SERIES: “FATAL TEMPTATIONS”
TEXT: SELECTED
TITLE: “TEMPTATIONS CHURCH MEMBERS FACE”
INTRODUCTION: A. Native hunters in the jungles of Africa have a clever way of trapping monkeys.
They slice a coconut in two, hollow it out, and in one half of the shell cut a hole just
big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through. Then they place an orange in the
other coconut half before fastening together the two halves of the coconut shell.
Finally, they secure the coconut to a tree with a rope, retreat into the jungle, and wait.
Sooner or later, an unsuspecting monkey swings by, smells the delicious orange,
and discovers its location inside the coconut. The monkey then slips his hand through
the small hole, grasps the orange, and tries to pull it through the hole. Of course, the
orange won’t come out; it’s too big for the hole. To no avail, the persistent monkey
continues to pull and pull, never realizing the danger he is in.
While the monkey struggles with the orange, the hunters simply stroll in and
capture the monkey by throwing a net over him. As long as the monkey keeps his fist
wrapped around the orange, the monkey is trapped. It’s too bad-the poor monkey
could save its own life if it would let go of the orange. It rarely occurs to a monkey,
however, that it can’t have both the orange and its freedom.
B. We’re in our next-to-last installment in our series: “Fatal Temptations”
--Based on James 1:14-15 – “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is
dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
1. We’ve looked at temptations faced by women, by children, and by teenagers
--next Sunday, we conclude on Father’s Day with “Temptations Men Face”
2. Today’s message is, “Temptations Church Members Face”
I. THE TEMPTATION TO LOOK AT THE PAST INSTEAD OF FORGING FORWARD TO THE
FUTURE
A. Last Sunday, I mentioned this basic temptation as one faced by senior citizens
--that because we enjoy remembering the past, we become inflexible about the present and fail to prepare
for the future
1. More than just a temptation for older folks
--anyone who grew up in a church with a great past is subject to this temptation
2. They’ve heard all the stories about the large crowds and the tremendous things that were
accomplished
--and they wish it could be that way again but don’t think it can
3. Rev. 3:1-2 – “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the
seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but
you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds
complete in the sight of my God.”
a. The church at Sardis was once known as a great congregation but they were now living off their
former reputation.
b. The problem was that at the time Jesus spoke these words to the apostle John, their reputation
wasn’t good. It was bad!
4. Andros Island is in the Bahamas. It’s 2300 square miles in size is and probably the largest
unexplored tract of land in the Western Hemisphere. Most of Andros Island is covered in thick
bushes and pine trees.
The people who live in the bush have a well-developed mythology and the Chickcharnee is the
most famous of the mythological creatures of Andros. He is said to live in the tops of the tallest pine
trees on the island If you cross the Chickcharnee, he will turn your head on backwards
--too many church member have their head turned around backwards
B. It’s easy to glorify a past.
1. We tend to remember things in a better light than they actually were
a. Someone: “The good old days weren’t really all that good. They’re just old.”
b. Eccl. 7:10 – Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such
questions.
2. It’s not wise because our memories are faulty
a. We tend to forget all the hard work and sacrifice and tough times that were endured to get to the
point of being an effective church
b. We want the glory of the past without the work of the past
C. Living in the past tends to take away from the present
1. We’re too busy looking back to do what needs to be done now
2. Paul warned the Ephesian Christians that it was important to make use of the present because of the
influence of evil
--Eph. 5:16 – Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of
every opportunity, because the days are evil.
D. Living in the past tends to make us forget about the future
1. There are young people who need your help in the present so that they can be strong Christians when
they grow up.
2. There are folks who are currently without Christ that need our help so that someday they can make
Him their Lord and Savior
3. We need to stop peering into the past and we need to press ahead in the present and project into the
future for the glory of the kingdom of Christ
4. Living in the past can lead to being fearful of the future
--2 Tim. 1:7 – For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-
discipline.
II. THE TEMPTATION TO OPERATE BY HUMAN UNDERSTANDING INSTEAD OF BY FAITH
A. 2 Cor. 5:7 – We live by faith, not by sight
1. Faith is trusting that God will be the same yesterday, today, and forever and that He will be faithful in
keeping His promises
2. Faith is trusting that when God calls you to do something, He will provide the necessary resources to
get the job done.
3. The proof of faith is trust and obedience
--true faith works to accomplish what God wants done
B. Abraham
1. Heb. 11:8-10 – “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made
his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and
Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
2. The writer of Hebrews uses Abraham and other Old Testament heroes as examples of his foundational
statement concerning faith
--Heb. 11:1 – Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
3. One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on
the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I’ll catch you." He knew the boy
had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can
be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof.
His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can’t see you."
The father replied, "But I can see you and that’s all that matters."
