The timeless temptation to value something other than God as being of supreme value...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together in a sermon series entitled Tempted. We launched into this series by asking the question “What is temptation?” We discovered that temptation, simply put, is an enticement towards evil. Temptation is an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond God-given design in a way that results in us rebelling against God’s design.

After discovering the definition of temptation, we tackled the second question, which is “Where does temptation come from?” We discovered that the temptations that entice us to evil come from our own selfish desires. However, while the temptations that entice us toward evil come from our own selfish desires, there are external circumstances or forces that provoke those internal desires.

We discovered that there are three differing worldviews that come from the world system that sets themselves in opposition to God and compete for our devotion that attempt to arouse and provoke our selfish and rebellious desires apart from God through pleasure, possessions, and prideful position. We discovered that these desires are provoked by the world system that sets itself in opposition to God and His kingdom mission, and that is led by the Devil.

And it is the Devil, who is often described in the Bible as the tempter, who will attempt to expose our own selfish desires for pleasure, possessions, or prideful position in a way that results in those selfish desires dragging us toward evil and away from God.  The Devil will attempt to expose anyone at anytime to the selfish desires that dwell within them. No one is off limits. Not even Jesus was off limits. We began to look at an event from history from an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew, where the Devil attempted to tempt Jesus toward evil and away from God.

We looked on as the Devil called Jesus to satisfy His physical needs and desires through His own supernatural means and power and discovered that we are able to overcome the temptation towards autonomy when we invest in close community. We looked on as the Devil attempted to tempt Jesus toward evil and away from God by doing the spectacular in order to garner the approval and applause of others and discovered that we are able to overcome the temptation towards popularity and individuality when we selfless serve others in community with others.

However, while Jesus provided us a timeless example of how to overcome these temptations, the Devil was not finished when it came to his attempts to entice Jesus toward evil and away from God.

And this week we will see the Devil reveal another timeless temptation that we all face as we live out our life here on earth, along with a timeless principle that enables us to overcome temptation.  So let’s jump back into this event from history, together, beginning in Matthew 4:8:

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me."

Matthew brings us back into this event from history by explaining that after failing to entice Jesus toward evil and away from God by doing the spectacular in order to gain applause, approval and popularity, the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Now, a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, did the Devil really take Jesus and have Jesus physically stand on a top of a mountain so that He could see the entire earth? I mean that is impossible; there is no way that you could see all the kingdoms of the earth from any one location on the earth. Or was this just a vision that Jesus had?”

Most likely, this transportation was visual, not physical. In other words, the Devil transported Jesus in a vision to a location and placed all the kingdoms of the earth below Him where He could see their glory, their greatness, and their splendor. Upon positioning Jesus where He could see the greatness and splendor of these earthly kingdoms, the Devil then made an enticing offer to Jesus: "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me."

In other words, the Devil was offering Jesus the right to be in command and control over the entire earth. The Devil was offering Jesus the position to rule and reign over all the earth. All Jesus had to do in exchange for such command and control was to fall down and worship the Devil. What is interesting here is that the phrase fall down, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to throw oneself down as a sign of devotion to someone or something. In addition, the word worship here involves the concept of expressing an attitude or gesture of one’s complete dependence on or submission to a higher authority figure.

You see, worship simply put, is a life that is lived in response to what we value most. By offering Jesus the opportunity to have command and control over all the earth in exchange for worshipping him, the Devil was enticing Jesus to value him supremely instead of valuing God the Father supremely. The Devil was enticing Jesus to place him as the object of His devotion instead of placing God the Father as the object of His devotion. The Devil was enticing Jesus to express His submission and dependence to the Devil instead of to God the Father.

Now here is a question to consider: Is this not the exact same temptation that we face? Are we not tempted to value something other than God as being of supreme value in our lives? Are we not enticed by a desire to place something other than God as the object of our ultimate devotion in life? Are we not tempted by the desire to live our lives in submission and dependence to something other than God as God?

Now if you do not think that this is a temptation that we all face, let me ask you a couple of questions: Where do you leverage your time, your affection, your energy, and your loyalty? What do you view as being of supreme value when it comes to where you spend your time, your talents, and your treasure? Because that is what you worship. And regardless of what we say, our worship is more about what we do than what we say. Often what we say we worship is betrayed by what we actually worship with our time, talent, and treasure.

Remember, temptation entices us to take a God-given desire beyond God-given design in a way that results in us rebelling against God’s design. Thus, we can often be enticed to take a good, God-given thing and make it a supreme thing that becomes the object of our worship instead of God. You see, we are all tempted to value something other than God as being of supreme value in our lives. We are all enticed by a desire to place something other than God as the object of our ultimate devotion in life. We are all enticed by the desire to live our lives in submission and dependence to something other than God as God.

