TURKISH DELIGHT
A STUDY OVER THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: PART IX (TOPIC: DARKNESS)
INTRO: Last week, we did a Bible Study based on light, but hidden inside the verse is a phrase describing what a lamp looks like when it is under a bowl, which is darkness. So we are going to start there today, with darkness.
BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 5:14-15
You are the light of the world. A city upon a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives life to everyone in the house.
Turkish Delight: In the movie The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe, Narnia is under the frozen curse of the witch. When the children arrive, Edmund (the younger of 2 brothers) runs into the witch and is offered Turkish Delight. Remember, this is a horrible woman. Besides keeping Narnia frozen, she orders people/animals around as slaves and turns people to stone for looking at her the wrong way. Edmund asks for some Turkish Delight (a sweet, chewy candy served to British children at Christmas time).
And for Turkish Delight, Edmund is going to lure everybody into danger. Now, we could look at Turkish Delight as temptation, but it is not a sin to be tempted. So today we will look at Turkish Delight the same way we look at sin. And people who live their lives in sin, live their lives in darkness.
1. SIN IS APPEALING WHEN WEAK.
NARNIA: Edmund stumbled into the wardrobe, he didn’t want to go in, already complaining. By the time he found the witch, he was lost, scared, and grumpy. He was ripe for sin.
BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 4:3-7
4:3 At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the LORD. 4:4 But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock – even the fattest of them. And the LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering, 4:5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast. 4:6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 4:7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
OFFERING: God wants us to give an offering. God wants us to give our lives as an offering unto him. On the surface, this lesson makes no sense. Both people brought something to God, both brought what they work on for a living to God, both are doing what they are scripturally obligated to do for God. So why does Cain receive such a harsh punishment? He receives it because his sacrifice is not a sacrifice, it’s not a real offering, it is in sin.
TECHNICALLY: The Schofield Bible reveals that God was demanding a blood sacrifice. Others speculate that God must have personally told Cain to sacrifice meat. But, this was a dedication offering, and according to Leviticus 2, vegetables were fine to bring. So why was the offering of Cain ridiculed by God (allow time for answers)?
THE DIFFERENCE: Abel brought “the fattest of the firstborn, even some of their fat portions.” Abel brought his best with an attitude of sacrifice. He had a desire to give. Cain brought what was convenient. The difference is that there are two types of worshippers, one that merely discharges his duties, the other who goes way out of his way to please God. Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel’s offering was in faith, meaning it was all about motive.
MARRIAGE PROPOSAL WENT BAD:
Family Party Proposal Gone Wrong: All-American looking guy at a Christmas party stands up, makes an announcement, wearing his nice sweater, for his girlfriend’s hand in marriage. The people cheer, only for her to get up and run to the other room.
Timeout During a Rocket’s Game on Live Television: Man takes a knee to propose to his girlfriend, you see her whisper something down into his ear, shake her head no, and run off the court.
(Marriage Proposal Rejected At Basketball Game-Fail)
TOUGH POINT: Here’s a tough point. And the tough point is that we can do all we want to in order to please the Lord, but if it is done with wrong motives, our sacrifice/proposal will not be noticed. We have got to want to serve the Lord.
2. SIN’S PLEASURE DOESN’T LAST LONG.
NARNIA: “At last the Turkish Delight was all finished and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box and wishing that she would ask him whether he would like some more.”
BIBLE VERSE: Luke 15:11-14
15:11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons. 15:12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. 15:13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle. 15:14 Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need.
WHY DID THE BOY LEAVE (GIVE TIME FOR ANSWERS)?
TECHNICAL: The younger son would have received half of what the older son would have received. So in this case situation, the older son’s value would be 66% of the estate while the younger son’s would have been 33%, which may be one of the many things the youngest son was mad about.
SQUANDER: Literally means to scatter, to waste. Could mean sort of like throwing money out on the ground for no purpose.
HISTORY ON-LINE: Testimony here (other leaders may wish to put in their own testimony about being stuck to sin). I was teaching my children history this week online, we were going through some random subjects. First, we went into an Egyptian laboratory and mummified a corpse, it was a pretty technical game and some great learning. Later, we joined a Viking village and had to plan a raid on a monastery in Northern England, harsh I know. But we also did some deep sea diving in order to uncover shipwrecks that took place by the ancient Greeks. We found some cool things, like an old wine bottle, some almonds tucked away, and a millstone.
MILLSTONE: Does anyone know what a millstone is? Neither did my kids. So I brought up the verse in the Bible in Luke 17 where it states, “It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” After reading this, we had some great discussions about millstones, one of my sons was still talking about it days later.
THE PLEASURE OF SIN BECOMES AN ANCHOR: The artificial joy is short-lived, and the pain lasts forever. Please realize that when temptation comes knocking at your door. Only darkness there.
3. SIN LEADS TO BETRAYAL.
NARNIA: Edmund promised to bring his brother and sisters to the witch, and yet he had no idea what she was going to do with them. Who was he thinking about there?
