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?
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.”
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?
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.
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?”
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment