Tempted by Evil?

I mean, we cover up our cynicism with jokes, and we cover up our despair with smiles and

maybe singing a praise song.

But, you know, there's many, many, many people who say to themselves as they think about

texts like this, because it's a text that many Christians have memorized, and they'll

say things like, you know, George, I struggle time and time and time again with pornography,

and I cry out to God, I ask him to help me, I ask him to deliver me from looking at it,

and I know it's wrong, and I can't seem to get any victory over it whatsoever.

Just absolutely none.

Or maybe you say, you know, George, I know that in my office I keep getting into trouble because

I have a really sharp tongue.

I can't seem to help making sarcastic, put-down comments that just insults people.

And I know it's wrong, and I, you know, I try to, you know, ask for God's help, and I pray

about it, and then I, but I get into the office, I know I shouldn't do it, and before I know

it, there you go.

I just can't, it seems like I can't help myself.

The zingers just keep coming, and I keep hurting people all around.

Or maybe some of you say, you know, George, I'm in a relationship, and I know that I shouldn't

harbor resentment, and I, you know, I know I shouldn't harbor resentment, and I know I

shouldn't be bitter, and it seems to be going fine, and all of a sudden I can start to feel

it building up, and I, there's so many times, George, I prayed about this that I wouldn't

experience this resentment and bitterness, and it just doesn't go away.

Like, it just does not go away.

I just succumb to it, and get deeply enmeshed in this resentment and bitterness, and I just

don't seem to have any victory over it, you know, whatsoever.

Or you say, you know, George, I know I shouldn't be as angry as I am.

I, you know, I get talking to my, you know, at work with my wife, and I don't know, it gets

onto a topic of politics or something, like, it's always stupid, George, but I just, I know

I shouldn't have these angry outbursts and all, but I get into it, and before you know

it, I'm just, I'm just angry, and I'm just venting, and I've prayed about it for years.

I've taken this text, I've talked about, to God about this text, and it just seems to never

have any help whatsoever.

However, I just, you know, and so for many of us, when we see a text like this, it just,

it profoundly discourages us because of the lack of change over certain besetting sins

in our lives.

And not only does it discourage many of us, many of us just don't get discouraged.

We get a little bit cynical just about it, that it's, I don't know, that it's just religious

talk, it's just all blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada, it doesn't really mean anything.

It's just something to put us down.

And, or others of us just even wonder if we're real Christians.

Like, why is it that other people seem to have the victory?

Why is it I listen to radio shows or look at books, and they talk about these things,

and they seem to have some type of victory over it, and it just, it doesn't happen to

me whatsoever.

So, I don't know, George, like, maybe I'm not even a real Christian.

Or I'm just a real terrible one.

So, on one hand, a text of the Bible, which should be giving us a lot of comfort and a

lot of help and a lot of direction, for many of us, it just becomes a big boulder that we're

carrying around, or a big cloud of darkness and rain over our heads.

And so, many of us will often just try to deal with it by forgetting about the text.

In fact, I don't know, maybe some of you, your heart sank when you saw this was the

text I was going to sit, talk about, because you're thinking to yourself, okay, this has

never worked for me.

Now, after the service, I'm going to have to go out and smile over coffee as if everything's

fine.

But it's not fine.

I had those problems this morning, even before I came to church.

So, we're going to look at that and talk about it.

So, let's just read the text.

Could you put the text up again?

You want to read it with me again, because it's just really important that we have the

text in our scripture and we sort of see what's not there and what is there and what it says

and what it doesn't say and why it says what it says and how it actually, in fact, is both

a profound analysis of the human heart and rather than being cynical or despairing or a burden,

it is a profound promise of help that's worth us to memorize and to launch into a journey to try to

have a conversation with God and to live it.

So, if you could read it with me again, that would be great.

It's verses 12 and 13 of 1 Corinthians.

Read it out loud.

So, here's the first thing.

In light of all those different things which I just, you know, said.

So, here's the first thing.

Just ask yourself a bit of a question.

What are you going to be like when God's finished with you?

I mean, what are you going to be like when God's finished with you?

You know, the way the Christian faith works is we live in the already not yet.

Like, we come to trust that God is the one who's provided everything that needs to be done

to make us right with him, that God has done it all through the person of his son.

That it's, that Jesus is the one who deals with all the wrong things that we've ever done

and any type of penalty or judgment that that deserves,

any type of doom that comes from all the bad things that we've done

and all the bad things that we will do,

we believe that Jesus has dealt with that.

That's what he dies on the cross for.

And we also believe that, you know, our inability to live a perfect life

and to sort of have a right standing with God,

that that actually comes to us as well.

That comes to us as a gift of faith through Jesus.

And that when we come to faith in Jesus,

when we call out to God to save us and we put our trust in Jesus,

that he really does save us.

And the Holy Spirit comes and indwells us.

And we're born again.

We're given a new life.

We become God's adopted children by grace.

We become citizens of a new kingdom, of the kingdom of heaven,

with God as our king and God as our father and Jesus as our elder brother

and our savior and our Lord and the Holy Spirit as that powerful person working within us.

And that's what actually happens.

But, you know, God isn't finished with us yet.

We have all of those faithful promises, but, you know, we still sin.

We do different things, but there will come an end.

Like, what is it going to look like when it's all finished?

Well, I know that often, you know, they talk about it as if we're all going to be like little plump,

plump little angels with tiny little wings, plucking harps, boring or just weird.

Like if that's sort of what your desire is for the end of days,

to look like that with a little harp fluttering around, like that's just weird.

I used to know a Roman Catholic priest.

He's now gone to be with the Lord.

He was in a place called Wilno, which is this top of a mountain.

It's very, very Polish.

Ottawa's, Canada's first Polish community.

And he used to say, his name was Archie Afelski.

And he could get away with it.

He was a big, jovial man.

And he used to say to the women in his church,

who were always, you know, pestering him about his weight and about this.

He was a big, big, jovial guy.

And he used to say to the women, she'd say, you women are all like angels.

Harpen around a man all day long.

Just harpen at him all day long.

And anyway, he could get away with it somehow or another.

I couldn't, I'm sure.

But anyway, so what's the end of all things?

You know, if you go back to Genesis chapter 2 and the first part of Genesis 3,

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

it gives you a very, very simple picture of what it would be like when Jesus has come back.

There's a new heaven and there's a new earth and we have resurrection bodies.

And in Genesis 2 and Genesis 3, we see what it would be like,

what it's going to be like when God is finished with us.

And when God is finished with us,

we will be able to stand before God in the company of other redeemed human beings

and we will be naked and unashamed.

And we will walk with God in the cool of the garden,

in the cool of the evening, with the cool of the breeze.

And we will be naked and we will be unashamed.

And we will be naked and unashamed before each other

and we will be naked and unashamed before God.

and we will know his pleasure.

And we will have spent the day

not just walking all day,

but we will have spent the day

making music, dancing dances,

tending the garden,

building buildings,

tending and caring

and creating on the earth

and the creation that God has made for us.

And we will do that all together

and by ourselves in wonderful harmony,

naked and unashamed,

and always end the day

walking with God in the cool of the evening

in the cool of the breeze,

naked and unashamed,

knowing his favor.

That's what it will be like

when God is finished

with those who have put their faith

and trust in Jesus.

So if we know what it's like,

if we just remember for a little bit

that God is faithful

and that's what we will end up as.

And he is faithful.

That's what we will end up as.

Then it helps us to understand

part of our big problem with this verse.

Because you see,

part of our big problem with this verse

is we sort of read the verse

and we say,

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But what we don't want

is what the verse talks about.

What we want is,

let's use the example of the fact

that we go to work

and we know that we shouldn't be

making snarky, put-down insults,

zingers,

zingers,

constantly.

That's our superpower.

You know,

insulting zingers

that get beneath the skin

and the armor of people

to really get them.

And you know what we want?

Is we want

that we pray

as we're going to work

and what we're hoping

is that God will screw in

little islets

in different parts of our body,

especially in our jaw,

and we become like a puppet,

a marionette.

And as soon as we walk

into the work,

we just sort of float around

and God's doing

all of the controls

and he's controlling our mouth.

And we just,

all of a sudden,

he takes complete

and utter control

because he's done that

and all of a sudden

we just say perfect things,

we don't say bad things.

And then because

we're at the end of the day

we're human beings

who don't want that,

as soon as we leave work,

we want God to snip all the wires

so we can go,

okay, back to normal life.

