[There was a young man who took his college exam and made a
zero. He went in to the professor
and said, "I don't think I deserve this grade."
The professor replied, "I don't think you did either, but it was the
lowest grade I could give.]
Things To Learn About
Temptation:
A.
The Time of Temptation (vs 1-2) [-
James, a servant of God and of the Lord
Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations; ]
1.
The
Scattered (vs 1; Matt 10.14-23) [- . . .
to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, . . . – James, the brother of our Lord, is writing to a Church that
has already been scattered abroad.
The Church was scattered by the persecution that was being leveled against it.
Our Lord Jesus Christ knew that such persecution would come upon His
people and instructed them, ]
[Matthew
10:14-23
14 And whosoever shall not receive you,
nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the
dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say
unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the
land
of Sodom and Gomorrha in
the day of judgment, than for that city. 16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17
But beware of men:
for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their
synagogues; 18 And ye shall
be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them
and the Gentiles. 19 But when they
deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be
given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which
speaketh in you. 21
And the brother shall
deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children
shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22 And ye shall be hated of all
men for my name's sake:
but he that endureth to
the end shall be saved. 23
But when they persecute
you in this city,
flee ye into another:
for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel,
till the Son of man be come. ]
2.
The
Scorched (vs 2; 2 Tim 3.12) [–
My brethren, count it all joy
when ye fall
into divers temptations; - Trials
are not an “if,” they are a “when.”
Whether you are a Christian or not you can expect difficulty in life.
There will be trials, oppression, misunderstanding, and rejection.
Christianity will not make you immune.
We set new Christians up for failure when we allow them to believe that
living this Christian life is easy, or that tests and trials will not come into
their lives. The Bible clearly
declares,]
[2 Timothy
3:12
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.]
[A Rose Garden
- Perhaps the best analogy that can be given of the life born again Christians
can expect to live when they walk with their Lord is that of a beautiful rose
garden. There are all kinds of
beautiful blooms, and wonderful fragrances.
Life abounds in a rose garden, there are birds, butterflies, and even
Bees among those beautifully flowered stems.
But it will not take you long to realized that there are more thorns in
that rose garden than there are roses and those thorns hurt.]
[It has been accurately said that if you are not in a
trial, then you have probably just come out of a trial, and you can rest assured
that you will soon be in a trial.
There is no doubt that life is filled with trials and tribulation.]
B.
The Types of Temptation (vs 2; 1 Cor
10.13) – My brethren, count it all joy
when ye fall into
divers temptations;
- The words Divers Temptations indicates that trials and temptations are
of various kinds. Your temptations may not be like mine because they come in
different forms. We should not
expect that our trials and temptations will be like someone else’s trials and
temptations. However we should never
feel that our trails are more severe than someone else’s either.
We must resist the temptation to feel that no one has ever been tested
like I am being tested. God assures
us,]
[1 Corinthians
10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it.]
[For the sake of our study of this text, Christians need to
understand that our trials and temptations take on two basic forms representing
the two different agents at work in every trial.
Your Temptations Are,]
1.
A Test
or Trial (1 Pet 1.6-7) [-
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations: 7
That the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ: - Your Heavenly Father allows trials and tests
into your life so that he can purify you, and mature you.
His intention in every trial is to build you up and cause you to stand.
2.
A
Temptation (1 Pet 5.8-9) [– Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour: 9
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
– This is a solicitation to evil.
As a tempting to sin.
This is not sent by God, but
by the devil to cause
one to stumble. ]
[Someone has said,]
[The devil may turn up the fire, but God has His hand on the thermostat.]
["One
is meant for our maturity
the other is meant for our misery."
-
Adrian Rodgers]
C.
The Trap of Temptation (vs 2;
Luke 10.30, cf. Job 1.13)
[- My brethren, count it all
joy
when ye fall into
divers temptations; - Temptations come suddenly.]
