← Christian Questions Bible Podcast
Loading summary
Transcript145 lines
- [00:02]
A
Think about the Bible like you never have before. You're listening to Christian Questions. Access more audio videos and Bible Study resources@christianquestions.com Our topic is how do I Identify Temptation and Shut It Down. Here's Rick, Jonathan and Julie.
- [00:21]
B
Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co host for over 25 years, and Julie, a longtime contributor, is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?
- [00:31]
A
First Corinthians 10:13 no temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation will provide the way of escape also so that you will be able to endure it.
- [00:50]
B
Temptation is everywhere. In fact, it may be lurking in places that we are not even aware of. Let's put this in perspective. Who do you claim to be? If you answered that you claim to be a Christian, then the next question is who do you serve and in whose footsteps are you there for to walk? Our answer should be that we serve God and we're walking in the footsteps of Jesus our Lord. So now here's the test. Think about our associations, our work or school environments, our friends, the shows we watch, the influencers we follow, the music we listen to and the posts that we make and the posts that we read. Where are all these things drawing our minds to? What percentage of all these things are in exact alignment with God our Father and Jesus our Lord? Think. Be honest. See, temptation is everywhere.
- [01:42]
C
It sure is. We're going to use the metaphor of temptation, beginning as a seed, a thought, a desire, a possibility. And these seeds fall into our lives from three places. Satan, who plants seeds meant to destroy God, who allows testing to strengthen and mature us, and our own imperfect flesh, which produces desires that can grow in either direction.
- [02:04]
A
Here are the fundamental questions that will help us identify temptations so we can shut it down. Who do I serve? How is what I am thinking, feeling, saying, or doing, fulfilling my loyalty to God?
- [02:19]
B
So we've got those questions, and they're important baseline questions for us to begin to work with. So let's begin by examining the New Testament definition of temptation. We want to understand what it is we're talking about. Jonathan let's go to 1 Corinthians 10, 12, 13.
- [02:37]
A
Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with the temptation will provide the way of escape also so that you will be able to endure it.
- [02:58]
C
Now, the Greek word for temptation, in its noun and verb form here describes a proving ground, a test that reveals what's inside and exposes the heart. So we often think of temptation only as an invitation to do something wrong. But the New Testament idea is broader. It's any pressure that uncovers what's already growing in us. That same pressure can either break us or build us, depending on what's taking root in our hearts.
- [03:25]
B
So we've got this sense of what temptation is, and it's something that has the capacity to grow and to develop and to magnify itself. This is important as we understand what it is we need to be looking for. So let's look at the kinds of uses that come with temptation. First, let's start with a very negative use. And this very negative use of this word for temptation or tempt speaks volumes regarding what we need to be on the lookout for. So let's look at Matthew, chapter 4, verse 3.
- [03:55]
A
And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread.
- [04:03]
B
The tempter came and said to him, the one who plants those things within our hearts and minds that can grow and expand and develop and that have that drawing magnetic power to them. So the tempter, that's a very negative use of that word for temptation. Let's go to the other side now for a moment. Two very positive uses that show the value of testing for the sake of strengthening versus the value of testing for the sake of breaking. It's for the sake of strengthening. God tests to build strength so he can trust our loyalty to him. This is what it tells us in Hebrews 11:17.
- [04:40]
A
By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son. The word tested here is the same word translated as tempter in Matthew 4, 3. One is to break down and rebuild, and the other is to break down and destroy.
- [05:00]
B
Break down and rebuild. That's good. Break down and destroy, not so good. Same basic word can use, be used in a positive sense or a negative sense from the outside. Satan tempting or God testing. Now we can and should put ourselves to the test. We should scrutinize what we think, say and do. Let's look at applying this in a positive way to ourselves in 2nd Corinthians 13 5.
- [05:25]
A
Test again the same Greek word. Test yourselves to see if you are in the Faith, examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail the test.
- [05:39]
C
Failing the test. So this is a good verse to show that the expression that a lot of people use once saved, always saved, isn't true. We have a relationship that requires ongoing faithfulness and, and self examination.
- [05:52]
B
What do we know about temptation so far? We're laying some groundwork here and we need to just understand what are the pieces?
- [06:00]
A
Jonathan Satan is the tempter. His objective to undermine God's will by putting temptations before God's people is simple and powerful. We must be aware to stand and fight against any and all of his temptations. 1st Peter 5:8. Be of a sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
- [06:26]
C
This visual of this roaring lion. This goes beyond just temptations. This is a spiritual attack of external pressure with the adversary trying to destabilize our confidence maybe, or our identity or our peace. So it's when everything seems to hit us all at once. And we might find this, especially after we've been making some spiritual progress.
- [06:46]
B
We've got to understand that Satan is the tempter and we need to be aware because his objective is destruction. And temptation is a great way to provoke destruction. We just got to put ourselves into that position. We need to go a little bit further here. We as human beings and disciples of Christ are in some ways stuck in between. We've got this in between place where we're stuck. We have the calling and blessing to follow Jesus and yet we are still in, in an imperfect human form. We've got this beautiful blessing and yet we're still stuck in this imperfect form. We therefore can be pulled in very opposite directions. We need to scrutinize ourselves and verify our true direction. This is important. To lay the groundwork, let's go to Romans 7, 21:25.
