Wisdom for Battling Temptation

fIntroduction

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701508051/good-samaritan-returns-lost-lottery-ticket-the-man-who-bought-it-wins-jackpot What would you have done? Kept the ticket and claimed the prize or turned it in?

Test/temptation - Life is full of tests, struggles, and difficulties, and life is also full of temptations.

Everyday temptation is before you. Will you honor God or will you not?

Everyday temptation is before you. Will you honor God or will you not?

Why are we tempted? Because of the cross: 1. The punishment for your sin was taken care of. Jesus died in your place so that you would not be punished. 2. The power of sin over you was eliminated. It doesn’t have to control you any longer. What you struggle with today, you don’t have to struggle with five weeks from now. 3. BUT, the presence of sin remains.

Because the presence of sin remains - we’re daily tempted to give in to sin.

Temptation is an everyday occurence, and temptation to sin seems to be strongest when life is hard.

James - writing to believers who were going through difficulties and they’re going to face temptations!

There will be temptations for you. What you need to know about temptation and how you battle it. Three truths that will help us in our battle against temptation:

All trials bring temptations.

Chap. 1 is all about trials. vs. 3-4 - Trials are an opportunity for God to mature you in your faith. You’ve seen it!

vs. 12-13 - Trials and temptation closely connected. Greek word for tempted in is the same word used for trials.

In every trial there is temptation. Every trial brings opportunity, every trial also brings opposition.

On one hand, God wants to grow you. On other hand, there’s an enemy who wants to stop you from experiencing the work of God in your life. ()

Your trials are either going to bring tremendous growth if you keep your eyes on Jesus and walk by faith OR your trials are going to bring terrible danger if you choose to take your eyes off of Jesus and give in to temptation.

For example:

Wealth is a test of your faith. Will you let it humble you? See it as a gift from God to use for His Kingdom? Or, will you let it ruin you? Will you use wealth to go after material gain? Will you waste it on you?

Poverty is a test of your faith. Will you trust God to provide, or will you be tempted to say, “God is not faithful to me? He does not care about me.”

Disease is a trial. Will you say, “God is faithful and good even in my sickness.” Or, “God is not good to make me go through this.”

Parenting (on Mother’s Day) - a constant test! Will I give in to my anger and lash out at my kids? Or, will I be patient and filled with grace?

Luke and Football - Mom protecting from danger - Don’t want to get in a wreck - stay out of the car - BUT, you can’t avoid all difficulties. You will have trouble, and you will be tempted in the troubles.

All temptation comes from within.

All trials bring temptation, but make sure you know exactly where temptation comes from.

In trials, temptation is to blame God:

“My life would be better if God wouldn’t have put me in this mess.”

“I can’t help the things I do. God made me this way. (Even if my choices are inconsistent with God’s Word.)

- God is NOT the source of your temptation. He may bring testing in your life, but He cannot entice you to evil because there is no evil in Him!

God is pure and perfect. He hates evil. He is at work to completely deliver us from evil. He cannot even be tempted with evil. It’s not even a possibility.

If God is completely free from evil, how could He entice someone to do evil? It is impossible for God to lure you into evil.

God does not put you through trials to encourage sin. Instead, God puts you in trials to produce faithfulness. In the same way, you put your children in challenging situations not to produce evil but to build them up.

- Your temptation does not come from external sources. You can’t blame God. You can’t blame other people. You can’t blame your circumstances. Temptation comes from within.

- “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

9  The heart is deceitful above all things,

You know this from experience: selfish, prone to anger, prone to think things that are absolutely vile, etc.

and desperately sick;

The desire to reject God’s way is in you - those desires SCREAM lies to us and like an attractive lure, our desires. (Buy It Now button at Amazon - headphones - 1 click.)

In trials - God’s saying, “Trust me.” But our hearts, if not brought under control of Spirit, are saying:

who can understand it?

God’s Way is restrictive. There’s too many rules to keep. God’s way is just do’s and don’ts. There’s no freedom in doing life God’s way.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

God’s way is not relevant. What God says just doesn’t work in today’s complicated world. Bible written thousands of years ago. How is it relative in a modern, technologically driven society?

Heart says: My way is freeing. My way is right. I determine my own destiny.

If you give in to the lies of your heart, you give birth to sin, and if you continue to surrender to sin instead of God, sin will grow and overtake your life and lead to death; not life. (vs. 14-15)

Bottom line: You sin because you want to.

Three challenges:

Don’t listen to your heart! Culture says: Follow your heart. Trust your gut. Follow your feelings. Terrible advice! () Instead, listen to God. He is trustworthy!

Stop playing the blame game. God made me this way OR if my circumstances were different OR you don’t know who hurt me. You sin because you want to!

You want to be bitter.

You want to hold a grudge.

You want to look at porn.

You want to give up on God.

You want to sin because you believe the lies of your heart that your bitterness, pornography, lies, etc. are more satisfying than God.

Take responsibility. Confess that you have a problem and turn to the One who gives you wisdom to walk through difficulties trusting that God is at work. ()

All goodness comes from above.

Temptation doesn’t come from God because God is good!

Everything that is good and perfect comes from God. You can’t blame Him for evil!

He is the Father of lights - No darkness in Him at all. He has completely exposed Himself to us - In Him, we see the truth. He wants the best for His children! (vs. 17)

He never changes (vs. 17). He’s the father of lights! He created the lights because He is the light! We can see Him for who He is. He’s not hiding His purposes or intentions in the shadows. He has always been good and will always be good. The world constantly changes. You constantly change, but God never changes!

You know this from experience! You’ve seen His goodness to you over and over again.

Within you are seeds of desire that if you allow them to grow into sin and rebellion, it will lead to death. But, of His own will, God has planted the seed of truth in you - firstfruits - James original readers were firstfruits of a new work in Christ - first of a great harvest of people being changed by Jesus to be a people who long for God more than they long for their desires.

James: don’t even think about blaming God when you choose to sin. He’s good. He is not responsible for your temptation or your sin. He has given you good gifts to protect you from temptation:

His Word - to know what He desires.

His wisdom - () - through His Spirit, the ability to apply truth to every situation you face.

His church - to help you in those times of difficulty as you lean on others.

His Son - - “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Testing - Jesus went through it. His whole life was a test. He was human just like us. But thankfully, He was far more than a human. He was God in the flesh - sinless. We desire sin. Jesus desired the will of the Father. “God cannot be tempted.” Tension - don’t know how it all works - Jesus was tempted, but because He was God, He couldn’t be tempted. Temptation didn’t have a chance.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Remember: The Gospel = Jesus in my place. He’s been there. He knows your testing. He was tested. He knows your weakness so He said “Yes” to God in your place. He said “No” to sin in your place. He died in your place taking your punishment on yourself. He rose again so you can know that He is God who gives life.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

, “Let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

You’re in a time of need - trials are tough. You are tempted to turn from God. There’s help for you! Grace - run to Jesus. AND remember who you are - a child of God who has given you every good gift - and the ability to overcome sin as you run to His grace and ask for His help.

Unbeliever and Believer:

Come clean. (Believer: You’ve given in. It’s hurt your walk with God. Confess.)

Turn to the One who is good. He still gives grace and mercy.