“Not your way”

1 Corinthians 10:13
November 13, 2022

Verse:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.

Wala pang pagsubok na dumating sa inyo na hindi nararanasan ng ibang tao. Tapat ang
Diyos, at hindi niya ipapahintulot na kayo'y subukin nang higit sa inyong makakaya. Sa
halip, pagdating ng pagsubok, bibigyan niya kayo ng lakas upang makayanan ito at ng
paraan upang malampasan ito.

Introduction:

Isa sa mga salitang nagdedescribe po ng pinaka-struggle ng mga Kristyano not just

when they are just starting pero more so when they have been Christians for a long
time, ay ang salitang temptation. Even adult Christians like most of us here, cannot
differentiate po between the concept of temptation from the act of the sin itself. We
equate temptation to sin. Pero kung pupunta po tayo sa Hebrews 4:15 (For we do not
have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.) And here, we can see
that even Jesus was exposed to temptation, but he did not sin – and we, as well, don’t
have to sin either. Let us make it clear po that being tempted by someone or something is
not a sin but if we commit ourselves to it, if we indulge in it, or if we grab hold of that
temptation – that is when we sin.

Saan nga po ba nanggaling ang temptation? Or where was it based on? As hinted in
Ephesians 2:1 (As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins), we came into
this world po physically alive but spiritually dead. And dahil nga po there is no
relationship with God habang tumatanda, natuto ang mga tao to live independently
from Him at yung mga needs natin naman, hinahanap natin sa iba – ibang tao, ibang
bagay, ibang kung anuman.

Ang essence po ng temptation is yung enticement na yung legit na mga human needs ay
makikita lamang natin sa mga resources of the world, the flesh, and the devil instead of
through Christ as said in Philippians 4:19 (And my God will meet all your needs
according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus). Let us remember po that every
temptation in this world is an invitation to live apart or without God.

Also, yung hold po or power of temptation over people depends on the strength of
the stronghold which have been developed in our minds as we learned to live
apart from God. Example? Ang isang taong lumaki na naiimpluwensiyahan ng isang
masamang bagay ay mas magkakaroon ng struggle to overcome a situation related sa
bagay na iyon kaysa sa isang taong lumaki na hindi ito naranasan at naturuan ng
maayos tungkol sa bagay na iyon.
In what ways can we be tempted nga po ba? I believe that yung kaaway natin is very
matalino po. The enemy knows how to wait, and how to entice us in a way that we won’t
noticed that we are being enticed. Mahahalata natin kapag sa mga obvious na bagay niya
tayo i-tempt na magkamali. Alam niyo po ang ginagawa ng kaaway? The enemy entices
us to push something good beyond the boundary of the will of God until it ends up
becoming sin. Sabi nga po ni Paul sa 1 Corinthians 6:12, (“I have the right to do
anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—
but I will not be mastered by anything) – kumbaga po, puro green flag ang buhay ng isang
Kristyano, but Paul also knows na kapag naging iresponsable po tayo sa pamumuhay
among these green flags of the Christian life, we will eventually end up running to the
red flags of God’s will – SIN.

Ano nga po yung mga good things sa buhay natin na kung saan madalas tayo natetempt
to go beyond God’s will?

1. Physical rest – laziness

2. Quietness – miscommunication / non-communication
3. Enjoyment in life – entitlement
4. Physical pleasure – sensuality
5. Enjoyment of food – gluttony
6. Self-love – selfishness
7. Self –respect – conceit
8. Communication – gossip
9. Positivity – insensitivity
10. Judgment – criticism
11. Same-sex friendship – homosexuality
12. Sexual freedom – immorality
13. Generosity – wastefulness
14. Self-protection – dishonesty
15. Carefulness – fear

In 1 John 2:12-14, may pinakita po doon na three levels of Christian growth when it
comes to faith:
12 
I am writing to you, dear children,
    because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 
I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

    because you have overcome the evil one.
14 
I write to you, dear children,
    because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,

    because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

    because you are strong,

    and the word of God lives in you,

    and you have overcome the evil one.

Level 1: CHILDREN

Sabi po sa verse above, sila yung mga Christians na with sins forgiven on account of His
Name at someone who knows the Father. Meaning, sila po yung mga nasa pamilya na ng
Panginoon at na-overcome na yung penalty ng sin pero hindi pa sila completely mature.

Level 2: YOUNG MEN

According to the verse above, sila daw po yung mga na-overcome na yung evil one. Ito
po yung mga believers who are aggressively growing in faith because the Word of God
abides in them. These people know the truth and how to use that truth to resist the
enemy, especially in the battle in their minds. Hindi na sila nakakulong sa mga
uncontrollable habits, at na-resolve na rin nila hindi lang yung personal kundi maging
yung mga spiritual conflicts nila na reason kung bakit maraming Christians ang hindi pa
rin maramdaman yung freedom that comes in following Christ. They are already free,
and they know how to stay free.

Level 3: FATHERS

Ito po yung mga Christians na mayroon nang deep at personal knowledge of God. Ang
foundation ng pananampalataya nila ay yung kanilang close, intimate, and loving
relationship with the Lord – which is yung goal ng ating spiritual growth.

At siyempre po, if John had described and challenged us to fight sin’s power through
growth in the verses above, he had also described yung mga ways kung paano tayo
natetempt ng kaaway.

