OVERCOMING TEMPTATION

OVERCOMING TEMPTATION

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus shows us how to endure the test.

A sermon preached by

Dr. William O. (Bud) Reeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot Springs, Arkansas

February 21, 2010

I am a huge basketball fan. From the pee-wee leagues on up, I love to watch basketball. I never could play basketball very well, but I coached my kids in basketball, and I look forward to March Madness every year.

I love the action and the skill involved in basketball, but I also enjoy the strategy that is involved, especially at the end of the game. The last two minutes of a close basketball game can take 20 minutes to play because every second is valuable. There are strategies about how to use timeouts, how to foul to gain an advantage, how to use the clock to get a victory.

One of the best clock managers in basketball is Coach Mike Krzyzewski of my alma mater, Duke University (the only seminary in America with the devil for a mascot). I’ll never forget a game a few years ago when Duke trailed Maryland by ten points with one minute left in the game, and Coach K so skillfully managed the time that the Blue Devils were able to win the game by one point.

In the big game, timing is everything. The devil (not the Duke Blue Devil) would agree wholeheartedly. In the biggest game of them all—the game of life—timing is everything. The devil knows, when trying to trip up the faithful, to discourage the doubtful, or to separate the creature even further from the Creator, timing is everything.[1]

Satan knew just when to attack Jesus. The Messiah had been in the wilderness without food for forty days following his baptism. He was weak; he was tired; he was hungry. It was the perfect time for a temptation. Former New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia once said, “The Devil is easy to identify. He appears when you're terribly tired and makes a very reasonable request which you know you shouldn't grant.”[2]

The first temptation that Satan threw at Jesus was directed at his physical hunger. Looking at the stones littering the landscape, Satan said, “If you are the Son of God”—there’s the seed of doubt being planted—“turn these stones into bread.” Wouldn’t a nice, hot loaf of fresh bread have tasted good to a starving Jesus! But Jesus resisted the temptation by quoting a Scripture, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”[3]

This is the temptation to substitute the temporary for the eternal. Isn’t this one with us every day? We know what abides—faith, hope, and love. We know that the values of God are all that remain and that the only life that will last forever is eternal life in Jesus Christ. But still we get seduced into thinking that the temporary pleasures of the world—food, drink, wealth, power, fame, more stuff, sex—will fill the gap and ease the pain that only God can fill and ease. It’s a powerful temptation, especially because the eternal is invisible.

Do you remember the scene in the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where Mr. Potter, the greedy old miser who controlled life in Bedford Falls, offered a job to George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart? Mr. Potter had made a fortune victimizing the poor people of the town, and George was giving those families hope and a share in the American dream by loaning them money to build their own homes. Potter decided to eliminate the competition by hiring George. He brought him into his office, gave him a fine cigar, and offered him the gigantic salary (in 1946 anyway) of $20,000 a year. Such an income would mean a nice home, a nice car and clothes for his family, the possibility of vacations—everything George had dreamed of. He was incredulous; he couldn’t believe Potter realized whom he was talking to. Potter responded, “I know who you are. George Bailey, whose ship has just come in, providing he has enough brains to climb aboard.”

George was tempted by the promise of financial security, but it meant giving up his mission to help the struggling families of Bedford Falls. Potter offered to let George sleep on the decision for 24 hours. As they shook hands, George came to his senses and said, "I don't need 24 hours. I know right now the answer is no. You sit around here, and you spin your little web, and you think the world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter. In the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider." George Bailey escaped the temptation to substitute the temporary for the eternal.[4]

The second temptation the devil threw at Jesus was the temptation to test God. He took Jesus to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem and invited him to throw himself off, because the Scripture said that the angels would protect the righteous one of God. See, even the devil can quote Scripture! Jesus refused again, quoting his own verse that said, “You shall not put God to the test.”[5] There’s a difference between testing God and trusting God. What the devil was asking Jesus to do was not to prove his faith, but to test God’s faithfulness to his promises. It wasn’t an act of devotion; it was an act of showmanship.

We would love for God to prove his power in us sometime by doing us special favors, wouldn’t we? “I know you can’t make everybody rich, Lord, but I’m willing—humbly—to bear that burden. Lord, somebody has to win the lottery…I submit! Lord, let me be the most popular kid in my grade. Lord, smite my enemies. Lord, help me find a sexy wife.” (Oh wait, he did that!) If we’re not careful, we begin to think the show is all about us. We think God owes us something and owes us now. That’s testing, not trusting, and it’s the work of the devil.

The third temptation is the grandest one of all. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and says, “You can have them all, for a small price. Just bow down and worship me!” It’s the temptation to worship the wrong god.

A modern fictional equivalent can be found in the “Star Wars” saga. In the movie “The Empire Strikes Back,” the arch-villain Darth Vader reveals, at the climactic moment, that he is the father of the hero, Luke Skywalker. Vader invites Luke to come over to the dark side, and he says, “Together we can rule the galaxy!” Luke, like Jesus, refused the temptation and escaped the dark forces of evil.[6]

Remember, Jesus was very tired and hungry, or when the devil offered him all the kingdoms of the world, he might have thought to say, “Too late, they’re already mine!” But he realized what Satan was asking him to do was to switch allegiance from his heavenly Father to the rebellious angel—to worship the wrong god. So he said, “Get out of here! It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’”[7] As suddenly as he had appeared, the devil disappeared, and Jesus collapsed into the arms of God’s angels, who took care of him.

