Faith that
Gets Its Hands Dirty part 2
Going
Toe to Toe with Temptation
by
Greg Hanson
Sunrise Wesleyan Church
January 13, 2008
Main
Passage: James 1:13-18 (NLT)
At
the very moment the queen is facing it, the convicted criminal can be
facing it, too. At the moment the blockbuster movie star is facing it,
the crossing guard can be facing it, too. At the moment your pastor is
facing it, the retired school teacher can be facing it. What am I
talking about? Temptation.
In the passage Chris just read for
us, James warned us about temptation. He warned us about it’s danger.
He told us how it works. And he told us how to overcome it.
This
is our second week in our message series on the book of James called
“Faith that Gets Its Hands Dirty” – developing a faith that’s not
afraid to get involved in the messiness of life. And one of the
messiest parts of all of our lives is found in this area of temptation.
Temptation confuses us. It convinces us to do what is wrong. It
complicates things. It promises pleasure but ultimately produces pain
and death.
And no one is exempt from temptation. We all encounter it every day.
So what is it, anyway? What is temptation? Let me give you a simple
definition of what temptation is…
What
Is Temptation?
Temptation
is the seduction to do wrong by promising pleasure or gain.
Temptation
is the seduction to do what is wrong – it’s the enticement to sin.
Temptation in itself is not sin, but when we agree to the temptation
and follow it, it inevitably leads us into sin.
Let me prove
that to you. In the book of Hebrews in the New Testament, just before
the book of James, we’re told about how Jesus Himself was faced with
temptation. Take a look at this…
Hebrews 4:15 (CEV)
Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in
every way that we are. But he did not sin!
Jesus
Himself was tempted, yet He never sinned. So temptation itself is not
sin. It’s when we give in to the temptation that we sin.
Three
Truths about Temptation:
1.
Temptation is always present in life.
James 1:13 (NLT)
And remember, when you are being tempted…
Underline
that word “when”. It’s not “if you are tempted”, or “should by some
strange circumstance you be tempted.” No, it’s “When you are tempted.”
You can expect it. It’s going to happen. No one is exempt – we all deal
with temptation every day.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)
The temptations in your life are no different from what others
experience.
We all experience temptation. As someone has said, “Temptation is like
taxes and death… inevitable.”
Regardless
of who we are, what our social status is, how long we’ve followed Jesus
or how spiritually mature we’ve become, we all face it. We can’t
outgrow it or become immune to it. It’s something we all have to deal
with. The temptations we face here are as real as the temptations faced
by our soldiers in Afghanistan. The temptations business executives
face are as real as those faced by farmers in rural areas. The
temptations children face are as real as those faced by their
grandparents. And the temptations you face are as real as the ones
Jesus faced Himself. Everyone is tempted.
I know the tendency
might be to think that only bad or weak people are tempted. And that’s
exactly what Satan would want you to think, so that you let your guard
down. But that’s not the case. We are not tempted because we are evil
but because we are human.
Temptation is always present in life.
So when you start feeling guilty because you’re tempted, remember that
even Jesus was tempted. Being tempted is not wrong, giving in is.
2.
Temptation is never prompted by God.
Last
week we took a look at the trials we face in life. The difficult
circumstances, the heartaches, the disappointments, the challenges we
face in life. And we saw that just like temptation, we all face trials.
None of us are exempt. But here’s the difference: God may bring trials
into our lives to help stretch our faith. But God never leads us into
temptation. That’s just something He will never do.
James 1:13 (NLT)
And
remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.”
God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
Chuck
Swindoll is a pastor and an author of several books. Perhaps some of
you have read his stuff. I’m using some of his material on the book of
James during this series, so you’re probably going to hear a few quotes
from him over the next several weeks. Here’s the first of what will
probably become many quotes…
“God does not traffic in the realm of the immoral.”
~ Charles Swindoll
That’s just something God doesn’t do. He does not want you to give in
to evil, so He’s not going to be the cause of it.
