"Giving Up and Taking On"    March 13, 2011      Cicero United Methodist Church

Lent I         Text: Matthew 4: 1-11      Jack Keating

            It has been said by a very wise person or two.... "Have you ever wondered why opportunity knocks once...... while temptation bangs on the door constantly?"

            Do you find this to be true in your life?

            It seems, from a story I viewed recently on TV that even supermarkets are aware that we are easily tempted.  That's why the candy, soft drinks, and magazines are on racks right near the cash registers where we have to wait in line.  That's why they display caramels next to the apples in the fall and that's why the most expensive cereals (which also usually happen to contain the most sugar) are on shelves at kid's eye level in the cereal aisle.

            What are the things that tempt you?  To really understand where our temptations come from, it's helpful to consider what it is that drives us.... What it is that we have desires for?  What are your desires?  

            More money?? A good career?? A desire to be strong??  A desire to be seen as successful, environmentally friendly, wealthy, loving??  Just fill in the answer to the question....... How do you want other people to see you? 

            Maybe your desire is to have a comfortable retirement.  Or be the one who has all the answers.  Or be the person with the biggest bank account.  What do you desire?

            Do your desires fall into the "material" category or are they more in the "spiritual" category?   Throughout Lent Everett and I will be looking at people who chose to consciously pick up some things... while putting aside others.  In other words they chose to give things up so they could take other things on.  And today's scripture lesson from Matthew's gospel account will show us the choices Jesus made.  But first let's look at our desires.  Maybe I'll share with you today one of mine.     

            One of my desires has always been to be a good husband and a good dad.  And I have this as one of my desires so that my wife and kids know that they are loved.

            You see, many of our desires, much of what drives us are not necessarily bad.  Many of these desires are, in fact, quite good.  But many of them can also be potentially dangerous.  They are dangerous because they often represent our weak points and each of us needs to be aware of those.  The evil one can use them to lead us away from God and his approach to living. 

            Let's have a look at how this works. 

            As I said, one of my desires is to be a good dad.  And most people would say that this is a good thing.  Of course, being a good dad is something good, isn't it? 

            But what if, in my desire to be a good dad, I expect my kids to be perfect children?  What if I get angry and I fall for the temptation to yell at them.  What if I punish them unjustly?  What if I expect them to be perfect angels 100% of the time or at times I let them get away with too much?  Then my desire to be a good dad becomes more about how I look, than it is about loving my kids.  And to my kids I need to learn to say I'm sorry, I have fallen for Satan's temptations to be more concerned about my desire to be seen as a good dad, than the reason I had the desire in the first place.... To let them know that they are loved. 

            And the reality is that Satan will use what our desires are in life to distract us, from God.  And this is falling for temptation. 

            In today's Gospel reading Satan tempted Jesus with three things that most of us, at some time or another, will be tempted with.

            In Matthew Chapter 4 the Spirit of God leads Jesus into the wilderness.  God himself had placed Jesus into a situation where he could be tempted by Satan. 

            Well let's look at how it was that Satan tempted Jesus. 

            First off, Satan decides to try attacking Jesus' physical hunger by tempting him with food. 

            Now I think most of us are tempted by particular types of food.  There's a reason why fast food restaurants seem to dot every street corner in most communities.  And it isn't because we like to look at yellow arches or king's crowns or little girls with red pig tails!  There's a reason why Friendly's sells tons of ice cream and the Dinosaur Barbeque is so popular. 

            Well Jesus was out in the wilderness fasting before he commenced his ministry.  So he would have been hungry.  And so Satan says..."tell these stones to become bread."  Sounds like an attractive proposition.   But Jesus declined.

            So then Satan attempts to tempt Jesus by encouraging him to place himself at the center of attention.  Just imagine if Jesus had turned those stones into bread or hopped down from the highest point on the temple.  He'd be the new "star of the world" if he would do those miracles.  But Jesus was aware that he was on His Father's mission, and he didn't need others to see him as someone spectacular.  And it wasn't time yet for him to be the center of attention.  So, again, Jesus declined. 

