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| JAMES LESSON #20 The desire happens: You go after it: You fall into sin. It�s fun initially. It�s a �good time,� initially. Then all of a sudden, it�s not fun anymore � you can�t break out of it � you�re caught and don�t know how to turn around. In James 1:2-12 James spends quite a bit of time telling us how to persevere- how to stand-how to take advantage of the �joint effort opportunity,� � then in James 1:13 He says- Ok � now that I�ve explained all this stuff to you guys, don�t come running to me blaming God if you blow it and get trapped by your own desires. READ James 1:13-14 and circle the word �enticed�- we�re going to look at that later. READ ON- verse 15: If you don�t understand where sin begins and learn to handle it you�ll spend your entire life a slave to it. The baby born from your actions? Death. This isn�t talking about �eternal� death- this is talking about death to �what could be� � �what should have been� � death to a marriage � death to a relationship between a parent and child � death to a healthy financial future � death to health � death to what God�s desire in that situation would have been � There is a tendency for us to run out of a trial when we�re supposed to stay in one. Why? Because the desires are louder than the voice of God. GOD is the one who designed the trial. God has allowed you to walk into it � GOD is the one who�s designed the way out of it, according to I Corinthians 10:13. When we�re in a trial and all we see are the flames � all we feel is the sting of the heat, the temptation is for us to follow our own desires. James says �THAT is where we start getting into trouble. �and when we get into trouble is when we start blaming God.� Why not blame God? Look at James 1:13 He can�t be tempted - If He is holy, and He is- He can�t tempt with evil � Jesus came to deliver men from evil, not lead them into it. When you are tempted, the cause of that temptation is from within, not from without. It DOES NOT COME FROM SATAN. Stop a second and look at either the trial you are currently involved in: or one that you�ve recently been involved in. I want to walk you through the progression of sin � how it works, and point out the options you have available to you. Remember that the word �lust� in the Greek is : epithumia: it refers to a strong desire of any kind Remember that with every trial comes �temptation� � to follow our �desires� � not God�s direction. Remember that God does not lead us into sin. Sin �starts� with �desire.� Remember that, as a believer in Christ you are in constant warfare �internally� � Your flesh is at war with the Spirit of God who dwells in you: So: With every �desire� will come an action: No desire remains �passive.� You will either KILL IT: realize that it is a �choice� � bring it into �captivity� to the Word of God (example: I can�t turn around: I�m afraid of what other�s will say: What other�s will think: (the desire: to continue on in sin, paralyzed by fear) Take that thought �captive� and shut it down with II Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Example: You don�t know what my life has been: I�ve gone from woman to woman � or I�ve gone from man to man: Or I�ve gambled, stolen � lied and lied- I�ve blown it so badly that my life could never really turn around: (the desire? To continue on in sin because of hopelessness) Phillipians 3:13- FORGETTING WHAT LIES BEHIND and reaching FORWARD to what LIES AHEAD press on: Take those thoughts �captive� and shut them down: -Phillipians 4:8 Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, LET YOUR MIND DWELL ON THESE THINGS- verse 9 � The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me PRACTICE these things and what? You�ll have peace. Example: I can�t overcome this habit: (the desire? To give up and continue in sin) no- �you� can�t- but in joint effort you can: Ephesians 6:10: be strong in yourself? Is that what it says? No- Be strong in the LORD and in the strength of your strong will? Nope- that�s not what it says: Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of HIS might: The word �strong� there in the Greek is �endunamoo� �the root word being, �dunamis� � which means �be strong in God�s strength, power and ability �not your own. WORK TOGETHER WITH HIM � joint effort opportunity --take the thought �captive� and KILL IT- You will act on desire by either killing it.. Or fulfilling it. Here is the progression: The trial hits �first response comes through �desire� (usually to bail out) The �temptation� kicks into position to �fulfill� the desire. You are faced with a choice in ACTION: To Kill it or Fulfill it If you kill it: you will realize If you �fulfill� it you will rationalize it It for what it is (a desire that is and make the necessary �adjustments� Contrary to God�s plan) to sin In killing it you�ll walk away- If you fulfill it you�ll enter into sin (FLEE) which will eventually enslave and and end up in peace/freedom traumatize your life � bringing death READ James 1:13-14 The word �enticed� in verse 14 is a �fishing� term �and it means to �lure a fish from behind a rock� � �to catch an animal in a trap.