Lead Us Not Into Temptation

My name's Chris, for those of you who don't know me.

It's a beautiful morning outside, and welcome if you're new here.

I feel like I'm six feet above contradiction here, so it's quite fun.

Have you ever sat back and thought, why on earth did I do that?

I bumped into an old friend a while back, and I hadn't seen him for a while,

and we started talking, and for some reason we started getting on to our childhood.

We started talking about the crazy things that we had done when we were children.

He started on a story telling how he'd kind of had this dramatic escape from the police,

and it was kind of, I don't know, somersaulted over a fence,

and it was just this amazingly dramatic, exciting story.

Then it went on to my turn, and I started talking about this story about

I had started playing tennis when I shouldn't have done at school over the weekend,

and after a while it just didn't sound particularly exciting.

You know, wow, crazy childhood.

And so I thought, okay, let's add a few kind of touches to this

to make it a little bit more exciting.

So the caretaker who asked us to leave the tennis court,

he became someone who chased us down the road like shouting at us.

And then the hole in the fence that we managed to get through,

which actually we could stand up in and was huge,

suddenly became this very small, tiny hole

that we could only just squeeze through

before he was about to grab us by the legs and catch us.

And my friend was impressed.

I went away.

And as I was walking along,

I had this battle inside of me thinking,

did I lie?

And I was thinking, well, it's kind of true.

You know, there was a hole.

There was a caretaker.

You know, and maybe that hole was much smaller than I really thought.

And you know, like the devil and the angel inside.

You know, so I'm battling inside me,

going on all this way for about 20 minutes.

Okay, it's a long walk back.

And then finally, I think I had a moment of honesty

where I realized, actually, I think I lied.

And then I thought, why did I do that?

Why did I do that?

And I realized I do the same thing at work.

You know, I'm looking at some random YouTube video at work.

I'm sure you would never do that.

And someone comes past.

And quickly, I minimize the screen

and go back to looking as if I'm looking at my work email.

And if someone asks me,

oh, what were you looking at?

I'll just say, oh, just some work stuff.

You know, just some work stuff.

And it's stupid because there isn't any strict rule in our office

about, okay, you can't ever look at a YouTube video.

But it's because I want to give the impression

that I'm a hard worker.

I want to be seen as something.

I want to be recognized as something.

So why, with a friend, do I feel the need to lie to them?

Why do I feel the need to put up an image?

Well, I think, on reflection,

it's because I crave the approval of other people.

And I have a strong conviction that lying is wrong.

Integrity is very important to me.

If somebody tells even a small lie to me,

I will question their integrity

and look down on them, maybe.

But what I've realized is,

over the last few months,

is if you had asked me,

do you lie,

I'd only say, oh, very, very occasionally,

not really very often.

But I've realized that if my approval,

if my recognition,

if my sense of respect

in front of other people's eyes is on the line,

then I can turn into a compulsive liar.

And it's because I want to maintain this image.

And deep down in my heart,

I'm like an orphan

who wants other people's recognition

because I've forgotten

that I have a Father in Heaven

who loves me,

who accepts me,

who delights in me.

And I have to get someone else's approval

because God's is not good enough for me.

And I work for the church.

So you can fire me if you like.

And I'm sure none of you do that.

But we're going through this series on prayer.

We're kind of coming to the end of the series.

And we've been saying that prayer

is like a needy child

calling out to their loving Heavenly Father

in response to Him reaching down to them.

Prayer is essentially a VIP access pass

available only to family members

into the presence of the King of all creation.

It's been paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ.

And if we trust in Him,

we can enter into that relationship

and call our King our Father.

And we don't get that pass

by queuing for hours to get a ticket.

It's our Father who reached down to us in Christ

and draws us to Himself.

And prayer is an invitation

to enjoy this newly bought relationship with Him

and to find satisfaction in our Father.

That is what prayer is about.

And if you look in this prayer,

in the Lord's Prayer,

you see our enjoyment of God starts in worship.

It says,

Our Father, hallowed be your name.

Holy be your name above all names.

Because worship is your response

to what you see as valuable

and precious in your life.

Whatever controls your heart

is what will worship.

Whatever consumes your thoughts,

whatever directs your behavior,

whatever in those everyday moments

is shaping you,

that is what you're worshiping.

In that moment with my friend,

I was worshiping the idol of approval.

Because that was what was shaping my heart.

And even though I could tell you

with conviction that lying is wrong,

the worship of my heart

always directs my behavior

more than what I think just in my head.

Which is why the Lord's Prayer

starts with worship,

but it finishes with warfare.

And this is what we're going to look at today.

Because every day,

I don't know if you realize it,

but we're actually in a worship war.

We're called to be lovers.

Love God with all your heart,

soul, mind, and strength.

Love other people as yourself.

Lovers of God.

Lovers of others.

And yet every day,

we're in a battle for our affections

from where we're going to place our love.

It's a war for what's going to captivate you.

It's a war for what's going to wrap you up.

Is it yourself that's going to wrap you up,

or is it you're going to find satisfaction in God?

That's why we,

as a needy child,

need to be praying this prayer.

Lead us not into temptation.

Deliver us.

Deliver us from evil.

Deliver means rescue.

I need rescuing in this war.

So let's have a little look into

this idea of temptation a little bit more.

So we're going to look at what temptation is,

how we get snared,

and how we overcome.

What temptation is,

how we get snared,

and how we overcome.

Okay?

So what is temptation?

Okay?

Well, let's look in this verse.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

I don't know if you've read that verse before,

but if you have,

and like me,

I always found that really strange.

Because think about it.

Firstly,

how can a loving father

lead you into temptation?

If temptation is meant to be bad,

why would he lead you into it?

Strange.

James 1,

in the passage we read earlier,

says,

God does not tempt anyone.

So it's just never made sense to me

why we pray,

God,

don't lead me into temptation.

Strange.

Secondly,

am I praying for God

to remove all temptation from me?

You know,

Jesus was tempted by the devil

in the wilderness,

and God didn't just remove the temptation.

Am I asking God

to make all attractive women or men

suddenly seem ugly to me?

Or chocolate smell like durian?

Do you know,

is that what we're asking?

Some people like durian,

but it's okay.

We can talk with you later.

We'll pray for you.

Yes.

Deliver us from evil.

Yes.

So,

so to understand temptation,

I googled it.

And do you know what I found?

Temptation

is a brand of cat treats,

deodorant,

chocolates,

a nail collection,

sunglasses,

handbags,

and a jewelry and fashion store.

I looked more deeply

into this topic,

and I discovered

that it's a behavior

which is kind of naughty

but nice.

You know,

it's something maybe

which prevents you

getting your goals,

you know,

so we overeat,

it's overspending,

it's spending too much time

on Facebook,

it's procrastinating,

it's inappropriate sex,

it's worrying.

All of these things

are right at the top of the list

of what temptation is.

And they,

and they can be.

But the Bible

has a different definition

of what temptation is.

If you look in James 1,

James 1:14

verse 14,

it says,

each person,

and it's in your bulletin,

each person is tempted

when he's lured

and enticed

by his own desire.

That word lured

and enticed

means to be literally

drawn away.

Temptation

is anything

that seeks

to draw your heart

away

from finding

satisfaction,

security,

hope,

comfort,

delight in God.

It could be anything,

the obvious,

money,

work,

pornography,

they're on the surface.

For me,

lying was my surface

sin,

surface temptation,

but underneath,

temptation is born

and birthed

out of your desire.

It's a desire

for approval,

security,

control,

any of those things

and to find them

in anything

other than God.

But the word

temptation in the Bible

also has another meaning.

And the second meaning

is to be tried

or tested.

In verse 12

in that passage

in James,

it says,

blessed is the man

who perseveres

under trial.

That word trial

is the same word

for temptation.

temptation.

And what it means

is God

leads us

in life

into testing

situations,

just like Jesus

in the wilderness.

And he does it

to strengthen us

and to teach us

how to trust him

in those moments.

But temptation

comes in

when we want to

satisfy our desires

in the wrong way,

at the wrong time,

and apart from God

and the way he wants

us to live.

Calvin,

who was the

great French reformer,

he used to say,

said this about this verse.

He said,

you know,

there are temptations

on your right hand

and temptations

on the left hand.

He said,

on the right hand,

you've got temptations

of success,

riches,

approval,

when everything

seems to be going well.

