Introduction
Turn to James chapter 1. And, we’re beginning a new study now through the Book of James: “Practical Christianity—Religion in Shoe Leather.” And, we’re going to preach right on through the Book of James, God willing, Sunday mornings and Sunday nights. So, if you don’t come Sunday nights, you’re just going to get half of it. How’s that? You say, “Fine.” No, don’t say that. You just come on Sunday nights. And, I know there are some of you who cannot come, but we have the radio program for those of you who cannot come on Sunday nights.
Today we’re talking on this subject: “How To Pass the Tests of Life.” And, I’m reading the first four verses of the Book of James: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;”—now, this word temptations means, “tests,” or “trials”—“knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:1–4). “How to Pass the Tests of Life.”
I heard of a young man who had taken his test at college and he’d made a zero. He went in to see the professor, and he argued with the professor. He said, “Professor, I don’t think I deserved this zero.” And the professor said, “Neither do I, son, but it was the lowest grade I had.”
Now, maybe you are failing just that miserably in the test of life. But, God does have some tests, some examinations, and we’re going to have to learn how to make a passing grade. And, I hope some of us today will learn how to make an A plus plus.
I. The Fact of Temptation
Several things I want you to learn about the tests of life. Now, remember here, when we’re talking about testing, that the word testing and the word temptation are used interchangeably. And, we’ll see that even more, as we go on. But, first of all, I want you to notice the fact of temptation.
Notice in verse 1: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting” (James 1:1). Just note that word scattered. And, here God is talking to people who have endured persecution. They were being hounded and hunted, and they were wandering about as vagabonds on the earth.
Now, when James says, “to the twelve tribes,” he’s not talking literally; he’s talking figuratively. He is comparing the New Testament saints to the Old Testament saints. He is comparing the Church to Israel and Judah. And, just as Israel and Judah had been dispersed, they’d been torn away from their friends and from their country. And, just as Israel and Judah had suffered indignities of a conquered people, starving and friendless under the heel of a cruel oppressor, he is using that as an example and as a figure of speech to describe and delineate the Church.
So, the Book of James is really a book that is written to Christians everywhere. When he says, “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,” he’s just speaking to Christians everywhere. Folks, he’s speaking to you. This is a letter to you. I hope you’ll read your mail today. This is to the Christians wherever they may be who suffered trials and temptations and tribulation. This is God’s Word to you. And, you say, “Well, I’m not scattered abroad.” Well, you ought to be. This world is not our home; we’re just passing through. And, if you’re building a nest, I believe God will probably put a thorn in it. He doesn’t want you to settle down here. All of God’s children are going to feel what some of God’s children feel.
I. Difficulties
And, then I want you to notice, he says in verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). Notice he doesn’t say, “If you fall into divers temptations.” It’s not an if; it’s a when. And, if you’re a Christian, or if you’re not a Christian; If you’re saved, if you’re lost; I can tell you one thing you can expect in life: difficulty. How’d you like that? Just difficulty.
I don’t care who you are, there are going to be trials; there will be oppression. There will be misunderstanding. There will be rejection. And, it makes no difference if you’re a Christian. Christianity will not make you immune. All people fall into diverse trials and temptations, Christians included. And, he does not say if, in verse 2. And, if I were to stand up here and tell you that all of your life when you become a Christian is going to be rose petals and sunlight, and that you’re not going to have any troubles or any difficulties, I would be speaking from a closed Bible, and from an empty head.
II. The Forms of Temptation
But, I want to tell you that persecution, and trial, and testing is a part of life. It is unavoidable. It is universal. It is inevitable. And so, point number one, verses 1 and 2: the fact of temptation. Point number two: the forms of temptation.
Notice verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). Now, the word divers means, “various kinds; sundry; miscellaneous” temptations. My trials and my testings may not be like yours, and yours may not be like mine, because they’re many, and they’re varied; but they come in two categories—two categories.
A. Testing Our Faith
This word testing and trials may mean just simply a test like you test an automobile, or you test an airplane, or you test a new medicine. It’s used in the Book of Peter where the Bible says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12). It’s used as fire will test metal to prove whether it’s pure or whether it’s an alloy. And so, that’s one kind of testing. This kind of testing is sent by God to cause you to stand.
B. Temptation by the Devil
But, there’s another kind of temptation—another kind of testing—and, that’s sent by the devil. And, the word temptation not only is used in the sense of a trial or a test. It’s also used as a solicitation to evil, as a tempting to sin.
Now, this is not sent by God. “God tempteth no man with evil. Neither can he be tempted with evil” (James 1:13). This is sent by the devil. And, the difference between the two is this: Trials are sent by God to cause us to stand. Temptation to sin is sent by the devil to cause us to stumble. One is meant for our maturity. The other is meant for our misery. But, you’re going to learn something now. James uses this word interchangeably. And, when he says “temptations,” it can mean either, as we’re going to see; it can mean either.
Because, you see, that while God does not cause both kinds, God allows both kinds, and God will use both kinds; whether or not it is a testing of our faith or a tempting to sin, God uses both. These are the forms of temptation. And, you’re going to face them, and I face them. We all face them.
III. The Force of Temptation
Now, the third thing I want you to notice is the force of these temptations—the force of these temptations. Notice again, in verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). Now, just look at the word fall into. That’s the way they come. This word fall into is a Greek word that is used as translated in the Gospels.
Do you remember the story of the man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among thieves? Same word. He fell among thieves. It’s the same word, peripipto, which means, “to fall into suddenly.” Here’s a man, just going along; he feels fine—high, wide, and handsome—and suddenly, just like that, he’s in trouble. You see, some of you are not paying a lot of attention right now, because you’re saying, “Well, preacher, you’re preaching to all of those folks who’ve got troubles; I ain’t got none.” Living fine today, everything’s fine, blood pressure down, bank accounts up, everything is fine. Well, for the next 15 minutes, maybe. See, you don’t know what the next phone call’s going to bring, do you? You see, you don’t know what you’re going to meet, when you turn the next corner. You just don’t know.
And, it may seem fine right now, but what the Lord is saying, when he talks about falling into diverse temptations, he says that, “When they come, they may come savage; they may be serious; they may be sudden.” And, you don’t know, and I don’t know when they’re coming. That’s the sense of the word, “fall into divers temptations,” just like the man who fell among thieves. Who knows what you’re going to fall among this afternoon? See, you don’t know; I don’t know. We’re just talking now, about the force, the force of temptation.
Winston Churchill was speaking to the House of Commons and he gave this advice—he said, “We must always be ready to meet at our average moment anything that any possible enemy could hurl against us at his selected moment.” Are you ready at your average moment to meet what the devil will throw at you at his selected moment? Are you? Huh? I mean, right now, are you ready? Are you ready, if the devil, this afternoon, were to hurl against you some great force, some trial, some testing, some temptation? The force of temptation, it comes suddenly, swiftly, surely, savagely.
All right, that’s the third thing that we need to learn, and learn it well. And, I want to say again that temptation is not going to be removed by conversion or it’s not going to be lessened by consecration. Sometimes we have the idea, “Well, if I get saved, I won’t face those old temptations anymore.” Who are you kidding? You think, “Well, if I get saved, I won’t have any more problems.” My, my, where’d you learn that? Not from the Bible. They’re going to come. And you say, “Well, then, I don’t think I’ll get saved then.” They’re still going to come. “Man that is born of woman” (Job 14:1)—it doesn’t matter whether you’re saved or whether you’re not. There’s just a difference in what the Christian has to do with his problems that the unsaved person doesn’t have to do with his.
IV. Facing of Temptation
So, let’s go on with the next point. Not only the force of temptation, but the facing of temptation—the facing of temptation. Notice in verse 3: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:3). And so, when temptation comes, it’s just like taking a test. It is the testing of your faith.