The question is not whether or not you will worship, the question is who or what will you worship because we all have been wired for worship. We see Jesus reveal this reality in His response to the enticement of the Devil to worship him. So let’s look at Jesus response together, in Matthew 4:10:

 Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Here we see Jesus respond to the enticement of the devil to value him supremely instead of valuing God the Father supremely by commanding the Devil to go away from Him. Jesus then provided the reason behind His command to the Devil by quoting from two sections of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Deuteronomy.

 In Deuteronomy 6:13, we see Moses, who was the leader that God used to deliver the Jewish people from slavery at the hands of the nation of Egypt, command the Jewish people to value the Lord supremely and not be enticed to instead value supremely the false gods of the nations of the land the Lord had promised to give the Jewish people. Moses reminded the Jewish people that the Lord was a jealous God that desired, deserved and demanded their worship.

In Deuteronomy 10:20 Moses commanded the Jewish people serve the Lord as a demonstration of their devotion to the Lord as being of supreme value in their lives. You see, Jesus recognized and acknowledged the reality that there is no other being that was to be of supreme value. And because of that reality, Jesus commanded the Devil to depart from Him.

What is so interesting is that in another account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Luke, Luke adds the additional detail that the devil left Jesus until an opportune time. In other words, the devil departed Jesus but still kept his eyes on Jesus, waiting for the right opportunity to attempt to entice Jesus toward evil and away from God. So the devil waited. And the devil waited. The devil waited until a Thursday evening when Jesus and His disciples gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feat of Passover.

However, while the devil waited, the devil was not idle. The devil enticed more and more self righteous religious leaders to place themselves in opposition to Jesus. And the devil enticed one of Jesus closest followers, a man named Judas, to betray Jesus. You see, Judas was looking for a political revolutionary, but that was not what Jesus was offering. And Judas had sticky fingers; Judas was consistently extorting money from Jesus ministry budget to grow his bottom line. Judas never truly trusted and followed Jesus for what He was offering and asking. Judas tagged along for what he wanted to get from Jesus.

And when that did not happen, the devil was right there to seize the opportunity to entice Judas towards evil. As a result of the devil enticing Judas towards the selfishness that was already within him, Judas betrayed Jesus and led a group of self righteous religious leaders to the place where they could arrest Jesus.

However, the devil was not finished when it came to his desire to entice others toward evil and away from God. The devil then turned his attention to the rest of Jesus closest followers. After celebrating the Passover meal, after proclaiming to the disciples that one of them would betray Him; after addressing an argument that the disciples were having when it came to who would be known as the greatest disciple by teaching them that one who would be greatest must become like a servant; Jesus turned to His closest followers and made a profound statement that would change the tone of the entire evening.

A statement that we will look at tomorrow...

We are able to overcome the temptation towards individuality and popularity when we selfless serve others in community with others...

This week, we have been looking at an event from history where Jesus was being enticed away from God and toward evil by the Devil. Tuesday, we looked on as the Devil called Jesus to jump off the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem. By calling Jesus to jump off the highest point of the Temple, the Devil was enticing Jesus to do the spectacular. The Devil was enticing Jesus to do something to satisfy a desire to win applause and be popular.  The Devil was enticing Jesus to do something that would set Him apart as someone who was radically different than everyone else and who was radically above everyone else. The Devil was enticing Jesus to express His radical individuality in a way that would win Him applause and popularity.

We talked about the reality that we all face this temptation. We are all enticed to attempt to garner the approval and applause of others. We are all enticed with a desire to set ourselves apart as individuals, to be spectacular, to be popular. We are all tempted to compare ourselves with others and to live as individuals in a way that we are viewed as popular.

However, the timeless reality is that there is no win in comparison. You see, when we live a life of comparison, we can only end up in one of two places. When we live a life of comparison, we end up in either pride or despair. When we compare our lives with the lives of other portrayed in social media, we often end up comparing our worst day with everyone else’s best day. And when we live a life of comparison with others, we are also comparing ourselves with the wrong standard. You see, instead of comparing ourselves with others in a way that leads us to either pride or despair, we are to compare ourselves with the life that Jesus calls us to, the life that is revealed by the life of Jesus and by the message and teachings of Jesus.

We also talked about the reality that the Devil will often entice us towards evil and away from God by misrepresenting what the message and teachings of Jesus actually say. So often, the Devil will use our partial knowledge of what the letters that make up the Bible say to get us to do something that the letters that make up the Bible say we are not supposed to be doing. You see, when we do not take the time to fully understand what the letters that make up the Bible say about an issue, we can be enticed into thinking that the letters that make up the Bible say something that they do not say about an issue.

The Devil will often use our ignorance of the message and teachings of Jesus to drag us away from the message and teachings of Jesus and Jesus and toward evil. Temptation will not only entice us to say "I know that Bible says, but". Temptation will not only entice us to say "I know what would Jesus do, but I don't want to do what would Jesus do".

