Praying, 'Lead Us Not Into Temptation'

[0:00] Luke chapter 11. We come to the sixth and final petition that Jesus teaches us to pray.

[0:19] Next week we will look at the following verses after we finish the disciples' prayer here today. Next week we'll look at verses 5 through 13.

[0:31] Wow, more than one phrase. And because that we've been looking at in these verses what to pray. Jesus teaches us what to pray.

[0:44] And then in verses 5 to 13, he teaches us how. The manner in which we come. How. So that's what we'll look at.

[0:57] And then the week after that, Lord willing, we will do a discussion review to kind of pull together what we've been talking about and thinking about. So today we're in Luke 11.

[1:10] We'll be looking at the last phrase in verse 4. But let's read the passage that we might have the full thinking here that Jesus teaches on prayer.

[1:22] If you're able, please stand as I read from Luke 11. I'm going to read from verse 1 through verse 13. Now Jesus was praying in a certain place.

[1:36] And when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, when you pray, say, ask, Father, hallowed be your name.

[1:53] Your kingdom come. Give us each day our necessary bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

[2:08] And lead us not into temptation. And he said to them, which of you has a friend who will go to him at midnight and say to him, friend, lend me three loaves.

[2:21] For a friend of mine has arrived on a journey and I have nothing to set before him. And he will answer from within, do not bother me. For the door is now shut, excuse me, and my children are in bed.

[2:36] I cannot get up and give you anything. I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

[2:54] I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, keep seeking, and you will find. Knock, keep knocking, and it will be opened to you.

[3:04] For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and the one who keeps on seeking finds, and the one who keeps on knocking, it will be open. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish, give him a serpent?

[3:21] Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?

[3:43] So it reads, let us pray. Father, guide us this morning, open our minds, and let us impact our hearts. Cause your kingdom to come into our hearts and souls, Lord, to intervene, to work your word in, to create in our hearts good soil so that the word might sink in.

[4:14] Grant us, Lord, your mind today to understand why Jesus would teach us to pray this final prayer. Help us to grasp what his intentions are.

[4:29] This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. A young driver was in a hurry to get to an appointment and he parked his car illegally.

[4:51] He left this note under the windshield wiper of his car. He said, so sorry, but I have circled the block for 20 minutes. I am late for an appointment and if I don't park here, I will lose my job.

[5:06] Forgive us our transgressions. When the driver of the car came back, he was shocked when he found a parking ticket on his windshield with the following note.

[5:17] I have circled the block for 20 years as a police officer. If I don't give you a ticket, I will lose my job.

[5:28] Lead us not into temptation. Lead us not into temptation. It's an odd prayer.

[5:41] Yet it's what Jesus teaches us to pray. And I believe he teaches us to pray it daily. Since the fourth prayer is about daily bread, I think all the others are about daily requests.

[5:57] So we're tempted. Temptation, at least not temptation. What's temptation? Well, we could all discuss temptation. We all have been tempted in different ways. There's different kinds of temptation.

[6:10] The scriptures describe three areas, perhaps, of temptation. When, in 1 John, he talks about the love of the world involves three things. Love, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

[6:27] So, lust of the flesh would refer to physical desires and appetites. The eyes, lust of the eyes would be about what we see, be about coveting, what others have.

[6:38] It might even be about idolatry, where we see other things that we put in place of God. Pride, oh, that can go pretty wide, can't it?

[6:50] Pride, it could be pride in our accomplishments, pride in our possessions. It could also be more subtle. It could be trusting in ourself. It could be leaning on our own understanding.

[7:03] So, we're tempted to do a lot of things that come naturally. So, Jesus is teaching us to pray, lead us, not into temptation.

[7:17] Now, as we just kind of take a brief look at the whole teaching that He gives us, these prayers, there's a pattern here that He teaches us. Notice that there's three prayers about God first, His name, His kingdom, His will.

[7:35] So, His name, to be set apart, to be hallowed, to be set apart from what's common, to be noticeable, in other words, to be, to stand out, to be central.

[7:47] Lots of ways to say that. Then His kingdom, His kingdom, His kingdom to come. We're asking God to make His kingdom come, to cause it to come, to intervene into our lives.

[7:59] And the kingdom is about His power. It's the power of the gospel, it's the power of the word, it's the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the kingdom. Now, and then His will, we talked about that.

