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Sunday 5 May 2002 - "Temptation reveals the heart" - engagement of Klaus & Ingrid

(Summary of sermon by Rev Erlo Stegen)

Mt 4:1; Deut 8:2 & 3

Mt 4:1 ¶ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Deut 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Jesus must have read these words from Deuteronomy and known them, for He quoted them to Satan, when He was tempted. Just before these temptations, Jesus came to John to be baptised. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance, where you confess your sins first. Jesus had no sin, so John thought that He did not need to be baptised, but eventually allowed Him to be baptised. When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form like a dove. However, when the disciples were baptised, the Holy Spirit came upon them as tongues of fire. They needed fire. They needed changed tongues as well, and were granted that. When the Holy Spirit comes into a life, He sanctifies even a person's tongue, so that, from now on, he speaks God's heart. Do you want to know whether you have God's Spirit? Simply watch what you speak throughout the day, and then you will know what fire is burning in you. God's fire devours the fire of this world and Satan, just as Moses' serpent devoured the serpents of the magicians in Egypt. Are there still lies in your mouth. Then you are a child of the devil, for he is the father of lies. God's fire in your life will devour and remove lies from your mouth as well.

After Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, He didn't start to preach and heal the sick immediately. No, He was driven by the Spirit into the desert, alone, to be tempted by the devil. In James we read that we are even tempted by our own lusts reigning in our members, but He did not have our evil nature, with sin reigning in His members. When Eve was tempted in the garden of Eden, she had all that heart could wish, and yet she sinned, and lost all. In the same way do we lose God's blessings because of our sin. Jesus, however, was tempted in the wilderness, being alone, forsaken by all, and hungry. The devil came to Jesus with a very subtle temptation, even the Word of God, but He still answered Satan with God's Word and conquered him, and proved beyond doubt that He was the Son of God.

God led Israel through the wilderness for 40 years, and their heart was revealed, through the hardships they had to endure. God, through Moses, says that He wanted to see what was in their heart, and whether they would keep His commandments or not. That was why He led them those 40 years through the desert. As Israel left Egypt, they rejoiced greatly and sang the song of Miriam, Moses' sister, but God was not fooled. He knew what was in their hearts and showed it to them.

God does not test us to make us sin, but that our heart might be made manifest. The problem is not the temptation and the circumstances, but the heart. When all goes well, no one can see what is actually in your heart, but when temptation and trials arise, the sin in your heart is revealed and showed to you and those around you.

The story is told of a certain minister who visited a town and lodged at a certain hotel in the town. He noticed one of the girls working there, and asked the owner of the hotel to send her to attend the next meeting he would hold. The owner answered that she was too simple-minded to understand what is preached, but the preacher insisted. It was God's appointment for that girl. She was touched by the message and went to the minister for help. He told her to pray a simple prayer for a week, "Lord show me myself". He left for a time and after many days returned to that hotel, and asked the owner about that girl. "She is worse than ever before", he said, "she weeps continuously". So the minister called her, and asked her what the matter was. "I only see my sins all the time, and new ones are shown to me continuously", she replied. So he taught her a new, short, prayer, "Lord, show me Thyself", and left again. After some time he inquired about her, and found that her life had completely changed, and she was a new person. She was rejoicing as far as she went, for she had met with her Lord, Jesus Christ, and he had forgiven her all her sins.

Just as she prayed that God would reveal to her her heart, we need to pray that as well, that our true state might be known.

In 2 Kings 20:12 and onwards we read how God left Hezekiah, when the ambassadors from Babylon came to visit him, to prove him and see what was in his heart. His heart was revealed, and his pride was shown to all. He trusted in himself and his great possessions, and left God and His prophet aside. Isaiah then came to him and told him how all those things will be carried away to Babylon.

In Genesis we read of Joseph, who was in very difficult circumstances, and yet he overcame. Everything that happened to him, just revealed his heart, and how he loved and feared God above all. When he was tempted by that adulterous woman, and no one was near, he slipped out of her hands like an eel, and fled for his life. He was falsely accused and cast into prison. He was tempted with bitterness, pride when he became ruler, revenge when it was in his hand to harm his brothers for what they did to him, and yet, in it all he conquered and overcame sin. Today we honour and respect him for his pure, blameless and upright life and call him a man among men.

But there are some who don't even wait for prostitutes to come to them, but log onto the Internet and watch all the filth and pornography there, running after their prostitutes.

Temptation will either break you or make you.

Jesus overcame in the most difficult situations. So likewise we, if He dwells in us, will overcome and conquer, no matter what the circumstances. That is why Paul could be so confident that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Through Him even the sin of pride can be conquered. Many claim that Jesus dwells in them, but through their deeds it is evident that there is no victory in their lives.

Although Jesus was the Son of God, He was also the Son of man, and was tested in all aspects as we, yet without sin. He overcame and conquered in all circumstances. What a privilege to have fellowship with Him, who is the Son of God and Son of man. So, wherever temptation might come from, we are able to conquer, for Jesus overcame and gave us the same power to also overcome.

Blessed are you who understand what God is saying to you today and does it. God wants to work through you and use you, but He cannot do anything with a heart that is not holy, sanctified and purified. So He wants to reveal to you your heart that it might be changed.