Don’t Take The Bait

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James 1:12–18 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

{Prayer}

Quick recap of how we opened up the series “DEVICES”

2 Corinthians 2:11 NKJV

11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Last week’s message “the Oldest trick in the Book”: Device numero uno: Falsehood and Lies. That’s the Original Device. The twisting of truth, the deceitful news of the devil, the craftiness of him that comes in the moment of vulnerability. Weakness.

We looked at the oldes trick: the crafty serpent, what did he say to Eve?

Genesis 3:1 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The opposite of ignorant is awareness.

Title” “Dont take the bait”.

Today: the next Device on his list.

The LURE. last week the LIES… today, this week - The Lures.

The lure into temptation: the temptation to sin. How He works.

“The enemy has a long List of baits: Tried and True: they always work for him”

I recently have been fishing more with lures, i went fishing recently with my friend james and he got me inspired to try fishing lures again and going with him i was amazed at some of the parrallels between catching fish with lures and the way the enemy goes about hooking us as well.

The way that He does the tempting. He often has a list of BAITS that He uses.

The enemy is not only the father of lies, a liar. But he is a TEMPTER. He TEMPTS us.

He BRINGS US IN WITH THESE LURES TO HOOK US AWAY & OFFCOURSE FROM THE PROMISES OF GOD, TO DESTROY OUR GOD GIVEN POTENTIAL.

His remit is to Steal, Kill and Destroy: John 10:10-11

John 10:10–11 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He has a long list of baits. Here are a few ways he uses this device of luring us into temptation - and we will have some fun as well with the fishing stuff.

You may be being LURED IN RIGHT NOW.. in this season - you may be taking the bait.

How does he lure us into take the bait?

First LURE is

1.DISTRACTION

Top Water - Rattle & motion…. the intent with this lure is simply to distract the Fish.

To distract it away to run and strike this lure up on top: often when its cloudy or early in the morning or late.

The enemy will try to distract you. TO lure you. Don’t take the bait.

The bait of distraction is one that gets you to focus on anything OTHER than what God has called you to. This is so prevalent today as we spend hours and hours.

its funny how this one works well when there is less light: the enemy will use darkness to distract: but we need to bring things into the light to see that its just a distraction

My friend Cole called it “doom scrolling” the other day. It’s distraction. Distraction from what? Whatever it is that GOD WOULD HAVE YOU DO.

How easily are you distracted from what God called you to?

How easily will you leave your area of focus to go for whats being shaken or shined at you or nearby you.

For a man this can be a distraction of the EYE: men are visual. Don’t get distracted

For a woman it can be emotional loss of focus on the right things: Don’t get distracted.

I can remember on alomost every report card I eve got at school it would say something to this effect “Matthew is a good student, is very capable… but is EASILY distracted.

I want to build a life where it’s hard for the enemy to easily take me off course…. Just because something’s going on over doesn’t mean I need to go take a look at it. Just because there is commotion somewhere on the surface of life doesn’t mean that it requires your attention also.

How often do you get swept up in other peoples junk, mess, affairs?

The saying goes “fools rush in”.

The Bible says there are something’s that just don’t require our involvement or attention at all. Because he sees all knows all and will handle it:

Proverbs 17:27–28 ESV

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

What’s the key here - don’t hear the rattle or the motion and take the bait: stay focused, be at your post, showing up to church is often all it takes to avoid getting distracted. Lured off into schemes. Be planted. Psalm 92 says that Gods people are PLANTED in the house of the Lord and FLOURISH in the courts of our God.

So thats one lure.

The next?

2.COMPARISON

Spinner Bait…..(What they have is shiny and better and I am missing out)

When Fish go for a lure it’s not uncommon for another one to follow along and check it out.

What we are dealing with here is the counterfeit: comparison is always about the counterfeit measure.

When it flashes at the fish they think it’s something better so they go after it and strike. Compared to the regular mullet it’s MORE SHINY and SEEMS like a BETTER bite, More nutrients, more value.

But when it hits the bait it REACTS HARD because as soon as its in their mouth they know its not a fish and they freak out. They’ve found out fully what comparison does

Q:What are of my life could i be lured in with comparison right now?

am i comparing myself to? Could i be comparing myself to something thats not meant for me? Am i taking the bait?

Here is the truth: Comparison will make you feel like you’re doing GREAT (pride) or Doing WORSE (insecurity). Neither are to be taken by the CHRISTIAN.

Here is the TRUTH about this BAIT

What i have going with God in my life… will always be better…. than whatever anyone else has got going on and the lure is that he is luring you AWAY from whats best, towards what you think is real but its just a counterfeit.

When fish go for this lure, they think its good, it looks good, but when its finally in their mouth it doesnt taste good. Thats the way comparison works: eat this: its better than what you already have

it;; nourish you - but it wont

It will only leave you

unfulfilled, Un satisfied…. and regretting that you ever went there in the first place

Romans 12 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

HOLD FAST TO WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN YOU> Be content with that, believe for more - But don’t get LURED away into a false reality bu the enemy thinking you aren’t getting what you should have. God knows what you NEED. in EVERY SEASON.

1 Timothy 6:6–7 ESV

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Don’t get lured away by the temptation of comparison to someone or something else…. it never is better that what god has for you right now.

Don’t take the Bait

3.CONFUSION

One way to catch a fish with a bait is to confuse the fish to get them to take the bait.

The enemy knows your instinctive bite: He knows, because he is CRAFTY, the right time that may be good to come and try to get you to take a particular bait and be lured in at exactly the right time.

It says in MATTHEW 4 that He Tempyed JESUS after he had fasted forty days and forty nights. I can testify that when I haven’t eaten, or havent slept I need to be EXTRA careful about my decisions

Or consider when we are in a state of confusion leading us to make a REACTIVE or IMPULSIVE move that we normally wouldn’t do. We in a different state of mind may not.

Fishing for them to be confused, or stressed by pressure to make an impulse strike.. maybe a sudden change in temperature or a recent storm can make fish do reactive things

or react in an impulse way…..

The enemy knows that you have an instinct. He knows vulnerabilities, He knows your weaknesses, He knows your strengths also. and he wants to get you to react to the bait.

He wants you to flip out & take the bait because:

you dont have the details

you dont have clarity

you dont have all the right perspective

When we dont have clarity, we often just REACT

(confusion, often leads to division)

Leading you away, splitting you off from the sheepfold of Gods people to be taken out.

Lures you away from where everyone else is with a spirit of division.

(Absolom spirit: come tell me your troubles. You have a grievance? Come tell me about it and thats what Absolom did to lead people away from Israel.

The enemy uses the same tactic all the time.

That’s why we don’t get upset when people go somewhere else for church. In fact I tell them all the time, be blessed,

How do we avoid this confusion? How do we beat this device and lure in our lives: We pray first, decide second.

commit now that when were presented with something that doesnt make sense. dont take the bait

When confronted with a decision: “Let me pray about that

“Let me come back to you in a day or two

“Let me just check in with a few people before i make that call…..

**the enemy wants you to make that quick call. Feel the pressure and take the bait - But as believers we don’t need to rush. Gods not in a hurry and so we don’t need to be**

Impulse decisions are the ones the enemy loves because he doesnt want you to think it through: he doesnt want to give you the time to pray, to read the word, to study what God said….

4.COMPRIMISE

Jig Head is used as a mechanism to get a fish to take an easy bite.

simpy throw it out and wether its on the bottom or being retrived back its simply the easiest ay to get a bite. Throw a live mullet on there, live bait and bring it up and down up and down and eventually you’ll feel the bite.

a fish just simply cant resist it

“its just so easy”

Its too easy.

Its right there. Why not take it?

Matthew 4:8–11 ESV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

See what the enemy did.

He showed him something pretty outstanding, something VERY GOOD.

all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

And he said “all these i will give you….

