Coming Out

Are YOU Tempted

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Steve Wohlberg (Host), Ron Woolsey, Mike Carducci

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Series Code: COT

Program Code: COT000007


00:09 I have a question for you. Are you tempted?
00:12 And if so, is that temptation a sin?
00:16 That's our topic next on Coming Out.
01:05 Welcome back to program seven of Coming Out.
01:07 We are tackling tough topics and we're doing it,
01:11 our goal is to do this compassionately
01:14 and yet without compromise
01:16 as we deal with issues of sexuality, bisexual,
01:19 transgender, homosexuality
01:21 and the Bible and the grace of Jesus Christ.
01:24 Our topic today has to deal with temptation,
01:27 are you tempted?
01:29 And our guests are gentlemen,
01:31 Mike Carducci, Pastor Ron Woolsey.
01:33 You've been with me throughout the series.
01:36 I have co-founders,
01:37 two of the cofounders of Coming Out Ministries
01:40 that has special calling to try to bring clarification
01:43 and help to people that are struggling
01:45 with these issues.
01:47 I've been told that one of the big questions
01:50 that is often asked you,
01:52 now that you have come out of the gay lifestyle is,
01:55 are you still tempted with same sex attraction?
02:00 So I'll just ask you out you know the question
02:02 or why do you get that question anyway?
02:04 Seems like you get a lot, don't you?
02:07 Yes, we do.
02:08 You want to go first? Go ahead, Ron.
02:09 Okay.
02:11 When I came to the Lord 22 years ago,
02:15 I chose a new difference-- a new direction for my life.
02:19 I was baptized 22 years ago but Satan wasn't
02:23 and Satan is the primary source of temptation.
02:26 Of course other people can tempt.
02:27 We're tempted as we're drawn away by our own lust
02:30 but when I accepted Jesus, I was more tempted then ever.
02:36 I doubt with very severe temptation
02:38 after accepting Jesus, that I came away equipped
02:43 as to how to deal with temptations
02:44 so as I never went back in that direction.
02:48 But we cannot always know when temptation is coming,
02:53 and we don't need to be disturbed by it either.
02:57 We have biblical reasons that we will be talking about
02:59 why we don't need to be disturbed by that.
03:02 Mike. Well, I think that--
03:03 that the general populous out there,
03:05 they want to know you know
03:07 what a redeemed homosexual looks like.
03:10 And you know for so long in Christian culture
03:12 we basically said that,
03:14 number one, that homosexuality can't be healed
03:16 and then on this other side
03:17 when you have people that are coming forward
03:19 that may still have what we called residue,
03:21 you know, we're left over mannerisms
03:24 that would point to a feminine you know qualities.
03:26 You know, how is it that they can say
03:28 that they have overcome homosexuality?
03:31 You know one of the great things is that Ron,
03:33 you know within a year was already in a relationship
03:35 and got married and has a family and grandchildren.
03:38 And yet for me it was a very slow process
03:41 of understanding that.
03:43 When I got baptize, you know,
03:44 I was in a relationship who had a boyfriend
03:46 and I didn't want to give up my identity,
03:48 I didn't even think it was possible.
03:50 I was very comfortable in the lifestyle that I was in,
03:53 but as I kept continually walking with Jesus Christ
03:56 and He started to put before me more truth.
03:58 You know this came--
03:59 this came at a time when He was willing
04:02 to allow me to make the decision
04:04 and to move forward as I was willing to.
04:06 He didn't push me, He didn't force me
04:08 it was always my choice and so that came longer
04:11 about handing over my attractions
04:13 and recognizing that they want--
04:16 you know in a line with his will for my life.
04:18 And so for me it's been a slow process
04:21 but what was amazing is to be in my mid 40s
04:23 and finally have my first attraction
04:26 to the opposite sex it was shocking
04:28 and imagine going through puberty twice if you would.
04:32 And so you know
04:33 I think for each one of us, it's a little bit different.
