First Sunday of Lent
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1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”
5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,
6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said 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 guard you,’
11 and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
This is the Gospel of our Lord!
Praise to You Lord, Jesus Christ!
Into The Wilderness: Embracing Our Journey with God
Into The Wilderness: Embracing Our Journey with God
Every one of us has experienced a wilderness season. For instance, I once faced a time of job loss and uncertainty. Ministry was painful due to hurts caused by the people that I had labored to serve ~ often at peril to me personally. In that dark period, I learned to trust God in ways I never did before. While in this period of time, I didn’t realize it, but those wilderness moments stripped me of my self-reliance. It was a hard time. I went through times of anger, grief, loss, and denial pushing me toward a deeper faith that can only be forged in the fire of trials. Frankly, this has happened a number of times in my life in a variety of arenas of my life. Each time, it hurt more and my roots had on.y the choices of to dig deeper into the depths of the richness of Christ. ~ or die.
During this, the first Sunday of Lent let us join together for a period of reflection and preparation as we journey with God through surrender and reliance on His promises, especially as we commemorate Jesus' own journey into the wilderness.
Our objectives today are to learn that during our wilderness periods:
God calls us to remember His promises
Rely on His presence
Stand firm in our faith, just as Jesus did.
It emphasizes the importance of acknowledging both the blessings of God and the challenges of life as part of our spiritual journey.
1. Presenting our First Fruits
1. Presenting our First Fruits
When we see and/or hear these words, Presenting our First Fruits, most often it is in the connotation of tithes and offerings. Sure, that applies. Let’s be clear, God initiated the tithe. Tithing is absolutely Scriptural. But wait, there’s more to this than just what goes into the offering plate. Let’s look at Scriptural precedence:
Deuteronomy 26:1–4
1 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it,
2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.
3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
This is Biblical precedent AND command. But this is more than just an act of obedience. It should not be a drudgery. It should stem from gratitude of what God has done as evidenced in the following verses:
5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor.
7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.
9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God.
11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
The importance of gratitude, even in our wilderness seasons.
Reflect on God’s past faithfulness and provision.
Let us bring our first fruits' of time and resources to God as a statement of trust.
This aligns with Christ's obedience and demonstrates our identity as people relying on divine promises.
Let us use this journey of Lent as a period of offering ourselves to God amidst life’s challenges.
If you are feeling spiritually dry and disconnected in your Church life, consider making a pledge to intentionally impact Foundry and more importantly, the Kingdom of God positively.
Identify a need or a cause you are passionate about that our Church can initiate and take the first step in bringing it to reality and draw others to Christ
This requires you to bring your 'first fruits' to God, ~ your passions, your talents, your abilities, taking your faith into the community, and allowing your actions to reflect His love even while you’re in a wilderness season.
What are three ways we can bring our “first fruits” to God?
1.____________________________________________________________________
2.____________________________________________________________________
3.____________________________________________________________________
How can you specifically bring your “first fruits” to God?
_____________________________________________________________________
How can acknowledging both blessings and challenges enhance our spiritual journey?
_____________________________________________________________________
2. God’s Promise of Protection
2. God’s Promise of Protection
Psalm 91:1-2
I am not perpetuating the thought of “Wilderness experiences” being ‘easy’ or ‘fun.’ What I am perpetuating is God is faithful even in ~ maybe especially in those “wilderness experiences.” David reminds us this:
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Find comfort in God’s shelter and rest under His divine protection.
We find security found in dwelling with God, which is essential during wilderness times.
The truth that God as a refuge, elevates Him as our ultimate source of safety, which is crucial during Lent's reflective, challenging journey.
What is God’s promise for us ~ especially during times of “wilderness experiences?” _____________________________________________________________________
In what way can remembrance of God's promises help us during our wilderness seasons? _____________________________________________________________________
3. Proclaiming Our Salvation
3. Proclaiming Our Salvation
Romans 10:8-13
Paul gave the church at Rome the understanding that Christ’s salvation is for everyone. The “Romans road” to salvation culminates in this passage highlighting this accessibility of salvation and how God's promises are for everyone willing to believe in Christ.
