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It seems like I’ve been on a diet since I was about six months old, or at least it seems that way. My “thorn in my flesh” could be my metabolism. Is that possible? It refuses to convert calories; it loves to store calories instead. Now, over the years, I’ve made friends with my metabolism, and thankfully I was able to knock off a good amount of that. I’ve learned how much intake I can stand in relation to how much I’ll be doing that day. The problem is that the day is filled with caloric choices, whether it’s a nibble on those snacks that somebody brought to the office, or getting a sandwich from the deli like everybody else is, or eating that tempting dinner that someone has prepared.

I’ve learned a fundamental principle of how to control your weight. You have to decide in advance what you’re going to do. You choose your lunch fare before your appetite or your opportunity chooses for you. I have to decide in the morning what I’m going to do about lunch. And you decide early in the day that perhaps you’re not going to eat dinner or you’re going to figure out a very low-calorie dinner. In fact, pre-choosing? That’s actually the way to control of any part of your life.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Fighting Temptation Before it Hits.”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Daniel 1:8. Daniel is actually a captive in another country; he is in Babylon. The Jews have been carried away to captivity there. He’s been identified as kind of a leadership prospect, and he and some of his friends are kind of in the leadership academy there, and he’s being asked to eat food that is forbidden to him by his Jewish faith. He says he won’t do it.

The Bible puts it this way, “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.” He goes ahead and eats a diet that is consistent with his convictions and he ends up stronger than any of those who ate the prescribed diet.

Notice here his resolution came before – ahead of time – that he was not going to eat it. Then he took action to support that choice. He had already resolved what he would not eat. See, most of us don’t do that; we make situational choices. Right in the middle of it we’ll say, “I’ll see how I feel. I’ll see how it’s going. I’ll see which way the wind’s blowing. I’ll see how it goes. I’ll see what the circumstances are.” Well, that’s a good way to get blown away spiritually by temptation.

Remember this, the key to no-regrets choices is deciding in advance. I guess Sampson had never really made up his mind how far he would go. And with Delilah he lost his leadership and he lost his life. But Daniel, in contrast, knew where his line was and became one of God’s great leaders. He had decided in advance.

Now, if you’re facing a situation where you’ll be tempted to give away what you’ll later wish you hadn’t, decide in advance how you’re going to handle it. That’s nowhere more crucial than in keeping sex pure and special. You set your line sometime when you’re alone with your Lord, and then you don’t violate that boundary. You don’t let your glands decide. Your glands make lousy choices.

Maybe you’re in a situation where you’re going to be tempted to tell something less than the truth. Well, you’ve got to decide now to tell the truth and what truth you’ll tell. It might be a situation where you’re going to be offered a chance to sin possibly. Would you decide now how you’re going to answer? We live in a world where 99% of the pressure is to not do it God’s way. If you wait and see how it’s going to go, I know how it’s going to go – so do you. You’ll make a wrong choice.

No, you see, like a dieter, you have to know now what you’re going to do then. Remember, the key to no-regrets choices i

Notes:

Luke 17

God gives us biblical principles to free us from our three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
 
The freedom that the world offers is slavery.
  
Read Luke 17:1–2 (NKJV)
 
Your Influence Is Never Neutral.
 
Matthew 12:30 (NKJV)
"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

You cannot impress people and bless people at the same time.
 
Parents, your greatest mission field is inside your own home.  
 
Deuteronomy 6:6–7 (NKJV)
"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
 
Luke 17:2 (NLT)
It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin.
 
1 Corinthians 10:31–32 (NLT)
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Don't give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God.
 
1 Corinthians 10:33 (NLT)
I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don't just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.
 
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT)
And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
 
Repent!
Turn from the shortcomings and follow God’s will.
 
Ask God to forgive you and to strengthen you so you won't fail.
 
Luke 17:3 (NKJV)
Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
 
Luke 17:4 (NKJV)
And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.
 
Forgive As You’ve Been Forgiven.
 
Proverbs 27:5–6 (NKJV)
Open rebuke is better
Than love carefully concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
 
Luke 6:37 (NKJV)
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
 
To forgive means to release someone from a debt.
 
Luke 17:5 (NKJV)
And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
 
Luke 17:6 (NKJV)
So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
 
The Right Faith
 
We don’t need more faith; we need a deeper understanding of what faith in God can accomplish.
 
Read Luke 17:7–10 (NKJV)
 
It’s Not Always About You.
 
Jesus is the central figure in all human history, in all of creation.
 
Acts 20:22–23 (NLT)
And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.
 
Acts 20:24 (NLT)
But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
 
Matthew 6:3–5 (NLT)
When you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.
 
When we obey God, it’s liberating, it’s freedom, and it’s revolutionary.

The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details.

There's an increasingly credible case that death is a doorway--a case established by the thousands who walked through that door and returned to tell us about it. Professor Michael Zigarelli will take us on a step-by-step journey into these breathtaking eyewitness accounts, uncovering seven lines of evidence for life after death.

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Pastor Greg Laurie is joined by his family—Brittni, Jonathan, and Cathe Laurie—for a fun discussion on the beginnings of Harvest, their faith, and their family. They speak on God’s plan and His blessings over 50 years of ministry in this revisited Harvest Crusade moment.

Listen in for laughs and a heartwarming talk.

The Harvest Crusade is coming to Angel Stadium on July 11! Stay updated on all important event details. 

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In this sobering message from Jude, Dr. Michael Youssef warns that apathy toward false teaching is deadly. God’s Word is inerrant, His warnings are clear, and His judgment is certain. Jude points to unbelieving Israel, rebellious angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah as lasting warnings against distrust, pride, and moral perversion. Believers must repent of silence and indifference, refuse to redefine sin, and stand on the authority of Scripture. Jesus Christ alone forgives, heals, and delivers sinners through His blood. In a time when Biblical Truth is being watered down, God’s people must intercede, contend for the Faith, and pass the Gospel to the next generation.

Everything that has happened to you has prepared you for your greatest days ahead. When you understand the patterns of God's work in each season of your life, you can see His faithfulness in making all things work together for the good of His children. What if everything that has happened to you has prepared you for your greatest work?
Joel Malm will show us how to detect God's work in each season, keeping our eyes lifted to Him who makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him.

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Indifference is not harmless—it is deadly. In this final message of I Belong, Dr. Michael Youssef exposes “so what” Christianity: hearing God’s Truth and responding with apathy, excuses, or criticism.

From Luke 7, Dr. Youssef shows how a self-centered spirit attacks God’s messengers while ignoring God’s message. John the Baptist preached repentance. Jesus came full of grace and Truth. Yet many stayed unmoved. Scripture’s verdict is clear: “Wisdom is proved right by all her children.” Real faith produces real fruit.

This episode calls every listener to:

If you belong to Christ, it will show—by a changed life, an obedient heart, and bold Gospel witness.

Scripture Focus: Luke 7:31–35

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What makes us unique in God’s eyes also makes us useful. Dr. Tony Evans explains what happens when we misuse that uniqueness—and how God can still redeem our story.