3.20.26
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
Temptations are a dime a dozen. I’m tempted to entertain selfish motives, exercise unworthy judgments, form evil thoughts, speak unkind words, bend the truth ever so slightly, act out sinful deeds, justify a sinful deed, dodge an unwelcome criticism, and fritter my time away on silliness – and all this within five minutes after waking up in the morning! I thought that maybe if I slept in another room, it would be different – but it wasn’t. Yes, temptations are a dime a dozen, and they are relentless and unending as the waves breaking on the ocean shore.
Yielding to just one temptation – just one – plunged the entire human race into the bondage of sin and the darkness of spiritual death. I think maybe that God should have said, “Three strikes and you’re out.” And then after they ate of the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God would thunder from heaven, “OK – that’s one!” But no – yielding to just one enticement did maximum damage to the maximum number of people. Millions of people know from hard experience how yielding to just one temptation can bring untold ruin and heartache.
Surrendering to temptation – letting it into your soul – is like putting sugar in your gas tank. Sugar does not dissolve in gasoline – it sinks to the bottom of the tank because it’s denser than fuel. If enough sugar is sucked into the system, it can cause your engine to seize up and fail. Saying YES to temptation sucks sin into your soul, guilt into your conscience, and shame into your heart. Even as the serpent of old snaked his way into Eve’s presence and tempted her and brought her to ruin – so today. The devil wants to fill your life with sin and failure and bring you to despair that God could love a low-down sinner like you – let alone rescue you.
William Gurnall was a 17th century Presbyterian clergyman who wrote the following: “Can we go against sin and Satan with a better weapon than Christ used to vanquish the tempter with? Christ could with one beam shot from his Deity laid the bold fiend at his foot. But he chose rather to conceal the majesty of his Divinity, and let Satan come up closer to Him, that so He might confound him with the Word, and thereby give him a proof of that sword of His saints, which he was to leave them for their defence against the same enemy.”
How did Jesus defeat the devil and fight against temptation? He confounded him with the Word! The Sword! Most of you know the story. When the devil came to tempt Him, Jesus didn’t say, “Depart from Me for I am the Son of God, and devils and demons can’t defeat Deity.” If Jesus triumphed over the devil due to His Deity – we’re sunk. I’m not God. You’re not God. And if Satan flees only before Deity – we’ve lost the battle before we’ve fought the battle. But Jesus prevailed over Satan by appealing to Scripture – not by asserting His Deity. As William Gurnall writes – Christ has left us the Sword whereby He prevailed over the devil. When David needed a sword, he was able to lay hold of Goliath’s sword – for there was none like it. The Word of God is a Sword unlike any other. With it we prevail over the temptations of the enemy and set the devil fleeing. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us.
Psalm 119:4 says: THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MY HEART, THAT I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST THEE. It could read: THY SWORD I HAVE HID IN MY HEART… The devil is a murderer, and temptation is one of the sharpest blades he uses against the saints to run us into the ground. Temptations are a dime a dozen, but it cost Jesus His life to put His Sword into your hand. I picked up a Kukri sword when I was in Nepal. The Kukri sword is used by the Gurkha soldiers. There is a notch in the blade by the handle whereby the blood of enemies would drip off and not allow the blood to flow onto the handle and thus cause the warrior’s hand to slip. I have thought about the battles this sword has been used in. Jesus gave you His Sword not to hang on the wall and admire it and to think about its former battles. He has given you His Sword to fight against the devil and his temptations intended to derail, smother, undermine, and destroy your faith. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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