Faithful in Temptation

Welcome to afternoon church. It might be the first time that some of you are worshiping in the afternoon, but it feels the same, and the same spirit of God is moving among us tonight, even this afternoon. We are able to experience the presence of God, and I thank God for that. It’s so good to see all of you here this afternoon, and we especially welcome those who are guests among us today. It was so good to see Jenson and Janice and their children worshiping the Lord with us this afternoon. I have to keep getting used to saying afternoon instead of morning, but God is so good. As we sang this morning, his promises are so sure, his word is so unfailing, and we are so grateful for what the good Lord continues to do in us collectively as a church, but in each one of your lives and in our families as well.

Last night, we started a new series called “Covenant Keeper,” and we talked about the faithfulness of our God. We talked about the fact that faithfulness to God is intrinsic to who he is. It is the essence of who God is, that his faithful nature. It is not a minor or secondary character of him. God, through and through, by definition, by who he is, is a faithful God. Because of that, because he’s a faithful God, we talked about the fact that we can trust in the promises of God, and we can believe every word that he has spoken because he is a faithful God.

Lastly, last night, we talked about the fact that because he is a faithful God, we can believe God even in the midst of the trials of life, even in the midst of the sufferings of life. This afternoon, I’ll be focusing on a God who is faithful to help us in the midst of the temptations of our life but also a God who is able to put our life back together even after failures in our life.

It was the famous playwright Oscar Wilde who famously once wrote, “I can resist anything except temptation.” He said, “I can resist anything in my life except for temptation.” C.S. Lewis once famously wrote, “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good.” No man knows how bad he is until he tries to be good. In fact, he continues writing, “It’s a silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving into temptation. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it.”

If I were to ask you honestly a question this morning, every single one of you would tell you that temptation is something that always stays with us. Temptation is very strong, and temptation does not get easy even after years and years of fighting temptation. In fact, if you want to know the power of temptation, you stand against temptation. I often tell the young people, you know how you can release the pressure of temptation? By giving into temptation. But it is the righteous one, the good ones, that really know what it means to be tempted in life.

But here is the good news of God’s word, 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” Let me stop right there. The word of God itself is telling us that it is common for every man to be tempted. It is common for your pastor to be tempted. It is common for your Sunday school teacher to be tempted. It is common for your parents to be tempted. In fact, it is common for any man to be tempted at all stages of his life. If you think that just because you are 50, 60, or 70, the power of temptation goes down, that’s a myth. Temptation stays with man as long as he is alive on the face of the Earth. How do I know that? The Bible itself tells you that temptation is common to all mankind.

But here’s the good news: God is faithful. Aren’t you glad, even this afternoon, that we serve a faithful God in the midst of the temptations of our life, in the midst of the common temptations that are faced with all mankind? The good news of God’s word is that God is faithful, and what does he do? He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. And here is the good news of God’s word: you serve a God who knows you better than you know yourself. You think you know yourself; you don’t really know yourself. You only have a partial understanding of who you are. Just like a manufacturer knows what it’s making more intimately than the device itself, all human beings are more intimately known by God than even by themselves. And God’s word says this: God does not bring us a temptation beyond what we can bear. God does not put you through something and says, “I know that you cannot endure, but let me see how strong you are.” God only gives us temptation that we are able to bear and overcome in our life.

But then he continues, “When you are tempted, not if, when you are tempted,” which means that it is a fact of life that you will face temptation in your life. It might come in various forms, and Satan knows exactly how to tempt you. The temptations that I face are not the temptation of the people sitting over here because every single one of us is very unique, and as such, our temptations are unique as well. But when you are tempted, God, the faithful God, will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. You will never face a temptation in your life where all the doors are closed around you. God always makes sure that when he makes you go through the temptations of life, there is always a door that is open where you can walk out and escape the temptations of life. No one can stand, sit here this morning and say, “My temptation was so strong and so powerful, there was no way out of it.” As a child of God, God’s word says, God will always provide a way out.

