Let’s go to the Lord in prayer. "Lord Jesus, as we enter into this Easter week, we pray that, in all seriousness, it can be a week of honest and true repentance. We’ll never know the power of Your resurrection until we experience the pain of the cross with You. We pray in honesty that You will crucify the duplicity that is in each of us. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen."

The headline all around the world this week, all of us have seen this picture on multiple occasions of Governor Spitzer, or soon to be former Governor Spitzer, his world came crashing down on Monday. I do not say this to throw stones for I live in a glass house, and I don’t say this by any means to condemn. Our prayers go out to Governor Spitzer and his family. But I look at this as a warning. I know far stronger people than myself who have fallen in this same way because they weren’t paying attention to the warning signs. Just last week, we compared temptation to Pearl Harbor and how our government had ignored warning signs for a period of time. When you ignore the warning signs from what the book of James calls the 'evil desires' that we all deal with on the inside, our own junk, then out of nowhere, like around Diamond Head, your character can be torpedoed. Everything you value most, relationships, how do you ever gain them back? Spitzer has three young daughters; they have to go to school again. His wife, his career, he was touted as a future potential candidate for the presidency. Everything that you value can be torpedoed in a moment.

The book of James talks about the anatomy of sin. Sin is like crack cocaine, you can’t control it. You can’t have a little of it in an area of your life. I’ve never heard anyone say, "I’ve got a little bit of cancer." If a cancer is discovered in your body, they do everything they can to eradicate that cancer, for cancer will kill you. Sin is a cancer to our soul. Here is the anatomy of sin in James 1:14-15, "But each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." The desire in itself is not sin, it’s when we allow that desire to persist and grow in our life. Here we see that the consequence of unchecked desires in our life is death. He’s really talking about death in relationships, death in career, death in reputation, and death in self-esteem. This kind of death comes from a failure to deal with evil desires. When we do not deal with evil desires, when we allow them to persist in any way, it begins in our thoughts and then those thoughts become actions. Any thoughts that are disconnected from the will of God will become actions, or sin. Sin means separated or unplugged. It’s like my cell phone. When I forget, on a regular basis, to plug my cell phone back into its source, I hear that little beep. I’m on an important call or I’m out of town and I think, "Oh no! I didn’t charge that thing!" The same thing happens when we allow our desires to stray from the source, the desires of God, the purpose of God, then ultimately what happened to the cell phone happens to our relationships, our reputations, our career - it’s death, the battery is dead. Again, I want to say that sin is like crack, you can’t control it. Any of us with addictive or compulsive behaviors in our life, anything from eating to spending to misdirected sexual behavior that you continue, know the thing about compulsive behavior is that you continue to practice that behavior regardless of the escalating risk to yourself or others. And you know there’s an escalating risk. Spitzer knew the potential because in one place on a wire transfer he even asked to have his name removed and the bank said, "You can’t have your name removed."

I want us to look at how Jesus dealt with temptation. The Bible says Jesus was tempted in all things. So every temptation that we experience, every desire or thought that comes to our mind, Jesus can identify with. And Jesus was sinless. The desire is not the sin; the sin is when that desire takes root and becomes a physical action. Temptation never took root or had a physical action out of Jesus’ life because he lived in complete dependence upon the Father. We want to see three different ways that Jesus dealt with temptation. Luke 4, "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, 'If you are the son of God, tell this stone to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: people do not live on bread alone.'" Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy. The only way you are going to be successful in your life is to learn how to walk in the Spirit of God on an every day basis. When you make that commitment to walk in the Spirit of God, you are always going to be tempted with instant gratification or instant feel-goods.

