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If you have your Bibles, you can turn

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to James chapter 4, James chapter 4.

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The title of the message is, The Devil

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Made Me Do It.

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The devil made me do it.

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And I'll tell you up front, that's not

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true.

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The devil doesn't make you do anything.

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He simply entices.

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Just like a fish, you see the fishing

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lure in the water.

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That's how you catch a fish, it looks

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enticing.

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But I need to read the context from,

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before I get into James chapter 4 verse

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7.

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I'm going to begin at verse 1.

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We talked about James saying, Adulterers and adulteresses,

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do you know that friendship with this world

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is enmity with God?

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Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of

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the world makes himself an enemy of God.

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Or do you think that the scripture says

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in vain that the spirit who dwells in

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us yearns jealously for God, but he gives

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more grace.

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Therefore he says, God resists the proud, but

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gives grace to the humble.

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And we talked about the possibility and the

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reality of cheating on God.

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We can cheat on God spiritually when we

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give our heart to something else, worldly influences.

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And that was last week's message.

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But it's interesting, he says, God resists the

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proud, but gives grace to the humble.

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And one aspect of pride is loving the

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world.

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Having a deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from

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one's own achievement or lifestyle.

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That's also pride.

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Look at what I've done, look at what

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I've accomplished.

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So God resists the proud.

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So those of you who are proud, if

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you're fighting against God, I'm sure not the

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Wednesday night audience, right?

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But this will apply Sunday morning, I'm sure.

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A lot of prideful people there.

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But just listen then, just listen to what

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I'll tell them at some point.

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But pride is taking pride in what we've

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accomplished or what we've done.

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And the sense of haughtiness and superiority really,

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looking down on others.

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And God actually resists that.

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And people wonder, I've seen a lot of

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prideful people, and they wonder, why isn't God

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answering my prayers?

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Why isn't, I feel like I'm fighting God.

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You are fighting God.

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God is resisting you, he's not allowing certain

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blessings.

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He's not allowing things to happen in your

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place with peace and tranquility, because you're resisting

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God.

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But he gives grace to the humble.

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So when we humble ourselves, and don't think

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like this, and don't pursue the things of

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the world, the grace of God floods in.

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If you've known the difference, when you're prideful,

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and you fight against God, and when you're

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humble, it just seems that God is filling

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your life with joy and peace.

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And that's what he's talking about here.

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God will resist the proud.

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Then James 1, 14 through 15.

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I'm going to set up the, now we're

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going to get into James 4, 7, about

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the devil made me do it.

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But we read weeks ago that each one

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of us is tempted when he is drawn

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away by his own desires.

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He is dragged away and enticed.

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Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth

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to sin.

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And sin, when it is fully grown, gives

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birth to death.

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So that's what James talked about in the

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first chapter.

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Now he jumps in James 4, 7.

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Therefore, submit to God.

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So God's resisting the proud, but gives grace

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to the humble.

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Therefore, submit to God.

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Remember, we always want to know when it

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says therefore, to find out what it is

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therefore.

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And he's talking about being arrogant, resisting God.

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Submit to God.

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Resist the devil, and he will flee from

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you.

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And I think that's one of the things

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we forget about being Christians, is we somehow

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think temptation is easy.

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It's easy to say no.

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It's easy to resist.

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It's no problem at all.

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But we actually have to resist, meaning there's

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a fight, meaning there's a struggle, meaning there's

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a battle.

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And we often go into that battle unarmed,

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unprepared, and untrained.

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And we fall on our face because we're

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not resisting.

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So when the resistance gets a little bit

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tough, we give up.

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When actually God says, resist the devil.

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As we're submitting to God, we're resisting the

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devil, and he will flee from you.

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That's one thing about temptation.

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Here's how temptation works.

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It's pretty difficult, and then temptation reaches a

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point that is very difficult.

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And that is the defining moment in many

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of our lives.

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When you're fasting, and I'm pretty hungry, and

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then three hours later you're starving, and that

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temptation, or the lust of the flesh, the

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less that temptation will start out.

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And it reaches a crescendo.

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That's the word I'm looking for, this high

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point.

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And it's at that point that we need

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to make the decision to flee and to

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resist.

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And that's the point.

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Once you get through that, and the temptation

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starts to minimize itself, the devil will flee

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away.

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It's not like the devil is constantly tempting

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all eight cylinders on this temptation, going, going,

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going the rest of your life.

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There's a point of victory, there's a point

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of battle.

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There's a point of another battle, there's a

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point of victory.

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So as you're resisting the devil, at some

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point he will flee from you.

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Draw near to God, and he will draw

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near to you.

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Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your

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hearts, you double-minded.

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God, James is pretty hard, isn't he?

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Or is he just being honest?

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And he's writing at a time when the

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church was fairly old at this time, and

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people can fall back into their ways.

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So he's saying, cleanse your hands, what you're

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doing.

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You sinners, purify your hearts.

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You double-minded.

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So they were double-minded, loving the world,

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loving the things of the world, and actually

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engaging in sin.

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They were not resisting the devil.

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They were falling into temptation.

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So James is giving a strong rebuke.

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Lament and mourn and weep.

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Let your laughter be turned to mourning and

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your joy to gloom.

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Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord,

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and he will lift you up.

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Now, personally, I think this is a lament.

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Why is he saying lament and mourn and

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weep?

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Don't be laughing.

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Let your laughter be turned to joy.

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A lot of times, when people are caught

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in sin, the party lifestyle, there's a lot

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of laughter, there's a lot of joy, and

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they're just mocking God.

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He says, let that laughter, the enjoyment of

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your sin, be turned into sorrow.

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And really, this is how you get through

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temptation.

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Submit to God.

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Resist the devil.

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He begins to flee.

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Then we draw near to God, and he

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will draw near to us.

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It's this image we have.

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If I started walking towards you, you wouldn't

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have to walk necessarily, but we're getting closer,

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aren't we?

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We're drawing.

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God's drawing nearer.

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So as I'm walking to anybody in this

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room, if I started walking to you, I

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would be drawing nearer to you.

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And as a result, you're drawing nearer to

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me.

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And that's what God wants.

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He wants that relationship to draw near to

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him, and he'll draw near to us.

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Lament and mourn and weep.

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It means, Lord, I'm sorry that I've been

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enjoying this and just laughing about the sin,

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but I'm humbling myself.

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I'm mourning.

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I'm weeping in some cases, and I'm humbling

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my sight.

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I'm humbling myself in your sight, and God

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will lift you up.

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So it's really this passage is anybody wanting

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to overcome a besetting sin, somebody trapped in

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sin, James is giving the antidote.

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This is it.

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We submit to God.

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We have to resist the devil because often

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when we're caught in a besetting sin, we're

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not resisting the devil.

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What are we doing?

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Oh, here it comes again.

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I've got to stop by the liquor store,

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or I've got to pick up this, or

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I've got to look on the computer again.

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It's this constant falling into sin because we're

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not resisting the devil.

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And what I would do, I've talked to

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my mom before too because she counsels a

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lot of people, and the key is a

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lot of times is when you feel that

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temptation coming, you change the environment or you

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do something different.

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You don't keep feeding on that and building

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it and building it and building.

