Gen 3:6a (NIV) When the woman SAW that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom.

Now, like Eve, Satan won’t just have your attention, he will have your eyes. You won’t just listening to Satan’s arguments, you will be checking out the item of temptation. And, even more importantly, you will checking out the issue FOR YOURSELF! Once Satan has you standing alone by yourself, you don’t stand a chance. He is much more skillful than you are. Only you and Jesus together can out reason the devil. Jesus will help you see the lie hidden inside a truth. He will show you the trap that Satan has set for you.

1. When the woman SAW that the fruit of the tree was good for food: You can’t “see” whether or not fruit is good for food. That was a satanically inspired imagination. Satan isn’t going to stay neutral; he is going to cheat, lie, distort the truth, and mislead you with trickery, glitter, false enhancements, and frills. When you are looking at something your body, the world, or the devil is presenting, you are NOT seeing things the way they really are.

2. When the woman SAW that the fruit of the tree was...pleasing to the eye: The Bible doesn’t tell you how pleasing to the eyes God made the fruit; but, you can be sure He didn’t make it so beautiful that it automatically tempted Adam and Eve to eat it. 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.

3. When the woman SAW that the fruit of the tree was...desirable for gaining wisdom: Like Eve, Satan is trying to do this to you; you know there was no way that fruit looked like it would give Eve wisdom. When you are being tempted to go for a business deal, a relationship, a career opportunity, a pleasurable experience, or a physical thing that God speaks against, Satan is enhancing and distorting the truth of the matter. He IS lying to you! The longer you look rather than pray, the better the temptation is going to look to you.

Prior to Satan’s temptation, it hadn’t been so pleasing to the eyes that Adam and Eve had already been tempted by it. It took Satan bringing it to their attention. Look what happens once Satan gets your attention and then get your eyes to start looking. The item of temptation starts looking very beneficial to the body and very enjoyable to the eyes. Eve’s imagination caused her to “see” the fruit as good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. All that will happen during Satan’s conversation with you just like it did with Eve.

Gen 3:6b (NIV) She took some and ate it. Bingo! The fall of mankind. In five easy steps Satan won the spiritual battle against Eve’s body. She just DIED A SPIRITUAL DEATH!

Gen 3:6c (NIV) She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Bingo! The fall of mankind. In five easy steps Satan not only won the spiritual battle against Eve’s body, he won over Adam’s body too. He just DIED A SPIRITUAL DEATH! Sin is very deadly; AND, it is HIGHLY contageous. Within seconds it spread from Eve to Adam. Within a few years Cain killed Abel because it spread from Adam and Eve to him. Before long the flood came because: Gen 6:5 (NIV) The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

2 Cor 2:11 (NIV) In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Satan is trying to do the same five things to you; so, let Jesus show you how Adam and Eve got to this place of total spiritual failure; and, let Him show you how to win against Satan.

1. Temptation Step One - Let’s Rethink The Meaning Of This Scripture: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” When you find yourself trying to decide what a Scripture means with your own reasoning power, you are moving into Temptation Step One. If you start reasoning with yourself or with some of your friends about whether or not something “really” means what it appears to mean, that is the TIME you need to run to Jesus and let Him TELL you what it REALLY means.


2. Temptation Step Two - Scripture That Is Open For Debate: Gen 3:2 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” Are you going through the Scriptures hunting for a loop hole? Or, are you sincerely, honestly trying to find the TRUTH? If you are looking for the truth, you will be praying and asking God to show you what the truth is. If you are looking for a loop hole, you will neglect prayer and will ignore including God. If you are weakening the requirements of God’s Word, you are being manipulated by Satan’s Temptation Step Two.


3. Temptation Step Three - Get Your Mind Off Of “Who” On To “What:” Gen 3:4 (NIV) “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. If you find yourself weighing out the consequences, you are being exposed to Satan’s Temptation Step Three. Can you do it without getting caught? Can you get by with it and it not cost too much? Could you do it and then repent later? Anything like these types of questions are taking your mind off of the fact that God loves you and has something MUCH better than what you are thinking about doing. Who loves you the most? Who has your best interests in mind? Who has done the most for you? Who knows everything? Who has the best plan for you?


4. Temptation Step Four - God Isn’t To Be Trusted, I Am: Gen 3:5 (NIV) For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When you find yourself getting upset or mad at God because you feel He isn’t being fair, you are being manipulated by Satan’s Temptation Step Four. He is trying to get you feeling sorry for yourself. He is trying to get you to evaluate God with your own human reasoning. Go to Jesus and let Him show you God’s sacrificial love, generosity, and past blessings you have already received. Ask yourself this question: What do you think has made you DESERVE more from God than He has already done for you?


5. Temptation Step Five - Get You Looking At The Item Of Temptation: Gen 3:6a (NIV) When the woman SAW that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. When something the Bible speaks against or even appears to be speaking against and you start seeing all kinds of “benefits,” you are being lured and enticed into Temptation Step Five. The Holy Spirit will be speaking to your conscience and giving you feelings of guilt and wrong.
   
   Temptation Step Five is the most deadly of them all; you have already yielded to the other temptation steps. 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it. When you find yourself at this stage, you need to run to Jesus as fast as you can. There IS a way out; but, He will have to empower you to see it and empower you to go through it.