04:35 Our colleague Wayne, you know
04:36 he's been out of the lifestyle for over five years now
04:39 and so he still hasn't experienced that yet.
04:42 But you know that doesn't mean
04:44 that he hasn't redeemed then because he doesn't
04:46 you know act on those impulses or those temptations,
04:50 you know therefore we don't believe
04:53 that we are identified by our temptation
04:55 or identity in Jesus Christ in Him alone.
04:57 Right and this is critical, and will be--
04:59 will be going deeper into this
05:01 the difference between temptation and sin.
05:05 And before we do that I want to--
05:07 I want to just show a verse in the book of Mathew,
05:09 because the whole issue of temptation I think is,
05:12 its critical that we first established this.
05:13 Absolutely.
05:14 In Matthew 4:1 the Bible says
05:17 that "Jesus" after his baptism
05:19 "He was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness
05:23 to be tempted by the devil."
05:26 So there is the word tempted right there in the Bible
05:28 and we know that the ultimate source of temptation
05:32 according to this verse is the devil himself.
05:34 Now as I look back on my life before I became a Christian,
05:38 during my teenage, what I called my B.C years,
05:41 a before Christ when I was just living a wild life
05:44 I didn't struggle with same sex attraction
05:46 but I had whole host in other problems.
05:50 But as I look back on that
05:52 the word temptation just you know
05:54 it was totally foreign to me.
05:55 I didn't relate to it and even think about it.
05:58 I didn't know that I was being tempted
06:00 and I think that's the way it is with most people
06:02 they just do things or follow,
06:05 you know, their hearts or what's around them
06:08 and they don't even think about the devil temptation.
06:11 In my mind, the whole idea of temptation
06:14 coming from Satan is a-- it's something
06:18 that you have to have a spiritual perception of,
06:22 in order to really even deal with the issue at all.
06:26 You know, wouldn't you agree with that?
06:27 Right, so Steve, the same thing for you would apply to us.
06:31 The minute I was baptize it wasn't holy water,
06:33 I didn't come out of there and you know
06:35 I was straight and ready to do all those kind of things.
06:38 And so anyone knows
06:39 that 15 minutes after you've been baptized
06:41 you realize that--
06:42 the God didn't wash away or memory or a history.
06:45 All of that is still intact
06:46 but what He asks us to do is to start to understand
06:50 the process of admitting our temptations
06:53 and submitting them to Him
06:54 because He knows that we're not
06:56 capable of overcoming of our own temptations.
06:59 It's that process of trusting Him,
07:01 and learning how to do this
07:03 so that we can gain the victory over our sin.
07:05 And so, even after you're baptize,
07:06 Steve, and I would even go as far as to say today
07:09 that you still struggle
07:10 with some type of temptations over something.
07:12 Sure, sure and just like Jesus,
07:13 when He was baptized then He was tempted,
07:15 I'm sure He was tempted prior to that too.
07:16 Oh, I love that.
07:17 But for me it wasn't until
07:19 really after I gave my heart to Christ,
07:20 after I as you said admit it,
07:22 I admit it and then I submit it to Him and then I was baptized.
07:26 That's when, that's when the battles really intensified.
07:30 Oh, when we are baptized,
07:31 Satan realizes he's lost one of his own
07:35 and he doubles down.
07:36 I mean it's not uncommon
07:38 for him to really come at you in a very heavy handed way,
07:41 to try to get you back.
07:43 That's right, so, Pastor Ron, you've mentioned to me that,
07:46 that from your study of the Bible,
07:48 there are three major sources of temptations,
07:52 just go through those quickly.
07:53 Well, we will refer to them earlier a little bit
07:56 that we are drawn away
07:58 and tempted and drawn away by the lust of our own heart.
08:01 I think James talks about that.
08:03 We are tempted by other people
08:05 as in the case of Adam and Eve and tempting love of Jesus.
