Pastor Urshan on Temptation

As I wrote in a previous blog, Brother Urshan's teaching and preaching profoundly affected me. In the years before we started evangelizing, when we were at Bethel all the time, I was figuratively on the edge of my seat when he preached and taught. When he said something in particular that summarized his message or was a little one-sentence jewel, I wrote it down.

During the course of the last 13 years, when we were here to visit, I appreciated his ministry even more, since I was exposed to it less often.



Here is a sample of some of the nuggets I gleaned from one of his teachings about temptation.The statements display Pastor Urshan's ability to balance truth with love, mercy, and grace.

You can’t claim to be good if you have never had the temptation to be bad.

It is good to have temptation because it keeps us dependent on God.

Giving in to temptation is not fatal. It will define your character, quality of spiritual walk, and spirit of endurance.

Temptation is an opportunity to do good and develop. Every time we choose to do good and not sin, we grow in Him.

God places us in situations where we have the opportunity to develop fruit. Love is developed by people in our lives that are unlovely.

God never gets irritated or impatient no matter how many times we fall or keep coming back to Him.

Ask yourself: Where am I when I am tempted? Who is with me? How do I feel? Then avoid those situations.

A little sin is like being a little pregnant; it will eventually show itself.

Satan tries to get us to doubt what God says about sin.

Satan is totally incapable of telling the truth. If it contradicts the Word, it is not true.

All temptations follow the same pattern. The devil has no new tricks. Satan tries to identify a desire (sinful or normal) that is within us. Always beware of the shortcuts in life; they are temptations. If you don’t have the internal desire, you cannot be tempted.

Refuse to be intimidated by sinful thoughts. It is not a sin to be tempted. Many Christians feel ashamed when they are tempted. A temptation can be a compliment. It is a part of being a human in a fallen world.