Episode 28: Progression of Temptations

In the name of the Glorious Trinity.

Father and Son and Holy Spirit forever.

Amen. Glory be to the Everlasting

mercies which sent you to us. Oh, Christ the light of the

world and the life of all give us wisdom by a law and Enlighten

our impulses, by your knowledge sanctify, our souls by your

truth and Grant that we may be obedient to your words and may

fulfill your Commandments at every hour.

O you who enlightens the rationale with the knowledge of

your greatness? He's doin light O My Lord.

Our thoughts that we made meditate upon your holy and

divine scriptures at all times. Oh Lord of all Father and Son

and Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

Double-edged sword. A Christian podcast Ministry

presented by father, jonard Lazar father.

Jernard is a parish priest of the mud edit Parish of the

Assyrian Church of the East and Turlock California.

Here's father jernard in our last episode.

Last week we spoke about the benefits of Temptations and we

touched upon a few verses and we ascertained that the temperature

or Temptations. Come from Satan.

As we read in Matthew 4:3 and the tempter came and said to

Matthew 4:3

him. If you are the Son of God,

command these stones to become bread.

And we were again warned by Saint Peter.

In his first epistle, 5:8 be sober and guarded because Satan,

your adversary like a lion roars and goes about and seeks whom he

may devour. And why does he tempt us?

We learned that because of our desires, James 1:14, but every

James 1:14

man is tempted by his own lust. And he covets, and he's drawn

away today, I'd like to speak about the progression of

Temptations. Where does it begin?

And what do we do at every stage?

Well, firstly Begins, by let's call it, baiting enticing, or

inciting seducing suggestion. Suggesting.

And when this happens when Satan begins to entice, it eventually

will snowball into a passion, a burning desire.

Approval and conceding. Now there is no sin here because

as we said last week, Jesus was tempted yet, he battled, he

battle, Temptation through scripture with scripture, that's

why the church fathers and the church recommends that all her

children, know, the Psalms off by heart and in particular, the

acolyte the deacons, the priest. So that when Temptations come we

to battle with With scripture and the Psalms being the prayer

booklet of the church. But let's not take enticement.

Likely beloved, this is where we need to nip it in the butt.

Change the channel. Don't even watch when you're

aware of the ratings. Don't say well, I'm going to

fast forward those scenes, but I'm interested in this film,

turn off the computer is some of you are probably saying maybe

chuckling and you know thinking well what land is this priest

coming from La La Land? As they say well no if you if

you take it serious, these are the Extreme Measures.

We need to take. Don't listen to that song.

Don't click on play on that Tik Tok.

Post, when you see the thumbnail is inappropriate.

Seek Jesus Christ. You know, this is from the

get-go. Do the sign of the cross.

This is what the demons hate Temptations.

Come from demons. People who are angels of Satan

do the sign of the cross cry out to Jesus Christ.

Oh Lord absolve. The sins and transgressions of

your servant singer him. It clan he we be your Maria.

You know it's we have hope in You O Lord our savior Cry out to

the name of the Lord, shim adalah.

You know why our forefathers or our parents today.

Each time they perform an act of maybe there's danger involved

and you know, they've been very very precocious when they would

switch on a light so that the darkness would be illuminated.

They would say, shimmered Allah so that if there is any demonic

positions, they will flee in the name of God.

Why do I say this? Well, I don't say it.

Saint Paul writes that in Ephesians 5:19, but speak to

Ephesians 5:19

yourselves in Psalms and hymns and song of the spirit spiritual

songs, be singing in your heart, to the Lord God.

Why? So that we, when are being

tempted, can overcome and stand firm, even in that Temptation

because we learned that Temptations.

God allows for a perfect reason. Why the simple right?

That will he goes on to say in Philippians chapter 5 verse 8 to

9, therefore my brethren, those things that are true, those

things that are honorable, those things that are righteous, those

things that are pure, those things that are precious, those

things that are praiseworthy Deeds of glory, and of, Praise

meditate on these things. The things that you have learned

and received and heard and seen. Buy me.

Wow, Paul is talking about Deeds here seen by me.

It would do things. His deeds were good because they

were God's Deeds. Do is the do these things.

And the God of Peace shall be with you.

So when you're singing constant, Psalms and praising, Jesus

constantly and, and calling out to the name of our heavenly

father, and doing the sign of the cross and attending church,

That's the one way of nipping, The Temptations or the

progressions of The Temptations in the butt.

When you do that, beloved your you're changing, the the realm',

the environment of your mind and your heart, you know you see

some people slap themselves when they want to wake themselves up

while they're driving. Some people say, well, pinch

yourself so that you wake up when you're drowsy and you're

driving. No, you should just go and have

a rest by the way, right? Well, this is what you do.

When you switch off, when you totally flee.

You totally walk away. You're walking away to rest from

that evil ring that you were almost about to enter the gates

of sin. But you have walked away, you

know, playing music with the with the f-bombs and sexual

stimulant stimulants for your celebrations, or your Gatherings

or just blasting it in your car doesn't help.

