Telling the Truth

Jill Briscoe: Today on Telling the Truth, Stuart Briscoe concludes his message, "Trials and Temptations," and shares how God grows your faith through temptation. But first, your generous support helps keep broadcasts like this one going out around the world so you and others can experience life through the biblical teaching and resources of Telling the Truth.

So as thanks for your gift today, we'll send you "Triumph Over Temptation," an encouraging four-message series created by Stuart and Jill Briscoe to help you stand strong against temptation and grow in your faith in the process. Call today to request yours at 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stuart Briscoe with the conclusion of his message, "Trials and Temptations."

Stuart Briscoe: Is it possible that we are failing as God allows us to be tested in the areas of gratitude, in the areas of obedience, and in the areas of faith? What happened as far as these people were concerned? It's very important that we notice that the scriptures tell us with many of these people, God was not well pleased. He had brought them in large numbers out of Egypt with every intention of taking them into the promised land. They had an 11-day journey through the wilderness; it took them 40 years to cover an 11-day journey.

That was because they failed the test. God was not pleased with them, and he said that nobody over the age of 20, with the exception of two men, Caleb and Joshua, would go into the promised land. The tragedy was this: he was not pleased with them. The tragedy was this: they did not enter into the blessings that were available to them. The tragedy was this: that instead of discovering all that God had for them, because they failed the test, they never came through. These things are written as a warning for us.

What can the possible application of this be as far as we're concerned? We don't need to look very hard because the scripture is explicit as far as the application is concerned. Application number one: we should be aware of spiritual complacence. The warning that comes through is this: "Therefore, let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." I have no doubt that these people of Israel, when they were delivered from Egypt, when they followed the cloud, when they came through the sea, when they heard the Ten Commandments, I have no doubt that these people said, "We belong to the people of God.

We've identified with Moses. We've gone through the baptism in the Red Sea. We have eaten the special food in the wilderness. We have experienced the religious rites. We have observed the religious spectaculars. We have made the religious connotations. We are the people." And God said, "Oh no, you are not." Beware of spiritual complacence that rests in empty ritual, that rests in peripheral observation of spiritual spectaculars, that rests upon minimal affiliation with Christian things and assumes it's enough.

Beware of the kind of spirituality that is interested in how much can I get away with and how little do I need to be involved. "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" because what really counts is when the testing time comes and the pressure is on, what comes out? Righteousness and holiness and a desire to do right, or a willingness and a readiness to go wrong. Beware of spiritual complacence.

But the second thing is: be aware of spiritual competence. Now, listen very carefully here. Probably the best-known verse in this whole chapter is verse 13: "No temptation has seized you but such as is common to humanity. God is faithful; he would never allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to cope with, but will with the temptation always make a way out so that you may be able to stand up under it." Now, that's quite a mouthful, but oh, is it necessary we understand it. Because it is the recipe for spiritual competence in the area of temptation and testing.

Number one: understand no temptation that has seized you is unusual or abnormal. It is perfectly ordinary; it is common to man. I often hear people saying, "Well, Stuart, the things that the Bible says, they don't really apply today because we've got a new set of problems now. We've got all kinds of new situations now that the Bible doesn't even address, and therefore the Bible is fundamentally irrelevant to the problems of today." Well, that attitude, that philosophy, flies right in the teeth of what the scripture says. No temptation has seized you but such as is common to man.

In other words, the kind of temptations that come our way today, according to scripture, are no different from the ones that came to Corinth years ago and the ones that the people in the wilderness were subjected to thousands of years ago. Granted, the externals change, but the internal principles are identical. Let me read to you a quotation from Craig Blomberg's commentary on 1 Corinthians. This is what he said: "We live in an age of unparalleled developments of technology, unprecedented amounts of information, new physical and emotional diseases, natural disasters, and human warfare.

When we realize that these factors cause suffering on a scale never before known in human history, it is reassuring to know that the temptations believers face are not new." The external circumstances may differ, but the spiritual dynamics remain unchanged. We have to decide whether we believe that or not. Granted, there are new problems, there are new diseases, there are new emotional traumas. Granted, there are new weapons of warfare. Granted, there seems to be an exacerbation of many things, and men and women are being subjected to all kinds of new situations.

But what scripture is insisting is this: while all the externals are the same, the internals are unchanged, and the internals are this: every time the pressure comes, it gives you a chance to do right or go wrong. That is the fundamental. Now, if that is true, if those are the issues, then the underlying answers have to be the ancient answers, too. So what do we mean when we talk about be aware of spiritual competence? Number one, we need to be aware that we're not free to make special excuses that we're behaving in a certain way because our circumstances are so different.

