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Campus Bible Talk meets every Monday during the school year (except during holidays and during Reading Week Breaks) at Athabasca Hall, Heritage Lounge, at 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Temptations


Last evening, we focused on the topic of Temptations.  We looked at the story of Jesus when he was 12 years old and how He handled a situation where the temptations to disobey His parents were very real.  Then, we talked about James and how the tests and the trials of this world help us to become stronger, as we press toward the reward God has promised us.  Finally, we learned from 1 Corinthians that God will always provide us with a way out of each temptation. 

Here are the notes of our talk.


February 7, 2011

Temptations

Opening question: How can kids be tempted to do wrong?

Regardless of how much we try to obey our parents, there have been times when we were growing up that we did not do the right thing and got into trouble.  Even as adults there will be occasions when we will do something that is wrong or at least be tempted to do something that is wrong.

Today we are going to look at the Bible to see how Jesus dealt with temptations as a young man, to answer also a specific question that was raised here last week.


1.         Boy Jesus in the temple

The main story comes from Luke 2:40-52: 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. 
41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.  43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.  45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.  46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.  48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.  51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.


What does it say in verse 40 and 52 about Jesus?
Verse 40
What does it mean to be filled with wisdom?
It means to have the proper understanding of things and to act appropriately in all situations, to have taken the time to study.

So, Jesus grew to become strong not just physically, but also mentality as well as spiritually, since God was with Him.


What did Jesus do in verse 51?
Submitted to or was obedient to His parents

Does that mean Jesus had the opportunity to be disobedient and to not submit?

Jesus was most likely tempted like we talked about earlier about how young people are tempted, but according to this story, Jesus was obedient to his parents and grew in favor with God for doing what was right.

Verse 47
Why were the teachers amazed at Jesus’ answers?
Because His understanding about spiritual and religious issues was beyond anything one would expect from a 12-year old.  He obviously chose to spend time studying the Scriptures even from a young age and had learned what God wanted from Him and how He could do the right things.

Verse 49
Who is the “Father” Jesus is referring to in this verse?
God.

So, even at 12 Jesus had some understanding and wisdom about who He was and what was expected from Him.  He said that He had to be in His Father’s house, in the house of God and at that time for the Jews the Father’s house was the temple in Jerusalem.

Let us all turn to Ephesians 6:1.  What does it say here about children, what should they do?

Ephesians 6:1: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

What does verse 51 tells us about our relationship with our parents?
We should be obedient to our parents, especially in the Lord?

Verse 52
Jesus continued to grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.  Jesus studied and learned the Scriptures so he would not be tempted, He would know how to keep from doing wrong.

What does this verse tell us about our relationship with God and man?

We know from other verses that Jesus committed no sin during his entire life.  2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.)  Even though Jesus was tempted like all men have, he was still without sin.  Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  While the Bible has no stories recording about Jesus being tempted before the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4), it is safe to assume that if Jesus was like us, he was tempted throughout all his life.  Still, He did not sin and did not do anything wrong at all.


2.         Now, why are we tempted and tried?  Why do we have to face tests in our lives?

James gives a very good explanation in James 1:12-15, when he discussed the topic of temptation.  James says: 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

So, what does James says in verse 12?  Why are we tested?
The tests in our lives, like in our school, serve to show us how much we can succeed and to prove how much we have advanced in our maturity and in our knowledge.

Temptations, James continue, in verse 13, do not come from God.  We read in Matthew that the devil was the one who tempted Jesus.  According to verse 14, we are tempted by our own desires and then, after we have these desires we work upon them and we sin.  The devil would like us to do wrong things and not listen to God; therefore, he tempts us for that purpose. 

However, if we overcome the tests and the temptations, God will reward us for our determination and perseverance and He is willing to help us when we are tempted, we just need to turn to Him for help.


3.         We can overcome temptations

In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we read: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Notice that temptations and tests that happen in our lives are common to mankind.  This means that other people are tested and will be tested in the same way.  However, God, who does not tempt us, helps us to overcome these tests, by not allowing us to be tempted more than we can bear. 

And every time we are faced with a temptation or a test, remember that God provides us a way out of this test.  There is always a way out! 

The question asked last week, was why was Jesus tempted by Satan in the Wilderness, why did Satan come to Him, does that mean Jesus was not tempted before?  From our study we can see that Jesus was not caught up in the physical desires and temptations of the world because even from a child he focused and studied the Bible for answers and guidance.  He himself did not want to do wrong, so Satan actually came to Jesus in the wilderness to physically tempt Jesus and to try and get Jesus to sin.  It does not mean there were no things in Jesus’ life that were not tempting before, it is just that Jesus was able to know from the Bible how do deal with His thoughts and desires and to control them so that he never gave into temptation, if when Satan himself came and tried to cause Jesus to sin.

Conclusions

Jesus grew in wisdom and had a good relationship with both His earthly parents and with all man.  We are to grow just like Him in our spiritual life, in which we are just like children.  We will be faced with temptations and tests in our lives, but God always provides us for a way out or our tests.  With the help of God, we can overcome all tests and all temptations in our lives.




Campus Bible Talk 2011

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