Luke 4; 1 to 13

Luke 4; 1 to 13

In today’s gospel reading we meet a very important biblical character who doesn’t often make a centre stage appearance.

He’s sometimes mentioned as being there in the backgound but we rarely get to see him in action. I’m talking of course about the devil or Satan.

The bible teaches us that Satan is a created being – a powerful fallen angel who lead a rebellion in heaven and was cast down to the earth by God - along with a third of the heavenly host, who rebelled with him.

Satan and his followers now live in opposition against God and those who seek to follow him.

So whether we realise it or not, we all live in a world that as well as being inhabited by physical beings is also populated by spiritual beings.

Thus Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians, that : “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

So there is a spiritual battle being fought in the world between the kingdom of God - the kingdom of light, and the kingdom of darkness; and unfortunately for us, the souls of human beings are the ultimate prize.

On one side is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and numerous angelic beings encouraging us initially to come to believe in the Lord Jesus, so our souls may be saved, and then to serve him so that his kingdom can be extended.

On the other is Satan and his demonic followers creating fear, confusion, and doubt, and encouraging people away from God, towards death and destruction.

It’s an unequal battle as God is infinitely more powerful than Satan. Satan as a created being, a fallen angel with a spiritual body, can only be in one place at one time, unlike God who is omnipresent or everywhere. 

A normal individual Christian is therefore most unlikely to ever encounter Satan himself, although we will encounter other demonic beings or evil spirits even though we cannot see them.

Also Satan and his followers have limited knowledge and intelligence and importantly they cannot read our minds or see what we are thinking,

Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians – “who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him?”

Only we ourselves and God know what we are thinking at any particular time.

Now I think it’s important to have a balanced view about the devil. He and his followers are undoubtedly real and they can affect our lives and the lives of those around us – but it would be foolish to blame every negative thought or experience on the devil.

Likewise it would be foolish to discount his presence all together.

In today’s gospel reading we see Satan doing his best to destroy Jesus’ relationship with his Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit.

Luke tells us that Jesus is tempted for forty days by the devil. No doubt during this time he tried every conceivable trick to break Jesus’ relationship of total trust in and obedience to his Heavenly Father.

We are told of three temptations. Having fasted, Jesus was obviously very hungry so the devil tempts him to turn a stone into bread.

Perhaps he whispers the suggestion into his ear and then tries to justify it.

After all what harm can it do. Surely it’s not sinful to feed yourself if you’re starving hungry – and you are starving hungry.

You’ve got the power to do it so why not use it.

But Jesus resists the temptation to not trust in his Heavenly Father’s providence and quotes a verse of scripture at him – telling him that there are more important things in life than just eating bread.

Next Satan effectively tries to get Jesus to give up his mission to save mankind. He shows him all the kingdoms of the world – and says you can have all this straight away – now - if you just follow me.

Why go through all this hardship when you can have the whole world if you just come over to my side.

But Jesus again resists the temptation and quotes another verse of scripture at him about 

only worshipping and serving God.

Finally Satan takes Jesus up to a very high place – the pinnacle of the temple and encourages him to jump off.

After all it is written that God will send his angels to catch you and if He really cares about you, you’ll be fine.

Jesus quotes another verse of scripture about not putting God to the test, and eventually Satan leaves him until another opportune time to tempt him arises.

And Satan – and by this I mean any evil spiritual being - will use similar tactics with us.

He will plant negative thoughts and ideas into our minds and seek to tempt us away from God - initially to keep us from becoming Christians and once we have become Christians, to keep us from serving God and being effective disciples.

If you’re not yet a Christian realise that the last thing in the world Satan wants is for you to become one, because he knows that the second you repent and submit your life to Christ, his right to your life will be broken - forever.

When we become Christians God transfers us from the kingdom of darkness to his kingdom of light.

As Paul puts it in his letter to the Colossians,  he rescues us from the dominion of darkness and brings us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

We become God’s children and the spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us.

Once you have chosen to cease rebellion against God and to follow Christ your soul is safe – but until that time Satan will seek to keep you from finding a relationship with Jesus.