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You walk away from.

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For example, if you're having a struggle on

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the computer, you just get up, you walk

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away, you go do something else.

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If you're angry, upset, you can feel it,

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you're that volcano at home, then go take

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a drive.

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Grab a blessing CD on the way out

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and just put that in.

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I guarantee you after those five songs, you're

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not going to be very angry when you

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come home.

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And you change that environment.

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I know I've talked, God's put people who

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are addicted on my heart.

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I just met with a friend of mine

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today, had lunch and he's probably drinking three,

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four times a week, a large amount of

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alcohol.

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And he can feel it coming and feel

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it coming.

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And does he keep entertaining those thoughts and

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thinking about it?

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Where can he pick it up?

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And it's plenty, I'll just take tomorrow off.

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And so he starts thinking, but he nips

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that in the bud right away.

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Now he's not even a believer.

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So I believe you're in bondage, that's hard

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to break.

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Willpower is not enough.

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He's got to get his heart right before

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the Lord.

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But that's what temptation does.

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That's why James, I read earlier, with this

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little desire starts to build and starts to

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build and starts to build.

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And when we act upon those, that's how

275
00:09:19,610 --> 00:09:21,550
temptation gains a stronghold.

276
00:09:22,090 --> 00:09:25,250
By not resisting, that sin comes in and

277
00:09:25,250 --> 00:09:26,310
it gains a stronghold.

278
00:09:27,810 --> 00:09:29,770
Submit to the work of the Spirit, resist

279
00:09:29,770 --> 00:09:31,790
the pull of the world, the devil and

280
00:09:31,790 --> 00:09:32,430
the flesh.

281
00:09:32,430 --> 00:09:36,050
So James is basically talking about obedience, isn't

282
00:09:36,050 --> 00:09:36,230
he?

283
00:09:36,970 --> 00:09:38,070
And that's a word we don't like to

284
00:09:38,070 --> 00:09:38,770
hear in the church.

285
00:09:40,710 --> 00:09:42,690
But I need to remind everyone in this

286
00:09:42,690 --> 00:09:45,210
room that obedience saved Noah.

287
00:09:46,750 --> 00:09:48,410
Wait a minute, Shane faithed, yeah?

288
00:09:48,690 --> 00:09:49,830
But he had to build an ark.

289
00:09:50,690 --> 00:09:52,090
He had to obey God.

290
00:09:53,090 --> 00:09:55,550
And we have sometimes this idea of, they

291
00:09:55,550 --> 00:09:58,290
call it hyper-grace, where you just take

292
00:09:58,290 --> 00:10:00,370
advantage of God's grace, it's no big deal,

293
00:10:00,370 --> 00:10:02,130
and you can keep on sinning, and don't

294
00:10:02,130 --> 00:10:04,090
talk about obedience, don't talk about these hard

295
00:10:04,090 --> 00:10:05,890
things, it's just all grace.

296
00:10:06,570 --> 00:10:11,410
But grace is also followed by me living

297
00:10:11,410 --> 00:10:15,110
up to what God, not perfectly, but following

298
00:10:15,110 --> 00:10:17,930
God's commandments, and wanting to obey God, wanting

299
00:10:17,930 --> 00:10:18,890
to honor His word.

300
00:10:19,270 --> 00:10:21,210
And from that, that's how you begin to

301
00:10:21,210 --> 00:10:22,610
push away the devil.

302
00:10:23,790 --> 00:10:24,830
Now, it is a challenge.

303
00:10:24,970 --> 00:10:26,950
Let me read one story I found many

304
00:10:26,950 --> 00:10:28,690
years ago, and it actually came up this

305
00:10:28,690 --> 00:10:28,970
week.

306
00:10:29,230 --> 00:10:30,350
I want to share it with you tonight.

307
00:10:30,910 --> 00:10:32,730
It's about a little boy named Alexander.

308
00:10:33,030 --> 00:10:34,550
He was trying to save all of his

309
00:10:34,550 --> 00:10:36,530
pennies so he could buy a baseball bat.

310
00:10:38,010 --> 00:10:39,530
But he had a hard struggle.

311
00:10:40,230 --> 00:10:41,930
One night when he was saying his prayers,

312
00:10:42,050 --> 00:10:44,650
his mother heard him say fervently, Oh Lord,

313
00:10:44,810 --> 00:10:46,850
please help me save my money for a

314
00:10:46,850 --> 00:10:47,610
baseball bat.

315
00:10:48,190 --> 00:10:49,950
And God, don't let the ice cream man

316
00:10:49,950 --> 00:10:51,230
come down my street anymore.

317
00:10:53,940 --> 00:10:54,780
Isn't that true?

318
00:10:55,380 --> 00:10:59,200
Lord, help me save up money for my

319
00:10:59,200 --> 00:10:59,960
baseball bat.

320
00:11:00,380 --> 00:11:02,100
But don't let that ice cream truck come

321
00:11:02,100 --> 00:11:02,320
down.

322
00:11:02,620 --> 00:11:03,980
And he would spend his money on that.

323
00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,880
And that's what temptation looks like.

324
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:09,420
Here's the interesting thing about temptation.

325
00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,740
It takes from us, but at the same

326
00:11:11,740 --> 00:11:13,220
time it looks so appealing.

327
00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:15,600
If it didn't look good, we wouldn't take

328
00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:16,120
the bait.

329
00:11:17,060 --> 00:11:20,340
So the devil, well let me read commentator,

330
00:11:20,460 --> 00:11:22,760
Klein Snodgrass, interesting name.

331
00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,240
He said, mention of the schemes of the

332
00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:26,940
devil, which is the trickery of the devil,

333
00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:29,340
the deceit of the devil, reminds us of

334
00:11:29,340 --> 00:11:33,160
trickery, by which evil and temptation present themselves

335
00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:33,960
in our lives.

336
00:11:34,540 --> 00:11:38,960
Evil rarely looks evil until it accomplishes its

337
00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:39,340
goal.

338
00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:45,360
It gains interest by appearing attractive, desirable, and

339
00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:46,520
perfectly legitimate.

340
00:11:47,100 --> 00:11:49,280
It's a baited and camouflaged trap.

341
00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:51,220
Temptation always looks like that.

342
00:11:51,220 --> 00:11:53,700
Like a young couple, like let's just live

343
00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:54,180
together.

344
00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:55,660
I mean, I know it's not right, but

345
00:11:55,660 --> 00:11:58,080
we're saving on our taxes, you know, and

346
00:11:58,080 --> 00:11:59,640
we can get to know each other first.

347
00:11:59,940 --> 00:12:01,540
And then they don't see the years of

348
00:12:01,540 --> 00:12:03,220
pain and regret that will bring later.

349
00:12:03,780 --> 00:12:06,360
Or a person might indulge in something and

350
00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:07,700
say, yeah, but you know, it just looks,

351
00:12:07,820 --> 00:12:08,700
it's not that big a deal.

352
00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,100
It's my off day, or it's this, or,

353
00:12:11,460 --> 00:12:12,980
I mean, I've heard every excuse in the

354
00:12:12,980 --> 00:12:13,360
book.

355
00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,000
And I'm like, no, that's just an excuse.

