Sermon 10th March 2019 – 1st
Sunday in Lent
Text: Luke 4:1-13 – Overcoming temptation
One of my favourite Bible Readings is
in St Paul’s letter to the Romans.
You possibly know it well, and if
you’ve ever been a bible reader in church with this reading you’ve probably
gotten a bit tongue tied.
It reads, from Romans 7 - I do not
understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I
keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do
it, but it is sin living in me that does.
Why do we do what we do not want to
do – and why don’t we do what we want to do when it comes to do with what God
wants?
It’s been a problem right from the
beginning of creation with Adam and Eve.
They had the world at their feet.
They had not a care in the world as
long as they did what God wanted and not eat from the one tree in the Garden of
Eden.
They were free to eat from any of the
trees in the garden except one.
It was their one weakness – their
Achilles heel – their weakest link – or whatever other metaphor you wish to use
– and Satan knew it.
And that’s the pivotal point – Satan
knew it.
He began by creating doubt – and then
he wrapped that temptation so enticing that despite knowing what she had to do
and what she should not do – Eve gave in to the temptation:
When we read Genesis 3 we see 3
things at play that led to Eve, and then Adam’s downfall:
First - the serpent was more crafty
than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.
Secondly – the use of doubt – did God
really say?
And thirdly - the woman saw that the
fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable
for gaining wisdom.
Satan’s craftiness and knowing our
weakness – and the enticing nature of temptation – it’s the perfect storm.
And we see in today’s Gospel reading
the same 3 power plays by Satan:
His craftiness knowing Jesus’ likely
weakness – 40 days without food – you must be hungry – turn these rocks into
bread.
The use of doubt – if you are the Son
of God – “IF” – Satan knows very well that Jesus is the Son of God – otherwise
why would he be trying to cause his downfall.
And further doubt – throw yourself
down and see if God really loves you enough to catch you like he promised.
Thirdly – enticement –
Worship me and I’ll give you all the
kingdoms of the world.
And this is where Satan now works in
your life.
He knows your weakness and will use
his craftiness to wrap that temptation in glitter to entice you and create just
enough doubt to make you ask “why not”.
Are you surprised when you hear of
devout TV evangelists who are caught having an affair with one of their
parishioners – Satan’s not – because he knew their weakness.
Are you surprised when you hear of a
devout Christian who has been caught stealing from the church – Satan’s not –
after all, Judas was very easy to tempt with 30 pieces of silver to betray his
Lord Jesus.
Are you surprised when a person who
has been a Christian all their life suddenly stops coming to church and says
they no longer believe – Satan’s not.
It’s what he does best and is
constantly looking for his next victim, as St Peter says: Be alert and of sober
mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour.
Peter got that warning from Jesus
himself when he said to him - “Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But
I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned
back, strengthen your brothers.”
So how do we overcome the temptation
of this crafty serpent whose desire is only to “kill, steal and destroy”?
St Paul gives us a clue when he says
– the good I want to do – and the evil I do not want to do.
We know what God wants and that’s why
Jesus in his temptation always resisted the devil by saying – It is written.
The Bible is not a book – it is God’s
living word to us.
And when we are tempted that’s where
we go.
Satan may know your weaknesses but
God knows your strengths and he who is faithful will present you blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus, as St Paul assured the Thessalonians.
And so when Satan tempts us and says
– did God really say – we can respond – yes he did – because it is written.
Jesus also gives us a clue in his
warning to Peter when he says – when you have turned back, strengthen your
brothers.
Jesus is acknowledging that Peter is
going to fall to temptation but there is restoration by God.
And when he is restored he asks Peter
to strengthen his brothers.
God always forgives when we repent –
he always restores – so we constantly need to return to God and receive his
grace.
And we need to strengthen one another
as Jesus did when he said he was praying for him and the other disciples
against Satan.
Encourage one another to seek God’s
forgiveness.
Satan’s greatest weapon is our guilt.
That’s why he tempts us.
Not so we do wrong to upset God – but
so he can accuse and convict us and break our relationship with God through
guilt.
Look what it did to Adam and Eve as
they hid in the garden from God.
And then they blamed each other and God – the woman YOU gave me.
Look what it did to Judas as in his
guilt he threw the money back at those who gave it to him and then took his own
life.
Jesus says – come to me all you who
are weary and burdened and I will give you rest – rest for your souls.
As St Paul assures us in today’s 2nd
reading - if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Satan is cunning and can hit us with
precision for which we are urged to take up the armour of God and to take up
the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of
the evil one.
Satan is not a cute little fellow in
a red suit who comes out on Valentines Day.
He is the thief who comes only to
steal and kill and destroy;
But Jesus has come that we may have
life, and have it to the full.
For these 40 days of Lent may we walk
ever more closely with our Lord Jesus and call on him in that we may not be led
into temptation and to be delivered from evil and the evil one and to be
assured that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved –
because it is written."
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