God Reaches Out

Introduction

Soren Kierkegaard has written the following romance story in the book “Disappointment with God.”

“Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist – no one dared resist him. But would she love him?

“She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal.”

The story goes on that the king clothed himself as a beggar and renounced his throne in order to win her hand.

Is the story we celebrate today not just such a story of love?

I. God Pursues Us

God has always pursued us in order to show his love toward us.

Immediately after Adam and Eve rejected God, we read in Genesis 3:9, “But the Lord God called to the man.”

Later when people became more and more sinful, we read in Genesis 6:6, “The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain” And yet God did not give up on them, He continued to pursue them.

God spoke to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, and each story tells of God’s initiative in coming to people and in each of these stories, we also read that the purpose of God’s coming was to bless them and to bless all people through them. For example, to Abraham he said in Genesis 12:3, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Even in the darkest days of Israel’s rebellion against God, we still read about God’s loving pursuit of His people. I have been studying Hosea for my devotions lately and it is an amazing story of how much Israel had rejected God. Because of this God calls them “not my people” but even in this terrible brokenness God promised, “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

Today we celebrate Christmas. In some ways there is nothing new about Christmas. It is the same story which has always been there. It is the story of God’s pursuit of those who have rejected Him.

The story begins with God’s visit to Zechariah in the temple. God took the initiative to come to him and announce to him that his son would be an important figure whose job would be to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Then God also came to Mary and revealed to her “the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

As we think about the story of the birth of Jesus, we understand that it is a story about God becoming a man. The story of Kierkegaard approaches the wonder of what it means that God has chosen to pursue us. In order to communicate His love to us and in order that we will come to truly love Him, He Himself came into our world. He came in the most vulnerable way possible – as a child. He came as one of us. His name was “Immanuel” which means, “God with us.” He came, as the angels said, because we are the ones “on whom his favor rests.”

Wouldn’t we say that that is the greatest story of loving pursuit that we have ever heard? I John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Cecil Murphey says, “Instead of thinking of the Christian life as what we do, isn’t it time to emphasize once again what God does? That’s really the biblical perspective; Scripture provides hundreds of examples of the Holy breaking into human existence, chasing us, wooing us, reaching out toward us, embracing us, and changing us.”

Henry Blackaby says, “God Himself pursues a love relationship with you. He is the One who takes the initiative to bring you into this kind of relationship.” “You did not initiate a love relationship with God. He initiated a love relationship with you.”

God has pursued us.

II. What Pursuit Communicates

A lover’s story is a wonderful way to think about the pursuit of God. Have you ever found out that someone loved you? Have you ever been pursued by someone? Perhaps it was someone you liked and you found out they liked you too. Perhaps it was your wife or husband who was pursuing you. What does it feel like when you don’t even have to pull the petals off the flower because you are being pursued and you know, “He loves me?” What does it feel like and what does it mean that God is pursuing us?

A. Choice

The fact that God pursues us lets us know that we are chosen.

1. We Were Picked

This was the message which God communicated to Israel throughout their history. Psalm 135:4 says, “For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.”

This idea, with its rich background of being chosen and being God’s treasured possession carries over into the New Testament. Peter picked up on many Old Testament images when he wrote in 1 Peter 2:9,”But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

But as we examine the wonder of this choice, we see how amazing it truly is. Paul lets us know in Ephesians 1:4 that, “he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Did you see that phrase, “before the creation of the world?” I think it is hard for us to understand all that God knew before He even created us. Is it possible that before we were ever made God already knew that we would sin and reject Him. What does it mean that He still created us and pursued us? It seems that what happened in the Garden of Eden was not a mystery to God. He knew it was going to happen. It elevates the wonder of His love and His pursuit of us to see this eternal intention of God.

Another amazing aspect of His choice of us is that revealed in Romans 5:8 where we discover that God not only had this eternal intention to choose us, but that he chose us while we were totally uninterested in Him. There we read, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It seems that God does not only respond to goodness, he reaches out to wickedness and chooses us to be His people.

B. Relationship

One of the key concepts in the Old Testament is the concept of covenant. A covenant is a relationship based on a promise and a commitment. Israel was chosen by God for just such a relationship. In Deuteronomy 7:6-9 we read, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” I love that phrase, “covenant of love” for it tells us that God has chosen and pursued us for the purpose of a relationship with Him.

