Luke 4 Testing

 The Way Forward

“A Way Forward”  Luke 4:1-13, 1st Sunday in Lent

    The way forward is not always so.  If we wish to grow spiritually in this time we should take stock.  We should inventory our household of faith , individually as well as corporately. Honesty is required.  As one preacher said, “ Lent is the season to confront reality”  ( in “ Anglican Digest”, Spring 2011 by Rev. Thomas M. Kryder-Reid) ( He also relates this….)  This reminds me of the story I heard of a certain church usher. “

  One Sunday morning an elderly woman walked into a local country church.  The friendly usher greeted her at the door. ‘ Good morning, ma’am. Would you like to sit?’  ‘ The front row, please,’ she replied.  The usher said, ‘ You don’t want to do that.  We have a visiting preacher today who is really boring.’  The woman, bristling at the comment, asked, ‘ Do you know who I am?’  The usher said, ‘ No ma’ am, who are you?’  She replied, ‘ I am the preacher’s mother!’  The usher asked, ‘ Do you know who I am?’ She said,’ No.’ He said,’ Good.’

    The way forward as Chuck Swindoll said may be three steps forward, two steps back.  I trust you and I are moving at least in the right direction to do God’s will.  If not then this time of year as we approach Good Friday and Easter is a good time to do just that.  In our Gospel reading for today we hear of our Lord going through several temptations or testings.  He is our example of course as He sees a way forward despite these challenges from the devil.

     I think we should be careful to note the reality of temptation and the devil’s role in that too.  He does go about as a “ roaring lion (I Peter 5:8) walks about , seeking whom he may devour.”  This is not just an allegory. We are constantly to be aware of our spiritual battle. Our Lord “ full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” Luke 4:1  My original title for this was, “Looking at the Bigger Goals Despite the Challenges" . That is what Jesus did.  He saw the temptations of the devil for what they were, things to get Him to avoid God’s purposes for His life and ministry.   

    We must see these things as well as that for what they are.  How did Jesus avoid the temptations?  He did not .  He was tempted it says in the Book of Hebrews 4:14 ..  “ (He) was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  We must realize that experience temptation is not the sin.  The sin is saying yes to the temptation and no to God’s Word .When the difficulties and testings hit us we too must try and model how Jesus handled them .  He did not let the devil take Scripture and quote it to him without sense.  “ If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down…for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee…”  In other words, trust God and He will protect you the devil said. But this last temptation was the devil’s way to get Jesus to say to God, “ I will do whatever I want, and you must rescue me , God.”  That is not the way God works. 

James 1:12 and I Corinthians 10:13 are helpful here.  " God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you able; but with the temptation also will make a way to escape ( exit, or the way forward), that you may be able to bear it."  The assistance of others , the Church, the books of the saints in times past, the experience of a wiser more mature person are all part of this .

Look at how our Lord handled the testings He was subjected to.  He is our example.  We need bread but we need the bread of heaven as well to give our lives meaning and substance. Look at the test and who is asking you and I to do something.  Waiting and praying are a better answer than to do something a devil or an ignorant person wants us to do.  Go ahead and let yourself go off the mountain ignoring the ways of God , and then saying, " Ok, Lord, I put myself in this situation but not for the right reasons....and that is wrong."  Of course He can deliver us but instant gratification or it looks too good, it probably is fake.  The other testing is just to give up all pretense and fall down and worship the devil for He will give you things and opportunities. Again, this one is too obvious, for eternity is longer than life here for one.

    From 1380- 1471 there lived a Christian who edited and perhaps wrote much of The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis.  He wrote temptations.  Thomas said that temptations can “ be useful to us even though they cause us …pain.  …They can make us humble.”  He says this about how the devil tempts us to fail, “  We will do better in dealing with temptations if we keep an eye on them in the very beginning.  …Meet them at the door as soon as they knock, and do not let them in.”  Lastly he says this about temptations:

  “  ‘But, you may say, ‘ what about those who find such pleasure and delight when they give in to temptations?’  To be sure, there is pleasure for them, but how long does it last?  It is like smoke----it vanishes quickly.  …The very thing they think will bring them joy will bring them sorrow….Because of their blindness and numbness they may never see or feel how miserable they are.  They may not even know that their soul is slowly dying.”

 

   In this time of the 40 days we have to take inventory.  Look at areas of our shortcomings and sins.  What habits do we need to discard?  When I was in the military my lay leader said he wanted to do something special for Ash Wednesday.  I said, “ What is it?”  He said, “ I want us to write down all of our failures and difficulties from the last year on a piece of paper.”  I replied, “ Are you serious? That would be a long list, and I hope no-one looks at it.”  He said, “ What we will do is write them down and then we will go outside the chapel and burn them. For God does not remember them anymore.  He forgives us, and now we need to move on in that forgiveness.”  It was a powerful moment and I have never forgotten that !

     When we come short we too should remember God’s love for us despite our failures and the failures of others in our lives.  He has called us to holiness.  He has called us to a new life. 

I thought of a hymn that began ringing in my ears as I thought on the testings of our Lord, " He Who Would Valiant Be" ( the hymn originally was written by John Bunyan & sung at the funerals of Winston Churchill & Margaret Thatcher.

He who would valiant be

He who would valiant be

'gainst all disaster,

let him in constancy

follow the Master.

There's no discouragement

shall make him once relent

his first avowed intent

to be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round

with dismal stories

do but themselves confound

his strength the more is.

No foes shall stay his might;

though he with giants fight,

he will make good his right

to be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, thou dost defend

us with thy Spirit,

We know we at the end,

shall life inherit.

Then fancies flee away!

I'll fear not what men say,

I'll labor night and day

to be a pilgrim.

“ In the Name of the Father , and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”   Amen.