Click Bait: Stronger In Temptation (Week 1)

What does click bait do?

·      Over promises and under deliverers.

·      Keeps you on the line to exploit you for gain.

·      Keeps you on the line to harm you.

Click bait is deceptive, deterring and destructive and so is temptation.

Satan’s objectives are clear…

·      Challenge our God identity

·      Change our direction

·      Choke spiritual bandwidth

·      And ultimately, as Jesus states in John 10, to kill, steal and destroy.

1 Peter 5:7-8 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Genesis 3:3-7 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. And what we now

Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule…” Genesis 2:7 “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils.”

Genesis 2:21,22 “so the Lord God caused man to fall into a deep sleep: and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the mane…”

Now get the picture…mankind is complete.

·      Man and woman are created in the image of God – nothing is missing.

·      Man and woman have a face to face relationship with God their Creator and all of perfection was at their fingertips.

·      Man and woman have a divine purpose – to multiply, rule and care for creation.

Satan, “more crafty” is able to deceive Adam and Eve to believe some very specific lies –

·      They weren’t complete the way they were. A built-in longing for more of God was twisted as “Something is missing from me”. (Lust of the Flesh)

·      God was withholding something good from them. The longer you dwell on something the more you convince yourself you can’t live without it.            (Lust of the Eyes)

·      God was holding them back - there was another level of life out there.        (Pride of Life)

James 1:13-15 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

All temptation is a promised shortcut to a desire God has put inside of us. The shortcut never gets us to our destination, never – it is clickbait.

Genesis 3:7-14 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

1.    Shame

2.    Fear

3.    Blame

These 3 changes will reduce your receptivity to succumbing to temptation.

·      You are created in the image of God, you are complete. He didn’t leave anything out. No, we aren’t God but He has given us the Holy Spirit to continue in being shaped into His presence. Be content with who you are.

·      God isn’t withholding something good from you. Turn your desires away from what you do not have. Be content and allow God to bring those blessings you so desire to you when you are ready. Be content with what you have. 

·      God isn’t holding you back. Humbly submit yourself to Christ and in due season He will lift you up. Be content with where you are.