What’s on the Menu?

“What’s on the Menu?

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7       Matthew 4:1-11

 

          I would understand if you thought today’s message was about food.  A menu is one of the first things you’re given when you go to a restaurant.  Adam and Eve dealt with fruit from a tree.  Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread.

It’s not…about food

It’s about what you do when you’re given the menu…about making decisions.  We could make this short and simple by saying Adam and Eve blew it and Jesus didn’t.  But…let’s think about decision-making for a few minutes.

Jesus…often called the “Second Adam”…was the Son of God.  He was God in the flesh.  He had all the powers that God could have.

But…Jesus came to us fully human…so that from Him we could learn how to follow God’s Word…and that it was possible to follow God’s Word even in this world in which we live.

The word that many Bibles translate as “tempted” is perhaps better translated as “tested”.  Jesus was “tested” by the Devil after being taken by the Spirit to the wilderness for that very purpose…to be tested.  It happens to us, also.  It happens to us in the very ways it happened to Jesus.

First…Jesus was tempted to turn the stones into bread.  It was a temptation to Jesus to use his powers selfishly.  We have the same test.  God has given each of us unique powers…talents…abilities.  We can ask either of two questions.

“What can I make for myself out of this gift?”

“What can I do for others with this gift?”

A person may have a beautiful voice which is very pleasant to the ear.  That person may want to “cash in” on it.  That person may refuse to use it unless receiving pay for it.  There is no reason why he should not use it for pay, but there is every reason why he should not use it only for pay.  There are many highly paid vocalists in this nation.  Some perform at no charge to benefit others.

What is your gift…or gifts?  Each of us has gifts and talents.  How are you using them?

Secondly the tester took Jesus to view the top of the temple.  He asked Jesus to jump because he and Jesus knew from Scripture that God’s angels would catch him and gently and safely place Jesus on the ground.  In fact, there were those that believed the prophet Malachi had promised that the Messiah would suddenly appear at the Temple.

Jesus refused.

First…it would have been an example of using God’s power to create a sensation and win people over through the spectacle.  That’s not the kind of Gospel that God gave Jesus to spread.

Jesus repeated the words that Moses is credited with writing in Deuteronomy.  “Don’t put the Lord your God to the test.”  There is nothing good that can come from seeing how far you can go by deliberately putting yourself in a threatening situation then expecting God to rescue you.

My guess is that most of us here today have matured past that youthful stage where we often said “Hey y’all!  Watch this!”  But, have we entirely moved out of the mode of taking unnecessary risks…expecting God to bail us out?  What dietary choices are we making?  Exercise choices?  Health care choices?  Financial choices?

If faith cannot believe without sensations or rescues from unnecessary risks then it is not really faith.  It is doubt looking for proof…looking in the wrong places.  God’s rescuing power is not something to be played with and experimented with.  It is something to be quietly trusted in everyday life.

The third attempt of the Tempter was a whopper.  He offered Jesus the whole world and all that was in it.  All Jesus had to do was worship him…not God.  The Tempter was saying compromise…make a deal with me.  Don’t have such high standards.  Work with me on this one, Jesus.

Jesus’ response showed that he was quite certain that we can never defeat evil by compromising with evil.  Christianity cannot stoop to the level of the world.  It must lift the world to its level.  Nothing less will do.  We compromise with evil when we do nothing about it.

Jesus gave us the example….what to do when temptation…testing…come our way.  One commentator puts it this way.  “Resist the devil in the power of the Sprit through the guidance of the Word to accomplish the will of God.”

Let’s break that statement down into some smaller chunks.

Resist the devil.  Jesus clearly resisted.  His brother…James…and the apostle Peter…saw up close how Jesus was confronted by evil.  James wrote “Submit yourselves…to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  (James 4:7)  Peter wrote “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”  (1 Peter 5:8-9)  When the temptation is in front of you…just say “No”.  Help others do the same.

In the power of the Spirit of God.  It’s not our own strength or cunning that will get the job done.  Just as Jesus was guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit…so must we be.  Just as Jesus was never alone…so we have a companion…a source of power and strength.  In our temptations we might be led to believe that God is not around.  In his letter to the Romans Paul made it clear that for all of those who belong to Christ the Spirit is there even in the darkest moments.

Through the guidance of the Word of God.  The best way to overcome the temptation to go against the Word of God is to know the Word of God.  We have been given the Bible to show us the truth of life.  Compare the words of Jesus to the words of the world.  Then, you’ll know how to discern and confront the lies.  You’ll know how to follow God’s will.  The devil knew the Scripture well when he tempted Jesus.  Does he know them better than you?  How often and how deeply do you study the Bible?  We have room for more people in our Wednesday night studies.

To accomplish the will of God the Father.  If we truly know God’s Word we will be able to discern…to figure out His will for us.  After all…our goal is to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The instruction from the Psalmist is most appropriate here.  “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)  Loving God…delighting in God…could be the most important guideline for all of the decisions of our life…big and small.   If we truly love God we will not do anything contrary to His Word and His will for us.  And…when we delight in our walk with God…we are freed to pursue our own desires and dreams…because they will be God’s desires and dreams.

Here’s a real life…real world…example for all of us today…of the tempter at work.  How will you decide?

I have two friends who have written a play about the lynching of Willie Earle in 1947.  He was a young black man held in the Pickens County Jail…waiting for further legal action.  He had been accused…accused…not convicted…of robbing and murdering a white man who drove a cab in Greenville. I had the privilege of attending a reading of the play a while ago.

As I sat there…listening to the script being read by a number of performers I asked how could a Christian community tolerate the lynching of a young man…accused of a crime and in jail awaiting further legal action.

I then reflected on our community…state… nation…and world today…70 years later.  Some say hate and intolerance are greater today.  Some say otherwise.  No matter how you want to measure…or what your measure might show…the reality is…hate and intolerance are still there.  It’s the cause of much of what is reported as news.  It’s the topic of many conversations…on Facebook and in the coffee shops.

And…the hate and intolerance are not just based on race…it’s gender…it’s citizenship…it’s gender preference…it’s perceived faith beliefs…it’s economic status.  All are excuses for hate and intolerance.

As you decide how to participate in these great debates turn to Scripture…and look for the verse in which Jesus tells us to care for the least among us.  Or, the teachings that say love your neighbor.  You’ll find them several times in more than one Gospel.   Then look for the verse in which Jesus places qualifications on that caring and love.  You won’t find any qualifiers…exceptions…or excuses…none of those I just mentioned and no others.

As you decide whether to join those who speak and act of hate and intolerance and anger…look further at the Sermon on the Mount…chapters five through seven of Matthew…and Jesus’ instructions for those who want to call themselves Christians.  Nowhere will you find instruction promoting anything other than love and inclusiveness.  The tools of hate and intolerance…and twisting Scripture to support hate and intolerance are tools of the devil and those who would follow him.  They are not tools of Christ and those who would follow him…even when those tools are used against us.

No matter what’s on the menu we can rest assured of the proper decision when “we resist the devil in the power of the Spirit through the guidance of the Word to accomplish the will of God?”

Let us come to the feast provided at the Lord’s Table this morning…knowing the love, strength and guidance He provides are the menu items for us to choose.