4 Lies of Temptation

1.Introduction

In his book, Men at Work, George F. Will takes a close look at four baseball players. One of those examined is Orel Hershiser (of Dodgers fame), who talks about his philosophy of pitching.

“There are two theories of pitching,” Hershiser says. “One is that you try to convince the batter that a particular pitch is coming and you throw something different. The other theory, that you don’t hear as much, but that I use, is that if the batter expects a particular pitch, you throw it, but you throw it in a place where he can’t hit it.” That is: Know what a batter wants or expects and throw the ball almost there. If he is a highball hitter, throw it a bit too high. His eagerness will prevent him from laying off it, but it will be hard to hit well.

Isn’t that the way the enemy works in our life? He knows just what kind of pitch that we are a sucker for and then throws it our way. But, it is just a little higher or just a little bit more outside than where we like it, and most likely we will bite on it every time. After all, it looks so good. It feels so right.

Doug Cecil, Dallas Connection, Spring, 1995, p. 1

2.Body

a. (Read Genesis 3:4-5; Matthew 4:1-10)

b.Lie #1:  God either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care about your needs.

                                               i.      Genesis

1.satan suggested,

2.Eve considered,

3.Eve decided

                                            ii.      Matthew

1.satan suggested,

2.Jesus rejected, based on the Word of God… not how he felt.

c. Lie #2:  It MIGHT NOT be disobedience…

d.Lie #3a:  If it IS disobedience, God probably won’t do anything about it.

e. Lie #3b:  If He does, the penalties for the sin will be less painful than rejecting the temptation.

                                               i.      Consequences aren’t always felt immediately

                                            ii.      One of the most SERIOUS consequences is broken fellowship with God, and the inability to hear Him.

                                         iii.      Sometimes, consequences are cumulative

                                        iv.      See above on consequences

                                           v.      This is a “feelings” driven approach which is ALWAYS wrong (doing the right thing for the wrong reason is the wrong thing)

                                        vi.      Our real problem:  the temptation is more real to us than God.

f.    Lie #4:  Succumbing to the temptation will “feel good” and somehow enhance or improve your life.

3.Closing

It was F. B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.

Stephen Brown, Christianity Today, April 5, 1993, p. 17

[1]

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[1]10,000 sermon illustrations. 2000 (electronic ed.). Dallas: Biblical Studies Press.