Temptation will also entice us to say “Well I am not sure what the Bible really says about that, I only know one verse that kind of talks about that, but I am not going to take the time to make sure that I know what the Bible says when it comes to that”. Temptation will entice us to say “Well I am pretty sure that the Bible is not okay with what I am about to do, but I am going to take this verse and make it mean something that will make me feel okay with what I am about to do”.

You see, the point that the Psalmist is making in Psalm 91 is God's response of protection is to the one who obediently trusts in and loves the Lord. Psalm 91 is not a call to test the Lord. Instead Psalm 91 is about the Lord’s response to those who obediently trust in and follow the Lord and the message and teaching of the Lord, which is why Jesus responded the way that He did in Matthew 4:7. Let’s look at Jesus response together:

 Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'"

Here we see Jesus respond to the enticement of the devil to do the spectacular so as to demonstrate our radical individuality in a way that would win us applause and popularity by quoting from a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 6:6, we see Moses, who was the leader that God used to deliver the Jewish people from slavery at the hands of the nation of Egypt, call the Jewish people to keep the commands of the Lord and not follow the example of the previous generation of the Jewish people who refused to trust in the Lord and instead quarreled and tested the Lord.

Moses reminded the Jewish people of an event from history that is recorded for us in another section of another letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called to book of Exodus. In Exodus 17:7, the Jewish people, as they suffered from thirst in a desert location known as Massah, demanded that the Lord miraculously and spectacularly provide water in order to satisfy their thirst. Moses responded to the Jewish people demand for the spectacular by asking “Why do you test the Lord?”

Jesus quotes from this event from history to reject the Devil’s enticement toward evil as being a similar demand for God to do the spectacular instead of faithfully and obediently trusting God apart from testing God. Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, I see what you are saying here about the temptation towards popularity and individuality, but how do I overcome that temptation? How do I reject the temptation to attempt to garner the approval and applause of others?

And it is here, in this event from history involving a timeless temptation that we discover a timeless principle that enables us to overcome that temptation. And that timeless principle is this: We are able to overcome the temptation towards individuality and popularity when we selfless serve others in community with others. The timeless reality is that the antidote to the temptation towards individuality and popularity is to follow the example of Jesus and the message and teachings of Jesus by selflessly serve others in community with others who are trusting God instead of testing God.

That is what we are such big believers in followers of Jesus investing their talents serving God by serving others as a part of a ministry team. That is why we have as a goal that everyone who attends the church where I serve would be investing their talents as part of a ministry team. We believe that transformational spiritual growth occurs when we leverage the spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities that we have been given by Jesus in a selfless way that serves others.

And when we are selflessly serving others in close community with others as part of a ministry team, we a positioned to reject the temptation to live in way that is attempting to set ourselves apart as radically different than everyone else and as radically above everyone else. You see, serving on a ministry team has the potential to keep you from getting enticed to do the spectacular because serving on a ministry team is not about doing the spectacular; it is about selflessly serving others in a way that results in the spiritual good and growth of others.

Serving on a ministry team has the potential to keep you from getting enticed to set ourselves as radically different than everyone else and as radically above everyone else because serving on a ministry team is about serving others in a way that places others first. And serving on a ministry team has the potential to keep you from getting enticed to by the desire to win applause, to be popular, to be glory hogs that are absorbing the glory that belongs to the Lord, because serving on a ministry team is about being in close community as part of a team that is focused on deflecting glory to the Lord.

So with all that in mind, here is a question to consider: When will you take the step to get selflessly serve others in community with others as part of a ministry team? Are you willing to selflessly serving others in a way that focuses on the spiritual good and growth of others and not the applause of others?

7 Common Questions About Attending City Bible Church this Easter...

7 Common Questions About Attending City Bible Church this Easter...

If you are considering visiting a church for the first time this Easter, or after not having been to church for a while, you may have questions, but you’re not sure who to ask. So here are 7 frequently asked questions that you may have if you are considering visiting City Bible Church this weekend for Easter:

What should I wear?

At City Bible Church, you will see all styles of dress. Some will wear suits and dresses. Some will wear jeans and t-shirts. You will probably see shorts since the weather will be warm enough. To answer your question, choose an outfit you already own, one you feel comfortable in, and join us.

 

What will we do? What can I expect?

We will have a fairly typical worship schedule. We will have a short greeting time, sing two songs, I’ll share a message, we will sing two more songs. We will attempt to have songs that would be somewhat similar in style to what you may hear on your radio and that all ages can enjoy. And, yes, in full transparency, and in case you’re wondering, we will receive an offering. Our offerings support the full range of ministries we offer in the church, community, and around the world. You are not required, however, to participate during this time unless you choose to do so.

 

Will you embarrass me?

I certainly hope not. It will be a primary goal not to do that. I don’t personally like to be embarrassed when I visit somewhere new, even in a church — and I’m a pastor — so my goal is to create an environment that is comfortable for all. You WILL NOT be singled out as a visitor. We don’t make visitors stand, raise their hand, or even fill out a card if you choose not to do so.

