February 25 Sermon: The Temptation of Jesus –and you too
Lent I - Luke 4:1-13
In the gospel narrative, Jesus’ temptation comes right after His
baptism, and before he begins his public ministry. A voice from heaven declared Him beloved, and
the Spirit descended upon Him. So how is
this beloved, Spirit-filled one treated?
Jesus was led out into the wilderness - a rocky zone of cliffs and
caves, the haunt of wild beasts. People
avoided the place, believing that evil spirits ranged there – and there were
predators and bandits lurking – the “bad lands” of
Alone in the wilderness for forty days without food - Forty days and
forty nights – maybe at night the hunger pangs were worse.
So Jesus sat alone on the rocks under the hot sun listening to the silence,
poised to begin his ministry. He had not
yet preached a sermon or called a disciple or healed a sick person.
What will be his ministry’s nature and
shape?
Jesus pondered what it means to be about God’s business? What it really
meant to be God’s chosen, the promised Messiah?
Then he found himself in a combat zone to be assaulted by
temptations. One-on-one
combat with the devil.
The tempter challenged: “If you are the Son of God, do something
spectacular. Be different from those
other teachers. Test your powers – use
the authority you feel capable of.”
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This experience of temptation is between the one who is filled with the
Spirit, on the one hand, and the devil on the other. The Bible has varying ways of characterizing
the power of evil in the world: sometimes, tendencies within us, or other
times, a force outside ourselves; a fallen angel, or vague organized forces
that oppose the will of God. In what
ever the image, scripture agrees with our experience: that there is in us and
around us strong opposition to God’s way – opposition to health and wholeness,
love and peace.
Being committed to the way of God does not exempt you from the
struggle. If Jesus struggles against
temptation, who is exempt? Nor did the
presence of the Holy Spirit mean absence of temptation; rather, the Spirit was
the available power of God in the contest.
Jesus used only one weapon to combat Satan. No expression of divine power, except the
power of the word of God. Jesus used
scripture – verses from the Bible to answer the temptations.
Jesus responds to temptation, not with his own brains and muscle, not
even with his own words, but with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God”.
That’s a weapon you have too.
You read the bible, listen to the bible –and some of the verses are
implanted somewhere in the back of your mind.
Knowing the Bible isn’t something that’s just nice. It’s a matter of life and death spiritually –
of having half a chance to fend off evil, or the seductive rule of our culture.
So we continue to read and re-read, to study and memorize the
scriptures – striving not only to learn them, but to make them a part of us, so
the scriptures will be the glasses through which we see the world.
The goal is, Paul says, that
"The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart"
Romans 10:8
The knowledge of the Bible implanted in our minds is our weapon when
temptations come.
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Some temptations are just a matter of impatience. What you want may be good, but you get into
trouble because you can’t wait – you want it now.
"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to
become a loaf of bread."
The temptation to satisfy your need right now – Jesus you’re hungry, so
use your power to create some bread.
Apparently a lot of folks have given in to this temptation of
impatience, because most of us are living in debt – we get another day older
and deeper in debt. Those things we
charged on our credit cards weren’t bad, they were good things. The problem is we couldn’t wait until we
could afford them. We gave into the
temptation of impatience, so we charged it.
Then we only made a minimum payment on the card – and they added
interest and more interest – and we just keep paying for that minor indulgence
for months and even years.
We have classes that could help you deal with that problem – just talk
to Ken Doxtad or Darren Corbiere about the classes on financial management – or
watch the video after the service.
This temptation is subtle, and can involve wanting something that’s
good, but I can’t wait.
Wait on the Lord, and Do not put the Lord
your God to the test by being impatient.
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Another cultural temptation is striving for the wrong goal. We live in a consumer culture that tells us
we will be happy if we just buy the right stuff. We work to earn money so we can spend
it. But does that spending and having make everyone happy?
No, according to a professor
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They suggest that we’re not good judges of what makes us happy. We’re told its material stuff, but really
it’s other people that make us happy.
Earning and consuming are less satisfying than companionship. But we’re so busy striving that there isn’t
time for friendship.
We’re tempted to get our priorities wrong.
'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'
And we serve God by serving others, for the second part of the great
Commandment is Love your neighbor as yourself.
In general, materialists are not happy people because happiness is not
found in material possessions, despite all those tempting commercials. People are more important than things, and so
Jesus calls us into community - an encircling, inclusive fellowship with
brothers and sisters in Christ.
Within this community, we study the scriptures together, that we might
get our priorities right, and arm ourselves for the struggle against
temptation.
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We have to carefully study the scriptures so that we really understand,
for the devil’s ploy is to quote from the Bible, misinterpreting the text.
Notice how the devil uses the Bible to tempt Jesus. "If you are
the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, 'He will
command his angels concerning you, to protect you,' and
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'
Yes, the bible says that. His
interpretation should give us pause, and sober us up about simplistic ways of
veering into scripture. The devil is
using scripture for his own selfish purpose, instead of letting himself be used
by the Bible, letting it correct and guide.
This misinterpretation said any promise of God in the Bible applies to
anyone, at any time and place, regardless of circumstances or conditions
attached. All you have to do is claim
the promise for yourself, and God is obligated to fulfill it.
The devil says “Name it and
claim it – and God has to act.”
Think about that for a moment.
That implies who is in control – you or God? Who gives the command?
But God is Lord and is in control.
He’s in no way obligated to do what you want, when you want.
Remember there is a temptation to read the Bible selfishly – to
interpret it to say what I want it to say, rather than letting it speak to me.
The answer to that temptation is to study with others. They can both correct and enlighten me – and
I can do the same for them.
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The goal is that “The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart.”
As we read it, study it, sing about it - God’s Word becomes intrinsic rather than extrinsic. It becomes planted in our hearts and minds
- it is
there for us, to speak to us just
when we need it. There is power in the Word -
The Bible, and more specifically the words of Jesus, are an unerring method for determining how we should direct our moral
behavior and guide the growth of our soul. Which is why every Sunday we
read three lessons from the Bible - and talk about it in the sermon and sing
about the Word in the hymns
- and have classes when we study the
Bible in detail - and encourage you
to read the Bible everyday
- So that “The word will
be near you,
on your lips and in your heart”,
God’s Word planted in our heart and mind
- to speak to us just when we need it;
-- to
protect us from temptation;
- to whisper a message of
comfort and encouragement
reassurance and hope.