It's Tempting

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  March 6, 2022

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Read
Luke 4:1 – 13 (NIV)
 
The season of Lent officially began this past week on Ash Wednesday and will run through Holy Saturday, which is the day before Resurrection Sunday or Easter as it commonly known. We generally talk about the 40 days of Lent despite there actually being 46 calendar days between Ash Wednesday and Easter.  However, it is because the six Sundays during Lent are excluded from the traditional days of fasting that are associated with this season that we arrive at the number 40.
 
Now, the 40 days of Lent are often marked by a time of intentional prayer, fasting and sacrifice, reminiscent of the time that Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness which we read about in our New Testament lesson this morning. 
 
The text says that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for 40 days.  And throughout that time Jesus did not eat, so, it should come as no surprise that at the end of those 40 days, as the Scriptures tell us, Jesus was hungry. 
 
Now, perhaps, you are like me and have wondered what the purpose was for Jesus to be tempted for 40 days, while intentionally not eating.  Well, because Jesus is fully human, as well as fully divine, He had to endure all the things that we would encounter as humans, and that included being faced with temptation. 
 
But Jesus was also faced with the task of undoing what Adam had done way back in Genesis, when he gave into Satan’s temptation and passed sin onto the whole human race.  By contrast, Jesus resisted Satan’s temptation.  And it was His victory over Satan and his temptation that opened the door of salvation to the entire human race.
 
Jesus willingly faced Satan’s temptations for our greater good.  He did it to set an example for us of what to do when we find ourselves faced with enticing circumstances that we know we should avoid… and yet can’t help thinking… IT’S TEMPTING. 
 
Now, in his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
 
And, just what is the way out that God has provided for us?  How can we keep from giving in when IT’S TEMPTING to do what we know we really should not do?
 
Our text for this morning can help shed some light on the subject.
 
One of Satan’s tricks is to tempt us in those areas where we are most vulnerable.  Which means, first and foremost, we need to remain vigilant and be on the lookout for the traps that can lead us into temptation.
 
According to the text, after 40 days of fasting, Jesus was hungry.  That would almost seem to go without saying.  So why does Luke bother to mention it?  Because it sets the stage for the first temptation that Satan tried to use to trap Jesus, when he said, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
 
After 40 days of fasting, any food would probably sound good to us. And we would likely be vulnerable to doing just about anything, right or wrong, to get our hands on something to eat.  And yet, Jesus did not fall into Satan’s trap.  Instead, He quoted scripture, saying, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
 
In its original context in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, we read, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3).
 
In other words, physical food is not enough to sustain us, we need to feast on the spiritual nourishment that comes from the Word of God for strength.  And when we are filled with that spiritual food, it will give us the strength that we need to be able to resist Satan’s temptation.
 
So, the first line of defense when we catch ourselves feeling vulnerable as we look at a situation and think, IT’S TEMPTING, is to fill ourselves with the Word of God.
 
Now, in the second temptation we read about in our text, Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and tells Him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
 
Which brings us to the second thing we should be mindful of when IT’S TEMPTING to do something that we know we should not do.  Satan will try to tempt us to compromise our standards by offering enticements that are not his to give.
 
Satan falsely claimed that the world was his to give to Jesus, if He would just bow down and worship him.  But Jesus did not validate this false claim.  On the contrary, He refused to give Satan’s claim any credibility and once again relied on the Word of God to state His case.
 
Quoting from Deuteronomy again, Jesus replied, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
 
We must be clear in our conviction of who we are and whose we are.  Do we belong to the world?  Or do we belong to the Lord?
 
The world will try to convince us we can have it both ways, that we can worship the things of this world and still worship God.  But Jesus was very clear when He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
 
We cannot compromise with Satan.  Make no mistake, no good will ever come out of it. 
 
Back in the book of Joshua, there was a time when the Israelites were murmuring and complaining, seeming to have forgotten about all that the Lord had brought them through.  They had compromised their beliefs and gone back to worshipping other gods, in defiance of God’s command. 
 
In fact, the children of Israel had made quite a habit of trying to have things both ways, living how they wanted to live until things got too rough which is when they would call on the Lord, once again, to save them.
 
But Joshua called them out on this and said (24:15), “…if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
 
So, when IT’S TEMPTING to try to straddle the fence between following the world’s ways and following Jesus…  we must be clear about Whom we are serving, and we must do so without compromise.
 
And that brings us to the third temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness when Satan told Him, “If you are the Son of God… throw yourself down from here.  For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
 
To which Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
 
Which brings us to the third thing that will help us when IT’S TEMPTING to give in… and that is knowing the Word of God for ourselves.  Keep in mind, the devil knows scripture just as well (if not better than) we do and will try to twist it for his own benefit.
 
People will often take scriptures out of context or try to interpret it to fit their own agendas.  And that is why we have to be careful. 
 
In 2 Peter 1:20 – 21, we read,
 

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
 
Or as it reads in the Message Paraphrase:
 
“The main thing to keep in mind here is that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private opinion. And why? Because it’s not something concocted in the human heart. Prophecy resulted when the Holy Spirit prompted men and women to speak God’s Word.”
 
God’s Word is not something that can just be taken and manipulated to make it say what we want it to say, although, there are those who have tried and continue to try to do just that. 
 