08:08 Right, well-- Yeah with Eve ate first--
08:11 Right, tempted Adam. She offered Adam,
08:12 she became a tempter to her husband.
08:14 Right, and then of course
08:16 Satan is the source of all temptations.
08:19 As it says here in Matthews 4.
08:20 Right, and I believe
08:21 that from the time we are conceived
08:23 Satan has a customized plan for our lives
08:26 just as Jesus does He--
08:28 before He formed us in the belly He knows us.
08:31 And so Satan comes at us with what his plan is
08:37 and he doesn't give up on that plan very easily.
08:40 So temptation comes from the Bible?
08:41 I mean not from the Bible, in the Bible,
08:43 the Bible tells us temptation comes from Satan.
08:45 Right.It comes from Satan working through people. Yes.
08:48 And then it comes from our own like James 1:14 says
08:52 we're drawn away by our own lusts and we're enticed.
08:57 I've been reading quite a bit
09:00 to equipped myself to get ready for the series,
09:03 because I don't have that background
09:04 and I want to know as much as I can to be,
09:07 you know informed on this topics.
09:10 And I have read a number of testimonies
09:14 from different men,
09:16 who have said that a long time ago
09:20 they discovered that they had same sex attractions for men
09:24 or a female for a women,
09:26 and they didn't like these attractions,
09:29 they didn't want them
09:30 and they prayed that God would take them away
09:33 and after may be five years of wrestling with this
09:37 and the fact that they were still there
09:39 they finally just gave up and said,
09:42 I'm just I'm going with this.
09:44 And I think there is, you know,
09:46 aren't there a lot of people out there
09:47 that because they have these temptations these attractions
09:52 then they just feel like
09:55 there's no hope for them because they're still there
09:57 and then they take the plunge.
09:59 Well, that was my story.
10:01 I mean, I graduated from college
10:02 with a degree in theology,
10:03 but still wrestling with these thoughts
10:06 and temptations in my mind
10:07 and I prayed for years
10:09 that the Lord would take this away from me,
10:11 and He didn't, so I began to blame Him,
10:15 I gave up on Him.
10:16 When I stopped praying about it and I started blaming Him,
10:20 then I fell into it.
10:21 I had no protection anymore.
10:23 But I had that same misconception
10:27 that I was polluted and corrupted
10:28 by the nature of my temptations
10:30 and I thought that I was this way because of temptation.
10:33 It was years later that I'd--
10:36 and through my study that I discovered
10:38 that I gave up on God, He didn't gave up on me.
10:42 Now, it looks like the same.
10:43 At 17-years-old I prayed that God would take my life,
10:46 I still was struggling with fantasy and masturbation
10:49 and I believe that the God was limited in His ability
10:52 to help me out of the thing that I was praying for.
10:54 What was so profound to me is as I was about 43 years old,
10:58 three years after that I've been baptized
10:59 that I was telling somebody,
11:00 how I prayed that God would take my life
11:02 and I thought because He was in different to me
11:04 or that He didn't care that He just let me live
11:07 and didn't heal me.
11:08 And so at 20 years old I walked away from church culture
11:11 and I said that's it, you know I can't do this anymore.
11:14 What was so amazing is that when God did address
11:17 fantasy, pornography addiction and all that,
11:19 I realize that 43 years old that God did hear my prayer
11:23 and He knew that I wasn't ready to be taken at 17 years old
11:27 then that He was going to let out the rope if you would,
11:29 and I was going to go through
11:31 20 years of sexual sin and degradation.
11:34 But at 43 years old when I realized that
11:37 that God indeed did hear my prayer and answered that
11:40 as He was able to take away the temptation
11:44 and the addictive psycho for me.
11:47 And so I see that I was praying for the wrong thing.
11:50 It wasn't an issue of being straight
11:52 that was just a consequence of the brokenness
11:55 that had began with me even before I was conscious
11:57 from the rejection of my father and my rejection of him.
12:01 And so I think that's a problem that that many people face.
