God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life
that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12(NLT)
James gives
us help with understanding why we do what we do, even when we don’t want to do
it – and the spiritual strength resources we have to help overcome in our times
of temptation.
Consider with
me four aspects of the believer’s struggle with temptation:
1. The Believer’s Warfare
The
Christian life itself is warfare. The battle
songs in our hymnal echo the Biblical posture that we are at odds
with a world system that is hostile to Christ.
People that were thrilled with Jesus would not have crucified him! When it comes to temptation the word warfare
is almost too mild. Let’s dig a little
deeper.
THE DEFLECTION OF SIN
And
remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never
tempts anyone else.
James 1:13(NLT)
Blaming
our sinfulness on God is as old as the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve fell, and when confronted by
God, Adam said, it was Eve, that woman YOU gave me, Lord! Adam was deflecting the responsibility for
his sin onto God’s shoulders. Now,
that’s ultimately the way we get saved; God’s son, Jesus died on the cross so
He could take away the sin that condemns each of us. But we have to confess it first; God
never forgave an excuse, and that’s what Adam was offering.
Confession
and accepting responsibility for our sin is a hard thing for people in the 21st
century to accept.
Deflection
for responsibility; that is seen in every walk of life. To include the imagery from Harry Truman,
there doesn’t seem to be a place anymore where the buck stops being passed.
It is
important to say that being tempted is not
sin. Temptation is the seed of sin, and
Satan plants it. We cannot control the
thoughts that enter our minds. However,
as Martin Luther pointed out, though we cannot prevent the birds from
circling over us, we can stop them from nesting in our hair! Satan may plant the seed as a
temptation. We don’t have to grow it to
a bumper crop!
THE DIRECTION TEMPTATION TAKES TO BECOME SIN
There are
dozens of examples in the Bible of this pathway – however, David’s sin with
Bathsheba is striking. Let’s use that as
our roadmap to compare it with what James is teaching us about the way sin
defeats believers.
a.
Desire
Temptation
comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
James 1:14(NLT)
David (2
Samuel 11) saw Bathsheba, a very beautiful, but married woman. God created desire in us; it’s necessary that
we be interested in the opposite sex if our species is to continue. However, just like fire, which is a good
thing – if you handle it in a way God didn’t intend, you will suffer the
consequences. This was the crisis point
for David, and that hasn’t changed.
What you do
with the temptation defines whether it will become a sin. Desire is stimulated by the senses, and
generally begins with the eyes. A little
boy was watching his Mom bake some fresh cookies. She 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."[1]
Desire
happens, but we don’t have to stand there and drool all over it. Someone once said that lust is what develops
with the second look.
b. Decision
These desires give birth to sinful actions. James 1:15a(NLT)
Once the
decision is made in the heart to abandon what is known to be right (that which
is approved by God), the line is crossed between Satan’s work, and our
receiving sin into our lives. David saw
Bathsheba, and it was only a temptation.
The minute he began inquiring about her, wanting her, (knowing she was
married, and therefore outside of God’s approval),
the desire was intensified to lust.
There is a
play on words in this verse 13 – “desires” is like the cravings of a pregnant
woman. They are exceedingly strong, as
any husband and father who has ever made a 1am trip to Food Lion can tell
you! A woman great with child can
exert great control over a man of average intelligence and reasoning.
It is that
way with our God-given desires. If Satan
places a temptation before you – something outside of God’s approval –
and if you stay, lingering, wondering, the lure has a hook attached, and you
are very close to being reeled-in! The
hand’s disobedience is only a thought removed from the heart’s disobeying!
c.
Disobedience (sinful actions)
“Giving
birth” is actually a military word; it means take prisoner. The long look created lust, the lust carries
you away and you are its prisoner; Satan’s work is successful. He handed off the temptation, you accepted it,
and are now running down the field.
Annie was our
American Pit bulldog/lab mix. She was
only about 65 pounds, but when the bulldog mentality in her took over, she had
the strength of Samson! Our daughter
Carrie and her husband Shannon had a young Rottweiler named Magnum
who outweighed Annie by a ton and a half.
Once when Elizabeth and I stayed at their apartment to dog-sit, I was told to walk the
dogs. Just like an unsuspecting child, I
accepted the leash from that temptress I’ve lived with for 51 years. Bulldog and bad-dog in tow, I accepted my
temptation….er, assignment.
Once
outside, I never saw the lady coming – the one with the two Huskies; the ones
Annie really didn’t like! When she took
off after them I was dragged off like a sack of dirty laundry. Magnum decided to join Annie’s attitude. I couldn’t have held them back with a brigade
of Storm Troopers.
