Why Does God Allow Temptation in the Life of the Believer?: Power in Christ

You're listening to A New Beginning with Greg Laurie, a podcast supported by Harvest Partners. For more ways to deepen and challenge your spiritual walk, enroll in Pastor Greg's free online courses.

Sign up at harvest.org. and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You quote God's Word.

You quote it out. It is written. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. Again you hear all the angels are singing.

This is the day, the day where life begins. Satan is the king of the spiritual ambush. He lures us in saying, no one will ever know. And after we've sinned, he tells us, I can't believe what you've done.

Everyone's going to find out. How can we stand against such an unscrupulous foe? Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out we stand against our enemy and the power of God and the authority of His Word. It's a message called, Why Does God Allow Temptation in the Life of the Believer?

This is the day, the day where life begins. Everyone gets tempted. Why would God allow us to be tempted? What possible good could come out of it?

Well here is what you need to know. If you are indeed growing as a Christian. If you are progressing in the Christian life you are going to come into the cross hairs of the devil.

Why? Because now you have become a bona fide threat to his kingdom. If you find yourself constantly being harassed and tempted that may be an indication you are on the right track. If you can't remember the last time you were tempted maybe you are not worth tempting. Think about that.

See so here is what we need to understand. Everyone will be tempted and even Jesus was tempted. Jesus did feel the pressure and the presence of temptation.

Now why would He go through that? So He would be able to help us to understand that He has walked in our shoes. So we would understand that we serve a God that knows what it is like to face temptation. And He sympathizes with us. In fact Hebrews 4.15 speaking of Christ says, This high priest of ours understands our weaknesses for he faced all the same temptations we do yet he did not sin.

So let us come boldly to the throne of grace of our gracious God that will receive His mercy and find grace to help us when we need it. So you can't say, Oh God doesn't know what it is like to live in the 21st century. God doesn't know what it is like to face temptation. Actually God does know what it is like and He faced it. But here is another reason why I believe Jesus was tempted. He occupied ground that we can occupy.

Let me restate that. Jesus faced this so we will see how we should face it. He gives us a template to follow for the next time we come under temptation. So Luke 4 and we are going to read verses 1 to 13.

Underline that phrase. Then the devil took him up to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said, All this authority I will give to you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and I can give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if you will worship before me all of this will be yours. Jesus answered and said, Get behind me Satan for it is written, underline that phrase again, You shall worship the Lord God and Him only shall you serve. Then Satan brought him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said, Since you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written. Notice the devil is quoting Scripture now.

For it is written He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you and in their hands they will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. Did you know the devil reads the Bible? And the devil can quote the Bible out of context. Look at any cult today.

They have Bible verses to cite out of context to make their case. Reminds me of a story of W.C. Fields a comedian from many years ago. He was a known alcoholic and known to be really a godless man. And one day someone saw W.C. Fields reading a Bible. And they were shocked. W.C. Fields reading a Bible.

And he had this really funny way of speaking. They said, Why are you reading a Bible W.C. Fields? He said, Looking for loopholes.

That is why the devil reads the Bible. Looking for loopholes. Looking for ways to misuse it. Looking for ways to misquote it. Looking for ways to take it out of context.

And the only way you are going to know right from wrong is by being very familiar with the real Word of God. Then you will spot a lie when you see it. I was talking with a police officer a while back who worked in currency and people producing phony money. Counterfeit money. And I said, How do you learn to spot a counterfeit bill? He says, We really try not to handle counterfeit currency. We spend most of our time handling the real thing. And then when we handle the fake or the counterfeit we know it immediately. And I think that is a great principle for us. You can spend the rest of your life researching every weird cult and every aberrant teaching out there. And trust me there is a lot of them. But the better thing to do is immerse yourself in God's Word and then when something comes along you will know immediately it is not from God.

Here is something we don't want to miss. The devil quotes Scripture yes but listen to this. He loves something out. The devil quoted the Bible but he loves something out. Here is what Satan said. It is written, He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you and in their hands they will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. But here is what Satan left out. By the way he is quoting Psalm 91.

Here is what he left out. He will give His angels charge over you. Listen. To keep you in all your ways. And in their hands they will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. To keep you in all your ways. Why did Satan leave that out?