Now then, boys and girls who just got out of school this spring, they had to face their final examinations, and I hope they were prepared. I hope you were prepared. I hope that you’re doing your homework now, so when the examination comes, you’ll know how to face it and not flunk the facing of temptation. You see, it is not God’s will that you have the vacancy of temptation, but that you have victory in temptation.
Now, having said that, let me say this—and, I want you to pay close attention: As you face your temptations—whether they be the trials and the vicissitudes of life or whether they be the solicitation to do sin and to do evil—when you face the temptation, remember this lesson: It is not a sin to be tempted. Now, get that in your heart, and get it down good. It is not a sin to be tempted. You say, “I had a temptation to steal something. I must have been a sinner.” No, you weren’t. You say, “I had a temptation to tell somebody off. I must be awful.” Not necessarily. You say, “I had a temptation to commit adultery. Wasn’t that a sin?” It was not a sin.
A. Temptation is not Sin
Temptation to sin is not a sin. If it is a sin, then Jesus is a sinner. For the Bible says Jesus was tempted “in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” Do you want the scripture for that? Hebrews 4, verse 15: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus felt what you feel; Jesus was human. He was just as much a man as though He were not God at all. He had humanness about Him.
I’m not saying Jesus wasn’t God. For He was as much God as though he were not man at all. He wasn’t some sort of a phantom, however, half God and half man, some sort of a freak—no, no. He was the God man. As much God as though not man at all; as much man as though not God at all. But, He faced in His manhood and in His humanity the temptations that you face. And, He is touched. He can sympathize with you. For He knows what you feel. He knows what you face. He knows. And, if being tempted is a sin, and Jesus was tempted, that means Jesus was a sinner. But, I want to tell you, bless God, He never sinned, though He knew those temptations.
B. Testing is not Because of Your Sin
And, secondly, I want to say to you, friend, that testings, and trials, and tribulations are not necessarily because of your sin. Sometimes something bad will happen to you and you say, “Oh me, what did I do—what did I do? I must have done something terrible. I wouldn’t have lost my job; I wouldn’t have had to go to the hospital. Or, what did I do? Why these trials?” And then, we go through what we call morbid introspection. We take ourselves apart by little pieces, and we examine ourselves, and we put ourselves back together, trying to figure out what we did. It may be that you have done absolutely nothing wrong, but God is just simply testing your faith.
And, you see, if we don’t understand this, we may get discouraged, because the seeds of doubt and discouragements sprout in the soil of ignorance. Jesus was tested, and tempted, and tried in all points like as we are and yet without sin. So, as you face your temptation, I want you to face it with a wholesome attitude. It doesn’t mean that you have done something wrong, or that you are doing something wrong, if you’re tempted.
C. How to Face Temptation
Now, how are you going to face your temptation? Well, I want you just to put your bookmark there in James chapter 1, and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 10, please—1 Corinthians chapter 10. Now, here is another key verse that deals with temptation or testing or trials, as the case may be. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13—look at it. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Now, we’re still talking about the facing of your temptation. Now, I want you to notice, you take your pen, if you’d like, and circle the word but. But—it’s used three times in that verse; three times God uses the word but. And, it’s almost as though we’re arguing with the teacher. We come to the teacher, and the teacher has given us a hard test. And, we begin to argue with the teacher. And, we begin to tell the teacher, “It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t pass the test.” And, we tend to blame the teacher as though, if you had given better questions, or if you had taught me a little more, or if you had only told what was expected on this test, maybe I would have passed this test rather than failing it.
And, if you notice that, generally in school, when we argue with the teacher that way, we don’t win. You know, it’s just they don’t change the grades anymore. The referees seem to change the calls. Well, I want to tell you, when you argue with the Lord, and say, “Now, Lord, it’s your fault I didn’t pass this test,” the Lord’s going to give you three buts—three arguments, three rebuttals.
