Victory Over Temptation

14-02-2016 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR (C)

SCRIPTURE READING:
Deut. 26:4-10
Ps. 91:1-2.10-11.12-13.14-15. (R. 15b).
Rom. 10:8-13; Accl; Mt. 4:4b
Gospel Luke 4:1-13

Preamble:

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;
Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my mind, may your word never depart from me.
Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my ears, help me listen and obey your voice.
Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my heart, help me welcome you always.
Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love. Amen.

We give God the glory for his blessings and the gift he has bestowed upon each one of us. He has bestowed so much upon us that we cannot afford to do anything less but to keep doing the extraordinary. That is what we have been created to do-doing the extraordinary. Created to be indomitable. Created to be champions, victors and have a victorious life.
You know what? The devil isn’t going to rest because he is always after those who have got a divine mission to fulfill in life. his mission is clear-to steal, to kill and to destroy.

He is out to steal that dream from you, to kill the spiritual life in you and the desire to even do the extraordinary and finally to destroy the work of God in your life and make you ordinary, to trampled upon, to make you useless, to make you develop a bad attitude because he knows that once there is a flicker of a positive attitude in you, you will bounce back and so he is out to blind you from the truth, fill with fear, make you feel that the good thing you are doing is not good because of few distractions he would set in to keep you away from your goal and mission in life.

Beloved the truth is that he has failed. He failed many decades ago, he is even failing and will continue to fail because the owner of life has come that you may have life and have it abundantly. And so as the second reading of today tells us- Romans 10:10 “if you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confess with your lips then you are saved.” The plan of the devil will never materialize in your life in the name of Jesus.

Victory over temptation is essential before we can live and witness for God. No temptation has ever confronted man that Jesus Christ has not confronted. In his confrontation with temptation, Jesus reveals to you and I today what lies behind each temptation and how to conquer it. Once it has been conquered, we can then live a victorious life and serve God effectively.

Beloved in Christ-God has a plan for you and the mission of the devil is to frustrate that plan but he will never succeed in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Jesus was being prepared to serve God. He was about to launch the most important work ever performed by man. His work was to determine the eternal fate of the world and of every man in the world. Jesus has to be strengthened and prepared perfectly, without flaw. Two things were involved in his preparation.

There was God’s plan. Jesus had to be totally committed to carry out God’s plan no matter what happened. God’s plan was the cross, the way of sacrifice and suffering in order to help others. The temptation came in order for Jesus to choose the easier course of self, power, and glory. So the temptation was necessary in order to show that he could conquer the temptation.

Jesus’ preparation involved a personal need for strength and assurance. The only way Jesus could be strengthened and gain assurance was to be tempted. He had to struggle against temptation to become tough and strong, and to be assured that he could conquer and be victorious over the trials of life.

The first two verses of today’s gospel passage presents us with the four essentials necessary for preparation. Jesus had to be prepared to serve God.
Jesus had a dramatic experience with the spirit at his baptism (Luke 3:21-22).
Jesus was “led by the spirit” the Greek translation makes use of “in” which means that Jesus was not only “led by the spirit” he was led “in the spirit,” step by step and day by day. A man must be in the spirit to be led by the spirit.
He was led to spend time alone with God. He was led to get all alone in the wilderness. Time alone with God is necessary for preparation.
Jesus was led to be tried and tested. Trials toughen us,, make us stronger, and give us greater assurance so that we can face whatever lies ahead.
Jesus was led to “fast and pray,” two absolute essentials in one’s preparation to do a great work for God.
Jesus had to be prepared in order to overcome the distractions. The first temptation was for Jesus to meet the necessities of life by His own power. Satan’s temptation was for Jesus to misuse His power and his ability. Jesus was very hungry. He had the power to create food and to meet his need, and the tempter tempted Him to use his power upon himself.

The point is this, Satan wanted Jesus to prove his Messiahship by centering his attention and power upon himself. If Jesus had used His power upon Himself….
He would be trusting himself and not the father, acting completely independent of the father and the father’s will.
He would be saying that men could use their abilities to center upon themselves instead of helping a world lost in need.
He would be teaching that men could use their abilities to build themselves up (pride) instead of honouring God and his will.

The response of Jesus
Jesus’ answer was that something more than physical food was needed. Man needs to be fed spiritually. He needs his spiritual needs met. The point is that Jesus alone can meet man’s spiritual needs; therefore He, the Son of God, must use his power only as God wills.
We all have needs, these needs are the very necessities of life. there are the necessities of food, clothing, shelter, friends, acceptance, recognition, self-esteem, work, rest and recreation.

The necessities are legitimate. However, the problem arises when we are tempted…
To use our ability independent of God, forgetting His will and doing our own thing.
To focus our ability upon ourselves, getting and banking more and more instead of meeting the needs of a desperate world.
To use our abilities to build ourselves up instead of acknowledging God as the source of our abilities. Too many seek fame, honour, and praise for selfish ends. Too many want to be recognized as superior and better, as having more position, authority, clothes, housese, cars, lands, and looks.

The great wrong with this is that

(a.) we misuse our ability. Forgetting God and His will, we focus upon the self instead of God.

(b.) we live for the physical and not for the spiritual, for receiving and not for giving.

There is a spiritual hunger that just is not met by bread, that is, the physical and material.
The second Temptation was for Jesus to seek His ambition (God’s kingdom) through compromise. Jesus had come to earth to seek and to save men eternally, to secure their loyalty for God, and to set up the kingdom of God forever. This was the ambition of Jesus. The only way to fulfill his ambition was by the cross (freeing men from sin, death, and judgment).
Satan enticed Jesus in a moment of time. Satan flashed across Jesus’ mind all the kingdoms of the world in their enormous glory.

Satan claimed that he controlled the possessions and glory of the world. Sometime later, Jesus changed Satan’s claim. Jesus said that Satan is “the prince of this world” (Jn. 12:31; 14:30). Other scriptures say that he is the “prince… the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:2) and the ‘god of this age’ 2 Cor. 4:4.
Satan offered Jesus all the possessions and glory of the world. The world was under His influence and control; therefore, he could give it to anyone whom he wished.
Satan, however, had one condition. Jesus had to worship Satan, that is, follow and obey the way of Satan’s world. Jesus had to compromise himself, his standards, behaviour, loyalty and faithfulness to God, his ministry and mission.

Let us note the response of Jesus: Jesus was quick and decisive, totally dependent upon scripture to conquer the temptation. “worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” He must worship, follow, and serve God alone, not the way and standards and evil of the world. He would follow God even if it meant not realizing his ambition. There is a right way and a wrong way to achieve one’s end and purpose; and He, the Son of God, would choose the right way.

A man is often taken up to a mountain by Satan and shown the power and glory of the world. The man is offered whatever he wants if he will do but one thing: worship Satan, that is, follow the path of worldliness. Man feels that if he compromises and goes along with the world he will get what he wants and move ahead must faster.
We must note that there is nothing wrong in following one’s ambition or experiencing the power and the glory of whatever one’s calling is, the wrong is found in following Satan when tempted to satisfy one’s desires and ambitions instead of following God.

The third temptation was for Jesus to be sensational (commanding attention). The thought crossed Jesus’ mind that if he jumped off the pinnacle of the temple, God would cause angels to catch Him. God would never let him be dashed to bits. Therefore, when people saw the angels float him to the ground, they would be stunned into belief and become His followers immediately.

Jesus’ answer was straightforward and decisive: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. There is no way other than God’s way; God’s way alone is to be pursued and followed. And God’s word is not to be stretched or twisted (presumed upon) trying to make another way. Men must be taught the truth. The way to God is the way of the cross.

We are all tempted in one or the other; the truth is that we can overcome every form of temptation thrown at us if we are able to follow the Lord. the temptation of satan was threefold;

1. Satan tempted Jesus to choose some way other than God’s way. God’s way was the way of the cross and of identifying with man in his trials and sufferings.
2. Satan tempted Jesus to misuse scripture by twisting it to suit his purposes. Scripture did say that God would take care of His Son no matter what. The heavenly angels were given charge to help Him in everything.
3. Satan tempted Jesus to give people sensations, a religion of feelings. People do not want a life of self-denial and sacrifice, of too much discipline and control. They want the spectacular, something that will be a quick fix, something to stir their emotions and flesh, to stimulate their feelings and give gratification, to meet their needs with less and less effort, to feed their body and soul without cost.

Temptations will surely come but the obvious truth is that we can overcome it no matter how they come so that we become victorious. Victory over temptation does not mean a person is freed forever from temptation. In this life temptation will always return. It did for Jesus, it will for us. Victory over temptation will lead to great results in a person’s life. it will give more power, a greater testimony, and a greater ministry.

May the Lord give us the grace to overcome temptations that may come around us as we begin a new week in the name of Jesus. Amen.