Intro:

            Let's face it.  There will always be someone who will have something newer, shinier, or fancier than what we have.  But the temptation to be the one who has something newer, shinier or fancier can be powerful.  What temptations do you struggle with?  Are you tempted to lose your temper with your children or your spouse?  Are you tempted to fudge on your taxes?  When your boss is on your back are you tempted to blame someone else?  When you find out some juicy bit of news about someone are you tempted to tell others?  When you are faced with a difficult trial are you tempted to complain?  Now probably all of us would give a resounding YES that at one time or another or maybe even quite often we experience temptations like these.  It is a battle we face each and everyday.

            Now why would we talk about temptation in a series on God's faithfulness?  Because too often the battle is a lonely one.  If someone is sick or hurt we immediately put them on the prayer list.  If a missionary has a financial or material need we all pray for them and seek to meet that need.  If the associate Pastor wants to do some crazy thing during the summer, many of you don't hesitate to volunteer.  But when was the last time even a close personal friend shared with you a temptation to sin that they are battling with?  Or when have you shared that with someone else?  When in your small groups have you prayed for a member to over come a temptation or to be strengthened spiritually for the battle?  We don't like to talk about sin and temptation because it may reveal just how weak we really are.  A message on temptation is like a message on giving.  It makes us uncomfortable.  But if your heart is open and your desire is to grow in purity and holiness, then you need to know that the battle does not have to be fought alone.  God is faithful to the tempted.

            This morning I want to answer three questions you may have.  No. 1 Is the Tempter after me?  No. 2 How do I do battle?  And No. 3 Will God get involved personally in my ordeal?  Let's look at the first question, "Is the Tempter after me?"

Satan’s Work  Is the Tempter After Me?

Satan is the Tempter!  Matt 4:3 and 1 Thess 3:5 make it quite clear that Satan is the tempter.  Matt says, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”   Now Satan is not the only provoker of temptation.  We can be tempted by other things too like the “ways of the world” or by “our own weaknesses.”  But here I want to focus on Satan because he actively seeks to provoke us to sin.

He Prowls! In fact 1 Pet 5:8 describes Satan as a roaring lion who is actively on the prowl looking for his next victim.  Satan is not waiting for you to come to him.  His is actively stalking you.  He wants to destroy your faith.  He wants you to be ineffective for God’s Kingdom.  And if you are actively seeking to serve God then you can be assured that you are on Satan’s hit list.  And you know what? Satan doesn’t get tired, he doesn’t give up, he never relents.  He is actively stalking you right now waiting for the right moment to attack.  He has already identified your vulnerabilities.  He knows your weaknesses.  And if you are not careful you will become his next victim!

He Shoots! But Satan doesn’t just prowl, he attacks.  And his attacks are brutal and intended to do spiritual harm.  Paul says, in Eph 6:16 that Satan shoots flaming arrows at us.  In NT times arrows were wrapped in cloth, which were soaked in pitch, and lit on fire just before they were shot.  The pitch burns fiercely, and on impact burning bits of material fly for several feet, igniting anything flammable. Satan is very tricky.  And sometimes we have become so insensitive to his attack we don’t even notice it anymore.  It is silent, but it still inflicts great harm.  I think Satan likes it that way.  He doesn’t want to be noticed.  He actually prefers to work more like an archer from far off rather than a soldier in hand to hand combat.   Satan wants to get us when we least expect it.  He takes delight in our misery.  And too often we feel all alone, with nowhere to hide and a hail of flaming arrows are raining from the sky, and it looks like no one is around.  And if it is just too much for us to bear, we give in, we surrender to the enemy’s attack.  

Now we know that Satan tempts us, but what does that really mean? Does the Devil Really Make Me Do IT?  Are we ever in a situation where Satan forces us to succumb to temptation?  Well, let's look at what the Scripture says about temptation.  James 1 says it is by our own evil desires that we give in to temptation.  I like how the Message puts it.  "Temptation to give into evil comes from us and only us.  We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare up of our own lust. "  So the answer to our question is No! The devil doesn’t make me do it.  We cannot blame Satan or anyone else for our sin.  He only places options before us.  It is our own desires which take us down the path to sin.  We make a choice—to walk according to God’s will or to walk according to our will. “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.” (Gal 5:17 NLT)  That is what this is all about.

God’s Faithfulness

Well let’s ask our final question and really get to the heart of the message.  Will God Get Involved Personally In My Ordeal?  Sure God is faithful, but does he really make my struggle for holiness His struggle?  Does He jump right down into the trenches with me?

Let's look at two verses from Hebrews.   Heb 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

1.      God Knows What You Are Going Through  God is faithful to you because he identifies with you and sympathizes with you.  He has experienced your struggle.  He knows the pressure that you feel to give in to the temptation.  In fact no one really knows the full weight of a temptation unless they have met  temptation face-to-face and endured it to the end.  That's what Christ has done.  He has withstood the test.  He has withstood the pressure and he has experienced the suffering.  And there is suffering.  Standing up for what is right is not always the easiest thing to do.  People around you may question your decision.  They may try to draw you further toward making a wrong choice.  You may experience physical pain or emotional pain, but he knows.  God knows what you are going through.

Did you know that someone else has been wearing your shoes?  He can identify with what I face every day.  He knows my struggles.

2.      God Knows What You Can Handle 1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out (lit. the way of escape) so that you can stand up under it.  Can a person say that that’s just the way I am so live with it?  No! In every situation, God provides the way of escape!

You are not alone.  You are not the only one who is experiencing

3.      God Knows How to Rescue You  2 Pet 2:9 the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials.

4.       God Will Personally Strengthen And Protect You  2 Thess 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.   1 Pet 5:10-11And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

So what is the Believer’s Response?  How Do I Do Battle?

I want to run through this very quickly.  But please do not miss what I am about to say.  This is vitally important.  These are just a few of the things you should do to prepare you to do battle and to fight the battle itself.  Go home and look these verses up for yourself.

1. Give Yourself to Him Not to Sin  --who are you allowing to be master over you? God or sin?  Rom 6:12-14 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness [now what is wickedness?  Anything that is not according to the will of God], but rather offer yourselves to God[in other words, Let God reign], as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.  14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”  So let’s let God be our Master!

2. Avoid the ways of the ungodly. Proverbs 4:14-19 say, “14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.  16 For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.  17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.   18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.  19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”

The Bible says do not associate with Gossips Pr 20:19.  do not associate with Rebellious People  Pr 24:21-22. do not associate with Angry People  Pr 22:24. do not associate with immoral People  1 Cor 5:9-11.  And do not associate with Disobedient People  2 Thess 3:14-15.  So avoid the path of the wicked.  Follow God.

3. Know God's Word  Ps 119:11-- 11 I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.  Make scripture an active part of your life.  Remember that is was scripture that Jesus used to overcome the temptations of Satan in the desert.

4. Confess Your Sins to One Another James 5:16-17-- 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  Do not let other people’s opinion have a greater influence over than your desire for holiness.  Risk.  But risk wisely and you will find someone willing to bear your burden with you.  Someone who will come along side you, identify with you and pray with you without condemnation.

5. Be humble and draw near to God  You have to be humble in order to come to God for help.  James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Heb 4:16-- 16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

6. Be alert and pray to God  Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter, James and John in the garden just before His arrest?  As Jesus went to pray, He would come back to find his followers asleep.  But Jesus knew how active Satan was especially during those hours leading to His death.  And that it was important spiritually for them to be alert and in communication with God.  So he says in Matt 26:41 “Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

7. Know That The Lord Is Our Ally! Eph 6:10 “…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” The strength of the Christian life is dependence on God.  Any other strength will ultimately fail.  And know that the Lord’s strength is always more than sufficient for any battle we face.