Don’t Get Hooked by Temptation

Temptation is like a fishing lure. It attracts us with something desirable while concealing the hook and the consequences that follow. It may promise satisfaction, freedom, or relief, but giving in can produce guilt, damaged relationships, and lasting consequences.

Teaching from James 1:9–18, Pastor Chris Teien explains the difference between trials and temptation, where temptation begins, where it leads, and how believers can resist its deceptive promises. God does not tempt us to do evil. Temptation draws upon desires within us and invites us to meet legitimate needs in sinful ways or at the wrong time.

This message encourages us to recognize temptation early and trust that God’s provision is better than anything temptation offers. When we have failed, Jesus offers forgiveness, restoration, and freedom from condemnation.

IN THIS MESSAGE

#1 KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRIALS AND TEMPTATION

Trials place our faith under pressure, but God can use them to develop endurance and strengthen our trust in Him. Temptation entices us to respond to pressure by disobeying God. Eternal life is not earned by surviving enough trials, but perseverance demonstrates a living faith grounded in love for Christ. (James 1:9–13)

#2 RECOGNIZE WHERE TEMPTATION BEGINS

Temptation often works through our own desires, thoughts, and vulnerabilities. Not every desire is sinful, but desire becomes dangerous when we dwell on sinful possibilities or seek satisfaction outside God’s will. Believers should guard their hearts, avoid settings that support sin, resist the devil, and remain humble about their weaknesses. (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 13:14; 1 Corinthians 10:12; James 1:14; James 4:7)

#3 UNDERSTAND WHERE TEMPTATION LEADS

Desire that is welcomed and pursued gives birth to sin, and sin ultimately produces death. Sin can destroy relationships, opportunities, families, and spiritual effectiveness. Yet those who belong to Jesus are not left without hope. Salvation rests upon Christ’s perfect work, and believers who fall can confess their sins, receive forgiveness, and pursue restoration. (Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1; James 1:15; 1 John 1:8–9; 1 John 3:6)

#4 TRUST GOD’S PROVISION INSTEAD OF TEMPTATION’S PROMISES

Temptation offers attractive substitutes that fail to deliver what they promise. God is good, generous, faithful, and unchanging. He provides a way to endure temptation and gives His people everything necessary to accomplish His purposes. Because God gave His own Son for us, we can trust His character and choose obedience instead of taking the bait of sin. (Proverbs 3:26; Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:16–18)

Resist temptation by trusting that God’s provision is better than sin’s promises. When temptation appears, look for the way of escape God provides, turn your thoughts toward Christ, and choose the path that honors Him. If you have already fallen, confess your sin and receive the forgiveness and cleansing God offers through Jesus.

SCRIPTURE

Primary passage: James 1:9–18

Supporting passages: Proverbs 3:26; Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 4:1–4; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1, 32; Romans 13:14; 1 Corinthians 10:12–13; James 4:7; 1 John 1:8–9; 1 John 3:6

Transcript available at:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/19835471

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I hope this message helps you understand and apply God’s Word. Find sermon transcripts at Well.faith, learn more at ChrisTeien.com, or come visit us at Rockwell Church in Virginia, Minnesota. If this message encouraged you, I’d love to hear from you at wellfaith24@gmail.com.

