Sunday, February 21, 2010
Luke 4:1-13
Senior Pastor
There
was a great man of faith who had traveled the globe proclaiming the gospel and
had helped untold numbers of people grow in faith. A few years before his death, he was asked a pointed question by
a young man. “Sir, as a young Christian, I'm committed to serving Jesus Christ
with my whole heart and living a life of holiness – in body, soul and
mind. Still, I sometimes have struggles
with my thought life. Could you tell
me, sir, about how old I'll be when improper thoughts -- especially about women
-- won't tempt my mind any longer?”
This grand old man of faith who had such a reputation for living a life of
purity and fidelity to Christ paused briefly as if turning the question over in
his mind. Others in the crowd could, no
doubt, identify with this question.
Finally, this man already past his 80th birthday looked
squarely into the eyes of the young man and said, “Son, when I get that old,
I'll let you know!”
(Jack Hayford, The Beauty of Spiritual Language: A
Journey Toward the Heart of God, 1992, p. 62.
Temptation
seems to be a universal human condition. Temptation
is all around us. No matter how far
along in the Christian life we find ourselves, we still have to make choices to
be a man or woman of God every day. We
still have to make choices to follow Christ every day and actually, in some
cases, many times in a day.
Even
for Jesus, temptation was lurking at every turn. Our story today vividly describes three temptations that Jesus
faced in the beginning stages of his ministry life. He is barely out of the waters of the Jordan where he received
baptism from John and was confirmed by the Holy Spirit.
In
fact, our text today tells us that he was full of the Holy Spirit and
being led by the Spirit and yet even with all of that divine help, he is
confronted with temptation. So, if
Jesus is being tempted, I think it makes sense that we should expect no
less in our lives.
With
great anticipation, Carol paid for the bulging envelope of photographs and
rushed to the privacy of her car to check them out. Her son Derek had gotten married the week before, and this packet
contained photographs of the four-day family celebration. Carol recounts:
Not only would they chronicle the festivities, they
would also show me the results of a resolution I made five months ago – that I
would look better in these wedding pictures than I did in our Christmas
pictures.
Since January, I’d been on a diet. No desserts or
bread or second helpings. Others had
noticed a positive change in me, but these pictures would be the proof I
needed. Nervously, I slid them out of
the envelope, flipped through them and then let out a sigh of relief. I didn’t look like the same puffy person I
saw in the Christmas pictures.
When I got home, I taped several of the new pictures
to the refrigerator door: My husband Lynn and I hugging the nervous-looking
groom after he escorted us down the aisle; all of us throwing streamers as the
radiant bride and groom came out of the church; Lynn and I dancing at the
reception.
These pictures are reminders of our great family celebration. But they also remind me that "I can do it!" I need to see that reminder, because now that the wedding is over, my resolve to continue eating better is more fragile and vulnerable. And if I am going to turn this short-term goal into a long-term lifestyle change, I need to remember to start each day with the same prayer I’ve been repeating for the last five months:
“Father, at the beginning of this day, I recognize that I am totally dependent upon You for a moment-by-moment ability to overcome temptation, choice by choice. Please help me.” (by Carol Kuykendall via Kevin Tully)
Carol is taking a stand
against her over-eating temptation with the help of God. Our story today about Jesus also says that
he took a stand against his temptations with the help of God, but even more
specifically he gives us a clue as to how we can face temptation successfully.
Let’s look again at the
story. Three times the devil, or the
adversary, the tempter in this case, offers Jesus things that on the face look
really good. Food when he is famished; power over the world that he is sent to
save; and divine intervention when in trouble.
Most of us have stumbled into similar territory. I mean, how often do people use food to try
to fill some other need? How often do
we choose power over others rather than serving others? How many times do people in trouble pray for
divine intervention looking for some supernatural answer to their problem? I think it happens a lot. But Jesus rejects them all.
