(based on messages by Mark Jones and Kyle Idleman)
SERIES: “FATAL TEMPTATIONS”
TEXT: JAMES 1:14-15; JEREMIAH 2:13
TITLE: “TEMPTATIONS WOMEN FACE”
INTRODUCTION: A. Today is Mother’s Day
1. A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it
does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: "”My full name has
six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?”
When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that
almost 50 percent of the students answered the question with the word “Mother.”
2. A teacher asked a boy this question: “Suppose your mother baked a pie and there
were seven of you--your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you
get?” “A sixth,” replied the boy. “I’m afraid you don’t know your fractions,” said
the teacher. “Remember, there are seven of you.” “Yes, teacher,” said the boy, “but
you don’t know my mother. Mom would say she didn’t want any pie.”
3. Let’s have all of our mothers stand
--You might not be someone’s biological mother but you served in the capacity as
their mother, we want to honor you, too
B. Today also marks the start of a new series called “Fatal Temptations”
--James 1:14-15 – “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged
away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,
when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
2. The first message is quite fitting for today: “Temptations Women Face”
--Even if you aren’t a woman, please listen closely
a. You might hear something addressed that you’ve been struggling with too
b. Even if that isn’t the case, please listen so that you can be understanding and
helpful to someone who is struggling in these areas
C. Some of you are probably saying, “What makes you think that you have a right to
address this issue?”
1. My answer would be: “Hey, you’re pretty observant. You’ve noticed that I’m not
a woman.”
a. In fact, I’ve never been a woman and never even played one on TV
b. So, I do feel sort of awkward preaching on this subject
2. However, I will share with you that I have done some research: I’ve read some
sermons on this issue as well as other material written by both men and women and
have led several counseling sessions where these temptations have been dealt with.
--Wade Allen, from my sermon study group, even polled several women in his
church in Huntingburg and he shared those poll results with us
3. I will let you know that I’m not going to address two temptations:
--I’m not including the temptation of chocolate or the temptation to kill your
husband. (Either one of those may be justified)
D. Jer. 2:13 – God says, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot
hold water.”
1. The people of Israel were guilty of all kinds of specific sins.
2. But at the heart of those temptations was
a. Rejecting the living water – which is God
b. Digging their own wells
--Trying to satisfy their thirst from some supply other than God’s
c. But as the Bible says, those wells don’t hold water.
--Maybe as a woman you have been digging for water in the…
I. WELL OF APPEARANCE
A. The sin of vanity can be a major problem and is certainly a distraction to our spiritual lives.
1. A girl knelt in the confessional and said, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” The priest
asked, “What is it, child?”
She said, “Father, I have committed the sin of vanity. Twice a day I gaze at myself in the mirror
and tell myself how beautiful I am.” The priest turned, took a good look at the girl, and said, “My
dear, I have good news. That isn’t a sin - it’s simply a mistake.”
2. Do you ever find yourself scanning the magazine covers in the checkout lines at the grocery store?
--Those magazines promise all kinds of things:
a. “One month to a bikini body.”
b. “Make up tricks to make you hot.”
c. The list could go on and on.
3. Understand something very important today
--These magazines exist with one goal: to convince you that something is wrong with you and to get
you to spend money to fix what’s wrong
4. Lots of folks have tried to find satisfaction in the way they look.
--Everyday the message in the media is that looks are important and you can never be satisfied with
what you see in the mirror
B. One researcher separated volunteers into ten different cubicles without mirrors. This researcher
explained to each volunteer that the purpose of the study was to examine how other people would
respond to a stranger with a physical imperfection – in this case, a facial scar.
The researcher used makeup to put a scar on the faces of each volunteer. She then showed each
volunteer the “scar” with a small hand-held mirror and then put the mirror away. When that was
finished, she told the volunteers that she needed to put powder on the scar to prevent it from smearing.
She actually used a tissue and wiped the “scar” away altogether.
The volunteers all believed that the scar was still on their faces and were sent out into the waiting
rooms of different medical offices with instructions to evaluate how strangers responded to them. At an
appointed time, all ten volunteers returned to the researcher with the same report: the strangers were
more rude to them, less kind to them, and all stared at their scar (which now only existed in their
imaginations).
