Well, our scripture reading this evening comes, as you can see there, from 1 Corinthians chapter 10. That's on page 1137 in your Bibles, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and we'll be reading from verse 1 to verse 13. Hear now the word of our God. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. So far the reading of God's own word. This is a difficult passage this evening. It's pointed. It is direct. It's something that we do need to hear. But it's a heavy text, and I don't want to remove the heaviness, but I do want to point you to the promise that comes at the end of that text. We're going to get there as we work our way through it. So it's heavy, but there is also good news here. As you just heard in the scripture reading, God is faithful, and that's where this text ends up. But temptation is serious, And this is a text that's all about our struggle with temptation. Every Christian, everyone in this room has a struggle with temptation. If you say no, then talk to me afterwards. You're not being honest with yourself, and we need to have a chat. There's no time in the Christian life when we are free from temptation. Only one day when we're with the Lord will we be free from sin and free from temptation. But until then, we struggle against temptation. We struggle with indwelling sin. We struggle with old habits that are hard to shake. We struggle because we're surrounded by a culture that holds out no end of temptations to us. But in that struggle, we need to hear the warning from God's word this evening. And it's a very clear warning. It says to us, be careful, be on your guard, watch out, lest you fall into temptation. One of Aesop's fables talks about temptation. There was a little dog, Aesop said, who used to travel every evening across the village and back to get some dinner for his master, and he'd carry it in a little basket. But every time he made that journey, the other dogs in the village would follow him and ask him, what are you doing? Why aren't you eating the food? Why would you take it to your master? And he just ignored them and went on his way. But then one evening, the dogs surrounded him, and he was tired of this, and so he set the basket down, and he started to debate with them, started to argue with them, and pretty soon they made him feel ridiculous. What do you mean? You deserve some of that. Surely your master can't deny you some of the food in that basket, they said to him. And so you know what happened then? The dog opened the basket, he smelled the wonderful meat, and he began to eat. And so what's the moral of the fable according to Aesop? Aesop says, don't stop to have a conversation with temptation. It's not a bad one. It's not a bad one. But Paul has even more to say, even more wisdom. And his warning is even more stark. He says, watch out, be on your guard, lest you fall into temptation. That's where the weight of this entire passage falls. It's right there in verses 12 and 13. What do we do when temptation comes? And I say when because it's when. It's not if. It's when temptation comes. When temptation comes, verse 12, the Lord warns us to watch out. Therefore, watch out. Be on your guard. Because if you're not on your guard, you'll fall. We fall into temptation. Temptation is a trap. It's a gaping pit that we trip and fall into. And sometimes it's even worse than that, at least for many of us. We go looking for temptation. It's not even something that trips us up. It's something that we run to. Something that we dive into at times. But the Lord warns us that we must, as Christians, resist temptation and flee from it. Look at verse 13. Three times the word temptation or tempted. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape. This is a passage that's all about temptation. So it's clear that we've got to get clear before us. We've got to have straight, what are we talking about here? What is the Bible's view of temptation? Why is temptation such a bad thing? It seems silly to have to ask that question, but I think it's a question that we need to ask in our culture. Why is temptation so dangerous? Why is it something that we should resist? And maybe just to start, before we go back to the text, it might be worth considering for just a moment your past week. What kind of temptation did you face? Just in the past week, maybe the past 48 hours, even the past 24 hours. What was the temptation that you faced? And how did that go? Did you resist or did you give in? God's word says, be on your guard. Don't fall into temptation. Sometimes we take temptation far too lightly. We can even joke about it. Oscar Wilde is reported to have said, I can resist everything except temptation. And we can see the humor in that. But actually, there's nothing funny about temptation. There's nothing funny about temptation because there's nothing funny about sin. And temptation is what leads us into sin, and sin is a matter of life and death. So think about just for a moment how our culture, or how even we, talk about temptation sometimes. We might say something like this, I'm tempted to have another piece of chocolate. Or, I'm tempted to just watch one more episode on Netflix. What do we mean when we say that? We mean that we have an urge, don't we? We mean that we have a desire. We want to do something. Now, those things are not necessarily sinful, right? There's nothing in God's Word that says you can't have two pieces of chocolate. It's a matter of wisdom and how healthy you are and what your doctor may or may not have told you, but it's not a command. You're not falling into sin if you have that second piece of chocolate. It might be