-1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

 

 Temptation is defined in the English dictionary as ‘The act of enticing, alluring, or tempting.’ I was also surprised to see that when I looked it up on the mobile version of dictionary.com it said “enticement or temptation of Christ by Satan. Matthew 4.” Enticing….. Sounds awfully familiar to what Satan does on a daily basis. He entices us with lies.

 

 Remember in Sunday school as a kid, learning about Adam and Eve? Temptation has been around since the beginning of the human races fascination with sin. The human race fell into sin when Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit. God forewarned Adam about this “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat it’s fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16 (NLT) That sounds like a warning about temptation, why would God warn him about this if he knew he wasn’t going to be tempted to eat it. Eve was created soon after. When she came to this tree in the middle of the garden a serpent came and spoke to her. The serpent tempted them, telling them against God’s commandment that the fruit of the tree was harmless.

 

 That is what the devil does best. He tells you, “Oh it’s ok!” “If you do it just this one time, it won’t matter.” You know that if you do it one time, the temptation isn’t going to leave and you are likely to have the same attitude every time you are tempted. Temptation only leads to one thing…. Sin…. I struggle on a daily basis with temptation. I’m not just talking about just one of my past demons tempting me, oh no, all of them.

But look at the verse I put at the top of the message, this really helped when I began turning down temptation and still helps me today. “ He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.” God will take those temptations and shrink them until they are so miniscule they barely even phase you. I thank God everyday for doing this for me.

 

 Our generation faces a plethora of temptation, it hides around every corner. Due to technology now-a-days, giving into temptation is as easy as clicking the mouse on a link. We face a lot more temptations then our parents did when they were growing up. That’s why I feel like this is one of the most important messages I will deliver in all of S.M.S. Whether it be pornography, lust, drugs, alcohol, partying, or any other temptation, you should understand there is a way out. “He will show you a way out, so that you can endure.” This plays into last week’s message, unless you let God guide you, until you put him in the driver’s seat of your life, there won’t be a way out. Your GPS will be stuck on recalculating and in the meantime you’re stuck driving around in circles. You’ll be stuck forever in a revolving door.

 

 Understand that when you take God’s path, it isn’t free from temptation either. Satan will always tempt you to detour to his path, setting up roadblocks constructed of lies. But, God can help you plow through those roadblocks. We ultimately choose which way we go…. God can make the temptations bearable, but he can’t prevent you from falling into them.

 

 Have you ever fallen into temptation and been so disgraced with yourself. You feel like you can’t turn back to God because you’re ashamed and think God looks down on you. Here is a beautiful example about how great God is. The Parable of the Prodigal Son. I absolutely love this parable and think it is by far the best parable Jesus ever told. It’s in Luke 15:11-32. It’s about a man who had 2 sons. One son asks for his share of his father’s estate. The father agrees and splits his estate between both sons. The son that requested this packed his things and moved far away. While he was away he blew his fortune on “wild living” (I’m guessing comparable to prostitution, partying, drugs/alcohol, etc. in today’s age) After he blew through his money, a terrible famine hit and the man began to starve. He begged a local farmer and got work feeding his pigs. He was so starving that even the pig slop looked appetizing to him. He finally came to his senses, he realized that even the servants that work for his father have more than enough food. He decided to go back and plea for his father’s mercy. He was almost to the farm when his father caught a glimpse of him, his father ran to him, embraced and kissed his son. He said “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son” His father, as if not even to hear this told his servants to fetch the best clothes in the house and put them on him and prepare a feast. His older son came angrily to his father about this celebration. The father said “Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!” Do you see what Jesus is getting at? No matter how much of a disgrace to God you think you are when you sin, remember, he will celebrate your return to him and welcome you with open arms.

 

 After we fall into temptation and follow that down the wrong path it’s nice to know that God is always eager to rebuild a relationship with you and is standing with open arms awaiting our return to him. Don’t ever let Satan tell you God will never forgive you. As Christians we understand this is a lie for we all know Jesus died for our sins to be forgiven. You aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect, no one but Jesus is. So understand that you may fall into sin multiple times, I have on my walk with God more times than I can count on two hands. That will never hinder the about of love and compassion the Lord has for you.