Sermon
5th March 2017
Text:
Matthew 4:1-11 – Living with temptation
It
is interesting that immediately after such an important moment of Jesus' life –
God’s public announcement at Jesus’ baptism – this is my Son whom I love – that
he then faced a major upheaval in his life.
God's
Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days where he was tempted by
the devil.
There
is an old saying that comes to mind in this – with friends like this, who needs
enemies.
It
seems a strange path for God’s Holy Spirit to lead Jesus on just after God had
publicly declared his love for Jesus.
So
often I hear people struggle in their faith – if God loves me then why does he
allow me to suffer.
It
might seem strange but blessings and temptation are not opposites but are often
part of the same experience.
We
see it often in Jesus’ parables –:
“The
kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while
everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat (Matthew
13:24,25).
Or
the parable of the sower:
When
anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil
one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. (Matthew 13:19)
It’s
hard to comprehend when going through those wilderness experiences wondering
why God allows it to happen.
What
Jesus’ experience shows is 2 things:
Temptation
is a part of the Christian life journey.
But,
it also shows, God provides strength and a way out of temptation.
Let’s
look at them in this light:
Turning
rocks into bread
What
is the temptation here?
The
temptation is that Satan targets our weaknesses.
After
40 days of fasting Jesus weakness was his hunger.
The
temptation was easy to discern.
Have
Jesus’ provide for his own needs and he breaks his reliance on God.
God
was the one who sent Jesus into the wilderness by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
And
God will provide for Jesus sustenance as we hear at the end of the temptation –
“Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him”. (Matthew 4:11)
We
all have our weaknesses where temptation comes knocking.
Satan
found it with Adam and Eve with the temptation to “be like God”.
Satan
thought he had found it with Jesus in his hunger.
Even
when he was writhing in pain Satan tempted Jesus to end his suffering - to come
down from the cross without any concern at all for Jesus’ suffering.
He
knows your weakness.
Maybe
you’re not aware you have a weakness.
Maybe
you don’t notice your temptation.
But
Satan does as God described him in Genesis in the form of a serpent - more
crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made (Genesis 3:1).
As
Peter once described him: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
So
we need to be aware where our weakness is.
We
should not make excuses or deny but go to God for help.
God
gives us confession – not so he can accuse us but so he can give us a way out.
In
this temptation, as Jesus said, the way out is trusting that God will always
provide even when it seems that our resources are depleted.
Our
problem is that we want to solve our own problems and often turn to God in the
very last instance.
Jesus
could have turned rocks into bread but then he would have placed himself above
God and his provision – as did Adam and Eve.
And
so he replies – we do not live on bread alone but on the very word of God.
Where
do you run to when you’re in desperate need like Jesus?
To
yourself first or to God.
Testing
God’s love:
The
next command is about testing God’s love.
If
you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He
will command his angels concerning you … you will not strike your foot against
a stone.
Do
you ever wonder whether God loves you?
It
sounds like a strange question to ask but so often Satan can really tempt me
especially when I am feeling guilty about something I have done or not done.
Sometimes
I feel guilty in my work as Pastor.
Am
I visiting enough – am I caring enough – am I witnessing enough to get people
to church – am I caring enough for our lapsed members and those who have had
their children baptised.
So
to make myself feel better I start to do more to show God how much I love him.
I
stay later in the office.
I
work my day off.
I
run myself ragged doing more and more in the name of my work as Pastor to show
God how much I love him and feel God is proud of me.
That’s
when Satan really has me
Firstly
because I can never do enough to make myself feel better.
But
secondly my ministry becomes about me and not you.
I
do things to make ME feel better rather than serving you.
Maybe
there are times when you’ve questioned your faith.
Maybe
you’ve questioned if God really does love you.
How
have you dealt with it?
You
don’t jump off a tall building to see if God will catch you.
If
you want to know if God loves you and how much he loves you – just look again
at the centre of the altar where you’ll find the body and blood of Christ.
That’s
how much God loves you that he was prepared to sacrifice his one and only Son.
If
you go anywhere else to confirm God’s love for you then Satan has led you
astray.
That’s
why in the Lutheran Church we hold Baptism and Holy Communion as central to our
faith and vital to our teaching because this is where God has shown his love
for you, as John tells us:
This
is real love--not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a
sacrifice to take away our sins. (1 John 4:10) and so we love because he first
loved us. (1 John 4:19)
And
if we want to show our love for God, how do we show that love?
Not
by jumping of a tall building but by loving one another as Jesus loves us.
The
final temptation by Satan of Jesus is about our worship:
All
this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.
Satan
may not be so subtle and offer you the kingdoms of the world but he seems to
offer us less subtle but very tangible things to lead us away from worshiping
God.
You
deserve to rest on Sunday.
You’ve
worked hard all week – this is your only chance for yourself.
And
doesn’t God want you to spend time with your family?
Do
you really have to go to church to show God that you believe in him?
Others
can become resentful.
I’m
on the roster again.
They’re
asking for more money.
They’re
all hypocrites in church.
Satan
works hard to break down our worship by turning church into work.
And
sadly the church is often quite guilty of supporting that.
We
have taken the focus of church at times away from worshiping God and tiring
people out.
There
are tasks that need to be done in the church but these are not our prime focus.
Our
prime focus must always be serving God and being served by God.
Like
Satan trying to take Jesus focus away from God we need to ensure that in all
our activities and busyness that we are not taking our focus or the focus of
others away from God and worship.
As
I said, there are things we do and things that need to be done, that build up
fellowship, but our sole reason for being here is to worship and the other
things emanate from that.
When
the others take prominence over worship is when we are led astray – and we burn
out, we lose our enthusiasm, we lose our purpose.
As
Jesus said; Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.
Whether
it’s Bible Study, Community Meal, Car Boot Sale, Head 2 Heart, Soup and Singing
– these are guided by our worship of God.
Temptation
is Satan’s biggest weapon against us and so we pray to God to not lead us into
temptation.
God
doesn’t tempt us but when we take our eyes of God we are so easily led astray.
As
James reminds us: When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting
me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; (James
1:13)
So
we ask God to not lead us into temptation but to lead us to his word and
worship.
And
as Paul reassures us:
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.
So
when tempted we look for that way out which comes through prayer, through God’s
Word and Sacraments and through our worship.
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