I want us to notice for
our own benefit, this morning, the manner in which Jesus does so. What does he do in the face of each
temptation? He quotes scripture,
doesn’t he? Jesus takes his stand
on the basis of scripture each and every time.
He uses scripture as his guide and his strength.
We will not take the time this morning, but it is a fascinating read to look at this passage and then go to Deuteronomy, chapter 6 and 8. There you find the scripture Jesus uses and you can read the passage in context. It is all about being clear about who God is and who we are as believers in God. The passages are reminding the people of Israel to remember that it is God who provides all we need for life and life abundant. I will just give you one example from the first temptation. Jesus responds with: One does not live by bread alone.
But if you flip over to
Deuteronomy 8 and read, you find this: Remember
the long way that the LORD your God has
led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing
you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his
commandments. He humbled you by letting
you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your
ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not
live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
Not by bread alone, but by
every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. What is that – the word of the Lord? That is scripture. Jesus
is quoting scripture in the face of temptation. That should be a model for us; that should be a clue for us.
But it is more than just
saying the words; for people of faith it is a lifeline to God. Scripture is the primary vehicle for
connecting with God. John Wesley,
founder of Methodism and spiritual giant, calls scripture the primary means of
grace, i.e., the primary way we connect with God.
Do you remember how our
scripture story today started? Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit… this is no accident. This is no special blessing just for Jesus. It is because Jesus had feasted on the word
of God. He knew God so well because he
knew the stories of God and his people so well, i.e., he knew the scriptures!
Let me suggest that you use
this Lenten season 2010 to feast on the Word of God. What if you used Lent 2010 to read your Bible
each and every day? What if you
suddenly realized that what you were really missing in your life was a deep and
abiding connection with God and you could develop it by reading and reflecting
on the Word of God? What if you
realized that, just like food, you need a helping of God’s word everyday? Oh yeah, everyday! Like Jesus says: [God] humbled
you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither
you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that
one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth
of the LORD. (Dt. 8:3)
How does that happen? It can happen is so many ways.
It can happen alone or in
small groups.
It can happen through
devotional readings that use scripture or by listening to music that includes
scripture.
It can happen by reading
whole books from the Bible or reading a single passage from the Bible.
You can memorize it or you
can post it where you see it frequently.
Make a choice to get
rooted in the Bible. Take a clue
from Jesus and get into the Word of God.
Face down your temptations by getting into the Word of God.
Lots of people give up
things for Lent and that can be a good way to remind yourself, when you miss
that thing, that God is more important than that. But let me suggest you consider taking this clue from Jesus and
look to scripture every day over these next forty days of Lent. Every day look to encounter God through
scripture.
I want to close with the
words from our United Methodist Book of Worship that invite us into this
season. They read like this: I invite you…in the name of the Church,
to observe a holy Lent: to use this
season as a set apart time for self-examination and repentance; for emphasizing
prayer; and for reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.
We can do this together.
Let’s do this together and
allow God to make us a more spiritual people.
Amen and thanks be to God.
Luke 4:1-13
Temptation seems to be
a ______________
human condition.
So, if Jesus is being
tempted…
we should expect no
less in our ________.
“Father, at the beginning of this day, I recognize that I am
totally
dependent upon You for a moment-by-moment ability to
overcome temptation, choice by choice. Please ______ me.”
What does he do in the
face of each temptation?
He quotes
______________, doesn’t he?
He uses scripture as
his ________ and his strength.
Deuteronomy 8: ___- ___
Jesus is quoting
scripture in the face of temptation; that
should be a model for
us, that should be a ______ for us.
…for people of faith it
is a ____________ to God.
…use this Lenten season
2010 to ________ on the
Word of God.
What if you realized
that just like food, you need a
___________ of God’s word
everyday?
Take a ______ from
Jesus and get into the Word…
I invite you…in the name of the Church, to observe a holy
Lent:
to use this season as a set apart time for self-examination
and
repentance; for emphasizing prayer; and for reading and
meditating on God’s Holy _______.
Kid’s Question: What did Jesus use to face temptation?