Focal Point

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

Pastor Mike Fabarez: To the extent that I can't change the path, the path is always going to have some stumbling blocks on it. I then need to pray the prayer, "God, lead us not into temptation." I've picked the path that has the least amount of stumbling blocks, but when I hit the stumbling blocks, God, help me to avoid them. Lead me not right up to that. Don't let my foot strike that stone. Don't lead me into temptation today.

Dave Drew: You know, for a long time people have battled against the lure of temptation, and many have tried to overcome through sheer force of will. But sometimes the problem isn't about whether or not it's possible to conquer sin, but who we look to for victory.

Today on Focal Point, Pastor Mike Fabarez talks about overcoming temptation in our lives. We'll hear a few practical and biblical strategies for becoming stronger and winning the battle over sin. Teaching from Hebrews 12, Pastor Mike has titled today's message "Breaking Recurring Patterns."

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Even though we as Christians rely on the grace and the forgiveness of God, the bottom line is that sin can still ruin your life. To the extent that I can control it, I want to be able to have as smooth a path as possible. Now, in this world, the path will never be perfectly smooth. We cannot avoid temptation in the world, but we can minimize it by choosing to get from point A to point B.

Let's just call point A Monday and point B Saturday. To get from here to here and touch all the bases the way I'm supposed to—I've got to go to work, we've got to shop, we've got to cook, we've got to deal with all the things of life—well, to get from point A to point B, there's lots of different paths to get there and still touch the bases.

The question is, to the extent that I can control it, what am I doing to steer clear of temptation? I want to pick a path between here and the end of the week that is as free from the temptations of sin, particularly the sin that so easily entangles me. I want to do the best I can to walk a path between Monday and Saturday that avoids as many of those bumps as possible.

So, I'm going to choose carefully my environment. That, by the way, is what Proverbs chapter 4 is all about. Verse 14: "Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men." Whatever that sinful environment is, I need to try to avoid it. I can't avoid every one of them. As Paul said, I'd have to leave the world to live in a perfectly righteous place.

But I can avoid the path in many situations. There's a lot of things I don't have to read. There's a lot of things I don't have to listen to. There's a lot of places I don't have to go. I can choose to avoid those because I don't want that area, that sinful environment, to be accosting me when I'm there.

I don't want that. I want to, according to this, not travel on it. Verse 15: "Turn from it and go on your way." Go a different way because people that are in those environments—and you know what I'm talking about—verse 16: "They can't sleep until they do evil. They're robbed of slumber till they make someone fall." There are just people trying to egg us on to do the wrong things.

Let's put it this way: we need to steer clear of sinful environments. If we're going to steer clear of temptation, we've got to steer clear of the places where temptation is highest. Now, we're not going to build a fortress in the mountains and start a monastery. We can't do that. You and I are called to be salt and light.

We have to interface with a sinful world to reach a sinful world. But we are not going to, when we have an opportunity and a choice to choose paths from Monday to Saturday, choose paths that are going to put us in harm's way. We're just not going to do it. At least we shouldn't.

Matthew 6:13: you already have it memorized. Here's what it says: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." On the path that I'm walking, I know I've picked the path that has the least amount of stumbling blocks. But when I hit the stumbling blocks, God, help me to avoid them. Lead me not right up to that. Don't let my foot strike that stone. Keep me from it.

But a lot of people are praying that prayer and not doing anything about steering clear of temptation. We need both. As a matter of fact, I think it's providential that we start with Proverbs chapter 4 and we work hard to steer clear of temptation, and then we say to God, "Okay, God, I'm doing all that I can to steer clear of temptation. Now, don't lead me into temptation today and deliver me from evil."

Hebrews chapter 12, the purpose clause at the bottom of verse 13 is this: "Do all these things. Work on yourself, work on your environment, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." There are two options there, and we ought to contemplate them. Let's contemplate your options because, really, when it comes down to it, you're going either to work harder on being strong and controlling your environment, even to the chagrin of your libertine friends, or you're going to blow it off and say, "Well, you know, God of grace, whatever."

