How to be Victorious over Temptation

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

Well, we started last week our series.

And we started talking about how to overcome trials last week.

And today we're going to be dealing with, and we looked at verses 1 through 12, and it was powerful insight.

And today we're going to be looking at verses 13 through 18.

And it's a powerful paragraph here because the first 12 verses deal with trials.

And let me reiterate: trials come from God to produce, as we saw last week, endurance, perseverance, and secondly, to mature us, to make us perfect.

And the word perfect there does not mean we are sinless.

It doesn't mean that we do not sin.

Excuse me, that's what I meant to say.

We do not sin, but what it does mean, as we are maturing, that we sin less.

Does that make sense?

So, as we're growing in the maturity of Christ, that word there meant completeness.

So, today though, as we pick up the story, actually I call it God's instructions to basically what to do when wrong seems right.

But the title of the message is How to Be Victorious Over Temptation.

But remember, we started out and God had kind of told me what to do when you don't know what to do is the book of James.

The book of James tells us what to do when we don't know what to do.

And it's powerful.

It really is.

It's really the Proverbs of the New Testament.

And it's so important.

So if you wanted to just kind of put another little title down next to How to Be Victorious Over Temptation, What to Do When Wrong Seems Right to Do?

Have you ever been there?

When wrong seems right to do, or let me put it another way, when wrong would benefit you?

The greatest example is income tax.

How many of us have ever been tempted to cheat on our income tax?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

All right, turn to your book the line.

Amen?

Owe me?

We've all been tempted.

How many of you have been tempted when you get to the car and you realize they gave you five or ten dollars more than they should have, and you've been tempted to keep it.

Well, the Lord knew I needed some extra money this week.

Hello.

Huh?

Now, isn't it amazing that if they, hey, if they cheat you, you don't hesitate.

Hello.

Whoa, you cheated me$5, but if they give you more$5, you'd say, let me pray about this.

Hello, you okay out there?

So we've all been tempted.

And so today let's look at what James says about temptation.

Verse 13 Let no man say when he is tempted.

I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempt he any man.

But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin.

And sin when it is finished, brings forth death.

Do not err, my beloved brethren.

And now he makes address, you're gonna see this is unbelievable, a tremendous pivotal change right in the middle of dealing with temptation.

Then all of a sudden he says, boom.

But every good gift, every perfect gift, is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is there no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

In other words, God never, never changes.

You can count on God.

You can't count on man, but you can count on God.

He's not gonna change.

He's gonna do what he says he's gonna do, and he does what he says he's gonna do.

Verse 18, of his own will begat he.

That's the word of truth.

Here's how you get saved: being born again.

That's what the word begat means to be born again.

You can only get saved through the teaching and preaching and believing of the word of God.

His word never returns void, but it accomplishes.

So we're born again by believing the word of God, the death, the burial, the resurrection of Christ, that he died for us, that we should be a I love this, a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Let me put it in applicable language.

What he is, he's crazy about you.

He's so excited about you.

You are a chosen generation, a holy priesthood, a peculiar people who should show forth the praises of him in all the world.

1 Peter 2 9.

He's crazy about you.

He loves you that much.

You're his first fruits.

And if you do any studying on the word first fruits, it means that first fruits means that you give God the first fruits of everything, whether it's your money, whether it's your increase, whatever you he gets the very, and what that means, he gets the very best.

He gets the very best of you, not the leftover of you.

That's good.

So that's what that means.

And then he says, Wherefore, my beloved brother, let every man be swift.

But that's the next paragraph.

So, in our previous lesson, by the way, temptation to sin is nothing new.

Can I get an amen?

It's nothing new.

It all started way back in the Garden of Eden.

You remember that?

When Adam and Eve desired and ate the fruit which God had forbidden.

And ever since we've had a continual struggle with sin.

I struggle with sin every day.

Amen.

We all struggle with sin every day.

But bless God, we are not left helpless.

We are not left alone.

God, in his mercy and grace, has given us the word of God that we, hey, so that we can combat the devil and the temptations that lay before us.

Thank God.

In our previous lesson, though, we learned that, and I want to say it again.

This is, you'll understand it so simply this way.

And you may want to write this down somewhere, even in your Bible.

Trials come from God, temptations come from Satan.

Big difference.

Trials come from God, temptations come from Satan.

And we previously learned that when we fall into trials, we are to count it what?

Verse 2.

We count it all joy.

Why?

Because we we understand what the trials are for, they are for our benefit.

But in this lesson, we're going to see that temptations are to be renounced and abandoned.

Whereas trials are to be endured and to what?

To be walked through to teach us perseverance and maturity.

But temptations are to be, hey, shunned.

