22nd October 2023 - Teaching Services - Yasmin Chaffer - Resist Temptation

A word for us for today. Father, bless her and continue to bless

her as she sows and receives from you, Lord God Father, Let our

hearts be open, let our ears be ready, we might hear from heaven

in Jesus' name. Amen. Good morning. So the title of this morning's

message is resist temptation, and I'm going to start with a quote from a

book by Charlie mckasy called The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and

the Horse. I got you a delicious cape, said the mole. Did

you, yes? Where is it? I ate it? Said the mall.

Oh, but I got you another? Did you where is that one?

The same thing seems to have happened. Resist temptation. I'm not actually

going to talk about resisting k today, but what is temptation? One dictionary

definition says the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. Let's

look at the first recorded temptation in the Bible, that of Adam and Eve

in the Garden of Eden. Whilst it's a well known story, there's always

more that we can learn from it because it's God's word and there's life in

his word. So Genesis chapter two, verses fifteen to eighteen, and then

chapter three, verses one to seven. And I'm reading from the Holman's Christian

Standard Bible for the most part today, So it's Genesis chapter two, starting

verses fifteen to eighteen. And the Lord God commanded the man, you are

free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat

from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day

you eat from it, you will certainly die. The next verse is talk

about the creation of Eve, which is not relevant today, so I'll jump

to chapter three. And now the serpent was the most cunning of all the

wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman,

did God, really you can't eat from any tree in the garden. The

woman said to the we may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.

But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden,

God said, you must not eat it or touch it, or you will

die. No, you will not die, the serpent said to the woman.

In fact, God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will

be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look

at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some

of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,

who was with her, and he ate it. And the eyes of both

of them were opened, and they knew they were naked. So they sewed

fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. Imagine for a minute what it

was like to have literally of evil in the world we live in right now.

That takes a lot of imagination, but this was Adam and Eve's reality.

The meaning of the Hebrew word used here includes evil, affliction, grief,

and misery. God never intended, for instance, because of Adam and

Eve's mistake their sin, we do. But thankfully we have Jesus, who

really is the answer to it all. As it says, for example in

John sixteen, verse thirty three, you will have suffering in this worldorld.

Be courageous. I have conquered the world. Genesis two, verse sixteen wounded

the man. You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,

but you muste be alledge of good and evil, for on the day that

you eat from it, you will certainly die. This was a command,

not a suggestion. It was clear and unambiguous, both in the instruction and

the consequence of not doing it. Some people might say, why did God

put the tree at the non evil there? Then he doesn't specifically tell us,

But I would like to suggest that one reason anyway, is because God

is love. A dictator does not give people a choice, but love does.

It was the only choice that they had. You are free to eat

from any tree of the garden, except one that suggests variety more than two

or three. And freedom of choice is such a fundamental freedom, isn't it

Verse seventeen. You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good

and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly

die. Whilst this meant that they would experience evil, they had no concept

of it or any experience of death. There are times when God's instructions to

us may feel like He's holding out on us, But how often are they

to protect us or because he has something else in mind? At these times

we need to trust God's character. He is love, even though we don't

understand why God has acdaid he has, or we don't feel like obeying.

This is such a small example. It does illustrate the point. I remember

one time giving a birthday gift to a friend. It was nothing spectacular,

but something that that I thought that she would like. Her face lit up

and she said she'd actually wanted to buy it for herself, but the Lord

had told her not to, and she didn't know why at the time,

but she obeyed that. It's not that there was anything bad about it,

but because God had something else in mind. Another question, then, is

how much do we trust the one who gave the command. God knows the

bigger picture, the whole picture. He knew what the knowledge of good and

evil would do to us, to the world, and wanted to protect us

from it, and he wanted Adam and Eve to trust him. And trust,

in my opinion, is the most important gift that we can give,

not only to each other, but also to God, and it's fundamental to

any relationship. We have. Other commandments, now necessitated by the introduction of

sinning to the world, the tank commandments, and Jesus said in Matthew twenty

two, verses thirty seven to forty that the most important commands were to love

the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind. This

is the greatest and most important. The second is like it, love your

neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets the writings of the prophets

depend on these two commands. The model of press the Lord's prayer in Matthew

six, verse twelve includes forgive others as we have been forgiven. This is

loving others and yourself as well as God by honoring him. How much do

we trust the one who gave the command? Do we trust our heavenly Father

enough to obey, regardless of how it feel, how difficult it is,

because we know that he loves us, and he knows us, and he

knows the picture. He knows the cage that we create for ourselves if we

refuse to forgive, and how it hardens our hearts. Forgive others as we

have been forgiven, recognizing the wrong that we've done, and asking the Lord

for forgiveness unnecessary steps to receiving his forgiveness by faith, because we know that

He's faithful to forgive when we ask him. As it says in one John

one, verse nine, it's so important to forgive ourselves te important as forgiving.

I'd like trying to drive forward in life with your eyes in the rear

view mirror. I'll quote again from The Boy, the Mole, the Fox

and the Horse. Being kind to yourself is one of the greatest kindnesses.