Transcript

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Chris T 0:16

So, temptation is a crazy thing. All of us get tempted in so many ways. So, I have on the screen a picture of a fish with a hook in its mouth. And I'm sure that maybe when you've gone fishing before, especially when you take little kids fishing, like when you take your kids or your grandkids fishing or whatever, you take them fishing off the dock if the water's clear enough. You can fish with worms, you can fish with corn. One time my friend and I, when we were in high school, caught the sunfish spawning, and you could just throw a hook in there and they would take it. It was cool. But so many times you can see in the water that the fish will come along the bait, and I don't think they can see me. They come along and they're like, oh, what is this? And then they'll swim off and they'll come back and they'll like they nibble at it a little bit and they're like, I don't know, I don't know, and then they'll come back, and then other fish will come and then they'll go off and talk about it or whatever. And then one crazy bold one, usually has been my experience. Usually, like if there's a group and they're trying to figure out if they want what's on your hook or not, one crazy bold one will just say, It's mine, and they'll dart in and they'll grab the thing and pull it up. And if you're like me, you'll be like, Oh, darn, it's a small one. That's a good for nothing fish. Now I've got to take it off the hook. So, but sometimes though, you catch big ones. If you want to catch the right fish, you have to have the right bait. And if you want to actually catch good fish, I never really catch good fish on my own. So I'm like the king of Sonnies and Perch. But one time I went on a men's fishing trip, and I was with the guy that had the good boat and the good sonar, and everything was perfect. Guy knew the lake, it was on vermilion. It was awesome. I just did what he did, and so and he's like, don't cast out the same side of the boat as me, but you cast that way. But anyway, I caught northern, I caught walleye. It was cool. I loved it. I would probably be really into fishing if it was as easy as he made it, but nonetheless, that hook is tied to the bait, and there's so much bait in our life, and we're gonna see in James again that God allows us to be tempted, but Satan, did I say tempted? God allows us to be tested. God doesn't tempt us to do evil. God allows us to be tested. Satan wants to tempt us to do wrong, to fall into sin. And there are so many things that we can get tempted to do, so many things that can pull us down, and it seems like the temptation that Satan would try to pull you down with is the one that you want, is the one that you're interested in, is the one that you think about and think about someday if I could do that, I would. And often the perfect timing and the perfect opportunity leads to somebody stumbling, giving into temptation and falling into sin. Think about it. We've got our cell phones, and on our cell phones, we have access to contact our friends, to text our friends, to tons of Bible resources and apps and wonderful Christian music and audiobooks, and so many things about that phone can enhance your spiritual life. That phone also is access to things you shouldn't look at, stuff you shouldn't listen to, crazy things that would destroy your life that seem fun, like online gambling, like through your phone, gambling through your phone, all of these different things can pull you down, and it's just a temptation waiting to happen. So I don't know what temptation that pulls you down, but I do know that you shouldn't be thinking about the temptation, you shouldn't be visiting the temptation, you shouldn't be dwelling on the temptation. So before I read the verses, I'll just give a quick example. So for a while I got to work at a bakery, and so I was basically the bakery delivery person, and I traveled around parts of the Twin Cities and I delivered donuts and bread early in the morning. But I would get there earlier, and if they needed help, I would slice bread. And there was one month where the donut fryer went on vacation in August, and the owner asked me if I would fry the donuts. We'll show you how. And the deal was he didn't have air conditioning and it was August, so nobody wanted to do it basically. But so then I kind of after that became a donut connoisseur, and I really like apple fritters. And I know that if you overnead or overprocess an apple fritter, it'll look like a biscuit, and that's no good. And if you have brand new oil in the vat, that's no good. But if it's too old, that's no good. And if it's overcooked and it's too dark, it's no good. But if it's not cooked enough, then it's doughy in the middle, and that's no good. And so imagine, well, don't imagine, it's true. I like apple fritters. I actually told them I told somebody this when I was trying really hard to lose weight and count my calories, and my good Christian friend brought an apple fritter to my door. I'm like, I don't know what you're thinking. And so I had a friend that was a missionary in Indonesia, and he said, I take my Jeep, I travel up to the mountains. When the people come out, if they offer me something to eat, I have to eat it. That's considered part of the culture, what you have to do. And so I have contempt, I put that into my own context. And so if I go to your house and you give me your grandma's cheesecake recipe and say that you'd be offended if I didn't eat it, I'd have to eat it. But so I ate the apple fritter. But say I say I'm counting my calories and I'm trying not to eat apple fritters, but I really like apple fritters, so I go over to the grocery store or the bakery and I just check on the apple fritters. I'm like, I'm just selling, I wonder how they're