(there is the lie. They were about to become and will become the Lords dominion) Jesus didn’t take the bait

this is a significant thing for us to consider when it comes to our lives and spiritual warfare. What area of your life is the enemy casting doubt, selling a lie and calling you to take the EASY OPTION of comprimise right now

it would be easy to just do that now. To take the easy option. But it’ Never as good as the real thing and is really a TRAP. In fact its a BAIT thats being used by the enemy to get you to settle/ To compromise / To say “ah its ok”

Maybe in the area of a dating relationship? / Just easy to Its never worth it to compromise Gods Best

Maybe in a business deal at work? / always seems like an easy choice….. just do this one things under the table make it shady / Never worth it to compromise Gods best - and you’ll find it a snare, a trap, a compromise with significant consequences.

Maybe in the raising of your kids? / Never worth it to compromise Gods best

It is never worth it to take the bait of compromise! because Gods standard is always so much better than anything the enemy wants to give you - sell you - get you to fall for.

**** I was sitting down with some awesome young guys this week, single ready to mingle, but we talked about the power of God’s and knowing it to a life that doesn’t compromise… And how is a young man a believer I read the in proverbs that talked about the wayward woman, the adulterous the one who calls a young man to just compromise. His integrity purity is desire to love, God, and in what can seem like a moment or a simple little thing that seems so easy is really something that can send a man off to the slaughterhouse so to speak when it comes to his soul.

(So I went and found some of those verses & feel compelled to share especially to any young man within earshot of my voice: comprise is never better than Gods best)

Proverbs 9:13–18 “The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”

There are no short cuts in Gods kingdom - It’s either Gods way or no way - the way down. You can’t hurry God. When you’re ready for it he will give it you you. But if you comprismise YOu short change yourself of what it would’ve been in the hands of God and God alone.

Proverbs 12:4 “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.”

Even compromising the truth: Remember what the devil said to JESUS.

“If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread”

Gosh a loaf of bread will get me anytime. Just picture a warm, just out of the oven loaf of sourdough,sliced perfectly even, good crust - butter melting all over it, and with a coffee. ?

Heavenly!

Back to our text… lol

The devil tempts Jesus - Uses the LURE OF FOOD. The moment of weakness and physical exhaustion.

It would be BEEN EASY: Easy to just do this small thing.Jesus didnt take the bait - He knew the compromise was NOT worth it

It shows us a picture of what is better - the Spirit of Truth Over the desires of the flesh. Jesus gave us a perfect example of it.

Jacob was able to take buy the birthright of ESAU for a bowl of soup because it was just so easy for him to comprimse the immediate for instant gratification

5.OFFENSE.

This is the bottom rig.

This is the one that will weigh you down the most. And possibly the worst of them all.

The whole point of the bottom rig is that this weight sits on the bottom and is invisible to the fish. And the leader and the bait is what floats up off the surface giving the appearance of something thats free to take and really that easy.

It’s an easy bait to take.

But as soon as the strike happens - the fish is held back by the weight and has to to pick up the weight and swim with it.

When we take the bait of offense: this is what happens.

Nothing will weight down a spiritual life in Christ more than a spirit of offense that resides the heart of a Christian. It not only holds you back but it takes you out.

You begin to live your life with a LIMP or a Hook thats stuck in you.

You can’t motion freely as a believer, you can’t function properly in your gifting, you are gonna struggle to live with the grace you need on your life.

If you have been a Christian for a while: its just a matter of time before you swim by this one… the question is - even after knowing this old time snare thats been set a million times before, will you still take the bait?

Will you let the enemy drag you out of another church

Will you allow the device of the enemy to bring you down like that

To walk right on into your life and blow up decades of faithfulness because of something someone said to you, did to you, right or wrong?

It’s just a matter of time before you’ll be wronged by someone, and the opportunity for offense will be right there - what will you do?

Something my Pastor would say often and it marked me as I developed my discipleship with Jesus.

“Anyone who is seasoned in the word of God, has no reasonable excuse to live their life offended”

DONT TAKE THE BAIT.

This is why forgiveness is so vital for us as believers…. It stop us from being robbed by the bait of offense. We live free and light and forgiven,

This is why Jesus told the parable of the “unforgiving servant” as a way to get us to understand the magnitude of Gods forgiveness and the contrast to our own towards others…. Like a spec of dust in comparison:

Matthew 18:21–35 ESV

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Offenses holds back a forgiving heart.

Let’s determine. DONT TAKE THE BAIT