You know what the problem with our life is? That we don’t take that open door that God has given for us to walk out. When you talk about temptation, immediately what comes to our mind is the story of Joseph in Genesis 39. I want to read quickly for you verses 2-6 because I want you to understand when temptation usually happens in the life of believers and churches as a whole.

In verse one of chapter 39, Genesis 39, the word of God says, “Potiphar was a charge of the god of Pharaoh,” which means that Potiphar was one of the most important officials in Egypt at that time. He was in charge of protecting Pharaoh. He was in charge of the guards who would have made sure that Pharaoh was safe. In today’s world, he would be the head of the Secret Service in America. That was what Potiphar was. And look what had happened to this young slave boy who was probably about 18, 19 years old this time. In verse two, when he came into Potiphar’s house as a slave, but he did not remain as a slave in the house of Potiphar. Even though he was a slave, the word of God tells us that he had ascended to be second in the house of Potiphar. Look what God’s word says, “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything that he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant,” which literally means his right-hand man.

Potiphar would not do anything without the consent and approval of Joseph. Joseph had become the most important person in the household of Potiphar. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Look at the completeness of God’s word, everything he owned belonged to Joseph. Next section, verse five onward, “From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. Not only that, the blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” Look at that, Joseph was completely in charge, so much that all that Potiphar had to do every single day was go to work, come back, and eat. No mowing the lawn, Joseph will take care of it. No paying the bills, Joseph will take care of it. No watering the law, nothing, uh, what else you do at home? I don’t know, anything that needs to be done, Joseph is taking care of it. Cooking, Joseph is taking care of it. You know what else you need to do? Lisa, tell me what else you need to do at home. Everything, yes, yes, Joseph is taking care of everything, kind of like in my home. And all that Joseph has to do, Potiphar has to do is come home and eat the food that he ate.

But you need to remember in God’s word it was at the height in a time when he probably was living a life of great comfort and luxury and everything is going well and Joseph was probably thinking in his mind what a great God I serve who brought me to the house of Potiphar and gave me this exalted place everything is going well surely it was the plan of God for me to come to Egypt. That is when Potiphar’s wife, the Bible says, lifted up her eyes and looked at this young man growing in her home. See, often temptation comes when everything is going well in our lives. That’s why we have to be very much on guard when success comes into your life. Temptation comes along with it; when good health and youth comes into your life, temptation comes with it; with money, usually temptation comes with it, greed comes with it; with position, usually temptation comes with it. The same thing happened in the life of Joseph as well. In the midst of his great position, he found himself in a place of temptation, and you know the story. He’s tempted, and here is the great verse in God’s word. What we find here is that when he was tempted, the Bible says he left his coat behind with Potiphar and he ran the way out. In fact, this says in the King James version, remember what Corinthians said: when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. And the Bible says Joseph, when he was tempted, left his coat behind and he ran out. The problem, the difference between a righteous Joseph and a man who gives into temptation, is that the one who gives into temptation will stand there and will reason with the wife of Potiphar. But when the way out is open for you, the faithful God had an opening for Joseph, he had a great plan for him, and so he ran out that way that God had opened for him. That is because of the faithfulness of God.

The first thing we remember this morning is this: because God is faithful, he will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can resist and not only that, provides us with grace to endure the temptations of life. All of our lives are stories such as this where God gives us the grace. We are, if you have righteousness in the presence of God today, it is not because of your self-control. It is because of the Holy Spirit who is living inside of you that gives you self-control. It is not because you’re are more strong willed than another person who, when faced with the same temptation, who said no to sin. It is because of the grace of God that you are standing. It is not because of you, it is not because of anyone else, it is God and God alone who saved you, who has brought you thus far. So if anything that is righteous and good in your life, do not boast in your own righteousness, do not boast in your own goodness. Look to the cross once again and thank God for his faithfulness in your life.

