The Three Effects Of Temptations (Sermon On Temptation)

Sometimes Preachers have to preach on subjects that apply to only part of the congregation.

Such as:

• On Mother’s Day the sermon is directed primarily to the Mothers of this church

• On Father’s Day the sermon is directed primarily to the Fathers of this church.

• On Grandparent’s Day the sermon is directed to the grandparents.

• On Memorial Day the sermon is directed to the military

But when a preacher preaches about TEMPTATION, it is applies to every man, woman boy and girl.

• Every Bible Character that we hold in high esteem had to deal with temptations just like we do.

• The Angels of heaven had to deal with temptation, and one third of them failed the test of temptation.

• The Lord Jesus had to deal with temptation.

Illus: It does not matter if a person is a preacher, deacon, teacher, choir member, or a lay person; we ALL have to deal with temptation.

For example, the late Dr. Jack Hyles, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, said when he was a young pastor he would hug the older women for there was no problem with temptation.

But, he said that as the years have gone by, he has had to stop that because the older he gets, the better the older women look.

Every child of God has to deal with temptation every day of their life whether we are young or old.

But as we talk about temptation, something we need to recognize is this, IT IS NOT A SIN TO BE TEMPTED.

HOW DO WE KNOW IT IS NOT A SIN TO BE TEMPTED?

Because Christ was the sinless Son of God. Not one time did he ever commit one sin. But the Bible tells us Satan tempted him over and over again.

We have no control over the devil putting evil thoughts in our minds, but we do have a choice about dwelling on the evil thoughts he puts there.

It is not a sin to be tempted.

It is not a sin to be tempted, but it is a sin when he puts these thoughts in our minds and we choose to dwell on them.

Illus: Someone said we cannot help it if a bird flies over our head but we can keep him from building a nest in our hair.

As long as we live on this earth we will have to deal with temptations.

Illus: On one of the television broadcast, Benny Hinn was praying for a young man. When he got through praying for him, he stepped back and said, “Never again will Satan bother you!”

Benny needs to read his Bible, or perhaps get another one, because God’s Word assures us for sure, as long as we live in these mortal bodies, we are going to have to contend with Satan’s trying to tempt us to sin.

And as long as we live we are going to be tempted by Satan. In this sermon I want to show you how we can overcome temptation.

Illus: The mighty Niagara River plummets some 180 feet at the American and Horseshoe Falls.

Before the falls, there are violent, turbulent rapids. Farther upstream, however, where the river's current flows more gently, boats are able to navigate.

Just before the Welland River empties into the Niagara, a pedestrian walkway spans the river. Posted on this bridge's pylons is a warning sign for all boaters which states:

• "Do you have an anchor?"

• "Do you know how to use it?"

We all are going to be facing the temptations of life next week, and we all better have an anchor, and we certainly better know how to use it.

Let’s look at …

I. THE DEFINITION OF TEMPTATION

The Greek word for “Temptation” is “Peirazo” (Pi-rad-zo). It means to entice or to solicit to sin.

The devil has all kinds of temptations he tempts us with.

For example, he may tempt one person in one way and tempt another person in another way.

He has had thousands of years of experience in dealing with temptations and he knows what tempt each of us.

Illus: He is like a fisherman with a tackle box, in that box he has all kinds of bait and an experience fisherman knows the right kind of bait to use on each kind of fish.

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SATAN TO TEMPT US?

God never tempts anyone to sin but God allow us to be tempted for the same reason a school teacher tests her students for two reasons:

1. First, so he/she might determine how much the students are learning in a particular subject.

2. Secondly, so the students themselves might determine how much they have learned in a particular subject.

God is Omniscient; he does not have to test us to see how we are doing in a certain area of our life…HE ALREADY KNOWS!