Temptation - Test or Torture

ME/INTRO

Good morning!!!  My name is Ryan Hanson and can I just say it is amazing how God works.  Shortly after this campus was started by Kentwood Community Church, I was asked to serve as the Student Coordinator.  After a few years, God called me to seminary and to serve a at a few other churches, but He’s called me back to Together and it has been amazing to see what God has done here.  We’ve been coming her for a little more than a month and have felt so welcomed.  It is an honor to be part of this community and walk “TOGETHER” with each and every one of you on the journey God has laid before us. For the last few weeks, we’ve been walking through the Lord’s Prayer and this week we’re to everyone’s favorite verse (SMILE SARCASTICALLY), the one about temptation. Since I am relatively new here, and I don’t know all of you yet, I thought I’d break the ice with a story of one of the last times I was tempted.  Because remember, vulnerability is the glue of relationships, but the pulpit should not be a confessional, so don’t worry, this is a G-Rated temptation.  So, I’ve had an accountability partner for years.  We text each other every day the bible verses we’re reading, we call each other every week, and periodically we meet up to just hang out.  We typically do manly things.  When we’re having a rough go at things, we go to Byron Center’s Rage Room and break stuff.  We’ve gone to the shooting range and unloaded some guns.  But…a few years ago we were talking about the show forged in fire and wanted to find a place that would let us forge something.  I looked but couldn’t find anywhere.  We’ve periodically looked but come up short.  It’s been a few years but a few weeks ago I found a place.  It is in K-Zoo and appropriately called “Combat Ready Arts”.  They have classes that let you make all kinds of stuff.  Only trick is, it has a 1 year waiting period to get a booking.  But now I was in too deep.  My excitement had grown too large.  I had real hopes of smashing metal with a hammer and now I have to wait a year??? No, this is not acceptable.  What option did I have?  I did what anyone would do.  I went to Amazon.  I looked up all the stuff I’d need to forge metal in my garage and it was shocked.  It was almost the same cost to buy all the stuff as it would be for the two of us to just pay the fee to go down to K-Zoo.  The temptation to buy everything with no training and figure it out ourselves was strong.  I wanted to pull the trigger.  But what should I do??? Isn’t this how temptation works?  It’s kind of like a sled on a snowy hill. You have an idea You think about the idea You like the idea You try to talk yourself out of the idea Eventually that switches to trying to talk yourself into the idea Then you’re in too deep and you just do it 📷 The thing that gets me, is the time gap between the stages.  From the idea to talking myself into it was years.  Once I knew it was an option, the time from trying to talk myself into the idea to acting on it was only weeks.  Even though that option to take the class in K-Zoo was taken away the slope of my temptation got so steep that the choice to go to Amazon to do it myself only took days.  I went from having 2-years to kill this temptation, to 2-weeks after I found an option in K-Zoo, to 2-days after the K-Zoo options was gone.  This is how temptation works.  The longer you entertain a temptation, the steeper the slope of desire gets and the harder it is to say no. So if you haven’t guessed, I bought the stuff, it is in a box in my garage.  I gave into my temptation.  And once our kid’s sports are done later in October we’re forging some railroad spikes into something amazing (hopefully).  Most likely a letter opener.  Let’s just hope I don’t get all the way down the temptation hill to regret. But, I don’t think this is unique to me.  Companies have figured this out, it is called targeted marketing.  Have you looked something up on Amazon and then seen it 1,000 times (sarcastic) in adds all over various websites?  Each time you see it, you think about it, want it more, and eventually the sled of desire in your mind hits the right slope and you give in and buy it.  Some purchases work out, others you regret.

WE

I don’t know about you, but the topic of temptation is hard to talk about.  But I believe it is vitally important that we do. That being said, I don’t want this time together to come across as condemning.  Remember in

Romans 3:23 NIV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We are all tempted.  We all fail, and we all fall short of the life God created to live.  Especially if we are trying to live that life with our own efforts alone.  Today we’re going to enter into the discomfort and talk about temptation and what Jesus meant when He taught the disciples to pray Matthew 6:13. Let’s read it together. Jesus said,

Matthew 6:13 NIV

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

GOD

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

Let’s start with the first half of the verse, “Lead us not into temptation”

There is a principle they teach in seminary about how to study the bible.  It is called the “principle of first mention”.  It says that a great place to start when studying a word or topic in the Bible is to look at the first place that word or topic was discussed.  In our case the first place temptation was mentioned in the Bible was the temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1-6.  Let’s all turn to Genesis 3:1-6.  Please join me as we read.

