LESSON
31
Overcoming Temptation
Part 3
God is teaching us how
to take responsibility for our sins, actions and reactions. It does not matter what someone did to you. It only matters how you reacted to it.
Luke
We can walk free
of willful conscious sin.
Eph. 5:27 That
He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,or any such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish.
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There are things we will
do and sins we will commit because of our lack of understanding. There are sins of omission. When we make a willful decision to succumb to
temptation, we are rejecting God's rightful authority over our lives.
The suffering or pain of
temptation is nothing in comparison with the suffering of the consequences of
sin.
Seven Keys To Victory
For us to have victory
over temptation, we must learn to strengthen our spirits and to not leave doors
open for the devil to attack us. Let’s
look at seven keys to obtain victory over temptation.
1.) We must learn to close the eye gate.
Psa. 101:1-3 A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment:
unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave
myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk
within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:
I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.
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It's amazing what
Christians allow themselves or their children to see. Things that stir up images or invoke
feelings that are contrary to the Word of God are wicked to you. It doesn't matter what other people can do,
because for some people, the things that affect you won't affect them.
We must guard what we
watch on television and at the movies. It
may be lustful, hateful, violent or vile.
Psychologists and police say that 60% of all teenage crime is an exact
(not similar to) duplicate of something they saw on television or in the
movies. They are acting out what they
saw (what they set before their eyes).
As images are set before
their eyes, a picture takes place in their minds. If they yield to the pictures in their minds,
they will act upon them.
Learn to look the other
way. If you have a problem with
gluttony, then you need to shut the eye gate to the foods that would tempt
you. If you have a problem with greed,
then you need to shut the eye gate to mansions and other forms of
materialism. If you battle lust, then
you need to shut the eye gate to lingerie magazines (catalogues) or certain
television programs or movies.
Don’t give the devil the
opportunity to tempt you by not guarding what you put before your eyes. Be as David and put no wicked thing before
your eyes.
2.) Learn to shut the ear gate.
You must be careful to
what you listen to; whether it be the people around
you, the music you listen to, or the language in movies you watch.
Mark
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Take heed to what you
hear. We allow ourselves to listen to
philosophies of the world through things like television, music or books. We allow principles that are contrary to the
Word of God to continue to bombard our ears.
If you listen to something long enough, you will begin to believe it as
truth.
Adolph Hitler made this
statement, "If you tell a lie that is big enough and often enough, people
will begin to believe it to be the truth."
If you're not careful what you listen to, you will begin to believe
anything.
One of the biggest
mistakes with many Christians is being around "wishy
washy" Christians. You begin to
believe that there isn't anything wrong with certain things in your life that
you once believed to be wrong. You begin
to compromise in areas and believe there is nothing wrong with it.
Prov.
Don't listen to the lies
(instructions, philosophies or teachings), that will cause you to stray from
the words of knowledge. Are you very
cautious about those things you listen to?
3.) Meditate on the Word.
Josh. 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth,
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all that
is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way
prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
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The word ‘meditation’
means to mutter or speak out under your breath.
This is not in regards to "naming and claiming" or
"blabbing and grabbing".
The word “meditation”
also implies that you have to come into a deep understanding. Look at the truth and see how it applies to
you.
Many of us deal with a
religious spirit. The religious spirit
does not come after those who are dead, but rather those who are alive. A religious spirit comes in many ways, forms
and fashions.
One of the ways a
religious spirit will rise up is through spiritual pride or "hyper
spirituality". "Hyper
spirituality" is an attitude of over spiritualizing everything. This attitude always believes that it has a
deep revelation of God and seems to have to pray about everything. It is the result of a religious spirit that
comes in and hinders people that can quote the Word, but have never meditated
on the Word.
When you meditate on the
Word, the first thing you must do is apply the Word to yourself. The depths of God's Word is
endless. Scriptures will always
apply to you. They never get worn out. Ask God to reveal it to you as you read the
Word. Someone with a religious spirit
will say, "I wish Sister 'SO AND SO' was here, She
needed to hear this Word." It is
the most dangerous place to be when you think all your "planks" are
gone. When you read a scripture, ask God
how it effects you, what you need to repent of and
what you need to change in your life.
Meditating on the Word
does not mean that you just go down a memory verse list. Read the Word to become familiar with it, but
for times of meditation spend time on only a few verses.
Psa. 1:1-3 Blessed [is] the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. But his delight [is] in the
law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and
night. And he shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper.
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Phil. 4:8 Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest,
whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things
[are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue,
and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.
Think about the things
of God and something miraculous will take place. If you're spending all your time thinking on
the things of God then you will have no time to think on temptations.
In Review:
1. What
are sins of omission?
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2.
Define meditation .
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3. What
are two areas that satan can
use to fill your mind with thoughts and philosophies that are contrary to the
Word of God?
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4. How
can we limit his access to us through these areas?
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