- [07:37]
A
I find then that the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man. But I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
- [07:58]
C
So in fact in the whole chapter, Romans 7, Paul shows that even devoted Christians feel this constant pull between our new mind that loves God and the old flesh that resists Him. We're all walking contradictions.
- [08:12]
A
Wretched man that I am, who will set me Free from the body of this death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, on the one hand, I myself, with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh, the law of sin. This law of sin is always present. It pulls in a predictable direction. It resists the new mind and tries to drag us back into old patterns.
- [08:39]
B
Gotta be aware, because you're right, it's always there. It never goes away. So we look at that and oh, wretched man that I am. Like the Apostle Paul said. Now let's go a little bit further. God does test us for the purpose of teaching and strengthening us. Now remember, it's the same word, can be used in a positive or negative sense. His testing is to be received with gratitude and confidence. Scripture that. Hebrews 12, 6 and 7.
- [09:05]
A
For those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. And he scourges every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with us with sons. For what son is there whom His Father does not discipline? Even when God allows testing rather than directly causing it, we can receive it with gratitude because he uses it for our growth.
- [09:29]
B
Yeah. It's in his hands, from his perspective, for our lives. Therefore, it's reliable. Testing. Yeah.
- [09:39]
C
And we need to understand the difference between temptation, spiritual attack and testing. So temptation pulls us away from God through desire and weakens us. Spiritual attack. Remember that lion comes from the adversary. And it's going to aim to destabilize our identity and confidence, especially when we're tired or discouraged. Spiritual attack rattles us. But testing, testing from God, it pulls us towards him through discipline and growth in our character. Testing strengthens us. So knowing the difference between these three helps us to respond wisely. Temptation. Get out of there. It requires escape. Spiritual attack, that requires resistance. But testing, that requires endurance.
- [10:24]
B
Endurance, cooperation and embracing. That's the key. Again, all the same word, but. But for different reasons. So let's put this together up to this point. Understanding and facing our testings and temptations.
- [10:38]
A
As disciples of Christ, we will be tested, if not by Satan, then by our own flesh. We are also gratefully in line to be positively tested by our merciful Heavenly Father for the purpose of our spiritual development in Christ. In all cases, we can choose to make whatever comes our way into God. Honoring experiences. We just need to decide on this course of action, learn how it works, and apply it to our daily lives.
- [11:07]
B
There's a decision that needs to be made as we make the observations as to what it is that we're actually facing. So far, the equation is simple. No matter which way we turn, there will be tests or temptations. Let's work at making them work for us.
- [11:25]
A
Now that we know the sources of of many testings, how do we determine what to diligently identify and handle them?
- [11:33]
B
How do we determine how to diligently identify and handle them? These two what do we do issues are at the core of the temptation question. There are differences between our experiences that are simply difficult and those that are true tests or temptations of our highest loyalty. Learning how to identify how temptation presents itself is a necessary, necessary starting point.
- [11:59]
A
Identifying temptation should begin by observing the tempter. As we will see, temptation begins in the heart and some kind of desire that we foster and give a chance to grow.
- [12:12]
B
Let's take a look at that where it began. Lucifer's pre satanic fall was a growing fish, festering and deadly desire that was fed by his own intellect. So we're going to look at Isaiah, chapter 14, verses 12 to 15, and do a little bit of summing up here about how that happened. Julie, before we get into the verses, just lay out some context.
- [12:36]
C
Sure. Well, the prophet Isaiah is going to use Lucifer's rebellion as a comparison to the king of Babylon in his own day. He looks back at Lucifer's pride and self exaltation to show what happens when any being tries to rise above the place God has given.
- [12:52]
B
In Isaiah 14, let's read verse 12. How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning sun of the dawn. You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations. So that's a prophetic view of Lucifer falling into satanic thinking behavior. What happened? Well, in verse 13 it says, you have said in your heart. Pause right there. You've said in your heart. It always begins in the heart. The testing, the difficulty always begins in the heart when we entertain dark desires. Continuing in the verse, Lucifer says, in his heart, I will ascend into the heavens. Pause there. He's already privileged to be God's earthly representative, and yet he's saying, I want to ascend higher. So you can see that pride, that temptation was drawing him further goes on in the verses, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. He was already one of the high and lofty stars of God. He was at a high, lofty level, but it wasn't enough. You can see the desire. This was in the heart. This is what he says in his heart. That's where it always starts. He continues in Isaiah, I will sit in the Mount of the congregation in the uttermost parts of the earth. Essentially, he's saying, I'm going to sit where God abides. Scriptures tell us God abides in the places of the north. He's looking to abide there. He continues, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. That's telling us in his desire. It's to ascend above the influence of God's presence with man. He says, further, I will make myself like the Most High. This is a sort of a command to himself. Talk about temptation being that blossoming, growing, magnetic thing. I will make myself like the Most High, not replacing, but rivaling the Most High. And inevitably, the last verse of this verse 15 says, nevertheless, you will be thrust down to sheol, to the recesses of the pit. In other words, destruction always will follow unbridled temptation and action. That's the story of Lucifer. So Lucifer was looking for dominion. He was looking for power and authority. And he was looking to usurp the rights of his Creator, whom he had been honored to represent and to work for. That was his own temptation. And it started in his heart.
