When No One Is Looking Program No SPEAKER: JOHN BRADSHAW

Transcription

1 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 1 When No One Is Looking Program No SPEAKER: JOHN BRADSHAW This really happened. A computer glitch caused the lights to come on and the doors to open at a major supermarket at one o clock in the morning when the supermarket was supposed to be closed. It didn t take long, and in the people came about 50 shoppers altogether. And before long, it became obvious to the shoppers that there were no staff members present. They were there alone. Twenty-five people left their shopping behind when they realized there was nobody there for them to actually pay. Twelve shoppers did pay for their groceries by using the self-service checkouts. But for a dozen or so people, the allure of free groceries (and whatever else they managed to jam into their shopping carts) was just too much. Knowing full well they were stealing, they made off with free groceries not stopping to think that security cameras had recorded everything. Now, that would be a temptation, wouldn t it? Some people probably felt like it was a dream come true alone in an open supermarket and nobody there to stop you from taking home whatever you wanted. The temptation proved to be too strong for them. And that s temptation for you. It comes in many different ways, and in differing degrees of seriousness the temptation to gossip, the temptation to take just one more piece of chocolate cake, the temptation to get revenge, the temptation to cheat... In 1980, a woman crossed the line in the Boston marathon in the impressive time of 2 hours 31 minutes and 56 seconds the fastest female time in history for the Boston marathon and the third fastest marathon ever run by a woman. But people noticed she didn t look as tired as someone ought to look for having just run 26 miles. She didn t look as physically fit as a marathon runner should. Her resting heart rate of 76 was much higher than your typical marathon runner. And her time for the Boston was 25 minutes faster than her time in the New York marathon six months earlier a massive improvement. Unbelievable, really. And then, two university students said they saw the woman emerge from a crowd of spectators half a mile from the finish and run the last half-mile of the race.

2 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 2 It doesn t take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened. She wanted the glory, but she was never going to be good enough to win a major marathon, so she was tempted to fabricate the whole thing. And she yielded to the temptation. You know, a similar thing happened in October of 2011 at the Kielder Marathon in northern England, about 60 miles from Newcastle. It was eventually discovered that the 31-year-old man who finished third had actually gotten on a bus at the 20-mile mark, gotten off the bus just before the finish line, hidden behind a tree, and then jumped out into the race and came in third place. I get it. After running 20 miles, YOU might be tempted to take a bus too. Being tempted, though, doesn t mean you d necessarily do it. Being tempted and actually doing a certain thing are two different things. You might be tempted to cheat on your taxes, fudge an expense report, say you ve cleaned your room when you haven t, sneak an extra piece of pie, not tell the man at the checkout register that he s given you too much change, cheat on your spouse or embezzle money. You might not do any of it, but you may be tempted. But temptation is the doorway to sin. It doesn t always lead to sin, but it so often does, and the consequences can be disastrous. I just read a story about a teenage girl who killed a child because she said she wanted to know what it felt like to kill. Now, you d think this child has got some pretty intense issues, but let s be honest she s not the first person who s thought about taking someone s life. I imagine most people who would have that thought would just brush the thought away and say it s just an episode of crazy thinking and then move on and forget about it. But temptation comes and unless you know what to do when it does come, you might end up as its victim. Stop and think for a moment about the things that tempt you. Some of them might be minor irritations, such as the temptation to yell at your neighbors and tell them to turn their music down. You might know that you re never actually going to do that, but you re tempted to. But maybe you re tempted to sell drugs to get money to do whatever. If you re having a hard time financially, that might be a real temptation that eats away at you. Just do this simple thing and you ll have all the money you need... How do you deal with that? Thankfully, the Bible gives us the answers. Today, we re going to look at the example of Someone who knew what it was to be tempted. That someone is Jesus. Jesus was fiercely tempted and yet He never sinned, not even once, not even by a thought. How was He able to resist temptation? I want to make something crystal clear right from the get-go today. The Bible says you CAN resist temptation. You don t HAVE to fall.

3 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 3 That s not to say you re suddenly going to learn how to always get it right and never make a mistake. Remember that as Christians, we GROW. But what are we growing into? The idea is to grow to become more and more like Jesus. So we want to be resisting temptation more and more and falling into it less and less. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, the Bible says this: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (NKJV). That means there is a way out, and that way out is through faith in God. Through Jesus. Today s program could absolutely change your life. We re about to look at how Jesus handled temptation. Don t go away. I ll be right back. EVERY WORD I wonder if there s a better verse to describe a certain problem that afflicts the human family. Proverbs 21:2 says that: Every way of a man is right in his own eyes (NKJV). This affects all of us: people have a tremendous capacity to convince themselves that their way is right. Which is fine, if it is right. In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to do what they thought was right, even if God s will was different. Facing Satan in the wilderness, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy and said that people ought to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It s good to have opinions and ideas, but remember today that we can get in a fix doing that which is right in our eyes. What we should want is to know and do that which is right in God s eyes. RETURN TO PROGRAM Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. I m John Bradshaw, and today we re looking at temptation specifically, how Jesus handled temptation. When Jesus was 30 years old, He started His public ministry. And He was anointed for His ministry by the Holy Spirit when He was baptized at the River Jordan by John the Baptist. At His baptism, something unusual happened. A voice from Heaven rang out the voice of God. He said (Matthew 3:17):