We make a distinction between the two parts of the Bible calling them the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Christ, we have entered into a New Testament or Covenant with God. Hebrews 9:15 reminds us, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” So we understand that God’s pursuit of us, God’s choice of us allows us to enter into a relationship with God.

C. Love

Many people like Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” It reveals more of what it means that God has pursued us. The message of Christmas, the message we celebrate today is a message which tells us that we are loved by God. God’s intentions towards us are the best of intentions. I love Romans 8:28 which shows us this love message when it says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

In the book “The Sacred Romance” Brent Curtis & John Eldredge write, “The Incarnation, the life and death of Jesus, answers once and for all the question, ‘What is God’s heart toward me?’”

The Christmas story is so wonderful and so much appreciated for it leaves absolutely no doubt about God and His relationship with us. He has pursued us by becoming one of us. He has chosen us, set us into a relationship with Himself and demonstrated an amazing love for us. How can we ever doubt His great love towards us when He has so relentlessly pursued us? How can we doubt His great love toward us when we know the Christmas story?

III. Responding To Pursuit

Sometimes we hear some pretty awful stories of pursuit. We hear about people who pursue others because they claim to love them, but they constantly bother them, write to them, force them into situations in which they can be with them and force their unwanted attention on them. We call that stalking. Is God pursuing us or stalking us? What is the difference?

Stalking is done selfishly. It says, “I want you for myself and cannot comprehend the idea that you don’t also want me. I function under the assumption that my feelings for you are the same as your feelings for me. You will love me!”

God’s pursuit is quite different. God knows that we may reject Him. God does not force us to love Him. Rather, the story of God’s pursuit of us is a story in which God opens doors, welcomes us, makes a way for us, invites us, wants us, but does not force us, does not stalk us.

We would respond to stalking by running the other way, but how do we respond to such gracious loving pursuit? How do we respond to God’s sacrifice, God’s love, God’s offer, God’s grace, God’s choice? What does it mean to live with the knowledge that God has pursued us in love?

A. Free To Know

First of all, it means that we are free to know that we are loved. Simon Tugwell says, “So long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about – He is looking for us. And so we can afford to recognize that very often we are not looking for God; far from it, we are in full flight from him, in high rebellion against him. And He knows that and has taken it into account. He has followed us into our own darkness; there where we thought finally to escape him, we run straight into his arms. So we do not have to erect a false piety for ourselves, to give us the hope of salvation. Our hope is in his determination to save us, and he will not give in.”

B. Free To Trust

If we are pursued by God, we are free to trust God. God’s pursuit of us assures us that His intentions towards us are good. Philippians 2:13 says, “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

If God is working in us for His good purpose, then we have every reason to trust Him completely. It frees us from all fear, from all worry. We aren’t tenuously in God’s hands depending on the terrors of life or the fickleness of our own sins. God is pursuing us for our good. If someone has sinned, it does not mean that they are forgotten by God. Even though He leaves them to their choice and path, He does not give up on them.

Therefore we can trust that I Corinthians 10:13 is true; “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful…”

Therefore we can hope that Psalm 91:10 is right when it says, “…no harm will befall you.”

If God pursues us, we are free to live by faith.

C. Free To Hope

If God has pursued us, we are free to hope. We are certain that the future is secure. Jesus promised in Matthew 25:34, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” It has been God’s plan all along to welcome a people who love Him. He has pursued us for this very purpose and if that is true and we have trusted in Him, we can be sure that this hope is certain.

D. Free To Love & Obey

If we have been pursued by God, then we are also free to follow God in obedience and love. The apostle John recognized this connection in I John 3:16 when he said, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

Henry Blackaby says, “A love relationship with God requires that you demonstrate your love by obedience.”

Why is this connection so significant? In “The Sacred Romance” the writers put it this way, “There are selfish forms of love, relationships that create closed systems, impenetrable to outsiders. Real love creates a generous openness. Have you ever been so caught up in something that you just had to share it?”

If God has so pursued us in love, this is a message to share by loving others.

Conclusion

As we celebrate God’s coming at this time of year, it is not only nice, but important to know that we are loved.

This is what Christmas does for us. It lets us know beyond a shadow of doubt that God has pursued us and continues to pursue us because He loves us.

During this Christmas season and in the days beyond, may that knowledge bring us great joy and also strengthen us for the difficult times.