 

How long will the service last?

Slightly more than an hour. I’d love to say an hour, but frequently the service ends up being an hour and 5 or 10 minutes. At the most, you’ll be with us for an hour and 15 minutes.

 

What time should I arrive?

That’s a great question. We have four worship services on Easter Sunday (8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 5:00 p.m.). And, I’m really trying to help when I suggest you get here a few minutes early. Maybe even as many as 10 or 15 minutes early. It takes a little while to make your way through our campus, especially if you have children to check into our children’s areas or this is your first time. We especially want you to find a seat where you are most comfortable, and you’ll feel more comfortable if you have a few minutes to adjust before the service begins. We have a special Easter bulletin you can be reading while you wait for the service to start.

 

Do you have something for children?

Absolutely. Birth through 6th grade have their own activities designed especially for them. They will enjoy a time called Kids Konnection that will engage them at their level. Of course, we don’t keep you from bringing children with you in the worship service if that is more comfortable on a first visit, but our experience is that they truly do enjoy Kids Konnection. Either way, we love when entire families join us Easter Sunday.

 

Can I only come one time? Really, for what am I signing up when I come Easter Sunday?

There’s no obligation beyond Easter Sunday. Promise. Being honest, we do ask you to fill out a communication card and, if you do, we will follow up with you. And I hope you do. I love seeing who God brought to us as our guests. I love meeting guests. We won’t put any unfair pressure on you to ever come again. We hope you will, and we’d love if Easter triggered that desire in you, but that’s your call — not ours.

 

I hope that answers some questions of those who are thinking about visiting City Bible Church.

What other questions do you have? Seriously, I’d rather you asked. 

***Much of this post adopted from a great post by Ron Edmonson on this issue...

The timeless temptation towards individuality and popularity...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Tempted. We are spending our time in this series asking and answering four questions when it comes to temptation. We are going to ask and answer the questions “What is temptation?”, “Where does temptation come from?”, “What are the core temptations that we all face?”, and “How do we overcome temptation?” And during this series our hope and our prayer is that God would move in our heads, our hearts, and our hands as we answer these questions in a way that results in us living a life that consistently says no to temptation and yes to a life that reveals and reflects the obedience of Jesus in the face of temptation.

Last week, we looked on at an event from history involving a timeless temptation and Jesus response to that temptation and discovered a timeless principle that enables us to overcome that temptation in that we are able to overcome the temptation towards autonomy when we invest in close community.

However, while Jesus provided us a timeless example of how to overcome the temptation towards autonomy, the Devil was not finished when it came to his attempts to entice Jesus toward evil and away from God. And this week, we will see the Devil reveal another timeless temptation that we all face as we live out our life here on earth, along with a timeless principle that enables us to overcome temptation.  So let’s jump back into this event from history, together, beginning in Matthew 4:5-6:

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'"

As we jump back into this event from history, Matthew explains that the Devil took Jesus to the city of Jerusalem and had Jesus stand on the pinnacle of the Temple. Now the Temple in Jerusalem was the only church at this time in history and was where the Jewish people would come to worship God and offer sacrifices to atone, or cover for, the acts of selfishness and rebellion that they had committed against God and others. When Matthew refers to the pinnacle of the Temple here, this would have been the summit, or the highest point on the Temple.

By standing on this location, Jesus would have been visible to everyone who was within eyeshot of the Temple. And since the Temple was located at the highest point in the city of Jerusalem, Jesus would be visible to not only those who were at the Temple; Jesus would be visible to people who were outside the Temple area but could see the Temple area.

Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, did the Devil really take Jesus and have Jesus physically stand on the summit of the Temple, or was this just a vision that Jesus had?” Most likely, based on the temptation that we will look at this Friday during our Good Friday gathering, this transportation was visual, not physical. In other words, the Devil transported Jesus in a vision to the Temple and had Jesus stand on the highest point on the Temple. 

Once Jesus was positioned on the highest point of the Temple, the devil then attempted to entice Jesus towards evil and away from God with the following temptation: "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down;” In other words, The Devil basically says to Jesus “Hey Jesus, if you are really God, if you are so closely associated with God that you are identified as God, why don’t you prove it by jumping off top of the Temple in front of everyone.

After making his enticement known to Jesus, the Devil then attempted to support the enticement by quoting from a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament in the Bible called the book of Psalms.  In Psalm 91:11-12 the Psalmist proclaimed that the Lord will protect those who follow the Lord. So the Devil is basically saying to Jesus “If you are really the Messiah, why don’t you demonstrate the fact that You are the Messiah by jumping off the top of the Temple, because God has promised to protect you. And after God does something so spectacular to protect You, You will have demonstrated and provided the proof of the privileges you have as Messiah".

