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Pastor Larry's Message for February 28, 2010
Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren
“Out of the Wild and Into the ?”
Good morning. Pretty interesting interpretation of the Temptation of Christ. Kind of “silent movie” style…“Jesus
in Suburbia”. We’re in week number two of this season of Lent and as I shared last week…we’re going to
look at Jesus’ experience in the wilderness where he was confronted for forty days with the temptations of
Satan. Last week we looked at the temptation of Christ from the Gospel of Mark and today we’re going to look
in the book of Luke chapter four.
Listen to Luke 4:1-4: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days and when
they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to
become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, one does not live by bread alone."
I. Hunger Pangs: The season of Lent for Christians is considered a time of serious reflection. Many followers
of Christ will give up something for Lent. Over the years, for me what I’ve given up has had to do with food. A
couple of years ago, I gave up French Fries, last year I decided to give up caffeinated drinks. Anyone here
decide to give up something for Lent? It’s sacrificing something that would be part of your normal life. It takes
discipline and out of that can come hunger pangs.
In today’s passage we notice that Jesus ended this period in the wilderness absolutely famished. When I
was preparing this sermon…I had just finished a really fine lunch and as I was sitting at my desk and starting
to write, and I began to yawn like crazy and got really sleepy. That ever happen to you in the afternoon after
lunch? But that’s what happens when we’re full and satisfied…we want to nap. Hunger creates discomfort.
When you’re hungry you can sense this deep growl in your stomach. Hunger makes us grouchy and
uncomfortable. Makes us want to look for food that will satisfy our cravings. No desire for a nap. Hunger
makes us get up and move around. And a spiritual hunger can move people to new places where potential
growth and change can happen.
Personally, I believe that we live in an age in which there’s a great spiritual hunger in our nation and world.
People are hungry for God and spirituality. Spiritual hunger can appear in different ways. Sometimes we don’t
recognize it as spiritual hunger. Spiritual hunger is a restlessness in one‘s soul, a longing for something
more. It’s feeling dissatisfied with life and even bored. I mean…what happens when we’re bored? We do
something to satisfy our cravings. We go out and eat. We go shopping. Buy a new big screen TV or
something. Deep down (whether we’re aware of it or not) there’s a spiritual hunger and if we really look deep
in our souls we begin to look for real food…God.
In the book of Psalms, David wrote many of his writings in the midst of soulful reflection and introspection.
Listen to what he wrote in Psalm 42: Verses 1 & 2: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants
for you, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God, when can I go and meet with God." What David is
saying here is that he recognizes his real need for God in his life.
So, there is a real spiritual hunger in our world today. People might not realize it or recognize it but it’s there.
And yet…with our own hunger we still have an adversary who would instead want us to look at other things or
people instead of God. Just like with Jesus in the wilderness…Satan plays with our hunger.
II. Attachments: Ever gotten a computer virus? Those critters get inside your computer hard drive and raise all
kinds of havoc. First time (and last time) I got a computer virus was through what they call an email
attachment. Someone in my family sent me an email with a cute little message…but unbeknownst to
myself… attached to this cute, authentic message was a computer virus. All I did was click on the icon or link
and BOOM…computer virus. It literally wiped out the entire hard drive on our computer. My sermon
preparation. Our finances. Gone! And like baptism…the washing away of sins…Tami and I had to erase
everything on our hard drive and start all over.
This is the reality of evil in our lives also. Everyday since the time I first became a Christian at age eighteen…I’
ve known about the battle that goes on within my own soul. Just like a virus…sometimes the virus of sin gets
the best of me. And that happens to all of us as followers of Christ. I do believe there is a dark side out there
that produces decoys and distractions that specialize in sidetracking you and I from God’s given purpose and
mission in our lives.
My friends, I truly believe that you are created for significance in life. God has some sort of great destiny in your
life. When you’re living within God’s purpose and will it’s the sweet spot of life. It’s like when you hit a golf ball
on the sweet spot of your club, the ball, almost on it’s own, just flies straight down the fairway.
But when you don’t hit the sweet spot you can still hit the ball…but it’s going to go left (a hook) or right (a
slice). And you’ll be yelling “Fore” warning all golfers that your wayward ball might be hitting someone’s
noggin. When you are living according to God’s call in your life you’re living out of the sweet spot. You are
living a life that honors and glorifies God. Just your existence will honor and glorify God. It will benefit others
and bring you joy.
