Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to the Karma Chaj podcast.
[00:00:11] Great. Thank you. Take a seat, Take a seat.
[00:00:16] Okay, let me just ask you a question before I start.
[00:00:23] Has anyone been tempted to sin this week?
[00:00:29] Only four. We have the perfect church.
[00:00:32] Okay, okay. Own up, you liars.
[00:00:37] You just sinned there and in. Has anyone been tempted to sin this week?
[00:00:41] Yeah. Okay.
[00:00:43] What I want to talk to you this morning is about overcoming temptation. And I just wanted to check, it might be slightly relevant as we go into this new term. I want to talk a little bit about the ways of God and how do we know if we love Jesus?
[00:01:00] And he says, the way we know if we love Jesus is we walk in his ways. I'm going to read a few scriptures. Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever. The spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
[00:01:28] I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. That's John, chapter 14. Jesus is saying, the fruit of our love for him is to walk in his ways. But in order to be able to walk in his ways, he has sent a helper, the Holy Spirit, who. Who invades our life, who dwells in us.
[00:01:53] And he is the one who leads us into the ways of God.
[00:01:57] And you know, let me ask you another question. You don't need to answer this. You know, what's the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament? And I want to say to you, I think the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, isn't it the unction from which we walk in his ways.
[00:02:15] Isn't it the difference between the two Testaments and how we walk in his ways? In the Old Testament, the story of God is discovering who God is and his ways are external. Do this, don't do this.
[00:02:27] But his plan always was right the way through the story of the Bible that we would know him and that he would become internally dwelling.
[00:02:38] Jeremiah says, this is to come. He says, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. Or Ezekiel 11, I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments, and do them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Or 2 Corinthians 3, written not with ink, but the spirit of the living God. Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh. Flesh, that is, of the heart.
[00:03:17] You see, God is writing his very nature on our hearts so that we can become like Him. That's his desire. It was always the plan. Right at the beginning, in Genesis 1, when we were created, God said, let us make man in our own image according to our likeness, that he has made us to reflect who he is.
[00:03:39] So that wherever you go, whoever knows you would look at you and go, now I know what God is like.
[00:03:47] That's always been his plan, and that's what he wants to do. And you know, when we all come to, you know, we give our lives to Jesus. And there may be people here this morning that need to give their life to Jesus. When we do that, all the resources of heaven become available to us. All of the blessings, all of the forgiveness, all of the eternal life. But.
[00:04:09] There is a but.
[00:04:10] Jesus says, keep my commandments, walk in my ways. In fact, Matthew 5, he says, I did not come to destroy, but fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not a jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till it is all fulfilled.
[00:04:33] A jot is a dot, and a tittle is smaller than a dot. If you don't know, it's the new King James Version. And what I'm going to say to you now is the most important message you will ever hear in your life. Okay? Jesus did not die for your sin so you could stay in your sin.
[00:04:57] Let me say that again. Jesus did not die for your sin so you could stay in your sin.
[00:05:04] Jesus died and gave his life on the cross so you could be free from sin, so you could live in his abundant life, walking in his ways, reflecting his glory. And the moment you start walking in his ways, by the power of the Spirit of God in you, you become a person of glory.
[00:05:28] Okay? When the Father looks at you, when you give your life to Jesus, you start walking in his ways. You become a person of glory.
[00:05:37] But I'm going to get all the buts over right at the beginning, all right? And then we'll move on there. But there is a devil that wants to take the glory from you.
[00:05:50] In fact, Peter says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
[00:06:04] Now, you probably don't know this, but I am an expert on lions. Well, I talked to someone once about them.
[00:06:11] A friend of mine has lions not in this country. He has a game reserve in South Africa and they have lions on the game reserve. And I've asked him about this and he says what lions do is when they see their prey, they will circle them.
[00:06:29] And he says, you know, a lion can be a long way away from his prey, but that prey is dead.
[00:06:36] As soon as he gets to a certain distance away, even if he's quite a few meters away, the prey is dead. And what he does is he circles the prey until the prey is so confused with where he is, it's good night, dear.
[00:06:54] It's good night. Cute animal you are. Lunch for that lion. And what Peter says is that we have a devil who wants to confuse you and devour you.
[00:07:09] And what he does is he encircles you to confuse you. So if we don't want to get devoured, if we don't want to lose the glory, okay, we shouldn't let him anywhere close.
[00:07:25] So stop flirting with the devil and start dwelling with God.
[00:07:32] Okay? John Wesley, the great revivalist, probably possibly the greatest preacher this country has seen. He gave his new Christians three things to do.
[00:07:43] So when they weren't at church, they would meet in what were called class meetings. There was three things. The first thing they could do, they had to do was confess how they'd been tempted.
[00:07:51] The second thing they had to do is confess how they'd sinned that week.
[00:07:55] And then the third thing they had to do was give a penny to the poor.
[00:08:00] Okay? So they would gather together in these little class meetings in just these small groups and talk. And they would say, this is how I was tempted and this is how I overcame the temperature. Temptation.
[00:08:09] They would confess their sin and they would lay their hands on each other and bless each other and speak the forgiveness of Jesus over them. And he always made sure it was important that their faith, their trust in Jesus was always outward looking. So they gave to those who were in need.
[00:08:26] So how were you tempted this week? Now, who shall I interview to find out how you attempt? Joe? I mean, wouldn't you want to know how Joel was tempted this week? Okay, look, he's shaking his head no, no. Or Jonathan down there. I bet he has some juicy ones. Right? Okay, and you're. Oh, no, why, why do we feel shame? And you go, well, if you knew how I was tempted, you would think badly of me.
[00:08:59] Temptation is not sin.
[00:09:04] There's the first confusion the devil has brought into the church. That is the lie. You're feeling bad for something you haven't done yet.
[00:09:15] You Know you're feeling shame. The problem in the garden, they felt shame for something you haven't even done just because you thought it, just because there was a temptation.
[00:09:27] So temptation is not sin. Say it after me. Temptation is not sin.
[00:09:34] Do you believe me?
[00:09:36] That's good. That's about 30.
[00:09:41] The second thing, 1 Corinthians 10:13. Paul says this. No temptation has overtaken you, except such is common to man or woman.
[00:09:51] So however you attempted this week, you know, just look at the person next to you and just give them a knowing look, okay? Because they were tempted in exactly the same way as you.
[00:10:04] But God is faithful. He says he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation will also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.
[00:10:15] So not only is temptation not sin, everybody is tempted with the same stuff. The devil only has so many tricks up his sleeve.
[00:10:25] Okay? And then thirdly, Mark, Jesus says this in Mark 4:22. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, not anything being kept secret, but that which should come to light.
[00:10:37] So everything is seen by the Lord, and everything is going to get revealed at some point. So it's all going to come out.
[00:10:47] So first thing I want to say to you is, who cares how you attempt it?
[00:10:53] Jesus was tempted.
[00:10:56] Rather, the issue is how will you overcome temptation?
[00:11:03] So the issue isn't the temptation, it's how you're going to overcome it.
[00:11:09] So temptation is not sin.
[00:11:13] You have a new nature because you are a new creation. You've come to Jesus when you give your life to Jesus. And many of you stood at the front and said, I want to follow Jesus. A transformation happens and you become a new creation.
[00:11:30] So when you are tempted, your old life is being tempted, not your new life. It's your old life that's calling, not your new life of glory. Your old life is dead.
[00:11:42] Now, sometimes my old dead life does try to crawl off the altar.
[00:11:48] Okay? But my pull is to my new life of glory.
[00:11:56] And if Jesus was tempted and the Bible says did not sin, he was tempted in every way. We are, but he did not sin.
[00:12:09] Shouldn't we expect you and I to get tempted?
[00:12:12] And if Jesus temptation is written all over the place, Luke's gospel, why would we be ashamed of how we are tempted?
[00:12:24] You see? And the Bible not only tells us how Jesus was tempted, but how he overcame.
[00:12:32] So how did Jesus overcome temptation? And some of you Bible scholars will go, the word of God.
[00:12:40] No, that's not how he overcame temptation.
[00:12:44] It was the word of God and the Holy Spirit that he overcame temptation. And you say, well, how do you know that, Steve?
[00:12:53] Well, we read it earlier. He said, obey my commandments and I will send you a helper. You're not going to be able to do this without the helper that's within you.
[00:13:02] And you know, when Jesus goes into the wilderness, and we'll read it in a moment, he goes, luke is really clear. He's been baptized. And he goes for full of the Spirit. He's then tempted, and he comes out in the power of the Spirit.