And it's so important we understand that.

Now, here's the problem in chapter one.

Here's the little bit of confusion that happens.

When we look at chapter one, the difficulty becomes because of the word trials and temptations.

Is in the original language is the same word.

What it means is, and here's the word, it is it's piramas, piramas.

Okay?

And it's the same word in the original Greek.

Only the original context of the passage can really give us the application of how that word is used.

In other words, in this context, in the first part, we see that it refers to our outward troubles.

Okay?

Now, in this section we're looking at today with temptations, it deals with our inward enticements.

So there's an outward problem and an inward enticement.

Now I don't want to go any further until you understand that.

You've got that, say amen, preacher.

I'm with you.

I'm with you.

And one of the best ways to give a good illustration of that, same word.

For example, you have a knife or scapel, let's say.

Okay?

A murderer can use a scapel to kill someone.

But then the surgeon will use the scalpel to heal someone.

Amen?

But the scalpel's the same.

Well, here's the word.

The word's the same.

One, it's for trials, one's it's for temptations.

One God uses, the other Satan uses.

Make sense?

One's for good, one's for bad.

Trials are for good?

Say this with me.

Trials are for good, temptations are for bad.

So that really helps you understand this passage of Scripture.

Our Lord Satan is the murderous tempter, and our Lord is the skilled surgeon.

Satan tempts us to bring out, verses 13 through 20, we'll see.

Satan tempts us to bring out the bad in us.

That's the whole purpose.

Whereas God tests us, we see in verses 1 through 12, to bring out the good in us.

Big difference.

You with me?

That's good, preacher.

That is good.

I'm telling you.

This will get it all in perception for you.

Now, while trials and temptations are different, they do have some things in common.

And here it is.

Remember what we said last week?

Without proper preparation, when you go into a trial, you'll be defeated, you'll be discouraged, and you'll quit on God.

Well, the same application applies to temptation.

If you don't properly understand and are properly prepared when the temptations come, Satan's going to take you out with sin.

You're going to fall into his trap and be enslaved by his power if you're not prepared.

You'll fall quickly prey to the snares of sin.

Nothing tests the integrity of our faith.

Nothing tests the integrity of our faith.

Now listen to me.

Like the response to temptation.

The way you know for sure you're walking by faith is that you're able to overcome the temptations of Satan.

When you're walking in the flesh, you're going down every time.

So it's so important.

That's why the Word of God is the agent He uses to save us, but it's also the agent of our warfare.

It's our sword.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

For the Word of God is quick and powerful, it's sharper than any two-edged sword.

Ephesians 4, 12.

So, we see this powerful insight here.

Remember that James wrote the letter to scattered Jews who were being persecuted for their faith, but also he wrote it for the enticements that they would be facing with the Gentile world.

So, I want us to look at five principles today that will help us overcome temptation.

We are going to be prepared when your next temptation comes.

Some of you were tempted today.

Already.

Got up?

Beautiful day.

You know, I've worked hard all day.

I mean all week.

I think I you know I can go fishing.

I get on my motorcycle.

I can go riding it.

Lord, you know I deserve this.

You know, I've been faithful to you all week.

And I know it's and Lord, you said that the Sunday's the day of rest.

Boy, didn't you see how I just justified that?

Hello.

And I think, he says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a man or some odd, but exhorting one another so much more as you see the day approaching.

Hebrews 10, 25.

You can't wait.

You ought to get up and say, Whoa, I can't wait to go to church.

We'll go fishing after church, I'll go with you.

We'll ride our bikes after church, I'll ride with you.

We'll go play ball after church.

I won't play, I'll watch.

We'll go crank up our Mustangs and uh and drag race.

I mean ride.

Just a thought.

So, number one.

What's this first step in overcoming temptation?

Number one, we've got to acknowledge the reality of temptation.

The first step is not to ignore temptation.

Look at what he says in verse 13.

We've got to acknowledge that it exists.

Notice what he says.

First words in verse 13.

Let no one say when he is tempted.

Hello, we're gonna be tempted.

Here's the word again.

Let no one say when.

Remember?

Count it all joy.

What?

When?

There's that little word again.

When, not if.

In both passages of scripture, it's not if we're gonna be tried, we're gonna be tried.

It's not if we're gonna be tempted, we're gonna be tempted.

You gotta recognize that every day when you get up.

You're gonna be tempted that day by the powerful Satan and his army and his organized demons.

They're coming after you.

They're coming after you.

So it includes everyone.

Temptation is the inevitable experience of every single believer.

Listen to what Jesus said.

Write this verse down.

Now, I it's one uh that I he gave me earlier after I'd already done the outline.

John 16, 33.