And we want to alternate

back and forth

between being like a puppet

where God takes

complete and utter control of us

and going back

to where we have

complete and utter control.

But remember,

what is it that God

is going to do with us

when he finishes with us?

He's not,

we're not going to be

marionettes or puppets.

One of the things

I have a hard time,

if I'm actually able

to have a conversation

with a non-Christian friend

about the gospel

and the Christian faith

that gets deep enough,

one of the things

I have a hard time

explaining to them,

and this is,

by the way,

one of the reasons,

those of you who are guests,

one of my lines lately

is I don't believe

in the God

that Canadians believe in.

I believe in the God

that's revealed by Jesus.

Because you see,

the thing about Canadians

is we tend to worry

that the God

that exists

that we don't like

and we don't want

to have anything to do with

will just take control of us.

But what I try to tell

to my friends

is that the God

they're afraid of

is what the Bible

calls the devil

because that's what

the devil does.

He takes control of us

and overwhelms us.

And the God

that's revealed

in the Bible

by Jesus

is the God

who's preparing us

and fitting us

and has done everything

required to fit us

to walk with God

in the cool of the day,

having spent the day

with our creativity,

making music,

dancing dances,

building buildings,

playing with kids,

playing with others,

making things grow,

and then standing naked

and unashamed

and feeling his pleasure.

And because that's

what God's doing,

he's never going to

make you into a puppet,

never will.

You're praying for it

and secretly hoping

that that's what

will fix you?

Forget about it.

He's not going to do it.

It goes against

what he's trying

to make you and me into,

not trying to,

will make,

because God is faithful.

Let's read the text

together again.

Therefore,

let anyone

who thinks that he stands

take heed lest he fall.

No temptation

has overtaken you

that is not common

to man.

God is faithful

and he will not

let you be tempted

beyond your ability.

But with the temptation,

he will also provide

the way of escape

that you may be able

to endure it.

Now,

here's the other problem

with it,

is that when we read

this text,

we add different things

because we expect,

because of our flesh,

because of our culture,

we expect God

to answer this prayer

in particular ways.

If you think about it,

this is what we expect.

We expect that all of a sudden

he will give us

enough willpower

to not sin.

It's as if,

you know,

if we do the right prayer

and all of a sudden

in our prayer,

God sends down

a hypodermic needle

and zaps us

with extra

superhuman willpower

so that we will

no longer succumb

to temptation

to do evil.

Or the other thing

that we sort of expect

that when we pray

something like that

is that God

will give us

this extra knowledge

that all of a sudden

we will learn

the right things

that we need to know

so that when we know

all the things

that we need to know

because we know it,

then we're not going

to succumb to temptation.

Or the other thing

that we're sort of

hoping to do

is sort of like

what megachurch pastors

are sort of famous for,

not all of them,

but some of them,

where we'll find

the four simple steps

to follow

so that we have

victory over temptation.

Or the five simple steps

or the three simple steps,

hopefully steps

where the first letter

will spell a word.

Maybe it'll be three,

whatever,

six steps

spelled winner.

You know,

you just got to be a winner.

Come to our church

and learn to be a winner.

You know,

W-I-N-N-E-R

or whatever.

And that's what

we're sort of hoping

that God will just reveal

to us the five or six steps

or he'll give us

the willpower

or the knowledge

or some combination of it.

And that as a result of that,

we'll be able to win over temptation.

Now,

why is it that God

doesn't do that?

Why is it that we human beings

keep reading,

we Christians

keep reading the Bible

and trying to hope

that when we read the Bible,

we'll be able to get

those things out?

Look at the text again.

It doesn't say,

look at verse 13,

no temptations overtaken you

that is not common to man.

God is faithful.

And then what does it say?

We hope it says,

what goes on in our mind

is we hear yada,

yada,

yada,

yada,

yada,

but we're hoping,

he says,

God is faithful.

He will give you the willpower.

He will give you the knowledge.

He will give you the recipe

and techniques

so that you will be able

to enjoy it.

No,

he doesn't say any of those things,

does it?

But we want it to say that.

That's what we want.

That's what we want.

We have a lust

for it.

Just be honest,

folks.

Now,

here's the problem.

how could God give us that willpower

or that knowledge

or those recipe

and the end result not being

that we would be proud,

self-righteous,

self-justifying individuals?

