All Things For Good: Chap 2 Pt. 3

0 views

October 7, 2021

The Puritan Thomas Watson's book, All Things For Good, walks through Romans 8:28 showing us how all of God's attributes work for our good. This does not mean that difficulties, trials, and affliction will be avoided, but however will work for our benefit. Join us as we go through the second chapter on God's affliction.

All Things For Good: Chap. 2 Pt. 4

00:15: So, this evening, we are still in chapter two. Chapter two is a long chapter, there's a lot to cover.
00:22: But the last two weeks together, we covered the first part, talking about there's four evils that God works for good.
00:31: Chapter two is titled, The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly. And so the first evil thing that we talked about was affliction, and we spent the last two weeks discussing that.
00:43: And now this week, we'll be discussing the evil of temptation, and how it's overruled for good to the godly.
00:51: As we go through it, I'm going to read the paragraph right out of Watson's book, and then
00:59: I'll have a couple comments here and there. If you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to raise your hand or just call out, and I want to make sure that we address all those.
01:11: So, number two, the evil of temptation is overruled for good to the godly.
01:17: The evil of temptation works for good. Satan is called the tempter, Mark 4, 15.
01:23: He is ever lying in ambush. He is continually at work with one saint or another. The devil has his circuit that he walks every day.
01:30: He is not yet fully cast into prison, but like a prisoner that goes under bail, he walks about to tempt the saints.
01:37: This is a great molestation to a child of God. So before we jump into, he's going to talk about three things to consider about the temptations of Satan.
01:52: But the evil of temptation working for good seems, again, like something that would be counterintuitive, especially temptation.
01:59: How possibly could temptation work for our good? And yet, we'll see. He says
02:05: Satan is called the tempter, and that's in Matthew 4, 3. I really don't know who put this
02:12: PDF together, but they got a lot of the verses wrong. But it'll keep you guessing, because I'm sure you're looking up every scriptural reference and go, hey, wait a minute, that's not there.
02:21: I'll go and find out where it says that. But if you have the Kindle version, the scriptural references are correct.
02:28: So he is a tempter. He's always waiting to ambush. He's always at work with one saint to another. Now, we know,
02:34: I hope, that Satan is not omnipresent. He is not everywhere at all times. He cannot attack every
02:40: Christian at the same time. In fact, most of us are probably, I'm sorry, but small potatoes for him.
02:47: He's probably working on larger scale, larger profile people, perhaps saints, perhaps just working behind evil in this world.
02:57: But we should be aware there is a continual, constant raging of spiritual warfare going on.
03:07: And we are giving ample reminders of that in scripture, ample reminders to be at war, to take up our armor of God, and to be fighting.
03:21: Because even though Satan himself might not be whispering in your ear, it could be a fallen angel, a demon that is seeking to exert influence and cause you to be tempted.
03:36: Remember that we struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. So we know he goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
03:47: As we said before, he mentions that he's not yet fully cast into prison.
03:53: You know, when we think of Revelation 20, most of us would understand that Satan is bound, but that is one particular way.
04:01: He is bound for the specific purpose of not deceiving the nations anymore. And we see evidence of that.
04:06: While he still does deceive, while he still does blind the eyes of those who are under the wrath of God, yet the gospel went from being in this one little postage stamp of piece of real estate in the
04:20: Middle East, in Israel, to where the temple was, to where the people of God were, to now across the globe, the church is reigning, right?
04:30: The church is all over the place. And so Satan has been bound so that the gospel has been able to go out and be effective.
04:38: So we know that it's not that he has no power at all, it's just that he is limited more than he was previously.
04:45: And so his aim is to bring down the saints, and temptation is a powerful and diverse tool in his arsenal. And as Watson says, it is a great molestation to the children of God.
04:54: So we have three things to consider about temptations, but does anyone have any questions or comments yet?
05:02: No? Excellent. You guys are just right there. Okay, so the three things.
05:10: One, we're going to consider his method of tempting. Two, the extent of his power.
05:15: And three, how these temptations are overruled for good. Number one,
05:23: Satan's method in tempting. Here take notice of two things, his violence in tempting, and so he is the red dragon.
05:30: He labors to storm the castle of the heart. He throws in thoughts of blasphemy. He tempts to deny
05:36: God. These are the fiery darts which he shoots, by which he would inflame the passions.
05:42: Also notice his subtlety in tempting, and so he is the old serpent. There are five chief subtleties that the devil uses.
05:51: He's very methodical, Watson. And so I thought that was a,
05:57: I love the way he phrases things and explains things. He's the dragon, he's violent.
06:03: He sometimes really tries to throw everything at us to get us to be tempted, to have blasphemous thoughts, to deny
06:13: God. The fiery darts that are warned about in Ephesians 6 that would inflame the passions.