- [15:10]
C
Did you see how many times he said, I. I will. I will exalt, I will sit, I will ascend.
- [15:15]
B
You can't get away from the starting point. That's a dramatic lesson for us. So now we need to be identifying human temptation, because it begins with identifying where our desires are leading us. Lucifer's fall from glory as the bright morning star began with those prideful desires. And leaving those desires unchecked, they became prideful actions. Take note. We have clear warnings of how this works in First John. So let's go to 1 John 2, 15, 17.
- [15:46]
A
Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts. But the one who does the will of God lives forever. Temptation is based on desire. Strong's exhaustive concordance defines this word lust as desire, craving, longing. And the Greek sense of the word adds the idea of desire that swells and grows when fed.
- [16:25]
C
So there's two important points here. First, temptation can come from outside of us, but it only becomes powerful when it connects with the desire inside of us. And second, desire doesn't instantly become sin. And that's good news, because that means we can uproot it at any stage.
- [16:44]
B
The key is, though, it always starts with desire. Desire of the eyes, the desire of the flesh, the desire, the pride of life. It always starts with that longing. That's where temptation can find its roots, if we allow it to, can grow. And here's the thing, here's the interesting thing. All sin is based on desire. It truly, truly is. All sin is based on desire. And it all has similar ingredients. And we just read in First John, chapter two, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Satan himself was subject to those very elements. Let's go back to Isaiah 14, verses 13 to 14, and see how those elements come out in what he was doing.
- [17:26]
A
But you said, in your heart, I will ascend to heaven.
- [17:29]
B
I will ascend to heaven. That's the lust of the eye. That's the. This is what I see, therefore, that is what I want. He had his sights set on something higher. Continue.
- [17:41]
A
I will raise my throne above the stars of God.
- [17:45]
B
That's the lust of. Not the flesh for Satan, but the lust of his being. I will elevate myself above where God is. I want to elevate myself to that position. And continue.
- [17:56]
A
And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the most High.
- [18:05]
B
And if that's not the pride of life, I don't know what is. It is. Look at me, Julia. You said it before. How many times did he say I, I, I, I? It's about me. So you can see that happened to the tempter. That's a huge warning sign for us to be aware of what happens with us. Because any one of these three elements, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of life, can be a temptation with desire behind it. We need to be aware. As a matter of fact, let's look at just very briefly, how humanity fell right into the trap of desire as Satan deceived and Satan tempted. Okay, so let's go to Genesis 3, verses 4 to 6. And this is when temptation and sin entered the human race.
- [18:50]
A
The serpent said to the woman, you surely will not die. For God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food.
- [19:05]
B
Okay, pause there. When she saw it was the desire of her eyes. She saw something and it drew her attention. Go ahead.
- [19:13]
A
And that it was a delight to the eyes.
- [19:16]
B
Well, that's easy. Okay. The lust of the flesh, it was good for food. And now you see the. The lust of the eyes, which is that beautiful fruit. So the tree was good for food, lust of the flesh. And it was delight to the eyes. Lust of the eyes. And.
- [19:31]
A
And that the tree was desirable to make one wise again, the pride of life.
- [19:37]
B
Desirable to lift one up, to say, look at me, I am wise. What happened?
- [19:43]
A
She took from its fruit and ate. And she gave also to her husband with her. And he ate.
- [19:48]
B
So what do you have? Satan opened Eve's mind up to an alternate perspective of life. Not the godly perspective, but an alternate perspective of life. One that wasn't based on truth. And once she considered this alternate approach, her desires were awakened. The lust of the flesh, when she saw the tree was good for food, the lust of the eyes, that it was a beautiful, beautiful piece of fruit, beautiful food, and the pride of life that it would make her wise. And those desires were awakened and she was tempted. And the rest is history.
- [20:21]
C
And the problem with temptation is it's all lies. And some common lies of temptation. See if these sound familiar. No one will know. It's not a big deal. You deserve this. You can stop any time. Or maybe the worst, you are too far gone.
- [20:38]
B
Well, there's a lot of ways that we end up feeding the temptation. We can see the pieces coming together, where it comes from. And now we're beginning to understand, okay, what are we going to be able to do about all this? Let's put this together. Understanding and facing our testings and temptations.
- [20:54]
A
All temptations we face have their foundation in our desires. Whether it is a desire for what we see, what we would like to have, or how we would like to elevate ourselves, desire is always the catalyst. Knowing this should help us establish an awareness of where our own personal desires can ultimately lead us. For good or for evil.
