Sermon Tone Analysis

Overcoming Trials and Temptaitons

James 1:3-18

 

Intro: Swindoll story of snake attack

 

Have you ever felt like that was your life?

The Bible clearly teaches that trials and temptations will come and that we must draw upon the power of God to overcome them.

Paul spoke of people having a form of religion that denied the power of God, and sometimes I think that’s what we see today, in that we have all of these religious things…worship, Bible studies, t-shirts, etc.

But do we have the power to overcome?

Is there such a thing as power to overcome?

Believe it or not this has been an issue for the church since the very first century, and that’s why one of the first books written…written in fact, by the brother of Jesus addresses this very thing…and in chapter one there are a number of insights that we can glean on exactly how to overcome trials and temptations.

*I.

**Face the Reality*

* *

*EXP*:  It seems simple but we have to face the facts:  Trials will come.

Temptations will come.

Verse 2 says “when you encounter…” not “If you encounter…”

 

So many of us want a fantasy football life where we can live without temptation or trials.

That world doesn’t exist.

ILL: Baylor’s football team was so bad that I used to tell my kids about a game where the opposing team refused to play in the second half.

They just said, “It’s not worth it.

It’s too easy.”

So, the referee gave Baylor the ball at the 20 yard line, and there wasn’t a defense out there…and so 3 plays later, Baylor scored a touchdown.

Some of us could really live a pretty good Christian life if it weren’t for the trials and temptations.

It’s those things that get us down, and we spend a lot of time bemoaning the fact that there are temptations and trials and wishing we could have a life without them.

In fact, we sometimes excuse ourselves and complain to others, “You just don’t know how badly I am tempted…” as if to say that others don’t sin like we do because they are not tempted as badly.

However, C.S. Lewis points out, however that it is a faulty idea that good people do not know what temptation means.

This, he says, is an obvious lie.

Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is...A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.

That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness.

They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.

We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it, and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation is also the only one who knows to the full what temptation is.

So we are to pray that God would deliver us from temptation and from the tempter, and we are to direct our steps so that we do all we can to avoid temptation and trial, yet face the reality: Trials will come.

There are 3 reasons for this:

 

(1)                       Because of our own sinful nature.

Look at James 1:13-14.

(2)                       Because of the world we live in.

\\ *John 16:33 (NIV) \\ *33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart!

I have overcome the world.”

(3)                       Because God tests us to see what’s in our heart.

*Genesis 22:1*

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!"

And he said, "Here I am."

Verse 2 says these are “Various” Trials.

That means that they have lots of forms.

(1)                       We don’t know what to do

(2)                       We lack money

 

(3)                       We are oppressed by powerful forces…perhaps we are oppressed by addictions

(4)                       We have damaged relationships

(5)                       Health issues.

These are Trials!

Yet, the Bible says we are to face them with Joy.

Count it all joy.

That phrase is probably not condemning you if you have other emotions.

It is not saying, “The only emotion you should have is joy,”  but rather it is saying, “Consider it something to be exceedingly joyful about!”

 

ILL:  farmer on his wagon…with his dog next to him on the driver’s bench, comes over the hill…great big crash…Trooper comes upon the horse first…shoots him…then the dog…shoots him…comes to the man, “Are you alright?”  “I never felt better in my life.”

Verse 2 says “Consider it all Joy”  and Verse 12 says “Consider yourself Blessed!”

 

“Why?”

And “How?”

 

*II.

**Fathom the Dynamics of the situation*

 

EXP: You notice this passage talks about both Trials and Temptations.

Is there a difference between trials and temptations?

It’s not always easy to distinguish but I think there’s an important difference that we can see when we look at the original language of this passage.

You see there’s actually two different words used.

The word translated “Trials” in verse 2 and also verse 12, is a different word from the word “testing” in verse 4.  The word translated “Trial or Temptation” is the word Pyrasmon.

The word “Testing” comes from the word Dokimon.

(Not to be confused with a first century version of Pokemon)

 

Alexander MacLaren distinguished the two words this way, "Pyrasmon conveys the idea of appealing to the worst part of man, with the wish that he may yield and do the wrong.

Dokimon means an appeal to the better part of man, with the desire that he should stand.

Pyrasmon says, 'Do this pleasant thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is wrong.'

Dokimon says, 'Do this right and noble thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is painful.'

The one is a sweet, beguiling melody, breathing soft indulgence and relaxation over the soul; The other is a trumpet call to high achievements."

The word used in verse 12 translated "temptation" is the word pyrasmon.

It speaks about Satan's enticement to sin...and verse 13 tells us that we need to understand that, "God never entices a person to sin..."

 

Deut 8:2 says God will test us to see what's in our heart, but he never entices us to sin.

So what are the dynamics?

When you feel tempted to sin, that is Satan enticing you to do evil...to sin against God, and he does it to attempt to destroy your life.

Now he will tell you that he just wants to give you what is rightfully yours.

He will tell you that he wants to add to your life.

He will tell you that this is a way to have what God has unfairly withheld, but you need to know that the devil never talks without lying.

He may tell part of the truth, but he will never tell the whole truth.

So his purpose in temptation is to destroy.

But when we are tested by some hardship that seems to be demanding that we live in extraordinary strength and resolve, that is God’s Dokimon…His testing of us, and when that happens, you need to be clear: God also has a purpose.

God's purpose...is to test what is in your heart, so that you can receive His stamp of approval.

He allows you to be tested by hardship and He allows you to be tempted by evil because His purpose is for you to endure it, and he never lets it be too hard for you, so that He can place his stamp of approval on you.

So, we could say:

 

·       God Tests us to Approve us

·       Satan Tempts us to Destroy us

 

 

God is like a science teacher who has been teaching us, pouring herself into us, showing us how to perform a lab exercise, exposing us to scientific theories…and then comes the test so that she can give us an A, and announce… “This is my student…ready to learn yet more!”

On the other hand, Satan is of sinister nature…appealing to the lower part of us…to the dark shadows of our lives…doing everything he can to ruin our lives.

If God is a mentor, helping us grow…Satan is an adulterer tempting us to stray.

If God is a caring parent, Satan is an abusive predator.

God wisely allows us to go through various trials, and we’re going to see in a minute how He uses those trials for our growth.

But part of enduring the test or overcoming the temptation is having a grasp of what is happening!

And that leads us to the third thing I’d like you to see:

 

*III.

**Foresee the Future*

 

Enduring the test means: Blessing.

How could a test be a blessing?

Because they are chances to put the fruits of the Spirit into practice.