2022.03.06 The End of the World As We Know It: Do Something Rather Than Nothing

The End of the World As We Know It: Do Something Rather Than Nothing

Matthew 4:1-10 • Matthew 4:11-17

Welcome to the First Sunday IN Lent. Lent is a 40-day season on the Church calendar, yet it stretches over 46 days. So, which is it? Is it 40 days, or is it 46? Kinda both. If that’s confusing to you … go to Facebook and check out the sermon section from our Ash Wednesday service. I explain the whole thing.

Our readings began with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, and it is those 40 days that we remember with the 40 days of Lent.

This is the first message in a sermon series wrapped around Lent. I’m calling it the End of the World as We Know It because the collective world we once knew is now gone … and the deeper we dive into our faith, the more our individual world ends … so that God can implant his vision of the new Earth and the new Heaven into us.

In recent years, and even in recent months … things seem to be changing faster than we can manage! In the midst of such dramatic change, we have lots of potential responses available to us:

lean into the change like leaning into the next curve on a roller coaster “WOOO HOOO! WHAT’S NEXT?!?!”

we could dig in our heels and resist any change at all “NOT ME! I WILL NOT DO X OR SUPPORT ANYBODY WHO DOES!”

we could sit back and watch to see where the world might leave an opening for us “WELL. I WONDER WHAT’S NEXT. MAYBE THERE WILL BE A PLACE FOR ME TO GET BACK INTO THE WORLD.” If you’re waiting … there won’t be.

we could throw our hands up in frustration and aggravation “I’M DONE! WAKE ME UP WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER, AND I CAN GET BACK TO NORMAL.”

Of course, the best response is a combination of all of those responses.

Sometimes, we do need to unplug to figure out our next move. Many of us have been on retreats, and pulling away helps us get our heads straight so we can return to ’regular life’ with a clear head. Unplugging is exactly what Jesus did right after his baptism. He spent 40 days in the wilderness … unplugged from the rest of the world. But if Jesus couldn’t stay unplugged forever, neither can we!

Sometimes, digging in our heels is appropriate. Daniel refused to bow to the golden statue Nebuchadnezzar set up. But we can’t dig in our heels against EVERYTHING.

Sometimes we embrace change and let it carry us to new exciting places. Phillip was carried to the chariot of an Egyptian official in the middle of nowhere. He took the chance to tell the eunuch about Jesus, and baptized him as a new Christian! But constant change is chaos, so we can’t just let it carry us away all the time either.

Sometimes we throw our hands up and give up. Job finally stopped defending himself to God, and recognized he was better off shutting his mouth. But shortly after that, he got back into his life and God blessed him dramatically.

We can’t let short-term decisions become long-term decisions … or we just end up in a new rut.

Think back to pre-pandemic days for a minute. Go ahead … close your eyes and dream of the days before any of us heard the name COVID-19. Ah, the grass was greener; the laundry smelled better; politicians were kinder; I never had bad breath; money was plentiful; no one ever cut us off in traffic; the Sycamores were undefeated; we all had dream jobs with atmospheric salaries; church buildings were full; we always made budget; souls were coming to Jesus right and left; and church people never disagreed or argued about anything. Friends, THAT is what nostalgia will do for you.

The first apartment Annette and I shared was less than optimal. The radiators had no regulator, so we either froze or blazed through the Winter. I remember fondly the times we’d come home from work, strip down to our underwear and watch TV with snowflakes blowing in our open windows. And it would be easy to think of those as ‘the good ole days’.

Nostalgia has a way of twisting the reality of the past. Those were good times in many ways … but they certainly weren’t perfect. And if I were given the choice to go back to those times right now, I’d be a fool to take that option!

So as the pandemic seems to possibly be winding down somewhat, a lot of people would like to just go back to the way things were. But we miss a great opportunity if we do that.

First of all, many things around us have changed … and they’re not changing back. Some people LOVE being able to order groceries and have them brought right out to their trunk. They can’t take that away.

I love being able to order McDonald’s from an app, and have it ready faster with less likelihood that the order is misunderstood. They can’t take that away.

I heard a comedian recently say that the pandemic may well have ended the all-day kids birthday party … forever. And he was hopeful.

Some things have gone away, and we need to mourn the losses.

Some things have gone away, and we need to celebrate the gains.