James 1:13 (NLT)
And
remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.”
God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
And
the language James used in verse 13 really drives this home. From what
I understand, in the Greek James used some very specific terms. You
see, James could have said that God is not directly responsible for
temptation, but He is partly to blame because He indirectly causes it.
But
James rules this out by the language he uses. Because the Greek
literally means that God is not even indirectly responsible. He had
absolutely nothing to do with it. He is not to be blamed for any
temptation that we face; it’s entirely our responsibility.
James
tells us that God is not tempted, and God is not tempting. Yes, He
tests us – He stretches our faith – but He never solicits us toward
evil.
3.
Temptation follows a consistent pattern
It follows a consistent pattern. And James laid that out for us…
James 1:14-15 (NLT)
Temptation
comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These
desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow,
it gives birth to death.
So what’s the pattern?
Our Desire for ____ – Lured Away – Sinful actions – Sin grows – Death
Well,
we’re confronted with something that we desire – it baits us and draws
us in – it convinces us that it will make us happy, so we give in to
it. But when we give into the temptation, that’s called sin – and when
that sin becomes the pattern of our lives it eventually leads to death
– physically and spiritually.
That’s the pattern of temptation. It’s a consistent pattern. So the
truth is, you can recognize it when it’s happening.
Three
Elements of Every Temptation:
Plus, every temptation contains three elements. James explicitly states
two of them and implies the third.
First, every temptation contains a bait.
•
Bait
This
is usually something external. Maybe a person, a thing, a title, a
position, recognition, some form of pleasure, power… whatever it is.
And
it can be different for everyone. The bait that’s effective on you may
be completely ineffective on someone else. The bait for one person may
be sexual. For someone else, it may be monetary. For someone else, it
might take the form of an addiction. Different baits are effective on
different people.
You all know about my squirrel troubles over
the past few months. We had a couple squirrels running around our house
causing some damage and really presenting health and fire hazards. So
we needed to do something about it.
So we set some traps. And
what did we use for bait? Well, if I was trying to catch a tiger I
might use a slab of meat. But for some reason I didn’t think that would
work on a squirrel. Maybe because they’re vegetarian.
So what we
ended up using was peanut butter. Because we were told that peanut
butter was the best kind of bait to use to catch a squirrel.
The
imagery James is painting in this passage is actually of a fisherman
trying to catch a fish. Now, I’m not much of a fisherman. I went
fishing once when I was young and I fell in. So ever since then, I’ve
had no interest in going fishing again. But I do know that there are
different baits you can buy depending on the kind of fish you want to
catch. If I want to catch a large-mouth bass, I’m not going to drop a
clothespin into the water, because I know Bass don’t eat clothespins.
That’s not going to be an effective bait.
But, if I took
something that looked like this [PowerPoint], attached it and dropped
it into the water, there’s a much greater chance I’ll catch a Bass…
because when a Bass is swimming under the water and sees it, he’s going
to say [use finger on lips to simulate talking under water], “Boy, that
looks yummy.”
Every temptation involves a bait of some kind. And what baits you may
be different from what baits me.
Every temptation also contains a…
•
Desire
That’s
really what determines if a bait will work on you or not. What do you
desire? What is it that you lust after? What do you crave? Where are
you vulnerable?
Mae West was famous for saying:
“I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.”
~ Mae West, 1892-1980, American Actress
And
while that’s a pretty good one-liner, the truth is that we have no
trouble resisting temptation until it involves something we really
desire. In fact, it’s not really temptation until it involves something
we desire. If it’s not something that you desire, then it’s absolutely
no temptation for you. But when that bait is also something that you
desire, that’s when the danger becomes real.
And the third thing that’s a part of every temptation is the…
•
Enticement
It’s
the enticement… the allurement. It’s whatever draws your attention to
the bait and attracts you toward it. It’s what connects your desire to
the bait.