These things have I spoken unto you, that in me might have peace.

In him we have peace.

By the way, when we're in him, we have peace even in the midst of the trial, and we have victory even in the midst of the temptation if we're in him.

And his word is in us.

We have peace.

And then notice what else he says.

That in me you might have peace.

In this world, what does he say?

Ye shall have tribulation.

That encompasses both trials and temptations.

Tribulations.

You will have tribulations, but be of good cheer.

Count it all joy.

Because I have overcome the world.

In other words, if you're in me, hey, and I'm in you, and you're walking with me, you will overcome trials and temptations.

That's good.

A young priest was serving in the confessional booth for the first time and was being watched over by an older priest.

At the end of the day, the older priest took the young man aside and said, When a person finishes confessing, you have got to say, quit saying something other than, wow.

Hey, he said, pluses are, you know, he'd hear of what, I mean, they're just letting it all out, and he'd go, wow, like, I never heard that.

That didn't happen to me before.

We've got to realize we can't be surprised when we face temptation.

You know, we hear, we hear about people falling, especially when all my ministry.

My I had professors fall, I had preachers that I admired, my theologians that fell into sin, all kinds of different sins.

And I'd get so disappointed to the point you'd almost want to say, is God really real?

But see, I didn't understand what happens, you're not prepared for it.

You don't understand it.

And Satan's deceived you, he's blinded you so that when next thing you know, you've already stepped in that trap and you didn't even know it was there.

Boom, he's got you.

And you look back and you say, How in the world did I get here?

We've all been there.

It's like the spider web.

Absolutely.

So, we got to realize, we've got to be encouraged to know that we're not alone in facing temptations.

Hey, Noah.

Noah got drunk.

Right after you got out.

Abraham lied.

Abraham, the father of the God's nation.

He lied to protect himself.

David committed adultery with Bathsheba and ultimately had her husband killed.

Jonah disobeyed God.

Peter cursed God.

Flatly denied that he ever even knew him.

As Charles Ryrie put it, some of the most noblest men of the Bible have not only experienced temptation, but they've yielded to the temptation.

So if it can happen to David, a man after God's own heart, it can happen to, hey, Abraham, the father of God's nation, it can happen to anyone.

Can I get an O me?

And unless we acknowledge the reality of temptation, we will program our spiritual lives for failure.

If we do not acknowledge that there's temptation in our lives, we will fail.

Number two.

Assume the responsibility for temptation.

Uh-oh.

Uh-oh.

This is not as easy as step one.

Look at verse 13 and 14.

Let no one say when he is tempted.

I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own evil desires and enticed.

It is not God that tempts us.

Our very own sinful desires allow us to even be tempted in the first place.

It's our evil desires.

Flip Wilson, I'm telling my age.

He used to say, the devil made me do it.

Well, guess what?

That's pretty right.

It wasn't God.

You know, I've had people say, you know, it must be God's will for me to do this, because it, you know, it happened.

He he put that door right there.

Hello.

Don't you think Satan's got some doors too?

In fact, God's door says exit.

Hey, stay right.

Don't continue.

So we see this.

We see.

In fact, let me tell you what I took this verse apart.

Let no one say when he is tempted.

Or let no one think or rationalize or justify his behavior.

Because he thinks God's in it.

God's allowing it, so God's in it.

Listen to what.

I wrote this to myself.

First, we don't blame God.

And we don't, hey, we blame our lust.

Man blames, and we'll see this in a minute, but listen what Will Rogers said.

This is so good.

I grew up on Will Rogers.

I love Will Rogers.

One of the most kindly giving man's ever lived.

Here's what he said.

There's two great movements in the history of America.

First movement, the passing of the buffalo.

And the second is the passing of the buck.

In other words, we pass the buck.

We blame someone else.

Hey, hey, Adam blamed a woman.

That's a pretty good thing to blame.

We men are pretty good at that.

I'm really good at that.

You men are you're not raising your hand.

You're not you're not got my back on that one, do you?

Hey, that's okay.

Guess what?

The woman blamed the snake, the serpent.

She didn't take the blame either.

She passed the buck.

Right?

Hey, hey, hey, we blame our children.

Our children blame us.

When our children get bad grades, they don't take responsibility.

Well, they say they blame the teacher.

Well, my teacher just doesn't teach.

She's not a good teacher.

He's not a good teacher.

How much have you studied this week?

Well, I did.

I don't have to study.

I listen in class.

Duh.

Hey, the teachers blame, hey, the Board of Education.

The Board of Education blame the community.

Everybody passed the book.

The politicians definitely passed the book.

Talking about one thing.

They say they're going to do one thing, and then when they can't do it, do you understand?

