How to Fight Temptation and Win – Part 1/3

We wrapped up our final discipleship class this week, and someone said, “You need to share this with people online.” And my wife’s over here nodding like that, and I thought, “Well, this has really been a really, really busy week. I had no time even to write a study, but I already had this written.”

And so anyway, I was looking at what would be next to look at in chapter 10 of 1^st Corinthians, you know, where we left off in the very next verse. And the verse that popped up was 1^st Corinthians, put that on the screen, 1^st Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 13, 1^st Corinthians 10:13. And it just so happens that the very thing that this discipleship class is about, was the Scripture that we needed to go over next. And so, yeah. So it says – No temptation has overtaken you except – except – such as is common to man; but Elohim is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, – The way of escape. What is the way of escape? That’s a pretty important question for us. – that you may be able to bear it. – What is this way of escape?

A lot of people have told me in the counseling office, “I don’t know why that Scripture says that, because it hasn’t been happening with me.” And I think, “You must not know the way of escape.” What is the way of escape? We must know the way of escape.

Our study portion then is going to be, our study portion is going to be, “How to Fight Temptation and Win”. That’s a pretty important one, right? I mean this is the, the whole foundational thing of what we’re trying to do here is—we’re trying to be overcomers, we’re trying to be victorious, we’re trying to please our Father, we’re trying to love one another; we’re trying to love our Father in heaven with all of our heart, soul, and strength and might. And so, when we are faced with temptation, how do we win?

You just say, “Willpower. I can do this.” How do we, what’s, what’s the key? Well, Scripture tells us we must have our armor on. (Ephesians 6:10-13) – Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Master – in Yahweh – and in the power of His might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. – So there is something that causes us to be able to stand, to fight temptation, and ultimately to win. What is it that causes us to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil? He tells us –
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to – once again, be able to withstand, be able to – withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. – Rather than to fall, right? –
¹⁴ Stand therefore, – stand therefore – having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of Spirit, which is the word of Elohim;
¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. –

Look at the key words here in this passage. There is the “Word of Elohim”, that’s one key thing; there’s a “shield of faith”, another key word here is “salvation”, another one “prayer”, another one “preparation of the gospel of peace”, another “righteousness”, another “truth”.

Now, I want to tell you something very important: none of those are going to work without the Word. None of them. Not a one is going to work without the Word. The Word is at center stage, all the way in the very beginning.

If we don’t know the Word, we are going to be swordless in our spiritual battle. You won’t be able to fight back, it’s the only offensive piece of armor you got. But you also won’t have faith, because faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of Elohim. And so you’ll be faithless to defend yourself with the shield of faith. And you won’t know truth, because truth comes by the Word; Yahushua says, “Your word is truth.” John 17:17.

You will not even know what it means to be righteous, for you to have a breastplate of righteousness on you; you won’t even know. And you really won’t know what to pray for, or how to pray. And you won’t know how to find salvation, because the Word tells us how to find salvation; and so, you’ll be unsettled in the gospel. Do you see how the Word is the center of everything, really?

Without that you have nothing—you just have all these different religions in the world today. I met a guy at the coffee shop this week; very cultured man, been to very various places around the world; he talked about how he have been to Australia, been to China, then to Japan, been all these places. And so, he felt like he had this knowledge, and so he didn’t need to hear the gospel. I presented it anyway. But yeah, I mean, and so people just find their own way. And most other religions are, “some guy and his ideas”, you know—Muhammad, some guy and his ideas, Islam; Confucius, some guy and his ideas; Buddha, some guy and his ideas; Taoism, okay, two guys and their ideas, you know; Hinduism, a thousand guys with a thousand different ideas.

And so, what we have in Scripture is forty eyewitnesses writing down things they heard and said, they saw and witnessed. And so, and they all speak in one consistent message across fifteen hundred years, men writing from three different continents. One was even a pagan king: Nebuchadnezzar, yeah.

So look. We gotta understand, the Word is always under attack all the time, especially in our generation. More than ever. But we have to understand, everything is spiritual, everything is spiritual. 2^nd Corinthians 10:3-6 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but – What? Mighty! – mighty in Elohim for pulling down strongholds,
⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim, – Where we get the knowledge of Elohim from? The Word. – bringing every thought into captivity – Grab a hold of it. – to the obedience of Messiah,
⁶ and being ready – One day you’re going – to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. – You’re gonna punish the wicked on the earth; Scripture says you wil.

But this war that’s not carnal, but it’s mighty, this war that’s not according to flesh is according to the spirit, is a very, very old battle. Going back a long, long time ago—Genesis chapter 3.
¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Yahweh Elohim had made. And he said to the woman, “Has Elohim indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” – Now, proof that it all comes down to the Word, is found already here in Genesis 3 chapter 1—“Has Elohim indeed said?”, “Is it really true?”, “Did He really say that?”, “Hah, I’m not so sure.”, “Hah, I don’t know if He really said that.”, “Are you sure you said that?”