We are not free to be able to say, "Well, the Bible isn't relevant to my situation because the Bible doesn't understand my situation." The Bible may say nothing about your externals; the Bible says everything about the internal issues. The second thing to bear in mind is this: that every temptation that comes your way is coming your way because a faithful God has determined it's all right for it to come your way. Why in the world would he do that? Because God is anxious to see what is in our hearts, and he's anxious for us to know what is in our hearts.

And we'll never know what's in the tube until we take off the cap and squeeze it. So God allows the testing times to come, and what he longs to see is us going right. He longs to see us living rightly—righteousness being exhibited. So the faithful God says no new temptation is coming your way. I am allowing it to come in order to give you the opportunity to do right as opposed to go wrong. And I promise you something, he adds, I will never allow you to be tested beyond your ability to cope. You say, "I'm not sure I believe that."

Well, that's what he said. But more than that, he goes on: "I will never allow you to be tested beyond what you're able to cope, but I will always make a way out so that you will be able to stand up under the situation."

Jill Briscoe: That's Stuart Briscoe on today's Telling the Truth. He's headed right back to 1 Corinthians for more about growing your faith through temptation. But before we dive back in, here's a note from Caroline, a listener in the UK who writes, "Telling the Truth has been a constant in my life for 20 years, so often opening my eyes to Christian truths that have impacted the way I live. Thanks, Caroline." That's the kind of encouragement your support today will bring to more people around the world as you help share the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth so others can experience life in Christ.

And we'd like to encourage you with a powerful resource to equip you to not only resist temptation but conquer it and grow in your faith as you do. It's called "Triumph Over Temptation," a four-message series created by Stuart and Jill Briscoe to empower you with biblical truth to help you stand firm in the face of daily temptations. Filled with the Briscoes' trademark wisdom and understanding of scripture, this series will help you remember that every temptation to do wrong is also a chance to do what's right.

We'll send you the "Triumph Over Temptation" series as our thanks for your gift of support today to help continue the Briscoes' legacy through the teaching resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy when you call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Let's hear from Stuart Briscoe once more.

Stuart Briscoe: Somebody has pointed out that we need to be very much aware that in every testing situation there is an "out" that will release the excess pressure so that we will be able to live rightly in the situation and do rightly through it. But the way out is not available for the people who are looking for the way in. And not infrequently you'll find this problem: that people make a dreadful mess of their lives, and when they survey the wreckage of their lives, they bemoan the situation.

But if you actually look at the wreckage and the cause and effect relationship, not infrequently you will discover that they were confronted with a tempting situation and they were very much attracted to it. They looked for the way into it and were totally disinterested in the way out of it. Bear in mind the way out is available, but it is not available to people looking for the way in. There are some of us, in some of our temptations, who are so seduced by them and so attracted to them that we want to get as close to them as we possibly can.

We have a battle within us. We know that there's something fundamentally wrong about this, we know the way that we ought to go, but we're so inextricably drawn to the situation that we find ourselves like the moth circling closer and closer to the flame. The way out is not in the way in. The way out comes when I say, "God, I understand the testing. I know what it's all about. I know the options, and my heart says show me the way out that I may stand up under this thing and come out stronger."

There is a spiritual competence in the area of testing. You wouldn't always get that impression the way we talk today. Flip Wilson theology is much more common: "The devil made me do it." The devil never made you do anything. The devil will solicit you to evil. God will never allow him to solicit you to evil more than you're able to cope with and will always give you a way out that you may be able to stand up under it. So what are the practical implications here? Number one: we need to be very much aware of spiritual complacence.

Number two: we need to be very much aware of spiritual competence—how we can be competent to deal with these issues. Thirdly, we need to be very much alert to the possibilities of spiritual compromise. Notice how Paul finishes this particular passage in applying it specifically to the Corinthians. We won't get into this because the application is not all that relevant to us, but this is relevant: flee from all kinds of idolatry. When you find yourself being drawn in to being enamored of that which is a substitute for God, when you find yourself being inextricably drawn in to trust and obey that which is a man-made substitute for God, recognize the insinuating possibilities immediately and get out of the situation.

If you are secretly an admirer of that which is antithetical to God, if you are quietly drawn to that which is antithetical to all that God has in mind, recognize the slippery slope and be done with it, and in the power of Christ, turn and live rightly before him. A closing word. A closing word to those of us who would have to say, as we listen to something like this, "I already fell. I already blew it. I already messed up. I did not do right. I went wrong. Now, what do I do?"

Well, you've taken the first step by admitting you didn't do right and you did go wrong. The second step is to be deeply disturbed about it and to tell God you're deeply disturbed about it. Because you know that there's a germ of spirituality in your heart that says I have a desire to do that which is right, I have a desire not to go wrong, but there's something inside me that is pulling me down. And turn to him for mercy and call on him for grace and receive from him forgiveness and recognize that in him alone is the power to find the way out and to stand tall.