FRIENDSHIP: Has anyone ever had a really good friend, then all of the sudden they just betrayed your trust? Or suddenly left you? Maybe even tried your dating your boyfriend/girlfriend behind your back? Well, Jesus knows how you feel about that.
BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 26:14-16
26:14 Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 26:15 and said, “What will you give me to betray him into your hands?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him. 26:16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him.
*HOW MUCH? Here’s an extra nugget for those deep in question. 4 denarius was typically given for 1 silver coin. So 30 silver coins would be 120 work days. In our standards, Judas gave away the savior of the world for a 6 month income.
BUT JUDAS WASN’T THE ONLY BETRAYER: When Jesus rode on donkey tied to a colt to Jerusalem, he had a crowd. They were cheering him, they were worshipping him, they were throwing palm branches on the ground in front of him, it was awesome. Now, where were those people a couple of days later when he needed them? Where were the good witnesses that could stand up and say, “No Jesus is innocent, Judas is a liar.” Any one of the 11 other disciples could have said the same thing. But they didn’t. And of course the Bible even clearly shows that Peter denied him three times. How dark is that?
BERNIE MADDOFF: Does anyone recognize the name? USA businessman, former chairman of Nasdaq, a major philanthropist who gave millions of dollars away to non-profit groups. But just recently it was discovered that he had run a ponzi scheme (have to explain that to the students) and bilked his investors out of $50 Billion—the greatest scam in the history of the world! (talk awhile about some of the personal stories written in the newspapers, like the 90 year man who thought he was leaving a $700,000 inheritance to his grandchildren who went back to work this week).
4. SIN LEADS TO DEATH.
NARNIA: When put into the dark situation of sitting next to the witch, Edmund was offered as much Turkish Delight as he wanted. Technically, he could have kept eating it until he died.
BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 4:8-9
4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”
CAIN’S MOTIVE: Cain’s anger came from his jealous heart, from the fact that his brother had pleased God but he had not. And when God asks the rhetorical question that He already knew the answer to, Cain responded in a negative rhetorical question insinuating that someone else was at fault! It is sick what one person will do to cover up their sin and rotten heart.
MARTYR STORY: Beaten for Refusing to Become a Hindu
“It was just before dawn on 30 September 2008. An angry mob of Hindu radicals armed with sticks and machetes, and fuelled by hatred, swept into Rudangia, a tiny village in Orissa state, India. Chanting death threats to Christians, the mob attacked - burning homes and churches, beating villagers and smashing possessions such as computers and motorbikes. Lalji Nayak was one of the Christians caught by the angry mob. According to our VOM contacts, Hindu radicals dragged Lalji out of his home. A man stuck a knife to his throat. ’Renounce your faith!’ he screamed. The mob demanded Lalji ’reconvert’ to Hinduism. Lalji refused. The man pressed the knife deeper into his neck. Blood began to gush. Witnesses say Lalji continued to "cling to Christ." The radicals pulled out an axe and began beating and torturing him. When Lalji refused to convert to Hinduism, the mob left him for dead. "Even though he was bleeding, he refused to abandon his faith," a witness told our VOM contacts. Lalji died the next day at hospital. “
CLOSE:
BIBLE VERSE: James 1:15
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Sources:
Cook, Pat. Narnia: Ten Tasty Tidbits About Turkish Delight, Doaktown Wesleyan Church, November 2005.
Erickson, Dan. A Tale of Two Brothers, Chisholm First Baptist, Minnesota, August 1998.
Voice of the Martyrs. www.persecution.com.au. ’Orissa is the Newest and the Worst Example of Ongoing Persecution against Christians in India.’ February 3, 2009.
NAME: _________________________________
TURKISH DELIGHT
A STUDY OVER THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: PART IX (TOPIC: DARKNESS)
BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 5:14-15
You are the light of the world. A city upon a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people ________________ a ____________________________ and put it under a ____________________________. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives life to everyone in the house.
TURKISH DELIGHT:
1. SIN IS _____________________________ WHEN ______________________________.
BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 4:3-7
The Offerings: ______________________________________________________________________
Marriage Proposals Gone Bad: _________________________________________________________
Tough Point: How Does it Feel to Be Rejected: _____________________________________________
2. SIN’S ___________________________________ DOESN’T LAST LONG.
BIBLE VERSE: Luke 15:11-14
Why Did the Boy Leave? _______________________________________________________________
Squander: ___________________________________________________________________________
Millstone: ____________________________________________________________________________
3. SIN LEADS TO ____________________________.
Ever Have a Friend Betray? ______________________________________________________________
BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 26:14-16
26:14 Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 26:15 and said, “What will you give me to ___________________ him into your hands?” So they set out thirty silver coins for him. 26:16 From that time on, Judas began _____________________ for an opportunity to betray him.
30 Pieces of Silver: ____________________________________________________________________
Bernie Maddoff: ______________________________________________________________________
4. SIN LEADS TO ______________________.
BIBLE VERSE: Genesis 4:8-9
4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”
MARTYR STORY: