TEMPTATION AND LUST: PART 3
During temptation our lusts overpower rationality and common sense.
We see only the object of our desire. In our temporary blindness we forget the potential consequences that await us. In those times of temptation, we are not mindful of rewards and plans God has for us, and we fail to consider the horrible consequences our sin will bring upon us. In those moments of overwhelming temptation, we have no props or support other than our relationship with Jesus Christ. Temptation exposes where we really are. When Satan dangles the “apple” in front of you, and at that moment you feel no “glory clouds” or spiritual strength, you must decide whether or not you believe God and whether or not you will obey Him. When temptation is at its greatest, it is the fear of God that keeps a person upright.
“Oh…that they would consider their latter end!” Deuteronomy 32:29.
Lusts are never satisfied.
They grow and strengthen when yielded to. They start out like someone who pretends to be a friend who comes to please you, but then becomes the cruel taskmaster who enslaves and controls you. Lust pushes a person to excess. They give a momentary sense of satisfaction, and then fire back up with compulsive force. A person who is given over to lust and sin is thereafter controlled and driven by it. He claims to be free to do what he wants to do but is in reality bound and driven by it.
“The eyes of man are never satisfied.” Proverbs 27:20.
“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of teaching to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:15-18.
Temptation and lust lure and entice us with false promises.
They promise pleasure but bring emptiness, disillusionment, and pain. They offer you freedom to do as you please but bring bondage and entrapment. They make you believe that you are in charge and that self is on the throne, but you discover you are a slave to Satan and your own lusts. They promise peace but produce mental confusion, anxiety, and darkness. They promise relief but steal your birthright and blessing. They promise wisdom but leads to foolishness. They promise power, freedom, spirituality but lead to bondage, corruption, and death.
“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure…“therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.” Eccles 2:10-17.
New Age occult and sorcery promise spiritual light and knowledge but bring poverty, hunger, hardship, gloom, and darkness.
The words of Isaiah say it plainly.
“And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! IF they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:19-22.
The world, the flesh, and the Devil offer nothing but empty promises, lies, loss, and death.
The Devil offers his “goodies” up front. He promises to fulfill your desires now but comes back later to collect a heavy price. However, Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Living God in Whom we have forgiveness of sin, true, freedom, peace, joy, and eternal life.
OUR HELP IS IN CHRIST JESUS.
Jesus told us to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. He wants us to succeed and to be free in Him.
“As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He remembers our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Ps. 103:13).
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16.
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.
We see Jesus’ love and concern for us when in the Lord’s prayer He taught us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” Matthew 6: 13.
Our hope and strength is in Jesus. We tap into that help through faith and prayer. Jesus told us to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. I encourage each of us to take time daily to “enter the prayer closet” and spend time with Him.
Billy Long Ministries
P.O. Box 147, Longs, SC 29568
www.billylongministries.com
https://blongoutofthebox.blogspot.com
broblong@gmail.com
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