Highlands Fellowship The Book of James: Winning Over Temptation Transcript
Well, hey everybody and welcome to Highlands Fellowship. We truly are blessed to be able to get to spend this time together as we worship Jesus and we hear from the word of God. And I just want you to know as we get started that I love you and I pray for you. And I know that we're living in some challenging times in the world, but with Jesus we can overcome and we can truly live a life worthy of the calling that God has on our lives as his followers. You know, it was a week or so ago um and then also in in small group and then also when I got to spend some time at the Marion campus this past Sunday where I had just tons of great conversation and they had some similar vibe to them.
It was like we were talking about the church and and how we view the church and we tend to think of the church of as a place. Like we go there on Sunday morning, maybe sometime during the week as well, but then we leave and we go home. Then we come back a little bit later the next week. But that is not what the church is at all. The church is actually the body of Christ, meaning that everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and follow him is part of the body of Christ.
So we, the followers of Jesus, are the church. And we collectively are called by God to go into the world to share the good news about Jesus Christ. And this is so very important and it's something that we need to understand. We need to understand this because when we do we begin to see that when we're part of the body of Christ we have a role to play. And if we're not using the spiritual gift that we have in our lives to grow and to build up the church, then something that God desires to see done is not being done.
You know, I've told you this before and I'll say it again is that we are in this together fulfilling the purpose that God has created us for. And we're not meant to do it alone. And so if you're on the fence about what you're going to do about Jesus, whether you're going to follow him or not follow him, let me just go ahead and tell you that we want you, all right? We want you involved. We want you growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
And and here's the thing, we want this for you. It's not for us. Like I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that when you give your heart and life over to Jesus and you get involved with the people of God and you serve others in the name of Jesus Christ, your life will be completely transformed in the best possible way. There's a place for you here. So, together, let's fulfill the vision that God has given us as a church as we make disciples, love our communities, and change the world.
So, um that isn't what I've been planning to preach about today, but I just felt like the Lord was leading me to say that. So, today though, we're in week number four of our series on the book of James. Last week, Pastor Alan gave us just a wonderful message on making decisions from God's perspective and how we need the wisdom of God to do so. It was also great to hear about all of the global partners and all the short-term mission trips that we have planned to to go to Honduras and to go to Tanzania and Turkey and Belize this summer. God really is using Highlands Fellowship to change the world.
So, if you have your Bible or your Bible app, go ahead and open those up to James chapter 1. James chapter 1 verses 12 through 18, that's where we're going to be today. And and what I want us to do is I want us to look at what God has to say about one of the oldest problems that human beings have ever faced and that we deal with. And that is temptation. And it goes all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
And and listen, we all face temptation. Sometimes even when you know the right thing to do, it it's it's really difficult to say no, right? It's difficult. I understand that. Everybody understands that.
Uh there was a guy that once said, "Listen, I can withstand anything except temptation." I mean, it seems like the only way to get rid of temptation is actually to give in to it. But let's look and see what scripture has to say about this. James chapter 1 verses 12 through 18 says this. "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created." So, the Bible talks about really two different kinds of testing here.
One is called trials, all right? The other is called temptations. And both of them use the same word in the original language. Sometimes it's translated as trials, sometimes it's translated as temptations. The New Living Translation says it this way in James chapter 1 verse 12.
"God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation." So, to make a distinction between the two, I I want you to get this today. All right? So, trials Trials are from God and are meant to grow you. All right? That's trials.
Temptations, though, are not from God, but from our spiritual enemy, the devil, and are actually meant to pull us down and to cause us to sin. All right. So, with that understanding, let's look again at James chapter 1 verse 12 where it says this. "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." So, there is a prize. There is a reward for enduring temptation.
You know, I I I think living a blessed life is part of that reward. Like when you're when you're living a life of discipline, so you don't have to go through all these bad choices and all these bad habits that are damaging your life, life is better. It's blessed. It also says that there's a crown of life. James says, "When you understand temptation, when you overcome it, when you learn to say no, then you are beginning to really live." And also, the reward for faithful perseverance is eternal life with all the abundant blessings that the Lord gives in that.
So, the question is, how? How do I win the battle against temptation? How do I handle temptation? How do I say no when I want to say yes? James, being the practical apostle that he was, gives us five principles that I want to give you today.