And that’s how Satan can be so subtle. Like an email virus…the demonic can attach itself even to the call of
God in your life and suddenly manipulate and distort. The passion for significance and serving
God…becomes something else when we allow anything but godliness to influence us. Suddenly we are
driven for success and personal gratification. I mean…look at the temptations of Jesus. What does Satan
tempt Jesus to do? Jesus came into this world as the Messiah. He came into the world so that His life could
be a source of redemption. But what did Satan offer Jesus with the temptations? Success and personal
gratification.
This is an amazing time we live in. Technological advances have created a greater time for independence
and ego in our society. So many things can be specialized just for you or for me. Remember the days when
the family would go on a car trip and everyone had to hear whatever was on the radio? You might not even
liked what was on the radio but you had no other choice. Now…a family of four can go a car trip and each
person can have their own Ipod to listen to (with those little ear buds). A year or two ago…I saw a teenager
with her grandparents at Olive Garden eating lunch. Instead of having a conversation with her
grandparents…the teen was listening to her Ipod. I mean…hey…grandma and grandpa aren’t going to be
around forever…but listening to Lady GaGa is so much more important. In so many ways life has become so
ego-centered and our young people are understanding this very well.
In the business world today…to sell something…you have to market to the individuals you’re selling to. Even
churches are getting into the act. Churches decide what age group they’re after and format the worship to a
style that will attract that age group. Dell computers will customize a computer just for you. It’s so subtle but
we must be weary. We can become quite egocentric. And when people are egocentric…they see everything
through themselves. How will such and such affect them? Will it benefit me or be a big hassle. Yet, to follow
Christ…in which you’re trying to find yourself…you actually have to lose yourself.
Egocentric people are the dominant figures in the world. Egocentric Christians
become judgmental bullies around others. As Christians we are called as a people to surrender ourselves to
the Spirit of God. We are people of love and compassion.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, “Hate is not a family value”. Now, I know who that message is
pointed to and the reason why. But that‘s how the world sees some (so-called) well meaning Christians.
Because it is by their attitude that they appear to be bullies. Sad to say…but some Christian groups can be
down right mean. And that meanness comes from protecting what they believe belongs to them and a fear of
losing what they think they have. Role playing comes into play. Instead of authenticity, we act. And with playing
a role…people need props.
III. Props: A prop is what we use to create a reality other than the reality of who it is to be a Christian. Many
people work hard to create an image. It’s how a person defines oneself. People create an image out of what
they have. Their house, their car, their clothes. People will go in debt to live some sort of image. Others, make
their image out of their success and accomplishments. But where does Jesus fit into our personal
possessions, successes and ultimately our image?
Does our image come from what we have or do? Or does our identity come from following Christ? To go into
debt to create some sort of an image is frankly…a sin. When someone needs drugs to get high…that’s a sin.
It’s a distraction from the blessings of God. You see the ways of darkness can be subtle. We need to be
weary of the choices we make. Martin Luther said, “that you can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you
can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”
Lent is a season of repentance. It’s about ridding ourselves of everything that gets in the way of our journey
with God…the props. Pride. Greed. Envy.
For me…Lent is a time to look at all the props in my life that I’ve created to help me to live up to some sort of
image. It took me awhile to figure this out…but those things, those props can turn around and control me. And
believe me there are props in your life that you need to watch out for. Don’t allow those props to distract you
from the essential relationship of Jesus Christ in your life.
I want us to close with a time of prayer. This morning I want to offer up a prayer of repentance. During our
prayer…it’s a time to rid ourselves of those things that might be impeding in our journey with God.
Lord God, there was a reason that you led Jesus into the wild and this time of hunger and restlessness. We
ask you today for a holy restlessness, a godly hunger that will cause us to get up and move. To move toward
that incredible place of significance where we live out of the sweet spot of Your created purpose for our lives.
Don’t allow us to mask this hunger with demonic distractions of personal gratification, success, recognition
and status. Give us the courage to lose the pride for we want to live to honor You, bless others, and to
experience the joy that comes from Jesus. We pray in Jesus’ name, realizing our needs, our imperfections,
our failures, our deceits, our distractions. We also realize that we are Your children and You will never let us
go. We stand before You. Rid us of our lies, our deceits, our lack of forgiveness, our pride, our denial. Rid us
of these things…that we may be devoted to you…in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Good morning. Pretty interesting interpretation of the Temptation of Christ. Kind of “silent movie” style…“Jesus
in Suburbia”. We’re in week number two of this season of Lent and as I shared last week…we’re going to
look at Jesus’ experience in the wilderness where he was confronted for forty days with the temptations of
Satan. Last week we looked at the temptation of Christ from the Gospel of Mark and today we’re going to look
in the book of Luke chapter four.
