I have a question
for you. Are you tempted?
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And if so, is
that temptation a sin?
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That's our topic
next on Coming Out.
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Welcome back to
program seven of Coming Out.
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We are tackling tough
topics and we're doing it,
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our goal is to do
this compassionately
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and yet without compromise
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as we deal with issues
of sexuality, bisexual,
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transgender, homosexuality
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and the Bible and the
grace of Jesus Christ.
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Our topic today has
to deal with temptation,
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are you tempted?
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And our guests are gentlemen,
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Mike Carducci,
Pastor Ron Woolsey.
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You've been with me
throughout the series.
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I have co-founders,
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two of the cofounders
of Coming Out Ministries
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that has special calling
to try to bring clarification
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and help to people
that are struggling
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with these issues.
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I've been told that
one of the big questions
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that is often asked you,
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now that you have come
out of the gay lifestyle is,
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are you still tempted
with same sex attraction?
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So I'll just ask you
out you know the question
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or why do you get
that question anyway?
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Seems like you
get a lot, don't you?
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Yes, we do.
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You want to go
first? Go ahead, Ron.
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Okay.
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When I came to
the Lord 22 years ago,
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I chose a new difference--
a new direction for my life.
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I was baptized 22
years ago but Satan wasn't
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and Satan is the
primary source of temptation.
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Of course other
people can tempt.
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We're tempted as we're
drawn away by our own lust
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but when I accepted Jesus,
I was more tempted then ever.
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I doubt with
very severe temptation
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after accepting Jesus,
that I came away equipped
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as to how to
deal with temptations
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so as I never went
back in that direction.
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But we cannot always know
when temptation is coming,
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and we don't need to
be disturbed by it either.
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We have biblical reasons
that we will be talking about
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why we don't need to
be disturbed by that.
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Mike. Well, I think that--
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that the general
populous out there,
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they want to know you know
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what a redeemed
homosexual looks like.
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And you know for so
long in Christian culture
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we basically said that,
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number one, that
homosexuality can't be healed
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and then on this other side
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when you have people
that are coming forward
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that may still have
what we called residue,
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you know, we're
left over mannerisms
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that would point to a
feminine you know qualities.
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You know, how is
it that they can say
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that they have
overcome homosexuality?
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You know one of the
great things is that Ron,
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you know within a year
was already in a relationship
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and got married and has
a family and grandchildren.
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And yet for me it
was a very slow process
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of understanding that.
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When I got baptize, you know,
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I was in a
relationship who had a boyfriend
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and I didn't want
to give up my identity,
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I didn't even
think it was possible.
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I was very comfortable in
the lifestyle that I was in,
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but as I kept continually
walking with Jesus Christ
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and He started to
put before me more truth.
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You know this came--
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this came at a
time when He was willing
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to allow me to make the decision
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and to move forward
as I was willing to.
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He didn't push
me, He didn't force me
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it was always my
choice and so that came longer
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about handing
over my attractions
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and recognizing that they want--
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you know in a line
with his will for my life.
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And so for me it's
been a slow process
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but what was amazing
is to be in my mid 40s
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and finally have
my first attraction
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to the opposite
sex it was shocking
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and imagine going through
puberty twice if you would.
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And so you know
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I think for each one of us,
it's a little bit different.
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Our colleague Wayne, you know
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he's been out of the lifestyle
for over five years now
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and so he still
hasn't experienced that yet.
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But you know that doesn't mean
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that he hasn't
redeemed then because he doesn't
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you know act on those
impulses or those temptations,
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you know
therefore we don't believe
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that we are
identified by our temptation
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or identity in
Jesus Christ in Him alone.
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Right and this is
critical, and will be--
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will be going deeper into this
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the difference
between temptation and sin.
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And before we
do that I want to--
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I want to just show a
verse in the book of Mathew,
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because the whole issue
of temptation I think is,
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its critical that we
first established this.
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Absolutely.
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In Matthew 4:1 the Bible says
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that "Jesus" after his baptism
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"He was led up of the
Spirit into the wilderness
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to be tempted by the devil."
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So there is the word
tempted right there in the Bible
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and we know that the
ultimate source of temptation
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according to this
verse is the devil himself.
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Now as I look back on my life
before I became a Christian,
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during my teenage,
what I called my B.C years,
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a before Christ when I
was just living a wild life
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I didn't struggle
with same sex attraction
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but I had whole
host in other problems.
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But as I look back on that
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the word
temptation just you know
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it was totally foreign to me.
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I didn't relate to it
and even think about it.
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I didn't know that
I was being tempted
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and I think that's the
way it is with most people
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they just do things or follow,
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you know, their
hearts or what's around them
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and they don't even think
about the devil temptation.
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In my mind, the
whole idea of temptation
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coming from Satan
is a-- it's something
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that you have to have a
spiritual perception of,
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in order to really even
deal with the issue at all.
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You know, wouldn't
you agree with that?
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Right, so Steve, the same
thing for you would apply to us.