4 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 4 This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (NKJV). That s significant for many reasons, not the least of which is because of what happened next. That was at the end of Matthew 3. Matthew 4 opens with Jesus being tempted by the devil. Jesus fasts for almost six weeks. You know He s extremely hungry by then weak and craving food and Satan comes to him and says this in Matthew 4:3: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (NKJV). Was that a temptation for Jesus? Of course it was! He hadn t eaten in 40 days. He was starving! But more than that, Satan said to Him, if you re really the Son of God. In other words, Satan said, Prove who you really are. It isn t just that you re hungry, but I m calling into question who you really are. You re not really the Messiah, are you? You re not going to believe what your Father said, are you? Satan was tempting Jesus to doubt God. In fact, it s a lot like what Satan said to Eve. God had said, Eat the fruit and you shall surely die. But Satan said, Has God said you shall surely die? God didn t really mean that, did He Eve? You re not really going to believe the word of God, are you? And he takes the same approach with Jesus. If you re really the Son of God... No doubt, Jesus was tempted. So notice what He did. Jesus quoted the Word of God. In Matthew 4:4, It is written and you ve got to like those verses that start with It is written! Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Jesus fled to God s Word. He quoted it and believed it. God s Word was the strength in Christ s moment of temptation. God s Word was Jesus weapon against temptation. Remember, Jesus was tempted throughout His entire ministry. He had people following Him around, goading Him to sin almost every moment of every day, harassing Him and bothering Him, and Jesus found His strength in God s Word. When temptation comes to you, you ll be okay if you do what Jesus did, and run to the Word of God. That s where the strength is. Let me give you some examples of what I m talking about. When temptation comes, you can quote the verse I mentioned before: 1 Corinthians 10:13. Remember, it says this (1 Corinthians 10:13): No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with

5 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 5 the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (NKJV). That s God promising you that He s going to give you a way out of temptation whatever it is. So when temptation comes, you can pray and remind God of this verse, and tell Him that you are counting on Him to give you a way out of temptation. Will He do it? He has to because He has said He would. I d like to give you an example. A young man told me he was walking along a narrow street one day, when he looked up and saw a woman a little further up the street standing in the middle of the street who was as he said dressed to distract. He said that, knowing himself, he was going to have a difficult time keeping his mind where it ought to be. So here is what he did. He prayed and asked God to keep His promise and make a way of escape. He said he didn t know how God could possibly do that, because there she was and she didn t seem to be going anywhere. But when he looked up from having said his prayer as he walked, the woman was actually walking away and disappeared around a corner! God had kept His promise. Here s another verse that you will want to remember in your battle with temptation. It s Jude 24. You ll find it right before the book of Revelation. The Bible says (Jude 1:24): Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy (NKJV). Did you catch that? God is able to keep you from falling. When you find yourself in the midst of temptation, if you ll bring that promise to Jesus, you can be certain He will keep it, and that He will keep you from falling. You know what a big part of the problem is? It isn t just that temptation comes. That s the price we pay for living in a sinful world. It s that we don t have the Word of God in our minds when temptation comes. We can get distracted to the point that we re not getting God s Word into our minds. And we can be blinded to the danger of sin by this world that celebrates sin and has normalized it. Remember, the wages of sin is death. Sin separates a person from God. (Isaiah 59:9) We ought to run from temptation as though our lives depend on it, because spiritually speaking they do. How can we successfully handle and resist temptation? It s everywhere. Now, keep this in mind. All Satan can do is tempt you to sin. He can t force you to sin. He tempts you choose. There s always a choice available to us to make, and