Genesis 3:1–6 NIV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Reading this verse, the first thing that stands out to me is that God is not the one who is doing the tempting, it’s Satan.  This strikes me as odd because the wording Jesus chose to use in the Lord’s prayer “lead us not into temptation” seems to imply that it is God leading us into temptation.

Let’s go a little farther back in the Genesis story and look deeper into this tree of the knowledge of good and evil and see if we can figure out what is going on here.  In Genesis 2:15-17 we read,

Genesis 2:15–17 NIV

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God didn’t tempt them, He gave rules, boundaries, and an opportunity for Adam and Eve to choose to live the way that God created them to live. It sounds more like God is giving Adam and Eve a test.

And, when you look it up, the Greek word Jesus uses in the Lord’s Prayer for temptation means exactly that.  The word Jesus chose was…

PEIRASMOS - to try to learn the nature or character of someone or something by submitting such to thorough and extensive testing

So, temptation is probably better translated as testing.  God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden not to tempt Adam and Eve to sin, but to test them so He could learn the nature of their character.

If we replace the word temptation with test, one could paraphrase the first half of Matthew 6:13 as

And lead us not into testing that the devil can use to tempt us beyond what we can bear

The analogy here is a father pushing his child in a cart though the grocery store.  If the parent pushes the child down the toy or candy aisle, they can’t handle that level of temptation, they want everything, and they inevitably start throwing a fit.  We could pray, God, don’t lead me down the candy aisle, as I can’t resist the chocolate.

But why did God test Adam and Eve in the first place and why does God test us? We already read in Romans that we all sin and fall short.  What’s the point of giving us a test we’re going to fail.  Let’s turn to James 1:2-4.  It reads:

James 1:2–4 NIV

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

God uses tests to help shape our character.  With each test and each failure, we learn to persevere.  We learn to choose God over whatever temptation / test we’re facing.  Each time we choose God, our relationship with Him deepens, and we are taking one step closer to becoming the mature Christlike people God created us to be.

We need tests and trials to identify the areas in our lives we need to change and to motivate us to takes the steps necessary to grow.  And with the help, guidance, and the power of the Holy Spirit we can mature in our Christian walk and deepen our relationship with God.

I’d sum it up like this…

Temptation / trials / tests (whichever word you want to use) are gifts that provide us the opportunity to persevere in choosing God every day and rejecting everything else that gets in the way of our relationship with Him in order to develop the mature character He wishes for us to have.

So when we pray, let’s thank God for the tests and trials that He places in our lives to mature and complete our character, but also pray that He doesn’t test us beyond what we can bear at our current level of spiritual maturity.

YOU

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL

But Jesus isn’t done.  He follows “lead us not into temptation” with “but deliver us from the evil one”.

If God tests us to mature our Christian character, and we’re supposed to pray that He only tests us in proportion with our current spiritual maturity, why would Jesus add “deliver us from the evil one”.  The testing in the first half of the verse is a good thing, right?

Let’s go back to the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:1 NIV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Satan took the test that God gave Adam and Eve to mature their character and twisted it into a temptation to get them to sin.  This is what we need to pray to God to deliver us from.  Satan’s crafty attempts to turn God’s good testing into a temptation to sin.

But I went to college for engineering and I overanalyze everything.  I don’t know about you, but my mind immediately jumps to the question of HOW.  HOW does God deliver us, and what is my part in it?  Do I just pray “God please help me” and the rest is up to Him?  If I fail, God’s answer to “please help me” must have been “no”.  Right?

I don’t think so.  Let’s keep reading in Genesis 3 and see what Eve does.

Genesis 3:2–3 NIV

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

Eve didn’t passively sit there and hope the temptation would go away.  Eve went to the very words of God to defend herself from satan’s temptation.

We see this other places in the scripture.  When Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan in Matthew 4, He directly quotes Deuteronomy as a defense against the temptations Satan was putting in front of him.

