Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to our second reading in Hebrews,
Hebrews chapter 2, and reading for our text, verse 18, the last
verse. For in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 18. We have read of the temptations
of our Lord. Temptation through the Scriptures
is often the underlying word. It can be used for temptation,
or trial, or testing, and very often it is interchangeable.
We think of our Lord Jesus Christ, those were temptations, specific
things set before Him that He was tempted to actually do, but
also the path that he was walking was a path of trial, a path of
testing. And so very often the words are
used interchangeably, but what is very much upon my spirit at
this time are those that are tempted by Satan, where he seems
to take hold of even things that are good, even things that maybe
has been spoken well, or things that should be an encouragement,
and you twist and turn them round, and you turn it to be a very
severe temptation of mind, and it casts one down, it's very
wearing, wearying, and being left in it can lead us to much
sin, and a path that gets darker and darker. And so the Word before
us, it's a wonderful Word, a wonderful Word that exalts and lifts up
the Lord Jesus Christ as being so suitable to just such a One,
that is tempted by Satan. We read in the part there where
our Lord was tempted that at first it was the tempter came
and then later on he's clearly identified as the devil. The devil is the tempter. And so this is a path that, and
as we read in the Hymns, that God's children will know and
will pass through. And it's a blessed thing if we
not only know the path but we know the sakra and we know the
blessing of being sakka. The word sakka means to give
assistance and support and it is especially in times of hardship
and distress. We think of the time with David
when he was fighting with one of the sons of the giant and
how that his strength was going and the giant was thought that
he was going to get the better of him and to slay him and I
think it was Joab that was raised up that came and he suckered
him that is that he came and really he attacked the giant
delivered him out of his hand and saved his life and so it
is in that way to give assistance and support, especially when
there's hardship, distress, or the life is threatened in that
way. And so it is with that desire
to come before you this afternoon to bring to you this word concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. I'll read from verse 17 to the
end, or from verse 16, because we read of our Lord taking, not
on Him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. wherefore
in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people, for
in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to
succour them that are tempted. And so our Lord is set before
us this afternoon as the Succourer. How many other titles we may
have, Our Lord is the Redeemer. It is through His precious blood
shed upon Calvary that He redeems and sets free His people by purchase. He is our Great High Priest. He appears in the presence of
God for us. He is our Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the Righteous. There's many offices of the Lord. In addition to that which he
accomplished at Calvary, the offices that he holds is for
the succoring, the strengthening, the help of his people. And the Apostle, he says that,
shall he not with him, that is with Christ, freely give us all
things. If when we were sinners we are
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more
being reconciled shall we be saved through His life. And so what we have before us
here is one of the offices of the Lord and His ability that
is specifically for His people In this world, that which they
need, God has not seen fit to convert them, call them, and
immediately take them out of this world. No, He has seen fit
to leave them here. In His high priestly prayer in
John 17, He says that, I will not that thou shouldst take them
out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. and so his will is, and we need
to be very clear on this, that the Lord's will is for his saved,
redeemed, blood-washed people to remain here for a time that
He Himself has set our days not being expired until the Lord
decrees it so, and when that time is set, then to take us
to Himself. But while we're here, we have,
as the Apostle proved it, a body of death, and we have a tempting
devil, we have the world, we have opportunity as set before
us later on in Hebrews, that if we have opportunity to have
returned, if we wanted to, we can still do so. All that we've
been separated from and parted from, we can still go back to. I think of in this spiritual
or scriptural way, we think of Ruth, how that she went to Bethlehem
and it was said that she left her father and her mother and
she left her gods and her own land, but if she had got to Bethlehem
and said, well I don't like this land, I'm going back, and she
went back to her own people and her own gods She could have still
done that. The land of Moab was still there. It was just as easy to go from
Moab to Bethlehem as to go the other way, as Elimelech and Naomi
had done those years before. And so the attempt to often,
he will attempt to go back, but the opportunity is still there.