If we have any doubts that Scripture is true, we will be swordless in our fight; once again—faithless to defend ourselves, we will lack truth, we will be ignorant of what it means to be righteous, we will don’t know how to pray, we will not really know how to find salvation, and we will be unsettled in the gospel. So many things come down to this “Hath Elohim said?”, “Did He really say that, huh?” And so, the sword, the Word, is important. The sword, the Word, is important.

Evolutionists, atheists, followers of other religion, now even some leaders of Christian colleges, have fallen prey to these kind of deceptions. They’re above it now, they’re above Scripture. Come to them, they’ll tell you the answers.

You see, whenever the Word is not held up in esteem, something’s going to take its place; somewhere, somehow, some way. The Words of Yahweh are supposed to be a seed that’s sown into our hearts that bears fruits, the fruits of the Spirit.

The biggest attack on the Word of Elohim today is probably in the very field of study that people ought to be looking at, beholding and saying, “Glory to Yahweh!” and that’s science. They think, because they can understand how mechanisms function, somehow that gives them credit. Well, who set them things in function, who’s the One to set up the function? Who is the One that created the laws of the universe? Who’s the One that causes all to be, that which is? Actually the name Yahweh means “He causes to be all that is”. And so, the theory of evolution is so wildely accepted today, I say, “wildly accepted today”; it’s stated kind of matter of factly, you know—newspapers, encyclopedias, government schools, colleges. In spite of the abundant evidence against it!

Now, Satan doesn’t always have to convince us completely. All he’s got to do is get us to doubt just a little bit. Yeah. And once you start to doubt, he can wear you down, he can wear you down from there. That’s what he’s doing here, “O, has Elohim indeed said that?”, “You sure about that?”, “Sure about that?”

The truth is, the Scriptures are reliable. If you’re in a court of law, they’re always looking for this “whodunit crime”, you know. And these witnesses will appear before the judge. And they’ll kind of hear the witnesses and see if they kind of jive together, independent witnesses, and bearing witness to another. And so, what we have in Scriptures is this collection of eyewitnesses; a collection of those who have heard the Holy Spirit speaking.

Now, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other finds, for instance the “Ketef Hinnom” which is a silver amulet scroll about this big, that they discovered in an undisturbed grave; dated back to the year 600 BC. Solomon’s Temple was still standing, Josiah was reigning as king. And they found on this scroll a text of the Bible—Numbers chapter 6 verse 24-26 so it’s – “Yahweh bless you and keep you;
²⁵ Yahweh make His face shine upon you(, and show favour to you);
²⁶ Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” – That priestly blessing was found in this little amulet, put around their neck, they were wearing it, this priestly blessing. And I went and I looked at it, and I compared it to the text we have today in Hebrew—letter for letter identical; not even one letter was different. 2600 year old document!

Now, this is the time they found the Book of the Law in the temple. Hilkaiah was a high priest, he found the Book of the Law in the temple; he was Jeremiah’s dad by the way, if you didn’t know that. And, yeah, it matched up. So I can imagine, whoever wrote on that amulet scroll would have had an actual original copy of the Book of the Law written by Moshe himself. Copying it down. And we have it in our hands. Talk about the Word, something reliable, no other document like it. So, Yahweh knows, Satan’s tool is like try to create doubt; and so He preserved it for us.

Now, there were no other competing religions in the Garden of Eden, except the one Satan trying to get Eve to follow, which is one he’s setting up for himself. Now, at first Eve did a good job here—she got her sword out. (Genesis 3:2) – And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
³ “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Elohim has said, – It is written, there was nothing written in that time, it’s just what He said. – ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” – Now, I believe He said that, “Don’t touch it either”, because she did not have any sin in herself at all, and so she could not have been lying, okay? And so, this reminds me a lot of what Yahushua did. (Matthew 4:3-4) – Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of Elohim, command that these stones become bread.” – Out comes the sword. –
⁴ (But He answered and) – Yahweh – said, “It is written, – right? – ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Elohim.’” – Pretty good! Right?

So, she got her sword out. And that’s what we’ve got to do when we’re faced with temptations. We’ve got to get our sword out! Don’t leave it in the sheath. First thing they did right here, both of them did that. So, very important that we know Scripture! Very important! Yahushua successfully defeated the enemy with the sword. And we also can attack Yahweh’s enemies with the sword. Extremely important!

I like how “word” is found in the word “sword”, s-word. So, I like to call it “Yah’s sword”, “Yah’s word”, right? So it’s all important.

So, to know Yahweh’s Word we have to do something here called, “give attention to reading”. 1^st Timothy chapter 4 in verse 13b – . . . give attention to reading – here up on the PowerPoint – give attention to reading . . . – Very important 1^st Timothy 4:13.

Now, if we’re willing to do this, to give attention to reading, we have a promise in Psalm chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 – Blessed is the man Who walks not in – the word or – the counsel of the (ungodly) – unrighteous –, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in – the Torah – the law of Yahweh, And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. – Wow, that’s a promise from Scripture.