[Luke 10:30
30
And Jesus answering said, A certain
man went down from Jerusalem to
Jericho,
and fell among thieves,
which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded
him, and departed, leaving
him half dead. ]
[This man, in the
story of the good Samaritan, was merely walking down the road when suddenly, at
the worst possible time, he fell among thieves.
Surely he did not know the thieves were there waiting for him or he would
have turned back or gone another way.
That’s how trials and temptations will come upon you.
They will come suddenly, as though one fell into a trap.]
[I think of Job, who
in a day (Job 1.13) lost all that he had.
He lost all of his possessions, and all of his family.
All in a day. The point is
that trials and temptations will come upon you suddenly and often at what seems
like the worst possible time.]
["We must always be ready to meet at our average moment,
anything that any of our enemies may hurle at us at his selected moment.]["
Winston Churchill]
[Are you ready to meet the Devil at his selected moment?]
D.
The Test of Temptation (vs 3-4; 1 Cor
10.13; Rom 8.28; 1 Pet 5.6) [-
Knowing
this,
that the trying of your faith
worketh patience.
4 But let patience have
her
perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. - It is God's will that
you have victory over your temptations.
The test of your temptations is wrapped up in what you really believe
about God when you are in the hottest moment of your trial.
Do you really believe that God intends for you to stand, find victory,
and grow as a result of your test?
Do you really believe that God can keep His promises as He has said,]
[1 Corinthians
10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it.]
[Romans 8:28
28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to
his purpose.]
[There's
an old saying: Outlook determines outcome.
Attitude determines action.
Attitude determines altitude.]
1.
[Words, in
this text, that guide us to victory:]
a.
[Count (vs 2)
- Means to lead the way. Consider
these things because they lead the way to advancement in your life.
You just can't get there without this happening in our life.]
b.
[Knowing
(vs 3) - In order for us to view our trials with the proper mindset
we have to comprehend their end results and realize that they are not bad for
us. Our Heavenly Father is good, and
will work even this trial for our good.]
c.
[Letting (vs 4)
- There is surrender in this word.
It means to cease your fighting and let go.
Allow the trial to work its result of maturity.]
[1 Peter 5:6
6
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he
may exalt you in due time: ]
E.
The Treasures of Temptation (vs 3-4)
1.
Trials
Produce Enjoyment (vs 3) [- . .
. count it all joy . . . – This strikes our worldly lost counter parts as a
most ridiculous statement. Who would
expect to find joy in the midst of trials and tribulation?
But, for the Christian, trials can and should bring the fullest possible
joy into one’s life. If you are
fully persuaded the God has a purpose and is in full control of your trial, then
you ought to carry a deep spiritual sense of joy and contentment, even in the
midst of the trial. Trials declare
to the born again Christian, God is getting ready to bless you in a big way.]
["Temptations rightly used are but the prelude to great blessings."]
2.
Trials
Produce Endurance (vs 3) [- . .
. worketh patience . . . - God wants to teach you how to endure -
Temptations work patience. The Greek
word for patience means to bear up under,
endure, or be steadfast. Endurance implies strength.
Hence, God is making you stronger through your trials.]
3.
Trials
Produce Enlargement (vs 4) [- . . .
perfect and entire . . . - The Greek
word for perfect here does not mean sinless.
There is a difference between perfection and sinlessness.
God is trying to make you mature.]
["When you look at a rose and say, 'that's perfect,'
you don't mean its sinless. You mean
its beautiful."]
4.
Trials
Produce Enrichment (vs 4) [- .
. . wanting nothing . . . - Wanting nothing.
Trials will not rob you they will enrich you.]
["James is making an appeal to recognize that
every test, every trial, every tribulation, with the accompanying sorrow and
disappointment, is a God given opportunity for growth and development in the
Christian life." - Dr. Johnny Hunt]
CrossRoads Baptist, Sunday
Evening, Oct 26, 2008
