Temptations

TEMPTATIONS

I. What does it mean to be tempted?

(Genesis 3:1-7)

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

A. Many people believed that Adam and Eve had an internal temptation, meaning, they knew that they were not suppose to eat from the tree,

therefore, that was a temptation in itself, but that is not true.

See, Adam and Eve were created in a perfect world, with the perfect

body and a perfect spirit, and because of this, satin, being the serpent,

had to directly tempt them, because Eve and Adam were born with

a spirit nature (God Nature).

(Luke 4: 1-13)

1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into[a] the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 But Jesus answered him, saying,[b] “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”[c]5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him[d] all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan![e] For[f] it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”[g]9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you,’

11 and,

‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[h]12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”[i]13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

B. Jesus was born in a fallen world, with a natural body and a perfect spirit. Like Adam and Eve, Jesus was also born with the spirit nature,

therefore, satin had to tempt Him directly, unlike Adam and Eve,

Jesus defeated satins temptations.

C. Ever since Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree, with the exception

of Jesus Christ, man has been and is being born with the Sin Nature.

We have an internal temptation born with us. Take children for

instance, if you tell them not to do something, they are going to do

it any way, because you told them not to do it. We have to be taught

to do right, because we all ready know wrong. So, how do we get

from the Sin Nature to the Spirit Nature (God Nature)? Only one

way, and that is through our Lord Jesus Christ our Savior!

II. What does satin use to tempt us?

A. One of the areas satin uses to tempt us with is in Pleasurable Things.

Pleasurable things consist of Drugs, Alcohol, Pornography, Gambling, etc. There are two areas this can affect. One area is that

these things can cause you to become addicted. They can take

complete control of your life. When you let things control your life,

your letting satin control your life. The other area is that these things