doing today. I'm cooking the apple fritters there. Uh pretty good texture. Yeah, maybe a little overcooked. I don't know. That one in the back looks pretty good actually. How long do you think I'm going to be able to keep doing that before I buy another apple fritter? So you don't want to dwell on and think about the thing that leads to temptation. But let me just read the passage that I want to read. Let me say one other thing in this long introduction is that I want to go through James. But I only get 10 weeks to go through James because I want to be done with James in time to start Luke for the Christmas season. So I figured out how I can start Luke chapter 1 just in time for Christmas. So Luke chapter 1, Luke chapter 2, and how it will work out perfect for us to start in Luke. But that only gives me 10 weeks in James, and I don't want to just skim over every verse. So I've decided instead to, instead of not looking at every verse into James, to think about 10 life-changing principles that talk about authentic faith. So this one is about temptation. All right, so know the difference between trials and temptations. Let me just read this real quick. That's going to be on the screen in a minute, but let me read here from the NIV. Verse 12, James 1, verse 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. Then after the desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. All right. So know the difference between trials and temptation. So I talked about this a bit last week, if you were here. And so the one who perseveres under trial, because having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life. So I mentioned that. So the NIV says persevere, and the New Living Translation says to patiently endure. But so when the thing happens, it can show your faithfulness, it can show your resolve to do the right thing, it can show your desire to trust God for resources more than doing it yourself. So you can think about how some people might be in some, maybe you're in a financial trial and you don't know how you're going to pay the bill. But instead of praying that God helps you to pay the bill or contacting the place with the bill and saying, I really don't have the money right now. Maybe sometime you are, you know, I'll just you'll be tempted, I'll just put it on my credit card. Or even worse, you might be tempted to do something that's dishonest or steal something, or so many different things. Take a check from somebody that's not yours and send it to us. So many different things. But we're blessed. We're blessed more than feeling happy. We can be blessed by God while still hurting, grieving, and wondering what will happen next. The blessing is known that God is with us, that he is working through the difficulty, and that our faithfulness to him will not be wasted. So to do what's right and wait for God. So many times God can bless you in amazing ways. So many times you'll be surprised at the help, the resource that will come in an unexpected way. So a trial is a difficult circumstance that tests our faith. Trials include sickness, loss, financial pressure, conflict, disappointment, uncertainty, and even success. So it's not necessarily the result of doing something wrong. Sometimes trials come because we live in a broken world. Sometimes they come because we have chosen to follow Jesus. Whatever the source, God can use trials to reveal the condition of our faith and make it stronger. And I think I mentioned last time that when you've seen God show up in the midst of your trial, in the midst of your difficulty, it gives you confidence as you pray and move forward, as you trust God and move forward, to persevere, to remain faithful under pressure. So to patiently endure. So when you think about strength and you think about perseverance, sometimes, sometimes it is made stronger. I mentioned this before, through resistance training, like exercise. You know, if you go through resistance training for exercise, you can get stronger, you can build muscle and endurance, and it's a good thing. I think about this bridge, this high bridge here that we drive over all the time, and how tall it is and how long it is, and how I wonder how much weight can it really hold. You know, if all the cars are on there at the same time, I could see it probably holds that. But what if some of that big mining equipment goes over it? You know, how much can it really hold? And my guess is they must have tested it somehow to know how much it really holds. But the engineering, the testing that goes into it shows the strength and shows the ability that it has. We're often encouraged when we've seen how God has helped us to get through a trial and a difficulty, or how God has helped us to flee temptation and say no to temptation, and then the result of it in our life. I bet every one of you can look back at something that you were tempted to do, a person who maybe tempted you, or a financial opportunity that tempted you, or an opportunity to take something, steal something, do something that tempted you that you said no to, and you look back on your life and you're like, I am so glad that I didn't give into that. I am so glad that I didn't do that. And then some people are like, Well, actually, I did do it, and I feel really bad about it. I have a lot of guilt and regret. Use that to help you say no to future temptation. Know that Romans 8:1 says there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. On the other hand, it also says that God disciplines us because he loves us and he wants us to be doing the right thing. So as we go through our lives, realize that there are trials and there are temptations. Temptations lead us to sin and away from God. Trials are difficult, but it often helps us to grow closer to God. Sometimes the trial is the thing that helps you