For our squirrels, it was the smell. The bait was the
peanut butter, their desire was to eat it, but what drew them to it was
the smell.
For a fish, the way the bait dances around in the current can draw
their attention.
For
you, maybe it’s the way your object of desire dresses. Maybe it’s the
promise of pleasure. Maybe it’s the image you have of what your life
could be like. Maybe it’s the illusion that giving in to the temptation
will make you happier.
“The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me
happier.”
~ John Piper
That
enticement that it will make you happier is a trap. It’s the lie that
leads to your destruction. Because in my experience – personally and
professionally – I’ve learned that giving in to temptation never
satisfies. Oh, there may be temporary pleasure. But it’s only for a
short time, and eventually it leaves you miserable. Until finally, the
end result is death. It says that here in James, and God Himself said
that in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel…
Ezekiel 18:4 (NLT)
“The person who sins is the one who will die.”
More than I’d want to pay for a brief moment of pleasure.
Okay.
So what do you do about it? If we’re all tempted, and if giving in to
temptation is bad, how do you handle it? How do you overcome it?
How
to Overcome Temptation:
A.
Focus on the Good
It’s interesting to me that James is talking all about the dangers of
temptation, and then he breaks into this…
James 1:17 (NLT)
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who
created all the lights in the heavens.
You
know, we’re just a couple weeks into the new year now, and a lot of
people who made resolutions to quit doing this and to quit doing that
are all discovering that it’s hard to do. In fact, experts will tell
you that the best thing to do is not to quit a habit; the best thing to
do is to replace a habit. Don’t just stop doing something; start doing
something else.
I think it’s that way with temptation, too. If
you have a habit of giving in to temptation, what you want to do is
take the time that you spend focusing in on what your temptation is and
replace it by focusing in on something good instead. Focus in on God.
Focus in on the Bible. Focus in on acts of kindness. Focus in on habits
that help you grow.
Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
Fix your thoughts
on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and
admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
The
writer of Psalm 119 knew what it was like to face temptation. And he
figured out a pretty good way of overcoming it. He asked…
Psalm 119:9-11 (NLT)
How
can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. I have tried hard
to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your
word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
What’s the
“good” that he focused on? It was the Word of God. It was the Bible. He
read it, he cherished it, he memorized it… and he found that when he
focused in on Scripture, temptation lost its grip.
B.
Avoid compromising situations
That’s
what Joseph did. Remember him in the Old Testament? When his boss’ wife
started putting the moves on him, he got out of there. He didn’t
fantasize about “what if”. He didn’t take the time to enjoy the
attention she was giving him, he simply got out of there. In fact, the
Bible tells us he ran out of the room.
[See the account of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39]
Genesis 39:6-8,10-12 (NLT)
Joseph
was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon
began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
But Joseph refused…
She
kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep
with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day,
however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. She
came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!”
Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran
from the house.
Now, sometimes temptations spring up where
you’re not expecting them. But most of the time, you know they’re
coming. You know because you’ve been there before. You know the
situations you get yourself in, you know the people you hang out with,
you know what triggers temptation in your life… so avoid those
compromising situations.
Treat temptation like a rattlesnake. This is what LeRoy Eims wrote
about how to deal with rattlesnakes…
“Rattlesnakes
are fairly common where I live. I encounter one almost every
summer. It is a frightening experience to see a rattlesnake coiled,
looking at you, ready to strike. He's lightning quick and accurate. I
have a two-point program for rattlesnakes: shun and avoid. You don't
need much insight to figure out what to do with something as dangerous
as an old diamondback rattler. You don't mess around.”
~ LeRoy Eims
Shun and avoid. Pretty good strategy for rattlesnakes and for
temptation.
C.
