Do Not Feed Your Temptations
May 14, 2025 · 1:34:40 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Summary
The service opens with Romans 14:17 - the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. In this week set apart for the Holy Spirit, the church is called to rejoice and shake off gloom and fear, because we belong to Christ. A simple story sets the tone: a young man slowly stopped gathering with the church, content to watch online, until his pastor wordlessly lifted a glowing coal out of the fire. Within seconds it went black and cold, and it burned again only when it was returned to the flame.
The main message, from 2 Corinthians 6, warns against being unequally yoked and calls believers to come out and touch no unclean thing. The preacher names two ways we defile ourselves and feed our temptations: through unclean things and habits we allow into our lives, and through broken relationships where we leave room for the devil. He offers a plain test - if Jesus were standing right beside me, would what I am watching, hearing, or doing be acceptable?
Drawing on Ephesians 4, he urges us never to let the sun go down on our anger, but to humble ourselves, go first, and reconcile before the day ends, as he and his brother did every night as children. Purity and quick reconciliation make us like Christ, whose power was His humility, and they open our lives to be used by a holy God who is coming again.
Key Points
- The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, so begin each morning choosing to rejoice in Him.
- A coal pulled from the fire grows cold within seconds, and a believer who isolates from the church loses his flame.
- Touch no unclean thing: what we feed becomes a habit, and habits we stop noticing quietly defile us.
- Ask of anything you watch, hear, or do - would this be acceptable if Jesus were standing beside me?
- Never let the sun go down on your anger; a small conflict left overnight grows like a spider's web and gives the devil room.
- Be the first to humble yourself and reconcile, for Christ overcame the world through obedience and humility, not force.
- Life in Christ is not boring or heavy; it fills the heart and keeps the believer content in any circumstance.
Devotional
Take an honest look today at the coals of your own heart. Have you drifted to the edge of the fire, content to glow alone, slowly going cold without even noticing? Bring back into the flame whatever has begun to darken - return to worship, to fellowship, to confession. And before the sun sets, make peace with the brother or sister you have been avoiding, going first in humility as Christ went first for you. A heart kept pure and quick to reconcile is a heart God is free to use.
“A coal pulled from the fire turns cold in seconds - and so does a believer who tries to burn alone.”
“If Jesus were standing right beside you, would what you are watching still be acceptable?”
“Do not let the sun go down on your anger; be the first to humble yourself and make peace.”