You know, it it boggles my mind that a Christian would sit in

the car, touch the cross that is hanging on the rearview mirror,

do the sign of the cross. And I start playing music that

are evil. And filthy with the effort,

every second word is an effort, how can that be that's

hypocrisy. Please take away that cross from

Erica. Don't do the sign of the cross.

Hide everything. There is a religious because I'd

rather people not see the cross there and you You know, blasting

the F music and for people to look at all those are that's

that's Christianity. Well great, that's not

Christianity beloved, that's evil, having belly dancers.

Perform at your celebrations, is certainly harming and dangerous.

So if we don't take action from the get-go, we then take

ourselves in the next step after the baiting.

And the inciting of the that, you know, Satan and his demons

comes the commotion, you know? Your mind has been already

stirred. There is a, an inkling of a, an

attraction to Temptation at that moment.

And there is an opportunity to continue to pursue because Satan

has found that weakness. Satan has found that desire,

Satan has found his Target and he's now again shooting those

flaming arrow arrows Shooting him at our weaknesses, our

justification, everyone. Does it.

God knows my weakness. God is merciful.

He's a righteous God. He's a righteous judge, beloved.

I'm not sinning against others. You know?

Just this one time. I'll just let it go this one

time. And here Satan even works harder

to do one thing to discourage to bring you down to to put you in

that understanding or that that corner where you say, well, I'm

not worthy anymore. How am I going to go back to God

with these bad thoughts? But remember there is still no

sin, bad thoughts. I'm not the the reason for being

a bad person, doesn't make you a bad person.

But we can choose to either walk away or to entertain these

thoughts. How do we walk away again?

If you've been careless in the first step and you've reached

this second point and you are now alert and you feel your

conscience is is hammering. You cry out to the Lord.

Again, Place yourself at the feet of the cross.

Our Lord hearing his cry to his father.

Forgive them for they do not know what they're doing.

Father, he or she were careless. They didn't nip it in the bud.

They're a little bit careless. They thought they can take it on

but right now they are Fallen at my cross.

Father, forgive them for, they do not know what they're doing,

what they're doing. That's why some Paul instructs

in his letter to the Colossians 3:2, think of things on high,

Colossians 3:2

not of the things on earth or set your mind on the things that

are above y. So that we do not steer

ourselves toward the evil. Thought, because if we do the

next step of Temptation, Is called.

Conforming or connecting or joining?

The idea begins to stimulate our desires, our weaknesses even

more pushing us on the path of sin.

Entering us even further into the gate of sin, say, until this

point, there was no sin. There was no blame for you to

have been, you know, enticed and feel for you to have been, you

know, Disturbed. But now we're getting closer to

that to that point where yes we don't have.

Just to figure. There's no reason we weren't to

be blamed for enticement and commotion cause but this is

where we start to get into the range where you're thinking now.

Oh yeah, you know let me show this body to the whole world.

Let me get those likes in those. Sexy body girl and those

comments on my post oh wow. What a body, what a cute butt,

right? And I speak like this so don't

be surprised. Don't turn off your where, if

you're listening to you're going to hear a lot of this.

I call a spade a spade and I'm not afraid of anyone.

And I could have one person listening to this.

I still praise the Lord God, because Jesus was hated and

murdered for the truth. Not because he spoke love for

the truth. So I'll The truth, you know, the

the dollar signs behind the likes and the views, you know,

let me show my shame to the world and if I get a million

likes I start getting money right enjoying that that short

period of stimulation and passion, satisfying, this is

where it begins. This is where there is an

intention behind our enticement and commotions by Temptations.

Jesus said, sit, straight Matthew 5:28.

Matthew 5:28

But I am saying to everyone. Who looks at a woman, has not

sinned. Looking at a woman or looking at

a man is not a sin, but looking at a woman or a man.

So, as to lust for him and her immediately commits adultery

with her, or him in his heart, you know, it's like when Jesus

says, If you do your charity to be seen by people, that means

you want people to see you. You want people to applaud you,

you want people to bet you. Pat?

You on the back you want people to recognize and acknowledge.

What you've done. If you do your charitable Deeds

with that intention or they're not accepted by cross, you've

already received your reward. But it's still not too late to

engage. To disengage, I'm sorry to

engage forcefully in the battle and putting on the armor of God.

This is where we need that armor constantly Ephesians 6:10 to 17,

Ephesians 6:10–17

therefore my brethren be strengthened in our Lord and in

the force of his power. And I'm going to tell you how we

can do this and put on all the armor of God, so that you can

stand against the strategies of the devil because your fight has

not been with flesh and blood. But with principalities and the

rulers and the powers of this dark world, and with Wicked

Spirits, which are under Heaven because of this, put on all the

armor of God, that you shall be able to confront the evil one.

And when you are ready in all things, you shall stand stand.

Therefore, and good. Your waist with the truth who is

Jesus Christ and put on the breastplate of righteousness. -

through Jesus Christ and shushu your feet or put on shoes, on

your feet with a Readiness of the gospel of peace, which is

Jesus Christ. And with these take to you the

shield of faith in Jesus Christ, that with it, you have the power

of Jesus Christ to quench. All of the Blazing bolts of the

evil one. By the way, I was adding the

name of out, the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Put on the helmet. Of Salvation through Jesus

Christ and grasp the sword of the spirit which is the word of

God himself. Jesus Christ, praise and glory

to his name or the written word, the gospel which is Jesus

Christ. So if we neglect and take this

for granted, we are hate with the final stage of the

Temptation, which is the drooling, the desire, the

hunger, the passion to submit sin becomes the norm.

You are pruned to it and become obsessed by the act of that.

Particular sin though. Extremely difficult to remove

yes. And I will say this, but the

father's say, and write and encourage that we must

absolutely devout ourselves to removing it.

We must absolutely devout ourselves to getting rid of this

evil demon. Whatever it may be, sexual

desires, gossip, hatred Pride, Envy extortion, Paul writes.

All these, you have desires, like zaccheus Zacharias was the

chief tax collector. Beloved And being a chief tax

collector means that he had other Tax Collectors under his

authority. So what he would do it, he would

take his that he would take tax from the Jewish people, very

simply put, give it to the room and governments but he would

defraud people. Meaning if the person was to pay

20%, he would take 30% and keep 10% for himself and yet.

Still get paid he would probably make Money from his agents as

well. Chief tax collector.

And yet. when he came to Jesus Christ, when he had heard Jesus

Christ, when he was seeking, Jesus Christ, looked for this

Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ, entered into his house, his

heart, his mind his life, he changed his life 180 degrees

Gave half of his wealth to poor people and returned four times

to those that He defrauded. So we can absolutely make every

effort fight, every battle to rid ourselves from the sin that

we have caused ourselves to being because of our evil

desires, our carelessness and our foolishness.

So what do we do? Beloved?

Well from the get-go, don't lead yourself into the first step of

Temptation. When you feel it, when you know

that the enemy is trying to, you know, shackle you and put you in

bonds, get rid of it, nip it in the butt.

As I said, turn off the computer, turn off the or change

the channel switch the radio channel or or, you know, turn

off that song. Flee from every evil matter st.

Paul instructs to the Thessalonians.

In his first epistle 5:22 have nothing to do with it, Ephesians

Ephesians 5:11

5:11 and you and have no association with the works of

darkness which are unfruitful, but reprove them.

How can we claim that? I am a God-fearing god-loving

Christian and I've been invited or I, you know, I have been

called to join an association, not an association or to, you

know, to attend a gathering where I know that there is going

to be evil. I know that there is going to

be, you know, deeds and and temptations that are And to be

totally against God's appeasing and God's perfect will flee from

that. That's what the scriptures are

telling us submit to God. James, 4:7 subject yourselves,

therefore, to God and stand firm against Satan and he will flee

from you don't hang around evil people, avoid Bad Company, 1,

Corinthians, 15:33, evil Communications, meaning gossip.

Cussing, lies corrupt, good manners, beloved, we will be

corrupted. We have a fallen nature,

remember that? We have a fallen nature.

We have free will in our baptism.

The punishment of the first sin is washed away.

From us is wearing his paid by Jesus blood, but our Free Will

is not washed away. Satan wasn't completely

destroyed. Upon the cross through Jesus

sacrifice sacrifice know, Satan is still roaming the world.

Our Free Will is still within us.

And we Fallen nature, we can still continue to sin.

Why put ourselves in those situations.

Come to church, come to church to give, thanks to God, come to

church as zaccheus seek Jesus Christ.

When we come to church, we come to give.

Thanks to the Lord because we are all blind.

When we come to church, we come to change our lives.

We want Jesus to change as because we're all zaccheus has,

when we come to church, we want to be given that site of the

truth and Holiness because we're all blind.

We're all Mary magdalene's, we are all Matthew the tax

collector, we are all that Pharisee that has so much pride

in himself. When he prayed, beloved come to

church to Humble ourselves before the feet of our heavenly

father, and to partake in the all sanctifying body and blood.

The Holy Eucharist, the body and blood of our Lord.

Jesus Christ. Don't come to church to attract

someone to meet someone. We have a trend in the Assyrian

community that when a mother wants her son to find himself a

bride, she will encourage him to go to church and check out the

choir group because they mainly mainly female, no, you don't

come to church to find someone to get married to.

You don't come to church to seduce someone.

You don't come to church to impress.

Anyone beloved, we come to church because we are so

attacked by Satan and he's Demons that we want to throw

ourselves at the merciful feet of our Lord and our Savior Jesus

Christ, and ask for forgiveness and ask for strength and ask

that if God you permit me to go through these Temptation deliver

me from the evil one, don't come to church.

For the wrong reasons because it will do nothing come to church

for the right motive. Read the Holy scriptures with

the right motive. Pray with a contrite heart and a

right motive, fast with a contrite heart and a right

motive. Give arms to the needy with a

contrite heart and the right motives. so that our heavenly

father who sees in secret will reward in public, let us pray

continuously beloved Lord do not lead us into temptation but

Deliver Us from the evil one. Let us beseech his gracious,

loving kindness, and mercy. And pray and beseech that Lord.

Make me worthy to abide in you and you abide in me.

So that all that I Do. I Do For Your Glory now and at

all times and forever and ever. Amen.

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