- [21:20]
B
So knowing how it works, knowing how temptation works through desire is a critical step for us to put things in order so we can be ready to deal with whatever it is that's going to come our way. This is at very least disturbing. Any and all of our human desires can, in the wrong environment or circumstances, lead us to fall.
- [21:47]
A
So my own personal desires are at the root of my own personal temptations. Now that I know this, how do I handle them?
- [21:55]
B
Well, here's where the real work begins. This work cannot be successful without a willingness to be thoroughly open before God in laying out our weaknesses. As a matter of fact, our degree of openness Before God is directly related to how readily we'll be able to grab hold of our temptations and shut them down.
- [22:20]
C
Okay, so we identify temptation early and then what do we do about it? Each of the following steps is about dealing with temptation at the seed stage, before it grows into something that chokes our spiritual life.
- [22:33]
A
Shut it down. Make the clear decision. Don't try to examine it or rationalize with it.
- [22:39]
B
That's an important principle. Just shut it down. The principles for shutting down our temptations are clearly laid out by the apostle Peter, second Peter, chapter one, verses five through seven.
- [22:51]
A
Now, for this very reason also applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. And in your knowledge, self control. And in your self control, perseverance. And in your perseverance, godliness. And in your godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly kindness, love.
- [23:14]
B
What's that got to do with temptation? This is a formula of character development. We actually went through these verses in our Christian character series beginning with episode 1419, and would strongly recommend going through those. But here's what happens. You have faith, and on that faith establishes the groundwork for moral excellence. Moral excellence is a great way to avoid temptation, but it doesn't stop there. You need to have knowledge on top of that. And then with the knowledge that you have, based on that moral excellence and faith comes self control. How do you deal with temptation? You need self control, but it doesn't stop there. You also need perseverance to be able to plow through. But that perseverance has to be based on the faith, the moral excellence and the knowledge and the self control. And that's where we get to godliness. And then we can develop from there. These verses give us a real clear focus on here's what I need to do to just really work through all of these things. Let's now get practical. That's a baseline to think about. But now let's get into the actual temptation activities and what we need to do practically, this next scripture we're going to look at now gives us the steps to take to shut down our temptations. Jonathan. Let's go to James 4, 7:10.
- [24:28]
A
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and and he will exalt you. I see a lot of direction here. There's a lot of action we can take, like submit, draw near, cleanse, purify, and more.
- [25:03]
B
And those are really important observations. So what we want to do with These verses, James 4, 7, 10, is we want to take them apart and apply the several steps, Jonathan, that you mentioned and more to the shutting down of our temptations. What we're going to find is James 4, 7 through 10 is a sequential progression in how to face, deal with, understand and dismiss temptations. That's what these verses give us. So let's begin with the steps that James 4, 7, 10 lays out.
- [25:34]
A
Step one. Recognize potential temptation. Shut it down. Stop thinking, start doing, stop wandering. Do it.
- [25:42]
C
And the seed analogy. The earlier we spot that seed, the easier it is to pull it. Temptation is like a weed. You ignore it and it'll take root where you least expect.
- [25:52]
B
Yep, temptation. Shut it down. Well, how do we do that? We won't need to. Remember, recognize. You said Jonathan, recognize potential temptation. Remember, all temptation begins in our hearts with desire. That's where it begins. James 4, 7 begins with simple words, submit therefore to God. We won't recognize temptation clearly unless our default direction is walking in godly ways. So submit therefore to God. That's a good way to start by recognizing temptation.
- [26:26]
C
Well, for a practical point, at a time when we're not in a temptation battle, this is really important. Do you sit down and have a personal honesty session, bluntly determine what kind of desires are tempting for you? Because if you're serious about avoiding temptation, you want to cut off the ability for any of these seeds to be planted before. Before they even get into the ground.
- [26:47]
A
You know, we could think of temptation like a crime scene. Police arrive, the first thing they do is they put up that yellow tape identifying the location as off limits. Step one is our spiritual crime scene tape. When we recognize a possible issue, we mark it off and say, I'm not going to pass this point.
- [27:10]
B
So we need to recognize it. A really good scripture that helps us to see the picture of that is Psalm chapter 1, verses 1 through 3.
- [27:18]
A
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers.
- [27:27]
B
Okay, pause there after verse one for a moment. See what's happening here. How blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked. So you're walking in the council, which means you're talking to somebody, you're walking along, nor standing in the path of sinners. Which means that whatever it is you're talking about is interesting enough to stop or sit in the seat of scoffers. Now you're sitting down. You're off guard. You're not going anywhere. You have been sucked in. Recognize potential temptation by understanding the process of slowing down from where we're going to entertain something else. But let's look at the other side of this now, Jonathan. Verses two and three.
- [28:04]
A
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. And in whatever he does, he prospers.