06:18: If you ever see some of those old war movies in terms where they're having these epic battles, and they have the archers who will light their arrow aflame and then throw it.
06:29: And they'll launch it and set people and places on fire when that thing hits.
06:34: And that's our passions. And that's a very vivid image, but it's well said.
06:41: And then the subtlety of it, he is that old serpent, just sneaking, twisting, a little here, a little there, as God really said.
06:50: So let's consider how he tempts in his subtleties. Any questions about that before we get our first one?
06:59: Okay, just throw up your hand. So number one, he observes the temperament and constitution.
07:06: He lays suitable baits of temptation. Like the farmer, he knows what grain is best for the soil.
07:12: Satan will not tempt contrary to the natural disposition and temperament. This is his policy.
07:18: He makes the wind and tide go together, the way the natural tide of the heart runs, the way the wind of temptation blows.
07:24: Though the devil cannot know men's thoughts, yet he knows their temperament. And accordingly, he lays his baits.
07:31: He tempts the ambitious man with a crown, the lustful man with beauty. Any questions about that?
07:40: No? I kind of have a question. Sure. So I don't know if this is able to be answered, but how is it that Satan's able to,
07:50: I guess, like it says he throws in thoughts of blasphemy, right?
07:56: How is he capable of doing that? How does that, do we know how that works in any way? Well, in the one sense, we have, you know,
08:05: God can work from within, but we can have leadings of the
08:10: Spirit, right? The Holy Spirit giving us conviction, giving us leading in one way or another.
08:17: We wouldn't say, you know, there's nothing verbal, you know. We would not say, oh,
08:23: I had a word from the Lord. It's not new revelation, but I'll let pastor, yeah.
08:31: Yeah, the devil uses external means. He may use a friend to come, you know, that he can't control because you are controlled by the
08:42: Holy Spirit. He can't dispossess the Holy Spirit from within you. And as Watson said, he can't read your thoughts, but he can read your actions.
08:52: He knows what you're thinking based upon what you're doing, right? And who you listen to.
08:58: This is why it's so important that you have godly Christian counselors that you're going to go to when you're looking for advice.
09:06: Otherwise, they can lead you astray. So the devil is almost totally designed to working through exterior means.
09:15: How do you do that in this art society? How much television do you watch and what do you watch?
09:21: What are you watching in the movies? What literature are you reading? All right, what magazines are you looking at?
09:30: That's how the devil or one of his minions will ascertain where he's going to lead you.
09:38: So it'd be just those external things, like causing the flesh within us to move,
09:45: I guess. Yeah, and once the flesh is ignited, what does James say? You know, each man don't want to be tempted, right?
09:52: He's led away by his own lust. And then Satan throws all the temptation in front of you to inflame that.
10:00: Pastor Anthony. In Romans 1, we all know, you know, ever since the creation of the world,
10:05: God's invisible attributes and by nature, we've seen through what has been made, so that man is without excuse. Man suppresses the truth in unrighteousness, right?
10:14: And then God gives him over to the desires of his heart to worship and serve the creation rather than the creator.
10:21: So what is taken away is truth. What is left is worship.
10:27: Man, in the absence of God, is going to worship something else, because we were created to worship.
10:33: So when we suppress the truth, it's easy for the devil. All he's got to do is present anything to you that's going to entice you, and you are going to worship it, because you were created to worship.
10:44: So it's the suppression of the truth. Worship is the only thing that remains. You're going to worship something, whether you're a Christian or not.
10:50: The devil just puts those things in front of you in order to tempt you to worship something else, whatever that may be.
10:57: Yes. I'm tempted to ask a question, too. I don't know if it'll stir up more trouble than it's worth.
11:08: All right, you can just edit this part out. Of course, it'll be on the tape for shame.
11:16: Would you say, you know, we hear, you know, we see those old cartoons about the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, and they're both kind of speaking.
11:25: Obviously, we don't see. If you do see those things, you should come and talk to someone. We want to get you some help.
11:31: But if, and I'll put it to the pastors first, to their consideration, and then perhaps others.
11:42: Do you think it's possible for, on some level, to be influenced by a spirit trying to whisper, as it were, and not whisper as, you know, you're hearing it verbally.
11:56: But for some reason, you just feel like an inclination to go that way, where you wouldn't normally think you would have an inclination one way or the other.
12:03: It's not a friend. It's not a remembrance of a song. Or any thoughts on that?
12:12: Yeah, I hold a minority view on this. So I want to let everybody believe that in the life of a believer, let's say, has any inroads into your thought life, your spirit, because that is, you are sealed by the
12:29: Holy Spirit. And so it would all be external, which can raise up and tempt your inner self.
12:42: And that's what you're really, that's how it really gets to you. Now, a non -believer can actually be possessed by an evil spirit, but not so the believer.
