1 Corinthians 10:6-13 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. August 9, 2009
In Christ Jesus, Dear Friend,
I would like for you to do an experiment with me this morning. Everyone put your hand out. Now imagine with me that you have a lemon in your hand. It just came out of the refrigerator. Notice how cold it feels. Feel the two knobs on the ends? Ok, now take a knife and cut the lemon in half. Careful! Don’t cut yourself. Oh, look at the juice run down over the sides. Now, put one half down and just hold the other half of the lemon. Now, look at the inside of the cut lemon. Lean down and smell the lemon. Get a good full sense of the lemon fresh scent of the just cut lemon. Ok, now squeeze the lemon. See the juice ooze up and cover the surface of the cut lemon? Now - lick the lemon. Yuk. But my friend that is what I would like to speak to you about today. Not lemons but temptation. The temptations that you and I face in this world look oh so beautiful and enticing. But when we give into the temptations, suddenly we find that they are not beautiful and like the lemon when we lick it, temptations bring something completely different than what we expected. And it is not good.
Our very eternal salvation is a stake when it comes to how we deal with temptations. The Words of our text are some of the strongest words the Apostle ever wrote to his fellow Christians. These were not written to unbelievers but to believers whose very souls were at stake. And so they are addressed to you and me as those whose souls are also at stake. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! There is the possibility of falling! It happened to the very first king of Israel. It happened to the greatest King of Israel, King David. It happened to the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon. It happened to faithful friend and follower of Jesus, Peter who denied even knowing Jesus. It happened to His disciple Judas who betrayed Jesus. And it can happened to you and me. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! The one goal of temptations is to lead you and me away from Jesus Christ to an eternity in hell with Satan and his evil angels. And there isn’t one of us here today who is so strong in his or her faith that he couldn’t fall into temptation and lose that faith. We are standing on the edge of a cliff and it is only because of the love of God that we haven’t fallen off that cliff to our eternal damnation. Listen closely today, my friend, as we pray “Lead us not into temptation.”
Where do temptations come from? Well the Bible says, James 1:13-14 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. God does not tempt us. It is the devil, the sinful world around us and our own sinful nature that tries to destroy us. We are facing a tremendous battle, a life and death battle against tremendous and powerful enemies.
In our text today, the Lord tells us how to fight them. The first way is to “Remember and learn from the past.” Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did….and again in our text, Paul reminds us, These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. What things is he talking about? What things should we remember and learn from the past. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” Moses had led the Children of Israel out to Egypt. The Red a Sea had opened for them and they all crossed over safely. The Lord had been with them in the wilderness. Then Moses went up Mt. Sinai to get the law from the Lord. When he returned after 40 days, he found the Children of Israel worshiping an idol, a Golden Calf. “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” Revelry means more than just having a good time. It carries with a sexual connotation. They gave into the temptation but there were consequences. Paul adds, We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. And remember again that Paul is talking to Christians. He’s talking about believers who trusted in Jesus Christ. It was the believers who fell into temptation and committed sexual immorality and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. It was believers who test(ed) the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. It was God’s children who grumbled and were killed by the destroying angel. Do you see, my friend, where temptations can lead the believer? Remember and learn from the past.”
The second way to fight temptation is to “Be content with what you have.” And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. In a recent survey in it was reported that the greatest spiritual challenges and temptations come from 1. Materialism. Materialism was the number 1 spiritual challenge. It was the same with the Israelites. They grumbled against God. They weren’t content with the blessings that God gave them. They wanted more. Be content with what you have. Why? Because we have what God has given us and what He wants us to have. It isn’t always easy to be content. Not when the world holds so much before us. We see it and we want it. When we are not content with what we have, we grumble against God Who has given us what we have. We say to God, “God, you aren’t taking care of me. You aren’t watching out for me. I want more. Why do You give so much more to those who don’t believe in You?” To fight temptation is to Be content with what you have. Let me give you an example of what happens when we want more.
In Africa one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. But the Zulu have been catching them for years. The Zulus’ trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite food of the monkey. So the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then he starts to take it out. But he can’t pull it out. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and pull but he can’t get his fist out. All he would have to do would be open his hand and he would be free, but he won’t do that and let the seeds go. Isn’t that often our problem. We want more. We don’t want to let go of what we do have. To fight temptation is to “Be content with what you have
The next way to fight temptation is Be conscious of your weakness and stay away from it. Satan knows you and me better than we know ourselves. He has had a chance to study human nature for thousands of years and he knows which temptation will work best on you and on me. It may be the temptation to cheat; it may be to gossip about your neighbor; it may be the temptation to lie your way out of a bad situation; it may be to watch a program on T.V. that is morally indecent; It may be going on the computer at 2 o’clock in the morning on some porn web site, or it may be to stare at a woman that is provocatively dressed. The truth is that temptation is a part of our everyday Christian life. Be conscious of your weakness whatever it might be and stay away from it.
A man once advertised for a chauffer. There were two applicants who he took them aside and asked them how near they could drive to the edge of a cliff without falling over. The first candidate answered that he could go within half an inch just shaving the edge and feeling perfectly safe. He then asked the other the same question. “Well, sir,” replied the man modestly, “I really cannot tell, because I have never gone near the edge of the cliff. I have always try to keep as far as possible from edge. The interviewer had no difficulty in deciding between the two candidates. “You are the man for me,” he said, “the other may be brilliant, but you are safe.” Is there a lesson there for you and me. Stay away from the edge of the cliff of temptation. Close up that book, turn off that computer or TV. Be conscious of your weakness and stay away from it.
The next way to fight temptation is to Use the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Ephesians 6:13-17 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Notice that there is only offensive weapon. It is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
Those taking the spiritual challenge and temptation survey noted that temptations were more powerful when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent). Take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. That is what Jesus used when He was tempted by the devil. Three times Satan came to Jesus to tempt Him. Jesus hadn’t eaten in 40 days. So Satan tells him to change the stones into bread. Jesus used the Sword of the Spirit. Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” The devil said “then throw yourself down from the top of the temple. The angels will take care of you and the people will flock to you by the millions.” You won’t have to die on the cross. Matthew 4:7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Then the devil said to Him, “Fall down and worship me and I will give you every thing this world has to offer from wealth and fame and power to what ever you want.” Jesus pulled out that sword and said to him, Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” And you know what happened? The devil put his tail between his legs and got out of there.
My friend, you and I have that same power to drive the devil away because we have the same the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Let me suggest a Bible passage you can use when you are being tempted. It is found in Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In the midst of temptation turn your eyes to the Lord and His Word. Trust in Him with all your heart and He will be there for you. Trust in the Lord to provide a way out and He will. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. The Lord will not fail you in time of temptation. His promise is that He will never let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He will always have a back door open to you, always. We may not always take that back door but it will be there for us. He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. And even when we are overcome by that temptation, Our Lord forgives us because He has paid for each and every sin into which we have fallen with His precious blood.
Luther writes in his explanation to the 6th petition, Lead us not into temptation: God surely tempts no one to sin, but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us or lead us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins; and though we are tempted by them, we pray that we may overcome and win the victory. And so we pray today. Lead us not into temptation that we may overcome and win the victory. Amen.
Delivered by Pastor Larry Zessin