- [28:21]
C
This tree that's firmly planted, this isn't a wild tree. This Hebrew word for planted means transplanted, intentionally placed, carefully set. So God as our master gardener, has set us by his nourishing water so that we fight temptation by guarding that soil and staying near his water of truth.
- [28:42]
B
So there's a tremendous difference between walking, standing and sitting in, you know, with the. With the scoffers and so forth, versus being this tree that's specifically transplanted so it can grow and prosper. Godly focus and attention can fill us and leave no extra room if we allow it to. We just have to be able to be filled in that way. So again, recognize potential temptation. It's imperative to not allow temptation to open a door to fill a void. Recognize it so we can shut it down. Jonathan, what's next?
- [29:17]
A
Step two. How about this idea? Remove ourselves from the temptation.
- [29:22]
C
Some seeds only can grow in the right environment. Change the environment and the seed can't sprout.
- [29:28]
B
And it's pretty simple. Remove ourselves. There's a classic idea, right? Sometimes easier said than done. The point is, shut it down. How do we shut it down? How do we remove ourselves from the temptation? We need to take intentional corrective action when the tempting desire awakens. Intentional corrective action. Intentional corrective action. Understand? It's got to be a choice. James 4, 7. Continuing those verses, small phrase. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Notice. Resist intentional corrective action. Let's go a little bit further. What's the next practical point?
- [30:10]
C
Well, the practical point is change your posture. Remember, you've got walk, stand, sit. Don't do that. Don't stop. Change your environment. Change your company, who you're hanging around with. Change your input. Be specific. Disrupt the process. Don't go peeking under that crime scene tape. You don't go where you don't belong, it's not for you. And this is one of the most strongest findings in modern psychology. And I'm amazed how closely this aligns with scriptures. Studies show that people resist temptation far more effectively by changing their environment than by relying just on willpower.
- [30:48]
B
Big point. Change your environment. Remove ourselves from the temptation. Resisting and removing ourselves opens the door to preemptive strikes against temptation. When you take a preemptive strike, what are you doing? You're solving a problem before it blows up, before it comes, before it comes to you. You have taken it out. That's the key. About this second step. Remove ourselves from temptation. So let's go to another verse to verify this. Colossians, chapter 3, verses 2 and 5.
- [31:19]
A
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
- [31:34]
B
Okay, again, remove yourself. Set your mind on things above, not on those other things. Because we are supposed to be beyond those things. Once we act on our temptations, once we act on them, the tidal wave of consequences in grief, and you know it, I know it, we all know it, will inevitably follow. Only resistance based on submission to a higher cause can avert that storm. And that storm will come unless we take that intentional action in terms of removing ourselves. So we've got the recognition of the temptation and now removal. Now we need to go a little bit further. What's next?
- [32:12]
A
Step 3. Reassess with honesty our emotions and thought processes regarding the temptation, or examine the
- [32:21]
C
soil of our hearts to see what's hiding beneath the surface. Now, sometimes temptation sneaks up so fast that we have to say, what just happened? How did I let that door open?
- [32:32]
A
So last Friday, I've got to share this with you guys. I took my wife to the airport, and it really follows suit with this topic. She was going away for a few days, and as I'm driving away from the airport, this little thought pops into my head. I'm on my own. I can eat whatever I want. Can you believe it?
- [32:54]
B
Actually, you know what? Yeah, I can believe it. Because, you know, those little things, they happen to us because something changes. We have a shift in circumstances, and then, okay, this, that, or the other thing may be opened up. And, you know, we all know eating anything we want is not the best thing. Here's the thing. You take that little piece and you say, let's look at that as a principle for how temptation works in A much bigger way. Because when you look at the way it works in the world, suddenly the world is opened up with all kinds of opportunities because we are perceiving. Something is now given me permission to go in a direction that I ought not to go. So, Jonathan, I gotta ask you, what happens next?
- [33:35]
A
Well, while driving home, the GPS takes me on some bizarre back road. I'm 15 minutes out of my way, frustrated, annoyed, not in my normal state of mind. And that's when it hit me. My mindset had already shifted. I wasn't thinking spiritually, I was thinking emotionally. I was irritated, tired, and off balance. I was miserable.
- [33:56]
B
Okay, I can. I can relate to that because I'm a scheduled person. And look, that's exactly how it works. Again, this little experience gives us the principle of how big temptations can work in the world. There is a change in circumstances plus a change in mood, which means a change in vulnerability. Vulnerability opens up when those things happen. Frustration, fatigue, irritation. Sound familiar, Jonathan?
- [34:23]
A
Right, for sure.
- [34:25]
B
They create openings. And so again, we're talking about a small little experience, but the principle is massive. So, Jonathan, what happens next?
- [34:35]
A
Yeah, the story's not done. So I'm driving along this. This weird route, and suddenly I pass a bakery, and instantly my brain goes, cinnamon rolls, cherry pie. I deserve this now. Now, normally that wouldn't even tempt me because Jewel and I are trying to eat healthier, but because she wasn't home and because I was so frustrated that cherry pie suddenly looked like the answer to all. All my problems.
