“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”

Introduction: Temptation is REAL! Do you agree? Everybody is in this war with TEMPTATION. Anybody can fall because of TEMPTATION. Somebody is going thru TEMPTATION right now and needs help today. Nobody can overcome TEMPTATION like Jesus can! James, the half brother of Jesus, gives us (3) ways to WIN the WAR over TEMPTATION:

1. If we are going to OVERCOME TEMPTATION, we’ve got to understand WHO’S in this FIGHT! (James 1:13)
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
• God is good
• Devil is bad

2. If we are going to OVERCOME TEMPTATION, we’ve got to GUARD our hearts with all of our MIGHT! (James 1:14)
“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”
• Guard your heart on the inside (“every man tempted… drawn away”- pictures a fisherman or hunter luring its prey into a trap – v. 14)
• Guard your heart on the outside (“lust, sin, death”- the devil’s LSD – v. 15)

3. If we are going to OVERCOME TEMPTATION, we need to TRUST God will MAKE it RIGHT! (James 1:12)
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”
{“Endureth” is the word hupomene, which means to remain under. “Tried” is the word dokimos, which means stood the test… the picture is that of metals/coins}
• Suffering now
• Crown later