Character is a Choice

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's brand new book, Reignite. But first, here's his message, Character is a Choice. Take God's Word and turn to the first chapter of James. What we read in the passage before us tells us how we can overcome temptation and conquer temptation in our lives. James uses the same word for trial or test to describe something altogether different, which is temptation. Same word for trial, he uses to describe temptations.

Now trials are allowed by God or even sent by God in order to prove our mettle, our character. But temptations are different. Temptations are sent by Satan to undermine us and even to destroy us. A temptation is the solicitation or the seduction to do something wrong, to break God's commandments. Temptation is when Satan takes a normal God-given desire and tempts us to fulfill that in a God-forbidden way. We all have normal, natural, human desires.

And Jesus is the answer to all of our desires and He is the one who appeals to us and draws us to Himself. But Satan uses those desires, normal, natural, human desires and offers temptations, you see, to fulfill those in some God-forbidden way and that's temptation. It's not a sin to be tempted.

Everyone is tempted. Jesus was tempted in all points as we are tempted and yet the Bible says He never sinned. We know we have been tempted and we know that we have sinned, but I want to show you from James here how we can win over sin, how we can triumph over temptation in our lives. Look at verse 13 of James 1. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one, but each person is tempted when he is lured, mark that word in your Bible, lured and enticed, another word to note, by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to death or rather to sin and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

God is unchangeable and He is always good. So let's start out with the problem that we all face regarding temptation. It is a problem.

So this is a reality check. You can't outlive temptation no matter how long you live. If you're breathing, you will be tempted in some way. We are all susceptible to temptations. In a verse that many of us marked and memorized years ago when we first began to following Christ. 1 Corinthians 10, 13, but there is no temptation that is overtaking you, but that it is common to man and God is faithful and will with the temptation, will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation will also provide a way of escape that you may be able to endure it. So God has promised, that's a great promise that God will protect us if we will seek His protection.

That there is a pathway out of temptation and out of sin. You are in a spiritual battle. Satan hates Jesus and if you follow Jesus and stay close to Jesus, you'll be under Satan's attack. We have spiritual enemies including demon forces. These are the infernal forces of hell and therefore our enemy. You are a target of Satan. But not only is there the infernal enemy, Satan, but there is an external enemy which is the world.

The Bible talks about the world system, the secular system that does not know or honor God, the anti-Christ, anti-God system. We all feel the allure and the attraction of the world. John the disciple described it this way in 1 John 2 16, as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

That's the world. So Satan is an infernal enemy, the world is an external enemy attacking us from without, but James here is focusing on the internal enemy which is the flesh, the old nature, what we were before we met Christ, our old desires. James wrote, temptation comes from the lure, the enticement, the entrapment of our own evil desires and that these evil desires like a pregnancy lead to evil actions and evil actions lead to the birth of death.

So here you have it. You wonder why you're tempted, you wonder why you face some of the same temptations in your life because on the outside Satan attacks, the world attracts and our own flesh, our own human nature allures us to invite us to disobey God. To disobey God in some way. So we must accept personal responsibility for our own sins, our own temptations. You can't always say the devil made me do it. The devil may have tempted you or may have used the world or your own flesh and he's involved but you must take personal responsibility and James says don't blame God for your temptations. You say how would anybody, why would anybody blame God?

Well people do it all the time. It started way, way back in the Garden of Eden with Adam. When Eve committed the sin and they both took of the fruit and sinned and disobeyed God, Adam ran and hid and God tracked him down like he always tracks us down if we believe in him. Tracked him down and confronted him with his sin and Adam said, God, it's not my fault.

It's the woman you made. It's your fault God. Sometimes we say, well God ordained the circumstances. I mean all this happened, doesn't the Bible say God works everything out for good? That's not what the Bible says exactly. But the Bible does say in Romans 8, 28 that God is working all things together for the good to those who love the Lord and are called, are fitting into His purposes for their lives. Not everything works out for good. But you think, oh yeah, oh yeah, it all worked out for good.

I mean I did the wrong thing, I did a bad thing and it all worked out so God must have ordained it. Or something like this, it's in my DNA. I can't help myself. It's my personality. It's my proclivities. It's my orientation. I have my desires.

I have my attractions and I can't give them up. This is the way God made me and I must be true to myself. No, you don't need to be true to yourself. You need to be true to God. No to sin and true to God.

The fact is you need to get over yourself. God doesn't lead anyone into sin. He's trying to get us out of sin and that we would pursue godliness and holiness and purity, character, integrity in our lives. So if God is not responsible, you can't blame God for these temptations and the problems that we face related to sin, then who do we blame?

What is the problem? Well that's James 14 to 16. Again, look at it again. Each person as if there is an individual attack, an allurement for each person that may even be different, but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Now just stop right there because here we see moving from the problem of temptation, the process of temptation. It is a process. The truth is it doesn't just happen. We often put ourselves in the position to be tempted.

