Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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

Today, we begin a sermon series wrapped around Lent.

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.”

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.

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 we can’t stay unplugged forever!

Sometimes, digging in our heels is appropriate.

Daniel refused to bow to the gold 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.

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 end up in a 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.

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 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 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 don’t have.

Because it won’t.

Over 200 years were called ‘the silent years’.

After all of 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 they were just sitting back waiting for Messiah.

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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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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 it 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.

How do you want the future to look?

More like the Scriptures recommend … or less?

Which choice will bring your preferred future about?

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

John had been arrested.

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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 good … because it was all based on GOD’S PLAN instead of human’s plans.

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

So, as we see the pandemic reduce 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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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