Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: The devil doesn't mind if you live in an ice house. The devil doesn't mind if you're suave, intelligent. The devil doesn't mind if you belong to civic clubs. The devil doesn't mind if you attend church, if you work. He doesn't mind whatever you do, so long as you don't know God. You don't know God. What the devil is trying to do is to cut you off from God. And so the devil is the one who puts those doubts in your mind. The devil is the one who tries to separate you from God.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding. Renowned Bible teacher and pastor Adrian Rogers said the devil can't make you sin. If he could, you'd have a perfect alibi. Sin is an inside job that comes from your flesh.

Becoming Christians doesn't make us immune to sinning, but we do have the opportunity to turn temptations into triumphs. In part one of this message, we learn that the only way to combat worldliness is through faith in Jesus himself. But what happens when we face temptations of the flesh or the devil himself?

If you have your Bible, turn now to 1 Corinthians chapter 10, we'll begin in verse 12, as Adrian Rogers concludes his powerful message, "How to Turn Temptations into Triumphs."

Adrian Rogers: Now I want to give you several things that begin with the letter S as a memory device to help you to remember them as we think about how to turn temptations into triumphs. And the very first thing I want you to think about is this: the subjects of temptation.

Who is tempted? Who are these folks who are the subjects of temptation? Well, the Bible tells us in verse 12, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Now that's just simply a warning to all of us. We're all subject to temptation.

You say, even you, Pastor Rogers? Of course. You say, well I didn't know that preachers are tempted. Well, the Lord Jesus was tempted. And certainly Satan would aim his biggest guns at those in the ministry or spiritual leaders.

The truth of the matter is that all of us are faced every day with unbelievable temptations in all kinds of areas. Pride and materialism and dishonesty and greed and the lust of the flesh and all of these. And being saved will not make you immune.

That brings me to say this: it is not a sin to be tempted. We know that because Jesus was without sin and the Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. But this verse is a warning against pride. Verse 12: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

The proud man tempts the devil to tempt him. And if you think that you cannot fall, you are headed for a fall. Now the man who is trying to fight temptation in his own strength also is a man that may be headed for a fall. Well, that brings an interesting question. If God really loves us, why doesn't God make it impossible for us to be tempted?

If God really loves us, why doesn't God just kill the devil? Why doesn't God just remove every allurement so we would not be tempted? Well, if God did that, you would lose something and I would lose something. You and I would both lose the power and the ability to be overcomers through the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, the subjects of temptation: we are all subject to temptation. Even the Lord Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. Secondly, I want you to notice the source of temptation. Now look in the next verse. The Bible says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man."

You say, Pastor Rogers, I have a very special temptation. No you don't. You have a garden-variety temptation. All temptation is very common and we all have the same kinds of temptation from the same sources. Actually, there are only three sources of temptation: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Have you got it? The world, the flesh, and the devil. Now get that in your mind because that's important to help you to understand later on. Now, let's think about the seat of your temptation. That's the third S. Where will you be tempted? Not with what will you be tempted, but where will you be tempted?

Remember that scripture I gave you just a few moments ago, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 23: "And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." You are a spirit, a soul, and a body. You are made in the image of God and God is a triune God, and you have a triune nature.

You're one individual, but there are three parts to the human nature. And you're going to find out that when you're tempted, you're either going to be tempted in the area of the spirit, or the soul, or the body. And it's very interesting that you understand this because if you don't understand this, you won't know exactly how to fight.

Now we said the world is the external foe. Let me tell you where the world will tempt you. The world will tempt you primarily in the area of your soul. Now what is the word soul? The Greek word soul is the word psyche; we anglicize it and say psyche. Your soul is your mind, your emotions, and your will—your psyche, your ego, your self.

The person that lives inside this body, that is your soul. With your soul, you have psychological life. And the world—this cosmos, this system—will tempt you primarily in the area of your soul, in the area of your ego. That's what it is to be worldly; you're just on an ego trip if you're a worldly Christian.

Let me give you an example of that. Do you remember in the Bible when Abraham and Lot, his nephew, were having a range war? At least the cowboys were having a range war. And magnanimous Abraham said to his nephew Lot, "Lot, listen. Let's not have that strife. We're brothers, Lot. We ought not to be arguing like this."

"Lot, I'll tell you what. You just choose. If you want to go in this direction, I'll go in that direction. The land's before us. Just choose. Just take what you want." And the Bible says there in the book of Genesis that Lot lifted up his eyes toward the well-watered plains. There he saw that tall grass and he knew that would be good for his cattle.

And so Lot went east. He pitched his tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Now why did he do that? Was it because of the swinging cities Sodom and Gomorrah? Did he want to go down there because of the sin in Sodom? Oh no, that isn't why he went down there. He went down there because he wanted more grass.

Why did he want more grass? For his cattle. Well, was he missing any meals? Was he hungry? Did he need more cattle? He didn't need more cattle. He was already fabulously wealthy. He just wanted to be the biggest rancher in all Palestine, that's all. He wasn't trying to make more money; he's just keeping score.

He just wanted to be a big shot. And because he wanted to be a big shot, because he was on an ego trip, he said, "I want that." And he was trying to feed his soul on the things of this world. And that's a temptation. And many today are being tempted exactly that way.

This world system says you've got to have more, you've got to do more, you've got to be more. That's the world. All that's in the world: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life is not of the Father, it's of the world. And it wars against the soul.

Now, what about the flesh? Now we said the flesh is not the body, but the flesh wars against your body. You see, your body will be subject to temptations, physical temptations in the area of appetite, lust, laziness, violence—the flesh. And we're tempted that way. The flesh uses the body as a vehicle of expression.

That's where so many young people are tempted today, and really so many adults also. Let me give you an example of that kind of a temptation. David, King David, looked over a parapet wall there from his palace and he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. Her name was Bathsheba. And he watched her.

And there was something inside of him—there was that old Adamic predisposition to sin—that lust rose up in him, that sexual temptation. And his pulse quickened; he felt that rush of sexual urge. And there was an incredible sexual temptation to David.

Now, his physical emotions, his sexual drive, which was given from God, was under bombardment from the flesh, his old Adamic nature. And he gave in and he fell. Now while Lot was not in that kind of a temptation, Lot was on an ego trip. But David's passions were under attack; his physical frame was under attack from the flesh.

And so, the external foe wars against the soul. The internal foe wars against the flesh. Now, what about the infernal foe, the devil? What does he war primarily against? Well, you say the devil, he tries to get you to commit adultery. Not primarily. The devil, he tries to get you drunk. No, not primarily.

The devil tries to get you on an ego trip. Not primarily. The devil wars against your spirit. Now what is your spirit? What is the difference between your spirit and your soul? Your soul is the sense of self-consciousness. Your spirit is the sense of God-consciousness. You know God through your spirit, don't you?

Plants have a body but they don't have a soul. Animals have a body and a soul; that means they have self-consciousness. But no animal has a spirit; only man has a spirit. You see, that's what makes man more than an animal. Man can know God, and the Bible says that God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

And God's spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And the spirit in man is that vehicle of communication and worship and praise and spiritual knowledge. And what does the devil want to do? The devil is the one who tries to separate you from Almighty God.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. Lot is an example of the world tempting the soul. David is an example of the flesh tempting the body. Simon Peter is an example of the devil tempting the spirit. Remember what Jesus said to Simon Peter just before Simon Peter cursed and swore and denied Christ?

Jesus said to him, "Simon, Simon, Satan has desired you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. Your faith, your faith. I have prayed for you that your faith fail not." What was Simon Peter's temptation when he denied the Lord Jesus Christ?

Well, he wasn't on an ego trip. He wasn't under sexual attack or the lust of the flesh. His faith faltered. His faith faltered. Satan desired him to sift him as wheat. Primarily, what Satan wants to do is to separate you from Almighty God.

Now, let me just wrap this up now and talk to you for a few minutes about the subduing of temptation. How are you going to overcome temptation? Now the Bible says here in our verse, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with the temptation make a way of escape."

Now the late great Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse has given us three very wonderful words and here they are, and I want you to listen to them. The word is flight, faith, and fight. Get those words and I'll tell you how to use them now. The key word is flight—F-L-I-G-H-T—flight.

The lust of the flesh: what is the flesh? That's that old Adamic nature within us that's trying to use the flesh to tempt us. Now the Bible gives us these words. The Bible says flee fornication. Flee fornication. Again the Bible says flee youthful lusts. You're not told to fight this kind of temptation; you're told to flee.

Now if there's a kind of a temptation—a magazine, a friend, a movie, a program on cable television—that arouses things in you that are wrong, you're just told to get away from it, to flee fornication, just get away. When I was in college, I had a motto on my desk that said this: "He who would not fall down ought not to walk in slippery places."

Flee fornication. You kids when you date, you go to some secluded rendezvous and sit in that automobile. That's not fleeing fornication; that's asking for it. It's like playing with matches in dry grass. You say, "Now Lord, keep us pure." Well, you've got to flee fornication.

You can't put this garbage in your mind. You can't go to these filthy R-rated, X-rated things. You cannot watch that trash on television and expect to stay pure. If you're a man and you say, "I watch that and it doesn't bother me," I'll tell you what: I believe you're lying. Well, you may not be lying. Either you're no man or you're Superman or you're a liar.

But I believe you're just lying when you say it doesn't bother me, it doesn't affect me. The Bible says can a man take a fire in his bosom and be not burned? You wouldn't put garbage in your mouth, would you? Why put garbage in your mind? You flee fornication. You kids when you go to a date, go to a football game with 50,000 people around.

And if you're going to have a kiss goodnight, do it on the front porch with the porch light burning and her father looking through the keyhole with a shotgun. What am I saying? I'm saying you don't put yourself into that kind of a situation. If alcohol is a temptation to you, stay away from it. If you've got any in the cabinet, pour it down the drain; it'll burn the hair out of the sink, just get rid of it.

