There was a young man named Fred, from the mountains of eastern Tennessee. He was the poster child for lazy and no-good. When he was called up for duty in the Army during the Vietnam War, Fred had high hopes that he would be exempted because of he had double vision.
The doctor said, "See that chart on the wall over there?"
"Not very well, Doc. It's all blurry," said Fred.
"You've passed," said the doctor.
Fred protested, "What do you mean I passed? How can I pass when I told you it's all blurry?"
And the doctor replied, "That was your hearing test."
Have you ever noticed that sometimes life seems to be one big test, one Super-sized Temptation. And in the midst of that test and temptation, sometimes, when we succumb to temptation, we get away with it. Sometimes we don't suffer any immediate consequences.
And that's when the trouble begins because we start to get cocky. And the minute we think we've got it made, well watch this . . .
Most of the time, we're just like that mouse. Every time we succumb to temptation we get squashed. Just when we think we've gotten away with it, boom, down comes the broom and all that trash we thought was safely swept under the carpet is suddenly exposed.
Today is the Second Sunday in Lent. In the United Methodist Church, Lent is that time when we focus on The Passion of Christ. Lent is the 40 days before Easter (not counting Sundays because they are little Easters in and of themselves). The 40 days correspond to the 40 days of testing and temptation which Jesus went through in the Judean wilderness before He began his full time earthly ministry.
Let's look at that passage right now: Luke 4:1-13
[1] Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
[2] where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
[3] The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread."
[4] Jesus answered him, 'It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.' "
[5] Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
[6] And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
[7] If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."
[8] Jesus answered him, 'It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' "
[9] Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
[10] for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,'
[11] and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.' "
[12] Jesus answered him, 'It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
[13] When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Lent always begins with the Temptations, and since we had the joint service with the Cowboy Church last weekend and didn't celebrate Lent, I thought we should back up and begin at the beginning, so to speak. This also marks the beginning of a Sermon Series titled: "LENT: The Passion of Christ."
One of the things Scripture teaches us is that if life IS one big test, one Super-sized Temptation. Then Jesus was tested and tempted just like you and me. Knowing that, there are two things I want to say today. JESUS GIVES AND JESUS FORGIVES.
I. Jesus Gives
A. FIRST JESUS GIVES: I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail about the Temptations they are as simple and as complex as we want to make them.
The first was physical: Jesus was tempted to turn the stones to bread, obviously playing on his physical need for food after having fasted for 40 days.
The second was political and spiritual: Jesus was tempted to short circuit the process, and avoid the pain and agony of the cross and slide right into the throne of the world. And all He had to do was change political and spiritual allegiance and bow down to Satan.
And the final temptation was theatrical: it was the temptation to force God's hand by putting on a show. It was the temptation that followed Jesus in every aspect of His ministry. That's why He didn't perform more miracles or do more signs and wonders during His ministry. He didn't want the message to be overshadowed by Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show. It wasn't a show, Jesus invites us into a relationship where we can experience the love of God not view it like a movie.
B. Now the reason for the short recap is simple. It's a reminder that Jesus faced every temptation you and I face every day. We face physical, political and theatrical temptations in all that we do. We are constantly tempted to think of our physical needs and wants first. We constantly tempted to transfer allegiance and take the easy route. And we're definitely tempted to sit back and watch and not be engaged in ministry, convincing ourselves that attendance in Worship is all we have to do.
That's my fear with Mel Gibson's movie is that we will see it and it won't make any difference. Just like those folks who come to church and then an hour later cuss out the wait staff because their order got messed up. They were present in church, but nothing happened. No change was made. The message didn't sink in.
We're called to be like a powdered doughnut. You see, you can't eat a powdered doughnut without getting some of the powdered sugar on you. The sweet coating comes off real easily. That's the way it should be with the love of God. And Jesus gives us the tools to do that. He gives us the power to say "No," to temptation and "Yes" to faith because He has experienced every temptation that we have. Hebrews 4:15-16 tell us: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
And Hebrews 2:18 says; "Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested."
JESUS GIVES: Jesus gives us strength and help in time of need." And all we have to do is "approach the throne of grace with boldness."
II. Jesus Forgives
A. JESUS GIVES, AND JESUS FORGIVES. And that's the Good News because most of us are just like the mouse in the short clip, we succumb to temptation. Unfortunately for us, unlike the mouse and cheese, temptation usually comes our way in little doses so we tend to nibble ourselves lost like a sheep gone astray.
But the Good News is that JESUS FORGIVES. Romans 10:13 "For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And believe it or not, sometimes our attempts to be righteous can become unrighteous.
B. How many of you have seen the movie "Chocolat?" It begins with these words:
Once upon a time there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in tranquility. If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to forget, someone would help remind you. In this village, if you saw something you weren't supposed to, you learned to look the other way. If by chance your hopes had been disappointed, you learned never to ask for more. So through good times and bad, famine and heat, the villagers held fast to their traditions, until one winter day a sly wind blew in from the North.
Chocolat is a movie told almost in a fairy tale kind of format. It has that feel and quality about it. It begins on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The movie is about Lent, temptation, self-denial, self-deception, self-control, rebirth, redemption and second chances.
The central characters are the Mayor, the Compte de Reynaud who oversees nearly every aspect of the village. And Vianne a new comer, that sly wind who blew in from the North, who opens a Chocolate shop. The Mayor is a rigorously faithful man who really cares about his village. There is only one overindulgence in his life, and that's his self-denial. He is miserable. And that has affected the whole community and every and every relationship.
He has watched as villager after villager has entered the Chocolate shop. Finally he can't stand it any longer . . . watch.
They felt a lightening, that lightening was the weight of sin, the weight of temptation being lifted. The Compte fell from Grace but in so doing realized his own humanness and need for forgiveness. He was transformed and so was the whole village, all because JESUS FORGIVES.
Conclusion
You have been given a Test Booklet this morning. What I would like you to do as we prepare to come to the Lord's Table, I'd like you to take a moment to think about those areas in your life when you've been in the wilderness, when you've been tested either through failure or when you've been tested and overcome that temptation.
Think about that temptation in your life and know if you are still struggling, Christ Jesus will help. And if He has already help, you can give thanks that He was tempted and yet didn't sin.