Sermon by Pastor Dale Wolcott

September 27, 2003

(Scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version unless noted)

[Children’s Story]

"Mom, can I go over to Pete’s house after school today?" Pete, Davie’s best friend, lived a different direction from school. If he went home with Pete, Mom or Dad would have to come over later and pick him up.

"Yes, Davie, that will be fine. I’ll come and pick you up in time for supper, OK?"

"Thanks Mom."

"You’re welcome. Pete’s a nice boy; I’m glad you like to be his friend. But Davie, one thing I need to remind you. Don’t go swimming in that pond over there by Pete’s house. It’s getting too cold, I don’t want you to get sick."

"OK, Mom, I won’t."

Davie ran to his room and put his homework in his backpack; but down underneath he slipped something else too -- something he didn’t want mom to see.

On his way to the front door he stopped in the kitchen as usual for mom to put his lunch into his backpack. Mom lifted the flap, and as she set the lunch down inside she noticed something colorful sticking out from under the schoolbooks. So she reached in and pulled out Davie’s swimming trunks!

"Davie, I thought you promised me you wouldn’t go swimming after school today."

Davie’s face turned all red. "Well, um," Davie said, "I’m not going to, but I put them in just in case I got tempted."

Boys and girls, do you remember the prayer Jesus taught us that says, "And lead us not into temptation"? Sometimes we lead ourselves into temptation, don’t we? If you listen carefully to our sermon today, you’ll learn something very important that you can do that will make it easier for you to say "No" when Satan tempts you to do something wrong.

Temptation is no laughing matter.

But Congressman Bill Janklow used to think it was. "Two months before Representative Bill Janklow was involved in a fatal crash in South Dakota, allegedly running a stop sign at more than 70 mph, he publicly joked about being stopped for speeding in Nebraska." [Associated Press, September 5, 2003] Records show he paid at least 12 speeding tickets between 1990 and 1994. When he was elected governor of South Dakota in 1994, they stopped giving him tickets, but he didn’t stop speeding and often made lighthearted references to his lead-footed habits. Now he’s facing manslaughter charges after his speeding vehicle struck and killed a motorcyclist.

Temptation is not a laughing matter.

The entertainment world thinks it is. There’s even a famous singing group that calls itself "The Temptations." (I had always assumed that they were women, but found out just this week that they’re a group of guys who started out in Detroit – homegrown temptations!)

Laughing at temptation.

Not long ago I happened to tune in to the local NPR news station. A very professional-sounding female reporter was interviewing a gentleman who used to be a drummer with the Beatles before they became famous. He was talking about how their first tour was to Germany, and they sang in strip clubs. The reporter laughed -- a little nervously, I thought -- and said something like, "That must have been interesting." And the aging ex-drummer laughed out loud: "Yeah, we had a great time."

Laughing at temptation.

Even Adventists laugh at temptation sometimes, don’t we? Especially at the potluck dessert table!

This morning we are going to discover that the Bible says God himself will someday laugh at the author of temptation. He wants you and me to join Him in having that last laugh. But in the meantime, how do we as Christians handle temptation?

Let’s pray: Lord, some of us have been taking temptation very casually and we need a wake-up call. Others of us have a very sensitive conscience, and we struggle and need encouragement. Lord, somehow work a miracle and bring every single person here just what he or she needs from Your Word, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Bible says that temptation is serious because temptation leads to sin, and the wages of sin is death. Someone once said that temptation is a more serious issue after you’re converted than before. Before you were converted you really didn’t have any choice – if you were tempted, you just did it. But after you invite Jesus into your life you have no more excuses.

And yet, any one of us who has fallen in love with Jesus and made a serious commitment to follow Him, trying to be like Him, knows it’s not always easy. Even when we are born again, we have a carnal nature, old habits, and a selfish disposition that rises up at the least opportunity.

So, how do you handle temptation? Think about what causes you the most trouble: Temper? Yelling at the kids? Some sort of sexual issue (which is very common)? Perhaps an addiction you’re struggling with? For some people, the temptation is to give in to depression and let it run your life. For others, it is simply the temptation to run out every morning and face the world without taking that quiet time on your knees, with your Bible: the temptation of busy-ness.