12:55: I wholeheartedly agree there, yes. Yeah, greater is he who is in you than he is in the world. And yet we know that,
13:01: God bless you, if you are not a believer, and we've seen it throughout the Gospels, there is much, many accounts of demon possession.
13:10: And I think it still happens today. I don't know if it's in lesser degree, or we just, we psychoanalyze it.
13:16: Say it's something else. The answer is always the Gospel. The answer is always Christ.
13:22: But it is a interesting question, but I won't start much more trouble there. Just want to throw that out there.
13:29: So he's subtle. And as Pastor mentioned, you know, he doesn't know your thoughts.
13:38: He's not omniscient. But he's got a lot of time on his hands. And he's been around a long time, as you know, all the rest of the fallen angels.
13:48: And they are great observers of mankind. And they get to see based on their actions.
13:54: And I've told people this myself, like, you get to a certain age, and I can sometimes say, hey, watch out for so and so, you know, like, how'd you know?
14:02: Like, I see enough people that look just like him, or just like her, to see that kind of pattern and behavior.
14:08: And so you sometimes get a feel for how a person is, how much more so, you know, in the spiritual realm.
14:14: And they're watching us all the time. And so they know how we act. And they know how people like us act.
14:20: And it's a lot easier for them to throw a temptation our way that'll be effective. So he is subtle that way.
14:28: And he goes, he knows, like you said, that the farmer knowing his, what seed is best for the soil that he has, exactly.
14:38: Um, number two, he observes the fittest time to tempt. As a cunning angler casts in his angle when the fish will bite best.
14:45: Satan's time of tempting is usually after an ordinance. And the reason is he thinks he shall find us most secure.
14:52: When we have been that solemn duties, we are apt to think all is done. And we grow amiss and leave off that zeal and strictness as before.
14:59: Just as a soldier who after a battle leaves off his armor, not one screaming of an enemy. Satan watches his time.
15:06: And when we leave suspect, then he throws in a temptation. That's interesting because most people, well, that's why you would be off your guard, right?
15:15: It says he's like a fisherman who knows the best time to fish, right? Because he goes when the fish are biting.
15:23: He's a, well, yeah. So usually after an ordinance, we engage in worship. We engage in service.
15:30: We have served. We think we have fulfilled our duties before the Lord. And so in a way, we are like a soldier taking off his armor.
15:37: Ah, you know, it's quitting time, right? We clock out and we can relax. We have served.
15:43: And, you know, what strongest spiritual state could we be in? And then yet that's when we're most vulnerable because we have served.
15:52: We do think perhaps a little bit more of ourselves because we've been with God. And so we walk out. And that's when the temptation is very likely to strike.
16:03: Any question before I move on to the third one? Right. Good example.
16:12: Elijah has that huge victory on the mountaintop and destroys all these prophets who are so false.
16:18: Gets the people to admit the Lord. He is God. And then he goes running and he's hiding and falls to the temptation of thinking that all is lost.
16:30: Number three, he makes use of mere relations. The devil tempts by a proxy. And this was something
16:37: Pastor mentioned already. Thus he handed over temptation to Job by his wife. Are you still trying to maintain your integrity?
16:43: Curse God and die. Job 2 .9. A wife in the bosom may be the devil's instrument to tempt to sin.
16:51: You know, Job's wife, who I've talked about this before, I try to remind people, who is probably under normal circumstances, a very godly woman.
17:00: You know, keep in mind, having those children, all that stuff. And Job was this godly man.
17:06: But under duress, she forgot herself. So Job says, you speak like one of the foolish women.
17:12: Not you foolish woman or whatever. He's like, you're talking like them. You know better.
17:18: But it is possible that one as close as our spouse, never mind other family members and friends, can be used as temptation to sin.
17:29: Because how often do we just want to go along and have peace? And this happens a lot for us, right?
17:35: We want to have peace in the family. So we just kind of go along with what they want. But there could be times where this is causing us temptation to sin.
17:43: Poor Job's wife being mentioned over Delilah. How did she escape notice of the temptation? Yes. So we'll continue.
17:51: Number four. Satan tempts to evil by those who are good. Thus he gives poison in a golden cup.
17:57: He tempted Christ by Peter. Peter dissuades him from suffering. Master, pity yourself.
18:02: Who would have thought to found the tempter in the mouth of an apostle? And what does Jesus say?
18:08: Get thee behind me, Satan. And Peter was used to tempt Christ unwittingly, but all the same.
18:14: And so pastor gave the wise admonition to surround yourself with godly people.
18:21: But we still have the responsibility in ourselves to know God's word, to know what he expects. And even if one of our friends should fail us and give us poor counsel in a moment of weakness, for whatever reason, we need to know
18:35: God's word. Someone's bad advice to us does not excuse us from sin. And so we need to be diligent.
18:41: Any questions or comments about that? Okay. Number five.
18:49: Satan tempts to sin under a pretense of religion. He is most to be feared when he transforms himself into an angel of light.