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The minute I was
baptize it wasn't holy water,
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I didn't come out
of there and you know
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I was straight and ready to
do all those kind of things.
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And so anyone knows
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that 15 minutes
after you've been baptized
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you realize that--
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the God didn't wash
away or memory or a history.
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All of that is still intact
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but what He asks us to
do is to start to understand
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the process of
admitting our temptations
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and submitting them to Him
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because He knows that we're not
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capable of overcoming
of our own temptations.
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It's that
process of trusting Him,
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and learning how to do this
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so that we can gain
the victory over our sin.
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And so, even
after you're baptize,
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Steve, and I would even
go as far as to say today
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that you still struggle
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with some type of
temptations over something.
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Sure, sure and just like Jesus,
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when He was
baptized then He was tempted,
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I'm sure He was
tempted prior to that too.
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Oh, I love that.
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But for me it wasn't until
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really after I
gave my heart to Christ,
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after I as you said admit it,
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I admit it and then I submit it
to Him and then I was baptized.
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That's when, that's when
the battles really intensified.
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Oh, when we are baptized,
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Satan realizes
he's lost one of his own
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and he doubles down.
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I mean it's not uncommon
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for him to really come at
you in a very heavy handed way,
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to try to get you back.
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That's right, so, Pastor Ron,
you've mentioned to me that,
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that from your
study of the Bible,
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there are three major
sources of temptations,
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just go through those quickly.
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Well, we will refer to
them earlier a little bit
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that we are drawn away
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and tempted and drawn away
by the lust of our own heart.
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I think James talks about that.
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We are tempted by other people
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as in the case of Adam and
Eve and tempting love of Jesus.
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Right, well-- Yeah
with Eve ate first--
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Right, tempted
Adam. She offered Adam,
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she became a
tempter to her husband.
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Right, and then of course
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Satan is the
source of all temptations.
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As it says here in Matthews 4.
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Right, and I believe
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that from the
time we are conceived
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Satan has a
customized plan for our lives
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just as Jesus does He--
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before He formed us
in the belly He knows us.
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And so Satan comes at
us with what his plan is
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and he doesn't give up
on that plan very easily.
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So temptation
comes from the Bible?
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I mean not from the
Bible, in the Bible,
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the Bible tells us
temptation comes from Satan.
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Right.It comes from Satan
working through people. Yes.
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And then it comes from
our own like James 1:14 says
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we're drawn away by our
own lusts and we're enticed.
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I've been reading quite a bit
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to equipped myself to
get ready for the series,
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because I don't
have that background
00:09:03.42\00:09:04.68
and I want to know
as much as I can to be,
00:09:04.71\00:09:07.24
you know
informed on this topics.
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And I have read a
number of testimonies
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from different men,
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who have said
that a long time ago
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they discovered that they
had same sex attractions for men
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or a female for a women,
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and they didn't
like these attractions,
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they didn't want them
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and they prayed that
God would take them away
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and after may be five
years of wrestling with this
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and the fact that
they were still there
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they finally
just gave up and said,
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I'm just I'm going with this.
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And I think there is, you know,
00:09:44.39\00:09:46.03
aren't there a lot
of people out there
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that because they have these
temptations these attractions
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then they just feel like
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there's no hope for them
because they're still there
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and then they take the plunge.
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Well, that was my story.
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I mean, I graduated from college
00:10:01.01\00:10:02.61
with a degree in theology,
00:10:02.64\00:10:03.93
but still
wrestling with these thoughts
00:10:03.96\00:10:06.33
and temptations in my mind
00:10:06.36\00:10:07.62
and I prayed for years
00:10:07.65\00:10:09.50
that the Lord would
take this away from me,
00:10:09.53\00:10:11.91
and He didn't, so
I began to blame Him,
00:10:11.94\00:10:15.13
I gave up on Him.
00:10:15.16\00:10:16.84
When I stopped praying about
it and I started blaming Him,
00:10:16.87\00:10:20.40
then I fell into it.
00:10:20.43\00:10:21.64
I had no protection anymore.
00:10:21.67\00:10:23.59
But I had that
same misconception
00:10:23.62\00:10:27.04
that I was
polluted and corrupted
00:10:27.07\00:10:28.89
by the nature of my temptations
00:10:28.92\00:10:30.25
and I thought that I was
this way because of temptation.
00:10:30.28\00:10:33.93
It was years later that I'd--
00:10:33.96\00:10:36.00
and through my
study that I discovered
00:10:36.03\00:10:38.19
that I gave up on God,
He didn't gave up on me.
00:10:38.22\00:10:42.07
Now, it looks like the same.
00:10:42.10\00:10:43.13
At 17-years-old I prayed
that God would take my life,
00:10:43.16\00:10:46.18
I still was struggling
with fantasy and masturbation
00:10:46.21\00:10:49.02
and I believe that the
God was limited in His ability
00:10:49.05\00:10:52.23
to help me out of the
thing that I was praying for.