For kindness, but being kind to yourself can start. Now, that's part

of love God, love others, love yourself, isn't it, And it

doesn't have to be self centered. I'm currently reading a brilliant autobiography by a

guy called Rahil Patel called Found by Love. He tells how he became a

Hindu priest and gave it all up after about twenty years, and a bit

later, how he became a Christian. Rahiel is not the name that his

parents gave him, but one he decided to take on when he heard it

and learned its various meanings. He said, among other things, that in

the Hindi language, it means one who takes the beauty from the past into

the future and leaves the bitterness behind. I just think that's so beautiful.

One who takes the beauty from the past into the future and leaves the bitterness

behind. Forgiveness brings the freedom to do that. I said, All that

illustrate our need to trust God, who, as he did with Adam and

Eve gives us commands like forgiveness in the Bible, his word to teach us

how to live free, Genesis three and verse one. Now the serpent was

the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, did God really say you can't eat from any

tree in the garden? The serpent was Satan, the devil. This is

clear by what he said to Eve. At the end of the day,

you know a tree by its fruit. He tempted her successfully to doubt God's

word and sin by breaking the command, thereby fracturing the relationship that God had

always meant people to have with him and creating a distance between them. Also,

it's clear from other verses in the Bible. For example, Revelation twelve

and verse nine, Satan is described as a serpent. The great dragon was

hurled down that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole

world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.

Satan said to the woman, did God really say you can't eat from any

tree in the garden. No, just the journey to temptation to do that

which is wrong. The first step was doubt was sown into Eve's mind about

what God had said. God didn't say that they couldn't eat from any tree

in the garden, they would have starved. This really highlights the importance for

us of knowing for ourselves what God has said in the Bible his word.

Sometimes he speaks through other people or direct world that Holy Spirit that in a

voice, or even for example, through peace about something. However he speaks,

God will never contradict his written word, which is why it's so important

for us to know it. So were not led astray, for example,

by our own desires wishful thinking that is not of the Lord. So the

first step on the journey to temptation for Eve was doubt being sown into her

mind about what God had said. Genesis three, verse two. The woman

said to the serpent, we may eat the fruit from the trees in the

garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden,

God said, you must not eat it or touch it, or you

will die. Eve made some effort to resist. She started well, refuting

the claim that they weren't allowed to eat from any tree in the garden,

but then added something to what God had said about the fruit of the tree

in the middle of the garden. He only said that they mustn't eat it.

Eve added or touch it. May not feel that significant in this case,

but we need to be wary of adding something to what God has said.

Again, we need to know the word of God, or we may

unwittingly add to it like Eve did. I'm guessing she didn't add or touch

it deliberately, but whether it's inadvertent or deliberate, it's important that we don't

add to it, because that's the path to partial truth. So the second

step on the journey to temptation for Eve was adding to what God had said.

Additional point is that Adam was there and said nothing. We'll go to

verse six a bit later, but there it says she gave some fruit to

her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, saying nothing.

Taking a passive stance when we know better because it's easy or for whatever

reason, can be just as wrong as actively being in doing what's wrongs.

One Verse one says, blessed is the man who walks not in the cowl

of the ungodly north, stands submissive and inactive as it says in one translation

in the Path of Sinners, that's what Adam did when he could have supported

Eve to do what was right. Ultimately, we all had to take responsibility

for our own decisions and actions or in action, but timely support to make

right decisions can be helpful, especially when you're under pressure. I remember years

ago I wasn't under pressure in any way, but it was one Saturday morning,

not long after nine o'clock, and we were walking down Staines High Street

and we passed a cash miss machine and I saw fifty pounds was still in

it. Clearly someone had gone to make a withdrawal and then forgotten to take

the money and gone. I pointed it out to Simon and said, what

shall we do now? I knew the rights answer it was obvious, but

Simon stating it helped me to make the decision. I'm just being honest with

you. We went into the bank handed in the money, knowing that because

of the time and the amount, it'd be easy for them to trace whose

it was. The bank clerk was astonished at our honesty. It's not always

appropriate to tell people how Jesus died to pay the price for their sins and

rose again so that we can be forgiven and really live as God intended with

him now and then eternally with him in heaven. However, we can leave

the fragrance of Christ in different ways, to use that term from two Corinthians,

in this case, through honesty. The other side of that coin,

if you're not on your own, is peer pressure, which can obviously be

either positive or negative. For example, when I was a student in Italy,

where I spent the third year of my degree, I hung out with

an Italian crowd about my age. There were maybe five of us, and

one night we went out to a cafe which was on a boat because I

was in Genoa on the coast, and it was one of those places where

you can play board games and it was really chilled. It was lovely and

you paid at the point of leaving, so we got our drinks, we

chatted, and when we were ready to go, one of the guys said

let's just go, and they were all nodding and laughing. It would have

been really easy to walk out of that place without paying for them. It

was just a bit of fun. When I realized what they were saying,

I said, that's stealing, I'm going to pay for my drink. When

you're not speaking your own language, sometimes you'd just lose a bit of subtlety

when you say things. I saw the looks that were exchanged, and they

didn't need interpreting. But obviously if I was paying for my drink, it

meant that they would have to pay for theirs. One of the girls in

particular looked quite irritated, and things were a bit quiet initially, but everyone

paid for their drinks and we left. Obviously there can be the temptation to

fit in and go with the crowd. In that type of situation, you

haven't got a big window of opportunity to make a stand. It's easier.