You see, by calling Jesus to jump off the highest point of the Temple, the Devil was enticing Jesus to do the spectacular. The Devil was enticing Jesus to do something to satisfy a desire to win applause and be popular.  The Devil was enticing Jesus to do something that would set Him apart as someone who was radically different than everyone else and who was radically above everyone else. The Devil was enticing Jesus to express His radical individuality in a way that would win Him applause and popularity.

Now here is a question to consider: Is this not the exact same temptation that we can face? Are we not tempted to do the spectacular in order to garner the approval and applause of others? Are we not enticed by a desire to do something that will win us applause? Are we not tempted by the desire to be popular, to set ourselves as radically different than everyone else and as radically above everyone else? Are we not enticed by the desire to demonstrate our radical individuality in a way that would win us applause and popularity?

Now, if you do not think that this is a temptation that we all face, let me ask you a couple of questions: What is the most popular picture that is posted of Facebook? The most popular picture is a selfie. How many selfies have you posted on snap chat this week?

When you post a selfie, do you post a picture of you looking all jacked up when you first wake up in the morning? No you don’t do that; instead we do that selfie pose. I mean, you can always tell when people are posting a selfie on social media because they make the selfie face. You know that pose where you go like this right before you take the picture. Or that picture you take while you are driving? Do we post our lowlights on social media? No we post our highlights.

You see, we are all enticed to attempt to garner the approval and applause of others. We are all enticed with a desire to set ourselves apart as individuals, to be spectacular, to be popular. We are all tempted to compare ourselves with others and to live as individuals in a way that we are viewed as popular.

However, the timeless reality is that there is no win in comparison. You see, when we live a life of comparison, we can only end up in one of two places. When we live a life of comparison, we end up in either pride or despair. When we compare our lives with the lives of other portrayed in social media, we often end up comparing our worst day with everyone else’s best day.

And when we live a life of comparison with others, we are also comparing ourselves with the wrong standard. You see, instead of comparing ourselves with others in a way that leads us to either pride or despair, we are to compare ourselves with the life that Jesus calls us to, the life that is revealed by the life of Jesus and by the message and teachings of Jesus.

However, the Devil will often entice us towards evil and away from God by misrepresenting what the message and teachings of Jesus actually say. So often, the Devil will use our partial knowledge of what the letters that make up the Bible say to get us to do something that the letters that make up the Bible say we are not supposed to be doing.

You see, when we do not take the time to fully understand what the letters that make up the Bible say about an issue, we can be enticed into thinking that the letters that make up the Bible say something that they do not say about an issue. This is exactly what the Devil attempts to do to Jesus here. First, notice how the Devil quotes Psalm 91:11-12 here in Matthew 4:6:

for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU'; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'

However, here is what Psalm 91:11-12 actually says:

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. ¹² They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

Did you notice that the Devil did not quote all of Psalm 91:11-12? Did you notice that the Devil left out the phrase “To guard you in all your ways”? The Devil intentionally misquoted Psalm 91 by leaving out a part of the verse, which, by the way, is the most important part of the verse. Not that we would ever leave out part of the letters of the Bible so that we could justify doing something that we know we should not be doing. The Devil will often use our ignorance of the message and teachings of Jesus to drag us away from the message and teachings of Jesus and Jesus and toward evil.

Temptation will not only entice us to say "I know that Bible says, but". Temptation will not only entice us to say "I know what would Jesus do, but I don't want to do what would Jesus do". Temptation will also entice us to say “Well I am not sure what the Bible really says about that, I only know one verse that kind of talks about that, but I am not going to take the time to make sure that I know what the Bible says when it comes to that”. Temptation will entice us to say “Well I am pretty sure that the Bible is not okay with what I am about to do, but I am going to take this verse and make it mean something that will make me feel okay with what I am about to do”.

You see, the point that the Psalmist is making in Psalm 91 is God's response of protection is to the one who obediently trusts in and loves the Lord. Psalm 91 is not a call to test the Lord. Instead Psalm 91 is about the Lord’s response to those who obediently trust in and follow the Lord and the message and teaching of the Lord, which is why Jesus responded the way that He did in Matthew 4:7.

Tomorrow, we will look at Jesus response…

We are able to overcome the temptation towards autonomy when we invest in close community...

This week, we are looking at an event from history that reveals a timeless temptation that we all face as we live out our life here on earth, along with a timeless principle that enables us to overcome temptation.  So far this week, we have looked on as the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be enticed by the Devil toward evil was so that Jesus could prove and demonstrate His allegiance to God by demonstrating His obedience to God.

We looked on as the Devil enticed Jesus to satisfy His physical needs and desires through His own supernatural means and power. The Devil is enticing Jesus to take control and be autonomous. The Devil is enticing Jesus to meet His desires in a supernatural way that demonstrates that He does not need anyone, but that He is needed by everyone. The Devil is enticing Jesus to meet His desires in a way that demonstrates how relevant and necessary He is for all humanity.