to develop a deeper prayer life. Sometimes the trial is the thing that gets you back to church and helps you to connect with others and grow in your faith. Sometimes the trial helps you to realize the shortness of life or all of these different things. So God already knows everything about us, but He can use trials to strengthen our faith and to help us to see how our faith is improving. It is so cool to look back on our days and see how we've been growing in Christ and how our mind has changed, and maybe the words that we say have changed and those types of things. It's really good to see if our faith is true, if our faith is pure, trials will do that. And then the crown of life points to the lasting life God has promised to those who love him. James is not saying that we earn eternal life by surviving enough trials, because salvation is the gift of God. But when you look at the crown, the Olympians back in that day would get a wreath, a time of honor. And so there is reward for doing the right thing. But it's not because we're good, it's not because we do right, it's because Jesus has done everything for us, and that is a good thing. So I mentioned this last week. I didn't spend a lot of time in it, but I just wanted to bring it back up as an example again, as into temptations and trials. And basically it's giving an example of people who are poor and people who are rich. And I mentioned before that sometimes the rich people think that I got it all together because I can buy myself out of this problem. I can just pay somebody to fix it. I don't have to worry about a shortage because I got it. You know, I'm I can I can take care of myself. I don't even need God. And the poor people are like, I don't know how I'm gonna get through. I I don't know what to do. This is such a difficult thing. And so then they think God has abandoned them, God doesn't value them, but James is saying that's not it at all. There's people with different income levels that are all still accountable to God, and this life is temporary compared to eternity. And so whether you have little or you have lot doesn't matter as far as eternity. I think what it does matter though is what you do with it. What you do with your resources, your extra resources, do you invest them into the kingdom or do you just keep them for yourself? Some people just want to put everything into savings and hoard as much as they can, just never enough. I'll just keep putting it all in savings and because you never know about the future. And other people find a balance that says it's good to have some in savings, and it's also good to help the kingdom of God grow and invest in people's lives and their spiritual spirituality. But anyway, verse nine believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position, but the rich should take pride in their humiliation, since they will pass away like wildflowers. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant, its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed, in the same way the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. So I think there was this thought back then, as these believers were scattered, some of them lost their jobs, some of them lost their resources to follow Jesus, that the people that weren't doing very good financially must not be very blessed by God. But we know that Jesus promises to provide our needs, that we're supposed to seek Him first, His kingdom and His righteousness, and He'll provide everything that we need. Sometimes He provides what we want, but He doesn't always, you know, provide everything that we wish for. And sometimes those possessions that we wish for can actually draw us away from Him. Sometimes too much money or too much success or too much comfort will actually pull us further away from Jesus instead of making us closer to Jesus. I've mentioned this too before that some people do a lot better in a paycheck-to-paycheck existence where they're praying that God provides their daily needs. Then if God provided them a big excess of money and savings, it would distract them. It would pull them away from their relationship with Christ. And other people have a lot of resources and money and it doesn't hinder their relationship to Christ at all. Matter of fact, it gives them more opportunities to serve and to do things, and it's good. But just think about that. How overabundance of resources could tempt you to go use your toys instead of being part of church. And how an underabundance of resources could tempt you or pull you away from your faith in Christ because you feel that you've been abandoned or he doesn't care because somebody has more than you. So James 1.13, when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil. The temptation is an enticement to disobey God. The trial places our faith under pressure. Temptation invites us to respond to pressure in a sinful way. So I was looking at the Hope for the Heart Biblical Counseling Manual, and there were ten twisted truths about temptation that I thought were pretty good. Truth number one, twisted truth number one, temptation is sinful. Truth, temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted in every way, yet he did not sin. So it's not a sin to be tempted, but it is a sin to give into that temptation, to dwell on that temptation, to pursue that temptation. Twisted truth number two, God is tempting me. Truth, temptation is not from God, but it is allowed by God. Twisted truth number three, the devil made me do it. You ever do that one? You ever say, well, it wasn't my fault? Temptation is Satan's attempt to lure you into sin, but he can be resisted. James 4 7, submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Twisted truth number four, somebody else made me do it. Truth, no one can make you kill, steal, lie, cheat, or commit