[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 1A: "Yield not to Temptation" or "The Devil Made Me Do It!"

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From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Feb 29, 2020 10:18 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Lent 1A: "Yield not to Temptation" or "The Devil Made Me Do It!"

Dear Friends, We just heard thestory of the temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) and we know thefeeling of being tempted all too well, because temptation is a part of ourlives.  In Lent it gets even worse as wetry to stick with our Lenten commitment of giving up something that keeps usfrom being the best we can be and taking on something to deepen our spirituallives.  You know as well as I do, evengood change is hard.  On top of it, wehuman beings are a disobedient, stubborn lot! Did you hear the story of the husband and wife who got in anargument?  Each was giving the other the“silent treatment.” Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would needhis wife to wake him at 5:00 A.M. for an early morning business flight. Notwanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece ofpaper, “Please wake me at 5:00 A.M.”  Heleft it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 A.M.,and he had missed his flight.  Furious,he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed apiece of paper by the bed.  The papersaid, “It is 5:00 A.M. Wake up.”  Do yousee how stubborn and rebellious we can be? All we have to do is know there is something we should do, and we don’twant to do it.  Sounds like Adam and Eveall over again.  What did you give up forLent?  If it’s doughnuts, I know your carjust happens to drive by the doughnut shop. If it’s smoking, I know you look at those cigarettes when you pay foryour gas.  It’s no accident that Jesustaught us to pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,”better translated: “Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.”  Jesus came to give us life, allow us to liveour lives to the fullest.  What is theopposite of “live?”  Sure, “E-V-I-L”-what the devil wants to trick us into choosing. As we live throughLent, 2017, here are three useful facts about temptation and how to handle it:(Each one comes with a story to help us remember the Biblical concept.)1)   THE DEVIL CANNOT FORCE US.   ALL HE CAN DO IS SIMPLY TRY TOCONVINCE US.  Remember, Jesus isLord.  When we’re under huge assault,it’s so easy to forget that Jesus has overcome, so the power to overcome is inour hands.  The trouble is- he’s a masterat tricking us and we get convinced all too easily.  Did you hear about the woman who just lovedto shop?  The problem was- both of theircredit cards were maxed out, and she had promised her husband that she wouldnot buy anything that was not absolutely necessary.  Well, Lent came soon after she made thepromise, and her Lenten commitment was that she would exercise every day.  Since it was pouring rain, she couldn’t walkoutside; so, she decided to go to the mall to walk and get her exercise.  “Don’t worry, dear,” she told her husbandbefore leaving.  “I won’t buy anything- Ipromise you.”  Her walk in the mallstarted out just fine, but then, as she strode past one of her favorite stores,she saw this beautiful dress in the window. You know what she did- stopped walking to look at it.  She noticed that it was in her favorite colorand would match the shoes she purchased the week before.  “It won’t hurt if I just go in the store tolook.  They probably won’t have my sizeanyway.”  When she checked out the rack,there was that gorgeous dress; and it was in her perfect color and correctsize.  “Wow!” she thought.  “It won’t hurt to just try it on.  Trying it on is not the same thing as buyingit.”  You know what she did- took it intothe dressing room to try it on.  After itwas on, she looked at her image in the mirror, and she really did lookgood.  All of a sudden, she came to hersenses and remembered her promise to her husband.  “Get the behind me, Satan!” she ordered.  “I’m not buying this dress!”  From behind her came a soft voice that said-“Gee, that’s a shame.  It looks reallygood back here too!”2)   OVERCOMING TEMPTATION IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OFEDUCATION.  ALTHOUGH WE DO NEED OURFACTS, BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS ONE OF THE WILL- CHOOSING LONG-TERM WELL -BEING OVER SHORT-TERM HAPPINESS. The OldTestament Genesis lesson of the temptation and sin of Adam and Eve is a goodexample of this fact about temptation. Their problem was not education. They knew the facts- don’t eat the fruit.  If they did, they would die.  They understood what God wanted them todo.  Their problem was not education- itwas choice.  They WANTED to eat thefruit.  It looked good, so they did whatthey wanted and went against God’s teaching.3)   BELIEVING THAT “I CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.  NO ONE WILL CATCH ME.  I CAN OUTSMART GOD AND EVERYBODY ELSE!” …not true!  The Bible (Numbers 32:23) reminds us: “Besure your sin will find you out.”  Do youremember the story of the two lovers?  Itwas Valentine’s Day, and the young couple was in love.  The problem was- they were college students,and they had an important test scheduled for that morning.  They decided to forget about the class justthis once, make a good excuse, and hope the instructor would let them make upthe test; so they took a long drive. When they went to class the next day, they told the instructor that theyhad a flat tire, so they couldn’t get to class. She replied with sympathy and said they could take the test rightthen.  As soon as they were ready to write,she said, “Now the first question: which tire was flat?”  (i.e. short-term happiness over long termwell-being.)  The Rev. Dr. Anthony Evansreminds us: “Used improperly, credit cards operate a lot like sin: enjoy now,pay later.” Whatshould we remember about temptation this Lent, 2020?1)   From the wife trying to overcome the temptation to buythe dress: THE DEVIL CAN’T FORCE US.   ALL HE CAN DO IS TRY TO CONVINCE US.”2)   From Adam and Eve and the first sin: THE OVERCOMINGTEMPTATION IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF EDUCATION. ALTHOUGH WE DO NEED OUR FACTS, THE REAL PROBLEM IS ONE OF THE WILL-CHOOSING LONG-TERM WELL -BEING OVERSHORT-TERM HAPPINESS.3)   From the lovers trying to out-smart their instructor:BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT. May God bless us as wekeep a holy Lent full of life-giving spiritual growth. For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-Americanwisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons &Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org. Blessed preaching,Judy BoliSt. Paul's Episcopal ChurchSaginaw, Michigan-- 
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