Focal Point

Dave Drewie: Today on Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: If you want to conquer temptation and want to get over all the stuff that's coming at you and tear off the sin that's entangling you, here's the deal: two basic things, and I know it's old hat, don't yawn through it. It's the word of God and prayer. We fall into sin when we haven't been on our knees and our Bible's collecting dust by our nightstand. That's when we're most vulnerable.

Dave Drewie: From breaking the law to telling little white lies, we're confronted daily with the desire to sin. So if we want to live holy lives, how do we go about conquering these temptations? Well, today on Focal Point, Pastor Mike Fabarez takes a careful look at Hebrews chapter 12 and describes the weapons we can use in our fight with sin.

Pastor Mike explains that this lifelong struggle isn't easy, and it's going to take a lot of discipline. Today's message is called Keeping Our Focus on Christ.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: If you have your Bibles, turn to Matthew chapter 4, because here is a classic example of Jesus being confronted by temptation. But in his humanity, he is there as our representative, and as Hebrews 4 says, he has been tempted in every way as we are. Everything was thrown at him to compromise, everything was thrown at him—the same kinds of temptations you face, he faced them.

One of the classic examples of that, if I'm going to learn about how he dealt with that, I need to remember Matthew chapter 4. That's just a classic passage. Look at verse 1. Then Jesus, led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. And so after fasting, verse 2, for 40 days and 40 nights—I know it's almost comical after that lead-in—three words: he was hungry.

Which is a great place to start, because so much of our temptations come through our fleshly or human impulses, our appetites. Well, here comes the temptation. Look at verse number 3. The tempter came to him and said, "Hey, if you're the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." What's the big deal? You got the power, right? You got the power, use it.

Please remember this about the temptation of Christ to satisfy his appetites. Remember this: he came to fulfill all righteousness. He came laying aside the independent exercise of his divine attributes. That's a mouthful. But the concept in Philippians 2 is this: that though he existed in the very nature as God, that he—it's the Greek word kenos-is—he emptied himself.

He was put into human form to live like we live. Why? Because he was going to do what we could not do. To get into heaven, I got to have a resume that says I did it right. I didn't do it right, and you didn't do it right. We need the resume that did it right. So Jesus, second person of the Godhead, is coming to put on human form to live that out.

Now, one thing you and I don't have is the ability to turn rocks into hamburgers. We can't do that. So that when we have an impulse or a need or an appetite, we have to look for some legitimate way to fulfill that. And if we're going to be godly, we have to look for some godly way to fulfill that. And if you're out there and you're deprived of something, we need to pray and trust that God will somehow provide.

Now you're saying, "Now wait a minute, Jesus did use his miraculous powers." Oh, he did. And you know when he did exercise his miraculous power, it was to establish his deity before men. This was not it. This was to fill his stomach when it was hungry. And that wasn't going to work. This was a use of his power in an illegitimate way to fulfill a personal need in his life.

And Satan says, "Come on, you can do it, why don't you do it? You can fulfill it this way. I know God's path is over here, but just fulfill it like this, and then you'll have your needs met." And Jesus's response—that's why it's so telling—he says in verse number 4: Jesus answered, "It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

So the bottom line is, I'm trusting God. I'm not trusting in shortcuts to satisfy my need. But in our passage, Hebrews chapter 12—look at it again—the real focal point is not Jesus in the desert being tempted. The focus here is the cross. And if you think about temptation and the cross, you recognize well that was a temptation too. Because the reality of Jesus doing what he was sent here to do was going to be painful and costly.

How did he deal with this temptation? The temptation to maybe stop short of fulfilling God's plan? Well, according to scripture, verse number 36, he's going to go to this little place, quiet little place, base of the Mount of Olives, called Gethsemane. Matthew 26:36. And he says to his disciples, "Sit here a while while I go over there and..." What's he going to do? Pray. Yeah, I need to pray. I'm facing a trial, I'm facing a temptation, I need to pray.

And he says, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. So stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell on his face and fell to the ground and he prayed this: "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup"—that's a symbolic way of drinking this very bitter cup, this pill, swallowing this bitter pill—he says, "let it be taken from me." I would like to not go through the shame, the pain, the scorn of the cross. I don't want to go through that.

