Sermon in Ishpeming 21.02.2010

Grace, mercy, peace be unto us now and always. Let us pray in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Dear Heavenly Father, Father, we the grace children have gathered here to be in the fellowship of thy children and to be in the hearing of thy holy and precious word. Dear Father, we ask that thou would be with us present through thy spirit, that thou would speak unto us through thy word, that thou would comfort and guide us, that thou would teach us and instruct us according to this word that thou hast given us.

Dear Father, we are here upon the journey, this journey that leads unto life eternal. Yet we are surrounded by many doubts and fears, trials and temptations, and our faith is weak. We, dear Father, look unto thee and ask that thou would strengthen our weak faith, that thou would comfort us with that comfort of the gospel of the forgiveness of sins. Speak unto us, dear Father, that thou hast protected and kept us here in thy kingdom until this moment. And we are mindful of thy word, that thou hast promised to be with us each day until the end of our journey. We take comfort, dear Father, in the power and the light of thy holy and precious word. We ask that thou would give us ears to hear and hearts to believe that word. That we would be strengthened to live according to that word here in this life.

Dear Father, we pray for those who are not at this time partakers of thy holy kingdom. Those who do not have the hope of eternal life, but are shackled by the binds of sin and are prisoners unto the enemy of the soul. We pray in behalf of them, our loved ones and next of kin, our neighbors, our work companions, that thou would work in their hearts to create a need for the Lord Jesus and for that mercy that he offers here through his kingdom.

Dear Father, we pray for those who suffer, those who are not able to be with us at these services today. Those who must be alone in their place of watching. We pray for them. We ask that thou would strengthen them.

And dear Father, we thank thee for all the gifts and blessings that thou hast given us that we need for this body and life. Dear Father, we thank thee for all the gifts and blessings that thou hast given us. For thy dear Son, in whom we have the hope of eternal life.

Dear Father, we enclose into that prayer that he has taught us those many silent groanings of the heart. And we pray in Jesus' name, our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

We shall read in Jesus' name and with prayerful hearts the gospel text that is appointed for this day, which is the first Sunday in Lent. These words are found in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, verses 1 through 11.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Then the devil taketh him into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, The devil taketh him up to an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, the angels came and ministered unto him. Amen.

Amen.

This event that we have read of is recorded in the scriptures as having taken place almost immediately, if not very soon, after Jesus was baptized by John in the river Jordan. And when he had received that testimony of that voice from heaven that spoke of him, that this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

We, in our Bible class last Tuesday, received a question from one of our sisters as to the meaning of Ash Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, and we recalled that these mark the season that we are in, especially Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lent season, and gives us that kind of advanced picture of the suffering and death of our Lord and Jesus, as well as that walk that he made, which concluded with the cross and his resurrection victory, so that we remember what he has done for us, that his suffering and death was not an accident or a tragedy that took place that could have been prevented, but rather it was the working out of God's plan of salvation that could only be accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was as we are. We are flesh and blood, yet of course we know that he had no sin, and because of that he was the perfect sacrifice, the acceptable sacrifice, to die for our sins. But our text speaks of how he was tempted, tempted in three very severe ways, three ways that we have not been tempted with such fullness and such completeness. But he suffered that temptation as true man.

We could wonder that, was it possible that the Son of God could be tempted? Is it possible that anyone or anybody could in any way entice him? But we understand because of his nature, that nature that we have, that he was tempted, yet he was able to overcome temptations. Therefore, he remains for us an example. And as we have said, he was that perfect sacrifice for us.

This text that we have read is very familiar. When I was thinking about it this morning, I thought to myself that it is so familiar that what then can be said further of it. I thought that also that God is able to, time and again, speak unto us through even the very familiar parts of Scripture, the old portions, the ones that we have heard even from youth or studied in Sunday school.

We read that Jesus was led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. My son-in-law happened to call me this morning, and he was preparing Sunday school in a different congregation, and he was wondering about another event that happened to be the Transfiguration, and was wondering why was it on that particular time that this event occurred, in which I did not know the answer to that, but we know that they are not events that took place in a happenstance or chance occurrence, but that they are all part of God's plan of salvation.

So it was necessary that Jesus would be brought up into this wilderness setting and allowed to be tempted of the enemy of the soul. Nothing more we know of that. It does not say in so many words that Jesus was led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil so that he could be an example for us or because he would experience the fullness of temptation. But we know through the Spirit that that is why it took place.

When he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward hungry. That is a long time. I am not sure how that is possible, but the Scriptures give testimony of it. We know how difficult it is to go between meals or to fast for a day or a few days. But to go for 40 days and 40 nights is, I think by the measure of modern medicine and experience, quite almost impossible. I don't know, did he, or we don't know, did he drink water at all? But we do know this, that he was hungry. And being flesh and blood as we are, the need for food was very great. And the hunger was there.

And we could have even thought in our minds that under such a circumstance would it not have been permissible that he would have performed a miracle and provided for himself those basic needs of life. But he did not do so for our sake so that he could experience the fullness of even the want of temporal needs.

It was there in the Garden of Eden, we recall, where food was also the subject of discussion between the enemy of the soul, Satan, and Eve at first, and then Adam, that it was over the fruit of that garden that appealed to them and was good tasting that they fell into sin.

