TEXT: Matthew 4:1-11 Proverbs 14:12
TITLE: A Fresh Start…With Yourself - A Message on making wise choices
SERIES: Fresh Start
TOPIC: Decision Making
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, January 18, 2009
PROP.: Important decisions are like seeds. We don’t know exactly what they’ll produce until we see the fruit! But it’s important that we do all we can to ensure that those seeds produce GOOD fruit!
INTRODUCTION: We are in a series called: Fresh Start. Last week, I gave
you some keys to getting a fresh start with God. And what I hope you got
from last week was that a fresh start with God is available whenever you
want it. It comes from repentance.
Today, I want to give you a fresh start with yourself. This is a sermon
on making wise decisions about the future.
I want you to know that I’ve been praying about 2009 for Burnside
Christian Church. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to a
day coming when you and I will no longer be trapped under the dark cloud
of choices we will make. When we are not wondering about what my life
should have been…what my life could have been…but we’re going to make
better choices about a better future that God has in store for us! We are
not going to be trapped in the dysfunction of other people but we are
going to take responsibility for our own lives and we’re going to make
good choices ourselves!
What is the priority of God’s word for you? Let’s pray together first and
then we’ll get right into this.
Darwin awards. I love Darwin awards. They are awards given to the world’s stupidest criminals. Here are some of my favorite:
*In Seattle Washington, when a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find an ill man curled up next to the parked motor home. The man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home’s seawge tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it was the best laugh he’d ever had!
Or how about this one?
*Police in Wichita Kansas arrested a 22 year old man at an airport hotel after he
tried to pass two counterfeit $16 bills.
And my personal favorite:
*When two gas station attendants in Ionia Michigan refused to hand over the cash to an intoxicated robber, the man threatened to call the police. They still wouldn’t give him the money, so the robber called the police…and was arrested.
I think we’d all agree wise choices are important. Hopefully, you are not to the point in your life where you are making poor decisions such as these. But I think you’d agree, if you had a time machine (like say, a Delorean with the flux-capacitor that requires 21.1 jigg-a-watts) you’d go back in time to make some better decisions!
If you’ve never regretted a decision you’ve made; give it time. You will! From the time of creation, mankind has been given the option to choose. And in reading Adam & Eve’s story, you can see that choosing poorly can have some dire affects.
Our text is very familiar! It comes from Matthew’s Gospel. Chapter 4. Please be turning there.
As we read this scripture this morning, place it in the context of making good decisions.
Matthew 4:1-11
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the
devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (let’s stop right there and chase a rabbit trail, ok? How many are you thinking: Yeahhhh rrrright. 40 days no food? If Jesus were fully human, there is no way that he could survive 40 days without food. It is well documented that back in 1981, 10 political prisoners in Ireland lasted 46 - 78 days without food! Surviving without food all varies on how healthy you are at the start and Jesus was no wimp. He was a carpenter don’t forget!) 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these
stones to become bread."4Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]" 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" ’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[b]"
7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ’Do not put the Lord your God to
the test.’[c]" 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he
said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[d]" 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Our text maps out for us some principles to help you and me make wise decisions about the future.
T.S.: Making wise decisions require 4 actions
Action #1:
I. Be Spirit Led (vs. 1)
What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?
It means…
A. Be where He wants you to be!
--Go where He leads
Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.
Interesting that sometimes where the Spirit leads us is not always a comfortable place!
Paul knew this all too well. Paul was Spirit led. The Spirit helped make his decisions for him!
In Acts chapter 20, Paul is getting ready to leave Ephesus. What made him decide to leave Ephesus?
Acts 20:22 “and now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.”
By the way, what happened to Paul when he went back to Jerusalem? Paul was arrested and imprisoned and ultimately put to death!
But the Spirit doesn’t just lead us into danger…the Spirit leads us into joy!
Acts 8 - Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip got to baptize an Ethiopian man because Philip went where the Spirit led him to go!
Christ, Paul & Philip were Spirit led! They allowed the Holy Spirit to make decisions for them!
Being led by the Spirit means that we…
B. Keep in step with the Spirit
Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit”
What does that verse mean? It means that we don’t get too far ahead and we don’t get too far behind. We walk near the Spirit in any and ALL decisions!