Because he wanted Jesus to test the Lord instead of trust the Lord. See here is the idea. When I am in the will of God in His way I don't have to be afraid. Listen to this. I am indestructible. You are thinking you are nuts Greg. No I am indestructible until God is done with me. Nothing is going to stop me or stop you until God is done with you. So if I were to drink deadly poison and it wasn't God's time for me I would survive it. If I picked up a venomous snake and it bit me and it wasn't God's time I would survive it. And that is by the way what Jesus meant when He said you will drink deadly poisons and handle venomous snakes. He didn't mean we should have church services where we hand rattle snakes around.

That is crazy. And that is not trusting God. That is testing the Lord.

And more than a few of these preachers are no longer with us because of it. So the idea is not hey let's do crazy things. Let's take unnecessary risks. Let's drink poison for fun.

Go out to the restaurant like a glass of strychnine please and you know. No that is. No don't do that. But here is what it is saying is you are in God's will walking in His way. His angels will protect you until God is done with you and then His angels will carry you into God's presence. But until that day you don't have to worry about it. So don't worry all the time about if this is it. If this is it it is it.

If it isn't it it isn't it. That is up to God. But the devil was misquoting Scripture. Ok. One final point. Number six. What is the primary weapon we should use to resist temptation?

Answer. The Word of God. That is why I had you underline it is written.

It is written multiple times. Jesus stood on ground that we can occupy. As I said we are to follow His example. Notice He quotes Scripture. Verse 12 of Luke 4. It is written you shall not tempt the Lord your God. You know as you look at Ephesians 6 which is a description of the armor of God have you ever noticed there is only one offensive piece?

By offensive I mean something to attack with. We have a helmet of salvation that protects your head. We have a breastplate of righteousness that protects your vital organs. We have the boots of the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace that protects your feet and your ankles and your shins.

We have a shield of faith that protects your whole body. But there is only one offensive weapon and it is a sword. The sword of the Spirit which is what? The Word. That is right. It is the Word of God.

That is our offensive weapon. That is why we need to know the Word of God. Psalm 119 verse 9 says, How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word. Psalm 119 11 says, Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. Listen.

It is great to carry a Bible in your briefcase or your backpack or your purse but the best place to carry the Word of God is in your heart committed to memory. And say, Greg I can't. Oh yes you can. No I can't.

Yes you can. Because you memorize stuff all the time. Right? You know weird lyrics to songs. I know lyrics to commercials. I hate it. But I remember the song.

Drives you crazy. Or maybe you know sports course or you know lines from movies. You can quote lines from films. You know all these things that you have committed to memory. Look you have room for the Word of God.

You just need to make a commitment to put it in there. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Right after a quick look at the way a new beginning touches the lives of listeners. Twenty years ago I gave my life to Jesus after listening to you on the radio. God bless you always. Thank you for leading me to Christ three years ago at the Harvest Crusade.

You had a major influence on my life and I can't thank you enough. Early last year I found the Lord and accepted him there at Harvest Christian Fellowship. God is so good. I'm happy to partner with you in your mission. I pray God continues to bless you exceedingly.

Abundantly more than you could ask or think. Well folks that know me know that I often end my message no matter what the topic with an invitation for people to come to Christ. Because there is always someone out there that doesn't know the Lord. Maybe they are in the congregation. Maybe they are listening on radio.

Maybe they are watching online. And I want those people to know they can have a relationship with Christ. And I know that this is what God wants.

Because the Lord says he is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So I like to throw the net. And as you know if you listen to A New Beginning we throw the net a lot.

And you know what? We see thousands of people come to Christ every year through our radio program alone. So that is why I am thankful when you invest in our ministry. Because you enable us to reach a lot of people that I could never reach otherwise.

They will never darken the doorway of a church. But they might be turning the radio dial and come upon our show and say well what is this all about? And I have had more than one person tell me that is how they found our program and ended up listening and coming to Christ. So that is what we are all about. So when you support us you help us to reach more people like the ones you just heard from with the message of the Gospel.

Yeah and you can make a generous year end donation today by going to harvest.org Well Pastor Greg continues now with one of his most requested messages of the past year. Why does God allow temptation in the life of the believer? We are learning how to stand against our spiritual adversary. Here is how it works. So Satan comes to you in the realm of the mind and you know maybe he entices you to sin.

Right? So you sin. What does he do then? He condemns you. This is the devil's basic battle plan.

Entice. Condemn. Accuse you before God.

