The Bryce Crawford Podcast - How To Overcome Temptation (EP 49)

Episode Date: October 14, 2024

In this video, Bryce talks about how to overcome sin. Filmed By; Josh Rodriguez @whitehorse.studios MERCH👉 https://www.jesusinthestreet.com subscribe for more! Sow Into My Ministry One-Time or Monthly! Visit 👉 https://www.equipnet.org/missionaries/bcrawford   (all donations are tax deductible) Download Our FREE Bible Plan https://growinfaith.readytoconnect.com/join-the-one-year-bible-challenge  follow me on other platforms! Podcast Instagram 👉https://instagram.com/brycecrawfordpodcast Personal Instagram 👉 https://instagram.com/brycecrawford Merch Instagram 👉 https://instagram.com/ilovejesus Tiktok (main) 👉https://www.tiktok.com/@brycecrawford  Tiktok (2nd) 👉 https://www.tiktok.com/@adventuresofbryce  Snapchat https://snapchat.com/add/brycecraww  Twitter 👉 https://twitter.com/ibrycecrawford #christianity #christian #Jesus #BryceCrawford #christiantiktok #christianvideos #holyspirit #Jesusheals #viral #christianvideo #venicebeach #evangelism

What's going on, guys. Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford podcast. I'm Bryce. And in today's episode, we're going to be talking about how to overcome temptation. This question is one of the most commonly asked questions I get in my DMs or in my email. It's always, Bryce, how do I overcome this temptation or overcome this sinful desire? And so we're just going to talk about what the Bible says about this. What do we see in scripture to do when it comes with dealing with temptation? Before we get into it, guys, you notice we don't normally sell this pink I love Jesus shirt that I have on right now. And it's because it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We have a limited. edition breast cancer awareness shirt on our website jesus in the street.com we have a pink and a white one we're going to be donating a portion of the proceeds to a breast cancer awareness a breast cancer non-profit in my hometown of cartersville breast cancer i remember growing up and meeting people constantly that either suffered with breast cancer or had over had had beaten breast cancer and it is something that i just remember seeing all the time growing up in my hometown and so i i just want to

make this shirt to support breast cancer awareness And so if you guys want to support it, only in the month of October, you guys will be able to get this shirt. So go to Jesus in the street.com, support the mission, support the movement, and we will be donating money to breast cancer awareness in my hometown personally at the end of the month. So it's going to be amazing. But let's get into what the Bible says about temptation. I really wanted to open up this episode with looking at Jesus Christ, the life of Jesus. because when we think about temptation in our lives, we almost assume that we're alone in temptation

and that there's no model for temptation. But I want to encourage you guys, the word of God is going to be your number one weapon against temptation. Ephesion 6 says, put on the full armor of God so that you can take a stand against the schemes of the devil. In order to defeat temptation, you have to take up the sword of the spirit. Spirit. It's the Word of God. It is going to be your weapon against all temptation. And we're going to

see what Jesus does here in Matthew chapter 4 with the Word of God. So Jesus goes into the wilderness for 40 days fasting and seeking God in solitude. And Satan himself comes to try to tempt Jesus. And Satan comes as the accuser and as the pervert, the perverted fallen angel, I mean, he perverts everything that's good. There is no truth that comes from Satan. He says, if you were the of God command these stones to become loaves of bread. He's like, show me your power, Jesus. And Jesus responds with what? Scripture. He says, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. So right off the bat, we're watching Jesus defend temptation with the Word of God, but his first defense is encouraging us as readers today to hold fast to the

word of God because that is how we live. It says man doesn't live by bread alone. You aren't sustained just by the food that you eat, but by what you spiritually digest as well. That's how you sustain your spiritual life. Then it says the devil took him to a holy place and he says, if you're the son of God, throw yourself down. And it says, he says, Satan himself says, 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 them. So Satan here is twisting scripture. He's not quoting real scripture. He's pointing false scripture and how would someone be able to detect false scripture false promises false hope is with the truth and jesus says again it is written you shall not put the lord your god to the test so again