So, we want to be blessed? We want to be blessed? Let your delight be in Scripture! You will be blessed, you meditate on it day and night, you will always bear fruit and you will always prosper; that’s a promise from Scripture.

Now, Satan is successful in creating doubt; then he’s going to try to fill the void with his ideas, his doctrines, his beliefs, his lies. (Genesis 3:4-5) – Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
⁵ “For Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.” – Now, when Yahweh speaks you will always know you hear truth; always! When Satan speaks he will speak a lie or a half-truth.

Now, we are called to walk in the image of Elohim. Satan wants us to walk in his image, which is not the image of Elohim. Basically he wants to become our dad. I know that’s provocative to say that, but look at 1^st John 3 verse 10 – In this the children of Elohim – There’s the child of Elohim. – and the children of the devil are manifest; Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of Elohim, nor is he who does not love his brother. –

Now, look what the alternative doctrine here is, “You will not surely die.” This is the first lie recorded in Scripture; very first one. He took away, he contradicted truth, and he spoke a lie. Why did he do that? This is why Yahushua said to the men who did not love the truth, He said, (John 8:44-45) – “You are of your father – your daddy is – the devil, – He said – and the desires of your (father) – daddy – you want to do. – What – He was a murderer from the beginning, – Going all the way back to Genesis, right? – and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. – No truth in him. – When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
⁴⁵ But because I tell – you – the truth, you do not believe Me.”

Romans chapter 2. It’s so important for us that we understand Romans chapter 2. Satan often will deceive us with what’s called “half-truths”. O, didn’t Yahushua just say, “There’s no truth in him?” But he’ll give you a half-truth. Well, the reality is a half-truth is just a whole lie; but it’s more hidden, and therefore more deceptive. To detect half-truths we have to be acquainted with the Holy Scriptures.

Look, I can’t imagine how many people are going to have any excuse on that final day of judgment, when the Bible is in their pocket everywhere they go—cell phones; it’s always available to them, anytime, anywhere. It can be read to you, you can go to the Greek, go into Hebrew; the Word is readily available.

But did you know, this lie, “You shall not surely die”, is alive and well today? The same doctrines of demons that are being used today to wreak havoc on mankind, this deception, “O, you can disobey the heavenly Father, you’ll be all right. It’s okay, you’ll be fine, nothing to worry about.” Satan is saying, “You will not surely die, you have grace.” Sound familiar? “You will not surely die, you’re saved by grace!”

Now, grace is available to the repentant; the unrepentant grace is not available. Romans chapter 2 verse 4 tells us – Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of Elohim leads you to – What? – repentance? – That’s what it leads you to. Yahweh’s goodness and offering you His Son should lead you somewhere. Where? Repentance! If you don’t want to do this, what’s it mean to repent? It means to turn away from unrighteousness, turn toward righteousness. –
⁵ But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of Elohim,
⁶ who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: – That’s a promise. What’s He going to render? –
⁷ eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor and immortality;
⁸ but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, – The Word – but obey – Satan’s words of – unrighteousness– – What is in store for them? – indignation and wrath,
⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
¹⁰ but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Entire religions have been built on providing an alternative word through traditions, through traditions. Yahushua told us in Matthew 7:19-23 – “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
²⁰ “Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. – The false prophets. He says. –
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. – We must do the will of Yahweh in heaven; we must repent, right? –
²² “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
²³ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice – What’s this word right here? Pretty important word – lawlessness!’” – You better know what it means, it will mean a whole lot on that final day—never knew you, you who practiced this, right here. And what is it? Strong’s Lexicon—(G459) illegality, i.e. violation of Torah, violation of law, yeah. O, you can cast out all the demons you want, you can have all the signs and wonders you want; it doesn’t amount to anything on that final day if you’re walking in illegality, in violation of Torah. He’s going to say, “I never even knew you, never knew you. Who are you? Who are you?”

So we need to be very, very careful that we do not fall prey to these lies that pull us away from Scripture. Mainline Judaism says, “O, don’t follow that New Testament stuff.” Mainline Christianity says, “O, don’t follow that Old Testament stuff.”—“Hath Elohim said?” “Hath Elohim said?” Sound familiar? It’s the same old lie repackaged for easy consumption. That’s all. It’s the same lie; both religions are falling prey to some of these deceptions. And if you do disobey those words, “O, you will not surely die”. Yahushua says, “I don’t even know who you are; depart from Me. Who are you?”

Now, here comes another half-truth. (Genesis 3:5) – “For Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.” – Half-truth. Elohim does know good and evil; it’s true, by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she would be able to know both good and evil, like Elohim does. The subtle temptation though is that she would be equal to Elohim. That’s the lie part of it. That’s the lie. And that Elohim is holding back something good from her. So, she could actually become a goddess. Rise up out of her position, and not have to answer to anyone, or follow any rules. In other words, “Elohim is nothing; you can be like Him; just, you can escape all that rule over you, and basically be like me”, Satan is saying, right?

Well, everyone wants self-rule so they can have their pleasures and please their carnal flesh. Men and women don’t want to answer anyone but themselves; children who rebel against their parents don’t want to answer anyone but themselves. But this is the accusation against Elohim, “O, He is holding you back from something here.” And so the word “devil” actually means “accuser”. And when Satan brought it in that doubt, lied about the consequences, “O, you won’t, you won’t surely die”, accused Elohim of holding back something from Eve, she was deceived, she was deceived. But I don’t think that’s quite enough, there had to be something else that was the kicker. And there was. She saw with her eyes, she saw something very important to her flesh, something that was what? (Genesis 3:6) –
. . . good for food, – Yummies. – that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. – When she saw, “good for food, pleasant to the eyes, desirable to make one wise”. And then – She also gave to her husband with her, (and he ate.) – He’s sitting there watching the whole thing, and he had some for himself also. So, there were three things here that were adding to the deception, and that is the pull of the flesh.

Same thing here in 1^st John 2:15-17, he says – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world– the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not the Father but is of the world.
¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of Elohim abides forever. –

So, first was the lust of the flesh, “O, it’s good for food”; and then was the lust of the eyes, “O, pleasant to the eyes”; and then it is something desirable to make me wise, “Pride of life.” And he does this every generation, over and over and over again. And he’s trying to get you the same way! He is trying to get all of us the same way! You gotta know his tactics, brothers and sisters, you gotta know how he works. This is why we’re going over this. So you know exactly what he’s doing, and so you’re not caught off guard.

Well, we’re told not to love the world or the things in the world; and if we do, Yahweh’s love is not in us; it’s not in us. So, and then, what a lot of religions will teach you, “It’s okay, you can do that stuff; you got grace, you’ll be all right, you will not surely die, it’s okay.” I mean we all have this flesh you know, it’s hard, it’s really, really hard.

Now anyway, we see her husband is there, watching the whole thing. And Scripture says that (1^st Timothy 2:14) – And Adam was not deceived . . . – He knew this was deception, he knew it, he did. He knew Satan was lying. Now we don’t know all that’s going through Adam’s mind, because it doesn’t say. But his failure was not a failure to understand what’s happening; he knew that this was deception. But think about what may happen: he’s going to probably lose his wife who’s going to die. And so, maybe he was afraid of being alone again. And maybe he’d rather have died with the woman than live without her. Or maybe he’s just kind of waiting, you know, look at that fruit like, “Man, I actually like to get a taste of that myself!” And just felt he had an excuse now because she gave it to him. He didn’t pick it himself, he probably wouldn’t have. But the fact she’s like, “Here, you try it.”

So, Adam’s failure was a failure of loyalty, that was the problem. And that’s a common problem in men today—they’re loyal to what the woman would want over what Yahweh would say. For instance, the strongest man in the Bible, the wisest man in the Bible and the man after Yahweh’s own heart, all three of them fell due to attraction toward women. And chose loyalty to women over Yahweh. Same thing here in the Garden.

And so, strongest man in the Bible was Samson, he fell for Delilah. Wisest man, Solomon, loved many women, fell into idolatry as a result. The man after Yahweh’s own heart, David, fell through pornography, visual pornography, live pornography, and chose adultery and murder and a cover-up. But they all fell due to women.

And so, there are a number of powerful lessons just packed in these few verses of Genesis chapter 3 that are instructive for us to help us fight the enemy, and not be caught off guard. First, there’s doubt or deception, then half lies, half-truths, and so we’ve got to be aware of these things!

Because (Genesis 2:9) – And out of the ground Yahweh Elohim made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. – Is in the midst of the garden. Our modern day world is full of both choices; both are here in the midst of the garden, you see, they’re both there. And so, it is with us, equal choice—life or death, righteousness or sin; it’s our choice what direction we want to go.

But we see his tactics—good for food, lust of the flesh; pleasant to the eyes, lust of the eyes; desire to make one wise, pride of life. Same lies over and over and over and over again.

Think about the things that tempt you personally; talking individually to you, all of us, okay? What kind of things bring temptation to you? They probably fit in one of those three categories; somewhere, somehow, some way.

Now, in order to successfully defeat that temptation with which you are dealing with now or have been dealing with for a long time, can’t seem to get victory over, it keeps kicking you in the rear, time and time again, how do you finally defeat this thing?

First of all, you can’t love that which you want to overcome. Do not love the world or anything that’s in the world, right? You have to actually have a holy hatred for it. But please understand; to gain that love, a lot of it comes through what we bring into our hearts.

And if we are reading Scripture and we are meditating on Scripture, the more we read and the more we meditate on it, the more we develop a love for it. And a love for that Word and a love for our heavenly Father, and that relationship. I mean, can you love someone you never talk to or hear anything from? It’s not easy—you don’t know who they are or what to call them. I mean, if a total stranger, I mean I love them just as a human being but I don’t know much about them, you know. But the more I get to know him, the more I’m probably going to care about him, right? It’s just natural, they’re the people you care about the most. And so, our heavenly Father, the more you hear from Him relationally, the more you’re going to get to know Him, and the more you’re going to start caring about how He feels about things. It’s going to start mattering to you more and more. And so, that’s why it’s so important that we focus on the Word.

Now, how do you get this love for the world? And how do you get this love for the Word? All comes down to what we put in—garbage in, garbage out; good things in, good things out.

So, Romans 8 verse 6 through 7 says – To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. – Think about what he just said there. Be spiritually minded is life and peace. We have to gain a spiritual mind. And we gain a spiritual mind by putting spiritual things in the mind. The law is spiritual, we are a carnal. The law is spiritual. Yahushua said, John 6:63 – . . . My words are spirit, – And they are truth, right? – and they are life. –
⁷ Because the carnal mind is – at war – enmity against Elohim; – Why? – for it is not subject to – the Torah – the law of Elohim, (nor indeed can be.) – The carnal mind wants nothing to do with Yahweh’s Word, nothing. The Spiritual mind loves His law.

Read Psalm 119, that man had a love affair with the Word, he did; love affair. Well, was it really just the Word he was in love with? Who is the Word? Yahushua is the Word, made flesh, dwelt among us (John 1:14). Who was that man really loving? Yahushua! You love the Word? You love Yahushua because He is the Word! You can’t not have a love for the Word and then have a love for Yahushua, that doesn’t make any sense; He is the Word made flesh and dwelt among us. It doesn’t work that way.

And so, the law is spiritual, but the carnal mind will not subject itself to that law; it’s carnal. But we want to have life and we want to have peace within ourselves; we’ve got to gain this spiritual mind. It’s so important! So we meditate on it day and night. It’s so important we maintain a reading regimen. And we focus on that. It’s central to overcoming, so that you’re so full of the things of the Spirit, you hunger for nothing else. You just starve the flesh to death with the things of the Spirit.

We’ll talk about identity now. This is extremely important! He says (1^st John 2:15-17) – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world– the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not the Father but is of the world.
¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of Elohim abides forever. –

This temptation is the same temptation Yahushua the Messiah Himself faced. In Matthew chapter 4 verse 2 it says – And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. – He was hungry, yeah I’d be hungry after forty days of no food. –
³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of Elohim, command that these stones become bread.”
⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Elohim.’” –

Now, what I want you to notice here, is the very first words out of the enemy’s mouth, “If You are the Son of Elohim.” When Yahushua was tempted by Satan, the first thing he’s trying to cause doubt on, is who He was, His identity was under attack. His identity was under attack. When Yahushua was being tempted, he was trying to get Yahushua to either doubt who He was or be prideful about who He was. And we all know bread’s good for food, right? What’s wrong with bread? I mean, Yahushua was hungry, right? Lust of the flesh, right? Lust of the flesh. Same thing he’s going after Eve with—that belly, right there! Is this going to be your ‘God’ today? Lust of the flesh? And so, there’s also I think an element of the pride life, “O, I can prove to you I’m the Son of Elohim.” Watch! You see, pride of life.

And actually there’s an element of, “Has Elohim said? Really?” in this temptation, because Yahushua knew from a child who He was; He told his parents when they found Him in the temple, “Well, don’t you know I have to be about My Father’s business?” And Satan’s trying to get Yahushua to doubt that, to doubt who He was.

And so, this was an attack on identity, trying to get Yahushua to doubt the Word He was given by Yahweh; and chose attempt Him with food, just like Eve. And Yahushua is being tempted by the devil to follow this lust of the flesh, coupled with causing Him trying to get Him to doubt who He was. He just had to go without food for forty days, out in the desert!

And so, how did Yahushua defeat? He knew the Word! He was the Word. “It is written, – It is written! – ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,’” – you think I need more than bread? I’ll tell you what. I need every word that proceeds out of My Father’s mouth. That’s what I need.

So how are we going to defeat temptation? With the Word, same way. Now, we have to be aware, Satan also knows Scripture. And so, very next thing here we see in Book of Matthew, as Yahushua is lifting up the Word; very next thing is, “Ah, You like Scripture do You?” Try this. (Matthew 4:5-7) –
⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
⁶ and said to Him, “If You are” – Again questioning His identity. If you are – “the Son of Elohim, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” – O, Satan also knows Scripture, doesn’t he? In this case he’s using it to deceive with an attempt to attack His identity. And since Yahushua quote the Word the first time, there we go, here’s the Word, I’ll quote too.

And so, now. If we felt the need to put Yahweh’s Word to the test, oh, yeah, well, guess what? It shows you already have some doubt. If you think you gotta test the Word to see if it’s true, it shows you’re already doubting the Word! Right?

And so, the enemy, again, all he needs is to get us to doubt a little bit. You see how cunning and sneaky he is? He has got to get you to doubt a little bit, and he’s already winning the victory; he’s already, he’s already defeating you.