Just remember this little tag at the end of verse 13. It's a reminder to contemplate the options. The first option isn't a good one. It says, "So that the lame"—that means if you keep on stumbling here, your legs continue to be wobbly and you keep falling on this path, you're still entangled in this sin and you're not running the race well—then you should fear this last word in the phrase: "disabled."

These two words, by the way: one is we're stumbling along, and the other one is a big word. It's really, literally, the Greek word "to dislocate." It's one thing to stumble and stub your toe; it's another thing to dislocate your knee or your hip. That's another thing. There is something catastrophic about that word. You don't want to be dislocated. You don't want to have total uselessness in your walk.

What this means, whatever it means, it means more hurt. So let's put down "greater hurt." That's option number one. If I don't deal with recurring patterns of habitual sin, you can count on the fact that eventually you're going to have greater hurt in your life.

We started the message with the simple motivation that I don't want the toxicity, the destruction of recurring sin, because it's bad. Certainly, if you continue on that path and you don't deal with this sin and make it ancient history in your spiritual sanctification, then you're going to have more pain just because of sin's destructive nature.

But I don't think that's what's in view here. As a matter of fact, remember last time we looked at this whole section on discipline, and it was all about, look at verse 11: "discipline being unpleasant or painful." That's the context we've just come out of.

I think the picture in this passage is more like the good shepherd who watches the straying lamb, and he gets a few whacks on the side of his noggin. "Get back in line. Don't stray from the path." Eventually, if that lamb won't stop straying, what does the shepherd do in the ancient agrarian culture? You know the story. You've been to Sunday school; you've heard this before. He snaps his leg.

Guess what? You're not straying anymore now, are you? And the shepherd, in the old picture, has to now carry that lamb. But that lamb is not going to wander now that I've broken his leg or dislocated his leg. That may seem harsh to you, but unfortunately, the God of the Bible sometimes, in our 21st-century glossy, plastic Christianity, will seem a bit harsh.

That's the only God we have to deal with, a God who says, "If you won't deal with recurring patterns of sin, you can look forward to dislocation because that's where it's headed." God won't let you continue. I know I referenced this, and some of you bristled. I watched your eyebrows go up.

So I just want to let you know I'm not making it up. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. I want to show you an extended section of scripture that is written for us to remind us that if we don't deal with recurring patterns of sin, the ultimate dislocation is spelled out for us here. That's not good because it won't only hurt us; it'll hurt our families, it'll hurt our friends, and it'll hurt our church.

1 Corinthians chapter 10. The context here is the children of Israel. They should have followed Moses, they should have followed Caleb, they should have followed Joshua. They should have had faith. Unfortunately, they were busy having fun, and that didn't please God, even though God gave them all these benefits.

Look at verse 5: "Nevertheless, with all the good things God did for them, he wasn't pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered over the desert." That's not like sunbathing or anything. That's a reference to death, isn't it? If you don't believe it, keep reading. We'll see it.

Verse 6: "Now, these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did." You mean they were scattered in the desert and God killed off a generation of Israelites so that we, from a New Covenant perspective, would not set our hearts on evil things and throw off the sin that so easily entangles us? That's what the text is telling us. It's for us.

Some of the specifics: well, look at it. Verse 7: "Do not be idolaters as some of them were," putting things before their loyalty and love for God. As it's written, look what they were into. They were into fun and having a good time. "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they got up to indulge in pagan revelry." The opposite of Proverbs 4. They weren't trying to make straight paths for their feet. They were out there just to have a good time. And if it meant being like all the cultures that are in Egypt, no problem. We're going to do that.

"Oh, and don't commit," verse 8, "sexual immorality, as some of them did. And in one day, 23,000 of them"—circle the word—what happened to them? They died. Keep reading. Verse 9: "We should not test the Lord, as some of them did, and they were"—circle the word—what? "Killed by snakes."

