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| JAMES LESSON #19 Temptation yielded to brings forth sin, and sin brings forth death. When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemene facing the cross, He�d never �tasted� sin. The only way He could pick up His children and hold them � was to become sin for them. His Father hands Him a cup full of filth and death and asks Him to drink every last drop knowing, it would bring death. That death would mean that Jesus, who had never been separated from the Father, would be totally cut off in total isolation. Jesus wrestles : He pleads three times with God � �If it�s possible, take this cup from Me.� He had NO DESIRE to sin. His response to God�s heart? �Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done.� Once He prayed it. Twice He prayed it. Three times He prayed it. While He prayed He needed support � support in prayer from those He loved. They slept. He woke them up and then in Matthew 26: 41 He said: Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; why? -the spirit is willing, but what? The flesh is weak. How did He know that the flesh was weak? Because He was flesh. He knew how weak it was. Question is, �Do you?� Look at Romans 7:14-18 For we know that the Law is spiritual; (the Law given through Moses) but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin (I was born in sin, through the blood lines of Adam and Eve � a slave � how am I a slave?) �Verse 15: For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good. (why? Because the law was given to expose sin, not forgive it: you don�t know you�re doing something wrong unless something tells you it is wrong � the Law WAS good, in that it very clearly states what is right and what is not right) � Verse 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh, for the wishing (to do good) is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. (Obviously there�s a battle going on inside each of us � if we know Christ: a battle between our flesh, and the Spirit of God) - Paul says, �In me, nothing good dwells.� The world that surrounds you, including the church, will try to tell you that good things dwell in you. They try to build your �self-image� �your �self esteem.� As hard as this is to swallow, so many times we think the way we see ourselves is a response to a �poor self-image� - It�s not. The way we see ourselves is a choice: We either see ourselves as God defines us through His eyes-as given in His Word, or we see ourselves as we are �conditioned� to see ourselves, as defined by the circumstances and mouths that surround us. Bottom line is, if we�re wallowing in �poor me� � it�s not a poor self image problem it�s a sin problem. Ok- so what�s the sin? Refusing to believe what God has to say about who we are � and choosing to believe what we see and hear as an alternative. THAT, is a wide open door to destruction. Why? Well you answer the next question: WHO sets up the circumstances that surround you to condition you to believe God is a liar- He�s not there- He doesn�t care- He doesn�t love you - WHO sets up the circumstances and SENDS the mouths to confirm what you�re seeing with �hearing� ��hearing� coming from something other than �the Word of God?� Satan. God says you are precious in His sight. He says over and over and over He loves you with an EVERLASTING love � that He has plans for you- for good, not evil � to give you a future and a hope: Ok- go ahead: see if YOU can fit a �poor self image� into those lines: I sure can�t. Look at Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh, for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. If you�re going to get a handle on temptation you�ve got to understand the flesh- the stuff your spirit lives in. It�s going to beg and beg and plead an plead �Give me give me give me give me� - Trust me on this: IT WILL NOT STOP THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE. Because of Christ you CAN say �no� �doesn�t mean you�ll always be successful � but the choice is always there. Remember: you�ll fulfill the desire or kill it. One other MAJOR caution: Don�t make the mistake of thinking that a �desire� is a �need.� For instance: I �have� to �have� this or that because what will people think? I need someone to love me: BIG TRAP there- I need satisfaction � I need somebody to provide for me � I can�t live on my own � I�ve been hurt so much I just need to be loved - I need to be held, so I had to sleep with this person: I need to be sure, so I�ll just move in with this person: I need - wrong: Turn to Phillipians 4:19 But my God (not me � not you) shall supply how much? ALL � circle that word: ALL your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Trials are hard- they usually hurt- they usually are filled with temptations that make you long and long and long � if for nothing else, a way out. Right in the middle of all of that your little head will come up with some brilliant plan for meeting your own needs � and your entire being will begin to respond with longing � �I NEED this to enable me to get through this� � wrong: God is in the process of teaching you that there�s only one thing that you truly �NEED� � and it�s Him. So many many times we latch on to temptation and fall into sin because we don�t distinguish between �desire� and �need.� When we do, we excuse our sin by saying, �God knows I can�t endure this: He would never want me to hurt: He wouldn�t ask me to go through this UNLESS I HAD �and then we fill in the blank with our own answer. THAT, is a lie. Underline it � memorize it: God supplies your needs. Phillipians 4:19. Get this: NEEDS ARE NEVER CONTRARY TO THE WORD OF GOD. So if the very thing we live in (the flesh) is warring against us, screaming �GIVE ME, I NEED� � how do we walk away from desire? Goes right back to �counting it all joy� ��the middle voice,� and the �joint effort.� The battle does not belong to you �GET THAT. Galatians 5:16 Every true believer has the Spirit of God dwelling in them. In this verse he is not saying that you won�t �desire.� Remember you live in a body of flesh- and in it dwells no good thing. This �flesh� has an enormous appetite-BUT- if you continue to walk by the Spirit you will not �carry out� that desire � you�ll kill it by walking away from it in obedience. Ok � so how do you �walk by the Spirit?� Over and over and over we go back to the same thing: You walk by the Spirit by taking the opportunity to move through the day in �joint effort� � not alone- but �together� � you, following His lead. How? Prayer. Remember, without it, you reduce God to nothing more than a peeping Tom in your life. There is no �relationship� in eavesdropping- don�t forget that. To respond to the opportunity you�ve been given to walk through life �together� � you have to pray � and pray � and pray some more. It�s not about �getting what you want� � It�s not about �finding your way out of a problem� �It�s all about INTIMACY. It�s about honesty- and sharing your most personal stuff � Look at Galatians 5:17 � now remember we just read in Romans that when we�re not in a relationship with Christ, operating only in the rules and regs- the law, we do what we don�t want to do � and don�t do what we should do � we�re slaves: Look at the difference: In Christ what happens? WE HAVE A CHOICE. To be obedient or disobedient. Not only do we have a choice, but if in our hearts BEFORE WE CHOOSE TO ACT we go to God and say � I WANT TO BE FOUND FAITHFUL � help me � I�m going to fail: WE HAVE A HELPER � the battle IS NOT OURS � it�s HIS. Look at this verse. The flesh screams: GIVE ME! -and the Spirit of God say: Nope � not this time! � All of a sudden you have a conscience- You may make a wrong choice and fall into sin � but you won�t be able to stay there comfortably for very long: you will be absolutely miserable-why? Because the Spirit of God is warring against what you�re doing on your behalf to help you turn around. The root of all sin is �desire.� Don�t forget that. Nothing EXTERNAL can cause you to sin � not even the devil. Why? Because sin does not begin on the outside- it begins on the inside. You have the Spirit of God living there ready to stand next to you and fight the battle for you � to kill and not fulfill. The key? Pray- take advantage of the �joint effort� offer � don�t try to stand alone. You will fail. The battle was not designed for you: The battle belongs to God. The �offer� was designed for you � to participate �with� Him in what He desires to reveal in and through the trial � to both you and others involved with HIS RESPONSE � in HIS STRENGTH- and in HIS WISDOM AND POWER. Pray. You will encounter one of two kinds of �desires.� You will either encounter desires of the mind or you will encounter desires of the flesh. Turn to Ephesians 2:3 Every human being (ALL) originally lived out whatever �desires� we experienced: We either indulged in desires of the flesh or desires of the mind. Remember, sin does not �start� with an �act� � it begins in the mind and then is expressed in the flesh. Or- in the mind, you see something, you think something � then all of a sudden your body is longing for something. If you don�t kill the desire in �joint effort,� there is temptation according to James 1:14 A believer does not HAVE to sin- he has to CHOOSE to sin. If you do enter into temptation there is still a way out because temptation is not sin. Remember, the conflict here is NOT with Satan- it is with �desires� in you. Remember, I Corinthians 10:13 promises that not only does God design the trial, He designs the way out. God�s way of escape in every trial is to walk in the spirit � how? Pray. Take advantage of the �joint effort.� If God were to shine a spot light on your life- and caused you to stand naked- totally exposed in His presence what would He find? That depends on whether you have been a hearer or a doer of the Word. If you found yourself tempted and you responded to what you wanted � don�t say God did it. Remember, the temptation began inside you � you could have killed the desire. If you are in a position in your life right now where you�ve responded to �desire� � I want to tell you it�s never ever to late to kill it. Sin always has �consequences.� If you�ve fallen into sin whatever sin that�s happened is irrelevant. As children �growing in grace,� we�ve all been there, done that. Remember the peanut butter story? Don�t spend the rest of your life walking around with your hands in front of your face- afraid for the rest of humanity to see: When the only one that really matters is God- and He already knows. Drop your hands: open your mouth, and take advantage of the �joint effort opportunity.� Let Jesus touch the thing that most desperately needs His healing touch. Confess it and let Him help you find your way back into wholeness. Rationalizing and hiding will only breed greater destruction. What is there to �rationalize and hide� when God watched, and already knows. Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; Trust His heart-especially, when you�ve fallen down. There�s no safer place to run. Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001, Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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