But this is God's purpose, and it is God's will that his people
do remain here, but in willing that, he has given these provisions
of succor and of hell. So dear friends, rather than
saying when we are tempted, when we are tried, that oh we're not
one of God's people, we're not his at all, this wouldn't happen
to me if I was one of his people, we need to look at it, we are
one of his people, and this is why we are being tempted, We
are being tried, we are being tested, this is why Satan attacks
us, why he is against us, because we are the Lords, and the Lord
has provided in the Word. Now, why would there be a need
for a Sakra, why would there be a need for the Lord to be
made like unto His brethren, and to be tempted like unto them,
4 For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 5 Our Lord had to walk, he did
walk. here below just the same on this
same earth as we do breathe the same air walk the same paths
and he partook of the same and those around about him they bore
witness that he was a real man they many of them they could
not see any different there were those that did and they saw him
as the god man that they saw him a real man and when he'd
even risen from the dead he says a flesh and blood, a spirit hath
not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And so he ate before
them and showed that he truly risen from the dead. So I want
to look with the Lord's help this afternoon, firstly, at Christ's
sufferings under temptation, then them that are tempted, and
then thirdly, how the Lord suckers them that are tempted. So firstly, Christ's sufferings
when under temptation. We read of the account in Matthew,
and of course is repeated to the other Gospels as well, of
the Lord's sufferings under temptation. It was immediately after he was
baptized. After that time, and it was led
not by Satan, but led by the Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted or tried of the devil. And we know it is very necessary
that our Lord did endure The temptation equivalent, we might
say, or enough to assure us that he was not susceptible to fall
as was the first Adam. Christ is spoken of as the second
Adam. Now with Adam and Eve, they were
given all of the fruit of the garden to eat, only forbidden
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And yet, even
with all of that provision and only one thing forbidden, Yet
Satan was sufficiently able to tempt them and to induce them
to take of that forbidden fruit, to rebel against God, to rebel
against His commandment, and to walk in that path, and hence
the fall and the entrance of sin and death into the world.
And so the second Adam must be proved that he was not of the
fallen sons of Adam, nor was he like even Adam in his innocency
that was capable of falling. And so we have our Lord that
He is tempted for 40 days. 40 is always a testing time. The children of Israel, 40 years
in the wilderness. We have the rain that was upon
the earth 40 days in the days of Noah. And it is a time of testing. Our Lord, when He rose from the
dead, then he was 40 days appearing to his disciples before he was
then ascended and taken up into heaven. So it is attesting, it
is showing of a certainty that a thing is so. The Lord was risen
indeed and he appeared and he appeared for those 40 days and
sometimes to 500 brethren at once. so here with the wilderness he
is to be tested and so the 40 days we read that he fasted 40
days and 40 nights and afterwards and hungered so here he is a
wilderness so there's no for no bread there there's nothing
to eat He hasn't had anything to eat for 40 days, 40 nights. The scene is set much, much worse
than it was with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Instead
of a well-watered garden with fruit on all the trees, but just
one forbidden fruit, the Lord has nothing. And Satan, he comes
and he knows the Lord would have power to command stones that
they be made bread. He could have done that. But
the Lord didn't have to prove His Sonship by being obedient
to Satan. He didn't have to prove His Sonship
by a miraculous way and really right through the sojourn of
our time of our Lord yes we read of those times when he passed
through the midst of them when they went to cast him down from
the brow of a hill but he would not call upon the angels to preserve
him from death and he would not shrink back from the cross or
to come down from the cross as one of the thieves tempted him
so to do and so here the temptation is equivalent to that in the
Garden of Eden and our Lord refused to be a servant of Satan and
to do his bidding and we need to be so mindful of the Lord's
sufferings in this way because we might think well he is God
and he is he couldn't be tempted and but he is voluntarily a real
man and these scriptures is very clear that when these temptations
that this was sufferings to our Lord. They were terrible things
to be insinuated, to be put before Him, to be offered before Him,
and to be set forth in this way. And so it starts with the temptation
concerning the bread, and the Lord endures that. And then he
