SMART MOVE: RESIST

We continue this week with our series, Smart Move with the sermon Resist. All of us will routinely encounter temptation in some form as we go through our lives.  Depending on the nature of our personal struggle, giving in to temptation could be very destructive.  However, we often forget that sin is very seductive and it desires to lead us down a path toward spiritual death, rather than spiritual strength.  We often discount the power of small steps that continue to build and advance us toward a destructive choice.  This week, we turn to Proverbs 5:1-14.  Although these words focus on the impact of sexual sin and the power of fidelity for our lives, this passage also conveys a picture of the seductive power of sin.  This is the “forbidden” woman who seeks to lure us into her power and lead us to a spiritual death.  We find in this passage not just a condemnation of sin, but a spiritual shrewdness for dealing with temptation.  All of us will confront the seductive power of sin, but this wisdom helps us to leave the destructive path and move our lives toward wholeness and hope.  This is our most earnest prayer for you as you confront the power of temptation – that you will be filled with the presence and power of our living God who gives us grace through our Savior, Jesus Christ! 

Proverbs 5:1-14: My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. ² Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. ³ For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. ⁴ But in the end, she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. ⁶ For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. ⁷ So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: ⁸ Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! ⁹ If you do, you will lose your honor and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. ¹⁰ Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor. ¹¹ In the end you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. ¹² You will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not ignored all the warnings! ¹³ Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors? ¹⁴ I have come to the brink of utter ruin, and now I must face public disgrace.”  (NLT)