Sunday 03/06/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Trial and Temptation” (“New Life is Coming” Series: Part 1 of 7)
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
New Testament Scripture: Romans 10:8b-13
Gospel Lesson: Luke 4:1-13
In entering into this the
40-day season of Lent 2022, I am starting a new sermon series this morning
called the “New Life Is Coming” series. This will be a seven-week sermon series
that invites us to take the journey with Christ to the cross on Good Friday,
and to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday.
As I said on Ash Wednesday,
this past Wednesday, the season of Lent developed out of the worshipping
tradition of the early Christian Church. The earliest Christians started to
view the time we are in now as a period of spiritual renewal, sacrifice, and
hope, as they prepared to remember and celebrate Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Since there are so many 40-day
and 40-year periods in the bible already, such as Noah’s 40-days on the Ark,
the Israelites 40-years wandering in the wilderness, and Jesus being tempted
this Sunday for 40-days in the wilderness, the season of Lent became 40-days.
There are other examples of numbers in the bible, which includes the number
seven and the number twelve, for example. As a result, the season of Advent
leading up to Christmas, and the season Lent leading up to Easter were created.
This holy season eventually became marked by the receiving ashes on the first
day of Lent, as we did on Ash Wednesday, as a sign of repentance, humility, and
the need to draw closer to Christ.
Once again, this season of
Lent is not required biblically, but it developed through the worshipping
tradition of the early church to help us grow closer to Christ and to each
other. As the centuries have passed, some Christians have begun to give up
things for Lent, to give away things for Lent, to engage in spiritual practices
for Lent, and in general grow closer to Christ during Lent. This makes the
40-day journey to Easter more focused and something that we are invited to participate
in together.
In a matter of speaking,
we have all been in our tombs like Jesus was for three days, with this COVID-19
Pandemic. Life as we knew it stopped or changed drastically when the pandemic
started, and as a result, the biblical concept of new life has taken on a new
understanding. Not only are we all called to new life in Christ, but many of us
are also hoping for the new life that will come when this pandemic ends. I had
hoped that last year that we would be there, so here is hoping and praying that
God will lead us to the end of this pandemic soon.
So, my sermon series is
called “New Life Is Coming” because Christ will die for us on Good Friday and
be raised to new life on Easter. In this season of Lent, we are invited to draw
closer to Christ in a variety of ways, bringing us new spiritual life. We are
also hoping for the end of this pandemic so that we can a renewed sense of life
here on this earth. In many ways then we want, need, and desire new life.
Every week of this sermon
series therefore, I am going to be discussing our scripture readings, and how
we can connect and apply them to what is going in the world and with us today.
Today, what I want to talk
about in this the first of this seven sermons in this “New Life Is Coming” series,
is “Trial and Temptation”. We all go
through times in our lives that are hard, times that stretch us, challenge us,
and maybe even almost break us. We also have various temptations in our lives.
These temptations could anything from possessions, to relationships, to food,
etc. Things that are hard and things that try to get our time, talent, energy,
and resources.
As I am talking, think
about the trials and temptations that you have or have had in your life. Have
you gone through challenging times? What temptations do you have? What are
those things that you have to be intentional to avoid or stay away from? We all
have times of trial, and we all have temptations.
In our gospel lesson from
Luke for this morning Jesus right after his baptism was led by the spirit into
the wilderness. In the wilderness he was tempted for 40-days and 40-nights by
the devil. Jesus fasted the whole time, and then after the 40-days he was
tempted (Lk. 4:1-13, NRSV).
Before jumping into this
gospel lesson however, I want to touch on our other two scripture readings for
this morning. In our reading from Psalm 91 for this morning we hear once again
in Psalm 91:14:
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. 15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. 16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation (Ps. 91:14-16, NRSV).
Comforting words from the Psalmist
about trials and temptations. What trials and temptations do you have, or have
you had? How in this season of Lent can God help you through your trials and your
temptations?
In looking at our reading from Romans
10:8b-13 for this morning, the Apostle Paul tells the church in Rome and us
starting 10:8b:
“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame” (Rom. 10:8b-13, NRSV).
The word, Jesus Christ is always with
us. Jesus is for us, and he loves us no matter what. These are good things to
remember when we are going through trials and temptations.
In getting back to our gospel of Luke
reading for this morning, Jesus once again experiences both trials and temptations
this morning, like we all do in our own lives. Once Jesus had just been baptized
in the Jordan River by his cousin the John the Baptist, the gospel of Luke picks
up in Luke 4:1 for this morning saying:
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished (Lk. 4:1-2, NRSV).
I sometimes call this Jesus’s basic
training, because after Jesus’ temptation by Satan in the wilderness this is
when he starts his three-year public ministry. Jesus’ public ministry ends on
Good Friday with his crucifixion. So, Jesus is tempted by the devil in the
wilderness, where he ate nothing for 40-days, and short of Jesus being God in
the flesh, this would not be possible.
So how did the devil then temp Jesus
after these 40-days, let us take a look once again picking up in 4:3:
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time (Lk. 4:3-13, NRSV).
Jesus was hungry and needed food, so Satan’s
first temptation was to turn stones to bread. Jesus did not go for this. The
Satan leads Jesus up a high cliff, and Satan shows Jesus a vision overlooking
the cliff of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus sees beautiful opulent castles
and riches. Satan tells Jesus worship me, and I will give you the whole world.
Jesus again resists and passes the test.
Lastly, the devil takes Jesus to very pinnacle
of the temple in Jerusalem. This would be like being on top of a very high
church bell tower. At this point the devil tells Jesus to jump off, trusting
that angels with save him. Again, Jesus resists. The devil, surely frustrated,
departs as he was not able to win Jesus over with various temptations.
Quite a basic training before Jesus
starts his three-year earthly ministry. Every time I read this gospel lesson about
Jesus being tempted in the wilderness though, I always have wondered if we were
to cave to the devil, which one would we cave to. Or would we cave to all three
of the devils’ temptations?
If we were starving, would we cave to
evil for food? If we offered great wealth, power, and status, would we take it,
if it required us to be become evil? I have wondered in the past couple of
weeks if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been offered
things if he turns to evil. Maybe Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered
Zelenskyy money and other material things to sell out his country and let
Russian take over Ukraine. Maybe Putin has promised and aid and food, like turning
stones to bread.
Lastly, would we turn to evil in order
to save our lives, as the devil took Jesus to the very top or pinnacle of the
temple in Jerusalem and told him to jump off. Would we cave at this point, if we
thought could save our won life? I wonder if Zelenskyy has had any thoughts in
the past week or two about saving himself, although all evidence leads to the contrary.
So, friends, if the devil is tempting
us, do we cave? Do we stand our ground? This morning Jesus was offered food, fortune,
and his life being saved. Would we have turned to evil by these temptations?
Further, through the trials and the temptations in our lives have we turned to
God?
Part of what the season of Lent is about is removing temptations from our lives
and tearing down stronghold in our lives that are blocking God’s grace and love. In this
season of Holy Lent may we consider, think about, and pray about our trials and
temptations, and pray about how God can lead us closer to him. I say all of this on this
on this First Sunday of Lent, because we all have “Trials and Temptations”. Amen.
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