Overcoming Temptation 2

Introduction

This may not look very attractive to you, but to a Jackfish it looks like a gourmet dinner. I have trolled in deep channels in Lake of the Woods and caught some pretty big Jack on lures like this. In fact, they like it so much that one time I wasn’t actually fishing, but the lure was hanging over the edge of the boat and a Jack went for it. Of course, with all these hooks on here, when they catch this lure, they are in trouble. I remember one trip to Crowduck Lake in Ontario. We took our canoe and spent an afternoon fishing and when we had a few fish we went on shore and made a fire and pan fried the freshly caught fish in margarine with a little salt and pepper and were they ever delicious. It was good for us, but not so good for the fish.

Last week we talked about the tug of war with temptation. We have been created to be holy and we desire to be holy, but we are tempted to sin and so we have a difficult fight on our hands. Like a lure, temptation attracts. We saw how we are attracted to sin because it speaks to something within ourselves, something we desire. But also like a lure, temptation is deadly if we yield to it. Therefore, the question we want to look at this morning is, “How can we overcome temptation?”

The promise of God in I Corinthians 10:13 is, “No temptation has seized 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 so that you can stand up under it.” What are those ways out? How does God help us? What can we do to gain victory over temptation?

Before We Are Tempted

When winter comes along, I usually put a winter kit in my car. It includes jumper cables, warm clothing and a shovel. If I get stranded in a storm, or hit the ditch because of icy roads, I am ready.

Overcoming temptation begins with being prepared. Jesus encouraged his disciples in Matthew 26:41, “Watch … so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Make A Covenant

Before we are tempted, especially in areas in which we know that we may be tempted, it is good to make a covenant in our heart. We know that Job was a righteous man who tried to live in obedience to God. It was the habit of his life to try to be obedient. Part of that was to make a covenant, a promise that he would not sin. We read in Job 31:1, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.

I think that is a good example and it might even be helpful to write that covenant down in our journal. But how do we keep that covenant?

Build A Relationship

Rick Warren says, “You don't have enough power in your own willpower. That's why you keep falling. You need some supernatural power. You need Jesus Christ in your life.” This is very true. In order to overcome temptation, we need God.

In Luke 8 we have the story of the soils, which speaks of the different responses which people have to the Word of God. The parable describes seeds growing in shallow soil which is over rocks. These seeds grow up quickly, but because there is no depth of soil, they don’t last. Luke 8:13 describes people like this, “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” If we do not build our lives deeply in a relationship with Jesus, we also will be in danger of falling away when we are tested.

In John 14, Jesus speaks to his disciples about love and obedience and twice remarks that it is in a love relationship with Him that obedience is possible. In John 14:15 he says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Then again in John 14:21 it says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

Jesus experienced temptation on a number of occasions and each time was able to overcome it. What was the strength He possessed to overcome? Surely one of the things was that he had a close relationship with His Father. We see this relationship when he was tempted in the garden of Gethsemane and said in Matthew 26:39, “not as I will, but as you will.” We see in many places in the gospels the depth of relationship which Jesus had with the Father and as he came to His greatest hour of testing, His love for His Father and desire to please Him was uppermost in His mind and allowed Him to overcome the temptation.

We have so many great promises. We know, for example that Jesus is interceding for us. In John 17:15 He prays, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” In II Peter 2:9 we also have the promise that, “…the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials…” Jesus is praying for us, God knows how to rescue us, but I think that the underlying idea in both of these verses is that these promise are for those who are in relationship with the Father. The best way we can overcome temptation is if we maintain a daily habit of relationship with God. This is the great strength we have to help us but we need to cultivate this relationship before we are tempted.

Develop Accountability

Yet God has also given us His church in order to be a strength and encouragement to one another. The church is God’s church given so that we can be a help to each other and care for each other. God has set us in relationship to one another in the church and it is in those relationships where we can find great strength to overcome.

That is why it says in James 5:16 “Confess your sins one to another.” That is why Galatians 6:1 encourages, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”

Yet we are reluctant. Why? In part it is because we have an independent spirit. Like a 2 year old we want to live by the motto, “I can do it myself.” In part it is because of pride. We find it hard to admit that we sin. Last week we saw that one consequence of sin is that we refuse to admit it. As long as we posture perfection to each other, we will continue to be weakened and unable to help each other. When we humbly admit, “I have trouble with this sin,” we are able to care for each other. In part we also fear that if we admit that we struggle with sin, we will be embarrassed and our reputation will be ruined. The reality is that we all sin. Why not be honest with each other about that and pray for each other and help each other?

The matter of accountability can be handled badly and so we need to be careful about it. If we judge one another, we will not be helpful. If we pretend that we are better than another person, we will not be helpful. If we know our own sinfulness and love each other as Jesus has taught us to love, then we will be able to help each other.

My suggestion would be that before we sin we should find someone we can trust and tell them, “I struggle with such and such a sin. Can you pray for me and ask me once in a while how I am doing in that area?”

When We Are Tempted

All of these things help to prepare us and give us a chance for victory. But temptations will still come and they will still be attractive. When they come, what do we do?

Recognize The Lies

One of the first things we need to do is recognize the lies in every temptation. The Bible says in John 8:44, that Satan “is a liar and the father of lies.” If he is the source of temptation, we must know that there are lies in those temptations.

One lie is that what we are desiring in the temptation is really what we need. For example, sometimes we are tempted to purchase something that we know is not in our budget. Why do we have this desire? Is buying this thing really what we need or is there something else. Are we trying to make ourselves feel better because we are depressed? Do we have a need to pamper ourselves because we have had a bad day? In those cases, the real need is for encouragement, not the need to buy something and therefore the desire to buy something is a lie.

A second lie which may arise in temptation is that whatever we desire will satisfy our needs. Of course if what we desire isn’t really what we need, we should be suspicious that fulfilling the desire will actually meet the need. For example, if we are tempted to gossip because it will make us feel better about who we are by putting someone else down, the actual effect will be to make us feel guilty that we spoke badly about someone else and we will actually end up feeling worse about ourselves. If our temptation is to look at pornography, the same thing results, we feel guilty and are not satisfied at all.

II Corinthians 2:11 encourages us that we need to recognize the lies, “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” If we know that he is a liar, we will always be on our guard and look for the lies whenever temptation hits.

Flee From Sin

One of my favorite stories about temptation is the story of Joseph. He was a servant in the house of Potiphar. On a regular basis, Potiphar’s wife made advances to Joseph and gave him many opportunities to sin with her. When she made her most aggressive advance, Joseph turned around and ran. When temptation does make its presence known, our first reaction should be to run.

II Timothy 2:19-22 gives us this message in great clarity. There we read, ““Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth…” Notice that in this passage there are three statements encouraging flight from sin. In verse 19 it says, “turn away from wickedness” in verse 21 it says, “if a man cleanses himself…” and in verse 22 it says, “Flee the evil desires of youth…”

It seems clear that an important strategy for victory is flight. Sometimes that will mean actually getting up and going somewhere else. If the TV is presenting the temptation, it means turning it off and walking away. If it is the refrigerator presenting the temptation, it may mean going for a walk.

Run To Righteousness

In the passage from II Timothy 2:22 we just looked at, the phrase which follows, “flee the evil desires of youth” says, “and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22)

Rick Warren says, “If temptation begins with our inner thoughts then changing what we think about is the key to overcoming it. This is the principle of replacement, the key to overcoming temptation. The key to overcoming

temptation is not to fight temptation but simply refocus your thoughts. Change your attention. Turn your

attention on something else.”

So we need to not only flee from temptation, but it is very important that we flee to what is right. I mentioned a moment ago that it might be TV that presents the temptation. To walk away may not be enough, we also need to walk towards something that will replace the attraction of the temptation with something that will take our mind off the temptation.

Pray

Both before we are tempted and in the midst of temptation, one of the best things we can do is pray. The Bible says this quite often. In Matthew 6:13 Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Part of the Lord’s prayer is, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ If Jesus has taught us to pray like that, doesn’t that also suggest that God will answer such a prayer?

When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, He told His disciples, as in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Although He was speaking of a very intense time of testing coming, the principle is still true that because the body is weak, but God is strong, we ought to pray. Unfortunately the disciples did not follow His instruction and when the time of testing came, they were scattered and Peter even denied Jesus.

When we are tempted, we may not feel like sitting down and taking our Bible and having a time of devotions, even though that would probably help a lot. At the time we are often being severely attracted by the temptation before us. So how do you pray when you don’t feel like praying? God hears the simplest prayers and a quick “help” is as powerful a prayer as we can pray. All we need to do is take a quick upward glance in our hearts to let God know that we are reaching out to Him in this time of temptation. He will hear that prayer and has already promised to “provide a way out so that (we) can stand up under it.”

Quote Scripture

As we examine the way in which Jesus overcame temptation, we know that He quoted Scripture. In Matthew 4:10, while being tempted, Jesus said, “it is written…”

John Piper writes, “The Word of God cuts through the fog of Satan's lies and shows me where true and lasting happiness is to be found. And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make me happy, and instead entices me to trust in God's promise of joy.”

I remember memorizing Psalm 119:9,11whenI was a young man. It says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” In order to be able to use Scripture in the moment of temptation, we need to have it in our hearts. When we are in the midst of temptation that is not the time to look for a Bible concordance and find the verse that will help us in that moment. The verse must already be there and that is why it is so important to memorize Scripture.

When We Have Sinned

These are the strategies which God has given us to have victory over sin. However, in spite of our best efforts, it is still possible that we will succumb. What then?

The best way to overcome the sin we have committed and also gain victory in the long term is to recognize and confess our sins. Confession is an important part of future victory. It deals with past sins, it deals with present sins and it keeps the slate clean to encourage us to avoid future sins.

Recognize Sin

We have recognized that one of the immediate consequences of sin was that Adam and Eve did not acknowledge their wrong doing. This continues to be a problem. We let ourselves off with a multitude of excuses – it wasn’t that bad, other people do much worse things, it only happened once, I couldn’t help it.

If we are to have victory over sin and victory over temptation, we will need to recognize the ways in which we have been tempted and the ways in which we have yielded to temptation. Here are some practical things to do to take this first step.

As soon as your conscience bothers you and you realize that you have sinned, talk to God about it. Ask Him to clarify the wrong and acknowledge that you have sinned. If you have a general sense of wrongdoing, that is not God, that is Satan. If you know exactly what you have done wrong and it is clearly sin in God’s eyes, the best and most important first step is to acknowledge it.

Every day, perhaps at the end of the day before you go to sleep, open your life to God. Periodically throughout the year – perhaps once a week or once a month or at the beginning of a new year, sit down and be quiet in the presence of God. Worship Him and open your heart to Him. A good prayer at times like that is Psalm 139:24 “See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” If there is something specific and clear which God reveals, admit it right away.

The website, Christian Answers.net advises, “Our age is one in which blame is passed to society, to the pressures of the times, or to some other faceless, nameless creature. If one is to be forgiven, he must first humbly admit, "I have sinned." As long as he looks for someone or something else to blame, he will be totally helpless in combating temptation.”

Confess Sin

When Jesus was heading for the cross, we know that the disciples had a hard time. The gospels tell us the stories of two of his disciples who were tempted by Satan who yielded to the temptation. Judas was tempted to betray Christ and Peter was tempted to deny Christ. Both of them yielded to the temptation. But the end of the story was different for each. Peter succumbed to the testing of Satan, but was not destroyed by it whereas Judas was destroyed. What was the difference? Judas was unable to confess to God the wrong he had done, but Peter did repent and was restored. Yielding to temptation does not mean that we are destroyed, but that we need to repent and be restored.

Although admitting our sin may already look like confession, it is only the first step. Judas recognized that he had done something wrong, but he did not repent of his wrong. Repentance involves not only an admission in our own hearts, but also an admission to God. Such an admission requires humility. It means that we have to admit that we are not perfect and that we do not have it all together. That is the truth and so we might as well admit it. I John 1:9 says, “^ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Confession may also require admitting our sin to someone else. This takes a further step of humility and is very difficult, but also absolutely necessary. James 5:16 encourages us to “confess your sins one to another.” I Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that we all sin in the same kind of ways. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.” If that is so, there is no one who will be surprised by what you have done, for we are all tempted in similar ways. The Catholics have it right. They give an opportunity for people to confess their sins to the priest. We, on the other hand, don’t confess our sins to anyone. Scripture says that we should confess our sins, not necessarily to the priest, but to one another in the body. Of course that does not mean that we should air our dirty laundry on Sunday morning during sharing time. Unless we have sinned against the whole body, we should confess our sins, first of all to the one against whom we have sinned. However, it is also good for us to confess our sins to each other. A good place to do that is in the intimacy of relationships between caring brothers and sisters, perhaps in a small group. That is where we develop trust so that we can safely confess our sins to one another.

Conclusion

I’ve observed that I can remember people who have died of cancer, but I have to think a little harder to remember people who have survived cancer. Not that there aren’t any, in fact if I think about it there are many. I think what happens is that once people are back to normal, we forget that they have struggled.

