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Confronting Sin: The Internal Word

Matthew 4:1-11
Cascades Fellowship CRC, JX
March 3, 2002

You know, they just don’t make movies like Karate Kid any more. I know, some

of you are saying, “Thank you, Lord.” But I am not really talking about the quality of the

acting, or even the main the story, I mean they don’t make movies that have subtle

inferences to life’s greatest lessons.

Although there are several to choose from in Karate Kid, the one I am talking

about this morning is the one that comes in what has to be the most memorable scene of

the movie. I think a majority of us know which scene I am talking about. It is so

memorable that it has become part of the popular culture. It is the scene where the dojo

teaches his young apprentice how to put wax on and take wax off; and how to apply paint

evenly by carefully applying it first in a smooth, continuous upward stroke and then a

smooth, continuous downward stroke.

At first what looks like an old man being persnickety about the way his wax and

paint are applied end up being about proper form when it comes to martial arts.

Unbeknownst to the apprentice, as he is using the exact form that the dojo has shown him

for doing the manual labor – which is the cost the boy must pay to train under the master

– he is strengthening the muscles and reflexes which will allow him to become a master

in martial arts. One day as the apprentice begins to complain about how the dojo is just

using him for free labor and not giving any training in return, the dojo swings at the

apprentice. Much to the surprise of the apprentice, his labor-trained reflexes respond
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“wax on – wax off” to block the punch of the dojo. Without realizing it, the apprentice

had internalized the movement needed to protect himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I cannot count the number of times I have

encountered a situation of ultimate significance – by that I mean life or death, heaven or

hell significance – and struggled to find the right word or response. My reflexes were not

trained and exercised enough to rise to the occasion when the spiritual punch was thrown.

No one ever taught me the spiritual equivalent of “wax on – wax off.” Nor can I count

the number of times others have come to me to voice the same sort of concern. This is

not an uncommon dilemma in the Body of Christ.

This morning, we are going to spend a little time learning how to hone our

spiritual reflexes. But unlike the apprentice in Karate Kid, we aren’t going to toil away at

something, ignorant of the fact that the whole time we work, we are training. No, this

morning we are going to make a very deliberate effort to learn from the Master how we

can sharpen our reflexes so that when the spiritual punches of life come we know how to

respond.

To do this, we are going to take a look at Matthew 4:1-11 – the temptation of

Christ in the wilderness. We’ll begin by getting a sense of where this passage fits in the

Gospel of Matthew. Then we are going to look at how Christ handles the temptations –

how did he counter the blows? Then finally, we are going to outline some ways we can

prepare ourselves to respond as Christ did in the desert.

Over the past two weeks we have talked about the origin and insidious nature of

sin. We spoke of its subtlety – its power to twist what was intended to be good into an
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agent for evil. We also talked about the desire – sin – death cycle outlined by James and

demonstrated by David’s acts of adultery, betrayal and murder. When faced with such an

enemy, how do we prevail?

The first and most obvious answer is the grace of God in Christ. As we also noted

last week, the power of sin is no match for the blood of Jesus Christ. There is still power

in the blood. But there are proactive ways to confront sin – ways to break the cycle long

before it gets to death.

In Matthew 4:1-11, we find a confrontation between Jesus and the author of sin,

Satan. Now this confrontation comes at a critical juncture in the life and ministry of

Jesus Christ. At his birth, the shadow of destruction hung over the manger. Only by his

family fleeing to Egypt did he survive the jealous rage of Herod which led to the

slaughter of every male two years and younger in the town of Bethlehem. Then came

John, preaching that the kingdom was at hand and practicing a baptism of repentance.

The stage is set for the Messiah.

John proclaims to all who will listen that the One is coming who is greater than he

is – the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. One day as John is carrying

out his ministry of preparing the way for the kingdom of God; Jesus comes and asks to be

baptized. Did he need to repent? No. Then why ask for the baptism? Let me give you

two possible answers along with a caveat.

The first, and what is most likely indicated by the passage, is that Christ

underwent the baptism of John to identify himself with the people for whom he would die

three years later. By taking the baptism of John, Christ is proclaiming his solidarity with
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fallen humanity – a necessity if his is going to be an acceptable sacrifice for the sin of all

who believe. The second is that by taking the sign of baptism, he gives us a means by

which we can identify with him. In other words, Jesus authenticates baptism as the seal

of the new covenant by himself participating in it. The caveat is this – the Scriptures do

give any other direct explanation the actions and words of Christ in Matthew 3:13-15

than the words Christ at the time – “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us

to fulfill all righteousness.” The truth of Christ’s statement is proven irrefutably by the

Spirit descending on Christ as a dove out of the heavens and voice proclaiming “This is

My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

It is in this context – between the time of preparation and inauguration for his

earthly ministry and the actual beginning of his earthly ministry – that the confrontation

between Jesus Christ and Satan come. Right after the spiritual high of having his

messiahship publicly affirmed – after hearing the voice from heaven speaking words of

approval – the Spirit who descends like a dove leads him out into the desert to be tempted

by the devil.

Jesus is led into the wilderness; the desert. Often when we think of a wilderness, it

includes shades of green, dense woodland, and life aplenty. In our contemporary North

American context, a wilderness is a place of natural beauty and abundance where one

escape the contact of other human beings. It is massive space with plenty of hiding

places. The wilderness Christ was led into was not like that.

It was stark, hard and offered few places to hide. The desert discouraged life;

explicitly threatened life. Survival depended on the capricious waters of the wadi –
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channels cut into the mountainside by the run-off of rains in the upper climes. It is into

this wilderness that Christ is led.

Why? To what end would the Spirit lead Christ here of all places? And why, after

fasting for forty-days would the Spirit leave Jesus vulnerable to a confrontation with the

devil? I am not going to go through every temptation this morning – we’ll save that for

another sermon. I am just going to offer a quick explanation of the significance of the

temptation.

If you look at the temptations that Christ faced in the desert, each one challenges

him to defend himself as the Son of God. Each one calls for Christ to leave the road of

suffering marked out for him – to abandon the plan of God as foolish – in favor of the

painless road of self-assertion and compromise. In a very real sense, the Garden of Eden,

stripped of its vitality, is revisited and a decision must be made. To be God’s own or

your own; life or death, heaven or hell.

The Spirit leads Christ out into the desert to relive Eden – the point of decision

that led to the Fall. Jesus is in the desert to prove that the proclamation made at the

Jordan – that he is the Son of God – is true. Christ goes out into the desert to announce to

the devil and all of his minions that their days are numbered. God has come in flesh and

the offensive to retake his creation lost in sin has begun in earnest. Christ goes into the

desert – the place where death thrives – to announce that the Life has come and the sting

of death has been forever blunted.

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That’s the significance of the temptations – to prove the Sonship of Jesus Christ.

But how did Christ face them? How does he counter the blows of the devil and maintain

the testimony as the Son of God?

Again, I am not going to go through each temptation. Instead I am going to look

at the practice of Christ in general, because it is in his example we find the means to

equip ourselves for confronting sin.

When you read through the passage Matthew 4:1-11 there is a pattern you will

notice. The pattern begins with the devil saying “If you….” and ends with Christ

responding, “It is written….” Now, we have already talked about the temptation that

Jesus faced. Satan wanted to provoke him into acting on his own behalf, to prove his was

who the voice from heaven said he was. But instead of lashing out in divine indignation,

Christ shows himself to be truly the Son of God by surrendering his own initiative to that

of the Father. Instead of responding with his own words, he responds with the words his

Father has given him – it is written.

This is the example we want to latch on to this morning. We want to hone our

reflexes to respond in our confrontations with sin in the same way that Christ responded

when faced with temptation. That’s a tall order, some might even say that is unfair.

After all, he’s the Son of God! In answer, let me say this – we are children of God,

predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. Never forget that we are meant to

bear the family likeness. But let me also assure that the Scriptures are plump with

commands, exhortations, and encouragement to internalize the Word so that when we

face temptation we can say “It is written….”

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In Deuteronomy 6, God tells the people of Israel that they are to write the

commandments upon their hearts – to internalize them. How? By teaching them to their

children, by talking about them whether they are working or resting, and by writing them

down and putting the record of them in obvious places – places where there eyes can’t

miss them. In Psalm 119 the psalmist asks how can someone keep their way pure? By

living according the Word of God. How? By hiding God’s Word in his heart, by

meditating upon the precepts of God, by repeating the laws of God again and again. In 2

Timothy, Paul exhorts his young protégé to continue in the things he learned growing up

in the home of a believing mother and grandmother. He then indicates that he refers to

the practice of reading and internalizing the Word of God. Why? Because all Scripture

is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in

righteousness.

Beloved in Christ, when you take seriously what the Scriptures have to say

regarding reading and internalizing the Word of God, you cannot help but come away

with the impression that the example that Christ set for us in the desert is how God

intended for us to deal with temptation. When we internalize God’s Word – when we

become so familiar with the Scriptures that our response to temptation is “it is written” –

our lives are enriched. How?

Obviously, the first benefit is that we have a means then to break the cycle of sin.

We can answer the desire twisted by sin with God’s own words, blunting its pull upon

our hearts. But there is more. Just as we talked about in our discussion on the Proverbs,

when we spend time in appropriating the Scriptures our wisdom quotient goes way up.
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Suddenly, when we are faced with those confounding moments we have a resource to

draw upon to give us guidance – guidance that will keep us on the path of righteousness.

However, the greatest benefit is that we become better acquainted with our Creator.

Always remember that the first and primary purpose of the Scriptures is to reveal God.

To tell us about the God we serve.

So how do we internalize the Word? How do we hone our reflexes to respond “it

is written” instead of “uhhh…now what?” Well, the first and most important step is to

read the Scriptures. After walking with Christ for fifteen years and going through four

years of seminary I can tell you that osmosis does not work in this case – just having the

Bible close at hand doesn’t cut it. You have to pick it up. You have to read it. You have

spend time with it. If for no other reason, remember that in Deuteronomy 6 God

commands his people to study his Word. To not do so is disobedience.

The next step is memorizing the Word. Okay, here we have a real problem – I

understand. How can you memorize the whole Bible? If your anything like me,

remembering your middle name is a challenge, so what hope do we have of memorizing

the Bible? Let me answer by offering this advice.

Know the stories. You may not know every detail, but know the story. That will

carry you along way in being able to remember the words of the Scriptures and arming

you to resist temptation. Also pick selected Scriptures – perhaps Scriptures that have

come to mean something special to you. Or Scriptures that are traditionally quoted often.

Try writing a passage you want to memorize down on a note card and put in your wallet

or purse so that you can take it with you anywhere. Whenever you are waiting in line or
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for the doctor – whenever you have a little free time – pull out the card and read through

the passage. Need a place to start? Let me suggest the Psalms and Proverbs. Or try the

Book of James. These books all speak in immediate terms of application.

A final way of hiding the Word of God in our hearts is using a reading practice

know as Lectio Divina or spiritual reading. It comes from what is known as the “desert

tradition.” Early in the Christian church – about 1500 years ago – believers would go out

into the desert for a time of renewal and reflection. During this time of renewal, they

practiced spiritual reading which used both head and heart to integrate God’s Word into

their life.

There are five movements in spiritual reading. You begin by establishing a time

and place where you can consistently quiet yourself and be attentive to God. This may be

once a day, twice a week, whatever. Just make sure that it is frequent enough to build on

what you have done before. You should plan between 30 minutes and an hour. Make

sure you mark out plenty of time. Let me stress, this is not a “fit into your schedule”

practice. It requires you to set aside time. You have to establish the time and place and

then protect it. After you have the time and place pray for the guidance of the Holy

Spirit. Ask God to quiet your mind from all the distractions and to open your heart to

understanding. This is the first movement.

The second movement is reading a short passage of Scripture slowly. Read slow

enough to get a sense of the sounds in the passage. Pay attention to repeated words,

sounds or phrases. Be alert to any phrase or word that draws your attention. Linger on

those phrases or words. Re-read the passage several times paying special attention to the
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phrase or words that have captured your attention. The third movement is reflecting on

your word or phrase. Enter into a dialogue with this portion of the Scripture. Are there

any memories, images, thoughts, feelings or connections that arise as you reflect on this

passage?

The fourth movement is responding to your reflection. As you linger over the

phrase or word, do you sense a challenge or an invitation? Perhaps through your

reflection, you sense a desire to express joy or sorrow; expectation or peace; to give

testimony or confession. If you sense a need to respond, allow your experience to be

voiced to God in prayer. The fifth movement is to rest quietly in God’s presence. Folks,

this is really the goal – just spending time with in the presence of our God. Don’t be

discouraged if no huge insights come out your time before him. Just rest, be thankful and

contemplate the Word placed before you. Think of your time as the lap time a child

spends in the arms of his or her Father.

I realize I am going a little long, so let me end by exhorting you to hone your

reflexes. Prepare now for the punch temptation is going to throw your way. Take a page

from the life of our Savior. Spend time with God’s Word so that when the temptation

comes you respond, “it is written.”