- [35:05]
C
Oh, and that's the point. And you know, cherry pie can become a euphemism for all kinds of things that we wouldn't normally consider, but suddenly we feel justified because our circumstances changed. And add in a bunch of strong emotions. We have to be careful.
- [35:21]
A
Well, I'm happy to report that I caught myself and literally said out loud, nope, I'm going home and I'm going to eat my yogurt. And I kept driving.
- [35:32]
B
Okay, the question is, was it cherry yogurt?
- [35:37]
A
It was plain yogurt.
- [35:39]
C
Oh, that's not the same.
- [35:42]
B
But that's the victory. Okay? You recognize the shift. You reassessed your emotions and you shut it down before it grew again. Such a little experience, but such a big lesson. It shows how much your reliance on your wife in your mutual decisions is so critical, the mutual accountability. And that's going to come into play later on as we develop this. How do we deal with temptations? But there's the victory. Okay, you recognize the shift. You reassessed your emotions. You shut it down before it grew. How did you shut it down? Prayerfully and honestly examine how the door of temptation was opened. And then decide, nope, going home and eating my yogurt because that's where I belong. Great example, great example. Shut it down, folks. Shut it down. We need to be reassessing with honesty our emotions and thought processes regarding a temptation. That's exactly what you did in there. Prayerfully and honestly examine how the door was opened. James 4, 8 says, Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. There's a simple drawing near in the process of shutting down. So let's go a little bit further, Jonathan. What's a practical point here?
- [36:55]
A
Well, face the reality of how temptation came to life. Did it come through our phone, websites, memories, social media, friends, old habits, addictive behaviors, you know, a change in circumstance that brought new opportunity? Expose the process. So we can build walls or spiritual crime tape around it?
- [37:21]
C
Yeah. You know, psychologists note that we are most vulnerable to temptation when we're tired, stressed, or emotionally off balance. And that's exactly when the adversary tries to rattle us. So you're supposed to know your halt triggers H A L T Hungry, angry, lonely and tired dramatically increase impulsive behavior. And, you know, sometimes temptation feels comforting, familiar even, like something we should be entitled to just like everybody else. And that's why shutting temptation down requires honesty. We might stop and pray, Lord, this desire feels good to me right now, but I know it won't lead me to you. So drag those temptations into the light and honestly examine them.
- [38:09]
B
It's the assessment. Reassess with honesty the emotions and the thought processes. Look at them and be honest. And one of the things as Christians we need to be able to come back to is a simple question. Where do I live? And I'm not talking about your street address. Where do I live? It's in the treacherous lair of my own desires. Or am I living in God's protective shadow, which is my address? Okay. Psalm 91, verses 1 to 4.
- [38:40]
A
He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. And verses 3 and 4 describe God protecting us from traps and covering us with his wings.
- [38:57]
B
So we've got this sense of he who dwells in the shelter of the most high. Where you dwell is where you live, and therefore you abide in the shadow of the Almighty. If we reassess with honesty our emotions and thought processes Regarding our temptations, we should want to go back home. We should want to go back to that spiritually based place where we can thrive. Problem is, giving into temptations only produces lies, deceit and misery. And folks, you know that. We all know that. On the contrary, seeking God's sacred presence right here and right now produces a fortress of protection and righteousness that was just described in Psalm 91. Reassess with honesty our emotions and thought processes regarding our temptations. So putting this together, understanding and facing our testings and temptations, to fight our
- [39:51]
A
temptations, we must recognize their symptoms, remove ourselves from those symptoms, and as quickly as possible, reassess the emotions and thought processes that got us into that trouble. Taking these steps with humility and a prayerful approach creates a positive godly momentum upon which victory in Christ can be built.
- [40:15]
B
We need to create the momentum so the victory in Christ can be built. Temptation pushes momentum the other way. We need to make the decision to reassess and to then be able to take action. Bottom line here is it's a process. It's always a process. Let's face it, to walk in God's grace with purity is absolutely worth whatever it takes.
- [40:42]
A
We've learned to recognize our temptations, remove ourselves from them, and then reassess our emotions. What's next?
- [40:49]
B
The next several steps are in place to take what we've discovered and shape that discovery into a new, new, practical and practicable pattern of responses and behavior. All of this sure seems to be like a lot of work. Newsflash it is. The key here is how the sincere and godly effort we put into abandoning our temptations brings us into reverent harmony with God through Christ. So we've put some of these pieces in order and now we've got to continue. We want to move forward. So, Jonathan, what is next?
- [41:27]
A
Step 4. Reshape our handling of our emotions and
- [41:32]
C
our thought processes and our seed analogy. Healthy soil grows healthy habits. So in gardening, this is the moment that you're going to amend or enrich the soil. You add what's missing so the right plants can grow.
- [41:45]
B
Reshape our handling of our emotions and our thought processes. Shut the temptation down. Shut it down. How do we do that? We do that by surrendering to God's will, surrendering to God's way, surrendering to God's strength, surrendering to God's providence. James 4. 8 says again, back to James 4. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Five little words that help us to put things back in order. This reshaping of our handling of our emotions and thought processes. Let's get into the practicality. What's the next practical point?