We talked about the reality that this is a temptation that many of us constantly face. We are tempted to demonstrate that we are relevant, that people would take us seriously. We are enticed to be driven by a desire to demonstrate that we are needed and necessary. We are enticed by the desire to be autonomous, to be in control and in charge of our lives. We are tempted by the desire to demonstrate that we have everything under control, that we are self sufficient, independent people. We are tempted to demonstrate that we are dependable, not dependant.

However, while we are often enticed to satisfy our desire for control, for autonomy, for relevance; while we are often tempted to demonstrate that we are needed and necessary, the reality is that control and autonomy are a myth. Control and autonomy is a trap. The goal of control, autonomy, and self sufficiency are unworthy goals because we are never really in control; we are never really autonomous and we are never really out of community. They are unworthy goals because we were never designed to be in control, to be autonomous, to be outside of community. We see this reality revealed for us in Jesus response to the Devil, which is recorded for us in Matthew 4:4:

 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"

Jesus responds to the enticement of the Devil by quoting from an event from history that has been preserved and recorded for us in a section of a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 8:3, we see Moses preparing a generation of Jewish people to enter into the land that God had promised them after they had spend forty years wandering in the wilderness as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of their parents.

And as part of that preparation, Moses reminded this new generation of Jewish people of a lesson that the Lord had tried to teach the previous generation of Jewish people. And that lesson involved manna. As the Lord led the Jewish people out of slavery and into the land that He had promised them, the Lord provided manna for them to eat on their journey.

The Lord also provided specific instructions when it came to how they were to collect the manna. The Jewish people were commanded by the Lord go out every morning and collect just enough manna for their needs that day. The Jewish people were to trust that the Lord would provide the manna every day as they went out every day to collect the manna for the day.  However, the Jewish people rebelled against the Lord by refusing to follow the commands of the Lord. The Jewish people gathered more that what they needed for a day. And it was this disobedience to the Lord that demonstrated their selfish desire to be autonomous from the Lord. It was this disobedience to the Lord that demonstrated their desire for control and their desire to self sufficient instead of depending on the Lord.

The Lord responded to the disobedience of the Jewish people by causing the excess manna to rot in their tents and become infested with worms. That is why Moses said what he said in Deuteronomy 8:3. While Jesus only quoted the last part of the verse, here is all that Moses said to the Jewish people in that verse:

"He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.

You see, Moses was calling this new generation of Jewish people to remember that they were to trust in God's promise to provide for them daily provision, not in their ability to provide for themselves. Moses was calling this new generation of Jewish people to remember that the Lord humbled the previous generation of Jewish people so that they would not trust in their autonomy and self sufficiency apart from God but to trust and live in an obedient relationship that depended daily on the Lord.

And Jesus quoted this verse in response to the Devil to remind the Devil that He was going to respond to the temptation towards autonomy by trusting and depending on God daily. And in the same way today, we need this reminder. We need this reminder because every one of us has the potential to do the exact same thing. Every one of us has the potential to be enticed to fulfill our desires toward autonomy, self sufficiency, and control by trusting in ourselves independent of God. Every one of us has the potential to be enticed to fulfill our desires to be needed and necessary in a way that refuses to acknowledge our daily need for the Lord.

And it is in this event from history that we discover how we can overcome the temptation towards autonomy, self sufficiency, and control. In this event from history we discover how we can overcome the enticement to fulfill our desires to be needed and necessary in a way that refuses to acknowledge our daily need for the Lord. We discover the answer all the way back in verse 2.

Notice how verse 2 begins: “After He had fasted”. Now I am not saying that the solution is simply to engage in a fast, although fasting is an important spiritual discipline. I am saying that the solution is in what happened while Jesus was fasting. As we talked about a few minutes ago, when we fast we are giving something up in order to create space for God. But why do we create space for God? We create space for God because we want to spend time in communion with God: We fast because we want to create space where we can hear from God.

You see, Jesus fasted so that He could be in communion with God in community with God. In addition, after this event from history, after Jesus was enticed in three different ways by the Devil, notice what happens in Matthew 4:11:

Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began

to minister to Him.

You see, Jesus was in community and communion with God in a way that prepared Him for the temptations that He would face and Jesus experienced community where He was loved and served by others after He faced the temptations that He faced. While Jesus was isolated and alone during His temptation, the consistent pattern and practice of His life on earth was to be in community with others.

Shortly after this event from history, Jesus would select His twelve closest followers. And it was those twelve closest followers that Jesus lived in close community with.  And after Jesus death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus closest followers continued the pattern that He had given them as an example to follow. Jesus earliest followers gathered together corporately for times of worship and also scattered into smaller groups that met in homes throughout the week.

And it is here, in this event from history involving a timeless temptation that we discover a timeless principle that enables us to overcome that temptation. And that timeless principle is this: We are able to overcome the temptation towards autonomy when we invest in close community. This morning, that is what we are such big believers in community groups at the church where I serve. That is why we have as a goal that everyone who attends the church where I serve would be investing their time in a community group.