12:04 How wonderful that we have the opportunity now
12:06 to encourage somebody
12:08 who is still struggling with same sex attraction
12:10 that your temptation is not sin.
12:12 And if Jesus himself was on the cross
12:14 and still tempted then pretty much as telling us
12:17 that we're gonna experience temptation until,
12:20 until that process is being completed.
12:22 So I don't acknowledge or make my identity
12:26 about my temptation
12:28 and as long as I understand what that differences is
12:30 and for 13 years I haven't had anybody in my bed
12:33 and so why would I want to be connected to the past
12:36 because the Lord says that, all things are passed away,
12:39 behold all things had become new
12:41 and so my identity is in Jesus Christ today
12:44 and so temptation does come
12:46 but its how we manage it that makes it difference.
12:48 It's learning that relationship.
12:51 And I think-- I'm sorry.
12:53 I was gonna say that in my study of the Bible
12:55 I've never found any place where we are promised
12:59 that Jesus will remove temptation.
13:02 What He promises is grace
13:04 sufficient to deal with temptation.
13:06 I think as I've pondered this it seems to me
13:08 that a critical issue is the difference
13:12 between temptation and sin.
13:15 So why not Pastor Ron,
13:16 I know you've got some verses in Hebrews,
13:18 you want to really focus on to establish that
13:22 and then we can draw the lessons from that.
13:25 Well, when I was in the world and trying to study,
13:28 work out my own salvations with fear and trembling
13:31 I came across these passages
13:32 and they gave me wonderful hope and courage.
13:35 First of all Hebrews 4:12
13:39 "For we have not an high priest
13:41 which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
13:44 but was in all points tempted like as we are,
13:47 yet without sin."
13:50 When I read that I realized temptation is not sin,
13:54 I threw in the towel years ago over temptation,
13:57 I had never even willingly participate in this.
14:00 Did you say verse 12?
14:02 Verse 15. Verse 15.
14:03 Yes, it's Hebrews 4:15
14:07 and as I was sharing my testimony with a professor
14:10 at a university a theological professor.
14:13 One time I shared my testimony and I shared this verse.
14:17 And he looked at me in shock, and he said
14:20 you don't mean to tell me,
14:22 you think Jesus was tempted like that, do you?
14:25 And I just looked right back at him and I said,
14:27 well, how do you think Jesus was tempted? Like you?
14:31 Yeah, was He tempted with your temptation?
14:33 Well, that's not fair. Or with mine?
14:34 That's right. That wouldn't be fair.
14:36 I said either I don't want to get into
14:39 all of the details about what this means
14:41 but please don't take this text away from me.
14:44 This text gave me what I needed
14:46 along with Hebrews 2:18 that tells us
14:53 "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
14:57 he is able to succour or assist them that are tempted."
15:00 That told me that Jesus struggled with temptation
15:03 and that's what we've done,
15:05 you know, in our past we really struggled with this issue
15:08 and so it's okay to be tempted.
15:10 It's okay to struggle with it,
15:12 that still doesn't mean that you're involved in sin.
15:16 And then when I read Hebrews 12:4
15:23 talking about Jesus, referring to Jesus it says here
15:29 "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,
15:32 striving against sin."
15:33 In another words you, like Jesus
15:36 did resists under blood striving against sin.
15:39 And we haven't done that yet.
15:40 And that told me that Jesus suffered
15:43 and struggled where temptation
15:45 until His last breath on the cross.
15:48 I have not--
15:50 I have not chosen at this point to die rather than sin,
15:54 I've not been faced with that,
15:55 with that option or that,
15:58 that struggle or that situation,
16:01 but Jesus chose to die rather than healed.
16:06 So as I put these three texts together about Jesus
16:09 I realized I can trust this man with my life,
16:13 with my salvation He understands me,
16:15 He understands the nature of my temptations.
16:18 He has the answers,
16:19 He has strength, He promises to give me that strength.
16:23 And so this tells me clearly temptation is not sin.