any immoral act. You have a choice as to whether you give in to temptation or not. Proverbs 110, my son, of sinners enticed, you do not give in to them. Number five, she is so saintly, she is above temptation. Truth, everyone is tempted, just in different areas. In fact, a mature Christian is often subject to greater temptation. Twist to truth number six. A thought can't be sinful. Truth, an initial impure thought is not sinful, though it is a temptation. However, continuing with an unholy thought can make you captives to sin. Number seven, just pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Truth. Temptation is not overcome by your own willpower. Temptation is defeated by admitting your weaknesses and yielding to Christ's power within you. Number eight, God is angry at me when I'm tempted. Truth. God does not disapprove of you because you are tempted. He can use the temptation as a tool to develop your character. Number nine, what's the use? I've already blown it. You know, that is a big one right there. There are so many people that said, well, I already gave in to temptation once, so I might as well just keep doing it now. But that's that's the wrong thing to do. So you want to flee from it. You want to shut it down, you want to end that relationship or whatever, to be doing the right thing. So what's the use of already blown it? Is a twisted truth in not truth at all. Truth. Failure is overcome by a change of focus, putting the past behind you and focusing on God's goal for you, Christ's likeness. And number 10, it's beyond my ability to control. That's not true. Temptation may be beyond your control, but it's not beyond God's control. Proverbs 326, the Lord will be your confidence and he will keep your foot from being snared. So temptation is experienced by everyone. It occurs often, it begins in your mind, it takes advantage of your attractions and fears. It appears to meet a legitimate need, but does so illegitimately in the wrong way or the wrong time. So it strikes when your heart is off guard. Temptation is entered into by allowing your imagination to dwell on the tempting thoughts. Temptation uses rationalization to numb your conscience. Temptation becomes relentless and urgent. Temptation provides highly unusual opportunities to enter into sin. So sin will make you stray further than you thought you'd stray. Sin will make you stay longer than you thought you'd stay. Sin will make you pay much more than you thought you'd pay. And one more thing is that temptation can be exciting. Temptation can seem fun. It's enticing. It appeals to your hopes and desires. It's enjoyable. It promises you immense pleasure. It's evasive. It evades the truth of excuses. It's enslaving as it ensnares your mind and emotions. It escalates. It fails to produce what was promised and it's exclusive. It restricts your relationship with God. So, I mean, just think about that for a second. Think about how that. Temptation stuff works. How Satan works in the temptation. So first he comes and tempts you and then says, Nobody knows, nobody cares. Everybody's doing it. Just go ahead and do it. And then when you give in, then he turns into the accuser. And he's like, I can't believe you did that. God doesn't want to have anything to do with you now. You might as well just quit going to church and not sharing your faith with anybody because God, God's very disappointed in you. So, yeah. Jesus, Matthew 4. Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. What did Jesus want? Food. And Satan the tempter said, Hey, why don't you just turn these stones into bread? And that wasn't the right thing to do. That wasn't what was God's will. So Jesus resisted that temptation and he did right. And it was good. So, all right, number two, recognize where temptation begins. Recognize where temptation begins. It's so easy to say, oh, you know, the devil made me do it, or, you know, I was minding my own business, and all of a sudden I was hit by this temptation. But actually, James 1.14 says, each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. An evil desire is a longing that has turned away from God's will and seeks satisfaction in the wrong way. The word translated desire can refer to a strong craving. So not every desire is sinful, but it can be sinful if you give in to it. For instance, it was my goal, it was my desire to count calories and lose weight and not have apple fritters. So there's really wasn't anything sinful about the apple fritter. Now, if I bought a dozen apple fritters, bought them home, and sat down and ate them all in one sitting, that would be gluttony. That gluttony, that's sinful. So there's not wanting financial security. That's not sinful. That's a good thing, that's a good goal. But when you do things that are immoral or a form of idolatry, where you give up on God so you can make your own money and everything else, then that becomes a problem. So temptation often begins with us. Temptation often begins in our hearts and our minds and the things that we want and the things that we desire. So above all else, Proverbs 4.23, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Romans 13, 14, and said, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. So when you think about ways to indulge your evil desires, it makes it easier to give in to temptation. Especially when the thing that tempts you all of a sudden shows up, or the opportunity all of a sudden shows up. It can be a difficult thing. Many years ago, that great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, asked, What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. There are two equally damning lies Satan wants us to believe. One, just once won't hurt. And two, now you have ruined your life. You are beyond God's use. You might as well enjoy sinning. Learn to say no. He