James talks about the double-minded person who will never receive anything from God. What is a double-minded person? Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for a specific purpose, and it wasn’t to be tempted by the devil, that wasn’t the purpose, that wasn’t the reason. He was led into the wilderness for the purpose of fasting. We don’t fast just to deprive ourselves of food. I have a friend who’s fasting in Lent from negative thoughts. Isn’t that a good thing? We fast so that we can, in a deeper way, pursue and discern the spirit of God for our life. That’s what Jesus was doing, getting the instructions from the Father. And so temporarily, you have to set aside some things that are not bad in and of themselves, so that you can put all of your energies on focusing on what God’s next step is for your life. I always call this temptation, this distraction to instant feel-goods, the "dessert tray syndrome." During the season of Lent, many people make a commitment to give up something. I was out of town the other night and having dinner with a group of pastors. We were sitting around the table, and they came around with the dessert tray. One pastor looked at the rest of us and said, "Well, I really have given up dessert for Lent, but this looks too good. I don’t think God will mind this one time." How many of you have experienced the "dessert tray syndrome" in some dimension of your life. Maybe you’re focusing on the will of God, the purpose of God for physical health in your life, and you’ve made some commitments to eat healthy, and you think, "Well, I’ll begin the diet tomorrow." That’s the "dessert tray syndrome." Here’s double-mindedness: you want to be Godly, but you practice deceptive behavior at the same time. Can anyone relate? Spitzer was known as a crusader against corruption. You have to give him credit; he had enacted a tougher law against prostitution in New York. Can you believe that? It was in today’s paper, on the editorial page, that he enacted a tougher law against the 'johns' who purchased the services of prostitutes. Isn’t that amazing! Here’s how temptation works, we want to be godly, but we practice deceptive behavior at the same time. How many of you recognize the name Ted Haggard? I know Ted Haggard, pastor of a large Bible-centered church in Colorado Springs, a crusader for family, and a crusader against gay rights and gay marriage and the whole time, he was engaging the services of a male prostitute. This is what it means to be double-minded; you preach one set of values to your children while you’re living another. It’s a cancer, it’s death.

We live in a fast food nation and the result of that fast food has made us the number one nation in the world that suffers from obesity. With the wealth and the medical community we have in the United States, we also have the highest rate of diabetes in the world. And we’re number one in Type 2 juvenile diabetes in the world. What does this tell us about instant feel-goods? Instant feel-goods subvert God’s natural system of provision. It happens in many ways, like debt! When we go into debt, that’s an instant feel-good. It subverts God’s natural system of provision that you work and save your money! When you have enough money, you buy the thing you seek! When you know how hard it is to work or delay gratification, you are tempted to get in debt, which does not honor God. It’s the same thing with sex, pornography and so forth. Sex is about relationship, intimacy, and the only way you can know intimacy is through the hard work of marriage. Every time we step out of the commitment of marriage to try to find fulfillment in a sexual relationship, it is going to end in death. There’s nothing wrong with bread, is there? Jesus was hungry, he was focused on pursuing the will of God, and the devil said, "Turn this rock into a loaf of bread. As the son of God, you would have that authority to do so." How do you make bread? Today we go to the store. But, in Jesus' day, it took some energy to create bread. First of all, you had to acquire some kind of expertise because you had to know a little something about agriculture and farming. Then you had to acquire the right kind of seed. I've learned about this whole process since we put this sustainable agricultural program together in Darfur. After you acquire the right kind of seed, you have to know the right time to plant, and you have to prepare the ground. Think of the energy that goes into preparing the ground, and then you have to wait patiently. Patience! Why do all good things mean we have to wait! Some of you young people are thinking why do I have to wait for marriage to experience the joy of sexuality? Nothing good or lasting is instant; you have to work for it. Then after you've prepared the ground, you have to weed! And then you have to have more patience. You don’t want to pick a crop too soon. One summer, Carolyn and I had a little garden and we had sweet corn. I picked all that sweet corn about a week too soon. Anybody ever done anything like that in your life? It’s terrible. Then you have to process this seed and then you have to bake the bread. Miracles are a process. They’re the result of a lifetime commitment in the same direction. There is no such thing as instant gratification. It’s more than wanting the word and promises of God in your life; it’s working the word of God. It’s why Jesus, when he quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 back to the devil said, "People do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

When you hear the word of God, you have to apply the word of God in your life. It is a daily priority. One of the things that so pains me, why so many of us succumb to that same kind of temptation that Spitzer succumbed to, and what we’re struggling with - eating, debt and pornography on the internet - all of the addictions that we’re experiencing in our own community is probably because the most exposure they have to the word is when they come to worship for 35 minutes. It has to be a daily process. I’m just as susceptible as any of these dudes you read about. What I have to do every day is begin with self-awareness. It’s naming the demons of deception within me, those broken places, and it is a commitment to deal with those demons and broken places. I can’t deal with this on my own. Then it’s turning, continually throughout the day to Jesus for mercy, grace and strength. It’s a commitment to work a daily program. In the recovery community, we have the 12-step program. My program that I wrote in the book Momentum for Life, I use the acronym D-R-I-V-E. D is every day begins with daily devotion with God and the word. R is readiness for lifelong learning where I’m always reading, growing into the future so I’ll be relevant for God’s purpose in a changing world. I is investing in key relationships. After God, Carolyn is the priority. My relationship with her is vital. Before I came in here to preach, she was sharing with me something on her heart and it’s about listening to her. V is visioning for the future. E is eating and exercise for life.