[8:13] Why do we pray that? You know, thy will be done. Well, He's going to do His will anyway. Why do we pray that? So, we talk about different ways that we're looking for, but Jesus teaches us, pray, thy will be done.

[8:24] Cause your will to be done. So, in other words, I'm embracing His will. I'm not just surrendering, I'm embracing it. I'm wanting it clarified for me. So, there's three areas about God.

[8:35] And then, we've been looking lately at the three prayers for us. Pray for bread, for forgiveness, and for temptation. So, we pray for bread, that covers physical things.

[8:45] It can get deeper than that, but primarily, about physical needs. Those things that are necessary for this day. And when we pray for forgiveness, it's two parts.

[8:56] And we're praying, not only for our forgiveness with God vertically, but we're praying about how we forgive others on a horizontal level. So, there's relationships. So, it's really that forgiveness prayer is really about relationships.

[9:09] My relationship with God and my relationship with others. And they impact each other. My relationship with God impacts how I treat others.

[9:22] How I treat others impacts my relationship with God. They're interactive. That's a big one. And then, it comes to our temptations.

[9:32] Well, finally, finally, we get to what I need. Overcoming sin. And the way He puts it for us is, lead us not into temptation.

[9:47] So, our prayer for daily protection. And I ask the question, not just what does it mean to pray this, but why?

[9:59] Why does Jesus want us to pray it this way? Now, in the other teaching, in Matthew, it's a little longer.

[10:11] In Matthew's teaching, in the Sermon on the Mount, it's, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, right?

[10:22] Or the evil. Yeah. Which could be the evil in us. It could be the evil around us. It could be the evil one. So, Jesus talks about all three of those levels.

[10:35] But here in Luke, it's only recorded, all we have from Luke's, is lead us not into temptation. So, that's what we're dealing with. So, why does Jesus want us to pray this?

[10:49] Well, let's break it into parts. I think if we break it into parts, there's not much to it, is it? But if we break off the first part, lead us not, and then the second part, into temptation, we can kind of, I think, get some understanding here.

[11:06] I have two reasons. Why does Jesus want us to pray this? I think two reasons. One, dealing with the verb, lead us not. This prayer reveals our absolute dependence on God's grace.

[11:23] Okay, think about that for a minute. Praying this reveals to me, the prayer, my absolute dependence on God's grace.

[11:37] I'm asking Him to help deal with my temptations. I'm dependent on Him to lead me. He's gonna lead me.

[11:50] I'm asking Him about how He leads me. And so, I'm absolutely dependent on His grace. By grace, right, I stand or fall.

[12:04] By grace, I face different temptations. By His grace, where does He lead me? So, let me, let me do some clarification here.

[12:18] We get to do a grammar lesson. I love this. This is wonderful. And I hope you're excited that you can dig into a little English grammar here. Actually, Greek grammar, it's a little more, a little more tied down.

[12:31] So, by grammar, I mean the words and how they're used. So, here we have this phrase, lead us not. It's a word. Lead, lead us.

[12:44] So, to grasp that verb, are you still with me? Have you tuned out already? If I was 20 and in the pew, I'd be gone. Yeah.

[12:55] A verb has, has different parts. It has tense, which means it's action. It's past, present, future, right?

[13:08] And then it has a voice. It's like, what does that mean? Well, it means it's either active or passive or, or middle voice too, but usually it's either active or passive.

[13:19] So, in other words, that's how the direction is go, the direction of the action. So, if the verb, if the sentence is Jane runs, so that's, that's, that's present and that's active.

[13:33] She's running. If, well, so, so active is I'm doing it. Passive is it's being done to me, right? So, the action comes to me.

[13:45] Okay. Big deal. Mood. Here's the important one. So, a verb has tense, past, present, future. It has voice, active or passive, and then it has mood.

[13:57] That's the manner in which the, the action happens. Why is all this important? It's Greek. I will tell you, when I went to seminary, I, I understand, understood none of this in high school and college.

[14:11] None of this. Didn't care less. Went to seminary, my second year in Greek. We got into grammar and, I could understand scripture.

[14:25] I could understand Paul. Because Paul is very, very definitive. And so is Jesus. And here he's teaching us a different mood than in the other.

[14:37] So, what's mood? Mood is, okay. So, it's, so let's say it's present, active, and then it's indicative. So, the mood is indicative.

[14:49] It just means, it just indicates what happened. That's just happening. If it's imperative, so sometimes, and all these other prayer requests are imperative because we're asking God to do something.

[14:59] We're, we're employing, we're entreating him. It's, so, when we're asking God, it's not an imperative command like he gives to us, but it's more of an entreaty. Please, you know, cause your kingdom to come.

[15:12] Please give us this day our daily bread. So, every other of the, of the prayers are imperatives. This one's not. This one stands out.

[15:23] This one's different. Lead us not is not imperative. It's, hang on, ready? Subjunctive. Now it's all makes sense.

[15:35] Yeah. Not. Wow. Not. So, what's subjunctive? Well, you have indicative, which just indicates that's just normal thing. You have imperative, which is, you know, a little more assertive.

[15:48] Then you have subjunctive, which means, eh, maybe. Subjunctive means it's, either the action is real and happening or it's possible.

[16:01] Subjunctive means it's possible, but not actual. So, we're saying, lead us not, in other words, please?

[16:12] Possibly? Could you possibly not lead us into testing? See what I'm saying? This prayer's a little different. This prayer's got this if possible in it.

[16:25] This is only a potential. But Jesus wants us to pray this. It's a little bit like the third prayer, you know, thy will be done.

[16:36] It's kind of like, why do we pray that? Because he's going to do it anyway. Right? But we're involved in it. We're embracing it. This one is the same kind of thing. God is going to lead us into testing, not temptation, but into testing.

[16:48] And by the way, same word in the Greek. Of course, it just depends on how you look at it. He will lead it. I mean, the scripture's clear. He leads us into testing.

[17:00] He tested Abraham. He tested Moses. He tested Israel. He tests us. And testing trials are necessary for us to build character, to build endurance.

[17:13] So, we're saying, God, don't do what you do. Please, for today. Maybe it's kind of like that for today. Can I get a break?

[17:25] What, what, what? I still missed it. No whammies? No whammies. Okay. All right. No whammies. If you know what that, I'm not.

[17:37] Wham. Oh, okay. God really strikes you. Okay. Yeah. It can be, so, okay. So, so, are you with me? Do you see why the grammar is important? This is a little different.

[17:51] A little different. It's different from the other prayers. Next thing I want you to notice. Lead us not, what? Into. Into.

[18:01] That's an important word. Not up to. Not alongside. But into. In other words, not just to it, where, you know, but into it.

[18:14] To within it. To be within its power and influence. Lead me not to, into it where I will be overwhelmed. Isn't that a good prayer?

[18:32] So, keep me from its hold. Lead me not where I will surrender to it or be caught in it or deceived by it. So, at the root, this is a prayer about protection.

[18:45] In essence, we're asking the Father to protect us, to guard us, to waken us up. Waken us, awaken us when we face temptation.

[18:56] If you do not pray this prayer, what do you think will happen? I'm in trouble, right?

[19:09] If I don't prepare myself to face trials and temptations every day, then I will face those trials and temptations.

[19:21] Instead of just being a trial and a testing, they'll become a temptation. So, okay, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, here's the, here's the, here's the crux.

[19:36] My, my temp, he says, no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to men. So, even though you go through some really, really, really hard stuff, you're not unique.

[19:49] You're not special. God is faithful and he will not, watch this, he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.

[20:00] Do you believe that? Seriously. I mean, don't you face some temptations like, no, oh, that's way over my head.

[20:14] Apparently, God has a much higher estimate of you than you do of yourself. So, one of the things about temptation is about, is it's about faith.

[20:28] What do I believe? Do I believe what God has said or do I not? He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. So, apparently, anything I face, I have the ability at this point in my life, what, what he's done, what he's gifted, how he's led to face that.

[20:44] But, with the temptations, this is still Paul in 1 Corinthians, not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, with the temptation, with the test, he will also provide the way of escape.

[20:56] Whoo! I'm out! That you may be able to endure. Oh, wait a minute. So, escape doesn't mean I'm out, it means a way through it.

[21:13] That's the little, okay. So, here's the question. So, why do I ask, why does Jesus want me to ask this prayer? Why do I ask him not to lead me into temptation when he's promised not to tempt me beyond what I'm able?

[21:30] Why am I asking God not to lead me into temptation slash, could also be translated, testing, when that's what he does?

[21:41] okay, that's the, that's kind of the crux, kind of like, odd that we're praying this. But it does bring up the important subject of temptation slash testing, which we always face.

[22:02] Well, it's an honest cry to pray this. it's honest. And it reminds me to prepare myself to face them.

[22:17] It reminds me that I'm absolutely dependent on his grace this day. I'm absolutely dependent on how he leads me.

[22:27] And I'm absolutely dependent to renew my faith in him. See, if I don't renew my faith in him, what will I do? If my faith is passive, how will I do when I face temptation?

[22:49] I'm done, right? I'm done before I start. I'm like Peter. I love, I love Peter.

[23:02] Because, okay, so, here we go. Speaking of Peter. I believe this prayer is for our sake.

[23:14] He's given us this prayer, not to think about rationally, like, oh, why would I pray that when it doesn't, but rather, it's a prayer, prayer from the soul. Please lead me not, if possible, lead me not into the area of testing today.

[23:29] Can I have a break? Maybe it's just that. Lead me not into, under the power, under the influence of it, where I will succumb because I feel so weak.

[23:41] So, I think this prayer is for our sake. It's to awaken us. It's to awaken in us a distrust in ourself.

[23:56] So, what does it look like? Well, let's go to the Garden of Gethsemane. In Luke 22, we hear, we're, Jesus is praying, right?

[24:08] Luke describes it this way. When he, Jesus, came to the place, he said to them, watch this, pray that you may not enter into temptation.

[24:21] That's almost the same words. That's almost the same words. Pray that you may not enter into temptation. Asking God, don't bring me into temptation.

[24:34] Okay? He says it in the front. He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.

[24:45] It's almost the same prayer again. If you're willing, if it's possible, remove this cup. Let me not go through this, not temptation, but test it.

[24:58] That's the ultimate test he's facing, isn't it? If possible. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him.

[25:13] And, being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly. And his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

[25:27] This is Jesus. And when he rose from prayer, he came to his disciples and found them sleeping.

[25:39] And Luke records sleeping from sorrow. They're not just tired. They're overwhelmed. I'm not quite sure what that means, sleeping from sorrow.

[25:51] I imagine sorrow, grief, being overwhelmed can affect you physically. Huh? So, they are affected in the garden. They're not just tired.

[26:03] Okay? These are strong men. They are overwhelmed by sorrow. What sorrow? I don't know. They've been dealing with all kinds of stuff.

[26:14] Jesus has talked about in the upper room, I'm going to leave you. Then he tells them, one of you is going to betray me. And Peter, you're going to deny me. Oh, Peter, you're going to deny me. Peter, you're going to deny me. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.

[26:28] I love you too much. I'd never do that. Okay? So, I don't know what that sorrow means because we know that the disciples didn't get everything, but they got some of it and enough of it to lead them to sorrow in the garden there.

[26:47] So, okay, so he came to his disciples. He found them sleeping for sorrow and he said to them, why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

[27:02] He says it again. By the way, subjunctive. Pray that you might not enter into temptation. Pray about that potential.

[27:18] So, what does it mean to pray, lead us not into temptation? I think from the illustration we get a little bit of a picture. Jesus, before they're praying, tells them, pray that you won't enter into temptation and then after they fall asleep, he tells them the same thing.

[27:33] So, what was their temptation? What was the temptation they were facing specifically in that garden? Sleeping from sorrow, right?

[27:45] How they dealt with their sorrow. They were tempted to just kind of push it away and go to sleep. And Jesus says, why are you sleeping?

[27:58] So, in other words, sleeping wasn't the right response. It's an understandable and natural response, but it was not what Jesus was looking for from them.

[28:09] I'm wanting you to pray. I'm wanting you to pray. And sometimes that's the hardest thing to do. To continue to pray.

[28:25] Is it not? Because we can be overwhelmed with sorrow, grief, pain, anxiety. However many people are here today, you could each name a different reason.

[28:41] you're overwhelmed. Without prayer, we are not ready for temptation.

[28:56] Peter gives us the example. Peter did not pray. Peter did not listen to Jesus. Nope, I'm not going to deny you. I'm not going to deny you.

[29:07] I'm not going to deny you. Right? He was so confident. He was so self-trusting and absolute. Was he committed? We know he was absolutely committed.

[29:18] Did he love Jesus? We know he absolutely loved Jesus. Was he an honorable man? Absolutely. Did he mean it? Absolutely.

[29:29] Did he fall flat on his face? Absolutely. Why? Why? I mean, when the army came, he takes out his machaira, which is no little dagger.

[29:40] It's a, I mean, I showed you one once. You know, it's a good sword. It's not the Roman broadsword, but it was the Roman sword that changed war in the first century.