It was easier for me because I wasn't what we're calling an integral part of

that crowd. I hadn't been hanging out with them for that long. In

fact, it was the mother of one of the guys who went to the

church that I went to, who introduced me to her son, and he

took me along, et cetera. But in my experience, the lesson meshed

you are so to speak in a crowd, the lesson you've invested in relationships,

the less bothered you are by their opinions in being different, unless you're

desperate to fit in. So whether you're on your own or in a crowd

can make a difference to how you respond to temptation, but both can have

pros and cons depending on the situation. So the second step for Eve on

her journey to temptation started well with quoting the word of God, but she

then probably inadvertently added to it, and also Adam didn't help by not making

a stand or supporting her to do the right thing. Genesis three, verse

four, No, you will not die, the serpent said to the woman.

In fact, God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will

be opened, and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil. Satan's

gone from sowing doubt to direct contradiction to God's word. I've said it already,

but we really need to spend that time reading the word, listening to

it however you take it in in order to know the truth, so we

can recognize alie, what counterfeit when we hear it. I remember hearing one

preacher say that the people who are experts in recognizing counterfeit money spend their time

studying the real thing. Not forgeries, so that when they come across counterfeit

money, they recognize it for what it is because they know the real thing

that well, we need to be like that with the truth for all sorts

of reasons, especially as sometimes the exact situations we're facing aren't literally in the

Bible, but require us to apply the truth that we know to guide our

thoughts and behavior. So Satan goes from direct contradiction to God's word by saying

no, you will not die, to what I'd call partial truth verse five.

In fact, God knows that when you eat it, your eyes will

be opened and you'll be like God, knowing good and evil. Yes,

that was true, but not the whole truth. God knew that spiritually speaking,

this knowledge would be too great for us and would kill us. Satan

missed out that part and dressed it up as something positive that God was trying

to keep from eve temptations so often comes deceptively. If Satan had said eat

the fruit, it will bring misery, hatred, anger, bloodshed, and

death into the world and to your children forever after, and tried to describe

it accurately for people who had no concept of these things. What do you

think Eve's reaction would have been God is not as spoilspot. He loves us

more completely than any of us has yet understood, and thankfully his love and

his perfect wisdom are inseparable. Another aspect of this partial truth is that actually

we are called and destined to be like God. Ephesians five is one to

two says, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love.

Just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, we

are to act like he did. What was so fundamentally wrong with what the

devil said is that it was an attempt to become like God independently of him.

As Jesus says in John fifteen, verse four, live in me,

and I will live in you. No branch can bear fruit of itself unless

it's united to the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you live in

me. I'd suggest the third step of Eve's journey to temptation was entertaining the

denial of truth and partial truth. She didn't resist it by going back to

what God had actually said Genesis three, verse six. Then the woman saw

that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that

it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, so she took some of its fruit and

ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her,

and he ate it. Notice, for Eve, the temptation was not

what looked and sounded evil, but what looked and sounded good. We're not

usually tempted by what looks and sounds destructive or plain wrong, but because our

senses tell us it's good. Our human reasoning without God, Eve swallowed the

lie that the knowledge of good and evil was wisdom. I like something,

Joyce Smyer says about this. She's a Christian author and speaker. Wisdom is

simply the proper use of knowledge. The Bible actually tells us that the reverential

fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That's Proverbs nine and verse

ten. If Eve had understood and applied this by respecting God's command, things

would have turned out very differently. That's a lesson that we would do well

to learn. So the fourth set to temptation for Eve was returning her focus

to that which was forbidden. It's so much easier to resist what is wrong

if we turn away from it, rather than keep looking at it and thinking

about it. So this was Adam and Eve's journey of temptation that led to

sin, equins of which, of course, was separation from God left.

Our journey may not be exactly the same, but haven't asked similarities to be

able to larate to theirs. The message is still the same. Resist.

The very word itself gives you some idea of what's required. It takes effort.

If you've ever used a resistance spanned at the gym, you'll know how

much harder it makes it to do movements that are easy without it. The

effort strengthens your muscles. Resist temptation. We don't have time to look at

how Jesus did it in the desert, as recorded in Loot four, but

a key point is that he kept saying what God said. He drew on

scriptures and stayed focused on those. I'm going to end with Psalm forty and

verse eight, and I'm reading from the NIVS. That's Psalm forty, verse

eight. I desire to do your will, my God. Your law is

within my heart. I desire to do your will, my God. Your

law is within my heart. When our desire is to do God's will,

and we've spent time in God's word, so it's within our hearts ready for

us to draw on to guide our thoughts and words and behavior. Will be

in a much stronger position to resist temptation. Thank you, M.