Let me, I'm going to help you.

I have figured this whole political thing out.

It's I if you didn't, this is worth you being here today because this election's coming up.

Listen, the Democrats and the Republicans are in this thing together.

The Republicans blame the Democrats, the Democrats blame the Republicans, and behind the doors they say, ha, we got them, didn't we?

Hello.

You with me?

It's all about money and power.

And they help each other.

They put on a good show.

I'll tell you what, Paula.

Hey, I'm going to nickname the political scene WWE.

What is that wrestling?

W E WWE.

Did any of you ever watch that?

Hey, let me tell you what.

I used to work it as a police officer when I was in Albany, Georgia.

Back then they had their infernos and the medics and Big Barb Armstrong, the firemen, and all those guys.

Oh boy, I'll tell you what.

And man, they'd get up there and act like they're killing everywhere.

There'd be 5,000 people in that little arena jumping, ah, kill him, kill him, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Then they'd come back in there, and you know what they'd do?

I'd be back there in the back.

They'd come in, they'd be high-fiing each other.

Boy, we put on a show tonight, didn't we?

Huh?

Where are we eating tonight?

I looked at them and I said, man, this is nothing but fake.

That's about the way I feel about the political.

There's nothing true about it.

It's all fake.

Hello.

I mean, we ought to be smart in that.

Why would anybody want to pay millions of dollars to get an office where they make they don't make near the money that they spend to get there?

Something's crooked.

Hello! That's my interpretation.

Politics.

But God does not condone or hey, commend our sinful behavior.

Do not even remotely suggest that God has anything to do with evil.

Can I get an amen?

God may test us to strengthen our faith, but He will never tempt us to subvert our faith.

Never.

Never.

So here we are with the second point.

Assume responsibility for your temptation.

It's not somebody else's fault, it's your fault.

When I mess up, it's my fault.

I have a choice.

I can choose right or I can choose wrong.

I'm the corporate.

I meant the culprit.

Not corporate.

Culprit.

I get that right in a minute.

Yeah, be easy with that one.

But hey, that's why Paul said, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, watch.

And make no provisions for the flesh.

No, make no provisions for the flesh.

That's why Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer said, and lead us not into temptation.

But deliver us from evil.

Number three.

Number one, acknowledge the reality of temptation.

Number two, assume the responsibility for temptation.

Number three, anticipate the routine of temptation.

Look at verse 14 through 16.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

Verse 15.

Then when desires have conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown, brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

Besides declaring each person responsible, we see James here for his own temptation.

Look, James is careful to point out that temptation is not an event.

Write this down.

Temptation is not an event, it's a process.

Now that's good.

It's not a one-time event, it's a process.

And it's like a snowball rolling down the hill.

You ever seen a snowball roll down the hill?

The faster it gets faster, bigger, bigger, faster, faster, it gains momentum.

Till it's full grown, bringing forth death.

Temptation may seem innocent and non-threatening at first, but given enough time and power, it can turn into just like that snowball, an avalanche.

Man, that's good.

If we don't want Satan to take advantage of us, here's the key.

Watch.

It is vital that we understand the adversary's strategic plan.

Do you know he's got a plan?

And let me say this that's the outcome.

Kill, still, and store.

But how does he do that?

I'm going to show you right here how he does that.

Are you ready?

This is awesome.

This is unbelievable.

And let me say something.

You know, you think Satan's smart.

He's not real smart.

He's real.

Well, yeah, we're real done, probably.

But he's not real smart.

You know why?

He's been doing the same process, listen, since the Garden of Eden.

He hadn't changed his tactics one bit.

Now let's look at them.

Number one.

Here it is.

Boy, this is good.

Satan has four steps.

He has a four-step scheme.

Number one, enticement.

Look at verse 14.

It all starts with enticement.

The Greek word is dila-azo.

Dila-adzo.

And it literally means to bait.

It means to entrap.

It means to catch.

It means to seduce.

It means to allure.

Verse 14 says that each one is tempted by his own desires and enticed.

By his own, hey, bait.

Desires are all right if they're in proper place and in control.

At that car auction yesterday, I had some desires about several cars.

But I knew I had to keep those desires intact.

For two reasons.

One, my wife would kill me.

Two, I didn't need to lust.

Looks okay, just don't lust.

Amen.

So I just start thinking something else.

Actually, I start thinking about what I'm doing with my car.

That's a good way to do it.

But notice, the problem is when forbidden and harmful things becomes such a desire that we act on it.

Number two.

I don't know if it can.

Well, let's let's do put the second one, then I'll put them both together because they really go together.

Number two is entrapment.

Look at verse 14.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed.

Both of these words are awesome.