We believe that the circles that are community groups are betters than the rows of corporate worship gatherings because transformational spiritual growth occurs in community with others where those supportive and encouraging relationships can be developed where people can take that next step in their relationship with Jesus wherever you are at in that relationship with Jesus. And when you are in close community as part of a community group, community is already there for you when you need them to be there for you.

Community groups have the potential to keep you from getting enticed toward a life of autonomy because somebody can see what you can’t see. When we are in close community that close community can see the signs that we are being enticed to be driven by a desire to demonstrate that we are needed and necessary. And that close community can encourage us to see our need for God on a daily basis.

When we are in close community that close community can see the signs that we are being enticed by the desire to be in control and in charge. And that close community can encourage us to see our need to let God lead our lives. When we are in close community, that close community can see the signs that we are being enticed by the desire to live independent of God and other people. And that close community can encourage us to see our need to live in daily dependence upon God and in interdependent community with others.

So with all that in mind, here is a question to consider: When will you take the step to get into the close community that you need by being a part of a community group? Or are you going to continue to expose yourself to be enticed towards our selfish desires of independence, autonomy, self-sufficiency, and control?

The timeless temptation towards autonomy...

At the church where I serve, we are spending the weeks leading up to Easter in a sermon series entitled Tempted. We launched into this series by talking about the reality that we all face temptation and that, as followers of Jesus, we are called to say no to temptation and to say yes to a life that reveals and reflects the obedience of Jesus in the face of temptation.

And because of that reality, during this series, we are spending our time together asking and answering four questions when it comes to temptation. We are asking and answering the questions “What is temptation?”, “Where does temptation come from?”, “What are the core temptations that we all face?”, and “How do we overcome temptation?”

And during this series our hope and our prayer is that God would move in our heads, our hearts, and our hands as we answer these questions in a way that results in us living a life that consistently says no to temptation and yes to a life that reveals and reflects the obedience of Jesus in the face of temptation.

This week, we are going to look at an event from history that is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. In this event from history, we will see the Devil attempt to tempt Jesus toward evil and away from God. And it is in this event from history that we will discover a timeless temptation that we all face as we live out our life here on earth, along with a timeless principle that enables us to overcome temptation.  So let’s jump into this event from history, together, beginning in Matthew 4:1:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew brings us into this event from history by providing for us the context in which this event from history would take place. When Matthew uses the word then, he is connecting what we are going to look at this morning with something that previously happened in the life of Jesus. In Matthew 3:13-16, Matthew records the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptizer in the Jordan River.

This act of baptism was Jesus way of identifying Himself with humanity so that He could allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Matthew described God the Father’s response to Jesus desire to identify with humanity by explaining that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, while God the Father proclaimed “this is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”.

And it is in this context, after being baptized, that Matthew tells us that Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness. In other words, Jesus was led on a journey by the Holy Spirit from the Jordan River, which is actually located below sea level, into the desert wilderness east of the Jordan River, which was at a much higher elevation. And here we see Matthew reveal for us the reality that Jesus lived His earthly life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus relied on the power and the strength of the Holy Spirit to live the life that we were created to live but refused to live in relationship with God and one another.

Matthew then explained that the reason why the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness was to that He could be tempted by the Devil. Now as we discovered last week, to be tempted is to be enticed into evil or improper behavior. Temptation is an enticement towards evil. Temptation is an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond its God-given design.

In addition, Matthew tells us that the being who would be enticing Jesus towards evil was the Devil. Now Jesus and the other authors of the letters that make up the Bible teach us that the Devil is the leader of a group of supernatural beings who known as demons. We also know that the Devil and demons have superhuman, but limited knowledge and power. The Devil and demons are angels that were created by the Lord before the creation of the universe, who rebelled against God sometime before the fall of humans that is recorded for us in the very first letter in the Bible in Genesis 3.

And the Devil and the demons that follow the Devil are driven by a desire to destroy the Kingdom of God and the people of God. The Devil and the demons are driven by a desire to be worshipped as gods instead of worshipping God. And, as we discovered last week, the Devil, who is often described in the Bible as the tempter, will attempt to arouse and provoke our selfish desires for pleasure, possessions, or prideful position in a way that results in those selfish desires dragging us toward evil and away from God. 

Now a natural question that could easily arise at this point is “Well Dave, let me get this straight: The Holy Spirit is leading Jesus to a place where He would be enticed to do evil? The Holy Spirit is leading Jesus into temptation on purpose? Why would the Holy Spirit do that? I thought the Holy Spirit was supposed to keep us from evil, not lead us to evil? So what is going on here?”