And you are tempted

in those moments

to think,

I can do it.

I can rely on myself.

I'm pretty good,

aren't I?

Look at the way

I manage to do things.

And I don't really

need God in my life.

That's the ones

on the right hand.

I can satisfy myself

my way.

But then on the left hand,

there's temptations

when everything

seems to be going wrong,

when you're not getting

what you want,

when there's suffering,

when there's insecurity,

when you fail,

when there's rejection,

all those other things.

And we're tempted

to worry,

tempted to complain,

tempted to find

the security

he would long for

in anything

other than God.

I don't know

where you are

right now.

It's 2016,

but God has led you

to where you are

right now.

And I don't know

whether everything's

going really well

for you,

or everything's

just out of control.

You know,

you may have got

your bonus,

you may have got

your pay rise,

you just think

things are great.

Or you're struggling,

you look at the

financial situation

in 2016,

you look at your work,

you look at your health,

you look at your kids,

and you're stressed out.

I don't know which it is,

but God has led you

right here,

and he's calling to you,

and the question is,

where are you looking

for right now

for your security,

for your comfort,

for your pleasure,

for your approval,

for control?

Every day,

we're tempted to find

those things in our work,

in other people's opinions,

in our great plans,

in our families,

in our spouses.

And if you want to know

where temptation is lurking,

just look at the things

which stress you out.

Look at the things

which make you fearful,

make you frustrated

and angry,

because lurking underneath,

you may find

that temptation

has got you.

But temptation

is not sin in itself.

Otherwise,

Jesus would have sinned

when he was tempted.

Having a thought

entering your mind

isn't sin.

We have people

putting thoughts

in our minds

all the time,

you know,

colleagues,

parents,

media,

Satan,

all kinds of things,

but the key word here

is have we entered

into temptation,

or are we refusing

to let it in?

In Genesis 4,

I don't know,

you know the story

of Cain and Abel,

God says to Cain,

who's just had

his sacrifice rejected,

and he's feeling jealous,

he's feeling angry,

he's feeling like,

oh,

my brother,

it's not fair,

life's not good,

and God says to him,

you know what,

in this moment,

you have a choice,

because sin

is crouching,

like a lion,

waiting to pounce,

and he says,

it wants to master you,

but you must rule over it,

that's what God says to us

with our temptations,

when I was a kid,

every Christmas,

there used to be this movie

called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,

I don't know if anyone

has seen it,

there's a few people,

okay,

go ahead and watch it,

but there was one character

who just really freaked me out,

in fact,

he's been voted

one of the scariest

children's characters

in a movie,

he was called

the Child Snatcher,

and he would ride

into town on a cart,

and he'd get out

of the cart,

and he'd call

for all the children

in the town to come,

and he'd offer them

free ice cream

and lollipops,

and though the kids

knew that they shouldn't

go out to see him,

the offer of free sweets

was too much,

and they were drawn

out of their home,

and they were lured

into his cart

with the ice cream,

and as soon as

they went in,

he would slam the door,

and he would reveal

that it was actually

a cage that were

inside of,

and then he would

ride off with them

imprisoned.

Can you see how I was

scared as a kid,

you know?

I'm still traumatized

by it,

you know,

but that's what

entering into temptation

is.

It imprisons you,

it ensnares you,

and this prayer,

lead us not

into temptation,

is saying,

Dad,

Father,

right now,

with the circumstances

that you have placed me in,

with the temptations

around me

to just drawing me

to find my satisfaction

in anything other than you,

don't let me entertain them,

don't let me be

captivated by them,

don't let me be

drawn away from you

in these situations,

don't let that lion

that's waiting to pounce

steal my joy in you,

because my relationship

with you

is more important

than anything else.

That's what this prayer

is saying.

Provide me a way

to overcome.

So what's tempting you

at the moment?

Do you know?

Do you know?

That's what temptation is.

How do we get snared

and trapped?

Genesis 3,

before Cain's story,

The Fall of Man

is a great passage

just to show

how temptation works.

God gives a command.

He says,

don't eat from the fruit

of the tree

of the knowledge

and good and evil.

I want you to trust me.

I want you to depend on me.

I don't want you

to be independent.