goes to the temptation, taking him to the top of the pinnacle
of the temple, and really tempts him to suicide. Take his own
life, just cast yourself down. And here is a word that is in
the scripture that says he's going to preserve you. He'll
use his angels to preserve you. Throw yourself upon the mercy
of God. And yet our Lord then answers
by the word of God. Satan was using the word of God
to tempt the Lord. actually bring the word that
is inspired word itself and saying well here is your own word you
put it to the test, you act in accordance to it, but our Lord
is able to answer, it is written again, bearing Scripture, with
Scripture, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And then he
was given the temptation, showing all of the kingdoms of the earth,
all the grandeur, the might, the greatness of these things,
if only he would worship the devil. On one hand, he had his
own dear people, that remnant that was going to cost him his
life and sufferings and death, and hide him in his father's
face. On the other hand, the devil
was saying, look, all of these kingdoms, all the glory of them,
all of this I will give you and we're told here this, this was
his temptations, this is the path that he knew and he might say in his power to enter
into these things but yet resisting them and refusing to walk in
this path Then we read of the time that men were used to tempt
him in the 22nd chapter of Matthew. We read of the time, there's
many times that they came tempting him and in this particular time
they asked them the question, is it lawful to give tribute
unto Caesar or not. And we read our Lord saying,
But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, Why tempt ye me, ye
hypocrites? Show me the tribute money. And
they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose
is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's.
Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things
which are Caesar's. and unto God the things that
are God's. And so he viewed and perceived
that they were using this question to actually tempt Him, to goad
Him into speaking and saying things that were contrary to
the authorities and those that were over them at that time. Our Lord knew what it was to
be not only tempted by Satan directly, but tempted by man,
that man should come and speak to Him. And then He also knew
what it was to be tempted through His own dear followers through
men, and yet Satan speaking through men. And this was when Peter,
when our Lord was showing of the sufferings that were before
him, and Peter said to him, Be not this unto thee, Lord. And
Satan, the Lord, turned to him and rebuked Satan, Get thee behind
me, Satan, thou savest not the things that be of God, but the
things that be of men. And he knew what it was to have
one of his own followers. Remember in the very beginning,
Satan didn't come in his own form, he came in the form of
a serpent. He came in the form of a beast
of the earth. And Satan came to our Lord in
the form of even one of his own dear followers. And yet the Lord
discerned who it was that was speaking, speaking in this way. Is there temptation? Is there
suffering? Is there the cross before you?
Run away from this. Spare thyself. Don't let this
happen to you. And many times Satan, especially
for the people of God and with our Lord Jesus Christ here, His
temptation was where the Lord had appointed a cross, pointed
a path, pointed a way that he'd have him to go, and the temptation
was, don't walk in it, spare yourself, spare thyself, don't
go in that way. And so our Lord endured that
sort of temptations. Then we had that where the scribes,
the Pharisees, they came, the Jews came, and they were seeking
signs from Him. show us a sign, show us a sign
from heaven." And again we read that it was tempting him to so
do, to show a sign. We think also of where they questioned
and put the law of Moses against our Lord. The law says this,
and what dost thou say with the woman that was taken in the issue
of blood? Our Lord endured the contradiction
of sinners against Himself, unless we should be wearied and faint
in our minds all the time around the Lord, those that would cause
Him to walk in a contrary way. How long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer you? All the way around him. And the
scriptures are very, very clear in this, that he has suffered
being tempted. Our text says, for in that he
himself hath suffered being tempted. And however much we might find
it very hard to understand, understand how the eternal Son of God how
one that was spotless and sinless could suffer, yet we are told
that it was so, that he did suffer being tempted. I often thought,
well, if we have a black piece of paper and we put on a bit
of coal dust, you don't notice that. But if there's a white
piece of paper and you put the coal dust on it, then immediately
it is noticed. And we think too with God's children,
when they are in unregeneracy, they may be in situations where
They love to be walking in sin, doing things that are contrary
to the Word of God, and they don't suffer under it at all.
