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| So beautiful this new wooden cross on the altar, built by special request especially for the church by my son. So proud and thankful for the work he does. |
Our scripture lesson today was from Luke 4:1-13, better known to us as "The Temptation of Jesus".
Immediately following Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist, "Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." (Luke 4:1)
And if you know the story, you know that Jesus was tempted by the devil for forty days. During that time Jesus ate nothing, and when the 40 days was ended, He was hungry. (verse 2)
So this was when the devil came to Jesus and began the temptation. You can read the "conversation" between Satan and Jesus in verses 3-12. With every single temptation that the devil threw at Jesus, Jesus had an answer ready, based on the accurate understanding of the holy scriptures. Satan tried his best to twist the words of the scriptures to use them for his own advantage against Jesus, but Jesus knew better and each and every time He put Satan back in his place.
Finally, in verse 13, the scriptures say, "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time." Notice it doesn't say that the devil left Jesus alone for good, but only until he could come up with another more opportune time to try and trip Him up.
This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the 40 day period of fasting and following the Lord "in the wilderness" so to speak, leading up to Easter Sunday. (The 40 days of Lent do not include the Sundays during that period).
The 40 days of fasting and temptation in the wilderness was actually the preparation time for Jesus to begin His full ministry. Notice Jesus was LED by the Spirit. Why did He go into the wilderness?
Most of us would not intentionally get ourselves into a situation that would be so obviously dangerous. Yet, in this period of Lent, we are asked to do this for 40 days, just as Jesus did.
So what is Lent? Is it just the giving up of something? In the Old English, the word Lent meant "Spring"...the season of Spring.
In this regard, Lent could be considered a kind of "spring cleaning" for our souls. It is a time for followers of Jesus Christ to fully rely on God and God alone during a time of soul cleansing.
It's not about giving up something, but it should be instead a time to make room for more of Jesus in our lives....More quantity and quality of time with the Lord.
It is a time to be more dependent on God and not on things.
Some ways to do this:
- Read Bible
- Pray more
- Focus on Forgiveness...who do we need to forgive?
- Be led by the Holy Spirit as we seek forgiveness and to forgive those who may have hurt us.
- Be more self-giving instead of selfish
Remember: God never leaves us alone. He is always there to give us life more abundantly as we are following Christ, being led by the Holy Spirit.
The devil wanted Jesus to break His fast, and he promised to give Him power for selfish reasons...
(see Luke 4:6-7)
If Jesus had done what Satan tempted Him to do He would have been saying NO to God and the Resurrection that was coming. Then where would we be?
How about us? Without obedience to Christ we would be left completely alone. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit, not by His flesh.
God has given us that same Holy Spirit to guide us and keep us going in the right direction.
In II Corinthians 12:10, the Apostle Paul says,
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Now let us look at Luke 4:14-15, following His temptation and fasting in the wilderness,
"Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all."
Note that He went in "the power of the Spirit"...God was with Him...
- God is there for us...we can depend on Him at ALL times.
- We can TRUST that God will be with us always
We need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us through this time of preparation...
The more we depend on God, the stronger we become...
It is God and God alone Who sustains us.
So, during this time of preparation, let us be LED by the Holy Spirit while we prepare our hearts for the ministry He has for each one of us.
Our choir sang this beautiful old hymn during our time of communion. Such depth of meaning in these words. I hope you will sing along with me as we continue our time of remembrance of the Lord's Crucifixion and Resurrection.
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 3/10/2019
Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.
Note to Readers: I took the comment moderation off temporarily to see how things go. If I continue to get spam messages, I will have to put it back on. I look forward to seeing your comments! Have a blessed day.
Note to Readers: I took the comment moderation off temporarily to see how things go. If I continue to get spam messages, I will have to put it back on. I look forward to seeing your comments! Have a blessed day.