Always be prepared
Be
ready for it even before it comes. Resolve now to be faithful to God,
regardless of what temptation may come your way. Build up your strength
of character by practicing some of those habits of growth that we
talked about before Christmas… Bible study, Fasting, Prayer, Solitude,
Simplicity, Silence. When you face the smaller temptations of everyday
life, overcome them so that you’re better equipped to handle the larger
temptations when they come. Commit yourself every day to obeying God’s
Word and putting it into practice, and then you will be ready when the
storms of temptation come. Jesus said…
Luke 6:47-49 (NLT)
“I
will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my
teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who
digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters
rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well
built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who
builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against
that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
So you want
to be prepared. You want to build a spiritual foundation for your life
so you can withstand the floods of temptation. But how do you do that?
Listen to these. This is probably the most important part of the
message this morning…
Preparing
Yourself for Temptation:
•
Build a Vibrant Prayer Life
Discipleship
Journal did a survey about temptation a while back and discovered that
81% of people said that temptation was more potent when they neglected
their time with God. And 84% said that prayer helped them resist
temptation.
As Jesus once told His followers…
Luke 22:40 (NLT)
“Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”
•
Know Your Bible
Yes,
I know we’ve already talked about this. But it bears repeating. Knowing
your Bible will greatly help you overcome temptation. In fact, in that
study I mentioned earlier, 66% of people said that studying their Bible
helped them resist temptation. And if you want to read through Matthew
4 sometime, you’ll see that Jesus Himself used Scripture to fight
temptation.
•
Find an Accountability Partner
52%
said this helped. Find someone you can trust who can check with you
once in a while to see how you’re doing. Confide in them about areas
where you’re vulnerable to temptation and ask them to hold you
accountable.
•
Recognize Your Weakness
Recognize
that you are vulnerable to temptation. You and I will never be immune
to it. It will always be a danger for us during this lifetime. So you
don’t want to become overconfident. Oh, you can build up your defenses
as best as you can, and you should do that. But you will never be
completely insulated from the attack of temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:12 (MSG)
Don't
be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat
on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence;
it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence.
So you’ve got to recognize your weakness. But at the same time…
•
Recognize God’s Strength
We try to do it on our own, we’re not going to make it. But when we’re
relying on God nothing is impossible. Get it?
Check these verses out…
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)
And
God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you
can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you
can endure.
Jude 1:24 (NLT)
Now all glory to God, who is able
to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into
his glorious presence without a single fault.
Listen, temptation
is a clear and present danger for you and for me. We face it in one
form or another each and every day. And if we are enticed by it and are
lured away, we will find ourselves trapped by it. It will give birth to
sin in our lives, we will find ourselves isolated from God, and
eventually it will lead to physical and spiritual death.
But the
good news is, God makes it possible for us to live in freedom. He is
more than able to break the hold that temptation has on us. No matter
how many times we’ve given in to it, He’s able to restore us and
establish us in a right relationship with Him. And, He can help us so
that we never ever have to give in to it again.
Let’s pray. In fact, why don’t you quietly pray something like this…
Father,
thank you for the strength that you give me. Thank you for forgiving me
when I fail You. Thank you for offering me a fresh start. Help me to
overcome temptation, I pray. Help me to resist it, overcome it, and
move beyond it. Build in me strength of character. Instill in me Your
Word, that I may remember it when I need it and use it to defeat any
temptation that may come.
Now let me pray for you…
Lord,
I ask that you will take each of us where we’re at and raise us up to
be men and women of God. Fill us with Your Spirit… cleanse us and
purify us from all sin. Help us to live lives that are honouring to
You. Help us to encourage each other on to greater heights. Help us to
be overcomers, we pray. And for those of us who may have failed You… we
pray for your forgiveness. And we ask You to restore us in our walk
with You. Thank You for Your grace and Your mercy.
[Note: This
message
series uses a variety of source materials, primarily "A Faith that
Worls" by Rick Warren, "Faith for Pedestrians" by Laurence Croswell,
and "James: Hands-On Christianity" by Charles Swindoll.]
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