The same thing happens with temptation. We can remember all the times we have been tempted and have lost, but we don’t think about the times when we found the way out and were victorious. I want to encourage us to realize that what God has promised happens. Don’t let Satan discourage you that there is no hope and that sin is inevitable. Keep on doing the things I have mentioned and keep on relying on the promises God has made. In I Corinthians 10:13 God has promised, “No temptation has seized 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 so that you can stand up under it.” and in Philippians 1:6, God has promised, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

As long as we remain in Christ, sin is not going to win, God is going to win. Let us remain in Him.

Overcoming Temptation 1

Introduction

Do you ever feel as if you are in a terrible tug of war? When we have a church picnic or when we are at camp and we have a tug of war, it is a lot of fun. We are on one side of the rope and we pull with all our might in order to win for our side. I particularly enjoy the ones where there is a puddle of mud and water in between and you get to drag the other team into that mud puddle. That is a lot of fun unless you are the one who gets dragged into the mud.

However, a tug of war is not so much fun when it is going on within yourself. When your heart is pulled in one direction and then in the opposite direction or when you desire two totally opposite things, it isn’t so much fun. I suspect all of us know about this terrible tug of war. It is the battle between holiness and sin in our lives, the battle to follow God and the temptation to disobey Him. If we do not belong to God nor desire to follow Him, there is no battle because we can do exactly as we please. When we are in heaven, we will have no battle because we will have changed hearts which will follow God completely. But now, the battle is fierce and constant and difficult.

This morning, I would like to describe the battle according to some of the things the Bible says. I would like to examine the meaning of the holiness to which we have been called and the way in which temptation works. Then next week, I would like to look at some of the practical things we can do in order to overcome temptation.

Temptation

The Source

Why do we struggle with temptation? Where does it come from?

God Does Not Tempt

Omar Khayyam was a middle eastern philosopher from the 11^th century who wrote, “O Thou who didst with pitfall and with gin, Beset the path I was to wander in.” Do you agree with that? It wouldn’t be the first time that someone blamed God for putting temptation in our path. After Adam and Eve had sinned, Adam blamed God when he said in Genesis 3:12, “The woman you put here with me…” Although he blamed Eve for the temptation, he blamed God for putting her in a place where she could tempt. In other words, he was blaming God for creating the conditions in which he was tempted.

I suspect many of us have thought in similar ways. For example, most of our temptations come from the good things of life – food, sex, relationships, which are all things which God has put in this world. If we have trouble with food, we may think of blaming God for creating food. If you have problems with lust, we may think about blaming God for creating our sexual drive. If we struggle to relate well to other people, we may want to blame God for creating us with the personality and background we have.

But we can’t blame God. The Bible is very clear that God does not ever tempt us. Although God may allow us to experience difficult challenges which are intended to strengthen our faith, God never tempts. James 1:13 says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…”

Satan Tempts

Satan, on the other hand, does tempt. In 1 Chronicles 21:1 we read that, “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.” Even Jesus was tempted by Satan. In Luke 4:13 we have the record of the temptations which Jesus experienced in the wilderness and we read, “When the devil had finished all this tempting…” In several other passages Satan is identified as the one who tempts. We know that because Satan is the enemy of God it is his goal to lead us to do those things which would destroy our faith and break our relationship with God.

Temptation Comes From Within

However, even though Satan may tempt us, we cannot blame Satan when we sin. Temptation comes from Satan, but sin does not come from Satan. We are responsible for the sins we commit because we are the ones who make the choice to obey the temptation. James 1:15 is very clear about the source of temptation and there we read, “…but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

If we blame God, we dishonor Him. If we blame Satan because we have yielded to temptation, we will never discover how to overcome temptation because the problem is not outside of ourselves, but within ourselves. Therefore, it is critical that we recognize that temptation works because of something within ourselves and that we are responsible for our own sin.

The Steps

So how does temptation work? What is the process?

Temptation Is Not Sin

We need to begin by understanding that when we are tempted, we have not yet sinned. Even Jesus was tempted as we see in the stories of his specific temptations, as for example in Matthew 4:1. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

It is important to know this. Temptation is not sin, but it is a terrible danger. We should not despair because we have experienced temptation. If we do, we are ripe for defeat because we may think, “I have been tempted, there is no hope for me, I might as well yield because it is already too late.” That is a false line of reasoning that Satan will use to tempt us to yield to temptation. It is a lie. Because temptation is not sin we should not be afraid that we have fallen when we have been tempted. We should however be terrified when temptation comes. Temptation is a terrible danger. Instead of feeling defeated when temptation comes, it should be a call to arms, a call to recognize that now the battle is on. The presence of temptation not a time to lay down our weapons, but a time to fight. If we don’t raise our weapons at this point, we are in great danger and the process of temptation will follow its steps leading to destruction. What are those steps?