I want you to stay close to me.

But then Satan comes

with a lie.

And all temptation

starts with a lie.

Satan says,

did God really say,

did he really say,

you can't eat from any tree

in the garden?

God hadn't said that at all,

but he'd said,

only one tree.

But all temptation

works like this.

It starts with placing doubt

as to whether God

is really good

and whether you can

really trust him.

God's holding something

back from you.

You won't die,

Satan says.

You won't be imprisoned.

God knows that if you eat

from this tree,

you'll be like him.

You'll be satisfied.

You'll be powerful.

You'll have approval.

You'll have security.

You'll have everything

that you want

if you just do this thing.

God is trying

to stop you habit.

You obey God

and you're going

to miss out.

That's the lie

that's coming in.

That's the lies

in my story

at the beginning.

I can't rely on God

for my approval.

I need it from someone else

because that's what's

going to satisfy me.

But it never does.

You know?

The people I crave

their approval

spend very little time

worrying about me.

I spend more time

worrying about

what they think about me.

And even if they think

I'm great today,

well then tomorrow

they may even think

I'm an idiot.

But it starts with a lie

that that's what

will satisfy us.

But it starts with a lie

and then it moves on

to a desire

that you dwell on.

The woman sees

the tree

is good for food

and a delight

to the eyes

and it's desired

to make you wise.

Now,

I don't know

if you've thought

about that story

if you know it

but

the woman

didn't just kind of

glance at the tree

and oh that looks

really good for food.

No.

She stops

to linger.

She gazes on it.

She starts

to salivate.

Wow.

Oh, that fruit looks good.

And that

then leads

over a process

to then

she eats it.

You know,

some of you

will know

Mark 6 is tomorrow

or Tuesday I think.

Do you know

what the prize is?

A hundred

million dollars.

Oh.

Now,

I don't do Mark 6.

Never have.

But when I heard

about it

you know

what went on

in my mind.

My mind

went for a little wonder.

I started wondering

well,

what would I do

if I had

a hundred million dollars?

And obviously

I'd give a large amount

to the church

and to charity

but just think

about the holidays,

the houses,

the cars.

And you know,

I had a little while

just kind of

dwelling on it

and you know,

talk a little while

with some other people

about it

and you know,

after a little while

I suddenly started

to realize something.

My heart

was slowly beginning

to get captivated

by the thought of it.

And the crazy thing is

I might proudly

proclaim to you

that I have never

bought

a Mark 6 ticket

and I wouldn't be

so greediest

to do that.

But in my heart

I've been captivated

and greed

has begun

to pounce

and I'm walking

into the cage

and if I allow

those thoughts

to just continue

and just drift

and just wander

a little longer

you know,

my heart

bit by bit

will no longer

see giving

for example

on a Sunday

as a joy

but it will feel

a bit like

I'm losing out.

You know,

I could have that money

for so many other things.

And when my heart

begins to get

captivated

by finding pleasure

and security

in money

or in relationships

or in achievements

or anything else

that could be

dwelling in your mind,

the less

I will find joy

in Christ

as my pleasure

and the less

in my life

I will be generous

and joyful

about it.

The Bible says

you can't serve

God and money

but it's just

a thought,

you know,

it's just a thought

we say.

John Owen,

the 16th century

English preacher,

he said this

and this was

convicting,

he said,

you've entered

into temptation

not just when

you've actually

committed

the outward sin

but right

when your heart

secretly begins

to like

the temptation

and you're happy

to feed it.

Do you know

why I didn't resist

that thought?

Because I like it

and I'm happy

to feed the lion

and the lie

I'm believing

is that money

can give me

satisfaction

and security

in life

and I've forgotten

that I have a good

heavenly father

who says

he will satisfy

me with good things

and I can trust

him to provide

what I and my

family need.

Lead me

not into temptation.

What have you

been dwelling on

in your mind

this week?

What's been running

around there

captivating your

thoughts

and your heart?

Where are you

outwardly doing

the right thing

but inwardly

the idea

of your heavenly

father

satisfying

your desires

just seems

a little bit

crazy.

It seems

totally out

of your

current reality

because

maybe

you're in

the cage

and Christ

is wanting

to set you

free

to see

that he

can be

those things

that your

heart desires.