That’s the first temptation we have to deal with in our lives, this temptation for instant gratification or instant feel-good. The second temptation that Jesus had to deal with was looking for a shortcut to having influence and affluence. Look with me in Luke 4:5, "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms in the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" Notice the word instant. Miracles aren’t instant, magic is instant. Pharaoh's magicians did magic, Jesus was about miracles. Satan, by the way, is the prince of the world; you can see his influence in the world everywhere you look. Shortcuts to influence and affluence, God has created every human being with this desire for significance. You have been created to find purpose in your life. After your basic needs are met, food, water and shelter, you’re looking for significance. I’ve often heard that the greatest thing we fear is not death but dying without ever living a great purpose.

One of the things that I like to do is work with high school kids that come from at-risk backgrounds and really work with leadership in their lives. One group I’ve been working with for the last two years comes from my high school in Cincinnati, North College Hill High School. These are my team of young heroes. All of these kids are really bright kids that come out of challenging at-risk backgrounds. One of the first things we do in teaching leadership is to show how our culture has confused personalities and leaders. Snoop Dog is a personality, Nelson Mandela is a leader. The thing about shortcuts to influence and affluence is there are shortcuts to becoming infamous, but there are no shortcuts to becoming a kingdom leader. Madonna was just inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame this past week - and I have some problems with Madonna. As a matter of fact, of all the music we’ve ever played at Ginghamsburg Church in my 29 years here, we’ve never played a Madonna song. Madonna is a personality, Bono is a leader. Are you beginning to understand the difference? That’s what happens when we get caught up and don’t understand the difference between personalities and leaders. Michael Jordan is a personality. Can anybody tell me something great he did besides his statistics? Michael Jordan is a personality, T.D. Jakes is a leader. This is a real temptation when we try to take shortcuts to influence that we’ve been created to have. What is affluence? You’re always going to get caught by temptation when you think affluence is about amounts of money. Affluence in my life begins with my relationship with the Lord and the security that I know I have for eternity with Jesus Christ. Talk about affluence - I mean who has a better wife than I do? I’ll trade whatever money I have for that one! And the trust she has in me! That's affluence. My children! I won't even begin to brag on them. My daughter had her first article in a medical journal this week. I don’t even understand what it was about, rapid weight loss and people who have a brain injury; I don’t even understand the stuff. But I recognize her name on the paper.

When you talk about affluence, are you shocked when you see on the screen every week about where offering plate money goes? Did you know we had an outreach ministry that was all healthcare equipment that we give away? Does it ever astound you everything that God does? I can’t believe that God allows me to be a part of this church! And I’m here now with you all, you talk about affluence! When you realize what real affluence and kingdom leadership is all about, you’re not going to take shortcuts. You won’t take stupid risks based on greed and selfishness. When you take shortcuts to influence or affluence, it subverts God’s call to humble servanthood. Kingdom influence and affluence are the results of a long, disciplined lifestyle of sacrificial servanthood.

Isn’t the word of God good. It's amazing what God has for us in the word. Here’s the third temptation that Jesus was faced with: self-focused religion. Look at Luke 4:9-12, "The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you’re the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down from here. For it is written: he will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' Jesus answered, 'it is said: do not put the Lord God to the test.'" Self-focused religion is faith that promotes self.

We’re always doing dumb things in the church; no wonder the world is so angry or even hostile toward Christianity. One of the dumb things that has emerged in the church in the last 20 years or so is that you give so you get. We call it seed faith. That you sow in faith, so you harvest a blessing. The Bible I read is not that you give to get, you give to help people! You give to serve God’s purpose in the world. The danger in this self-focused religion is you begin to see yourself as more favored than other people. Like, God’s got your back and you begin to see that with all of the good things you’re part of, that you're an exception. And because you’re an exception, God is going to take care of you or catch you when you do something stupid. Isn’t that exactly what the devil was trying to teach Jesus? Jesus, do something stupid because you are the Son of God and it doesn’t matter that it’s stupid, God’s going to catch you. Jesus realized that he had a sacred trust. That’s what Easter week is all about, the greatest temptation of all. You read of Jesus struggling on that Thursday night in the garden, the night before his crucifixion, and he kept praying, "Father, if it’s possible, find some other way. Let your kingdom come without me going through this degradation of the cross." But, Jesus, in his hour of greatest temptation, there was even doubt. Do you remember he said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He held faithful to his trust.