1. My Temptation is Unique
And, these three rebuttals are going to come because of your three arguments. The first argument you’re going to bring to the Lord is you’re going to say, “Well, my temptation was unique. Nobody else ever went through what I’m going through; nobody else has ever felt what I feel. But, I want you to notice what God says in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man” (2 Corinthians 10:13)—“but such as is common to man.” And, there’s the first but: “No temptation, but such as is common to man.” You are not unique, and your temptation is no different from what other people feel.
2. My Temptation is Strong
All right, first argument goes down the drain. You say, “Yes, teacher, but there’s another reason I flunk the test. The temptation, though it was common, was too strong. Other people may have felt the same thing, but not with the same intensity. Oh, I couldn’t fight it; it was bigger than both of us. And, it just came in and it just overwhelmed me. And, I just was not able to do anything about it.” And, the teacher says, “Well, you should have passed the test. And, he uses the second but: “But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.”
You see, it is God who controls the temptation. And, God is not going to allow more to come to you than you’re able to bear. Now, listen to me. Nothing comes to you, but what it comes through God. God allows it, even if the devil sends it. God allows it, and the Bible says, “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).
A manufacturer manufactures a truck. And, he knows the frame of that truck, the chassis of that truck, and so he says, “This is a one-ton truck, or a ton-and-a-half truck, or a two-ton truck.” That means, “I manufacture the truck. I know the frame of the truck. I know the load the truck can carry.” God knows your frame, and He knows the load that you can carry. And, “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you’re able.” And, even what Satan does, he can only do as God allows it. And so, don’t you say that you’re temptation was so strong that you could not overcome it.
3. Temptation is not Impossible
You come up with a third argument. You say, “Yes, teacher, but the reason I flunked my test is there was no way to pass it. It was just an impossible test.” And, the Lord gives the third but: “but will with the temptation make a way to escape.” There is a way. There is a way. You’d better find it. It will be God’s way. It will not be in your strength. It is God who makes a way. No wonder you fail, if you try to do it by yourself.
But, I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that God’s plan for you is to face the trials of life. God’s plan for me is to face the temptations of life—not to make excuses, for God is faithful, and God is there. And so, we are to face the temptation.
D. The Fruits of Temptation
Now, the last thing I want you to notice, the fruits of temptation. Why does God allow it? You see, if God could stop it, why doesn’t He? Well, I’ll tell you, God is trying to do something. God is working something in our lives. Look in verse 3: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3–4). You see, everything that God does, and everything that God allows, is for a reason. It is for your good and for His glory. And, here the Lord mentions the four fruits of your temptations.
1. Enjoyment
You want to say, “Why am I going through this? And, why do I face this? And, why has this calamity come to me? Four reasons. The first one is a wonderful one: for your enjoyment. You say, “You mean I’m supposed to enjoy this?” Well, let’s go back into the Word. Look in verse 2: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2).
Now, I didn’t say that. James said it through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” Now, we sometimes get very stoical, and we say, “Well, what can’t be cured must be endured.” But, God says, “What can’t be cured can be enjoyed.” You begin to praise the Lord because you know God is getting ready to send you a blessing.
2. Endurance
I want to tell you what temptations rightly used are, and what testings and trials rightly used are: They are but the prelude to a great big blessing. Now, understand that. They’re just a harbinger of a blessing. God is getting ready to bless you in a wonderful, wonderful way. And, so you’re going through trouble today. Say, “Hot diggity dog; wonderful.” “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” “Well,” you say, “it doesn’t make sense to me.” Well, let’s go and see why God says, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” But remember, the first fruit is enjoyment. The second fruit of this temptation is endurance—endurance.
You see, the Lord wants to teach you how to endure, and so, we read here in verse 3: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:3). Now, this word patience is hupomone, and it means, “to bear up under,” or “to endure,” or “to be steadfast.” It doesn’t mean the kind of patience we sometimes mean, when we say, “Lord, help me to have patience with my children, or with my husband. I want to wipe his feet off, when he comes in out of the garden. Give me the patience to thread this needle.” That’s not what He’s talking about. It’s a much stronger word than that. And, it does not just mean being calm in a jittery situation. But, it means the ability to bear up under the testing.
And, the trying of your faith worketh steadfastness; it worketh endurance. Say, have you ever—look at me—have you ever said, “Ha, boy, I just don’t pray like I ought to pray—on again and off again”? Have you ever said, “You know, I just don’t witness like I ought to; I make a good start, and then I fail”? Have you ever said, “Boy, I wish I were more consistent; I wish I were more steadfast”? Okay, God’s going to send you to school—and, do you know what He’s going to do? He’s going to give you some tests, some trials, some temptations. And, the reason that those things will come will be to make you endure, to keep you from being on again, off again—on again, off again. Endurance—endurance.
The first fruit, enjoyment; the second fruit, endurance. You see, it’s that constant pressure that keeps us close to God.
A man had a grandfather clock, and he felt sorry for the grandfather clock because it had a weight on it. And, that weight there in the box was always pulling. The man said, “Oh, Clock, you’ve held this weight so long, I’m going to remove it and let you rest.” And, he took it off, and the grandfather clock said, “Don’t take that weight from me. That’s what keeps me going.”
Now, I want to tell you, dear friend, the trials and the tests of life are there for your endurance—to keep you going, to keep you trusting, to keep you praying, to keep you reading upon God.
You know, one of the big problems with the astronauts in outer space is weightlessness—weightlessness. God doesn’t want you to be raised in a vacuum of weightlessness.
3. Enlargement
And so, the first fruit is enjoyment. The second fruit is endurance. The third fruit is enlargement. I want you to notice as He goes on to say, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect” (James 1:3–4).
Now, the Greek word here is teleios. And it doesn’t mean “sinless.” There’s a difference between perfection and sinless. Now, we look at one of these roses over here and they’re beautiful. We don’t say, “That’s a sinless rose.” We say, “That’s a perfect rose—a perfect rose.” And, you see, the word perfect doesn’t mean “sinless.” God is not working to make you sinless. You won’t be sinless until you get to Heaven. But, God is sending testings and trials into your life to make you mature, to make you perfect.
Let me give you another illustration of perfection. Have you ever said, “That’s a perfect baby”? You don’t mean that’s a sinless baby, or like this. Jesus, the captain of our salvation, was made perfect through suffering (Hebrews 2:10). That’s what the Scripture says. Do you think it means that Jesus was made sinless through suffering? Friend, He has always been sinless. There was never a time when He wasn’t sinless. No, you see, He’s not talking here about sinlessness, but he’s talking about enlargement; he’s talking about growth; he’s talking about maturity. That’s what the word teleios means.
For example, an oak tree is the teleios of an acorn. It is the perfection of an acorn. You see, a mighty oak and a little acorn. So, when you’re feeling discouraged and feeling a little blue, take a look at a mighty oak and see what a nut can do.
See, that’s what we’re talking about. Just coming to the maturity that God wants you to come to. And so, you see God’s plan. God says to, “Enjoy it, because I have a plan.” Listen to it. Trials and tribulations lead to endurance, and endurance leads to maturity. You see, that’s what makes you strong. You grow, when you work against pressure.
A man watched a butterfly one time trying to emerge from a cocoon. And, he saw this beautiful butterfly trying to emerge, and he saw the cocoon as the transformation was taking place and the emergence. And, this man, thinking that he would help, took his razor-sharp penknife and he slit the side of that silk cocoon, and the butterfly just sort of flopped out. And, when it did, it lay there for a while, and feebly beat its wings a couple of times, and then fell to the ground, collapsed, and died. Because, you see, God had a plan for that butterfly in that cocoon. And, it was meant to swell against that cocoon, and to swell against it, and to push, and to push, and to push, until those muscles were developed so it could fly.