he combats satan's lies the accuser with the truth and so it's interesting here how jesus christ god in the flesh says in order to combat the lies of satan we must use the word of god it's what he's doing in the desert. He is fasting. He is in a state of vulnerability. He is alone. He's doing it to seek God the father, but he is alone and he is hungry. He is fasting. And in this moment, the thing that triumphs over his feelings of hunger, the thing that triumphs over his feeling of his alone state in the desert, not loneliness, his alone state is the truth and the firm foundation of the word of God. And then he does it again. He says, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. So we see Jesus Christ himself, he defends temptation with the Word of God. And Hebrews 4 actually says the Word of God is like a

double-edged sword that separates the soul from the Spirit that separates the way that seems right to a man which Proverbs says leads to death to the way that seems right to God. The way of the Spirit, walking by the Spirit of Galatian says, so the Word of God will actually help us determine what is walking in the spirit and what is walking by the flesh, because when we walk by the flesh, we're actually worshiping the devil. When you give in to temptation and sinful desires, you are worshiping Satan. You are following his ways. You are abiding into the apple. You are giving into your flesh to desires. You worship Satan by giving in the temptation. But how do you overcome temptation? By walking by the Spirit of Galation says, did you know that he,

Hebrews 415 says, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of how to defeat temptation by number one. We see his example in Matthew 4 on how he defends temptation with the word of God, but he's the primary example and way of life because he was God in the flesh, he lived a perfect life of the same temptations and world that we live in. In the same wicked world and in the same world that we had the same temptations. Jesus Christ himself lived in except he didn't have fall to it. And so we can look at the life of Jesus and say, man, how do we overcome this?

And we know Galatian says overcoming temptation. In James, it says, this is how we overcome temptation. It says, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. by submitting to God, we will naturally resist the devil, resist the temptations of the world, and because of that, he will flee from us. Now, what does submitting to God look like? It looks like Galatians 5, walking by the spirit. Now, let's keep defining stuff here because these are fancy terms and biblical terms,

but what do they mean? How does one walk by the spirit? Well, walking by the spirit looks like two steps. putting off the desires of the flesh and putting on the desires of the spirit now in what way do we walk by the spirit do we put on the spirit by not living by bread alone by living by living by reading it and digesting it and spiritually living if you ate only one time a week you would starve this isn't about food this is about your spiritual well-being if you only spend time with god for 15 minutes out of a week, you only spend time with God for the 30 minute church service that you go to.

No wonder you're still falling into sin. No wonder you're still struggling with sin. No wonder your sin feels inevitable. If your relationship with Jesus is determined on the 30 minute church service that you go to on Sunday, and that's the only time you get with God, no wonder your sin feels inevitable. No wonder it feels like that if temptation is thrown your way, you're just bound to fall into it. It feels that way because you're spiritually starved. And yes, you're feeling, you're feeding, your spiritual starvation with the things of the world. Our spirit's always going to be hungry, but you can feed it with other things than him.

And you don't know your quenching it, but you are. And the only way we walk by the spirit is by renewing our mind, like Romans 12 says, with the Word of God. I want to point you guys to some scripture in Romans, Romans 19 here really quick. Romans, I mean, sorry, Psalm 119, Psalm 119, 11 says,

I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. if we store up the word of God in our heart, whether by listening to it or reading the word of God, it's being written on the tablet of our heart. If we are consuming the word of God and storing it in our heart, then it will be easier to put off the desires of the flesh

because we are founded on the truth and not feelings. Because I'm going to be honest with you, sin feels good to your flesh. Yeah, you're right, brother or sister. Hooking up or sleeping with that boy or girl does feel good to your flesh. Or you know what, getting angry at your brother or sister does feel good to your flesh. But once you get over that moment, you feel shame, guilt, condemnation, and you realize that it wasn't worth it. And when you're founded on the truth of the Word of God,

you realize that that momentary feeling that you get from sin isn't worth it compared to an eternity and a personal relationship with a living God that loves and cares about you. Your sin does not care about you. Your sin doesn't care about you. And when you give into the temptations, your worship the devil and by the time you're done given into that sin given into that lust given into that anger that leads to sin given into those substances to numb your pain by the time you're done doing that it's already let you down and then you feel weird and it doesn't feel good i want to point you to first corinthians 10 here this scripture let me tell you guys something if you guys do not have personal bible time in your life if you guys aren't seeking jesus intimately

then you are going to be battling sin off of your own strength. We have to come to the understanding that defeating and overcoming temptation isn't about how hard we can fight sin ourselves. The defeat of temptation has already happened. On the cross, 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ killed sin at the cross. And then he resurrected from the dead. He defeated sin.

Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. was the final battle and defeat of sin. Now, Jesus hasn't returned a second time, so we still live in this world of wickedness. But if we continually seek Jesus out and consume the word of God and stored in our heart, that we will find ourselves naturally putting away the desires of the flesh. And you know what's crazy is some people tell me,

Bryce, I just can't stop doing it. If temptation is thrown my way, then I'm bound to sin. by no means brother or sister if you are proposed with an option to sin you are not just going to sin it's not like oh if temptation is in front of me i'm just going to sin that is not what the word of god says let's look at first corinthians 10 no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man that means that when you are tempted with something you don't have to isolate yourself to feel alone there is another brother or sister are many brothers or sisters out there that have been tempted with the same thing. And if you don't think so, look at the life of Jesus because we do have a high priest that

sympathizes with us because he lived in the same sinful world that we live in. So there is no temptation that you will experience in your lifetime that another brother or sister can't relate to you. So now we can go to fellowship and have brothers or sisters come around us when we feel alone and as if no one understands what we're going through. No one understands what we're dealing with. No one understands what we're being tempted with. that is alive from the pit of hell,

Jesus Christ has lived in this sinful world and he did not fall to sin. He sympathizes with us and he took every bit of sin, past, present and future to the cross and killed it with his death and resurrection, but there are other brothers and sisters in this lifetime that can resonate with you,

that can sympathize with you as well because they live in this same sinful world that you do. So there are brothers and sisters out there that can come around you and build you up and pray for you and encourage you and hold you accountable if you are being tempted with things. Don't isolate your soul.

and make yourself convinced that you're alone in your sin. The Bible, the truth here, the unwavering truth, because heaven and earth will pass away, but his word won't. This Bible says that no temptation has overtaken man, has overtaken you. That isn't common to man. The devil don't have old tricks. He's using the same tricks. Then what does it say?

God is faithful. And he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. You can't tell me, based on the word of God, that the temptations that you experience are inevitable. Because the Bible says that every temptation that we experience in this world, there is a back door to it. And I'm going to be honest, you will not escape temptation if you do it on your own willpower. because that my friend is white knuckling it and if you step into the boxing ring with temptation

out of your own willpower you've already lost the back door to temptation the escape from temptation comes through walking by the spirit the spirit of God the spirit of God gives us strength to overcome temptation when we have the truth of God that's rooted in our heart

so that when we are faced with temptation the lie that this is greater than eternity the lie that something is greater than the Word of God, the lie that something is greater than truth, we can say no, that is a lie, we can identify the lie and turn it away when we have the truth rooted in us. Temptation can be overcome, my friend, but again, it is not on your own strength. The reason that you are falling to temptation and temptation is becoming a sinful habit is because you're trying hard not to sin.

My friend, this isn't about trying not to sin. this is about loving Jesus being in relationship with him and by loving Jesus you will naturally turn away sin because you realize that sin breaks his heart you wouldn't naturally do something to a brother or sister that you love and care about to hurt them on purpose and sin breaks God's heart and when you are in a personal relationship with Jesus and you are loving Jesus temptation can come your way and it doesn't mean a rat's butt to you because you are madly in love with the one who has put breath inside your lungs. Temptation doesn't mean anything to us

when we are more in love with him than we are in love with feeding our flesh. Brothers and sisters, we've got to store the word of God up in our heart. We have to be prepared in season and out of season. Because I'm going to be honest. It's not even just like the normal temptations that you're tempted with that will come at you.

Like, man, there are things that don't seem like a bother to me that I've never had struggles with. and then there might be a random day where it's just like the devil is really trying to get me to be tempted and fall into a certain sin area of my life just out of nowhere. Right? And the only way to overcome that is if we have the truth to identify the lie of Satan and to push away the desires of the flesh, the lies of Satan and say, that's not true.