00:10:52.26\00:10:54.86
What was so profound to me
is as I was about 43 years old,
00:10:54.89\00:10:58.31
three years after
that I've been baptized
00:10:58.34\00:10:59.47
that I was telling somebody,
00:10:59.50\00:11:00.73
how I prayed that
God would take my life
00:11:00.76\00:11:02.34
and I thought because
He was in different to me
00:11:02.37\00:11:04.71
or that He didn't care
that He just let me live
00:11:04.74\00:11:07.06
and didn't heal me.
00:11:07.09\00:11:08.48
And so at 20 years old I
walked away from church culture
00:11:08.51\00:11:11.37
and I said that's it, you
know I can't do this anymore.
00:11:11.40\00:11:14.29
What was so amazing is
that when God did address
00:11:14.32\00:11:17.16
fantasy, pornography
addiction and all that,
00:11:17.19\00:11:19.83
I realize that 43 years
old that God did hear my prayer
00:11:19.86\00:11:23.36
and He knew that I wasn't ready
to be taken at 17 years old
00:11:23.39\00:11:26.99
then that He was going to
let out the rope if you would,
00:11:27.02\00:11:29.66
and I was going to go through
00:11:29.69\00:11:31.08
20 years of sexual
sin and degradation.
00:11:31.11\00:11:34.86
But at 43 years old
when I realized that
00:11:34.89\00:11:37.75
that God indeed did hear
my prayer and answered that
00:11:37.78\00:11:40.55
as He was able to
take away the temptation
00:11:40.58\00:11:44.47
and the addictive psycho for me.
00:11:44.50\00:11:47.42
And so I see that I was
praying for the wrong thing.
00:11:47.45\00:11:50.70
It wasn't an
issue of being straight
00:11:50.73\00:11:52.65
that was just a
consequence of the brokenness
00:11:52.68\00:11:55.32
that had began with me
even before I was conscious
00:11:55.35\00:11:57.76
from the rejection of my
father and my rejection of him.
00:11:57.79\00:12:01.01
And so I think that's a problem
that that many people face.
00:12:01.04\00:12:04.72
How wonderful that we
have the opportunity now
00:12:04.75\00:12:06.78
to encourage somebody
00:12:06.81\00:12:08.11
who is still struggling
with same sex attraction
00:12:08.14\00:12:10.00
that your temptation is not sin.
00:12:10.03\00:12:12.52
And if Jesus
himself was on the cross
00:12:12.55\00:12:14.42
and still tempted then
pretty much as telling us
00:12:14.45\00:12:17.33
that we're gonna
experience temptation until,
00:12:17.36\00:12:20.08
until that process
is being completed.
00:12:20.11\00:12:22.57
So I don't
acknowledge or make my identity
00:12:22.60\00:12:26.81
about my temptation
00:12:26.84\00:12:28.54
and as long as I understand
what that differences is
00:12:28.57\00:12:30.88
and for 13 years I
haven't had anybody in my bed
00:12:30.91\00:12:33.40
and so why would I want
to be connected to the past
00:12:33.43\00:12:36.08
because the Lord says that,
all things are passed away,
00:12:36.11\00:12:39.04
behold all things had become new
00:12:39.07\00:12:41.04
and so my identity
is in Jesus Christ today
00:12:41.07\00:12:44.09
and so temptation does come
00:12:44.12\00:12:46.14
but its how we manage it
that makes it difference.
00:12:46.17\00:12:48.88
It's learning that relationship.
00:12:48.91\00:12:51.00
And I think-- I'm sorry.
00:12:51.03\00:12:53.61
I was gonna say that
in my study of the Bible
00:12:53.64\00:12:55.94
I've never found any
place where we are promised
00:12:55.97\00:12:59.79
that Jesus will
remove temptation.
00:12:59.82\00:13:02.24
What He promises is grace
00:13:02.27\00:13:04.40
sufficient to
deal with temptation.
00:13:04.43\00:13:06.31
I think as I've
pondered this it seems to me
00:13:06.34\00:13:08.96
that a critical
issue is the difference
00:13:08.99\00:13:12.70
between temptation and sin.
00:13:12.73\00:13:15.42
So why not Pastor Ron,
00:13:15.45\00:13:16.56
I know you've got
some verses in Hebrews,
00:13:16.59\00:13:18.36
you want to really
focus on to establish that
00:13:18.39\00:13:22.08
and then we can draw
the lessons from that.
00:13:22.11\00:13:25.16
Well, when I was in the
world and trying to study,
00:13:25.19\00:13:28.17
work out my own salvations
with fear and trembling
00:13:28.20\00:13:31.19
I came across these passages
00:13:31.22\00:13:32.80
and they gave me
wonderful hope and courage.
00:13:32.83\00:13:35.22
First of all Hebrews 4:12
00:13:35.25\00:13:39.73
"For we have not an high priest
00:13:39.76\00:13:41.39
which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities,
00:13:41.42\00:13:44.63
but was in all points
tempted like as we are,
00:13:44.66\00:13:47.89
yet without sin."
00:13:47.92\00:13:50.25
When I read that I
realized temptation is not sin,
00:13:50.28\00:13:54.21
I threw in the towel
years ago over temptation,
00:13:54.24\00:13:57.67
I had never even
willingly participate in this.
00:13:57.70\00:14:00.87
Did you say verse 12?
00:14:00.90\00:14:02.43
Verse 15. Verse 15.
00:14:02.46\00:14:03.84
Yes, it's Hebrews 4:15
00:14:03.87\00:14:07.28
and as I was sharing my
testimony with a professor
00:14:07.31\00:14:10.07
at a university a
theological professor.
00:14:10.10\00:14:13.20
One time I shared my testimony
and I shared this verse.
00:14:13.23\00:14:17.85
And he looked at me
in shock, and he said
00:14:17.88\00:14:20.81
you don't mean to tell me,
00:14:20.84\00:14:22.16
you think Jesus was
tempted like that, do you?
00:14:22.19\00:14:25.88
And I just looked
right back at him and I said,
00:14:25.91\00:14:27.72
well, how do you think
Jesus was tempted? Like you?
00:14:27.75\00:14:31.36
Yeah, was He tempted
with your temptation?
00:14:31.39\00:14:33.01
Well, that's not
fair. Or with mine?
00:14:33.04\00:14:34.76
That's right.
That wouldn't be fair.
00:14:34.79\00:14:36.64
I said either I
don't want to get into
00:14:36.67\00:14:39.43
all of the details
about what this means
00:14:39.46\00:14:41.69
but please don't take
this text away from me.
00:14:41.72\00:14:44.30
This text gave me what I needed
00:14:44.33\00:14:46.85
along with
Hebrews 2:18 that tells us
00:14:46.88\00:14:53.15
"For in that he himself
hath suffered being tempted,
00:14:53.18\00:14:57.54
he is able to succour or
assist them that are tempted."
00:14:57.57\00:15:00.77
That told me that Jesus
struggled with temptation
00:15:00.80\00:15:03.94
and that's what we've done,
00:15:03.97\00:15:05.38
you know, in our past we
really struggled with this issue
00:15:05.41\00:15:08.32
and so it's okay to be tempted.
00:15:08.35\00:15:10.53
It's okay to struggle with it,
00:15:10.56\00:15:12.44
that still doesn't mean
that you're involved in sin.
00:15:12.47\00:15:16.47
And then when I
read Hebrews 12:4
00:15:16.50\00:15:23.90
talking about Jesus,
referring to Jesus it says here
00:15:23.93\00:15:29.66
"Ye have not yet
resisted unto blood,
00:15:29.69\00:15:32.04
striving against sin."
00:15:32.07\00:15:33.46
In another words you, like Jesus
00:15:33.49\00:15:36.62
did resists under
blood striving against sin.
00:15:36.65\00:15:39.26
And we haven't done that yet.
00:15:39.29\00:15:40.40
And that told me
that Jesus suffered
00:15:40.43\00:15:43.43
and struggled where temptation
00:15:43.46\00:15:45.81
until His last
breath on the cross.
00:15:45.84\00:15:48.19
I have not--
00:15:48.22\00:15:50.31
I have not chosen at this
point to die rather than sin,
00:15:50.34\00:15:54.21
I've not been faced with that,
00:15:54.24\00:15:55.84
with that option or that,
00:15:55.87\00:15:58.74
that struggle or that situation,
00:15:58.77\00:16:01.79
but Jesus chose to
die rather than healed.
00:16:01.82\00:16:06.00
So as I put these three
texts together about Jesus
00:16:06.03\00:16:09.70
I realized I can
trust this man with my life,
00:16:09.73\00:16:13.15
with my salvation
He understands me,
00:16:13.18\00:16:15.71
He understands the
nature of my temptations.
00:16:15.74\00:16:18.36
He has the answers,
00:16:18.39\00:16:19.92
He has strength, He promises
to give me that strength.
00:16:19.95\00:16:23.10
And so this tells me
clearly temptation is not sin.
00:16:23.13\00:16:28.04
Yeah, to me that is
just a critical truth,
00:16:28.07\00:16:31.00
and it's right
there that Jesus himself
00:16:31.03\00:16:33.60
was in all points tempted
like as we are yet without sin.
00:16:33.63\00:16:40.15
We know we all have a flesh,
we have these natural desires
00:16:40.18\00:16:43.33
and these natural desires
00:16:43.36\00:16:44.77
manifest
themselves in different way,
00:16:44.80\00:16:46.92
different ways
for different people.
00:16:46.95\00:16:48.64
But if Jesus was
tempted but He didn't sin,
00:16:48.67\00:16:54.56
then its obvious that
we can be tempted as well,
00:16:54.59\00:16:58.09
with whatever desires or
whether its Satan directly,
00:16:58.12\00:17:02.26
whether its from within
Satan working from within,
00:17:02.29\00:17:05.45
through people
whatever the temptation is
00:17:05.48\00:17:08.57
unless we yield
to that temptation
00:17:08.60\00:17:11.44
we are not guilty
in the sight of God,
00:17:11.47\00:17:14.82
and I think about as I told you,
00:17:14.85\00:17:17.26
you know our temptations,
00:17:17.29\00:17:18.79
your at least
your past temptations,
00:17:18.82\00:17:20.60
my past temptations and
I still have temptations.
00:17:20.63\00:17:23.58
And you know one of the
points we want to stress is
00:17:23.61\00:17:25.34
that everybody is tempted.
00:17:25.37\00:17:26.81
We're all tempted
in different ways,
00:17:26.84\00:17:28.66
my temptations
have been different.
00:17:28.69\00:17:30.60
I'm now married,
I'm happily married man,
00:17:30.63\00:17:32.69
I love my wife and
I'm faithful to her,
00:17:32.72\00:17:35.60
but that doesn't
mean that I might not
00:17:35.63\00:17:39.37
run into another
woman and look at her
00:17:39.40\00:17:42.50
and recognize that she
is an attractive woman.
00:17:42.53\00:17:45.93
And there may be a temptation
00:17:45.96\00:17:48.27
to think more
thoughts than that.
00:17:48.30\00:17:51.15
I think it was
Martin Luther, who once said
00:17:51.18\00:17:53.42
"You can't stop the birds
from flying over your head,
00:17:53.45\00:17:56.88
but they don't have to
make a nest in your hair."
00:17:56.91\00:17:58.89
That's right.
00:17:58.92\00:17:59.96
And so just because I still
maybe tempted by another woman,
00:17:59.99\00:18:06.69
or you know somebody else,
00:18:06.72\00:18:08.25
may be you might be
tempted by another man,
00:18:08.28\00:18:11.06
temptation is temptation.
00:18:11.09\00:18:12.62
But if I choose not to
yield to that temptation
00:18:12.65\00:18:17.13
I haven't sinned,
I haven't done wrong
00:18:17.16\00:18:19.20
and I think it
applies both ways.
00:18:19.23\00:18:20.80
You know whether
same sex attraction,
00:18:20.83\00:18:22.38
whether it is
opposite sex attraction,
00:18:22.41\00:18:24.79
whatever kind of attraction
it is temptation is not a sin.
00:18:24.82\00:18:29.95
So Steve, what you
said was so profound
00:18:29.98\00:18:32.28
and I just want to add to
that when we do presentations
00:18:32.31\00:18:35.50
what's so profound is people
come up to us and they go,
00:18:35.53\00:18:38.07
oh, this isn't a gay thing.
00:18:38.10\00:18:40.09
If they say that you know
00:18:40.12\00:18:41.46
even heterosexual men
will come up and say they--
00:18:41.49\00:18:43.64
that they have
the same problem that,
00:18:43.67\00:18:45.31
you know they have to
submit there temptations also
00:18:45.34\00:18:48.72
when they see a woman
that's attractive or whatever.
00:18:48.75\00:18:51.29
And so it's not
whether it's gay or straight.
00:18:51.32\00:18:54.06
Even a woman, take a woman
that was married for 15 years
00:18:54.09\00:18:57.95
and that her passes away.
00:18:57.98\00:18:59.59
You know she was used
to experiencing the gift of
00:18:59.62\00:19:02.57
sexual
intercourse with her husband
00:19:02.60\00:19:04.25
she is entitled to that right.
00:19:04.28\00:19:06.11
But because she is alone now
00:19:06.14\00:19:07.86
does not entitle
her to take on lovers.
00:19:07.89\00:19:10.29
God tells us that we
have to, discipline the flesh.
00:19:10.32\00:19:15.83
He gave us attractions,
00:19:15.86\00:19:16.92
He gave the ability to touch
00:19:16.95\00:19:19.73
and to hold someone
sexually as a gift, right,
00:19:19.76\00:19:22.70
something to be experience
00:19:22.73\00:19:24.05
but He said that there's
a way to experience that,
00:19:24.08\00:19:26.57
and none of us
whether would gay or straight
00:19:26.60\00:19:28.52
or allowed to go
outside of that boundaries,
00:19:28.55\00:19:30.55
because it hurts other
people and it hurts us.
00:19:30.58\00:19:33.11
That's right,
you know I think that
00:19:33.14\00:19:34.27
if Adam and Eve had never sinned
00:19:34.30\00:19:35.96
and they populated the earth
00:19:35.99\00:19:37.53
and they were other
couples just like them,
00:19:37.56\00:19:39.36
I don't think they
would have been tempted at all
00:19:39.39\00:19:41.20
with looking at you
know on other attractive men
00:19:41.23\00:19:43.60
or other attractive women
00:19:43.63\00:19:45.02
but that temptation
would have been there.
