Gordon E. Ellis
February 25, 2007
BLESSINGS AND TEMPTATIONS
Just before His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. And Luke’s gospel says that AFTER Jesus was baptized: HEAVEN was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon (Jesus) in BODILY form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with YOU I am well pleased.’ (Luke 3:21-22) NOW, let me give you a little TEST. WHAT did the voice from heaven say to Jesus? // (Wait) // That’s right! The voice from heaven said: You are my Son, the Beloved; with YOU I am well pleased.
Let me ask ANOTHER question: Luke says that a VOICE from HEAVEN said those words. SO, WHOSE voice WAS it? WHO was speaking? // (Wait) // That’s right! The voice from heaven was GOD’S voice, the ONE that Jesus calls His FATHER. SO, it was GOD, the FATHER, who said to Jesus: You are my Son, the Beloved; with YOU I am well pleased.
Well, WORDS like that, spoken from a father to a SON, or to ANY of his children, constitute a BLESSING, a GREAT blessing, a blessing that NOBODY but a FATHER can confer upon a child, and especially upon a SON. But you know: I wonder how MANY people there ARE these days, who are walking around with an EMPTY space in their heart because they never HEARD that kind of APPROVAL from their father! They never RECEIVED that kind of BLESSING from their dad. I think there are MANY of us like that. There are 50, 60, even 70-year olds, who STILL have an ACHE in their heart because their father NEVER said to them: I’m proud of you! or I love you! And to YOU who are FATHERS: ALL I can SAY is: Don’t DO that to your children! SAY the WORDS! CONFER the BLESSING! It’s NOT going to KILL you, and it will HELP your CHILDREN more than ANYTHING else you can DO for them!
You know: I think SOME fathers are AFRAID to tell their children how PROUD they are of them. I’m not sure WHY they’re afraid, but I think they ARE. Maybe they’re afraid of losing RESPECT or AUTHORITY. Or MAYBE they’re afraid that their children will quit TRYING, will quit working HARD, IF they receive a word of APPROVAL. I think that was the case with my OWN father. Now, I always KNEW that he was PROUD of me, but NEVER because he TOLD me so. I KNEW it because he BRAGGED about me to OTHER people. Well, let me assure ALL of you, who are FATHERS, that a PAT on the back usually makes a child work HARDER, or run FASTER. So, BE an ENCOURAGER for your children, NOT a DISCOURAGER. And IF you find yourself being a DISCOURAGER, realize that you probably LEARNED it from your OWN father, but THAT doesn’t make it a GOOD trait. So DON’T pass it on to another generation! BREAK the CYCLE! BE an encourager! LEARN that lesson from GOD, the One who told HIS son: You are my SON, the Beloved; with YOU I am WELL pleased. Yes, GIVE your CHILDREN that wonderful, life-giving BLESSING, because it will make ALL the DIFFERENCE in their lives, for the REST of their lives!
Well, God, the ONE Jesus calls “the Father,” gave His SON that BLESSING, in PART to PREPARE Him for a some very TOUGH times that were COMING. And the FIRST one would come right away! Jesus was about to undergo 40 DAYS of temptation in the wilderness. 40 days with no FOOD, 40 DAYS in blistering daytime HEAT and shivering nighttime COLD, 40 very LONELY days, DURING which His ONLY company would be the DEVIL. You see, God KNEW that His son NEEDED that blessing to HELP him get THROUGH such a TOUGH time. And SO, God said to Him: You are my Son, the Beloved; with YOU I am well pleased.
But the DEVIL must have been LISTENING, because the devil sure USED that line. LET me ask you one MORE question: WHAT was the devil’s FIRST word to Jesus? // (Wait) // That’s right! The devil’s FIRST word to Jesus was the word IF. The devil said it TWICE to introduce 2 of his 3 temptations. He said: IF you are the Son of God, command this STONE to become a loaf of BREAD. AND he said: IF you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. Well, that word IF is a CHALLENGE word, isn’t it? The devil’s saying: IF you really ARE the Son of God, PROVE it! IF you really ARE the Son of God, USE your powers! IF you really ARE the Son of God, DO something SPECTACULAR!
Now, that’s a POWERFUL temptation, isn’t it? A scholar named, William Hendriksen wrote: What man IS there who, when asked to prove a POINT..., does NOT feel as if he should IMMEDIATELY comply, instead of first ASKING himself: ‘What RIGHT has my prompter to ASK me to PROVE it?’ (Hendriksen, Commentary on Luke, 238) And, that’s TRUE, isn’t it? You who are WIVES know that it’s TRUE, DON’T you? If someone wants your husband to jump through a HOOP, ALL that person has to SAY: IF you can DO it, then jump through this HOOP. And the NEXT thing you know, your husband is breaking his NECK trying to jump through the stupid HOOP! Those IF challenges get him EVERY time, DON’T they? BUT, they ALSO trap WOMEN. When someone says: IF you are a good mother, DON’T you really want to PROVE that you ARE? Or, IF you were a MAN, you could do this JOB, don’t you try ALL that much HARDER? Or, IF you are my FRIEND, you’ll do THIS or THAT… Or IF you really LOVE me… And ON and ON it goes! Yes, it’s TRUE: we ALWAYS seem to get TEMPTED by the IF challenge, and very OFTEN, it gets us into TROUBLE!
