Enemy Territory

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  February 26, 2023

Click here to listen to the service 
  
Read Matthew 4:1 – 11 (NIV)
 
Today is the first Sunday in the season of Lent… this is a point in the liturgical calendar when we are encouraged to engage in a time of self-reflection and repentance as well as sacrifice.
 
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday… the day before Resurrection Sunday.  It technically lasts for 40 days (not including Sundays) … and is a reminder of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness which we just read about in our New Testament lesson from the Gospel of Matthew.
 
During those 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus encountered Satan who tried to tempt Him several times.  However, Jesus did not fall into the traps Satan tried to set for Him.  And as a result, Jesus has given us an example to follow whenever we find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY.
 
Now, when we take a closer look at the text, we find Jesus being confronted with a variety of temptations…   temptations that most, if not all, of us have likely found ourselves facing at some point in our own lives. 
 
Those temptations centered around food, fame, and fortune.
 
Now, the first thing Satan tried to tempt Jesus with was food… telling Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Maybe Satan was hoping to capitalize on the fact that Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights and might have been just a little bit cranky and would conceivably been more susceptible to giving into temptation.  [that would certainly have been the case for me…]
 
But Jesus was undeterred and He responded by quoting from Scripture that is found in the book of Deuteronomy, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
 
Now, if I am being honest, of all the temptations that Satan tried to employ… arguably, food has always been the hardest one for me to resist.   Perhaps because, unlike fame and fortune, food is never that far from my grasp.
 
Many of you have probably heard me talk about the literal ups and downs I have experienced on my own weight loss journey…
 
Now, one of the tools that has blessed me along that journey is a book entitled, “Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, not Food,” by Lysa TerKeurst… there is also a companion piece to the book that is a 60-day devotional.
 
Since I first got the devotional several years ago, I have read through it multiple times… and I am almost through reading it yet again.
 
The other day, the reading was entitled, “The Courageous Choice,” which the author stated, “is the decision to do the right thing even when it’s unpopular, uncelebrated and probably even unnoticed” (Made to Crave, 2011, p. 166). 
 
And while this can apply to many types of choices we face in our lives, in this instance, we are talking about food as a source of temptation.
 
The author goes on to say, “It’s the choice to walk willingly on the path of discipline in the area of our food choices… it is possible to quiet the battle in your mind.  It is possible to make the courageous choice.”
 
So, when we enter ENEMY TERRITORY and find ourselves confronted with tempting food choices that will unltimately leave us feeling defeated and depleted… we need to remind ourselves that we can make courageous choices, because we “were made to consume food but food was never meant to consume [us].”
 
And so, just as Jesus did not yield to the temptation… we do not have to yield to the temptation either.
 
Now, the second thing Satan tried to do was get Jesus to rely on His “fame” (so to speak) as God’s Son to call on the angels to do His bidding. 
 
It is in verse 6 of the text that we read:

 
But once again, Jesus had a response to the challenge.  He simply said, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
 
Satan tried to exploit the fact that Jesus was the Son of God… suggesting that there were certain perks that came along with the title… namely an angelic protection detail… along the lines of the Secret Service. 
 
So, Satan tried to goad Jesus into proving He really was God’s Son by calling on the angels… something no ordinary person would have been able to do.
 
But Jesus was not about to play that game and use His status as the Son of God to His advantage…
 
Now, the fact of the matter is that if anybody could have used His Father’s name like the proverbial Monopoly “Get Out of Jail Free” card… it was Jesus.  And yet, He willingly chose to give His life in exchange for ours.
 
In fact, over in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (2:5- 8), we read:
   
Talk about the very opposite of letting fame go to His head…
 
But there is something we need to pay close attention to regarding this second exchange between Jesus and Satan. 
 
Satan was literally quoting scripture to Jesus…  and what is so important about that you may ask…  Well, the fact of the matter is that as we go through life… there will be people who will take scripture out of context to try to get us to do this, that or the other thing.
 
But not everyone who quotes the Bible is doing it for the right reason… and just because someone knows the words does not mean they are living their lives according to the Word… obeying the will of God.  All we have to do is look at Satan… he knows the word of God but he is definitely not living it out or obeying it.
 
And so, when we find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY, it behooves us to know the Word for ourselves so we can live our lives in obedience to God... and so we are not tempted to do the wrong thing.
 