356
00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:17,860
But it presents itself.

357
00:12:18,740 --> 00:12:23,060
Most affairs start by a person, wherever it's

358
00:12:23,060 --> 00:12:26,280
at, and there's a relationship built, and it

359
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,020
presents like, well, this isn't a big deal.

360
00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,920
This doesn't, you know, it looks fine.

361
00:12:30,980 --> 00:12:32,480
This isn't going to result in anything.

362
00:12:33,180 --> 00:12:35,800
A book I've mentioned before by Steve Farrar,

363
00:12:36,220 --> 00:12:39,800
he interviewed 200 and something top people, Christian

364
00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,480
leaders who fell in Christian ministry due to

365
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:43,820
usually sexual sin.

366
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,520
But in 80% of the cases, they

367
00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,820
all said it would never happen to me.

368
00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:51,540
They said, well, this will never, that will

369
00:12:51,540 --> 00:12:52,460
never happen to me.

370
00:12:54,180 --> 00:12:55,640
Why did it happen to them?

371
00:12:55,700 --> 00:12:58,260
Many times because they didn't, it was a

372
00:12:58,260 --> 00:12:59,880
baited and camouflaged trap.

373
00:13:00,660 --> 00:13:03,960
The enemy's not going to show the hook

374
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:04,560
on the bait.

375
00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:06,180
He's going to show the bait.

376
00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,480
Now, here's how we get, because some people

377
00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:12,040
go, oh, then I'm always going to be

378
00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:12,340
tricked.

379
00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:14,500
No, it's very easy, actually.

380
00:13:14,500 --> 00:13:18,040
Only by comparing your thoughts and what your

381
00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,140
actions are going to be to God's word

382
00:13:20,140 --> 00:13:22,560
can we generate the motivation to resist.

383
00:13:23,580 --> 00:13:25,400
So once I say, okay, here's what God's

384
00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,740
word says about this, here's where this is

385
00:13:27,740 --> 00:13:30,300
going to lead me, then I must make

386
00:13:30,300 --> 00:13:32,960
a different decision, whether it comes to money.

387
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:34,800
Really, the enemy's going to come after the

388
00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:36,880
lust of the flesh, the lust of the

389
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,020
eye, covetousness, what the eye goes after, and

390
00:13:39,020 --> 00:13:40,100
the pride of life.

391
00:13:40,420 --> 00:13:42,720
Those are the three areas that he concentrates

392
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:43,340
his attack.

393
00:13:43,340 --> 00:13:46,720
When the woman, Eve, saw that the tree

394
00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,800
was good for food, desirable to make one

395
00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,420
wise, and appeared attractive as well.

396
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:56,520
All three of those he used.

397
00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:01,840
And temptation always looks good, but I also

398
00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:03,700
believe that a believer has some kind of

399
00:14:03,700 --> 00:14:06,780
Holy Spirit umpire in him, blowing the whistle.

400
00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:09,080
Don't go there yet.

401
00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:10,540
No, no, don't go there.

402
00:14:10,540 --> 00:14:13,820
Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet.

403
00:14:14,380 --> 00:14:16,000
And we hear the conviction of the Holy

404
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,320
Spirit leading us and guiding us in the

405
00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:19,040
right direction.

406
00:14:19,820 --> 00:14:22,180
Now be encouraged though, temptation is also an

407
00:14:22,180 --> 00:14:25,640
opportunity to do what is right by turning

408
00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:26,800
from it.

409
00:14:27,580 --> 00:14:28,080
Always.

410
00:14:28,300 --> 00:14:31,460
Temptation is always an opportunity to do what

411
00:14:31,460 --> 00:14:33,340
is right by turning from it.

412
00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:35,560
Many times with temptation, you've got to know

413
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,460
the plan before the temptation comes.

414
00:14:37,460 --> 00:14:41,080
And I've shared this before often, my wife

415
00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:42,660
knows because she can check my email whenever,

416
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,360
but if I go to empty spam and

417
00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:45,580
it says, Hi, my name is, and I'm

418
00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:46,400
24, delete.

419
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,260
Blue hair, blonde, delete.

420
00:14:49,860 --> 00:14:53,840
You just see, I don't care who you

421
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:54,140
are.

422
00:14:54,380 --> 00:14:56,240
I don't need to see pictures that you

423
00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:56,660
sent me.

424
00:14:56,740 --> 00:14:57,460
Who is this person?

425
00:14:57,780 --> 00:14:58,740
Delete, delete, delete.

426
00:14:58,980 --> 00:15:00,520
It just has to be that quick.

427
00:15:01,260 --> 00:15:02,320
But if you say, well maybe this is

428
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:03,140
a person from church.

429
00:15:03,260 --> 00:15:04,380
That name looks kind of familiar.

430
00:15:05,380 --> 00:15:07,180
Well, it's in spam though.

431
00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:09,900
I mean, we start to play these games.

432
00:15:10,500 --> 00:15:12,040
So temptation, you've got to know what's your

433
00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:12,440
trigger.

434
00:15:12,900 --> 00:15:14,140
For one person, it's this.

435
00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:15,900
For another person, it's that.

436
00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:17,940
And what's the trigger?

437
00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:20,760
For example, we went, my brother came in

438
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:21,200
from Idaho.

439
00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:23,280
I helped him all day yesterday.

440
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:25,820
It was a long day of moving, picking

441
00:15:25,820 --> 00:15:27,460
up 40 yards worth of trash.

442
00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:29,700
And they invite us to pizza and they

443
00:15:29,700 --> 00:15:30,860
order pictures of beer.

444
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:33,740
The decision is no.

445
00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:35,080
It's not even an option.

446
00:15:35,500 --> 00:15:37,480
I can't do that.

447
00:15:37,980 --> 00:15:41,060
See, the decision's made before it even starts.

448
00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:42,060
But if you get there and you say,

449
00:15:42,100 --> 00:15:42,580
well, I don't know.

450
00:15:42,620 --> 00:15:43,780
One picture won't hurt, right?

451
00:15:44,820 --> 00:15:45,420
Yeah, right.

452
00:15:46,420 --> 00:15:48,820
I mean, you see, your mind, it'll play

453
00:15:48,820 --> 00:15:49,380
with you.

454
00:15:50,380 --> 00:15:53,260
And you have to decide what God's word

455
00:15:53,260 --> 00:15:55,040
says before it happens.

456
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,480
That's part of overcoming temptation.

457
00:15:57,640 --> 00:15:58,980
If you wait until you're in the thick

458
00:15:58,980 --> 00:16:00,760
of battle, like, what am I going to

459
00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:01,340
do now?

460
00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:03,060
I don't know.

461
00:16:03,540 --> 00:16:05,720
You know, and that's where, really, because when

462
00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:07,160
he gets you into it, he starts to

463
00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:08,160
plant thoughts.

464
00:16:08,740 --> 00:16:10,360
Like, you deserve this.

465
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:12,340
Or you've been working hard all week.

466
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:14,600
Or they don't treat you right.

467
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,900
Or when was the last time you did

468
00:16:16,900 --> 00:16:17,080
this?

469
00:16:17,140 --> 00:16:18,220
Or you need to tell.

