TEMPTATION
by Tony Alamo
Temptation or tempt has two meanings. One is good. An example would be when God tested Abraham’s fidelity, obedience, and faith by commanding Abraham to offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, so He could see if Abraham’s faith and his obedience to Him were strong (Gen. 22:1-18). All trials given by God are meant to strengthen, not weaken.1 Here we find Abraham is an example of perfect obedience throughout all generations. It is written that God tests His people to see whether or not they will walk His way (Ex. 16:4). God permitted false prophets to appear in the midst of His people to see whether they would seek the Lord with all of their hearts or turn away to follow these false prophets.2
Let us receive the Word of God by James. James 1:13-14 states, “Let no one say when he is tempted I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” Satan is the one who tempts people to do every kind of evil. He does this not to build strength but to weaken, and he sets up snares for everyone, no matter how innocent they may be. He sends temptations into our minds, suggesting that we sin (I Tim. 4:1-3, I Thes. 3:5).
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:13-15). This is why Satan is called the serpent, the snake, the red dragon, the slanderer, and the tempter.3
Eve was tempted and deceived.4 Ananias and Sapphira were tempted by Satan to lie to the Holy Spirit; they did and they died (Acts 5:3-11). The people of my church, which are leading multitudes of people to Christ and to eternal life, are now the target of Satan—the devil. The devil’s one-world government, headed by the spirit of Satan in his church of Rome, is holding their children hostage. They are telling the parents that they cannot have their children back, and threatening that they will adopt them out to homosexuals, lesbians, and other unsaved people unless they cut all ties with me and my church. They (Satan’s beast government) have jailed some of the parents because they refuse to turn their other children over to these unlawful reprobates. Of course, these parents have done nothing wrong. They have broken no law. Nor have I, but these people doing these things have. These government workers hate God and hate God’s people, Christians. They have declared war on God, and the Word of God says we win! “They lose!”5
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thes. 2:3-12).
The devil also tempted Jesus, who is God.6 It was Christmas when God became a man (incarnate). Jesus passed all tests with flying colors. He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He passed His first temptation or test immediately after His baptism and before beginning His ministry. This most important test He had to pass or He would not have been the Messiah, the Savior of the world. This event is called “His temptation.” He (Jesus) was first offered food (bread), then the entire world, but Jesus created the Heaven and the earth.7 He has come down to earth from Heaven to repossess His earth and to save souls. He defeated sin, Satan, the world, temptation, and all of Satan’s evil angels (demons and unclean spirits) at the cross.8 God cannot trust anyone who won’t fast and pray, because if they won’t control themselves that much, they will be too spiritually weak to endure the more severe temptations. Meek is not weak. What meek is, is power under control.
We must never yield to Satan’s temptations. If we do, our spiritual back will be broken, and we may not recover.9 Why should we yield to temptation when we are heirs of God, and joint-heirs of everything with Christ?10 Even though we receive sonship by adoption, we still receive all the same benefits with Christ as He does.
Offer Jesus Heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon—what gall! It all belongs to Him and us anyway, so don’t even try to make me forget who I am and what I possess! I have eternal life, and I am a co-owner of the new Heaven and new earth.11 “Neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7).
God sees everything.12 He has seen and recorded everything we have ever said, thought, and done, writing it in Heaven for the Day of Judgment.13 God knew when David committed adultery with Uriah’s wife. He told Nathan the prophet about it and sent him to David to tell him of his fate.14 After Bathsheba became pregnant, God saw David send for Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. He called him in from the battlefield to love his wife, hoping to cover up his adultery. (God saw it.) He tempted Uriah to get drunk, hoping it would ignite his passion for his wife, but it didn’t work. Then David sent Uriah back to the most fierce area of the war, and Uriah was killed. Bathsheba’s baby died. God cursed David.15 His many wives were given to another16, and he mourned the rest of his life. God saw it all!
I don’t question anything God says. People ask, “Did Satan actually bear Christ away to a pinnacle of the temple at Jerusalem?” “Did he also take Him to a very high mountain from the summit, where he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world?” “Did the temptation happen as written, or did they just take place in the mind of Jesus?” I don’t have to read commentaries to answer these questions.
When my late wife, Susie, and I were in Las Vegas, we used to get up early to see the beautiful sunrises and beautiful cloud formations. We were standing across the street from where we were staying, looking up at a huge, beautiful stack of very white cumulus clouds while holding hands. We were looking up at them. Then, all of a sudden, we were looking down at them. Susie asked me if I saw what she was seeing, and I said, “Yes.” She asked me, “What?” I told her, “We were looking up at the clouds, and now we are above them, looking down at them.” She dug her sharp, pointy fingernails into my hand and said, “That’s right!” I know God can take people that He loves up in the Spirit and show them things, especially what Jesus said He showed them. He let the devil do this with Jesus!
