What, When, and How of Temptation

Good morning. It's good to be with you this morning. I'm glad you're

here with us. If you have your bible's turned with me, I hope

you do hold them up. If you do like to see those, It's

good do you have your bibles. And again I encourage you only it's good

that you have your Bibles, that you're in your Bibles every days. Are

encourage you to be in the Word. If you'll turn with me the Genesis

thirty nine this morning, Genesis thirty nine. The title of my message today

is the what, when, and how of temptation? You know, have

you ever had that? If you ever had a statement where he says,

you know, there's a lot of things I'll do, but I will never

do and you put a you fill into blank. You ever said that,

I tell you I would never do that. And then if you ever said

those maybe when you're younger, I would never do that. I'll never that

would never happen to me. And then many years go by and you found

out that thing that you said you would never do was something you ended up

doing. Right. There was a pastor many years ago, probably ten years

ago or more, and he was one of the probably top ten maybe even

top five, well known, well traveled, one of the most recognized pastors

in the Southern Baste Convention. He spoke at all the great conventions and conferences

throughout the United States, and again he was one of the seen as one

of the higher end evangelists in United States. I forget and to forget one

conference he did. He talked about adultery, and he even said the words

that I would never do something like that. In twenty twelve, this pastor,

who had really become very successful, had four homes, He had custom

design suits, he had luxury accommodations when he would go out speaking. His

marriage fell apart, and throughout many years he began having a number of affairs.

One night it even spiral to he was at a restaurant and the waitress

was showed him attention, and that night he had an affair with her.

Ruined him. It came out, and his ministry was finished. Never again

would he have the fame, the popularity, and the respect within the church.

Again he gave in. He said I'd never do it, and he

he gave in to it. To this morning. We at times in our

own lives we might say, hey, I will never you know, I'll

never go to Africa on a mission trip. I'll never do something like that,

And so we'll say I'll never and then Lord God leads us to do

something like that we didn't think we'd ever do. But many times we have

a particular boldness when it comes to sin. I will never give in to

that sin, or I'll never give into this thing, or I'll never do

that. And many times we act as if we are immune to giving in

to sin and giving in to the temptation of sin. So we come to

this passive scripture. I remind you what Paul says in one Corinthians ten.

He says, therefore, let anyone who thinks he can that he stands take

heed least he falls. No temptation has overcome you. That is not common

to men. Scripture says, Paul tells us that you and I, all

of us should take heed. That lista. We think we can stand,

that we can withstand the temptation that we should take heed because no temptation has

overtaken that is not common to man. So this morning I want to talk

about the very important subject of temptation, and I want to look at the

as we come to Genesis thirty nine. We're gonna look at Joseph and how

Joseph was tempted. And this morning, I want to see how Joseph encountered

a temptation with Potiphar's wife. And I want you to see just what Joseph's

faith, and I want to look at what is temptation? When does it

come? As we look in Joseph's account, And then lastly, how do

we resist? So what is temptation, when does it come? And how

do we resist? We stand with me. Let's read God's word Genesis chapter

thirty nine, and we'll look at starting in verse one of one through fifteen,

the Bible says, now josephs have been brought down to Egypt, and

Potiphar and the officer and the officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the garden

It and Egyptian had brought him from the Israelites who had brought him down there.

And the Lord was with Joseph, and he had become successful man.

And he was in the house of his Egyptian master, and his master saw

that the Lord was with him. And Lord called all that he did to

succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him,

and he made him overseer of his house, and put him in charge

of all that he had. And from time that he made him an overseer

of his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's

house for Joseph's sake, And the blessing of the Lord was on all that

he had, and in the house and the field, so that he left

all that he had in Joseph's charge. And because of him, he hadn't

no concern about anything but the food that he ate. Now, Joseph was

a handsome in form and appearance. And after a time, and after a

time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph had said, lie with me,

but he refused, and he said to his master's wife, behold,

because of me, my master has no concern about anything in his house or

and he has put he has put everything that he has in my charge.

