Last time we talked about some ways to battle sinful lusts and desires. These included being aware of our own temptations, that sin starts in our hearts, realizing Satan wants to destroy us spiritually, that we need to flee those things we know tempt us to sin, and the importance of humbling ourselves to God and His care. As a result of the last lesson I received some feedback from one of you that I would like to share. Let’s go back to Genesis 39:1-12 for a moment. The scriptures are silent as to whether Joseph was actually tempted by Pharoah’s officer’s (Potiphar) wife. We do know that Joseph had to deal with a dangerous situation day by day, had the strength to flee one attempting to tempt him, and that he provided us all a great example (mention "Flee from Evil" article). This morning I would like to continue our study with ways to battle sinful lust and desire in our lives.

6. Purge our hearts of evil and meditate on the good things of Jesus. We will pick up with the very passage we left off with last time (Philippians 4:7-8, Colossians 3:12-17).

7. Be busy with good deeds (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:4-5, 1 John 3:18).

8. Focus on others. It seems that temptations are strongest when we focus too much on ourselves (Philippians 2:1-4). Focusing on others includes thinking about God’s will rather than our own will (1 Peter 2:13-17, Hebrews 13:20-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.

9. Realize Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are always ready and willing to help and provide an escape for us from the lusts and desires that tempt us (1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 John 5:14-15). We Christians have the blessing of praying for help and praying for others. While in California a few weeks back, I was blessed to be able to participate in a prayer service on Wednesday night with songs and prayers for an hour and a half. It was wonderful!

10. Have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:13-16). Yes Jesus had his own desires and enticements to overcome (James 1:14). If Jesus gave in to any of the temptations of lust or desire He faced He would have found Himself in opposition to the Father’s Will (Hebrews 4:15). The same is true today when we give in to our own lusts or desires (Romans 12:1-2). Our sin brings shame on us and on our Father in Heaven. God rather wants us to bring glory to Him (Matthew 5:16, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Peter 4:16).

We need to battle sinful lust and desires as they are key weapons of Satan. From Genesis to Jesus to our present day, Satan tempts all people with lust. Without God we will not be able to overcome these temptations. With God we can overcome anything! I would like to go back to Philippians 4:6-7 one more time!

If you are not a Christian, why not repent and be baptized now? If you are a Christian, do not ever let your guard down, as Satan will use our own desires to tempt us in order to add one more soul to the eternal punishment in Hell! If we can help you, please come forward now as we stand and sing.