How could God actually give us that willpower

or give us those five steps

and not turn us

and not have us become proud

and self-righteous,

self-justifying,

and you can add the other nouns

or adjectives after that

to your pleasure.

because don't we hate that

when we meet people?

But here's what would happen.

Who will I pick?

Dick.

Is it all right if I use you?

You know,

it's even bad here.

I'm going to move down.

No,

I'm going to stay up here

because I'm the mega church pastor

and I have learned

the five recipes,

the five steps,

and I have the willpower

and I have the knowledge.

Poor Dick.

He's a schmuck.

He doesn't have the willpower.

He is so hopeless.

He can't follow the recipe

like me.

This is where my teeth

would be nicely bleached,

a little bit of a gleam.

As I become very, very proud,

self-righteous,

self-justifying,

my willpower has beat the temptation.

My following the steps

has beat the temptation.

My knowledge has beat the thing.

So how can God help us

without turning us into proud,

self-righteous,

self-justifying people

that basically nobody likes?

And it's just wrong.

There's a wonderful

Roman Catholic author

by the name of Peter Kreeft.

He has a wonderful analogy.

Some of you have heard me say it before.

I got it from Peter Kreeft.

Like, you know,

if you think about it,

what's going to be like

at the end of the days

when we're with God?

Like when we're with God

at the end of the day

and we're naked and unashamed,

we will look up to God, right?

But here's what Peter Kreeft says.

It's impossible to look up to God

when you're looking down your nose

at others.

Isn't that true?

If you're looking down your nose

at others,

poor dick,

what a schmuck.

How can you look up to God

who's wonderful?

So the Bible text

doesn't give us what we want.

It gives us what we need.

And what it does

is if we just,

in the last few minutes

it's remaining to us,

look again.

Let's read the text

again out loud

and then we'll sort of

just pause and camp

with it a little bit.

If you'd read it with me.

And part of the reason

I want us to read it

over and over again

is because I hope

at the end of the sermon,

before the sermon's even over,

you're going to want

to memorize the scripture

and meditate upon it

and learn how to pray it.

So read it together with me.

Therefore let anyone

who thinks that he stands

take heed lest he fall.

No temptation has overtaken you

that is not common to man.

God is faithful

and he will not let you

be tempted beyond your ability.

But with the temptation

he will also provide

the way of escape

that you may be able

to endure it.

So here's like,

here's one of the things

which is so wonderful

about this text.

One of the things

which is so wonderful

about this text

is it begins by humbliness.

You see,

what we want

is we want the high ground.

You know,

like wouldn't it be wonderful

if I had the magic technique

that would mean

that not a single man

or woman here

would ever watch

pornography again

and I could write it

in my webpage

and not just write it

in my webpage

but find some other way

to turn it into money.

And like,

and then it would just be

as if,

but even,

you know,

what really happens

is that people write

web pages like that often

as if they have this

complete and utter freedom

from it.

They have freedom

from anger.

They have freedom

from bitterness.

They have,

just take your pick,

whatever.

But often what it really

probably just is

is claiming

a type of high ground.

And you look at this text,

it's a profoundly

humbling text

that means that

when we deal

with each other,

we deal with each other

as one fallen human being

to another.

Because the text

begins by saying,

therefore let anyone

who thinks that he stands

take heed lest he fall.

If you think

you're in a moral high ground,

if I think I'm

the moral high ground,

whoa, George,

pay attention.

And then it says,

no temptation

is overtaking you

that is not common

to human beings.

That's what it says.

George,

your human,

your temptations,

they're the same type

of temptations

that are befalling

all of the people

around you,

around this room.

Maybe not the exact one,

but there's not

a single human being here

that does not have

temptations overtake them.

Not one.

Not one.

If you think

that you don't

actually face temptations

on a regular basis,

what that actually means,

I don't mean to insult you.

I say this,

I say this

because I need to say it.

The Bible is saying to you,

if you think

that actually you've reached

a point where you

no longer get tempted,

it means you're morally blind.

It means you no longer

recognize any temptation

whatsoever

because you just

surrender to them.

Like it's actually

a very deadly

spiritual state.

So this text

is a profound equalizer.