18:58: He came to Christ with scripture in his mouth. It is written. The devil baits his hook with religion.
19:04: He tempts many a man to covetousness and extortion under a pretense of providing for his family. He tempts some to do away with themselves, that they may no longer live to sin against God.
19:15: And so he draws them into sin under a pretense of avoiding sin. These are his subtle strategems in tempting.
19:23: And how scary is that? Most to be feared when he transformed into an angel of light and taking scripture to Christ.
19:30: But of course, twisting it, perverting it, the creeper, perverter and denier. And yet under the guise of being godly, of being holy, of being religious.
19:41: And so he baits the hook with religion. He tempts man to covet what other people have and think, that's what
19:47: I need to have in order to provide for my family. And yet, what do the scriptures say?
19:53: Tempting others to suicide. And we've heard that. And I've seen that argument be put out there on Facebook and stuff like that.
20:02: You know, I don't want to sin against God anymore. You're going to continue to sin, you know. And so we have to bring the truth to these situations.
20:10: But this is how Satan tries to tempt us. That he'll draw us into sin trying to avoid sin.
20:17: It's a subtle but deadly way of going about things. Any questions on that before we go to the extent of his power?
20:28: Any questions? Comments? Erica. So the wording of that last slide where it says that Satan, that he is supposed to be feared when he transforms into an angel of light.
20:42: So are they shapeshifters? Are they shapeshifters? So does he appear differently now?
20:54: Does he appear differently now? That's a good question. I mean, we're told in the New Testament that even
21:01: Satan appears as an angel of light. We're told to be careful about practicing hospitality because somehow entertain angels unaware.
21:11: So is that still a possibility? It would make it sound like it's a possibility. That's your hand?
21:18: No, I was just scratching my head. You go ahead. I'm not touching that.
21:27: I don't know them to be shapeshifters. I mean, well, you know what it is funny though?
21:32: Because I think of, I shouldn't say that. Maybe I do to a degree. I, you know, I'm thinking about UFOs and stuff like that.
21:39: I'm thinking about aliens. I'm thinking about what people have claimed to see and experience. And I don't believe that there's actual, you know, extraterrestrial beings from another planet who are visiting us.
21:51: I think that this is probably demonic in some way. And actually there are podcasts and stuff that go into that realm.
22:00: And you see a lot of things that go together with UFOs and the occult and the things that they see.
22:08: So is it possible that they, I don't know, maybe be careful. Again, we're believers.
22:15: We don't have to, we shouldn't be afraid, but we should be aware because there is a spiritual warfare.
22:21: Pastor's going to bail me out. Go ahead. I don't think that the shape or whatever, what they look like, how they transform themselves is what's main concern is.
22:30: Thank you. What's the message that he's coming with? Right. Transformed into an angel of light. In other words, he's coming with what sounds like the truth, but there's an error involved with it, which will lead you astray from the truth.
22:42: What you got to do is look at any of the televangelists on the TVs these days. And they come and if at first glance, when you listen to them, they're using all the
22:52: Christian terms, you know, but then when you listen to the message, what does it boil down to?
22:59: Oh, this is your best life now. You deserve, you know, you live like a king's kid. All of this now, this is not a pie in the sky religion.
23:08: You hear all of this type of stuff. That's the subtlety of Satan, not what he looks like. That's much, much better answer.
23:16: So yes, the substance of what he's bringing. So thank you for that.
23:22: The extent of his power is the second thing to be considered. How far Satan's power in tempting reaches?
23:28: One, he can propose the object as he sets a wedge of gold before Achan. And we talked about that before, right?
23:34: The Valley of Achor. That's where Achan was stoned to death, him and all that belonged to him, because he stole what was what belonged to God.
23:45: It was under the ban. Everything in Jericho was to be destroyed. Nothing was to be taken. No profit was supposed to be had from it.
23:52: And he took gold and some other items and hid them, right? So he can somehow bring the object that he knows is going to cause a temptation before us.
24:06: And so try to use his power in that way to exert influence. Number two, he can poison the imagination and instill evil thoughts into the mind.
24:17: As the Holy Spirit casts in good suggestions, so the devil casts in bad ones. He put into Judas's heart to betray
24:25: Christ. And that was John 13 too. And so this is what
24:32: I was thinking of before when we asked the question. About putting things into our mind.
24:39: We can have no doubt that he does so, but it would be a case of how he goes about it.
24:48: Judas probably overheard the Pharisees, you know. I mean, first of all, Judas was not born again.
24:53: And so Satan was able to enter him where he would not have been able to enter another believer. And so, but he had originally put that thought into his mind, knowing his temperament, knowing that he was stealing.
25:04: Because Judas was talking about this gift that was given. And he, what about the poor people?