But when they are called and they are brought to see those
things for what they are, not want to walk in them, hate those
ways, to go into that same situation again, is then suffering, they
don't like to be there, they don't enjoy it there, they want
to get out of that situation. And so with our Lord, so spotless
pure, He once was with His Father and He spoke of being with His
Father before the world was, but now, here He is surrounded
by sinners, surrounded by those that are walking in sin, that
cannot do good without sin, and all the time seeking to bait
him, to tempt him, to draw him, to even try to cause him to walk
in ways to drive a wedge between him and his father, and to disqualify
him for the work that his father would have him to do. the sufferings
of our Lord, we can best understand when we ourselves then are tempted. In our text it says, for in that
he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor
them that are tempted. And we know that the provision
of that sakra is one that is so suited to the case of a tempted
soul. So I want to look then secondly
at them that are tempted. In James we have several verses
in the first chapter of James that he addresses the subject of temptation in verse
12 chapter 1 in james he says blessed is the man that endureth
temptation for when he is tried and here we have again the idea
of temptation is of trial he shall receive the crown of life
which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him." So it's
a beautiful blessing on them that endure, those that are able
to continue through that temptation and not fall, but still continue
on in the way, still remain as the Lord's dear people, dear
followers of the Lamb. Then he brings in a warning,
that no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God
cannot be tempted with evil. neither tempteth he any man."
Not to think that because God uses trial, or permits Satan
thus to act, or the world to act, that God is actually the
author of it. To always look upon temptation
as being a very evil thing. very vile thing and as soon as
if we think well we were sin that grace might abound or something
that the Lord might work for good we had this morning that
the Lord makes all things work together for good well if we
are to say well temptation can work for good and it has that
effect upon us so that we don't view it as the evil that it is,
then we are very likely to fall from it. We are to view temptation
like Joseph did with his master's wife, that it was something to
flee from, something to resist. How shall I do this great sin
and sin against God? And we need to always remember
that. However much God might bring
good out of evil, we spoke this morning, Peter, he didn't hold
back when he charged those that crucified the Lord, that they
crucified him with wicked hands, taken by wicked hands, crucified
and slain. He didn't lessen it and make
out and say, well, because it was foreordained, then the evil
is not yours. No, it was an evil thing and
so we need to be very careful in that way. Also we are told
here that in verse 14 that every man is tempted when he is drawn
away of his own lust and enticed, then when lust hath conceived
it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth
forth death. And we have this chain of events
that lead from temptation to the actual sin and death itself. And there's some that say, well,
there's no sin in being tempted. It is actually entering in with
it and falling. If there was sin in temptation,
then our Lord would have sinned. But our Lord was sinless, and
yet he was tempted, and he suffered with that temptation. But one
thing that we must be very clear of is that we don't just think
well the sin is in the actual act of temptation because we
can think that we're escaping the temptation when actually
in our minds and in our thoughts we have already entered into
it. You know, Job, he says, I've
made a covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think upon
a maid? And he's obviously viewing that
it's not just the sin, as our Lord said, whoso looketh upon
a woman to lust after in her heart. It's not only just the
look, but it is actually the thought is going over it in the
mind, and so we need to be very careful in that because the sin
of our heart is sin, even as it enters up, even as it holds
on to things that are presented before us, and to never make
excuses for sin, and always realize that when Satan comes in he has
much to take hold of, and as willing servants with us, Bunyan
in his Holy War, he speaks of those that were in Mansoul all
