Joseph Resisting Potiphar’s Wife – Temptation
Let’s call this the weekend Word of God for thought. Temptation to sin is resistible and Rick Renner explains via Biblical analysis how to resist.
JRH 8/24/13
******************************
You Can Beat Any Temptation!
By Rick Renner
Sent: 8/22/2013 3:07 AM
Sparkling Gems from Rick Renner Email List
Website: Renner.org
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
-- 1 Corinthians 10:13
-- 1 Corinthians 10:13
Everyone has to deal with temptations at one time or another, so you don't need to feel embarrassed if you're facing a particular temptation right now. But at the same time, you don't have to succumb to temptation, because it is something you can overcome! All temptations can be beaten! You just have to make up your mind that you're going to be the conqueror and not the conquered!
You may not have thought of it before, but the devil tries to lure you into sin by using your mind and emotions. He injects thoughts into your mind and emotions that act as stimulants to get you all stirred up in a certain area of your life. At that moment, you are consciously aware that you can let the temptation pass you by - or you can allow those thoughts to fester in your mind and take root in your emotions until they become a major stronghold in your mind to battle and conquer. By refusing to accept the thoughts in the first place, you can avoid the whole struggle!
It's similar to a sexual temptation. You can choose to turn and look the other way, or you can dwell on that temptation until it fills your mind and imagination. If you choose to meditate on the thought that the devil is trying to put into your head, it won't be too long until the devil is waging a full-scale battle in your mind! If you don't put on the brakes and stop those thoughts, the devil will conquer you. That's why it's so important that you learn how to control your thinking. If you can keep your mind under the control of the Holy Spirit, you will make it almost impossible for the devil to defeat you in any realm of your life.
The devil is a master when it comes to mind manipulation. He knows that if he can get you to spend a little time meditating on something wrong, he can eventually entice you to do it! If the devil was persuasive enough to deceive brilliant, mighty, powerful angels, how much more easily can he deceive people who live in a far-from-perfect environment and wrestle daily with their own imperfections! The emotional makeup of human beings makes them even more susceptible to the devil's masterful skills of lying, deception, and manipulation.
Satan watches for the right timing. He comes along at an opportune moment. He waits until you're tired, weary, or exasperated. Perhaps you woke up in a bad mood; someone gave you a "look" you didn't like; or you just started off your day on the wrong foot. Then suddenly he strikes you with a thought - something that takes you totally by surprise when your guard is down!
When negative thoughts begin to deluge your mind, you need to know that it is Satan setting a trap in front of you. He is trying to ensnare you so he can cripple and devastate both you and the people you love. He's trying to get you to bite the bait so he can set the hook! But you don't have to fall into this trap anymore! If you really want out of this type of emotional quandary, there is a way out.
First Corinthians 10:13 promises, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
The word "temptation" is the Greek word peirasmos, and it may refer to any outside source that appeals to a weakness in your flesh. That appeal pulls you like a magnet; it lures you mentally, emotionally, and sensually; it fascinates the imagination; it entices the flesh to take a closer peek. If you don't stop this process, it will set its hook in your soul and haul you right smack dab into the middle of some kind of sin!
Because the word peirasmos ("temptation") can describe any weakness of the flesh, this scripture could apply to any fleshly weakness you might struggle with - from being lazy or easily offended; to thinking too lowly or too highly of yourself; to having a problem with anger or sexual temptation. Whatever your flesh responds to is what this word peirasmos refers to!
But this verse promises that God will make a way for you to escape temptation - if you really want to escape it! The Greek word for "escape" is the word ekbasis. This word is a compound of the word ek, meaning out, and the word basin, meaning to walk. When they are compounded together, it means to walk out, as to walk out of a difficult place; to walk out of a trap; or to walk out of a place that isn't good for you.
This makes me think of the time Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife when she tried to seduce him. Rather than stay there and try to negotiate in the midst of the situation, Genesis 39:12 says Joseph "...fled, and got him out." In other words, he got out of there as quickly as he could!
