I am reminded of a little boy and his mom. She had just baked some fresh cookies and placed them on the counter to cool. The little boy made the comment to his mother about how good the cookies smelled. The mother told him he was not to eat any of the cookies. A few minutes passed and the mother walked back into the kitchen and caught the little boy eating one of the cookies. She asked for an explanation to which the little boy replied. “I climbed up on the counter to smell the cookies and my teeth got caught on one.”
It is universal — All people are tempted to sin
It is unique – People have different kinds of temptation — We all have different characters
It is beatable – but it takes much work
Temptation is something that we must deal with on a daily basis.
Consider these thoughts.
- It greets us when we wake up
- It meets us as we begin our daily routine
- It finds us on our way to work, school, or wherever we may go
- It meets us again as we return to our homes.
Example of Jesus – Luke 4: 1-13
The Holy Spirit led Jesus to a particular place
The Holy Spirit led Jesus for a particular purpose
God does not tempt us. James 1: 13-14
How many of us have said, “The Devil made me do it!” But there’s one problem: the Devil can’t make us do anything. He may be clever, but he’s not all powerful. Satan tries to get us to swallow the hook. Many hooks seem attractive.
How Satan Works:
First, he lays out the bait. Satan knows our weaknesses and lifestyles. He notes our habits. What we like. He observes our hang-ups. Then he prepares a tailor-made lure and drops it right in front of our noses.
Works differently with educated and less educated. Rich vs. Poor
1 John 2: 15, 16
1. We have sinful desires
2. The lust of the eyes – Greed, selfishness — want material things
3. Pride — Boasting of what you have and what you do
What is the world struggling with?
- Drugs
- Alcohol
- Cigarettes
- Fashion
- Illicit Sex
- Entertainment – parties, discos
What are you struggling with? What are your weaknesses?
- Listening to bad music
- Following fashion that is not approved by God
- Listening to gossip
- Spreading false rumors and lying to others
- Entertaining doubts — God’s love and doctrines of Bible –2nd coming, 1844 judgment
“Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
- Questioning the S.O.P. — Is E.G. W. a true prophet?
- Failure to control appetite — Eating too much and the wrong types of food.
- Is God willing to forgive me?
9. Pride, selfishness — Are you willing to give a faithful tithe.? Temptation to withhold $$
The Holy Spirit points out our weaknesses. Be honest with yourself.
Secondly, Satan appeals to us. He can’t make us bite the bait. Our fleshly nature draws us to it. We linger over it. We toy with it. We roll it over in our minds until it consumes our imagination.
Eve in the garden — “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Satan catches your attention. Try this. Take this. You will enjoy this drink or this food. Go to this place – you will have fun. Wear this type of clothing and you will be more popular.
Buy the latest style of clothing. — Window shopping.
Look — sale– try on– and then buy. Everyone is wearing that.
Beautiful colors attract attention
A sundew plant has sticky hairs on its leaves which are coated with a liquid that gives off a scent that attracts insects. When an insect gets stuck on one of the hairs, the hair wraps around it, covers it with digestive juices, and the insect dies.
Loud music get our attention — follow the crowd
A movie you watch at home –T.V. or internet
Books in a library, friend’s house
It is sometimes hard to say NO to Satan. Everyone is doing it.
Temptations come at certain times:
Satan attacks when you are at a low point in your life.
Elijah on Mount Carmel – Victory
Runs from Jezebel. Time of Discouragement — Wants to die
Jesus in the desert – Hungary from fasting
Job is tested by God
Loses all –children, material wealth, health
Job 13:15 – trusts is God, resurrection, 2nd coming
Henry — Fasted two days –went to food store.
Time of disappointment
After you get fired from work
After your parents separate
After a divorce
After your friend breaks up with you
Time of sickness –Why? —Question God’s love
Time of physical tiredness
Working many hours
Tired of dealing with certain situations
Third, the struggle begins. Immediately, our conscience bothers us, warning us of the danger. We know it’s wrong to take a bite. We may even see the barbed consequences poking through the bait. But Satan’s invitation looks so delicious. What do we do?
