How do we Conquer Temptations?

(flash picture of temptations)

We face temptations every day.

Should I break the rules when nobody is watching?

Should I bend the law if nobody is hurt?

Should I bring out my phone and start (air quotes) “multi-tasking” when Ps Barnabas starts the sermon?

(flash dictionary reference)

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “temptation” as

“the wish to do or have something that you know you should not do or have".

We know that there are things that we shouldn’t do or shouldn’t have.

We know that we shouldn’t do things that are against the law.

We know we shouldn’t attack or bully others.

We know that we shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to us.

(flash picture of temptation)

But even though I know, yet I still want to do the opposite.

Why not quietly pick up the $10 note on the floor and put it in my pocket?

Anyway there’s no name on it and it doesn’t seem like a big amount.

Even though I know that it is stealing.

Why not imagine stay quiet when the cashier gives you more change.

Anyway it’s their fault and if they didn’t notice, iI get extra money.

Even though I know that that is dishonesty.

And the cashier will get into trouble when doing their closing at the end of their shift.

Why not join in my friends to make fun of this person who behaves differently from us?

Anyway he’s not popular with people.

And all my friends are already making fun of him.

Even though I know it is bullying.

And I wouldn’t want that to happen to me.

So why do we still give in to these temptations?

Even though deep down we know that it is wrong?

And how we can conquer and overcome these temptations?

(flash point)

First, let us Remember Whose We Are.

One of the reasons we give in to our temptations to do the wrong thing is because we forget whose we are.

We forget who we belong to.

We forget that we are sons and daughters to our parents.

We forget that we are brothers and sisters to our siblings.

And we forget that we are precious and much loved children of God.

When I forget whose I am, I do things without thinking about the consequences.

Because I will only be thinking about me and what I want and enjoy. I

I will have forgotten that I belong to my teachers and my mentors who want me to be a better version of myself.

I will have forgotten that I belong to my parents and my family who will be worried if I anything bad happened to me.

And I will have forgotten that I belong to God, who loves me and gave his Son, Jesus, to die for me and save me.

(flash Num 20:2-6)

Moses and Aaron knew that they belonged God.

So when the people gathered to quarrel with Moses and Aaron, they knew who they should look to.

Yes, they looked to God because they knew that only God could help them.

They remembered that they belonged to God.

And that they should always look to God for help.

(flash Num 20:10-12)

But in a moment of pride and maybe even anger, they forgot about God’s command.

Instead of telling the people that God is the one who will feed them,

They forgot about God and asked the people, “Shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”

Instead of following God’s command to just tell the rock to yield its water,

They forgot about God and struck the rock, one time, and then two!

And because they forgot about God, God told both of them that they cannot bringing his people into the promised land.

This is because, when they forgot about God, they stole the power and holiness from God for themselves.

(flash picture of wolves)

A wise old man once told his grandson:

“A fight is going on within me.

It is a terrible fight between two wolves.

One is evil.

He is full of anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other, however is good.

He is full of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

Which do you think will win?”

(wait a while/ elicit answers from Boys)

The winner is of course the wolf that you feeds.

(flash Lk 3.22)

Jesus knew which wolf to feed because he remembered whose he was.

He knew he belonged to God the Father who called Jesus his beloved Son.

He knew he belonged to the Holy Spirit who filled him with life-giving power.

But Jesus not only knew, but also he recognised who he was.

(flash point)

This brings us to our second point: Recognise Who We Are

(flash Lk 4.3-4)

When the devil challenged Jesus by saying, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread”,

Jesus knew what to say and do.

Jesus and the devil both recognised that Jesus was and is still the Son of God.

The devil wanted to scam Jesus make him forget about his identity.

If the devil won, Jesus would have forgotten about who he was and who he belonged to.

"Man shall not live by bread alone.”

God is not against us eating nor drinking when we are hungry or thirsty.

Jesus didn’t say, I don’t need bread.

But he meant life is more than just food, or drink, or work, or even family.

God provides for all the things we need in life.

But when we identify ourselves and say that we belong to these needs, instead of God,

that becomes the problem.

When becoming a foodie is more important than being a child of God,

wouldn’t the temptation of yummy food draw you away easily?

When work becomes your identity,

wouldn’t you be constantly tempted to run after recognition from people, instead of from God?

And when family, though God, becomes more important than being a child of God,

wouldn’t it be easy to move spending time with God to a lower priority?

(flash Lk 4.5-8)

When the devil challenged Jesus to worship him in exchange for the authority and glory of all the kingdoms of the world,

it was fundamentally a scam to take a shortcut to fame and glory.

Both Jesus and the devil knew that all nations will acknowledge Jesus as King one day.

But Jesus’s current route doesn’t seem so effective.

Not only is it slow and unpopular, it also requires him to die.

Why not take a shortcut to make things easier?

But my life can never change if I let my worries stay the same. When my questions shift from “How can I do this?” or “How can I gain this?” to “Where are you amidst all this Lord?” and “How do I turn to you?”, then the Spirit is given space to begin purifying my heart from its longings to overcome and subdue in order to be overcome and subdued by God’s abundance.

