How goes the FIGHT against sin?

My recent study of St. Matthew's account of Jesus being tempted in the wildernes (Matthew 4:1-11) was a very beneficial and edifying experience for me. I admit that the congregation I serve was subjected to a not-so-good sermon on that passage a couple of weeks ago--mostly because I was so overwhelmed by my examination of the text that I failed to do a better job of outlining my message, and consequently, I think I rammbled more than taught well (sorry Broadway!). But, in any case, I was certainly blessed by observing intently the Savior in the midst of His testing. What an amazing use of the Sword of the Spirit (see Ephesians 6:17)!

So... I hope to highlight here (in a more direct and brief manner) some practical things I learned from Jesus' example that you and I as believers can use to resist the devil and cause him to flee from us (James 4:7).

First, though it isn't mentioned in Matthew's account (see Luke 4:1), Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit as He entered into His time of testing/temptation. And I am absolutely convinced that you and I will never be successful at resisting the devil and temptation unless we, too, are fully submitted to and fully dependent upon the Person of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (Ephesians 5:18). Only as we choose to remain submitted to the Lord's rightful authority in our life (John 13:13) will we be able to cause Satan to flee (James 4:7). And, if Jesus was relying on the power of the Spirit to stand against temptation, who are we to think that we can say NO to sin apart from relying on His strength in our life as well (Ephesians 3:16).

Second, let us note that Jesus faced temptation head on in the midst of a fast (Matthew 4:2 & Luke 4:2). Now let's be bluntly honest: how often do you and I fast? My guess is not often enough. What a powerful spiritual discipline this is... and yet, in our culture, fasting is not recognized as a powerful tool for spiritual growth (at least not by the majority of Christians). Yet, few spiritual disciplines reveal to us what is truly controlling our lives like fasting does. But certainly fasting is also beneficial to the believer because it causes us to feast more on the Lord and His Word (Psalm 34:8a & Psalm 119:103). As Richard Foster notes in his book, Celebration of Discipline, "Fasting reminds us that we are sustained 'by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' Food does not sustain us; God sustains us... Therefore, in experiences of fasting we are not so much abstaining from food as we are feasting on the word of God."

Third, let's not forget that fasting is closely connected to another spiritual discipline Jesus models for us so well: prayer. Was Jesus just walking about the Judean wilderness not eating for forty days? Of course not! He was meditating on God's Word (undoubtedly), and He was praying to His Father in heaven. How do we know that prayer is a powerful tool against temptation and the Evil One? What did Jesus say to His disciples in Gethsemane? "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). What did Jesus teach us in the model prayer (i.e. The Lord's Prayer--Matthew 6:9-13)? He taught us to pray like this: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One" (Matthew 6:13). So by all means, Christian, pray! Pray for God's protection against temptation, and ask that He will strengthen you to endure any temptation that comes your way (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Fourthly and finally, listen to (Luke 11:28), read (Colossians 4:16), study (Ezra 7:10), memorize (Psalm 119:11), and meditate (Joshua 1:8) on Scripture so that your sword (Ephesians 6:17) is sharp and ready for battle. If I learned one thing by studying Jesus in Matthew 4, it was that He was familiar with the Scriptures. He knew the history of Israel. He knew of God's supernatural provision for His people. He knew God's laws. He knew how people are tempted to forget God and treasure things rather than God Himself. He remembered how people in the past had sinned against God and His word. He had read the Torah (i.e. Pentateuch), He had pondered it's truth and meaning, He had memorized the history of Israel, He was well versed in the Scriptures. So, what about you? What about me? Could those things be said of us? Are we well acquainted with the Bible? If we are, we will do much better at resisting sin. If we don't know the truths, principles, and promises of the Bible, we will not be very successful in our fight against temptation. My prayer for us is that we will become a people of "the Book", and thus, be successful in our fight against sin.

May God, in His grace, deliver us from evil, and may we all continue to grow in the likeness of our Savior. Amen.

Recently I have been preaching a sermon series entitled, "Snapshots of the Savior", and I have been trying to capture some memorable moments in the life of Christ that not only reveal truth about our Savior, but also reveal principles that are important for us who seek to live the Christin life as well.

The first message in that series was "Blessing Children", and we looked at Luke's account in Luke 18:15-17 of how Jesus responded when his disciples were hindering children from coming to the Savior. It's one of the few times that the Bible says Jesus became 'indignant' (i.e. displeased & angry). Jesus wanted the children to be brought to Him, and so we sought to ask ourselves some valuable questions about our own relationship to children:

1) What is your attitude toward children? (Are they a blessing and gift from the Lord--Psalm 127:3, or are they simply viewed as a 'hindrance' in your life... keeping you from fulfilling the American dream of success?)

2) Are you bringing the children in your life to Jesus? (Do you spend time with the children in your life/sphere of influence? What do you do with them? What are you teaching them? Where are you taking them? What are you modeling for them? Do you regularly pray for them?)

3) Are you keeping the children in your life from Jesus? (Are you a hypocrite in their eyes--Matthew 23:13? Are you abusing them--Romans 13:4? Are you provoking them to anger needlessly--Ephesians 6:4?)

