"THE BLESSINGS OF A TEMPTATION"

4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Wanna get away? That’s the question that gets asked now at the end of several television commercials for Southwest Airlines. Maybe you’ve seen them. How about the one where the woman is standing in her friend’s bathroom? She looks over her shoulder and says, “I love the way you’ve decorated in here.” Then, temptation gets the best of her. She sneaks a peek to see what’s in her friend’s medicine cabinet and when she does everything in the medicine cabinet comes crashing down into the sink. As she stands there mortified and embarrassed a voice says, “Wanna get away?”

Sometimes that’s what you want to do when temptation gets the best of you. You want to get away, but you can’t because temptation is everywhere. You can’t run away and just say, “No. No. No,” because sooner or later, you’re going to falter and end up saying “yes, yes, yes!” That’s why author Lane Olinghouse was right when he said, “Those who flee temptation usually leave a forwarding address.”

It’s like the monk who was troubled by the temptations of that he saw in the world around him. Everywhere he looked he saw gossip, greed, gluttony and lust. So, he went out into the wilderness and devoted himself to prayer and meditation. Many years later a hiker discovered the monk living in a cave. “Holy man,” the hiker said, “you’ve been out here praying and mediating all these years. What words of wisdom do you have for me to bring back to the world?” The monk slowly opened his eyes. “No words of wisdom,” he said. “But do you know I haven’t thought about a woman in 20 years?”

Here’s another one for you. Did you hear about the woman who wrote an angry letter to Dear Abby. In her letter the woman wrote, “Dear Abby, What can I do about all the sex, nudity, violence and language on my VCR?”

No matter how hard you try you can’t run away from temptation. So, the best thing you can do is the same thing that Jesus did out there in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted not once, not twice, but three times. The first temptation was to turn stones into bread. The second temptation was to bow down and worship the devil. The third temptation was to throw himself off the pinnacle of the Temple.

Now the important thing to notice here is that Jesus didn’t run away from his temptations. He faced them head on and he didn’t face them alone. Jesus brought the temptations to God. When the devil told him to turn stones into bread Jesus turned to God and said, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.’” (Matthew 4:4) When the devil told him he could have all the kingdoms of the world if he worshipped him Jesus turned to God and said, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” When the devil told him to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple Jesus turned to God and said, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Out there in the wilderness Jesus was tempted to use his God given gifts for power, prestige and personal gain. Instead of doing that Jesus brought the temptations to God and there’s a good reason why he brought them to God. He brought them to God because of something God said to him just before he went into the wilderness. Do you remember what God said to Jesus when he was baptized in the Jordan River? God said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus brought his temptations to the God who is always there embrace us with grace and goodness, with healing for today and hope for tomorrow.

Because Jesus brought his temptations to God he was able to walk out of that wilderness and use his power not for personal gain but for the glory of God and the good of God’s children. Jesus didn't use his power to turn stones into bread. Later, however, he did use his power to feed 5,000 people by multiply a couple loaves of bread over and over again. Jesus didn't jump off the pinnacle of the Temple and use his power to float through the air. Later, however, he did use his power to walk on water and rescue the disciples who were in that boat being tossed around by a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus didn't fall down and worship Satan so that he could have all the kingdoms of the world. Later, however, he did use his power to roll the stone away from the tomb and rise from death to everlasting life. That’s why he is now Lord of all heaven and earth.

The best thing you can do when it comes to temptation is bring the temptation to God. When you bring your temptation to God two things will happen. The first thing God will do is give you the strength you need to face the temptation. The second thing God will do is give you the grace that will heal the wound behind your temptation. That’s right. If you look closely what you’ll find behind many temptations is a wound that needs to be healed. That’s how temptation gets its hook into you. Through a wound.

Now that isn’t true for all temptation. For example, if you’re tempted to park in a handicapped space that temptation has more to do with an attitude that says you’re more important than everyone else. If you’re tempted to cheat on a test at school that temptation has more to do with being lazy and not studying enough. That attitude will leave you in the same situation that a boy found himself in one night. After the boy climbed into bed he started to pray in a very unusual way. He kept saying the same thing over and over again. “Tokyo,Tokyo, Tokyo.” When the mother asked him what he was doing he replied, “We had a test today in geography and I’m praying that God will make Tokyo the capital of Sweden.”

It’s not true for all temptations, but if you look closely behind many temptations you’ll find a wound that needs to be healed. Behind the temptation called lust you will sometimes find an empty feeling of loneliness. Behind the temptation called gossip you will sometimes find a heart that is angry at the world. Behind the temptation called greed you will sometimes find a painful feeling that you’re not quite good enough. So, you fill your life with lots of expensive things to everyone that you’re not a nobody. Behind the temptations of gambling, drugs and alcohol is the feeling that your life is boring and meaningless. So, you numb yourself to the pain with drugs or alcohol. Or you try to spice your life up with gambling and the change of striking it rich. I haven’t figured out what the wound is behind the temptation called chocolate but I know it’s there.

Wanna get away? When it comes to temptation it’s simple. You can’t get away. So, you can take a deep breath and go it alone or you can take a deep breath and bring the temptation to God. You bring the temptation along with your wounds and your wobbly will power to the God who is your strength and your salvation.

That’s the advice that Lawrence Kudlow gave in an open letter that he wrote a couple of months ago. The open letter was written to someone who’s been dealing with temptation in a big way. Lawrence Kudlow knew what he was talking about in his open letter. You see Lawrence Kudlow is a syndicated columnist who, 15 years ago, was fighting his own loosing battle against cocaine and alcohol. He finally dealt with it by turning to God and converting to Christianity. This is what he wrote in his open letter:

Fess up, Tiger. If you don't, the tabloids are gonna kill ya…marital infidelity just doesn't pay.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford tried stonewalling, but it didn't work out too well for him. His career is now finished. Another bad case is that of former North Carolina senator and unsuccessful presidential candidate John Edwards. He really had a bad time of it, with the tabloids literally chasing him into the bathroom. His career is finished, too. On the other hand, Nevada Sen. John Ensign did fess up — about one half step ahead of the tabloids — and he may well live to see another reelection day.

And then there's Bill Clinton, who stonewalled about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

Even though I personally have only one-ten-thousandth of your media and business impact, perhaps my story will be helpful. Over 15 years ago, after missing a big speech and resigning from my career on Wall Street, The New York Times came after me with a story of serious alcohol and drug abuse. They were right. I believed then as I do now that honesty is a virtue, and I 'fessed up. I got sober. My saintly wife and I recently celebrated our 22nd marriage anniversary. And today I am fully employed at CNBC (for which I am eternally grateful). People forgave me. God redeemed me.

C'mon, Tiger….Fess up, and clear the air. If you do it soon, you will be forgiven, and this too will pass.

That’s what Tiger Woods did. Last Friday he announced that he was bringing his temptation to a higher power. That’s what Lawrence Kudlow did. That’s what Jesus did out there in the wilderness. That’s what God is calling us to do too. Amen.