470
00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,880
And he'll start building on that temptation with

471
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,060
those thoughts, those fiery darts of the enemy.

472
00:16:24,460 --> 00:16:25,800
So that's how the enemy works.

473
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,620
And people say, man, Shane, the devil made

474
00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:30,280
me do this.

475
00:16:30,420 --> 00:16:31,500
No, they didn't.

476
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:32,660
He didn't make you do anything.

477
00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:33,920
You did.

478
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,300
The devil made me got drunk.

479
00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:36,400
No, you made me.

480
00:16:36,460 --> 00:16:37,180
Did I say that wrong?

481
00:16:37,620 --> 00:16:37,940
The devil.

482
00:16:38,980 --> 00:16:39,680
I said it right.

483
00:16:39,780 --> 00:16:39,980
Okay.

484
00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:41,480
That's how it's done.

485
00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:44,340
But no, but then they head to Las

486
00:16:44,340 --> 00:16:45,500
Vegas for the weekend.

487
00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:47,700
Or the devil made me spend all this

488
00:16:47,700 --> 00:16:47,900
money.

489
00:16:48,020 --> 00:16:48,900
No, you didn't budget.

490
00:16:49,260 --> 00:16:50,260
And you didn't do anything.

491
00:16:50,460 --> 00:16:52,260
Oh, the devil is coming against my marriage.

492
00:16:52,260 --> 00:16:54,500
No, you are the meanest son of a

493
00:16:54,500 --> 00:16:55,640
gun I have ever met.

494
00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,220
And you backbite and you down talk your

495
00:16:58,220 --> 00:16:58,560
wife.

496
00:16:58,680 --> 00:16:59,900
That's the problem.

497
00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:02,480
The devil didn't make you do it.

498
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:04,780
Especially in charismatic circles.

499
00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:05,819
It's real big.

500
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:07,780
The devil, there's a spirit for everything.

501
00:17:08,180 --> 00:17:09,839
The devil this and the spirit of this.

502
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:10,540
The spirit of lying.

503
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:11,140
The spirit of lust.

504
00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:12,099
The spirit of this.

505
00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,140
The spirit of all kinds of things.

506
00:17:15,260 --> 00:17:17,400
Because if we can blame the devil, then

507
00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:18,980
I don't have to take responsibility.

508
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,660
Well, the devil made me do it.

509
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:23,560
He can't make you do it.

510
00:17:24,140 --> 00:17:26,359
All he can do is just plant thoughts

511
00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:27,540
basically in your mind.

512
00:17:28,300 --> 00:17:30,200
Or bring people, you know, situations.

513
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:31,940
He can't make us do anything.

514
00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,520
Now, to me that's pretty safe.

515
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:40,200
You don't have to worry about that he's

516
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,600
going to make you like a puppet go

517
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:44,200
and actually do something.

518
00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,440
And I've used to read, I've read stories

519
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:48,620
of guys that are in jail for the

520
00:17:48,620 --> 00:17:49,280
rest of their life.

521
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:51,000
And they heard all these voices to go

522
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:51,700
kill somebody.

523
00:17:51,980 --> 00:17:54,560
And actually the voices and things started small

524
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:55,480
when they were little.

525
00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:57,280
And would build.

526
00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:59,340
Bundy, that guy Bundy, I think he was

527
00:17:59,340 --> 00:17:59,860
executed.

528
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:02,540
He got started on just soft core pornography.

529
00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,220
Like catalogs from Sears and JC Penney's.

530
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:07,320
And then it turned into this.

531
00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:08,360
And then it turned into this.

532
00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:10,380
And it got worse and worse and worse.

533
00:18:10,580 --> 00:18:11,900
So that's what the enemy does.

534
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,700
He'll keep bringing those things.

535
00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:18,300
Because the ultimate goal for the enemy is

536
00:18:18,300 --> 00:18:19,980
to kill, steal and to destroy.

537
00:18:20,700 --> 00:18:23,140
That's what he, he's not concerned with a

538
00:18:23,140 --> 00:18:25,200
little this, a little slip up or a

539
00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:25,460
little that.

540
00:18:25,540 --> 00:18:27,460
He wants to kill and steal and to

541
00:18:27,460 --> 00:18:27,960
destroy.

542
00:18:28,940 --> 00:18:30,620
And submit and resist.

543
00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:32,060
Oh, I want to keep reading.

544
00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:34,800
Temptation is also an opportunity to do what

545
00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:36,720
is right by turning from it.

546
00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:38,500
See, temptation isn't wrong.

547
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,860
People sometimes be, Shane, where are these thoughts

548
00:18:40,860 --> 00:18:41,320
coming from?

549
00:18:41,340 --> 00:18:42,720
I've never had that thought before.

550
00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:42,980
Right.

551
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,340
There's a season of testing sometimes that the

552
00:18:46,340 --> 00:18:47,400
enemy will bring in thoughts.

553
00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:50,300
But being tempted is not sin because Jesus

554
00:18:50,300 --> 00:18:50,960
was tempted.

555
00:18:51,580 --> 00:18:54,080
Jesus was tempted in all points like we

556
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:55,720
are, but was without sin.

557
00:18:56,660 --> 00:18:58,820
So the temptation, the thought to do something

558
00:18:58,820 --> 00:18:59,580
isn't the sin.

559
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:00,900
It's when you go out and do it.

560
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:02,640
That's when it crosses the line.

561
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:04,760
1 Corinthians 10-13.

562
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:07,120
No temptation has overtaken you.

563
00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:08,740
This is going to burst the bubble to

564
00:19:08,740 --> 00:19:09,220
some people.

565
00:19:09,220 --> 00:19:12,220
Because they think nobody on planet earth has

566
00:19:12,220 --> 00:19:13,700
ever went through what I'm going through.

567
00:19:13,900 --> 00:19:15,940
Nobody's had to resist what I'm resisting.

568
00:19:16,220 --> 00:19:19,940
Well, Paul said, no temptation has overtaken you

569
00:19:19,940 --> 00:19:22,500
except such as is common to man.

570
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,960
But God is faithful who will not allow

571
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,420
you to be tempted beyond what you are

572
00:19:29,420 --> 00:19:29,860
able.

573
00:19:30,500 --> 00:19:33,060
But with the temptation, he makes a way

574
00:19:33,060 --> 00:19:34,940
of escape that you may be able to

575
00:19:34,940 --> 00:19:35,480
bear it.

576
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:38,900
So there's a whole bunch of exit doors

577
00:19:38,900 --> 00:19:39,240
here.

578
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:41,960
There's exit doors everywhere.

579
00:19:42,860 --> 00:19:44,160
But you have to bear it.

580
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,140
There's a price that has to be paid.

581
00:19:47,420 --> 00:19:49,340
There's a resistance that has to be won.

582
00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,400
The door of temptation swings both ways.

583
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:53,880
You can enter or exit.

584
00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:56,940
Submit and resist, what I talked about earlier.

585
00:19:57,580 --> 00:20:00,240
Like in dieting, when bad food is removed,

586
00:20:00,340 --> 00:20:02,040
a healthy choice has to be added.

587
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,580
Same thing in spiritual areas.