So many times, we’re saying, “O God, let me out of this thing,” when God wants to keep you right in that thing until you grow, until you mature, until you’re strong. God doesn’t want you to live weakly and to die feebly, but He wants you to grow and He wants you to be mature. He wants you to be teleios, perfect.
4. Enrichment
And so, what are the fruits of temptation? First of all, enjoyment. Why enjoyment? Because of endurance. Why endurance? Because of enlargement. And, why enlargement? Because of enrichment. Look at it. Look: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect”—now watch—“and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3–4). How would you like to be there—“wanting nothing”? Enriched in everything.
You see, God has a plan. God’s not working against you. If someone wants to make you rich, then you ought to say, “Wonderful!” That’s the reason you count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations. Now, if you flunk the test, it’s terrible. But, if you pass the test summa cum laude, I hope then you’re going to just be enriched. God has a wonderful plan for you. Trials will not rob you; they will enrich you. And, the idea is that you are to live a life with no inadequacies.
The songwriter put it this way:
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply:
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. (John Rippon)
You see, the Lord wants to make you rich. He wants to bless you. You say, “There’s a dark cloud over my head right now.” Well, maybe that’s better for you than the sunshine.
William Cowper was another hymn writer, and William Cowper was so discouraged. He wasn’t a Christian. He got so discouraged he believed that he would commit suicide. And so, he tried many ways to commit suicide. It’s almost humorous, though there really, there’s nothing to funny about it. William Cowper decided he would kill himself with a gun. And, he got the gun and pointed it to his temple, and when he pulled the trigger, the gun wouldn’t fire. And so, Cowper decided that wasn’t the way, and he got a rope, and tied himself to the chandelier, and tried to hang himself. And, the rope broke. Then, William Cowper decided that he would take poison, and he took poison and got well. He was getting more discouraged. He couldn’t even kill himself.
He went down to the Thames River and he hired a carriage, at least to take him to the Thames. And, he said, “Ride me to the Thames.” It was not a taxi in that day, but a horse and buggy. And, in the thick London fog—well, you know, anybody could find the Thames River—but this cabby couldn’t. He drove around for an hour-and-a-half and finally brought William Cowper to his apartment, said, “I can’t find it.” Cowper went upstairs so discouraged till he found a Bible, and he began to read the Bible. And, God spoke to him out of the Bible, and he was born again. And then, he wrote that great hymn that we love to sing:
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread;
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head. (William Cowper)
Oh, the clouds that you so much dread are big with mercy. It looks like a dark cloud, doesn’t it? But, God wants to bless you. Some way, somehow, standing in the shadows you will find Jesus, I promise. But, what really counts is, He promises.
Sometimes, we tend not to take God at His word and count it all joy. Sometimes, we complain, don’t we? Sometimes, rather than being humbly grateful, we get grumbly hateful, and we just complain against the Lord.
Another hymn writer, little Fanny Crosby, when just a child—only eight years of age—was blinded. You know Fanny Crosby spent all of her life in blindness, at least most of her life. And, as a child without sight, at the age of eight, little Fanny Crosby wrote this:
Oh, what a happy soul am I!
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world
contented I shall be.
How many blessings I enjoy
that other people don’t.
To weep and sigh because I’m blind,
I cannot—and I won’t! (Frances J. Crosby)
And, she didn’t. She just took her blessings, and let God enrich her life, and enliven her life. And, in the test of life I give Fanny Crosby an A plus, wouldn’t you? Oh, how many blessings!
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! (Frances J. Crosby)
Conclusion
And so, dear friend, the fact of temptations: They’re universal—they’re universal. The force of temptations: They come suddenly. The forms of temptation: It may be sent by God to cause you to stand; it may be sent by Satan to cause you to stumble; but God is over it all. The facing of temptations: God will make a way to escape. The fruits of temptations: Your enjoyment, your endurance, your enlargement, your enrichment. God has a great plan for you today. Don’t miss it. Let’s bow in prayer.
