Triumphing Through Temptation

There is a statement that goes "Opportunity comes around once, but temptation leans on the doorbell" Temptation is something that will continually and constantly be ringing the bell. The Lord has given us the tools to triumph and in this blog were going to discuss what they are. First lets talk about what temptation isint. Temptation is not sin. Many believers feel condemned because they have been tempted. Jesus was tempted and hes the sinless son of God! The bible says he was tempted in ALL POINTS yet without sin(Heb 4:15) Hes been there and done that and knows how to deliver the Godly out of temptation(2 Peter 2:9) Temptation becomes sin once we've yielded to it. There are some that might be like "Oh I just couuld'nt help it" No no, the bible declares different. God said through the mouth of Paul There is no temptation taken us such is common to man, and also make A WAY OF ESCAPE(1 Cor 10:13) We live in a society thats often very soft on sin. The bible says Fools make a mock of sin(Prov 14:9) The wages of sin IS DEATH(Rom 6:23) The litteral meaning is LOSS OF LIFE. Look at Adam & Eve in the garden, after they ate from the tree that God said not too, death entered in immediately! There is no such thing as sin without the death. There is pleasure in sin for season(Heb 11:25) However the pressure far out weighs the passing pleasure! King David a man after Gods own heart(Acts 13:22) found this out the hard way. The bible says in 2 Samual Eleven that he let his men go out to battle while he stayed behind. Oh WATCH OUT! Theres a saying that goes "An idle mind is the devils workshop" We know the rest of the story, he saw Bathsheba taking a bath and all it took was a look causing him to enter into a conspiracy having Urriah killed and taking her as his wife. God than spoke to him out of the mouth of the prophet Nathan saying "The sword shall not depart from thine house"(2 Sam 12:10) Surely that day David stayed behind he had no clue what the results of yielding to the temptation was going to be, neither do WE! There is a saying that goes "Sin will take us furthur than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay, and make us pay a price higher than we want to pay" What is sin? Sin is VIOLATION OF LIGHT! In the ninth chapter of the book of John Jesus tells the Pharisees Ye say we see THEREFORE YOUR SIN REMAINS(John 9:41) In other words we are accountable for the light WE SEE! The problem with many is that they want to act like they dont see, when indeed they do. God knows what we see! God said through the mouth of John Walk in the light, As Iam in the light(1 John 1:7) God said through the Psalmist in thine light, IS LIGHT(Psalm 36:9) The more light that comes the more we become responsible to walk in it! Now anyone that is reading that has yielded to temptation tus getting into sin, the good news is the blood of Jesus will cleanse you from ALL unrighteousness. However lets spare ourselves of the price of pain and pressure that comes through sin by killing it at the temptation level. "Sin is the fascination that leads to assasination, the thrill that kills and the blast that dont last" Now Triumphing Though Temptation Number one, Prayer. Jesus said Pray lest ye ENTER INTO temptation(Matt 26:41, Luke 22:46) Here he describes temptation as a door that we open up and walk into. When we sense temptation automatically we need to PRAY! Prayer is the umbilical cord with God, Prayer is onipotent it can do anything God can do cause he hears and answers prayer! Number two, LOOKING UNTO Jesus(Heb 12:2) In order to look unto, we must first LOOK AWAY! Two things cannot have our undivided attention at the same time! Number three, Praise. Praise is Hells mute button! When temptation begins to pull you, begin to quickly praise the Lord! We talked in an earlier blog that its a powerful weapon of warfare. Number four, Accountability. Its good to tell a brother in the Lord that you really trust and will hold you accountable. The bible says Confess your faults to one another and pray one for another that ye may be healed(Jms 5:16) Number five, Speak the word. When Jesus was being tempted of the devil in the wilderness he said IT IS WRITTEN(Matt 4, Luke 4) Jesus said Speak to the mountain(Mark 11:23) Begin to onslaught the temptation with a war of words!!! We are able to resist temptation! The bible says We have yet to resist unto blood striving against sin(Heb 12:4) In other words we'll never have an excuse for a lack of resistence!!! In the next blog we'll dive into more detail on how to stay free from sin and to RESIST TEMPTATION!