Temptation

FROM: FEBUARY 6 @ 12, 2018

TOPIC: "Temptation" 2 Peter 2:9-11

We all have temptations. What happens when they arrive? Well, let’s start with Adam; he was tempted and failed surrendering. Then we continue with Samson; he also gave in to temptation and therefore became blind. Saul as the first king of Israel, out of fear of what the people were saying made the sacrifice that did not correspond to him, thus falling when he was tempted. Elijah, the prophet who made the fire fall, was tempted and fled fearing a perverse woman named Jezebel. Judas also failed by betraying our Savior in exchange for just a few coins. On the other hand, our Lord was also tempted when He was in His forty days of fasting and He absolutely did not yield at all (Luke 4:2-13). Jesus loved to do the will of the Father and therefore did not do what He wanted, but what the Father wanted (Luke 22:42 “...saying: Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."). John and Jacob (James) were tempted with greatness, they asked to sit one at the right and the other at the left of the Lord, and Jesus asked them if they were willing to drink from the same cup that He drank; they did not know that cup was their sacrifice, their death (Mark 10:35-38). If Jesus had not taken the cup of sacrifice to die on the cross, you would not have eternity, nor salvation, nor a new heaven, nor a new name, nor gifts, nor would you participate in the marriage of the Lamb, etc. His cup allows me to have Him in me, His blood, His voice in me, His direction, His will; I am no longer a slave and neither are you. The cup was the cross, without the cross we wouldn’t have any of this! When falling into temptation everything in life is lost. The good we do to others stops. But, the Lord knows how to deliver the pious from temptation (2 Peter 2:9 "...the Lord knows how to deliver godly men from temptation.") The Lord can rescue us from temptations. He can deliver us, keep us from evil. Temptation corners us and it seems that one is imprisoned, but He knows how to give us a way out. There is no reason to fall, even if we are exposed, cornered and imprisoned from it. GOD HAS THE EXIT DOORS FOR THE TEMPTATION OPEN FOR US, NOTHING CAN CLOSE THEM! Only you decide, you are the one who has the saying. If you are just you take advantage that He gave you the exit and you conquer, but if you are unfair, you close the doors of the exit to temptation and you remain there locked and finally fall. Be wise and grateful! The enemy has always wanted to defy God by fighting against His holy will. The defiance is to not do His will, it is to challenge, provoke, contend, put resistance to God's purpose. That is what the devil did to Jesus (Matthew 4:3), as he likes to do to us, the children of God, in order to defy God. Our enemy the devil wants you not to fulfill the Lord's plans to favor this Earth. Satan seeks for us to fail God's love for what He wants to do; he wants to keep you from the beautiful things, paralyze you so that you fall into temptation so that what God wanted to do through you gets lost. But God is Jehovah Jireh, He will provide Himself! To fall into temptation is to be dominated by desires. Each one is tempted by what is inside (James 1:14 "...but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."). He is tempted with lust, envy, money, greatness, pretending spirituality, desiring what others have, etc. The person dominated by desire has allowed his animal nature to usurp a place that does not correspond to him; he has left his life with Christ. This happens when SELFISHNESS arrives, which is the unmeasured love towards oneself manifested by placing one's own wellness

before that of others. It is the consideration of one's own advantage as the sole motive of all actions, although apparently it is not demonstrated as such. If you already fell into your temptation, you fall because such desire is in you. The person has already become deranged, is out of the ordinary, has been dislocated, disturbed and loses security. As we see, the fall into temptation and the lack of proportion in life is all caused because of SELFISHNESS. Evil comes from that root of life that is dominated by concupiscence, it is something that comes from the assumption that nothing matters more than the gratification of ONE'S OWN DESIRES and the expression of ONE'S OWN FEELINGS. This is the person's great sin, THAT HE HAS STOPPED TO CARE FOR THE OTHERS. Selfishness and desire go hand in hand. Selfishness is the excessive love towards oneself. Only you're upfront. Selfishness allows your sinful nature to take place! That is why one is daring, with a shameless boldness and feeling pleased into doing things that offend decency and rights. The bad person is the one who has the audacity to challenge what he knows is the will of God. This is a person who only cares about his own will. It is that person who only thinks about pleasing himself. In such a person there is always an element of obstinacy. There is no logic, no common sense, no sense of decency that will prevent the person from doing what he wants. IN MAINTAINING HIS OWN OPINION OBSTINATELY OR INSISTING IN HIS OWN RIGHTS HE GOES OVER THE RIGHTS, OPINIONS AND INTERESTS OF OTHERS. He only seeks to please the "I", he has no idea of anything other than pleasing himself, he insists arrogantly and even brutally in following his own path. It happens in people who despise angels! (2 Peter 2:10, 11 "This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.") They will be punished on the Day of Judgment. The wicked insist on living in only one world, for them there is no spiritual world, they have forgotten that there is a Heaven, they live only for the world, they have forgotten the spiritual! Be careful to never close the exit door that God opens to you when temptation arrives! Amen.