25:09: And he goes, he didn't care about the poor people. He was stealing from the purse as he was in charge of the funds. And so the demons are aware that he's stealing.
25:18: The demons are aware of what his heart motivation can be, even if they don't know every thought. And so he probably was aware that there was a price on his head if it could be found.
25:28: And so instill evil thoughts. Number three,
25:35: Satan can excite and irritate the corruption within and work some kind of inclinableness in the heart to embrace a temptation.
25:43: Though it is true Satan cannot force the will to yield consent, yet he being a cunning suitor by his continual solicitation may provoke to evil.
25:52: Thus he provoked David to number the people, 1 Chronicles 21 .1. The devil may, by his subtle arguments, dispute us into sin.
26:03: Again, flip Wilson. The devil made me do it. That doesn't work, right? Satan can't make you do anything.
26:12: But he is a very masterful salesman. And he will try to come at you again and again and again and wear you down.
26:23: And so by that continual solicitation, it's interesting. I had a job for a short time that I did not enjoy at all as a telemarketer.
26:30: And we had a guy who was just like a legend in his own time. And it was for lawn care and not even landscaping.
26:41: It was like chemical treatments to make your lawn grow and kill the weeds. I just couldn't get into the idea of even selling it.
26:50: But there it was. It was a job. And so I was trying to do this. But this guy would continually call people over and over again until he got the sale.
26:58: He knew that for every no, every certain amount of no's, there'll be a yes that's coming.
27:04: And he would just keep driving. My boss would say, he would get stopped at the store and say, would you tell Steve to stop calling me?
27:12: Tell him to stop calling about the thing. Because he was just, was that?
27:20: Persistent. He was incredibly persistent. And he got his sales. And so the Satan, the accuser, he also is very persistent until we give in.
27:32: And so there's that. And that's the last one.
27:40: That's the last one as far as the extent of his power. He can propose the object.
27:48: He can poison the fancy and instill evil thoughts. He can excite and irritate the corruption within knowing that we're corrupt.
27:53: Knowing that, well, you know, we're bent towards sin. And so he can try to work on us continually until we give in.
28:01: Any more questions or comments about that before we move on to the third thing to be considered? No? All right.
28:08: So number three. The third thing to consider is that these temptations are overruled for good to the children of God.
28:14: A tree that is shaken by the wind is more settled and rooted. Just so the blowing of a temptation does but settle a
28:21: Christian the more in grace. Temptations are overruled for good in eight ways. And so a tree that grows and is used to the storms of life just gets more firmly planted and more rooted in.
28:35: And so we can look at these temptations and find he gives us eight examples for the way that they're overruled for good.
28:43: And so the first one is temptation sends the soul to prayer. The more furiously Satan tempts, the more fervently the saint prays.
28:51: The deer being shot with the dart runs faster to the water. When Satan shoots his fiery darts at the soul, it then runs faster to the throne of grace.
29:00: When Paul had the messenger of Satan to buffet him, he said, for this I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me.
29:06: Second Corinthians 12, 8. Temptation is a medicine for carnal security. That which makes us pray more works for good.
29:15: And so he says that by having these temptations, we as saints would be praying more, trying to resist the devil.
29:27: We would be looking to the Lord to give us grace. And so anything that causes us to pray more is working to our benefit.
29:34: It's a medicine for carnal security, trusting in ourselves, thinking that we're okay.
29:43: Number two. Temptation to sin is a means to keep from the perpetration of sin.
29:51: The more a child of God is tempted, the more he fights against the temptation. The more Satan tempts to blasphemy, the more a saint trembles at such thoughts and says, get you hence,
30:00: Satan. When Joseph's mistress tempted him to folly, the stronger her temptation was, the stronger was his opposition.
30:07: That temptation, which the devil uses as a spur to sin, God makes a bridle to keep back a
30:12: Christian from it. And so that's another interesting thing. The idea that the more that we are tempted, the more severe the temptation, the more that we resist it.
30:23: The more we recognize the weakness of it, we want nothing to do with it. And so we see an example of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, that he would resist.
30:31: And when she just grabbed him, he'd rather run out naked than fall into sin with her.
30:37: And so our call is to flee when temptation comes. Yes, sir.
30:44: What is that word, perpetration? To actually act on it. We call it a perpetrator, someone who has done the evil deed, right?
30:56: Number three, temptation works for good as it abates the swelling of pride. Lest I should be exalted above measure, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me.
31:06: The thorn in the flesh was to puncture the puffing up of pride. Better is that temptation which humbles me than that duty which makes me proud.
31:14: Rather than a Christian shall be haughty minded, God will let him fall into the devil's hands a while to be cured of his swelling pride.
31:24: And again, we have Paul with the consideration of that thorn in the flesh, a temptation, he calls it, or that might lead to a temptation in response to it.
31:35: But the temptation has the ability to be good for us. It humbles us where our accomplishments, we see our growth, we see our fruit, and we might start to get full of ourselves and think, oh, look at me.
