Matthew 4:1-11<\/p>\n\n\n\n
February 21, 1999<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During every stage of our lives, our actions and attitudes are curtailed by a certain number of what we might call, \u201cnecessary no\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have toddlers at home, you might say to them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, you can\u2019t run into the street for your ball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, you can\u2019t eat your little dessert in your TV dinner plate before you eat your peas.\u201d Our son, Greg used to always spit out his green peas so we had to fool him by putting some peaches or pears on the tip of the spoon and the peas behind the sweet fruits. It works!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, you can\u2019t touch the stove because it\u2019s hot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, you can\u2019t have ice cream for breakfast even though it\u2019s like milk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When our children grew older, the \u201cno\u2019s\u201d got a little less pervasive, but no less persuasive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d we would say to our eight year old, \u201cyou are not old enough to ride your bike into town by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d we say to our 13 year old, \u201cyou cannot stay out at the mall until it closes and then ride home with friends you might meet there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d we said to Lauren in high school, when she and her friends wanted to spend a weekend on the New Jersey shore without any adults or parents present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d we break it to our college-bound kids, we cannot afford to buy you a car and pay for your tuition, adding to, \u201cGet a job this summer!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We drum these necessary no\u2019s into our kids\u2019 heads while we still have them at home, hoping and praying that all our lectures and lessons will miraculously sink in. If we have done our jobs successfully, we want to believe that we have implanted enough of these little \u201cguilt bombs of no\u2019s\u201d so that whenever their lives are confronted with a potentially dangerous and dubious ethical situation, they will know how to behave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the most part, I think Joy and I have implanted enough of these \u201cguilt bombs of no\u2019s\u201d in Greg and Lauren. It\u2019s comforting to begin to see that they are sharing similar values and convictions that we have. Now when we are not at home when they call, they give us the same speech that we used to give them! Many of our \u201cno\u2019s\u201d are now their \u201cno\u2019s\u201d too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus for the most part didn\u2019t say \u201cno\u201d in many situations.\u00a0 When the big rowdy crowds were pushing to get closer to Jesus and among them were also children, Jesus didn\u2019t say \u201cno\u201d and sent them away.\u00a0 Instead, he simply hauled them up on his lap and made them the whole point of his message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women of all types were encroaching to learn from Jesus just like the men in those days were seeking for meaning in life. Instead of telling women like Mary to return to their assigned work\u2014preparing meals, caring for the needs of their families and homes\u2014Jesus encouraged the women to listen in and learn. Instead of rejecting the embarrassing and unusual attentions of women like the one who poured perfume over his head, Jesus praised her for her unhampered compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus couldn\u2019t say \u201cno\u201d to invitations to sit down for dinner discussions and fellowship with outcasts like tax collectors, Samaritans, and prostitutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our scripture for this morning tells about the time after Jesus\u2019 baptism when God said, \u201cThis is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.\u201d Jesus\u2019 decision to obey his Father\u2019s will need to be tested. Jesus will need to confront Satan to accomplish this task. While Jesus didn\u2019t say \u201cno\u201d to his followers, he said, \u201cNo\u201d to Satan. In the New Testament, Satan is a figure representing the power of evil, all that opposes the will of God. We should not allow ourselves to be distracted with a Halloween version of Satan, but rather Satan personifies all adversaries of God, all those who obstruct and resist what God intends for human life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. No to Bread Alone<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\u2019 time of testing begins with a challenge to his identity. Satan said, \u201cIf you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.\u201d This little word, \u201cif\u201d is designed to create self-doubt in Jesus\u2019 self-understanding that he is the Son of God. While Jesus was famished after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Satan tried to persuade Jesus to think only about himself\u2014too small of a miracle to perform!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Messiah, Jesus is called to a ministry of great size. Satan wanted him to forget all the needs in the world and only think about himself. As the Son of God, Jesus is called to minister to the whole of humanity\u2014as vast as the heavens and as deep as the ocean. Satan was giving Jesus this small teacup to fill up with his miracles. Jesus said that bread or rice is important to survive, but as disciples we don\u2019t just live for this only thing. Jesus says, \u201cNo\u201d to Satan and said, \u201cOne does not live by bread alone.