[29:53] Because instead of this unwieldy long one, it's a, never mind, why am I going into that? He's ready to take on the army, right? First one comes up, boom, hits him, grabs him, cuts off his ear.

[30:08] Did not swing wildly, no, he hit him, and then cut it off. Who's next? 600 guys lined up. So was Peter committed?

[30:21] Absolutely. So why did he fail? What happened to him? When did the temptation come? Well, it wasn't much longer later after Jesus was arrested, he's in the garden, right?

[30:34] Excuse me, he's in the courtyard of the high priest, and he's sitting around the fire, right? Just warming himself. What happens? Was it a soldier? No?

[30:45] He'd see that one coming. A little girl. A little servant girl. Just, hey, hey, hey, I've seen you with, haven't I seen you with Jesus?

[30:55] I've seen you with Jesus. Nope, no, no. I mean, what is he thinking? He wasn't ready. Just simply wasn't ready. Part of his sorrow must have already started.

[31:13] Jesus is arrested. What is going on? Jesus didn't let him fight with the sword.

[31:28] Okay? Without prayer, we're not ready for temptation. We're not prepared. We pray, lead us not into temptation. Why does Jesus want us to pray that?

[31:40] Because we're prone to sin, because we're weak. And without dependence on Christ, we will fall, and we will fail every single time if I don't pray.

[31:53] Remember, Jesus said in the garden, you know, pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

[32:05] Peter, I know you mean well. Spirit is willing. I know you're all in, but your flesh, man. If you just depend and trust in yourself, uh-uh.

[32:17] That little girl is going to come and sneak up on you and you're done. Okay? So one reason, why does Jesus want us to pray this? It reveals our absolute dependence on God's grace.

[32:30] It's awakening us to pray about our coming temptations or testing. Okay? It's preparing us. It's a prayer to prepare us.

[32:41] It's also a prayer for grace. So secondly, why else? Well, secondly, it kind of parallel to that is it exposes our total vulnerability and weakness by the words into temptation.

[33:01] Temptation is what exposes my vulnerability and my weakness. So the same word in the Greek, the same word, parasmos.

[33:13] You want to write that down? Parasmos. Some guys pronounce it wrong. Parasmos. No, it's parasmos. Who cares, Bill?

[33:25] Same word can be translated temptation or testing. Any word? So we could be praying not just lead us not into temptation but we could be praying lead us not into testing.

[33:39] Lead us not into trial. Okay? So, but the two views on this word, why is it, why is it translated both ways? Because they're totally different. One's positive, one's negative.

[33:50] Well, it depends on the circumstance. It depends on the circumstance and I think it depends on you how you come into it. If you come in prayed and prepared, it's a test.

[34:05] If you come in just, no, I'm fine, it's a temptation because you're not ready. Okay, so, the word means to try, to examine.

[34:19] So, in a negative sense, it's what tempts our faith. It's a trial that draws out what's in us. So, examination shows what we have.

[34:29] It draws out what's within us. It draws, draws out a temptation. What temptation brings either, we're either tempted by what's within, lust of the flesh, without, lust of the eyes, or by our deceiver, which can relate to the bride.

[34:49] The same word can also mean testing. So, to prove, in a positive sense, God brings trials into our life that test, ultimately, what we believe.

[35:00] Not how faithful we are, but what faith do we have. God brings trials into our life that test what we believe, proves what we trust in.

[35:13] Okay? James says, the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. 1 Peter, it's the proof of your faith that shows itself to be genuine.

[35:28] So, it's testing faith. Okay? So, prayer, this prayer, in the other sense, in terms of exposing our total vulnerability and weakness, not only does it reveal our need, our absolute dependence on God's grace, but it exposes our vulnerability.

[35:46] So, in other words, this prayer revives our faith. It revives our trusting. All temptation or testing is about faith.

[35:57] faith. It's not just about do that or don't do that. It's about our faith. At the root of it, it's about what we believe.

[36:10] What do I trust? What do I believe? Do I trust God's word? Do I trust God's way? I don't really trust God's way. I want to do my way. So, the direction of a church who decides that.

[36:27] Well, if I have faith, God decides that. If I lack faith and I want things to start happening, then I start making things happen and then I'm leaning on my own understanding.

[36:42] Right? We're asking God to lead us. We're asking God to give us clear direction. What's our next move? If there is something, what is he, what are we waiting, are we willing to wait for him?