Fourth, the temptation ends with the response. Either we resist or yield; swim away or swallow it whole.
One of Satan’s great lies to us when faced with temptation is this: “Go ahead and try it once.
It is your life and your choice.
It is not going to hurt anybody if you give in just this one time. Besides, who is going to find out?”
Consequences when we sin. Abortion, heart attack, lung cancer
God might just overlook our disobedience.
Fall pray to temptation — ineffective in the service of the Lord.
We hurt the name of Jesus. We forfeit our testimony, and we have to live with the consequences of our sin.
Let’s talk about several ways that we can conquer temptation and overcome it.
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- WE MUST REFUSE INTIMIDATION
It is Sabbath. What temptation did you have this morning?
Don’t want to come to church.
The truth is that none of us ever spiritually outgrow temptation. Satan wants to use temptation to intimidate us into doing nothing for the Lord. He points out your failures and says you are not valuable in God’s sight. Will not forgive your sins. Fear tactic.
New earth –No temptations
We must refuse intimidation from the Devil.
Satan does not have to tempt those who are already following His plans. In fact, if you are not tempted regularly, something may be wrong with your spiritual life. Temptation is a sign that Satan hates you. The truth is that the closer you grow toward God and grow in Christ likeness, the more Satan will try to tempt you and intimidate you.
II. Watch –be alert, be ready for attack
Satan knows our weaknesses and those times when we are most vulnerable to temptation. 1 Peter 5:8. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Here are the questions to ask yourselves:
• When am I most tempted? (Day, time of day, etc.)
• Where am I most tempted? (home, school, work, out of town, )
• How do I feel just before I am tempted? (tired, frustrated, bored, etc.)
Recognizing your pattern for temptation helps you conquer Satan’s patter for tempting you.
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- WE MUST REQUEST HELP
Is it possible? Is it easy?
We must spend time with God
Temptations are more potent when you neglect time with God and when you are physically tired. WEAK
Psalm 50:15 Pray to God. He is waiting to help you conquer your temptations!
Don’t hesitate to call on God for help? I believe that many times we just do not want God’s help.
Often we want to give into temptation, even when we know it is wrong. Other times we are embarrassed to ask God for help because we continue to fall into the same trap and we continue to give into the same temptation over and over again.
Don’t rely on our own strength to conquer temptation. To succeed, we must request help from God.
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- WE MUST REFOCUS OUR ATTENTION
Dwelling on sinful thoughts.
- WE MUST REFOCUS OUR ATTENTION
Martin Luther – Birds fly over head
When we allow tempting thoughts into our minds, they can consume us and we fall prey to the temptation. When these thoughts come into our minds, what we must do is immediately refocus our attention on something else.
“The Battle for sin is won or lost in your mind.” The things that capture our attention often times captures us.
How many of you are tempted by Chocolate chip cookies? —OVERWEIGHT — The more you think about them, the more you want them. What we have to do is change our thinking to something other than a chocolate chip cookie.
Get up and turn off that TV —violent movie –change channel.
Shut down your computer
Walk away from a group of gossipers . . .
Alcoholics walk away from bar.
Do whatever is necessary to turn your attention to something else. Keep your mind occupied with God’s Word and other good thoughts. Paul says in Philippians 4:8.
V. 1 Cor 10:13 God provides away of escape
God will not allow things to come against you in life that you cannot overcome.
Don’t believe the lie of Satan — you cannot overcome
Kleptomaniacs think they have to steal
Homosexuals think they need to continue in their lifestyle
Alcoholics think they have to drink
Husband who abuse wives
Temptations are powerful:
Peter fell
David fell
Abraham fell
Solomon fell
Addiction — A way out
In the book Autobiography in Five Short Chapters it reads:
Chapter 1 – I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2 — I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place, but it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3 — I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in… It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4 — I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5 – I walk down another street.
