15 Rounds Part 2

The object of Risk one of my favorite childhood games is world conquest. It is the nature of the game to be attacked by your opponents for they have the same objective as you. In a similar fashion Christ Liberation Fellowship and all churches should expect the attacks of Satan as we strive to promote the saving gospel of Jesus Christ in our communities. Satan will stop at nothing to prevent our witness. He will try to use the same temptations that afflicted our forefathers in the wilderness and our forefathers in Corinth to snare us.

Last week we began to explore the constant fight and struggle with temptation that all believers have and will have until the Lord calls us home or He returns to take us to Himself.

We discovered that God has given us certain spiritual graces and advantages so that we might resist falling into temptation.

We enjoy God’s special presence
We enjoy God’s special protection
We enjoy God’s special position.
We enjoy God’s special provision.
We enjoy God’s special person, Jesus Christ.

These are the graces, blessings and advantages we can focus on so that our minds need not dwell on how enticing the temptation in front of us is. But there are other things we need to consider when battling against temptation.

We don’t need to put ourselves in a place where we’ll be tempted.
Cut those things out of our lives that cause special problems.
Get into a strong accountability relationship with a mature believer.
Begin to memorize Scripture that speaks both positively and negatively regarding our temptations. For example, Exod. 20:17 ‘You shall not covet’ and Psalm 16:5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
Think through the consequences of giving into temptation.
Finally, be aware of the ways Satan has tempted God’s people in the past and want to tempt you now.

Remember, when we speak of temptation it’s not strictly in the sense of being tempted to commit a single act of disobedience. Rather, we’re tempted to engage in a lifestyle of rebellion that may begin with a single act of disobedience. Moreover, we’re deceived into believing that we can live this way and still enjoy God’s favor.

What are the temptations God’s people can expect to face as we strive to bring Him glory in this life? Paul lists four distinct temptations that all believers must watch out for.

The temptation to engage in idolatry.
The temptation to indulge in sexual immorality.
The temptation to test the Lord.
The temptation to complain against the Lord.

We’ll be tempted to engage in idolatry. Exodus 32:4-5 (ESV)

And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord."

Idolatry is giving our worship to something other than God and manifests itself in several ways. This particular form of idolatry doesn’t openly replace God with something else but moves us to focus on those aspects of His character we’re most comfortable with while dismissing those we don’t like.

That’s what the ancient Hebrews did when they had Aaron make a golden calf or bull. God knew that His people would be tempted to replace Him with an image they felt safe with. They craved a god they could control, one that didn’t have his own will, didn’t impose moral restrictions and was like the idols they came to know in Egypt. The issue with this and all idols is that they exist to serve us and our wishes unlike the One true God who exist to carry out His own will.

We’ve been tempted and fallen into this temptation over and over again. For example, some have re-cast God in the image of a patriotic American. For them God exists to promote the military, economic and political supremacy of the U.S. Others have created the deity of the oppressed ethnic group. This god exists to help them fight against the oppression of the dominant culture. Others have made an image of the god of personal health and wealth. For them, God’s essential nature and will is seeing to my own personal happiness, wealth and well being. What makes this kind of idolatry so deceitfully diabolical is that those who indulge in it still believe that there are worshiping and serving the One true God of scripture.

Do you have a 21st century version of the golden calf?

We’ll be tempted to engage in a lifestyle of sexual immorality. Numbers 25:1-3 (ESV) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

Sexual immorality rips the fabric of sacred intimacy from the covenant of marriage where it belongs and views it as a commodity only to be used for our selfish pleasures. Sexual immorality invites us into a lifestyle in which we use people for our sexual pleasure with no intention of making marital commitments to them.

The Hebrews sexual immorality began with an unhealthy attraction and infatuation with Moabite culture. It was sealed when they discarded their allegiance to God and His word and embraced the moral philosophy of the people of Moab. To yoke means to join with. It’s a farming term used to describe how two animals are hitched together. We are faced with the same temptation to indulge in a lifestyle of uncommitted sexual immorality since we live in a culture that pushes sex in every way possible. Yet the people of God ared called to enjoy sexual bliss in lifelong, committed marriages. Also, God’s people are called to resist sexual temptation and in doing so show our society what it means to belong to the Lord and thus use our bodies according to His direction. 1 Cor. 6:18-20 (ESV)

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. [19] Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, [20] for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We’ll be tempted to put God on trial. Exodus 17:1-7 (ESV)

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

This temptation demands that God perform in extraordinary ways in order to prove over and over that He really is God. It is a temptation that calls for us to live the Christian life by miracle instead of faith. What’s so troubling is that those who live this way actually think they’re living by faith. By the time they got to this place in the wilderness God had already demonstrated His willingness and ability to care for them. So their complaining against Moses was really a challenge to the Lord. Exodus 17:3 (ESV)

But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

It’s as if they said ‘Lord what have you done for me lately?’ The temptation to put the Lord to the test happens whenever we get into a tight spot and want God to do something immediate and miraculous to get us out. It’s a temptation to get our focus off of what He’s already done and put it on the sensational thing He should do to show that He’s God.

We fall into this temptation by doing foolish things in the name of faith and then expecting God to display a miraculous rescue. This is how Satan tempted our Lord to break this command. Matthew 4:5-7 (ESV)

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.' "

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

Are you living a foolish and foolhardy spiritual life thinking that you’re living by faith? Do you always expect God to do the miraculous in order to believe He’s with you? Must you have the sensational and exciting happening to believe that God is at work in your life? Is the faithfulness of God in keeping all His promises to bring a redeemer enough for you? Is who Jesus is and what He did enough for you or do you need more?

We’ll be tempted to complain about our lives and God’s dealing with us. Numbers 16:1-2 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men.

This temptation entices us to complain against the Lord concerning His sovereign will in our lives. It specifically speaks to how God arranges and directs His people within His kingdom. Numbers 16:8-11 (ESV) And Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi: is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?"

This temptation moves us to challenge those in leadership because we’re dissatisfied with God for placing them there. These men had already been chosen as leaders within the covenant community, but weren’t content with that. Thus, they challenged Moses and Aaron and accused them of abusing their position. This temptation is dangerous since it can wreak havoc on the Body of Christ in general and a local church in particular. Satan does not want the church to progress and impact the community with the gospel of Christ for God’s glory. Thus if he can get us to fight each other instead of him then he can successfully stop our witness.

You may be falling into this temptation if you’ve noticed an unhealthy, hostile attitude toward leadership. Are you upset with where God has placed you in the body?

We must take care to not become self-secure or prideful in our walk before the Lord so that we won’t be fooled into thinking that we’d never give into any of these temptations.

Always keep in mind that God’s people have faced these same temptations for thousands of years. God will never leave us in a situation where we have no option but to give into temptation. There will always be a way out so look for it. Above all, let’s focus on Jesus Christ the One who faced these same temptations throughout His life and did not give into them. He offers grace and help to those weakened by temptation and full forgiveness to those who’ve fallen into these temptations when they turn from sin and to Him.

 

To Him Who Loves Us...
Pastor Lance