The temptations of the Believer

2. The temptation of the Believer

James 1:12–15 (KJV 1900)

Intro; Alexander was eight years old and loved to play baseball. As the season was getting under way, he was trying to save all the pennies he could in order to buy a baseball bat. But, he had a hard struggle. One night as he was perparing for bed, he got on his knees to say his prayers, his mother heard him say fervently: "O Lord, please help me save my money for a baseball bat. And, God, don't let the ice cream man come down this street!"

This morning, I would like to talk to you about the “Temptations of the Believer.” I have founded in life that temptations is like earth’s gravity. No matter how hard you jump to excape it hold on you, it seems to always pull you back down to earth. So we suggle week in always feeling gulty, because w seem to keep triping over and over again of the same sins.

It’s like the a little calf on the end of a lasso who had his feet firmly planted resisting the tug of the rope. Gary, who would like to be a "cowboy" want to learn how to throw (lay them down) a calves so that the cowboys could vaccinate, brand and make steers out of the young bulls.

This was Gary's first time to throw, but since he had often watched the others he was sure that he could do the job, especially since he was a big, strong, football player. Gary followed the rope to the calf, leaned across his body, grabbed a front and a back leg and lifted hard and managed to get two legs off the ground but with two still firmly planted. Gary applied more lift while leaning back, trying to get the other legs off the ground and lay the calf down.

At that moment the calf jumped. Down they went, Gary on the bottom, the calf on top. The hoots and hollers of the other workers embarrassed Gary. As the boss approached with the branding iron, he said, "We usually brand the one on the bottom." Calf number two was not a whole lot better. He managed to lift all four feet off the ground but as he tried to roll him on his side and put him down he wiggled. The result was the same—Gary on the bottom.

After that introduction to calf throwing, the boss took the time to teach Gary how it was done. It is as much a matter of finesse as it is strength. The big secret is in a proper hold and a well timed and placed knee into the calf's side. As soon as a cowboy grabs the calf, he will jump, then it is important to lift and bring a knee firmly into the calf's side, knocking its legs out from under it.

With practice Gary soon had the confidence that the calf would be on the bottom 100% of the time.All Christians are equipped by the Holy Spirit with the strength of the Almighty Himself to throw down evil and despair. In our daily pilgrimage it too often seems that like that young cowboy we end up on the bottom with failure, shame, embarrassment, guilt, inadequacy sitting atop us.

Sometimes it is a long battle. Unholy thoughts, resentment, feelings of victimization, enticements to vengeance come quickly and often. They seem to have the upper hand. Satan is a wily and strong opponent even if he is bound by God's chains.

How to throw him aside we learn from Jesus. Our ability to resist him is not in our will power or resolve! It is solely in the Word. As Satan tempts our Lord Jesus again and again, each time we hear Jesus say to Satan, "It is Written!"The Word of God is our advantage. When we actually speak a Word of God against Satan, he is thrown, It's the knee in his side. The Gospel is the power of God. We must purposely speak it aloud. "Be gone Satan, for it is written" Learn the lesson of the cowboy. Put your knee into his side!

Ja.1:2-3,12 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 12 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.

The connection between James’s discussion of trials in verses 2–12 and temptation in verses 13–15 is more explicit in the Greek text than in the English because of a single Greek root (peir-). In meaning, however, the two are to be carefully distinguished. A trial is an outward circumstance that can pose difficulties to our faith. A temptation is the inner enticement to sin. What James is concerned about is that his readers will confuse these two and attribute temptation to God. One of the first things that you and I should recognize about temptation from verse 3, is that we must be patient.

I. PATIENT IN TEMPTATION—v. 12

James1:12; Notice our text, James said “Blessed is the man, that endureth temptation:

He is saying, you are blessed “if “ you endure the temptation. You need to know that trials and temptations work patience (James 1:3).

We must know that trials and temptations are not to defeat and discourage us, but to prove us, to make us much stronger and more pure and righteous. The believer is to know that the trials and temptations of life will make him more stedfast, more persevering, and more enduring.

They will make him much stronger, not weaker. They will make him strong just like Jesus, and they will give him a pure and righteous character just like Jesus. When the believer keeps this fact in his mind, he can face trials and temptations much more positively. He can then begin to move toward the spirit of living joyfully in the face of trials and temptations.