Temptation

is anything

that draws

us away

from Christ.

We get

snared

when we

believe lies

and when

we dwell

on temptation.

How do

we overcome

temptation?

Third thing.

The problem

with temptation

Oscar Wilde

the playwright

summed it up

very well.

He said

I can resist

everything

except temptation.

You see

temptation

is all around

you.

I just look

on the MTR

and there are

pictures of

beautiful women

which will

either tempt

you to lust

or to despair.

There are

pictures of

Facebook

of everyone's

happy life

which will

tempt you

to just

look at

your own

and be

dissatisfied.

You go

into the

office,

you go

into the

playground,

the behavior

of your

colleagues,

it tempts

you to

get mad,

fearful,

look down

on them,

crave their

approval,

want to be

like them.

It's all

around wherever

you go.

Even this

morning you

may have had

some temptation

on the way.

And so

monks for

over a thousand

years thought

the solution

to this

must be

we've got

to escape

the world.

So they

built

monasteries up

on mountains

way away

from people

to escape

this dangerous

evil world.

But the

problem was

the monasteries

became as

sinful and

filled with

lust and

greed and

drunkenness

as everywhere

else.

So our

society has

come up with

a different

solution.

And this

was great,

I found

this on

Friday in

our office.

This is just

preacher's dream.

It was like

Special K.

On the

back it

says,

let's hear

it for

willpower.

It says

here,

a new

way to

conquer

temptation.

When cravings

sneak into

your day,

turn to

new,

positively

delicious

Special K.

Here we

go.

This is the

solution.

Okay.

Underneath it

says,

tell us

how you

beat

temptation

and share

encouragement

on Facebook.

So do you

know what I

did?

I went on

to Facebook

because I

wanted to

tell you a

great story

about how

someone had

been helped

by Special

K.

And I

went on

there.

I didn't

find a

single

testimony

about the

greatness of

Special K

in beating

temptation.

I was very

disappointed.

I don't

know if

you

take

Special K

but maybe

it helps

you.

You should

write in

if it

does.

But David

Brooks of

the New York

Times,

he says,

the fact that

we fail to

keep most of

our New

Year's

resolutions

struggle to

lose weight

shows us

that willpower

isn't the

solution to

temptation.

Your willpower

is not like

a dam

that can

block the

torrent of

self-indulgence.

It's more

like a muscle

which tires

easily.

Moreover,

you're a

social being.

If everybody

around you

is overeating,

you'll probably

do so too.

Willpower,

doesn't matter

how hard you

try,

is not the

solution.

And even if

you think you've

got the

willpower,

listen,

I can walk

along a

street without

having to look

constantly at my

phone.

Occasionally.

And I feel

very proud about

the self-control

that I exercise.

Sometimes even

when a WhatsApp

goes off,

I will resist.

And then I

walk along and

I see these

people who

don't have the

same amount of

self-discipline

that I have,

and they bump

into me.

And I look at

them and I

think,

why can't you

be as

disciplined as

me?

Can't you

just have a

little bit of

self-control,

a little bit

of willpower,

just to not

be a slave

to your phone?

And the

thing is,

where I feel

I have strong

willpower,

do you know

what it does?

I have little

patience for

those who

seem to be

weaker than

me in that.

And the

love in my

heart for

them shrivels.

And do you

know what?

I've actually

entered into

another temptation,

that of pride

and self-righteousness.

You rely on

willpower,

you'll have

entered into

temptation of

self-righteousness.

Now, don't get

me wrong,

in the moment,

willpower,

you have to use

willpower to

resist.

Like, if you

want to shout

at somebody,

now, me,

anyone,

okay,

count to

ten,

hold your

tongue,

punch something,

not a person,

the wall,

okay,

use every

ounce of

your willpower

to resist.

Absolutely.

But you've

got to realize

that the

problem,

ultimately,

is not your

will that's

the issue,

it's your

heart that's

the issue,

and willpower

can't change

your heart.

Because

the lying,

the anger,

the greed,

the lust

that drives

you,

is not

there because

you're not

disciplined

enough.

It's there

because your

heart has

been captivated

by something

other than

God.

That's why.