4) Do you have a child-like attitude toward God? (Do you see yourself before God as helpless as a newborn baby in need of provision? Jesus said only those who recognize their helplessness and need for God's salvation, and who humbly call out for mercy will obtain eternal life--Luke 18:9-14)

One thing I didn't touch on from this text that I think is so important is God's heart towards children who die (a child that was aborted, a child who died in the womb, a child who dies just days or weeks after being born, a small infant who dies due to an accident, etc.). It seems to me (and other Bible teachers) that Jesus says that children--babies, infants, toddlers--are in a category of those who 'belong to the kingdom of heaven' (Luke 18:16). I won't take time to delve into this subject fully in this blog, but I did want to suggest a great resource that I have found both biblical and helpful. It is a book by Dr. John MacArthur (long-time pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California) entitled, "Safe in the Arms of God". This book has provided great insight to me regarding God's heart towards children (and has supplied practical tips for how I can minister biblical hope to a family who has had a young child die). If you have questions or know someone who is wrestling with these issues, please visit http://www.gty.org/ and click the tab "shop" and then the word "books" to purchase a copy of this fine resource.

On more than one occassion I have given this book to a family or a parent who is dealing with the grief of having lost a child to death. My prayer is that letting people know about this book may supply more biblical hope and comfort to others outside my sphere of influence who could use this resource. God bless you.

FROM HYPOCRISY TO AUTHENTICITY

Have you ever pretended to be more spiritual than you really are? (Please, be honest... that's part of the reason for this particular blog--to encourage genuineness among Christ followers.) I have. I don't like to admit it--especially online where multitudes of people can read it--but I have been a hypocrite. I have said things in the past to make myself look more spiritually mature than I really was at the time.

For example, years ago, when I was a student in Bible College, I recall leading a small group in my dorm room every Wednesday morning. For the most part it was a pretty good time of discipleship and growth. The guys in my group were actually serious about their relationship with Christ, and usually our conversations were deep, insightful and challenging. But I have to be honest, I wanted to appear godly to these guys, even though in actuality, I was far from being truly Christ-like. And so, back then when I would read books by very mature saints I would often take their testimonies as my own. In other words, I might not truly have experienced Christ in the same deep or rich way as these great saints (A.W. Tozer, Brother Lawrence, Augustine, etc.), but I would tend to "borrow" their words as if they accurately reflected my own spiritual experience. [WOW! I feel dirty just typing that confession.] This way I could sound very spiritual, appear very godly, and even though I knew I wasn't that mature, I could fool my accountability partners.

One morning, in particular, I remember we were discussing the topic of heaven. So I asked each guy in our circle why heaven was going to be so great, or what they were looking forward to the most about going to heaven... and they had some pretty honest and biblical answers. But I knew that my answer was going to make them all feel sub-spiritual. I said, "I'm not looking forward to walking on streets of gold, or seeing angels, or meeting the great saints of the Bible--I'm looking forward to heaven because Jesus will be there, and I can't wait until I have perfect fellowship with Him in glory forever."

To be honest, I accomplished my evil goal. I could see on the faces of my friends that my answer had cut them to the quick. They looked at each other, and without saying a word, their expressions declared: "Man, he really is the most godly guy amongst us." What a phony I was... and yet those looks were what I was aiming for (John 12:43).

But here's the wonder of God's grace: 1) He didn't strike me down that day for my lie (though He could have--see Acts 5:3,5) or my hypocrisy (which Jesus does NOT respond kindly to--see Matthew 23:27), 2) I've grown enough (by His mercy) to confess publicly the above mentioned (awful) sins of my past... and 3) this is the BEST part--today I really do believe that Jesus will be the best part of heaven.

The truth is the gospel really isn't good news if it doesn't lead people to God Himself. Jesus didn't die just to forgive us. Forgiveness means little unless you are restored to a joyful and peaceful relationship with the one you love and the one whom you have offended by your sin(s). Jesus didn't die just so that we could claim a promise like Philippians 4:19. What's the point of receiving everything we need if God doesn't also give Himself to us? Jesus didn't die just to rescue us from going to hell. What delight is there if we avoid hell but never see God face to face?

In other words, all of the blessings that come to a Christian via the gospel are wonderful... but none of those blessings are as wonderful as the gift of God Himself. Jesus didn't die to keep His children from experiencing bad things, He didn't die so that we would never be sick, He didn't die so that we might be wealthy in this life, He didn't die to simply alleviate our guilty consciences... He died (according to 1 Peter 3:18) to bring us to God.

And this is crucial to understand, so please read this sentence carefully: if there is any blessing from God that you or I want more than we want God Himself, we have become idolaters. Christ died once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that we might be brought to God HIMSELF.

Years ago I lied to appear godly and told my friends that what made heaven truly heaven was that Jesus would be there... and the wonder of the transforming power of God's grace is that today my hypocrisy has become authenticity, and He deserves all of the glory for that metamorphosis. As John Piper has so plainly stated in one of his books: God is the Gospel. What makes Jesus' life, death and resurrection such good news is that His redeeming work has brought us to God Himself, and though He graciously bestows upon us (His children) so many blessings--He Himself truly is the greatest gift.

Is God your greatest treasure? My prayer is that if He is not... He soon will be.