Leaders Overcome Temptation:  James 1:13-15 “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.”  Temptation will be a threat to our Christian walk and leadership as long as we live.  We will never be so mature or spiritually minded that we can ever relax our vigilance against temptations.  Satan is always ready to attack our weaknesses and fleshly desires.  He wants to draw the Christian man away from Jesus and God’s Word.  Not one of us is safe from sin until we reach heaven.  We must remember this when we are first tempted and not be so proud that we can’t see what could happen to us.

Billy Sunday said, “Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole in the door.  Yielding is our opening the door and inviting him in.”  We are tempted when we are carried away by our own sinful lusts.  These are contrary to God’s Word and holiness.  We must realize that being tempted is not a sin in itself, but yielding to it is where the sin starts.  A Christian man must not dwell on temptations to allow them to gain a foothold and ultimately grow into sin.  Temptations usually start small but gain strength if we do not deal with them and overcome them.  The two greatest temptations that bring most men down are those of money and sex.  Leaders overcome temptation by yielding and obedience to the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.  It is easier to stay out of sin than to get out of sin once you open the door and let it in.  Simply put, keep the door shut and locked when temptations knock.