            And then Satan tempts Jesus with a fraud.  He said to Jesus, "All the kingdoms of the world can be yours, if you'll just bow down and worship me."  That's kind of like saying to your daughter, "you can have all the money in your piggy bank if you clean the bathroom."  But, she already owns the money.  And likewise, Jesus already owns this world.  But thankfully Jesus responded, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." 

            And, when you stop to think about it, aren't these the same temptations Satan tempts us with? 

            Desire to provide for ourselves and our family.

            Desire to have some power.

            Desire to be seen to be good amongst others.

            But, I think these temptations are only part of the big temptation Satan places in our lives.  And that's the temptation to stop focusing on God and God's agenda, and focus elsewhere.  And he does this by either encouraging us to have the number one priority in our life become our own agenda, society's agenda or Satan's agenda.  The evil one will put thoughts in our minds like..... "surely God doesn't want you to miss out"..... like the snake did in Genesis chapter 3.  In fact, Satan is always wanting us to see as priority ourselves, society, or the Evil One himself.

            And yet, following God's agenda means we will be cared for by God.  Remember how the scripture ends this morning...."Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him."

            The fact is although at times focusing on yourself or what the world thinks or what Satan offers appears far more attractive than what God offers..... it is far better and what God offers will outlast anything Satan can offer us. 

            God's agenda is that which He wants you to receive and to share his forgiveness through what you say and do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  God wants to continue to love you, and your to love Him and for you to love everyone as much as you love yourself. 

            But the evil one on the other hand is quite happy in you simply loving yourself first. And surprisingly Satan doesn't always mind if you are listening to God, provided you always put yourself or the world's ideas first. 

            There's a story written by a man considering temptation that goes like this........

            Why my wife and I were shopping, a beautiful young lady is a short, skimpy dress strolled by.  Immediately my eyes followed her all the way down the store aisle.  Without looking up from the item she was examining, my wife asks, "Was it worth all the trouble you are now in?"  

            And sometimes, temptations can lead us into real trouble.  For me, one of my temptations is the smell and taste of freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies.  And I will say to myself I will only have a couple.  But I usually end up leaving a couple!  Now I can really enjoy the temptation but a few days later, when it comes time to get on the scale I ask myself if it was really worth it.

            When we succumb to being tempted by Satan away from God is it really worth it?  Is it worth risking what God promises you? 

            Now some advice regarding dealing with temptations is very useful.  Like the advice given by the judge recently to teen movie starlet, Lindsey Lohan.  The judge's advice was to keep away from the people and the environment that encourages her to get into trouble.  And this is good advice in some instances.  But think about it for a moment..... it probably will not work in all occasions.  Why?

            Because many of the things that tempt us, are constantly around us and if we were to hide ourselves from everything that could possibly tempt us, there is nowhere we could go.  In fact, the reality is that we will be surrounded by things that tempt us each day.  And at times we will fall for those temptations.  So staying away from everything that tempts you is not always possible. 

            But through Jesus Christ God does offer us another approach to dealing with temptation.  The Good News is that God's entire approach to life revolves around forgiveness.  If we have fallen for any temptation, then we still have hope God will forgive us.  Not only this, but God will help us change to be more like him, to follow his agenda.  Remember, like Jesus, the angels will minister to our needs as well!

            And this is possible because Jesus did not give into temptation.  Because Jesus remembered his purpose was to serve God's agenda of forgiveness for you.  It is because Jesus worshipped the Lord and served only Him.  And it is possible because Jesus chose to take on true spirituality..... while giving up materialism. 

            Jesus followed God's agenda perfectly.  An agenda which has saving you in mind. 

            So this week:

            If you have succumbed to temptation, confess your sins and allow God to forgive you.  Ask Him to help you overcome this temptation and, rather than use the gifts, talents, money and time for your agenda, ask God how to show you how you can use them for His agenda.  And remember that Jesus, in not being tempted by Satan, is able to deliver to you what you have no hope of earning yourself, eternal life.  Amen.