These kinds of things are very individualized. None of us can point fingers at others and say; "I know what their temptation is." But you know what yours is. It’s between you and God; it’s your conscience. And even if you are experiencing ongoing victory, you know where your weakness is.

So this morning, please keep your own specific areas of temptation in mind as I share a very exciting but little known strategy for dealing with temptation; an aspect of the everlasting gospel which Christians in general are completely unaware of. Although this is a facet of the unique Biblical message of righteousness by faith in the context of the Three Angels’ Messages, which the Seventh-day Adventist church exists to proclaim, it is surprisingly unknown among many Adventists as well.

Let’s begin in Genesis. What was the first temptation? It had to do with food, didn’t it? Of course there were much larger issues: whom do I trust? Where are my loyalties? But the presenting issue in the very first temptation had to do with appetite, with taste buds, with flowing saliva, with a basic human desire, or drive or instinct -- a God-given one. And when Satan got Adam and Eve on food, he got them on everything else.

Now turn to Matthew, chapter 4. Jesus comes to reclaim what Adam lost. (Paul calls Jesus the second Adam). Jesus is baptized, anointed as "Messiah" by the Holy Spirit, and at the very beginning of His ministry he spends 40 days fasting in the desert, and then Satan comes and tempts Him. What is the first temptation? FOOD!

It has become popular in some Adventist circles to laugh about what used to be called "health reform" or "diet reform." But both the Old and New Testaments tell us in their opening stories that what goes into our mouths is a significant moral issue. Furthermore, the story of Jesus reveals that gaining victory over this little matter of what goes into our mouth can become almost a "master key" to gaining victories in many other areas where Satan attacks us. This is not salvation by vege-food, salvation by salad, or righteousness by Rice Dream. But it is a very exciting insight that can turn some of our struggles in other areas of life into a "piece of cake" (pardon the pun) if we can reframe this aspect of truth as a blessing, a resource, rather than an onerous requirement!

We’ll get back to Matthew chapter 4, but before we go any further let me share an illustration. Do you recall a few years ago, when New York City was in big trouble? People were saying the city was ungovernable. The crime rate was horrible; the subways were unsafe. A survey revealed that half the people in New York City wished they lived somewhere else. Then they got a new mayor and new police chief. That was in 1993, and just a short time later crime was down 57% and the murder rate had dropped 65%. Do you know what the police did differently to bring about this change? Many things, of course, but one of the keys was that they started enforcing litter laws, graffiti laws, don’t-spit-on-the-sidewalk laws, etc. They worked on the little things and the big things sort of took care of themselves.

Most of us think that what goes into our mouths is a relatively little thing. We can even quote Jesus who said, "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out…" [Matthew 15:11]! The Jewish religious establishment of Jesus’ day had completely missed the point of the Old Testament health laws, and had built a massive jumble of meaningless ritual requirements that Jesus cleared away. You will recall Jesus also said that eating without washing your hands doesn’t defile you [Matthew 15:20]. I know some kids who would love to quote that verse around dinnertime! Jesus was not opposed to good sanitation. He was opposed to meaningless ritual.

And in the same way, he was not opposed to healthful living and eating.. Let’s go back to Matthew 4. "And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’" [Matthew 4: 2, 3].

Satan says, Jesus, you’re hungry, so satisfy your hunger! God surely doesn’t want you to suffer this way. Just do what it takes to satisfy your God-given, natural appetite.

Have you ever been 40 days hungry? I haven’t; none of us have. I’ve never even once in my life been four days hungry. We tend to say we’re starving if it’s been five hours since the last meal! Ellen White comments on this story by saying that the length of Jesus’ fast is evidence of the powerful grip of "debased appetite" on the human race. [E. G. White: Confrontation, p. 37]

Notice how Jesus responded to Satan: "But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’" [Matthew 4:4]. "Living by God’s Word is a higher value to me than feeding my face. My mind and heart rule my belly and my gut, not vice versa." That’s a miracle! In fact, it’s humanly impossible. Apart from Jesus, you and I cannot function that way. But Jesus gained the victory FOR us! He didn’t just show us the way; He made the way. He is the way.

So what’s the good news in this Bible story? The answer is in the following three important Gospel truths:

Gospel Truth #1: Because Jesus succeeded where Adam failed, if you are in Jesus, you can succeed where YOU have failed. Jesus gained the victory for us, not only in the Wilderness, but at every step of His life, all the way to Calvary. And on the Cross He guaranteed that His victory is available not only to cover our failures but to empower our victories.

