The Tempter

November 12th, 2009temptation 5 Comments

Hey Friends,

One of the main things we know about the devil is that he is the tempter. He tries to undercut our faith and our walk with our Heavenly Father. Jesus tells us to “pray that we do not fall into temptation…”  Jesus also tells Peter in Luke 22 that “Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.”  We know we are all a potential target so we must be ready.  We are commanded to resist the devil and all of his temptations.

So, how are we supposed to resist the devil? Not by our will. The Scripture says our will is weak so we must depend on the Spirit of God to win. As leaders, our followers are watching to see if we will win. It is up to us to show how to walk in victory. “If we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.”

We all know the test of temptation! We know how our flesh will play right into the plans of the tempter. Jesus showed us how to use the Word in the midst of temptation. When the devil attacked Him with temptation, Christ quickly used the Word as a Sword to defeat the devil and say no to temptation.

Leaders, remember it can take a lifetime to gain credibility and only a  moment to lose it. Don’t let temptation cause you to lose your influence and your witness by falling prey to the devil.

Just a thought,

Pastor

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5 Responses to “The Tempter”

  1. November 12th, 2009 at 7:36 am
    Lee Easley Says:

    This is good stuff! Thank you!

  2. November 12th, 2009 at 9:07 am
    Josh Says:

    I agree with Lee. Good stuff, and a solid reminder to be on guard at all times with the Word close by.

  3. November 12th, 2009 at 10:55 am
    Andy Kercher Says:

    “Not by our will”
    I’m getting better about it, but I used to treat Christianity as a really long self-help seminar. I’d go to church, learn the latest sinful behavior, and then go home and work to sin less. Eventually, I started seeing that I didn’t sin less when I worked alone to fix myself; I just sinned differently. I’d work hard against one sin, and another sin would blossom, such as arrogance (“I’m more holy than…”), phoniness (I’d try to fake feel like I should), and sin crutches (like pigging out eating, venting my frustration on others, etc). I’m learning that I need God’s strength to actually resist temptations and turn away from sins. I need God’s help to fully experience joy in Him. I still periodically fall back into my old mindset, but I thank God that he’s correcting my mindset.

  4. November 12th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
    Brody Says:

    To second Josh’s point, this is a good reminder that the devil is quite good at tempting us. Staying away from situations that present an easier path for him to get to us is important. Staying on top of the Word and keeping the Lord on my mind is one way I battle. Singing/humming worship songs seems to turn him away too! :)

    Thanks for the blog. I enjoy reading it.

  5. November 12th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
    sabrina Says:

    In the purging process often times it seems as though that the sins we are so easily entangled with do manifest in different ways. For me it takes God’s voice within scripture to explain why. But with mankind only using 10% of their brain, learning sometimes is a slow process. I may seem to gain deliverance only to watch something else entrap me but that something else is really the same root sin just a different side of it. I wonder how many times we all will have to struggle with core temptations and how many ways? I say core temtations because in Heb. 4 it says that He was tempted in every way as we but without sinning. There were only 3 things that I am aware that Jesus was tempted with in the wilderness but I believe if it were studied out word for word before the Lord with Holy Spirits help alot more would be revealed within those three than is obvious on the surface.

    If we watch and pray, as we were instructed, we will see clear the way out….of temptation. Watch Jesus hence the entire, from Genesis to Revelation.

    I attempted to begin study today but am really not feeling well perhaps it is warfare, yes? So are than any takers on this.

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