Sermon Cloud

Switzerland Picture This is one of my favorite pictures. I have it framed in my office. It's Erin and me doing some sightseeing in the Swiss Alps. One of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Amazing day. But what you can't tell by the picture is that about an hour earlier, my sweet wife wanted to kill me.
We only had half a day to enjoy the Alps, so we'd gotten up early to catch the train leaving Lucern and a few hours later, we were checking into our hotel in Grindelwald, which is this little tourist town high up in the mountains. Even though we only had half a day, we were excited about what we'd see. We had some pastor-friends stay in the same hotel about a month earlier and they'd told us all the stuff we could go see. There were these trains and gondolas that would take you up to peaks and down into valleys. We were excited.
But when we checked in, the guy at the front desk said, "you need to hurry because the last train departs in just a few minutes." There was a road that wound down along the side of the mountain to the train station. We were going to follow that road but then the guy at the front desk gave us the fateful words, "let me show you the shortcut."
He told us that rather than following the road, we could take the footpath that cut between the other hotels and went straight down the mountain. If we just followed that path, we'd eventually come to the train station. From the hotel front desk, we couldn't see what the path he was referring to. We figured we'd be able to find our way down there. And it was a shortcut, it was sure to save us time, right? Yeah, right.
We thought we were on the right path, it was cutting across the road that was winding. So we're saving time. And we're hustling. It's the one afternoon in our life that we're going to be able to walk around in the Swiss Alps. And if we miss the train, we miss our once-in-a lifetime chance. Thankfully, we had a shortcut.
You can probably see where this is going. Eventually, we realized this path wasn't taking us where we thought it would, we had no idea where we were going. Erin thought she could see the train station down the hill, I was sure it was another building. I wanted to stay on the path, she wanted back on the road. And since we were under this time pressure, the discussion quickly turned into an animated disagreement. The conversation ended with Erin stomping away, with tears in her eyes, and announcing she was going to take the road because it would get here there eventually.
So I did what any good husband would do, I let Erin take the road, I stayed to the path and caught the train in time and left Erin behind while I enjoyed the Alps. Okay, I followed her down the road and eventually it took us to the train station. When we got to the train station (she had quit crying by then) we found out these tours left like every ten minutes and we were fine. I even had time to run back up the mountain and grab the ticket vouchers I'd left in our hotel room.
But that's the way shortcuts often turn out. We've got this goal. We know the road to get there, but if we just take this shortcut we can get there just a bit faster. Sometimes they work, sometimes they cause the wife to be yelling at her insensitive husband. If you don't yet know, patience is not one of my strong points.
We're talking today about overcoming temptation, so we'll be looking at the temptations of Jesus as they're described in Matthew 4:1-11. What's interesting is that these temptations happen right after Jesus' baptism. His baptism was the time in which he accepted his identity as God's son and realized his life mission of saving the world.
In the temptations, Jesus isn't being tempted to deny his identity or life mission, he's simply being tempted to take a major shortcut. Matthew 4:1-11
I'll admit that on the first reading, this seems like a strange story. Who in the world is this devil person and why would he/it/she tempt Jesus to jump from the top of the temple? That my friends, is why I get paid the big bucks; so I can explain these deep mysteries to you...
Matthew was originally written in Greek. The title "devil" comes from a greek word that means "to split." Whether it's active spiritual forces, forces of our culture or those around us, "the devil" stands for anything that attempts to split us. Split us from God, from others, from our identity as God's children, from God's best for our lives. While the bible assumes that the devil is an active personal force but a biblical understanding is a far cry from the cartoon character with horns or the scapegoat upon whom we blame all our shortcomings, "the devil made me do it." "The devil" is most often found in our own hearts.
By this point, Jesus knew his mission in life was to save the world. He's do this by selflessly pouring himself out to others for years. And then his others-centered life would end with the extreme others-centered act of dying on a cross. Jesus wasn't tempted to give up that mission. He was simply tempted to take some shortcuts to get there.
The first temptation was a legit need; to turn the stones into bread. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. He NEEDED to eat. If he didn't eat something soon, he'd die of starvation before dying on the cross. But had he turned the stones into bread right there, Jesus would've been saying, "it's more important to fulfill my own needs than to trust God." Again, this may seem strange to those of us without the ability to turn stones into bread. But there are other ways we take shortcuts to get what we need. Other ways we put supplying our own needs as a higher priority than obedience to God.
And what's interesting about this temptation was that it hit Jesus in his area of weakness. He is literally starving. That's the way temptation works. You'd better be aware, temptation is going to be aimed right at your weak spot. Which is why we do whatever the situations that make us vulnerable.
The second temptation was to jump from the top of the temple. Again, a bit strange, but there was this common belief among 1st Century Jews that the Messiah would be protected. Even if he were to fall, angels would catch him. And if people saw that, there'd be no doubt in their minds that Jesus was from God. All these people who were doubting him would worship him. But the problem was that it would've been a shortcut. Jesus knows that the way he'll show the world he's the Messiah is by dying and coming back to life. To jump from the temple would be a shortcut. And the ends did not justify the means. Jesus knew he was to obey God's direction for his life.
It's interesting that devil even quotes scripture, "God's angels will protect God's Messiah." The devil isn't the only one to misquote the bible. People do it all the time. The bible has been used to promote slavery, violence, sexism. I guarantee, you can turn on some cable channel right now and find a preacher misquoting the bible. It happens all the time. And it's satanic.
You can always pull a verse out of context to support whatever crazy idea you want. But Jesus contradicts the devils' misuse of scripture with a healthy use of scripture. Jesus quotes another part of the Bible about how we worship God and serve him only. In other words, I don't force God into my own timetable and my own plans. I align myself to his plans and his timing. Even if that means I go to the cross.