But here's the deal: it's really not about what I want, even though that is what I want. It's really about what you, Father, want. That's Jesus's pattern for us. And here it is: God, I'm about doing what you want, not just about doing what I want or avoiding what I don't want. So I want to fulfill the path that you have for me.

Keep reading. Disciples there have got their own temptation to face that night and that weekend. Their obedience would be put on the hot seat. They were going to have some temptation, and he focuses on that. He says in verse number 40, he returns to the disciples, he finds them sleeping, he says, "Could you men not keep watch with me for even one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray that you will not fall into"—circle the word—what? Temptation.

It may not look like temptation to you, but that's what this passage is about. They've got their own cross that they're going to say either I'm going to accept it and do the right thing and stand for God, or I'm going to wimp out. That's their temptation. There's the sin of commission, doing the wrong things, transgressing God's rules.

And then there's the sins of omission, and that's a big temptation in our life too in many ways. When God is calling us to stand up and do right and we're tempted to, I don't know, is there a shortcut here? And he says, "You've got a temptation that's coming your way. You need prayer too. Get on your knees and pray."

Then he says this, which is so telling. He says at the bottom of verse 41, "The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." The point is that if you are a genuine, converted Christian, God has changed your heart. The impulse of your new heart beats in sync with God's truth. You want to, in your inner man, do the right thing. It is created in the image of God.

Now, that's your new person. You are encased in fallen, sinful flesh. The humanity of your physical body needs to be redeemed and all of its human impulses. Problem is, your flesh is weak. You have fears, you have anxieties, you have insecurities. You've got tempers, you've got problems, you've got lusts, you've got appetites.

All of that is going to fight against this. I know that the spirit is willing, but your body, your flesh—it's weak. Now, look what we've got so far. When we think about sin and temptation and throwing off encumbrances, we think of Matthew 4 and the temptation in the desert. How does Jesus primarily, one thing if we just summarize in one way Jesus's response to temptation—it's the word of God.

And then, the cross, the temptation of avoiding the cross, we see him responding to that with prayer. It's not a new angle. It's the old stuff. The old stuff is, if you want to conquer temptation and want to get over all the stuff that's coming at you and tear off the sin that's entangling you, here's the deal: two basic things, and I know it's old hat, don't yawn through it. It's the word of God and prayer.

When you spiritually wiped out last time, when you said that thing you shouldn't have said, when you fell into that sin you shouldn't have fallen into, tell me how really immersed in the word of God your mind was that week. Tell me really how your prayer life was going that week. Were you really on your knees before God starting your day with "not my will but yours be done"?

Was this floating around in your head to where the scripture was coming out of your mouth regularly? I don't think so. We fall into sin when we haven't been on our knees and our Bible's collecting dust by our nightstand. That's when we're most vulnerable. There's no magic here. There's no just, "wow, I never thought of that," some innovative idea.

Speaking of baseball, it's like my two sons. I had the privilege of being able to take them out to the Ranger Stadium out there in Arlington, Texas, and they got to go in and see everything. They were checking out all the practice facilities and the batting cages and everything. And here's what they didn't find: some magical Major League Baseball machine that these guys stepped into and became great players.

There wasn't a pill that the team doctor was giving them to become great players. These guys were there, and if they were going to play Major League Baseball and play it well—these guys that they admired—they realized, wow, they got the same things that we've got. A practice field, batting cages, a workout room. Same stuff. It's the same stuff for us.

There's no magical cure here. You want to fight temptation and win—it's the word of God and prayer. I mean, those are the fundamentals. There's more to it than that, I realize, but those are the staples of being spiritually strong. So how's that going for you, by the way? I mean, how really, how much of this is in my life every single day?

Is it just checking a box and reading a few verses, or is my mind being saturated? Is my prayer life just kind of relegated to a few short words before a meal and a couple statements before I go to bed, or is there some real thriving thing there? All I'm telling you is, the more vulnerable you are spiritually is all correlated to your intake of God's word and prayer.