Number one is this. We've got to be honest about temptation. Be honest about temptation. We have to face the fact that we will be tempted. Even followers of Jesus are tempted.
Every single one of us are tempted. James chapter 1 verse 13 starts out by saying, "When tempted." Not if tempted, but when tempted. It It's just like the trials that we talked about in week two of the series. Temptations are inevitable. Every day we're tempted.
You never get too old for it. You never overcome it by becoming too spiritual. Everybody's tempted. And it seems like the more you grow toward the Lord, the more that you're going to be tempted. It It's a reality of life.
And I think there's a misconception that says, "Once you're born again, like once you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you've got it all together. Like you've arrived. So, you fake it and you wear a mask and you pretend like, you know, how could anybody do something like that?" But we're all tempted. So, I want to show you a verse that I think explains this very well. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.
But God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." Notice it says there common to mankind. That means that we're all in the same boat. We all have the same temptations, the same problems. So, don't be surprised.
Don't be shocked by this. Don't try to hide it. You know, some of you are are caught in a compromising position right now. But it's so liberating to know that there are other people that are going through the very same thing. We're all being tempted by the same things as everybody else.
It It's not a sin to be tempted. That's important for us to understand. It's a sin when we give in to the temptation. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 15, speaking of Jesus, says this, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin. He was perfect.
He was tempted, but he never gave in. So, it's not a sin to be tempted, it's a sin when we give in to the temptation. So, I meet a lot of Christians who who are really, really, really intimidated by temptation. And they think, "How in the world could I have such a thought?" Well, let me go ahead and tell you this, the devil put that in your mind, all right? That part's not your fault.
You are human, and temptation proves that you're human, not necessarily that you're evil, all right? It's not a sin to be tempted, it's a sin when we give in to the temptation. And it seems like the more committed you are to the Lord, the more that you're going to be tempted. The second principle is this. Take responsibility for your choices.
Take responsibility for your choices, like accept responsibility. Don't blame other people for your problems. You know, we love to blame other people. We even love to blame God. James chapter 1, verse 13 says, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted with by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.'" God does not tempt, but we love to blame him, and we love to blame others.
And and we have to get to a place where we take responsibility for our own choices. And and I know this goes against what culture teaches us, you know, the blame culture, blame the government, blame the environment, blame the genetics, blame your parents, blame your spouse, blame the devil, even blame God. You know, I had a lady come to me one time and say, "You know, God told me to leave my husband and go marry someone else." Well, that's blaming God for something that she wanted to do, right? So, don't make your bad choices and then blame it on God. God does not tempt and he never contradicts his word.
He never contradicts his word. God is not going to tell you one thing and then have the Bible say something completely different. If the Bible says something and and you want something different or you say something different, listen, you're wrong. You're wrong. Take responsibility for your choices.
Don't blame God and don't blame other people. That's a sign of immaturity. We've got to grow up, all right? And take responsibility. The fact is I bring most of my problems on myself.
And so do you. We bring them on ourselves. If I'm ever going to break those bad habits that I want to get rid of in my life first I have to be honest about temptation, right? I I I get tempted. You do, too.
Then number two, I've got to take responsibility for my own choices. Like you can't defeat defeat what you refuse to take responsibility for. And then number three is this. Stay alert to the process. When temptation comes, be ready.
Be prepared for it. Peter said, "Stay on your guard." Jesus said, "Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation." Paul says, "Put on the whole armor of God. Stay alert. Be prepared." James chapter 1 verses 14 through 16 says, "But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.
And sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." Don't be deceived. He says, "My dear brothers and sisters." talking to us as followers of Jesus Christ. Says we need to stay alert and be prepared for the temptations that are going to come. Temptation doesn't warn you in advance. It's one of the reasons it's it's a temptation, right?
It's because you don't even know it's there. You don't see it coming. It catches you by surprise. But we have to be ready for it. We've got to be on our guard.
And James is saying, "Stay alert and don't be deceived by our spiritual enemy." You prepare for temptation by understanding how it operates. We prepare for temptation when the devil does these things to us. Why, right? Second Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11 says, "In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." God wants you to know how the devil operates.
How he tempts you. And the devil's consistent, right? And he's been using the same old bag of tricks for thousands of years. And it's really not that hard to discover his process. And temptation is a process.