And so, Satan tried to get Yahushua to follow a half-truth, which is a whole lie, by putting Yahweh’s Word to the test—“Has Elohim indeed said? Yeah, let’s find out, let’s find out. Here try this, ‘If You are really the Son?’ I don’t think You are, I don’t want You to think You are.” And so, that’s the problem here.

And so, (Matthew 4:7) – “It is written again, – He said – ‘You shall not tempt Yahweh your Elohim.’” – Don’t put Him to the test. He doesn’t need to be put to the test. He’s already Elohim. You don’t need to check to find out His Word is true; His Word is always true. And so then, he’s gonna try to pick a different identity altogether, as like he did Eve. –
⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” – Pride of life, alternative identity—you can be subservient to me and I will give you all these things. Alternative identity. –
¹⁰ Then Yahushua said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship Yahweh your Elohim, and Him only you shall serve.’”
¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. –

Yahushua had His full armor on—He knew the word, He had faith in it, He had the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, His feet were shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation was on His head. And having spent forty days in the desert, praying and fasting, I’m sure He’s all prayed up, okay?

So, now. Yahushua is not the only one who gets His identity attacked or questioned by Satan the devil. He will try to do the same to us. He will. Yahushua knew who He was, it’s important that we know who we are, we have to know who we are!

And just as Satan tried to get Eve to question or change her identity to something else, and Adam his identity, and Yahushua His identity, he’s trying to get us to change or question our identity. Who we are. And with all the promises of the world—lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life; try this identity, try it out.

We have an enemy out there trying to get us to conform to an identity that embraces one of those three things. And he’s been working very hard at it since the Garden of Eden. Basically, Satan is an identity thief; he wants to steal your identity in Yahushua and give you an alternative one instead. He’s all about the earthly and carnal things.

Now, with whom do you identify? In the real world on a day-to-day basis, what do you identify with, who do you identify with? That’s really important. Do we fundamentally want to be known as disciples of Yahushua the Messiah? Even when we’re under pressure, is that identity, do we have an innate thing with us that causes us we want to identify with something, we’re just, we’re created beings. We’re not self-existing, and so we have to identify with something or someone.

And we’ll either worship it as a creature, that’s what Satan wants us to do is get us to worship the creature; what Yahweh wants us to do is worship the Creator. Every other religion on the planet wants you to worship the creature, not the Creator.

And so, there’s this pull to identify with the things of the world, the things that are not of Yahushua. This force that wants us to conform—conform with the world, conform with the things that the enemy, identities the enemy has created for men to walk in. Our affections, the things that impress us can speak to the kind of identity that we’ve chosen for ourselves. The things that we really enjoy or think we have the freedom to enjoy.

If we’re watching a movie you’ll notice the producers of the movie are always, especially if they’re Hollywood movies, trying to get you some kind of identity to be impressed with. Yeah. I think about, you know, I remember watching a movie one time, back when I watched the worldly movies 25 years ago, and this guy was lighting up a cigarette. And the way he did it, big tough guy, you know, I thought, “How much is Philip Morris paying this guy?” (lol) He’s like he’s selling how he can look so cool with that cigarette in his mouth, you know. And sort of like a ‘rebel without a without a cause’ kind of an attitude, you know. Cavalier, ‘I don’t need nobody, I’m a loner, I’ll take care of myself, I don’t need anybody else’ kind of attitude. And that’s alternative identity they’re selling.

And so, Satan uses mass media to impress us with a certain identity. I had a relative, young man, in my house one time, and he talked about how great this guy was, this worldly rapper Eminem or something like, that some kind of candy bar, I don’t know, whatever. I’m like, he showed me the lyrics this, he’s talking about burning the house down with his girlfriend in it. Yeah murder! In these songs. I’m like, ”You’re impressed with that?” – “Yeah, I’d do anything to be like him.” Sold that hook, line and sinker. Wow! Incredible!

And so, we cannot delight in the things the world delights in, or the identities that they’ve created for themselves, the things that exalt carnality.

And so, in the midst of this whole world that’s constantly trying to get us to conform to carnality, are we embarrassed by the fact that we don’t? Are we kind of hanging our heads low, cowering to those who are worldly and worldly minded? Who are our heroes? And why are they our heroes? They got this video game called “Guitar Hero”. And I thought, “What’s so heroic about playing a guitar? It saves somebody’s life?” No. He gets worshiped on a stage I guess, because he can play an instrument? I don’t understand it.

What kind of entertainment do we love and what does our heart rejoice about? Important question. What’s our first response when someone reads Scripture to us—are we bracing to defend ourselves, or are we looking forward to correction? You ever noticed that the youth often speak a different language? Use words you’re like, “What’s he saying?” I remember when I was young man, we had our thing, you know. Our thing was, “Everything’s gonna be different, different than the adults that raised us. We’re gonna be different! And so we take on a different identity!” And back in my day it was like, “Wear high top shoes and don’t tie your laces”. So, “Why is everyone doing this? Wy are you going around your shoes untied?”, drove my dad crazy. “Why don’t you tie your shoes?!” – “O, I don’t know, because nobody else does. It’s a thing.” Then there’s the saggy drawers, you know. When I first saw that I laughed, I thought. “Why is that guy showing his underwear?” You know, “What is that all about? That’s about the dumbest thing I ever saw.”

But every generation has, whether the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, your attitudes; they’re trying to do something different than the culture that raised them, the parents that raised them, to express their rebellion to them.

And so, the Hollywood producers and music producers know, if they can get these young people into their music, into their carnality, then they’ll make lots of money and they’ll have them for the rest of their lives. That’s what they’re after.

Music is so powerful because it speaks to the heart. And they will produce the most catchy rhythms and catchy, you know, lyrics and catchy tunes that fifty million dollars can buy, right? And they’re doing their very best to impress people with the identity of these people. I mean, whenever you see worldly bands, they got some kind of a idea, some way they dress, or some kind of identity they’re expressing of themselves.

And so, what are we going to do? We know, 1^st Corinthians 2:12 – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from Elohim, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by Elohim. – And it says (James 4:4) – Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with Elohim? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of Elohim. – If we’re in love with the world, we’re called adulterers and adulteresses. Wow! It’s of a different spirit, it’s of a different spirit.

Your Facebook picture, you know, your identity, I see it, you know, but they’re trying to portray themselves as tough guy or, you know, alluring eyes female, you know, the duck lips; I don’t know why they do that,”quack quack” why do they do that? Anyway, there’s confusion. There’s confusion over identity.

And are our affections man-centered or heavenly-centered? Today, they’re even rejecting the identity they’re born with, male and female, that’s how bad it’s gotten! And if you don’t accept their identity of who they chosen to be, then you can get fined two hundred fifty thousand dollars if you live in New York. Yeah! You call someone a “she” who’s really a “she” but they want to be a “he”, New York City, you get fined two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Yeah. Confusion.

The people turning to homosexuality is just a symptom of our culture’s blur between the lines, where men are not men, women are not women, men are acting effeminate, women are acting masculine; rejection of identity.

And so, what I want to share with you, of all the identities that the world is offering us, there’s an identity that’s far superior to all of them. And that’s the identity that we have in Messiah Yahushua.

Now we do have, you know, men who are identified as by their occupation, you know, that was common. In fact there’s so many people with the last name Smith in America because there are a lot of blacksmiths, you know, back in the days of horse and buggy, right? Carpenter, and even in Scripture we see Simon the Tanner, okay? And so men would identify with their occupation, sometimes their national origin—Mary Magdalene, Mary Magdalene, right? Sometimes, well, often, always their father—Simon son of Jonah, Simon bar Jonah, okay? Those are all secondary identities, and harmless by and large.

But there’s a primary identity with which we identify ourselves. If somebody asks you, “Who are you?” Had somebody asked me that this week, “What do you call yourself? Who are you? What are you?” And I said, “Well, I don’t call myself a Christian because a lot of things attach to that word ‘Christian’ that I don’t identify with—Sunday worship, and different things that I don’t do. So I’m just a follower of the Way. Scripture says I’m a follower of the Way, a saint, a believer, a brother.”

Now, here’s something Scripture says you are Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. – You are the light of the world – A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
¹⁵ “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives life to all who are in the house.
¹⁶ “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and – Glorify you? No. – glorify your Father in Heaven. – Because you’re going to tell them, “If there’s any light in me, it’s just Yahushua, He is the light”, right?

And so, our identities are given to us by Yahweh Himself. Yeah! He says, “We are the light of the world” because of He who dwells in us, Yahushua the light of the world. And it’s not boastful to say that; Yahushua said this is who you are, this is your identity, this is who He says you are. Not because the light comes from you, but from He who dwells in you.

And so, your identity is of such that, when Yahweh looks at you, you’re cleansed of all your sins. And so, you’re going around in this world and you’re shining His light to all who are around you. Who else is going to shine His light? The heathen? Somebody’s got to. We need it! This world needs that light; and the darker it gets the brighter this light is going to shine, right? Don’t be worried about the darkness of the world; “You’re walking in the light because He’s in the light, that’s why we have fellowship with one another”, Scripture says (1^st John 1:7).

And so, please it’s not boastful, it’s truthful. He says, “You’re the light of the world.” It’s not to say you’ve done that work, He has done that work in you, okay? So how about this, (Matthew 5:16) – “Let your light so shine – Right? Let your light so shine – before men . . . – Now, Yahushua, it says (John 1:11-13) – He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of Elohim, to those who believe in His name:
¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Elohim. – And so, you are a child of Elohim! Not a child of the devil. You’re a child of Elohim, that’s something else He calls you.

I like this one, Jeremiah 15:16 – Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O YAHWEH Elohim of hosts. – We’re called by Yahweh’s name. What a name that is. And for you to be called by that? Pfoo! Now there’s another name that you can be called by. Revelation 22:3-4 says – And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of Elohim and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
⁴ They shall see His face, and His name [shall be] on their foreheads. – Literally, spiritually speaking, Yahweh looks down at you, He sees His own name on our foreheads, because of Yahushua who dwells in us, right?