\u201d The faithful don\u2019t live by one word, one need, one issue, one position, one conviction, and they don\u2019t live exclusively for themselves. They live, as Jesus reminded Satan, by \u201cevery word that comes from the mouth of the God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a church community, we can fall into such a temptation when we measure the effectiveness of the church according to how quickly it responds to our personal ideas and needs, our demands to be fed. We can see this when a person doesn\u2019t have it her way, she sabotages it for everybody. We find in this temptation that each of us becomes the only legitimate judge to what\u2019s good or bad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news about this first temptation of Jesus\u2019 is that he remains obedient to the God who speaks many words, and not just one; who feeds the hungry in the world and not just<\/p>\n\n\n\n ourselves, or even the famished Messiah himself. Jesus is hungry, very hungry, but he will not allow Satan to restrict his diet, or ours. We are given every word of God; we can trust every promise of the gospel to nourish and sustain us. Jesus resisted the temptation to make the gospel too small; and by doing so, he embodies, for all of humanity and for every hunger in creation, the whole Word of God, which gives life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By saying \u201cno\u201d to Satan to turn stones into bread just for himself, Jesus said \u201cyes\u201d to become the Bread of Life in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. No to Testing God<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Satan failed to tempt Jesus to change stones into loaves of bread, he cleverly tried to use Jesus\u2019 own words to tempt him a second time. Satan said, \u201cSo, you want to quote Scripture to me to say that you trust every word that comes from the mouth of God? Well, I can quote Scriptures too. He took Jesus to Jerusalem and placed him at the highest point on top of the temple and said, \u201cSon of God, throw yourself down and as the Scripture said, God\u2019s angels will bear you up (Psalm 91).\u201d \u201cJump off the temple and see if God\u2019s word is trustworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Satan has a pretty good argument here. If Jesus, as the Son of God, lives by every word that comes out of God\u2019s mouth, then why doesn\u2019t he demonstrate that confidence by taking a deep breath, bending his knees, and jump into the arms of the angels? Surely, the bystanders below will be amazed and let out a chorus of applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Jesus said to Satan that such testing of God comes not from trust, but from the lack of it. When we need to test God\u2019s promises to see if they really work, it is a sure sign of our doubting faith. It implies that we like to be in God\u2019s position of knowing when, how, and where God is supposed to fulfill his promises. If God doesn\u2019t perform in just the prescribed way we planned it to happen, either God is a liar or there is no God. When we put God to the test, we dramatically reverse the relationship we have with God. We are in charge, and God is treated as our servant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever tested God? Sometimes we may have found ourselves, saying, \u201cGod, if you do this for me, I will become more active at church.\u201d Or, \u201cSince you are such a great and powerful God, why do you allow bad things to happen to good people?\u201d When we put God to a test, we actually tell more about our own lack of faith in God\u2019s promises for the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a young man who was desperately seeking God.\u00a0 He sought out a wise old man who lived in a nearby apartment and posed the question: \u201cOld man, how can I see God?\u201d\u00a0 The old man who obviously knew God at a depth few of us experience, pondered the question for a very long time.\u00a0 At last he responded quietly: \u201cYoung man, I am not sure that I can help you\u2014for you see, I have a very different problem. I cannot NOT see him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the old man, there is no need for a test of God\u2019s existence. God is God from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we trust God with our lives, we say \u201cno\u201d to our human need to control everything in our way. We grow to understand that in God\u2019s plan for the world, he has our interests in mind and we don\u2019t have to worry about it. Jesus, the Son of God, said \u201cno\u201d to Satan to test God\u2019s promises. In saying \u201cno,\u201d to Satan, Jesus said \u201cyes\u201d to his Father to lead in his life for divine purposes in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. No to the Kingdoms of the World<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Satan wouldn\u2019t take a \u201cno\u201d answer from Jesus. Satan must be a slow learner. So for a third time, Satan tempted Jesus by taking him high up on a mountain and said that \u201call the kingdoms of the world and their splendor\u201d would be Jesus\u2019 if he would fall down and worship him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The easier answer for Jesus would have been \u201cyes\u201d to this last temptation. What an expedient opportunity to win the loyalty and allegiance of the whole world by simply worshipping Satan? <\/p>\n\n\n\n But Jesus will become Lord of all the kingdoms of the world, not by falling before Satan, but by being nailed upon a cross. Jesus\u2019 kingship will not come swiftly, but it will be hard and messy. It will involve teaching slow-learning disciples the secrets of the kingdom. Jesus will touch the broken and diseased skin of lepers. He will face the opposition of religious leaders and make the front pages of the tabloids. Jesus will have one of his own disciples turn him in and all the rest of them act like they never saw him in their lives. It will mean that he will be arrested like any common criminal, spit upon and mocked, and finally being cruelly executed on a cross. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Satan gave Jesus a short-cut in avoiding the many miles of suffering. Why not cut out the suffering and painful parts and get right on to the victory? Just bow down and worship Satan, and Jesus could have had everything right on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Christians today, we often seek for some easier and quicker way to travel life\u2019s journey than the way of the cross. We all know what\u2019s expected. What may be the minimum requirements. Whether it may be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n *good personal living<\/p>\n\n\n\n *attending church regularly<\/p>\n\n\n\n *giving and pledging weekly<\/p>\n\n\n\n *doing our jobs well<\/p>\n\n\n\n *and even praying and fasting one day during Lent<\/p>\n\n\n\n We would do anything that might substitute for the costly way of the cross.