the time, were in league, with legion, all the time would take
his part, would let him in, and we are to be mindful of that,
that we have that within us that would so soon take up with sin
and what is being tempted. So there's several aspects with
what becomes temptation. It is what we are tempted with
that is what satan will bring and present before us like he
did with adam and eve he presented before them the fruit of the
tree that was actually forbidden and it is the things that they
are the the lust of the flesh the lie to the eye. It is those things that are summed
up as what Adam and Eve had in 1 John
chapter 2 and verse 15 and 16. We read, Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. for all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh." Eve, she looked at the
fruit, the flesh lusted after this, it wanted it, and the lust
of the eyes, she could see it, and the pride of life, satan
said that thou shalt the eyes shall be open thou shalt be as
god's known good of evil is not of the father but is of the world
and the world passeth away and the lust thereof but he that
doeth the will of god abideth forever and all the time the
temptation is to go against the will of god remember that to
go against the will of God. And so with the things that are
tempted with is sin, it is lust, it is evil, it is going against
what the Word of God says. And when we think of how Satan
used the Word to tempt the Lord to take his own life, to cast
him down, for the angel shall give charge of the How careful
we need that Satan does not use one word from the Scripture to
tempt us to actually go against what the whole Scripture actually
teaches. And this specific time, I believe,
has been a real testing time in that way for the churches,
the churches wrestling whether they should and some have made
clear statements that they just hold on to the one scripture
that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together
and they'll say well we must do this And so we must open our
churches in defiance of the government. They turn away from Romans 13,
they turn away from Peter, and in all the directions as to obeying
the powers that be that are ordained of God. And Satan is very, very
crafty in this, and he will try to divide brethren and try to
separate in the Word of God and virtually take away their effectualness. I mean, to be in a situation
where we say, well, we obey the powers that be, but if we don't
agree with what they do, then we are not going to. And to be
able to divide is something Is it really against the Word of
God or is it just that we are being dealt with the same as
the rest of the country and the care has been taken? And Satan
has been very, very active in many, many ways during this time. And it is no doubt many of the
Lord's dear people have been very exercised, very tried, very
troubled. and feel very much tossed to
and fro, and Satan is taking advantage of this if he can,
and we are to actually discern Satan's hand in this. But then
there's also not only tempted with, but it's what is tempted
to, and tempted to doubt, tempted to fear, tempted to disobedience,
it's tempted to actually walk in a way that is dishonouring
unto God. And along with what is tempted
to, there's who tempted by. We said of Satan directly, but
very often it is indirect, like it was in the Garden of Eden.
tempted through men, tempted through suggestions that are
put into our minds, tempted even sometimes through even the word
that is preached and he latches onto it and twists it about and
turns it round and sometimes we can be tempted and tried by
even things that are spoken of in a good way. We think of the
case with David when, I think it was Hainan, and David sent
his men to comfort him in Bereavement, but his wise men, they said,
well, don't think that David's just come to comfort you, he's
come to search out the land. And so they went and abused the
men that had been sent, they cut off half their clothes and
half their beards and sent them back. And it was a cause then
of warfare between David and the people that he hadn't sent
to hurt them in any way at all. And we can have people even offering
to do good things for us. And we may at first receive it
well, but afterwards think, oh, they've got an ulterior motive.
And it comes in, this is what they're aiming at, this is what
they're going to do, and this is what is going to happen. And
it may be there are those like with Heynon's advisors, people
that will say to us when they hear of what's been proposed
or what's done, well, this is going to happen and that happened.