To be patient means; to hold out; to stand firm, it means to put up with, Why? Because, Blessed is the man that endureth the temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

So see, as a child of God you are to endure temptations, because for the rest of your life on earth you will be tempted. No one can avoid temptation. If someone claims that he can, then he's saying he's better than the Son of God. So it's senseless to ask how to avoid temptation. A better question is this: How can one overcome temptation? Most people deal with temptation in one of three ways.

Some people just give in to temptation. Their attitude is, Why fight it? They're like the woman who said, "I can overcome anything but temptation." They've adopted the philosophy, "If it feels good, do it." Perhaps they will put it in a more sophisticated way and say, "Whatever is natural is beautiful, and whatever is beautiful must be right." So they live on an animal plane, concerned with only three things: self-gratification, self-preservation, and self-propagation. Most Americans are living like this.

A second way people deal with temptation—one that's just as wrong and just as futile—is to try to overcome it by one's own efforts. I'm reminded of the story of the little boy sitting under a farmer's apple tree. The farmer came by and said to him, "What are you doing? Are you trying to steal an apple?" And the boy said, "No sir, I'm trying not to." So often we try not to, but we fail because in our own strength we are no match for the onslaughts of temptation.

The third way to deal with temptation is to overcome it through the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Note Paul said that no temptation has seized us except what is common to man, he goes on to say, "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

A. The scriptures teaches that God never permits any temptation to be greater than one can bear. However, the choice is up to you.

B. Temptation” and “testing” (both Heb. nsh; Gk. peirázō) denote one of the important aspects of the relation between God and human beings in the Bible.

Whereas human beings are not supposed to test God (Deut. 6:16), God tests human beings’ faithfulness with various tools such as hardship or difficult commands. If they overcome the temptation to turn to God in the face of these difficulties, they will prove their steadfastness and pass the divine testing.

The most famous testing stories in the OT, however, are those of Abraham and Job. God tests Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22:1–2). God gives permission to the Adversary (Heb. kāṭān), ” Job 1:6; 2:1), to test Job with the severest afflictions (1:12; 2:6). Both Abraham and Job prove themselves faithful to God and are rewarded (Gen. 22:15–18; Job 42:11–17).

C. Temptations always has two effects: you either consent to it or you reject it.

T/s; Therefore as a child of God, you are going to find that there is a problem in temptations.

II. PROBLEM IN TEMPTATION—James 1:13 “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:

A. Problem. God does not tempt man. Many blame God for tempting them.

B. Personality. “For God cannot be tempted with evil.” God is holy and cannot tempt man in any way to sin. In fact, He teaches man to be holy and to live a holy life!

C. Perfection. “Neither tempteth he any man.” God may test or permit Satan to tempt, as He did with Job, but He does not, and will not, tempt man.

T/s; As you all should know by now, temptations has power.

III. POWER OF TEMPTATION James 1:14 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Notice, it’s his own lust that is the temptation. Th temptation comes from within the person, not extenal. And it is from this lust that bring forth sin.

Paul said; But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people! This is all the results of yielding to temptation.

A. Lust. Lust means “a sinful desire.” Hollywood, TV, and magazines have changed love into lust.

B. Looseness. Many have the “do as you please” attitude. This does not agree with God’s Word. There are rules and standards.

C. Lawlessness. Many feel, “I can break the laws I don’t like.” As Christians, we must keep all of God’s laws and man’s laws.

Our desires and ambitions should be under the control of the Lord. They should agree with His Word.

T/s;

IV. PUNISHMENT OF TEMPTATION—v. 15

A. Sin—“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.” The tenth commandment says, “Thou shalt not covet.” Coveting is lust. Lust is, sin, and sin displeases God.

B. Separation—“And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” This death means separation from God (Rom. 6:23). Separated from God on earth and in eternity.

Conclusion; Brother Hagan use to say,”thought might come, thought might persit, but thoughts not acted upon die unborn.” In other words, temptations come in thoughts, desires, and wants. Some thoughts, and desire and want are just fine, but there are others that are evil. James tells us to regard all temptation with patients, because that temptation might bring a problem, and with that problem there might be power to pull at you so that you will be punish with your life.

The scripture says the believer that endures the temptation will receiver the crown of life.