verse4today: "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you." (II Samuel 7:22)
Posted on 2012-04-30 via Twitter
This past Sunday Living Hope Church followed Jesus from his baptism in the Jordan River to the desert where he fasted for forty days before being tempted by Satan. After reviewing the historical data of that confrontation, we asked “How does Jesus’ experience speak to us today?”
The obvious answer to that question is that as Satan tempted Jesus, so he tempts us. Moreover, we discovered that, more often than not, Satan builds his temptations about the good stuff of this world. Through the lust of the eyes or the temptation of possession, he transforms the desire to obtain good things into materialism. Through the lust of the flesh or the temptation of pleasure, he transforms the beauty of the world into hedonism. Through the pride of life or the temptation of prestige, he transforms the desire to do well into a desire for fame or celebrity. Consequently, as disciples who hope to follow Jesus, we struggle daily with temptation.
But our review of Jesus' temptation in the desert led us to another question, “How can we, like Jesus, leave the desert victoriously?” When answering that question, preachers are tempted to offer a list of practical steps which can be employed by the zealous disciples, the first of which for sure, if we are modeling our lives after that of Christ, is to so know the Scriptures that we can counter every temptation with a Word from the Lord.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with that option; it’s a good one but, left to itself, I fear it leaves us fighting temptation with our limited resources and, as a result, falling to temptation more often than we care to admit. Perhaps that’s why the author of Hebrews offers another response. He encourages us to respond to temptation with prayer.
“Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
According to that passage, reflection on Jesus’ victory over temptation doesn’t first prompt us to muster up energy, apply our spiritual tool-kit, and engage the enemy with hope for victory. Instead, it pushes us to our knees in prayer. It reminds us that that the key to victory over temptation is grace, not works.
It was Helmut Thieleke, the twentieth-century German preacher, who helped me see this. In a sermon he once offered to his congregation, he offered these words: “We can not be true to God, but God must be true to us. We cannot hold his hand, be he must hold our hand. We cannot fight for him but he must fight for us. We can only say, 'May the right man fight on our side.” (In Between God and Man, 42).
Who is that right man but Jesus Christ, the Victor. Thankfully, we are more than conquerors through Christ who has loved us (Romans 8:37). So, until the Lord returns and throws Satan into the abyss, we will fight the good fight. Each day we will face temptation and struggle with obedience to the Lord. Hoping for victory, when confronted by temptation may we first approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Well said.
After I finished preaching on this text (from Luke) last year, I listened to my conclusion a few weeks later. I had put more emphasis on knowing firmly who you are in Christ in order to defeat Satan’s temptation. It made a lot of sense, and the order followed naturally.
But after a few weeks had passed, I listened to that message again and thought, “That wasn’t right. We need the Holy Spirit, not knowledge of who we are.” I guess they go hand-in-hand, but to think one is enough without prayer and calling on our Advocate is silly.
Maybe that’s why we preach the same texts two years in a row. You can clean up my mistakes!