Is he not greater in this house than I am? Nor is he kept

back anything from me except yourself? Because you were his wife? How then

can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as he spoke,

and as she spoke to Joseph. Day after day he would not listen

to her, to lie with her or to be with her. But one

day when they went into the house to do his work, none of the

men of the house were there in the house. And she called him by

his garment, saying, lie with me. But he left his garment in

her hand, and he fled and got out of the house. And as

soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hands and fled

out of the house, she called the men of her house and said,

see he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. And he

came into me and he lied with me, and I cried out with a

loud voice. And as soon as he heard that he had lifted my voice

and cried out, he left his garment beside and fled and God out of

the house. Let's pray together, Father, We thank you Lord for this

morning. We thank you for this important subject of temptation. And Lord,

today as we think about temptation in our lives. Lord, I pray that

we would hear the warnings of Paul. Lord, that we would not we

would take heed Lord, least we would fall, and Lord, we would

see the dangers of temptation are all around us. And Lord, we would

consider today, Lord, the life of Joseph and how he resisted temptation,

and how we too can resist temptation. Lord, lead us, Lord through

your word. Today, Lord, I pray for just the working of your

Holy Spirit and me that you might feel me that I would pour out,

Lord, your word to your people. So, Lord, I pray you

would move in this place, God moving hearts today. Lord, I cannot

do that. Lord, that's only you can do that. So Lord,

may you speak today in power with conviction and lead us. Lord by your

word and your name. Pray, Amen, you may be seated. So

we come to this past of scripture. I want you to see again the

what of temptation. First, as we look at the story of Joseph,

what is temptation? Temptation is a desire is defined as a desire to do

something, especially something wrong or unwise. That's the definition according to the Dictionary.

A desire to do something is, especially something wrong or unwise. If

you think about temptation, probably one of the greatest examples we see of temptation

was in scripture. Also in Luke. If you remember, Jesus was tempted.

You remember that Jesus went into the worderness for forty days, and the

Bible says, in forty days he fasted and prayed, and in those forty

days, for forty days, Jesus was what he was tempted. You remember,

in that forty days, Jesus fasted. You remember that means that he

did not eat. He stained from eating for in order to pray and to

kind of lean into the Lord a little bit. And the Bible says that

those forty days Satan tempted him. You remember the first temptation in Luke chapter

one, verses one through seventy. Were it later on, after about forty

days has come to the end. During those days, those days when it

was ending, the Bible says that Jesus was hungry. I imagine forty days

you'd be hungry too, some of you hungry right now. He said,

come on, preacher, hurry up this thing. We got to get going

this Memorial Day weekend. It's time to eat. And so after forty days

he was hungry. And the Bible says, when Satan came to him and

tempted him, what did he say? He said that the devil saw him

says, you are the son of God, command this stone to become bred.

What was the temptation for Satan tempted Jesus. He tempted him with all

desire. What was the desire? Desire was deep. Jesus is dame from

forty days to fast, and Satan knew he had a desire for food,

and he used that desire to tempt Jesus to break his fast and break his

commitment to the Lord. You see, that is what temptation does. Right,

that you and I have a desire, and it tempts us with that

desire to sin or do something that is sinful, right, to do something

wrong. Another imagery We send this passage another in Luke. As Jesus was

being tempted, the Bible says, you remember sitting him upon a hill.

You remember set him upon a hill, and he saw all the kingdoms of

the world at that time, and he told me, he says, I

will give you the authority of all these kingdoms, right if you'll worship me.

Right, if you worship me, it'll be yours. You see the

imagery there is. There was a desire for what power, for authority that

Jesus had, like all of us have, and Satan tempting me with that

longing for authority and for power. You see, that's what the enemy does,

right. Enemy knows you have a desire, and he tempts you with

that desire to get you to do something sinful for something that you loan for.

There's three types of temptation. I want to just share those with you.

I do not know. I got this from someone, but I cannot

remember who it was, so it's hard to quote somebody you can't remember.

But I know this is not just original. This is somewhere I've found this.