The Process Of Yielding

A moment ago we looked at James 1:14,15, which has a great description of the process by which we yield to sin.

The first step is that “each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” What this tells us is that although Satan may be involved in the temptation, he always works on us in an area that is already a weakness in us. Temptation comes in the area of our desires. In Joshua 7 we have the story of Achan. When Jericho was destroyed, God had indicated that everything in the city should not be plundered, but should be destroyed. Achan, however, did not obey this command and when he was caught he explained in Joshua 7:21, “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

If temptation were shown for what it really was, we would never yield, but temptation always promises something that we believe will fulfill our desires. It always contains a promise that will meet a need in us to give us what we want. For example, if we are tempted to gossip, we need to think about why that represents a temptation to us. What is it that gossip promises that we want? Does it promise that someone will like us? Does it promise to make us look better than the other person? Temptation always promise something that we want.

There are many sources of temptation which relate to the desires in our heart. In II Samuel 11 tells the story of David’s sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. In verse 2 we read, “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful…” He saw the woman and she “was very beautiful” and he wanted her.

Proverbs 30:8,9 presents an interesting reflection on desire and temptation. It says, “…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” Desire for things can raise up temptation whether we are poor or wealthy.

Sometimes we don’t understand one another. We observe how someone really struggles with a temptation and we don’t understand how such a thing can be a problem for them because it is no issue for us. It seems that temptation is individually tailored and will attack us at the area in which we desire something very much.

But that is only the first step and at that point we have not yet sinned. The next step is that “desire has conceived.” In the story of David and Bathsheba, I suspect that David did not go up on the roof of his house with the intention of finding a woman. The temptation presented itself to him and spoke to the desire in his heart. He was enticed by the sight of her. It is at that point that he made a decision and proceeded down the path towards sin. That moment of agreeing that he not only had the desire, but also wanted to fulfill the desire was the moment at which “desire conceived.” This is the point at which desire receives the assent of the will, the point at which we say “yes” to the desire. It is at this point that we sin.

When we yield to the temptation and act on the desire, the affirmation in our heart “gives birth to sin.” This is the point at which we have crossed the line of what is the appropriate use of God’s gift. If our temptation is in the area of eating, it is at this point that we take the good thing God has given – food – and misuse it to fulfill some desire within our selves. If our temptation is in the area of our sexuality, it is at this point that we misuse the good thing which God has given – intimacy in a marriage relationship – and abuse it in order to fulfill the evil desire within us.

This is the process of temptation. It begins with an opportunity, a temptation. The temptation speaks to a desire within our hearts. We agree that we want to fulfill the desire and when we act on it, we sin.

The Consequences

Whenever we yield to temptations, there are always consequences. James 1:15 says, “and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” The consequences of sin are well illustrated in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned.

The first consequences was shame. In Genesis 3:7 we read that Adam and Eve recognized that they were naked. What is interesting is that they had always been naked and it had never been an issue before. Why was it suddenly uncomfortable? It was an issue because they now knew the shame of yielding to temptation. Shame is closely related to guilt. It is appropriate that the feeling of shame is associated with nakedness. Shame is what we feel when our weakness is exposed, when we are shown for who we really are. It is humbling and uncomfortable to experience shame and is usually the first indication that we have yielded to temptation.

The second consequence which Genesis 3 recognizes is separation from God. They had met with God before, but now, for the first time, they were afraid of God. Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden. One assumes that previously this had happened and they had walked with God and looked forward to the relationship, but now they hid from God. Although there are also consequences to other relationships, it is the relationship with God which is primarily destroyed when we sin, for all sin is against God. When David had committed his sin and later acknowledged it, we read in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only have I sinned.”

The third consequence was the refusal to take responsibility. They knew they had done wrong, but they were unwilling to admit it. Instead they blamed others – Adam blamed God and Eve, Eve blamed the serpent. I think it is because of shame and pride that we are often exactly the same way. We have a hard time admitting that we are responsible. We don’t want to acknowledge that we have been shamed. We continue, in pride, to hold on to the deceptive notion that we are good and that we have done nothing wrong. We hate to admit that we may be something other than what we appear and so we fight hard to maintain our innocence even though we are guilty.