16:28 Yeah, to me that is just a critical truth,
16:31 and it's right there that Jesus himself
16:33 was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.
16:40 We know we all have a flesh, we have these natural desires
16:43 and these natural desires
16:44 manifest themselves in different way,
16:46 different ways for different people.
16:48 But if Jesus was tempted but He didn't sin,
16:54 then its obvious that we can be tempted as well,
16:58 with whatever desires or whether its Satan directly,
17:02 whether its from within Satan working from within,
17:05 through people whatever the temptation is
17:08 unless we yield to that temptation
17:11 we are not guilty in the sight of God,
17:14 and I think about as I told you,
17:17 you know our temptations,
17:18 your at least your past temptations,
17:20 my past temptations and I still have temptations.
17:23 And you know one of the points we want to stress is
17:25 that everybody is tempted.
17:26 We're all tempted in different ways,
17:28 my temptations have been different.
17:30 I'm now married, I'm happily married man,
17:32 I love my wife and I'm faithful to her,
17:35 but that doesn't mean that I might not
17:39 run into another woman and look at her
17:42 and recognize that she is an attractive woman.
17:45 And there may be a temptation
17:48 to think more thoughts than that.
17:51 I think it was Martin Luther, who once said
17:53 "You can't stop the birds from flying over your head,
17:56 but they don't have to make a nest in your hair."
17:58 That's right.
17:59 And so just because I still maybe tempted by another woman,
18:06 or you know somebody else,
18:08 may be you might be tempted by another man,
18:11 temptation is temptation.
18:12 But if I choose not to yield to that temptation
18:17 I haven't sinned, I haven't done wrong
18:19 and I think it applies both ways.
18:20 You know whether same sex attraction,
18:22 whether it is opposite sex attraction,
18:24 whatever kind of attraction it is temptation is not a sin.
18:29 So Steve, what you said was so profound
18:32 and I just want to add to that when we do presentations
18:35 what's so profound is people come up to us and they go,
18:38 oh, this isn't a gay thing.
18:40 If they say that you know
18:41 even heterosexual men will come up and say they--
18:43 that they have the same problem that,
18:45 you know they have to submit there temptations also
18:48 when they see a woman that's attractive or whatever.
18:51 And so it's not whether it's gay or straight.
18:54 Even a woman, take a woman that was married for 15 years
18:57 and that her passes away.
18:59 You know she was used to experiencing the gift of
19:02 sexual intercourse with her husband
19:04 she is entitled to that right.
19:06 But because she is alone now
19:07 does not entitle her to take on lovers.
19:10 God tells us that we have to, discipline the flesh.
19:15 He gave us attractions,
19:16 He gave the ability to touch
19:19 and to hold someone sexually as a gift, right,
19:22 something to be experience
19:24 but He said that there's a way to experience that,
19:26 and none of us whether would gay or straight
19:28 or allowed to go outside of that boundaries,
19:30 because it hurts other people and it hurts us.
19:33 That's right, you know I think that
19:34 if Adam and Eve had never sinned
19:35 and they populated the earth
19:37 and they were other couples just like them,
19:39 I don't think they would have been tempted at all
19:41 with looking at you know on other attractive men
19:43 or other attractive women
19:45 but that temptation would have been there.
19:46 But now that they've sinned and we all--
19:49 have all inherited a fallen nature from them,
19:52 you know we're gonna have those temptations,
19:54 whether there are same sex
19:55 or whether they are for man for a woman,
19:56 or a woman for a man, woman for a women,
19:58 or a man for a man.
19:59 It's all part of the current of temptations
20:04 that comes from the fall.
20:06 And what may be the cause of all that you know,
20:09 its still kind of after grabs whether it's in genes
20:11 or whether it's the nature or whether its environment,
20:14 whether its Hollywood, whatever it is
20:15 and we have a program coming up called the blame game
20:18 and we'll discuss that more and carefully
20:21 but the bottom line is that,
20:24 whatever the temptation it still is a temptation
20:28 and its not a sin.