We give the devil a stick to hit us with. And it doesn't come from without, but it comes from within, what we contemplate, what we consider, how we imagine things, what we think about things. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Jesus said in Mark 7 verses 21 and following that out of the heart perceives all of these things which is sexual immorality and lust and murders and lies and all the rest. He said it comes from within. James picks up on that.

He observed a lot by watching and listening and from the love of our own desires or the lure of our own evil desires. Now the lure here, it suggests a bait or a hook. So you might call this lessons from the lure. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and his message, character is a choice. Pastor, this month we have a special gift for our listeners who give a gift to PowerPoint. It's your brand new book, Reignite.

What can you tell us about this powerful resource? My latest book Reignite is out and it is definitely needed. The message of this book is needed today. It was actually born out of a personal experience, an emotional crisis in my life after a cancer surgery. And I discovered some things about Reignited my life that I want to share with you.

If you find yourself exhausted, tired, depressed, anxious, uncertain about your future, then I believe this book is going to encourage you. Call today and get Reignite as our thank you for your gift. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627 or text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional.

Our website again is Jack Graham.org. Now let's get back to today's message, character is a choice. Here's a lesson from the lure about temptation. It's an illustration.

And the illustration is this. Temptation is like bait on a hook. You don't see the hook, but you see the lure. And like a dumb fish that comes up swimming and sees something shining and sparkling in the water, glistening in the water and takes the bait and finds the hook. And from the bait to the hook, you're cooked.

Right? And that's what happens to people in life. Sin wouldn't be attractive, it wouldn't be appealing if it wasn't fun at some level. There's pleasure in sin for a season. So temptations can be exciting.

And Satan knows just the bait in which to hook us. When we're younger, and this is generally speaking, because remember if you're breathing you're tempted, right? But when you're younger it seems to be that the temptations or physical appetites are the strongest. That's why the Bible says, flee youthful lusts.

So physical appetites are especially appealing and alluring when we're younger. Then middle age comes and you know we're more interested in our personal ambitions, we're climbing the ladder to success and that's when those kinds of temptations like lying or cheating or stealing or losing control or running over people or demanding our own way to get where we want to go. All of those kinds of temptations regarding our personal ambitions where we'll have success. It's all pride. Those are most powerful typically at our midlife years and our earning years and so on. And then in the latter years. Our temptations are regarding spiritual allegiance.

Who we're going to worship because Satan comes along and says things to you like, you can't trust God. You're getting old. You're getting sick. You're going to die. You're not even going to be able to pay for your medicine. Who's going to take care of you? Your kids. They're not taking care of you. What's wrong with you?

God told you that He'd take care of you. Look at you. Those kinds of temptations.

You see? So each one is tempted in a different way but all attractive and all appealing. And it's like a lure that takes us in. And the bait and the hook are set for you. Some of us right now are facing temptation and the hook is almost in your mouth. Now you can rationalize anything. Never mind the consequences.

When temptation is so strong, it does something to the mind. It doesn't matter. It's just one look. It's just one thought. It's just one action. It's just a little thing.

It's not that big a deal. I can stop anytime I want. Sound familiar? Temptations. And we start rationalizing it. That's when we're getting ready to take the bait. That's why James, he gives another illustration.

He talks about being pregnant, a woman pregnant and said it's like that. This sin thing and temptation is like that. First there's desire, conception of the desire. The bait is offered. Then the inner desire is attracted to the bait. That's deception. Then sin occurs when we take the bait, when we bite the bait, when we say yes. Again, hear me. It's not a sin to be tempted.

So far, so good. It's not a sin to be tempted. It's a sin to say yes to temptation.

You can still say no. But once sin occurs, that's disobedience. And disobedience leads to death, the tragic consequences of our sin. So sin is like a pregnancy. It's often unseen.

You can be pregnant and not know it for weeks and months. Some of you are pregnant with temptation right now. And yet, if you turn away, you can be delivered from death and the consequences of sin. And that's what James is telling us. Satan doesn't tell you about the awful, sinful consequences and death of sin and temptation. The bait is bright, it's beautiful, so you bite.

Have you found this to be true? Oh, I never intended for it to happen. I never thought it would end up this way. I fell. And I fell hard. And I didn't know it would hurt this much. James is saying, protect yourself.

Prepare yourself. Because you can't sin and win. As the old evangelist used to say, first sin fascinates and then it assassinates. It thrills and then it kills. True.

That's what James is saying. It leads to death. Death to your character. Death to your family. Death to your marriage. Death to your relationship with your kids. Death to your relationship in your church.

Death, death, death. But you don't have to live this way. And there is power, therefore, to overcome temptation. Power. And I want to give you, in closing, some words that you can write down that will enable you, by God's grace, to resist temptation.

That's the goal, right? So number one is the word resist. James 4, 7. Submit yourself, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. When Satan attacks, you have the power in Jesus' name to say no. 1 Peter 5, 8 through 9 says, Be so reminded, watchful, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of sufferings are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

People everywhere are going through this. You're not the only one. Everybody is tempted, but you have the power to resist. Don't tell me that Jesus Christ lives in you by his Holy Spirit and you don't have the power to say no to Satan.

You do. Resist. Number two, run. Especially run from the sins of the flesh. 2 Timothy 2, 22. Flee sinful, youthful passions and pursue righteousness. Flee, run like Joseph who was nearly seduced by a seductive woman, Potiphar's wife, in Egypt, but because of his commitment to God, he said, I cannot sin against God in this way. How could I?

God's been too good to me. So he ran out of the room. She grabbed his coat literally and took it. But she could take his coat. She couldn't take his character.

He ran. Sometimes that's the very best thing you can do. Thirdly, remember. That's verses 16 and 17 in James 1. Verse 17 says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights with whom there's no variation of shadow due to change. God is unchangeable and God is consistent and God is faithful.

So remember that. Submit to God, the Bible says, draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Why do people find temptation so attractive? When we are vulnerable or susceptible to temptations in our life, it's because we're not finding our satisfaction in Jesus. It's because we're not finding our fulfillment in the Lord. But if you remember how good God has been to you. Psalm 84 and verse 11, the Lord our God is a sun and a shield and He gives grace and glory and no good thing will He withhold from them who walk uprightly. But people get all bent by temptation because they think God's not meeting their needs or God's not taking care of them. So run ahead of God, jump ahead of God and so on. No, remember how good God is.

Like Joseph said, how can I do this in the light of how good God has been to me? His grace. Jesus is the source and the secret of all satisfaction.

He's the solution to temptation. Rely is the next word. Rely. And by that I mean rely on others in the family of faith. I showed you 2 Timothy 2.22, the first part of it.

Look at the last part of that. After we flee youthful passions, pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call on the name of the Lord from a pure heart. In other words, get around godly people. You hang around with bad people, guess what's going to happen?

You're going to be tempted with bad things. I'm not saying you shouldn't engage people in a friendship in order to bring them to Christ, but you don't hang out with people that are going to bring you down. You choose friends among those who believe in Christ, your closest companions. That's the church as Christian friends who will hold you accountable, who will pray for you, who will encourage you, who will equip you and teach you. So stay connected to Christ and His church.

And one final thing, renew. Renew your mind in the Word of God. Psalm 119 verse 11, your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against God. That's what Jesus did when He quoted the Word of God and not just quoted the Word of God, but submitted to the Word of God in His life.

He knew the Word. He used it as a weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. It's good to carry your Bible, but the best place for God's Word is in your heart. Get God's Word in your heart. That's why we say mark your Bible, memorize your Bible, get God's Word because when the heat is on and the temptation is strong, you'll have your weapon, the Word of God. When you hide God's Word in your heart, it's a protection, it's a shield of faith for you to overcome the enemy. You don't have to yield to the seductions of the enemy.

You can listen to God and God will enable you. And He'll give, according to verse 12 of James 1, the crown of life. Sin brings death. Jesus brings life.

Trust Him. We're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, character is a choice. Chances are you've faced your share of crisis.

Maybe you're even in the fight of your life right now. Or maybe you're simply feeling exhausted by the busyness of life and sapped of spiritual strength. Whatever you're facing, we want to help fan the flame of faith in your life by sending you Dr. Graham's newest book, Reignite.

This personal account of how God led Dr. Graham through his own crisis will help you focus on God during difficult seasons so you can experience fresh passion and joy in Jesus. And we'll send you a copy as thanks for your gift today. So call now to request your copy of Reignite. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional.

Our website again is Jack Graham.org. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? The times that we are most vulnerable to temptation, when temptations seem to be the most attractive, is when we're not finding our satisfaction in Jesus. You see, we're not finding our fulfillment in the Lord, so sometimes we seek it in other ways. We get beaten up by temptation when we start thinking that God's not meeting our needs in some way or taking care of us in some way, that we need some pleasure that God can't provide.

That's when we run ahead of God, start doing our own things, start doing what we think to meet our own needs to try to make ourselves happy. But I want you to remember how good, how good God has been to you, that He has given you abundant life through His Son, Jesus Christ. So when the allure of temptation comes, realize that anything that Satan promises, anything the world may give really is a lie, cannot meet or fulfill your personal needs for fulfillment. Remember, the Lord our God, this is one of my favorite verses. Remember this, the Lord our God is a Son and a shield. He gives grace and glory. And watch this, no good thing will He withhold from them who walk uprightly. So Jesus is the source and the secret of all real satisfaction.

And therefore, He's the answer to every temptation. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint today, we'll send you Dr. Graham's brand new book, Reignite, as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. Next time, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can know that God is for you. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.