Negotiating with sin usually leads to falling into it rather than conquering it, so it's better for a person to just get up and get away from the situation as quickly as he can! This is why Paul was constantly telling the early believers to "flee" evil influences (see 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14, 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22).
The word "flee" is the Greek word pheugo, which means to flee, to take flight, to run away, to run as fast as possible, or to escape. This means you don't want to succumb to those temptations that are surrounding you. You just need to get up, put on your jacket, pick up your things, and get out of that place of temptation as fast as you can! Let your feet fly as you flee that situation! You're not stuck there! You can get out! You can walk out of that place just as easily as you walked in there! Your feet work in both directions! God will make a way for you to escape those negative emotions if you really want to escape them. But you are the only one who can make the choice to jump through that escape hatch!
You may not have thought of it before, but the devil tries to lure you into sin by using your mind and emotions. He injects thoughts into your mind and emotions that act as stimulants to get you all stirred up in a certain area of your life. At that moment, you are consciously aware that you can let the temptation pass you by - or you can allow those thoughts to fester in your mind and take root in your emotions until they become a major stronghold in your mind to battle and conquer. By refusing to accept the thoughts in the first place, you can avoid the whole struggle!
It's similar to a sexual temptation. You can choose to turn and look the other way, or you can dwell on that temptation until it fills your mind and imagination. If you choose to meditate on the thought that the devil is trying to put into your head, it won't be too long until the devil is waging a full-scale battle in your mind! If you don't put on the brakes and stop those thoughts, the devil will conquer you. That's why it's so important that you learn how to control your thinking. If you can keep your mind under the control of the Holy Spirit, you will make it almost impossible for the devil to defeat you in any realm of your life.
The devil is a master when it comes to mind manipulation. He knows that if he can get you to spend a little time meditating on something wrong, he can eventually entice you to do it! If the devil was persuasive enough to deceive brilliant, mighty, powerful angels, how much more easily can he deceive people who live in a far-from-perfect environment and wrestle daily with their own imperfections! The emotional makeup of human beings makes them even more susceptible to the devil's masterful skills of lying, deception, and manipulation.
Satan watches for the right timing. He comes along at an opportune moment. He waits until you're tired, weary, or exasperated. Perhaps you woke up in a bad mood; someone gave you a "look" you didn't like; or you just started off your day on the wrong foot. Then suddenly he strikes you with a thought - something that takes you totally by surprise when your guard is down!
When negative thoughts begin to deluge your mind, you need to know that it is Satan setting a trap in front of you. He is trying to ensnare you so he can cripple and devastate both you and the people you love. He's trying to get you to bite the bait so he can set the hook! But you don't have to fall into this trap anymore! If you really want out of this type of emotional quandary, there is a way out.
First Corinthians 10:13 promises, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
The word "temptation" is the Greek word peirasmos, and it may refer to any outside source that appeals to a weakness in your flesh. That appeal pulls you like a magnet; it lures you mentally, emotionally, and sensually; it fascinates the imagination; it entices the flesh to take a closer peek. If you don't stop this process, it will set its hook in your soul and haul you right smack dab into the middle of some kind of sin!
Because the word peirasmos ("temptation") can describe any weakness of the flesh, this scripture could apply to any fleshly weakness you might struggle with - from being lazy or easily offended; to thinking too lowly or too highly of yourself; to having a problem with anger or sexual temptation. Whatever your flesh responds to is what this word peirasmos refers to!
But this verse promises that God will make a way for you to escape temptation - if you really want to escape it! The Greek word for "escape" is the word ekbasis. This word is a compound of the word ek, meaning out, and the word basin, meaning to walk. When they are compounded together, it means to walk out, as to walk out of a difficult place; to walk out of a trap; or to walk out of a place that isn't good for you.
This makes me think of the time Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife when she tried to seduce him. Rather than stay there and try to negotiate in the midst of the situation, Genesis 39:12 says Joseph "...fled, and got him out." In other words, he got out of there as quickly as he could!