If you really love the Lord Jesus as Susie and I do, if you would be as thankful as I am for His showing me all that He has shown me, and if you were as devoted to Him as I am, and not ashamed to preach the whole Word, as I do, maybe He will show you the invisible, supernatural world as He has shown Susie and me. Get saved, before it’s too late, by saying this prayer to God right this minute:
My Lord and my God, have mercy upon my soul, a sinner. 1 I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. 2 I believe that He died on the cross and shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of all my sins. 3 I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit 4 and that He sits on the right hand of God at this moment, hearing my confession of sin and this prayer. 5 I open up the door of my heart and I invite You into my heart, Lord Jesus. 6 Wash all of my filthy sins away in the precious blood that You shed in my place on the cross at Calvary. 7 You will not turn me away, Lord Jesus, You will forgive my sins and save my soul. I know because Your Word, the Bible says so. 8 Your Word says that You will turn no one away, and that includes me. 9 Therefore, I know that You have heard me, and I know that You have answered me, and I know that I am saved. 10 And I thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving my soul, and I will show my thankfulness by doing as You command and sin no more. 11
You've just completed the first step in a series of five steps which are necessary to receive salvation. Your second step is to deny yourself and take up the cross daily for the purpose of mortifying yourself, that is, for putting to death your own will, your soulful self, and the world with all of its lusts. All these must be baptized into the death of Christ.
Step three is your resurrection from the satanic life of Adam unto the sinless life of Christ. Step four is your ascension into a position of authority to reign for God on earth, and the fifth step is to reign for God on earth to the end for the purpose of bringing about the kingdom of Heaven on earth. You must learn the Word of God, then submit yourself and do what the Word says, so that the Church and the world may see evidence of your submission to God's Word, His order, and His authority in and by you.
Praise the Lord. May God reward you abundantly.
Pastor Tony Alamo
Pastor Tony Alamo’s Radio broadcasts can be heard everywhere in the United States, Canada, and throughout the world.
Find the Radio Station listing for your area or Listen to Pastor Alamo's messages at wmqm1600.com .
Win souls.
Become a distributor of Pastor Tony Alamo’s gospel literature
and tapes and CD's.
For information e-mail: info[at]alamoministries.com or fax 479-782-7406 your requests.
Tony Alamo, World Pastor
Tony Alamo Christian Ministries Worldwide
P. O. Box 6467
Texarkana, Texas 75505
Twenty-four hour prayer and information line: (479) 782-7370 / FAX (479) 782-7406
Tony Alamo Christian Ministries provides a place to live with all the things necessary for life to all those who truly want serve the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Services held every evening at 8 P.M. and Sunday at 3 P.M. and 8 P.M. at the following locations:
New York City Church: Vincci Hoteles, 16 E. 32nd St., 2nd floor, between 5th Ave. and Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016
Arkansas Churches: 4401 Windsor Dr., Fort Smith, Arkansas 72904 • 1005 Highway 71 South, Fouke, Arkansas 71837
Los Angeles Area Church: 13136 Sierra Hwy., Canyon Country, California 91390 (661)251-9424
MEALS SERVED AFTER EACH SERVICE
Free transportation to and from services provided at the corner of:
Hollywood Blvd. & Highland Ave., Hollywood, California, daily at 6:30 P.M., Sundays at 1:30 P.M. and 6:30 P.M.
Ask for Pastor Alamo’s book, The
Messiah, showing Christ from the Old Testament revealed in over three hundred
thirty-three prophecies.
Messages on CD or tape are available as well.
All Tony Alamo literature is free of charge, not for sale. If anyone is attempting to charge you for this literature, please call (479) 782-7370 collect.
Those of you who are in other countries, we encourage you to translate this literature into your native language. If you do reprint, please include this copyright and registration:
© Copyright March, 2009 All rights reserved World Pastor Tony Alamo ® Registered 2009
Temptation footnotes:
2 Deut. 13:1-11, Isa. 9:15-16, Jer. 5:30-31, 23:25-27, 50:6, Lam. 2:14, Ezek. 13:2-10, Mal. 2:7-9, Acts 20:29-30, II Tim. 4:3-4 return
6 Matt. 4:1-11, John 1:1, 14, Rev. 19:13 return
7 John 1:3, 10, Col.1:16-17, Heb. 1:2 return
8 John 16:33, I Cor. 15:54-57, Rev. 1:18 return
9 Heb. 6:4-8, 10:26-31, II Pet. 2:20-21 return
10 Rom. 8:17, Gal. 3:26-29, 4:3-7, Titus 3:4-7, Jas. 2:5, Rev. 21:7 return
11 Isa. 65:7, 66:22, II Pet. 3:13, Rev. 21:1 return
12 I Chron. 28:9, Psa. 139:1-16, Jer. 23:24, 32:19, Amos 9:2-4, Matt. 10:29-30, Heb. 4:13 return
13 Dan. 7:9-10, Matt. 16:27, 25:31-46, Rom. 2:5-12, Rev. 2:23, 20:12-13 return
Prayer footnotes:
1. Psa. 51:5, Rom. 3:10-12, 23 return
2. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:54, Luke 1:30-33, John 9:35-37, Rom. 1:3-4 return
3. Acts 4:12, 20:28, Rom. 3:25, I John 1:7, Rev. 5:9 return
4. Psa. 16:9-10, Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:9, 12, 14, John 2:19, 21, 10:17-18, 11:25, Acts 2:24, 3:15, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 15:3-7 return
5. Luke 22:69, Acts 2:25-36, Heb. 10:12-13 return
6. I Cor. 3:16, Rev. 3:20 return
7. Eph. 2:13-22, Heb. 9:22, 13:12, 20-21, I John 1:7, Rev. 1:5, 7:14 return
8. Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:21, 4:12, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 return
9. Matt. 21:22, John 6:35, 37-40, Rom. 10:13 return
10. Heb. 11:6 return
11. John 5:14, 8:11, Rom. 6:4, I Cor. 15:10, Rev. 7:14, 22:14 return