God on Film – Planes: Fire and Rescue
Resisting the Fires of Temptation
Sycamore Creek Church
July 20/21, 2014
Tom Arthur
Peace friends!
Today I want to talk about the fires of temptation and what you have to do to resist. Temptation is well known by many of us. Mae West, the 20th century actress, is reported to have said, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” Oscar Wilde writes in Lady Windermere’s Fan, “I can resist anything except temptation.” The Barna Group, a research firm that studies contemporary cultural and religious trends compiled a list of today’s top ten temptations. They are:
- Eating too much (55%)
- Spending too much time on media (44%)
- Spending too much money (44%)
Speak of spending too much money. A poor country pastor who was struggling to make ends meet got really upset at his wife one day for buying a new very expensive designer dress in the mall. He confronted her asking, “How could you spend that much money on a dress?” His wife responded, “Satan tempted me to buy it. He said, ‘Buy this dress. It looks great on you.’” The pastor said, “When I’m tempted by Satan I resist by saying, ‘Get behind me, Satan.” His wife said, “I told him that and he said, ‘It looks fabulous back here too.’”
Ok, back to the list. Number four:
4. Gossiping (26%)
Ok, one more pastor joke. Really. Just one more. Four pastors got together one weekend for some R&R in a cabin. The first night they were there they decided to be open with each other about their biggest sins. One pastor went first and he said, “I’ve got a really bad sin. I look at inappropriate pictures of women all the time. I don’t even like sports but I have a subscription so that I get the swimsuit edition.” The second pastor said, “Mine’s worse. I’ve got a drinking problem. I drink way too much.” The third pastor said, “I’ve got a pretty bad sin too. I gamble. I play lots of poker and slots and blackjack, and I’m losing all my paycheck on a regular basis.” The fourth pastor responded, “Men, I’m afraid my sin is the worst of all. I struggle with gossip. And if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make some calls.”
Ok, enough of that. Back to the top ten list of temptations:
5. Feeling jealous (24%)
6. Viewing pornography (18%)
7. Lying or cheating (12%)
8. “Going off” on someone via text or email (11%)
9. Abusing alcohol or drugs (11%)
10. Doing something sexually inappropriate with someone (9%)
I asked my friends on Facebook what their favorite temptation song was. Tempted by the Fruit of Another by Squeeze just kept coming up over and over again. You know the chorus:
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What’s been going on
Now that you have gone
What’s your temptation? What are you most tempted by? One of my worst temptations lately is to argue with people in my head. I craft wonderful arguments with people in my mind and that puts me in a great position ready to pounce whenever the opportunity arises. The other day I got Sarah really good. I was arguing with her in my head, and I knew she’d walk right into my trap, and she did. I pounced. I got her so good that she even apologized to me! But then I felt guilty and apologized for being ready to pounce and not dealing with my frustration in a constructive manner. I was tempted by the argument in my mind, and I gave into it.
The Bible talks a lot about temptation. Paul, the first Christian missionary, wrote several letters to churches around the Mediterranean and those letters have become books in the Bible. He wrote one letter to the church at Ephesus and he said:
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground,…
Ephesians 6:13 NLT
Today I want to explore what else Paul says about temptation and resisting it so that you are able to resist the enemy, and so that you are left standing when you find yourself caught in the fires of temptation.
C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia said:
“Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is…A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.”
~C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
When I lived in Durham, NC I had a friend named Grace. Grace lived with us for a while to get on her feet and overcome an addiction, and then she moved out into her own apartment about a quarter mile down the road. A quarter mile may not seem like a very long way away, but Grace was a very large woman. I’m not sure she had ever walked a quarter mile in her life. Whenever she wanted to come over to our house we picked her up in a car. One day Grace showed up on our porch after walking that quarter mile to get to our house. Along the way she fell on the railroad tracks but got back up and kept walking. When she arrived she was huffing and puffing. She took twenty minutes to rest and let her breathing go back to normal before she could tell us what this was all about. She said, “I got the taste in my mouth for the drugs that were being sold by some kids in my back yard, and I knew I had to get away.” She just about killed herself running away from temptation. When was the last time I ran from temptation so strenuously?
Today I want to look at a parallel that exists between those who fight fires and those who resist temptation. When it comes to fighting fires, what you “wear” helps you resist the heat of a fire. Firemen wear what is called a turnout suit. It is specially crafted in all kinds of ways to help a fireman resist the heat of a fire. It has several layers of insulation. There is an internal harness that will allow another fireman to pull you out should you collapse. It is fully waterproof as well as fireproof. The helmet is made out of hardened leathered and has special ridges to deflect falling debris and water. There is a plastic helmet within the leather helmet to absorb the shock of falling debris. The outer coat has large pockets for keeping spare rope and carabineers should a fireman need to exit quickly out of a second story window. Every detail is given special attention to help the fireman fight the fire.
In the same way that what you wear helps you fight fires, what you wear helps you fight and resist the fires of temptation. Paul describes what he calls “God’s armor” that will help you resist temptation.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:13-17 NLT
I’d like to look at two wardrobe essentials to resisting the fires of temptation.
1. Put on Faith
Paul tells us:
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Ephesians 6:16 NLT
What is faith? I think it’s worth pointing out that there are degrees of faith. Some have faith that a God exists. It is the faith of the theist or deist. Then there are some who have faith in a religious way of some sort like a Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim. Then there are those who have the faith of a servant of God. Perhaps they fear God but do not love God. Then there are those who have the faith of being a child of God. This person knows that she is adopted into the family of God.
We find a pretty good definition of faith in the Bible itself. We read:
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
~Hebrews 11:1 NLT
Martin Luther says that “faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.” John Calvin another Protestant reformer from Luther’s day says, “A perfect faith is nowhere to be found, so it follows that all of us are partly unbelievers.” Eugene Peterson, a contemporary pastor says, “Faith is not a feeling. It is simply an act of assent, of openness, and often doesn’t feel like much at all. Faith has to do with what God is doing, not with what we are feeling.” Flannery O’Conner, the southern writer describes faith saying, “Don’t expect faith to clear things up for you. It’s not about certainty, but about trust.” I like to sum up all these definitions of faith by saying that faith is the decision to believe and trust, in spite of uncertainty.
So how do you put on faith? Perhaps it is important to know that faith is a gift of God’s Spirit. So if you need faith or if you don’t feel like you have much faith, then pray for faith and ask God to give it to you. But there are also some active ways that you can seek to put on faith.
Paul describes faith as a shield in the armor of God. A shield that keeps you safe from the fiery darts of the enemy. A shield is a defensive weapon primarily. And a shield is most effective next to other shields. The Romans had a formation they called the testudo (http://www.destructoid.com/ul/260995-review-total-war-rome-ii/testudo-620x.jpg). It was when a group of infantrymen all held their shields up in front and above each other so as to create what was known as “the turtle.” They would move together able to protect one another from incoming arrows or spears. The Vikings called it a shield wall. In the History Channel’s series, Vikings, there’s a great scene of the English encountering a Viking shield wall for the first time:
Just as a shield is best used alongside other shields for the defense against fiery darts and arrows, so is faith put on best by standing alongside others of faith within a community of faith. The faith of others strengthens your own faith and helps you to withstand the fires of temptation.
2. Put on Peace
The second wardrobe essential I want to look at today are the shoes of peace. Paul says:
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
~Ephesians 6:15 NLT
What is peace? Peace is closely related to salvation which is what Paul tells us to put on our heads. So from the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet we find peace and salvation as essential for resisting temptation. In another letter to the church of Rome Paul says:
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
~Romans 5:1 NLT
Peace is being made right in God’s sight. It is the result of faith, faith in what Jesus has done for us in his own faithful life, death, and resurrection.
So how do you put on peace? There are all kinds of ways we try to put on peace. We try to put in with thick skin (If only I never let anyone hurt me again). We try to find peace in someone’s arms (If only I find the right person). We try to put on peace through our kids (If only I make sure my kids don’t make the same mistakes I made). Or perhaps in our education (If only I know the right stuff). Or maybe in our 401K (If only I have enough money). We try to find peace in volunteering (If only I’m good enough). Or maybe in therapy (If only I dig deep enough into my past). Some of us seek peace in the gym (If only I am healthy enough). Others seek peace in our plans (If only I am prepared for every possibility). And yet with all these efforts peace eludes us. There is only one way to put on ultimate peace: to have faith in Jesus Christ.
Blaise Pascal, a 17th century French philosopher who was also a Christian said:
What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in us a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This we try in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.
Many have paraphrased Pascal as saying that each of us has a God-shaped vacuum or God-shaped hole in our hearts. We try to fill that hole with all kinds of things, but the only thing that can fill it is God. We will always be tempted to seek peace by filling that hole and that longing with all kinds of things until we fill it completely and totally with God. You resist temptation when the eternal and divine longing of your heart is perfectly filled by Jesus.
Pascal has also become known for his wager, “Pascal’s Wager.” Here’s how it goes:
- If you trust God and God does not exist, you have lost little.
- If you do not trust God and God does exist, you have lost much.
- If you trust God and God does exist, you have gained everything.
So what is keeping you from putting on faith and peace today through God’s son, Jesus Christ? If the hole in your heart is longing for God today, then I invite you to pray along with me:
God my heart longs for you. I am tempted to fill it with so many other things. Let me find peace in you alone. Give me your salvation, your righteousness, your truth, your faith, and your Word so that I might resist the temptation to put anything before you. In the name of Jesus, the one who brings Good News. Amen.
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