And the devil using scripture to tempt Jesus means he's no longer attacking Jesus' weakness but his strength. You're going to be tempted where you're weak. But just when you think, "I'm strong there, I'll never be tempted - look out!
The third temptation was also about a shortcut. Jesus had come to save the world. The devil makes this offer, "you bow down right now (no one has to know) and I'll give you the world - forget that dying on the cross business." It was a shortcut. And it had to be tempting to Jesus. And who did the devil think he was fooling? Evil does not have the final say, Jesus has the ultimate control of the world. He didn't have to go to the cross. He could've taken a shortcut in saving the world.
But Jesus knew that obedience to God trumped his own personal comfort. It's the common theme in these temptations. Is Jesus going to take the shortcut or is he going to do what's right. And Jesus struggled with these temptations. He could've easily rationalized the short cuts. And what made it worse was that Jesus was alone in these. And that's when temptation is the worse. When we don't think anyone will find out. Or when there's not a strong Christ-follower nearby we can depend upon. It was a struggle.
There's a great quote from a writer named CS Lewis. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.
Jesus fought all the way through it..
"Well, good for Jesus. What in the heck does that have to do with me?"
Hebrews 4:14-16 That's why it matters. Jesus went through temptation to help us through temptation.
But how can the bible tell us Jesus was tempted in the same way I'm tempted? I get tempted everyday, but I've never been tempted to turn a stone into bread. Actually, I was tempted that way just the other day. Our temptations aren't to do the same actions but they come out of the same attitude. We're all tempted to disobey God by taking some sort of shortcut.
We're temped to lie because we don't want to do the hard work of facing the truth. We're tempted to hold onto bitterness because it's easier than working through our issues and understanding the other person's perspective. We're tempted to go into credit card debt because while the thing we want may be legit, we don't have the patience to save up. We're tempted to violence because we don't have the patience to work through a dispute. We're tempted to look at porn, or [ladies] read female porn because we don't want the work of a real relationship. Or we're tempted to have sex before marriage because we just can't wait.
Just this week I read a powerful description of sin in Simply Christian. "Sin" is not simply breaking the law. It is the missing of an opportunity. Christian holiness is not (as people often imagine) a matter of denying something good. It is about growing up and grasping something even better.
But how do we do that when temptation is so real? So strong? And we've failed so many times? Three things we see in Matthew's story and this passage in Hebrews that help us overcome temptation.
Scripture Jesus knew the right choice to make because Jesus knew scripture. He was so familiar with the real thing, he recognized a counterfeit right away. 2 Timothy 3:16 Scripture shows us the way God created us to live. We study the truth so we'll recognize a counterfeit.
SOAP
I'm not going to lie because I know that in the long run my relationships are going to be so much better if I'm telling the truth. I want to be able to look in the mirror and know that I'm a truth-teller.
Scripture keeps us from selling ourselves short.
Community There's a sick idea floating around our culture, "I can be a Christian on my own." That is a lie. While it's true that you can certain theological positions on your own, you can't live a life that honors Jesus on your own. It's impossible. Being a follower of Jesus is so much more than simply believing the right things - it's the living the right way.
I'm going to reread this passage, pay attention to all the plurals in here. Hebrews 4:14-16 The author of Hebrews assumes that people are reading this letter together. In another part of Hebrews, the author warns people to not give up meeting together because life was only going to get harder. We need each other.
Who do you confess sin to? Who challenges you to live a Christ-honoring life? There are a group of guys in our church who get together and ask each other tough questions. Are you living in a way that honors God? Are you honoring your family? It's a great group but we need more.
I meet with another pastor in town every other week. We ask each other, "are you honoring your wife. Are you being faithful as a pastor? Are you avoiding sexual temptation?" We can't do it on our own.
Jesus The power to say no to a counterfeit and overcome temptation, comes from Jesus. Jesus conquered temptation. He died to forgive us for the times we've given into temptation. And he rose from the grave to show the power we have over sin. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, he can give you the power to overcome temptation. That's living as if the Resurrection mattered.
But I've failed so many times. It's not about your weakness, it's about Jesus' strength.
I lift weights 2 or 3 times a week with a friend who lives in Stone Brook Place. His name is Jason. Jason is a big dude. Strong dude. He used to be a competitive power lifter. Where people see who can lift the most combined weight in the bench press, dead lift and squat combined.
We started working out about 2 years ago. And for a long time, I really struggled with the bench press. With the heavier weights, I just kept failing over and over. I'd get on the bench, underneath the heavy weight, get all pumped up and then drop it right on my chest. The more I failed the more I psyched myself out. I wasn't getting stronger.
But that fear was pointless. All that fear did was hurt me. I had nothing to be scared of. Jason's a lot stronger than me. There was no weight that I could get off the bar and drop on my chest that he couldn't pull off me.
And eventually I realized that. The fear went away, I started lifting with a reckless abandon and I finally started getting stronger. For months, I've been trying to work up to doing three plates on a side. And I'd gotten to within 10 pounds. One day I was feeling pretty good and decided to go for broke. I came close but I couldn't quite move it past that sticking point. And Jason gave me a little bit of help. And we finished it, but in weightlifting it only counts if you do all by yourself.
But that's not true in the Christian life. In fact, you can't do it on your own. We need the wisdom of scripture, encouragement of other Christ-followers and the strength of the one who says, "don't worry, I've conquered my own temptation, I've even conquered death - I can conquer your temptation." 1 Corinthians 10:13
Are you honest enough to say, "Jesus, I can't do this, I need your help!" And he'll be there, to take the weight of that temptation and to pull you through.

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