LIMITED TEMPTATION
Prior to redemption we never struggled AGAINST sin--Oh, we may struggle WITH it, but not against it. Sin is our nature before we're born again! Once we give our heart and life to the Lord, we're often surprised with how vicious and determined the Tempter is to regain his control over our lives!

There is a struggle we have AGAINST sin (Heb. 12:4). What are our chances of survival?

* First- We need to be very clear about one thing--God, the Lover of our souls, the One who shed His life's blood for us is not the Tempter. Satan is! (Mt. 4:3 & 1 Thes. 3:5)

* Secondly- We need to understand that temptation in and by itself is not sin-Jesus was tempted and He was sinless, (2 Cor. 5:21).

* Thirdly- sin doesn't "just happen"! There's a process that leads up to it. Understanding this enables us to identify what is about to happen and to take the necessary procedures to avoid it. "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; But each one is tempted when, by his own desire, he is dragged away and enticed. THEN, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; AND sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death." (Jms. 1:13-15). This process is very clearly seen in the leading up to king David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba in 2 Sam.11: 1-5.

Temptation is very real--Jesus experienced it and so do we. Jesus over came His temptations and through Him so can we! (1 Cor.10:13 ) "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL (to you) HE WILL NOT let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, HE WILL also provide a way out SO THAT you can stand up under it." Satan, the Tempter, who was defeat by Christ, is not permitted by God to tempt us beyond what God knows we can handle. WOW! God is faithful to us. He's for us! He's on our side!
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RULING OVER SIN
Once sin was our master, ruthlessly dictating our lives. Christ came and "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness." (Col. 1:13). Now we're children of light, darkness has no more dominion over us. Sin was crouching at Cain's door and it was desirous to rule. He was told by the Lord, "You must master it." (Gen. 4:7). The failure to do so resulted in humanities first murder. Biblical history proves that without Christ, humanity is lost and powerless to master sin. That's why the world does what it does! Try as it may, it's powerless! Sin is it's master (Rom. 5:21). We need a Savior!

Christ came to break the power of sin and for the Believer, that's exactly what has happened. "For sin shall not be your master," (Rom. 6:14) "We have escaped like a bird out of the fowlers snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped," (Ps. 124:7)! Yes, the fowler (satan) is still around, BUT, for the child of God, his snare (sin's power to hold us) has been broken by the power of Christ's redeeming blood. We've escaped! And we can live like it! Sin's not our master, Jesus is!

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OVERCOMING THE WORLD
"Take heart," Jesus said, "I have overcome the world," (Jn. 16:33). The world, as Jesus referred to it, is described in 1 Jn.2:15,16 . "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the craving of sinful man, the lust of the eyes, the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world."

This is what Jesus overcame!
* the craving of sinful man (lust of the flesh)
* the lust of the eyes
* the boasting of what he has and does

During the "Fall" of humanity the Tempter launched his offensive through these same 3 avenues. (Gen. 3:6).

The fruit of the tree was :
* good for food (lust of the flesh)
* pleasing to the eye (lust of the eye)
* desirable for gaining wisdom (pride of life)

These same avenues of attack were used against Christ in Mt. 4:1-10.

* turn the rock into food (lust of the flesh)
* saw the splendor of the kingdoms of the world (lust of the eyes)
* do something to prove who you are (pride of life).

Jesus overcame temptation to sin! He wants us to overcome it as well! "Whoever claims to live in him (Jesus Christ) must walk as Jesus did," (1 Jn. 1;6). Is it possible? Can we really overcome these avenues of temptation? The apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said, "I can do everything through Him (Christ) who gives me strength." Yes! We can overcome. We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, (Rom. 8:28).

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THE POWER OF GOD'S GRACE
As the redeemed of the Lord, we find that God has lavished the richness of His grace upon us, (Eph. 1:7). This grace is powerful and extremely effective when we receive it and allow it to accomplish God's divine purposes. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." (Tit. 2:13).

Paul said, "By the grace of God I am what I am." (1 Cor. 15:10). God's grace was powerful enough to change and mature this man and it'll do the same for us. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, SO THAT we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Heb. 4:15,16). For us, right NOW, God's throne is not a throne of judgement but rather a throne of grace. It's where Christ our Redeemer is seated, ready to help us--ready to grace our lives with "overcoming power" so that we, like Him, can have victory over sin.

The most accurate representation of the Holy God is a holy people. He would never say, "Be holy for I am holy" (1 P. 1:16) if it was unattainable. Like the Apostle Paul we too can say, "I can do everything through Him (Christ) who gives me strength." (Ph.4:13 "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Rom.8:37).

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PRAYER WORKS
God himself has told us that He is faithful to us and He will never allow us to be tempted beyond our capacity. We're also told that God will always provide the way out for us. (1 Cor. 10:13). We should never minimize the power and significance of prayer! Jesus said to his disciples, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." (Lk.22:40). It's through the spiritual communication of prayer that we approach God's throne of grace to find mercy and grace. (Heb. 4:16). We approach the throne of grace with CONFIDENCE. Confidence is faith in action. We're not approaching God wondering what He will do. We know what He's going to do. He's told us, if we come, we will receive. We need to believe in our Savior's integrity.

Christ paid for our freedom with His life's blood. This should tell us how much He wants freedom for us, (Gal. 5:1) and to what extent He's prepared to go to see to it that we are truly saved from sins' power. Christ came to destroy the devil and his work. That still stands! If we ask for Christ's help with a sincere desire, He will, without question, come and help us.

* We acknowledge Christ's victory
* We acknowledge satan's defeat.
* We acknowledge that there's divine limitations placed upon temptation.
* We acknowledge God's faithfulness to us.
* We approach the Lord in prayer believing that He will help us.
* We receive the grace that God extends to us and say NO to sin.
* We celebrate Christ's faithfulness to us with praise and worship.