Would
You Recognize Satan?
The
devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to
become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man
does not live on bread alone.’ Luke 4:3-4
In Edgar Allen Poe's story, The
Masque of the Red Death, death comes to the ball in disguise
wearing a mask.
Jesus was never fooled by the work of Satan, and knew exactly how to
deal with it.
I am convinced that most of us, much of the time do not recognize the
action of Satan against us.
This is not something that I think we should spend too much time on,
but we need to be informed so that we recognize the enemy's work when
we encounter it.
We read that shortly after his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into
the wilderness where he fasts for forty days. It is during that period
that he faces his temptations.
These temptations will determine the future course of his ministry.
Will he take convenient and expedient short-cuts or will he follow the
route he knew had been mapped out--obedience even to death?
Many sermons have been preached on the significance of each temptation,
and that is important because it tell us about the content of the
temptation and Jesus response gives us guidance for a godly life. But I
am not going to spend so much time on that aspect as the fact of the
temptation and the means of the temptation.
I am doing this because as I said, I am not at all sure that most of us
recognize Satan's opposition when we encounter it.
Knowing about the devil is not necessary to salvation, but it will help
you deal with him when the time comes.
I want to share a personal experience with you.
Last year I spent a week at a Benedictine Monastery in the mountains of
New Mexico. I went there to do some studying, but mostly to listen to
the Spirit. That was my goal: to hear from God.
I did not hear much from God, but God permitted me to experience something that was not pleasant, but it was very valuable. I share it with you.
By the fifth day in Pecos I had gotten used to the altitude of 7,000
feet and was enjoying the relaxed pace, walks in the mountains, and
just the restful nature of my time there. But I had heard nothing from
God, though I was spending a considerable amount of time in worship, which was good.
On the fifth night, I heard from someone else though.
I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning with horrendous
nightmares. Since the sudden death of my first wife, I have been
emotionally very vulnerable to the thought of losing a loved one to
sudden unexpected death. I was tormented in my sleep about the deaths
of my family members and woke up in the dark with that on my mind. It
was the middle of the night and lack of sleep along with the dread of
death weakened my emotions. (Be aware that you will be tempted most
commonly when you are tired, sick or emotionally depleted. Satan does
not play fair!)
As I lay in the dark, wave after wave of thoughts coursed through my
mind. They all had one broad theme:
I was reminded of what a rotten person I am, of my past failures and
present weaknesses.
I was taunted as to why I was at this monastery--did I really believe
that God would deign to talk with me...poor example of humanity that I
am? And what a fool to travel so far only to be disappointed.
The monks must think I am a real loser, sitting in chapel day after
day. (Why they would think I am a loser for doing what they dedicated
their lives to, I do not know, but that was what went through my mind)
And I was just taunted over and over again with the certainty that God
had not spoken and was not going to and that I was so pathetic for
thinking that He would. Worse, I was making a fool of myself.
The answer was clear at 3:00 A.M.
The monks would be up soon and to their early morning chapel.
Whatever I did, I must not go to chapel.
Have breakfast and then ask who might be driving into Santa Fe that day
for supplies.
Get out of Pecos and spend the day in a mall in Santa Fe. Get a
haircut, buy some skin cream to deal with my dry skin. Get a pizza, see
a movie. Visit Santa Fe's famous art galleries. Anything. But get out
of Pecos!
At 3:00 A.M. I did not recognize this as a spiritual attack. I was sure
it was all totally true. I was a loser and wasting my time there. But
when chapel time came, out of the habit of the last few days and
because something in me told me I should not run. I knew if I ran that
morning, I would not go back to chapel again. My retreat would be over
then and there. And I decided not to run. So I went to chapel. Every
scripture and every song that morning seemed to have been designed to
speak exactly to me.
The first psalm that was sung antiphonal was Psalm 42
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
The rest of the scriptures that morning hit home one after another.
What did I take from it?
