How Do I Battle Temptation Effectively?
Tired of being tempted and not knowing what to do? Today we look at a pattern Jesus used to battle temptation with the truth and see how we can apply it today.
Episode Discussion Points
Tired of all of the adversary’s increasing temptations
Go through the story in Matthew 4:1-11 where Jesus is tempted
How Satan says “if” to make us doubt
Jesus knew who He was and I’m sure he affirmed it in his mind.
Then he battled Satan with a bible verse
Then he told him to go away.
Remember to invite Jesus to be your battle buddy. You’re never alone in your temptations.
Jesus’ Pattern to Battle Temptation
Affirm truth, (ex: I am a child of God).
Quote scripture
Tell Satan, to “Get thee hence.”
Invitation
Think of what Satan tempts you with. Then think of a truth or an affirmation beginning with “I am or I can.”
Next Google a Bible verse you can memorize to combat that temptation. You can put this on your phone either as audio or text to help you memorize it.
Tell Satan to go away, in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Transcription
You can find the transcription of today's episode here:
Tamara Anderson 0:00
As many of you out there are tired of temptation. Oh my word. It's like everywhere I look, things are going from bad to worse. And I feel like Satan's attacking me and my family and those I love more and more frequency. And I don't know about you, but I'm tired of it. We're going to talk today about how you can battle temptation effectively. So stay tuned. Welcome to stories of hope in hard times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times, all with God's help. I'm your host Tamra Kay Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments. Hello, and welcome to another episode of tamaraws takeaways on the stories of hope and hard times podcast. I'm your host, Tamra K. Anderson. And today we're talking about temptation. Oh, my word. It just seems to be all around us and through us. There's negative stuff everywhere. And Satan is just doing his best to drag us down, tempting us with negative thoughts and negative ideas about ourselves and who we really are and ease just go into town and having a great time doing it. And I don't know about you guys, but I am tired of this. And so I've been thinking lately about what we can do to battle this temptation. How do we battle this and of course, the best example I can think of is the example of the Savior. And I went back this week, and I was researching and rereading the the part in Matthew, chapter four, where Jesus is tempted of the devil. And it's so interesting to me, both the background of it, and then how he gets out of it. And I think we can pull a lot of things out of it that we can take from and learn from today, right now in our very lives. So first, a little bit of background on this amazing story. Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist. In fact, we read in chapter three, that he'd had this amazing and powerful spiritual experience, the heavens were opened, he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and even heard the voice of God saying, This is My beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. So he's coming from this amazing spiritual high after that he goes, and he spends 40 days in 40 nights in the wilderness. And I don't know what he was doing there. But I can only imagine that after 40 days and 40 nights, he was probably tired and hungry, and just couldn't wait to get back home and begin his ministry. So all this happened before he began his ministry. And it is interesting to me that in that weekend state, Satan comes and the first temptation, he says, and this is the word I want you to pay attention to. If if, okay, he says, if that will be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread. So here Jesus is he's hungry, he's tired, but he's probably had some amazing spiritual experiences. And the first thing that Satan tempts him with is the F, if you are the Son of God, make these stones into bread.
Tamara Anderson 4:03
So right here, he's attacking who the Savior truly is, that he is the Son of God. He's saying, he's trying to place doubt in his mind. He's trying to make a negative thought start to appear there. Maybe I'm not the Son of God. And I don't think Jesus ever considered that because he knew who he was. But I think there's power in knowing who you are. And so Jesus knew who he was. And in verse four, he says, And he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So this is really a good pattern. Jesus, first of all, probably thought, I am thus Son of God. And then he quotes scripture. And so I was like, That is a pretty neat pattern. They're reinforcing who you are so bad. telling the lie with truth, and then saying a scripture to back you up. And this happens several more times. He's on the pinnacle of the temple. And Satan says, if there'll be the Son of God cast thyself down, for his written, He shall give His angels charge concerning the, and their hand shall bear the up, lest at any time thou shalt dash thy foot against a stone. So here Satan is using his own tactic against him, he's throwing scripture at him, if but he does the if thing again, if you were a Son of God, if you are the Son of God, just jump off this building. Angels will save you. And then Jesus said, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, I love that he always has the perfect scripture to come back on. It's so good. And then the third time, Satan hits him with a total other lie. He's he shows him the kingdoms of the world and says, all these things will I give the if that will fall down and worship me. And it's such a lie, because all the kingdoms of the world and all the people who are in them are gods, they're not saints to give. And so he's saying all these things, if you'll worship Me, and the crazy thing is Jesus said, Get behind Satan, for thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall serve. And then angels came and ministered unto him. So there are going to be times in your life and in my life, when we feel Satan attacking us, when we have those negative thoughts and doubts about who we truly are. Are we sons and daughters of God? Does he love us? Does he care about us. And then Satan will be there and whispering in your ears and admires if you were a daughter of God, or if you were a child of God, you wouldn't be feeling this way right now. And when those thoughts and ideas enter into our mind, we need to battle it the same way Jesus did, first in our mind, confirm who we are. I am a child of God. And then we can quote Scripture. For example, if that is the thought that he's battling you with, perhaps you use the verse in Romans, chapter eight, this is one of my favorites. Romans chapter eight, verse 16, memorize this verse, guys, memorize it, memorize it, memorize it is short, you can totally do this. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Say it again, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and that is Romans 816. So when you have those negative thoughts, if you were a child of God, God would not let you suffer like this.