very unwise for you. Likewise, a second episode on Netflix or Amazon Prime, right? It's more a matter of, do you have to get to work early the next morning? Is the next day the Lord's day? Should you just go to bed after one episode or maybe zero episodes? These are matters of wisdom, not of God's law. What Paul is talking about in this text is temptation to sin against God's commands and against God's character. And that is no laughing matter. That's not something to do with chocolate or television. Instead, it's to do with sin. But our culture, our culture laughs about this. Our culture says so many things are okay that God says are not okay. We have ridiculous advertisements, don't we? And movies that are around us all the time. I saw one advertisement for a men's deodorant called Dark Temptation. That's utterly ridiculous, isn't it? And yet you can see they're trying to play on this idea that temptation is something cute. Even worse, so many of the movies that we go to see set up the story so that you want the character not to resist but to fall into temptation. You want him to give in. You want her to give in. That's how the story is arranged. Because temptation is viewed in the culture as something that we can flirt with, Something we can wink at. Something we can toy with. But that's not what God's word teaches us. And our passage drives this home powerfully. That temptation is something that leads us to sin. And this passage tells us we will fall into sin if we let our guard down. We will fall into sin if we ignore God's law. We will fall into sin if we forget Israel's history. Which is, as we'll see, our own history. And we will fall into temptation and sin if we grumble against God and doubt his goodness and doubt that he is for us. If we do any of those things, we're headed in the wrong direction and we're going to go after our own desires. There are really three simple sections to this text as it builds. First, in verses 1 to 5, we're given Israel as an example. And then in verses 6 to 11, continuing with Israel, we hear a series of exhortations, really negative commands on the basis of Israel's example. And then finally in verses 12 and 13, we get the good news. There's a way of escape. But we're going to start with Israel's example in verses 1 to 5. Look there, if you would, with me in the text. And you might like to have the Bible open because you could keep one finger in 1 Corinthians 10, and we're going to be going back to several Old Testament texts because that's what Paul does in this text before us. Verses 1 to 5, Paul gives us a selective history of Israel during the time of the Exodus. And what he does here, he begins in verse 1 by telling us that this is part of our family history. Look at verse 1. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. Do you see how Paul starts? He tells the Corinthians that the ancient Israelites were their fathers, their ancestors. Not ethnically, but fathers in the faith. And the same is true for us. God's Old Testament people are our fathers. This is our family history. And we need to learn a lesson, Paul says, from our family history. An important lesson. Verses 1 to 4 remind us of just how merciful, just how kind, just how powerful God was to save his Old Covenant people in the Exodus. What does it mean to be under the cloud or to pass through the sea? Well, you'll recognize that language. You know those stories. This is a very condensed summary of Exodus chapters 13 and 14. when the lord rescued israel from egypt he led them through the wilderness right up to the edge of the sea pharaoh and his army were hot on their heels pursuing them they were hard pressed and then the lord opened that way through the sea for them how did god protect them how did he provide for them how did he display his mighty power well if you want to turn back to exodus chapter 13, we'll see in verses 21 and 22 where Paul is getting this language from. Exodus 13, 21 and 22 says, the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. And of course, the story goes on. And this pillar of cloud and fire plays a large role. It's what protects Israel. We jump just one chapter ahead, Exodus 14, verses 19 and 20. We read this, then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. This was a massive glory cloud of protection that the Lord provided for his people. And he kept them safe from their enemies and he sheltered them. If we jump ahead just a few verses, Exodus 14, 22, we see where else Paul is getting what he's talking about in 1 Corinthians 10. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left, they pass miraculously through this sea, safe on dry ground. Why? Because God guarded and guided them. God guarded them and God guided them. He protected them from their enemies and he did so by opening a way through the sea. Verse 2, if we go back to 1 Corinthians 10, tells us that this was Israel's baptism, this event. And all were baptized, Paul says, into Moses and in the cloud and in the sea. Israel passed through these looming waters of judgment that if they had fallen upon them, they surely would have died and been destroyed. But they were led through safely. They passed safely through to the other side. But of course, Egypt's army did not. They were swallowed up and overwhelmed by the waters of God's judgment when they tried to pursue Israel. But God's people passed through by his gracious power. I want you to get that. You know these stories, but I want you to hear a fresh from Paul's pen here in 1 Corinthians 10, why it is that he's focusing our attention on this. He's going to talk about temptation, But he starts by talking