ILLUSTRATION: Phil Vischer is the creator of Veggie Tales. He is the voice of Bob the Tomato and other various characters. In 2004, Phil was one of the guest speakers at my minister’s convention that I attend each year. Phil told about his dream coming to an end. He told about Big Idea (the name of Phil’s company) being sued in 2000 because Big Idea for a breach of contract which Phil says they were innocent of. Long story short, Veggie Tales went bankrupt and Phil lost everything!
It was time for Phil Vischer to start again. To start over. He said he learned lessons. Mainly, to do what God wants to do when God wants to do it. Phil went an pitched his new idea to a company and the company’s board asked Phil where he was going to be in 5 years - and after a long and awkward pause, Phil said, “Right in the center of God’s will” A great answer!
Amen and Amen!
You and I need to be in the center of God’s will. We need to be spirit led people! And that may mean that you and I are led to the wilderness for God’s purposes! Or it might mean that we are led to witness people being won to Christ!
MAKE WISE DECISIONS. BE SPIRIT LED!
In order to make good decisions, we need to…
II. Base your decisions on God’s word! (vs. 4, 7, 10)
God’s word means a lot to us! It is the error free, 100% truth that you and I can base life decisions upon! It’s the rock and foundation for which our lives need to be based upon!
A. It is written
Do me a favor…underline in Matthew 4 each time it says: it is written…
How many did you come up with? On three occasions, each of Christ’s decisions were based on SCRIPTURE! I want you to underline where it says, “It is written” because I want you to understand that if “IT IS WRITTEN” then “IT IS FINISHED!” The decision has been made! To do or not to do!
B. Your decisions
But I think too many times we don’t base our decisions on God’s word…I believe
WHAT DO YOU BASE YOUR DECISIONS ON?
--Will I get caught?
--Will this make me feel good?
--How can I benefit from this?
--Will this make me look good?
--Will this bring me happiness?
--Will this impress people?
You should ask: What does God say about this?
(ILLUSTRATION: I was called a couple of weeks ago by someone earnestly wanting to do what was right. They wanted to see if the Bible had anything to say about lawsuits. And sure enough…the Bible does!)
YOUR DECISIONS NEED TO BE BASED ON GOD’S WORD!
ILLUSTRATION: God’s word compared to our cell phone
The need for God’s word.
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we used it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
I wonder to myself, how many of us have brought along our Bibles today? Do we even know where our Bible is?
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think, where are my priorities?
If we want to make decisions based on God’s word; we have to LOVE God’s word.
Action #3
III. Apply God’s word correctly! (vs. 5,6)
In our text, Satan is guilty of using scripture to make it what he wanted it to say:
Vs. 5 & 6 “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
The Bible is one of the most complex books we have in our hands. 66 different books. Spanning from 1600 BC to 100 AD. There are dozens of different authors. And yet, one central theme. All of the Bible is true. All of the Bible is inspired. The Bible does not contradict itself. All of the Bible is useful. It’s just as meaningful to us in 2009 as it was in the first century. But would you expect anything less? God’s word is living and active! Time changes, but God’s word is a steady constant to our lives!
So it’s not a surprise that a book this complex could be misunderstood and misapplied by so many! I want to give you some help in making sure you apply God’s word correctly.
A. Context is key
Much confusion concerning scripture could be done away with if you would pay attention to the verses that come before and come after the scripture you are reading. Not only that, but ask the questions:
Who is speaking?
Who is being spoken to?
Why is it being said?
These questions can also help you place what’s said in proper context!
B. Let scripture interpret scripture
Jesus shows us how to do this when he answers Satan by quoting God’s word. The Bible is not going to contradict itself. You must read the other scriptures that relate to what’s happening to fully understand what’s going on.
C. Become a Student of the Bible
Read the Bible.
When you are doing your daily Bible reading (yes, I said DAILY), have a notebook nearby. When you get done reading a section of scripture, first take some time to SUMMARIZE what has just been said. Secondly, take some time to APPLY it to your life. What can YOU learn from what you just read?
Study it with friends.
Get in a small group. Go to a Sunday School class. Use the wisdom of others to
help you better understand the Bible.
Ask questions.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about things you don’t understand. I’m still
asking questions about the Bible! The only dumb question is a question not
asked!
You see, we learn a lesson from Satan. It’s not just enough to be able to quote scripture…you have to apply it properly to your life!
Action #4...
IV. Think about the Long term! (vs. 4)
Jesus Christ was tempted three times. These were REAL temptations! These weren’t meaningless temptations.
And had Jesus chosen to give into temptation, there would have been temporary benefits but LONG LASTING ill effects.
Isn’t that how it works with sin though? We choose to sin because of the short term pleasure. We forget (or maybe we choose to ignore) the far reaching effects on the future.
BUT WISE DECISION MAKING REQUIRES US TO THINK ABOUT THE LONG TERM!
It was true of Jesus!
A. Christ’s temptations
--TEMPTATION #1 - Turn Stones to bread
Jesus was tempted first to turn rocks into bread (this was a temptation of the flesh. If Jesus would use his power to make himself comfortable when he was hungry…what would he do when he was suffering much more terribly on the cross?)
Temporary pleasure - Jesus would have his hunger stopped!
Long term affects- If Jesus would use his power to make himself comfortable when he was hungry…what would he do when he faced greater suffering on the cross? Would he use his power to prevent himself from being crucified?
--TEMPTATION #2 - Throw yourself off the highest place of the temple
Jesus then was tempted to throw himself off the pinnacle because if Jesus were God’s son, the sacrifice of sins, God would not allow anything bad to happen to Him.
Temporary pleasure - Jesus would shut Satan up and prove that He IS the Messiah…that God’s plans cannot be altered by anything!
But there would also be long lasting affects.
Long term affects- If Jesus would have thrown himself off of the Pinnacle of the temple, what would that have taught you and me? That it’s ok to place ourselves in perilous situations to make God prove Himself to us. Listen to what one commentary has to say about this particular temptation of Christ:
Pulpit Commentary: (It is testing God to put ourselves into dangers to which he has not called us, to expect his help in self-chosen ways, to look for his miraculous interposition to save us from the consequences of our own folly. To thrust ourselves into a perilous position, to think of forcing, so to speak, a miracle, from God…this is fanaticism - not faith. Christ’s miracles were part of the great scheme of redemption; they were wrought to relieve distress or to increase the faith of his followers; not needlessly, not to display his power or to satisfy curiosity; not at the bidding of Satan, or the Pharisees or Herod.)
---TEMPTATION #3 - Satan offered to give Jesus the Kingdoms of the World and their splendor…if Jesus would bow down and worship Satan.
Temporary Pleasure - Jesus would be recognized as the King he deserved. He would have lands, wealth and popularity.
Long term affects- Jesus would have forfeited one kingdom for another. Satan had long ago whispered to Eve that the tree was “pleasant to the eyes’. He had tempted her through the lust of the eyes; now he raises before the eyes of the Lord a vision of unexampled grandeur.
Jesus would have sinned offering worship to someone or something other than God! This would make Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for OUR sins hypocritical. How can one sinner die for another? The sacrifice of Christ needed to be SINLESS!
Well what about…
B. Your temptations
--make your decisions based on the long term!!!
How hard that is to practice!
In Matthew 16:24-26
(24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus put it this way: You must deny yourself take up your cross daily and follow me. For what good is it to gain everything you want here on earth, if you’ve had to forfeit your soul to get it? What good is it to feel good for a while in this world, if you’re going to spend an eternity in hell? THINK ABOUT THE LONG TERM IS WHAT JESUS IS ULTIMATELY SAYING!
CONCLUSION: I want to give you something to take home and practice this week.
I want you to make wise decisions…good decisions. Making good decisions starts with answering these 7 questions:
Ask Yourself 7 questions: (this comes from the Life Application Bible commentary section)
1. Does this decision help my witness for Christ? (1st Corinthians 9:19-22)
2. Does this decision help me do my best? (1st Cor. 9:25)
3. Is this decision a sin? (1st Cor 10:12)
4. Am I only thinking about myself with this decision? (1st Cor. 10:24)
5. Am I acting lovingly or selfishly? (1st 10:28-31)
6. Does this glorify God? (1st Cor. 10:31)
7. Will this cause someone else to sin? (1st Cor. 10:32)
I want to pray for you right now and then we’ll have our time of decision: please stand
A FRESH START WITH YOURSELF INCLUDES MAKING WISE DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR FUTURE.
We come now to a time of decision. It’s an opportunity for you to make a good decision. Perhaps there is someone here who is not a Christian. This is a time for you to make that decision today! Or perhaps there is some today who have all ready been baptized and wish to place membership with us today. The decision is yours…won’t you make it today?