and a wife to and a husband, and be a temptation, or it be
like with David, and when David would walk in a gracious way,
humbling himself before Shimei, saying the Lord hath bid him
to curse, let him curse the Lord has bid him and maybe the Lord
will requite me good for his cursing this day that Abishai
he's saying let us go over and take off his head when they're
in the cave they're saying this is the day that the Lord has
spoken of and deliver thine enemy into thine hand kill Saul, Saul
is there asleep in the cave no David just cuts off the skirt
and then his heart smites him for doing that And yet all the
time when David would walk in a gracious way, he's getting
those trying to get him walk in a contrary way. And we're
to be really mindful of that. The Lord's dear people, where
we are called by grace, must expect, even amongst the people
of God, when the Lord has shown us what to do, and even given
grace to humble ourselves before, dispensations, or when men would
do evil against us, to bow before it, submit before it, to have
someone saying to us, don't submit, rise up, just don't take that,
answer them back, deal with them this way. And so very often you
get the situation where one of the Lord's dear people were first
fronted with something, they will act as submissive, and humble,
and they like to do it, and then a little while later, when they've
had input from other sources, suddenly they change, and you
think, why are they changed? Why are they so different? And
yet it is because they've been then tempted and drawn away,
and the flesh has taken ascendancy, they've taken advice, ungodly
advice, and they're no longer then in that greatest frame the
Lord had first brought them in. And often think with David, how
wonderful it was with him. And many, many times he had many
men provoking him to do ungracious, ungodly things. And again and
again he resisted them. And so God's people, they will
know what it is to be tempted and tried. And sometimes we reel
to and fro. We wonder where the scene will
end. It takes our physical strength,
our mental strength. It brings us down to be so discouraged. It'll make us to be tempted whether
we really are the Lord's people or not, whether we really have
been called by grace, whether we've really been put in the
position that we are in. And the devil can come out with
all sorts of suggestions and ways. Creatures of fear. says the Hymn writer, we drag
along and fear where no fear is and Satan will put in those
temptations and those fears and all the time bringing upon suggestions
of those things that really are but an ulterior underlying message. If the Lord says to his church
that, I know the thoughts I think towards you, thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give you an expected end, you have his
people suspecting that he's thinking evil. It was so with the children
of Israel in the wilderness. All the time they're saying to
Moses, when the way got hard, that thou hast brought us into
the wilderness to kill us with hunger. and to destroy us in
the wilderness. And all the time there's this
temptation that this is the case. Now dear friends, don't be surprised
if you know that path of temptation and trial and evil insinuations
and thoughts and affections and those things that are just suited
to our fallen nature and those things that really are a trial. With our Lord Jesus Christ, I
say again in the words of our text, that He suffered being
tempted, and with us, with the people of God, we will suffer
being tempted. Maybe not in an outward way,
maybe not with an illness or anything like that, but in being
tempted, it is a path of suffering. Dear friends, do you know what
that is? A path of suffering? And you say that that suffering
is by being tempted to do things I don't want to do, to rise up
against my Lord, to do ungracious things, to kick, to rebel, to
reply, to not submit. Well, in the third place, I want
to look at how God suckers them that are tempted. How does he send that assistance
and support? We have the promise that, and
again it is in James, that the Lord will in chapter 4, sorry,
in verse 7. Submit yourselves therefore to
God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you. A direction that the devil will
flee if resisted. And then we have also in Corinthians
that there hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common
to man. But God is faithful, and who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that year able, but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape. that he be able
to bear it. The Lord would have his people
resist, he'd have them know that he is dealing with them in a
way or allowing those things to happen that is common to man,
we sometimes think that we're the only one that has ever walked
this path and none have known it the way that we have and we
have no might nor power against the enemy might feel like Jehoshaphat
we have no might nor power but our eyes are upon thee and that's
the difference when our eyes are upon the Lord and so with
our text our eyes are upon him that is able to send help able
to succor, able to deliver his people. So how does the Lord
actually do it? One way is by the Word of God.
