Century Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)

1301 Tamarack Road, Owensboro, KY 42301, (270) 684-0286, Pastor:  Rev. Jim Westmoreland

Preparing for Temptation 101
Matthew 4:1-11
by Jim Westmoreland

Ever read the small print on your airplane ticket? The airline takes no responsibility for any delays or missed connections, and if your baggage is lost, they only have to pay an amount agreed upon at the Warsaw convention, which met in 1955. Parking lots post signs telling us that management is not responsible for any items lost or stolen from your vehicle. Do those "Not responsible for..." disclaimers bother you? They do me. It seems no one takes responsibility for anything anymore.

I read about a man who was suing a hospital. A doctor had performed staple surgery on his stomach to help him lose weight. A couple of days after his operation, he raided the hospital refrigerator and stuffed himself with everything he could find. This tore open the staples and forced another surgery. He was suing the hospital for having a refrigerator near his room. He claimed the temptation was too great. Thus, his complications were not his own fault, but the hospital's fault!

A little girl was sent to her room for misbehaving. Sometime later her mother happened to pass by her door and heard her praying. "God, I am stuck up here because of YOU, you know. Last night I prayed for you to help me be a good girl. Well, you didn't, so it's your fault!"⁽¹⁾

In a "Peanuts" strip Marcia telephones Charlie Brown: "Guess what, Chuck...the first day of school, and I got sent to the principal's office. It was your fault, Chuck."

"My fault?" Charlie Brown replies surprised. "How could it be MY fault? Why do you always say everything is MY fault!"

"You're my friend, aren't you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me!"⁽²⁾

There are a lot of ways to deal with temptation. We can give in to it; we can make excuses; we can avoid responsibility and blame someone else. Or, we can prepare to overcome temptation, and, this morning, I want to suggest seven things I've included in my class, Preparing for Temptation 101.

One of the first things we can do to prepare for temptation is to accept responsibility for our actions. No one makes us the way we are. We choose to do what we do, to react the way we react, to feel the way we feel.

Two, don't quit! Temptation is not sin. Being tempted is not a sin. In fact, whenever I make key decisions and experience spiritual growth in my life, I can be sure that some kind of temptation will follow that will test how sincere and genuine my commitment is. Giving our hearts to God does not exempt us. Jesus faced this temptation scene right after He was baptized and the Father said, "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."

Three, recognize the evil one! The scripture personifies evil as the deceiver, the accuser, the source of temptation. There is a power that opposes what is good, right and holy. A deceiving voice steers us away from God. Call that voice by what it is, Evil, not God, Satan.

Four, resist, don't reason with the enemy! Jesus did not try to reason with Satan, He resisted him. He refused to negotiate or compromise or rationalize.

Five, use the word of God! There is a reason for having both read and studied the scriptures. They become a part of us, God reveals Himself to us through the scriptures, and they instruct us about how to be faithful to God. The psalmist wrote, "Your word have I hid in my heart, Oh God, that I might not sin against you." Jesus met each temptation with an answer from the scriptures. So can we. So, decide to become a student of the Bible. Don't let people read it to you on Sunday morning. Read it yourself and let God speak to you.

Six, persist! Hold on! It won't last forever! When temptation comes, we often feel alone. We may be physically alone, but we are not alone.

And Seven, remember that you are not alone because God is with us!⁽³⁾ The stronger we persist, the more we become aware of God's presence with us. He strengthens our faith. He gives us courage. He gives us staying power. He give us confidence.

Temptation is often the choice to take a shortcut to get what we want. Jesus had to choose whether to take shortcuts in the kind of Messiah he would be, the kind of Servant he would be.

What do we want out of life? What kind of shortcuts are we tempted to take to provide for our needs, our comforts, our emotional needs and desires, and our needs to exercise power and influence?

Mickey Anders, pastor of First Christian Church, Pikeville, KY, tells this story about a salesman. "He had finally got his chance to make the Really Big Sale. He was going into the final interview on the biggest contract he had ever written. As he was ushered into the office of the executive buyer, an assistant brought her coffee and left. The atmosphere was cordial, and he knew he was giving his best presentation ever.

Then the assistant tapped on the door, re-entered the office and spoke briefly with the executive. She stood and said, "I apologize, but I have to tend to a matter. I'll just be a minute or two." And she followed her assistant out of the room.

The sales representative looked around the beautifully appointed office. He saw her family pictures on her desk. Then he noticed a contract on her desk. She had evidently been studying a bid from a competitor. Leaning forward, he could see the column of figures, but it was obscured by a diet soda can.

He was tempted to move the can and see the bottom line of his competitor's bid. What harm possibly could there be in reading her private information? After all, she had left it out in plain sight, almost. After wrestling with himself a while, he finally decided to take a peek.

As he lifted the soda can, he discovered that the can wasn't filled with soda at all. Instead it was a bottomless can filled with 1,000 BBs which gushed out, and ran all over the desk and cascaded onto the carpet. His attempt to short cut the competition was exposed.

Not every temptation is so obvious. Not every failure is so embarrassing. But every temptation is a challenge. Not even Jesus was spared the choosing."⁽⁴⁾

As we live our lives and face life's daily temptations, will we take the shortcut? Will we fudge, bend the truth, lie, compromise truth and integrity to look good, advance ourselves, or cover up a failure?

Harry Emerson Fosdick was one of the greatest American preachers of this century. He described his preaching as counseling on a large scale. Few people knew that as a young seminary student he reached the breaking point after working one summer in a New York Bowery mission. He went home and was overcome by deep depression. One day he stood in the bathroom with a straight razor to his throat. He thought about taking his own life. And then -- and then he heard his father in the other room calling his name, "Harry! Harry!" It called him back. He never forgot it. It was like the voice of God calling him.

So I want to remind you today that in those times when you are in the wilderness, trying to find your way through, and when temptation comes and offers you the wrong answer, the wrong choice -- the wrong use of power, a manipulative and overconfident sense of self, the wrong kind of partnership -- then you remember that God has called your name: "This is my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased." And, you remember that because God has called your name He will see you through.⁽⁵⁾

1. David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2005

2. Ibid

3. Dr. Russell Metcalfe, points 2-7 came from a sermon "Jesus and Temptation."

4. Dr. Mickey Anders, "Six Flags Over Jesus," 2-21-99, pastor of First Christian Church, Pikeville, KY