Verse 10: "And do not grumble." That doesn't seem like a big sin, but it was a recurring pattern in their life and they did not break it. Some of them that were tied up in the sin that so easily entangled them—the sin of complaining and being hypercritical—as they were, guess what? They were, what's the word? Killed by the destroying angel.

These things happened to them, but they would never happen to us because we live in the New Covenant age and God took a Tylenol and he's feeling much better now, and he would never treat us like that. Do you see that in verse 11? The Tylenol verse? Do you see it? It's not there, is it?

"These things happened to them as examples and were written down as"—what's the word?—"warnings for who? For us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come." That's a loaded statement saying, "Man, the stakes are even higher now." This is an example for us.

So if you think you are standing firm, be careful. I think the "standing firm" here is people that are thinking, "Oh, God's grace. You know, God loves us. You know, we can grumble and complain and have our little secret sins. It's not a problem."

No, no, no. You better take heed. You better be careful lest you fall. The "falling" here is the falling that's defined in the context. Look at it: they died, they died, they were killed, they were killed. I don't want permanent dislocation.

I know you don't see much of it, maybe from your perspective, but ask our pastoral staff because we have to do funerals all the time. Sometimes we're burying people, lambs that keep on straying. I think it's a sign, it's a hopeful sign, that our Father in heaven loves them, but they die untimely deaths sometimes because they will not give up their recurring patterns of sin.

We see it. I know it's hard. I mean, that's not the way we start the sermon at the funeral, but I mean, that's the reality. A lot of us stand in the back room going, "Wow, God had to take him home, huh?" And we know what they were struggling with. We know their sin. It started to become more of an issue and a problem they never dealt with. That's what the text is teaching.

So he reminds us, verse 13, great passage: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man." That's good news because there is someone who's strong in that area that's conquered it. The thing you're dealing with—I know you're afraid to let anybody know about it—but trust me, it's a common thing. We deal with about eight basic temptations, really. It's the same old seven or eight things.

But you know what? They're common, and that's good. It's hopeful because there's someone out there in our church that can help you with that. It says, "But God is faithful. And God is faithful, and he's not going to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear."

That's not a sometimes statement. He is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. So stop being a fatalist about your recurring pattern of sin. But when you are tempted, guess what? With every single temptation that comes your way, he is also providing a way out so that you can stand up under it. You can bear up under that temptation. You can choose the right path.

Isn't that hopeful? It's the hope of our passage. The passage says you either have one thing to look forward to, which is greater hurt, or Hebrews chapter 12, verse 13 says there is another option, and the other option is healing. Let's put that down on your outline.

I mean, you can have greater hurt or you can have, the good news is, healing. God can take that pattern of sin, provide the way out for you, you by God's grace can take it, and as you take that out, you know what? That becomes something in your path. Then you start sentences like this when you're helping the person three years from now: "I used to struggle with that problem." Wouldn't that feel good to say that about your current sin? "I used to struggle with that problem."

Now, you'll be struggling with something else. God will reveal another level of sin in your life. But let's get to that place. That's going to happen when God heals us. If you've got your Greek New Testament, you Greek students out there, look at the voice of that last verb. Look at the voice. It's not an active voice; it's a passive voice. Do you notice that?

The passive voice of this verb also gives me hope. You know, it's not like you're healing yourself. It's like you're going to the doctor, the great physician, and he's taking this weakness in your life as you do all you can to get strong and avoid temptation. Now he's saying, "Great. If you want to get out of this, I'm not only providing the out, but I'm ready to take your hand and to bring you out of that. I'm ready to heal you."

I love the passive voice there. "I'm going to bring you into a new state of health in your sanctification." God is willing to do it. He's able to do it. He wants to do it. You can be healed of that recurring pattern of sin.

I cannot not end with this passage. Turn to the little book of Jude, just before the book of Revelation. Turn to the last book of the Bible and go to the 65th book, the little book, one-chapter book of Jude, verse 17. Let's get some context here.

