Open Heaven 30 August 2020: [Sunday]
– Handling Temptations
HANDLING TEMPTATIONS – Sunday August
30th 2020
Memorise: Blessed is the man that enureth temptation: for when he is
tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them
that love him. James 1:12
Read: James 1:12-15 (KJV)
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Message:-
In Yoruba land where I am from, there is a
saying that goes thus: “That which you would not eat, you should not sniff.”
Open Heaven 30 August 2020 – Handling Temptations
The
way to resist temptations is to run from anything that appears to negate the
commandments of God. 1st
Thessalonians 5:22 puts it thus:
“Abstain
from all appearance of evil.”
If only David had taken his eyes off
Bathsheba, he would not have fallen into the sin of adultery and subsequently
murder. If only Judas Iscariot had handed over the treasury of Jesus’ ministry
to someone else or at least found someone to be accountable to, he would
probably have been amongst the Apostles until he died.
Open Heaven 30 August 2020: [Sunday] – Handling Temptations
Temptation is not a sin; it is merely the
arousal to sin. To resist the temptation is to resist the arousal. When the
devil wants to conquer a person, he simply puts things in place that will
arouse the fellow to sin, and so the Bible in James 1:14:
“But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”
Open Heaven 30 August 2020 Sunday: Key Point
One of my sons once told me that he was
always excited to resume work on Monday mornings because he would see his
secretary again. He had started lusting after her. My advice to him was that he
should sack her. The godly counsel to escape sexual sins is to flee! (1st Corinthians 6:18). You
don’t resist temptation by hanging around it or letting it hang around you; you
escape by running (1st
Corinthians 10:13). Joseph did not wait to explain to Mrs. Potiphar why he
could not sleep with her; he ran (Genesis
39:12). Waiting to explain can be dangerous; run and explain later.
Nothing is more important than your ticket to
Heaven. Jesus Christ if your hand would lead you to sin, cut it off (Mark 9:43). If you have to resign from
that job to ensure that you don’t sin and miss Heaven, resign. If you have to
move out of your neighborhood, do so. If you have to unfriend someone,
unfriend the fellow. Whatsoever it is that you have to do, just flee any appearance
of evil.
Key Point
Don’t sit around and wait for temptation to destroy you. Flee!
Open Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God,
one of the largest evangelical Churches in
the world and also the President of Christ
the Redeemer's Ministries.
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