588
00:20:04,580 --> 00:20:06,980
When something is removed from your life, when

589
00:20:06,980 --> 00:20:09,660
you start to step back and pursue God,

590
00:20:09,780 --> 00:20:11,380
and you remove things from your life, you

591
00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:13,680
have to add it with other things.

592
00:20:14,220 --> 00:20:16,560
For example, I've known people who have tried

593
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:18,380
to get back on track with their life.

594
00:20:19,220 --> 00:20:20,720
I'm just going to go sit at home

595
00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:21,640
and watch TV.

596
00:20:21,780 --> 00:20:24,480
I'm not going back out into that party

597
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:25,380
lifestyle or the world.

598
00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:28,020
Well, sitting at home with this can eventually

599
00:20:28,020 --> 00:20:29,060
lead back to that.

600
00:20:29,580 --> 00:20:32,600
Because you're feeding your mind.

601
00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:33,900
You're not adding things.

602
00:20:33,900 --> 00:20:35,900
So what I would suggest is get plugged

603
00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:37,440
into a Wednesday night study, in a Sunday

604
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,140
church, in a Bible study, a men's group,

605
00:20:39,340 --> 00:20:40,740
a women's group, and you get plugged in.

606
00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:42,740
You're adding more things as you're taking things

607
00:20:42,740 --> 00:20:43,060
out.

608
00:20:43,340 --> 00:20:46,400
If you just go and remove things but

609
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,040
don't add things, the enemy can come back

610
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:49,380
in.

611
00:20:49,780 --> 00:20:52,480
Because idle hands are the enemy's workshop.

612
00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:54,200
Idle hands are the enemy's tools.

613
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:55,900
All those sayings are true.

614
00:20:56,460 --> 00:20:58,980
Because when we sit idle, we're bored.

615
00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:03,380
And when we're bored, that's when temptation often

616
00:21:03,380 --> 00:21:03,980
occurs.

617
00:21:05,380 --> 00:21:08,600
The flesh is in rebellion against God.

618
00:21:09,100 --> 00:21:11,980
Your flesh is in rebellion against God, so

619
00:21:11,980 --> 00:21:14,760
feelings cannot be trusted.

620
00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:16,960
You don't trust your feelings.

621
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,620
Puritan author John Owen said, Secret lusts lie

622
00:21:21,620 --> 00:21:24,120
lurking in our own heart, which will never

623
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:27,300
give up until they are either destroyed or

624
00:21:27,300 --> 00:21:27,900
satisfied.

625
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,660
Those lusts that are in our heart, they're

626
00:21:32,660 --> 00:21:35,360
lurking, they're ready, and they're not going to

627
00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:37,400
give up until they're either satisfied or they're

628
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:37,800
crucified.

629
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:40,440
That's how we have to handle things like

630
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:40,840
this.

631
00:21:42,460 --> 00:21:44,340
And C.H. Spurgeon said, Beware of no

632
00:21:44,340 --> 00:21:45,500
man more than yourself.

633
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,060
We carry our worst enemies within.

634
00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:52,040
So as we're talking about defeating the devil,

635
00:21:52,300 --> 00:21:54,720
submit and draw near to God regardless of

636
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:55,440
how you feel.

637
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:58,040
Because I can tell you as a living

638
00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,800
witness that you will not feel like reading

639
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,800
the Word and fasting and going to church

640
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:04,800
and all these things sometimes.

641
00:22:05,140 --> 00:22:07,020
Because we often say, well, I don't feel

642
00:22:07,020 --> 00:22:08,240
like it, so I'm not going to do

643
00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:08,360
it.

644
00:22:08,500 --> 00:22:10,180
I feel like going to the movies.

645
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:12,180
I feel like watching the news.

646
00:22:12,180 --> 00:22:15,080
I feel like going, you know, where do

647
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:15,860
you feel like going?

648
00:22:16,140 --> 00:22:17,760
Some of those things are fine.

649
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:19,960
But if you always just go where your

650
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:21,640
feelings are going to go, you're rarely going

651
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:22,740
to go into God's Word.

652
00:22:23,420 --> 00:22:25,040
You're rarely going to go to church.

653
00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:27,240
You're rarely going to do the things that

654
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:28,960
God wants us to do if we just

655
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:29,880
allow our feelings.

656
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:32,620
And that's why I think the enemy goes

657
00:22:32,620 --> 00:22:35,100
after feelings Sunday morning.

658
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,620
And spouses go like this.

659
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:39,160
Right?

660
00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:40,900
We take two cars now, so it's been

661
00:22:40,900 --> 00:22:41,520
a long time.

662
00:22:42,020 --> 00:22:43,060
But I remember when we used to get

663
00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:44,600
ready for church, getting the kids ready.

664
00:22:44,700 --> 00:22:45,980
Oh, my.

665
00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:47,820
The devil just loves it.

666
00:22:48,940 --> 00:22:50,080
All week is fine.

667
00:22:50,500 --> 00:22:51,320
No problems at all.

668
00:22:51,380 --> 00:22:54,940
But come Sunday morning, where's the clothes?

669
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:55,300
Where's this?

670
00:22:55,340 --> 00:22:55,820
We're running late.

671
00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:56,720
Forget it.

672
00:22:56,740 --> 00:22:57,520
Let's just not go.

673
00:22:58,340 --> 00:22:59,740
And you go storming back in your room

674
00:22:59,740 --> 00:23:00,340
and slam the door.

675
00:23:02,420 --> 00:23:03,340
Nobody else does that?

676
00:23:04,380 --> 00:23:06,040
That was a long time ago, though.

677
00:23:06,300 --> 00:23:06,700
2005.

678
00:23:08,260 --> 00:23:09,920
I don't think I'd slam the door.

679
00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:11,700
But we usually made it.

680
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,380
But sometimes it was a...

681
00:23:15,380 --> 00:23:16,680
Christians can be so fake.

682
00:23:18,900 --> 00:23:21,220
Well, because you're mad and this.

683
00:23:21,380 --> 00:23:22,000
And then you get there.

684
00:23:22,020 --> 00:23:22,740
Praise you, brother.

685
00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:23,360
How's it going?

686
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:23,920
Smiles.

687
00:23:24,700 --> 00:23:26,280
Everybody's treating everybody nice.

688
00:23:26,340 --> 00:23:26,960
Oh, I love you.

689
00:23:27,220 --> 00:23:28,140
And wait a minute.

690
00:23:28,220 --> 00:23:29,840
You were just fighting five minutes ago.

691
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,280
See, it tells me you can't control the

692
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:32,880
way you act.

693
00:23:33,820 --> 00:23:36,060
It tells me you can't control the way

694
00:23:36,060 --> 00:23:37,900
you act if you want it bad enough.

695
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,000
So that's the rebellion.

696
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,320
The flesh is a rebellion, so we can't

697
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:45,380
trust our feelings.

698
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:48,160
The devil doesn't make us do anything.

699
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:50,160
As I said, he simply presents the bait.

700
00:23:51,740 --> 00:23:53,680
Blame shifting is very common.

701
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,780
The devil is coming after my finances.

