February 25, 2007 Lent 1

February 25, 2007

Lent 1, Year C

Scripture Reading:

Old Testament Lesson Deuteronomy 26: 1 – 11

                                                                Pp. 31 -12

Epistle Lesson Romans 1-10:8 – 13 Pp.1760-61

Gospel lesson Luke 4: 1 – 13 Pp. 1595-96

Summary:

               Whenever we choose God’s will and God’s direction, we will find that we are rewarded in many ways. No fidelity to God and his commandments goes unrewarded.

“Choices and Consequences”

      There is a fictitious story of a pastor who was concerned about the spiritual health of his congregation. Therefore he hired an actor to dress up like Satan and at a given time come rushing and roaring down the center aisle, frightening the people. Almost all of the congregation got up and rushed out the door. One older woman remained. She went up to the character and said, “Mr. Satan. My name is Flippant. I’ve been a member here for over 30 years. I’ve taught Sunday school. I’ve been head of the Women’s Group, I’ve worked in the kitchen, sewed with the quilters, and so on. But I want you to know, sir, I’ve been on your side all along.”

      However much we might chuckle, dealing with the Tempter is no laughing matter. Our country has over two million men and women prison today, many on death row.

      For the most part, these are they who have sold out to temptation. They suffer the consequences of their choices. They are the ones who got caught.

      But what about the rest of us? The apostle Paul stated “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 1(Romans 3:23). No one needs to remind us that we have been tempted, have made wrong choices and have paid or will pay the consequences of our actions.

ONE WHO MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE

      Our focus today is upon one who made the right choices: Jesus. We find him in the wilderness.  He is thinking. He is considering the direction of his life. And he is being tempted in a major way. One temptation was to turn a stone into bread. The Tempter said: “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

      That was a challenge. Why? Well, if he could do it, wouldn’he have gained a large following as a provider of food for the masses? Some well-meaning Christians have found that hungry people will show up at the church in order to be given food later. But when the bread isn’t there, will they still come to enjoy “the bread of life, the Lord himself?

      Jesus spurned that temptation by saying, “One does not live by bread alone.” That was strike one for the Enemy. The tempter then tried to toy with Jesus mind. “See all the kingdoms of the world. You could have power over all of them. They would all give you glory and authority if you follow my leadership and worship me.” 

      Now that was a mind – dazzler. Power, wealth, glory – what else might one desire? But Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Worship the lord  your God, and serve only him.” That was strike two for the Tempter.

      Then the Tempter started quoting scripture. ‘It is written, [God] will command his angels…to protect you and on their hands they will bear you up so that you will notdash your foot against a stone.” He told Jesus that if that was so, he could hurl himself down from the top of the great temple and not be hurt.

      The temptation was to do the miraculous, to use magic and entertainment to win the admiration of the masses. Wouldn’t that cause them to flock to him?

      Jesus refused the temptation. If would have compelled God to go against the laws of nature, the law of gravity. It would have been putting God to the test and Jesus was not about to do that.

      What Christ’s refusal to give in to that temptation, the Tempter struck out. Indeed he went on his way until another time.

      What was the end result of those temptations which Christ refused? In Matthew’s version of this incident, he writes, “suddenly angels caome ad waited on him.” 2 (Matthew 4:11).

RESISTING TEMPTATION HASITS REWARDS

      Whatever else the words “angels come and waited on him” mean; they tell us that resisting temptation has its rewards.

      Before we consider that reality, we must realize that salvation comes by faith, thatis, reconciliation with God involves complete trust in God our Creator through Christ our Lord. We are counted righteous before God because of our belief plus trust plus action.

      Our reconciliation with God comes through our faith in Christ. That is how we become assured that we are the children of God and receive the manifold gifts of grace. That is how we know “God’s love has been pured into our hearts.” 3 (Romans 5:5). Such blessings are the rewards of fully accepting Christ as Lord and as Savior.

      Today, however, let us consider other rewards of God’s grace, the rewards that come from spurning temptation. Is it not true that when we stop succumbing to the lures of the Tempter, we feel a sense of victory? It feels good to be good!

      A pastor was assigned an area in a large city from which to gather new congregation. After knocking on numerous doors one day, he stopped at a Mom-and-Pop store for some refreshments. He bought a couple of small items, gave a $50 dollar bill to the woman at the register, chatted with her for awhile, then returned to his car.

      He noticed that he still had his change from the transaction in his hand. Suddenly he realized that she had given him too much money in return. The thought immediately came to him to him that perhaps he should just keep the surplus because, he rationalized, he had been short-changed in other transactions down through the years and his gain then would have helped even things out.

      Then his conscience got the better of him. He got out of the car, went in and told the woman that she had made a mistake and given him to much change.

      “I know,” she said.

      “You know?” he answered with surprise.

      “But you gave me back $20 too much! Why?”

      “Well,” she smiled. “I know who you are and I know what you are doing in this area and I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”

Some years later, when his congregation had grown to almost 4,000 members, he told that story in a sermon. He was incredibly happy that the had done the right thing, had made the right choice, and had resisted the temptation which come to him.

THE HAPPY CONSEQUENCES THAT COME TO THE RIGHTEOUS

      In a certain sense, the angels had come and ministered to him when he remembered the victory he had achieved over temptation. Have you not also had blessings that have come from resisting temptation?

      You may have found a purse or a wallet or a watch or whatever and sought to find the owner so the item or items could be returned. You felt joy in your action, did you not? Your may have been asked to go on an evening of immoral adventuring. You thought about it but you resisted the temptation. And when you heard of even greater temptations which were not resisted by those who invited you to the evening of indulgence, you felt victorious and even wealthier for not going, isn’t that so?

      Or think of what goes on in the workplace so often. Temptation to take what is not yours to take. Temptation to work a little and extend your breaks beyond what is fair.  Temptation to arrive late and to leave early. Temptation to play games or conduct personal business on the company’s computer or time. Temptation to lie in terms of work achieved or the deliberate breaking of the rules of the business.

      What rewards have been justifiably gained? If they have not come to us rightfully, we should examine our spiritual life. Perhaps it is in disrepair. And if so, how can we expect blessings from God?

      Be sure of this: When you and I resist temptations we know we have pleased God and have found inner satisfaction ourselves.

God blesses us when we do his will. And when we don’t we have to live with the consequences.

      When you go home today, take time to read Psalm 18. The person who wrote that psalm was overjoyed with all the good things that he happened to him. It was, he thought, because he did what was right in the sight of God. Listen to these selected verses”

“the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness… For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt. Therefore the Lord had recompensed me according to my righteousness. 4 (Psalm 18:20-21,23-24).

      I would like to have known that good man. What a glorious testimony he could give to the rewards of doing God’s will as best he could. God does indeed take very god care of those who are his own and who live as such in this tempting world.

REWARDS FOR OUR NATION

      Now I wonder if you have ever considered how important righteousness by us and our fellow citizens can bless our nation. Proverbs proclaims: “righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” 5 (Proverbs 14:34)

Our first president, George Washington, put it. “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle. … The smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself ordained.”

      Christian ethics and the practice of morality must be paramount in our lives and in our nation if we are to expect favorable consequences for our thoughts, words and deeds. Amen.