Endure Chapter 1: Lust & Pride

Welcome to Part one of Endure, in which I'll share with you common temptations, obstacles, pitfalls and struggles you'll face and how to deal with them. Now, if you want to learn more about this book, you can go to getindure.com and also for this chapter and for all chapters, I'll put together resources, references, links and additional reading and listening material for you, which you can find@getindoor.com Chapter 1 for this specific chapter Chapter 1 Lust and Pride I'm constantly inspired by the deep wisdom of Jesus and have been recently captivated by his extraordinary transformation following a 40 day stint of fasting, reportedly in a rugged mountain wilderness location near the Jordan River. It was after this experience that Jesus returned to Galilee as an entirely new man. And for just a hint of the power of this type of fasting protocol, I recommend you read the excellent book Atomic Power with God, which I'll link to on the reference page for this chapter. And after that, Jesus commenced performing a host of impressive miracles, but his time in the wilderness went far beyond the simple act of solitude and fasting. Matthew 4:3 10 describes the extreme temptations from Satan that Jesus faced during this time. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, again it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, be gone Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Now while it may seem as though these temptations cited in this chapter may have been unique to Jesus, the Son of God, they're actually an identical reflection of the three distinct temptations every one of us, you and I, mere humans, face on a daily basis. Now the first temptation that Jesus faced was called the lust of the flesh, in this case the desire for food. If you are the Son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread. Now, from the dawn of time, humankind has had to deal with this lust of the flesh most only beginning with the Garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve were tempted by the fruits from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This lust of the flesh is a temptation to derive physical pleasure from some kind of attachment or otherworldly object that isn't necessarily bad in and of itself. After all, God created all things for good, but if used in a dishonorable way or accompanied by addiction, can certainly be problematic. And these lusts can range from food and supplements to medications, drugs to exercise and sex, to social media and television. For me personally, examples of lust of the flesh that I must deal with on a daily basis include food, plant medicines like, say, marijuana, attractive women, and escapism. Through physical activity and exercise. You can learn more about how those types of temptations nearly derailed my entire journey of spiritual fitness. In the who Am I? Chapter of my book Fit Soul, notably with this first temptation and the two that follow after it, I learn from the story of Jesus above exactly what to do when presented with a fleshly attachment, addiction, or temptation. In this case, I can say to Satan, when presented with these temptations exactly what Jesus said. I shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. And where does one find every word that comes from the mouth of God? Well, you guessed it. The Bible. So if a Bible is near you or, say, installed on your phone or your computer at all times, you can simply escape to God's Word when faced with the temptation of the lust of the flesh, even by doing something as simple as turning to psalms or proverbs and simply beginning to read the words of King David, who frequently called out to God during periods of struggle and stress. Now, the lust of the eyes is a second temptation Jesus faced, in this case, the offer for unfettered access to kingdom, cities, wealth, and all the world's riches and beyond, where it says, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. Now beginning again in the Garden of Eden, in which the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was pleasant to the eyes of Adam and Eve. Each of us also face the temptation of the lust of the eyes on a daily basis, and that can include coveting our neighbor's spouse, children, family or belongings, consumption of pornography, desiring others material possessions or wealth and status, being envious of the body or lifestyle someone is displaying on say Instagram or Facebook, or wishing we could have the souped up car, motorcycle or bicycle pulled up next to us at a stoplight. Now I'll admit that I'm constantly pulled towards a bit of grass is always greener syndrome, wishing I had someone else's house, life belongings, body wisdom or unique skills, and often tempted towards discontentedly casting my own eyes upon the visual appeal and anticipation of ownership of these things as I'm washed over with feelings of desire and anticipated pleasure from something somebody else has that I don't yet in the same way that dwelling upon God's word can save us from the lust of the flesh, the simplicity of scripture offers us an out when we're tempted with the lust of the eyes. What did Jesus tell Satan when Satan tempted him with the lust of the eyes? He said, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. That's right. All you need to do is be able to worship God and have a relationship of deep union with God to resist the temptation of the lust of the eyes. Now you can read my book Fit Soul about how to develop that union with God so you can turn to him in worship, trust and dependence when you're confronted with anything from porn on your smartphone to your neighbor's spiffy new lawnmower, it's that simple. And the final temptation we all too often face is the pride of life. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you're the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. Well, no surprises here. This was also one of the first temptations humankind faced when Adam and Eve desired to be wise by partaking of the forbidden fruit. The pride of life is a temptation for greatness, power, fame, glory, knowledge, a superior lifestyle that we can all feel the constant urge to attain at all costs, not for God's glory, but for our own glory. And this can include a desire to get credit or glory for any great thing we accomplish rather than being content if nobody notices but God, a desire for others to hold us in high esteem so that we can make a name for ourselves, a desire to feel more valued or more important than others around us, or to be put into positions of power over others in a way that puffs up our own ego for the sake of, say, bragging rights. Now I like to think of this temptation as politician syndrome as I see it displayed amongst many power hungry politicians, but also amongst executives and hard charging high achievers who aren't pursuing glory for the sake of magnifying God, but rather for the sake of magnifying themselves. And how did Jesus deal with this temptation? He simply said to Satan, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. In other words, when you're tempted towards greatness for greatness's sake, turn to God and acknowledge that he is almighty and you are merely a creation that he designed to bring glory to Him. Who are you to test God as to whether he is God or you are God? So remind yourself the next time you're tempted towards the pride of life that there is only one God. It's not you and your greatest calling is to glorify God and not yourself. Summary well, like Jesus, we all face the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. But in a very simple and easy to understand way. Matthew 4:3 10 tells us exactly how to resist these temptations. Read the Bible, worship God and acknowledge his greatness. Furthermore, First Corinthians 10:13 says that there hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it. That's right. God promises us that no matter how hard a temptation is, he will always provide an escape route. With God's Word constantly saturating our minds and hearts, we can resist. For we know that the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharp, sharper than any double edged sword. And my prayer for you on this day is that God would deliver you from temptation and that this short listen will give you three mighty tools you need to do just that. Now how about you? What temptations do you face when encountering those temptations? What have you found to be helpful for keeping you on the straight and narrow path? If you don't really know how to deal with those temptations, then don't worry because that's what this book will teach you. But for now, simply take a pause for a time of breathing, self examination and silence and then list some of your major temptations in a journal or if you have the physical version of Endure in the note taking section that goes along with this chapter. Chapter one now for Resources References Links and additional reading and listening material for this chapter you can visit getindore.com chapter one.