The Way To Escape by Brother Curtis Hansen

         Our scripture reading will come from the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13.

        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.

        If there is a theme to this message it is the way to escape. The idea that is behind coming to God is freedom. You are going to have a master that you will serve in your life; either God, your flesh, or the world. the Bible has given us examples of perfection to follow and not to just merely rely on our moral compass.

        The verse read is not a condemning one but actually one of hope. The apostle Paul said that no temptation has taken you that did not take from other men. Everyone has different temptations, but there is nothing that will tempt you that is not common to man. The devil still has the same tools and the same playbook to use today as he has used over thousands of years. The goal of the temptation is to get you to arrive at a point where you turn from God and give in to the desires of your carnal self. Sometimes the places you travel to will trap you. When we design escape routes whether it is drugs, alcohol, other vices, hobbies that consume our time, all the way to blaming others in justifying our place.

        The question posed about temptation; "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able." Whether we are managing pressure, stress, or pain, you always go and arrive back at the point where if you turn to God or toward the temptation. We could look at the Israelites in the wilderness after Moses brought them out of Egypt as a good example. God always has someone in place. Look at the story of Joseph and his family once the 7 years of famine prophesied had come upon the land.

        We always find trouble and temptation when we go outside of God to fulfill a need. Sin is active only for a little bit, yet it passes. Some people fall into sin seeking validation. God has shown you do not have to seek sin for validation when he wants to reward those who seek him. In the wilderness you come to a choice. The grace of God does not make the choice for you.

        A question to think about; Who do you hand the keys of your life to? Do you hold onto them tightly? Do you try and blame others or situations that you paint yourself into a corner? God's grace gives you a way to escape and faith gets you walking towards it. Sin will get the better of you in the moment or in a season. You can make better decisions from learning from your mistakes.

        Jesus was the great high priest. He was tempted in the same ways you and I are tempted. He overcame those temptations in the form of man with the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit led Jesus into a wilderness for 40 days in Matthew chapter 4. Ir was there where he was tempted by the devil. The Holy Spirit will always lead you into a wilderness. You could say that God had unfinished business in the wilderness.