1121-Do Not Lead Us into Temptation#
1121-Do Not Lead Us into Temptation
(JP Text Group - Beautiful Compilation)
The original Greek meaning of this phrase is: Lead us not into temptation. Is encountering temptation the same as entering into temptation? They are not the same, brothers and sisters. Is encountering disaster the same as falling into disaster? They are not the same, brothers and sisters.
Encountering disaster and having disaster fall upon you are different. What does God want to do today? To give us wisdom not to enter into temptation, so naturally, various disasters and other problems will not arise, right?
Let's share the first point: What is temptation?
Brothers and sisters, in your imagination, what is temptation? Malicious enticement that leads to ruin. The Bible refers to the devil as the tempter. When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin.
In Matthew 26:41, Jesus said to His disciples: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." This word is the same as temptation.
What exactly is temptation? Where does temptation come from? It comes from lust. We just read that when someone is tempted, they should not say, "I am tempted by God," because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
Not everything comes from the devil. Do not think of the devil as too powerful; there are many things he cannot do. It is we humans who imagine he can do them, giving him power, and as a result, he deceives you. From the source, temptation comes from lust. The devil uses human lust to lead people into sin. That is the process.
From the nature of temptation, the result will lead to ruin.
Why does God not tempt people? Because it is not good; everything God gives us is beneficial to us. Therefore, God does not tempt us because temptation is evil. Let me give you an example from the Bible.
John 8:
John 8:3-5 The scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery, and when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?"
They said this to test Jesus, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. He did not genuinely want to ask Jesus, "Teacher, what should we do with this woman? Should we have mercy on her, should we forgive her?" No, they brought this woman to test Jesus, and their motive was to see Jesus stumble.
We should not tempt people; it is easy to be used by the devil. Satan tempts people through lust, and what is the result? What is the devil's purpose in tempting people? The devil uses lust, the law, and various false deceptions to tempt people, ultimately leading them away from God and to death.
What is God's ultimate purpose in creating man? To let man live and to live more abundantly.
But the devil, on the contrary, uses lust to tempt people, leading them into temptation with the goal of causing them to die. So look at our ancestor, Eve. Was she tempted by the devil? On what basis did the devil tempt her? Because what was in Eve's heart? Lust.
What does the devil least want to see? The blessings of God's children. God created the heavens and the earth and everything good, and who did He give these to? The devil does not want to see people in blessing, but he cannot take it all away. He uses the law to make Eve violate God's law, causing them to stumble and leading them away from God.
Eve was also pondering the question, why can't we eat the fruit from this tree? While she was thinking, when she had doubts, the devil came and catered to her.
Genesis 3:4-5
The serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Did she become like God? No, the devil's purpose in saying this was to cause her to die. The devil clearly knows that as soon as she eats, she will surely die.
God's word is very clear, and the devil knows it. Brothers and sisters, do not underestimate the devil's understanding of the Bible; he understands God's word very well. He knows how God blesses us, so he tries every means to prevent people from receiving blessings, causing them to doubt God and turn away from Him.
Brothers and sisters, the devil tempts through lust and the law to make people lose rest and entice them to sin. The Israelites in the wilderness also tempted God ten times; they were deceived by the devil. The devil kept telling them, "God does not love you. Look how good you had it in Egypt! You had leeks, onions, garlic, and meat to eat. What do you have here? Nothing at all." So the Israelites thought, "Oh, yes, I used to have this and that, and now I have nothing. Now we only have manna, and we hate this stuff." So they began to tempt God, doubting whether God really loved them.
Today, many brothers and sisters, most of us who believe in the Lord are doing the same thing. Do we really think God loves us? When we have illness in our bodies and pray, do we think, "Will God really heal me?" Many times we doubt God, and that is exactly falling into the devil's trap. The Israelites often lived in lust; they only saw their lack and did not see God's daily provision. When they had problems, they did not pray to God for solutions but complained. And today's people do exactly the same.
Have you noticed? When someone around you faces a problem they cannot solve, do they start to complain about the world, complain about their family, complain about everyone around them? Can this solve the problem? No. Because they have already fallen into temptation. So the purpose of tempting people is to destroy their faith.
The purpose of tempting people is to destroy their faith, to make them lose faith in God. Temptation is to make people stumble. It puts a stone in front of a person to make them fall; that is temptation. It also leads people to resist God and abandon God. This is the purpose of temptation. So remember! Temptation will not bring any benefit to a person.
