Ever felt tempted?

Preached  10 March 2019

Ever felt Tempted?

[Dairy Milk - Temptation Advert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3gb11rY230]

I should emphasise that this is NOT a real advert. It contravenes all sorts of laws, and could not be shown by any broadcaster. It was a college video project uploaded to Youtube. In many ways it is better, for my purposes at least., because it shows what temptation can lead to – crime.

There are many adverts which try to sell their product by undermining our resolve to resist. Most of these relate to food. In an age of obesity we should perhaps take them more seriously. It is no longer true for many people that that cake or chocolate bar will do them no harm – because it is NEVER just that ONE.

The world, it seems has a very odd relationship with temptation. There is an Australian TV program called “Temptation Island” - where they put a load of young 20-somethings – all physically attractive - on a tropical island and watch them cheat on each other. The tag line is ‘who can resist’. I suspect that if any of them do resist they will be off the show in no time. The show plays to all sorts of temptations – from our voyeuristic tendencies to the satisfaction we feel when others fail. Fortunately the video on Youtube was very poor quality, or I might have given in to temptation and shown it to you this morning.

Should I resist temptation?

That thought led me to ask “Should I resist temptation?” so I tried the question on a few search engines. Looking at the results on the first three pages I got links to web sites that would tell me how to resist temptation, and links to pages that said they would help when I have failed to resist temptation. Only one appeared to offer an answer. It was, of course, a Christian site, and immediately spoke about sin – great for me, but not I suspect helpful for many outside the Christian church.

It seems that the world expects us to (at least try to) resist temptation, and enjoys the consequences when we fail.

Temptation – definition

My answer to the question hinges on the definition of temptation (or tempt – to use the root of the word). To tempt (according to thefreedictionary.com) is to try to get someone to do something wrong – especially for reward.

So, when we give in to temptation, we are swapping some short term gain, for some longer term pain.

Who tempts?

Usually the temptation that we face comes from others around us, or from our motivations, or our own nature. Sometimes however it is entirely external, and is the work of the devil.

In our reading from Luke today we hear about Jesus being tempted. Jesus was without sin, so did not have the sinful nature that we possess, nevertheless, for Him to succeed in His mission, he has to experience temptations that are so common to us. Lets take a closer look and see how Jesus was tempted, and perhaps more importantly, how He responded to those temptations.

The Temptations of Jesus - Situation

After His baptism there was a voice from heaven which said: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” and He was immediately driven out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested. He was there for 40 days during which time He did not eat. Luke rather understates the situation when he says that Jesus was hungry. 40 days is about as long as a human body can go without food – so he was on the edge of death.

The Temptations of Jesus – Food

The devil says to Him ‘If you’re the son of God turn this stone into bread’. It would have been so easy for Him to say to Himself, I know I need food, I know I have the power to do miracles, if I die now the whole project is lost. He also knew that the people would want evidence. In John 6:30-31

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

This miracle, if performed would prove beyond any doubt who He was, it would prepare Him to do the miracles that he must inevitably do, and it would nourish Him and make him stronger.

BUT … there’s always a but.

These are the short term gains, the long term pain is too hard to bear. Jesus is also called to be faithful to God the Father and if He is to do that he must remain hungry just a little bit longer. So His answer is “It is written ‘Man does not live by bread alone’”. That’s part of Deuteronomy 8:3, where God is teaching the Israelites humility and to trust in Him.

One down, two to go.

The Temptations of Jesus – Authority and Splendour

Next, the devil takes Him to a high place and tries a different tack. The devil claims that the world is his and he is free to give it to whom ever he wants.

This is what Jesus has come for, He is to rule the world – that is His destiny, that is His mission. Does it matter how he achieves that. Surely it’s better, more humane even to have the world handed over. If He goes with the plan there will be the agony of crucifixion, and years and year of bitter fighting. Many of His followers will have to accept the same horrible deaths. Surely the devils way is better.

BUT … there’s always a but.

These are the short term gains, the long term pain too hard to bear.

Could Jesus really remain perfect, while He worshipped a sinful being – that would not be possible, and instead of being the second Adam, he would end up just like Adam’s descendants – He would be the same as any of us. Jesus is also called to be faithful to God the Father and if He is to do that he can only worship God. The scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer and die for the sins of the people before He enters His glory (Luke 24:26). If He doesn’t follow the plan, He will not enter His glory, and the whole of redemption will be lost.

So His answer is “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”. It’s another scripture reference to Deuteronomy (6:13). Not quite a direct quote, but comes from a passage where God is insisting that the Israelites follow only Him.

The Temptations of Jesus – Claim the promise

The second temptation has been resisted, but the devil is learning. In each of His responses so far Jesus has used scripture to resist the temptation. Now scripture IS the temptation. It’s from Psalm 91:11-12.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Go on then, Son of God, prove it beyond any doubt. Do this and you know that God is with You. Do this and you will know You are the Messiah and you will have the angels always there protecting you.

Surely this would be an amazing act of faith and would show the world who you are. No-one could argue, they would all instantly believe in you. They’ll know you have God on your side and will be unable to defeat you.

BUT … there’s always a but.

These are the short term gains, the long term pain is too hard to bear.

Jesus knows that such an action, while looking like an act of faith is actually in direct contravention of all the God stands for. It is simply demanding a sign – the same sin that the Israelites had committed many times. If He were to do that, it would not show His faith and trust in God. God does not respond to requests for signs from believers. Such an action would not prove that He was the messiah, but would prove that He was just like everyone else – just like the faithless Israelites He has come to redeem.

Jesus also knows his scriptures and has spotted the highly selective quote ‘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.’

Did you notice what’s missing? The phrase ‘in all your ways’ has been replaced with ‘carefully’. So, the promise that the devil is asking Jesus to claim, is not the same as the promise in scripture. ‘All your ways’ means going about your normal daily business, not jumping off the top of the temple.

Jesus’ response is “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” It is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:16, where God is warning the Israelites not to test Him again.

Jesus’ Temptations

Jesus’ temptations have all been around His mission and were triggered by God calling Him “my son, whom I love”. The devil knows that the best way to stop Jesus is to prevent Him from starting, but he has failed.

Our State

The devil also knows the best way to stop each of us too. Sometimes that is achieved with the least effort by simply leaving us to our own devices.

1 John 2:16 For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world.

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Sometimes though, we will receive specific temptations from the devil – usually as soon as we start to do anything remotely important for God. In those times it may be that the devil has been allowed to tempt us, just as he was allowed to tempt Jesus.

In the Lord’s Prayer we pray “lead us not into temptation” because we know how weak we are, it is better to be avoided.

What to Do

When we are tempted, or when we know there are things that tempt us, there are some things we can do:

Know Scripture

This will help, not only in responding correctly to the devil, but also in assessing the danger we are in and knowing how to resist. In his letter to the Ephesians describing spiritual warfare Paul says:

Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Scripture is our defence.

Know yourself

Next, we must know ourselves.

James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Eph 4:22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

Rest

When we are tired, it is harder to remember scripture and to be alert to the dangers around us, so we must stay fresh and that means being well rested.

Run Away

When we see a temptation on the horizon we can simply remove ourselves form the situation – Run Away.

1 Timothy 6:10-11 – Flee the love of money

1 Corinthians 6:18 – Flee from sexual immorality.

2 Timothy 2:22 – Flee the evil desires of youth

Away out

… and if you can’t get away, God will always provide a way out. So, if you remember the video we started with, there will never be a need to steal the chocolate bar.

I find 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says “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.” both comforting, because God is watching over us and protecting us, but also rather hard, because when I do succumb to temptation there is clearly only one person to blame.

References
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/what-would-jesus-do-with-temptation-andrew-chan-sermon-on-temptation-general-62661?ref=SermonSerps
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/one-fit-messiah-stephen-todd-sermon-on-lordship-of-christ-70774?page=1&wc=800
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/first-things-first-marilyn-murphree-sermon-on-easter-resurrection-66274?ref=SermonSerps
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/temptation
https://factsandtrends.net/2018/11/20/3-reasons-to-resist-temptation/