--When we get so preoccupied with our personal imperfections, we often assume that other people
consider our flaws to be as repulsive as we do
C. Please understand that there is nothing wrong with outward beauty.
--Look through the Bible and you can see that several godly women were described as beautiful
1. However, if outward appearance is what you are using to quench your thirst, then vanity is out of
control.
--Prov. 31:30 says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is
to be praised.”
2. Maybe you have tried to quench your thirst by finding satisfaction in the way you look
--However, the Bible gives us a better alternative.
a. Real beauty comes from the inside.
b. And that is not just something that ugly people say.
--1 Pet. 3:3 – 4 –“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and
the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the
unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
3. Compassion, honesty, joy, and gratitude are more important than perfect skin, perfect hair, and a perfect
body.
--All of those outer things will pass away but inner beauty is forever.
Some women have tried to quench their thirst in the…
II. WELL OF APPROVAL
A. One of the responses Wade got in his poll from a woman at his church read: Women struggle with pride
and independence. This may be more of a struggle for younger generations of women, and especially
those who work outside the home. When I look at my Granny for instance, she spent her entire life
serving her husband and her family so she had the appropriate Biblical attitude and didn’t suffer from
trying to prove her worthiness in the world. I, on the other hand, struggle with pride and independence
daily because I was raised to look out for myself, support myself, take pride in my personal
accomplishments, etc.”
1. What’s the message sent to women by our culture?
.
2. Women face the pressure to be independent from men while constantly being told that
something is wrong with them if they don’t have a man
--Women receive mixed messages every day
B. Psychologists tells us that a woman’s number one psychological need is security
1. Have you ever wondered why a woman will stay in an abusive relationship?
--They think, “A man, even if he beats me, is better than no man.”
2. Because women have this need for security, they’ll do whatever they can to win the approval of
others.
a. Women seek to validate themselves in the eyes of others.
b. Women will gossip and put others down to make themselves feel better and more secure.
C. When we feel insecure and feel pressure from others, we inevitably start to compare and compete with
each other.
1. All of us are tempted to a degree to be preoccupied with the approval and the applause of others.
--But we’re digging a well that won’t hold water.
2. The way to live your life is before an audience of One.
--Each of us needs to find our security in God.
3. We often think of Mothers as those who provide security.
--Mothers are great at providing security for their kids.
4. But what about mom’s security? Who looks out for her?
--Prov. 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
a. There is no fool proof way to address your security apart from a relationship with Christ.
b. A loving husband might help, a good salary might not hurt but only Christ can surround you with
his love 24/7.
--Apart from Christ every other foundation is unstable.
c. There are a lot of things you can choose to invest your time and energy in as a Christian
woman
--But until your relationship with Christ, is secure, everything else will lack the stability that you
long for.
D. What this means, especially as a mother, is that you need to give yourself permission to not be
wonderful and perfect at everything all the time:
1. God doesn’t think less of you if your kids misbehave in public.
2. He doesn’t think less of you if you occasionally go to bed with dirty dishes.
3. He doesn’t think less of you if you wear sweat pants and no make up to the store.
4. He doesn’t think less of you if your house is painted in last years colors.
5. He doesn’t think less of you if you decide to fix a frozen pizza for dinner.
6. Relax! The pressure is off
--His yoke is easy and His burden is light. You don’t have to measure up to anybody’s list of
standards.
Maybe as a woman you have dug for water in the…
III. WELL OF AFFLUENCE
--materialism
A. An older woman in a Volvo was about to pull into a parking place when a young man in a sports car
zipped in right in front of her. When he hopped out of the car, she rolled down her window and asked,
“What did you do that for?” He said, “Because I am Young and quick.”
As he turned to walk away, she stomped on her gas and slammed right into his car, folding it up like
an accordion…He hollered, “What did you do that for?” She smiled and said “Because I’m old and I’m
rich.”
1. Our culture constantly tells us that what we own defines who we are.
2. From a big home, to a new outfit to a fancy car there is the temptation to find value and comfort in
things.
B. But listen to what the Bible says about materialism.
1. 1 Tim. 6:17 – “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put
their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us
with everything for our enjoyment.”
2. Mt. 6:19-20 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and
rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
3. Mt. 16:26 – “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or
what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
IV. THE WELL OF ASSUMPTION
--thinking that you have to be in control of everything and everyone
A. This temptation inherently comes when you try to fix everyone’s problems, clean up their messes, and
straighten out their character flaws.
1. It’s the underlying desire to have your way no matter what.
2. Some women want to take charge of every situation and dominate every relationship and mother
everyone they come into contact with
a. Sometimes that’s the gift of spiritual leadership coming out and that’s good.
b. But sometimes there’s the temptation to jockey for position, and compete for influence, and ignore
the needs and desires of others.
3. Mark Jones tells of a seminar where his mom heard a woman speaker who reminded the women in
the audience, “Remember that your husband already has a mother.”.
C. Sometimes the desire to be in control leads to the sin of worry
1. Someone suggested that worrying is enjoying a crisis before it arrives.
2. Jesus commanded us not to worry.
--He didn’t say it is wrong to be concerned about things but worry undermines our trust in God.
D. Please remember that God is in control
--there comes a time when you need to
1. Turn your children loose so they can grow up and learn some responsibility
2. Stop covering up for a husband who’s lazy or an alcoholic or even abusive
3. Refuse to defend a son or daughter who is dishonest or involved in things they shouldn’t be involved
in
4. It’s time to turn control of your life and everyone else’s life over to God
CONCLUSION: A. How do we help women facing these struggles?
--The Bible says that husbands are to love their wives, children are to rise up and bless
their mothers, and as a Church we are called to encourage one another.
1. We should let the women in our lives know they are appreciated
a. We should show appreciation for their work
b. We should complement their beauty – inside and out
c. Complement them for being a good wife and for being a good friend
d. Complement them for being a good mother
e. Do things that show you are appreciative
2. We should pray for the women in our lives
--We ALL need prayer support
3. We should do everything we can to help them maintain balance in their lives
B. In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman beside a well
--she’s not very popular; not thought well of around town; married five times but now
living with a man not her husband; living a life of insecurity and insignificance; until
she meets Jesus
1. Jesus says to her in Jn. 4:14 – “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life”
2. That woman discovered the significance and security she had needed and longed for all
of her life
--Jesus filled her dry and thirsty soul
3. Have you been trying to quench your thirst from wells that do not satisfy?
a. Have you invested your time and energy into things that keep coming up empty?
b. Have you been giving in to temptations that war against your soul?
c. It’s time to stop and let God quench your thirst
C. Angela Thomas Guffey, author of the book Tender Mercy for a Mother’s Soul,
understands what it’s like, digging a well that never satisfies…She said she spent years
chasing the mysterious, unattainable goal of being a SuperMom. Listen to her describe
the transformation that took place as she surrendered her life, her family, and her role as a
mother to God.
1. “I held the empty cup of my soul to my husband and begged him to fill it. I held out
my cup to a bigger house and a minivan. But only Jesus could fill my soul. I tried my
children and my girlfriends, but again, they could not fill the place designed by God for
Himself. Then…after I had failed at filling my own emptiness, the Lord…adjusted the
gaze of my heart.
I had been looking so intently at myself and at my family, but my Father lifted the
eyes of my soul and let me see him afresh. He invited me to rest in his great love. And
there, in the gentle embrace of God, the Good Shepherd restored my soul. He made me
lie down in the peaceful pastures of his provision. He made me thirst after His
righteousness. He filled the cup of my soul until it over flowed (you see) I thought the
goal of motherhood was to be a supermom. But in fact, the goal of mothering is to be a
woman of God to your children…A woman of God can love and give from the
overflowing cup God has filled.”
2. She concludes by saying, “Moms, we function poorly apart from God’s power. Let
Him bring the patience you lack. Let Him Carry what you struggle to bear. Let him
fashion you into a mother of virtue. Hear the tender mercy of Jesus calling you to come
and remain in him.”
--“The goal of mothering is to be a woman of God to your children.”
D. More than anything else, letting Christ satisfy you will give you the strength you need to
battle the temptations in your life.
1. Your fulfillment will not be found in things, your satisfaction will not be found in
your appearance or your achievements or in others thinking well of you.
2. As Christ meets your needs and satisfies your desires, as He quenches your thirst—the
bait on the traps seem less and less tempting.
a. Whoever drinks the water that Jesus gives will never thirst:
b. Indeed, it will become to her –or him - a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