I went to hear from God, and I think God allowed me to experience a
spiritual attack in a context where I could recognize it and learn from
it.
Notice what Satan does with Jesus.
The temptations come when Jesus is open and susceptible. They also come
when he is undoubtedly tired and weak from hunger.
In that part of the Judean wilderness, there are stones littering the
landscape that look like small bread loafs.
Satan says, Look at those. You could turn them into bread. Feed
yourself. Why go hungry?
And while you are at it, you could feed the poor and hungry. Just think
what a difference that would make in the world...
if you were the Son of God that is...
I am interpreting it of course, but the temptation is to throw doubt on
who he is.
"If you are the son of God...."
He is possibly expecting Jesus to begin a debate with him that He
really is the son of God.
Or to begin doubting that he is.
Or to take a short cut to prove it.
Throw doubt on whether or not God is concerned.
He might have said, "so where is the bread? No one here to help? What a
shame. Shabby treatment for the Anointed."
That is the exact same temptation as in the garden.
"Has God really said, 'you shall not eat'?
You aren't going to die. He just doesn't want you to be like Him. He is
holding out on you."
That is the temptation that comes to you and me.
Throw doubt on whether or not God is going to be there for you.
Throw doubt on whether or not God really cares for you.
Throw doubt on whether or not you can leave things to God's care.
"If you are the son of God...."
Maybe you aren't.
"If you really are a child of God...."
Maybe you aren't. Not really.
Why would God be there for you?
You better not look to Him to take care of things. Better do it for
yourself.
What does Jesus do?
He says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word from
God's lips."
He uses God's word and he puts his trust in God.
And trusting in God, he not only provides bread when its needed but far
more than that.
The second is about power and authority.
He says to Jesus, here it is. Take it. It's all yours.
The implication is you can't trust God's plan for the world.
Look at the place.... its a mess. But you could straighten it out.
Don't go other way, the way of the cross. You will just be let down.
Instead Jesus turns away from gaining the world to bring us eternity.
He walks away from all the riches of this world and walks a road of
poverty and hardship to die on a cross.
Not to gain the riches of this world, but to bring us the riches of
heaven.
The third temptation once again is to sew doubt first then a challenge.
"If you are the son of God..."
Notice the subtle challenge. Do you really believe you are?
Jesus says Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple, a height from
top to the bottom of the ravine of several hundred feet and challenged
him to jump off. Prove that the angels will come and bare you up.
In his mind maybe Satan is hoping he might try and fail.
Or that he will try and incur the displeasure of God.
Or to just sew more doubt in his mind about whether or not he can
really rely on God in a crunch.
The main point of attack is to get Jesus from focusing his faith on God
and to enter into the debate with Satan.
He does the same thing with you.
To shift your faith from trusting in God and to entertain the thoughts
he hurls at you.
Manipulating you into listening to the tempter rather than God is
really the main objective.
Jesus resists once again by submitting to the authority of scripture.
"You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
In each case is the subtle attempt to undermine his faith, his
confidence that God the Father will be there and will do the right
thing.
And that is precisely what he does with you and me.
You begin to doubt that God really has forgiven you.
Or that you can trust God. Look at all the pain and suffering.
Why would He do it for you anyway?
We think this comes from inside ourselves.
It is a spiritual temptation and its important to recognize exactly
what it is.
It is designed to accomplish sewing doubt in your mind that God will
take care of you.
It is designed to make you believe that you are not that important to
God, or that there is not God.
The response is the same as what Jesus did.
Remember what the Bible says and use that as your safe harbor.
Use one of this morning's scripture readings as a safe refuge against
the enemy's attacks.
Romans 10: 9-11 is worth memorizing:
That
if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is
with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone
who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
The next time Satan comes at you in a weak moment, remember you are a
child of the King. You have trusted in Him and you will never be put to
shame.
Count on it.
It will save you many a sleepless night and many and anguished day.
I know. I have been there.
More important, Jesus shows us how.
Preached February 25, 2007
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
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