[00:13:19] You see, not only is temptation not sin, but it is one of the ways we step from being full of the spirit into the power of the Spirit.
[00:13:31] So if you're being tempted, if you're going through temptation, don't be ashamed. Shout it from the rooftops because you're worth tempting.
[00:13:41] The fullness of the Spirit is about to move on your life so that you can operate in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the power of God's word.
[00:13:51] Are we all right?
[00:13:53] Okay, find your Bibles. Find Luke chapter four, and we'll read the.
[00:14:00] Let me find my glasses. Oh, he's not gonna see him. Why don't you stand when we read and we're gonna read the story of Jesus being tempted.
[00:14:07] This is Luke 4. 1. Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember, he's just come from out from his baptism, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for 40 days by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing. And afterwards, when they had ended, he was hungry. And the devil said to him, if you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.
[00:14:34] The primary way the devil tempts is to call God's word into question. If you really are Jesus, who you say you are, turn these stones into bread. And Jesus answered him, quoting from Deuteronomy, it is written, so Jesus uses the word of God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
[00:14:59] Then the devil, taking him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment.
[00:15:05] And the devil said to him, all this authority I will give you and their glory, for this has been delivered to me, and I will give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you worship before me, it will all be yours. And Jesus answered and said to him, get behind me, Satan, for it is written. He's quoting the Bible again. You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.
[00:15:33] Then he brought him to Jerusalem, set him on a pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the Son of God.
[00:15:40] So he's still throwing. Who hath God said, Throw yourself down from here. For it is written, the devil knows the Bible.
[00:15:51] That's not fair.
[00:15:53] Do you know sometimes in temptation, the devil will use the Bible and he'll twist it and he'll use it against you and Jesus.
[00:16:02] And he said, Sorry, I nearly missed it. He said that he shall give his angels charge over you to keep you, and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against the stone. True, it's the word of God.
[00:16:17] And Jesus answered and said to him, it has been said.
[00:16:21] Now he changes the word.
[00:16:24] This word, it has been said is always used. And I'm not a Greek scholar. I just got a Bible package you can look at. Whenever it's used, it means the prophetic word. It's what prophets speak.
[00:16:38] So what Jesus does is that the Spirit of God wells up and anoints the word of God. It is the prophetic, prophetic word. And this is what he said. You shall not tempt the Lord your God.
[00:16:51] Finished.
[00:16:54] Now, when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
[00:17:01] Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And news of him went out through all the surrounding region. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
[00:17:13] Take a seat.
[00:17:14] We're going to move really quick.
[00:17:17] The primary way the devil tempts us is by calling in to question what God has said to you. Hath God said? He did it in the garden. Remember, he's got. You shall not eat of every tree of the garden. He said that to Eve. What was the correct. You know, have God said, you can eat of every tree? What was the correct answer? Yes, he has said, end of.
[00:17:43] End of argument. But what does Eve do? She enters into conversation.
[00:17:50] What does Jesus do? It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word.
[00:17:56] But by every word of God.
[00:17:58] Period.
[00:18:00] No conversation. He does not enter into conversation with the devil.
[00:18:06] You see, Jesus isn't just quoting scripture. He's placing his life in the ways of God.
[00:18:12] You see, what the devil's trying to do is get Jesus to cut some. Take some shortcuts. There are no shortcuts. Jesus is placing his life in the ways of God. It is written how I should live my life. There are no shortcuts. Either the ways of God are right or they are wrong.
[00:18:31] You know, when I came to Jesus as A teenager. I chose to walk in his ways every jot and tittle, every period.
[00:18:41] And to the degree that I've been able, I've tried to do that.
[00:18:47] And, you know, I've been walking with Jesus now 47 years, and you'd think I'd be past temptation, right? I mean, surely by now.
[00:18:56] No.
[00:18:58] A couple of weeks ago, I'm doing my expenses, okay? And we had. Do you remember we had the revival evenings back in May? And, you know, there were lots. There were lots of money coming in and out. And sometimes people hand me money, and sometimes, you know, you know, I've got a front pocket and a back pocket, you know, because sometimes you go, oh, I've missed the offering. Just get here earlier and put it in the offering. Don't give it to me. All right? But I, you know, and I'll. I'll go and I'll hand it to someone. Anyway, I'm going through my expenses. And somebody. During that, we paid for some travel for them, and they. They sent some money to me and they transferred it directly into my. My account, okay? And they said, you know, just so you're not out of pocket.
[00:19:36] And anyway, so I'm doing my. But the church had actually paid for the travel.
[00:19:40] I hadn't paid for it. Anyway, I'm doing my expenses. And, you know, we'd had a busy season. You know, we had a family wedding. Do you know how expensive weddings are?
[00:19:50] You know, you send all the invitations out. Church, you want everyone to come. Weddings, you're going, hopefully they'll be on holiday. No, I'm joking.
[00:19:59] Anyway, they're all. They're all, you know, and so it's just really expensive. So I'm doing my expenses, and there's this money I've got to transfer back. And you know what?
[00:20:07] The temptation. And it came really powerfully.
[00:20:11] Oh, he. He gave you that so you wouldn't be out of pocket. You could keep it. No one will know. It'd be fine. It'll just be mine.
[00:20:20] And I'm going, no, no, he said. He said out of pocket, not in pocket. Really important.
[00:20:27] And then, you know, the Temptation's gonna tell him, well, why don't you just leave it in your account a little bit? Because it'll keep the balance, your account up, and it'll help for, you know, just a few weeks or a few months. And I'm going, yeah, now, that could be a really good idea.
[00:20:44] Now, the Holy Spirit doesn't shout because he indwells.
[00:20:49] And all the way. That. All the way Through. He's going, no, no, no, no. But the temptation is coming way stronger. Yes. This is a great. This is wisdom.
[00:21:00] This is financial wisdom. This is how I'm going to balance the books.
[00:21:06] And suddenly I went, you know, and I literally walked away from my desk and, ah, I'll do it next month.
[00:21:12] Gotcha.
[00:21:14] And then I realized, went.
[00:21:16] So I went and brushed the dust off my checkbook.
[00:21:20] I went and wrote a check for the amount and I handed in the account. This is for some money that came in that I hadn't done. Why? Because my declaration is, you are not getting me on this.
[00:21:33] I know the slippery path. I know the journey you're trying to get me along.
[00:21:39] And I can ask my father for this money anytime because he is rich.
[00:21:46] All right, but you're not taking me down there.
[00:21:51] You see, the Lord.
[00:21:59] The Lord doesn't want us to enter into conversation, but the devil was trying to confuse me and just. It was the lion circling round me, waiting for someone to devour. And in this case, I was the cute little thing that he was going to eat.
[00:22:21] So why should we confess temptation? I'm going to move really quick. Firstly, when we confess temptation, it brings it into the light. The devil only has power over darkness.
[00:22:34] He lives in the darkness. Once we bring things into the light, sin has no power and nor do temptations.
[00:22:40] So we bring them into the open. And I would really encourage you to have little groups. Hey, you know, I got tempted by this, or I got tempted by this and I got tempted by this. And they're not going to go. No, you are so terrible. They're going, oh, me too. Because that's what the Bible says. Yeah, I'm struggling with that as well. And you know, well, how did you get.
[00:22:58] You see how it goes? The second reason is it produces a way of escape. When you are confused, you don't know which way to go.
[00:23:07] But when you bring it into the light, everything becomes clear and we find a way of escape.
[00:23:14] So temptation comes, but God promises I will find you won't be tempted beyond what you can bear. And there is a way of escape.
[00:23:23] Number three, when you endure temptation, and this is James, and I don't have time to go through all the verses. James says you receive the crown of life. James 1:12.
[00:23:32] So when you come through temptation, there is a crown of life for you. And literally it means you are marked royal.
[00:23:42] So when you go through temptation, you are marked as royalty. And it all has to do with glory. The word to receive the crown means to seize the crown. So when you're tempted, you're not looking back to your old life, you're seizing the crown of, of your new life. So you seize what is of heaven and so you reach for it and you declare you belong to the king, not the devil.
[00:24:10] You see, I say it again. I don't need to steal money because my father is rich.
[00:24:18] And then the last one, and this is probably something you won't hear that much for me. I don't want to re crucify Christ.
[00:24:31] Look, temptation isn't sin. But if I take the whole journey, when it becomes full blown, it gives birth to sin. The scriptures say.
[00:24:40] Now every week you will hear me tell our new Christians that Jesus has completely paid for all of their sin, as he has all that they've ever done and all that they will ever do. Okay, it is all paid for. Next time we're going to talk about confession. It is all paid for. Hebrews 6, 6 says if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put him to open shame.
[00:25:08] When Jesus was on the cross, your life, all of your sin was poured upon him. All of my sin was poured upon him.
[00:25:24] I don't think it was a job lot.
[00:25:27] Oh, let's just put all this in because God knows that the hairs of our head are numbered. I think when the sin of the world was poured upon Jesus, we're talking every sin, every detail and I don't fully understand how it works. And one day we will stand in heaven and realize the full price that Jesus paid.
[00:25:49] But the reason I don't want to, I don't want to re crucify Christ is because when I am tempted, I don't want my temptation to turn into sin and add one more stripe, one more scar, one more pain to my Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for all of my sin on the cross.
[00:26:12] Because my sin is gone, My old life is gone. And now I want to live in glory and, and bring him glory because his death on the cross mattered and he has transformed my life, which why the trajectory of my life is so, so important.
[00:26:32] Does this make sense?
[00:26:35] I don't want to add one more.
[00:26:38] And you see, I want, when the temptations come, to reach for the crown, not continually putting him on the cross.
[00:26:47] The cross has set me free to be like him, not leave me how I was.
[00:26:54] I'm not the person I used to be because of the cross of Jesus Christ and now the indwelling of his Holy Spirit, you Know, sometimes people ask me, they say, hey, Steve, can I lose my salvation? I go, absolutely not. You know what? You mean like, you lose your car keys? No, of course you can't lose your salvation.
[00:27:10] But you know what? If you try hard enough, you can give it away.
[00:27:14] I, you know, give my car keys away to somebody? Esau sold his birthright for a stew.
[00:27:21] And what am I saying? Well, you can, you know, if you set your life against the ways of God. If you try hard enough, I think you can give it away, but you're not going to wake up one morning, I've lost it.
[00:27:34] Where's my salvation? You cannot lose it.
[00:27:40] Look, no temptation is uncommon to man. It's all the same stuff.
[00:27:44] We were all tempted by the same things this week.
[00:27:48] But you know what is uncommon?
[00:27:51] Men and women.
[00:27:53] Who, amidst the temptation, will seize the crown, like you and I?
[00:28:00] Who will listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit?
[00:28:03] Who will find his way of escape?
[00:28:06] You know, the most common question I get asked about relationships is how far can I go?
[00:28:11] Wrong question.
[00:28:12] It's the wrong question because you're flirting with the devil.
[00:28:16] You want, you know, you want boundaries back here.
[00:28:19] You know, you need to lock yourself in the drum booth.
[00:28:29] You see, when we come to Jesus, we become new creations. He's transforming us from glory to glory.
[00:28:35] But the devil hates the glory, the redemption, the grace.
[00:28:43] He does not want you to finish well, he wants you to finish with him.
[00:28:48] Jesus knows this, and he's given his word and he's given his spirit who dwells.
[00:28:55] We confess our sins and are forgiven.
[00:28:59] But if we want to live in the glory, I want to recommend you confess your temptations. They are not sin.
[00:29:09] We are not ashamed. But we speak them out and stamp on them. Lying. You will have no power over me, Lust. I don't want anything to do with you. We stamp on the devil's head.
[00:29:24] Adultery? Not in this place.
[00:29:27] Stealing? No way. My father is rich. Coveting? No way. I am thrilled when people get more than me. I'm thrilled when God blesses them. Because I know when I'm thrilled, it will bounce straight back to me.
[00:29:42] You see, we crush them under our feet as we seize the crown of life.
[00:29:50] So next time I ask, might even do it today. We'll see.
[00:29:55] Has anyone been tempted this week?
[00:29:58] It's like me, me, me. Remember the Shrek film? Pick me. Pick me.
[00:30:04] Why? Because you were worth tempting.
[00:30:07] And as you overcome the temptation, you reach for the crown of life.
[00:30:12] And you move from being full of the spirit into the power of of the Spirit and the glory of God comes upon you. He gets the glory and the devil gets the shame. Jesus says, if you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the Father and He will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Why don't you stand up?
[00:30:55] Thanks for listening to the Coma Church Podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship and how to donate, visit our website at Crema Church.