[37:00] What do we believe? Do we really believe he will show us? Or do we believe we need to give him a little help? It doesn't mean we don't ask important practical questions which we've been doing.

[37:16] Who are we? What can we be doing? We've come up with some ideas. Right? So, we'll flesh those out. And in the process he may say, oh, stop.

[37:27] Or he may say, yeah, I'm glad I led you to do that. Okay? So, temptation. For us as a church, the temptation right now is to lose hope.

[37:42] It is to be anxious. It is to think, I don't know.

[37:53] He's moved people away and he's not, what if he doesn't bring others? What do we do? What if we never get out of a treasure? I guess we'll survive.

[38:05] But, it still bugs us. What do we believe? What will we do? So, it can be tempting to say, oh, we lost this, we lost this, we lost this.

[38:20] By the way, we haven't lost this. But we can get discouraged. So, first temptation in Genesis 3, right?

[38:40] Eve is tempted. Right? What was, what was the temptation? The temptation was to eat the fruit, right? The apple, the pomegranate, I don't know, passion fruit, I don't know, whatever it was.

[38:55] I don't know what it was. There's no Hebrew word for what the, anyway. We want to know. What was the temptation? What did the devil, how did he lure her, how did he entice her?

[39:10] Did God say, do you really trust what God says? Did God, what did God say? Oh, really? The temptation was to distrust what God had said.

[39:26] Do you believe it or not? I've given you everything, I've only excluded one thing. Gotta have it. Because God's keeping something from me by not giving me that one.

[39:42] Right? It was about faith. Okay? So, at the root of every temptation is faith. What do I believe? Do I believe, right, if I'm tempted with anger, if I explode in anger, why would I want to explode in anger?

[40:02] Nobody does that? Nobody explodes in anger? Feels good, doesn't it? I mean, I need to vent. I'm entitled to vent. And that was wrong.

[40:14] So, anger by itself is not sin, but how we express it can be. Lust, I have natural desires.

[40:27] That means it's okay. Right? Well, God always has some lines, right? He has some barriers that are for our good. What do I believe?

[40:42] Do I believe it's better to follow through and what I desire, what I want to do, how I want to explode? Or do I believe when God has said, no, that's good for me.

[40:57] That's best for me. So, so let's look at temptation a little bit.

[41:08] James is really helpful for us. James chapter one, talking about this more specifically. What's the source of temptation?

[41:19] How do I deal with it? So, get to the practical level. If we're praying, lead us not in temptation, what do we do when the temptation or testing comes? How do I handle that? What are my options? Okay, James talks about two ways you can deal with it.

[41:33] Okay, there's a good way, which means it's a test. There's a bad way, which means it's a temptation. So, how I deal with it makes it either a test or temptation.

[41:45] So, James 1, 12, blessed is the man who remains steadfast under perosmos, testing, trial.

[41:59] Thank you. Oh, not for me. That was for me. For when he has stood the test, when he has stood the perosmos, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

[42:11] So, same word, here's one response. Steadfast. Remain steadfast. Stand the test. Brings life.

[42:23] Blessing. That's one response. Here's the other response. Let no one say when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God. God's doing this. For, let no one say that because God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one.

[42:39] So, same word, he does test people, but he doesn't tempt them. So, we're changing the word because what's coming next. But, so where does temptation come from?

[42:52] It doesn't come from God. Where does it come from? Testing comes from God, but temptation does not. Same word. How do I know which it is? Well, watch what he does.

[43:06] Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by the devil. Nope, that's not what it says.

[43:17] When he is lured and enticed by his own desires. See, temptation comes from you. Temptation comes from within, not from without.

[43:31] Now, there can be outside stuff, you know, my eyes see or, you know, but it's still within, right? Jesus says everything comes out of the heart. Then, so what happens with desire?

[43:45] So, okay, I'm tempted and enticed by my own desire. Have I sinned yet? No. Desire is not sin. Desires are natural. Desires happen.

[43:56] Feelings are not sinful. What I do with them can be. How I respond to them. Okay? So, here's what James says.

[44:07] Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin. There it is. Now it becomes sin.

[44:18] When I take that desire and I harbor that desire and I'm going, hmm, let's make something happen with that desire. let me, let me explode, let me lust, let me, right, dwell on this anxiety.

[44:34] I don't know why I reacted like that about anxiety. I've been anxious lately, so maybe that's me. Wherever I go.

