Breaking Free

Our Greatest Challenge Is Temptation.

Three Facts about Temptation:

Every Temptation You Face Has Been Faced by Others.

You Have Never Been Tempted by Something You Did Not Have the Power to Resist.

God Provides a Way out of Every Temptation.

There Are Three Kinds of Temptation:

"Everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the father but from the world." (I John 2:16)

THE CRAVINGS OF OUR BODIES is what we call, "Materialism," or "Sensualism."

THE LUST OF OUR EYES (Greed) is the temptation to possess things that aren’t ours or to horde things beyond our need.

THE PRIDE OF OUR HEARTS is the temptation to elevate ourselves in the eyes of others in ways that put others down, make us appear better than we are, or compete with God’s rightful place and glory.

Jesus experienced all three of these in His encounter with Satan, and He overcame them all without sinning.

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them we was hungry." (Luke 4:1-2).

Jesus’ first temptation was the "craving of the body."

The devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." – Luke 4:3

Satan tempts the material/sensual side of Jesus.

Jesus answered, "it is written, ‘man does not live on bread alone.’" (Luke 4:4). He’s quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, from the Old Testament.

Jesus’ second temptation was the temptation of the lust of the eyes - greed.

"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours’." (Luke 4:4-7).

Jesus answered, "It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only."

Satan’s third attempt to tempt Jesus is the pride of the heart.

The Key to Keeping Away from Parasites Happens First in Our Minds and Then in Our Actions.

HOW TO BREAK FREE FROM TEMPTATIONS:

Pray That the Lord Will Keep You from Temptation.

Step 2: Make a covenant with yourself.

Job, in the Old Testament says, "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." (Job 31:1).

Step 3: LOOK FOR A WAY OUT.

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 stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Paul says: "We take every though captive to the will of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

"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" (Philippians 4:8).

Romans 8:6 says, "The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."

Step 4: REMOVE YOURSELF.

Paul says, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteous, faith, love and peace." (2 Timothy 2:22).

Next step: EVALUATE WHEN YOU FALL DOWN.

Finally, ASK FORGIVENESS, RESOLVE TO DO BETTER, AND START AGAIN.

1 JOHN 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous."

Lamentations 3:23 says that God’s mercies are new every morning. Every day we get a fresh start. Don’t let your past beat you up. Instead, let your present start you over.