00:19:45.05\00:19:46.88
But now that
they've sinned and we all--
00:19:46.91\00:19:49.07
have all inherited a
fallen nature from them,
00:19:49.10\00:19:52.53
you know we're gonna
have those temptations,
00:19:52.56\00:19:54.08
whether there are same sex
00:19:54.11\00:19:55.34
or whether they are
for man for a woman,
00:19:55.37\00:19:56.74
or a woman for a
man, woman for a women,
00:19:56.77\00:19:58.63
or a man for a man.
00:19:58.66\00:19:59.78
It's all part of the
current of temptations
00:19:59.81\00:20:04.46
that comes from the fall.
00:20:04.49\00:20:06.37
And what may be the
cause of all that you know,
00:20:06.40\00:20:08.99
its still kind of after
grabs whether it's in genes
00:20:09.02\00:20:11.24
or whether it's the nature
or whether its environment,
00:20:11.27\00:20:14.09
whether its
Hollywood, whatever it is
00:20:14.12\00:20:15.95
and we have a program
coming up called the blame game
00:20:15.98\00:20:18.92
and we'll discuss
that more and carefully
00:20:18.95\00:20:21.15
but the bottom line is that,
00:20:21.18\00:20:24.25
whatever the temptation
it still is a temptation
00:20:24.28\00:20:28.80
and its not a sin.
00:20:28.83\00:20:30.42
And so if someone
asked you the question,
00:20:30.45\00:20:33.80
are you still tempted?
00:20:33.83\00:20:35.16
Even if you were to say yes,
00:20:35.19\00:20:37.46
that I'm still
tempted sometimes.
00:20:37.49\00:20:39.15
Yes.
00:20:39.18\00:20:40.21
By same sex attraction,
00:20:40.24\00:20:41.37
it doesn't mean
you committed a sin.
00:20:41.40\00:20:43.06
Right, I think that the
people really want to know
00:20:43.09\00:20:45.88
and I think
they're entitled to know
00:20:45.91\00:20:47.21
that I still have
same sex temptation
00:20:47.24\00:20:50.16
and I was explaining earlier,
00:20:50.19\00:20:51.98
you know I rejected my
father as my male role model.
00:20:52.01\00:20:54.63
I was desperate for male love
00:20:54.66\00:20:56.26
and the only way that
I knew how to get that
00:20:56.29\00:20:58.48
was in a broken way and
that was through sex with man.
00:20:58.51\00:21:01.42
And so even though God
doesn't take away my history,
00:21:01.45\00:21:04.38
He doesn't take my memory away,
00:21:04.41\00:21:06.14
but what He asked me to
do is to submit it to Him
00:21:06.17\00:21:08.46
and to His authority.
00:21:08.49\00:21:09.64
And so He didn't
say that I'm gonna have
00:21:09.67\00:21:11.07
a temptation free life
00:21:11.10\00:21:12.71
but He gave me the opportunity
to experience what its like
00:21:12.74\00:21:15.71
when I admit my temptation
00:21:15.74\00:21:17.47
and if I can submit it
to Him then He covers it.
00:21:17.50\00:21:20.61
He covers it with His blood
because He overcame all sin.
00:21:20.64\00:21:23.67
And so as I have learned this
process and it wasn't pretty,
00:21:23.70\00:21:27.15
it was pretty messy for awhile,
00:21:27.18\00:21:28.74
but as I learned
this process of admitting
00:21:28.77\00:21:30.70
what my temptations was,
00:21:30.73\00:21:32.00
and submitting it
to my higher authority
00:21:32.03\00:21:34.01
He started to give me relief
00:21:34.04\00:21:35.43
and as I experience that relief,
00:21:35.46\00:21:37.58
like exercising a muscle,
00:21:37.61\00:21:39.44
what used to be a tsunami
that would have over take me,
00:21:39.47\00:21:41.79
now its nothing more
than that I can swat away.
00:21:41.82\00:21:44.85
And that's the process I believe
00:21:44.88\00:21:46.49
that the Lord is
bringing us through,
00:21:46.52\00:21:48.00
but you know, I would be--
00:21:48.03\00:21:50.20
I would be lying to say
that that was a past temptation.
00:21:50.23\00:21:53.00
But what I'm learning how to
do is that take the temptation
00:21:53.03\00:21:55.89
and submit them to Jesus
and He covers then for me.
00:21:55.92\00:21:58.76
And when I feel the most tempted
00:21:58.79\00:22:01.45
is when I feel emasculated
00:22:01.48\00:22:02.97
or when I feel like I'm
not man enough for that--
00:22:03.00\00:22:05.98
that was when I don't
feel that I more thee.
00:22:06.01\00:22:09.58
And so I go to God and
I prayed and I said Lord,
00:22:09.61\00:22:12.03
can You remind me
again that You made me male,
00:22:12.06\00:22:14.38
can You remind me
again that I'm Your man.