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
This is significant for our wilderness encounters, affirming that calling on the Lord is a universal promise for salvation and guidance.
This passage encourages the congregation during Lent to trust in God's salvific work, emphasizing unity in Christ and the simplicity of faith.
Remind the audience of the assurance in confessing and believing, living each day with God’s guidance.
Throughout the history of the Church, the Church has been referred to as the “First fruits of Salvation.” So, frankly, I’ve heard that statement and never really grasped it. “First fruits?” Now, we understand the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ Love, joy, peace, patience etc… but the “first fruits of Salvation?” I’ve pondered this for a long time. Then it struck me. Let’s look at the early Church.
Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost - 5,000 added to the church
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
“… added to their number day by day…” ~ Many translations read “…added to the Church…”
“…those who were being saved.”
~ Salvation meant becoming a part of the Church. This was the “first-fruit” of Salvation. Becoming a part of The Church. ~ adding to the Kingdom. ~ identifying with Christ AND others who had done the same!
What was always the mandate of the Church?
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
The “First Fruit” of Salvation is the Church multiplying DAILY through each one doing his/her part in preaching the Good News of the Gospel to all of the World starting in the neighborhood where one lived!
4. Persevering Through Temptation
4. Persevering Through Temptation
Luke 4:1–13
I want to look at just a little of the Gospel reading for today. Jesus gives us a “wilderness 101” that we should pay attention to.
Luke 4:4
4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”
This passage quotes Deuteronomy 8:3
… you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Matthew also recounts this in Matthew 4:4.
Matthew quotes Deuteronomy completely but Luke doesn’t so I want to look at the context of “man shall not live by bread alone.”
… but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
What does God “say” to His Church?
Blessings
Comfort
Protection
Healing
Deliverance
Signs and wonders
These are the things that ‘breathe life’ into us. They motivate us. They validate our Salvation. We remember the blessings ~ Then CHOOSE to be a blessing because we have been first blessed.
8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Our worship of God is demonstrated through our faithfulness in worship, and service. Satan will come at our worst times and challenge us to forsake worship of God ~
It feels like this… “It’s only one Sunday, you don’t really need to go to Church today…”
Or…. “You’ve got so much on your plate, you just need to take one day for yourself…”
That is how wolves kill sheep. They separate them from the others so that they can be easily picked off. The Church being together ~ unified with the purpose of spreading the Good News gives us strength. WE NEED EACH OTHER!
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
So, how are we testing the Lord our God?
We are not being faithful in our “First Fruits.”
We are taking God’s protection for granted.
We are not proclaiming God’s Salvation.
Into The Wilderness: Embracing Our Journey with God
Into The Wilderness: Embracing Our Journey with God
Let’s be frank. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was as we have seen here today. He declared the Word of God and maintained His connection with the Father through the Spirit of God.
We find ourselves, like Jesus, in the wilderness. He overcame. We can too by being faithful in our “First Fruits.” Remembering our promises of protection and by Declaring our Salvation. We persevere through the Word of God and we are strengthened by each other. WE are the “First fruits of Salvation.” We have been added to the Church through the salvation work of Christ.
What key teachings does Jesus provide in response to the devil's temptations?
How does the sermon connect personal wilderness experiences to Jesus' time in the wilderness?
What significance does the sermon attribute to remembering God's promises during trials?
How can the scriptural references to reliance on God's presence be applicable in modern-day struggles?
What does the sermon suggest about the relationship between blessings and challenges in our spiritual journey?
In what ways can Jesus' responses to temptation inspire each of us while facing our own challenges?
What does Jesus' experience in the wilderness teach us about facing our own temptations?
How did Jesus respond to the devil's temptations, and what can we learn from His responses?
In what way can remembrance of God's promises help us during our wilderness seasons?
What does it mean to rely on God’s presence during difficult times, as illustrated in this sermon?
