The First Sunday of Lent
March 5, 2017
St. Andrew’s Church
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel, Jr.
Matthew 4:1-11
True Spiritual Power
On Tuesday (2/28/17), NPR’s On Point program did a segment on “Video Games for Adults.” According to the story, “More adult Americans are playing more video games for more hours than ever before.”
New York magazine reports that 155 million Americans play video games and they point out that that’s more than voted in November’s presidential election. [Frank Guan, “Why Ever Stop Playing Video Games,” vulture.com]
It’s the subtitle to that article that snagged me: “Many Americans have replaced work hours with game play - & ENDED UP HAPPIER.” Ended up happier is in all caps.
I remember an arcade on Broadway in Manhattan from my growing up days. That place is long gone. There is still an arcade in Chinatown, another one on the Lower East side, and two others in Manhattan, but the arcade of the 21st century is in Brooklyn near Sunset Park. It’s called Next Level, and it costs $10 just to walk in the door.
Next Level’s space is filled with banks of monitors wired to video game consoles. You won’t find any pinball machines at Next Level. You will find Xbox 360 and Playstation consoles and hard-core video gamers.
New York magazine’s culture website, Vulture.com reports that “according to a variety of recent studies, more than 40% of Americans play at least 3 hours a week, 34 million play on average 22 hours each week, and 5 million hit 40 hours, and the average young American will now spend as many hours (roughly 10,000) playing by the time he or she turns 21 as that person spent in middle and high school classrooms combined.” [ibid.]
Professor Erik Hurst of the University of Chicago compared the number of hours that working class men in their 20s worked from “the beginning of the millennium until now.” He found that working class men in their 20s now work four hours less per week and they play video games for three hours a week.
They replaced four hours of work with three hours of video game play. Hurst sees “dire long term prospects for these less-employed men.” [ibid.]
Yet, the men report that they are happier. Why is that? This is the conclusion that Frank Guan, the writer of the New York magazine article draws: “To begin with, games make sense, unlike life…” [ibid.]
Life really doesn’t make sense if you don’t have a world view that explains sin and evil. I was struck by a quote in the NPR story – it was a Twitter comment on the New York magazine article – “We turn to games when real life fails us.”
When reality disappoints us, is escaping into a fantasy world of gaming the best option? Or would it be better to battle the demons of reality?
In our gospel lesson, Jesus goes mano a mano with the devil. He’s been alone in a desert wilderness for forty days and forty nights. He fasted during those forty days and night and he was hungry.
v.1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Like Moses, who was directed by God to ascend Mount Sinai, Jesus is led up by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. During their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, Israel camped in the Sinai wilderness as Moses met with God on Mount Sinai.
In the Sinai wilderness, the Israelites grew impatient as Moses stays on the holy mountain to receive the law from God. In their impatience they convince Moses’ brother Aaron to make an idol, a golden calf, which the people will worship. In His 40-day wilderness experience, Jesus faces three temptations from the devil.
vv. 2-3 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Jesus had fasted 40 days and nights when He was approached by the devil. He was hungry and the devil tempts Jesus to use supernatural power to turn stones into bread.
v. 4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus answers the devil with Scripture, Deuteronomy 8:3. This verse comes from a long address that Moses gives to Israel after Moses received the law from God on Mount Sinai. God’s Word feeds our souls – Moses believed and taught that. Jesus uses Moses’ words here to affirm this as He combats the first temptation from the devil.
Jesus accepts the Hebrew Scriptures, what we often call the Old Testament, as the Word of God. In the four Gospels, we see Jesus make reference to Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot, Isaac, and Jacob. These people and places are all from the Book of Genesis.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus refer to manna, the wilderness, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah and Zechariah. These people, places, and things cover different parts of the Old Testament, from the historical books to the prophets.
Jesus retold Old Testament stories. He appeals to the Old Testament in arguments with Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus uses the Old Testament for moral standards like the Ten Commandments, the Great Commandment, and the second Great Commandment. Jesus rebuts every temptation from the devil from the devil with Scripture. Each time, Jesus says, “It is written.”
John Wenham, in his book, Christ & the Bible, says it is “that Jesus understood ‘It is written’ to be equivalent to ‘God says’… ‘here is the permanent, unchangeable witness of the Eternal God, committed to writing for our instruction.”