00:22:14.41\00:22:16.71
And what happens
is He takes that away,
00:22:16.74\00:22:18.73
and He satisfies me
and reminds me again
00:22:18.76\00:22:20.78
that indeed according to Genesis
00:22:20.81\00:22:22.83
that He made
the male and female,
00:22:22.86\00:22:24.78
and He confirms
to me that He knew me
00:22:24.81\00:22:26.35
even before the earth was formed
00:22:26.38\00:22:28.38
and you know it goes, its gone.
00:22:28.41\00:22:30.25
Yeah, its just one more second,
00:22:30.28\00:22:31.98
Ron, its critical
here again this text says
00:22:32.01\00:22:34.23
that Jesus was
tempted in all points
00:22:34.26\00:22:37.11
like we are and yet without sin.
00:22:37.14\00:22:39.94
So that shows that just
because you are tempted,
00:22:39.97\00:22:41.93
you are not defined,
00:22:41.96\00:22:43.00
you are not
defined by your temptation.
00:22:43.03\00:22:45.18
Whether you know my temptations,
00:22:45.21\00:22:46.56
your temptations
whatever the temptations
00:22:46.59\00:22:48.60
and we all have temptations.
00:22:48.63\00:22:50.48
We're not defined
by our temptation,
00:22:50.51\00:22:53.33
we're defined by the choice
00:22:53.36\00:22:55.86
whether we're gonna
yield to that temptation
00:22:55.89\00:22:58.45
or whether we're gonna submit
our lives to God and say no.
00:22:58.48\00:23:02.57
Okay, Ron.
00:23:02.60\00:23:03.82
You know,
conventional thinking today
00:23:03.85\00:23:05.70
is really contrary
to biblical principles.
00:23:05.73\00:23:09.31
For example
conventional thinking says,
00:23:09.34\00:23:11.75
once an alcoholic,
always an alcoholic.
00:23:11.78\00:23:14.62
Once a pedophilia
always a pedophilia.
00:23:14.65\00:23:17.65
Once a gay, always gay.
00:23:17.68\00:23:20.56
But Jesus himself says
00:23:20.59\00:23:22.94
if the sun therefore is set
you free, you are free indeed.
00:23:22.97\00:23:27.69
And I think the reasons Steve,
00:23:27.72\00:23:30.01
this question keeps coming up
00:23:30.04\00:23:31.92
is because of
conventional thinking.
00:23:31.95\00:23:34.71
And people sometimes--
the question comes up
00:23:34.74\00:23:38.18
as an entrapment questions
00:23:38.21\00:23:39.83
sometimes it's
a genuine question
00:23:39.86\00:23:41.62
people really want to know.
00:23:41.65\00:23:43.27
So often it comes from
conventional thinking that
00:23:43.30\00:23:46.09
if you are ever
tempted in this way,
00:23:46.12\00:23:48.86
then you are
stilled of that orientation.
00:23:48.89\00:23:51.21
You haven't been changed.
00:23:51.24\00:23:52.32
And they're not realizing
the beauty of the gospel
00:23:52.35\00:23:56.45
that if the Son
therefore set you free,
00:23:56.48\00:23:59.55
you are free indeed.
00:23:59.58\00:24:01.07
Temptations may come and go,
00:24:01.10\00:24:03.11
but God graces sufficient
for every one of them.
00:24:03.14\00:24:05.61
That's right, and whatever
00:24:05.64\00:24:06.77
the nature of the temptation is,
00:24:06.80\00:24:08.82
and that's what
we need to understand
00:24:08.85\00:24:10.07
according to the Bible.
00:24:10.10\00:24:11.47
That we are
tempted, and the temptations
00:24:11.50\00:24:14.01
you know people they prayed
for five years God change me,
00:24:14.04\00:24:16.00
and they still were
tempted then they felt well,
00:24:16.03\00:24:17.97
He didn't answer my prayer,
00:24:18.00\00:24:19.22
but the reality is that
they God doesn't promise
00:24:19.25\00:24:22.11
to take away all temptation.
00:24:22.14\00:24:23.54
He doesn't promise
to take away the flesh,
00:24:23.57\00:24:25.97
Jesus was tempted all through
out His life but He said no.
00:24:26.00\00:24:30.27
And we will still be
tempted, we're all tempted
00:24:30.30\00:24:32.81
in one way or another
00:24:32.84\00:24:34.01
and we're gonna be
tempted all the way
00:24:34.04\00:24:35.79
until you know the very end
00:24:35.82\00:24:38.05
or at least right before the end
00:24:38.08\00:24:39.13
when the door is closed
00:24:39.16\00:24:41.14
but we've leaned how
to deal with temptation
00:24:41.17\00:24:44.26
and that's the critical point.
00:24:44.29\00:24:45.64
We've learned that our
temptations don't define us,
00:24:45.67\00:24:48.81
that they come from the devil
00:24:48.84\00:24:50.35
or from the
flesh or from the world
00:24:50.38\00:24:52.19
or from people
that Satan is using
00:24:52.22\00:24:54.14
but we have learned to
submit those temptations to God.