about God's power and gracious provision for his old covenant people. And he says to them, those are your fathers. This is your God. That's the kind of God that you serve. He's a God who guards and a God who guides. And as he did so, he marked out a covenant people for himself. So Israel was saved. But you know the rest of the story, don't you? They were where? They were in the desert. There's no food. There's no water. Millions of people. What are they going to do? God didn't leave them to die, did he? Look at verses 3 and 4 in 1 Corinthians 10. They all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. We now move from a summary of Exodus 13 and 14 to a summary of Exodus 16 and 17. Paul is being very condensed and compressed in the way that he's telling these Old Testament stories. It might be worth taking this week, actually, in your own Bible reading and going back and reading through from Exodus 13 on through those following chapters just to get this fresh in your mind. What happens in Exodus 16 and 17? God provides food and drink for his people. First he rains manna down upon them and then in the midst of the dry barren desert he provides water from the rock. And Paul tells us that this was just the beginning. This was God. This was Christ. And we don't have time to have a complete unpacking of this beautiful text. Really we need a sermon on Exodus 17. Maybe next time I can do that and talk about how it was precisely that the rock was Christ. But I think what Paul really wants us to catch here is this. God provided for his people, not just in Exodus 17, but for 40 years through the wilderness. They were provided with food and drink. God sustained them. The Lord was with them that entire way. Exodus 16, 4 says, Then the Lord said to Moses, I'm about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather and exodus 17 6 behold i will stand before you there on the rock at horeb and you shall strike the rock and water shall come out of it and the people will drink the lord in his grace sustained his people he gave them everything that they needed to endure those years in the wilderness and you can see where this is going can't you paul's pointing them to god's power his protection in the exodus he's pointing them to God's provision in the wilderness and he's saying to the Corinthians I know what it's like in Corinth and he's saying to you I know what it's like in California I know what it's like in American culture in the west in the 21st century but do you know what I'm the same God and I'm the same God who will with my power protect you and guard you and provide you with everything that you need so that you can follow me through the wilderness of this life to the promised land. So Paul tells a selective Exodus story. And in doing so, he teaches the Corinthians and us some important lessons. God in his grace is the one who grants passage and provision to his people. The Lord is the one who saves and redeems. But verse 5, look at verse 5 in 1 Corinthians 10. were reminded that the wilderness was not where they were meant to end up. They were going through the wilderness. They were supposed to get to the promised land. Verse 5, nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Why nevertheless? What happened? What went wrong in the face of all of God's gracious provision? How on earth could Israel fall? how did it happen well verse 6 which begins the next section of the text begins to give us an answer verse 6 now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did there it is there's the answer the fault was not in god the fault was in them they desired evil in spite of all the good that they had from god's hand despite all god's gracious merciful provision for them they turned away from him and they fell into temptation and sin and paul says to the corinthians and to us don't think it can't happen to you don't think that it can't happen to you paul says israel's mistakes are examples for us they're bad examples paul says to the corinthians don't be like them don't be like them in verses 7 to 10 we get four specific exhortations don't be like them in what ways? Four ways. Look at verse 7. Don't be idolaters. Verse 8. Don't indulge in sexual immorality. Verse 9. Don't put Christ to the test. And verse 10. Don't grumble. They're exhortations. They're commandments. They're negative imperatives. We've got to pay attention to these. They're very specific, aren't they? Let's try and understand why it is that Paul goes for just these things here for the corinthians and why actually they are exactly on target for us as well living where we do and when we do these are carefully selected sins from israel's history in the exodus and really it's a it's another compression and if we had time we have to go further in exodus we'd have to go to the book of numbers as well to be refreshed on all the details behind these summaries that Paul gives. But there's one place that we have time to go this evening, and that's the place where Paul specifically pauses and takes his time in verse 7. Do you see it? Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Where's that from? Exodus 32, verse 6. Exodus 32. What's going on in Exodus 32? Moses has gone up the mountain to receive the tablets with the Ten Commandments. Where are the people? They're down at the foot of the mountain with Aaron. And what happens? They're tired. They're hungry. They want to go back to Egypt. They don't know if this Moses guy is going to come down again. He's been gone for many days. And so they go to Aaron. and Aaron makes them a golden calf and they indulge in the familiarity of pagan worship that they were used to in Egypt and they fall into temptation. They sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. What does that mean in the context of Exodus and why does Paul focus on it here in verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 10? It's because it's the perfect place. He couldn't have gone anywhere more perfect, really, to emphasize what he wants to do, which is this. What went on at the foot of the mountain? Well, they decided to turn back, to fall back into idolatrous worship and everything else that attended to that. And so when in Exodus we read the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to play, what it means is they worshipped and they partied like pagans. That's what they did. There was food. There was idol worship. There was probably alcohol. And there was sexual sin. Almost certainly the verb that's used for play here, which shows up three other times in Genesis, doesn't just mean dancing. Probably they're dancing as well. But there's sexual sin here. And definitely that's what's going on in Corinth because this entire section of 1 Corinthians chapter 8 all the way to chapter 11 is about guess what the temptation culturally that the corinthians faced the corinthian christians faced to fall back into idol worship which involved feasting and drinking and partying just like when they were pagans it's the same thing paul says look what happened to them in the exodus don't let it happen to you corinthians and the lord says to us this evening, don't let it happen to you either. Plutarch, an ancient Greek writer, a Roman writer, writing in Greek about the time of the New Testament, uses the exact same word for play in the exact same way. He tells a story about a party, a Roman party, first century party. What happens feasting all night long food alcohol dancing sex even cross-dressing and gender bending this is the first century guess what not has not much has changed has it and plutarch says when he characterizes all of this what are they doing they're playing paul says don't play like the pagans play don't associate with that don't let them pull you in don't let them make you think that this isn't a serious matter because it is and it doesn't look that different for us in southern california does it what kind of temptation is there for us to eat to drink to get up to play we're not making golden calves in the same way maybe we're not going to plutarch's kinds of parties but there are plenty of reasons for us to be on our guard against these kinds of temptations The temptations that come with food, with drink, with sexual immorality, and with grumbling. Did you catch that grumbling was part of this too? Grumbling against the God who had brought them out with such a mighty hand because they were tired and hungry. We face the same kinds of temptations. And I say we advisedly because I think this is important. It's very easy for us to fall into the kind of thinking that says they do that out there. The culture out there does these kinds of things. But actually, when you stop to reflect even for a moment about how culture works, it's not us and them. We too are part of the culture and the culture is in us. And those same desires that are out there in the world are also in us. Those same sinful desires. And actually we have imbibed far more than we might care to think from the culture in which we live. And so we've got to be on our guard. I think one of the ways that we apply this text to ourselves is to engage in some self-reflection. are there some areas are there some blind spots for us where we don't even see that we're being tempted because we don't see it as temptation we don't see it as sinful because the culture around us has blinded us or numbed us to the fact that this is displeasing to the lord just like the wilderness generation we get tired don't we we get tired of following god we grumble against him and we say, you're too strict. Your word is, come on. Your commandments are too heavy for us. Set aside an entire day in seven for the worship and rest of God? Surely not. Refrain from sexual immorality? Okay, adultery, fine. Premarital sex, maybe. But what about guarding the eye gate and the heart when it comes to being sexually pure? Surely, Lord, you don't mean I can't look at that or think about that or watch that. And the Lord says to us, actually, yes, that's exactly what I mean. Sexual immorality, grumbling, and idolatry are the same kinds of temptations and sins that we need to be on our guard against in our own day. And we need to be on guard against them in our own lives. We need to be on guard against them in our own families. We need to be on guard against them in this congregation. We need to be on guard against them in Christian schools and other places that our kids are educated to make sure that when the world makes temptation look really good and beautiful and attractive, we say, no, that's wrong. And when the world makes righteousness and godliness look like something restrictive and heavy and oppressive, We say, no, that's wrong. One of my professors at seminary many years back coined a wonderful phrase that captures what worldliness is. And I think that's putting our finger on the center of what Paul wants to talk about here. It's worldliness that makes us even more prone to temptation. It's worldliness that blinded the Corinthians to when they were in danger. And the same is true for us. And David Wells said, this is what worldliness is. Worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange. Worldliness makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange. And that's what our worldly culture does all of the time. And so we need God's word. We need the spectacles of God's word and God's law to help us, to instruct us. And we need warnings like this to shake us and to wake us up. Be on your guard. Don't be worldly. Examine yourself in the light of God's word. Why is this so important? And why am I getting a little animated about this? Because Paul is animated about this. What happened to those Israelites? Well, look again at verses 8, 9, and 10. 