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"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it". (1 Cor. 10:13)

Temptations are common to man!

I agree totally. So long as we are in the flesh, we will be tempted - the devil will see to that!

And there are numerous temptations of various types, shapes and sizes. Some are sneaky and subtle, while others are flagrant, daring and up-front!

Some appeal to the spirit, others to the mind or flesh; but all bring the same end result - the deterioration of fellowship with God!

AND EVERY TEMPTATION IS GEARED TO ESTABLISH MAN'S DEPENDENCE UPON SATAN, THE WORLD AND THE FLESH...AND TO EXALT THE FLESH, AT THE EXPENSE OF THE SPIRIT!

Sin is an evil force and the brainchild of the devil. It may be likened unto a mathematician:

Sin ADDS to a person’s troubles. Sin SUBTRACTS from a person’s energy. Sin MULTIPLIES a person’s aches & pains. Sin DIVIDES a person’s mind. Sin takes INTEREST away from a person’s work. Sin DISCOUNTS a person’s chances of success. And sin SQUARES a person’s conscience!

Sin blinds - sinners are blinded by Satan. Their eyes do not see the dangers that await them!

Sin binds - sinners are bound by spirits of lust, chains of pride, greed, hatred and fear!

Sin deafens - one who habitually sins eventually stops hearing the Holy Spirit’s voice and warning!

Sin deadens the conscience!

Sin kills - the Bible says “the wages of sin is death...” (Rom. 6:23)

In the Garden of Eden, Satan was at his best. He knew his own downfall and the cause of it, so used it on Eve. He employed ‘The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life’ strategy!

He succeeded in tricking our first parents into desiring ‘the one fruit’ God had reserved for Himself, when they had an abundance of all other fruit.

Satan created envy, suspicion and disobedience, in their hearts. Let’s examine his subtlety:

(1) "Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Or in other words, “Can you believe it? He is holding back something which is good for you! He is not being fair”.

(2) "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be AS GODS (literal ‘as God’), knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:4,5).

Man will never become God! That is a false teaching promoted by the New Age movement, the Mormons and other cults. What was the outcome of their transgression? They realized they had made a tragic mistake in believing the devil's lies, and the results were devastating!

THEY IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED THEIR NAKEDNESS, AND WERE GRIPPED BY FEAR! AND THEY HID THEMSELVES!

"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God...And he said I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked." (Gen. 8-10)

Adam and Eve were the first "runaways". They had made themselves clothing of fig leaves to cover their nakedness! When they heard the voice of the Lord God in the garden, they hid themselves behind some trees...trying to hide from God!

THE FALL OF OUR FIRST PARENTS IS A TRAGIC STORY! AND EVEN TODAY, SATAN IS DUPLICATING HIS TREACHERY IN MILLIONS OF LIVES!

Let's look for a moment at the actual temptation: "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), and that is was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of life), she took of the fruit ..." (Gen. 3:6).

SATAN USED THE SAME SET OF TEMPTATIONS ON KING DAVID, WHO SUCCUMBED TO THE LUST OF THE FLESH!

"And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.” (lust of the eyes) (1 Sam. 11:2-4)

"And David sent and enquired after the woman...And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and lay with him.” (lust of the flesh)

David’s sin was engineered by Satan, in collusion with his own sinful flesh!

JESUS PUT SATAN IN HIS PLACE!

However, when the devil tried his "knock-out-punch" on Jesus Christ, he was totally rebuffed. He went away licking his chops! Satan found more than his match in the "second and last Adam".

Let's study the temptation, so we will not be ignorant of the devil's devices.

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

"And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered.

"And when the temptor came to Him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (lust of the flesh)...

"Then the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

"And sayeth unto Him, If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at anytime thou shalt dash thy foot against a stone. (pride of life)...

"Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.

"And sayeth unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." (Matt. 4:2-9) (lust of the eyes)

IT IS WRITTEN!

It's so wonderful to see Jesus' response, as He stops the devil cold: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God".

"It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God". And finally Jesus declared: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

PLEASE NOTICE: JESUS DEFEATED SATAN WITH THE WORD OF GOD, ALONE - AND WE CAN DO THE SAME!

The devil sows thoughts of insecurity, rebellion, jealousy and pride; as well as hatred, lust and greed!

The Bible exposes Satan's sins that caused his fall: "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy BEAUTY, thou hast CORRUPTED thy WISDOM by reason of thy BRIGHTNESS". (Ezek. 28:17)

Isaiah lays out the charges against Lucifer, the fallen arch-angel: "How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning..for thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Is. 14:12-14)

WHAT WAS LUCIFER’S JUDGMENT?

Banishment from Heaven and eternal doom in a place of torment, called Hell!

"Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit". (v.15) “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev. 20:10)

St. Paul warned the Corinthian Church of these temptations: (1) lust, (2) idolatry, (3) fornication, (4) tempting Christ, (5) murmuring!

And since human nature has not changed, Satan has not changed and God's Word has not changed, this warning is also valid for our time!

And since Paul believed that his generation was living in the last days, HOW MUCH CLOSER ARE WE TODAY?

"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (v.11)

Then Paul warned, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, lest he fall". (v.12)

Strong words, indeed!

He was not lulled into a place of complacency, like so many are today; e.g. "It could never happen to me"...Famous last words!

St. Paul stated, "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

“But I keep under my body, and bring it under subjection: Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Cor. 9:26-27)

Is it possible for a Christian to slip and fall? Is it possible for ‘a man of God’ to be tempted, deceived, and back-slide? YES, A THOUSAND TIMES, YES!

Here is the reason: A strong Christian can become complacent, over confident and let down his guard momentarily, thinking: "I have arrived; I'm strong; I could never fall; It may happen to others, but not to me - I'm filled with the Holy Ghost".

A person who takes things for granted, MAY NOT see the danger lurking nearby, and find himself in a compromising position simply because he DID NOT RECOGNIZE the DEVIL'S TRAP, before it was too late!

Satan is devious, tricky and cunning, with 6000 years to practice his art on every type of person, in every continent of the world; with outstanding success.

DON'T THINK YOU CAN OUT-FOX HIM. IN THE NATURAL...YOU CAN'T DO IT! THAT’S WHY WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT!

He'll win every time, hands down. You can't play with fire, without getting burned. If you play his game, you'll lose!

The devil is an expert at delusion, deception, trickery, lies and mirages! The Bible says, "...for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light". (2 Cor. 11:14)

St. Paul declared that Satan has ministers, who also transform themselves into "apostles of Christ", but are liars, deceitful workers, and corrupters who have no sense of shame, remorse or conscience! (2 Cor. 11:13,15) (2 Tim. 3:8)

Here's another warning: "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived". (2 Tim 3:13)

When Antichrist shall appear, he will seek to deceive all who dwell upon the earth (2 Thess. 2), and he will do a pretty good job of it!

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev. 13:8)

Jesus warned, "Take heed that no man deceive you..." (Matt. 24:4) Again, Jesus said, "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets...if it were possible (but it is not) they shall deceive the very elect". (Matt. 24:24)

Then St. Paul warns, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”. (1 Cor. 3:16-17)

The Bible says, "LET NO MAN DECEIVE HIMSELF..." (Cor. 16:18)

And Satan gets help from our own flesh that loves being tantalized, pampered, titilated, mesmerized and paid attention to! And we must not forget that our eternal destiny depends upon our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ!

Jesus warned, "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown". (Rev. 3:11)

The Bible states, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him:

"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion, over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

“FOR SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER YOU: FOR YE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE.

“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under the grace? God forbid.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

“I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

“For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." (Rom. 6:6-22)

Again the Bible says, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

“But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make life in) your mortal (temporary, dying) bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

“FOR IF YE LIVE AFTER THE FLESH, YE SHALL DIE; BUT IF YE THROUGH THE SPIRIT DO MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY, YE SHALL LIVE.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Rom. 8:5-14)

THREE LAWS

St. Paul teaches about three laws... (1) The law of God in our members (the Word of God in our consci­ence; Rom. 7:22,25). (2) The law of sin and death (the carnal man, the old nature inherited from Adam; Rom. 7:21,23,25). (3) The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (the new birth - Christ comes into an individual. (Rom. 8:2)

WHY DO TEMPTATIONS COME, AND FROM WHERE? They certainly do not come from God; however they serve many purposes, not the least of which is to strengthen us, when we overcome!

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life...Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted He any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

"DO NOT ERR, MY BELOVED BRETHREN". (James 1:12-16)

Pastor James knew that we are all human and not immune to Satan's temptations, so he wrote, "Do not err, my beloved brethren"!

It is foolish to think otherwise, therefore we must "abstain from temptations that war against the soul!" (I Pet. 2:11) We can never be too careful, in avoiding the pitfalls the devil has laid for us!

HOW DO WE OVERCOME THE ONSLAUGHTS OF SATANIC INVENTION, FLESHLY LUST AND WORLDLY ALLUREMENTS?

Again St. James comes up with the answer, "Submit yourselves therefore unto God, resist the devil and he shall flee from you". (James 4:7) "Draw nigh unto God and He shall draw nigh unto you". (James 4:8)

King David stated, "How shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word". (Ps. 119:9)

The Bible says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God". (Rom. 12:1-2)

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. 12:1,2)

St. Paul states that God by His Spirit and His Word will renew our minds and inner man! (Eph. 4:23; 2 Cor. 4:16)

WE CAN HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!

The Bible says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

“But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

“And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8)

Let us cultivate the "FEAR OF THE LORD" (Prov. 1:7), in our hearts and a healthy attitude toward the Bible, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, direct and fill us with Himself.

The Bible says, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:11-14)

Finally, let us pray and meditate upon the Word of God, make Christian friends and flee from all sin and even the appearance of evil. (1 Thess. 5:22)

AND LET OUR LIGHTS SHINE FOR JESUS!

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