Let us look at the process. How does the devil tempt people? He will tell you: "Hey, don't believe in Jesus! Even if you believe, God will not love you." No, he doesn't even use that method anymore. What is he using now? He uses various external forces to pressure you. He lets you believe, and what happens? Look at how it is now. Christianity has continued to believe from that time until today. The more persecution, the stronger the faith.
Then the devil said this method doesn't work; he needs to change his approach. So he starts to deceive some Christians with gentler methods, telling them not to focus so much on God. "Look at yourself; you're doing pretty well now." Isn't that right? He slowly tempts you. In short, his purpose is the same! To lead you away from God. To make you abandon this God. Because once you leave God, when you no longer rely on God, you lose God's blessings.
For those of us who have already believed in Jesus Christ, our lives cannot be changed; we are destined to enter the kingdom of heaven. The devil cannot change this fact. What is he doing now? Trying to make you stumble. Making you lose faith, making you complain to God, making you lose the blessings you should have received. That is his purpose.
Let's look at the process. How does the devil tempt people? When the devil tempts people, he first makes them feel a momentary pleasure! In your hearts, what does the devil look like? Many people say, "The devil looks scary. Green face and sharp teeth, everywhere filled with the smell of corpses." This is from reading too many novels or watching too much TV. Just think about it: if the devil were that terrifying, how many people would be willing to follow him? Would you?
The Bible describes the devil as originally being an archangel. Completely beautiful. Today, women want to be beautiful, skilled in various melodies; he is the leader of the praise team.
Earlier, we saw the choir led by our brothers and sisters; he is the leader of the praise team. Thank the Lord, he is proficient in all kinds of instruments. Isn't that good? People who are beautiful and skilled are generally more approachable. This is why the devil can tempt people today and lead many to follow him. He is not terrifying and ugly; he is beautiful, and that is why people easily fall into confusion.
Let me show you how Eve fell into this temptation.
Genesis 3:6-7:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Have you all read this passage? Thank the Lord, let me tell you how the devil tempted Eve to enter into temptation. As mentioned earlier, when tempting people, he first makes them feel pleasure. When Eve saw the fruit of this tree, she had never noticed how good it was before, but now how good does it look? To what extent? We just read it, right? First, it is good for food. Second, it is pleasant to the eyes.
Why do you pick fruits? Do you look for the ones that look good? It has to please your eyes, right? And what else? It can make one wise! Ah, the more Eve looked at this fruit, the better it looked, and finally, she couldn't resist and ate it.
Brothers and sisters, before the devil entices people to sin, he first makes them feel that this is a good thing. It makes you think that after doing it, it will benefit you. What is the result? The devil's deception lies here; he first makes you feel pleasure, enticing you to sin. Once you sin and fail, what happens? He shifts all the responsibility onto you.
After Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, what did they discover? They realized they were naked. Did the devil tell them to quickly make some clothes? He had already run off somewhere! Do you understand what I mean? After enticing people to sin, he makes them see their failure, and he leaves, leaving the mess for people to deal with, making them feel guilty and self-condemned. This is the devil's trick.
Adam and Eve were originally in blessing; they already had the image and likeness of God within them. They did not need to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to become like God. Today, the devil deceives God's children in the same way. He first tells you, "If you do this, you will gain more; you will feel joyful. Look at how heavy the rain is today; don't go to the meeting, it's fine. Just this once, stay home and watch TV; how nice is that?"
Lying down all day is so comfortable; you have worked for six days, so take a good rest. You need to rest. The more you hear, the more comfortable it sounds, right? When you really do this, you drift away from God. After you drift away, you fail. Then he condemns you, making you see your failure. When these things happen, do not condemn yourself; instead, overcome the problem by God's grace. When the devil sees you fail, he will push all the responsibility onto you, making you focus on yourself. But at this time, we must turn to God! Look up to His grace and forgiveness.
Brothers and sisters, the devil himself cannot do anything; he has to deceive people through lust. Simply put, if you do not have such thoughts, the devil has no opportunity to work in you. To give a simple example, if a person never thinks about stealing something from someone else's house, no matter how the devil tempts them, it will not work. Unless this person goes into someone else's house and sees, "Wow... why is this so beautiful? If only this were mine!" When a person has such lust, the devil has an opportunity. God loves you; God loves you. So when you establish a correct understanding of God in your heart, the devil cannot deceive you.
Share the second point: How to avoid entering into temptation.
Christians have many vulnerabilities. It is impossible for people to be without lust. But when these thoughts arise, we should not condemn ourselves but meditate on Christ's grace. If a person chooses to live in condemnation and does not forgive others, they can easily be used by the devil. These become the openings for the devil's attacks. How can we avoid entering into temptation? Meditate on what Jesus has accomplished for you.
1 Peter 5:8 says: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
The Bible does not say your adversary goes about biting people like a lion. What kind of people is he looking for? Those who can be devoured, meaning that there are some people the devil cannot devour, and some he can. If our hearts are filled with God's word every day, the devil has no opportunity.
Today, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must correctly believe God's word. If a person is not led by lust, they will not fall into temptation. Can people do this? Sometimes yes. Why? Because many times we still fall into temptation. Jesus knows our weaknesses; even if we fall, Jesus will save you; just call on Him.
Is disaster finding you, or are you encountering disaster?
A person is driving on the street when suddenly "bang," the car flips, and they die. I ask you, did disaster find him, or did he find disaster? This is how we should understand the correct concept; no one rejoices in illness, but illness finds people. The same goes for disaster. It is not that people find disaster; disaster finds people.
Did people find money, or did money find people?
Some say, people found money. If people find money, it is easy to fall into temptation and fall into others' traps. The Bible says, You shall be blessed when you go in, and blessed when you go out. Wherever you go, you will be blessed. These riches are not something we seek; when we follow God, He will give you the blessings of the world, and these blessings will come looking for you.
When people constantly focus their eyes on our Lord Jesus, they can overcome all temptations. You may encounter temptation, but you will not enter into temptation. Therefore, we must equip ourselves with God's word.
In Matthew 4, let us take a look. In Matthew 4, it talks about Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil after His baptism. After fasting for 40 days, He became hungry. Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you today that the Bible tells us the devil's temptations will not exceed three aspects. Remember these three aspects, and you will be able to overcome him. You will see through his tricks and schemes. This is what 1 John 2:16 tells us.
Three aspects: The first point, let's look at: the lust of the flesh:
What to eat, what to drink, thinking for the flesh.
After fasting for 40 days, was He hungry? Yes. Remember, He is a complete person. Just like us, He gets hungry. At this time, the devil said, "Wow... if you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread." Brothers and sisters, what is wrong with this? Why didn't Jesus turn them into bread? The first way Jesus overcame the devil was by using the words of the Bible.
Let's look at the answer; what did Jesus say? It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,' Jesus did not deny that He lives without food, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Today, there is something more important than our physical food, which is the word that comes from God's mouth. If we do not understand this, we will fall into lust. Today, you can turn this stone into food; tomorrow, you can turn the stone into gold. Once human lust begins, it will continue to expand. If people do not understand that all blessings come from God, they will fall into temptation.
Yesterday, someone invited me to listen to a wealth forum. I heard them talk about something, saying that in the 1970s, the three essential items for marriage were: a bicycle, preferably a Flying Pigeon brand; then a watch, preferably a Shanghai brand; and the third was a sewing machine, preferably a Bee brand. Those who are older know this.
You had to have these; once you had them, people were satisfied. Ten years later, in the 1980s, what were the essentials? Does anyone still use these things? A refrigerator, a color TV, a washing machine. In the 1990s, what were they? A computer, air conditioning, a motorcycle, plus three gold items. You know what the three gold items are, right? The ones worn around the neck, in the ears, and on the fingers.
Do you know what it is now? A house, a car, and money.
Brothers and sisters, do you see any problems arising? People's appetites are getting bigger and bigger. If today we are not satisfied with what we have, it is easy to fall into temptation.
The three essential items for marriage in the past can no longer satisfy you; you won't want those things anymore. Today, how many people get a sewing machine for their marriage? None. Why don't you do that? It would be too embarrassing. It is not that this thing cannot be used; it is that our hearts have changed. Today, who would get a permanent brand bicycle to ride with their bride? Some say the times are different, and people's needs are different. Yes!
When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus saw through his intentions and did not fall for it. He overcame temptation by relying on God's word.
Jesus said: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Let us know that the source of our blessings comes from God. Even if there are no buns, my God will provide for me. Hallelujah! So such a person will often live in contentment. Otherwise, no matter how many houses or cars people have, they will still complain and feel they do not have enough.
The second point: The lust of the eyes.
Matthew 4:5-6,
The devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and 'In their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"
I checked the information; the Jerusalem temple was 60 meters high. At that time, 60 meters was quite high. Standing at the top, what would you see? You would see the worshippers coming to the temple. If Jesus jumped down from there like Iron Man and landed without a scratch, do you know what would happen?
Everyone would bow down to Jesus! Oh, Superman! Wouldn't that be good? This is called a miracle. But miracles do not lead people to know God. The Israelites saw miracles for 40 years in the wilderness, yet they still did not know this Lord; when faced with problems, they complained.
Today, many brothers and sisters say, "Lord, do a miracle in my life." This is a very bad idea. Miracles can show God's works, but do not focus on the miracles; focus on the God who gives miracles. Today, you need to know this Lord; you need to understand God's works. The change in your life is not based on miracles but on the eternal and unchanging word.
God created this world with His word; that is called a miracle. If people throw the word aside and only seek miracles, problems will arise. Therefore, in the Bible, the Pharisees also tested Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
Matthew 12:38-40
At that time, some scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Anyone who sincerely seeks the Lord will surely find Him. If it is just for the lust of the eyes, "Jesus, the last miracle you did was too small. You made that paralyzed man stand up; I don't even know how he stood up. Can you do a bigger one for us to see?"
When a person is solely seeking miracles, they fall into the devil's temptation. Do you remember what Jesus said at the end? In the last days, will false prophets rise up and perform great signs and wonders? If possible, even the elect will be deceived. This deception means falling into temptation.
Matthew 24:23-25
Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.
Today I tell you, "Come, I will let you see gold dust falling from above." This is not a joke; indeed, some people promote it this way. "Come, our pastor has great power; when he preaches, gold dust falls from the sky. Do you want to go see?"
Some say, "Such a miraculous thing, I must go see!" Can we sweep out a few? Do you know what I mean? Today, who are you really seeking? Are you seeking miracles or seeking how powerful that pastor is? Or are you seeking Jesus today? If our focus is on Jesus, even if He does not perform miracles, He is still Jesus.
Thank the Lord. So when we solely pursue the lust of the eyes, we will also fall into the devil's temptation. Thus, the Son of God, Jesus, once again used the words of the Bible to defeat the devil's schemes. He said, "It is written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God." God does not tempt us, and we do not need to tempt God. Do not say, "Will God do this for me?" Do not say that. If you believe God can accomplish this, He will surely do it for you.
The third point: The pride of life.
What does verse 8 say? The devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
Brothers and sisters, whose are all the things of the world? Whose glory do the kingdoms belong to? They belong to God, right? But at this time, the devil shamelessly says, "If you fall down and worship me, I will give you all these things." You might see today, "Look how beautiful the world is! As long as you listen to me, I will make you have countless fans! I will give you all this glory!"
Isn't this the same as how he tempted Eve at the beginning?
Today, the devil tempts others, tempting Christians, saying, "Come, I will exalt you. I will give you power and honor you have never had before. I will make your name known in this city, and everyone will remember your name." Whose are all these? They belong to our Lord. They originally belonged to our Lord; Adam mistakenly gave them to the devil, and the devil deceives you, saying, "All this is mine." In fact, all this belongs to our God. Brothers and sisters, all our blessings come from our God, not from the devil.
When the devil says this, Jesus once again uses the words of the Bible, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan."
The meaning of Satan is to resist; get behind Me. This is how our Jesus overcame the devil. Because what did He say? He said, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve." When your heart is only focused on serving our one true God, the devil cannot tempt you.
Today, you have already believed in Jesus. Others tell you, "Hey, it's fine; put a wealth god in your store; that would be great. Since I put this wealth god in my house, wealth has been rolling in." Then buy a toad to keep all your treasures safe so that others cannot take them away. There are so many things to serve.
The Bible tells us, "You shall worship the Lord your God only." Because the glory of the kingdoms and all blessings can only come down from our Lord. All this originally belongs to our God. We just need to worship Him. Hallelujah.
The devil became a fallen angel because of pride. Brothers and sisters, we should not become proud people because when a person is proud, they are most likely to fall into temptation.
The Bible in Proverbs 18:12 tells us: Before destruction, the heart of man is haughty; and before honor is humility.
Even those who do not believe in the Lord understand the meaning of this verse. When a person is arrogant and proud, they are not far from falling. Although the devil's tricks are many and will continue to evolve, as long as we do one thing, we can overcome him. What is it?
Equip yourself with God's word, and you will see through the devil's tricks. Put God's word and wisdom in your heart, and you will have the ability to discern.
Jesus' method for us is very simple, so I encourage brothers and sisters to take half an hour every day to read a portion of the Bible, putting God's word in your heart. Use God's word to gain victory. Do not let the devil deceive you and make you lose the blessings you should have received.
Set your eyes on the work that Jesus has accomplished.
Earlier, we talked about how the devil has so many tricks and deceptive methods; he constantly makes you look at yourself, look at your lack, look at your imperfections, and see your needs, step by step enticing you to doubt God and turn away from Him. But today, the way to overcome the devil's temptation is to focus our eyes on the work Jesus has done.