His word remains the same. God is true. He is truth. That is his character. I'm not going to fall victim to the world. That's how we overcome that. Now, in the Bible, aside from just the generality of overcoming temptation, there are practicals about certain sin areas in our life.

I mean, like look at lust, for example. I mean, when it talks about overcoming lust, it says if your right hand causes you to sin and your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out, cut your right hand off for it is better for you to enter the kingdom of heaven without a member than to go to hell with both. Now, what does that mean? Yes, that has applied to sexual sin, you know? if you're someone that struggles with lust and the Bible says

the Bible when it talks about lust it says if your hand causes you to sin cut it off what does that mean the areas of your life that are leading you into sin cut it out so if you're someone that struggles with watching porn and you say man I just can't stop watching porn

I can't I don't know why it's going on but you're staying up late on your phone until 2 a.m. and you're following some interesting accounts on TikTok and Instagram they may provoke you to go to an explicit website, those things, then maybe it's unfollow certain things on Instagram and TikTok and plug your phone up outside and go get an alarm clock to wake you up

instead of using your phone. Like cut things out of your life. The Bible is trying to get Christians and believers, sons and daughters of God, to get out of habitual sin. When that scripture in the Bible talks about cutting off your arm and gouging out your eye if it's causing you to sin is a warning to believers to get out of unrepentant sin.

Like, yes, in the context it is for lust, but it's not just for lust, man. Like if there are things that are causing you to lie, if there are things that are causing you to get angry and lead you into sin, if there are things that are causing you to get drunk and get high to numb the pain, you've got to cut them out. Because Jesus is calling us higher. He's calling us to get out of unrepentant sin.

So yes, there are. practical action steps in the Bible, but the natural aspect of overcoming temptation is walking by the spirit by storing up the word of God in our heart and loving Jesus more than trying not to sin. That is how we overcome temptation, my friends. And man, I pray that the plague that is plaguing Christianity, man, I am heartbroken because there is a plague throughout Christianity that is saying the only way to stop sinning is if I do something about it myself. That is absolute baloney. You can't stop sinning for yourself even if you wanted to.

You can be the Arnold Schwarzenator of Christianity, and you still won't be able to stop sending on your own. You can't. It's impossible. We need Jesus Christ. He's the author and perfector of our faith. He is the reason that sin is able to be overcome. He is the reason that sin is defeated on the cross. It is in him that we find victory over sin.

It's not in your own strength. no wonder you keep falling to sin no wonder you keep falling to lust no wonder you keep falling to drunkenness no wonder you keep falling to lying out of your tongue it is because you're trying to sin stop sinning out of your own power stop it you can't do it jesus christ is the chain breaker and that's why he is the hope because i remember before i surrendered my life to jesus i had this broken heart and i was just trying to heal my broken heart and all the things that i was doing out of my own willpower were letting me down, but I kept going back to them because I didn't know another way. But as Jesus says in John 14, he says, I'm the only way.

I am the truth. I am the life. So Jesus says, I'm the only way to relationship with God. I'm the only way to heaven. I'm the only way to escape sin. I'm the reason that there's victory over sin. Jesus says, I'm the way. I am the truth.

I'm the thing that will help you overcome your sin. I'm the thing that will help you overcome the lies of the devil. I'm the thing that will help you combat temptation. And I am the life. Sin will suck the life out of you. And Jesus Christ will give you new life. And wipe your slate clean as if you've never done anything wrong. My friend, sin doesn't have to be a battle.

It's already won. And by submitting to God by loving Jesus, we naturally overcome sin. Jesus, I thank you for everyone watching and listen to this episode. God, God, I just pray that you will remind us every day that you are our strength and overcoming temptation. God, it is not on our own willpower, but it is through your spirit that we have strength of the ability to overcome temptation.

Thank you that sin has been defeated on the cross through Jesus' death and resurrection. God, we love you and we bless you in Jesus' name. Amen. Guys, thank you so much for watching and listening to this episode. If you guys have loved the episodes, follow us on YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, TikTok, Bryce Carford podcast. Guys, the reason we're able to make these videos is because of your radical generosity. And so if you guys want to partner with our ministry through a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation,

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Thank you guys for listening in this episode. I love you guys. See you guys in the next video.