20:30 And so if someone asked you the question,
20:33 are you still tempted?
20:35 Even if you were to say yes,
20:37 that I'm still tempted sometimes.
20:39 Yes.
20:40 By same sex attraction,
20:41 it doesn't mean you committed a sin.
20:43 Right, I think that the people really want to know
20:45 and I think they're entitled to know
20:47 that I still have same sex temptation
20:50 and I was explaining earlier,
20:52 you know I rejected my father as my male role model.
20:54 I was desperate for male love
20:56 and the only way that I knew how to get that
20:58 was in a broken way and that was through sex with man.
21:01 And so even though God doesn't take away my history,
21:04 He doesn't take my memory away,
21:06 but what He asked me to do is to submit it to Him
21:08 and to His authority.
21:09 And so He didn't say that I'm gonna have
21:11 a temptation free life
21:12 but He gave me the opportunity to experience what its like
21:15 when I admit my temptation
21:17 and if I can submit it to Him then He covers it.
21:20 He covers it with His blood because He overcame all sin.
21:23 And so as I have learned this process and it wasn't pretty,
21:27 it was pretty messy for awhile,
21:28 but as I learned this process of admitting
21:30 what my temptations was,
21:32 and submitting it to my higher authority
21:34 He started to give me relief
21:35 and as I experience that relief,
21:37 like exercising a muscle,
21:39 what used to be a tsunami that would have over take me,
21:41 now its nothing more than that I can swat away.
21:44 And that's the process I believe
21:46 that the Lord is bringing us through,
21:48 but you know, I would be--
21:50 I would be lying to say that that was a past temptation.
21:53 But what I'm learning how to do is that take the temptation
21:55 and submit them to Jesus and He covers then for me.
21:58 And when I feel the most tempted
22:01 is when I feel emasculated
22:03 or when I feel like I'm not man enough for that--
22:06 that was when I don't feel that I more thee.
22:09 And so I go to God and I prayed and I said Lord,
22:12 can You remind me again that You made me male,
22:14 can You remind me again that I'm Your man.
22:16 And what happens is He takes that away,
22:18 and He satisfies me and reminds me again
22:20 that indeed according to Genesis
22:22 that He made the male and female,
22:24 and He confirms to me that He knew me
22:26 even before the earth was formed
22:28 and you know it goes, its gone.
22:30 Yeah, its just one more second,
22:32 Ron, its critical here again this text says
22:34 that Jesus was tempted in all points
22:37 like we are and yet without sin.
22:39 So that shows that just because you are tempted,
22:41 you are not defined,
22:43 you are not defined by your temptation.
22:45 Whether you know my temptations,
22:46 your temptations whatever the temptations
22:48 and we all have temptations.
22:50 We're not defined by our temptation,
22:53 we're defined by the choice
22:55 whether we're gonna yield to that temptation
22:58 or whether we're gonna submit our lives to God and say no.
23:02 Okay, Ron.
23:03 You know, conventional thinking today
23:05 is really contrary to biblical principles.
23:09 For example conventional thinking says,
23:11 once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.
23:14 Once a pedophilia always a pedophilia.
23:17 Once a gay, always gay.
23:20 But Jesus himself says
23:22 if the sun therefore is set you free, you are free indeed.
23:27 And I think the reasons Steve,
23:30 this question keeps coming up
23:31 is because of conventional thinking.
23:34 And people sometimes-- the question comes up
23:38 as an entrapment questions
23:39 sometimes it's a genuine question
23:41 people really want to know.
23:43 So often it comes from conventional thinking that
23:46 if you are ever tempted in this way,
23:48 then you are stilled of that orientation.
23:51 You haven't been changed.
23:52 And they're not realizing the beauty of the gospel
23:56 that if the Son therefore set you free,
23:59 you are free indeed.
24:01 Temptations may come and go,
24:03 but God graces sufficient for every one of them.
