August 3, 2025
You Will Never Go Through It Alone
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
You will never go through it alone.
Psalms 23:1-3a NIV
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
Psalms 23:3b-4 NIV
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
“Darkest valley” - צַלְמָוֶת implies the deepest darkness known to human experience. A darkness so dense that it is identified with death itself. Scripture employs it both literally (i.e. places where light is absent, like death) and metaphorically (i.e. conditions in which hope, order, and life are eclipsed).
Psalm 23:5 NIV
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Who is your enemy?
Ephesians 6:12 NIV
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Every enemy we face: (sin, anxiety, temptation, identity, shame, condemnation, fear, etc.) are all tools fashioned by our enemy to destroy us and keep us from the good life Jesus promises us.
Jesus in John 10:10 NLT
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
“You’ve been caught in the spiral of sin and temptation. You’ve convinced yourself you have no value. Your mind is clouded by worry and uncertainty. The Enemy has accomplished this by sitting down at your table, but you don’t need to let him stay there and get comfortable. You do not have to entertain the Enemy’s voice.” – Louie Giglio, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table
Genesis 2:16-17 NIV
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Genesis 3:1 NIV
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Satan loves to plant seeds of doubt in your mind about who God is or what He wants you to do.
Are you having any of the following thoughts?
I’ll never change.
I’ll feel better if I sin.
The gospel doesn’t really work.
I’m not worth much.
No one loves me.
No one will ever love me.
No one believes in me.
I deserve to be bitter.
I’m only doing this because they ______.
I deserve to be filled with rage.
I am my failure.
I am my addiction.
I’ll always be this way.
My temptation is my identity.
I’ll never be… good enough… big enough… skinny enough… smart enough… strong enough… tall enough.
“Jesus doesn’t prompt you to worry. He won’t provoke you to fear. Instead, he provides clarity, not chaos. He doesn’t stick your nose in the vomit of sin. He provides green pastures, not dry wastelands.” – Louie Giglio, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table
How do I defeat the enemy and not give him a “seat at my table”?
2 Corinthians 10:3-4a NIV
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
2 Corinthians 10:4b NIV
On the contrary, they (our weapons) have divine power to demolish strongholds.
A stronghold in 2 Corinthians is any area in my life where I have allowed the enemy to sit at my table and I have become comfortable with his lies.
2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
“You will either bind your thoughts or your thoughts will bind you.” - Louie Giglio, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table
When Satan is whispering lies to you,
Step 1: Remember the “but God” passages
Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
2 Corinthians 7:6a NIV
But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us…
Psalm 66:19 NIV
but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
Romans 5:8 NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Psalm 9:18 NIV
But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.
Psalm 49:15 NIV
But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
Step 2. Linger with God
Step 3. Actually change your stinkin’ thinkin’
James 1:22 NIV
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Philippians 4:8 NIV
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Step 4. Never go through it alone
Galatians 6:1-2 NIV
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.