Listen to Luke 4:1-4: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the
wilderness where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days and when
they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to
become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, one does not live by bread alone."
I. Hunger Pangs: The season of Lent for Christians is considered a time of serious reflection. Many followers
of Christ will give up something for Lent. Over the years, for me what I’ve given up has had to do with food. A
couple of years ago, I gave up French Fries, last year I decided to give up caffeinated drinks. Anyone here
decide to give up something for Lent? It’s sacrificing something that would be part of your normal life. It takes
discipline and out of that can come hunger pangs.
In today’s passage we notice that Jesus ended this period in the wilderness absolutely famished. When I
was preparing this sermon…I had just finished a really fine lunch and as I was sitting at my desk and starting
to write, and I began to yawn like crazy and got really sleepy. That ever happen to you in the afternoon after
lunch? But that’s what happens when we’re full and satisfied…we want to nap. Hunger creates discomfort.
When you’re hungry you can sense this deep growl in your stomach. Hunger makes us grouchy and
uncomfortable. Makes us want to look for food that will satisfy our cravings. No desire for a nap. Hunger
makes us get up and move around. And a spiritual hunger can move people to new places where potential
growth and change can happen.
Personally, I believe that we live in an age in which there’s a great spiritual hunger in our nation and world.
People are hungry for God and spirituality. Spiritual hunger can appear in different ways. Sometimes we don’t
recognize it as spiritual hunger. Spiritual hunger is a restlessness in one‘s soul, a longing for something
more. It’s feeling dissatisfied with life and even bored. I mean…what happens when we’re bored? We do
something to satisfy our cravings. We go out and eat. We go shopping. Buy a new big screen TV or
something. Deep down (whether we’re aware of it or not) there’s a spiritual hunger and if we really look deep
in our souls we begin to look for real food…God.
In the book of Psalms, David wrote many of his writings in the midst of soulful reflection and introspection.
Listen to what he wrote in Psalm 42: Verses 1 & 2: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants
for you, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God, when can I go and meet with God." What David is
saying here is that he recognizes his real need for God in his life.
So, there is a real spiritual hunger in our world today. People might not realize it or recognize it but it’s there.
And yet…with our own hunger we still have an adversary who would instead want us to look at other things or
people instead of God. Just like with Jesus in the wilderness…Satan plays with our hunger.
II. Attachments: Ever gotten a computer virus? Those critters get inside your computer hard drive and raise all
kinds of havoc. First time (and last time) I got a computer virus was through what they call an email
attachment. Someone in my family sent me an email with a cute little message…but unbeknownst to
myself… attached to this cute, authentic message was a computer virus. All I did was click on the icon or link
and BOOM…computer virus. It literally wiped out the entire hard drive on our computer. My sermon
preparation. Our finances. Gone! And like baptism…the washing away of sins…Tami and I had to erase
everything on our hard drive and start all over.
This is the reality of evil in our lives also. Everyday since the time I first became a Christian at age eighteen…I’
ve known about the battle that goes on within my own soul. Just like a virus…sometimes the virus of sin gets
the best of me. And that happens to all of us as followers of Christ. I do believe there is a dark side out there
that produces decoys and distractions that specialize in sidetracking you and I from God’s given purpose and
mission in our lives.
My friends, I truly believe that you are created for significance in life. God has some sort of great destiny in your
life. When you’re living within God’s purpose and will it’s the sweet spot of life. It’s like when you hit a golf ball
on the sweet spot of your club, the ball, almost on it’s own, just flies straight down the fairway.
But when you don’t hit the sweet spot you can still hit the ball…but it’s going to go left (a hook) or right (a
slice). And you’ll be yelling “Fore” warning all golfers that your wayward ball might be hitting someone’s
noggin. When you are living according to God’s call in your life you’re living out of the sweet spot. You are
living a life that honors and glorifies God. Just your existence will honor and glorify God. It will benefit others
and bring you joy.