1 John 2:15-17
15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the
Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The
world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Three Roads of Temptation

1. Lust of the flesh – preys on our physical appetites and how we gratify ourselves
in the world
2. Lust of the eyes – appeals to self-interest and tests the Word of God
3. The pride of life – stresses self-promotion and self-exaltation

Channel of Lust of flesh Lust of the eyes Pride of Life

Temptation (carnal appetites (selfishness and (self-promotion,
(1 John 2:15-17) and cravings, self-interest) self-exaltation)
passion)
Draw us away Will of God Word of God Worship of God
from the… (Gal. 5:16) (Mt. 16:24) (1 Pt. 5:5-11)
Destroys our… Dependence upon Confidence in God Obedience to God
God (Jn 15:7) (Jn 15:8-10)
(Jn 15:5)
Lust of the flesh

Genesis 3:1-6

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the
garden’?”
2 
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but
God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and
you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when
you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.”
6 
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the
eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some
to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

There is nothing sinful about eating per se, in fact it is a legitimate need and God gave us
food so that we could meet that need; and there is also nothing intrinsically evil about the
fruit in the Garden of Eden, but Adam and Eve sinned when they submitted to the lust of
their flesh and went against the will of God when they ate the fruit.

When Satan tempts you through the lust of flesh, he will invite you to fulfill your
physical needs in ways that are outside the boundary of God’s will. (gluttony, sex, etc…)

When you resist the temptations of the flesh, you are declaring your dependence on God
for your natural needs.

Lust of the eyes

Genesis 3:4-5

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when
4 

you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.”

Someone told me that the most sinful organ in the body are the eyes.

The lust of the eyes subtly draws us away from the Word of God and eats away at our
confidence in God. We see what the world has to offer and desire it above our
relationship with God. We begin to place more credence in our own perspective of life
than in God’s commands and promises. Fueled by the lust for what we see, we grab for
all we can get, believing that we need it and deceived that God wants us to have it.

The term to see is to believe is very dangerous. When we give in to the lust of the eyes,
we adopt a “prove me attitude” with God.
The righteous shall live by faith in the written Word of God and not demand that God
prove Himself in response to our whims and wishes, no matter how noble they may be.
We are the ones being tested, not God.

The Pride of Life

This road of temptations is yung pinaglalaban ng henerasyon ngayon: to direct our own
destiny, to rule our own world, to be our own God.

Genesis 3:4-5
4 
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when
you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.”

Dito, Satan enticed Adam and Eve to not be satisfied under the ruling of God, and
insinuated that they could be like God themselves.

The temptation of the pride of life is intended to steer us away from the worship of God
and destroy our obedience to God by urging us to take charge of our own lives.
Whenever you don’t feel need God’s help or direction, that you can handle your life
without consulting Him, that you don’t need to bow the knee to anyone, beware: that’s
the pride of life.

REMEMBER, there are three critical issues reflected in these roads of temptation:
1. The will of God in your life, expressed through your dependence on God
2. The Word of God in your life, expressed in your confidence in Him
3. The worship of God in your life, expressed through your obedience in Him.

Every challenge thrown to you by the enemy will challenge on or all of these values. He
is watching you and he will learn where you are vulnerable and tempt you in that area
that you leave unguarded.

How to escape?

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.

Wala pang pagsubok na dumating sa inyo na hindi nararanasan ng ibang tao. Tapat ang
Diyos, at hindi niya ipapahintulot na kayo'y subukin nang higit sa inyong makakaya. Sa
halip, pagdating ng pagsubok, bibigyan niya kayo ng lakas upang makayanan ito at ng
paraan upang malampasan ito.

Ano nga po kaya yung tinutukoy na way out ni Paul dito? It is the same place where
temptation is introduced in: our minds. Every temptation is introduced to our minds by
our own carnality or by the tempter itself. Kapag hinayaan natin manatili yung thought
na yun sa ating mga utak, and we even end up considering it a choice, we will eventually
act on it and that is sin. Instead, Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 10:15 (We demolish
arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we
take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ) to take every thought captive in
the obedience to Christ.

STEPS IN OVERCOMING TEMPTATION

STEP 1: Stop every as soon as it tries to enter your mind

STEP 2: Evaluate

Paul gave us a criteria in Philippians 4:8 (Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.) about
what our thoughts should be comprised of:

1. Whatever is true
2. Whatever is noble
3. Whatever is right
4. Whatever is pure
5. Whatever is lovely
6. Whatever is admirable
7. Whatever is excellent
8. Whatever is praiseworthy

Ask yourself questions from the criteria above…

STEP 3: Dismiss thoughts that do not agree with the criteria

If the answer is no, then dismiss the thought immediately. If it keeps coming back, keep
saying no.

Also, before we end this preaching po, I want to say this. At some point in our lives, we
had once, or maybe even more than once, given in to temptation. And as Christians who
want to better people, we confess our sins – maybe to our pastors, our Christian friends,
or to our parents, even. Tama po ang magconfess ng kasalanan, but more often than not,
we fall into this pattern: sin-confess-sin-confess-sin-confess.

Nahuhulog tayo sa endless cycle ng kasalanan. But no, hindi po dapat. Ito po ang tamang
paraan:

Sin-confess-resist

We must resist Satan and command Him to leave if we are going to experience victory
over sin. We must turn to God and resist the enemy to experience freedom against
temptation and sin.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.