--Prov. 16:3 - Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
III. THE TEMPTATION TO CONFUSE RELIGION WITH RELATIONSHIP
A. There is a temptation to think that because we do religious things, we have salvation
1. We think that because we come to church on a regular basis that our relationship with God is good
--Someone: “Just because you sit in a garage doesn’t make you a Buick. Likewise, sitting in a
church building doesn’t make you a Christian.”
2. We do outward things but there is no change on the inside
--2 Tim. 3:5 – Having a form of godliness but denying its power.
B. Religion and relationship are tow completely different things
1. Religion is all about what I do
--I participate in certain practices and believe certain things so therefore, I am a Christian
2. Relationship is all about what Jesus has done
a. Because Jesus died on the cross, I have forgiveness for sins
b. Because Jesus rose from the grave, I have the promise of eternal life
c. Because of what Jesus did, He invites me into relationship with Him
--the relationship is possible because of what He has done
C. Religion tends to cause in imbalance between what we profess and what we practice
--that imbalance is certainly seen by the world
1. We can’t be members of the body of Christ on Sunday but worldly people Monday through Saturday
2. It destroys a witness to Christ in the community
a. One commentator stated: “The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim
God with their mouths and deny Him with their lifestyles is what an unbelieving world finds
simply unbelievable.”
b. Someone: “They’ve seen enough weak-kneed, empty-headed, two-faced, finger-pointin’, big
talkin’, no walkin’, wimpy actin’, church-playin’, Godless-livin’, non-givin’, doubt’n, pout’n,
gossip-spoutin’, 3 strikes and you’re out’n, “I got problems big as a mountain”, cussin’ on Friday
but Sunday morning shoutin’, Christians!”
D. That’s what angered Jesus so much about the Pharisees
1. So many of them practiced religion as an outward show as opposed to walking in relationship with
God
2. Mt. 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but
only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
3. It’s only when we get the relationship right that everything else falls into place
-- One Sunday afternoon a father was reading the newspaper but his little girl wanted him to play
with her. To keep his daughter busy until he finished reading, he cut a map of the world out of one
of the sections he had already completed. He cut the map into pieces and gave it to his daughter as
a puzzle. He figured that this project would keep her busy for some time
It didn’t take very long for his daughter to put the puzzle together with every piece in its proper
place. He was surprised and asked her, “How did you get the puzzle pieced together in such a short
time?” His daughter replied, “Daddy, it was easy. There’s a picture of Jesus on the other side and I
figured if I got Jesus in the right place, the whole world would be right.”
IV. THE TEMPTATION TO FORGET THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
A. Mission of the church is worship, service, evangelism, and discipleship
1. Matt. 22:37-38 – Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’”
2. Mt. 28:19-20 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
--Lk. 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to saved what was lost.”
3. Rick Warren: A great commitment to the Great Commandments and the Great Commission will
make a great church.
B. We tend to want worship without witnessing
--However, true worship produces a desire to share worship with others
1. Is. 6:1-8 – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted,
and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two
wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And
they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of
his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled
with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a
people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Then one of the
seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it
he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your
sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go
for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
2. When we worship God, like Isaiah, and encounter Him in worship, it’s natural for us to respond:
CONCLUSION: A. Several years ago, there was a PBS Special that covered the events leading up to the
“Battle of the Bulge” during WWII.
It was the autumn of 1944 and Germany had been beaten back behind its borders. The
Nazi war machine was in tatters and the repeated bombing raids of the Allies all but
assured that Hitler’s forces would never rise again. Around the perimeter of Germany’s
borders, the Allies spread a thin line of forces. One person observed that Allied forces
were was so scattered that a man could slip between its lines without being observed.
All across Europe, there was celebration. Parties, dances, speeches all rejoicing in
Germany’s defeat. The war was effectively over. The only problem was (pause)
somebody forgot to tell Hitler
Even as his forces were being shattered and driven back Hitler was devising a plan for
one last onslaught. Underground factories churned out more weapons, armament and
ammunition. More of Germany’s young and old men were conscripted and trained for
war. And as Europe rejoiced, Hitler planned.
His goal was not to drive back the Allies into the sea, as much as it was to divide the
British to the North and Americans to the South, so demoralizing them that they would
sue for peace on his terms. Hundreds and thousands of men died because somebody
forgot that the enemy still lived and that the war was NOT (completely) over.
B. Sometimes we forget the words of the apostle Peter that Satan is still “prowls around like
a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1. The enemy is still plotting and planning
2. He’s still trying to tempt us and cause us to fall
C. But thank God, we have victory through Jesus Christ over both sin and death!
1. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He cried out, “It is finished,.”
--In the original Greek, the term literally means, “Paid in full”
2. The sin debt was paid in full.
--All we have to do is have the payment credited to our account
3. God provides the way for victory over sin and temptation
--1 Cor. 10:13 – No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when
you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
4. Will you accept His way?