24:05 That's right, and whatever
24:06 the nature of the temptation is,
24:08 and that's what we need to understand
24:10 according to the Bible.
24:11 That we are tempted, and the temptations
24:14 you know people they prayed for five years God change me,
24:16 and they still were tempted then they felt well,
24:18 He didn't answer my prayer,
24:19 but the reality is that they God doesn't promise
24:22 to take away all temptation.
24:23 He doesn't promise to take away the flesh,
24:26 Jesus was tempted all through out His life but He said no.
24:30 And we will still be tempted, we're all tempted
24:32 in one way or another
24:34 and we're gonna be tempted all the way
24:35 until you know the very end
24:38 or at least right before the end
24:39 when the door is closed
24:41 but we've leaned how to deal with temptation
24:44 and that's the critical point.
24:45 We've learned that our temptations don't define us,
24:48 that they come from the devil
24:50 or from the flesh or from the world
24:52 or from people that Satan is using
24:54 but we have learned to submit those temptations to God.
24:58 As the Bible says in James Chapter 4
25:00 I believe it is, "Submit to God,
25:02 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
25:04 Exactly.
25:05 We've learned to say no,
25:07 and that's what God is looking for.
25:08 He's looking for people that are willing to choose
25:11 to say no and to surrender to Him and those that do that
25:15 they can have the forgiveness and the grace and the power
25:20 and the peace of Jesus Christ in their life,
25:23 and a clean conscience which is a wonderful thing.
25:25 You know, I used to be a pilot, and I never let the crosswind,
25:29 the headwind, the tailwind
25:30 or the violent storm determine where I landed.
25:33 And as Christians we need not let the tailwind,
25:36 the headwind, the crosswinds or the violent storms of Satan
25:39 determine our journey and our destination either.
25:46 That's true, that's great.
25:47 We all need that. This is critical.
25:50 As we get down near the end,
25:51 let's take a look at one more verse 1 Corinthians 10:13,
25:56 1 Corinthians 10:13 I thinks its so powerful
26:00 and you know I think like I said,
26:01 like we've said, I think a lot of people
26:03 you know think because certain people have
26:04 same sex attractions that they are in a category
26:08 that's so totally different from them,
26:11 but we all have to realize
26:12 that maybe your temptation is not my temptation
26:15 but I'm tempted too and we all temptations.
26:17 That's right.
26:18 And they all come from the flesh
26:19 or the devil or the world
26:21 and we all have responsibility to God to say no,
26:25 I'm not gonna do it.
26:26 1 Corinthians 10:13 the Bible says
26:30 " There is no temptation that has overtaken you
26:34 but such as is common to man," we all have temptations,
26:39 whatever they are, "but God is faithful,"
26:41 this is the key, "God is faithful
26:43 and he will not allow you to be tempted
26:45 above that which you are able,
26:47 but will with the temptation also make a way of escape,
26:51 that you may be able to bear it."
26:54 The Bible does not say, that God is going to remove
26:57 all temptations from your life
26:59 but He does say that He is faithful
27:01 and He will give you the power
27:03 and He will give you the strength
27:05 so that you will not buckle under to that temptation.
27:08 That is what God is looking for in people today,
27:11 men, women, children He is looking for all of us
27:14 to take a stand to say no
27:15 that we're gonna follow His word
27:17 and not yield to temptation.
27:20 If you would like to order the 13 part Coming Out series
27:23 for $34.95 plus shipping, call 1-800-782-4253
27:28 or write to White Horse Media, PO Box 1139,
27:31 Newport, Washington, 99156.
27:34 Pastor Ron Woolsey, Dwayne Blakely
27:36 and Mike Carducci are each available
27:38 to conduct a seminar in your area.
27:40 To schedule a speaking engagement,
27:42 contact Coming Out Ministries
27:43 by calling 360-936-8514
27:47 or visit comingoutministries.org.


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Revised 2015-02-19