00:24:54.17\00:24:58.10
As the Bible says
in James Chapter 4
00:24:58.13\00:25:00.20
I believe it is, "Submit to God,
00:25:00.23\00:25:02.24
Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you."
00:25:02.27\00:25:04.18
Exactly.
00:25:04.21\00:25:05.24
We've learned to say no,
00:25:05.27\00:25:07.57
and that's what
God is looking for.
00:25:07.60\00:25:08.89
He's looking for people
that are willing to choose
00:25:08.92\00:25:11.04
to say no and to surrender
to Him and those that do that
00:25:11.07\00:25:15.24
they can have the forgiveness
and the grace and the power
00:25:15.27\00:25:20.14
and the peace of
Jesus Christ in their life,
00:25:20.17\00:25:23.30
and a clean conscience
which is a wonderful thing.
00:25:23.33\00:25:25.61
You know, I used to be a pilot,
and I never let the crosswind,
00:25:25.64\00:25:29.54
the headwind, the tailwind
00:25:29.57\00:25:30.71
or the violent storm
determine where I landed.
00:25:30.74\00:25:33.20
And as Christians we
need not let the tailwind,
00:25:33.23\00:25:36.52
the headwind, the crosswinds
or the violent storms of Satan
00:25:36.55\00:25:39.81
determine our journey
and our destination either.
00:25:39.84\00:25:43.27
That's true, that's great.
00:25:46.29\00:25:47.64
We all need
that. This is critical.
00:25:47.67\00:25:50.10
As we get down near the end,
00:25:50.13\00:25:51.17
let's take a look at one
more verse 1 Corinthians 10:13,
00:25:51.20\00:25:56.29
1 Corinthians 10:13 I
thinks its so powerful
00:25:56.32\00:26:00.06
and you know I
think like I said,
00:26:00.09\00:26:01.38
like we've said, I
think a lot of people
00:26:01.41\00:26:02.97
you know think
because certain people have
00:26:03.00\00:26:04.66
same sex attractions
that they are in a category
00:26:04.69\00:26:08.95
that's so totally
different from them,
00:26:08.98\00:26:11.38
but we all have to realize
00:26:11.41\00:26:12.76
that maybe your
temptation is not my temptation
00:26:12.79\00:26:15.01
but I'm tempted too
and we all temptations.
00:26:15.04\00:26:16.99
That's right.
00:26:17.02\00:26:18.05
And they all come from the flesh
00:26:18.08\00:26:19.73
or the devil or the world
00:26:19.76\00:26:21.27
and we all have
responsibility to God to say no,
00:26:21.30\00:26:25.05
I'm not gonna do it.
00:26:25.08\00:26:26.44
1 Corinthians
10:13 the Bible says
00:26:26.47\00:26:30.22
" There is no temptation
that has overtaken you
00:26:30.25\00:26:34.26
but such as is common to
man," we all have temptations,
00:26:34.29\00:26:39.60
whatever they are,
"but God is faithful,"
00:26:39.63\00:26:41.56
this is the
key, "God is faithful
00:26:41.59\00:26:43.26
and he will not
allow you to be tempted
00:26:43.29\00:26:45.26
above that which you are able,
00:26:45.29\00:26:47.54
but will with the temptation
also make a way of escape,
00:26:47.57\00:26:51.77
that you may be
able to bear it."
00:26:51.80\00:26:53.99
The Bible does not say,
that God is going to remove
00:26:54.02\00:26:57.59
all temptations from your life
00:26:57.62\00:26:59.36
but He does say
that He is faithful
00:26:59.39\00:27:01.39
and He will give you the power
00:27:01.42\00:27:03.18
and He will
give you the strength
00:27:03.21\00:27:05.76
so that you will not
buckle under to that temptation.
00:27:05.79\00:27:08.85
That is what God is
looking for in people today,
00:27:08.88\00:27:11.73
men, women, children He
is looking for all of us
00:27:11.76\00:27:14.05
to take a stand to say no
00:27:14.08\00:27:15.82
that we're gonna follow His word
00:27:15.85\00:27:17.33
and not yield to temptation.
00:27:17.36\00:27:20.70
If you would like to order
the 13 part Coming Out series
00:27:20.73\00:27:23.53
for $34.95 plus
shipping, call 1-800-782-4253
00:27:23.56\00:27:28.47
or write to White
Horse Media, PO Box 1139,
00:27:28.50\00:27:31.75
Newport, Washington, 99156.
00:27:31.78\00:27:34.55
Pastor Ron
Woolsey, Dwayne Blakely
00:27:34.58\00:27:36.48
and Mike Carducci
are each available
00:27:36.51\00:27:38.16
to conduct a
seminar in your area.
00:27:38.19\00:27:40.44
To schedule a
speaking engagement,
00:27:40.47\00:27:42.06
contact Coming Out Ministries
00:27:42.09\00:27:43.60
by calling 360-936-8514
00:27:43.63\00:27:47.30
or visit
comingoutministries.org.
00:27:47.33\00:27:49.70