Doing Life like Christ

Cadet Justin Bluer

Passage: Luke 4

Big Idea: The trials we go through can be used to grow and strengthen us to be used by God to bring healing to others.

Sermon Aim: I want the congregation to know that we can overcome trials through God’s word so He can use us to build His kingdom.

Introduction:

Last week when I was on my way into HyVee grocery store. As I was walking through the door a man in a wheelchair seen my uniform and said “Navy.” I responded no I’m with The Salvation Army. He said, “oh the Army.” I’m pretty sure he thought I was a branch of the armed forces, but I didn’t correct him. This man was so excited to talk to another person that could relate to him. He told me all about his time in Vietnam and how many people he saved. He said he was shot four times and given awards for being a war hero. During this time, I just kept thanking him for his service.

Then I said to him that God must have a plan for you making it through all you did. I could see the glow on him when I brought up God. At that point he starts telling me about his bible he carried on him. He was so excited and concerned that I didn’t believe his miraculous story of survival and saving lives that he wanted to prove it. I told him it’s not necessary, but I am very interested. He pulls his bible out of his pocket, and it had pictures and papers in it. He showed me his pictures of him as a young man with a 50-caliber gun. He showed me a paper from the government recognizing him as a hero.

As I am holding back tears, he shows me a hole in his bible all the way to gospel of Mark. The hole was from shrapnel, the rest of them went into his body but that one could have killed him if he did not have his bible. I told him I’ve seen these things on movies, but you are real thing. I told him he made my day and showed him my gratitude by buying him a Starbucks. As I walked away that day, I praised God for that man and thanked Him for the soldiers that fought for our freedom in the United States of America.

Today I want to talk about someone who also went through great trials, who overcame by God’s word, who battled demons, who brought freedom and offered healing to all. Only this man came for the whole world. Let’s journey together through Luke 4 and talk about not only the wonderful works of God but the hardships that Jesus went through in the beginning of His ministry.

We go through trials, even rejection, ourselves to grow us Luke 4:1-29

Luke 4:1-13 we read about the beginning of Jesus known ministry. He had just gotten baptized and was led by the Spirit to the wilderness. We read about three trials that Jesus had to overcome. Jesus had just gone 40 days without any food. As you can imagine He was probably hungry. (Good thing Jesus wasn’t Salvationist, I can’t go 4 hours without food). The devil tempted Him to break His fast and to prove He is the Son of God. By turning stones into bread. Jesus responded with a quote from Deuteronomy also known as the law, saying that “man shall not live on bread alone but every word from God.” Don’t we feel like our physical needs are more important than God’s word sometimes? Jesus knew that it was about so much more than satisfying His hunger in His stomach, it is about being fed with God’s word. That God is the one that gives us life not food.

The second temptation that Jesus went through was leading Him to a high place and offering Him the world if He would worship the devil. Has anyone here ever been to that high place? I know I have. The devil offered me the world. I worked in the oilfields making a lot of money. I was on top of the world. Had everything a worldly man could want, money, women, partied every day, fast cars, lavish lifestyle, I had everything I wanted. The problem was I wasn’t worshipping God with it. Instead, I was living in sin. Not because I had lots of money but because I wasn’t using it to build God’s kingdom. Eventually, I responded like Jesus did. Jesus told the devil again a quote from the law, “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only”

The third temptation Jesus went through was to test God. The devil brought Him to the top of the temple and told Him to jump off. The devil quotes scripture this time from the Psalm 91:11-12 reminding Jesus that the angels would protect Him. I can imagine how hard it would have been not to want to make sure He was really the Holy One the scriptures were written about. I can’t tell you how many times I have tested God. God wants us to have faith not demand signs. Jesus responded again from the Law, “Do not put your God to the test.” You can find all of Jesus responses to the devil in Deuteronomy 6:3-16 The last sentence we read in this portion of scripture is “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” The devil continues today looking for an opportune time to strike the body of Christ. We must always be prepared.