Wenham continues, “In the hour of utmost crisis and at the moment of death, words of Scripture come to his lips: ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ [from Psalm 22:1] and ‘Into thy hands I commit my spirit’” [from Psalm 31:5]
To the devil and his temptation, Jesus responds,
v.4 But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Obedience to God and His Word is paramount for Jesus. Does the Word of God have that place in your life?
I started reading the Bible more regularly when I was in Basic Training in the Army. Real life was difficult, but I didn’t retreat into games – we didn’t even have video games back then. I turned to Jesus Christ and the Bible, and by the grace of God I completed Basic Training.
vv. 5-6 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
The devil took Jesus from the wilderness to Jerusalem. We take this to mean that this encounter between Jesus and the devil took place in a vision, and in this vision Jesus is transported to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem.
The devil dares Jesus to jump from there, trusting that God His Father will command angels to break His fall and save His life. The devil even quotes Scripture to Jesus – Psalm 91:11-12. But the devil omits one phrase from verse 12 of Psalm 91, “in all your ways.” You can’t expect the devil to quote Scripture accurately.
The verses in Psalm 91 speak about accidentally stumbling on a stone in a path, not a deliberate jumping from a high place. Jesus responds,
v. 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Scripture forbids our testing God, with the exception of one case. In Malachi, God invites us to test Him by tithing from our income. Other than that, we are not to attempt to manipulate God to do our will.
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 where Israel tested God during their wilderness wanderings the Exodus from Egypt. They tested God by their disobedience to God and God was ready to kill them all. Moses interceded for Israel and God relented.
We are not to jump when the devil says jump. We are to receive direction from God’s Word. Is God directing your life by His Word that was written for you?
I can tell you that there have been numerous times in my life when God directed my life through something I read in the Bible. There was a time last year when I had questions about an aspect of my ministry and God spoke clearly to me from a verse in 1 Corinthians – I’ll tell you more about that verse shortly.
vv. 8-9 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
In His vision, the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain for the third temptation. The devil shows Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world” in all their glory. The devil promises to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will fall down and worship him.
Moses was commanded by God to go to the top of Mount Nebo where he could see the Promised Land. In Jesus’ vision from the devil, Jesus sees all the kingdoms of the world. He sees the glory of all the kingdoms of the world; this refers to their wealth.
Jesus could be the richest and most powerful man on earth if he will worship the devil. That’s the devil’s proposition anyway.
v. 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
The first thing Jesus does is command the devil to leave.
James 4:7 tells us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Jesus does resist the devil and the devil did leave Him.
In his letter to the Church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul says to us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
[6:12]
We live in occupied territory. We live in a world of multiple dimensions and there is one dimension that is often overlooked: the spiritual dimension. In our baptismal liturgy, we ask Godparents and adult candidates, “Do you renounce the devil and all his works, the vain glory of this world, with all its covetousness.”
That’s what Jesus faced in the wilderness, “the devil and all his works.” In the third temptation, Jesus renounces “the vain show and glory this world, with all its covetousness.” How are you doing with this?
Do you see “the vain show and glory of the world?” Does it tempt you to covet things you don’t have? Or are you able to resist the devil in this?
To beat the devil, we first must have discernment. We have to clearly see temptation when that what’s we face.
The writer to the Hebrews says in chapter 5 at verse 14, “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Solid food are teachings beyond the elementary truths of the Gospel. Christian maturity means that our lives have been formed by the Holy Spirit within us so that our powers of discernment are “trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
This level of discernment becomes second nature to the mature in Christ. That level of spiritual formation comes from soaking our souls in God’s Word.
If Jesus used the Word of God to combat the devil, don’t you think that would be good for us to do as well?
How much Scripture do you have memorized? Enough to defeat satan and all satan’s deceptions and temptations?
In his letter to the church in Ephesus, after Paul speaks of “the spiritual forces of evil” that confronts us, he mentions the whole armor of God. In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul lays out the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes for our feet, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and one offensive weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The shield of faith will protect you from the “flaming darts of the evil one,” but when you’re under heavy attack, you need the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. That’s what Jesus relied on in His wilderness battle against satan. Jesus did not succumb to the “vain show and glory of this world.”