Get rid of that. You're trying to quit smoking? Don't keep that extra carton in the dresser drawer; just throw it out. Don't give it to somebody; just throw it out. You say, "Well, God made tobacco." He did; he made it to kill insects, not people. Now listen: get rid of it. Flee fornication.

Learn to be a first-class coward. When Potiphar's wife tempted Joseph—Joseph was the servant in Potiphar's house. There was an ungodly woman in that house who had a sexual desire toward Joseph and she tried to get Joseph to commit fornication with her. When Joseph realized what was happening, and when this wicked woman reached out and took Joseph and tried to pull him in bed with her, Joseph got out of there in such a way that he left his coat behind him. He just ran.

He just saturated that place with his absence. He just got out of there. Now we may laugh at that, but he kept his purity. I know some people today who are so stupid they would say, "Now Mrs. Potiphar, you ought not to act that way. Let's just kneel down by the bed and pray about it." No. You're not told to fight this temptation; you're told to flee. You're told to flee.

Now against the flesh, the key word is flight. But what about the world? How do you overcome the world? Against the world, the key word is faith. John tells us in his epistle, "This is the victory that overcomes the world, even your faith." Again, you're not told to fight worldliness.

Remember what the Bible says: "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Now pay attention. It doesn't say that the love of the Father is not in him because he loves the world. It says if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. The reason he loves the world is because the love of the Father is not in him.

Worldliness is simply a symptom that the love of the Father is not in you. So how do you overcome worldliness? Well, suppose you're driving down the road and the red light comes on the dashboard of your car that says there's no oil in the crankcase. Well, how do you handle that? Can you take a hammer and just break that light and it's all settled? Oh no.

That red light on the dashboard just tells you there's no oil in the crankcase. What you need to do is to pull into a service station and put some oil in the crankcase and the red light goes off, right? Of course. Now, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

If you find yourself being worldly and this world is trying to squeeze you into its mold, I'm going to tell you what's wrong with you. You have not fallen in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. You're not seeing Christ and that's the reason you're having problems with worldliness. Don't fight the light on the dashboard; load up on the Lord Jesus.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. When you feed on Jesus and you're feasting on Jesus, and the devil offers you a plate of stale crumbs, you say, "No thank you, I'm already satisfied," right?

When you load up on Jesus, you don't have to be in the back alley eating tin cans with the devil's billy goats when you're already satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if worldliness is your problem, faith is your answer. Look to Jesus. See who Jesus is. Let Jesus Christ satisfy you, okay?

Now, against the flesh, the key word is flight: flee fornication. Against the world, the key word is faith: this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Now what about the infernal foe, the devil? The key word against him is fight—F-I-G-H-T. The Bible says we're to fight the good fight of faith.

The Bible says in the book of James we're to resist the devil and he will flee from us. You're not told to run from him; you're told to fight—not in your strength, but in his strength. Have you ever thought of the devil fleeing from you? Most of us, we just kind of want to have a standoff. We just say, "Devil, if you'll leave me alone, I'll leave you alone." But he's not going to leave you alone.

And he's not going to leave until you resist him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, "Well, how can I do that?" And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.

I want you to know that the devil cares nothing for your resolutions. He's not afraid of your goodwill; he's not afraid of your intentions. But he fears the blood of Jesus Christ. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.

When the devil comes and he gets on your case, you bring the blood of Jesus against him. You bring the word of God against him. You bring that commitment to the Lord Jesus against him. And when the devil knocks on your door and the devil comes after you, you don't have to take it. You don't have to take it.

So many are like that cat had his tail stepped on so many times, somebody comes in the room he'd just turn around and stick it out and wait—just expecting for the devil to do what he's going to do. You don't have to take that stuff from the devil. I'll tell you what you can do, my friend.

I'll tell you what. You put your sin under the blood of Jesus and understand the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when temptation comes to you, don't be on the defensive; you be on the offensive. And you say, "Satan, I bring the word against you, I bring the blood against you, I bring Jesus Christ against you."

"I resist you in the name of God Almighty. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It belongs to God. You're trespassing on my Father's property and in the name of Jesus, you be gone." Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. And don't tell me it won't work until you try it.

Against the flesh, the word is flight. Against the world, the word is faith. Against the devil, the infernal foe, the word is fight. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Guest (Male): What an amazing and encouraging reminder that when temptation comes, we are on offense, not defense. And at Love Worth Finding, it's one of our great honors to come alongside you and pray with you in every trial or temptation that you may face.

If you can, go to our website homepage at lwf.org/radio and scroll down to our prayer wall. There you'll find the option to submit a prayer request or pray for others. This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry and the community praying continually for one another's needs. Let us hear from you today.

Cary Vaughn: Hi, this is Cary Vaughn and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a nonprofit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you.

To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD, that's 1-877-LOVEGOD, or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Adrian Rogers.

Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry, and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the word. Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding.

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Well, here at Love Worth Finding Ministries, our mission is to share the profound truth of the gospel so simply anyone can understand. And when you donate to the ministry this month, we want to send a copy of our Door to the Morning Bible study. God's word is as certain as the sunrise, and we are living just before dawn.

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