How to Overcome Temptation

What's going on guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Carver podcast on Bryce. And today we are going to be talking about overcoming temptation. I think this arguably is one of the most common topics asked questions, whatever it may be. I'm not just talking about overcoming lust, conquering lust. I'm talking about overcoming temptation, period. So we're going to open up the scriptures, talk about what the Bible says about temptation and how we can actually overcome it. And as you guys know, we love the gospel look around here. We do the Luke series every year. I want us to flip mainly to Luke chapter 17 because Jesus addresses temptation in such a powerful way. And I think it's important that we understand this. So here's what we go. Verse 17, chapter 17, verse 1, he says, and he said to the disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come." Let's stop right there. Before we even get further in, we have to understand this. Sometimes we feel guilty when temptation comes our way. And Jesus starts us off by saying, look, "Temptations are unavoidable." Anytime we read in scripture about temptation sin, two completely different things. Why? Sin is something that we've committed. We either committed an act. I've committed lust. I've committed, you know, I've, my anger led me into sin. I committed theft. I committed murder. Omitting is another form of sin. You have two types of sin, sins of commission, committing an act, and sins of omission, opting out of something that God has called you to do, opting out of obedience to God, right? Sin is an actual act, okay? But temptation, temptation is completely separate. And so if you read the scriptures every time, temptation and sin are talked about, sin is always talked about as an if, if you sin. If you sin, if you sin, know that there's an advocate to the Father whose name is Jesus Christ. But Jesus says, "Temptation isn't an if. It's a guarantee." So before we even get any further in your journey or walk with Christ, whatever it may be, you need to recognize. You're not crazy for being tempted. Actually, temptation is a guarantee because we live in a sinful world. And the prince and the power of the air of this world, the little G God of this world is a guy named Satan. And his whole plan is to steal, kill, and destroy. And so just because you're tempted, doesn't mean you're doing something wrong. It doesn't mean you're going crazy. It doesn't mean that you're just having a bad week. Jesus says, "You're going to be tempted. This is a guarantee." So then the answer is should the guilt and shame come when we're tempted? Or should it come if we sin? Now guilt and shame aren't from God, but you get the question that I'm posing here, right? Like temptation is going to happen. Now, if you put yourself in a situation to sin, that's on you, all right? But if you are being tempted by the devil to do something, you're not crazy. He's going to do it. Now, as we keep going, verse 2, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. So Jesus and gives this wild description of temptation because he says, "Temptation is unavoidable, but woe to the one temptation comes through." And then he says, "Yeah, if you're someone that's willing to tempt one of my children in sin, it would be better for you to jump in the ocean with heavy weights and kill yourself than for you to lead one of my children in a sin." Does Jesus literally mean that? No, Jesus is not literally mean that. What is having in the passage? Jesus is showing the weight and the destructive nature of sin in someone's life that the repercussions for sin are far greater. The repercussions for being the cause of someone stumbling is far greater than tying a bunch of weight around your body and jumping in the ocean. He's like, look, this is a bigger deal. That this deal, temptation in sin is such a greater issue than we can possibly imagine. The repercussions for doing it. It's like sometimes, right? When we're tempted to sin, we don't recognize how our sin is going to affect other people. Like when you read Proverbs 7 or 8, I think it's Proverbs 7 or 8, and Solomon is giving this description of a friend that he watched get led into adultery by the adulterous woman. There's a phrase at the very end, it says, like an ox led to the slaughter, and as an arrow pierces his liver, it gives this metaphoric, hyperbolic description, whatever you want to call it about the guilt and shame that this man feels once he has succumbed himself to the adulterous. And now this doesn't only affect him, it affects his reputation. It affects his family. It affects his friends. It affects his loved ones. It affects his relationship with his spouse if he had a spouse. It's like our sin affects more than just us. It affects people around us. So if you're the cause of someone like this is a fair warning to you, if you're someone that's actively leading someone into sin for your own benefit, like all sin is self-feeding. All sin is selfish because it's care about self. Oh, I need to go watch porn because I need to get I need to get this feeling. I need to get some relief or I need I need to go drink one more bottle of alcohol because I need some relief. When are we going to start thinking of other people? Jesus says, love your neighbor as yourself. And I know you don't want to treat yourself the way that your sins treat you. So instead, Jesus gives a fair warning. Hey, separate from the temptation. You face, don't be the one leading other people into temptation. Like you feel guilty when you're faced with temptation that don't be the one dangling the fruit and somebody else's face. Now let's talk about the temptation yourself. Temptation is going to happen. Don't feel crazy. When we look at what's happening at the garden, I think the garden is a beautiful picture of temptation versus sin. You see, Adam and Eve were designed for relationship with God. So the whole time they're in the garden, prefall, their eyes are facing up at heaven. They're facing up at heaven. They're looking at God. They're walking in the garden up at heaven, up at heaven. Now keep in mind, they've been naked the entire time in the garden. They've been naked the entire time, but their eyes are up here. They're not recognizing their