Now, the
analogy is clear. I accepted the leash –
it was offered to me. But once I had the
leash it was mine; or so I thought! Sin
is always like that. You start off
thinking,
Man, this is great, I will…
Then, the
hook sets, and you get dragged along; you get reeled in, scaled and
cooked! Desire, Decision, Disobedience,
and…
d. Death!
And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to
death. James 1:15b(NLT)
It’s the
payoff! David’s payoff for his sexual
affair was the blowing-apart of his family.
His kids lost respect for him.
The kingdom God entrusted to David’s leadership became divided and a
civil war erupted. It was chaos. The leash led him to the place he never
intended to go!
Years ago,
during the scandal of President Clinton’s sexual sins, Rev. Jesse Jackson
counseled the President. Amid Jackson’s
counseling a president, his own scandal broke into the headlines about him
having an extra-marital affair and fathering a child. This is a reminder that no one is
immune! It is war!
And we don’t
have a leg to stand on…The Devil may SUGGEST sin, but he cannot MAKE
us sin. That is our choice.
The
temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us.
We have no
one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant
and has a baby: sin!
Sin grows
up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
James 1:14-15(TMNT)
2. The Believer’s Weaknesses
So don’t be misled, my
dear brothers and sisters. James 1:16(NLT)
We all make
mistakes; we do that with sin. But often
we try to trivialize it to the point of saying, and believing, it’s
no big thing, I can handle it.
We can’t!
There are
several ways that our weakness shows-up when it comes to temptation.
a.
Underestimated Strength
Ø We underestimate our strength to resist temptation…
Some drug
dealers went to the captain of an oil tanker that regularly made trips from
South America to Los Angeles. They
offered him $10,000 if he would bring in a load of cocaine. He refused.
They came back again and upped the ante to $50,000 for just one
load. He again refused.
Finally,
they came and offered $150,000. This
time he said he would think about it, but he called the FBI. The sting caught the bad guys. One of the federal agents asked the captain
why he waited until they offered $150 grand before he called them. His answer:
They were getting pretty close to my price, and I was scared![2]
It is
always that way with our strength. You
have a price! That’s why the Lord Jesus
had to die. Everyone’s got a price. Don’t underestimate your strength – it is
just strong enough to fail when the right price is reached.
Ø We also underestimate Satan’s strength to convince…
Ø We underestimate the strength of the lure itself…
A man was
in the Indianapolis airport checking on tickets to Chicago. He was not aware of the time difference.
The ticket
agent said, this flight leaves at 1pm and arrives at 1:01pm. Do you want to make a reservation?
Hanging
around is a good way to describe what gives the lure time to
make a pretty good connection with your appetite! Sin may be fascinating – but don’t
underestimate what it can do to you – remember the end is death! Underestimated strength, and…
b. Unguarded
Moments
“Unguarded
moments” describes what happened to King David on the rooftop. He should have been about king-stuff. He was unguarded, and he underestimated the
lure of sin. There are also…
c. Unsuspected Blind
spots
We all
have ‘em…we never see it coming.
Sometimes it is
Ø people we thought we could trust, or count on;
Ø places we thought weren’t so bad
Ø things we thought wouldn’t take over our life.
In
slaughterhouses they know sheep will follow.
The sheep mill around nervously.
Then, a trained goat is introduced.
He walks up the gangway towards the slaughter room. He stops mid-way, turns and looks to the
sheep. They begin to follow. He continues.
At the last second the goat turns left into an open gate, where he will
be fed for his work, and live to “work” another day.
The sheep,
however, must go right – and they walk right to the butchers. They call the leader a Judas goat; how
appropriate!
Our
weaknesses in the warfare…Underestimated strength, unguarded moments and
unsuspected blindsides. That’s where
temptation turns to sin. It’s where we
“err”.
Sin sounds
so invincible. Is there anything we can
do? Oh yes, we have…
3. The Believer’s Weapons
Whatever
is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who
created all the lights in the heavens. He
never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized
possession. James 1:17-18(NLT)
There are at
least four great weapons at our disposal with which we can fight temptation…
a. Truth
And
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his
work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Philippians 1:6(NLT)
This is
the truth of the Father’s purpose in you.
You know how Satan works. He
hasn’t changed methodology in 6,000 years!
So, apply
the truth to temptation…
The
temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God
is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.
When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
1 Corinthians 10:13(NLT)
Satan can
plant a temptation in your heart, but he cannot MAKE you sin. That’s the truth! Keep that truth ever before you!
A second
weapon is
b. God’s Word
Your word
is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path…I have hidden your word in my
heart, that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:105, 11(NLT)
I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your law is
written on my heart.
Psalm 40:8(NLT)
The fact
is true that Satan can plant a temptation.
But it is also true, that while he can plant, we also have the Word of
God resident…and we can apply the Word of God like a holy Weed-Be-Gone killer. Sin happens when we nurse the temptation in
our hearts. The Word of God in your
heart is a weapon against the weeds Satan plants.
In the
account of Jesus’ tempting, note that neither Jesus nor Satan ever raised any
question as to the authority of the Word of God. All three phases of the temptation in the
wilderness were Satan’s attempts to place a seed of doubt. He (Satan) always began with “IF”. All temptation begins with a subtle doubt
that what God said and promises is not true.
Jesus used the Word of God to rebuke Satan and crush the doubt before it
had a chance to take hold!
The Word
of God is your weapon! Keep yourself in
the Word of God! Hide it in your
heart. Truth, the Word, and another
weapon…
c. Prayer
Teach me
to do your will, for you are my God. May
your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. Psalm 143.10(NLT)
We need a
firm footing! Prayer is the ground floor
of firm footing. Prayer is the essence
of a current relationship with God. Are
you up to date with Him?
Scripture
tells us that every time Jesus prepared to launch another phase of his earthly
ministry, he spent concentrated time with God the Father in prayer. However, you will also note that it was
Jesus’ custom to always be in prayer.
A recent
survey of believers indicates that most Christians find that temptations were
more damaging when they had …neglected their time with God (81%) and
when they were physically tired (57%).[4] Truth, Word, Prayer, and one more…
d. Fellow Christians
Make this
your common practice:
Confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together
whole and healed. James 5.16(TMNT)
I could
not stand without my brothers and sisters in Christ who help me, and hold me
accountable. There is something about
belonging to a church family – where you know your failure will hurt
others. It is like disappointing your
Grandmother.
The great
Redwood trees grow into the clouds. They
are magnificent. However, you will never
see one of them alone. They have no deep
root, and so are dependent on the trees next to them to give them the strength
to stand. God created us like that. Your weapon against temptation is your
relationship to the others in this room.
A 7-year
old girl was drawing a picture of her church.
There was the building, steeple and cross. She drew the front door, wide open, with the
preacher standing there, welcoming the folks in. They walked in line, all stooped over, like
they were carrying a heavy weight. On
the other side, the door was open, and the folks were filing out, bigger,
standing straight, with smiles. That’s
the support!
If you are
one who has no church family, but are a believer – don’t wait – find yourself a
church home now…at the end of this service, come and join us. We support each other by the roots!
Ø It’s a war – everyone needs support.
Ø We have weaknesses – everyone needs weapons
But, don’t
forget that in this war, if we faint not – we will receive…
4. The Believer’s Wages
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and
temptation. Afterward they will receive
the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12(NLT)
Everything
pays its wages. Paul told us (Romans
6.23) that the wages of sin is death.
But there is a second half to that verse – the gift of God is eternal life.
But now
that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have
discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise is in
store…a whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life
on the way!
The payday
now for those who fight and win over temptation has wages that are really simple,
and simply wonderful.
· You get to be respected by others (including your
Grandmother).
· And you get your own respect.
There’s a
lot of talk these days about poor self-image, and low self-esteem. I’ve got a prescription for your problem here: Endure temptation and trials – that crown of
life is the respect of Jesus!
Ø Be a person who loves his family.
Ø Be a decent, clean young person who saves his or her
greatest expression of intimacy for that one lifetime partner.
Ø Be a godly neighbor who dismisses the idea of coveting
anything that belongs to his neighbor.
That’s how
to create great self-image, proper self-esteem.
And in the
end, there will be another payday. It
will be the moment you’re ushered into the kingdom, welcomed by the Master himself…Well
done, thou good and faithful servant! I’ll
settle for that wage, any day!
If you’re going to make decisions today against temptation, and for
putting God’s strength to work in your life, I can think of no better place
than at the Lord’s Table, where there is strength given in exchange for our
weakness, and the grace of forgiveness that chases Satan into the next county!
Let the church say “Amen”!
Go to VIDEO
[1]Quoted from a sermon by Jim Mooney
How To Conquer Temptation SermonCentral.com
[2] An old story I recalled, source
unknown
[3] United Methodists Today, Quoted
in Reader’s Digest
[4] Discipleship Journal, 11/12/92. To Verify, Leadership
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