“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.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
The Root of All Temptation:
“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’?” 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.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 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. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Genesis 3:1-7 NIV
- Temptation gets us to question God’s word and question His character
“Did God say?” “You will not certainly die.”
- Temptation is meant for our destruction, testing is for our growth
James 1:13-15, 1:2-5
When Our Natural Desires Cloud Our Judgement (Esau, Genesis 25:19-34)
What Can We Learn From Esau?
- To battle this temptation, we need to understand our desires and how they work. (Vs. 29-30)
- God created our appetites, but sin distorted them
- Appetites are never fully and finally satisfied
- Appetites always whisper “now” never “later”
Remember to:
H ungry
A ngry
L onely
T ired
- To battle temptation, we need to reframe our desires in light of what God has promised and look to the future before we make decisions (Vs 31-33)
“…Sell me your birth right.”
“Look I’m about to die.”
- Impact bias: Takes a simple appetite and magnifies it out of proportion
- Focalism: Focuses our minds on one thing and blurs out everything else
“What good is the birthright to me?” Genesis 25:32 NIV
“Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6 NIV
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob…” Matthew 1:1-2 NIV
Question: What “bowl of stew” is clouding my judgement right now? Am I willing to trade my future for it?
- To be ready for temptation we need to decide before that we will refrain from trading our future for a bowl of stew
“Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” Genesis 25:34 NIV
- Within moments the bowl of stew was gone and so was Esau’s future
“Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.” Hebrews 12:16 MSG