As we see in today’s gospel reading, the devil seeks to encourage us to make wrong decisions - although he cannot do anything about our free will.

So we may experience thoughts like - Why go to church – what a waste of your weekend. 

There’s so much else you could be doing.

And what would people think if you became a Christian? What would your friends think? 

They’ll think you’ve become a religious extremist. Is that what you really want?

Or he may seek to lull us into a false sense of security. You lead a good life and you’re a nice person – you’ll be fine. All this talk of being saved. Really it’s quite undignified.

Of course once you have decided to follow Christ the last thing Satan wants is for you to be a fruitful Christian who helps lead other people to Christ.

Again, he will do his best – as he tried with Jesus - to disrupt your walk with God and to cause you to focus on yourself and the world.

He will whisper lies into your life to cause you to be fearful and unproductive.

Do you really think God would use someone like you to serve him?

You’re not good enough to serve God. I mean look at your life. Call yourself Holy. And anyway you don’t have the knowledge or expertise to serve him.

Or perhaps you’ve sinned again. You know that God wont tolerate this. He’ll give up on you and abandon you if you carry on like this.

Satan is referred to in the scripture as the Father of lies and we are told that lying is his native tongue.

This is why Jesus used verses from scripture – God’s truth - to counter Satan’s lies.

And this is why it is so important for us to read our bibles and to know what is says.

We can then counter these negative thoughts and fears and lies with the truth of God’s word.

We will see that as Christians we are holy and redeemed children of God who are able to serve him and who in fact, -although we may feel weak are actually strong, because God can work through us more effectively when we have to rely on Him.

We will see that God will never leave or forsake us but that he will graciously forgive us as we confess our sins.

Furthermore we will find that as Christians we have authority over the devil and can tell him to depart and leave us alone in Jesus name.

In Luke’s gospel Jesus tells us; “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.”

As well as discouraging people from finding and serving God, Satan delights genreally in death, destruction, discord, and despair.

He encourages people everywhere to indulge their sinful desires as he knows the more entangled we get in sin, the harder it is to break free.

In Isaiah chapter 35 we read: “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; …No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there.”

Picture the highway of holiness as a wide clear straight brightly lit path, but with woods on either side.

If we seek to lead morally upright lives and avoid sin as much as we can, we will remain on the highway of holiness, and find that our path in life is not so open to being influenced by the devil.

However the devil as we all know, is keen to lure us off the straight and narrow, and temptations are bound to arise.

It is not without reason that the Lord’s prayer includes the supplication to lead us not in to temptation and to deliver us from evil.

If we succumb to temptation, and start to leave the highway of holiness and indulge ungodly ways we will find that we start to walk along the edge of the wood. The light here is partially blocked by the trees and the going gets tougher.

If we continue to give way to temptation and start to persistently embrace ungodly practices, we find ourselves getting further away from the highway of holiness and going further into the woods.

Here the trees are thicker and the light is getting blocked; Brambles catch our clothes and life can get very dark.

Most importantly, the deeper we go into the woods, the more we find that we have opened our lives up to the influence of evil spirits.

Persistent drug taking or drinking or looking at pornography or occult practices or gambling etc, can eventually lead to bondages or addictions that are hard to break.

This may sound a dark picture but the gospel is that Jesus, by the power of the cross has overcome all the power of the evil one and that no matter how black things have got, he can rescue us and deliver us.

The story of Legion in Luke chapter 8 demonstrates this. Legion was possessed by numerous evil spirits but Jesus set him free with a word of command.

For a Christian the way back onto the highway of holiness is by confessing our sin, repenting, and rebuking any evil spirits that may have been influencing us.

As I’ve said, every Christian has the authority to tell evil spirits to get lost, although the effectiveness of this authority depends on how closely we walk with God and how much we are submitted to his authority.

Thus the bible tells us; “Submit yourselves…to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The more submitted we are to God’s authority the better able we will be to delegate it.

Ungodly behaviour can give the devil a foothold in our lives, but when we have repented and chosen once again to walk on the highway of holiness, the devil no longer has any rightful hold on us, and can be rebuked and dismissed.

To conclude we live in a world that can be very beautiful but which sadly also has a dark side and is inhabited by intelligent and deliberately malicious evil spiritual beings.

However as we submit our lives to Jesus and invite him to be our Lord and Saviour he will rescue us from the dominion of darkness and make us children of God.

And then as we seek to follow him and get to know the truth of God’s word, we will find that 

not only can we stand against the devil’s lies but that we can also rebuke and dismiss him, not only from our own lives but also from the lives of others – just as Jesus did.

In the name of the living God. Amen

John 12 verses 1 to 8.

John 12 verses 1 to 8.

I think today’s gospel reading from John is primarily about worship. We see Mary the sister of Lazarus – who was raised from the dead – expressing what she feels in her heart for Jesus.

In short she worships Him. She recognises him as God and falls at his feet and anoints them with an expensive oil. This action expresses her deep love for and devotion to Jesus.

And by looking at this act of Mary we can pick up some pointers ourselves about how we too should worship God.

First of all though I think we need to try and define what worship is.

I was looking at lots of definitions of worship and one that I liked was that to worship God is to acknowledge his worth in acts of praise as well as in our daily lives.

So before we can worship God we need to have some appreciation of his worth to us. We need to believe in our hearts that he is worthy of our praise.

Our worship is therefore a response to what God has done for us and an expression of what He means to us.

And worship isn’t just something we do on Sundays. It’s not just singing to God or taking communion.

Genuine worship involves our entire relationship with God and it should spring from a life that is lived in obedience to Him, as a follower of Christ.

The ritual of worship alone is not enough. It is our heart attitude to God that is important.

We shouldn’t be worshippers who sing His praise on a Sunday, but then ignore Him for the rest of the week.

If we are going to offer genuine praise and worship to God – then we should demonstrate it by the lives we lead – lives that honour Him and are fruitful.

A son or daughter may give their parent a mother or father’s day card expressing their love but then ignore them for most of the year.

On the other hand a child may give a card to their parent expressing a love that is obvious because they demonstrate that love by their actions and regular contact.

So let’s look at Mary’s act of worship.

The first thing we notice is that Mary’s act of worship is completely uninhibited.

Her love of God and her desire to worship him is stronger than any feelings of embarrassment she may have, and the focus of her attention is on Jesus - not on the looks of other people who are present.

Of course being British we can often feel embarrassed about expressing any sort of emotion – especially publicly, but ideally we should be free to express our worship to God in a way that feels appropriate.

We are made of body, soul and spirit and as far as God is concerned it is OK for us to express our worship physically – with our bodies as well as with our voices.

So, for instance during a worship song that means something to us, we may want to open our arms towards God or perhaps to kneel in reverence before Him, or just to sit quietly rather than to sing.

Now this may seem a bit alien to some of you, but if these actions helps us to express what we are feeling in our heart towards God they are perfectly natural and normal.

If you’ve been away for a while and you come home and meet a loved one it’s perfectly natural and normal to throw your arms round them and give them a hug or a kiss, because you’re pleased to see them.

If you just walked up to them and said I’m really pleased to see you but kept your arms at your side – they might be a bit surprised.

I used to dislike it when I saw Christians worshipping God with raised arms but God showed me that our bodies are an integral part of who we are, and that by shutting ourselves off physically when we worship we can actually also shut ourselves off emotionally and spiritually.

A flower that is closed cannot receive the sunlight. But a flower that is open can drink in the sun’s rays and reflect beauty.

Mary’s worship is free and uninhibited. She doesn’t just go up to Jesus and shake his hand and say thankyou so much. She kneels at his feet and wipes them with her hair.

She’s not afraid to express with her body what is going on in her heart.

Now I appreciate that we are a traditional village church but I’d encourage you to try and let go of your embarrassment when you are worshipping.

Focus on God and what He means to you more than on what your neighbour may think if your worship appears animated or emotional.

Close your eyes so that you can concentrate on God and try opening your arms just a little to express your worship.

Simply opening your hands out to Him like this can allow worship to flow out of you, and you may discover a new freedom and power to your worship.

The same type of freedom to express ourselves applies to our prayer lives, which are another aspect of our worship.

We are told by the writer to the Hebrews that during the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

Again being British we can tend to keep a stiff upper lip when we are alone in our rooms praying to God.

God however wants to relate to what we are really feeling – whether it’s hurt or anger or a real passion for some individual or cause.

By suppressing what we’re feeling we can suppress the prayer in our heart.

It’s better to follow Jesus’ example and to let your tears or cries come before God and to express any deep feeling or emotion that is in your heart.

Mary also isn’t afraid to express what she feels for God in front of her family and friends.

I went to the funeral of a Christian lady a few weeks ago. She was a cousin and her daughter – who is also a Christian, wanted the service to be a celebration of her life.

We sung a worship song which I particularly liked but I didn’t hold out my hands to worship God as I was sitting next to some other cousins who I knew weren’t Christians and I felt inhibited and slightly embarrassed to express the worship that I was feeling in my heart.

I think being British we have a natural tendency to shy away from anything that we think others might view as odd or strange but perhaps we can learn something from Mary’s example here, and not be afraid to let our friends and neighbours know that we are Christians.

The next point we notice is that Mary’s worship involves giving Jesus a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard.

We are told that the monetary value of this perfume is 300 denarii. The average worker at that time was paid about 1 denarii a day, so this was worth about a year’s wages.

The point is though that Mary gladly gives Jesus this extravagant gift. Again, in her eyes he is worth it.

And if we believe that God is worthy of our worship, part of this should be expressed by our giving.

We should give generously to Christian causes or organisations that we believe are worth supporting.

By giving to God and to Christian work, we show Him honour. Psalm 50 says "Whoever sacrifices a thank offering honours Me."

Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians that each of us should give what we have decided to in our hearts, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver

Some Christians aim to tithe which is to give approximately ten per cent of their income to God. Some give more than this and some less.

Really it’s between us and God. The point is though that we should give with a generous heart attitude that expresses thanks to God for what He has given us – and because we want to bless some project or organisation that we believe will use the money wisely for a good cause.

For instance if you regularly attend this church, you should be contributing something towards its running costs.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Mary’s act of worship is that it is rooted in her life as a follower of Christ.

Luke tells us of another occasion when Jesus visited Mary and her sister Martha. While Martha was pre-occupied with getting the dinner ready, Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to his teaching.

Martha was a bit cross and told Jesus that her sister should be helping her get the food ready but Jesus said that Mary had chosen what was better.

Mary worshipped Jesus in her daily life and this act of devotion sprang from this daily worship.

Our worship of God should also involve every day of our lives – not just Sundays.

There has been a L’Oreal cosmetics advertisement on telly recently with the catch-line ‘because you’re worth it.’

And this should be our attitude towards worshipping God.

As Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians, we should make it our goal to please Him in our lives and we do this because He’s worth it.

In practical terms this means we should aim to have a daily quiet time with God - a time we put aside to be alone with Him, to wait on him and to pray for others – because He wants us to and because He’s worth it.

We should be regularly reading the bible and seeking to grow in our understanding of God’s word – because He wants us to and because He’s worth it.

And we should be meeting together to study his word with others and to pray, because He wants us to and because He’s worth it.

These things are all integral parts of being a Christian – someone who follows Christ, and should be part of the expression of our worship.

Often we may not feel like going up to our room to pray or putting aside time to read our bibles or going to a study group or prayer meeting when it’s cold or wet - but these are things we choose to do because we know that God wants us to do them and because we believe that He is worth it.

John tells us in his first letter that the way we express our love for God is by being obedient to his commandments. So by doing these things we express our love for God.

Above all of course we should be seeking to serve Him in our lives in whatever way we feel He is asking us.

Then our church going will be much more than just a weekly ritual and our worship will be heartfelt and pleasing to God.

I’ll conclude with some words from Paul’s letter to the Romans; Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

In the name of the living God Amen.