So what did Jesus do for us? Jesus completely defeated the devil by rising from the dead. He has given us everything we need, including life and what is needed in life.
Many people, when they encounter fearful things, say, "Lord, come quickly to save me! The devil is so powerful in my life; I cannot get rid of him." It seems that God's power has to fight against the devil for a while to win. That is not the case. You need to use your mouth to declare the correct things, the things Jesus has accomplished for you. That is, the devil has already failed.
Today, we are not trying hard to defeat the devil; instead, we declare his defeat in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we declare that the victory of Jesus Christ is your victory. Hallelujah! So when you have illness in your body, declare to your body: By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed. In Jesus Christ, my body is healthy. I declare in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that my body is in the process of recovery. Declaring Christ's victory is your victory.
The problem of sin has already been solved. Hebrews 10 tells us, He will appear a second time for salvation, apart from sin, because at the first time, He completely cleansed our sins and sat down at the right hand of the Father. What should we do now? Receive what Jesus has done for you. So by meditating on the work Jesus Christ has accomplished every day, you will not fall into temptation.
When the devil tells you, "Look, you cursed someone again today, and you still have the nerve to pray to God? Do you deserve it? Today, you see, you have turned away from God, right? You are sick, right? Every time you ask God for something, do you deserve it?" What do you say?
You need to tell the devil, "Indeed, I do not deserve it, but God's grace is upon me!"
Because God loves us, we have received this; this is called the grace of Jesus Christ. Because God loves us, He sent His only Son to die for our sins; this is called grace. Because I need God's healing, God sent His Son to be beaten for us so that we can receive healing; this is His grace. It is precisely because I do not deserve it that I am willing to receive His grace.
So do not be deceived by the devil; tell yourself that the grace of Jesus Christ is always upon me. The reason it is called grace is that we do not deserve it, but we have received it. This is what Jesus has done for you. Are you joyful? Therefore, do not use your own actions or merits to exchange for God's blessings.
It is because Jesus has accomplished all this for you; you only need to receive all these blessings. It is not that you work hard for the Lord that God will heal you; it is not that you pray hard that God will hear your prayers. It is because before you even open your mouth, our Father in heaven is already listening to your prayers. The reason is simple: Jesus has already solved the problem of our sins, so today God loves you very much, and He is willing to give you health as long as we do not doubt Him.
Today, when we focus our eyes on Jesus, you should know that everything Jesus has is yours. Do you need to covet what others have? No. Why? Because God will give you. I want to tell brothers and sisters that when you fully believe and accept all this, this is the grace of Jesus Christ coming upon you! You may say, "My behavior is not very good."
It is precisely because our behavior is not very good that we need the perfect behavior of Jesus. Today, we do not rely on our good behavior to earn God's grace; rather, it is because we believe in Jesus Christ that we receive God's grace. The devil always wants you to look at yourself; when you look at yourself, you will see your failures, your defeats, your imperfections, and your complaints.
When you turn your eyes to God, you will see that He is a perfect sacrifice. He is a healthy and abundant life. And that life wants to enter into you. So focus on what Christ has done for us. When your thoughts are constantly thinking about what Jesus has done for me, your heart will be filled with God's grace.
Mark 9:23, there was a father whose son was possessed by a demon, and he came to seek Jesus. Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Many people think this means: If you have enough faith, you can do this. After checking the original text, I found that the original meaning is not this; I was so grateful to God after reading it.
What does the original text say? If you believe, I can do all things. For those who believe, I can do. Hallelujah! The difference between these two sentences is huge. One says, "All things are possible to him who believes," focusing on you, right? If you have faith, you can do it; if you do not have faith, you cannot do it. But what does Jesus mean?
If you believe, I can do. Do you believe Jesus can heal your illness today? When you believe this, you will see God's blessings. Faith is not focused on what we do but on what Jesus has done. Hallelujah!
So if you believe Jesus has done this for you, you will surely see the results. Just as we mentioned earlier, you believe that blessings follow Jesus, wealth follows Jesus, health follows Jesus; all these will come following you. Hallelujah!
Finally, let us look at a verse: Philippians 4:19. This week, brothers and sisters can pray with this verse at home, focusing your eyes on Jesus. Let us read together: And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Amen! Thank and praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, I thank You! Your grace is sufficient for me! In Your grace, I can rely on Your blessings and not enter into temptation. I believe this is a blessed week; in Your blessings, I can overcome temptation. Wherever I go, Your blessings are upon me! I expect good things to happen to me! I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus! Amen!