With our Lord's temptations, each time He answered with the
Word of God. And He answered then that when
Satan used the Word, he used it by comparing Scripture with
Scripture. And we're to remember that this
is a principle way that the Lord will succour His people. How
do we get the Word? You think of the many ways. Sometimes
it is by our private reading. Sometimes it is when it is preached. It may be this afternoon. The
word is a suitable word, a timely word. The Lord has used it to
break a particular temptation. and to release from a snare. Sometimes it is by the brethren
bringing a word. Maybe you get a phone call and
a brother will speak the Word of God. Might be in a card, might
be on a calendar, that you read a calendar, but the Lord has
many ways to bring the Word. Sometimes it's by the Holy Spirit
that brings to our remembrance the Word of God. I remember a
time years ago when I was working for Australia and over here and
filling out my time sheet and realising I hadn't done as much
work for that month, the money was going to be less and the
temptation came in just like a shot of lightning And it was
just a sudden there, well just fill it out with your normal
hours and just make up the time next month, no one will know
any difference. It just came in so quick, it
wasn't, I didn't have to consciously plan it or think it out, it just
came in like a dart. And immediately on the back of
that, the Lord was pleased to bring a scripture so powerfully
to mind, a poor man, is better than a liar. And that broke the
snare before it even had time to take hold. It'd be better
to be poor and without that money than to be a liar and make out
that I'd actually worked the time when I hadn't. And what
presumption it would have been. Who knew that I was going to
be alive for that next month to make up that time and to presume
that I would be able to. And so the Lord uses His word
the same as when He was suffered being tempted. Another way is
that it is by walking in fellowship with Him. In the words of our
text, it is that the Lord is fitted and qualified to succour
because of His own temptations. And we said before, it's hard
for us to enter into what the Lord suffered and really we only
really enter into it by when we enter into sufferings and
then realize well this is what our Lord endured. We might hear
of someone that's had a specific illness and we sympathize with
them but we can't emphasize with them and yet then when we get
the same illness we think Oh, is this what they've endured?
This is what they felt? I never realized the depth of
it, but now I do because I'm walking the same path. So the
Lord suckers His people when He brings them to have and fellowship
with Him, walk with Him in that temptation. Another way is by
grace. When the Apostle had the thorn
in the flesh, which was a messenger of Satan, to buffet him, then
the Lord gave him grace. My grace is sufficient for thee,
my strength is made perfect in weakness. So in the sense of
temptation, the grace of the Lord, he giveth more grace, and
grace for grace." Another way is by giving that strength to
resist. We read that in James 4, 7, resist
the devil and he'll flee from you. It is the Lord that gives
that strength and that help. And some of us, I think, can
look back to times the Lord has given specific strength and help
to resist temptations that have been put in our path and we've
been able to be very strong in resisting from them. Another
is by inwardly removing the inclination. We might have the temptation
without, but inwardly the Lord takes away the inclination. Another
way, Uesaka, is though we might have the inward temptation and
inclination by removing the opportunity in Providence, by kindly taking
the thing out of the way, bringing someone in to interrupt, as it
were, or to take us from, it might be on a path of just walking
in the way of temptation, and the telephone rings or something
else happens, perhaps walking in a way and suddenly we get
a pain or feel giddy and in the things that the Lord suddenly
brings it then breaks the snare and the temptation, we can't
proceed and go along with it. And so also, the Lord uses prayer. We have in Hebrews 4 and verse
15 and 16, the picture of our Lord as a high priest that cannot
be touched with the... He's not a high priest which
cannot be touched. He's one that is touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. It was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. It's hard for us to really realise
it, but we are told that that was the case, and the then following
direction is, let us therefore, because this is the case, come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need. A great blessing of the
Spirit prompting us to prayer, to cry unto the Lord. We think
of the lines of the hymn writer, Satan trembles when he sees the
weakest saint upon his knees. Temptation times should be praying
times, crying times, begging times, times of fellowship with
the Lord, times to come before Him, times to not despair, nor
to fear, nor to give up, but to realize that we are actually
walking in the footsteps of the flock, and in the footsteps of
our Lord, and in a position where He is qualified to actually be
a Sakra. What use would there be of to
be a Sakra of the tempted and there never be any of his dear
people that are tempted. So this is an encouraging a hell
of a word. I hope it may be a help to some
of you. I trust it will be a help to
me as well in these paths of temptation. For in that he himself
has suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that
are tempted. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.