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Overcoming Temptation

Overcoming Temptation. * First Sunday in Lent (13 March, 2011). The Temptation of Adam and Eve (Gen 3.1-7) and The Temptation of The Lord (Matth. 4.1-11). * Temptation Defined as Enticement to do Evil. It is associated with the spirit of disobedience and motivated by desire.

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Overcoming Temptation

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  1. Overcoming Temptation * First Sunday in Lent (13 March, 2011). • The Temptation of Adam and Eve (Gen 3.1-7) and • The Temptation of The Lord (Matth. 4.1-11). * Temptation Defined as Enticement to do Evil. It is associated with the spirit of disobedience and motivated by desire.

  2. Overcoming Temptation • Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (James 1.14). • The Epistle of John classifies desire into 3 categories: • Lust of the flesh; lust of the eyes; pride of life (1 John 2:16).

  3. Overcoming Temptation • Adam and Eve succumbed to the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes: she saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes (Gen. 3.6). • The temptation of the Lord covers the 3 areas of enticement. • Lust of the flesh (Hunger).

  4. Overcoming Temptation • Lust of the eyes (Miracle Working: throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple. It is written that He will give His angels charge over you). • Pride of Life. This is the quest for glory and power. The devil showed Him from a very high mountain all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

  5. Overcoming Temptation • “All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.” • Think of the world’s lust for power and glory even in the church. • Think of the recent power struggle in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, or even here in Canada; in Ivory Coast, etc.

  6. The Lord’s Resistance to Temptation • Last Week we saw the mountain as a place of prayer (the Lord took 3 disciples up the mt. to pray) • The wilderness, on the other hand, is a place to undergo temptation. • Think of the people of Israel and the several temptation they faced on their way to the Promised Land.

  7. The Lord Resisting Temptation • And the experience of the people of Israel in that epic journey is relevant to the Lord’s own temptation. • He resisted by evoking the WORD. • The WORD is our weapon of warfare. • The WORD is the sword of the Spirit. • We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the WORD of our testimony.

  8. The Lord Resisting Temptation • Listen to the Lord’s response to Satan: • Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord (Deut 8.3). • You shall not tempt the Lord your God (Deut 6.16). • You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall thou serve (Deut 6.13,14).

  9. The Wilderness of Life • The Scripture used by the Lord relates to the Israelites’ wilderness experience. • The Lord, like them, was led into the wilderness to be tempted, but unlike them He withstood every aspect of the test. • We too are on a journey in the wilderness of life where we surely must be tempted. • The only means of victory is the magic of the WORD! (the power of the Word, rather)

  10. The season of Lent • We are immediately embarked on a 40-day journey to Easter. • May we overcome every temptation using the magic of the Word. • Bur Easter is not the end of our Christian pilgrimage. It continues after Easter period.

  11. The Season of Lent • Hear what the Word says about temptation: No temptation is insurmountable. No temptation is beyond what we can bear. • With every temptation God is sure to provide a way of escape (1Cor 10. 13). • Very encouraging even though it is hard to apply when we are face with temptation.

  12. Struggling with Temptation • But I want to confess positively that we will overcome. • If we fall, we must return to the Lord immediately by confessing our sin. • This is the point of the psalm for today (psalm 32 and 1 John 1:9) • When I declare not my sin, my body wasted away. Psalm 32. 3.

  13. Promoted to a Higher Glory • Every temptation we overcome promotes us to a higher Glory. • After the Lord’s temptation, angels came and ministered to him (Matth.4.11). • We too are promoted spiritually when we overcome temptation.

  14. The Symbolism of 40-Day Number • The Lord fasted for 40 days and 40 nights (Matth.4.2). • There is a significance to 40-day number as the following examples may show: • Noah’s rain poured down for 40 days (Gen 7.4). • People of Israel journeyed for 40 years in the wilderness (Num 14. 33). • Moses fasted for 40 days (Exod. 24. 8). • Elijah fasted for 40 days (1 King 19. 8) • Paul received 40 lashes less one (2 Cor. 11. 24). The Rev. Canon Dr. Obi Maduakor

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