Strength In The Times Of Temptations

Matthew 26:41

I Corinthians 10:13

James 1:12-16

Topic: Strength in times of temptations

We live in a world that is full of various and different types of temptations. Temptation is defined as an allurement, enticement, or an invitations to engage in a immoral act, in a sinful act, in an act that is against the will of God for your life. It does not matter who you are, how young or how old you are; it doesn’t matter if you are a male or female, nor does it matter where you live, all of us face some sort of temptations in our lives. It does not even matter if you have been saved for 1 year or 30 years, all of us face various and different types temptations in this world because the scriptures does says in James:1:14 that "every man is tried" And also it says in I Corinthians 10:13 that “There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will wit ht temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.“

There are so many different types of temptations that we face in this world We face temptations such as sex temptations, Drug/Alcohol temptations, Gambling/Money temptations, Lying and Cheating temptations, Divorce temptation; Murder and Stealing temptations, Overeating temptations, violent emotion outburst temptationsetc. Yes, all of us are faced with various types of temptations because of the one who is known as the “Tempter”, and the “Tempter” names is Satan, the devil. Just as he tempted Jesus Christ in the wilderness, Satan will certainly tempt you because Satan is known as the “Tempter”. But yet it must be understood that even though Satan is known as the “Tempter”, that does not mean he will make you do something wrong. You know, you have some people in that when they mess up and get in trouble, they want to say, “the devil made me do it.” No, the devil don’t make you do anything. You did wrong because you made the choice to do wrong. Yes, the devil may tempt you to do something, but he don’t make you do anything. Not only do you have some people blaming Satan for making them to do something bad, but yet you even have some people who claim that God made them sin. But the bible says, in James 1:13 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man. You see, God does not tempt us to do evil, but it is Satan that tempts us to do evil. But notice how he tempts us. He does not tempt us with ugly stuff. He doesn’t tempt us with stuff that is not attractive to us. But rather he tempts us with things and situations that looks good, feel good, sounds good, or even smell good. He will also tempt you into doing things that you think you wont get in trouble for. When Satan tempts us, usually he tempts us indirectly, in that, he will tempt us in disguise so you won’t be able recognize who he is. But one must understand whenever Satan tempts you with things and situations that looks good, feel good, sounds good, or smell good, the end results will be nothing but sorrow, pain, heart breaks, and death because everything that he tempts us with is against the will of God for our lives.

Now to be tempted is not a sin. It is when you yield to or give in to temptation that is a sin. James 1:14-15 says, “but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived…

Usually lust is concieved in you mind, that is, it is conceived when you start to give some thought to the temptation that is placed before you . And because lust starts in the mind, it is so very important that you learn to guard your thought life, by guarding what you see, and by guarding what you hear, because that is how lust is conceived; it is conceived by what you see and by what you hear. And what you see and what you hear will get into your mind. And that is why 2nd Corinthians 10:5 says, to Cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. That means, when you start having though lustful thoughts in your mind, you need to cut it off right then and there so you won’t act out on them. Somebody once told me that you cant keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest on top of your head. Likewise, you might experience different types of lustful thoughts that will come to your mind by the things that you see and hear, but you can keep those same lustful thoughts from becoming a stronghold in your mind by cutting off the thoughts in your mind right there and then on the spot.