Drawn away is ek elko.

Ek elko.

It means to be lured into a trap.

It means to be lured into a trap.

Or it means to be lured by the bait.

Now let me give you an example.

Here it is.

I caught two, I caught a fish the other day for the first time in years when we were camping.

With my grandson.

We had put a little fake worm, those rubber ones.

Nothing happened.

So the guy in the trailer behind me said, I got some live minnows.

Put a minnow in there.

And he showed me how to do it.

You have to take that little minnow and it's alive.

It was in a live book.

Dead minnows don't work.

They work for the turtles.

You want to catch a turtle, maybe so.

They don't work fish.

Fish, you have to have minnows as a but you put that hook right in behind its head and kind of turn it like that, and it's right there by its mouth, but it's not coming out.

You can't see the hook.

You have to learn to kind of do that.

Kind of like a wiggle worm.

You ever fish with a wiggle worm?

You put the hook in and put it down his back so they can't see the hook.

Rosemary.

This is a good example.

Now what's this?

I threw that little minor out for the first time.

And guess what?

That thing was, I saw him and I had a little drink.

Next thing I know, we got a fish.

And I thought to myself, I'm working on this message.

I said, that's it.

That's the bait.

I had the right bait.

Satan knows the right bait.

He knows where you're the weakest.

And he'll take that hook and he'll put it in there, and you can't see it till it's too late.

Fish.

Big bass.

Bass looks at Minor.

No problem.

He's hey, he starts swimming around, minor, no problem.

He starts wanting minor, no problem.

But when he says, boom, big problem.

Fishy on the wall.

Trophy.

Trophy or in the skillet.

If he's big, he's on the wall.

Not so big, he's in the skillet.

Either way, he's what?

Dead.

He's entrapped, he's dead.

That's what Satan wants to do to us.

And he knows what baits where I'm weak.

He knew that Mustang was, I was getting real weak.

And he knew I couldn't come.

He wasn't gonna let me talk to the guy that owned that car, because I'd probably been in big trouble.

Fish he might have bite.

And my wife would have shot.

And I'd be on the wall.

That's good.

That's good, but I'd be on the wall.

That's true.

That was good.

So, enticement.

Here's what it is.

And I really believe this.

Satan wants to take our routine, here's what you want to write down.

He wants to take our routine desires and turn them into runaway desires.

That's good.

He wants to take a, guys, we all have those desires.

That's okay.

We have desires to want to be successful and and and let's just say it, make a lot of money.

Is anybody in here would not like to make a lot of money?

I thank you.

That's the first time I think we've all agreed.

Said the truth.

The whole church said the truth on that one.

Okay?

But guess what?

What happens is our desires run away from us, and we start doing this quick schemes, the wrong schemes, hey, to make a lot of money quick.

And then we have to go back and look at Proverbs, and Proverbs says that a quick dollar brings destruction.

Where he wants us to be patient and he wants us to be do right and to do what God tells us to do and to work hard and gotta be successful.

You'll be successful.

And by the way, I'd lots rather have the money God wants me to have because I could enjoy it so much more than to cheat and have the money Satan wants me to have, and then I end up destroyed.

That's good, preacher.

Because we all fight it.

I fight it.

See, money's not evil, it's the love of money that's evil.

1 Timothy 16, he says, the love of money is the root to all evil.

The love of it.

And what happens, we begin to lust, and our desires run away.

Obsessions with good things.

Watch this.

Here's another one.

Obsession with good things can become bad things.

We have to control them.

So it's enticement, entrapment.

Number three, endorsement.

Look at verse 15.

Then when desires has conceived, it gives birth to sin.

Now here James used a metaphor, and it's a good metaphor of pregnancy.

And in this illustration, sin, now watch this, is the union.

Oh, this is good.

Sin is the union with the will, your will and the lust.

You hear me?

The will and your lust come together.

And you're in trouble.

Because it's God's will for you not to lust.

And by the way, you said, but but no, there are no butts, because my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4.19.

He wants you to be happy.

He wants to provide for you.

He will provide for you.

You will.

Hey, let me ask you this.

Joshua 1.8, the book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that's written there.

Watch.

Then will I make thy way prosperous, and then shall you have good success.

There it is, folks.

He promises you success.

He promises you to prosper if you do it his way.

So it's so important that you understand that.

You got it?

Now watch.

And this is so good.

This helps me so much to understand it.

Just as there's the sperm and the egg come together to make a baby.

The will and lust come together for us to sin.

Now watch.

It's a process.

For a baby, nine months.

So don't think it just happens like that.

Let me tell you something.

You just don't decide you're going to go out and commit adultery.

You don't just decide you're going to go out and rob.

It starts right here.

It's a process.

It's an evil thought.

It starts right here.

In fact, the Bible says that, hey, you can be sure your sins will find you out.

Numbers 32, 23.

And then Psalms 139, 23, and 24 says, Search me, O God, know my heart, try me, know my thoughts, see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting.

In other words, you've got to keep that thought process, hey, in control.

Now let me share.

Oh, this is so good.

Watch this.

Casting down imaginations, every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Let me say right here.

Lust starts in your mind.

Starts with a thought.

Can I get an amen?

Starts with a thought.

You with me?

Now let me tell you what I saw here.

I'd never seen it before.

When I saw this, and I've been studying this passion a lot, but let me give you the there's three levels, basically, I saw.

Level number one with lust.

Lust has three levels.

You ready?

This is hot off the press.

I didn't, that's why it's not in your outline.

Hot off the press.

Level one is imagination.

Your lust starts with your imagination.

And most of the time, it it's the imagination is something your flesh wants that you really don't need.

Or your flesh wants with something you can't have.

Hello?

You with me?

So you got an imagination there.

And that's why we're to cast down imagination.

2 Corinthians 10, 4.

All right, level number two, investigation.

So, level one, imagination starts with our eyes.

It affects our eye.

In other words, we start looking at something.

We want it.

David started looking at Bathsheba.

Hello.

Lot started looking at the plains of Egypt.

I mean, the plains of Sodom.

And ended up in Sodom and Gomorrah.

So, imagination starts with eyes.

Then, secondly, level two is investigation.

That's our feet.

We start investigating it.

We start our feet in our hands, or we start hitting the wrong sites on the pornography on the computer.

We start investigating.

Some of you looking at me like, have I been following you?

No, I have not.

Then the third level, three, is involvement.

Involvement.

Our hands partake of the sin.

We're involved.

Now the solution is immobilization.

In other words, that's where you remember, I finally understood something.

How many of you read the Jesus in Matthew 18 where it says, if your eye offend you, plug it out.

If your hand still cut it off.

Now understand.

If you understand this level.

That's what he meant.

Stop it before it goes anywhere.

Is that not good?

In other words, stop that imagination by not even looking at it.

I will set no wicked thing before my eyes.

That's my little duck.

Psalms.

Job said, I will not think on the loose woman.

Are you with me?

Proverbs says about the I won't use the word.

My grandmother used to call, you appreciate this.

When she was teaching me in Proverbs 65 about the prostitutes, and you know, not allow, don't even go on the same corner where they are is what Proverbs says.

She used to say, you gotta stay away from the substitutes.

Pretty good.

You know those ones, and she said, Yeah, the night substitutes.

I never understood that for a long time.

That tells you how innocent you are, right?

But isn't it quick that just innoces?

Used to it'd be 10, 12.

Now it's five and six.

God help us.

That's where we are with our cesspools.

So we see.

And then notice the next thing.

The number four.

The fourth, you got enticement, entrapment, endorsement.

Now you got enslavement.

Look at verse 15 and 16.

It's a process.

And then verse 15.

Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown, brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

You know what?

Several, what I as I was studying this passage, and as I'm digging out and reading and searching and doing work, one theologian or one commentary made this statement.

It is powerful.

He said, This is the LSD of the Bible.

Lust, sin, death.

LSD.

I said, man.

That's pretty bad, but what a way to apply it.

Lust, sin, death.

The LSD for the Christian.

Woo! Write that down.

The LSD for the Christian.

Lust, sin, death.

Man, that's good.

The point James is making here is this.

Choose whatever you want.

You have the choice.

But understand, every choice brings a consequence.

Now let me repeat that.

Every choice, hey, every choice, well, let me put it this way.

Every choice is a process.

Amen?

And then I wrote this.

Every process, then, with every process, every choice is a process, then the process ends in a result.

Every process, there's a result.

And then with every result, oh boy, this is good.

There is a reality.

Now I thought about that, and let me tell you how I learned that early in seminary.

Here it is.

Let me sum it up right here.

This will help us.

How does Satan work?

He works right here.

He works with enticement, entrapment, endorsement, and enslavement.

In fact, the word there, full grown, I did a word study on that, and let me tell you what I came up with.

One dictionary put it this way.

He says, produces a crop that we harvest for years.

Oh my goodness.

That means we can get so enslaved with sin or sins that it's constantly, hey, we're reaping the consequences of it for years.

That scares me to death.

Because we're not to pass it on to our children.

We don't want that.

But that's what happens for years.

It's past Old Testament talks about it.

Sins from generation to generation.

And this is so good.

So enlightening.

Here's what here it is, ready?

So a thought.