[44:46] So, so when I get, when I conceive it, when I say yes, then it becomes sin. And sin, when it's fully grown, when sin does what it does, when it fully grows, it brings forth death.

[45:02] So, there's two ways I could deal with trial. If it's a trial, I endure it, I stand fast, I get life and blessing. if I respond to the enticement and the luring by my desire into temptation and become sin, brings death.

[45:22] And then James adds, don't be deceived, my beloved brother. Don't be deceived. What do you believe about temptation? What do you believe about the process of how you respond to testing and temptation?

[45:36] If you don't think about it, you've already made a decision. You already have a belief. Right? If you're like Peter, no, I'm good. I'm good.

[45:49] I'm okay. Tell me what I need to do, Jesus, I'm good. I'm okay. I'm strong, Jesus. You know that. How can you say, I'll deny you.

[46:00] How can you say that? Because I already know that Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat puppy. Well, he didn't say puppy, but, you know, American translation.

[46:19] Okay, so how do we fight? He says, blessed is the man who stands firm, who's steadfast under trial when he stood the test. Right? So how do I stand firm?

[46:31] How do I fight? Well, you get real strong. You have a more intense resolve. Maybe you should take a pledge like a Christian movie talks about.

[46:48] Well-intentioned Christian movie. But have you noticed that's where Christian movies go? Have you noticed? It's subtle.

[46:59] It's not trying to deceive. It's simply that it's, but that's the old tradition is I need to get stronger. I need to get more loyal. I need to make a promise. I need to make a pledge.

[47:12] I need to be stronger in my beliefs so that I can do things. I, I, I, I. It's not, please hear me.

[47:24] The Christian movies can be great. They're very inspiring. They could be helpful, encouraging, all that. But there's a subtle message in there that I don't know where it's come from, but it's not by grace alone.

[47:37] It's by doing. It's by I can. That was the whole promise keeper thing. I was a promise keeper.

[47:49] Well-intent. It was great. Wonderful. 60,000 men singing in the country. I mean, I, I mean, hallelujah. And we heard, we heard Jim Otto, one of my heroes who played center for the Oakland Raiders and got, got to hear him.

[48:02] Tell us how, you know, do man, get committed. Go for it. Yeah. If Jim Otto said it. Very inspiring.

[48:15] But in what are you trusting? The end of life. Why do promise keepers not work? Because I make a promise and what do I do?

[48:27] I break it. And then I feel worse. Wonderful that you want to make a promise. Wonderful.

[48:38] Wonderful. We sing songs about, you know. Never mind. Okay. Okay. What do we do? How do I fight? No, it's not be strong in myself.

[48:51] It's not make a stronger resolve. It's not make a pledge. It's be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Right? To depend totally on him to endure.

[49:06] Paul says, put on the armor of God. Not the armor of Bill. The armor of God.

[49:19] Each piece belongs to God. And it's a gift. And that's what will cause you to stand firm. I put on a belt of what? Truth.

[49:33] I'm facing the devil. I got to know the truth so I can defeat the lie. Put on a breastplate of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Christ's righteousness.

[49:44] Not mine. Mine's no good. Mine will have all kinds of holes in it. No, his righteousness. His righteousness. So when the devil says, you're such a failure, I can go, I'm okay.

[49:55] By grace. He's forgiven me. Belt. A breastplate. Shoes. Of the gospel of peace.

[50:07] Of the gospel. I walk in the gospel every day. Gospel. Gospel. Gospel. I still need to hear the gospel every day. Shoes.

[50:23] Shield. Helmet of salvation. And I don't put my helmet on in the battle until, okay, here he comes. Now I put it on.

[50:33] I'm not wearing it constantly. I'm putting it on. And what does that do? It gives me perspective that salvation's from the Lord, not from me. It's not about what I can do in this battle. It's about what he's already done. Right? Take out the sword, which is?

[50:44] The word of God. The word of God. It's the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And that's my only offensive weapon. What do I do with it?

[50:56] I slay dragon. I slay dragons. Whew. I slay Apollyon. Not because I'm anything, but because it's the sword of the spirit.

[51:11] It's the word of God. What does James say when he says the devil roars like a, or is it Peter? The devil, Satan, roars like a, something like a roaring lion.

[51:28] Growls like a roaring lion. Right? Seeking someone to devour. He wants to tear you to pieces. And then Peter says what? Well, get all prayed up and get all, you know, got to go have a prayer meeting.

