Temptation

February 6, 2023

Listen and Respond aka Hear and Do

James 1.12-27

Prove yourselves to be doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. Listen and respond. Hear and do.

If we are honest with ourselves, too many of us are in the category of hearing and not doing. We’ve heard a lot of sermons. Listened to countless podcasts. Maybe even read our Bible on a fairly consistent basis. But something’s missing. We know a lot of stuff about the Bible, or so we think, but we’ve never actually done it. We still think and act in the same old ways. We are hearers of the Word, but not doers.

And when trials come…when there’s a storm a-brewing…we tend to ask the “why me” question. Maybe we don’t go so far as to blame God outright…maybe we do. But we certainly don’t see our trials as a source of joy or blessing. No, we tend to push them into the temptation category and let our own desires lead us into sin which in turn leads to death. We are no longer experiencing the kind of life that Jesus saved us for, maybe never have.

So how do we turn it around? Simple. Ask God for wisdom. Ask Him for wisdom to see our circumstances…the trial…from His perspective. Ask Him for strength to endure. Ask Him for wisdom to do what we’re hearing. If we ask, we will receive, and then we just have to do it.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our James series. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter: @ccclancaster. You can also download our Central Christian app in the iTunes App Store.

August 28, 2017

In the Garden

Luke 22.39-53

It’s interesting that Adam was first tempted in the garden, and Jesus, the last Adam, faces His greatest temptation in another garden. Two very different outcomes. As Paul writes in Romans 5.12-21, the one introduced sin, death and condemnation into the world. The Other, justification, righteousness and eternal life.

Jesus modeled dependency upon the Father throughout His greatest trial. No matter what the outcome, He trusted that His Father was for Him and never doubted His Father’s love. And in that moment, the Father strengthened Him. Sometimes the Father saves us from the storms of life, but more often than not He saves us through them, if we will let Him. He wants to take us by the hand and walk with us through the heart of the raging tempest. I say “if we will let Him” because I think often when the storm comes we dig in our heels and refuse to follow. We fail to recognize the spiritual battle being waged around us, and so instead of reaching for prayer as our greatest weapon…trusting in the Father…we attack the enemy we see with the sword at our disposal. And we wonder why we fail… have you considered that the current trial that you are facing is part of the sifting process for your good…meant to conform you to the image of Jesus.

How vital would you say prayer is to your walk with Jesus? Is prayer a daily habit with you? Is it an exercise born of necessity or convenience? Battlefield or vending machine? Could it be that we lack the strength to endure trials and to stand up to temptation or persecution because prayer isn’t that important to us?

I want challenge you to spend some time with the Father…first consider how important prayer is to you. On a scale from 1 to 10, where does prayer rate in your life (1 being not important, 10 being absolutely necessary)? Ask the Father to increase your desire/sense of need by at least 1. Next, consider…what trial or temptation are you facing that you need to bring to the Father? What struggle do you need deliverance from? What do you need to trust Him for today?

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on a sermon from our series in the book of Luke. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

February 15, 2016

To Err Is Human?

Luke 4.1-13

Jesus knew the Word and was in-dwelt by the Spirit (Ephesians 6). He never doubted the Father’s love for Him, and He fully trusted God. Jesus knew that His Father would provide for Him and that the short-term, fleeting pleasures of this world, even good things like daily bread, could not compare with His relationship to the Father. That allowed Him to forego grabbing power and to wait on the Father’s timing and endure intense suffering even for the things that had been promised Him by the Father. That allowed Him to trust in the Father’s protection without having to test it.

This all flowed out of a deep understanding of the Father’s words spoken through the Scriptures. Jesus knew the Word…He was the Word! But while Luke builds the case for Jesus’ deity, he also presents a very human Jesus. And Jesus who goes toe-to-toe with the enemy does not rely on His deity to defeat him. He leans into His humanity and relies on the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit who dwells in all of us who have believed. But how did He do it? Well, I believe that Jesus immersed Himself in the Scriptures so that He might know His Father’s Words and might recognize the truth of the Father’s love for Him. So when He responds, the words of the Father naturally come out.

So what about you?

We can let Adam and Eve be our example and believe the lie that God really doesn’t love us, is holding out on us, and take things into our own hands…I think we all know how that turned out…or we can let Jesus be our example, and we can walk away from current temptation and instead trust in God’s provision, power and protection. We can remember that God is who He says He is – a loving Father who wants the best for us.

How do we build this trust in our Father the way that Jesus did?

We submerge ourselves in the truth. Only then can we recognize the lies and false promises of the devil, so that when temptation comes, we can remember the words of our Father. Remember the same Spirit who empowered Jesus to face temptation lives in us as well. That same Spirit can also empower us to face temptation.

The Scriptures tell us that all of us who have believed are children of God the Father. It’s not just a distant, theological relationship. It’s the intimate relationship of a Father to His child. He wants that for us, He wants that for you. He wants you to spend time with Him, to hear His words so that you might know and be settled in the truth that He really loves you and has amazing plans for your good. You are His beloved son/daughter…not because you are the prettiest or the funniest, the fastest on the playground, or because you got the best grades, or for any other reason other than that He loves you. If those were the words that we heard and had settled deep in our souls, then the lies of the enemy…God doesn’t love, you’re not good enough, don’t you deserve more, etc…truly would fall on deaf ears. We would not be so easily crushed by temptation.

One practical way to settle the Father’s words deep in our soul is through time spent reading His Word. Our daily reading blog is a great vehicle for that. Regular time in the Bible will begin to combat the false messages you hear everyday and the lies of the enemy. Spend time in the Word with a group of friends in community. Encourage one another with the Word. Memorize Bible verses like Psalm 119.11 “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Or 1 Corinthians 10.13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” We call it renewing hearts and minds through biblical teaching.

And it’s key to victory over temptation.

Until next time…stay salty.

“May we be like Jesus, led by the Spirit, relying on the Word, never doubting for a moment the Father’s love for us, fully trusting in Him so that we too may be able to resist temptation.”

This post is based on a sermon from our Luke series, Redefining the Family. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster

February 26, 2015

Easter Devotional – February 26

Matthew 4:1-11

The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

5 Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 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,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

8 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Does it ever seem that temptations are actually good things gone bad; that they blind-side us and throw us for a loop? This is what’s happening to Jesus with a loaf of bread. Bread…a seemingly basic and insignificant item is what Satan uses to tempt Jesus. A blind-side…until we remember that Jesus hasn’t eaten anything in 40 days! Satan will hit us where we hurt; his intent is to thwart God’s purposes any way possible. But unlike most of us, Jesus doesn’t try harder to resist Satan. Jesus takes an alternate path. He knows His Word well enough to respond to the temptation 3 different times, even after Satan has twisted it. Jesus uses His temptations as an opportunity to show reliance on God, rather than on physical things.

Jesus had Scripture-fueled courage to resist the temptation and turn things around; what do you need Scripture-fueled courage for today? What temptations are you facing? What’s your plan to overcome those temptations?

Prayer: As I face temptations daily, help me to recognize them and be “Scripture-fueled” like Jesus to resist them.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)