I don’t know about you, but nobody’s ever offered me world sovereignty. Nevertheless, I continually have to make the choice of loyalty. Who will be my God? Whom will I serve? Where are my priorities? That’s the greatest temptation I face day by day.

So how do we overcome these temptations that afflict our lives: to substitute the temporary for the eternal, to test and not to trust, to worship the wrong god? Jesus shows us how. Pay attention to his responses to Satan’s temptations, and you will discover how to endure your own time of testing.

First, use the Word. Did you notice that every response Jesus made to Satan was a Scriptural answer? In fact, if you do the research, you will find that all three responses are quotes from the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus knew the Holy Book of the Hebrews, so when the devil threw down the challenge, Jesus was ready to reply with the Word of God!

Author and speaker Gordon MacDonald flies around the country enough that he has earned frequent flier miles, which often enable him to get a seat on the emergency exit row of the airplane. This is good because there is extra leg room there. But with privilege comes responsibility.

Before the airplane takes off, the flight attendant will come and kneel beside Gordon and ask, "Have you read the instruction card that tells you how to open the door in the case of emergency? I need a verbal answer." Gordon has done this so many times that he fudges the truth a bit and says he has. I mean, does it take a rocket scientist to know that you simply swivel the handle and push the door out and to the side? So he says yes, he has read the card.

But the flight attendant has done this many times, too. So she says, "If an emergency happens, I'll be depending on you to open that door. Dozens of other people will also be relying on you, too. So are you sure you know what's on that card?"

Finally, she gets Gordon’s attention. He sees the importance of his position. He reads the card—again![8]

When you are faced with temptation, it is very important to read the material that can provide you a means of escape. We’re talking about the Holy Word of God. Not only is it important for you and your own spiritual survival, but there are others depending on you, too. Your family, your friends, your church, everybody who knows that you profess to be a Christian—if you fall, they get hurt, too. Then there’s the One who loves you the most. Do not grieve the heart of your heavenly Father; stand on the Word!

The second way to overcome temptation is through discipline. That’s an old-fashioned word; it’s not a very popular word; it doesn’t sound right to our contemporary ears, but it’s crucial in the battle for our soul. Armed with the Word of God, dependent on his grace, we just have to have the willpower to live a disciplined life.

Think about Jesus. Immediately after his baptism, he spent 40 days in the wilderness, without food and without shelter, seeking his direction from his heavenly Father. The rigors of that discipline gave him the inner strength to defeat the temptations when they came.

We’re not Jesus. Where do we get our inner strength? How do we find what it takes to fight temptation?

Craig Larson gives this analogy. In the middle of winter when your feet are cold, you may try putting on thicker socks or a blanket. Still your feet may be icy. One secret to warm feet is to stop focusing on your feet and look at your head. That's right; go to the other end of your body and put a hat on. Although your neck and head have only 10 percent of your body surface, that's where you lose a whopping 30 percent of your body heat. Having nothing on your head is like opening a window in your house in the dead of winter. If you keep that heat in your body with a hat, your blood will carry it down to your toes. It works![9]

Sometimes we have problems that don’t seem on the surface to be spiritual problems. We are tempted by a sexual sin. We drink too much. Our marriage is falling apart. We get into an ugly conflict with another person. We are struggling to stay honest in business or pay all of our taxes. Sometimes the best thing to do to overcome that temptation is to treat it indirectly. Read the Bible. Pray. Go to church. Focus on serving other people. These positive spiritual disciplines can provide the strength you need to deal directly with your problems.

I think overcoming temptation finally comes down to the priority decisions you make about your life. It’s not so much about fighting every negative impulse as it is about putting positive practices in place that will protect you against temptation. The commitment to get into the Word, the spiritual disciplines you do—all of this is a response of faith against the power of evil. We have to decide: We will not substitute the temporary for the eternal. We will not test God; we will trust him. We will not worship a false god; we will serve only the true and holy One. This is our answer!

It would be nice if this were an easy answer. Do you remember the commercials for Staples, the office supply warehouse? When anybody confronts a difficult situation, all they have to do is find a big, red button marked “easy.” A teacher asks a young boy in math class to answer a question, and he reaches under his desk to push the easy button. A dad with twins, trying to change two diapers at once, reaches for the easy button. A surgeon, before a difficult operation, makes sure to press the easy button. Suddenly the question appears on your TV screen, “Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an easy button for life?”[10]

There may be an easy button for ordering office supplies, but there is no easy button for life. Nothing will free us from having to deal with the trials, the temptations, and the difficulties of life. The good news is, we do have two other buttons.

We have the REJECT button. Using the Word of God and the practice of spiritual disciplines, we can reject the advances of the Evil One and claim the power of Christ to defeat him. We can overcome temptation. That’s good news!

We also have a RESET button. When we fall, when we fail, when our discipline grows lax, and when Satan gets the best of us, God does not give up on us. He never stops loving us. His mercy and grace are inexhaustible. He is always ready to forgive. So we can repent and reset our relationship. This is a very strong button, because we have to push it many times. But it never fails. That is the best news of all! Amen!