There are no perfect people. None. Although we might be a Christian - we still live in a sin laden world dealing with life's ups and downs and even with temptation.
Some time ago I heard an interesting story of how an Eskimo hunter kills a wolf.
First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood.
Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up.
When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers more the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare.
Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the Arctic night.
So great becomes the craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue or does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood.
His carnivorous appetite just craves more – until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!
Isn't that like temptation? Before you know it - it has slowly consumed you until it actually kills you.
Oscar Wilde once said, "I can withstand anything except temptation." In other words, The only way to get rid of temptation is to give into it.
The Bible talks about two different kinds of testings. One is called trials. The other is called temptation.
Both of them use the same word in Greek -- "peirasmos". Sometimes it's translated "trials", sometimes "temptations".
It doesn't matter because sometimes a situation can be both a trial and a temptation. But to distinguish them -- trials are situations designed by God in order to help us grow.
Temptations are designed by the devil in order to cause us to sin.
James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him."
There is a prize, a reward, for enduring temptation.
Notice that it said "blessed" -- happy.
Happiness comes from having your life under control, so that there is no bad habit that is devastating you.
When you know how to say "no" to temptation it produces happiness in your life.
The question that comes up is this: "How do I handle temptation? How do I say no when I want to say yes?"
James, being the practical apostle that he is, gives us five principles.
1. Be Realistic
Face the fact: You will be tempted. Even Christians are tempted. All of us are tempted.
"When he is / tried tempted ... " not "if" but "when." Trials and temptations are inevitable.
2. Be Responsible
Accept responsibility. Don't blame other people for your problems. We love to blame people, even God.
James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
God does not tempt, but we love to blame others.
Will Rogers said you could summarize American history into two great movements: the passing of the buffalo and the passing of the buck.
We are in a society of irresponsibility. Blame society, blame the government, blame the environment, blame heredity, blame your parents, blame your spouse, blame the devil, even blame God.
3. Be Ready (James 1:14-16)
When temptation comes, be ready. Be prepared for it.
Peter says, "Be on your guard." Jesus said, "Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation."
Paul said, "Put on the whole armor of God". Be ready. Be prepared.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
James 1:16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Temptation does not warn you in advance. One of the reasons it's a temptation is because you don't even know it's there. It catches you by surprise. You've got to be ready and on your guard. We are most vulnerable after a tremendous success. We think we're doing OK.
The Bible says, "Let him who thinks he standeth, take heed lest he fall."
I think of Bobby Leach who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel and came out unharmed. A couple of days later he slipped on an orange peal and broke his leg. It's the little things in life that kill us.
James is saying, Be ready, don't be deceived.
How do you prepare for temptation? How do you get ready for it? By understanding how it operates.
The first step of temptation is desire.
v. 14 "Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires..."
It's an inside job. Most desires are OK. You couldn't live without desires: a desire to eat, drink, sleep, the sexual desire, to accomplish.
God gives us these desires. Those are good desires. They are good gifts.
But any desire out of control becomes destructive. Satan loves to take routine desires and turn them into runaway desires. You are consumed, obsessed by it: food, work, having fun, sex, money.
The second step is deception. "He is drawn away and enticed ..." - v.14
James uses a couple of terms from the sports world.
The word " drawn away" is a hunter's term which literally means "snared in a trap".
"Enticed" is a fisherman's term which means "lured by bait".
The secret of great fishing is in the bait. The right kind of bait for the right kind of fish.
How many fish will you catch with a bare hook? You've got to put bait on it. And the right kind of bait for the right kind of fish.
What kind of bait does the devil use on you? He knows your hot button. He knows your weakness. He knows you inside and out.
He knows what turns you on. He knows what you will fall for. He hides his hook in his bait and the bait appeals to your weakness.
The crazy thing is that often we see the hook and we know it's a temptation but we keep right on nibbling.
People say to me, "Bill, back off. I know what I'm doing. I'm an adult. I'm not going to get hurt. I know how far to go." And that person is deceived.
They've gone to step two -- from desire to deception.
It always starts with the desire. Then Satan moves to deception. Temptation always looks better than it really is.
Desire turns to deception and deception turns to disobedience.
Disobedience. "Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin." - v.15
What begins in your mind results in an action. It starts in your imagination. The battle starts with your thoughts.
It moves from your thoughts into actions. First the devil gets your attention then he gets you to have an attitude then he gets you to commit the action.
Disobedience then leads to Death. "Sin, when full grown gives birth to death." - v.15
That's the tragic consequences of giving in. That's what losing the battle causes -- devastating results.
What is death? The exact opposite of living. If you overcome temptation you get the crown of life.
4. Be Refocused
If temptation begins with our inner thoughts then changing what we think about is the key to overcoming it.
The key to overcoming temptation is not to fight temptation but simply refocus your thoughts.
Change your attention. Turn your attention on something else. Shift your thoughts. Change your mind. Refocus.
Instead of looking at what you're being tempted by, just look somewhere else. Refocus.
Phil 4:8 And now, dear friends, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (NLT)
Focus your mind on the goodness of God. Why? Because the more you fight a feeling the more it grabs you. Don't focus on what you don't want. Focus on what you do want.
5. Be Reborn - v.18
James 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. (NKJ)
The single most important principle in breaking bad habits and getting control of your life is to let God have control of it.
Get Him in your life so He can start changing your character. Being born again gives you a new capacity to resist temptation.
You don't have enough power in your own will power. That's why you keep falling. You need some supernatural power. You need Jesus Christ in your life.
That's what it means to be reborn. It means you get a fresh start on life. Ask Christ in.
Ask Him to make the changes and give you the power you need to do what you know is right to do anyway. You will not be able to say no to temptation until you first learn to say yes to God.
You need His power in your life. You need to not only be redirected and these other things but you need to be reborn. That's the starting point. Then you'll have more than just your own power.
I Corinthians 10:13, "God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it."
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