31:46: Look how good I am. And then when the temptation comes, it reminds us, this is still a temptation.
31:52: I'm still in the flesh. I'm still struggling. I'm not perfected in Christ. And so we should be humbled.
31:58: And that is for our good. We are not useful to the Lord, proud and arrogant.
32:06: Okay, any questions or comments about that? We need to remember that the good that we have is from the
32:13: Lord and not, and our hope for not sinning is found in him and not ourselves. Number four, temptation works for good as it is a touchstone to try what is in the heart.
32:24: The devil tempts that he may deceive, but God allows us to be tempted to try us. Temptation is a trial for our sincerity.
32:31: It argues that our heart is chaste and loyal to Christ. When we can look temptation in the face and turn our back upon it.
32:39: Also, it is a trial of our courage. Ephraim is a silly dove without heart. So it may be said of many that they are without a heart.
32:46: They have no heart to resist temptation. No sooner does Satan come with his bait, but they yield like a coward who, as soon as the thief approaches, gives him his purse.
32:59: But he is the valorous Christian who brandishes a sword, the spirit against Satan and will rather die than yield.
33:06: The courage of the Romans was never seen more than when they were assaulted by the Carthaginians.
33:12: The valor and courage of a saint is never more seen than on a battlefield when he is fighting the red dragon and by the power of faith puts the devil to flight.
33:21: That grace is tried gold, which can stand in the fiery trial and withstand Satan's fiery darts.
33:28: A touchstone, that standard by which something is judged. Well, Thomas Watson says that the devil's motive is to deceive, but God wants us to, he's allowing the temptation to try us, to examine our sincerity.
33:45: This is for our benefit to encourage or to convict, perhaps to prove us to others as well.
33:51: Our heart is chastened and loyal to Christ when we look temptation in the face and turn our back. He mentions the trial of courage and he mentions
33:58: Hosea 7. It's a 7, verse 11 and not whatever I was on there.
34:05: Ephraim is a silly dove without heart. That's the King James Version, ESV NASB states without sense.
34:12: And the rest of the verse is talking about they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. Both translations can capture the essence.
34:18: They're unwise to look to either. And his point about there's many without heart, no heart to resist temptation.
34:25: As soon as Satan comes with the bait, they yield like a coward. But if we are going to be courageous
34:32: Christians, we would be brandishing the sword of the Spirit. We would rather die than yield to understand that yield, yielding to temptation is to dishonor the
34:40: Lord and Savior. And so our courage is demonstrated on the battlefield and of that temptation.
34:48: Remember Pastor Jensen talking a while back about being on the police force and saying, there's a lot of guys who would talk big, but when the bullets started flying, then you knew who was real and who wasn't, right?
34:58: So that's when we find where our real courage is, where our real loyalty is. When we're faced with temptation, are we fighting it?
35:04: Are we putting the devil to flight? Or are we just giving in like that coward who sees a thief coming and says, here, have it.
35:11: Are we just giving in to the temptation that quickly? So the Saint manifests his valor and courage on the battlefield, fighting the dragon and by faith, putting him to flight.
35:21: Any questions or comments? Okay, number five.
35:27: Temptations work for good, as God makes those who are tempted fit to comfort others in the same distress.
35:34: A Christian must himself be put under the buffetings of Satan before he can speak a word in due season to him that is weary.
35:40: Paul was versed in temptations. We are not ignorant of his devices. Thus he was able to acquaint others with Satan's cursed wiles.
35:50: A man that has ridden over a place where there are bogs and quicksands is the fittest to guide others through that dangerous way.
35:56: He who has felt the claws of the roaring lion and has lain bleeding under those wounds is the fittest man to deal with one who is tempted.
36:06: None can better discover Satan's cell devices than one who has been long in the fencing school of temptation.
36:14: Watson. A Christian must know the battle if he's able to encourage others in it.
36:20: And so that's one of the good, the way that temptation can be overruled for good is that though we have struggled with it and it's been difficult, we are able to encourage others to help see them through it, to know the territory.
36:34: Since Paul is very familiar with the devil's schemes, right? But the, and the last point, the one who's best able to lead and guide others, someone who knows the territory.
36:45: If you're going to a strange land, if you're going to a dangerous land, you want a guide. You want someone who knows the terrain, will be able to guide you through it.
36:53: And so as fellow believers, if we've been through temptation, we can encourage others likewise.
37:00: No questions, comments? Moving along. Number six, temptations work for good as they stir up fatherly compassion in God to those who are tempted.
37:09: The child who is sick and bruised is most looked after. When a saint lies under the bruising of temptations,
37:15: Christ prays and God the father pities. When Satan puts the soul into a fever, God comes with cordial, which made
37:21: Luther say, the temptations are Christ embraces because he then most sweetly manifests himself to the soul.
37:31: And this is a, you know, we think of God as the father as he is, and he is the perfect father.
37:38: And so we know in parenting, and you see, you know, the child who's sick, the child who's struggling, that's the one who's getting the attention.
37:47: That's the one that's getting the eye of the parent. And to see this as an embrace, because then he sweetly manifests himself to the soul.
37:58: God is a perfect father in terms of parenting. When a child is facing a difficulty, a challenge, a goal, who's the one who's rooting for them?
38:04: Who is the one who is concerned for them? And who's the one who's quick to embrace them? And so it brings up the reminder of God's love and the manifestation of it.
38:13: And so even that is another way that temptation can be used for good.
38:21: Number seven, temptation works for good as they make saints long more for heaven. There they shall be out of gunshot.
38:29: Heaven is a place of rest. No bullets of temptation fly there. The eagle which soars aloft in the air and sits upon high trees is not troubled with the stinging of the serpent.
38:38: Just so when believers are ascended into heaven, they shall not be molested by the old serpent, the devil. In this life, when one temptation is over, another comes.
38:46: This makes God's people wish for death to call them off the battlefield where the bullets fly so quick and to receive a victorious crown where neither drum nor cannon but the harp and violin shall be eternally sounding.
38:59: And so, knowing the battle day in and day out. What's that?
39:08: I just said, take me home. Marantha, right? Come Lord Jesus.
39:14: Right. Knowing the battle, and it is a battle. Like we said, this is spiritual warfare and we don't attain perfection this side of glory.
39:23: And so that does make us long for peace. Long for departing for it is far more better to be with Christ.
39:31: And that which causes us to long to be with Christ is a good thing. And so that's number seven.
39:39: Number eight. Almost there. Temptations work for good as they engage the strength of Christ.
39:46: Christ is our friend and when we are tempted, he sets all his power working for us. Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.
39:56: If a poor soul was to fight alone, a fight alone with the Goliath of hell, he would be sure to be vanquished.
40:02: But Jesus Christ brings in his auxiliary forces. He gives fresh supplies of grace. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
40:10: Thus the evil of temptation is overruled for good. And so always when we have temptation, we should be remembering
40:17: Christ. He is the one who provides for us. He is the one who gives us the grace.
40:23: He is the one who saved us from the sin in the first place and has given us the ability to say no. The believer never has to give in to temptation.
40:31: We always have the grace of Christ ready and willing to help us. And so we should be encouraged that the fact that though the temptation comes, grace is there all the more.
40:42: So that is another way that it is overruled for good. Any questions or comments about that?
40:49: Alex. This whole section makes me think of the book, The Screwtape Letters. I would definitely recommend it to anybody who hasn't read it.
40:58: C .S. Lewis wrote it, pretty interesting. It's an interesting perspective into temptation that we deal with.
41:08: Right, yeah, excellent. Okay, so we have two more things to cover. There's a question and an objection.
41:16: Question. But sometimes Satan foils a child of God. How does this work for good?
41:22: Answer. I grant that though the suspension, through the suspension of divine grace and the fury of a temptation, a saint may be overcome.
41:30: Yet this foiling by a temptation shall be overruled for good. By this foil, God makes a way for the augmentation of grace.
41:37: Peter was tempted to self -confidence. He presumed upon his own strength and Christ let him fall.
41:43: But this wrought for his good. It cost him many a tear. He went out and wept bitterly. And now he grows less self -reliant.
41:51: He dared not say he loved Christ more than the other apostles. Do you love me more than these?
41:57: He dared not say so. He felt his fall into sin broke the neck of his pride, right?
42:03: Well, he could say, yes, Lord, you know I love you, right? But not saying that more than these.
42:10: The foiling by a temptation causes more circumspection and watchfulness in a child of God. Though Satan did before decoy him into sin, decoy him into sin, yet for the future, he will be the more cautious.
42:23: He will have a care of coming within the lion's chain anymore. He is more vigilant and fearful of the occasions of sin.
42:30: He never goes out without his spiritual armor and he girds on his armor by prayer. He knows he walks on slippery ground, therefore he looks wisely to his steps.
42:38: He keeps close sentinel in his soul and when he spies the devil coming, he grasps his spiritual weapons and displays the shield of faith.
42:46: This is all the hurt the devil does when he foils a saint by temptation. He cures him of his careless neglect.
42:53: He makes him watch and pray more. When wild beasts get over the hedge and damage the grain, a man will make his fence the stronger.
43:01: Just so when the devil gets over the hedge by a temptation, a Christian will be sure to mend his fence.
43:07: He will become more fearful of sin and careful of duty, thus the being worsted by temptation works for good.
43:15: And what an encouragement that is because we know what happens when we do fall as we do.
43:24: But he uses it to increase grace and he uses the example of Peter. And Peter, you know, a hero on some days, a goat on the other days, but falling the way he did, did remove his pride, did make him much more effective for service for Christ.
43:46: He would go on to be an encouragement. He would continue to lead the apostles and be one of the chief spokesmen.
43:54: But he would later write letters to believers encouraging them in their struggle and not just saying, come on guys, if I can do this, no, he recognizes, he recognizes he's got a different heart attitude and it makes him much more effective in serving and encouraging the body.
44:12: And the term foil that he uses here, I always think of that like, you know, you foil a bank robber or something like that.
44:19: And it's an older term, obviously, if Thomas Watson is using it, but it's good. I'm like, well, let me look up the definition for that just to see exactly what it says.
44:27: It means to prevent from succeeding or frustrating the efforts or plans of. And when you think about that, to be foiled by a temptation means we are looking, we're looking to succeed in holiness.
44:38: We're making efforts to grow in our sanctification. I think when we think of temptations nowadays, we focus on the temptation.
44:46: I think how much we want to give in and how we'll go. It's almost like we're being held back from doing this thing.
44:52: And really the temptation is there keeping us from our real goal to grow in sanctification, to grow more like Christ.
44:59: And so I kind of like the intuition, the idea behind it, what it's insinuating, because it reminds us of the positive.
45:08: The temptation is keeping us back from that which is positive. To be foiled by a temptation makes us more wary, more watchful.
45:15: The idea of the temptation was subtle and we fell for it. Next time we'll be more careful. We'll be more watchful.
45:22: Proverbs 22, 3 says that the prudent sees the danger and hides himself. The simple go on and suffer for it.
45:28: And we should grow in our prudence and keep our spiritual armor on and be prayerful.
45:33: And this way the benefit is is that when
45:38: Satan does manage to foil a saint, hopefully all he is doing is curing him of his careless neglect.
45:46: And so we have one objection and then we're going to close out this section of chapter two. Objection.
45:52: But if being foiled works for good, this may make Christians careless when they are overcome by temptations or not.
46:01: So the idea is, well, you know, if, go with it. Why not, right?
46:09: We can just grace will abound. These temptations are working out for our good.
46:15: But here's the answer. There is a great deal of difference between falling into temptation and running into a temptation.
46:22: The falling into a temptation shall work for good, not the running into it. He who falls into a river, he who falls into a river is fit for help and pity.
46:30: But he who desperately runs into it is guilty of his own death. It is madness running into a lion's den.
46:37: He who runs himself into a temptation is like King Saul who fell upon his own sword. We'll finish that in one second.
46:47: Yeah, huge difference there. Presuming on the kindness of God is a very, very dangerous place to be, a very dangerous ground.
46:59: You know, falling into temptation, as we see, the Lord is there to provide, to give grace. But for the person who's running into it, there should be no expectation that there would be help or pity.
47:10: We cannot presume, we take our life in our hands when we sin willfully, or as the
47:16: Old Testament would say, high -handedly. It's very sobering when you read through the
47:21: Old Testament, you read through the law and you hear about the sacrifices for sins that were done unintentionally, right?
47:27: Or it was neglectful, or we forgot, or then we remembered and we were convicted. But for the one who sins high -handedly, there is no sacrifice.
47:35: And so there's grace as we think of how many times have we sinned in a high -handed fashion and found mercy and forgiveness.
47:44: But we should not presume on that. And so we should not just sin and just say, well, grace will abound because you could be lying to yourself, deceiving yourself.
47:54: From all that has been said, see how God disappoints the old serpent, making his temptations turn to the good of his people.
48:00: Surely if the devil knew how much benefit accrues to the saints by temptation, he would forbear to tempt. Luther said, there are three things which make a godly man, prayer, meditation, and temptation.
48:13: Paul, in his voyage to Rome, met with a contrary wind. So the wind of temptation is a contrary wind to that of the spirit.
48:19: But God makes use of this crosswind to blow the saints to heaven. I love that quote by Luther, three things would bring a godly man.
48:29: Prayer, meditation, and temptation. This is how God uses us. He uses these things for our good.
48:37: He uses it for our sanctification to conform us to the spirit. And so we should recognize it for what it is and go to him.
48:45: Yes. It's interesting because each time we face temptation and deny ourselves, it's actually an opportunity for worship.
48:54: And like one that's not, looks unique to us and our spiritual experience with God.
49:01: It's literally that dying to self. Yeah, every temptation is an opportunity to worship.
49:12: You know, to look to God and say he's worthy and to exalt him, to magnify him, to make much of him and go to him in prayer.
49:20: That we might avoid that temptation, that we might foil the devil rather than being foiled ourselves.
49:27: So good point. Any other questions or comments? So we've reached the end here of part two of chapter two.
49:37: Next week, we'll talk about the evil of desertion, working for good. But for the sake of this time, this was talking about temptation.