says it will be of more use to you than being able to read Latin. So that was interesting. So, all right, 1 Corinthians 10 12. So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. Some people are just overconfident and they think, oh, I can go here, I can do that, I won't give in to temptation, I won't fall into temptation. And then to their surprise, they do. And so many people, when they've given into temptation and fallen into sin, say things like, I never thought that this would be me. I never thought that this would happen. Well, I'll give an example. Okay? One lady that I know, not here, went on vacation. And while she was on vacation, one of the employees at the hotel they are staying at was really kind to her. And then she cheated on her husband, and she thought that she would never do that. She never, ever, ever thought that she would give in to that, and somehow she did. And what a mess it caused. So be careful, be accountable. Maybe don't be alone in those situations. So, all right, number three, understand where temptation leads. It says, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown, gives birth to death. So that is the full course of what it's a temptation can do. So you give in to the desire. It's like it's like having a child. So it's conceived and give birth to it, and it grows, and then it gives birth to death to death to relationships, death to future opportunities. But if we look at Romans 8.1, there's no condemnation for those who have received Christ Jesus. And if we look at Romans 6.23, but just think about that. Think about how it can destroy you, how it can destroy a career, how it can destroy a marriage, how it can destroy a family, how it can destroy a diet. So many things. Yeah, Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So here we see that sin leads to death, but we have life in Jesus. So there's a balance there when we think about that. When we think about that we're saved by grace, that we're saved because of what Jesus has done for us, that it's not us trying to live a perfect life, but it's Jesus' perfect life that we've been given credit for. But we really need to do the right thing in the right way if we want to be effective, if we want to live a blessed life, if we don't want to have regrets, if we don't want to have that kind of guilt. In John, 1 John, it says if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves. And then that's 1 John 1.8. 1 John 3.6 says, no one who lives in him keeps on sinning. So a genuine Christian might fall into sin, struggle repeatedly with a particular temptation, need correction and restoration, and experience a season of disobedience, but they won't be happy with it, they won't be content in it. They will know that they want to change, they want help to change, and they will change. And number four, trust God's provision instead of temptation's promise. So don't be deceived, my brothers, dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. So God can provide what we need. God can help us in the right time. God can help us. So we should avoid the easy food, like the fish that says, oh, look, a worm, a free worm, oh, that looks delicious. To know it could be a trap, it could be a temptation and to do the right thing. But to know that God who's created everything, God who cares about us, can provide for us, that we should pray for our needs, that we should trust Him to provide, that we should be content with what we have. Sometimes we should share with our other brothers and sisters in Christ what our need is, and they can pray for it, and sometimes they even know somebody or the resources to help provide for it. And then you're blessed because you got what you need, and they're blessed because they were able to share with what they had to help you, and that is a good thing, a blessing for all. So a good gift is something that comes from God's generous character and contributes to his good purpose for our lives. A perfect gift is complete, fitting, and lacking nothing necessary to accomplish what God intends. So no temptation. First Corinthians 10 13, no temptation has overtaken you, except what is common to mankind, and God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure under it. So when you think about that, when you see the temptation coming, say, hey, I'm gonna pass this temptation test, I'm gonna flee from it, I'm gonna avoid it, I'm not gonna give in to it, I'm not gonna think on it, I'm gonna do the right thing, I'm gonna glorify God by choosing to do the right thing. And you will not have any guilt, you will not have any regret when you do that, and it will be a good thing because James 1.18, he chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. So God is for us. Romans 8 32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. So, my point, resist temptation by trusting that God's provision is better than sin's promises. And if you've fallen into sin, confess your sin, because he's faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Jesus, I thank you so much for your word. I thank you for this time. I thank you for the fact that this is a life issue that every one of us struggle with, if we're honest. And maybe we've fallen and given into temptation in the past, but we pray that through the power of your word and your Holy Spirit, that you would give us the confidence, the assurance, the right information, and the ability to say no to temptation and to pass these trials and tests, and that you would strengthen our faith and help us to encourage others, and that fill us with grace for people when people around us fall and give into temptation. Lord, fill us with grace and a desire to help them to be quickly restored and forgiven and keep moving forward, serving you. Gee, we just thank you for everything in Jesus' name. Amen.