KICK Temptation

My pastor spoke today on James 1:12-18. Here are my notes from it. My pastor, Alex Himaya is a very gifted speaker and makes the word come to life so effortlessly. I hope you like it, I did.

"12 God blesses those tho patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will recieve the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted do not say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted to do wrong and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires (lusts) which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 16 So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights (source of life) in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."

Do you see the progression from temptation to sinful actions to death? See the danger? There is a difference between testing and temptation. Testing is from God for our good, to learn and grow. Think of it like taking a test in school. Temptation is from Satan and is for our destruction, to take us out. Not good! Temptation is an opportunity to fulfill a God-given desire (that in itself is not bad) in our own selfish way, apart from God. The desire iself isn't sin. It is our reaction to it. It is the entertaining, holding onto it that is the sin and allows it to grow in our affections for it so that it holds us. We end up thinking about and caring more for the desire than for God and His timing and ways.

God gives us choices, free will to make decisions. It is a gift from God. We have freedom to follow God and seek him or to reject God and to sin. There are sins of comission (doing something wrong/that isn't God's will or timing) and sins of omission (not doing what we are called to do, the right thing at the time we are called to do it. Yes, delayed obedience isn't obedience!) But God promises that we won't be tempted beyond what we can bear (I. Corinthians 10:13) He will provide a way out of it so that you can stand up under it. So why do people sin? Because we play around with the idea of it and it grows in affection. Anything or anyone you spend time with grows in affection because you are investing yourself and time in it whether you realize it or not. Ouch! How many times do I allow myself to wallow in my anger or self pity? It is ok to be upset and hurt, but not to wallow in it. That is a luxury we can't afford because it costs us toooo much.

We need to look for the door. God always provides a door in temptations. It is a distraction of some sort that comes along to allow you to step away and flee. We must flee from temptations. Run the other direction. (James 4:7-8) "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." Another way to combat the enemy is to praise God. Satan and his demons can't stand to hear God and Jesus prasied and they will run from the burning coals poured on their heads from this. Besides it uplifts you and changes your perspective. Last and most importantly, we look to Jesus. How did Jesus resist temptation out in the desert? He used the word of God. We are called to do the same. Read the word daily, memorize it and meditate on it so that it permeates your being. This is the best gift God has given us to combat temptation and not be decieved.

Satan packs a 1-2 punch. He first hits us with TEMPTATION and seduces us. Then as soon as we fall for it and I do mean FALL, he follows up with GUILT. Don't be decieved. Guilt is from Satan, not from God. It is meant to keep us down and away from God further. It is meant to destroy us. God gives us the Holy Spirit to convict us. CONVICTION is from God for our own good to warn us and cut through to the truth so that we can be get back up and walk back towards God and into his arms for help and healing.

Pastor Alex told us that he has read research that shows that people with severe Alzheimers who forgot all else still remembered God's word. That shows how powerful it is in our lives. It reminds me of my grandmother who had alzheimers. She couldn't remember anyone, even who she was, to eat...but she always remembered that "God is good, sooo good to me." That is what she always said when she could still talk. She amazed doctors and caretakers because it was so rare for an alzheimers patient to not be anxious and difficult, aggravated due to fear of the unknown. When we are fearful the natural response is anger. So alzheimers patients are especially difficult to deal with and aggitated usually. Not so with my grandmother. She had the perfect peace that only comes from knowing she was in her Lords arms, dearly loved and cared for by Him. If she knew nothing else, it mattered not, because she knew the one thing she needed to know. Lord let me remeber that one thing above all else!!!

Anyway, Pastor Alex gave the word KICK Temptation. K=Knowing our weaknesses; I=Insulating ourselves from temptations--avoiding at all costs; C=Coming clean about our failures; K=Keeping God's word close. Hope this helps you to kick temptation so that you can live freely.