And Jesus shows us that. We want to pull out the ultimate card. Here he is: Jesus never struck out. Well, how did he do it? Two basics: the word of God and prayer. Those are the two big things. You want to be a more godly person, you want to grow in sanctification, you want to say no to the temptations that are assaulting your life—well, follow the example of Christ. Just follow the 1000 hitter and you'll be fine. You'll get from 175 maybe up to 250 by summer.

Well, there's more to it than that. As a matter of fact, the next phrase there in Hebrews chapter 12, verse number 2, is a phrase that I think drives us a little bit deeper. Now, you're supposed to fix your eyes, so to speak, on Jesus. You're supposed to, verse 3, consider him. But he's described in the beginning of verse number 2 as the author and the perfecter of our faith.

I was really disappointed, and I hope you realize that I'm trying to study, stand on the shoulders of the scholars of yesteryear, and I'm reading my commentaries every week and going through what people have taught on it and how they've understood this passage. That's my job. It's a big part of my job.

And I did that this week and I was really kind of disappointed to see that a lot of people these days look at the two words—and I realize they're Greek words that certainly can carry the meaning that so many have just been satisfied to stick with—and that is that the author here word is that he's kind of the leader, the captain, kind of the guy at the top of the shelf.

If you got a pyramid of great godly people, he's at the top. And perfecter or finisher of faith is a Greek word that at the root is telios, and it's kind of he finished it, he went all the way to the end, he didn't fail in the garden. And so he's the guy at the top of the list and look at his track record—it's perfect, he finished the course.

And I thought to myself, is that all the writer of Hebrews has in mind? Is that all the Spirit of God is trying to tell us with this phrase as I fix my eyes on him, that he's just a great example? See, and I think no, that's not where the writer of Hebrews has been with us. As a matter of fact, in the very verse that reminded us early on that he was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, he didn't just say, "Now that's a great example, go follow that."

No, when he says that he is the author and perfecter of our faith, I think it means more than he did it great, do it like he did it. I think there's a personal element to that. That's very objective. There's a subjective element to how God is going to help us through our trials, our temptations. Take a look at the example of Hebrews 4, for instance. Just to stick with the writer of Hebrews.

Hebrews chapter 4. Let's look at the passage I've quoted it three times already, but if he is the perfect one who never sinned but he was tempted like we are, let's see the context of that statement and see if we can't move away from just saying, "Isn't he a great example, let's do what he did."

Hebrews chapter 4. Look at verse number 15. Again, even the imagery of high priest gives us a sense that he's an intercessor, he's involved with us. He's not just a distant template, he's an involved intercessor and advocate for us. Verse 15: For we do not have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.

And he goes on, verse 16. Hebrews 4:16: Let us then approach the throne of grace, if that's true, with confidence, so that we may receive—this is good—mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Now, again, I got to define time of need contextually. In chapter 4, look up a little bit, you'll see in verses like number 11, example of disobedience, verses 9 and 10, a hard heart, all of that.

The temptation for this team was that they were kind of being lulled into disobedience and they were starting to compromise. And he says, "Listen, your time of need, you need help, not just a good example. You need a coach. And not just a coach who sits from the dugout and screams at you to keep your eye on the ball and your back elbow up. You need a coach who gets into the batter's box with you."

And when Satan's throwing temptation at you, you need someone who's going to put his hands around your hands and help you swing that bat. You need real personal, subjective help. And when the writer of Hebrews says fix your eyes on Jesus because he is the author and perfecter of our faith, I think it means a little more than just he's a great example.

So let's put it this way: Number two on your outline. Not only should we study the life of Christ. Number two, we ought to reach out for Christ's help. Because he's ready to do that for you. You're struggling with sin right now, there's temptation in your life, you fell to last week and the week before—here's the deal: you cry out for the help of our coach, the author and perfecter of our faith.

A subjective author and a subjective finisher or completer or perfecter of our faith—you know what, he wants to get in and help you. And a lot of times we don't have because we don't ask. He wants to help you. As a matter of fact, the whole point of the discussion, the Upper Room Discourse in John, as Jesus is going to leave the disciples and go to the cross, was that I'm going to send another, the stand-in if you will.

