Sermons

Defeating the giants in your life VII

04 July 2010

Frank & Ernest have a bunch of comic strips related to temptation. Here are just a couple of them.

Oscar Wilde: “I can resist everything but temptation.”
Have you ever felt that way?
The reality of the matter is that none of us are immune to temptation, no matter your age, gender, race or how long you have been a Christian.

Maybe you’re here today & you feel defeated in this area.
Let’s take a good look @ the good book for a good word on temptation from…
I Corinthians 10:12-14 “Don’t be so naïve and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence. No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; He’ll always be there to help you come through it. So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can.” (TM)
The Apostle Paul was writing to the church @ Corinth… one of the most wicked & vile cities @ that time.
Paul tells us that…
Temptation is common to everyone
v.13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; …” (NKJV)
We all face it & without God we are helpless against it.
Write it down & remember where you heard it:
the temptation you face was not designed just for you.
Everyone faces temptation according to the Apostle Paul.
Temptation goes back to the O.T. & to the Garden of Eden… 2 more cartoons
Seriously, how about when Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister when he feared for his life?
There was Noah & his drunkenness that got way out of hand.
How about Jonah’s rebellious attitude about going to Nineveh?
A few weeks ago we studied David & the temptations he fell to.
Temptation didn’t change in the N.T.
Temptation hasn’t changed from then until now because the devil is sayin’ ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
And this might shock you, but even the Lord Jesus was tempted:
Hebrews 4:15 “This High Priest of ours (Jesus) understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.” (NLT)
Jesus, the Holy One, was tempted just like we are, but He did not sin.
So, we have to understand that temptation is not a sin.
I don’t care if you were tempted.
I only care if you gave in or yielded to it.
That is what matters.
Martin Luther said “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can surely keep them from making a nest in your hair.”
That’s the difference between temptation & sin.
Temptation is when we are brought close enough to sin so that it is within reach of us to do the wrong thing.
We are all tempted.
And scripture does not indicate we can make temptation go away… we can only do our best to stay clear of situations where we know we’d be weak.
And that’s just common sense, isn’t it?
Except common sense isn’t so common!
And from what I’ve observed in my Christian walk, the closer you are walking to the Lord, the more the devil will gun for you in some of the most subtle, almost undetectable ways.
Think about it this way:
The fiercest heat of the battle is at the front of it.
So don’t be surprised if you’re attacked the closer you are to the Lord.
The good news is when you’re @ the front of the battle you get a front row seat when the enemy goes down!
We must also understand…
Temptation is a controlled
I Corinthians 10:13 “And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.” (NLT)
When God allows testing or temptation, God knows what tests we can handle & the intensity of the test.
Our temptation is not based on what we think we can handle, but what God knows we are capable of.
He will not over test us.
II Corinthians 1:8-10 “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us.” (NLT)
God has delivered us, is delivering us & will deliver us.
He never takes His eyes off of us.
You can have victory in the face of temptation.
Think about it… if there were no temptation, we’d never be able to prove our love & faithfulness to God.

Temptation is escapable
v.13 “When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (NLT)
The moment that the test begins, the Lord already knows the way out!
And there is a way out!
Temptation is not so much a matter of what we do, but who we love.
It is a test of our love & devotion.
Whenever we are tempted, there is a point when we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we can get out. Would you agree with that?
There is always that moment where, our head or our heart says, “This is wrong, I don’t have to do this.”
At that moment, we know there is a way of escape.
There might only be one way of escape, but there is always at least one.
The word for escape in Greek is an interesting word.
It is the image of walking through a narrow canyon’s path to get out.
Paul is saying there’s always a way out & if we take it, we can overcome temptation.
But, if we do not take it, we might be walking past the only way out of the temptation.
Can I get a witness?
Take the way of escape when the Lord provides it!
There is always an opportunity to walk away according to this verse.
So, how do we defeat the giant of temptation?
1. Recognize temptation
One of the reasons we fall prey to temptation is we underestimate its power.
I Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (NKJV)
You’re in trouble already if you think that you could never fall to a temptation.
I heard a story about a young priest who was in the confessional booth for the 1st time & he had an older priest looking over his shoulder.
And, at the end of the day, the priest took the young man aside & he said to him, “Son, when a person finishes confession, you have got to say something other than wow.”
We’re often not surprised when someone else falls to temptation, but it surprises us when we do.
Dr. Howard Hendricks from Dallas Seminary used to carry around a little notebook in his pocket.
In that little notebook were the names of the ministers & students he had taught @ the seminary who had been in the ministry & who had fallen to sexual temptation.
At one time, he had over 100 names.
One day as he was looking at the list, he wondered if there were any common denominators.
He said with the exception of 2 people, the one thing they all had in common was a spirit of pride & arrogance in their life.
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 16:18 “First pride, then the crash – the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” (The Message)
If you’re not humble, you’re a prime candidate for temptation.
And if you’re not sure if you’re humble, ask your spouse or a friend who will be straight up with you.
They’ll tell you!

2. Request help before the temptation
You’ve got to get help before the temptation, because it’s rarely an option to get help in the middle of it.
Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (NKJV)
Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (NKJV)
Prayer is asking for help before temptation.
Including God is an important part of the equation to defeat the giant of temptation.
You can even ask the Lord to make you aware of possible temptation during your day.
Ask the Lord to give you a temptation radar screen.

3. Resist the devil
Jesus resisted the devil & the devil fled from Him.
All Jesus had to do was quote Deuteronomy a couple of times! “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
4. Retreat from temptation
Sometimes we need to run away from sin.
Mark Twain: “There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice.”
Be a coward when it comes to temptation… run!
We are to retreat from idolatry
I Corinthians 10:14 “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (NKJV)
What is an idol?
An idol is anything that gets between you & God.
When you realize something is taking the place of God, you need to run from it.
We are to retreat from immorality
I Corinthians 6:18 “Flee sexual immorality.” (NKJV)
II Timothy 2:22 “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts.” (NLT)
If you think you can flirt with sexual temptation & not fail you’d better think again.
Remember what Joseph did in Genesis 39 when Potiphar’s wife hit on him?
He ran for the exit like his hair was on fire!
He got out of there like a fox caught in the hen house.
Young people, if you constantly put yourself in places of temptation, you’re eventually going to lose that battle no matter how much you try to fight it.

We are to retreat from greed
I Timothy 6:10-11 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” (NKJV)
Don’t let money rule your life… flee from it.

5. Remove means of sin
I read a story about a guy who decided to start a diet.
He decided he’d change his driving route to work so he would not pass his favorite donut shop.
He was doing well for a week or so until one day he showed up @ work with a dozen donuts & a cheesecake.
His co-workers were shocked since he’d been doing so well.
When they asked him what had happened, he said, “Well, I drove my former route to work today & I decided that if God wanted me to stop at the bakery, He would give me a parking spot right in front of the main entrance. And you know, He did just that on the 8th trip around the block.”
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 4:14-15 “Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t follow the path of evildoers. Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.” (NLT)
Instead of setting ourselves up for failure, let’s set ourselves up for success!
Like a young couple who wanted to stay pure & refrain from sex until their honeymoon enlisted a mature, godly married couple for support & encouragement.
They put the married couple’s phone number on speed dial & could call them @ any time day or night.
Accountability leads to success over temptation.
A traveling sales representative asks hotels to remove the TV from his room so he won’t be tempted to watch adult movies.
Remove the means of sin.
An alcoholic told his friends if they ever saw him drinking they could punch him square in the nose.
Remove the means of sin!

6. Replace bad influences with good ones
Proverbs 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” (NKJV)
I’m not the one to tell you who your friends should be, but I can tell you what kind of friend you should have.
A friend of God is a friend of mine.
We need to befriend those who do not believe in God, but we should always do a check-up from the neck up & ask ourselves if we’re helping them more than they are pulling us down?
If we’re not careful, they can have a greater influence on us than we can on them.
Replace bad influences with good ones.

7. Choose to live on the high road
You’ve got to commit to living for Christ & follow through with it.
It’s great that you are in church.
It’s great that a lot of you are committed to coming regularly.
But that’s not all there is to the Christian life.
The best the Christian life has to offer is when we’re totally committed, totally sold out for Christ.
If all you want is just to be inside the door…to have your ticket punched to heaven… why settle for that?
Why not pursue everything, every activity, every relationship, every endeavor, all for the glory of God & for the betterment of your soul?
Realize there are books you can read, scriptures you can memorize, Christian radio & Cd’s you can absorb to draw you closer to God!
Cultivate your life on the high road & you’ll be less susceptible to temptation when it comes…
and it will come!
In his book, unhappy secrets of the Christian life, Tim Stafford describes how the Nuclear submarine Thresher went too deep & collapsed under the weight of the water.
And it was crushed into such tiny bits that the ensuing implosion, they could hardly recognize it as they investigated.
You see, to dive deep, a sub needs thick, steel bulkheads to withstand the pressure of the water @ those depths.
But such precautions are limited because the pressures of the deep are so intense that they crush even the steel.
And that’s what happened to the Thresher.
But the interesting thing that they discovered in the investigation was that in those same deep waters where the sub had been crushed, there were actually fish swimming around @ the same depth.
And you’d think that to survive down there, these fish would have to be huge, but they were not.
In fact, only micrometers of skin covered the fish.
So the obvious question is, how can they live @ such a depth when a nuclear submarine could not?
Tim Stafford says that they have a secret.
They have an equal & opposite pressure inside of them to withstand the pressure that is around them.
The pressure encountered @ deep waters can be the same pressure we might feel when temptation is on us.
The way to deal with that pressure is to have an equal & opposite pressure inside of us to withstand the pressure around us.
II Corinthians 4:16 “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” (NLT)
What is the biggest thing you can do to be victorious over temptation?
Build the inner man or woman.
Make the Lord more prominent in your life to build your soul.
Rely on His precious Holy Spirit.
Read from the Holy Word.
Grow as a Christian so that the pressure within you is able to withstand the pressure around you!
If you have not built that inner pressure up with the Lord, when you face temptation in those deep waters you run the risk of getting crushed & destroyed from temptation.
Philippians 4:13 (Amplified)
“I have strength for all things in Christ who overpowers me. I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me.”
What is the key to passing any test? Studying.
And I would submit to you the same is true for the test of temptation. You don’t pass the test in that moment.
You pass the test well before the test ever comes.
Be constantly prepared for the test spiritually & you will pass with the strength that can only come from God.

Topics: temptation

Books Referenced: 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, 2 Corinthians, Hebrews, Matthew, Philippians, Proverbs

Names Referenced: Abraham, David, Jesus, Jonah, Joseph