We are a people that sometimes read salacious stories of people falling and people falling into sin and rejoice, sometimes. Don’t do that. We are a group of people that sometimes look at the failures of others and say how can you do that. Don’t do that. You are no better than them. It is only the grace of God that has sustained you in the midst of the temptations of life. Do not rejoice with wrongdoings, do not be a person that calls another person and says do you know what she did, do you know what he did. Pray for them that the next time they’re tempted they will resist the temptation in their life. That’s why the Apostle Paul even says, if you think you’re standing, be very, very careful because the enemy does not rest. The same temptation that has come onto somebody else’s life, caused the downfall, can come into your life as well. And just because you resisted the devil one time, he does not leave you alone. He comes after you time and time again. But thank God for the faithfulness of God, because he is faithful, he will not give us a temptation beyond what we can bear, and when we are tempted, he will give you a way out of it as well.

Next, we come to the story of a person who was not able to resist the temptation of his life, but in the midst of it, we see the grace of God. Luke 22:31-32: “Simon, Simon,” anytime Jesus says this, you know he’s in trouble. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you to wheat.” Now, you know here, here this, Satan didn’t just ask for Peter, Satan asked all of you, all the disciples. But you know what his main target is, Peter. You know why? He’s the leader. If you cause the leader to fall, guess what happens to the rest of the people? They will also fall. So his main target is Simon Peter. But Satan has looked at all of them. But look at the next words, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back,” in fact, King James version says, “when you have converted,” was he not a believer? Of course, he was. But when you have restored, converted, strengthen your brothers. Jesus is saying, “I’ve been praying for you, Simon. I’m looking at your life. I know where you came from. I know what kind of a person you are. I also know what you’re about to do. I also know what you’re going to become.”

Aren’t you glad this morning that you serve a God who knows your past, who knows your present, who knows your future, who knows what you’re going to be 10, 20, 30 years from now? Aren’t you glad you know a God who knows who you are? Don’t try to act in front of him, he knows who you are. Don’t try to put on a show in front of him, he knows who you are. Don’t try to become something you are not in the presence of God. God knows you, he knows what you’re about to do, he knows what you will do 10 years from now, he knows when you will die, he knows what he will do 20 years from now. But here’s what Jesus says, “I have prayed for you. See, all of us, if you put yourself in the position of Jesus, would have looked at Peter and said, “I have spent the last three years of my life walking with you, teaching you, leading you. In a few hours, you were about to deny that you never even knew me.” You would have been so mad at him, you would have been so angry at him. But look what Jesus did, “I’m praying for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail.”

Oh, the love of the Savior, that knows our weakness, that knows what we are even about to do, and still loves us so dearly and says, I am praying for you. Look at Hebrews 7:25, children of God, you should never forget this. Every single day you should remind yourself of these words, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always loves to intercede for them.” You know, I look at this passage, and I think the God of the universe is living today to intercede for me. If you ask somebody, “What is the purpose of your living?” they say, “Well, I live for my children. I live for my wife, or I live for my family.” These are the kind of answers we give. In a way, you can kind of understand the passage to say, “He is living for us, he is interceding for us, he always lives to intercede for them”’ Do you know that even this morning, Jesus prayed for you? Do you know that even this very hour, Jesus is praying for you? “You, oh my child, is about to do something he’s not supposed to do. My father, do not reject him. Let his faith not fall. Bring him back, because I know what I he can do through me.” Oh, the prayers of Jesus for you. We don’t recognize what is going on behind the scenes, do we? Many times, we are oblivious to what is going on in the spiritual world. But these passages remind us that behind the veil of human existence, there is always a war that is going on between the forces of evil and the forces of good. You and I are standing firm today. You and I are standing where we are. Apart from grace, we are nothing. It is only because of his prayer, him standing, interceding for us, that we are the children of God, able to enjoy the presence of God, and sing, and worship him.

The power of intercession, one mediator given between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Why does God allow us to go through temptation? Why did he allow Peter to go into temptation? The first reason is he wanted to destroy the pride in the life of Peter. A lot of pride; in fact, right after the verse where it says Satan had asked permission, demanded to sift you as wheat, he claimed, “Oh, I’m going to die for you.” A lot of pride. Jesus destroys it completely. The second reason why God make us go through temptation is to show us the constant need for grace in our lives. To show us the constant need for grace in our lives. If temptation never came, if we never went through troubles spiritually, we will not learn to depend upon God, and that’s why he makes us go through temptation. Thirdly, to strengthen and prepare us for greater work in our life.

The prideful Peter could never do the work of the Apostle Peter, the man given to such impulsive nature could never lead the New Testament Church. He had to fail before he could be restored back. Why does sometimes God allow us to fail and go through temptation? You have heard this before: there is an important principle at work here. A bone that is broken often becomes stronger after it is healed. Do you know that a bone that is broken often becomes stronger after it is healed? Something in the healing process actually makes the break stronger than it was before. Just like that, the same is true of a rope that is broken in the hands of a master splicer. The rope, once repaired, becomes stronger than it was before. It is like that in our lives as well. In the midst of our failures, God does not desert us. He comes and puts us back together and makes us be much stronger than we were ever before, able to do the work of the master. Aren’t you glad even this morning that you have a faithful God? When men turn their back on you, when people give up on you, God does not do that. He does not say you are a failure. He says no, even in the midst of your failure, I can do something beautiful through your life. If you are sitting here this morning with tremendous guilt in your life, “Oh, I have given into temptation. I have done things I’m not supposed to be doing. I call myself a child of God, but time and time again I have failed my God.” Here is the good news from the life of Peter: my God is not through with you. He wants to take your broken life, put it back together, and make you the person that God wants you to be. He wants you to use you for greater purpose. He has great plans for your life. One writer so beautifully said, “Jesus had more faith in Peter than Peter had in Jesus. Jesus had more faith in Peter than Peter had in Jesus.” God has more faith about all of you than sometimes you have about yourself. He has great plans for you. He wants to do great things through your life. He wants to make your life something so beautiful like only he can, and that’s what God does. See, because God is faithful, he restores us into fellowship with him and equips us for greater work for his kingdom.

One man resisted temptation, God gave him a way out. Another man gave into temptation, but God put him back together because he is a faithful God. Whether you are in the camp that resists temptation or whether in the camp that has given into temptation, there is hope for both of you because of the faithfulness of God. You know what the name of our church is? Restoration Church. I don’t know how many of you know why the two of us agreed on that name to begin with. The concept behind is this: this will be a place where people are restored back to fellowship with God. If anybody ever asks you, “Why is your church called Restoration Church?” here’s the answer: we want our church to be a place where broken lives are put back together, where the downtrodden are lifted up. We do not want to be a place of condemnation and judgment; we want to be a place where the grace of God is poured out into the lives of people around us. We recognize we are broken people, and we are not going to look down upon anyone. We are going to lift them up and give them into the hands of the master who puts them back together like only he can. We are Restoration Church because we believe in restoring people back to God.

Down the hallway, God brought us to the church. Divine sovereign plan. I was looking at their new members that been added to their Church. Underneath, here is a slogan of that Baptist Church: a perfect place for imperfect people. Do you hear that? A perfect place for imperfect people. You’ve heard me say this time and time again: the only soul that God cannot help is a self-righteous one, a Pharisee, he hates him, he cannot stand him. Come to him with your brokenness, with your failures. Yes, life is not going to be perfect. Christian life is not going to be perfect, but in the midst of the failures of life, you have a faithful God, I have a faithful God. Thank God for his grace that puts us back together like only he can. Let’s look to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you give us a way out in the midst of the temptations of life, that you never give us more than what we can bear. At times when we give into temptation, like we should never do, Lord, you don’t give up on us. You pray for us that our faith will not fail, that we will repent and come back to you, oh God, so that you can put us back like only you can and equip us and empower us for the greater kingdom work ahead. I pray that every person that is here this morning will resist the devil so he will flee from them, live a life that is pure, holy, and not give into temptation. But to those who have, we pray for your grace to come powerfully into their lives, calling them back to the Father’s house to repentance, a place where broken hearts can be mended, lives that are broken by the sins of this world can be put together. For you are the master healer, you are the ultimate savior, you are the great God of Grace, and for that, we praise you. Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers. Praise the name of the Lord Jesus that we pray.