For Jesus Christ in the lives of the apostles and the disciples was the Spirit of God. And he was called the parakletos. Remember that Greek word? The helper. He's going to come and help you. And I know the Spirit, Jesus said, has been with you, but when I leave, he's going to be in you. You're going to have some serious help from God. And don't leave that on the table. Take it, call out for it, cry out for that kind of help.

Isn't that what we're doing when we're praying, right? We're not just saying, "Oh God, I'm just reiterating my commitment that it's all about your will." I mean, so much of our prayer, I hope, in the midst of temptation and trial is, "Help me. I need your help. Do something in my life so that I won't fall to this."

Great passage. I got to turn you to this one. 2 Thessalonians. We don't look at this one very often. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. God doesn't just want to be an outside force on your life, he wants to be an internal empowerment in your life. And the person of the Holy Spirit is there to do that for you.

But Christ is so interested. As he sits at the right hand of the Father, it's as though Christ himself is getting involved in your life if you'd call out for him, if you'd reach out for his help. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Look at verse 16. This is a great phrase: May our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Isn't that a good word? Just him. And God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, may he do what?

What do we want Jesus Christ himself to do? I love this: Encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. Even the word you speak. Isn't that great? Here is Jesus, who so desperately wants to help you say the right words. Isn't that good? So much of our sin really relates to our mouth, right? And the words that we say.

Jesus is ready, if you'd call out for his help, to get involved as the author and perfecter of your faith to be able to get into your mouth, into your life, and strengthen you and help you, encourage you into every good deed and word. Drop into chapter 3. He says this in verse 3: But the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

You want to talk about the onslaught of temptation—he wants to do that. He'll make you strong. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. It's all about sanctification, it's all about obedience, it's all about growing up in Christ. And this is the great phrase here: verse 5. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's—what's the word? Perseverance.

Perseverance. Greek students, what Greek word do you think that might translate? Hupomone. There it is. Hupomone. Because in the battle to do right, you need endurance, perseverance. You need hupomone, right? Well, we didn't see that in our passage this week. Oh, you missed it. Look at it. Go back to Hebrews chapter 12.

That's what it's all about. We need Christ Jesus himself to lead us into a place of having Christ's hupomone. Look at it. Hebrews chapter 12, are you looking at it, verse number 2 and 3? Fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him—circle this word—guess what word it is? Hupomone.

He endured the cross. That was the path and he didn't bail out. He endured it, hupomone, scorning its shame, sat down at the right hand of God. Consider him who—what's the word? Hupomone. Who endured such opposition from sinful men. That's what we need in the heat of battle. When the temptation is pressing down on us, we need the ability to stand up under it and do the right thing. Hupomone.

God himself wants to help you do that. He wants to lead you into that. And I hope that's a prayer that you pray. We see it throughout the scriptures. There's two examples that I love. One is from Nehemiah's life and one is from Daniel's life. And I love the way that there is this kind of just expression of "God help me."

And you might remember Nehemiah's story. He's been called by God to go and rebuild the walls, and he's going to do it in record time, 52 days, the foundations of the walls around the city of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Well, he's standing before King Artaxerxes, the Persian king, and in chapter 2, he's called in after laying down some hints, and the king finally looks at him and says, "Hey, Nehemiah, what is it that you want?" That's what he says.

And here's what Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 4, says: The king said to me, "What is it that you want?" and then I prayed to the God of heaven and I answered him. I'm thinking to myself, that's a pretty short prayer, right? The king isn't going to sit around and wait for your answer. But between the question and the answer—I love this—I prayed to the God of heaven.

But it's the kind of prayer I'm talking about when the temptation hits you. What was Nehemiah's temptation? To back down from the calling of God in his life, to wimp out, afraid of what Artaxerxes might say. "Well, I know God wants me to do this, but I don't know, he may not understand, I might be rejected." No, "God help me. Okay, I think we need to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. I know you weren't real big on those Jews over there in Israel, but I think we should go back and rebuild."