Now the third thing Satan tried to get Jesus to do was to chase after fortune… by suggesting he could give Jesus the kingdoms of the world…
 
Now it is important to note, Satan didn’t have any more authority to give away the kingdoms of the world than I have to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.  But it is safe to say that honesty has never been one of Satan’s strong suits.
 
And a minor little detail like the truth was clearly not enough to stop Satan from declaring, “All this I will give you… if you will bow down and worship me.”
 
But once again, Jesus countered Satan’s ploy with the truth found in the Scriptures, and said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (see Deuteronomy 6:13).
 
And so, whenever we find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY, we need to be on guard against those who would dangle all the glitz and glamour that the world has to offer in front of us… hoping we will succumb to the lure of the false idols of materialism and greed…
 
But keep in mind… all that glitters isn’t gold and it quite often comes at a price that would literally mean selling our souls to the devil.
 
But we do not need to fear… even when we find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY… because we find this assurance in 1 Corinthians 10 (13) which reads:
   
And in those moments when we worry that we won’t be able to resist the temptations in front of us… we have the assurance found in Philippians 4:13 that, “[we] can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.” 
 
Now, when Paul wrote those words to the Philippians… he was explaining how he had come to find contentment in his own life whether he was living in abject poverty or in abundant wealth.  
 
And to his credit… Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from prison… to encourage them that no matter how difficult their circumstances were… they could still have joy as long as they held onto Jesus.
 
Perhaps you have heard me say on an occasion or two that joy and happiness are not synonymous… happiness is dependent on happenings… on the circumstances around us.  But true joy can only be found in Jesus.
 
And even during the season of Lent we have reason to hope because we do have joy in Jesus and the promise of the Resurrection… but even with that… we may still find ourselves wandering into ENEMY TERRITORY along the way.
 
During Lent, people will often make a commitment to give up different things, to make a personal sacrifice as we reflect on the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us…
 
Now, it is not all that unusual for us to give up something that we probably should not be doing anyhow or something that we realize we have been giving greater priority to than we should have.
 
And so, we make a conscious decision to give up those things during Lent.  And that is when everything seems to go berserk. 
 
If we have given up sweets that will be the exact moment when our co-workers decide to bring in an extra dozen donuts to share with the office or our neighbor will bring over that special apple pie that we really like.
 
If we have decided to cease and desist from using language unbecoming a Christian… that is when every crazy driver will cut us off in traffic and hurl us into a case of road rage like we have never experienced before.
 
Or if we have chosen to reign in our spending so we can truly live within our means… without using credit… well… let me just say this… don’t be surprised when  sales circulars will suddenly start to appear advertising the greatest specials known to man… deals that are just too good to pass up.
 
Then on the flip side, if we have made a commitment to do something that we don’t normally do… like work out on a regular basis… that will be the exact point in time when we will feel so utterly exhausted or our calendars will be so unbelievably full… that we just cannot possibly make it to the gym.
 
But thank God for Jesus who makes it possible for us to get through ENEMY TERRITORY unscathed… including navigating the temptations that come our way during Lent!
 
Now, it would seem fair to say that we have been confronted with difficult days and challenging circumstances for quite some time even leading up to the Lenten season…
 
It seems like every time I turn on the TV or look at what’s trending on social media or the news feed on the Internet… there is some new tragedy that calls for our attention…
 
From one mass shooting after another to the war in Ukraine and the earthquakes in Turkey in Syria to the chemical spill in East Palestine and everything else in between…
 
It simply boggles the mind to think about all the things going wrong in the world today… where almost no place feels safe or secure… and where every place starts to feel like ENEMY TERRITORY.
 
But there is still good news for us today…
 
Because even when we find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY… we are never alone… Jesus has promised to be with us ALWAYS, to the very end of the age (see Matthew 28:20) and God has promised that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us (see Deuteronomy 31:5, Joshua 1:9, Hebrews 13:5) …and that includes even when find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY. 
 
Don’t believe me? 
 
Listen to these words from the Psalmist David who said it like this:
   
And there is even more good news today, because not only are we NEVER alone in ENEMY TERRITORY… we are also never defenseless… because Jesus has already given us the perfect strategy to survive… all we have to do is follow His lead.
 
Standing on the Word of God… taking God at His Word… and serving God and God alone.   
 
So, if and when the time comes that we do find ourselves in ENEMY TERRITORY, I want to encourage us to put our trust in God because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, God is all we have and truth be told…
 
God is all we really need.
 
And if you believe that, I want to invite you to stand now and join in singing our
Hymn of Discipleship: I Need Thee Every Hour #578.
 

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