What to do when the tempter comes II

READ:1 John 2:16-26
MORE LESSONS: Heb. 4:14-16
Bible Reading in One Y ear: Luke 10-13

God doesn't force or compel anybody to believe or obey Him. It was He who handed us the power of choice and free will and therefore we have the liberty to choose what to do, when to do it and why we want to do it. It is also worthy of note that God will never condemn a believer. Jesus took all the condemnation streaming from God’s full wrath on the cross of Calvary so there is no condemnation left for a Christian. His Spirit will only convict you of sin by leaving a signal in the witness of your conscience that you have crossed the line. Thereafter, the red light alarm goes out in your inner man. As soon as you repent from it, peace and tranquillity return. If you have ever felt condemned after you did what was wrong, then that was not the Holy Spirit. It was the enemy. Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
No scheme of the enemy is new. It is the same way he tempted our fathers of old that he still tempts us today. He is without innovation. He is predictable. With the full amour of God no devil hatched from the pit of hell can penetrate your sanctification. Serpent tempted the woman using three classes of temptations. First, she saw that it was good for food that describes the lust of the flesh. Secondly, she saw that it was pleasant to the eye that speaks of the lust of the eye. And thirdly, she saw that the tree is to be desired to make one wise, pointing to the pride of life. After she was tempted on these three dimensions, she fell. The same pattern is found thousands of years later when in Mark 4, satan tempted Jesus. He asked him to turn stone into bread - lust of the flesh. Then he asked him to cast Himself down so that angels will pick him up- the lust of the eye. And lastly he asked Jesus to bow down and worship him - the pride of life. When the first Adam went through these three classes of temptation, he fell, but Glory to Jesus, the last Adam; He didn't fall, rather the devil fled for a season. You might have lost like the first Adam, but in Christ you are a winner. James 4:7 tells us what to do when the tempter comes "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Prayer/ Action
* Thank God because his word contains solutions to everyday issues of life.
* Pray that you will not fall prey to all the lusts that the enemy tempts us with in the overcoming name of Jesus.
* Ask for power to submit to God and audacity to resist the devil continually.
* Decree that you have overcome in Jesus Christ. Declare that you will enjoy this victory everyday of your life in Jesus’ name.

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