You may want to write this down.

So a thought.

Reap an action.

So an action.

Reap a habit.

So a habit.

Reap a character.

So a character.

Reap a destiny.

There it is.

Sow a thought.

Reap an action.

Sow an action.

Reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.

And the destiny Satan wants.

Is that raining?

The destiny Satan wants is destruction.

Satan's come to kill, steal, and what?

To destroy.

Now.

But are you ready?

Look at number four.

Woo! And by the way, be not deceived.

Here's another verse.

Be not deceived.

God is not mocked.

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap.

Galatians 6, 7.

That's it.

Okay?

But now, wow, what illumination.

What enlightenment.

Because he is the light.

He always shows us the light in the darkness.

Now, after warn us, he is warning us very significantly.

And then all of a sudden, verse 17, he pivots.

Look what happens.

Brings me to point number four.

Activate the replacement of temptation.

Activate the replacement of temptation.

In other words, stop focusing on the tri temptation.

And the trials start focusing on Jesus.

My eyes are fixed on thee, O God, and the Lord is my trust.

Psalms 141, verse 8.

Psalms 141:8

And look at what he says.

Every good gift.

He turns the page to the goodness of God, reminding us that anything fulfilling or worthwhile is found in the Lord.

That's what he's telling us.

Look at verse 17.

Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above and cometh them from the fathers of light with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

This verse is unbelievable, a pivotal verse in this whole presentation.

With all the evil enticements that come from within us, all good gifts are from God who is over us.

Woo! He says it doesn't matter what's going on inside you, he's over you.

He's got the power to work through you to overcome every enticement Satan throws at us.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful and just, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but with the temptation make a way to escape.

1 Corinthians 10 13.

So we see this.

So the way to deal with temptation is not to grit our teeth and make up our minds that we're not going to do a certain thing.

But the way we overcome the temptation is to refocus, not to focus on the temptation, but to focus on Christ.

Let my mind, let his mind be in you, which was also, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ.

Have a Christ-like mind.

Oh, that's so good.

The key is to fill our minds with other things.

Instead of focusing on the temptation, focus on the one who has promised the victory over temptation.

Instead of resisting, refocus.

Man, that's good.

The more you hey, have you ever done this?

The more you find a feeling, the more it seems to take over.

Is that not true?

It really does.

So what do you do?

The more it grabs you.

What you resist tends to persist, is what one of the authors said.

Since temptation begins with your inner thoughts, changing your thoughts is the key to victory.

That's it.

Colossians 3.

Do I have Colossians 3?

Or is that something I added afterwards?

Colossians 3.

Alright, Colossians 3.

Watch this.

If ye then been risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.

Where?

Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Set your, now look at verse 2, set your mind, your affections on things above, not on things undecered.

For you're dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Man, that's good.

That's so good.

That's so good.

And then the last thing accept the reason for your temptation.

We need to accept the why behind our temptation.

What is it?

Look at verse 18.

Here it is.

Of his own will, he brought us forth by word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

James reminds us here that we experience temptation because of who we are.

We are members of God's family.

That's why we are tempted.

Having been born again by the word of truth, it is because we're God's special people that we are targets for the enemy.

Listen, you know what Satan can't stand and will do everything he can to prevent this week?

You walking out of here today after hearing this unbelievable truth and you trying to focus on God, being in the word, sharing your faith, living righteously.

You know what he's got?

He's gonna do everything he can to keep you from doing that.

He doesn't want you in the word.

He doesn't want you, hey, doing right.

He wants you with a bad attitude, he doesn't want you with a good attitude, he wants you with a bad attitude.

He doesn't want you to be kind to people, he wants you to be short to people.

He doesn't want you to be caring, he wants you to be unloving.

And he's gonna do everything he can to keep that from happening.

So if you struggle with temptation, guess what?

Be encouraged.

Because you know you're trying to live right.

Can I get an amen?

Now, if you're not being tempted, you better re-evaluate your heart.

Chances are you may not be saved.

Paul said, examine your faith whether, I mean, examine your faith whether or not you be right with God or not.

1 Corinthians 13.

Examine your faith.

Amen.

You with me?

Now I want to close with this.

I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 10.

I want you to look at two verses.

1 Corinthians 10.

This is awesome.

What a way to finish.

Verses 12 through 14.

If others be partakers of this, that's nine.

Let me get there.

Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he falls.

Here's what that means.

If you think you're not going to be tempted, or you think you can handle the temptation, you are already on your way down and you don't even know it.

In other words, notice what he said in verse 12.

Why should those of us who think we stand or standing tall do?

Take heed, be on guard, be watchful.

Matthew 26, 41, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.

The flesh is weak, but the spirit is strong.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5.

I meant 1 Peter 2.9.

Sorry.

So, it's so important we understand that.

Then notice what he says next.

Verse 13.

Powerful.

There hath no temptation taking you, but such as common to man.

But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but with the temptation, make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it.

Now that verse is, I quote it all the time, but I didn't realize the dynamite that's in that verse.

Notice what he says.

There's only one kind of temptation that is overtaken us.

Only one.

Only one kind of temptation.

What is it?

It's common to man.

In other words, you can't say, oh, I've never been tempted like that, or tempted.

I have been guilty of this.

You have been guilty of it.

We're living it for our kids.

Here's what we said.

I said it, you said it, and we'll continue to say it.

Our kids are living in a lot worse, tougher, more sensual, more immoral situation than we were.

I got news for your you and me.

Not it's the same.

It didn't get any worse than Sodom and Gombar.

It didn't get any worse than Rome.

He hasn't changed.

It's the lust of the flesh.

What's changed?

Let me tell you why it seems worse.

I'm fixing to illuminate all of us.

We have failed to prepare ourselves for such an onslaught of temptation and trials.

We are ignorant of his schemes.

We are ignorant of the word of God.

Thank God for CCW.

You will not be ignorant of the truth.

We are not prepared.

And that's why he's destroying our families.

Thank God for Iwana.

If you're not bringing your kids to Iwana, and I know it's about over for the summer, and our teenagers on Wednesday night, we are preparing them in the word of God so that they will not be deceived by Satan.

Thank God.

Approved workmen are not ashamed.

It's a good Iwana commercial.

Can I get an amen?

Now look at what else.

Look, look, look, look, look.

Hey, in the midst of all this, what an attribute of God is related in verse.

Look, verse 13.

He is faithful.

He is faithful.

You can't overcome.

If you'll do it his way, you'll win.

You won't be the victim.

You won't be the victim.

You'll be the victor.

We'll win.

Amen from Auburn.

Amen from Alabama.

But thank God for Jesus.

I read the oh wait.

Read it, but thank God for Clemson.

I'm with you.

Amen.

I got you.

Georgia, I'm with you, and I got all.

Thank God for Jesus.

Hey, folks, I read the last chapter.

We win.

In the midst of all this, he's faithful.

He'll never leave us nor forsaken.

We will not be tempted beyond what?

Look, this is I've never seen it in this.

God limits the temptation.

He's not gonna give you any temptation that you through the power of the word of God.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Power of the Holy Spirit of God can't you overcome it?

The reason we don't overcome it, we don't want to overcome it.

Or we're unprepared and we don't come because we're ignorant of the word.

We're ignorant of his devices.

And what does he tell us?

He tells us in 1 Corinthians 2 not to be ignorant of his devices.

What will God provide in the midst of temptation?

Revelation 3 10, because you have kept the word of my patience, I will keep thee from the hour of temptation.

Oh, that's good.

Because you have kept my word, I will keep you from the hour of temptation.

Trials and temptation.

Ready?

Trials and temptation benefit us.

I know that's tough.

Say it with me.

Trials and temptation, it benefits.

It prepares us.

Amen.

I love you this morning.

James is gonna be such a powerful Lord he is.

There hath no temptation taken here.

You know what I've learned in my life when temptations I'm losing?

It's because I choose to lose.

Have you ever known this?

Boy, let's just get good on it.

Now this is gonna be this is gonna be tough.

But I've always been transparent and I always will be.

Have you ever been tempted and you know if you do it, it th not good things are gonna happen, but you go and do it anyway.

I had a teenager one time.

Mama told me she said she knew if she did certain things or if she stayed out too late that she would uh lose her uh car.

It could be for a day, it could be for a week or two weeks.

And she came in real late one night and mom was waiting there at the door.

Her daughter walked in, had the keys, threw it to mom, walked on down to her bedroom, said it was worth it.

A few months later she was pregnant.

See, you can choose to have sex, but you can't choose the consequences.

You can choose to decide to drink too much, and you can have a bad wreck and kill somebody or kill yourself or kill somebody else in your car.

You can make that choice, and you can say it's worth it, but you don't know the final consequences.

Amen.

Well, yes, you do.

For the wages of sin, say it with me, it's what?

When lust has conceived, it brings forth what?

Sin, and then when sin is finished, it brings forth what?

So every time you go against the will of God, I want you to think of LSD.

Lust, sin, death.

I love you.

We don't want Satan to win.

We want to be victorious.

Amen.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

If you would like to find out more about us, visit us on our webpage at thechurch at cw.com.

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Need prayer or more information?

Send us an email at office at the church at cw dot com.

We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.