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LENT 1
YEAR A GENESIS 2:15-17;
3:1-7 ROMANS
5:12-19 MATTHEW
4:1-11 FEBRUARY 9, 10,
2008 Genesis 3:1 Now
the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say,
‘You shall not eat from any tree in the
garden’?” “Evil may be wrong, but it is not
stupid, at least not at its most powerful. It does not deal in honest,
straightforward, and fair competition. It fights dirty and deceptively,
using every clever, double-binding trick to trap us and rob us of our
humanity and our eternal birthright.” This quote by Kenneth A.
Halstead, in his book From Stuck to Unstuck: Overcoming Congregational
Impasse is a commentary on church life. It is about the church that
sometimes gets sidetracked because of what seems to be the truth but is
actually a deception. In our first
lesson today we read about the serpent being more crafty than any other
wild animal. The serpent in this lesson is the embodiment of Satan who
seeks to divide, conquer and devour those most dear to God. We read in
that first lesson and in the verses from Genesis 2 not included in the
reading that God created the man and the woman and they were created
without sin. They were created with the intimate touch of God and created
to be in relationship with God. God gave them the gift of fruits and
vegetables in the garden except they were not to eat from the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. The man and the woman were pure and holy as
they communed with God in the garden. God told them the truth about the
tree. On the day you eat of that fruit you shall surely die.
Satan cannot
tell the truth and his motive is never about loving and caring for God’s
people. He wants them to fall away from their relationship with God and he
wants them to be split from God for eternity. In this lesson today we
heard the serpent casting doubt on the woman. Satan knows the word of God
but has no faith. He knows what God said about eating fruit from the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He knows that God said they would surely
die if they were to eat the fruit from that tree. “Did God say…”?
You and I hear
Satan in one way or another. We might hear Satan in the music we listen to
or the movies we watch. We might hear Satan in the places we work and in
the places we choose to hang out. When Satan speaks to us it is to cast
doubt on what God has said. It is to lead us away from the word of God and
the ways of God. He wants us to question whether we heard the word of God
accurately. He wants us to question God’s word. When we listen to what
Satan is saying and when we trust in his reasoning we are more likely to
slip away from the teaching and the truth of God. Satan knows our
vulnerabilities. He knows where we are weak and he attacks our
weakness.
Matthew 4:3,
4 The tempter came and
said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become
loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of
God.’” Jesus is like
you and me. He got hungry and thirsty. He got tired. He would rather not
experience pain if he did not have to and he wanted to be popular. Like
you and me, Jesus was tempted by Satan. He was tempted in his weakness.
Jesus had been in the wilderness 40 days and 40 nights. He was fasting
meaning he had gone without food for that time so he was hungry. Satan
attacked at the hunger experienced by Jesus. Did God really say you are
the beloved Son? If you are the Son turn these stones unto bread and eat.
There is nothing wrong with eating when you are hungry is there?” The
words of Satan make sense especially if you are hungry. God said that all
food is considered OK for consumption. It makes sense if you have the
ability to change stones into bread, an ability Jesus had. It makes sense
accept for one detail. It was Satan saying it and Jesus must never accept
anything Satan offers. The purpose for
Jesus being in the wilderness is to have communion with God. He was lead
there by the Holy Spirit to contemplate his ministry and the salvation of
the world. He was not there to eat or to be served or to serve himself but
to be in communion with God. Many Christian people set times aside to be
in communion with God. They declare a time of fasting. Some set the time
at fasting for a meal while others fast for a day. The purpose for the
fast is to be in communion with God. When you are focusing on God you put
other things aside. You do not focus on how hungry you will get or how
hungry you are getting but on being in communion with
God. Satan will seek
to distract you when you set this time aside. If you are at work someone
might bring a dozen fresh donuts by and offer you one. They may invite you
to lunch and offer to pay the bill. Satan may also seek to distract you by
getting you to think about your stomach that is growling and how much time
it will be until you get to eat. Satan does not want you getting closer to
God. The closer you get to God the more difficult it is for Satan to lure
you away. Jesus met the
temptation with the word of God from Deuteronomy 8. “It is written, ‘One does not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of
God.’” The way we fight
evil is to know the word of God. It seems that I speak often about people
of God being in a Bible Study group. I have talked many times about the
importance of studying especially if you are a church leader. If you will
not study God’s word you have no defense against Satan. The only power you
have over the power of evil is the word of God. Each time Jesus was
tempted he quoted from the word of God. When tempted to turn stones into
bread he quoted scriptures. When Satan asked him to test God by jumping he
quotes scripture. When Satan asked Jesus to bow down and worship Satan
Jesus quoted scripture. If you and I are going to fight Satan we must know
the scriptures. We cannot quote from the scriptures if we have not read
the Bible or studied its contents. We claim the name of Jesus and we speak
his words against Satan. Matthew
4:8-11 Again, the devil took
him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you
will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan!
for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then
the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on
him. Many of us have been following the
presidential candidates as they make their way around the country. When
they were in It might be as
simple as a 14 year old claiming to be a 17 year old or someone bragging
about things that are not healthy just because it makes them look
good. It is telling God that
God made a mistake in creating you the way you are. It is giving in to
Satan’s lie that says you need to be a certain way before you can be
acceptable. Satan is a liar who wants to devour God’s people by deceiving
them. The day will come when each of us must reveal the truth about who we
are. As God’s people
we worship the Lord with our entire lives. We are pleased that God created
us this way and we trust completely in God’s promise of new life. Jesus
said no to Satan and so must we. We do not listen to his lies and we will
not be devoured by his evil. The truth is that Satan had no authority to
give Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world. Jesus is the King and he
would rule the world only by enduring the
cross. Satan is a liar
and a thief. Do not listen to his lies and do not allow him to steal your
life. Jesus is Lord and he is your Savior. During this season of Lent be
sure to trust in God’s wisdom and truth. Trust that God’s word is true.
Trust in the Lord and have life. AMEN
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