� In the next lesson we�re going to take a careful look at exactly how that happens in our lives, and how we can recognize when it�s happening, and know what to do to stop it. Does verse 14 say �But every man is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by the devil? No. Does it say that every man is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by another woman? By another man? By things to spend money on? By excess food? No..no .. no- It says every man is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his OWN lusts (desires.) It is your desires that lead you into sin- not God�s. Ok- so let�s move a little bit further in this. Once the desire kicks into position the next move on the chess board is �temptation.� �Temptation� is the invitation to act contrary to God�s Word. You know, if I were to ask you to make a list of �evil� desires, thoughts or actions, you�d probably list things like immorality, murder, rape, etc. �The truth is this: �evil� desires, thoughts or actions are ANY desires, thoughts or actions that are contrary to God�s Word. Ok, so add to the list, �self-pity, lack of forgiveness, self-hate, poor self-image, fear, a grumbling mouth, a complaining mouth, an unthankful heart, a critical spirit and the list goes on. Now..it�s getting a little touchy. Not many of us can stand removed from that list consistently. When you look at verse 14 you see that �desire� has the ability to control you � to �carry you away.� As an �adopted� son- what should be controlling you? Look at Galatians 5:16 We�ve already covered this: Walk by the Spirit: There it is again: Even in the �desire� category of life, God did not design us to battle �alone.� �Alone� is not the plan. Nope- it�s �joint effort� � over and over and over- in every situation of life, God offers His hand. You either cross the street holding it, or you cross the street on your own. When you�re working TOGETHER � �with� �in �joint effort� � HIS strength, power and ability, will kill the desire and lead you �away from� temptation. So many times when we pray we start battling desire and go to God saying �please help me not do this� � and the prayer we ought to be praying is, �God please protect me from evil and LEAD ME NOT INTO TEMPTATION: LEAD ME AWAY from temptation.� God is a big enough God that He can do just that- LEAD YOU AWAY from temptation: But He won�t unless you reach for His hand. So- we�ve got desire � which leads to temptation � Is temptation a sin? Good question. No. Temptation LEADS to sin. It is not a sin to be tempted. However, if you find yourself being tempted � and you know when you�re being tempted and when you�re not � know this: Temptation is a BLAST OF A TRUMPET telling you that you�re well on your way to sin. When you recognize that you�re being tempted: FLEE. Turn away. Run - In some temptation areas, especially sexual ones, you not only flee but you set up militia around yourself. How? You involve a third party. You�re interested in someone you shouldn�t be interested in? You want to be sexually active with someone you shouldn�t be sexually active with? You stand someone between you and that person and ask them to never ever allow you to be alone with them - you�ll find that when you do set up accountable �militia� - when they do run interference for you it will make you angry initially � once the enemy understands that the temptation can no longer bring response from �desire� � He�ll flee and you�ll no longer be angry. Remember: Flee � and if you can�t on your own, get a third party who�ll delight in getting in the way of your desires to hold you accountable. This is usually the ONLY way out with sexual sin. There is no Christian who can not say no to sin. Why? Because Christ dwells in you: and the �joint effort� is always on call � waiting to take your hand and help you across the street. We�re going to talk a lot about how the enemy plays in this situation in the next lesson. For now, remember you have a �choice� �to kill or fulfill. What follows that choice will greatly effect your life, and the lives of those who surround you. �Watch and Pray� ��joint effort� � Guard your heart by trusting His. Love you guys, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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