02-11-09 Resist The Tempter

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job 28:28

I believe it is very important to be honest with ourselves and identify what really happens concerning the lusts of the flesh, doing things that are unpleasing to God, thinking about things that are unpleasing to God, etc… In fact let’s just call it for what it really is, “SIN”.

Do you sometimes feel as though you are on the edge of a cliff and desiring the lusts of the flesh? You assume that if you give in just for a little while, or just a little bit, you will be alright,,, and then you can just ask God for forgiveness and everything will be Ok in your walk with Him. I tell you that this is a very dangerous place to be. Lets take a look at an event in Jesus’ life when the tempter came to Him in Matt4:5-6 “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU,' and, IN THEIR HANDS THEY SHALL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.' "

Do we live a life of “sinful adventure” and are willing to throw ourselves into the midst of the mess, and stay conformed to this world and believe that we can lead a sinful, carnal life now, and somehow get right with God at the very last breath we take? Do we truly know Him if we are living this way, and do we really hold that promise of Eternal Life? Jesus answered the comment from the devil in the next scripture Matt 4:7 "It is written again, 'YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.' ". So, the act of sin is really a conscious decision that we make. At times we may be thinking that we are teasing the devil, assuming that we can step in sin just a little, but not far enough to let the devil have us.. But it is the enemy that is tempting us and in turn we are not really playing games with the devil at all, but tempting God.

If we are truly saved, then God’s promise will hold fast in our lives, “I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me”- Jer 32:40. This promise is true as long as we acknowledge this fear (reverence) of God, and continue to have a relationship with Him and resist the attempts by the enemy. This is when the fear of God becomes your “strength and wisdom” to overcome, for the flesh is very weak...


I can hear Jesus saying, "yes you are right devil, I am the Son of God,,, and because of that I am not giving you the pleasure,,, nor will I tempt my Father".

-Larry Dammerman-