Come Alive: Resisting Temptation by Loving God

cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar. She would make this special glaze on some of them, and others dipped in chocolate. And I tell you what, I couldn't resist. I would eat, and I would eat, one by one by one. By the time I was 16, 17 years old, I'd eat about six of them at a time. Yeah, they were that good because I just couldn't resist. And each and every time, I'll tell you this, my belly ate. It baked every single time, yet I kept going back because I simply couldn't resist. [00:45:51] (36 seconds)  #CantResistDonuts

Now donuts are funny, but temptations aren't. When we think about the temptations that we're faced with, whether it's pornography, whether it's anger, whether it's to steal, whether it's drinking and getting drunk, whether it's lost idolatry or stress, we all feel this pull. We feel this pull to give into our flesh. And sometimes in the Christian life, we may come to accept these temptations and these sins as part of normal Christian living. [00:46:28] (40 seconds)  #TemptationIsReal

As we head to Easter, my friends, we'll be talking in this series called Come Alive because listen, Jesus came that we may have life, and not just life, but life to the fullest. Not cycles of regret, not hidden shame, not private defeat. No, my friends, he wants you to live in victory over temptation and sin. And notice, before the resurrection on Easter Sunday, there comes the wilderness. Before Easter comes temptation to Jesus. [00:47:16] (36 seconds)  #ComeAliveSeries

And today, as we look as we look at Luke chapter four, I wanna ring the bell. I wanna point your attention to a very important part. That if Jesus was tempted, if the very son of God was tempted, you will be too. No one, my friends, is above temptation. Irregardless of age or gender or who you are, whether you grew up in the church or outside the church, no one is above temptation. [00:47:51] (30 seconds)  #JesusWasTempted

In fact, first Corinthians ten twelve states it plainly. He says, if you think you're standing firm, be careful that you do not fall. What a warning for all of us. If you think that sin's not for you, that you're above that, you would never do that. Be careful, it says. It warns us, be careful that you do not fall. [00:48:21] (28 seconds)  #BeCarefulYouMayFall

First Peter five eight reminds us that there's the adversary, the devil, that he is out to kill, steal, and destroy, but that he's like a warring lion out there to devour. It raises awareness of the lion that's there. And I think sometimes we treat the enemy like we do when we go to the zoo. My family, we love to go to the zoo. The Grunwalds go to the zoo. [00:48:49] (28 seconds)  #WatchOutForTheLion

See, sometimes I think we look at our temptations and sin like we do at the zoo. Like, they look safe there. They're behind the glass. They can freely interact with the lion without getting hurt. But what if, friends, all of a sudden while we were at the zoo, there came an announcement over the loud speaker. Excuse me, customers of the zoo, The lion has escaped. [00:49:50] (31 seconds)  #LionHasEscaped

Please exit the zoo quietly and quickly. Could you imagine how quickly that zoo experience changes? Like, all of a sudden, went from Pleasant, and my kids are interacting with the lion, but now he's escaped. We're we're looking for exits. We're we're running. We're grabbing our kids because the lion is out there. Could you imagine if I told you this morning that as you leave church, there's a lion out in the parking lot? [00:50:21] (26 seconds)  #AwarenessChangesEverything