"Dear friends, remember that what the apostles of our Lord Jesus foretold. They said this: they said in the last times there's going to be scoffers and they're going to follow their own ungodly desires. You'll be surrounded with people compromising," verse 19. "And these men will divide you. They follow mere natural instincts. They don't even have the Spirit," verse 20.

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." Summary of what we've talked about then, verse 21. "And keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt. Snatch others from the fire and save them. To others show mercy mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

Okay, all of that, I mean, that's an intense section. And then he says this: now, the great benediction of this book. "To him who is able to keep you from falling." Do you believe that? He can do that. With every temptation, he provides the way out. He can grab your hand and he can heal you.

"Keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious throne without fault and with great joy." Wouldn't you much rather enter the kingdom having conquered those recurring patterns of sin? I mean, that would be a good day. "To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority." He's got all the resources to fix the problem through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and even into 21st-century Orange County forevermore. Amen.

God has the power to fix the problem. He is able to make you stand. He's holding out his hand and wanting to bring you through the Monday through Saturday life that is fraught with temptation. Get strong, take the path filled with the least amount of temptation, and trust in him for healing. Because if you don't get serious about this, your only other option is greater hurt.

I took my kids at the end of the summer to a foreign country, and I knew in that foreign country we were going to go to this open-air bazaar, this market. And you know, mostly because my wife wanted to go there, but we went there and I thought to myself, "My kids are in massive trouble." They're used to Costco and Walmart. They're not used to people popping out behind every little display case trying to sell them something.

I knew they also had their big wad of cash that they had collected from their allowance for the last three months, and so they had some money in their pocket. And man, I was afraid. Every little piece of junk, piece of plastic, they're going to come out with a too-good-to-be-true story about why they should part with seven bucks to get their American money and walk away and give them a ten-cent piece of junk.

And so I gave them the briefing in the morning. "Okay, I know you got money. See, but this probably ain't the best place to spend it. And you're going to have people telling you about all kinds of things and they're going to be in your face. And I know you've never experienced the shopping experience like this before, but you know what? Hang on to your money. We get back to the States, we'll take that money, buy you something you want, and just avoid the pitch."

Now, we went into this place. And occasionally their head would start to turn toward that little toy store. And I'd take their head and, "No, keep walking." You know, because it's full of just junk. And so I'm like, "No, no, no. Save your money. Save your money." And I knew it was just burning a hole in their pocket, you know. They just want it so badly. And everybody's coming out, "Oh, this, this, you'll love this little kid." And you know, "No, no, no."

Friday night—of course, it's been a month or so since we were out of the country—Friday night we were at the sporting goods store. Mom's at a women's retreat, so Dad, you know, well, it's called Wienerschnitzel and Big 5. And we are at Big 5 walking around. And my kids found, they both found this thing they wanted to buy at the sporting goods store.

And like, "Oh, Dad, we want that." You know, Dad's response is always, "Well, you know, did you bring your wallet? You got any money?" And you know what was so great to hear them both say? "Yeah, we got money." And they both had enough to buy this thing at Big 5.

I thought to myself, "That's great." Had they fallen to all those pitches and you got hit up 15 times in that open-air market, you would have left with nothing. See, had you spent all that money in that market, you'd be sitting here wanting something that is really ten times better than what you ever could have gotten in that country, and you would not be able to buy it.

I thought to myself how great it was that you got through that whole experience without getting ripped off. And as I thought that, articulated that in my mind, I said, "That's what this message is all about." God's desire for us is to get through this life without getting ripped off.

The point is to get through this world that's full of too-good-to-be-true pitches about compromise and sin and indulgence and immorality, and all of it's beckoning us to indulge. And God's saying, "Just hold on." And sometimes he just wants to take our face and keep our gaze fixed right ahead. Just walk this path of righteousness.

Because you know, if you get to the end of this, you will walk into the kingdom with great joy if you can look back with a mitigated amount of sin in your life. So whatever it is you're struggling with right now, wouldn't it be great to see your recurring pattern of sin be ancient history and get onto some other challenge that God has for you? That'd be great.