Special K,

on their

website,

say,

you are

strong,

and we are

here to help

you stay

that way.

the Lord's

prayer says,

you are

weak,

you need

a savior,

you need

a deliverer,

you're a

child,

you need

a father,

we are

sinful,

we need

someone to

rescue us.

That is why

this prayer,

lead us not

into temptation,

should be

constantly on

our lips,

because it

recognizes our

weaknesses.

I can't resist

temptation by

myself.

I might stop

gambling on

Mark 6,

but I can't

change the

greed in my

heart to

love God

more by

myself.

You know,

there's an

old Greek

myth about

the sirens,

who are kind

of mermaid-like

creatures,

whose beautiful

voices lured

sailors to

steer their

ships towards

the sound,

and then they

would dash

themselves on

the rocks,

and be

destroyed.

Time and

again,

the sailors

sailed past

the sirens,

they would put

their fingers

in the ears,

they would do

anything to

stop the

sound,

yet every

time it was

too much for

them,

and they would

steer their

ship,

and they would

dash into

the rocks.

Then one day,

a ship came

along,

and the

siren voices,

these beautiful

voices,

called out,

and the sailors

were going

crazy trying

to resist,

and then a

guy called

Orpheus,

he gets out

his lyre,

and he starts

to play this

beautiful song,

and the song

was so beautiful

that it drowned

out the voices

of the sirens,

and the ship

carried on and

sailed past.

It was the only

ship that survived.

This is how our

hearts will resist

temptation.

the way to resist

is to have a

more beautiful

song that is

playing in your

hearts,

a more beautiful

song than the

things around us

that captivate us

are telling us.

It's to find our

approval and our

comfort and our

recognition and our

satisfaction in

Christ,

in his death who

has brought us

into his presence

to be loved by the

one whose love is

boundless.

And here's the

thing, listen,

you will only live

for Christ if you

are satisfied in

him.

You will only live

for Christ if

you're satisfied

in him.

You will not drink

from a muddy

puddle if you

realize that there

is a fountain

there that you

can drink from.

And the gospel of

Jesus Christ is

that more beautiful

song.

this Hebrews

passage that we

read out, it

says, we don't

have a high priest

who is unable to

sympathize with our

weaknesses, but we

have one who's been

tempted in every

way and yet

without sin.

Let us then

approach the

throne of grace

with confidence

to find grace

and mercy in our

time of need.

for a liar and an

approval freak like

me, Christ came

down.

He was tempted

like you and I

were, tempted to

be his own savior,

tempted to seek his

own glory, and yet

when I get lured into

that cage, he

didn't.

He resisted.

resisted.

He stayed totally

dependent, loving and

obedient to his

father because he

found his satisfaction

and approval in

pleasing his father

because he knew his

love.

And though he resisted

every temptation, he

doesn't look on you

and me with self-righteousness

upon our weakness as we

fail and say, can't you

do any better?

Look, I can do it.

Why can't you?

He doesn't say that.

But with compassion,

with sympathy, he

says, run to me.

Turn to me.

And I have grace

enough to satisfy

your soul in any

moment of need.

So the lure of

whatever is tempting

you at the moment

loses its appeal.

And it's not just

grace, there is

mercy for those of

us who have

stumbled, even this

week.

who is in that

cage of temptation.

His mercy is

vaster than the

ocean.

If your sin is like

a dripping tap, his

mercy is like the

Niagara Falls.

It is incessant.

It is constant.

It is there

available.

He asks us to run.

That is why he says,

pray to me.

Run to me.

Will you run?

Turn.

Repent.

Turn to him and

find that there is

somebody who loves

you more than

you could imagine.

Because he's a

father who wants

to hold you.

He's a father who

will supply all of

your needs.

He says, if I have

given my life for

you, how am I going

to hold back anything

good that will

satisfy your soul?

There's that song,

you know, he's got

the whole world in

his hands.

Well, he's got your

2016 in his hands.

He's got the stock

market in his hands.

He's got your health.

He's got your kids.

He's got your

relationships in his

hands.

So will you trust him

with them?

Because there's no

other hands in this

universe who's a more

loving, more strong,

more faithful than his.

God.

And he gave his son so

that we might find

satisfaction in him.

I don't need to crave

approval from people if I

keep singing that song

reminding that my father

accepts me.