Sometimes we are tempted to take shortcuts to be popular or to be more effective.

But if in the process of looking for hacks and quick solutions,

we might find ourselves willing to compromise and bow to the devil in exchange for popularity and success.

Why take the long and painful way of the cross and holiness,

instead of owning a car, a condo, and lots of cash apart from God?

After all, if we want to have many mission trips,

to make extensive repairs to the church,

to have more effective outreach,

aren’t money and power useful?

In the end, you might find yourself wanting to have the final word,

to prove others wrong,

to win the argument,

and even tempted to control every detail of those working under you.

Absolute power is easier.

Easier to be God than to love God.

Easier to control people than to love people.

Easier to win rather than obey.

(flash Sirens)

In ancient Greece, there were these monsters called the Sirens.

A Siren was a monster that was part woman, part bird.

They lived on 3 small islands and would sing beautiful songs that would lure sailors to come closer to them.

And when the sailors gave into their temptations, they would move their ships closer and closer to the rocks where the Sirens where until it was too late.

Odysseus or Ulysses, while returning home from fighting the Trojan War, despite being warned to avoid the Sirens, was curious to hear their haunting melody.

So he told the sailors to tie him to the mast and put beewaxes in their ear.

“Even if I shout and scream and threaten to kill you, do not let me go.”

So they did.

And as they sailed past the islands, Odyssesus struggled and screamed and begged to be released.

But his faithful men rowed harder until they were free of the temptations.

Like Odysseus, sometimes we may recognise only our own voice over God’s voice.

We think that we can make it through temptations, no problem.

But when the temptations really come, we struggle helplessly.

Without God’s mercy and people around us to help us,

can we really do it on our own?

(flash Mt 20)

Jesus said in Matthew 20:26:

“Whoever would be great among you must be your slave”

God doesn’t need fast runners, effective administrators, or brilliant organisers.

He only needs a faithful person who will recognise his plans and follow his timing.

God doesn’t need a person who is too busy for God.

He only needs an available person who will recognise God’s purpose even in uncomfortable timings.

And God doesn’t need a knowledgeable person, who thinks he is very skilled, has a lot of potential, or knows a lot.

He only needs a teachable person who is humble and willing to learn at his feet.

(flash Lk 4.9-12)

And when the devil set Jesus on the temple pinnacle, he challenged Jesus to test the Father’s love for him.

This time the devil got smarter and quoted the Bible, but in the wrong way.

The devil thinks that as the Son of God, Jesus is entitled to demand God to save him.

“Make a spectacular display of power to prove that you are really God’s beloved Son!

If someone tells you that God will surely save you,

do you still need to take medicine or go to the doctors?

Or will you just say, just pray for miraculous healing.

Don’t need to see the doctors or take medicine.

If someone tells you, if you sin, it’s still ok,

because God will still forgive you?

Since God has already forgiven your sins,

don’t need to keep asking for forgiveness

and burden yourself with guilt.

Or if you say, God, you’ve got to save me from this hot mess I’m in, or I’m quitting you.

Is God not working in your life?

Or are you putting God to the test?

Unlike Moses and Aaron, Jesus knew and remembered who he belonged to.

And he recognised that he couldn’t do it by his own strength.

And so he didn’t get tricked by the devil.

Because he relied on the God he belonged to.

He relied on God’s Word and God’s Holy Spirit to overcome every temptation the devil threw at him.

And this brings us to our last point.

(flash point)

Rely on Whose We Are.

We are living in a world with so much knowledge and solutions that are easily available.

Need a recipe for apple pie? Just whip out your phone and search for it on Google.

Need to know how to change your bike tyre? Watch a YouTube video.

Need to find out how to conquer temptations?

Why waste time listening to Ps Barnabas? Just ask ChatGPT!

(flash ChatGPT result)

In case you’re wondering, I’ve done a quick check with ChatGPT.

They’ve given me 10 tips to conquer temptations.

Don’t bother to take a screenshot, cos you can easily go to ChatGPT to ask yourself.

And btw none of them talked about God.

Oh, if you’re wondering, compared ChatGPT, I’ve only got 3 main points today.

And we’re already done 2.

So stick with me and let’s explore what it means to rely on whose we are.

(flash Lk 4.1-2)

Luke 4:1 tells us that after Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan,

being full of the Holy Spirit,

Jesus was actually led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

Here we see God’s purpose for us to allow testing and temptations to come our way,

as he leads us into it, not away from them.

But the devil, or more accurately, the slanderer or the accuser, was the one testing and tempting Jesus.

The devil wasn’t just some small, irritating fellow who comes and annoys Jesus at every turn.

The Bible calls him a “father of lies” and “a roaring lion who prowls around, seeking someone to devour.”

At the critical moment where Jesus was very hungry, after eating nothing for forty days,

the devil came and tempted him to turn stone into bread to satisfy his hunger.