It just says,

you know what,

this is not,

if you come to Church of the Messiah

and make it your church home,

this is not the place

of the exalted ones

and the anointed ones.

This is a field hospital

for sinners.

And it's a field hospital

because we're on the front lines.

We're right in the midst of life.

And it's a very,

very powerful thing.

And one of the things

which is so powerful

about this text as well,

and I can tell you this,

when I've had sins

in my life,

that one of the things

that the devil does to you

when you're struggling

with sin,

is he'll try to get you

to think you're the only one

who struggles with it

or the only one

who surrenders to it

because he wants

to isolate you.

He doesn't want you

to bring it to the light

by telling a brother

or sister about it.

But for whatever things

you're struggling with

right now,

it's a common

human temptation.

And every single one of us

is struggling with them.

And the key part here

of this whole text

is look at what

the key part is.

Look at verse 13 again.

No temptation has overtaken you

that is not common to man.

God is faithful.

The text points you to God.

And it says that God is faithful.

He is the faithful one.

Why is God faithful?

Well,

he's faithful for several reasons.

One of the reasons

he's faithful

is because

the entire way

we become a Christian

is because God

makes a promise to us.

He announces something to us.

And what he announces,

he is sincere about it

and he's going to do it.

And he always will do it.

And he makes this offer

to every human being.

He makes this offer

to the richest people

on the planet

and the poorest people

on the planet.

He makes it,

this comment,

to people who

are same-sex attracted

and those who aren't

same-sex attracted.

He makes it to the well-educated

and the people

who aren't very well-educated.

He makes it to the most

spectacular athletes

and the most

spectacularly disabled.

And the promise is

that he says,

you human beings,

you cannot make yourself

right with me.

You cannot do it

by your own effort.

And I don't say that

to depress you.

I say that

because I have

this wonderful news

for you

that I recognize

that you cannot do

what you need to do

to be right with me.

And I have done

everything that needs

to be done

to make you right with me.

And I've done it

by sending my son.

And my son has done

everything that has

to be done

to make a human being

right with myself.

Every wrong thing

that you have ever done

or will do,

my son has paid

the price for that

when he died

upon the cross.

That the doom

that you deserve

fell on him

and the destiny

that he deserves

is offered to you.

And your inability

to actually have

accomplished anything right,

Jesus is the one

who's done everything right.

He never broke fellowship

with me.

He never sinned.

He was tempted

in every way

like you and me,

but he never gave

in to temptations

because to be tempted

isn't a sin.

The sin is doing

what you're tempted

to do.

And Jesus has been

tempted in every way

and he never surrendered

to that temptation

ever.

And I offer you

his perfect record

as yours.

I was sharing

with the 8 o'clock

congregation,

if you come to

the 8 o'clock

service,

I wear traditional robes

and sort of a modern

version of a traditional

robe.

And I,

for a variety of reasons,

I always wear black

and if you come,

you'll see,

and if I was wearing

a long-sleeved

black shirt,

if you come,

you'll see that there's

this white robe

that covers me.

But if I was wearing

a long-sleeved

black shirt,

you would see that

at the end,

you would see that

I'm wearing black

on my arms

and if you look down,

you'd see that

I'm wearing black

on my feet.

And it's actually

to be a walking

object lesson

that as a human being,

I am fallen,

but I am clothed

with the righteousness

of Christ.

And the reason

it,

normally these robes

wouldn't cover

everything,

traditionally in

Anglican theology,

it wouldn't cover

everything,

you'd always be able

to see the black,

isn't because

Christ isn't able,

his righteousness

isn't able to cover

all of who I am,

but it's just to help

protect us from pride

or to make me,

make the congregation

think that somehow

the minister is more

special than others.

And so the black

always has to show,

so you always are

reminded that the

minister is a sinner,

but he's clothed

with the righteousness

of Christ.

And God is faithful,

he makes this offer,

I have done everything,

rock star,

football star,

hockey star,

disabled person,

street person,

billionaire,

person with a low IQ,

I have done everything

to make you right

with me,

and I offer this

to you,

all you need to do

is turn from your

attempts to justify

yourself and make

yourself righteous,

acknowledge that

will never work,

and turn to me

and ask in humility

that I would do

what only I could do

and you can never do.

And the Christian life

really begins

when we ask God

to do that,

turn to Jesus in faith.

And God is faithful.

If you ask,

he does it.

And the other thing

which is why

the heart of this text

is that God is faithful

is that that means

that Jesus

will never leave you

or abandon you.

That in my walk

with him,

I fall again.

I sort of,

I tempted,

and I succumbed

to the temptation

so quickly,

I don't even struggle

with it.

It's only afterwards

that I realize

I've done wrong.

I didn't even struggle

with the temptation.

It came to before me

and I surrendered

like that

or other times

where I struggle

and I fall.

And here's the wonderful,

wonderful,

wonderful thing.

The heart of what

this text is asking

to do is to remember

that Jesus is faithful.

Doesn't mean he says,

I mean,

in a sense,

you know,

part of,

I remember,

you know,

it might be that

part of looking at Jesus

and remembering

his faithfulness

is that you see

the scars

that he bears

because of those sins.

But he's faithful,

nothing that you just did,

I mean,

that was paid for too.

He will not leave you,

he will not abandon you,

he will not shame you,

he will not despise you.

He is always faithful.

He is faithful.

Until you see him

face to face in glory

and then beyond,

he's always,

always faithful.

And one of the things

it says in the New Testament

is that Jesus has been tempted

as every way

as we have,

only without sin.

And that's why we have

such a faithful high priest,

such a wonderful one

that we can go to.

And we can say to Jesus,

Jesus,

thank you so much

that you are faithful.

I have fallen again.

I know that you know

what it's like to be tempted.

I know that you are faithful.

Jesus,

I'm struggling with this.

I can't seem to win against it.

I don't even know

if I'm making small changes.

I know that you are faithful.

Lord,

show me

your way

to escape

that I may endure.

Because you see,

that's what goes on

next in the text.

First of all,

it says that

the thing that we're struggling with,

that whether we feel it or not,

is that God actually has,

in a sense,

shortened the temptation

to a manageable distance

within your ability.

Oregon,

who wrote in the second century,

has a wonderful analogy.

He uses an analogy of,

in a wrestling contest,

you don't put

really,

really big,

strong people

against small,

skinny people.

In a wrestling contest,

the skinny people

fight the skinny people,

and the big people

fight the big people

because it's matched by weight.

And that's what God does with us

in our temptation.

He isn't actually absent.

He's actually present.

And he's present in a way

that the temptation

is actually something,

I mean,

we still succumb to it.

We still lose to it.

But it's not something

that requires superhuman things.

God is actually already present,

limiting the temptation.

And he's faithful.

He's faithful.

And so what it says is,

God is faithful.

He will not let you be tempted

beyond your ability.

But with the temptation,

he will also provide

the way of escape.

You see,

and that's where

we want him to say

he'll provide the willpower,

he'll provide the technique,

he'll provide the recipe.

But it doesn't say that.

He says he will provide

the way of escape.

But he provides the way

of escape

that we may endure it.

Why does it say endure?

Two reasons.

Probably more than two,

but two that I'll share.

The first one is,

is that

if it's just always escaping,

well,

it actually sort of always,

it's taking us away

from being human.

You see,

here's the thing.

If part of the thing that I,

not part of,

every marriage,

there's always going to be things

I'm tempted to do

against Louise that are wrong.

And there's always going to be things

Louise will be tempted to do

against me that are wrong.

That's just marriage.

You know,

we're in friendship.

But if,

if I pray

and the way of escape

is to take me out of marriage,

then that's not any good,

is it?

And so because

my prayer should be

and Louise's prayer should be

that

if the Lord tarries

and

the Lord will grant us

30 more years of life

and

maybe if things go

really,

really wonderful well

that

we'll both have tea together

or coffee together

on some morning

and then quietly pass away

a few minutes from each other

in our 90s.

And if that,

if we tarry that,

whatever type of temptations

that we have

to do the other wrong,

we have to endure them

because God has called us

to marriage.

You know,

God has called some of you

to work on parliament.

There's going to be

all sorts of temptations

and you have to learn

how to endure the temptations

because God has called you

to work in parliament

or he's called you

to work in civil service

or in business

or in the arts

or as an entrepreneur

and you have to endure them.

You can't just keep escaping.

And the other reason

it says endure

is because every temptation

has a shelf life.

That's the thing

which makes Jesus

so spectacular

and only Jesus

knows the depth

of what it means

to be human.

