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Message Title

Fighting Temptation

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Temptation and trials existed to man since the devil was cast down. It is there to try us, to get us promoted or to bring us down. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (James 1:12.) Temptation in Webster Dictionary is the act of tempting; enticement to evil by arguments, by flattery, or by the offer of some real or apparent good. There is no one in this world that has not been tempted. Jesus was tempted himself even though the devil knew He was the Son of God and that he will not fall for it (Matthew 4). If Jesus was tempted then who are we not to be tempted. Temptation will always be there till we leave this world. Temptation can be avoided or overcomed when it comes. We will discuss how temptation arises and how to avoid it.

Why is there Temptation?
The bible clearly states that evil temptation is of the devil. I call it evil temptation because God doesn’t tempt with evil. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). The bible calls the devil the tempter in Matthew 4:3 and clearly says Jesus was tempted of the devil in Matthew 4:1. So therefore we know that the devil is the one who tempts and the source of temptation. You may also wonder why God has not destroyed the devil, in order to understand why; you must understand and know that God is faithful to his Word. He has set a date for the devil’s destruction which is very close. Till that date, the devil will still be here on earth doing what he knows how to do best (Evil). That is why the demons in the two men at the tomb at Gergesenes said, has Jesus Come to destroy them before their time (Matthew 8:29). A Child of God need not worry about the devil because in Christ we are more than Conquerors. Colossians 2:10 says we are complete in Christ Jesus; the head of all principalities and power. We serve the greatest and only true God and He is able to preserve us as long as we truth and follow Him.

How Temptation arises.
Temptation starts in the mind and get there through our senses (Noses, Mouth, Ears, Body). Ours senses allow us collect data from this evil world and relate it to our mind. The real battle is in the mind, it is the battle field. It is the mind that processes and converts the data collected to images. A good example is the tree in the Garden of Eden, the fruit was never really noticed till the devil started telling Eve about it. Then, the fruit started to look good in her eyes.

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6

The fruit didn’t look enticing until she heard the serpent’s word and accepted what the devil said in her mind. That is when it looked good to her but the end of it all was death to man. If the devil where to bring to you a snake just in his hand, you will certainly not accept it but if he wrapped it up in a fine wrapper and presented it to you, you will most likely take it. Temptation hardly comes as something evil but most of the times as something good and enticing. It also comes with pressure. Since temptation starts in mind, it can be stopped there before it rules our emotion. A good example will be someone watching, reading or listening to sexual material continually. He/She may find himself/herself meditating on it, then it becomes strong and hard to control. Soon after, it becomes an unstoppable desire which leads to sin, then death. Such person will certainly find it hard to take their mind off sex. I tell you what you think in your mind is also sin because if you were given a good opportunity to accomplish it, you will; sometimes been ignorant of the fact that it is sin.

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." - James 1:12-15

How to Fight Temptation
As earlier said, temptation starts in the mind and can be stopped there. The way to stop temptation is to keep our mind on the Word of God always or before we get tempted. If we keep reading and hearing the Word of God, it will replace every other thought in our mind and instead of meditating on evil thoughts we will meditate on God’s word which will bring life to our spirit because every other thought will have been replaced.

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” - Joshua 1:8

You can’t just say you want to remove a thought from your mind, you can only forget it with time or replace it with something else. We should learn to replace every thought with God’s word. That is what every Christian needs to do when he/she becomes Born Again. That is the key to growing spiritual and leaving a sin-free lifestyle.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. “ Romans 12:2

Most Christians are distracted from renewing their mind as the Lord desires. The cares of this world has made many leave what is important for what is not. We need to work at this. We sometimes do it for a short period, then stop and try to continue later, only to find it as hard as starting again. We need to do God’s Word and meditate on it continuously/daily till we get used to it. We have to exercise our mind as an athlete exercises everyday to win. “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8). We need to exercise our spirit daily.

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41.

Another way of fighting temptation is the avoid it. We Christians need to pray to God in order help us avoid temptation but most times we just follow our emotion and desires. When we pray to God, He tells us what direction to take to avoid the devil’s traps and gives us the grace to stand even though we see ourselves tempted by it.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

Jesus is the way to the truth and life. So we must learn to follow Him and not ourselves or friends. Anything out of the way of God is out of the will of God and in the way of the devil.

I thank God for giving me this opportunity to share this with you, I will talk much later on Passing Trials and its difference from Temptation. If you have any comments or addition, please email us at info@revelationtoend.com. God bless you.

Linked Message: Message not Avaliable! Last Updated: Thursday, January 19, 2006

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