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Facing Temptation (Lent I)
Psalm 32; Matthew 4:1-11

Picture
     There’s a small knob on a vehicle’s dashboard; when pushed it sets the trip odometer to zero.  Has anyone ever done that?  I love that moment when we’re parked in our driveway, our luggage carefully packed in the trunk.  There’s been a flurry of last-minute things to do, no matter how well we’ve planned.  Once we click our seatbelts and are about to back out of our driveway with a full tank of gas, we re-set our trip odometer.  What we’ve planned for and anticipated is about to start.      
     I’ve been thinking about the day Jesus headed into the wilderness.  He’d planned for and anticipated this trip for some time.  He was retreating from all that was familiar and foundational during his first 30 years of life. That’s the age, among Jews, that signifies a man is now a responsible adult; he can take his place in society and be treated with respect.  
       Jesus had just been baptized by full immersion by his cousin John; as he stood soaking wet in the Jordan River, a voice from heaven was heard by all, saying, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”  That moment marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry – it was when he consecrated himself to fulfill God’s plan for humanity.
      Jesus immediately set off toward a barren wilderness.  I believe he planned for this retreat, knowing time set apart was needed to fully orient him toward his mission.  He had no human company for forty days and nights. We know the approximate location where he spent that time in solitude; it was a desert-like location, uninhabited because it couldn’t sustain a village and its needs.   There was no ready supply of food for Jesus, nor fresh water, and everywhere he looked the landscape was desolate.  This environment, in and of itself, tested Jesus.  
     We also know Satan, a fallen angel allowed limited power, tested the Son of God three times.  He told a hungry Jesus, “Provide food for yourself.” He made the temptation specific, suggesting he use his power to change nearby stones into round, crusty, warm loaves of bread.  Can you imagine that loaf of bread? Can you smell its aroma?  
       I doubt that most of us know what it’s like to have a gnawing, desperate need for food.  Jesus was fully human like us; his stomach growled, his head ached, and he was weakened… but he didn’t make a way out of that for himself.  He chose instead to experience what many people before and after him have felt: a deep need for nourishment.  When Jesus went without, he entered into the suffering felt by millions of others who’ve been deprived of food.  He chose to endure that hardship, trusting that God would bring him through to the other side, providing for him. Jesus set an example for us of trusting God for our daily needs.    
      The second ploy of Satan was for Jesus to jump off from the highest point on the temple’s roof, knowing that God’s angels would come and save him.  If Jesus had agreed to do that, people would have seen his miraculous rescue and clamored all around him.  Jesus rebuked Satan; he didn’t need to do a stunt like that to prove God could rescue him.  And he had no interest in drawing attention to himself in such a sensational way, even if it meant he’d attract a large group of followers.  He set an example for us, to never foolishly put God to the test.    
      The third enticement for Jesus was to bow down and worship Satan.  If he did, he could share in ruling over the world.  That offensive, duplicitous offer caused Jesus to loudly rebuke him, saying, “Get away!”  Jesus’ allegiance was firm and unchanging.  He set an example for us by declaring with bold certainty that we should only ever worship God, who is Lord of all.     
      I think it’s very important to highlight that Jesus resisted each of Satan’s temptations by quoting Scripture.  He could have responded by telling a profound parable. He had the option of sitting in silence and ignoring him. Or he could have gone off on his own to pray. Instead, Jesus stood his ground while Satan thrust Scripture at him, using it like a sword. 
     Jesus wasn’t duped – he understood right away that Satan had twisted God’s word, bending it to his own purposes.  He immediately parried with his own sword, speaking a true and fitting word from Scripture.  Jesus set an example for us.  We should defeat our temptations with the powerful weapon of God’s holy word. 
    Do you know how Jesus learned what was written in Scripture?  He was like us, needing to go through childhood years into adolescence and finally on to adulthood.  He had the benefit of being raised by two godly parents, Mary and Joseph, but others taught and nurtured him as well.  But Jesus was human; he needed to apply his mind to learning and put in the time to read and memorize Scripture.  We’re told that he “grew in wisdom and in stature.”
     I’ve often wondered what Jesus was like during his early adult years, when we believe he worked with his father as a carpenter.  We have no accounts from that time period – more than a decade of his life – except the short phrase that he grew in wisdom and stature.  We have no idea what Jesus’ well-recognized wisdom was like during those years in Nazareth, but in today’s account we get to it, and listen with awe to the way he handled each deceptive temptation. 
       I wonder if you’ve ever thought about how those temptations were ones that clearly targeted Jesus in ways he might be vulnerable?   Warm crusty bread could fill his empty stomach.  Jumping off the temple roof and being miraculously saved could instantly gain him a huge following.  And if he’d pledged his allegiance to Satan, he wouldn’t have needed to die on a cross to save us from our sins.  
      Let’s turn our attention now to our own lives.  To live a holy life, to trust and obey God, doesn’t happen “accidentally”.  I want to share the results of a fairly recent Barna Research report on the top temptations Christians face in America. 
  1. 60% of us are often worried.  Do you feel anxious throughout the day, or do worries make it hard to sleep?
  2. 60% of us often find ourselves procrastinating.  Do you struggle with this, frequently putting things off that need to get done?  Ask those who know you best – they’ll tell you what you postpone or avoid, but know you need to get done at some point.  
  3. 55% of us are often tempted to eat too much food.  I don’t think this refers to over-indulging in veggies and fresh fruit!  Are you tempted to eat too much food at meals?   Or in between meals?  When something tastes really good, we’d like to have another slice of it, or more. 
  4. 45% of us are tempted to overuse electronics and social media.  My iPad annoyingly shows me how much time I spend on it, by category!  Having that right in front of me confronts me with my daily usage.  Are you mindful of how much time you’re spending on a given day on electronics or social media?       
 
        There are three life application lessons I want to share with you today that can help you resist temptation.   The first one is to have a plan in place.  
  • If you know you’re tempted to overspend while out at a store, what might you do?  Bring only limited cash with you.  Leave your credit or debit cards home.  
  • If you’re tempted to stay home and rarely socialize, because you lack the motivation, or feel you don’t have the time, you can sit down with a calendar.  Think about the relationships you most value, then reach out and see if you can mutually agree on a regular time to talk or get together.  Let the calendar do the hard work for you, keeping you on track because we don’t always feel motivated to reach out and maintain social or family connections.
      It’s well worth it to think through what plan you need in place to help you avoid serious temptation.  You may need to stay away from a particular place, or person, or situation.  We can save ourselves so much grief and regret if we have a plan in place to avoid temptation.   
      A second way you can resist temptation is to have a trusted friend you can reach out to at any time.  Ideally, you’ll be honest about your struggle with them ahead of time and share what you’d need if you reached out to them.  People who care about us are rooting for us to make the best choices possible in life, not ones that have hurt us in the past.     
      A third way to resist temptation, but one of the best, is to follow Jesus’ example.  When he was confronted with something that looked deceptively appealing, he spoke truth out loud.  He said what the right thing was to do, and it served him well.  
      I have a handout for you to take home; on it are several Scriptures I’d encourage you to read.  Once you have, consider what temptations you deal with in life.  Most of us have a pretty good idea by this point in our lives. Then search through the Scriptures and find which ones contain the wisdom you need to hear when you’re struggling. 
       I’d encourage you to memorize at least a few of them so that when the time comes, you can say them out loud (depending on where you are!).  I think you’ll soon learn how effective God’s word is when applied in your life, in the very places where you have a need.  Our God who loves us, whom we want to trust and obey, has given us what we need to resist temptation: wisdom.   Let’s be sure we take hold of what God has given us! Amen.  

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