Good morning

If you were not here last week, we talked about temptation and more specifically Jesus’ temptation.  We took a look at how Jesus used the word of God to defeat the temptation and how that is available to us as well. 

Continuing on today with the idea of temptation we are going to now look at some ways to avoid temptation.  However, the first things that I want to look at are some common lies that we live with about temptation.  To set these up I want to first read from I Corinthians 10:13.  This will help to set the scene for this first part.  In I Corinthians 10:13 it says, “1”

Now Lie # 1 is that we think NO ONE ELSE GOES THROUGH WHAT I’M GOING THROUGH.  There was an article that I once read about a pastor who was caught having adulterous affairs with several of his church members.  Instead of repenting, as he should have, he explained to the church that his actions were excusable because his drive was much greater than that of normal men.  He urged them not to kick him out, but to have compassion for him and his condition.  The church did not buy the lie that this pastor had fallen into believing.  They knew that no one was excused from sin due to circumstances.  I Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.”

Now Satan wants us to believe this and by doing this he sucks us into two bad things beliefs.  The first one is that we attempt to justify our sin by circumstances that we are under.  This not only leads the person to sinning rather than repenting, but it keeps us from asking for forgiveness.  We justify it so much that we believe that it is OK.  If we feel that we are not guilty of sin, then we will not feel the need to confess.  John says in I John 1:9, “2”

By a person not confessing their sin, they are destroying their relationship with God.  Eventually the sin will rule so much in their life that there will be no room for God.

The second thing that it sucks us into believing is that there is no one at church that deals with this, so I can not get help there.  God’s plan for the church is to be a body of believers that help one another.  When a person is going through temptation they should be able to seek out help at church.  However, when they believe that no one else is tempted in the way they are, it makes it harder to seek out that help.

So the first lie is no one else goes through what I’m going through.

Lie # 2 is that THE TEMPTATION IS TOO STRONG FOR ME TO RESIST.  There was a high profile evangelist who had a public moral failure.  In response to his failure he that developed a tape and sent it out to some of the pastors he wanted to salvage a relationship with.  On that video he described a dream of his.  In his dream he saw a cobra that was up to his chest.  This was a big cobra and it was in the striking position.  Then his dream flashed to another scene.  Again a giant cobra appeared.  This time the cobra was about four stories tall.  He tried to defeat it, but it was just too big.  He then went on to explain the interpretation of his dream.  He said that the snake represented the temptation in his life.  His excuse was that just as the cobra was too big to handle, and so was the temptation.  Therefore people should be merciful to him and overlook his sin, because it was just too big to handle.

This is a common excuse for sin.  People many times feel that it is just too much for them to handle.  However, I Corinthians 10:13 says, “And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”  The good news is that because God created you he knows better what your breaking point is than you do.  The only way that temptation can get too strong is when we give in to it.  Lie #2 is that the temptation is too strong for me to resist.

Now Lie # 3 is that THER IS NO WAY OUT… EXCEPT TO GIVE IN.  A minister was having a discussion with a Christian boy about how the boy was getting into a lot of fights.  The boy did recognize that it was wrong.  But he painted a picture that no matter what he did, he was unable to get out of the situation.  The minister admitted that he felt sorry for the boy.  Happily, unlike the other examples we have seen this morning, he didn’t use this to try to justify or excuse himself of his sin.  Now not much is know about the boy’s struggle, but I do know that he cannot possibly be trapped with no way out, because I Corinthians 10:13 says, “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Now going back to the boy’s situation, it seemed like there was no way out.  However, that is because we like to think of pleasant escapes.  However, there is no statement or implication that states that the way out will be pleasant.  So lie # 3 is that there is no way out… except to give in.

Now like teams that play ball games, even they don’t want to lose, but we know that they sometimes do.  We also know that we will lose the battle against temptation at leas once in a while.  What is more likely is that we will lose that battle almost every day. Temptation is everywhere and we will fall into temptation and fall to it every once in a while.

A middle school principal was getting tired of the young girls putting lipstick marks all over the bathroom mirrors.  So, one day she invited all of the girls into the bathroom for an important meeting to instruct them.  She said, “all of these lipstick marks are making the job of our custodian very difficult.  He has to put a lot of effort into cleaning these mirrors.”  She then asked the custodian to clean the mirror.  He took a long-handled brush and dipped it into the toilet and proceeded to clean the mirror with it.  The lipstick problem was no longer a problem at all after that demonstration.

When tempted to sin, if we could only see the real filth we would be kissing, we wouldn’t be near as attracted to it.  Now the direction that I want to go in now is to provide you with some options to dealing with temptation.  I have 7 “F’s” to consider as option to dealing with temptation.

F1- FALL AWAY- This is the step that involves giving in.  Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey.  For the Zulu’s of that continent, however, it’s simple to catch this monkey.  They have been catching this agile little animal with ease for many years.  The method the Zulu’s use is based on knowledge of the animal.  Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine.  The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey.  Knowing this the Zulu’s simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside.  The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw his hand.  This he cannot do.  His fist is now larger than the hole.  The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours.  But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do.  Meanwhile, the Zulu tribesmen sneak up and nab him.

That is how we get caught too.  We are not willing to let go, and the temptation traps us.  Now the remaining “F’s” that I have are used to help avoid temptation.

F2- is to FIGHT- It may be hard at times, but fighting the temptation is always better than giving in to the temptation.  Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when and here are the statistics.  When they neglected their time with God 81% fell to temptation.  When they were physically tired 57% gave in to temptation.

Resisting temptation was accomplished when and here are these statistics.  When they were in prayer 84% resisted temptation.  When they avoided compromising situations 76% of those surveyed avoided the fall into temptation.  When involved in Bible studies 66% avoided falling to temptation.  And finally being accountable to someone caused 52% to avoid falling to temptation.

It is very important that we fight against temptation so that we do not fall into the sin that comes with temptation.

F3- FELLOWSHIP- This is being strong in the Lord.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “3”

The key to Jesus overcoming temptation is his fellowship with God.  Before the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus got affirmation from God at His baptism.   Being in prayer with God is the greatest way of fellowshipping with Him.  Fellowship with God is a huge key in overcoming temptation.

F4- FEEDING- This step deals with the Word of God.  Last week we discussed Jesus being tempted, and we found that His defense was the Word of God.  Just as Jesus used the sure word of God to show the devil that he was wrong and that God’s words are right, so also we have that tremendous and powerful tool to use against temptation too.  Feeding implies a regular intake.  No one eats for the whole week in one meal.  Yet many of us do that, we expect a visit to church once a week is enough to last the whole week. 

Now F-5 is FUELING- When we are empty we need to fuel up.  When you are drive for a distance and the gas tank is reading empty, you don’t say to yourself, “Ahh we can make it another hour on this.”  No you go to the first gas station you can find and get some fuel.  This should be true about our spiritual life as well.  We go through our life and each day we get closer to empty in the spiritual tank.  We may attend church or do our own bible studies and fill up a little bit, but we never to get a full tank.  The best way to get a full tank is to incorporate all of this.  We need to be regularly in attendance in worship services, we need to be in regular bible study on our own, we also need to at times attend things bigger than that to be challenged in a greater way.  That is why the youth attend conventions and church camps.  That is why people attend seminars and other events throughout the year to teach and to challenge them.  That is also why ministers attend conventions, to fill themselves up and to teach themselves new things.  Believe it or not, ministers do not know everything.

When empty or going low, it is important that we go through a fueling process.

F5 could be FRIENDS- It is always helpful to get an encouraging word from a Christina friend.  This is the idea of accountability.  Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one can.  In Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 it says, “4”

Having someone there to encourage and help you is always an advantage to overcoming temptation.  However, this could have the opposite affect.  If you are leaning on the shoulder of a friend that is not a Christian Brother or Sister, there is a tendency that the help you get may have a negative effect.

The last F that I have for you this morning is to FLEE- Flee with your mind, concentrate yourself on good things to avoid falling to the temptation.  In Philippians 4:4 it says, “5”

You can also flee with your feet.  If you can not do anything else then you can run.  In II Timothy 2:22 it says, “6”

We can always at least attempt to run away from what is Tempting us.

Bringing things together, have you ever tried to suppress a cough when you have a cold without the use of any medicine?  Have you tried to just block it out of your mind or hold it in?  That’s hard to do.  Sooner or later the cough comes out, doesn’t it?  You have to use some sort of medicine to control it.  Or how about an itch that you got from a rash or some type of poison ivy?  You try to control the itch, but you can’t.  You scratch the itch and then it just gets worse.  You have to put an ointment on it.  Well, temptation can be like that.  It keeps coming back, and we can even make it worse.

We need to put some blood on it.  That’s right, use blood as a salve for the itch of temptation.  Use Jesus’ blood and the temptation will go away.  It is the only proven cure to temptation from the devil.  This medicine cost Jesus His life, but it doesn’t cost us a thing.

In closing these things have been said about temptation.  Someone once said, “I wouldn’t be tempted if temptation wasn’t so tempting.”  Sam Levenson said, “Lead us not into temptation.  Just tell us where it is, we’ll find it.”  Flip Wilson said, “The devil made me do it the first time, but ever since then I’ve been doing it on my own.”  Finally Oscar Wilde said about temptation, “I can resist anything but temptation.”

As we have hopefully seen today, Oscar is wrong, there are ways that we can resist temptation.  This leaves us with only one question.  And that is are you willing to let go of the seeds?  The ring- tailed monkey gets picked up by the hunters without putting up a fight, and the only thing that he has to do is let go of the seeds.  So are you willing to let go of your seeds.

Let’s pray.

At this time we offer a time of …