6 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 6 that choice is to go with God or go it alone. To say Yes to Jesus, or to say Yes to self. When it comes to fending off temptation, the best thing we can do is imitate what Jesus did when He was tempted in the wilderness. Satan tempted Him to turn stones into bread, and to doubt His Father. Remember, the Father had told Jesus that He was God s Son. Satan said, If you re the Son of God, do this. And Jesus met him with that great Bible verse when He said (Matthew 4:4): It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (NIV). He s saying, I m going to believe my Father. Even if it doesn t look like I m the Son of God out here in the wilderness, I ll believe God s Word before I believe even appearances. So Satan tried twice more. Jump off this high place, because the angels will catch you and you ll be okay! And Jesus said (Matthew 4:7): It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (KJV). Then Satan said, Bow down and worship me, and I ll give you the kingdoms of the world. Jesus responded in Matthew 4:10: You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve (NKJV). The devil was defeated. Temptation has no power over the Word of God. The promises of God are enough to see off the foe Satan is no match for the weakest sinner armed with simple faith in the promises of God s Word. Now, before I look at more promises with you, let me make a couple of practical suggestions. If you want to resist temptation, you can start by not putting yourself in its way. If lust is problem, don t go down to the beach on a hot summer s day. If alcohol is a problem, don t meet a friend at the bar. If you get frazzled rushing off to work each morning, give yourself more time in the morning by getting up a little earlier. If you re tempted to eat junk food, stop by a store that sells healthy food. Get more sleep. Get more exercise. These two things will help you feel better and help your brain to function better. Now, I m not saying these are the big keys. They re not but they ll help. The big key is claiming the promises of God. In fact, you could broaden that a little to emphasize how important it is that we keep in touch with God. When I became a Christian, I knew my life had really changed when one day I hit

7 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 7 my thumb with a hammer, and instead of saying something I d regret, I said a prayer. I don t mean I whacked my thumb and then bowed my head and said, Father in Heaven... I don t mean that. I mean, when I hit my thumb, my first instinct was to talk to God. And when I reflected on that, I thought, Wow, God is really working. Why was he working? Because I was in touch with him, and being in touch with Him kept me from sin. He gave me strength in the face of temptation. If you let your devotional life slip, if you re not reading the Bible, if you re not connecting with God in prayer, you ll have little power to resist temptation. Little or none. The power comes from abiding in Christ, and by having the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Jesus said to His disciples one day, Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. It will come to you, but you don t have to enter into it if you watch and pray. We re told to pray in the Lord s Prayer (Matthew 6:13): Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (KJV). This thing is a part of our daily existence. Billy Sunday once said, Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and inviting him in. The devil can tempt. He will. He knows your weak points, and he ll do everything he can to exploit them. He ll try to make you late and harried in the morning. He ll jab the neighbor s dog to bark at 4.30 a.m. so you ll wake up cranky. He ll encourage you to think that when your spouse said, Hi, how was your day? that what he or she was really saying was, I really don t like you very much anymore. He ll play mind games with you. But if you ll learn to run to God and lean on His Word you ll be okay. If you re tempted to say things you shouldn t, take this Bible verse to God (Psalm 141:3): Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips (KJV). You re asking God to take over when you take that verse to Him you re surrendering to God. And remember what James wrote: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (KJV).

8 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 8 You submit, you resist, through the Word, and the devil flees. It works. Hebrews 2:18 says: For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted (KJV). See that? Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted, and so He s able to help you when you re tempted. Lord, I m tempted to think you ve abandoned me! I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV). Lord, I m so weak! My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV). It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13 NKJV). The promises of God were Jesus way out of temptation, and they ll deliver you too. And one thought I want to make sure I share with you today is if you have fallen into temptation, remember another one of God s promises (1 John 1:9 KJV): If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As much as you don t want to fall into temptation, should you do so, you can afford to remember that God is a forgiving God. What would you do if you found $45,000 that wasn t yours would you be tempted to keep it? What if nobody knew, and if nobody could possibly know you d found the money? What if there would be no questions asked? When a Utah man named Josh Ferrin bought his first house, he started looking around in the attic, where he found a number of metal boxes that turned out to be stuffed full with approx. $45,000. Here s what he said, I m not perfect, and I wish I could say there was never any doubt in my mind. We knew we had to give it back, but it doesn t mean I didn t think about our car in need of repairs, how we would love to adopt a child and aren t able to do that right now, or fix up our outdated house that we just bought. He was tempted. Strongly. But he said, But the money wasn t ours...and that is a lesson I hope to teach to my children.

9 It Is Written Script: 1350 When No One Is Looking Page 9 He could have caved in to the temptation, but he didn t. And you don t have to and I don t have to as long as we stay connected to Jesus, and claim the promises of His Word. Temptations are serious business. Understanding how to defeat them rather than being defeated by them can revolutionize your life. PRAYER Our Father in Heaven, we thank you that we serve a Savior who is victorious and who will give us His victory so that we don t need to experience defeat. Lord, make us strong when temptation comes. Alert us to call to you, to trust in you, to claim your Word. Help us, Father, to put your Word in our minds, so that when temptation comes, our mind will go to you and to the promises that are found in the Bible. We thank you for a way out of temptation and for victory through Christ. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. It Is Written PO Box 6, Chattanooga, TN USA Tel: Fax: