This
being the first Sunday in Lent we are once more on the Easter Road. Along the
Easter Road we will encounter many different experiences and learn many different lessons. That road leads us today into the
realms of temptation.
We all know about temptation. We
pray every time we say the Lord's prayer that we shall not be led into it. But
our Easter road, just like our lives, leads us there time and time again.
Now there's nothing intrinsically wrong with temptation. It's how we handle it that makes the difference. We are given
in Luke's gospel a picture of how Jesus dealt with the three challenges that the Devil threw in His path. Let's follow Jesus into the desert and think about how we face our challenges.
BREAD INTO STONE.
Jesus was in a desert feeling very hungry. I sense that the way both European and American cultures are right now, people are in a kind of spiritual
desert, and many are hungry for some kind of spiritual nourishment. In such a
situation, the thought of some kind of "Instant Supernatural Fix" can be most tempting.
The temptation the Devil throws at Jesus is along the lines of. "C'mon
Holy One. You've got the power. Turn the stone into bread and be fed. An instant
Supernatural Fix is the answer to your cravings." In reply Jesus answers that it is not for any man to be nourished only on
bread. When Scripture elsewhere expands that verse, it tells us that we need
also the Word of God.
The Word of God is not a narrow concept meaning only the written words
of a few sacred books. Jesus Christ is the Word of God. Creation is one of God's
Words to us. The love that flourishes within relationships can be another. And
like any relationship our spiritual relationship with God can not be obtained in an instant.
The blessings of God are not just something we can switch on or off. Discipleship
is a life long commitment.
Being baptized, whether as an infant or an adult, does not mean we are today following the path of
discipleship. Being confirmed doesn't make us a disciple. Joining a church some
years ago doesn't mean we are being faithful today. Having a memory of a day
when we went forward at a Revival meeting, asked Jesus into our heart, and resolved to follow Him, doesn't mean we are seeking
to follow Him now. We are called to have an ongoing every day walk with Jesus Christ. There are no one-time instant supernatural
fixes.
To be truly Christian, to be one of the disciples of Jesus Christ today,
depends on where we are in our walk with God in the present tense. If
we are living on the bread of past experiences (however meaningful they may be), we are not living by the Word of God.
There was one disciple amongst the twelve who believed in quick fixes. He heard the call and followed. Like
the others he had a marvelous testimony. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon his life as He worked alongside the other disciples
in mission. He was admired and respected by his colleagues. They trusted him enough to take care of their money. His name? Judas Iscariot.
Somewhere along the Easter Road, Judas got the idea that turning stones
into bread would be a good thing. He decided that he didn't need the Word of God, but a little bread could be useful. Jesus
was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver.
Don't rush spiritual things. That seems to be one of the problems Judas
had with Jesus. Things weren't moving along as quickly as he had hoped for. So he took matters into his own hands and paid a terrible personal price for doing
so. Avoid the temptation to seek for quick supernatural fixes. Love God and love your neighbor. Just doing those two things
will take the rest of your life.
IT'S ALL YOURS.
The Devil next offered Jesus power and dominion over all the Kingdoms
of the world, if only Jesus would bow down and pay homage to him. Jesus again counteracts the Devil's lies with a Scriptural quotation. "You shall
do homage to the Lord your God; him alone shall you adore." For me this temptation talks of the danger of compromising upon
what we believe in order to get what we want.
We are all people with needs and desires.
There are things that we want and things we know probably wouldn't do us much good if we had them. When we approach certain moral decisions, we are often like the man on the bulletin cover. It is as though there is an angel on one side directing us the right path to follow and a little devil
on the other telling us to take the opposite road.
For example, if you are a teenager today you are open to all kinds of
temptations. Take relationships. You
watch the television and people are hopping into bed with each other left, right and center.
You read magazines that will tell you, "Go ahead, do what pleases you; you mustn't repress your needs." In some portrayals
of modern life the urge to procreate is seen as no big deal, not even a moral issue.
When you take the time to discover what the Bible says about relationships,
it tells us quite clearly that there is a time and a place when a total loving commitment should be expressed. That time is when you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually ready to take on the responsibility
of giving yourself completely to another in love. The place is within a covenant relationship of Marriage. On these things the Bible seems clear.