And that’s how Satan can be so subtle. Like an email virus…the demonic can attach itself even to the call of
God in your life and suddenly manipulate and distort. The passion for significance and serving
God…becomes something else when we allow anything but godliness to influence us. Suddenly we are
driven for success and personal gratification. I mean…look at the temptations of Jesus. What does Satan
tempt Jesus to do? Jesus came into this world as the Messiah. He came into the world so that His life could
be a source of redemption. But what did Satan offer Jesus with the temptations? Success and personal
gratification.
This is an amazing time we live in. Technological advances have created a greater time for independence
and ego in our society. So many things can be specialized just for you or for me. Remember the days when
the family would go on a car trip and everyone had to hear whatever was on the radio? You might not even
liked what was on the radio but you had no other choice. Now…a family of four can go a car trip and each
person can have their own Ipod to listen to (with those little ear buds). A year or two ago…I saw a teenager
with her grandparents at Olive Garden eating lunch. Instead of having a conversation with her
grandparents…the teen was listening to her Ipod. I mean…hey…grandma and grandpa aren’t going to be
around forever…but listening to Lady GaGa is so much more important. In so many ways life has become so
ego-centered and our young people are understanding this very well.
In the business world today…to sell something…you have to market to the individuals you’re selling to. Even
churches are getting into the act. Churches decide what age group they’re after and format the worship to a
style that will attract that age group. Dell computers will customize a computer just for you. It’s so subtle but
we must be weary. We can become quite egocentric. And when people are egocentric…they see everything
through themselves. How will such and such affect them? Will it benefit me or be a big hassle. Yet, to follow
Christ…in which you’re trying to find yourself…you actually have to lose yourself.
Egocentric people are the dominant figures in the world. Egocentric Christians
become judgmental bullies around others. As Christians we are called as a people to surrender ourselves to
the Spirit of God. We are people of love and compassion.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, “Hate is not a family value”. Now, I know who that message is
pointed to and the reason why. But that‘s how the world sees some (so-called) well meaning Christians.
Because it is by their attitude that they appear to be bullies. Sad to say…but some Christian groups can be
down right mean. And that meanness comes from protecting what they believe belongs to them and a fear of
losing what they think they have. Role playing comes into play. Instead of authenticity, we act. And with playing
a role…people need props.
III. Props: A prop is what we use to create a reality other than the reality of who it is to be a Christian. Many
people work hard to create an image. It’s how a person defines oneself. People create an image out of what
they have. Their house, their car, their clothes. People will go in debt to live some sort of image. Others, make
their image out of their success and accomplishments. But where does Jesus fit into our personal
possessions, successes and ultimately our image?
Does our image come from what we have or do? Or does our identity come from following Christ? To go into
debt to create some sort of an image is frankly…a sin. When someone needs drugs to get high…that’s a sin.
It’s a distraction from the blessings of God. You see the ways of darkness can be subtle. We need to be
weary of the choices we make. Martin Luther said, “that you can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you
can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”
Lent is a season of repentance. It’s about ridding ourselves of everything that gets in the way of our journey
with God…the props. Pride. Greed. Envy.
For me…Lent is a time to look at all the props in my life that I’ve created to help me to live up to some sort of
image. It took me awhile to figure this out…but those things, those props can turn around and control me. And
believe me there are props in your life that you need to watch out for. Don’t allow those props to distract you
from the essential relationship of Jesus Christ in your life.
I want us to close with a time of prayer. This morning I want to offer up a prayer of repentance. During our
prayer…it’s a time to rid ourselves of those things that might be impeding in our journey with God.
Lord God, there was a reason that you led Jesus into the wild and this time of hunger and restlessness. We
ask you today for a holy restlessness, a godly hunger that will cause us to get up and move. To move toward
that incredible place of significance where we live out of the sweet spot of Your created purpose for our lives.
Don’t allow us to mask this hunger with demonic distractions of personal gratification, success, recognition
and status. Give us the courage to lose the pride for we want to live to honor You, bless others, and to
experience the joy that comes from Jesus. We pray in Jesus’ name, realizing our needs, our imperfections,
our failures, our deceits, our distractions. We also realize that we are Your children and You will never let us
go. We stand before You. Rid us of our lies, our deceits, our lack of forgiveness, our pride, our denial. Rid us
of these things…that we may be devoted to you…in Jesus’ name. Amen.