Temptations of a Christian: Recap I
Resisting the Temptation to Doubt God as We Go and Grow
This recap in the series of lessons based on Christ’s Sermon on the Mount as recorded by his disciple, Matthew, we reviewed the Beatitudes in Chapter 5 and acknowledged the fact that no matter how long we have been on the road to heaven, we must be reminded regularly of the temptations that face us as we go and grow!
As a matter of fact, Christians face a unique set of temptations that mainly revolve around our relationships, religious practices as we align ourselves with a particular body of believers meeting in a specific place, coming to terms with Biblical guidelines for handling the responsibilities entrusted to us, and just generally responding to narrow road that is the Highway to Heaven.
We know we are Christians because we have answered the call of the Holy Spirit, have accepted the fact that as sinners only the death of Jesus Christ has paid the price for that sin, we’ve accepted His Lordship and become sons and daughters of the Most High God, as described in John 1:12.
12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— (NIV)
We hear sermons about growing in the Lord, maturing as Christians as the Holy Spirit develops within us the personality traits of the Beatitudes as record in Matthew 5
3“Blessed
are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)
We are challenged to believe that there actually can be joy in temptations as James tells us in
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
We wonder when we will reach maturity, completeness, lacking nothing! Then, praise be to God, we are reminded of the verses in I Corinthians, which assures us that
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (I Cor. 10:13 NIV)
Our challenge then seems less daunting. We will be tempted, yes, but not more than we can stand. All right! We therefore continue to sing with determination the song chosen as our theme for the series, “I’m Going On!” and “Learning to Lean”.
- Link to PowerPoint Slides for Week 25 – Recap I – (in .pdf)
- Link to Handout for Week 25 – The Sacred Romance – (in pdf)
- Link to Music for Week 25 – “I’m Going On” midi with lyrics and music (Charles W. Naylor and Andrew L. Byers) and “Learning to Lean” Words and Music by John Stallings, midi, (youtube) – The Blackwood Brothers (CW), Willie Norwood (Gospel)The Evereadys (Gospel) Piano (youtube), The Sensational Nightingales
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