Every corner, someone trying to sell you some kind of compromise and sin. Don't do it. Get strong, clear your path of temptation, and trust in him for healing.

Let's pray. God, help us in a world that I know is tempting us all the time. And some things we can't avoid. There are billboards and philosophies and talk at the water cooler. God, I pray you wouldn't lead us into temptation. You deliver us from evil.

But God, I know there's a lot of temptation that we seem to foolishly put ourselves in harm's way. And I pray that we get wise and we'd know that whatever the sin is that's entangling us, there are situations that we should probably avoid and just exclude from our weekly path.

We'd like to be godly people. And I know that to do that, we're going to have to get strong. We're going to have to skip sleeping in, and we're going to have to skip our favorite magazine, and we're going to have to spend time with an open Bible, going a little deeper than just reading our favorite verses over and over again.

God, we're going to need to spend time on our knees praying to you, sometimes with loud cries, petitioning you for help and deliverance. And God, we certainly are going to need some honesty with some real Christian friends.

God, I pray that we would do that without fear, recognizing that I know it's vulnerable for us to get honest with other Christians. But God, what an important ingredient in being able to brace up the weaknesses of our lives by finding strong brothers and sisters in Christ to help us.

So God, I pray for that, that the end result may be true: that we wouldn't be dislocated, that there wouldn't be greater discipline, or even, God, because of the truth of scripture, we know that we could even untimely see our lives come to an end if we don't deal with recurring patterns of sin.

But God, what we want is to be able to see your healing in our lives. So bring it on, God. That's what we'd like to do. We want to give our all, work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but also know that it's you that's in us both to will and to work for your good pleasure. So help us in this regard to balance in our lives this incredible amount of trust with an incredible amount of discipline and work to see ourselves grow in increasing sanctification as we win our battles with sin. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Dave Drew: Pastor Mike Fabarez calling us to hold on and stay on God's path because there are great things ahead. This is Focal Point, and you've just heard a message called "Breaking Recurring Patterns," part of our series, "Our Fight With Sin."

Pull it back up later or pass it along to someone who could use it by going online to focalpointradio.org or by downloading the free Focal Point app. You know, this month we picked a book that really helps with Pastor Mike's challenge to stay on God's path. It's called *Making a Difference: Impacting Culture and Society as a Christian* by R.C. Sproul.

It's a straightforward, convicting look at what it means to live out our faith beyond the walls of the church, in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, and everywhere else we spend our days. Sproul reminds us that following Christ was never meant to stay private, and he offers clear biblical direction for representing him well in a culture that needs to see it.

Request your copy of *Making a Difference* when you give to Focal Point this month. Call our team and make your donation over the phone at 888-320-5885, or give at focalpointradio.org. You can also mail your donation to Focal Point, Post Office Box 2850, Laguna Hills, California 92654.

This kind of Bible teaching stays on the air because listeners like you decide it's worth supporting. If today's message meant something to you, consider taking that a step further and becoming a Focal Point Partner with a gift each month. Your steady giving helps us plan ahead with confidence and reach even more listeners with the truth of God's Word. Sign up to become a Focal Point Partner today at focalpointradio.org or by calling 888-320-5885.

And if you're a new listener, we'd love to send you a free copy of Pastor Mike's brand-new booklet all about battling sin. Just contact us for the first time at focalpointradio.org. I'm Dave Drew. We'll see you tomorrow for the start of our next message all about fighting sin. It's titled "Recalling Why This is So Important," coming up Thursday on Focal Point with Mike Fabarez.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Hey there, Pastor Mike here. We're almost out of time, but before we go, I wanted to personally invite you to contact us here. Let us know how we can be praying for you. Head on over to focalpointradio.org and click the contact page, or send me a note on Facebook, facebook.com/pastormike, or X.com/pastormike. Can't wait to hear from you.

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