The First Sunday in Lent, 2014. Matthew 4:1-11

Invocavit Sunday, The First Sunday in Lent, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #148   Lord Jesus Christ               3:61

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 146               Lamb of God                        3:62

Jesus Was Tempted

The Hymn # 153                 Stricken Smitten                  3:63

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 154     Alas and Did My Savior             3:14

KJV 2 Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

KJV Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

First Sunday In Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, inasmuch as the adversary doth continually afflict us, and as a roaring lion doth walk about, seeking to devour us: We beseech Thee for the sake of the suffering and death of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, to help us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and to strengthen our hearts by Thy word, that our enemy may not prevail over us, but that we may evermore abide in Thy grace, and be preserved unto everlasting life; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Jesus Was Tempted

KJV Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Jesus' human nature is emphasized in this lesson, which is a lesson for all of us. The Gospel teaches us that Jesus could be tempted and yet He did not sin. The story also shows us why He understands our temptations and weakness. As Hebrews says, He was tempted in every way we are, and yet He did not sin.

This passage is an important beginning for the Lenten Sundays, because the modern attitude is to have Christianity remove trials and temptations, giving everyone a smooth and carefree life. If anything, the Christian faith adds to our problems short-term, because faith incites hatred and opposition in unbelievers, especially among the clergy who are apostates.

The Biblical statement is - He spared not His Son. And yet, the modern entertainers teach that faith means removing the cross, not bearing the cross.

God led His Son into the wilderness to be tempted. Luther grew up on saint stories, which are retold in new versions today. Instead of men and women who have no struggles, they are businessmen and celebrities whose fortunes are blessed by God because of their self-esteem or purpose-driven life.

So it is rather startling to hear in Luther's sermons that the sufferings of the saints (the historic figures) are there to teach us that no one is spared. This sounds like a bad recruiting method, but the moderns are ones driving everyone away.

By teaching the Christian faith without the cross. they are preparing people to break for the exists as soon as trouble comes along - especially when it is connected to the Word of God.

True saints suffer for the Gospel and thereby spread the Gospel. The victims of entertainment-worship never really hear the Gospel, quickly tired of the entertainment, and leave at the first sign of trouble from the Word of God.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

First of all, Jesus was tempted by the lack of normal human needs. He was hungry, but not thirsty, which means He was near fresh water. Deserts are not all sand and heat, but also include places known for their water supply. The book The Sand Arabs tells about the area of Saudi where there is so little water than the population is almost zero. And yet people traveled across the wilderness and had places where some water could be found. If it was dried up in that spot, there was no relief to be found.

However, having water and no food is not pleasant. Every drink of water lands in the empty stomach as a reminder of no food. Weakness is bound to follow, since staying cool demands calories to burn.

This remains one of our chief temptations. What if we do not have enough to take care of our basic needs? The fear can promote a lot of actions that are not in harmony with the faith, especially when people (clergy and lay leaders) see that being unfaithful is rewarded generously with material blessings.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The first temptation is one concerning faith in God. We see it from the perspective of Christ, but it can be cast in other words just as easily. "If you really are a believer, then God will take care of your needs immediately."

That is a great temptation, because it is easier to dwell on these matters in our minds than to suffer them in real life. Therefore, the contrary assumption is made - God does not really care about me, so faith in Him must be fruitless. He does not care about these so-called small matters, but they seem to be taken care of for the ones who go along, who say nothing, who actively and knowingly work against the Word.

On a national scale it is even more shocking. With selective vision one can see the enormous wealth of the worst criminals in America, men without worries about human justice. Divine justice is another matter.

The answer is that we live by the Word of God, not by bread alone. If we start with bread, we end with bread and there is no concern for the Word of God. If we start with the Word of God, there will be bread and other blessings, enough to have and to share.

We had a little episode after the thunder-sleet. Once again the driveways and walks were horrible. Kids were playing in the snow, which was fun. Our infirm neighbors did not even go out to get the mail. I brought it to them and started on their driveway and walks. The sleet made removal tough. I was hoping older kids would help, because early removal makes the rest melt away in the sun. A bit later a group of kids were working on the driveway and the sleet covered cars. It was fun to see the couple out in the car doing the errands they had to do.

That was just a matter of sharing time rather than money. It made for mutual happiness, in giving and receiving, which is God's intention. Likewise our high school  class pitched in to help a Viet Nam vet and a couple going through massive cancer surgery and therapy. In both cases there was great, shocked joy from the recipients and equal happiness from those who gave.

When one man, now passed away, was blocked from giving to others, he said, "Don't take away my blessing. It is more blessed to give than to receive."

A direct result of faith is giving to others, giving our time, our labor, and our money when needed. As one layman said long ago, "Giving draws people together, on both sides." That is God's intention, which is clearly recorded in the Scriptures.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 

This defines temptation even more sharply, directly challenging God to be God. There are so many examples today of people tempting God, demanding that He prove His power and compassion - both at once - although they are revealed in His Word.

Firewalking was a fad that promised to make people more confident. It certainly tempted God, especially when people burned their feet badly and became more timid. 

Tempting God is the same as expressing lack of faith in God. You may be powerful but you do not love me - Or - You may love me but you are not powerful enough to help me.

To have faith in God means to be patient and not make demands. God answers in His way and not in ours. I tell my education classes, full of teachers, that I got no bites on being an educator at our new museum, which seemed exciting. But that cleared the way for what I really enjoy doing. And this is also true - we end up with more than we can imagine. It is not only very good in terms of satisfaction, but it is the fun and worthwhile part of each day, working with younger Christian college kids.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

History shows that worship of Satan means having it all, because he is the temporary Prince of this World. Hitler had whatever he wanted, as Musolini did. Stalin was so hated that his own hencemen rejoiced when he collapsed. 

In the cafeteria Friday I talked about one of the richest men in the world. He died of smoke inhalation in Monte Carlo while his wife stayed in the next-door apartment. His army of guardians was strangely absent. 

Another one was tossed out into the Atlantic from his personal jet - like yesterday's garbage - clearly by someone close to him.

God continues to show us how Satan's grip and rewards only lasts a short time. Serving God means enjoying His presence now and forever.