- [42:21]
A
Intentionally adopt a new approach to the challenge. Write it down. Seek accountability, seek support or get needed guidance. Don't get stuck in reacting. Respond.
- [42:35]
B
Instead, don't get stuck with the reaction. That's where temptations really come in. We have something happens, we have stimulus, and then we have an immediate gut reaction inside of ourselves. You can't control the gut reaction, but you can pause and consider, how do I choose to respond instead of just react? Don't get stuck reacting. Take a breath and then respond. If we're in a testing time or experience with harsh consequences, we need to turn the reins of that experience over to our Heavenly Father. Otherwise we will bury ourselves even deeper in sin. It's a choice. We need to reshape the handling of how we feel and what we're thinking. James 1, 2, 4.
- [43:17]
A
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing that word means or trustworthiness of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. The word for endurance here describes strength that stays under pressure without breaking.
- [43:44]
C
You know this isn't easy, but you have to want it. You have to want to shut it down. You take the actions that need to be made. You don't just think about it and feel bad. You don't just hope that it's going to be different the next time. It's not. It's not going to be different the next time. And if we're gods through Christ, we can. We can change our state of mind because God promised us his care and we have to apply ourselves so that we are standing in the power of those promises. And Jonathan, I love what you said. Don't get stuck reacting. You respond, take these steps.
- [44:19]
A
It's a good time to ask this question again. Who do I serve? How is what I am thinking, feeling, saying, or doing fulfilling my loyalty to God?
- [44:32]
B
We're putting these things in order. This was the fourth step. We had to recognize, remove, reassess, and now reshape. You see, what's happening is step by step, we're walking through, changing our direction because we're choosing to follow godliness. We're making that choice. We're choosing to respond. And now we've got to go further. We've just talked about reshaping how we handle our emotions and how we handle our thought processes, and they do need to be reshaped. And it requires intentional focus to be able to do that. So here's the next step is a really important way to help that along. What is the next step, Jonathan?
- [45:09]
A
Step 5 remind ourselves of the long term consequences.
- [45:15]
C
Seeds produce a harvest for good or for bad.
- [45:19]
B
Remind ourselves what are the consequences if I continue in this path? In other words, when we remind ourselves, what we're trying to do is say shut it down. Open our eyes to the long term habits and brokenness that come from giving into our temptations. Back to James 4. Eight, another little phrase. These little phrases in James chapter four are just showing us how to apply each of these pieces. It's remarkable how these things all work together. James4.8 says, Purify your hearts, you double minded. Remind ourselves of the long term consequences and practical point here. And I'm going to quote a friend of mine, roll the tape forward. Now this individual has had challenges and we have discussed them at length. And one of the things they continually tell me is to help avoid taking steps that are not healthy steps. I roll the tape forward. What do they mean by that? They mean I feel the negative consequences of my actions. If I were to give into temptation, this is what it's going to look like and it ain't pretty. Dwell on the darkness and loneliness of that potential reality. Dwell on it, feel its pain and then run from it. Roll the tape forward. It's important. The necessary long term purification of our minds can only come to us through humility. You have to be humble to be able to do that. You have to say, okay, I'm a broken vessel. I can roll this forward. I can move things on and get things going forward. Go ahead, Jonathan.
- [46:57]
A
First Peter 5, 6, 8. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be of a sober spirit. Be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
- [47:17]
B
We've touched on that scripture before we come back to it because we have to refix our minds on the big picture and forcefully cast our issues into the hands of our benevolent Heavenly Father. We have to forcefully make that step.
- [47:35]
C
You know, we want to stop and ask ourselves what will my life look like if I do move forward with this behavior before I make that behavior? And research shows that this long term thinking reduces impulsive behavior. Psychologists call this delay discounting. That's the tendency, our normal tendency to choose immediate gratification over our long term good. We Devalue. We discount the long term reward because the short term one is right in front of us and boy, it looks good.
- [48:09]
B
That's a powerful point. Again, the psychology shows us that if we take the time and intentionally do the things we need to do, like reminding ourselves of the long term consequences, that is a powerful deterrent for something that can be disastrous. And these steps are all deterrents for something that can be disastrous. And for a Christian, we need to really work at raising our level so that we can focus on absolutely, positively, truly moving forward no matter what. So again, step five, remind ourselves the long term consequences. Jonathan, what's next?
- [48:45]
A
Step six, Retrain ourselves towards spiritually sound long term results.
- [48:52]
C
So retraining is like retilling the soil, breaking up old patterns so that new growth can take root.
- [48:59]
B
Retilling the soil, Retraining ourselves. Retraining ourselves comes after we remind ourselves, after we play it, you know, play the tape, roll the tape that way. Now the motivation is there to say, I don't want to be in this place anymore. This is too hurtful. It never works out well. I want to be retrained. I want to shut it down. Well, how do we do that? Embrace the pain and forgiveness of our failure. Just as King David did and just as the apostle Paul did. In James 4. 9 it says be miserable and mourn and weep. Okay, that doesn't sound very happy. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. That's exactly what King David did. That's exactly what the apostle Paul did. When they looked at their past, they retrained themselves towards spiritually sound long term results. They showed us how to do that. That's a big deal. This retraining.
- [49:58]
A
Feel the pain and focus on new habits that are spiritually driven. Journal use Post it notes. Institute predetermined changes in thoughts and actions.
- [50:09]
C
Be accountable and you know, thousands of years ago James had the answer, but today this is called future self continuity. Psychologists note that when we picture our future self, we make wiser choices and we can resist short term impulses. Long term thinking increases self control. That's important because connecting with your future self reduces these impulsive choices. This is the antidote to delay Discounting
- [50:40]
B
this retraining ourselves towards spiritually sound long term results is this action of now we're building. We've reshaped our handling of the emotions. We're reminding ourselves of potential consequences and now we are actually building something. And it's important to recognize that, especially if we have addictions and things like that in our past. It's painful. And you can say, you know, I've lived a broken life. And maybe, maybe you have. But if you are fighting it, if you are truly fighting it, following these steps, following these scriptures, one thing to understand is your life isn't broken. It just hurts. And there's a difference. There's a big difference. Allow the hurt to be a motivation toward the growth. You're not broken if you're fighting. You're not. You just need to keep going, keep moving forward. Changing any habit of reaction requires new habits of responses. We come back to that same thing again and again. And let's go back to 2 Peter chapter 1, verses 5 through 7.
- [51:38]
A
Applying all diligence in your faith supply moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. And in your knowledge, self control. And in your self control, perseverance. And in your perseverance, godliness. And in your godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly kindness, love.
- [51:58]
B
So here we are on the sixth step, retraining ourselves. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse comes in handy because this shows us how to do that. Build upon one thing, upon your faith, moral excellence. Upon moral excellence, knowledge, self control, so forth and so on. Build the structure, retrain yourself, and we're given the how to for that. Let's add to this James chapter one, verse 12.
- [52:20]
A
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
- [52:30]
B
Blessed is the man who perseveres. The result of systematically fighting temptation are dramatically glorious. You would look for those results because there's incredible wholesomeness and victory and calm and happiness and peace and godliness comes from this retraining of ourselves. Final step what's next?
- [52:53]
A
Step 7 Recommit to living in Christ and in Christ only, leaving no other choices.
- [53:00]
C
And as we yield to him, this master gardener of our hearts will tend the soil of our hearts and nourishes what is good.
- [53:09]
B
Recommit to living in Christ by doing this, what are we doing? We are taking our temptation and we are going to shut it down heavily. Rely on the redeeming price that Jesus paid for us and follow him back to James 4:10. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you. There's the recommitment. Humble yourselves so that he can lift you up. That's the key. He lifts us, we don't lift ourselves. What's the practical point here?
- [53:40]
C
Julie, this is an easy one. Wake up every morning to a newly created godly routine. Maybe we wake up and we say a prayer. Maybe we wake up and say this is what I'm not going to do today. Build other new routines that crowd out those dark desires that fuel our temptations. Know your weaknesses because Satan certainly knows what they are. And research shows that accountability and value based identity signal significantly increases self control. People make better choices when they remember who they want to be and they connect those actions to those values and that they have good supportive relationships.
- [54:17]
B
Create new routines. Start with one, then build others. It's practical. Here's a way to actually put the recommitment into place. A great scripture for this is Galatians, chapter 2, verse 20.
- [54:30]
A
I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.
- [54:45]
B
I have been crucified with Christ and that is the life that I am pursuing. God's power can and will overwhelm temptation at any stage if we only let it. We simply need humility, focus and passion. We need these steps. We need to put it all in order. We need to let him overrule our experiences and we need to follow. This is not easy, but it is attainable. Jonathan, let's wrap this up. Understanding and facing our testings and temptations,
- [55:16]
A
reshaping how we handle our thoughts and emotion by reminding ourselves of long term consequences helps us retrain ourselves to overcome and to recommit ourselves to God. Even though we are subject to the same temptations as the world, we have the scriptural process that provides hope in dealing with those temptations. How blessed are we?
- [55:41]
B
You're right, we are blessed. And when we have to deal with the temptations of our lives and we have to put all of this in order, what we need to recognize is that we're not alone. We're not alone alone because we have God through Christ. We're not alone because if we choose to, we can rely on others around us. We can have accountability and friendship and encouragement. Maybe we need some professional help. Whatever it is, whatever it is, you don't have to be alone. And the Scriptures give us a step by step by step process in which we can identify, deal with, focus on and overcome these temptations and live a life that brings glory to God. And as a Christian, isn't that the most important thing? Think about it folks. We love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode and other episodes@christianquestions.com coming up in our next episode, what is the fear of the Lord?