Gospel Truth #2: Claiming Jesus’ victory over this little, ordinary, everyday thing in your life can become a key victory that opens the way to victory over many kinds of other temptations.

Have you been under any conviction that a change in your eating habits would be a good thing for you? According to the Adventist Health Study of 1976, a very low meat intake is associated with longevity. The study also indicates that the longer a person is on the low or no-meat diet, the more significant the increase in longevity [American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2003]. More and more findings like this are coming out all the time in the secular press.

Now please don’t go out and say the pastor preached a sermon that it is a sin to eat meat, or it’s a sin to eat this or that. Every person is different. The issue is not for any one of us to tell others what they should or shouldn’t eat. "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" [Romans 14:17].

The big issue is not merely food, but rather: At what point in my life am I being tempted by my appetite to eat for my own self-gratification, rather than for God’s glory? "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." [1 Corinthians 10:31] And the evidence is clear that for most of us, natural plant-based foods, simply prepared, are the best for our body and for our brain, which is where the Holy Spirit talks to us. No wonder the wise man said in Proverbs 23:2, "And put a knife to your throat, if you are a man given to appetite." This is no laughing matter.

I want to share one additional bit of scientific data that helps explain how gaining a victory over appetite can actually help us physiologically in dealing with other temptations. What I’m going to share next is something my grandparents took this by faith, because it was scriptural, and they read it very clearly in the writings of the Spirit of prophecy. Today we can cite scientific evidence. Did you know there is very strong evidence that a plant based diet actually delays puberty?

Every decade of the twentieth century saw an increase in per capita meat consumption in the U.S. And every decade of the twentieth century saw an earlier average age of the onset of puberty. (This apparently has to do with high protein intake. Rats fed a high protein diet also mature more quickly -- and die sooner.)

Now, some young people may not think that a later puberty is a blessing. But you parents know it is! Some of the toughest temptations young people face come because their bodies are physiologically ready for certain activities, but they aren’t ready mentally, sociologically and educationally. Parents, you can potentially shorten that stressful teen time by helping your children to develop a healthy appetite for simple, plant-based foods while they are small.

Gospel Truth #3: Look at Matthew 4:11, the sequel of the Wilderness Temptation story. Did Jesus starve to death? No. Did He spend the rest of His earthly life fighting off hunger pangs and suffering horrible self-denial and anguish at every meal because he had to deny his natural appetites, his taste buds? No! What does it say in verse 11? Angels came and ministered to him. They brought him a far better meal than those stony loaves of bread would have been!

When we bring our thoughts, our appetites, into "sync" with the mind of Jesus, when we let Him be Lord of our taste buds; He changes our tastes and gives us joy in eating the good stuff! One of my all time favorite passages of Scripture says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s" [Psalm 103:2-5].

A few years ago, in Phoenix, Arizona, I had a couple of hours to wait before my flight check-in time. I was all by myself and hungry, so I went to look for a Taco Bell. I found myself driving through an unfamiliar part of town, with various big flashing signs advertising, "nude dancers;" "adult entertainment." The thought crossed my mind, not a soul would ever know if I went in there. I could do it.

But you know what? It wasn’t even a temptation! I didn’t want to do it! I can smile as I think about it. It was a good feeling to know that by God’s grace, at that point in my life, I didn’t have to struggle with that particular decision. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!

There are still some things I do struggle with. God is not finished with me yet! Every one of us born-again sinners are still "under construction," Amen? What’s hard for me may be easy for you, and vice versa. But my testimony is, God does give victories over temptation, can you say Amen?

In conclusion, turn with me to the second psalm. Psalm 2 promises that the day is coming when God and His people are going to have the last laugh in this great controversy with Satan, sin and temptation. "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’"[Psalm 2:1-3]. That’s the essence of Satan’s rebellion. That was the original temptation in Eden: God is restricting your freedom. Eating that forbidden fruit can liberate you.

But now notice the promise in verse 4: "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision." God will have the last laugh! And because Jesus has already conquered, by claiming His victory over that original temptation, we can start laughing at other temptations even now.

Stuart Hamblen understood this when he wrote his famous hymn: