Unstoppable temptation

Since the beginning of the devil's fall and sin it has been his extreme plan and deepest desire to distract, divide, dominate, and then destroy all people.

He does this through deception and temptation.

Temptation is Satan's invitation to give into his kind of life and give up on God's way of life.

For as long as time exists we'll battle with deception and temptation.

1.      Distract.

1.      God desires us to do whatever will help each of us serve Christ best, with as few distractions as possible.

1.      We fill our lives with distractions.

2.      Others fill our lives with distractions.

3.      Finally life fills us with distractions.

1.      Staying focused and diligent on the vision that God has for our lives will be the very best deterrent to sin.

1.      First would be a deep sense of love and respect for God.

2.      Secondly, vision is always the greatest deterrent to sin.

3.      Finally, heaven as our final reward.

2.      Satan distracted Eve into thinking that sin is good, pleasant, and desirable.

Genesis 3:3-7 NLT [3] "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'" [4] "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. [5] "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." [6] The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. [7] At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves."

3.      Notice in vs 6, 7 what Eve did:

1.      She looked.

2.      She took.

3.      She ate.

4.      She gave.

1.      The battle is often lost at the first look.

1.      Temptation often begins by seeing something you want.

2.      Each of us would win over temptation more often if we learned to run from those things that produce evil thoughts.

1.      Notice vs.7, immediately shame shows up.

2.      Next they do any thing and every thing possible to cover it up.

2.      Divide.

1.      If the devil can divide and disconnect you he can destroy you.

2.      First comes the freedom of disconnection and accountability which feels good at first.

1.      Then all of a sudden you begin to wonder if they were your real friends and if there was a real concern for you.

2.      Next you get bit with the venom of bitterness.

3.      You can't tell it's effects immediately but very, very soon it inherently infects everything you do.

3.      One of the realities of sin is that it's effects spread.

1.      After Eve sinned, she involved Adam in her wrongdoing.

2.      When we do something wrong, often we try to relieve our guilt by involving someone else.

1.      Recognize and confess your sin to God before your tempted to pollute those around you.

Acts 14:1-5 NLT[1] The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. [2] Some of the Jews, however, spurned God's message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas. [3] But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. [4] But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. [5] Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them."

4.      Division always leads to the death of a thing, cause, or purpose.

1.      Could mean the death of a marriage, the death of a relationship, or even the death of great groups of people.

1.      Division meaning two visions.

2.      The action of separating something into parts.

5.      One group makes the decision to go one way and they feel super strong and committed to it while the other group feels just as strong and passionate about going another direction.

Luke 11:17-23 NLT "[17] He knew their thoughts, so he said, "Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart."

3.      Dominate.

1.      A guilty conscience is a warning signal God placed inside of you that the Holy Spirit begins to ring off the hook when you've done wrong

1.      Dominate means to have a commanding influence over.

Genesis 4:7 NLT [7] "You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master."

2.      Sin simply means wrong doing.

3.      Missing the target by a vast amount or by the smallest, is sin.

1.      We must subdue it and be its master.

1.      Many Christ followers refuse this type of advice which leads us into idol worship.

Judges 2:1-23 NLT "[7] And the Israelites served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him-those who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel. [8] Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.

[10] After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things He had done for Israel."

1.      We are always one generation from extinction.

2.      Sharing Christ, His goodness, His Word, His miracles, His blessings, His love and His justice is our eternal mission.

"[11] The Israelites did evil in the LORD's sight and served the images of Baal. [12] They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD."

1.      They went after other Gods.

1.      Temptations seek to drive you away from God, never toward Him.

2.      I'll choose to do what everyone else does instead of being my own person making my own choices to serve and honor God.

"[16] Then the LORD raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. [17] Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the LORD's commands."

"[18] Whenever the LORD raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge's lifetime. For the LORD took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. [19] But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways."

3.      Some things we need to desperately understand about temptation:

1.       Being tempted is not a sin.

1.      We have not sinned until we give into the temptation.

2.      We must pray for strength to resist.

2.      Secondly run, sometimes literally.

3.      Finally, say no when confronted with what we know is wrong.

James 1:14, 15 NLT "[14] Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. [15] These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death."

2.      Dominance begins when the devil temps us to doubt God's goodness.

1.      He implies (deceives) Eve into believing that God is strict, stingy, and selfish for not wanting to share His knowledge of good and evil.

2.      Satan made Eve forget all that God had given her and, instead, focus and dial in on the one thing she couldn't have.

1.      That's exactly what happens to us, we dwell on the few things we don't have rather than on the countless things God has given us.

2.      Dominating our thoughts, our actions, and our blessings.

4.      Destroy.

1.      If the devil can get just one of things working effectively in our lives then destruction is right around the corner.

1.      Destruction is a process just like anything else.

1.      Building something takes time, energy, effort, and resources.

2.      Well so does destroying something.

1.      What a waste.

2.      Wasted talents, wasted energies, wasted gifting, wasted resources, wasted lives.

3.      Destroyed dreams, destroyed marriages, destroyed relationships, even destroyed children.

1.      So many face a life of waste.

1.      Who ever spoke that into you, destroying your worth?

2.      Why do you believe that lie?

2.      If the devil just gets us questioning our worth we'll battle that in our minds in such a way that many have even contemplated hurting themselves or even worse.

1.      Questioning their value, questioning their calling, even questioning their very existence.

Illustrate here: this is how they catch and kill monkeys.

1.      They will take an old gourd or vessel and hollow out a hole big enough for the monkey to get his hand into, they'll hang it into a tree.

2.      Next they'll fill it with fresh fruit.

3.      The monkey comes along and sees the fruit, smells the fresh fruit then he places his hand inside the vessel grabs a handful of the fruit and then tries to release himself from the vessel.

4.      He can't contain himself.

5.      He will do everything physically, mentally and vocally possible to get free from the new stockade he's locked into except, let go.

1.      He refuses to let go!

2.      Refuses to let loose.

3.      The only thing holding him, overwhelming desire.

4.      The only thing keeping him is the want for something so bad that he now has his hand on.

1.      He wants that fruit so bad that he'll die to keep his grip on it.

2.      The hunter then walks up to the monkey who is in fear for his life, knows there will be a price to pay but refuses to set himself free by just letting go.

1.      What a powerful parallel we see in human beings.

2.      So many people that desperately, and destructively hang on to the thing that essentially will ruin and defeat them.

1.      Total and utter devastation.

3.      Some of us need to let go of that bitterness, that desire, that temptation, that fear, or that addiction.

4.      Let go of all that you are hanging onto besides Him and you'll become unstoppable.

1.      You can't keep hanging onto that sin, that hurt, that bitterness, that destructive path.

2.      We grab a hold of this culture, we grab a hold of this earthly mindset and it will destroy us.

1.      You might say Michael I don't have my hands where they shouldn't be but I do have my mind in that unsafe, destructive place.

2.      I do have my emotions in that destructive place.

3.      I have been putting my finances in that place.

1.      I have been investing in wrong things.

4.      I've not actually grabbed a hold of it yet but the temptation has been overwhelming, I feel as if I am carrying a weight that is seeking to destroy me.

1.      That's because it is.

2.      That's the devils plan, distract, divide, dominate, and then destroy.

1.      That's his way temptation, curiosity, desire, 50 shades of grey, is a prime example.

2.      Over 100 million copies has been sold to to the book, another nickname for it is "mommy porn" then they made the movie that grossed worldwide:$547,628,165

3.      The devil plants a deep desire inside of you.

1.      Lemme give you a deep revelation from God Himself: God's not grey. His love is not grey, His sacrifice is not grey, His declarations are not grey, His word is not grey!

Matthew 26:41 NLT "[41] Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!"

He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.

There is only one way to escape the consequences of sin and that’s to leave it. No person can do it for you. No pill will take sin’s grip away. No good work will erase it out. You have to break the chains. The sin has to be stopped. The longer it continues, the stronger its grip.

Call upon Jesus to help you. He is able to help you get the victory over this world and it's devices of destruction.

You must trust in Him to show you the way out.