Good morning Church!
A very warm welcome to this morning service, if this is your first time, we are glad you are here to worship together with us.
This is the second week of this month’s series “Youth are rising up” this theme is calling upon all of us to rise up and be strong in God. Rising up against the challenges of life, and to be able to overcome the evil world we are living in today. Many of us continue to be wrestling with hardships in different areas of our lives. Financial difficulties, relational conflicts, debt burdens, uncertainty about the future and a general feeling of hopelessness are just a few things we have heard people struggling with. Let’s pray that God would walk with us in these trials. We know that He is always faithful to provide good and perfect gifts for His children. Our prayer is that in such time of struggles like this we come together as a family that is rising and getting strong in God to stand together in hardships. The goodness of God will not leave us alone, He is faithful and able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21)
In today’s message we will take a deeper look into how we can actually experience the rising up, and that’s by “Standing Strong in Temptation.” Paul writes to the Corinthians saying; No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
Everybody is tempted. As long as you’re in the body, you’re in a place where temptation can reach you, however understanding the nature and purpose of temptation is the turning point for us to rise up and stand strong in temptation.
We can surely rise up and stand strong in temptation to the extent of counting it Joy as James puts it in his letter; “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
Amen !!