There's three different types. One, there's material temptation. Material temptation is

the desire, and there's a desire for things, right, material possessions,

And many times Satan tempts us with material things. We want to have things.

We see things in this world and we would like to have those things,

and that's a desire, and Satan tempts us with that. That is

a huge issue in our world, is a desire for things. Right.

We pull up at the stoplight and we got a old beaten up car that's

clanking as it goes down the road. We look over in that nice tesla

sitting right beside you, just tinting, and you said, hey, don't

you want one like me? Right? Driving that dealership? You see those

nice shiny cars, and yours is just beating around you. There's a desire

for things, right, You go to the mall and you you see things

that you would like to have, You tempted with things. You have a

desire for a material possession and try to find happiness in material things. Right.

That is why, by the way, that is why gambling is such

a big issue. Right, do you know today that is one of the

biggest issues that we're facing in North Carolina today that in legislation. Now,

listen, they're paying lobbyists fifty thousand dollars a month and there's seventy of them

to approve gambling in North Carolina. And what is the temptation of this evil

one? Right? Hey, pay that scratch off? Right, do that

machine? Do that sports gambling and you can pay for just a few five

dollars, you can maybe win one hundred dollars. And that's the desire for

material things, right? Can I tell you the statistics are telling us right

now, even right now in North Carolina, three out of three out of

ten boys teenage teenage boys are addicted to gambling already and they don't know what

to do with it. Through online gambling sports betting. There are three to

ten teenagers today are addicted to gambling, and it is the desire for material

possessions, the desire for money. Right, there's the second type of temptation

is personal temptation, personal temptation to desire from fame or for authority, for

power. That's what Satan was luring Jesus, wit trying to tempt me within

the garden. Right, see all this authority, you see all this.

I'll give you all the fame, I'll give you all the popularity, I'll

give you all the authority that this world has offered. I will give it

to you, Jesus, if you'll just bow down and worship me. We

from a very young age, we have this desire to please people, right,

to please people in our schools, the police, people in our class,

or please a girl, or to please a boy. And many times

that leads into peer pressure. That we have a desire, a temptation to

give in to do different things that we wouldn't normally do. Why just please

someone else so we might be popular, or be liked, or be loved,

or have an affection of others. And that normally happens in our school

places or in the classroom or at our schools, but also has happens in

the corporate world, doesn't it. Well, well, we'll listen to that

joke we wouldn't normally listen to, or we'll have that conversation, or we

may even use some words we normally wouldn't use at home in order to what

please or to get the attention or get the approval of someone else, whether

it's in the workplace, or whether it's in our neighborhoods, or whether it's

at the restaurants where everybody gathers. Many times we stay and do things just

for the because it's a temptation for fame, authority, or approval from others.

Third is the sensual temptation, and that's desire for another person. That's

what we see here with Joseph. These are different types of temptation. I

think it's it's important for us to understand that these are temptations that pull at

us day. Diedrich Bondhaufer was a scholar, and he talks about the desire

and temptation, and how strong temptation is that lead us to do things.

This is what he said about temptation. He says, in our members or

in our bodies, there's a stumbling inclination toward desire, which is both sudden

and fears with irresistible power. The desires sees to mastery overflesh. It malls

no difference whether it's sexual desire or ambition or vanity, or desire for revenge

or love, or fame or power, or greed for money, or finally,

the strange desire for beauty of the world or of nature. He says,

when temptation comes, joy in God is extinguished in us. We seek

all our joy in the temptation. At this moment, God is quite unreal

to us. He loses all sense of reality. The only desire in us

is for that temptation. The only reality for us is the temptation of the

devil. He says. Satan does not fill us with a hatred toward God,

but a forgetfulness of God. You know what Bonhearfer is saying there,

and it continued. He finished. He says, the luss of those around

envelops the minds and the will of man in the deepest darkness, the power

of clear discrimination and decision overtake us. It's here that everything within me rises

up against the word of God. You know what bon Hearf is saying.

He's saying, one thing that Satan doesn't want to do is it gets you

to be angry at God. What he wants you to get. What he

wants to do is gets you to forget about God in a moment of temptation.

I will never forget a pastor. I was in seminary and we have

chapel in seminary and a pastor was speaking there as well, one known pastor,

and he talked to us pastors. He said, pastors don't want to

warn you about temptation. He says, you pastors need to know that there's

temptation is going to come against just because you're a man of God, and

just because you're living for God doesn't mean that temptation won't come against you.

And this is the way he said, I'll never forget this. He says,

you've gotten to know, pastor, that there's going to temptation that's going

to come against you one day, and that temptation is going to be so

great that it's going to be seemed like you get. It's gonna be hard

to resist. And he says, and that temptation, if you give in

to it, will ruin you and ruin your ministry. And he told the

story. He said that he was there when that into service, and he

came to the end. He was kind of greeting the people at then,

and the woman came up and she whispered in his ear and she said,

Pastor, I'm here for you. Anyway I can care for you. I'll

be glad to do that. And he said his wife leoked to him,

said you watch out for her. And he said he knew in that moment

that that was in temptation, that Satan was tempting him with that would ruin

him. Can I tell you that's the imagery of Bonhffer saying it wasn't that

he could lead this pastor to be angry at God or push away from God.

But in a moment of temptation, what Saintan wants you to do is

forget about God, to allow the temptation to so overwhelm you that you you

mute out your knowledge of your faith and your desire for the things of God,

and I tell you the most graphic illustration of this in all the Bible

is David. Men. The Bible says David was the man after God's on

heart. You remember in that night, you mayb he loved God. If

you walked through first Samuel, you see how he followed God and living as

refugee and would not harm Saul. But he came to the pinnacle of his

career, pinnacle would become a king, the greatest king of ever. Military

success, defeat, defeating all the armies was in his high office. And

in that moment he came upon that stoop right and looked out and behold,

he saw Bathsheba bathing. And in that moment the temptation came upon David.

And listen, he forgot everything he knew about God in the past. And

see, I want you to understand when you come to temptation. Temptation is

a desire in us and a desire from Satan wants to use us to allow

that desire to get so strong that we'll forget about what we know about God.

And listen, I want to warn you today, and I think this

is why this part is so important as we start this message, is that

to understand these three types of temptation, because I promise you today, Sometimes

when you think of temptation, the first thing you think about is just sexual

temptation. But many times, temptation, as I said, comes to many

different forms. I promise you today in this room and watching online, many

of you are not tempted by sexual temptation, but you're tempted by material temptation.

You may not be tempted by a material temptation, but you may really

have a struggle to want to please people and be tempted to give in to

things and do things you shouldn't do because you want to please somebody else.

But every one of us listen, you have a particular temptation that you struggle

with, and listen to me today. I don't know what, but Satan

does, and he knows just when you're weak, just when you're at the

right time to come upon you. And just as much as sexual temptation will

ruin you, so what personal temptation will ruin you. Just as much as

sexual temptation will ruin you, so will material temptation ruin you. So today

I understand these are important things. As we come to this passage, we're

looking at what is temptation? What you see the second part of this is

when does temptation come? And we see this really articulated well. And Genesis

thirty nine, the Bible says, here's this man, Joseph, and Joseph

was one of the twelve sons, right, and he's been sold to from

his brothers in slavery and the Israelites, and Israelites take him into Egypt,

and there there's this man named Potiphar, and he is a scripture tells us

he's one of the officers of the king, the Pharaoh, and he has

this nice home and this nicest state, and he chooses how he hires Joseph's

scripture tells us, and he chooses to kind of slowly start giving him different

responsibilities. In the beginning of the pastor of scripture in verse two, and

the Bible says this, and the Lord was with Chosus and he became successful.

Immediately the pastors begin shows us that Joseph is successful. Now he's successful.

The Lord is blessing him. The Bible says, he's so successful.

Everything that Joseph does, what God bless us so much? Everything that you

kind of see this imagery that he kind of gives him maybe a little responsibility,

who knows what that is at that point, maybe just looking over at

some of the crops, and man, he gives him that, and the

crops explodes. So he starts giving him some of the responsibility the livestock,

and next thing, you know, the livestock starts exploding and doing well.