After Jesus went through the trials, we read in Luke 4:13-30 that Jesus went to His hometown to share the good news. He read from a Prophecy of Isaiah and said that He is the Messiah the prophecy was about. At first everyone praised Him but that all stopped as soon as He told them He was sent to others. They rejected Him and tried throwing Him off a cliff. We are dealing with this issue with our family right now. Shannon and I have both shared Christ with our family continuously. We have been rejected and spoken bad of because we left to answer our own call to be officers.

We go through many trials in life just like Jesus did. Jesus gave us a perfect example how to overcome these trials by staying in God’s word. If we stay in His word and get familiar with scripture, then every time we are tempted and tried, we too can quote God’s word to the enemy and overcome. Then we can continue like Jesus to carry out our mission here of helping others to overcome the struggles in their lives and saving souls.

We serve God and help others to overcome the demons in their lives-Luke 4:31-37

In Luke 4:31-37 we read about Jesus continuing in the ministry that He was sent for. Jesus didn’t concern Himself with all the gossip, the trials, and the rejection of His own people. He stayed focused on the work of God. Jesus casted out demons and impure spirits that were possessing people and making them sick. Some may think we do not deal with those sorts of things today. I have battled addiction, poverty, and many other sinful behaviors in my own life, those to me are impure spirits or demons. Guess who got them out of me. They call Him Jesus.

Today Jesus is using us to deliver people from the same demons and impure spirits that He cast out back then. We have the ARC that battles the demon of addiction, our social services battle poverty (not just the lack of money but the lack of love and security), and we have the Church (the fellow believers) to help encourage one another to overcome the sinful desires. All of this is the work of Christ through us. That is why it is so important to serve through our corps. We bring Jesus to the people so they can experience the healing that Jesus brings to our lives. There is an old saying that has always stuck with me. “You may be the only bible that someone reads.”

God uses us (the Church) to bring healing to others-Luke 4:38-44

Finally, we read in Luke 4:38-44 about Jesus healing Simon’s (Peter) mother-in-law. After Jesus healed her, it says that she waited on them, them being the disciples according to Matthew’s gospel. To me this is a key verse to the gospel. After we receive healing, whether it be a spiritual healing or physical, we should be serving God by serving others.

The scriptures go on to say that Jesus laid His hands on many and healed them of sicknesses and demons. This is paramount to growing the Church. When we receive Christ and His Holy Spirit, we receive healing to our hearts, and He drives out those impurities holding us back. Is something holding you back from being Jesus’ hands today?

Just like that soldier I met has a wonderful story to tell, each one of us do too. His was a story of hardship, suffering through pain we can’t imagine, watching destruction around him, survival, and war. But, more importantly, he has a story of hope, a story of saving lives, a story of God’s protection, a story of healing. That soldier….has a story of bringing freedom to a nation as we celebrate today. More importantly, we celebrate Christ bringing freedom to the world. We all have a responsibility to be a soldier for Christ. He wants to grow us through our challenges to bring healing to others. What will be your story?

Conclusion and Final Application

Sometimes we must go through many hardships in our own lives so God can grow us in Christ. We can use God’s word and put our trust in Him to overcome temptations and trials just like Jesus did. Jesus went through many of the same temptations we do and overcame by God’s word and continued in the ministry. Just like many of us today go through, Jesus came to the people and publicly answered His call but was rejected and thrown out of His hometown. Jesus didn’t give up when He faced trials, He continued in the ministry of driving out demons and healing the sick without discrimination as we are called to do today. Together as the Church we can bring Christ’s healing love to all. We just have to trust in God and make a decision to answer His call.

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Spiritual Direction: Is there something you are struggling with today? Regardless of where you are in your walk, a new Christian, not a Christian, a Major, retired officer, we all have struggles. Is God calling you today to take the next step in ministry? Is He calling you to serve and bring healing to others, is He calling you back or maybe He is calling you for the first time, do you hear His voice today?

Physical Direction: The altar is open to all. If you are not ready to come up front, your seat can be your meeting place with Jesus. During this last song just focus on our savior, tell Him you Love Him and are ready to be His again or for first time. Tell Him you are ready to take that next step. Don’t stop after this time with God but actually take the next step and talk to one of the corps leaders.