But then a young person finds themself in a situation where they have
to choose which voice they are going to listen to. The one that says, "Ah, go ahead. Do as you please. It's no big deal."
or the one that says "Slow down. This isn't the time or the place. Out of respect for yourself and respect for my Word just
cool it."
It's not just teenagers. It's not just relationships. Every one of us
at every stage of life, in so many areas of life, is faced with the temptation to get what we want by compromising on what
we believe. It's about the things we do and say. It is so easy to come out with negative things about people rather than offer
words that might encourage or help them. It's about how we spend our time and
spend our money. It's about every day decisions and the grounds we make those decisions upon.
Every time we compromise we are playing into the Devil's hands. We are saying, "Sure I'll do things your way if it gets me what I want right now."
It is not enough to "Always let our conscience be our guide." Sometimes what
feels so right can be so dreadfully wrong.
"So look here, Jesus," says the Devil, "All the kingdoms, all yours.
All you've got to do is bend the knee… just this once and give me a bit of respect." "No
Way," is the reply of Jesus. "Worship God and God alone. Pursue the things of God’s Kingdom. Don't set your heart on
the things this world can offer. There are higher things and higher principles
to chase after."
Let's see if God is really all God's made out to be.
Jesus is taken to a high tower. He has Scripture quoted at Him and then
is challenged: "Why don't you throw yourself off and let's see if the angels really will come and rescue you like God promised. You know He can do it. Prove it to yourself."
In reply Jesus says, "Don't put the Lord your God to the test."
Why do we presume so much on the love of God? I think it is partly because
we lose sight of the fact that our sins not only harm others but destroy ourselves. We are not immortal. We are not superhuman.
There is a saying that goes, "It's all right what you do in life as long
as you don't hurt anybody else." That's not true. In God’s eyes it is not
all right to do things that hurt yourself or that divorce your life from the influence of Christ’s love. We are all special to Him. It's presumptuous to think otherwise.
It makes a nonsense of His love if we saddle ourselves with the thought that somehow our lives don't matter or that
our sins don't count in the eternal order of things.
Habits and self destructive behavior become so ingrained in us that we
don't even recognize them as sin. That's a dangerous way to be. The tragic thing about the disciple, Judas Iscariot, was that he failed to see the consequences of his
betrayal. He ended his life a destroyed and broken man. He lost sight of the love of God.
Presumption is dangerous. We
are not to put God to the test. If we stubbornly pursue a course of life that
God's Word tells us is not right, then it will lead to trouble. It may even lead us to the point that we have so deceived
ourselves that we see ourselves as beyond God's reach. It is not that God can't help us.
It is not that His power is unable to change us. It's just that sin is
capable of blinding us to that possibility. No wonder Jesus tells us to pray,
"Lead us not into temptation."
Conclusions
Discipleship, walking the Easter Road, is a life long adventure. The tempter tells us otherwise. "Turn the Bread into Stones," he says. "Find something
that can offer you an instant supernatural fix. That's all you need to get by." Don't listen. There are no quick fix options
to being a Christian. It's an every day walk with Jesus that matters.
To be a disciple we face daily choices. One voice whispers "Do it this
way," another tells us "No, do it that way." Don't compromise on what you believe to get what you want. Let God's Word and the inner voice of the Holy Spirit be your guide.
To be a disciple we must not be presumptuous of God's Grace. The temptation is to see how far we can go with doing as we please and still stay within the love of God. Be careful. You can push too far. If
you persistently refuse to learn, refuse to see, refuse to hear, then you create a person who has not learnt, nor can see,
nor can hear anymore the loving call of Jesus saying, "Come to me, be forgiven, be made new."
Temptation. It touches us all. It's not something we should go out looking
for. By the Grace of God may we make the right choices. May we know His Word well enough to counter the Devil’s lies.
May God, by His Grace, lead us through the desert
of our own temptations
and
towards the celebration of His Risen life.
Amen.
Rev. Adrian J. Pratt