What about the person who's not even considered temptation as temptation? Who's not even thought of sin as sin? Repentance has never entered their consciousness. The thought of the necessity of forgiveness has never occurred to them. What can we say to you? What we can say to you is this: if we don't learn from history, we're damned to repeat it. And the children of Israel never made it to the promised land—the majority of them. And if we are not prepared to live in obedience to and dependence upon the Lord, we will come short of his blessing.

And what do we say to those who have never yet trusted Christ for initial salvation, that they might begin to get on the right track? We say learn from other people's mistakes. See that sin doesn't pay. Acknowledge Christ died that your sins might be forgiven and humbly come to him and ask God for Christ's sake to forgive you and submit your life to his lordship and live in the power of his indwelling spirit in newness of life. It's no mystery that the same sun that melts wax hardens clay.

And it's no mystery that two people in adjacent beds in the same ward in the same hospital with the same disease and the same doctor and the same Medicaid will move in entirely opposite directions. One in the experience will be drawn closer to the Lord, recognizing that her days were numbered and that when she dies she will be absent from the body and present with the Lord, and she dies with a benign smile on her face at peace. And the person in the next bed dies with oaths and curses and blasts God for the day they were born. Why? Same doctor, same disease, same bed, same ward, same Medicaid.

Different hearts. And it's no mystery why two men working in adjacent desks, who have beautiful, single young women around them all day in the office, it's no mystery at all why one of them starts an affair which blows up in his face and he loses his wife and he loses his kids and he moves into economic bankruptcy and is heartbroken. And the other guy, he turns away from the temptation and he tells his wife he was tempted and he tells her he loves her and that he was faithful and he's thankful that the situation came up because it gave him the opportunity to do right. And his wife embraces him and thanks him for his faithfulness, and they go on, and their marriage is stronger, and their kids feel secure. No surprise. You see, the temptation simply shows us what's inside.

Jill Briscoe: That's Stuart Briscoe on today's Telling the Truth, and he'll be right back with more on how God grows your faith through temptation. A reminder: when you give a gift today to support the teaching ministry of Telling the Truth, we'll say thanks with an empowering resource created by Stuart and Jill Briscoe called "Triumph Over Temptation." We all face temptation every day, sometimes every moment of every day. While you may struggle with sinful desires and selfish motives, you must remember that every temptation to do wrong is also an opportunity to do right.

You are not powerless to resist wrong. You have God's power within you to bring you through even the toughest challenges. In their four-message series "Triumph Over Temptation," Stuart and Jill Briscoe equip you with powerful biblical truth to help you triumph over temptation and grow your faith in the process. "Triumph Over Temptation" is our thanks for your generous gift today to help more people experience abundant life in Christ through the unchanging truth of God's word.

Simply request your copy when you call today and give a gift to help keep Telling the Truth going around the world. Call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stuart to close out today's message.

Stuart Briscoe: Thank you for the history lesson, dear Lord. Thank you that you have meticulously recorded for us your dealings with your ancient people. Thank you that in more recent days we have the New Testament that applied those ancient principles to more modern people. And thank you that your spirit still takes these ancient truths and writes the lessons deeply on our hearts.

And my prayer now is first of all for people who have recently monumentally succumbed to temptation and have introduced disaster and pain into their lives and the lives of others. And I ask that you would bring them gently to repentance, cleansing, forgiveness, newness of life, because they want the way out and they will repudiate flirting with the way in. And Lord, I pray for people here who've never come to faith. They've never seen that they should be concerned about righteousness and truth and goodness.

They've simply allowed themselves to be caught up in wilderness wandering. They've allowed themselves simply to be caught up in mass mentality. They've never really listened to your voice, but they've heard it today. And I pray that you would talk to them in such a way that they would recognize the need for forgiveness and the possibility of it because Christ died for them. And I ask that simply and humbly in the quietness of their own hearts, they would ask God for Christ's sake to forgive them and to lead them into newness of life.

And Lord, I pray for those of us who are old-timers who've settled down and are in danger of being complacent. We just assume we've got everything buttoned up. And I pray that you would deliver us from complacence because we don't want to miss out on anything that you have in store for us. Hear our prayers and let our cries ascend unto you in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Jill Briscoe: That's Stuart Briscoe on today's Telling the Truth. We hope today's message has encouraged you. Before we go, remember that when you give today to help keep Telling the Truth broadcasts like this one going out around the world, we'll send you a copy of "Triumph Over Temptation," a four-message series from Stuart and Jill Briscoe that's sure to help you stand up to daily temptations and grow stronger in your faith as you do. So call now to give and remember to request "Triumph Over Temptation" with our thanks. 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you'll come back tomorrow as Jill Briscoe begins her message, "Getting Off the Roof." Experience life next time here on Telling the Truth.