February 14, 2016                                                                            Text:  Luke 4:1-13

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Tell me, have you ever heard any of these statements?  If you let me use the car I’ll put gas in it.  If you don’t give me back my ball I am going to pound you.  If the weather is bad and I can’t go fishing or golfing or to my kid’s ballgame I’ll be in church.  If you love me I will give you what you want.  If you can’t be good then you are going to bed.

These are conditional sentences.  Each sentence has a promised result “if” the desired activity is done or not done.  The big IF might get us into trouble like cheating on a test, having sex before marriage or playing games with our eternal welfare.

Today the devil comes to Jesus with some conditional sentences.  Let’s see how the Savior deals with . . .

“THE BIG IF’S”

The first devil-contrived IF sentence is this.  “IF you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”  Oh, so clever, well played Beelzebub.  Jesus hasn’t eaten in forty days.  Notice the question, “IF you are the Son of God…”  If he doesn’t do what Satan says then he must not be the Son of God.  If he does what Satan asks then he will be obeying the devil.  Satan wants Jesus to distrust his Father and do the will of Satan.

Ever been tempted like this?  Either way you look bad in the eyes of someone.  If you do what your friends ask, your parents might be angry.  If you don’t do what your friends want, then you look bad in their eyes.  Oh, that crafty Lucifer.  Remember he has had practice since the Garden of Eden.  He wants you to doubt the goodness of God.

Satan now comes at Jesus with more ammunition.  “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.  IF you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  Jesus must worship Satan to receive this.  What a crock of lies.  Satan has no power to give the kingdoms of the world.  The Lord as Creator has the world in his hands.

What a liar this guy.  He lied to Adam and Eve that they would be like God.  How has that been going these last 4,000 years?  He promised Judas thirty pieces of silver.  He was so happy with this gift that he went and hung himself.   The deception never works.

Satan may tempt us to think that if we work long enough and hard enough we will succeed and get all the things of this world that we want.  This IF sentence might be true but at what price?  Your marriage?  Your children?  Your faith?  Satan wants you to be envious of others.  He wants your eyes removed from Christ and on the earthly goods that others have.  We fight back with the Word of God.  “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”

The last temptation has Satan telling Jesus to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple because the Lord’s angels will protect Him.  This babbling blowhard even quotes Scripture.  Except he leaves a few parts out.  He twists it to fit his thinking.  Satan wants Jesus to think that no matter what he does he will be safe.

Ever get caught with this one?  Don’t take your medicine, it won’t hurt you.  Join the party crowd, after all what can really happen?  I don’t need to worship every Sunday.  I was baptized and confirmed, I must be God’s child, right?  The devil wants you thinking wrong is right.  After all, you are forgiven right?  Sin boldly.  Not so fast, my friend.  Sin does matter to God.  Sin does matter to society and the direction we are going.  Sin does matter to your eternal destination.

This Prince of Darkness loses.  None of this worked on the King of Kings.  Jesus won!  Even as we lose battles with our archenemy we know that Jesus defeated this pompous imposter.  Listen to Romans 5:19.  “Through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”  At the cross Jesus said the one word that takes the pain of our temptation away – “finished.”  Right there and then the devil was done.  He still has power but it is limited.  Jesus stands in the ring with his hands held high.

Those same hands were nailed and bled for our salvation.  The obedient Christ did the will of the Father as he was crucified, died and rose again.  He lives!  We never tire of the Lenten story because it is our story.  Because He lives, we live, forever, in the blessed home of heaven.  Jesus triumphs over Satan.

Jesus used Scripture to overcome these powerful IF temptations.  We too rely on the Word of God when we are tempted by the big IF’s.  We thank Jesus for His unconditional love that has saved us.  That’s no big IF, that’s a promise from our Savior.

Amen.

 

Feb. 7, 2016 – Transfiguration                                                        Text:  Luke 9:28-36

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

A couple of years ago The Pantagraph ran a cartoon on their editorial page that had a guy sitting outside playing on his computer.  There was a man walking by with a dog who stopped to look at his sign which said, “The Religion of ME – Convert Now or suffer my Viral Rants.”  Everybody today has an opinion.  Everybody has a voice.  You can rant and rave all you want on social media.  Most of it comes down to ME and what I want.

The world began with one voice and once God spoke creation came into being.  Then Adam and Eve are created and there are more voices.  God tells them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they will die.  Well God’s voice does not resonate with them.  Instead, they are persuaded by another voice that would lead them into the captivity of sin, death, and the power of the devil.  The battle had begun.  Two competing voices.  It’s Transfiguration Sunday and we are on the mountain with Jesus and the disciples and we have to answer this question . . .

“WHAT VOICE ARE YOU LISTENING TO?”

Notice all the voices that are speaking to us today.  The voices of newscasters and political pundits who have moved on from Iowa to New Hampshire.  The voices of government leaders and YouTubers.  The voices of bloggers and political candidates.  The voices of songwriters and actors.  Today you will be inundated with the voices of sportscasters who have to fill hours and hours before the big game is played.  By tonight I am sure I will know what Peyton Manning had for breakfast and what size socks he is wearing.  It all reminds me of a Cheap trick song from the 1980’s, “the voices inside my head are driving me insane.’

Take a moment and account for the voices you hear each day and consider what they are saying.  Consider also where the voice is coming from.  Is this the voice of God, or is this a voice that will lead you into the captivity of sin, death, and the power of the devil.

Discerning between the array of voices that are encouraging us to think, feel, behave, and believe in certain ways is important.  Consider the scene of Peter, John, and James with Jesus on the mount.  There is much to see, the appearance of Jesus’s face is altered, his clothes are sparkling with light, and with him are Moses and Elijah.  But listen:  listen carefully to what is being said and who is saying it.  Notice the contrast between Peter, who wants to build tents and the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus to be the chosen one.  These are two very different reactions.  Peter’s reaction is filled with misunderstandings.  Peter thinks it is good to stay on the mount, so he suggests that three tents be built.

While he is speaking, Peter is interrupted by another voice.  “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (v. 35b)  There is a special connection between the One speaking and the present imperative of listening.  When God says, “listen to him!” he is not just speaking to the disciples, but He is speaking to us.  The voices of Moses and Elijah from the Old Testament are important but Jesus speaks with greater authority.  Jesus is the chosen one that was foretold (Deut. 18:15-20).  Jesus is the light to the nations (Is. 42:1-7).  Jesus is the Word made flesh from John, chapter 1.

The voice from the cloud clearly states that they are to listen to Jesus and only to Jesus.  “And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.” (v. 36a)  The Old Testament figures are gone; they had completed their service of pointing to Christ.  The kingdom of God was now here in Jesus as the voice of God proclaimed.  And notice the response of the three disciples:  silence.  They did not speak but they listened.  And maybe that is the point.  Do more listening to God’s voice and less talking.

God’s voice created you.  God’s voice through the Pastor baptized you as a child of God.  The Lord’s voice speaks to you daily with forgiveness and peace and comfort.  Someday that voice will welcome you to your eternal home.  Just imagine what our world would be like if we all listened to the voice of Jesus instead of all the clamoring, clanging voices that fill our heads.  “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10)

Lent begins this Wednesday and we have even more opportunities to hear the voice of our Savior.  He is going to speak in the garden, and before the Jewish and Roman leaders, in the Upper Room and from the cross.  What He is going to say will be life-changing for you and me.  And the biggest voice will thunder on Easter morning, the competition will be over, Christ is declared the winner and what joy will fill our hearts.  So take time to listen.  Follow the only voice that leads to life and eternal victory – “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

Amen.