If those questions are running through your mind, I want to let you know that those are great questions to be asking. And my response to those questions would be this: How do we know that Jesus lived a perfect life? How do we know that Jesus never sinned? You see, the only way that Jesus could be truly obedient; the only way that Jesus could demonstrate and prove His obedience, was to be placed in a position where He could be disobedient, right?

The only way Jesus could demonstrate and prove His allegiance to someone is to be placed in a position where that allegiance was challenged. The reason why the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be enticed by the Devil toward evil was so that Jesus could prove and demonstrate His allegiance to God by demonstrating His obedience to God. This is what the writer of Hebrews was referring to when he wrote the following in Hebrews 5:8:

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the

things which He suffered.

When the writer of Hebrews uses the word learned here, this word conveys the sense of directing one’s mind towards something in order to produce an external effect. In other words, Jesus set His mind towards being obedient in a way that He realized, produced and proved His obedience through His attitudes and actions. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit and empowered by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate and prove His perfect allegiance and obedience to God the Father and the Kingdom mission He had been given by God the Father.

You see, Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human. Jesus provides for us the example of how we are to live our lives here on earth. As followers of Jesus we are called by God to live Spirit filled lives. In other words, our lives are to be controlled, influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we would reveal and reflect Jesus to others as we live in relationship with God and others.

And as followers of Jesus, we have the very presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to empower us the follow Jesus example of allegiance and obedience to God the Father in the face of temptation. After providing the context for the event from history, Matthew then gives us a front row seat to this event from history beginning in Matthew 4:2-3:

And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

Now to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing we need to understand is what Jesus was doing when He fasted for forty days and forty nights. When a person fasts, that person is giving something up in order to create space for God. When a person fasts, that person spends the time that they would be normally doing what they gave up doing with God.

The most common fast that the letters that make up the Bible talk about is a fast from food. When a person fasts from food, that person spends the time that they normally would be eating with God. When a person feels a pang of hunger, a person who is fasting uses that pang of hunger to direct them to God instead of to food. When Matthew says that Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights, that does not mean that Jesus did not eat or drink anything; that means that Jesus did not eat anything for forty days.

Now as you might imagine, after not eating for forty days and forty nights, you would be pretty hungry. And that is exactly where Matthew tells us Jesus was at. And it was at this point, when Jesus was hungry, that the tempter, the Devil, approached Jesus in an attempt to entice Jesus toward evil.

You see, the Devil sensed that the hunger of Jesus made Jesus vulnerable to temptation. Jesus was not at 100%. For forty days, a growing desire for food had been welling up within Him. And now, the Devil sensed that Jesus would be at His weakest; the Devil sensed that Jesus would be most vulnerable. And in the same way, the Devil will often seek to entice us towards evil when we are weak, when we are isolated, when we are vulnerable.

And it is at that moment that the Devil made his enticement to Jesus known to Jesus: "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."? In other words, The Devil basically says to Jesus “Hey Jesus, I know you are really hungry; I know that you really desire to eat. And hey, we are in the middle of nowhere, there is no food to be found. Well Jesus, if you are really God, why don’t you use your power as God to turn some stones into bread.”

Did you notice how the Devil is tempting Jesus here?  I mean, is it a sin to be hungry? Is a desire to enjoy a good meal that satisfies one’s hunger wrong? No the desire to eat and enjoy a meal is a good God-given desire. To enjoy a steak dinner is a gift from God.

You see, the issue, the enticement, is not the desire. The issue, the enticement, is how we satisfy that desire. Remember temptation is an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond its God-given design. By calling Jesus to command these stones to become bread, the Devil calling Jesus to satisfy His physical needs and desires through His own supernatural means and power. The Devil is enticing Jesus to take control and be autonomous. The Devil is enticing Jesus to meet His desires in a supernatural way that demonstrates that He does not need anyone, but that He is needed by everyone. The Devil is enticing Jesus to meet His desires in a way that demonstrates how relevant and necessary He is for all humanity.

Now here is a question to consider: Is this not the exact same temptation that many of us constantly face? Are we not constantly tempted to demonstrate that we are relevant? Are we not enticed by a desire that people would take us seriously? Are we not constantly enticed to be driven by a desire to demonstrate that we are needed and necessary? Are we not constantly enticed by the desire to be autonomous, to be in control and in charge of our lives? Are we not constantly tempted by the desire to demonstrate that we have everything under control, that we are self sufficient, independent people? Are we not constantly tempted to demonstrate that we are dependable, not dependant?

However, while we are often enticed to satisfy our desire for control, for autonomy, for relevance; while we are often tempted to demonstrate that we are needed and necessary, the reality is that control and autonomy are a myth. Control and autonomy is a trap. The goal of control, autonomy, and self sufficiency are unworthy goals because we are never really in control; we are never really autonomous and we are never really out of community. They are unworthy goals because we were never designed to be in control, to be autonomous, to be outside of community. We see this reality revealed for us in Jesus response to the Devil.

Friday, we will discover a timeless truth as we look at Jesus response…