nakedness. They're not recognizing the stuff that they're being tempted with down here because their eyes are up here. Now when Satan tempts them, their eyes go eye level. They're looking at Satan. They're looking at the temptation. Now here's the crazy part. Did they do anything wrong? No, they haven't done anything wrong. But once they rebel against God, they're looking down at themselves and realizing that they were naked the whole time. And that's where the guilt, shame, fear, condemnation all come into play. So is the sin in the temptation? Resid in the act. It's absolutely in the act. Now here's the problem with temptation is whenever we're tempted with sin, we try to like shell up and hide because we think we're the only person that struggles with temptation. Jesus struggled with temptation. Look at Matthew chapter four in the wilderness. Jesus is led by the spirit into the wilderness. And maybe I said, I said struggle. Maybe struggles are wrong where Jesus was tempted in the desert by Satan. And do you know how Jesus overcome temptation in the desert by quoting scripture? When Jesus's first temptation faces, he says, man, shall not live by bread alone. He's not just giving a metaphor to scripture. He's quoting scripture when he's saying that. So he's saying like, yeah, you shouldn't live by bread alone. Like you should study the scriptures, write the scriptures on the tablet of your heart. You should do that. But he's actively quoting scripture. He's doing the very thing that he's telling you and I to do. He is setting the clear example that the number one way to overcome temptation is to have scripture written on your heart. Because even in that dialogue where Satan's tempting him, there comes a point when Satan quotes Psalm 91 to Jesus. And it's out of context. So it was incorrect. But he quotes Psalm 91. So how does Jesus know that Satan's not telling him the truth? Because Satan's not afraid of good morals. Satan knows what you like. Satan knows what you want. He can tempt you. He can give you something and offer you something you think is from God, but it was really a good thing. It's easy to tell the difference between an evil door and a God door. It's hard to tell the difference between a good door and a God door and the good thing can appear good. And Satan's quoting Psalm 91 the only way that Jesus combated that out of context scripture was actually known scripture in his context. So one of the main ways you and I can overcome temptation is by dwelling on this word. We can't live without this. That this living breathing active Hebrews 412 that this thing says it is a double edged sword that separates the soul from the Spirit separating the way that seems right to mean you between the way that seems right to God. And we need this thing to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Man can plan his ways but what the Lord establishes his steps. Who's establishing your steps, your feelings, your emotions, your highs, what you want, or is the Lord establishing your steps? Because who knew what would have happened in Jesus's flesh if he wasn't prepared with the scriptures? Who knew? The most beautiful thing about the scriptures is that it is a love letter from God on how to be a good friend, how to overcome temptation, how to be a better husband. The scriptures are going to be a big weapon against sin, the sword of the Spirit. It's going to be a powerful weapon. Now Paul actually tells the Corinthians and 1 Corinthians chapter 10. He tells them about temptation. Verse 13, "No temptation is overtaking you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it." What does this mean? Paul says, first of all, no temptation is overtaking you that's not common to man. What does that mean? Any temptation that you face today is not new. People being tempted to fall in love with the A.I. romantic partners is not some new sin temptation that the devil's invented. The root is the same. It's just manifest it differently in the 21st century. Transgenderism, alcoholism, new drugs, being invented, fentanyl addiction, whatever it may be, it's not some new sin temptation that he's invented. The root's the same. It may just be applied into different contexts. The Bible is saying that Satan can't invent or create, that the temptation that he's throwing at us, he's been throwing around for thousands of years at people. And so when you feel the need, if you're tempted and you feel the need to go hide and shell up, I think no one's gonna understand what I'm going through, I need to hide, I need to shell up. The Bible is saying, no, don't shell up. In fact, you should share that you're being tempted. Text someone, call someone, call a friend, open up to your parents, open up to your pastor or a leader or your mentor, whatever it may be. 'Cause first John, one is actually says, if you confess your sins to one another, God is faithful and just forgive us now. Have you sinned if you've been tempted? No, maybe not yet. But I think there's something beautiful in confessing temptation because when we hide ourselves in the dark, when we hide temptation in the dark, and we hide our sin in the dark, we give the devil the license to use it against us. And so when we actually confess our temptation, not even if you've sinned, if you confess your temptation, you make Satan lose his power over you in that area. There's a beauty in confessing your temptation because you shouldn't shell up. In fact, when you think you're the only person struggling, I would bet money that there's more people in your friend's circle that are struggling with the same thing that you're struggling with. Why? Because he's got no new tricks. No temptation is overtaking that's not common demand. Do not be afraid of temptation. And then this is beautiful. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape. Hey, quick pause. I have to tell you about something I've been looking forward to all year. It's called Open Heaven. And it's the biggest live event we've ever done. It's happening November 8th at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas. Picture a live podcast experience, real conversations about faith and purpose, and the stuff we actually talk about on this show, but in a room full of people altogether. And it's not just talk. We've got a live worship band that's coming alongside being led by Aaron Tedesky and Upper Room worship. If you know, you know, it's going to be a night full of faith and power. And we really believe that Jesus is going to be in the room. Tickets are on sale right now at briskroffer.org/tour. Links in the description. Just do me a favor, only buy through the official site because there's a ton of resellers and scammers out there. So make sure you get your tickets at briskroffer.org/tour. All right, back to the episode. I want you, right now, to think of the hardest sin struggle in your life that you think, if you're faced with this temptation, you can't say no to it. And the Bible would say, through the strength of the Spirit of God, there's a way out. That actually the one sin struggle in your life that seems impossible to conquer. Paul is writing to the church of Corinth. Those are argories going through some insanely wicked stuff. He's saying to us today, the hardest temptation struggle in your life. You can overcome the strength of the Spirit of God. I know that being faced time and time again with the temptation that you have fallen to so many times can feel hopeless, it can feel helpless, and it can feel as if that there is no escape from that thing. But let me tell you something right now. Scripture would say to you that God is not going to pin you down into a corner with temptation that you can't overcome, that you can overcome and escape the sin struggles that are binding you down through the strength of the Spirit. That's not even just for you, that's for your friends. That's for your son or your daughter that you lost hope for in their addiction. That's for your friend that's backstabbed you and that's turned to alcohol or porn or sexual relations that's even for yourself. I mean, you know the things that you've done that no one else knows that you've done that you keep falling to, but you've got to keep getting up. Because the scriptures I know there is a way of escape. Know there is hope. He is the hope. He is the answer. When we love Christ with our whole heart, when we turn to Him, when we lean on Him, we don't lean on our understanding. We lean on His understanding. We are trusting His Word, that His Word is better, that His way is better. We are leaning and trusting in Him. That's where we will find escape. See, the scriptures are important because even going back to that main point, like one of the main ways that we're going to overcome temptations through scripture, like there may be many of you that have never read that verse that wouldn't know that truth if we didn't open up the scriptures. There are people right now that are experiencing freedom and you may be one of them listening to that verse going, "No, there is hope for me." And you wouldn't have known that unless we open the scriptures. This thing right here, this bread, Jesus Christ known as the bread of life. He is bread, but this thing right here, the bread, the daily bread, there are new mercies, new spoils, new magnificence. In this thing, every single day, we can't lose it. We can't leave it. We need the scriptures to help us navigate. And you don't think so? Look at the Old Testament. Like for some reason, we neglect the Old Testament sometimes. Like one of the prime reasons that we look at Old Testament israel so that we can look at all their stupid decisions and not make the same decisions. And you're like, "Oh, what do you mean?" I don't worship a golden calf. Yeah, but you worship Netflix. Oh, but what do you mean? Like, I don't have an idolatry problem. Yeah, but you can't say glued off your phone in your screen times 10 hours plus a day. Or no, well, I mean, they were having sex and you know, they had multiple wives, but yeah, but you can't stop sleep when you're a girl from your boyfriend outside of wedlock. Same temptation, same problems, different contexts, different sentry. So we can look at Old Testament Israel and the freedom of Jesus Christ and go, "No, there is hope for my situation. "No, there is security in my future and my attorney." No, I actually can grow in the Lord. No, actually, he's gonna close me in his righteousness. He's going to change my life. He is the reason we can overcome temptation because without Jesus Christ, you would suffer and be bound and shackled to your sin and there would be no hope. And so if you're someone right now listening and this has a really struggling temptation, that really needs me. I want to pray for you that God uses his word and through the strength of his spirit to give you peace, hope and strategy, divine strategy to flee from your sin, overcome your sin. And really that you would feel peace to lean on your brothers. Like, one of the most beautiful things about Godly community and why Godly community is so important, why the local church is so important, is because we're supposed to bear one another's burdens. Like when we go through hard things, you need Godly men and women around you that aren't going to weaponize your struggles against you but come around you, war for you and prayer in their closet and actually seek the face of God and ask for divine strategy and accountability to come alongside you in your journey so that you don't keep falling on your face. Yeah, the righteous person falls seven times but gets back up by leaning on Christ, reading the scriptures, seeking him in prayer and actually leaning on community to overcome their sin and struggles. So let me pray for you. If you're one of those people, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are the author, perfect of our faith that you've defeated sin and death on the cross and it is through you that we can find freedom and peace. Lord Jesus, there are many of us, including myself, that struggle with temptation because temptation is unavoidable. Lord, would you give a strength in the spirit of you, Lord, would you give a strength through your spirit? To conquer temptation, flee from temptation, would you give us a more hunger for your words and we can be well equipped with your sword? Lord Jesus, I pray for anyone struggling with temptation, God, that you would give them peace, hope, strength, vision and divine strategy and accountability to overcome temptation, Lord, we love you. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.