It's it's never just a one-time act. James outlines the four steps that the devil uses in order to tempt us. So, here's how temptation works, all right? It starts with desire. So, it starts internally.
James chapter 1 verse 14 says, "But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire." The first step of temptation is desire. And there are many desires that are okay. Like you couldn't live without desires. A desire to eat, a desire to drink and sleep and to accomplish things. God gives us these desires and those are good desires.
But any desire outside of God's will can be very damaging to us. Satan loves to take routine desires and turn them into some runaway desire that has nothing to do with what God desires for us. You are consumed, obsessed by it, whether it's food, work, having fun, sex money. Legitimate desires that when they get out of control or out of place, they become a major problem in our lives. If it wasn't for for the inward desire, you wouldn't be tempted.
So, it starts on the inside and then is often the fulfillment of a legitimate desire in the wrong way and at the wrong time. It always starts with desire. And then, there's deception. It looks better than it really is. And our enemy has a way of doing this, right?
To help us to see that. James chapter 1 verse 14 says, "But each person is tempted when they're dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed." James is saying that it's the same as as like when a fisherman draws prey outside of the shelter that it's in and sets a trap for them in order to trap them with a deadly hook. And and the and the secret to great fishing is the bait, right? The kind of bait that you use for the right kind of fish. Like how how many fish would you catch with just a bare hook?
What kind of bait does the devil use on you? He knows what buttons to push. He knows your weaknesses. He knows you inside and out. He knows what turns you on.
He knows what turns you off. He knows what you'll fall for. And he hides his hook in his bait so well. And the bait appeals to your weakness. He knows what he's doing.
The crazy thing is that so often we see the hook and we know it's a temptation, but we keep right on nibbling, don't we? And people keep saying things like, "You know, I know what I'm doing. I I'm an adult. I I'm not going to get hurt. I I know how far to go without going too far right?" And and that person is deceived.
They've gone from desire to deception. It starts with desire, then Satan moves to deception. Temptation always looks better than it really is. Desire turns to deception, and deception turns to disobedience. Disobedience is when you act on it.
James chapter 1 in the first part of verse 15 says this, "Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin." So, what begins in your mind results in an action. So, the battle starts with your thoughts, and then moves from your thoughts into your actions. So, he knows that if he can get your attention, he will eventually get you to commit an action. And people say, "You know, what's the danger in harmless fantasy?" Well, what starts in your mind eventually comes out in your life. Almost always does.
It always begins in the imagination. What you flirt with, you will fall for. That's the whole purpose behind advertising, right? They try to get you to imagine something, and you couldn't live life without it. They know that if they can get into your imagination, then they've got you.
And if it didn't work, nobody nobody would advertise. But, it would be crazy to think that this is not true. You think that you haven't done anything, but you have. The Bible says that what starts in your mind eventually comes out in your lifestyle. Desire leads to deception, deception leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to death.
Sin always takes you further than you plan to go. In the second part of verse 15 in chapter 1 of James, it says, "And sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." And that's the tragic consequence of of giving in to temptation. That that's what losing the battle causes, and it's a devastating result. What is death? What is death?
Well, if you overcome temptation, you get the crown of life. But the wages of sin, or the cost of sin, is death, which is eternal separation from God, spiritual separation from God. And James says that we're we're free to choose any way that we want to live. God gave us that freedom to of choice, but I'm not free to choose the consequences of the choices. I'm free to make the choice, but I'm not free to get to choose the consequences of what I've done.
That's how temptation works. All right. Now, let's let's jump back into how we win the battle against temptation. First, I I've got to be honest about temptation, all right? Then, I've got to take responsibility for my choices, not blame everybody else, got to quit making excuses, all right?
Then, I've got to stay alert to the process by understanding what happens during temptation, so that I can learn how to avoid it. And all of a sudden, in verse 17, James switches gears here, and he starts talking about the goodness of God. And it and it almost looks like he's forgotten what he's talking about. Let's look at James chapter 1 verse 17. It says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." So, James moves from from evil temptations, which God never gives, to the observation that every good and perfect gift comes from him.
So he's refocusing our attention on something else. Why? I think it's because that's the next step in overcoming temptation. Number four is this, refocus. Refocus on what is good in your life.