That leads us to Prayer Tip #1: If you don’t know what to pray, pray scripture The bible is full of prayers.  We’re currently studying one prayer that Jesus modeled for us, but Psalms is a book full of prayers.  Psalms is a great book to pray through.  It is personally comforting how brutally honest these prayers are.  People praise God passionately, but also cry out to God desperately. And that leads us to Prayer Tip #2: Prayers don’t need to be formal.  Prayer is a conversation with God, and He wants you to be brutally honest; He can handle it But going back to the question of how God delivers us, let’s turn back to Adam and Eve’s temptation, let’s read further in Genesis 3:4-6

Genesis 3:4–6 NIV

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Even though Eve knew God’s words and knew the right things to do, she still gave in to the temptation.  And apparently Adam was right there doing nothing this whole time, eventually giving in as well. Have you been there? Have you known what God wants you to do, but give in to the temptation to satisfy a temporary desire?  I know I have.  I would bet we all have.  We already read Romans 3:23, but let’s read it again. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Even Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament failed to fight off temptations.  In Romans 7:14-15 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. If these biblical heroes failed, does this mean that we have no hope of living the life that God created us to live?  Of course not. 1 Corinthians 10:13 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. So if we all fail, and God promises not to allow us to be tempted beyond what we can endure, what do we do? There is a lot of writing on the subject of enduring temptation.  Here is my list that I compiled from the many lists I came across and my own personal experience.  I have found five things that can help us endure temptation 1. Pray – Cry out to God for help Pray

Pray Scripture Pray out of desperation Realize that you cannot fight this alone and need the power of the Holy Spirit to help you 2. Change your surroundings

2 Timothy 2:22 NIV

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

The average temptation lasts 23 minutes A great habit when facing a temptation is to set a timer for 23 minutes, get up and flee the temptation, literally leave what you’re doing, and do something else / anything else 3. Call a friend

James 5:16 NIV

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

We confess our sins to God for forgiveness We confess our sins to each other to get healing Prayer Tip #3: Don’t pray alone Get an accountability partner you can confess to and pray for each other.  I have one.  We not only hold each other accountable to daily Bible reading, but every Thursday we call each other and talk through the RPMS (how we’re doing relationally, physically, mentally, and spiritually) and pray for each other.  Don’t pray alone. 4. Cut off triggers Pay attention to when you’re tempted Intentionally avoid those things that you find tempting It may be drastic (no smart phone, no drinking in any quantity, no being alone with someone of the opposite gender, no credit cards / cash only, etc), but it is worth it I read that Billy Graham would physically remove the TV from his hotel room and put it in the hallway to keep himself from being tempted to watch things he shouldn’t 5. Call a professional There is no shame in asking for help

God created therapy for a reason, don’t be afraid to lean in on the wisdom of the professionals So when we pray, let us ask God to deliver us from the temptations of the evil one who wants us to sin.  Let’s not be complacent, but with the help and power of the Holy Spirit do everything we can to flee every temptation and choose to live the life God created us to live.

WE / JESUS

I want to leave you with a visual from a book called “The Bondage Breaker” by Neil Anderson. Imagine you’re standing at the end of a long narrow street lined with apartments and shops. 📷 At the other end of the street is Jesus, and your Christian life is the process of walking down the street toward Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.  There is nothing stopping you from walking directly to Him. 📷 But since the world is still fallen and under the dominion of satan, the apartments and shops are full of demons.  Some tempting you to step off the road, enter the shop, and enjoy the pleasures of this world.  Others mocking and accusing you; telling you that you that God doesn’t love you and you can’t make it to the end of the street to Jesus anyway, trying to get you to stop or turn around.  They’ll say things like church isn’t important and you can do the “Christian thing” by yourself.  They’ll say you don’t need to spend time reading the bible or praying.  Just give up. 📷 📷 📷 Even though satan has no power to stop you from walking toward Jesus, he’ll do everything he can to tempt, accuse, and deceive you into giving up.  We need to stay vigilant, keeping our eyes on Jesus, and our feet moving toward the only one who has the power to save. We need to continually pray “Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” Because God will test us to help grow and mature our character, but we need God’s protection to keep us from being tempted by satan into taking our eyes off Jesus.

PRAYER

Will you join me in prayer? God, it is hard living in the world these days.  The devil has a foothold and there are temptations around every corner.  As you lovingly test us, lead us not into temptations that are too strong for us to endure given our current spiritual maturity.  Help us / teach us perseverance to continue to move toward you, no matter what temptations we’re facing.  Please make the way out of temptation clear, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, give us the ability to endure.  Help us to choose you and reject every temporary high that gets in the way of our relationship with you. I thank you for loving us enough not to leave us as we are, but to test us and motivate us to grow spiritually.  It is in the powerful name of your son Jesus Christ that I pray. Amen

SONG

So,

What test do you need to thank God for?

What temptation do you need to pray to God to be delivered from?

What active steps do you need to take to endure the temptation you’re currently facing?

You’ll see note cards and pens in the seat backs in front of you.

I want to take a few moments while the band plays to write your prayers out and, in an act of faith, place them on the walls up front.

Come up as you’re lead.

BENEDICTION

Matthew 6:9–13 NIV

“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’