But whatever tomorrow looks like, sitting back and waiting for the past to revisit is the only option we really do not have. Because it won’t.

Over 200 years in Jewish history are called ‘the silent years’. After all of what we call the Old Testament was written, they stopped having Prophets who spoke for God (or at least ones who wrote down their histories). The nation of Israel didn’t have major victories or major losses that got recorded in their history with Yahweh. The poets of the Psalms were all dead. And the country was just sitting back waiting for Messiah.

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Matthew 4:1 NASB 2020

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

And when Jesus appears, he doesn’t bring back the past. His ministry began with a period of great trial. He spent 40 days with no food in the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil.”

Has the devil used the pandemic to tempt us? Have many succumbed to his temptations?

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Matthew 4:4–10 NASB 2020

4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”

Jesus resists the devil … answering with Scripture every time Satan tempts him. How much have you used Scripture in answering temptation throughout this pandemic? How much did you use it before?

Regardless of your answers … you have the CHOICE of how much you’ll use Scripture after! Let me tell you … You have the right to remain silent. [pause] Anything you say can and will be used against you. [pause] And if you don’t make a choice about how you’ll use Scripture, one will be made for you.

So how do you want the future to look? More like the Scriptures recommend … or less? Pre-pandemic, were you ever frustrated that you just couldn’t develop good habits with Bible reading and study? The world as we knew it is gone … and you have the choice to setup your future with better habits … or not. Which choice will bring about your preferred future?

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Matthew 4:12 NASB 2020

12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;

When Jesus returns from the wilderness, he is immediately confronted with bad news and seeming chaos. John had been arrested.

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Matthew 4:14 NASB 2020

14 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

So, he picked up and went to the region of Zebulun and Naphtali … TO FULFILL SCRIPTURE!

Do you see the common thread running through the early days of Jesus’ ministry?

Jesus changed everything. It was the end of the world as they knew it. And it turned out better than fine … because it was all based on GOD’S PLAN instead of humans’ plans.

The pandemic has been the end of the world as we knew it.

So, as we see the pandemic fading a bit in its panic value … and as we travel the road of Lent leading to the Cross and the empty tomb. Let me encourage you to commit to serious time in the Scriptures, and to follow the first command Jesus gave:

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Matthew 4:17 NASB 2020

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This is really what Lent is all about. It’s not about returning to the past. It’s about moving into the future, and that requires we engage:

Engage our faith to grow more like Jesus

Engage our hearts to see where we’ve gone wrong in the past

Engage our minds to plan how we can do better in the future

That begins with an offer of repentance.

The End of the World As We Know It: Do Something Rather Than Nothing

During the pandemic, fear has paralyzed many of us. Now … It’s time to do something … anything! The offer of repentance removes the option of doing nothing. When someone puts repentance on the table, you have to either repent … or choose not to. There is no other option. You can’t deny your need for repentance … unless you want to claim you’ve arrived at perfection. So, I’m putting repentance on the table. As Yoda said … “Do or do not.”

Does your life today look like it should? Does it look like you’d want it to if you had the opportunity to restart? Better yet, does it look like what God would want for your future?

I know mine doesn’t. And fixing that begins with repentance.

So, let’s begin our transition into Holy Communion with confession. The confession begins as a corporate, generic confession. I invite you to use the silence at the end to make it an individual, specific confession that involves repentance. So, you only have two options: “Do or do not.”

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ALL ON SLIDES!!!!

Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.

Therefore, let us confess our sin before God and one another.

--CONFESSION AND PARDON--

MERCIFUL GOD, WE CONFESS THAT WE HAVE NOT LOVED YOU WITH OUR WHOLE HEART.

WE HAVE FAILED TO BE AN OBEDIENT CHURCH.

WE HAVE NOT DONE YOUR WILL, WE HAVE BROKEN YOUR LAW, WE HAVE REBELLED AGAINST YOUR LOVE, WE HAVE NOT LOVED OUR NEIGHBORS, AND WE HAVE NOT HEARD THE CRY OF THE NEEDY.

FORGIVE US, WE PRAY.

FREE US FOR JOYFUL OBEDIENCE, THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.

AMEN.

[All pray in silence.]

Leader to people:

Hear the good news: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God's love toward us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

People to leader:

IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, YOU ARE FORGIVEN!

Leader and people:

GLORY TO GOD. AMEN.

Let us pray [pray over the elements]