior who was tempted after 40 days of fasting and still did not succumb to the lie the enemy was trying to sell him—that he would be king if he satiated his hunger with the things of this world. Jesus knew that He was already the King of Glory.

The enemy is offering us plastic rings—fame, popularity, riches, etc. in exchange for our lives. Meanwhile, the Lord offers us a crown and adoption into His royal family as a son or daughter if we would give Him our whole lives.

We are challenged to say "no deal" to the devil, remembering the deal we made with God, the one who has pursued us from the very beginning.

“
"Would you go ahead and get your eyes so fixated on the beauty and the majesty of the cross of Jesus Christ that you'll no longer accept the petty rings and "plastic-ness" of this world?"
”
Earl McClellan

Discussion Questions

  1. How has the enemy asked you to make a bargain with the darkness?

  2. Have you justified your own sins by comparing your sins to the sins of another?

  3. What have you entertained to numb the pain in your life rather than seeking Jesus?

  4. What would the enemy tempt you with to attempt to get you to turn from Jesus?

  5. How can you encourage a friend who is choosing the lies of the enemy over the truth of God?

  6. What does the story of Jesus being tempted after 40 days in the wilderness Matthew Chapter 4 teach you?

  7. What can you surrender to God right now that you're still holding onto?

  8. Do you truly believe that God forgives us for our sins?

  9. Why is it hard for us to sometimes believe that God has fully forgiven us?

  10. What attributes of God can we cling to when we're faced with pain and suffering?

Scripture References

1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
2Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
3Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.
4The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“ ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 5You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 6Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 7But if you say to me, “We are depending on the

Lord
our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?

5You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me?
6Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him.
7But if you say to me, “We are depending on the
Lord
our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?
8“ ‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
14This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you!
15Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the
Lord
when he says, ‘The
Lord
will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
16“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern,
17until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4Jesus answered,
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
”
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
6“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7Jesus answered him,
“It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’
”
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
9“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Earl McClellan
Earl McClellan
Founder and lead pastor of Shoreline City Church based in Dallas, Texas