VI. WE MUST REVEAL OUR STRUGGLES
Listen to Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.
Need to have one person whom you can trust and who cares for you.
Let’s be real this morning: If you constantly losing the same battle to a certain temptation, if you are losing against a bad habit or an addiction, you will never conquer it on your own! Some temptations are only overcome with the help of the Lord and the help of a partner who can pray for you, and encourage you.
You cannot continue to conceal and cover up that problem, you must confess it!
Pride often stands in the way of this type of honesty because we want others to think we have our lives under control. The fact is that whatever we cannot talk about that is taking place in our lives already has control of our lives.
What are you afraid to reveal to others? To conquer temptations, we must reveal our struggles and allow God and others to help us!
Vll. WE MUST RESIST THE DEVIL
James 4:7, 8 “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Margaret Thatcher said “You may have to fight a battle more than once”
“Never give up” W. Churchill
Say Yes to Jesus. Without Jesus living in our lives and working in our lives, we are defenseless against Satan. As a Christian, Satan cannot force you to do anything. He can only tempt and make suggestions. As a Christian God provides you a way of escape, the strength and power to escape, and the will to do what is right.
Without Jesus as your Lord, you do not stand a chance in this world!
Read, study, memorize, and apply God’s Word to your everyday life.
Jesus is our example. Every time Satan suggested a tempting thought, Jesus resisted him by quoting the Word of God. Jesus did not argue with Satan. He did not try to reason with Satan. He simply quoted the life-changing, powerful Word of God that Satan fears! Finally, Satan left him!
The modern jet on the runway was a beauty. It was equipped with the latest technology and weaponry. The jet could fly at supersonic speeds, and quickly race to great heights. If an enemy plane were in the vicinity, the jet’s pilot could destroy that plane miles away, before the plane’s pilot could even see him. An Air Force pilot climbed into the jet and off he flew, leaving the earth far behind as he soared above the clouds. Although no one was looking, the pilot straightened himself in his seat. He was naturally proud of his jet, and of himself for qualifying to fly such a sophisticated mode of transportation. After he reached cruising altitude, the pilot heard a strange noise. He took off his helmet, and recognized the noise — it sounded like someone gnawing on rubber or plastic. Peering down below the instrument panel, to his horror the pilot saw a rat, out of his reach and gnawing on the main electrical wire between the jet’s controls and its engine. If the rat were to cut through that line, the jet would careen out of control, and crash immediately. The pilot’s first instinct was to descend — an emergency landing. But he had flown so far that there was not enough time to land. So he decided to ascend — maybe the rat couldn’t survive at a higher altitude. The pilot put on his oxygen mask, boosted power to the jet’s engine, and quickly climbed as high as he could go. Soon the gnawing sound ended. When the pilot landed safely, he found the rat — dead.
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO OUR LIVES? We need to reach new spiritual altitudes. Come closer to heaven, to Jesus. Old self will die closer to heaven. Song – I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day. Lord plant my feet on higher ground.
“As long as we continue to keep our eyes fixed upon the Author and Finisher of our faith, we shall be safe. But our affections must be placed upon things above, not on things of the earth. By faith we must rise higher and still higher in the attainment of the graces of Christ. By daily contemplating His matchless charms, we must grow more and more into His glorious image. While we thus live in communion with Heaven, Satan will lay his nets for us in vain.” Amazing Grace, p.284
When Martin Luther was asked how he overcame the devil, he replied, “Well, when the devil comes knocking at the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives her?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, “Martin Luther used to live here, but he has moved out. Now I live here.” When Christ fills our lives Satan has no entrance. Ask Jesus into your heart. Ask help from Jesus. Defeat the Satan today through Jesus Christ and His blood.
Read All together Matt.6: 9-13
by Henry Dering