Ignore

A man rushes into the ER at the hospital with a massive heart attack. The doctor says to him, "have you had any symptoms?" The man says, "Oh, for about the last six weeks I have had this tremendous pressure on my chest and tingling and numbness in my left arm. I've also had a little trouble breathing and severe chest pain. What do you think it could be?" Here is a man who paid no attentions to the symptoms. He ignored all the obvious symptoms his body was trying to tell him and to ignore the symptoms is to beg the consequences. I am not sure that this man could have avoided the heart attack but had he went to the Doctor sooner he may have. I want to talk with you about temptation, we all face it and we cannot avoid it, but what we can do is learn to escape it more often than not.

1Corinthians 10:13
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.
Is there a way that you and I can avoid temptation? Yes I think there is! A wise man told me long ago that I needed to learn where I am weak and surround myself with those who are strong where I am weak. I can't tell you how that has helped me; the only problem I had with that line of thinking is I didn't like to think I was weak. The truth is we are all weak in areas of our life and it is wise to find out where so we can do something about it; that will help us become stronger. To the man or woman
who is tempted to alcohol they must surround themselves around those who are not and when they do it increases their chances from falling into their temptation. The man who is tempted to view pornography he must find another person who is not vulnerable to the same weakness and become accountable to them. As we read about the man who had the symptoms of an oncoming heart attack and did nothing until he had to, is like the person who ignores the problem that causes the temptation. Wherever we are tempted that is where we are weak and to overcome the temptation is to make the temptation weaker. Once any of us feels that we are an exception to particular rules, we are advertising that we are available for temptation. I can't count the times my phone has rang with a person on the other end who was coming down from a drug high and feeling miserable about what they have done; but not one time did they think of calling before they partook or fell into their temptation. They instead chose to surround themselves with those who would encourage the temptation. You may ask, do you really think a phone call would have altered their actions? I'll answer that by another question do you think surrounding themselves with those who think the same way and have the same problem will encourage them to do different than they? NO! To avoid temptation we must be aware of the roads that lead us to the fall and put up road blocks to keep us off those pathways. If a person has a problem with drugs and alcohol then his or her best friend needs to be someone who doesn't. Pornography the secrete addiction; that person needs to have filters on their computer and have their computer out in the open where all can see and have a person to whom they are accountable.

Luke 11:36
If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

2Cornthiannns 6:14 ……. what communion hath light with darkness?
Surround yourself with good people who are strong where you are weak, bottom line! We all would like to be delivered from temptation, the reason we can't is like an old friend we love to stay in touch with. Ignore the symptoms beg the consequences.