So then he realizes everything I give this man, it just explodes, and

so he gives him more and more responsibility, so much so that Potterphary has

ends up giving him everything that he has responsibility of, all his property,

all of his estate, and everything he does is successful. Look at that.

In verse six it says that he left all that he had in Joseph's

charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything. And the

Bible says in verse six at the end, Joseph was handsome in form and

appearance. And then after some time his master wife cast her eyes on Joseph

and said, lie with me. He said, Pastor, when does temptation

come? As we see this pastor of scripture, Joseph shows this temptation comes

when we are successful. You know, so many times we think that some

temptations will want to come, will during weak moments or moments were maybe struggling.

But in this pastor of scripture, we see that temptation comes when we're

at our highest point. And I even would even dare to say not only

a high point in our lives, but also highest points in our spiritual walks

too. You see, David was white on his highest point when the temptation

came. The strongest temptation comes at our most successful times. F. B.

Meyer was a pastor, and he said this, we may expect temptation

in days of prosperity and ease rather than those of toil. Not on the

glacier slopes of the Alps, but in the sunny plains of the Champagne.

Not when the youth is climbing up the steep ladder of fame, but when

he is entered the golden portals. Not when men frown, but when they

smile smiles of flattery. It is there, It is there that the tempest

lies in wait. Temptation comes when we're successful. Also, temptation comes when

we're along. The Bible says in this past of scripture, if you fall

on with me, she comes to him and then the Bible says he refuses

a Verse ten. And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, you

would not listen to her to lie with her or to be with her,

But listen verse eleven. But one day when he went into this house to

do his work, and none of the men were in the house, were

there in the house, and she called him by his garment and saying,

lie with me. Temptation comes when we're successful, But temptation comes when we're

alone. She removed everything in that home, all the people in that home,

to catch him by himself, to tempt him. I tell you,

temptation is gonna come when you're alone. Sometimes that's alone in your home.

Your wife's not at home, your husband's not at home, your parents sh

are not at home, just you, no one's looking. Temptation comes when

we're alone in the workplace. My Christian friends are not there, my wife

is not there, my husband's not there, my Christian family's not there.

They won't know if I say something I really shouldn't say. They won't know

if I maybe flirt with her a little bit, and I shouldn't flirt with

her. They won't know if I put something on a credit card that I

really shouldn't buy. They won't know if I if I again say something or

or you know that I feel this pressure to try to say this joke,

or to do something, or just use some language I shouldn't use that.

They won't know that it's just me. No one will know. I tell

you, when we're alone in our homes, when we loan in our workplace,

we're a loan in our schools. My Christian friends won't know, or

my family won't know what I'm doing. Temptation comes when successful, but temptation

comes when we're alone. Temptation comes persistently. Listen to the passage of Scripture.

Look at verse seven, and after a time his master wife cast her

eyes on Joseph and said, lie with me. But he refused and said

to his master. And we'll go into that in just a minute. But

look at verse ten. And as she spoke to Joseph, listen to this

day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her

or to be with her day after day. Can I tell you, temptation

comes after you day after day. There's never a day that is not coming.

The enemy doesn't seek to kill still and destroy comes every day. There's

a book by a pastor named K. Hughes. He wrote a book called

Liberating Ministry from Success Syndrome, and it talked about how to prevent pastors from

failure. And then that book, this is dated, book has probably been

written in the nineties. Change the questions a little bit, be created,

some questions that were related to sexual purity. And I want you to just

listen to these questions that Hughes ask, and he says, are we being

desensitized by the present evil of the world? The things that once shocked us

now pass by with passed by us with little notice? Have I sexual ethics

slack slackened? Where do our minds wonder when there's no duties to perform?

Think about it. Where does your mind wonder when you don't have no duties

to work on? What temptations your mind linger to, Hey, I really

need to buy this, or I really wonder if this person's happy with me,

or or if I wonder if it lingers towards lust. Third, what

are we reading? Or I would say, now, what are we scrolling?

What books or magazines or websites or social media pages are on our phones

that we'd want no one else to see. What are we watching on our

phones or our TVs? How many hours do we spend watching those different things?

How many adulteres did you watch last week? How many murders did you

watch last week? And how many did you watch them with your children?

See the the sensitizing of sin, day after day, persistently, again and

again. That page pops up on your phone, that commercial pops up on

that TV, that movie pops up for you, recommendation on your feed to

watch, that clip pops up, that advertisement pops up, and it lures

you in. That person comes by your desk and says something that catches you

off guard a little bit, gets you to start thinking about something, or

maybe that ad pops up that you think, Hey, maybe we don't have

it in the bank right now, but you know we do have a credit

card. We've got a good limit. You think about all those things,

now, think about this. How many chapters in the Bible did you read

last week? How does that compare to the things that persistently call you and

tempt you. Listen. Temptation comes. It comes when we're successful, It

comes when we're alone, and temptation comes persistently. So lastly, as we

finished this morning, I want you to think about how do we resist temptation.

I think we see in this passage of scripture and Joseph, let's look

at the passage again. In verse seven, it says, and after a

time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, lie with me.

She refused and said to her master's wife, behold, because of me.

My master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has

put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this

house than I am. I mean, yeah, is he not greater in

this house than I am? Nor has he kept back anything for me except

you because you were his wife? How then can I do this great wickedness

and sin? We resist temptation first by discerning the damn damage. We must

resist temptation by discerning first its damage. That's what That's what Joseph's diad.

Right. You not see that that your husband's given me all these things into

my charge? You see all the what the Lord has provided for me,

what your your husband's provided for me? How can I do this against him?

When we we resist the temptation of by discerning damage, and first discerning

the damage that temptation does against our relationship with others. The pastor, I

talked to you about it the very beginning. A few years ago. We

were in creed More for supper and we stopped at Hearty's. Been a long

time since I've been to Hearty's. I shouldn't talk about food. On Sunday

morning, we went to Hearties and just having to walk over and I looked

over at the booth man sitting by himself, and I noticed it was that

pastor. Here's a man who used to live and stay in luxury hotels,

eat luxury restaurants, wear luxury suits, rub elbows with the big wigs,

and now he's alone in Hearties. It's lost it. All the damages of

sin and what it does to ravage our lives, our family, our homes,

our relationship. We must recognize as we resist temptation what it will destroy

material. Temptation will destroy you financially, it will create financial instability in your

home. Do you know the number one calls a divorce in America? You

know what the number one thing is? Number one? Money? You know

why many families and marriages are struggling with money? Because there's the temptation of

material things have led people to buy and live in debt and live at an

area in a way higher than what they can afford. And it causes stress

and strain on marriages, and it destroys marriages every day. Material temptation will

destroy you financially. Personal temptation will destroy Listen to this. It destroy your

testimony. You'll see as one who who lives to please others and then lives

to please others at church and lives to please the world when they're away from

the church. What do we call that hypocrite? Personal temptation will destroy your

testimony. Sensual temptation will destroy you and will destroy your family. We must

recognize as we resist temptation, we recognize the damage how it damages our relationship

with others. Secondly, how it damages our relationship with God. Joseph says

to her. She comes to him and says, lie with me, and

she says, He says, my Master's given me all these different things,

and there's nothing that I don't have charge in. And then listen to this

passage of scripture and verse look with me verse nine, How then can I

do this great wickedness and sin against God. Recognize and resist temptation. We

must recognize the damage it does in our relationship with the Lord. He Psalm

fifty one is probably one of the greatest passage of scripture that talks about the

damages of sin. And that's David wrote Psalm fifty one after his sin with

Bathsheba. And this is what David says in Psalm fifty one. Have mercy

on me, O, God, according to your stepfast love, according to

your abundant mercy, bought out my transgressions. Lord, cleansed me from my

adultery. You can hear him say it. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

cleanse me from my sins. For I know my transgressions, and my

sin is ever before me. Lord. I know what I did, and

I can't get it out of my mind. Lord. And listen is what

he says in verse four. And against you and only I have sin and

done what is evil in your sight. If you know the story of David

and Bathsheba, he had an affair with her, He slept with her,

he got her pregnant. Then she came in and said, I am pregnant.