Refocus on what is good. If temptation starts internally with our thoughts, then changing what we think about is the key to overcoming it. This is what it means to refocus. Turn your attention to something else. Instead of looking at what you're being tempted by, look somewhere else.
We've got to refocus. Philippians chapter 4 verse 8 says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." Focus your mind on the goodness of God. Why? Because the more you fight a feeling, it seems like the more it grabs a hold of you. Don't focus on what you don't want.
Focus on what you want. Turn your attention. Refocus on what is good. Get your eyes off of the temptation and get your eyes on the goodness of God. We've got to get into God's word.
We've got to refocus our mind on what God is teaching us in the Bible. And when you refocus, it it may mean physically removing yourself from a situation. Like if you don't want to get stung, you got to get away from the bees, right? Well, maybe you need to change the channel on the TV. Maybe you need to to walk out of the movie.
Maybe you need to change your job. I mean, Joseph Joseph was in a situation where he was tempted and he left his coat and he ran. And if you have to leave your coat, leave your coat. Walk out. First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 33 says, "Do not be misled.
Bad company corrupts good character." And we don't want to be corrupted. You know your weaknesses and God does, too. And maybe you need to refocus. And lastly, number five is this. Live from your new identity.
We've got to live from this new identity in Christ. James chapter 1 verse 18 says, "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created." He's not talking about a physical birth here. He's talking about being spiritually born. A rebirth. Becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus.
And this is the single most important principle for overcoming temptation. It's living from your identity in Christ. It's giving God control of your life and allowing him to start changing your character. Being born again and becoming part of the family of God gives you a new capacity to resist temptation. Like you don't have to have enough power on your own.
Like you need supernatural power from our Lord Jesus Christ to help you out in this life. That's what it means to live from your new identity. You will not be able to say no to temptation until you first learn to say yes to God. That's the starting point. So, what is your most vulnerable area today?
What would you say is your weak spot? God knows it. The devil knows it. Have you ever figured it out? Because if you haven't, you really need to because once you figured it out, once you know where you're weak, you'll know when and where you're most likely to fall and you can then avoid it.
It's unwise to put yourself in situations that will automatically tempt your weakest area in life. I mean, be honest about temptation. Where Where is it that you lack self-control? Is it your temper or your appetite or your spending, your words? You're continually talking all the time and you say things that you later regret?
Is it drinking or drugs? May- maybe it's lustful thoughts. What is the area that Satan knows that you're weak in and and that he's always trying to bait you in that area? Figure it out. And then admit it to God.
Say "God you know the areas that I'm struggling in and you You list them. Acknowledge them. And say, "I'm asking you to forgive me where I've sinned and I desire to be set free from my past." And if you hadn't already, ask Jesus to come into your life and to save you. And when you do, you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit in your life to overcome temptation. Again, 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind." And And listen to this next part.
It says, "And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." What a great promise. God never lets you to be be tempted by more than than what you can endure. And you might say, "Well, I I I just I just couldn't help myself, you know, I temptation was too strong. Couldn't help myself.
Well, God says, that's not true. It's not true. You're just depending on yourself instead of actually depending upon God to help you. And he will. And God says, I will make a way out if you trust me and you follow me when I give it to you.
The fact is there is hope and you can change if you want to. If you if you'll let Jesus change you from the inside out, I believe that change is is possible. There is a way out if you trust in him. You can't pray, Lord, lead us not into temptation if at the same time you're flirting with temptation right? And some of you are flirting with temptation in many different areas right now.
Like Satan is baiting you and you know it. What is it that you want in your life so badly that you're willing to compromise everything in order to get it? A promotion? Some some cheap thrill? Confess it to God.
The time to deal with temptation is right at the start. When it starts and that desire stage, we've got to shut it down. Martin Luther said, I love this quote, we cannot keep birds from flying over us, but we can keep them from making a nest in our hair. You cannot live in a temptation-free world. Like it's all around you.
And it's not a sin to be tempted, but it's a sin when you begin to dwell on that temptation and you think about it and as you do, it eventually begins to take form in your life and also in your heart. So, let me finish by giving you really two things that you need in order to battle temptation. The first is this. Do life with other followers of Jesus. This is so very important.
