Bible Message/Preaching : Temptation Analysis - knowing devil's deception!

lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor 2:11

⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ⁹Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 2 Cor 2:11

What is Temptation?

Literal meaning of temptation - A persuation or an attraction (generally for something wrong or foolish) by showing a purposed gain; A testing or a trial (designed to strengthen or corrupt)
Biblical Definition: ¹²Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. ¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (Jas 1:12-16)

Calssification of Temptation:

The lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eye &
the pride of life!!

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 Jn 2:15-17)

These are some misunderstandings regarding temptation:

The following are the common misunderstandings about temptation:

Temptation itself is sin.
God is disappointed and displeased when we are tempted.
We fall into temptation.
If we are strongly tempted it means we are guilty as if we had actually sined.
We overcome temptation by literal separation from the the things that tempt us.
When we're spiritually mature, we won't have temptation.

We've already seen in the above definition that 1 & 3 are false. We'll see that the rest are also false in the course of this discussion.

Biblical Narratives on Temptation:

First one we consider is well know to everyone - in the garden of Eden. What did the devil do? The Scriptures states: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom". But satan tried to trick Adam/Eve with the above mentioned.
¹Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" ²And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³"but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " ⁴Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. ⁵"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Gen 3:1-7)

This narrative shows all the 3 classification of temptation.

We know that Jesus Himself was tempted. ¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." ⁴But He answered and said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " ⁵Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' " ⁷Jesus said to him, "It is written again, You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " ⁸Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " ¹¹Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Mt 4:1-11)

¹But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. ²And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish; stones that are burned?" ³Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, "Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall." ⁴Hear, O our God, for we are despised;... ⁶So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. ⁷Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, ⁸and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. ⁹Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. ¹⁰Then Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall." ¹¹And our adversaries said, "They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease." ¹²So it was, when the Jews who dwelt near them came, that they told us ten times, "From whatever place you turn, they will be upon us." ¹³Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses." ¹⁵And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work. ¹⁶So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. ¹⁸Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. ¹⁹Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. ²⁰"Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." (Neh 4:1-20)

6:1 ¹Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), ²that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono." But they thought to do me harm. ³So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?" ⁴But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. ⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. ⁶In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. ⁷And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah!' Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. ⁸Then I sent to him, saying, "No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart." ⁹For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, "Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done." Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. ¹⁰Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you." ¹¹And I said, "Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!" ¹²Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. ¹⁴My God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid. ¹⁵So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God. ¹⁷Also in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were pledged to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹Also they reported his good deeds before me, and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to frighten me. (Neh 6:1-19)