Just kind of keeps doing it over and over again. Hey why don't you do this? I will never tell anyone. If you won't you do it. And then he says you are not even a Christian. God would never hear your prayer. You are condemned. This is why you need to know the Word of God.

Because when you have sinned you need to immediately go to Christ and say forgive me of my sin. I admit it. I am responsible.

I am sorry for it. And I turn from it. The devil says yeah but God won't forgive you. Here is where the Word of God comes in.

You say oh yeah well 1 John 1 says if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You quote God's Word. You quote it out loud. So the devil can hear it and so you can hear it.

Just quote it out. It is written. Satan says, yeah but you are condemned. God will not hear your prayers. No that is wrong devil. Romans 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. So maybe you stumble and fall and Satan says you will never get up again.

You are never going to recover from this. This is the end. You say no that is wrong because John 10.28 Jesus says I will give them eternal life and they will never perish neither shall anyone pluck them out of my hand. Philippians 1.6 being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ.

It is not over. God is going to finish what He starts. Then when tragedy hits and it makes no sense the devil says God has abandoned you.

You say no He hasn't. Jesus said He will never leave me or forsake me. Romans 8.28 says there God causes all things to work together for good to those that love God another called according to His purpose.

So you quote that scripture. Maybe a loved one is taken from you suddenly. The devil says you will never see them again.

Oh trust me I know this one well. After our son died I would try to go to sleep at night and I would lay my head down on my pillow and hear the thoughts that went through my mind. I will never see him again.

I will never hear his voice again ever. And then I would just say I would just sink into a black hole and then I would just start quoting scripture to myself saying no Jesus said He is the resurrection and the life and he that believes in Him will not die. And so it is a hope of life beyond the grave where the scripture says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And I would remind myself of God's Word.

Here is what it would do. It would just sort of lift me up above it all. Because I had to think biblically. Because if I didn't think biblically it was going to be pure misery. So that is where you need to use God's Word and use it over and over again.

I want you to notice how the story ends. Luke 4.13. When the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him forever. Never to return again. Is that what it says?

No. And when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time. It is like I will be back.

Maybe sooner than later. Often when you least expect it. Often in a way you weren't expecting he will be back.

He has got a lot of tricks. So that is Satan. He is just looking for trouble. The Bible describes him as a lion sort of roaming around looking for someone to destroy.

Looking for someone to devour. But here is our hope as Christians. Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Christ is greater than the power of Satan and we don't have to be afraid of him. Now we respect him in the sense that we know he is a powerful spirit being and we don't want to mess around. We don't want to have extended conversations with him.

We want to have as little contact with him as possible. But having said that we know God won't give us more than we can handle and we are secure and safe in Christ. But here is the last thought I want to close with. Notice they said thought not statement because thoughts can go on long.

But this one won't. It is a relatively short thought. If you are not a Christian you are super vulnerable. If you are not a Christian you don't have the hope that Christ lives in you and is greater than the power of the devil. Listen to this. If you are not a Christian the devil can effectively have his way with you. He can pretty much manipulate you and deceive you and tempt you and if you kind of give into it you can go deeper and deeper into a vortex of sin where one day you can go so deep you can actually be possessed by demons. Oh Greg come on give me a break. Are you nuts?

I am not nuts. You can still be possessed by demons today. There are still demons today.

Where they can come and live inside of a person. Do you think someone is going to be able to exorcise a demon with a crucifix? Or some holy water?

No way. The only way to get the devil out of a person is to get Christ in a person and then there is no place left for the devil. That is the only thing.

That is it. Jesus comes and takes residence in the human heart and he is the sole occupant. Jesus is not into a time share program.

I am here for six months double you can have for the rest of the time. When Jesus comes in there is no room for Satan. But listen if Jesus isn't there there is plenty of room for Satan.

And you are vulnerable. How are you going to keep him away? Religion? Ritual?

Good moral living. I will eat proper foods. I won't do it.

What about if it is organic? It doesn't matter. You are vulnerable. What you need is Christ living inside of you. I didn't say you need to go to church. I didn't say you need a big giant Bible. I didn't say you need to even just say some spiritual things. You actually need Christ living inside of you. So here is my closing question. Is Jesus Christ the son of God living in you right now?

Now some of you would say well I don't know I think maybe. Hey you know what I think if God has taken residence in your heart you will know it. I know Christ lives in me.

I know it. How do I know? Because God has given me that assurance by his Holy Spirit. Do you have that assurance?