As a punishment for their sin, the whole world entered into brokenness. Sin will always result in brokenness. In Genesis, the consequences to the physical world included difficulty in child birth and difficulty in daily work. Romans 8:22 acknowledges the brokenness of the world when it says, “…the whole creation has been groaning…right up to the present time…” I know of a woman who was sexually abused as a child. The psychological, spiritual, relational and even physical consequences of the sin done to her continue to have an impact on her life 20 years after it happened. This is not unusual. Every time we sin, the consequences are devastating.

The ultimate consequence is of course death itself. When God says that death will be the consequence of sin, He means death in the simplest sense of physical death. But He also means death in the spiritual sense of utter separation from God and He also means death in the metaphorical sense of destruction. When we sin, it always leads to death and leaves a trail of brokenness on the way.

Holiness

As devastating as the consequences are, we nevertheless know the awful pull of temptation and recognize that we fight a major battle with it quite often. But there is another call in our life, a pull in another direction. For those who are in Christ, we are also called to holiness.

Called To Be Holy

God has not created us to be destroyed by yielding to our desires. God has created us and called us to holiness. Oswald Chambers wrote, “The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. God is not an eternal blessing machine for men. He did not come to save men out of pity; He came to save men because He had created them to be holy.” This is what it says in Ephesians 1:4, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” God’s first desire for us, His eternal intention for us is to be holy.

It is because of His intention for holiness that He did not destroy the world when Adam and Eve sinned. It is because of His intention for holiness that He sent Jesus to die on the cross and it is because of His intention for our holiness that He has given us the Holy Spirit to make us holy.

Therefore, our life must be lived with the intention of being holy. II Corinthians 7:1 challenges us, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

What Is Holiness?

But what do you think about when you think about being holy? Do you think about people who because of their reputation are recognized as holy people – people like Mother Theresa or Billy Graham? Do you think of people like Frank Burns in the MASH TV series who postured holiness, but was hated because he was a hypocrite and anything but holy. On the one hand he read his Bible and loudly proclaimed high moral standards, but on the other hand slept with one of the nurses and was filled with judgmental attitudes. We shudder at that kind of holiness. What does holiness mean? It is not something that is so far above us that we can’t attain to it and it is not the ugliness of being “holier than thou.”

When we look at what it is that God wants us to be like, the best place to look is at Jesus, who was loved by tax collectors and sinners and yet never sinned. That is the picture I put in my mind when I want to understand what it means to be holy – absence of sin, but gracious presence. Such holiness is attractive and attainable – not in the absolute sinlessness of Jesus, but as a way of living that is possible.

The Blessing Of Holiness

We know that God has called us to be holy and expects us to be holy, but we also need to know that holiness is the best way to live.

When Jesus had his last opportunity to speak to his disciples he said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” When he said this, he was saying more than “obey my command.” He was saying that the power and the desire to obey God comes from love. It comes from the recognition that we are loved by God. It comes from the recognition that the call to holiness which God gives us is a call to follow the best way there is.

C. S. Lewis put it, “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible.”

In a similar way, John Piper says, “I wonder how many believers today realize that faith is not merely believing that Christ died for our sins. Faith is also being confident that His way is better than sin. His will is more wise. His help is more sure. His promises more precious. And his reward more satisfying. Faith begins with a backward look at the cross, but it lives with a forward look at the promises…If my thirst for joy and-meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can see the steak sizzling on the grill…The challenge before us then is not merely to do what God says because He is God, but to desire what God says because he is good. The challenge is not merely to pursue righteousness, but to prefer righteousness.”

Conclusion

This is the great tug of war we are in. On the one hand the wonderful attractiveness of being holy and on the other the powerful pull of temptation. In a real tug of war, it might be possible to stack the odds in our favor. If we had Andre the Giant as our anchor and if we all wore cleats on our shoes and if we learned all the best strategies for winning, perhaps we could win easily. Are there things we can do to stack the odds in our favor in the tug of war with temptation? We can have someone stronger than Andre the Giant helping us and there are strategies which can help us win and next week I want to talk about these.

May the call to holiness and the recognition of the blessing of holiness give us courage to live in holiness.