Key Scriptures: James 1 KJV
13 ¶ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
The bible says that all that is in the world is at enmity with God. In other words it opposes or challenges God. This scripture tells us what makes the world go around and what motivates people to do what they do in this world’s system … the dynamo behind the world system if you will.
While the Kingdom of God is fueled by love, the world is fueled by lusts. Lust is an unbridled passion that moves people to thought and action.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
What is the dynamo behind the world system? What makes the world go around?
* The lusts of the flesh
* The lusts of the eyes
* The pride of life
These have been historic areas of weakness in man which the devil uses as temptations.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says that: “There is no temptation taken you but that which is common to man.”
This means that we all go through the same processes of life and are subject to the same weaknesses. Some tests we pass and some we fail. It is called life.
Even Solomon, the wisest man who ever has or ever will live, except Jesus, had successes and failures. His wisdom came both from observing and living life. God gave Solomon the gift of seeing principles of truth in life and through internalization and meditation, he put those bits of truth into words of wisdom knows as proverbs.
Solomon’s consideration of life and its processes helped him to understand what had just happened to him and what others could expect if they traveled down the same road.
Today’s proverb, Proverbs 5, is a prime example of Solomon writing about his own life experiences and what truth he learned from those experiences.
Not only did Solomon show us wisdom and give us principles to guide our lives by but so did Jesus. Jesus was not only the Son of God but He was also the Son of Man.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. NKJV
As man, Jesus was tempted in every way we are tempted. He therefore understands our weaknesses. What man could not do, because of the weakness of the flesh, Jesus did for us. (Romans 8:3)
How did He do it? How did Jesus handle these common temptations? Let’s see – turn with me to:
Luke 4 NKJV
1 ¶ Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’"
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’"
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
10 "For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’
11 "and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’"
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’"
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
How did He do it? How did Jesus handle these common temptations? First of all He did not deny these temptations, He simply met them face on with the word!
The devil came to Jesus with the same temptations we are faced with:
* The lusts/needs/desires of the flesh – the body in this case – Jesus was hungry and He had physical needs.
* Every day people need things – food, shelter, money, a job, and clothing – more and more and more for themselves and for others.
* Needs --- What do we do when we are tempted with something we need?
> The response: Speak the Word of God
> Jesus spoke the Word: “Man shall not live only in pursuit of getting his physical needs met …” He quoted:
Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
* The lusts/needs/desires of the eyes –
* Eve saw the tree, the fruit was pleasing to her eyes …
* Wants
> The response: Speak the Word of God
> Jesus again quoting from the book of Deuteronomy, specifically chapter 6, verse 13.
> “You shall worship the Lord you God …”
* The pride of life – bios – livelihood --- Who you are and what you do.
* It’s often who we are that makes us feel that we deserve something more than what we have.
* Rights --- what do you do when you feel you deserve it, and in fact you may well deserve it, it might be yours to have but not just yours to get for yourself.
* This is the story of David and King Saul. David deserved to be King, it was his right given to him by God, but not by the hand of David.
* Many writers believe and conjecture that David was destined to marry Bathsheba and have Solomon and his brothers through whose lineage came Christ … however, just not the way it happened.
* These are the times when people can know the will of God and intuit the future, hear the will of God in their spirit and even begin to feel the working of God preparing hearts and minds to embrace that will … but it is not the time to take things into your own hands.
* How do we resist the temptation to reach out and take what we know we deserve? Just like Jesus did: The devil quoted Psalms 91:11.
> Jesus spoke the Word – Jesus quoted:
Deuteronomy 6:16 You shall not tempt the LORD your God, as you tempted him in Massah.
Massah was where in Exodus 17:1-7, the children of Israel wanted to know if God was with them or not. After such proofs and evidence of God’s presence in their lives they still questioned if God was going to be good to them and give them what they felt they deserved. This was insulting to God. Would God begin leading you to a place where He was not going to keep you and increase you and bless you? No!
If you deserve it, if it is your right, if God has put this in you heart … He will perform it without regard to what it takes to get it done.
You cannot become your savior or force God to hurry the process along. He makes everything beautiful in His time.
So in conclusion, how do we stand against the temptations to reach out and take …
What we need
What we want
What we deserve
… without following the rules?
Use the word and have faith, if you fail, you have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus, Who has already paid the price for your mistakes. He knew you would not be perfect on your own so He perfected you in Himself. Just get up, brush yourself off and try to do better next time … and remember, there will be a next time!