Tamara Anderson 8:05
You say, I am a child of God, and He loves me. And then quote, your verse, The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and tell him to get the hands just like Jesus did. So those are the steps. First, affirm in your head, the truth, you've got to combat lies with truth. Second, back it up with scripture, memorize verses, or maybe put them on your phone, or on a little note card. And write your truth. On the very top. I am a child of God, and then the verse that goes with it. If there's other things that that perhaps, perhaps one of your negative self thoughts is that you are ugly, and no one can love you. You sit and write your thoughts and think your thought and you say your thought, I am a beautiful person inside and out. And then you back it up with a Bible verse. Per, for example, when that's coming to mind is, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I love that one. It's so good. So back it up. And then you tell Satan, get out of here, get the hence Satan. Because I serve God, and I am his child, tell him to get away. And these are three powerful things you can do. When those negative thoughts enter your mind, when you are feeling attacked on all sides. And you can teach this to your children. You can teach it to others. But be sure to always have prayer in your heart. Have the Word of God in your mind, and these things become much, much easier. So my invitation for you today is to start that process today. Think of one of the common ways that Satan drags you down and tempt you. Speak your truth. Find a verse that backs you up in the script You can even go on Google and save Bible verses about and then type in whatever it is, find your verse, memorize it, put it on your phone, put it on a note card, however it is, can say it in the car, you can even dictate it onto your phone and play it once a day, or something like that, to reinforce it, because we need to start combating the lies in our head with the truth of who we are, how much we're loved by God, and tell Satan to go away. Get the hence. And I'm so excited to share with you this amazing pattern. It's worked for me and I know it can work for you. So my friends when you're feeling tempted and weighed down, remember the story of Jesus Christ, how he battled Satan and one. And another thing to bear in mind is when you're battling Satan, you're never doing it alone. Choose Christ as your battle buddy. And he battles him with you. And then you're never alone as you're battling these tough, tough battles in our mind that happened on a daily basis. And he will never desert you know, nor forget you. So hang in there and have an awesome day. Hope on my friends, are you looking for a meaningful Christmas gift this year? If so, you need look no further I have a fantastic, sweet short story. I am so excited to share with you my new booklet it's called a broken down holiday. This is the story of a widowed young mother trying to travel home for the holidays soon after her husband dies, and being stranded in the middle of nowhere. And some of the hard things that she experiences and some of the miracles that you wouldn't think are miracles that she had happen at it is based on a true story that happened to my mother in law. It's great for those friends that you're just like, what do I get them something simple. That's under five bucks. It's a great stocking stuffer. So if you want to share this message of Pope with your friends or family members, check it out a broken down holiday on Tamra K. anderson.com. Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's show. If you like what you heard, subscribe so you can get your weekly dose of powerful stories of hope. I know there are many of you out there who are going through a hard time, and I hope you found useful things that you can apply to your own life in today's podcast. If you'd like to access the show notes of today's show, please visit my website stories of hope podcast.com. There you will find a summary of today's show, the transcript and one of my favorite takeaways. You know, if someone kept coming to mind during today's episode, perhaps that means that you should share this episode with them.
Tamara Anderson 13:08
Maybe there was a story shared or quote or a scripture verse that they really really need to hear. So go ahead and share this podcast. May God bless you, especially if you are struggling with hope to carry on and the strength to keep going when things get tough. Remember to walk with Christ and He will help you bear the burden. And above all else, Remember God loves you
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