from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church https://ift.tt/2XPbn3C
via IFTTT There is a way out! No matter how tempted you are, no matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how the voices scream that there is no way to resist so just give in, there is a way out! What a glorious promise! You do not have to sin. You can resist that temptation that lures you. You can escape the agony of yet again giving in to that secret sin you detest. You are not powerless against it. You are not the slave to sin. The voices that say "there is no hope" are lieing! You can overcome because scripture says God has already made a path to escape. God does not lie, he fulfills every promise. So yes, there is a way out! The nature of the temptation does not matter. Whatever it is that calls to you, whatever tugs at your flesh to violate God's law just one more time, it is escapable! When that temptation arises, and you feel powerless to resist, there is an answer, but only one. There is a path, but only one. That path is Jesus. You see, one thing is true. YOU are indeed powerless to overcome temptation, of yourself. No mental exercises, no technique, no amount of will power will be able to overcome temptation. Man has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All men. We are all powerless over sin and temptation. BUT, we can each overcome through the victory of Jesus on the cross! If you turn to Jesus, HE is powerful and faithful to overcome for you! When the voices say "you can not do this" just reply "no, I can't but Jesus can" and rely on the strength and victory of Jesus to overcome through you. Turn your heart to Jesus and ask him to work through you, to purify you, to strengthen you. You can do all things THROUGH Christ. But only through Christ. You alone are powerless. Temptation comes against good people, against God's people, not in an attempt to break us. God is not trying to see where our limits are, He already knows! What God is doing is showing us the defeat of satan! God is building our faith, fulfilling our joy, but showing us that HE has already overcome, by demonstrating that all temptation is conquerable, that satan has no power. None. Zero. He lost. When Jesus died on that cross as a guiltless man, he paid for your sins. But when Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day, He defeated satan and death itself. He took the keys to satan's power on Earth and crushed them. We fight a defeated foe. The battle is already won! It's over. The epic battle between good and evil is over and Jesus won. Jesus does not fight satan anymore, there is no need. He already won! What that means for us is that we can escape any temptation to sin, if we trust in Jesus, turn to Jesus, live under the authority of Jesus. If we belong to Jesus, bought by that precious blood spilled out on the cross, then satan is powerless against us. All we have to do is say no. Resist. In Jesus name. If you have not given your life to Christ, then you are in fact powerless against temptation. You will fall. Nothing else can help you because there is "a" path. Only one. All else is a lie that leads to failure. Jesus is the only way because He is the only one who conquered temptation fully. If you have not given your heart and life and body to Jesus, you will fail. But if you do submit to the cross, offer your life and body to Jesus and commit to His will for you, then nothing can stand against you because you are in Him! You belong to Jesus the moment you give yourself to Him. And He takes care of His own. Jesus is the only way. If you are washed in the blood of Christ, lean on Him. Call on Him in the moment of temptation and overcome it all! If you have not yet given all of yourself to Jesus, know that you will fail until you do. The lie is that you can't even with Jesus. The other lie is that you can without Jesus. He is the only way. Seek Him and live!