Negotiating with sin usually leads to falling into it rather than conquering it, so it's better for a person to just get up and get away from the situation as quickly as he can! This is why Paul was constantly telling the early believers to "flee" evil influences (see 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14, 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22).
The word "flee" is the Greek word pheugo, which means to flee, to take flight, to run away, to run as fast as possible, or to escape. This means you don't want to succumb to those temptations that are surrounding you. You just need to get up, put on your jacket, pick up your things, and get out of that place of temptation as fast as you can! Let your feet fly as you flee that situation! You're not stuck there! You can get out! You can walk out of that place just as easily as you walked in there! Your feet work in both directions! God will make a way for you to escape those negative emotions if you really want to escape them. But you are the only one who can make the choice to jump through that escape hatch!
· If you know you're being tempted to angrily explode, walk out before it happens!
· If you know you're being tempted to get your feelings hurt, go somewhere else to avoid the offense!
· If you know you're being tempted to slip into a state of laziness, then get up and get busy!
· If you know you're being tempted to steal, get as far away as you can from the money or the coveted object!
· If you know you're being tempted to sexually sin, get out of that situation immediately!
· If you know you're being tempted to do anything wrong, it's time for you to flee from the temptation!
Millions of Christians are held captive because they will not take the leap through that escape hatch. As a result, they have no joy, no peace, and no victory in their lives. They may be Christians, but they're miserable because they haven't made the choice to jump through the escape hatch God has provided for them and leave all those negative temptations and garbage behind.
If you'll say yes to the Lord, He will show you how to walk out of this mess! You can avoid, evade, dodge, elude, shake off, get out of, and break away from every temptation! You are the only one who can choose to walk out of those killer mental attacks or negative situations. The moment you make that decision, your journey to freedom has begun!
So today the Lord is asking you: "Are you going to stay the way you are right now, or are you willing to take the proper steps to escape from this emotional temptation and demonic trap?" What is your answer? What are you going to do? God is waiting for you to decide if you will receive the freedom He is offering you or remain a hostage for the rest of your life. The choice is yours to make.
My Prayer for Today
Lord, help me find the strength to say no to my flesh and to flee from temptation when it tries to wrap its long tentacles around my soul and drag me into some kind of sin. I know what it's like when sin calls out to my flesh, beckoning it to do something that is forbidden or wrong, but I don't want to cooperate with it anymore. I want to walk free - to flee from sin and break free of its vicious grip. Help me bring my mind under the control of the Holy Spirit so I can think rationally when Satan tries to attack me through my mind, my emotions, or my senses.
I pray this in Jesus' name!
My Confession for Today
I confess that God makes a way for me to escape temptation. I do not negotiate with sin! When it tries to call out to me, I get up and get out as quickly as I can. I flee, take flight, run away from, and escape as quickly as I can when I know the devil is attempting to lure me into his trap. That's when I put on my jacket, pick up my things, and let my feet fly! God always makes a way for me to escape - and I always make the right choice to jump through that escape hatch!
I declare this by faith in Jesus' name!
Questions for you to Consider
1. Can you think of times when you were tempted to yield to sin? Knowing that you needed to get up and get out of that place of temptation, did you stay and fall into some kind of sin? Were you sorry later that you didn't flee when you had the chance?
2. What is the chief area of temptation that you struggle with more than any other right now?
3. In order for you to walk free from the struggle of that temptation, what changes do you need to make in your life?
________________________
Renner Ministries | PO Box 702040 | Tulsa | OK | 74170
Renner Ministry Contact Info: Mailing Address, Physical U.S. Address, Email and More.
What We Do
If you’re new to our website, we want to give you a glimpse into all that God has enabled our ministry to do across the world. You can scroll through this page to see the major areas of our ministry. … If you would like to become a partner or are interested in knowing more about partnership, please click here. (NOTE: This ministry provides a legal Board of Trustees with regular ministry and financial updates to ensure accountability.)
No comments:
Post a Comment