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<pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Forwarded:<br>
<br>
</font></font><tt>Dear Friends,<br>
Tomorrow’s sermon is entitled “Yield Not to Temptation” or “The Devil<br>
Made Me Do It!” and deals with the gospel (Matthew 4: 1- 11). Here it<br>
is:<br>
<br>
We just heard the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert<br>
(Matthew 4:1-11) and we know the feeling of being tempted all too<br>
well, because temptation is a part of our lives. In Lent it gets even<br>
worse as we try to stick with our Lenten commitment of giving up<br>
something that keeps us from being the best we can be or taking on<br>
something to deepen our spiritual lives. You know as well as I do,<br>
even good change is hard. On top of it, we human beings are a<br>
disobedient, stubborn lot! Did you hear the story of the husband and<br>
wife who got in an argument? Each was giving the other the “silent<br>
treatment.” Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would<br>
need his wife to wake him at 5:00 A.M.. for an early morning business<br>
flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE),<br>
he wrote on a piece of paper, “Please wake me at 5:00 A.M.” He left<br>
it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man woke<br>
up, only to discover it was 9:00 A.M., and he had missed his flight.<br>
Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him,<br>
when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, “It is<br>
5:00 A.M. Wake up.” Do you see how stubborn and rebellious we can<br>
be? All we have to do is know there is something we should do, and we<br>
don’t want to do it. Sounds like Adam and Eve all over again. What<br>
did you give up for Lent? If it’s doughnuts, I know your car just<br>
happens to drive by the doughnut shop. If it’s smoking, I know you<br>
look at those cigarettes when you pay for your gas. It’s no accident<br>
that Jesus taught us to pray: “Lead us not into temptation, but<br>
deliver us from evil,” better translated: “Save us from the time of<br>
trial, and deliver us from evil.” Jesus came to give us life, allow<br>
us to live our lives to the fullest. What is the opposite of “live?”<br>
Sure, “E-V-I-L”- what the devil wants to trick us into choosing.<br>
<br>
As we live through Lent, 2011, here are three useful facts about<br>
temptation and how to handle it: (Each one comes with a story to help<br>
us remember the Biblical concept.)<br>
4) THE DEVIL CANNOT FORCE US. ALL HE CAN DO IS SIMPLY TRY TO CONVINCE<br>
US. Remember, Jesus is Lord. When we’re under huge assault, it’s so<br>
easy to forget that Jesus has overcome, so the power to overcome is in<br>
our hands. The trouble is- he’s a master at tricking us and we get<br>
convinced all too easily. Did you hear about the woman who just loved<br>
to shop? The problem was- both of their credit cards were maxed out,<br>
and she had promised her husband that she would not buy anything that<br>
was not absolutely necessary. Well, Lent came soon after she made the<br>
promise, and her Lenten commitment was that she would exercise every<br>
day. Since it was pouring rain, she couldn’t walk outside; so she<br>
decided to go to the mall to walk and get her exercise. “Don’t worry,<br>
dear,” she told her husband before leaving. “I won’t buy anything- I<br>
promise you.” Her walk in the mall started out just fine, but then,<br>
as she strode past one of her favorite stores, she saw this beautiful<br>
dress in the window. You know what she did- stopped walking to look<br>
at it. She noticed that it was in her favorite color and would match<br>
the shoes she purchased the week before. “It won’t hurt if I just go<br>
in the store to look. They probably won’t have my size anyway.” When<br>
she checked out the rack, there was that gorgeous dress; and it was in<br>
her perfect color and correct size. “Wow!” she thought. “It won’t<br>
hurt to just try it on. Trying it on is not the same thing as buying<br>
it.” You know what she did- took it into the dressing room to try it<br>
on. After it was on, she looked at her image in the mirror, and she<br>
really did look good. All of a sudden, she came to her senses and<br>
remembered her promise to her husband. “Get the behind me, Satan!”<br>
she ordered. “I’m not buying this dress!” From behind her came a<br>
soft voice that said- “Gee, that’s a shame. It looks really good back<br>
here too!”<br>
5) OVERCOMING TEMPTATION IS NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF EDUCATION.<br>
ALTHOUGH WE DO NEED OUR FACTS, BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS ONE OF THE<br>
WILL- CHOOSING LONG-TERM WELL-BEING OVER SHORT-TERM HAPPINESS. The Old<br>
Testament Genesis lesson of the temptation and sin of Adam and Eve is<br>
a good example of this fact about temptation. Their problem was not<br>
education. They knew the facts- don’t eat the fruit. If they did,<br>
they would die. They understood what God wanted them to do. Their<br>
problem was not education- it was choice. They WANTED to eat the<br>
fruit. It looked good, so they did what they wanted and went against<br>
God’s teaching.<br>
6) BELIEVING THAT “I CAN GET AWAY WITH IT. NO ONE WILL CATCH ME. I<br>
CAN OUTSMART GOD AND EVERYBODY ELSE!”…not true! The Bible (Numbers<br>
32:23) reminds us: “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Do you<br>
remember the story of the two lovers? It was Valentine’s Day, and the<br>
young couple was in love. The problem was- they were college<br>
students, and they had an important test scheduled for that morning.<br>
They decided to forget about the class just this once, make a good<br>
excuse, and hope the instructor would let them make up the test; so<br>
they took a long drive. When they went to class the next day, they<br>
told the instructor that they had a flat tire, so they couldn’t get to<br>
class. She replied with sympathy and said they could take the test<br>
right then. As soon as they were ready to write, she said, “Now the<br>
first question: which tire was flat?” (i.e. short term happiness over<br>
long term well-being.) The Rev. Dr. Anthony Evans reminds us: “Used<br>
improperly, credit cards operate a lot like sin: enjoy now, pay<br>
later.”<br>
<br>
What should we remember about temptation this Lent, 2011?<br>
4) From the wife trying to overcome the temptation to buy the dress:<br>
THE DEVIL CAN’T FORCE US. ALL HE CAN DO IS TRY TO CONVINCE US.”<br>
5) From Adam and Eve and the first sin: THE OVERCOMING TEMPTATION IS<br>
NOT SIMPLY A MATTER OF EDUCATION. ALTHOUGH WE DO NEED OUR FACTS, THE<br>
REAL PROBLEM IS ONE OF THE WILL- CHOOSING LONG-TERM WELL-BEING OVER<br>
SHORT-TERM HAPPINESS.<br>
6) From the lovers trying to out-smart their teacher: BE SURE YOUR SIN<br>
WILL FIND YOU OUT.<br>
<br>
May God bless us as we keep a holy Lent full of life-giving spiritual<br>
growth.<br>
<br>
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American<br>
wisdom statements are posted on our NEW PARISH WEB SITE. The address<br>
is: <a href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.com/" target="_blank">http://www.stpaulsepisag.com</a> .<br>
<br>
Blessed preaching.<br>
Judy Boli<br>
St. Paul's Episcopal Church<br>
Saginaw, Michigan<br>
<br>
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