I prayed to the God of heaven. You need that prayer. How about Daniel? I know Daniel we often see as this great, strong, fearless person. He's impervious to any kind of anxiety or fear. But you know, before he got thrown into the lions' den, he was dealing with—and you know why he got thrown into the lions' den, right?

The coup, this group that was trying to take Daniel out had created a law that you couldn't pray. You're not supposed to pray to anybody but the king of Babylon. And of course, because God had told his people to pray from the beginning, in the Pentateuch, we're supposed to be praying to God, Daniel would have to break that law and defy him.

But you know what, to defy the king and the culture and the laws to do the right thing—do you think that might induce a little bit of anxiety and fear? And the Bible says that when he went back to pray after this decree had gone out to not to pray to anybody, Daniel 6:11—I love this—when the group came to snitch on Daniel for praying—it didn't say snitch in verse 11. The word snitch is not in the Bible, but you know what I'm talking about. They went to fink on him. How's that? Fink?

Daniel 6:11: Then these men, this group, went and they found Daniel praying—here's the word—guess what he was praying about? And he was asking for help from God. Guess he needed help. I love that. And you know why I think he was praying for help? I mean, he probably had his normal prayer list, but you know what, this is illegal now. I'm probably going to get busted for this. This is going to be hard. And as he's praying, he's wanting God's help.

Those are the kind of prayers I'm talking about. And when you and I are hit with temptation and our flesh is crying out for some kind of ungodly fulfillment, or our lives are being shown a path to whatever it is that we think God wants us to do but it's a shortcut, it's a compromise—just remember this: probably the best prayer you can pray is "God, help me. God, strengthen me."

And according to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and 3, he wants to do that through the agency of the Holy Spirit. I get it, but he wants to help you. Cry out for that. Don't leave that on the table. He's a great example, but he's an example that wants to help. He's not just a template, he is a coach. He's not just a model to follow, he wants to get into the batter's box with us and make sure that we don't strike out this week. Ask. God is ready to help.

Dave Drewie: When temptations come our way, we can battle these desires by turning to God in prayer. This is Focal Point, and you're listening to a message from Pastor Mike Fabarez called Keeping Our Focus on Christ. Now, you can revisit these messages anytime at focalpointradio.org or take them with you wherever you go and whatever your schedule looks like through the free Focal Point app.

Now, most of us don't wrestle with whether God is loving; we wrestle with whether he's safe, whether a holiness that intense could ever feel like good news. Well, that question sits at the center of a book Pastor Mike wants to put in your hands this month: *Sinners in the Hands of a Good God* by David Clotfelter. Clotfelter doesn't soften the edges. He shows straight from scripture that God's fierce purity and his relentless love for sinners are not opposing forces pulling against each other. They're the same character seen from two different angles.

Read it, and the God who once felt distant may start to feel like the only one worth trusting completely. This resource is our way of saying thanks when you give to Focal Point today. Call 888-320-5885 or give online at focalpointradio.org. Or mail your gift to Focal Point, Post Office Box 2850, Laguna Hills, California 92654.

Every message that reaches a listener today got there because someone at some point decided this ministry was worth backing, which is exactly why we're asking you to join the Focal Point partner family with a monthly gift. It's the kind of support that doesn't just cover today's costs; it builds toward tomorrow's listeners, the ones who haven't found this Bible teaching yet. Sign up today at focalpointradio.org or call us at 888-320-5885.

And if today's your first time tuning in, we'd love to welcome you with something free: a booklet called *Storing Up Treasures* by Pastor Mike Fabarez. It's yours just for reaching out at focalpointradio.org. Well, I'm Dave Drewie. Listen again tomorrow when Pastor Mike Fabarez concludes our message on keeping our focus on Christ. Be equipped for the temptations in your life Tuesday on Focal Point.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Hi, Pastor Mike here. God's word promises it'll never return void. So I wonder, how is God's word moving in your heart right now? Drop us a line, let us know. We'd love to hear from you. We'd love to be praying for you here. Just go to focalpointradio.org. And then be sure to join us again tomorrow right here as we continue to explore the depths of scripture. We'll see you then.

Dave Drewie: Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.