This past Monday, I flew to New York and carried your check for $1,113,234.34. I was kind of nervous the whole time I had this check. I kept it in my breast pocket the whole time, from Monday until I could get rid of it on Tuesday morning. I began to think of that check. Not just the paper of $1,113,000, but I began to see all of the hands that had touched that check and all of the sacrifices from thousands of people who were involved in making that check happen. The first thing that I begin to think about is the number of children that I’ve even lost count of who have had birthday parties for the Sudan. It’s an amazing thing when a young child says to their friends, "Don’t bring me a birthday present, bring money for the Sudan." Then I thought of all of the school projects and I’ve lost count of the number of schools that I’ve spoken in this fall. I think my son did five or six schools. My own high school, an at-risk high school that I have come from in Cincinnati, raised over $4,000 last year - and they raised over $10,000 this year. And the students that stood outside football games collecting money for Sudan. And the owner of the Burger King across the street from the high school that gave evening sales for the Sudan. One of the most moving stories to me was an elementary school, Becker Elementary School, in Cincinnati, where every kid in this school comes from a challenging background. And those elementary kids raised over $3,000 for the Sudan. I thought about the men who have gone with me, traveled with me to Darfur at great risk, at the risk of their lives. I thought about those men and the great trust of carrying that check. I thought about our kid’s involvement, the bazaar that the kids did this year and the hours that they must have spent in making things to sell for the bazaar. I thought about our artists who have spent countless hours making art pieces to raise money for the Sudan. I thought about the cell groups who had garage sales for the Sudan. I thought about this young lady and her cell group, who, for about six Sundays used a bar in Troy that was not open on Sunday mornings to serve breakfast with all of the proceeds going to the Sudan. I thought about the little girl in Sudan who sat in my lap on a day when it was 122 degrees outside this classroom, I can't guess the temperature of what it was on the inside of this classroom, who gets a meal a day because of the people, the trust that God has placed in the people for her to get that meal a day. And the trust that she has in me, and us, that we’ll continue to do it. I thought about the hundreds of thousands of people who are depending on us to bring safe water where there is no water to their camps. Since we opened three years ago, we've enabled United Methodist Committee of Relief to move into Darfur. Since that time, they’ve also been able to move into the south and have started 38 United Methodist churches in South Sudan. As a result, we have a trust. The trust is more than carrying a check, it’s the trust that God has placed in you and me, ordinary people, to fulfill his purpose. What a trust that wherever we go, we carry the presence of Jesus Christ. Everywhere we go, the word says, "You are the aroma of Jesus Christ to those who are perishing." What a trust.

Easter week is about true repentance, and it’s renewing the commitment in your life, or making the commitment for the first time, to be faithful and going with Jesus in the way of the cross. It’s like John the Baptist, when his disciples came to John and said, "Jesus is baptizing more folks that you now." John said, "He must increase and I must decrease." That’s what Easter week is all about - coming to that place of the trust that God has placed in us and that we cannot afford to play with any kind of desire in our life that would ever bring shame to our families or the name of Jesus Christ.

Will you pray with me right now, and if there’s anybody who wants to come down front and stand or kneel, I encourage you to do that. Sometimes just getting up and making a move in our life is a declaration to other people around us. Seven years ago, when I made a statement of repentance to be on a health program, to eat wisely and exerce regularly, I said it out loud. When you say it out loud, people are going to hold you accountable for it. We all fail, and some of you sitting here right now are ashamed because of a wrong relationship you’re involved in, an eating disorder or some kind of compulsive behavior that is always done in secret that you’re ashamed about. "Lord Jesus, we cannot walk this walk by ourselves. There are things in our life that we are powerless to overcome. But, Lord, right now we are giving You permission to do in our lives everything that You’ve desired for us in Your Word. And we pray 'not my will, but Your will be done.' We pray, Lord, that we never stand as an embarrassment to ourselves, to our families, but most of all to You. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen."