BACKGROUND:
David then acknowledged that he was morally impotent. He was born a sinner, that is, at no time in his life was he without sin. This ran contrary to God’s moral demands on his life. From his early days he faced inner tension, knowing that God desires truth and wisdom, that is, reliable and productive living.
In his prayer for forgiveness the Psalmist (David) made the same requests as before but in reverse order: cleanse... wash, and blot out. When David spoke of God’s cleansing him with hyssop, he was alluding to the use of hyssop at the religious ceremonies to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the altar. This represented the removal of sin through the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). David then asked God to let him once again rejoice in the knowledge of being right with God. The king asked God to remove his sins judicially.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
I got a note once that said this: “Pastor Mike, every morning I start out with great intentions to change my ways. I think today is going to be different. But it never is. Somehow and some way I always seem to fall back into the same old pattern of relating to people and my old bad habits. Sometimes I feel like there’s a tug-of-war going on inside of me, honestly. Mike, I have tried everything: prayer, resolutions, self-help tapes, even hypnosis. Nothing seems to work. Why do I keep making the same mistakes over and over and over? Why am I so resistant to change? Why do I do things that I know are bad for me? I’m really discouraged and I need help getting unstuck.”
Is that the way God wants you to live? No. That’s why we’re going to look at the Prayer of Deliverance today. “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:13
God says that the prayer of deliverance is the path of escape. What is the path of escape? 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “The temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.” Stop right there. If you say nobody knows what I’m going through, you’re wrong. The temptations that come your way are no different from what others experience. We all have the same basic temptations in life. You are not unique in the fact that you’re tempted. Some of your temptations are more unique but temptation is not unique. We all get tempted. They’re not any different.
Then he says “And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it.” Let me stop right there. When you say, “It was so strong I just had to give in.” Then you are calling God a liar. God says I will always make a way out. I will never put more on you or I will never allow more on you than I put in you to bear it up.
When somebody says, “I just couldn’t help myself,” they’re not telling the truth because the truth is temptation is a choice. And you only do what you choose to do. So don’t blame anybody else. Temptation is a choice to do right or to do wrong.
He says “God will keep the temptation from becoming so strong you can’t stand up against it. And when you are tempted he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” Circle “show you a way out.” Today, we’re going to look at the way out. The first step of the path of escape from the prayer of deliverance.
1. I must identify what makes me vulnerable.
Notice I didn’t say identify what tempts you. You already know what tempts you. What you may have never really thought through is what causes me to be tempted by that. What makes me vulnerable to that temptation? What makes me weak? What makes me susceptible? More important than knowing what tempts you is knowing the when, why, how, where, and all the other factors that go into that temptation, if you’re serious about permanent life change.
Jesus said this in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” In other words, you may be willing, you may want to overcome your temptation but will power is not enough. The spirit is willing. Have you learned that will power is not enough? It’ll work for a while but after a while you get tired and will power burns out. No lasting change ever happens with will power. “I’m gonna lose weight!… I’m gonna stop smoking…I’m gonna …” whatever.
What is he saying you need to watch for? You need to watch for the circumstances that make you vulnerable. You need to identify those and work with them.
To get specific, let me give you five questions you need to ask yourself.
First, you need to ask yourself, When am I most tempted? In other words what day of the week. You’re going to find some days of the week you’re more tempted about things than others. Like on Mondays or on Fridays or on Sundays. Maybe a certain time of the day. Maybe you’re more tempted in the morning or at lunch or late afternoon. Maybe you’re tempted when everybody else is in bed. You need to figure out when are you most tempted.
I can handle any diet till noon. That’s nothing. It’s the hours between about 6:00 and midnight, that’s my pattern of temptation. It’s when I want to eat everything in the refrigerator and buy an extra refrigerator. I could go out and blame my genes and say I just came from an obese family. Just because it’s genetic in me doesn’t mean its right or it’s healthy. No, it is not. It is not.
You have to say, when am I most tempted?
You need to ask, Where? Where am I most tempted? Some of you are most tempted at work. Some of you are most tempted at your neighbor’s house, because of your neighbor. When my neighbors come over to my house, they just get so tempted. Maybe you get tempted in the kitchen. You need to know where you get tempted. Do you get tempted at 7-11s? Do you get tempted at a sports bar? Do you get tempted at the beach? A lot of you get tempted in front of a computer. You need to know your area of vulnerability. When am I most tempted, where am I most tempted?
Three, Who? Who is with me when I’m most tempted? You need to know your pattern of vulnerability. Who is with me? Am I most tempted when I’m alone? Am I most tempted when I’m with friends who lead me in the wrong direction? You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re flying with the turkeys. Am I most tempted when I’m with my co-workers? And I think they’re a bunch of jerks. Am I most tempted when I’m with a crowd of strangers and I think nobody would know me? Am I tempted with my family? To say things to my family I would never say to anybody else.
You need to figure this out. This is your pattern. Identify what makes me vulnerable. When? Where? Who?
Four is What? What temporary benefit do I get if I give in to the temptation? There’s always a pay off. The Bible even says that. The Bible says there is pleasure in sin. But it just says there is pleasure in sin for a season. In other words, it doesn’t last. You have your kicks and then you get the kickbacks.
Folks, let’s just admit it. Sin’s fun. It’s fun. If it were miserable nobody would do it. Let’s just admit this. Sin is fun. The Bible says that. The Bible says disobeying God is a whole lot of fun. Doing the wrong thing is a whole lot of fun. There is pleasure in sin for a season.
So what is the temporary benefit I get when I give in to temptation? Do I get comfort? Do I get excitement? Do I get joy? Do I get pleasure? Do I get a false sense of confidence? You need to know what’s the payoff when I do this.
The fifth thing you need to ask is How? How do I feel right before I’m tempted? You need to know what your emotional triggers are. You need to know what makes you vulnerable. Is it frustration? Then all of a sudden you get tempted. Is it stress when you get tempted? Is it when you’re bored and you get tempted? When you’re lonely you get tempted? When you can’t sleep at night you get tempted?
You need to know these things. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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