There’s another identity, (Revelation 17:5) – . . . MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. – That’s a name, that’s an identity we don’t want no part of that one, I promise you. Babylon is going down. And all the stuff that you see in Hollywood, all the things you see in the culture, all the things the world values, it’s going down. It’s going to fall.

So latch on to the identity that He gives you and puts on your forehead Himself! You’re created in His image, you’re created in His image. He says (John 15:5) – “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” –

So you are a branch of the heavenly vine, you are called by His name, you’re a child of Elohim, and you’re the light of the world. We’re just getting warmed up. This is what He calls you.

Yahweh has all kind of names for us. Ephesians 1 verse 3 – Blessed be the Elohim and Father of our Master Yahushua Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places – You are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Is there any blessing you’re lacking? No. He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing already. You just have to walk in it and believe in it and live it. So, that being true, if I say, “Are you blessed?”, you’re going to say,”Yes”, right? Are you blessed? Are you blessed?! (Congregation responds, “Yes!”) All right! We are blessed with every spiritual blessing, praise Yahweh for that. Just as he chose us, you are chosen in Him. He says you’re chosen in Him. Before the foundation of the world, before He even created the world He already chose you. How can He do that? He lives outside of time. Time is not anything to Him, He created time. He’s not under time’s power. He created time. And so –
⁴ just as He chose (us) – you – before the foundation of the world, that (we) – you – should be holy and without blame (before Him in love,) – You are holy and without blame, He says. You are chosen, you are blessed every spiritual blessing, you are holy, you’re without blame, you’re the light of the world, you’re a child of Elohim; and we’re just getting started.

1^st Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, – you are – a royal priesthood, – you are – a holy nation, – And so, here’s one, two, three. – His own special people, – He says that’s who you are. – that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; – You are called out of this darkness world, this dark world, into His marvelous light. You –
¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of Elohim, . . . –

So who are you? Who are you? What identity are you grabbing a hold of? This is the identity that you can believe in; that we are, you are—a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, you’re a child of Elohim, you’re called out of darkness, you are the people of Elohim, you are the light of the world. This is who He says you, this is the identity He has given you.

Now, if I was to create, if I was a potter and I want to create this vase {vāz}, vase {väz}, when I’m done with it I decide what it’s called, right? I decide it’s purpose, right? Not anybody else, right? So I put it on the on the stand and I decide it’s going to be “flower vase”, that’s what I call it. Someone else says. “O that’s not a flower vase.” – “Yes it is, see the flowers in it?” – “It’s not a flower vase, it’s a piece of junk.” – “O, really? I’m pretty sure it’s a flower vase.” I get to decide that, not you, right?

So, Yahweh our Creator, He created you; nobody else gets to decide what you are, who you are; nobody, only Him. So don’t listen to everybody else, listen to His voice, the Word. What the Word says is truth. Don’t listen to alternative words, and certainly do not grab onto alternative identities.

These things are central and foundational! If you’re ever going to have any hope of really fighting temptation and winning, you’ve got to recognize his sneaky tactics to get you to doubt who you are, doubt the Word of Yahweh, offer you an alternative identity, and tempt you with lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. He does it over and over and over and over again; ad nauseam. All the time.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking out there in the online world, “I’ve made too many mistakes to be called all that, you know, I don’t feel like that’s me. I don’t feel like that’s me. I feel like I’m a mess. I feel like I just made so many mistakes, how can I ever call myself that, when really I know who I am. I know what I’ve done. I know, maybe that’s for some people, but I don’t feel like I’m so sure that’s who I am.”

How can we be confident in that? And some people are probably thinking, “Well, how do I know I’ll even endure to the end, you know? Maybe if I endure to the end, I make it and overcome that, then I can feel like I’ll be called all those things. But today, I just see my own mistakes. I just don’t know if I’ll ever make it.”

Listen to part two, because I don’t have time to go with all of that today. But listen to part two next week. When you’re done with part two, you’ll say it with me, “This is who I am”. You will, if you believe the Word of Yahweh. If you believe the Word of Yahweh.

Let’s pray. Almighty Yahweh, thank You for offering us an alternative identity to the identities that we see in the world today. Thank You for revealing to us the way the enemy tries to function, and tries to get us to doubt Your Word. Some of us don’t read too much of Your Word or think too much of Your Word. And Father, convict their hearts, give them a hunger and a thirst for the spiritual things rather than the carnal things that would just swallow them up.

We know Your Word is so important—that we might have a sword in our spiritual battle, that we might have the faith to defend ourselves, so that we might have truth, so that we could know what it means to be righteous, so we know how to pray, and know that we have salvation, and not be unsettled in that. So that we might truly in all of those things put on the full armor of Elohim. That we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Father, put this armor on every human being that’s in the sound of my voice. And if they don’t have it on right now, give them a love and desire to obtain it and to receive it.

But truly we know, Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, and the majesty, forever and ever, in Yahushua’s name we pray, amein.