But NOTE that JESUS does not ACCEPT the IF challenge. JESUS does NOT jump THROUGH the devil’s HOOP! TWICE the devil says: IF YOU ARE the Son of God, but EACH time, Jesus replies: It is WRITTEN…. And THEN, He goes on to quote SCRIPTURE in order to COUNTER the devil. The devil says: IF you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread, and Jesus replies with a verse from Deuteronomy: It is WRITTEN, 'One does not live by bread alone.’ And to ALL 3 temptations Jesus responds the SAME way: by quoting a verse of SCRIPTURE in order to COUNTER the temptation of the devil.
Well, realizing THAT made me THINK! MAYBE that approach will work for us TOO! Maybe WE can use scripture in order to defeat TEMPTATION! HOWEVER, THAT means that we need to READ the BIBLE, and STUDY it, and discuss it with FRIENDS. And THEN, when the temptation COMES, we’ll KNOW what to SAY and DO. We’ll KNOW how to respond to it! But we need to do our homework BEFORE temptation comes, because WHEN it comes, we won’t have TIME to say: Well, let me get BACK to you on that. I need to go home and find out what the BIBLE says about it. No, when temptation comes AT us, ALL we HAVE is WHATEVER is in our HEADS and HEARTS at that moment. SO, a great DEAL depends on whether or NOT we are READY for temptation. Well, Jesus WAS ready. HIS knowledge of scripture helped Him to avoid some BAD decisions that would hurt MANY people! SO, how can WE get ready for those times when the devil WHISPERS in OUR ears? How can WE get ready for those times when the road forks and our choice, at that VERY moment, will make ALL the difference, and not just in our OWN lives, but in many MORE lives as well? How can WE get READY for temptation?
Well, there are MANY ways to get ready, but let me boil them down to just 4. And I believe that IF we will DO these 4 things, we WILL be READY for that DAY when we glance up, and out of the CORNER of our eye, see the Temptation Truck BEARING down on us. And these 4 things are ALL things that we’ll be WORKING on in our Sacred Circle Covenant Groups over the next 5 weeks. SO, if you HAVEN’T yet signed-up, today is the LAST day!
1. FIRST, we need to spend TIME with GOD. We need to be in COMMUNION with God. I’m talking about prayer time or devotional time. We need to set aside time, EVERY day, to read a page or 2 in a daily devotional book, like The Upper Room (which we always HAVE around here), OR like the one we’ll be handing OUT this week in our Sacred Circle groups. But EVERY day READ a page or 2. And THEN take a few moments to pray. CENTER yourself and PUT yourself into GOD’S hands. And then, be QUIET and LISTEN for the voice of GOD, because God wants to BLESS you and call you God’s BELOVED son or daughter. HEAR that blessing!
2. SECOND: spend some time with the BIBLE. START with the Gospel of LUKE, and read a CHAPTER a day, or a STORY a day, and let the words soak into your heart ALL day long. You WON’T necessarily remember the exact WORDS that you read, but WHEN you glance up and see that Temptation Truck bearing down on you, what you NEED will BE there.
3. THIRD: spend some time with Christian FRIENDS. BE in COMMUNITY! ATTEND a Sacred Circle group, or prayer group, or Stephen Ministry, or ANY small group… OR, sing in the choir or the band. You’ll HELP each other keep your faith STRONG and ALIVE. AND, you’ll HELP each other with personal STRUGGLES and decisions as they arise.
4. SO, spend time with GOD. Spend time with the BIBLE. Spend time with Christian FRIENDS. And FINALLY, do ONE more thing: COMMIT yourself to FOLLOWING Jesus! COMMIT yourself to being a DISCIPLE! Commit yourself to HIS vision and HIS ministry! Say to Him: Here I am, Lord! Lead me where You will, and I will follow! GIVE me PASSION for a MINISTRY and I will EMBRACE it! Help me make GOOD choices and decisions, especially in the face of temptation! And help me ALWAYS to accomplish YOUR will.
Friends, IF we will do these 4 things, WE will be READY when the big TESTS come! WE will be READY when the Temptation Truck bears down on us! WE will be READY when our well-being, and the well-being OTHERS, is at STAKE. Yes, friends, IF we will DO these 4 things, THEY will HELP us stay on the NARROW, but rock-solid, PATHWAY that leads to LIFE in ALL its fullness, JUST as Jesus promised. And ON the way there, let’s not FORGET to give our KIDS a BLESSING! Amen.