Heart Tuned In

The Fight Against Temptation Part 1

Hello, my beautiful sisters in Christ. Today God has placed it on my heart to speak about temptation. To make things easier to follow, I have divided my message into two parts.

1. What is temptation and how does the enemy use it to separate us from God?

2. How do we resist temptation and obey God?

Temptation: The desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise

To further explain temptation I use the analogy of a boy who knew it was wrong to steal, but because the money was lying right there in plain sight, he was tempted to steal it.
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Often times in our walk with Christ, we are tempted by things and circumstances that surround us. This can by movies, songs, books. The enemy will use anything to tempt us into doing things we know are wrong. Before I go any further, it is important to know dear sister, that being tempted is NOT a sin, but succumbing to the temptation is. Even our Savior Jesus Christ was tempted, but because He did not give in to these temptations, he remained without sin.

The enemy's main objective when he tempts us is to pull us further and further away from God. He knows that through temptation, he can cause us to do things contrary to the will of God. 1 Peter 5:8, states that our adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Therefore we are urged to be sober and alert so that when temptation arises we are able to recognize we are being tempted and use the right tools to fight back.

But, what does it mean to be sober and alert?

• Sober is defined as being sensible and serious. It can also mean to exhibit self-control.
•The word alert means to be in a watchful for possible danger.

When we are alert and sober we are prepared before the battle even begins. No soldier ever goes into battle ill-prepared. This soldier and his army, prepare and ready things well in advance in the event of an unexpected attack. In the same way, we must also be prepared and ready, because as mentioned before, the enemy is always in search of someone to attack. However, when he does attempt to attack us, we won't be shaken due to our extensive preparation.