At the critical moment when Jesus had just been baptised and is ready to begin his mission as the Son of God,

the devil came and tempted him to take a short cut to fame and glory.

And at the critical moment after God the Father told Jesus that he was his beloved Son with whom he was well-pleased with,

the devil came and tempted him to test his Father’s love for him by jumping off a temple.

Without relying on the Holy Spirit whom Jesus was filled with and led by,

Jesus would have surely lost to the tricks and scams of the devil.

But you might say, that’s easy for you to say.

Jesus is God, I am not.

Jesus knew his Bible very well, but I hardly read mine.

And Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, but I feel like my tank is low.

(flash Orpheus and Sirens)

In the story of the Argonauts, we see another hero, Orpheus, encountering the deadly Sirens.

When Orpheus realised that the Sirens were singing their deadly song, he quickly took out his lyre and began to play.

Because his music was more beautiful than the Sirens’, the ship’s crew listened, and were saved from the Sirens’ temptation.

Like the ship’s crew, sometimes we are tempted and lured by the beautiful but deadly sound of the Sirens out there.

But because their attention was focused on something more beautiful, they were able to reach safety

Instead of having them focus on saying “no” to the temptation, Orpheus had them say “yes” to something greater.

(flash picture and quoted of Henri Nouwen)

Henri Nouwen wrote:

“I cannot continuously say no to this or no to that, unless there is something ten times more attractive to choose. Saying no to my lust, my greed, my needs, and the world’s powers takes an enormous amount of energy. The only hope is to find something so obviously real and attractive that I can devote all my energies to saying yes. One such thing I can say yes to is when I come in touch with the fact that I am loved. Once I have found that in my total brokenness I am still loved, I become free from the compulsion of doing successful things.” 

So instead of focussing on how hard the task is, focus on the love of God,

Of God who calls you his beloved son and daughter.

Instead of allowing yourself to be tempted by the alluring music of the temptations around you,

Remember the God who loves you and whom you belong to.

And instead of relying on ChatGPT’s 10 tips to conquer temptations,

rely on God whom we belong to.

Jesus relied on God and the Holy Spirit who led him into the wilderness.

(flash Dt 8.2-3)

When the devil challenged Jesus to make bread for his own need,

Jesus responsed by quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3.

Here Jesus wasn’t just being super spiritual and saying that he didn’t need bread.

But by quoting this portion of Scripture, he remembered how God provided and sustained the Israelites when they were wandering in the wilderness.

And in the end, they survived 40 years in the wilderness.

If God can bring them through, surely, God can bring me through.

Instead of heeding the Sirens’ tempting call to prove his identity through the miraculous turning of stone to bread,

Jesus recognised his own weakness,

and heeded the Holy Spirit’s Orpheus song and overcame this temptation.

(flash Dt 6)

When the devil challenged Jesus to take a shortcut to fulfil his mission,

again, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:13.

Jesus remembered that the essence of the greatest commandment

to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might”

is really about fearing God and serving Him.

The fear of God naturally brings about blessings and long life.

And the diligent keeping of his commandments naturally brings about victory from enemies and fulfilment of God’s will.

By listening to the Holy Spirit’s Orpheus Song, Jesus overcame the allure to take a shortcut to get short-lived glory at the cost of shipwrecked disobedience to God.

(flash Lk 4.9-12)

And finally, when the devil challenged Jesus to test the Father’s love for him by jumping,

Jesus saw through the devil’s misquoting of the Bible.

The devil misquoted Psalm 91 to say that God must help and deliver Jesus.

Whereas the Psalm starts with “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High”.

Jesus knew that God’s deliverance and salvation is for those who dwell and abide with God,

Not for those who want to use God as a vending machine or a genie.

Like Jesus, can you and I heed the Holy Spirit’s Orpheus Song?

To rely on God through a careful reading of His Word?

To rely on God through storing up his Word in our hearts,

that we may not sin against Him?

And to rely on God by viewing the temptations around us through the perspective of His Word?

Practically, let us encourage one another in the discipline of reading God’s Word together,

Let us pray that God’s Holy Spirit will help us to be disciplined in seeking him in every temptation we encounter.

So that we will recognise the Holy Spirit’s voice over the Sirens’ voices.

(flash summary)

So my friends, it is really that simple to conquering temptations.

Remembering Whose We Are.

Recognising Who We Are.

And Relying on Whose We Are.

They are simple, but they are not easy.

Because temptations appeal to our deep desires to want to be the best, the most powerful, the most loved, and the most admired.

Like Moses and Aaron, the danger is that the more things we have in life,

the higher our ranks and positions, the easier for us to forget whose we are,

and the easier for us to rely on ourselves instead of on God whom we belong to.

Let us pray that God’s Holy Spirit will fill and lead us,

To feeding the good wolf daily,

To recognise our weakness and helpness in facing the Sirens’ voices.

And to rely on the more powerful Holy Spirit music that protects and leads us away from temptations.