And yet, if we read to the end of the Bible in Revelation 22 (18-19) we find:
 
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”
 
So, be careful… IT’S TEMPTING to try to manipulate the Word of God to make it fit our situation… to try to rationalize our poor choices and bad decisions, but God’s Word cannot be fine-tuned and tweaked… nor should it be taken out of context just to try to ease our guilty consciences.
 
Now there is something else we should take note of this morning which is that after Satan had tried and failed to tempt Jesus multiple times, the text tells us that, “[Satan] left him until an opportune time.”  Or as the Message Paraphrase puts it, “The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.”
 
We need to remember that just because we may have been successful in resisting temptation this time, there are sure to be more temptations to come… and it will likely be in the not-so-distant future. 
 
But that’s okay because our text gives us step by step directions to follow that will help us find our way out when IT’S TEMPTING to go down the wrong path.
 
First, we need to fill ourselves with the Word of God.
 
Second, we must be clear about Whom we are serving, and do so without compromise.
 
And third, we must not take God’s Word out of context to try to make it suit our needs.
 
But there is an additional step we can take and it comes from James 4:7 which reads, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
 
And that goes along with a quote that I read quite some time ago that says, “When you flee temptation, be sure you don’t leave a forwarding address.”
 
Unfortunately, there is no shortage of temptation in the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to make it easy for it to find us. 
 
And that reminds me of something else that I came across that I want to share with you this morning.  There was no source that was credited with writing it but it seemed particularly fitting for the sermon today.
 
On the classic TV show “Hee Haw,” Doc Campbell was confronted by a patient who says he broke his arm in two places. The doc replied, “Well then, stay out of them places!”
 
He may have something there. We cannot regularly put ourselves in the face of temptation and not be affected. When faced with the problem of temptation, we need to take the good doctor’s advice and “stay out of them places” (Source unknown, retrieved from http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/t/temptation.htm).
  
Now someone is probably thinking, that is a lot easier said than done.  And if we’re trying to do it on our own, you’re right.  But thankfully we don’t have to go it alone.  When IT’S TEMPTING to go down the wrong road to “them places” we need to stay out of, we have the assurance that Jesus will be right there with us.
 
So, when IT’S TEMPTING to overindulge in those sweet treats that wreak havoc on the scale or engage in excessively drinking those adult beverages that impair our ability to think clearly… we can look to the Word of God where we find Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Living Water, who will fill us and sustain us (see John 4, 6, 7 and Revelation 7).
 
And when IT’S TEMPTING to think that we have the right to exert control over other people and places where God has not commanded us to be… like we see happening over in Ukraine… the Scriptures remind us that the God we serve is the One in control… that “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1). 
 
And when IT’S TEMPTING to think that we can take the Word of God out of context and use it to justify our wrong actions… just remember the words found in the book of Hebrews:
 
… the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12 – 13).
 
I really like the way the last part of those verses read in the Message Paraphrase, “Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”   So, even when IT’S TEMPTING to try to live like the rest of the world and give into Satan’s temptation, we have the Word of God which provides us with the way out of temptation.
 
And the fact of the matter is that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
 
Now before we prepare to move to the Table of the Lord, there is something else that I want us to think about which is that IT’S TEMPTING to look at all the things that are going on today and think it has little or nothing to do with us. 
 
The war between Russia and Ukraine is happening on the other side of the world but we are already feeling the effects as we look at what were already higher prices going even higher.  While on a more personal level, most of us know Marina and have been praying for her family to be able to get of Russia safely if that is even possible at this point.
 
IT'S TEMPTING to think that what is happening there has nothing to do with us here, but as the Scriptures remind us in 1 Corinthians 12 (26-27), “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
 
We are all in this together…
 
And even as we look at things that are happening a little closer to home, IT’S TEMPTING to think that decisions being made by our elected officials around issues that we may not feel connected to don’t impact us, but they do. 
 
Take for example the recent legislation that has passed through the Ohio House and Senate and is awaiting the Governor’s signature that will allow people to carry concealed weapons without a license or a background check or any training… and the bill also has a provision that if they are stopped by a police officer, persons are not obligated to tell the officer they have a firearm, unless the officer asks them directly.
 
We might think this legislation has no direct connection to any of us, but what happens when we are at Giant Eagle or Heinen’s or Drug Mart and the person we are standing next to in line has a concealed weapon in their pocket or purse… but has had no training on how to use it.  They could decide they are feeling threatened or that they need to intervene in a situation and the mere presence of that firearm has the potential to escalate matters in unimaginable ways. 
 
And that is just one such issue that IT’S TEMPTING to think won’t impact us.  We don’t have time today to talk about the laws around voting and political gerrymandering, but I think you get the point.  The long and short of it is that whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.
 
And while IT’S TEMPTING to think that we can live our lives in silos or vacuums, we simply cannot.  As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to show kindness and compassion to others and to help those who are in need… and we cannot do that if we are living in a bubble.
 
Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God with all of who we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  And we can only do that when we accept the fact that we really are all in this together.
 
But even when IT’S TEMPTING to think that we are all alone and no one else really cares, the Lord has promised never to leave us nor forsake us… and we can take Jesus at His word that He will with us always, even to the end of the age… and that is really good news for us today.
 
Amen.
 

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