23,000 fell in a single day. They were destroyed. Again, they were destroyed. In fact, do you notice the repetitions that characterize this whole passage right from the beginning? Five times in verses 1 to 4, we hear the word all. Our fathers all were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized, all ate, all drank. That is what characterized the entire covenant community. They were all graciously shown God's power and mercy and provision. But then it changes. Verse 5 and following. most of them, with most of them, God was not pleased. And then from verse 6 onward, it's some rather than all. Do you hear it? Do not be idolaters as some of them were. Do not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did. Do not put Christ to the test as some of them did. Do not grumble as some of them did. Just as then, so now, we've got to be on our guard so that some of us don't fall, brothers and sisters. Because we too have tasted of the goodness of the powers of the age to come. Being here week in and week out. Having God's word. Hearing it preached to us. And yet, some of us may be in danger of falling away just as some of them did. And where does falling into temptation lead? Well, James chapter 1. There's hardly a better summary of what Paul is saying in our text than James 1, 14-16. But each person is tempted, and notice the anatomy of temptation here that James gives us. What happens in temptation? He's tempted when he's lured and enticed by his own sinful desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. It's a grotesque picture, isn't it? He's using the language of conception and growing and giving birth to talk about sinful desire, temptation, engaging in that sin. And where does it all lead? It leads to death. And James says, don't be deceived. Don't be deceived, my beloved brothers. And so we come to the culmination of our passage in verse 12 of chapter 10. Therefore, on the basis of that example, having heard those exhortations, Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. If we think that we've understood what the Lord has done for us, then we need to ask him to make us sensitive to this warning. If we love the Lord who has saved us, we want to obey him. We want to grow in holiness. Yes, we have indwelling sin. No, it's not easy. But we want to listen to this warning. And we need to ask the Lord to help us to listen to this warning because resisting temptation is not easy, is it? Now we come to the really good news. Paul saves the best for last. Verse 13, No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Do you hear the promises here? I want to make sure because this is a heavy passage and I've tried to help it sink in, but I want you to hear these promises. There's promise here from your God. There's comfort here from your God. There's wisdom here. There's power here. We need this truth when temptation comes. What do we hear in verse 13? Temptation is a common thing. It's going to be with you all your life. It's common to sinful human experience. The same temptations were there in Egypt, were there in Corinth, are here in California. No temptation is overtaking you that's not common to man. But there's an encouragement there. Don't be discouraged. Don't be discouraged when you are tempted. The Lord knows that temptation is something that you will face. And the Lord knows you. And He knows your weaknesses. He knows those areas where you are especially prone to temptation. And not just to temptation, but to giving in far too easily to temptation. He knows what your common experience is. It doesn't mean that he excuses your sin, but it means that he will help you because he knows you and will have compassion upon you. And look at the very next words of Paul. God is what? God is faithful. How is God faithful to us in temptation, according to 1 Corinthians? There's a lot about God's faithfulness in 1 Corinthians. In fact, Paul starts there all the way back in 1 Corinthians 1, when he says in 1 Corinthians 1, 8, and 9, he's giving thanks to the Lord for all that the Lord has done for them in Christ Jesus. And he says, Jesus Christ will sustain you. He will confirm you to the end, blameless, faultless, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? And he follows it with the same phrase. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's God who is faithful and it's God's faithfulness that we stand on. it's because of God's faithfulness that Christ Jesus will confirm all of his people blameless to the end. He's the one who's going to pull you along. He's the one who's going to give you the power. He's the one in whose righteous robes you will stand on that day. God is faithful and he's faithful to get you to that day. And part of getting you to that day is giving you the power that you need to fight against temptation. How else is God faithful? Well, in verse 13, God is faithful because he sets a limit to temptation. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. It doesn't feel like that, does it, when we're faced with temptation? In fact, the longer you resist temptation, if we're even able to get that far, the harder it becomes sometimes. The more intense the temptation becomes, the longer we resist. And yet, God promises you will never be tempted beyond what you can bear. It is never impossible for you to resist temptation, God says. In every temptation, there's protection. In every temptation, there is provision. In every temptation, there is a way out. How does that work? Well, we'll come back to that in a moment. But I want to pause just once more on the warning and think about what resisting temptation will be supported by in our lives. First thing, we're going to fall into temptation if we don't take God's word seriously. I hope you get that by now. I hope that you understand that's part of what Paul's saying. If we don't take God's commandments seriously, if we don't take God's word, which reveals his holy character to us seriously, if we don't take God's instruction to us seriously, if we don't know that, and if we don't write that on our hearts with the help of the Spirit, we will fall into temptation. Next, we will fall into temptation if we spend time with others who enjoy falling into temptation. Proverbs 13, 20. You probably know this one by heart. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. This is especially relevant. It's relevant to all of us. But if you're a teenager or a young person in here tonight, it's really relevant to you because your friend group and your peer group is huge for setting the calibration, for calibrating, for setting your expectation of what is possible and what is beautiful and what you should be pursuing. If you hang out with friends who think of temptation lightly, who play around with things that are wrong, you will fall and they will fall. But the opposite is true too. If you have good friends who enjoy thinking about all the wonderful things that the Lord has done for you, friends who want to be growing in holiness, friends who encourage one another to come to church, to come to youth group, friends who encourage one another to read their Bibles and speak the gospel promises to one another, then you will grow and be stronger in resisting temptation. Finally, we'll fall into temptation if we don't pray. We know this, don't we? We've been thinking about the Lord's Prayer these last several Lord's Day evenings, and that sixth petition is beautiful. Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And what does our Heidelberg say in question 127? It says, in the answer, it says, Since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot stand a moment, and besides our deadly enemies, the devil, the world, our own flesh, assail us without ceasing, because of that, we pray that the Lord would be pleased to preserve and strengthen us by the power of His Holy Spirit. Why? To what end? The catechism says that we may make a firm stand against sin and temptation. In ourselves, we can't stand. But with God's power, we can stand. God is faithful. He limits the temptation we experience. He lends his power so that when temptation comes, we need to do everything that we can to resist it. And we need to look to Christ, don't we? We need to look to Christ. Christ, who is our king, who, the Westminster Catechism says, preserves us and supports us under all our temptations. I love that. Christ preserves us and supports us under all our temptations. We look to Christ for help. We call out to Christ for help. But, brothers and sisters, we also look to Christ when we fall. We will fall. We will fall, and we will sin. And what do we do when that happens? Don't let time pass. When you fall, when you realize that you've done it again and you've tripped up and you've fallen into temptation, you've sinned, don't let your heart grow cold. Don't let your heart harden as quickly as you can. Look to Christ. Pray. Repent of that sin. Go to Christ for forgiveness and he will raise you up again and he will again grant you the power of his spirit. So don't lose sight of the gospel even as you struggle against temptation and sin. But I want to end where our passage ends here. There's always a way of escape. There's a way of escape from temptation. Another ancient writer, Xenophon, talks about the Greeks who were surrounded on every side. They were hard-pressed. They didn't think there was any way out. And then one of their generals points up the mountain. There's a pass. There's one way out. But the mountain pass is guarded. And they say, we've got to do it. Let's go. And they charge. and they fight hard and they have to press hard, but that's the way out. That's the way of escape. And Xenophon uses the same word Paul does here. That's the way of escape. We fight our way through because the Lord shows us there is a way of escape. And the same God who rescued Israel in the Exodus, who guarded them with that glory cloud of his presence and power, That's the same God who will guard you and guide you up that mountain pass and over through that way of escape when you are struggling against temptation. So call out to him, cry out to him, depend upon him, look to him, and know that he will provide a way of escape for you. Let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We pray that you would convict us by it, but also that you would comfort us indeed that you would refresh us that we would be in awe of your great power and we pray Lord that you would strengthen us we cast ourselves down before you this evening as we think of our own frailty and our own sinfulness and we ask humbly for your help in the week to come that we might be those who do not take sin lightly and who fight the good fight against temptation in our lives only by your spirit's power and we pray that when we fall you would raise us up in Christ's name. Amen.