James 1:13 ¶ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Temptation is an attractive invitation to a fatal process.
Desire + attraction offer = suffering > death
– A person has a desire and sees something that looks like it could satisfy that desire.
– He takes what he sees and may find temporary relief but suddenly he is faced with serious consequences that will result in death unless there is some kind of intervention.
Illustration: A poor man is offered a plate of food that looks good but is full of poison.
Have you ever used these excuses after you have given in to temptation?
-I just couldn’t help myself.
-I never would have done it if she hadn’t ____________.
-Why did God even allow me to be in a place of temptation?
-I don’t know what got into me?
As men, we need to take responsibility for our sin!
It is very easy to cast the blame on our circumstances, on the devil, or even on God.
Temptation starts in our own hearts.
If we are going to overcome temptation, we will need to start looking at it God’s way.
Temptation is inseparably linked to desire.
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Desire is not a bad thing but the problem is when we try to fill our desires with wrong things or in wrong ways.
To be alive is to have desire. Only dead people do not have desire.
Because we are alive, our enemy plays on our desire to lead us astray.
God has guidelines on how we satisfy our desire.
God created us with appetites and desires.
There are right reasons for eating, a proper relationship for sex, and right ways to build friendships.
Because there are right ways of satisfying our desires, there are also countless wrong ways to pursue them.
Ephesians 5:3 ¶ But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
God’s guidelines are not to torment us but to show us that His ways are pure, satisfying,
and fulfilling.
God has placed restrictions and guidelines on our desires in order to preserve for us the most healthy and blessed way of satisfying them.
We have desires at different levels of our being.
-We have hunger and thirst on a physical level.
-We have sexual drive, which is deeply rooted in who we are as men.
-We also hunger for acceptance, for belonging, for roots, for security, and friendship on an emotional level.
-On a deeper level, we long for something or someone to believe in, for something to give our lives to, for an object of devotion and worship.
All these desires in the root sense are not wrong.
God has created us with these desires.
Temptation is enticement to satisfy these desires in a wrong way.
In temptation our desires often overlap.
-We may eat in order to satisfy a hunger for recognition.
Any desire-however legitimate or good in itself-can be an avenue into sin.
We are constantly tempted to satisfy our desires in some illegitimate way or for some selfish reason.
There is an order of priority in our desires.
We have many desires and our desires have an order in priority.
-The hunger for food is not as important as the hunger for friendship.
-The hunger for friendship is not as important as the hunger for an object of worship and devotion.
Many temptations come to us as enticement to satisfy desires for things of lesser importance at the expense of desires for things of greater importance.
Example: Judas sold his Lord for silver.
By putting money at the place of our heart’s devotion, we are feeding the deepest longing of the heart with rubbish.
We are constantly urged to scarifies our soul for a moments pleasure.
Our desires for things tangible continually stand ready to lead us astray on matters of the heart.
To be continued….