Jesus knew that only the Lord God, Creator of the universe, is to be worshipped. The Word of God told Him that.
Friday morning (3/3/17), on Family Life Radio, I heard Ron Hutchcraft speak about landing “in a mid-western city during a record breaking cold spell.” Hutchcraft says that he checked the weather channel before his flight and he had the “appropriate coat, scarf, gloves, and layers.”
In the baggage claim area he heard someone yell, “Grab those pineapples.” He looked at saw two couples who were returning from Hawaii. They had “beautiful life flowers around their neck, and they were wearing short sleeve shirts…”
Hutchcraft reports, “Well, when I hit the wind outside, I was cold, but I was prepared. I can’t imagine what happened to the Luau bunch! … They were totally unprepared for where they were going!”
As you go out into the world this morning, are you prepared to meet the temptations that the devil will throw at you?
For all three temptations, the Word of God was sufficient to give Jesus Christ victory over the devil’s temptations. Not only that, in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus commanded the devil to leave.
Our winning the war against temptation starts with us taking the devil and temptation seriously. There is a liar and deceiver who wants to defeat you. He wants to render you helpless and hopeless. Remember Paul’s words?
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 6:12]
There is a spiritual army of cosmic powers arrayed against you. Without Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, you don’t have a chance. But with Christ and the Holy Spirit, the devil can’t touch you.
Repeat after me: “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” [1 John 4:4]
There is a spiritual army of cosmic powers that want to defeat you, but “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
There are “deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” [1 Timothy 4:1] that want to ruin your life, but “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
Jesus commanded the devil to leave Him and you can to. Jesus says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” [John 8:32] The truth is what frees you from demonic attack. The truth is your strong defense against error. When you stand in God’s truth, the only truth there is, you can say to the devil, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you, “be gone,” and he will flee from you.
Darkness always flees from light.
So, step #1 is to fill your mind with God’s Truth. That’s how Jesus defeated satan – with Scripture. The apostle Paul exhorts each of us to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” [Romans 12:2]. God’s Word is the means that God uses to renew our minds and transform our lives.
Step #2, be prepared for action. The apostle Peter exhorts each of us, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
When our hope is set fully on the promises of God, we will prepare ourselves for action. Peter goes on to say what our preparation is for. It is for being “holy in all your conduct” [1:15]. Being holy in our conduct means living as Jesus lived, for the honor of God.
Peter speaks about purifying our souls by “obedience to the truth,” including loving one another in the church [1:22].
So, step one, fill your mind with God’s truth. Step two, prepare for actions by purifying yourself by obedience to the truth that you know.
Step #3, take every thought captive to Christ [2 Corinthians 10:5]. You can defeat the “deceitful spirits and teachings of the demons” that seek to influence and destroy you. Evaluate every thought you have by God’s Word. Reject every thought that God’s Word exposes as false. Receive with gratitude every thought that conforms to God’s Word.
Step #4, as you fill your mind with God’s truth, prepare for action, and take every thought captive to Christ, do all of this prayerfully. Live your life as a prayerful conversation with God. Beyond your set times for prayer, go to God frequently through the day.
Satan is a tempter, an accuser, a liar, a deceiver, a counterfeiter, a hinderer, and a murderer. Any ground given up to satan and the other forces of evil will result in guilt, shame, and other negative emotions. It can make you feel weak and helpless. It can affect your physical health.
The Word of God and prayer to God are your first line of defense. Regular worship and fellowship with Christians are necessary also. We grow in our faith and confidence in Christ best when we’re together.
Our sense of identity in Christ, our spiritual maturity, and our daily life with Christ are all enhanced by the time we spend together in worship, fellowship, and I would add Bible study and Christian ministry and mission.
So, what’s your next step? How will you combat temptation in your life? Do you have Scripture memorized to combat temptation? If not, you can start with the Scriptures that Jesus used in His battle against the devil.
As you read your Bible daily ask God to show your, other verses to commit to memory. Last year the Lord impressed upon me a verse from
1 Corinthians 15 as I was reading the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:58 stood out like it was written in neon light:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
God will impress verses to you as you read His Holy Word.
So, what’s your next step? What do you need to combat the devil in your life?
There’s a battle going on. That battle is for your soul. Who will win? By God’s grace, you will.