Maybe the reason you don't have it is he doesn't live inside of you yet. But that can change right now because Jesus who died on that cross for you and me and bore your sin and rose again from the dead now stands at the door of your life and he knocks and says if you will hear his voice and open the door he will come in. Not religion will come in or ritual will come in.

No. He will come in. It is really true. He lives inside of us and he wants to live in your heart and forgive you of all of your sin. You say but man I have done some really bad stuff. Yeah God knows what you have done. And Jesus died for it already. And if you will turn from that sin and tell God you are sorry for it he will forgive you and Christ will live in you and you don't have to stand around worrying about the devil anymore. You can just focus your attention on following Jesus.

So we are going to close in prayer right now and if you have never asked Jesus into your life I am going to give you an opportunity to pray and ask him to come in. Maybe you have been under the power of some sin. Maybe it is drugs. Maybe it is alcohol. Maybe it is pornography.

Maybe it is I don't know what. Just something has got to hold on you and you can't get free from it. You have tried to break free and you just go in deeper and you don't know how to get out. Listen God will help you but you need to reach out to him and say forgive me because bigger than alcohol or drugs or anything else it is the power of sin you need to be free from. And only Jesus can do that for you. He is just a prayer away. Let's pray. Father I pray for any person here and anyone listening or watching this who does not yet know you. Lord would you help them to see their need for you and help them to come to you and receive your forgiveness tonight. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. And if you would like to make a change in your relationship with the Lord, Pastor Greg Laurie will help you do that in just a moment before today's edition of A New Beginning wraps up. Well here at the end of the year we want to make available a special gift for you.

Perhaps you have heard of this. It is the critically acclaimed TV series called The Chosen. It is a gripping cinematic portrayal of the life and ministry of Jesus. It is as though you are right there beside the Lord as he walks through life. It is the kind of series that will speak to believers and non-believers alike.

Anne Graham Lot said she was moved to tears and to worship as she watched. Pastor Greg has said literally millions of people have been getting to know the authentic Jesus through this series. And we want to send season one of The Chosen to you on DVD to thank you for your investment in the ministry of A New Beginning. And your donation helps us reach out with the gospel not only through this program but also through Pastor Greg's large scale evangelistic events. It is such an important time for that work.

Hearts are hungry. We even saw it several weeks ago at SoCal Harvest. One person wrote us and said can you believe how many people are here? We came from Los Angeles and frankly we would have driven across the country to be here.

We wouldn't have missed this for the world. It is such an important time to reach out with the love of Christ and your investment makes that work possible. And with your donation right now we would like to send you season one of The Chosen. And we won't be mentioning this much longer so contact us soon. You can donate securely online at harvest.org or write us at A New Beginning box 4000 Riverside, CA 92514. And we have operators who can speak with you by phone anytime 24 hours a day at 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Well Pastor Greg you spoke today about having a relationship with the Lord. Someone can enter into that kind of relationship with God right now can't they? Yeah they really can. That's the amazing thing. I think people are surprised that it doesn't take years to become a Christian. It doesn't take months. It doesn't take weeks. It doesn't take days.

It doesn't even take hours. You can believe on the spot. And I would like to lead you in a prayer where you can ask for His forgiveness. A prayer where you can receive Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior and Lord. So if you want Christ to come into your life. If you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want a second chance in life. If you want to go to heaven when you die. Stop what you're doing and pray after me.

These words. Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. And I'm sorry for my sin. And I turn from it now.

And I choose to follow you from this moment forward. As Savior and Lord. As God and friend.

Thank you for loving me. And calling me. And forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. And listen if you have just prayed those words with Pastor Greg.

And meant them sincerely. The Bible assures us your sins have been forgiven. We're told the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.

And cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And we want to send some resource materials that will help you in your new relationship with the Lord. We call it our New Believers Growth Packet. And we'll send it without charge if you prayed for the first time today with Pastor Greg. Just ask for it when you write A New Beginning Box 4000 Riverside, CA 92514.

Or call our 24 hour phone number 1-800-821-3300. Or just go to harvest.org and click the words Know God. Well next time as Pastor Greg continues our series of Top 10 Most Requested Messages of the Year, he presents a study called God's Plan for Sex and Marriage. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins. The preceding podcast was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Learn how to become a Harvest Partner, sign up for daily devotions, and find resources to help you grow in your faith at harvest.org.