So he decided what to do to get you Riah, to bring him

home right, and to get him from war home and to get him to

go lie with his wife right, and then maybe when he lied with her,

he would think the baby's his. You remember, like Oryah comes and

Riyah doesn't go and be with his wife. He slips. He sleeps on

the door of the David's house, right, And the next day he decided,

you know that didn't work. I'll just get him drunk, and I'll

get him so drunk and I'll send him home. And he's so drunk,

maybe he'll sleep with his wife then. And so he gets him drunk,

and again he doesn't even he won't leave. He stays there at the king's

house. He says, why, but Kaya won't go be with my wife

when there's other men fighting. So what does David do. David decides to

get to send you Rayah back to the hottest part of the war, and

when when the battle was getting tough to get the soldiers to come back,

the ray would be alone on the front lines and we'd be killed. David

had adultery. David got someone drunk, and David eventually got the man killed,

and David says, here, listen to me. He could have very

says, Oh, Lord, my sins ever before me. Lord, I

know what I did to Bathsheba. Lord, I know what I did to

get you right drunk. I know how I killed him. Lord against Bathsheba.

Have I sinned against Urrayah? Sind? No, David says, against

you, God, I've sinned? Can I tell you? David understood how

what sin did to his relationship with God? And many times we do not

do a good enough invatory to recognize what is my material sin? Am I

giving in to this peer pressure or giving in this sexual temptation? I do

not see what this is doing against my relationship with God, because, as

I said before, in those moments, we forget about who God is,

because we long for the temptation more than we long to be right with God.

Listen temptation. We resist temptation by discerning the damage to a relationship with

others, discerning the damage or a relationship with God. And then, lastly,

where we resist temptation by running. The Bible says in this passage of

scripture, day after day she came against him, and one day she cleared

out the house. You remember when we were alone. She comes to David

shed I have nothing but a robe on. It tells us. She says,

lie with me. The Bible says in this passage he fled, he

ran. I love what Chucks win Dall said about this pastorture. Chucks Windaw

is a pastor in Dallas, Texas. He says, you can't reason or

resist sexual temptation. You can't reason resist, understand. You remember the pastor

of scripts. Look at verse ten with me, I mean this happened day

after day. This was no one time occurrent. This is happening over and

over and over. In verse ten, it says, and she spoke with

Joseph day after day, and listen. He would not listen to her,

to lie with her or to be with her. Listen. She didn't come

to him with nothing but a row on, and she says, lie with

me. He says, well, let's just talk about this for a minute.

Let's just think about this for a minute. Let's just talk, or

let's have prayer together and see if the Lord would want no, what do

you do? He left, he didn't talk to her, He got out

of town, right, And here's the imagery. You can't reason or resist

temptations. You have to flee from it. You can't allow it to be

into your life. Too many times where we say, well, you know,

it's it's not so bad. It's just one look, or it's just

one page, or it was just one joke, or it's just one thing,

and we just reason and reason and reason, or let's just say it

this way. We justify, we justify, we justify. David what said,

I cannot have this in my life, period, and so I'm going

to get it out of my life. The way we resist temptation, we

recognize that are discerned the damages of sin, but we must resist by running

or fleeing. Scripture says in first second Timothy to to flee from useful passions

and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, second first Corinth ten,

six thirteen. Flee from sexual morality. One of the greatest ways that we

resist temptation is fleeing. You know what that means, young people, there's

some apps you probably need to lead off your phone. Well, I can

handle passion, No, you can't, because you keep going back to a

day after day fast pastor some apps you need to lead off your phone's adults,

there's some books that you probably need to get out of your house.

Some magazines you need to call and cancel. There's some TV shows you need

to stop watching. You know I can handle a pastor. I can.

No, No, you can't. You can't. You're you're you're playing with

sin. You can't reason or resist temptation. You've got to flee. Hey,

listen, that made me. Some relationships you're going to say, Listen,

this relationship, it keeps leading them into doing some things I don't want

to do, and I and I've got to get rid of it. That

means I'm going to separate myself from this individual. There's some things that every

time I go to the mall, I buy some things I don't need to

buy. Guess what. You may need to stop going to the mall for

a while, or you need to stop. Maybe you take that you maybe

take that credit card off that Amazon account page. You know what I'm saying.

Because I need to stop watching QVC because they just have every good deal

every day. Whatever it ate, Listen, you can't reason with it.

You have to get it out of your life. Heard a story of a

close with it. Heard the story of a father father had a son and

they lived near a canal, and it told his son said, don't you

go swim in that canal. You know what kinds of things are in theres

and dangers in there, alligators. Don't you go swim in that canal?

Okay, Daddy. Next days looked outside and here comes his son in his

baiden suit wet. He said, son, did I not tell you not

just swimming that canal? He said, yes, Daddy, you did.

He said, well, why did you? He said, what have my

baiden suit with me? Now I couldn't resist the temptation, he said,

why did you take your bathing suit? So I prepared just to swim in

case I was tempted. Yeah, that's what we normally do with sin.

Right, I'll just I'll just keep this this app on my phone, or

I'll just keep that movie, you know, I'll just finish it, or

or I just watched that show, or I just I it's just one more

thing that and we just it'll be okay. No. No heard the story

of a woman. She was out in the golf. She was bathing in

the or sunbathing in the golf of Mexico. She was on the discussion this

float. She was just floating around. Next thing, you know, she

realized that she had swept away by the current and she was a half mile

away from the beach. She starts screaming, she's so far out nobody can

hear. The coastguard, no joke. Coastguard picked her up five miles out

from where she was. Here's the thing, she didn't know how much danger

she was in until she had gone too far. Many times, listen,

that's the issue with temptation. We just don't know how dangerous it is until

it swept us away and it's too far. Today's a day that Lord telling

us listen, temptation is real comes against all of us. We've got to

know what it is. What is temptation? What's the temptation that I struggle

with. We've got to know and know what it is. We got to

know when it's going to come, and we got to know how to resist.

And that means I've got to discern what damage is really causing in me

and causing my relationship with others. I got to really recognize what damage is

doing to my relationship with the Lord. And I've got to flee. I've

got to flee. Will you pray with me. Father, I thank you

Lord for your word today. Lord, I thank you Lord that there is

Lord, a real calling on us. Lord. We see this happen in

Joseph's life. We see this happening David. We see this happen as Jesus

you were tempted. Lord. If in all these examples, Lord, we

see that temptation will come upon us, and say, Lord, help us

not be naive to think that. Not me, Lord, but Lord,

may we Lord today recognize Lord, how important it is that we are prepared.

We know what it is, we know when it's coming, and we

know how to resist. And Lord, I pray today we would take serious

the temptation that's in our life, and we would take serious. Lord,

you're calling to us to repent, to resist, to turn away. Well,

I thank you today that your word tells us, Lord that you were

faithful to forgive us if we confess our sins before you. And I pray

there'd be some some here today that said, Lord, you know, I'm

really struggling with some things I've been given into temptation, and and Lord today

I need forgiveness. I pray it'd be those today that would say, God

that we could fess that sin to you the Lord today and know that you're

faithful to forgive them. Lord, I pray today you lead them to repentance

and restoration. So Lord, I pray you lead us into a time of

just an invitation as we just respond, Lord to your word. Or I

pray that be an awareness today for many who say, you know what,

I've been minimizing some things in my life that I don't need to minimize anymore.

There's some things that I need to change. Or I pray that you

lead some people into that repentance. Lord, lead us, Lord to search

for you today and Lord find Lord your loving arms and you're leading us,

protecting us, guiding us. Lord, we love you. We thank you,

Lord for this word. In your name, we pray, and man,

we stand with us Jesus to