702
00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,600
People say, yet they fail to budget and

703
00:23:58,600 --> 00:23:59,980
give and spend wisely.

704
00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:02,020
The devil is destroying my marriage.

705
00:24:03,340 --> 00:24:05,660
Yet spouses fail to truly love and serve

706
00:24:05,660 --> 00:24:06,140
each other.

707
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:07,300
See, I remembered that earlier.

708
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:10,600
Be aware of opportune times.

709
00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:11,800
Here's where the rubber is going to meet

710
00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:12,220
the road.

711
00:24:12,860 --> 00:24:15,580
There's probably not too much temptation going on

712
00:24:15,580 --> 00:24:16,160
right now.

713
00:24:17,020 --> 00:24:17,520
Usually.

714
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,220
It's when the opportune times present themselves.

715
00:24:21,220 --> 00:24:22,700
Opportune times.

716
00:24:22,860 --> 00:24:32,640
Luke 4.13 So

717
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,120
the devil was tempting Jesus.

718
00:24:35,820 --> 00:24:37,040
He was hungry.

719
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,080
He was all these things.

720
00:24:39,140 --> 00:24:41,900
The devil kept testing him and tempting him.

721
00:24:42,980 --> 00:24:44,620
Eventually, he left.

722
00:24:45,180 --> 00:24:46,560
But the Bible says he was going to

723
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:49,720
come back for an opportune time.

724
00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,700
In battle, the enemy attacks at opportune times.

725
00:24:53,780 --> 00:24:55,620
You might say, Shane, what is an opportune

726
00:24:55,620 --> 00:24:55,920
time?

727
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:57,640
Well, if you look it up in the

728
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,880
Greek language, what it really means is it's

729
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,160
talking about a favorable wind blowing a ship

730
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,100
towards its destination.

731
00:25:06,740 --> 00:25:08,580
So there's a ship out to sea.

732
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,420
The wind starts up, and it's actually blowing

733
00:25:11,420 --> 00:25:13,220
the ship back to where it wants to

734
00:25:13,220 --> 00:25:13,360
go.

735
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:14,920
That's an opportune time.

736
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:16,900
That's an opportunity there.

737
00:25:16,900 --> 00:25:20,160
So if we look, the devil is looking

738
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,740
for that time when you're in a certain

739
00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:26,660
place or in a certain setting where that

740
00:25:26,660 --> 00:25:28,160
can happen.

741
00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:31,060
For example, probably not going to want a

742
00:25:31,060 --> 00:25:32,200
pitcher of beer right here.

743
00:25:33,220 --> 00:25:37,120
But last night, it's everywhere, right?

744
00:25:37,660 --> 00:25:39,060
You see the opportune times?

745
00:25:39,420 --> 00:25:40,800
There was an opportune time right now.

746
00:25:40,900 --> 00:25:42,120
That will never work.

747
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:43,920
But you throw me in that place a

748
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:45,760
hundred times and trying to deal with that

749
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:47,720
all the time, depending on this and that.

750
00:25:48,020 --> 00:25:49,540
Obviously, you know as a pastor, you've got

751
00:25:49,540 --> 00:25:51,200
to have a policy of abstinence.

752
00:25:51,540 --> 00:25:53,080
People can enjoy beers now and then.

753
00:25:53,220 --> 00:25:54,420
I'm not against that at all.

754
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,980
But I have to be even more careful.

755
00:25:57,540 --> 00:25:59,040
So that would be an opportune time.

756
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,960
Or an opportune time of where nobody's at.

757
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:04,400
Or it's a vacation.

758
00:26:05,340 --> 00:26:08,260
You know those times where he's going to…

759
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,140
Nobody's considering looking at pornography right now, are

760
00:26:11,140 --> 00:26:11,280
they?

761
00:26:12,220 --> 00:26:13,500
No, nobody in this whole room.

762
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:16,200
You get home tonight.

763
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,240
You go on Facebook.

764
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,540
Or you read garbage, books that are out

765
00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:23,980
there, the Fifty Shades of Garbage and all

766
00:26:23,980 --> 00:26:24,520
this stuff.

767
00:26:25,260 --> 00:26:26,960
See, that's an opportune time.

768
00:26:28,420 --> 00:26:29,180
Opportune time.

769
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:31,180
You can feel the anger in your home

770
00:26:31,180 --> 00:26:32,340
and you're about ready to explode.

771
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:34,400
Oh, that's an opportune time.

772
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:36,560
I'm just going to go on a walk

773
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:36,900
and pray.

774
00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:39,580
So he's looking for the…

775
00:26:39,580 --> 00:26:40,620
And everybody's different.

776
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:42,560
Everybody's different.

777
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,460
Your opportune time might not be my opportune

778
00:26:45,460 --> 00:26:46,440
time and vice versa.

779
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,200
So he goes around looking for those times.

780
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:50,420
And it's interesting.

781
00:26:51,340 --> 00:26:53,460
There's something called…

782
00:26:53,460 --> 00:26:56,120
They usually use it in addiction ministries, but

783
00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:57,580
it's called the HALT principle.

784
00:26:58,780 --> 00:27:00,620
And they don't know it, but it's spiritual.

785
00:27:01,260 --> 00:27:04,220
They said you're most apt to relapse when

786
00:27:04,220 --> 00:27:06,420
you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.

787
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,520
And I said, oh, that's for us too.

788
00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:13,780
That's exactly opportune times.

789
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,400
Hungry, angry, lonely, and tired.

790
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:21,820
Because you're tired, you're snapped.

791
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:23,640
You're lonely, you do things you normally wouldn't

792
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:23,860
do.

793
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:25,820
You're angry, you're upset, your emotions are going,

794
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,200
hey, I'll show them.

795
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,700
And he's looking for these opportune times.

796
00:27:30,460 --> 00:27:31,520
So that's what the enemy did.

797
00:27:31,540 --> 00:27:33,660
He's going around looking for those times.

798
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,300
And that's one reason, as a parent, as

799
00:27:36,300 --> 00:27:39,180
you're raising children, you should minimize those opportune

800
00:27:39,180 --> 00:27:41,900
times in your house or the way your

801
00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:44,460
family is constructed as often as possible.

802
00:27:45,020 --> 00:27:47,340
You don't want to give the enemy a

803
00:27:47,340 --> 00:27:47,660
foothold.

804
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:49,700
You don't want to present and give them

805
00:27:49,700 --> 00:27:50,720
opportune times.

806
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,440
Be careful with what your kids watch in

807
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:53,800
your home.

808
00:27:53,860 --> 00:27:55,940
It's okay to have parameters and rules because

809
00:27:55,940 --> 00:27:58,260
you're there to guard them and shepherd them.

810
00:27:58,820 --> 00:28:00,400
And avoid the enemy coming in.

811
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,400
So maybe you struggle with an addiction.

812
00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:07,220
You're hungry, you're angry, you're lonely, you're tired.

813
00:28:07,220 --> 00:28:09,860
Those will be times when he will go

814
00:28:09,860 --> 00:28:10,600
after you.

815
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,180
And the final point, the source of our

816
00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:17,740
strength comes from the food that we choose.

817
00:28:18,380 --> 00:28:21,920
A daily diet of violence, lust, anger, and

818
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,220
depression will fuel those very things in our

819
00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:25,640
lives.