We don't need to rely on

our jobs for security if

we know that he is the

most secure one in the

world and he's got it all

in his hands.

And he says, I love you.

You can trust me.

That's the gospel.

And that's what we need

to keep singing to

ourselves.

We need to keep singing

to each other daily.

I am more sinful and

weaker than I can

possibly imagine, but I

am more loved and more

accepted than I could

dare comprehend.

So do we sing that to

each other daily?

I mean, if you don't

sing well like me, then

say it to each other.

You know, this is the

reason why we sing

songs.

You know, this is the

reason why we read God's

word.

This is the reason why we

have community groups.

Because we need to

constantly have that song

in a world which is

singing so many other

songs to us.

Because if you are not

having that song, let me

tell you, Owen will say

you're already in the

cage.

You're already in

temptation.

If God's word is not

something that is your

dwelling on, you're

delighting in, you need

to pray, God, help me to

delight in your word,

because otherwise you're

going to be ensnared.

Did you notice this

prayer is lead us, us, not

into temptation?

Not just me.

It's us.

We talk a lot about

community here at

Watermark.

But I think we're in

danger sometimes of

missing what that means.

It's not just a social

group.

It's not just the

American club.

It's a group of weak and

broken people who are

pointing each other to

Christ in the normal

things of everyday life.

life.

How does it happen?

We share our temptations

with each other.

I don't know.

Have you shared what is

tempting you this week with

anybody?

Because you probably see a

pattern in your life.

And some of us who know

that we're right in that

cage of temptation, the

first step that you and I

need to take is to actually

go and admit it to somebody,

a Christian brother or

sister, because that's going

to be the first step of

having somebody else

alongside you.

Because if you're like me,

sometimes I forget,

sometimes I'm so attracted

that I need somebody else

to sing that song to me.

And if nobody knows what

the song is that I need to

hear, then how are they

going to sing it to me?

Some of you need to admit

where you're struggling,

where you're actually

wading deep in temptation.

And in our CGs, if we truly

believe that relationship

with Christ is where we find

our satisfaction, then we

should know the temptations

of at least one person in our

CG and we should be praying

for them regularly, daily.

Not as someone who's better,

but as a fellow struggler in

this fight, in this war,

knowing that Christ has won

the victory.

The elders need you to pray

for them.

I need you to pray for me.

Your CG members need you

to pray for them.

Pray not just for our

physical needs, but because

my heart is so tempted to go

astray.

So here's what you can pray.

Chris is going to work today.

He's going to be tempted to

crave the approval of others,

to think that money will

ultimately satisfy him.

And that can lead him to

lying, to cheating, to

envying, to losing his joy in

you.

Father, would you help him

know that you will be his

acceptance, his satisfaction?

Don't let his heart be led

away this week.

Let him see that you are the

Father in heaven who supplies

all his needs.

He will satisfy him.

God, we need you to

pray for him.

Because this is the way we

start praying.

This is the way we love each

other.

So let's be a church that

loves each other enough to

pray this prayer.

Our Father, hallowed be your

name.

You are worthy of our

worship.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done.

It's all about you.

Give us today our daily bread.

We need you to provide.

Would you forgive us for where

we keep getting our hearts

captured by so many other

things?

And forgive those who have

hurt us so we're not

tempted to hold on to

bitterness.

And would you enable us to

keep you at the center of our

affections?

Don't lead us into temptation.

Provide a way out.

Give us the strength that we

may honor you, that we may

glorify you.

And that in this church, people

would see that Christ is our

satisfaction, our delight, and

he's our joy.

Let's pray.

Father, there are so many,

so many things which draw us

and pull us.

And sometimes I admit I don't

even know that they're pulling

me.

I don't realize I dwell on

things.

I pray now for each one of us.

You would show us where we're

dwelling on things which are not

you.

Help us to see what the things

we feel like we can't do

without.

And to realize that you are the

one who we can't do without.

And though everything else may

crumble and fall, if we have you,

we have what we need.

Help us to see that not just as a

theory, but in the practical

everyday things of life.

When we go to our office, or go

to our families, or we go to our

friends, when we go on the

internet this week, would we see,

would we see that you are

satisfying for us?

In your name.

Amen.