WHEN TEMPTED (no. 9)

Over sixty years ago, a faithful German pastor was executed on Hitler’s orders. After his death the following words were found in his journal:

"In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is for wrong sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money, or, finally, that strange desire for the beauty of the world...At this moment God is quite unreal to us, he loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. Satan does not here fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God.... ”
Temptations are all around us. Because temptation to sin is so powerful, we need help. Now before any of us think this message isn't for us, read James 1:13-15: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Yes, temptation is inevitable, inescapable and is going to follow us all through our earthly lives. One word is very important – lust. Lust (‘epithumia’: super desires) is dreadful, dangerous, and deadly. Lust is surrounding us and in various forms, planted within us – and is either chasing for pleasure or fleeing from righteousness. Read 2 Timothy 2:22: “Flee (‘I command you to always flee’) also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

So we must all decide to flee lust, no matter what our age. Why should we flee these lusts that tempt us to sin against God? Because they cost us far more than we could ever imagine.

But do we look on temptation and lust as carefully? We should. God wants us to flee all forms of lust by counting what it will really cost us. God warns us over and over in His Word of the price of lust. It does not usually bring immediate consequences in response to our actions when we feed our lusts little by little. Because we often do not see the negative consequences of our bad choices right away, we are often persuaded to make bigger and more foolish mistakes. Because God's judgments are usually long delayed in time, we think we escaped the consequence of that poor choice. But sin always pays us back with boredom, guilt, shame, loneliness, confusion, emptiness, loss of purpose, not to speak of loss of rewards. All sin is forgivable but – all sin also has consequences.

So since lust is what entices us to sin, what are the these lusts that we are to fear and flee? Read 1 John 2:15-17: “…For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,…And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

Temptations are enticements from our lusts. God says that lusts are packaged in varied shapes, sizes, and colors. They fall into one of three categories:

· We are tempted by the flesh to chase pleasures; this equals the cravings of the body. These are all the sensual temptations. This is lust for another person. The desire to have and enjoy the body of an individual, although such pleasure is illegal and/or immoral. We can feed these lusts by going to places where we see uncovered bodies, or watching immoral images on TV and movies, or by seeking out images in magazines and online that feed these evil desires.

· We are tempted by the eyes to chase stuff; this equals the lusting of the eyes. These are all the material temptations. This is lust for things. The things may be as large as a house or as small as a ring, as bright and dazzling as a new sports car or as dull and dusty as a two-hundred-year-old antique dresser. Lest we think that this is not as bad as the lusts of the flesh, remember that covetousness (insatiable longing for more things) is as damnable as idol worship. That means that the lust for possessions is as wicked as the lust for immorality. Beware of both, they are deadly!

· We are tempted by pride to chase status, and boasting. These are all the personal temptations. This is selfishness because I’m most important. This is irritableness because life revolves around me. This is untruthfulness because I need to protect myself. This is laziness because I want to rest and comfort myself. All of these are pride as well as lust for status and special recognition. Pride also shows up as lust for the status of fame, fortune, power, or authority. Pride may also be wanting a title that makes heads turn, like “top executive” or “president” or “executive director” or even “doctor”. In Isaiah 14:12-14 this was Satan’s sin. Pride in all its forms is an abomination to God.

Any form of lust God hates. Any form of lust we must flee and also hate. It is possible to say no to lust. It is possible to have temptation's powers lessened as we mortify (put to death) our flesh by starving our lusts. This is our responsibility.