Nobody else

comes close to him.

You see,

if I am tempted,

I have somebody

that I don't like

because they've hurt me

or they've wronged me

and I hear something

that they've done

which is naughty

and I suspect

that the person

who told me

that this naughtiness

that they did,

that they've exaggerated it

and I quickly calculate

in my mind

how I can exaggerate it

even more

and I calculate

the three or four people

I can tell

and I will get

great pleasure

from telling

an exaggerated,

doubly exaggerated

type of naughtiness

about this other person.

It will put them

in a bad light.

People will laugh.

We'll have this bonding

but what I've done

is I've slandered them,

I've gossiped,

I've exaggerated,

I've attacked their thing

and it's all wrong

and because I'm struggling

to try to follow Jesus,

I hear about this

and I start to be tempted by it

and maybe I give in

after five seconds

and say,

did you hear about Bob?

Whoa.

Of course,

let me put on a pious face.

Oh, did you hear about Bob?

Inwardly,

you're going like,

outwardly,

you're going like this.

Inwardly,

you have this big grin.

I'm going to get Bob.

So maybe you resist

for five seconds,

maybe you resist

for a minute,

maybe you resist

for ten minutes,

maybe you resist

for an hour

but at some point in time

you give in.

But you have no idea

what it would be like

to resist that temptation

until it was no longer

a temptation

unless you don't

give in to it.

And it might be

that you have to fight

that temptation

for fifteen minutes,

maybe an hour,

maybe three hours,

maybe a week,

maybe a month,

maybe a year.

But at some point in time

that temptation

will lose its power

and go away

and another temptation

will come.

Only Jesus

knew the depth

of human experience

to experience

every temptation

that we do

only without sin.

Only he knows

the full length

and the power

of that temptation.

And he is the faithful one

that we go to.

He is the one

who died for us.

Who better than Jesus?

Who knows human experience

better than Jesus?

Who could possibly be

a better one

to take our place

and offer his

perfect life for ours?

So at the heart

of this text,

sorry I'm not leaving you

with the five steps

to perfect life

or the knowledge

for a perfect life.

What does this text say?

It says,

as you struggle

with temptation,

turn to the Lord

and say,

you are faithful.

Lord,

you are faithful.

You are faithful.

Lord,

show me your way

of escape

that I may endure

this temptation

and live for your glory.

And maybe the Lord

will put in your mind

that you should call somebody.

I don't know what's going to do.

It's very open-ended.

But I encourage you

to memorize this text

and I encourage you

to pray it.

I encourage you

to have it start to form

how you live

as a disciple of Jesus

for God's great glory.

Please stand.

Could you,

let's say this text,

if you could read the text again,

could you say this text

with me one more time?

And then we'll pray.

Therefore,

let anyone

who thinks that he stands

take heed lest he fall.

No temptation

has overtaken you

that is not common to man.

God is faithful

and he will not let you

be tempted

beyond your ability.

But with the temptation,

he will also provide

the way of escape

that you may be able

to endure it.

Father,

we confess before you

that we want some,

many times we want you

just to be like a,

like make us into puppets

and just overwhelm

who we are

and you don't do it.

And Father,

there's lots of times

we want you

just to give us

this unbelievable

extra willpower

so we can conquer

and you don't do it.

Father,

we thank you

that,

Father,

we thank you

that you are faithful,

that you,

you're faithful

in providing a way

for us to be made right

with you,

that you are faithful

in walking with us,

that you will never

despise us,

that you are never

discouraged with us,

that you will never

hate us or abandon us

or shame us,

that you are faithful.

And we give you

thanks and praise,

Father,

that through Jesus

you know our temptations

and you know our limits,

that you limit

our temptations

and that you,

Father,

we thank you

for your word.

We thank you

that you have invited us

to call out to you

to remember

that you are

the faithful God,

that Jesus is

the faithful Savior,

the faithful high priest.

Lord,

help us to turn to you

to remember

that you are faithful,

to call out to you

that you might show us

your way of escape,

that we might endure

this temptation

only without succumbing

to it

so that we

are made more free

and live in such a way

that all the glory

goes to you

and none of it

goes to us.

And we ask this

and we thank this

in the name of Jesus,

your Son and our Savior.

Amen.