You got to do life with other followers of Jesus. You will not make it in this life on your own. And if you don't build meaningful relationships with other believers. We were not meant to fight this battle by ourselves. So, get involved by by you know, joining a serve team here at the church.
Maybe getting involved in a small group. But, find a place where you can begin to meet people, to build relationship, make some friends, and then begin to share on a deep level what you're going through in life. This is how we grow. This is how we mature. So very important.
Share the problems that you're struggling with. We're all in the same boat, all right? We are all in the same boat. Temptations are common to mankind. So, when you're able to talk about what you're going through, you're able to work through it in a healthier way.
So, if you hold on to it, you hold it in, and you don't tell somebody, it just gets worse and worse and becomes something that is just out of control in your life. And then the second thing is this. We've got to get into God's word. The Bible is our weapon against temptation. It is the truth.
Jesus says, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Do you want to be free from your sin? Do you want to be free from the temptation in your life? Well, you have to fill your mind with the word of God. And instead of thinking about what's getting you down, you've got to get get what God says in your mind, and those are the good things. Whatever's true, whatever's just, whatever's holy, these types of things.
You've got to study it. We've got to memorize it. We've got to meditate on it. Fill your life with the word of God. If you know the truth, it will keep you from being deceived.
So very important. So, what is the payoff here? Well, James chapter 1 verse 12, it says, "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." Would you pray with me today? Lord, we thank you so much that you give us a way out of the temptations that we face in life. And we thank you for your word that you show us that we are not the only ones that face this temptation.
Our spiritual enemy, the devil, wants us to be isolated, to feel isolated, to feel like we're the only ones, we're on an island, and it's so shameful, and we can't talk to anybody about it. But God, what you teach us is that if we confess those things to other believers, we confess those things to you, we will find healing, and we will find forgiveness. And I think so often we want to act like we're able to overcome these temptations on our own without having somebody beside us to help us who is a believer, a follower of Jesus, who understands what scripture teaches. And also acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is present in our lives to help us get through these things. So, when you talk about making a way that we can escape these temptations, we have to be in tune with what the word of God says, and what the Holy Spirit is saying to us in our lives.
And those things will never contradict one another. So, how can we know what you teach us, God, unless we're in your word? So, help us to dig deep. Help us to find out what it is you're trying to teach us in your word, so that we can be prepared when our enemy comes against us. And instead of being saying something like, "Well, you know, that's a gray area there, and And just so many gray areas, and I don't know if that's really a sin or not.
Well, if we get into your word and we see what it is, and we're trying to pursue holiness in the way that you desire for us to pursue holiness, I think we'll figure it out. And so God, help us to truly search for for what it is you desire for us to do and how you desire for us to live. And help us to be able to overcome these temptations. But also help us to understand that we will never be able to overcome temptation if we're flirting with it at the same time. It's time to leave our coat, to run out, and get away from these issues.
It may take a hard decision. May take some change in our lives. But I believe with everything in me that when we remove ourselves from the circumstances and situations that are tempting us, and get our minds refocused on what is good, I believe that we will do much, much better as we follow after you. So God, help us to do something that we can't do on our own. We don't have the power.
We don't have the strength. But we need the Holy Spirit work within us today to overcome these temptations. And if there's somebody here today who wants to overcome temptation, but has never accepted you as their Lord and Savior, the very first step is to accept you as their Lord and Savior because we don't have the power. But we can only overcome it by being in a relationship with you and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. So God, if there's somebody here today who's never given their heart and life over to you, pray that you would work in their hearts right now.
They would make a decision to follow after you and say, "God, I admit that I sin and I fall short. But I do believe that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to live on this earth to be tempted by the same things that I'm tempted by, to live a perfect life, and to become the sacrifice for my sins. He died on the cross. Was rose from the grave on the third day, defeating death, hell, and the grave so that we could have the forgiveness of sin. Rose from the grave.
Still blows my mind. But God, we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. And today, I want to follow after you with everything in me. If you've made that decision, welcome to the family of God, and we rejoice with you, and we want to walk beside you because we believe that we were meant to do this life together, and to walk beside each other as iron sharpens iron. We're going to sharpen each other.
We're going to grow and mature as we follow after the Lord, and we are going to go out into this world, and we are going to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. God, we love you, and we praise you. It's in the name of Jesus we pray, and everybody said, amen.