Overcomers.

we love our church, period. right now we are in an 11 week study on the book of james. this has always been encouraging book for me and i was excited to go through an in depth study at church. we just finished a series on the book of daniel (something i have never been a part of) which was a great book and study. last week my good friend, don solin, preached the first sermon...he did an amazing job!! i wanted to share my notes from this week's sermon from pastor david smith. i cant wait for the rest of the series!!! what a great thing to look forward to...church!! 


**please go to fairhaven's webpage to hear the sermon...this is just some of what i wrote...it is definitely something everyone should listen to!!**


 James 1:13-18 ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.


trial- something you dont want but when you surrender to God you grow.
temptation- something you do want and when you give in it stunts your Christian growth.


question: with what temptation do you wrestle?
    
-when tempted, not if tempted (vs. 13)
     -no one is exempt, it is inevitable
-temptation is not a sin. only when we give into temptation do we sin
     -Jesus was tempted, but was without sin, and can therefore be a guide (Hebrews 2:18)
-temptation does not come from God! (remember that Jesus was tempted by satan.)
-wrong questioning is "why wont God take this away?"
     -God's power will never trump your will, YOU have to choose!!

4 cycles of temptation/addiction cycle (follows vs 13-16, but also some book that i didnt write down:) )
cycle #1: enticement or preoccupation (vs14)
     -by his own evil desires
        -3 areas of temptation: mental, physical, spiritual
how to overcome cycle of enticement:
     1. decide ahead of time...just say NO!!
        -replace an ungodly thought with a godly one!
     2. have a regular, daily time with God.
     3. make sure you are in community. (our version of small groups)
cycle #2: conception/ritualization (vs15)
     1. we tell ourselves this will be fun.
     2. we believe we can get away with it.
     3. we think we might be a better person with it/because of it.
how to overcome cycle of conception:
     1. cut it out of your life
     2. choose the necessary action to turn to positive
     3. change the focus of attention
cycle #3: birth/acting out (vs15)
    giving in leads to more giving in, which leads to more giving in, which leads to giving in on a much greater level. (ted bundy said something like this is an interview. did you know that he grew up in a conservative Christian home? shows life is a series of choices)
cycle #4: shame/death (vs15)
     the very thing i dont want to do, i do!
how to overcome shame:
     1. confess it! 1 John 1
     2. dont allow guilt to consume us.
     3. put up guardrails around that area of life.

know: YOU can overcome temptation. you CAN overcome temptation. you can OVERCOME temptation. you can overcome TEMPTATION. 1 Cor. 10:13

after church a few friends, peter, and i, went to dinner to discuss the sermon and to confess our biggest temptation with each other. we have committed to keep each other accountable...to help each other overcome our temptations. i am blessed to have people to be real with in my journey of life. if you have anything in your life that i can help keep you accountable for, please let me know! this blog has become more than just a place of venting for me...this have become one of my communities and you are included in that.
  

blessings, ALo