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Overcome Temptation By Saying "No!"

To The Devil

‘Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Matthew 4:8-10).

THE TEMPTATIONS I FACED

The Secondary School I went to had a number of sins going on and therefore there were a number of temptations. I will quickly share some of these to encourage and strengthen you to always say “no” to the devil when you encounter a dark situation.

The primary school I went to was quite innocent and peaceful, but when I arrived at Secondary School I had never heard so much swearing and bad language going on throughout the day. My parents had already strengthened me so that I would not fall for that temptation. My parents had laid down the law that if they heard me speaking bad words I would get my mouth washed out with soap.

Unfortunately I did fall into error a couple of times and as a young child soap in the mouth tasted awful and it made me cry, but it taught me the lesson. So when I went to Secondary School and many students were using bad language I easily resisted that temptation and said “no” to the devil. “I’m not going to speak bad words because I belong to God and I am a Christian. I belong to Jesus Christ.”

Another temptation that came was smoking cigarettes. At that time I was into running and was quite fit and I had no desire to smoke cigarettes whatsoever, so again it was quite easy for me to say “no” to the devil. There were times when certain students would offer me a smoke and I remember one girl saying to me, “When you fall in love with a girl who smokes cigarettes you’re going to start smoking as well.” But I was thinking, “Why would I want to fall in love with a girl who smokes cigarettes?”

I went to two Secondary Schools and there wasn’t too much of a drugs problem in either of them, but I did notice at one of the schools the police came with their search dogs so obviously there was some speculation that something was going on. If you are faced with that kind of temptation say “no” to the devil, otherwise you will blow your brain. I met one person later on who virtually became a mental nutcase due to too much drugs.

Another temptation in my early teenage years was that some of the boys in my class started looking at pornography and bringing it on the same bus as me. We were living in the countryside so we had to travel a long distance to get to school. As we became older we liked to sit at the back of the bus because we thought that was the best.

When the other ones my age started looking at porn I had to make a decision that I am no longer going to sit with them when they are doing that. That was a bit of a hard decision because those kinds of situations made me the odd one out. Over a period of time this helped to cause another kind of temptation or battle in my mind and that was suicidal thoughts.

I began to think, “Oh God, this life is miserable.” I faced verbal and physical abuse also and as a good Christian I was taught that you turn the other cheek and don’t fight back. Unfortunately this can help you to get picked on even more. Over a period of a few years this led to a stronghold in my mind that was hard to break. This brought me to the point where I attempted suicide and thankfully failed.

I was under this bondage for a number of years but what gave me deliverance was a prayer that God laid in my heart, which was simply to pray: “God, give me my true purpose to live.” No matter what temptations you face and no matter what you go through in school or at work as you get older, I encourage you to have that kind of prayer for your life: “God, give me my true purpose to live.”

I was blessed to have been touched by God’s power at a Christian youth camp when I was 16 years old. I had always believed in God but now the reality of that became undeniable. The power of God transformed me and in due time this helped release me into being an evangelist and a missionary. I then knew that I was born to preach the gospel and that is why I now travel a lot overseas, preaching where there is a real hunger for God.

No matter what temptations you go through don’t think, “Oh, my problems are too big and there is no one that I can share my problems with.” That will just pull you into the darkness and it will allow the devil to crush you, pull you down, or even pull you into greater sin. What you have got to do is make a decision to be a true servant of God and to find your true purpose to live. You have to say “no” to the devil and “yes” to Jesus Christ.

Let Jesus be your best friend because He is the One who can best sympathize with you and work out God’s highest and best purpose for your life. When you suffer for doing what is right remember how Jesus suffered in dying on the cross for your sins, so that you can be set free. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin, but when the Son of God sets you free, you are free indeed. The people of the world don’t know this freedom, because it comes with a peace and a joy that the world cannot give. That is the joy of salvation.

LET JESUS SAVE YOU

‘Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted’ (Hebrews 2:18).

To resist temptation there is an element of suffering that can come with it. Jesus went through suffering when He was hounded by the devil, but because of His suffering He can now help us to overcome temptation.

There are only two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness which is ruled by the devil, and the kingdom of light which is ruled by the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ. There are only two paths: the wide path to Hell, or the narrow path to Heaven. We have to choose which path we are following, for when people follow their sinful nature they fall into the traps of the evil one.

You have to turn away from the devil’s power and turn to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can wash away your sins and make you clean and pure in the sight of God. Would you like to make peace with God and receive eternal life right now? Open your heart to the Lord and begin to pray:

“Oh Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner. Save me and set me free.”

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