[51:43] And then, you know, then maybe you'll be ready to face Satan. No, that's not what he says. He says what? Resist him. I can do that. Resist him firm in your faith.

[51:59] Shield of faith extinguishes all the fiery darts of the evil one. What do I believe? What do I believe? He's slinging all kinds of stuff.

[52:10] What do I believe? Jesus doesn't love you. He's not around. You don't feel him anymore, do you? You don't feel it. He's left you. He's abandoned you. He's taken his Holy Spirit away from you. You know, you're like Saul.

[52:21] You're such a pitiful disappointment. Devil talking. And what do I do? Because I feel like a pitiful disappointment.

[52:32] I take the shield. I say, no. He said. He said. He will never leave me or forsake me. He said.

[52:46] And he laid down his life for all my disappointment. Right? When you use a sword, how do you use it?

[52:57] I've said this before. How do you use your sword? How do you fight a specific temptation? If you're tempted to lust. Right?

[53:08] Committed adultery in your heart, as Jesus said. What do you do, guys? How do you use the sword for that? Remember when Jesus fought the devil in the wilderness?

[53:22] He said. It is written. It is written. It is written. Right? He defeated each one with a word from God. Because the word of God is more powerful. That's how you resist the Satan. That's how you make him flee.

[53:35] Because he can't deal with the word. So, guys, what can you say? When you're tempted to lust.

[53:45] When you're tempted. Huh? And my gosh, it's all around us, you know. You watch an innocent football game and they go to the sideline. Come on! What do you do?

[53:58] I say, it is written. What? Flee immorality. That's all I got to say. That's it. You know how that works?

[54:11] Might have to say it a couple times. Because, you know, my brain. And I say it out loud. Because Satan can't read your thoughts. Say it out loud.

[54:22] It is written. Flee immorality. It is written. Flee immorality. That's too simple. That can't work. Try it.

[54:35] What about anxiety? Huh? What does Jesus say? It is written. Don't worry. Be happy. No, that's not what he said. Be anxious for nothing.

[54:47] Or Paul. You could quote Paul. I don't know. If that's what you deal with, find a verse. That's simple and concise that you can say out loud and deal with that temptation. What do you deal with?

[55:03] Anger? Sloth? Prayerlessness? Name it all my sins. What? Selfishness?

[55:16] Hopelessness? Despair? There's verses in Scripture that deal with all these things. Take them.

[55:28] Have them in your hand. Ready. Ready. Are you struggling with some temptation?

[55:42] Is there a habit you can't break? Is it a temptation with your words? Temptation with lust? A temptation with unforgiveness? Oh, that's interesting, right? We just prayed about forgiveness. And then we get into lead.

[55:53] It's not a temptation. Maybe that's about, you know, unforgiveness. You cannot overcome temptation or the test without faith.

[56:06] And it's not about getting strong or making a resolution. It's about being totally dependent on the Father to deliver you. Amen. And sometimes, because of the following verses about keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking, sometimes maybe some of that stuff we just have to be persistent in.

[56:27] Or to use Jesus' word, importunate. We'll get into that next week. It's a really rude word. It's not just persistent.

[56:38] It's persistent with a bad attitude. Well, not a bad attitude. All right. Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens.

[56:50] Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

[57:15] Therefore, let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

[57:36] Lead us not into temptation can be a prayer. It reminds me of my absolute dependence, and it reminds me of my vulnerability.

[57:48] And so it's a prayer and a cry for help. I think Jesus intentionally worded it in a way that obviously we're looking for some more grace here.

[58:05] Lead us not, if possible, into that area that I fail over and over and over again.

[58:15] I'm going to start preaching again. I'm going to stop. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the word of Jesus. Help us hear it.

[58:30] Help us heed it. We confess, oh, Father, so often as your followers. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak.

[58:45] And we confess, oh, Father, too many times, too many days, we go in to the day without thinking about this, without praying about it, and we get wiped out.

[58:56] We get knocked down. The temptation or the trial comes from some angle that we didn't see. Or maybe it's an ongoing thing, Lord, we don't even know.

[59:08] We're so overwhelmed with sorrow. We're overwhelmed, Lord, with what we're dealing with, and so we just want to sleep. We just like to have a break.

[59:18] So help us. In this area of prayer, we don't want to be motivated by shame or guilt.

[59:30] We don't want to be motivated by have-tos. We want to be motivated by you. So convict us about this, Father.

[59:44] Convict us in a way that draws us gently to you. And puts us on our knees. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.