Day 4 - Ps Nick & Jo Bothe | Empower Church Caloundra

TEMPTATION WILL NOT TRAP ME: How to walk through temptation and stay strong

Temptation is something that every single Christian faces. So don’t be afraid and breathe for a second, because you are not alone! If Christians, just like yourself, have faced temptation and overcome, so can you. The key is not to believe ‘if’ temptations will come your way, but to be prepared ‘when’ temptations come. Did you know that even Jesus was tempted? He was tempted with power, tempted with position, and tempted with influence. He was even tempted to give up - and I’m so glad He didn’t give in to that one.

Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

So how do we walk through temptation and stay strong? First, we must understand the difference between WILL POWER & SPIRITUAL POWER. For us to understand this, let’s talk about manpower vs horsepower. ‘Manpower’ is a term used to measure the unit of power based on the rate at which a man can work; approximately 75 watts of power. A horse on the other hand can work 746 watts of power; or in other words, it takes 10 strong men to do the work of just one horse! Now imagine you trying to carry a horse for 15km… impossible! Now imagine a horse trying to carry you and a friend for 15km… easy! In the same way, the Holy Spirit’s power in you is greater than your own willpower to overcome.

When we’re faced with temptation and we decide to use our own strength, we’re inevitably going to lose every single time! When we realise that the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of us and He’s just waiting to give us power, we have access to a more powerful strength than we would have by ourselves.

1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

So in the moments you face the temptation to gossip, lust, get angry, degrade, be proud, boast, dishonour or be dishonest: turn your face from temptation and look towards the face of Jesus. Involve him in the moment. Remember that your small prayer in a single moment is more powerful than all of hell’s temptation against you!

Questions
Are you involving God in the process of your temptations or relying on yourself?