[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 5th of March, 2017, the first Sunday in Lent. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Today is the first Sunday in Lent, that season of the Christian year when we reflect on the great sacrifice our Lord Jesus made on our behalf. Part of that reflection involves self-examination into our own lives, our own mortality.
The timeframe of Lent is intended to match the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, but it leads us on a journey from that time shortly after His baptism up to His death on the cross. We observe this period between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. For Jesus, it was an arduous trek of three years, with a very tough start.
Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 3 verse 16 through chapter 4 verse 11, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
The timeframe of Lent is intended to match the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, but it leads us on a journey from that time shortly after His baptism up to His death on the cross. We observe this period between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. For Jesus, it was an arduous trek of three years, with a very tough start.
Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 3 verse 16 through chapter 4 verse 11, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
--Matthew 3:16-4:11 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, Your Son Jesus had a very tough start to His ministry on earth. For us, every day can be tough. That’s why we need You so much. Look into our hearts, Father. Speak to each of us the message You need us to hear this day. In the loving name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
While a man and his wife were shopping at the local mall, they stopped at a kiosk to look at some sunglasses. A shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress soon strolled by. The husband's eyes followed her as she passed by and stayed on her as she entered a nearby store.
Without looking up from the item she was examining, the wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you're in?"
Temptation… A 1990's survey of readers of the magazine, "Discipleship Journal", ranked areas of their greatest spiritual challenge:
1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
6. (Tie) Sexual lust
7. Envy
8. Gluttony
9. Lying
Survey respondents noted that temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone else (52 percent).
Temptation. The husband in the mall apparently suffered from the spiritual challenge tied at number 5 on our list: sexual lust. His wife may have a little trouble with number 2, pride, or number 7, envy. But the point is, I believe every one of us can find something on that list that does indeed pose a challenge to our spirituality, whether it’s desiring material things or having too much pride, being self-centered or lazy, showing anger and bitterness, sexual lust, envy, or gluttony, or just plain lying. But we also need to realize we’re not alone in facing these personal challenges.
As we just saw, Jesus also faced temptations, and directly leveled by Satan. Not only that, but He was led into the wilderness by God’s own Holy Spirit for the sole purpose of being tempted! Right after God proclaimed how pleased He was with His Son, He put Jesus on the path to temptation. I think the least God could have done would have been to also say to Jesus, “The tough part starts here, Son.”
Let’s take just a moment to look at the three main temptations Matthew records. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus – remember: He was fully man as well as fully God – Jesus would have been hungry. So Satan tempted Him to turn the nearby rocks into bread so He could eat. In this, and to a degree in the next, the devil is trying to get Jesus to use His divine power to satisfy worldly needs and demands. How many normal people could resist using the full power of God to our own ends? Think about something simple, like controlling the weather. Man would be much more likely to put that ability to use as a weapon, rather than to do good for all mankind.
On the second trial, Satan again tries to get Jesus to use His divine authority for personal reasons, but his attack is more insidious: the devil quotes scripture. He starts in verse 6 by saying, “For it is written”, and then refers to an old passage. Listen to the words from Psalm 91, verses 11 and 12…
While a man and his wife were shopping at the local mall, they stopped at a kiosk to look at some sunglasses. A shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress soon strolled by. The husband's eyes followed her as she passed by and stayed on her as she entered a nearby store.
Without looking up from the item she was examining, the wife asked, "Was it worth the trouble you're in?"
Temptation… A 1990's survey of readers of the magazine, "Discipleship Journal", ranked areas of their greatest spiritual challenge:
1. Materialism
2. Pride
3. Self-centeredness
4. Laziness
5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness
6. (Tie) Sexual lust
7. Envy
8. Gluttony
9. Lying
Survey respondents noted that temptations were more potent when they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone else (52 percent).
Temptation. The husband in the mall apparently suffered from the spiritual challenge tied at number 5 on our list: sexual lust. His wife may have a little trouble with number 2, pride, or number 7, envy. But the point is, I believe every one of us can find something on that list that does indeed pose a challenge to our spirituality, whether it’s desiring material things or having too much pride, being self-centered or lazy, showing anger and bitterness, sexual lust, envy, or gluttony, or just plain lying. But we also need to realize we’re not alone in facing these personal challenges.
As we just saw, Jesus also faced temptations, and directly leveled by Satan. Not only that, but He was led into the wilderness by God’s own Holy Spirit for the sole purpose of being tempted! Right after God proclaimed how pleased He was with His Son, He put Jesus on the path to temptation. I think the least God could have done would have been to also say to Jesus, “The tough part starts here, Son.”
Let’s take just a moment to look at the three main temptations Matthew records. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus – remember: He was fully man as well as fully God – Jesus would have been hungry. So Satan tempted Him to turn the nearby rocks into bread so He could eat. In this, and to a degree in the next, the devil is trying to get Jesus to use His divine power to satisfy worldly needs and demands. How many normal people could resist using the full power of God to our own ends? Think about something simple, like controlling the weather. Man would be much more likely to put that ability to use as a weapon, rather than to do good for all mankind.
On the second trial, Satan again tries to get Jesus to use His divine authority for personal reasons, but his attack is more insidious: the devil quotes scripture. He starts in verse 6 by saying, “For it is written”, and then refers to an old passage. Listen to the words from Psalm 91, verses 11 and 12…
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
--Psalm 91:11-12 (NKJV)
The third temptation is effectively the same as made to Adam and Eve: to be the same as God. In this case, the offer is to be owner and master of everything in the world, to take the place of God in the grand order of things. And all Jesus has to do is to worship Satan as God. Of course, Jesus will have none of this, and He can quote scripture, too. He and we must worship God Almighty and God alone. We must serve only God.
After the third temptation Jesus ordered, “Away with you, Satan!”, and the devil left Him and left Him alone. If only he would leave us alone, too.
Do you remember that list of challenges from earlier? Just to refresh our memory, they are materialism, pride, self-centeredness, laziness, anger and bitterness, sexual lust, envy, gluttony, and lying. Those are tough temptations to resist.
But the same survey that pointed out those challenges also gave us a very big hint on how to confront them. The respondents mentioned that they had the toughest time when they neglected certain aspects of their Christian life. Based on that survey, we can see that we will be better armed against Satan’s attack when we are accountable to each other, when we avoid compromising situations, and when we get plenty of rest. More pertinent to those who follow Jesus, we will have a greater chance resisting the devil’s lures by praying more for help, by studying our Bibles, and by spending more time with God.
Jesus showed us a good example we can follow. And it comes straight from the word of God. Listen to what the prophet Isaiah tells us in chapter 58, from verse 6 through the first part of verse 9…
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’"
--Isaiah 58:6-9a (NKJV)
And then the light that is Jesus will break forth from us like the dawn of morning. Then healing can begin. Then when we cry out to the Lord God, He will answer and say, “Here I am”.
The tough part starts here. Satan will not give up on trying to lure us away from our Christian walk, to steal us away from Jesus. Our best defense is to spend more time reading and studying our Bibles, and to spend more time in prayer with our Lord. Jesus was able to resist Satan, and He will help us resist him, too. We just need to ask for help.
It won’t be easy. We can’t let Satan’s attacks lessen our faith. We need to read our Bible, talk with God, pray to Jesus for ourselves and for others. Doing good shows our love and obedience. The more we focus on the kingdom of God and His righteousness, the better able we will be to combat the devil.
All in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You let the world know that Jesus was Your son and that You were pleased with Him, and then You had Your Holy Spirit take Him to be tempted by Satan. You could have warned Him, Father, that the really tough part was just beginning. But You gave Him everything He needed to carry out Your will on this earth, and then You brought Him back from the dead so He could conquer death for us all. Thank You for helping our Lord, and thank You for helping us.
Please listen and hear us now, Father, as we pray silently from our hearts, repenting of our disobedience and seeking Your forgiveness, asking for Your continued help in resisting Satan’s temptations…
Lord Jesus, as God, You knew what was coming. You knew what Satan would do and how to resist Him. You knew what humanity would do, even though You came to offer us all salvation. When You came up out of the water, You knew the tough part was just beginning. Yet You went through it all just for us. You took the punishment we deserve. You gave everything so that we could gain everlasting life. And You help us resist the constant onslaught of Satan if we humble ourselves before You and seek Your help. Help us now, please Jesus – today and every day.
This we pray in Your blessed name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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