\u00a0 When we seek short-cuts to being Christian, Satan is smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever we bow down to that which is not God\u2014to our family, or social standing, or personal success, or self-righteousness\u2014hoping that this will fill our hearts, we succumb to this temptation. Whenever we attempt to soften the cost of discipleship and pretend that the work of Christ does not involve suffering, then we have fallen into this temptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Lord said a third resounding \u201cno\u201d to Satan and told him to go away. By saying \u201cno\u201d to bypassing the painful way to the cross, Jesus said \u201cyes\u201d to Calvary and showed us the road we must also travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We live in a time that is often hard to say, \u201cno.\u201d We want everyone to be happy and included. We are always seeking for those \u201cwin\/win\u201d situations and avoiding \u201cwin\/lose\u201d ones. Wouldn\u2019t it be grand to be able to always say \u201cyes\u201d to every question that is asked of us? We will no doubt become very popular. Joy would say that when it comes to Lauren, as her Daddy, I don\u2019t know how to say, \u201cno.\u201d For me to instill responsibility in Lauren, I cannot afford to always say, \u201cyes.\u201d I need to also say some \u201cnecessary no\u2019s\u201d to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are times when we need to say the \u201cnecessary no\u2019s\u201d in life. Jesus was able to say, \u201cno\u201d to Satan because he believed in God the Father for his life. Jesus denied satisfying his own hunger so that he can be the Bread of Life in the world. Jesus trusted God for his life\u2019s directions and didn\u2019t need to test whether God really exists. Jesus wouldn\u2019t take the easy way out to become the ruler of all the kingdoms in the world, but chose the suffering and painful way of the cross. Jesus gave Satan \u201cnecessary no\u2019s\u201d so that he is obedient to God\u2019s plan for forgiveness of our sins and redemption in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can we say \u201cno\u201d to the powers and principalities of this world? By saying \u201cyes\u201d to the ultimate power and authority of God. In fact, we can\u2019t say the \u201cnecessary no\u2019s\u201d to life\u2019s temptations without first affirming the \u201cyes\u201d in our lives that Jesus Christ is our Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus said \u201cno\u201d to Satan because he had already said \u201cyes\u201d to his Father. Jesus said, \u201cno\u201d to the words from Satan because he said \u201cyes\u201d to the authority of the Scriptures. When you ad I are ready to say \u201cyes\u201d to Jesus, then we are able to say the \u201cnecessary no\u2019s\u201d to all those worldly temptations that surely come our way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was in college, it was during the Vietnam War.\u00a0 After praying and sharing about my beliefs about the purpose of war and what war did, I said, \u201cNo\u201d to the military draft. I became a conscientious objector.\u00a0 Because I said, \u201cYes\u201d to Christ that all persons are God\u2019s children, I was able to say \u201cNo\u201d to war and killings.\u00a0 My Christian faith on the preciousness of all life had shaped my beliefs that regardless of how horrible the enemies of the United States are, they are still and have always been God\u2019s children.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You say to your child, no, you cannot play in the street. That necessary no is only possible because you, as a loving parent, have already said yes to your commitment to safeguard the health of your child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You say no to drugs because you have said yes to clean living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You say no to revenge and capital punishment because you have said yes to forgiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You say no to temptation because you have said yes to self-control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You say no to racism because you have said yes to love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You say no to exclusiveness and discrimination because you have said yes to God\u2019s love for all his people with no exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have said no to Lauren and Greg because I have said yes to being the most loving and caring father I can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have said no to the need to judge each other\u2019s faithfulness because we have said yes to Christ that we are all sinners in the eyes of God in need of his constant forgiveness and grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have said no to abandoning our Chinatown mission with sisters and brothers from Asia who come everyday to America in search for a new life because we have said yes to God that we will preach the good news of Jesus Christ in San Francisco, California, and to the ends of the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have said no to life\u2019s rewards because we have said yes to \u201cWorship the Lord our God, and serve only him.\u201d Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Precious and Loving God, we pray that you are the ultimate authority in our lives so that we can say no to life\u2019s rewards and say yes to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Continue to bless us with your everlasting love. In Jesus\u2019 name, we pray. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Matthew 4:1-11 February 21, 1999 Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church of San Francisco. Introduction During every stage of our lives, our actions andYes to Being Jesus\u2019 Disciples<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Saying Necessary No\u2019s<\/h6>\n\n\n\n