Adam is considered, of course, to be the first Adam and certainly was. Jesus is the second Adam. So perhaps even in our text there is such a deep meaning that he went and overcame those temporal needs.

So when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. So it was a temptation, very real, that we ourselves could imagine that we would be in need of food and have a means to provide food that who then could speak against us if we, for the sake of our life, then did whatever was necessary.

The enemy of the soul came with that kind of thought that if thou be the Son of God, that do this. So he was challenging Jesus, is it so? And did he, even the enemy of the soul, fully understand that the Son of God was before him? Or was it that way that he did indeed understand but was not even ashamed to tempt the Son of God?

I have thought of this before and that that would be the case the latter, that he is unashamed to bring accusation and temptation against the Son of God as it then any small wonder that against us as individuals he would be our greatest accuser and our tempter in this life.

We are all surrounded by temptation. It is not so that we can escape from it. The Lord's Prayer even has that petition that lead us not into temptation. And as one writer pointed out, it does not say that remove all temptation from us. That I don't ever want to be tempted. That I should never be tempted. But it says lead us not into temptation. That God would not be the source of our temptation.

But we live in this world carrying two portions. This earthly portion of flesh and blood which is tempted. It is sometimes called the ally of this world and of our own mind and the enemy of the soul. It's inclined to do that which is evil. It wants to do that which is evil. That is the burden that we carry as the children of God.

And we have this battle, this warfare that goes on within our own life, in our own being, where the spirit of God battles against this old portion. This old portion battles against the spirit of God. There's never any peace. There's never any treaty, we could say, that's made where they can peacefully coexist. It is a life and death battle.

Here Jesus answered concerning this temptation of the temporal needs that we all had. It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And in all of these he answers with the word of God.

And we have heard that before many times in our studies. But it is such a major point that we battle with the power of God's word and to use that instead of our own carnal reasoning or skills we refer to the word of God.

I remember in one congregation a young mother speaking of the rearing of her children using the word of God. And whatever the occasion had taken place I don't recall but she said now you should go and read what the catechism says about that particular matter. She did not go into a lot of logical or rhetorical type of issues nor did she try to explain using just reason alone. But she referred her child to something that was in the catechism which was based on the word of God.

She also related that her child came back later after having read that and was contrite and sorrowful for what had been done. So it is the word of God that is transgressed that brings the definition of sin. But yet it is by the word of God that we live here in this kingdom and with the hope of life eternal.

Again, I recall our Bible class session where our brother spoke of the manna that was eaten in the wilderness that still comes to my mind. It must have been at least physically after a while very difficult to eat the same meal time and time again. And they murmured against having to do so.

But it can be that way here in God's kingdom. There is nothing that changes. The word of God is the same. The bread of life is the same. We hear the same warnings, the same admonitions, the same comforts. It doesn't change.

And perhaps we can in our carnal mind, in our intellect, want to hear something different and hear something that would be more suitable that way. But the word of God is the same. In God's kingdom it is preached the same. And it always has the same beginning and the same end.

But that is the word that we live by, not according to our own whole portion, but to that inner portion. That spirit of God, the spirit of Christ that has been given to dwell in our hearts. This is how we stay alive spiritually, is by receiving this nourishment of God's word into our heart and feeding from that the new man.

We read then of the second temptation and the devil taketh him up to the holy city and setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple, saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Again, the devil came with that word that if thou be the Son of God, then do this and prove that you are because here is scripture written in the Psalms that he will give his angels charge over thee. And so he brought the scriptures before the Lord Jesus and tried to use that to cause him to yield under temptation.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Would it have been faith, dear brothers and sisters, if it was you and I that was brought to the pinnacle of the church and tempted in this way, we would say that if you have faith, then cast yourself down that surely God will protect you and keep you from any harm or danger.

We would have to say that knowing that one would certainly be dead from such an event or at least if not dead very severely injured that our experience in life would say that one would most certainly be hurt and that sure it would be true that if God would intervene we would not be hurt but would that come from faith?

And we would have to say that no, that is not what faith is, that we would put a challenge up before God that I can be reckless in my life no matter what I do and I am a child of God, that I can do and act and be what I wish to be and nothing will harm me. That would seem like one has lost their humility. One is not childlike because we, according to the words of Jesus, it is so that thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

But we live even in this way with that mind of a child that we would live by faith trusting in God but not challenging him, not daring him to in some way perform a miracle on our behalf because of our foolishness.

Again, the devil taketh him up to an exceeding high mountain, sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Some who are skeptical of these scriptures will say how could this be possible? How could what kind of mountain could one climb to see all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them? We don't know how that's possible. It doesn't really make a difference. Somehow it took place and the temptation was real and the event was real and these were offered to Jesus.

I myself wondered if in fact the devil had lied again as he so often does. Was it his to give? Were all these kingdoms of the world under his domain? But yet we notice in our text that Jesus does not say anything contrary to that. He does not say that you have lied, they're not yours to give.

Anyway, it seems as though in this particular temptation that Jesus is offered all that the world could offer with the kingdoms and the glory of them. For flesh and blood would have come the wealth and recognition, all the things that belong to a sensual life. All of these things were offered to him, yet he would not yield unto temptation. He would not fall down and worship the enemy of the soul but answered again with the word of the scripture that get thee hence Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.

Benediction: The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.