820
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,360
See, this is the big reason, unlike most

821
00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:30,820
of you, I know most of you here,

822
00:28:31,260 --> 00:28:34,720
that we're careful on entertainment because you see

823
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,720
this big thing now with young adults on

824
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:38,820
vampires and the occult and witchcraft.

825
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:40,840
And I talk about that often, and that's

826
00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:41,200
why.

827
00:28:41,580 --> 00:28:44,440
Because as these kids feed on all of

828
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,380
this stuff, you see MTV now, it's just

829
00:28:46,380 --> 00:28:47,000
garbage.

830
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:48,860
I mean, I was in an airport a

831
00:28:48,860 --> 00:28:50,940
year ago, and I haven't seen it since

832
00:28:50,940 --> 00:28:54,860
then, but just the garbage, it's unbelievable what

833
00:28:54,860 --> 00:28:57,280
we're filling the mind of young adults, what

834
00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:58,540
they're filling their mind with.

835
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,600
Stuff that now amuses us, amazed us years

836
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:03,920
ago, that we would never allow.

837
00:29:04,700 --> 00:29:07,460
And so as they're feeding on this, that

838
00:29:07,460 --> 00:29:09,480
is an opportune time, because as a man

839
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:10,540
thinks, so is he.

840
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,760
The more we feed on certain things, that

841
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,400
will either fuel temptation or help to quench

842
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:16,640
it.

843
00:29:17,340 --> 00:29:20,460
So if you're watching certain things, and I

844
00:29:20,460 --> 00:29:22,820
remember, I hope I'm not being too repetitive

845
00:29:22,820 --> 00:29:24,440
because some of these things I've talked about

846
00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,480
back in Lancaster, but I remember at a

847
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:30,060
men's conference where there was this man, he

848
00:29:30,060 --> 00:29:31,840
came up forward, he was crying, and his

849
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,960
wife was leaving that weekend because of his

850
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:36,960
problem with pornography.

851
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:38,460
It's a huge issue.

852
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:41,560
And I was talking to him, and he

853
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,300
said, trying to isolate, he goes, yeah, every

854
00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:47,020
time I love watching sports on ESPN, and

855
00:29:47,020 --> 00:29:48,980
it starts with the cheerleaders and the commercials,

856
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:50,700
and that's where I keep, I said, okay,

857
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:52,100
this is a no-brainer.

858
00:29:52,700 --> 00:29:55,120
Go home, tell her you're unplugging the television,

859
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,540
and you're gonna make the necessary changes that

860
00:29:58,540 --> 00:30:00,740
you need to do and remove those triggers

861
00:30:00,740 --> 00:30:01,560
that keep happening.

862
00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:04,340
And I was, I didn't know what to

863
00:30:04,340 --> 00:30:05,200
say to his response.

864
00:30:05,300 --> 00:30:07,540
He looked at me, he said, I can't

865
00:30:07,540 --> 00:30:08,040
do that.

866
00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:09,020
Are you crazy?

867
00:30:09,060 --> 00:30:10,260
I'm a sports fanatic.

868
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,240
And he kinda walked, I'm like, oh, Lord.

869
00:30:15,220 --> 00:30:16,520
What don't we get?

870
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:18,980
That's why I like what A.W. Tozer

871
00:30:18,980 --> 00:30:19,260
said.

872
00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,040
Don't come up here and cry about it.

873
00:30:21,060 --> 00:30:22,080
Go home and live it out.

874
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:25,820
He's not gonna make those changes because he's

875
00:30:25,820 --> 00:30:27,220
a sports fanatic?

876
00:30:27,740 --> 00:30:29,860
And he's about ready to lose his marriage?

877
00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,280
I wanna, mm, man, right as he's walking

878
00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:35,260
away, the back of his head.

879
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,420
But you see, that's what I was just

880
00:30:38,420 --> 00:30:39,320
talking about here.

881
00:30:40,020 --> 00:30:42,660
The source, that's why he's not doing well

882
00:30:42,660 --> 00:30:45,340
spiritually, because they don't wanna let that go,

883
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:46,600
and you don't wanna let that go because

884
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:47,620
the flesh loves it.

885
00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,440
The flesh doesn't wanna be submitted to God.

886
00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,000
The flesh doesn't want, the flesh loves all

887
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:54,660
that juicy gossip about J.

888
00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:56,760
Lo, and, is she even around?

889
00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:02,020
Angelina, Brad Pitt, and Lady Gaga, and Madonna,

890
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:03,660
what they're saying about Trump, and oh, I

891
00:31:03,660 --> 00:31:05,300
just gotta watch all this stuff, gotta watch

892
00:31:05,300 --> 00:31:05,940
all this stuff.

893
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:07,980
And it's just, the flesh likes it.

894
00:31:08,580 --> 00:31:10,320
But it's not healthy, it's not good.

895
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,160
It's not good to sit and watch all

896
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:13,920
of those things.

897
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:16,960
So just be encouraged.

898
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,700
No temptation has overtaken you except what is

899
00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:20,440
common to man.

900
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,600
The devil won't make you do anything.

901
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:24,180
He's going to present the bait.

902
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:26,640
And what you're going through is no different

903
00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:29,240
than what all of human history has went

904
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:29,560
through.

905
00:31:29,980 --> 00:31:32,540
But God is faithful, not you, not me.

906
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:33,560
God is faithful.

907
00:31:34,020 --> 00:31:35,440
He'll give you the way of exit.

908
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,380
He'll make it, but you're gonna have to

909
00:31:37,380 --> 00:31:38,080
bear it.

910
00:31:38,740 --> 00:31:40,120
There's gonna be a load to...

911
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,360
Somehow we have in this mindset that temptation's

912
00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:44,160
going to be easy.

913
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,420
You wanna see how hard temptation is?

914
00:31:47,420 --> 00:31:48,560
Try fasting for a day.

915
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,340
And you'll see your flesh is just amazing.

916
00:31:52,740 --> 00:31:55,000
It's like a junkyard dog, pit bull.

917
00:31:55,580 --> 00:31:56,840
You know those junkyard, they're out there.

918
00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,440
That's where your flesh just comes alive and

919
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:00,040
just snaps.

920
00:32:00,500 --> 00:32:03,220
And people get moody and irritable.

921
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:05,820
When you start telling the flesh, no, no,

922
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:07,140
I'm not gonna look at Facebook or the

923
00:32:07,140 --> 00:32:08,060
news, I'm gonna read my Bible.

924
00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:10,220
And you'll just start getting irritable.

925
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:11,060
Like, where is this going?

926
00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:13,560
Because the flesh hates those things.

927
00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,440
So God says, I'll make the way of

928
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:17,360
escape, there it is.

929
00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:19,120
But you're gonna have to bear it.

930
00:32:19,540 --> 00:32:20,980
It's almost like I'm carrying a hundred pound

931
00:32:20,980 --> 00:32:21,200
weight.

932
00:32:21,340 --> 00:32:22,280
Okay, I'm gonna make it.

933
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:23,680
But I've gotta carry something.

934
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:24,880
I've gotta bear something.

935
00:32:25,340 --> 00:32:26,720
And I can make it to that exit.

936
00:32:27,020 --> 00:32:27,880
So God's faithful.

937
00:32:28,020 --> 00:32:29,360
The devil doesn't make you do anything.

938
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:30,840
He's not stronger than God.

939
00:32:31,140 --> 00:32:32,940
And people say, I just couldn't resist.

940
00:32:33,060 --> 00:32:33,640
Yes, you can.

941
00:32:34,180 --> 00:32:35,640
As a believer, I believe you can.

942
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:37,760
I've seen...

943
00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:40,920
I've talked to people in more bondage than

944
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:42,600
most of us have ever known, from heroin

945
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:45,060
or drinking every day for years.

946
00:32:45,060 --> 00:32:48,860
And it's a harder struggle, but they can.

947
00:32:49,340 --> 00:32:52,060
They have the ability to tell the devil

948
00:32:52,060 --> 00:32:52,360
no.

949
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,260
I mean, either that's true or the word

950
00:32:54,260 --> 00:32:55,020
of God's not true.

951
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:56,920
We can say no.

952
00:32:57,020 --> 00:32:58,440
We don't have to say, it's my one

953
00:32:58,440 --> 00:32:59,080
little vice.

954
00:32:59,380 --> 00:33:00,540
I always cave in.

955
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:02,280
We can take a stand on that.

956
00:33:03,300 --> 00:33:04,580
God will make a way of escape.

957
00:33:05,180 --> 00:33:06,980
Let me remind you, draw near to God

958
00:33:06,980 --> 00:33:08,280
and He will draw near to you.

959
00:33:08,460 --> 00:33:11,160
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your

960
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:12,280
hearts, you double-minded.

961
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:15,000
Double-minded, he's talking about they're being double

962
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:15,640
-minded here.

963
00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:17,960
They're saying one thing, but doing another.

964
00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,000
They're saying one thing, but doing another.

965
00:33:20,100 --> 00:33:21,720
They're going to church, but going home and

966
00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:22,700
looking at something else.

967
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:25,220
They're saying one thing, but being abusive at

968
00:33:25,220 --> 00:33:25,380
home.

969
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:27,820
They're double-minded in all of their ways.

970
00:33:28,660 --> 00:33:31,600
Lament and mourn and weep over your condition.

971
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:33,800
Let your laughter be turned into mourning and

972
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:34,880
your joy to gloom.

973
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:37,560
Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord

974
00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:40,520
and He will lift you up.

975
00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:45,140
Cleansing is basically confession, repenting.

976
00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:49,260
Lamenting is a passionate expression of grief or

977
00:33:49,260 --> 00:33:50,520
sorrow for what we've done.

978
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,100
Let your joy over sin be turned into

979
00:33:54,100 --> 00:33:54,480
mourning.

980
00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,880
This is genuine humility.

981
00:33:57,960 --> 00:33:59,060
So that's how we...

982
00:33:59,700 --> 00:34:01,740
Understand that it is a struggle, but it's

983
00:34:01,740 --> 00:34:02,440
not impossible.

984
00:34:02,980 --> 00:34:04,860
It's difficult, but it's not impossible.

985
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,280
It's going to be challenging, but it's not

986
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:06,680
impossible.

987
00:34:07,100 --> 00:34:09,260
And what I like, the more you say

988
00:34:09,260 --> 00:34:11,100
no on a certain area, the stronger you

989
00:34:11,100 --> 00:34:11,540
become.

990
00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:14,540
The more you say no, the more you

991
00:34:14,540 --> 00:34:17,260
resist the enemy, he starts to lose that

992
00:34:17,260 --> 00:34:19,199
power, and he withdraws.

993
00:34:19,699 --> 00:34:20,820
So there's a battle.

994
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:21,540
It's difficult.

995
00:34:21,820 --> 00:34:22,940
But you put on the full armor of

996
00:34:22,940 --> 00:34:23,940
God, which if we had time, we could

997
00:34:23,940 --> 00:34:24,560
go through that.

998
00:34:24,860 --> 00:34:26,580
All the things that God talks about in

999
00:34:26,580 --> 00:34:27,920
His Word, as you put those things on

1000
00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:29,560
and resist the devil, he will flee.

1001
00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:31,260
So let's leave it at that.

1002
00:34:31,260 --> 00:34:32,960
I'll have Blessing and Jason come up.

1003
00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:34,960
And we'll conclude in worship.

1004
00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:38,320
But I would just do some inventory tonight.

1005
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:40,040
Some people just need to be encouraged.

1006
00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:42,699
Some people this might not apply to as

1007
00:34:42,699 --> 00:34:43,060
heavily.

1008
00:34:43,620 --> 00:34:45,580
But some people this might apply to real

1009
00:34:45,580 --> 00:34:48,300
heavily, that they're caught in sin.

1010
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:50,760
And this sermon was hitting them head on.

1011
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:55,219
James just says, cleanse your hearts, repent, renew

1012
00:34:55,219 --> 00:34:58,300
that fellowship with God, begin resisting that temptation,

1013
00:34:58,440 --> 00:34:59,760
but remove those triggers.

1014
00:35:00,660 --> 00:35:02,960
This is so elementary.

1015
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,340
The Bible says, make no provision for the

1016
00:35:05,340 --> 00:35:05,720
flesh.

1017
00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:12,140
That word provision, it's almost like pornea, pornea,

1018
00:35:12,140 --> 00:35:13,580
poinoma, all these Greek words.

1019
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:14,580
I get them confused a little bit.

1020
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,040
But this one, make no provision for the

1021
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:21,860
flesh, is actually forethought or planning.

1022
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,720
You're not going to plan ahead to lust.

1023
00:35:27,540 --> 00:35:29,200
You're not going to plan ahead to sin.

1024
00:35:29,460 --> 00:35:31,500
It reminds me of the person who always

1025
00:35:31,500 --> 00:35:33,760
wants to lose weight, but has a pantry

1026
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:34,740
full of junk food.

1027
00:35:34,740 --> 00:35:36,000
You're not going to succeed.

1028
00:35:36,460 --> 00:35:37,460
You're not going to succeed.

1029
00:35:38,380 --> 00:35:39,860
You've got to remove that ice cream, remove

1030
00:35:39,860 --> 00:35:42,820
that Twinkie, remove those donuts, remove that root

1031
00:35:42,820 --> 00:35:43,380
beer float.

1032
00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:45,640
You've got to remove all these things, out

1033
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:46,460
of sight, out of mind.

1034
00:35:47,420 --> 00:35:49,080
It's the same thing in our spiritual walk.

1035
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:50,500
We've got to remove those triggers.

1036
00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:52,920
That's not being weird, that's being biblical.

1037
00:35:53,060 --> 00:35:54,480
Make no provision for the flesh.

1038
00:35:54,860 --> 00:35:55,780
Don't plan ahead.

1039
00:35:55,900 --> 00:35:58,240
Remove those things, because if you plan ahead

1040
00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:00,660
to fulfill something, it will happen.

1041
00:36:01,380 --> 00:36:02,280
It will happen.

1042
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,620
Because as our mind thinks, our feet go.