Faithful and Prevailed

I think Lent has unfairly been given a bad reputation. It seems to me that a lot of people think that Lent is simply about giving up something you love and being miserable for six weeks. One pastor once commented how the only things people are glad to give up for Lent are their New Year’s resolutions. Another would joke that Lent was the season where feeling bad feels oh, so good.

But I don’t think Lent is all that bad. This season is a time to empty ourselves. But not for the sake of feeling bad. Instead we empty ourselves so that God can fill us up again. It is a time to let go, get rid of, and to allow those things in us that need to be taken, removed, gotten rid of, and to do just that. Not so that we can be left empty, but so that we can be full of the love, mercy, hope and power that our God pours out into our lives. And not just full of those things, but overflowing with them. We do that together during this Lenten season by working together through the Outflow series.

This series is about outward-focused living in a self-focused world. So it is a concept that can fit well with the season of Lent. We will be talking about how God’s love fills our lives, but also flows through our lives and into the lives of the people that live under our roof; live next door; work in the next cubical; study at the next desk; and happen to be in all those places where we come into contact with and find other people.

Of course this may not always be as easy as it sounds. It fact, loving people and sharing God’s love with them can be quite difficult. It can even be scary because often love requires that we put the needs of others ahead of our own, and if we are busy taking care of their needs, then who will take care of us? Who is going to look out for me if I spend all my time looking out for others? Who will fill me up when I feel empty? Who will comfort me when I am sad? Who will encourage me when I feel week? Well, the answer is rather simple. I am even willing to bet that you already know the answer. It is none other than our God. Not only can he do these things, but he does. He is worthy of our trust and confidence, and when we place those things in him, we find that they are never misplaced. God always gives us everything we need to do the things he asks us, or sends us to do.

As we consider the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness we can see a parallel to the testing that Israel faced in the wilderness during the time between leaving Egypt and entering the promised land. Remember, that Jesus lived the perfect life that we are unable to live. And where Israel was faithless and failed, Jesus is faithful and prevailed.

The first temptation came while Jesus was hungry. If you have ever missed a meal, then you know how painful hunger can be. Can you imagine going forty days without eating? In the case of Israel, they were not going without food for forty days, they were simply hungry. And when their hunger got the best of them we see their faithlessness. They do not trust God. They do not believe that he is who he says he is or that he will do for them what he said he will do.

Contrast this with what we see from Jesus who has the power and ability to actually make bread for himself. So when the devil tempts him with making bread, and remember that he is really hungry, this is something that Jesus could actually do. But instead of giving in to what would be selfishness, and failing to trust God, he understands that human beings do not live by eating bread, but that we find and have life in our God, and that we live by his word, and his will. Jesus shows total dependence on God. He remained faithful. He prevailed.

Jesus successfully showed his trust in God. So the devil tests that next. This is a test of whether or not God is actually present. Throw yourself down and God will protect you. For the Israelites wandering in the wilderness this wasn’t an issue of jumping from a high place but that they were thirsty and wanted something to drink and so they complained. But in their complaints they were really putting God to the test. They were putting him on trial. If God were here like he is supposed to be, then we wouldn’t go thirsty. But Jesus reacts differently. He refuses to put God to the test. It is not that he doesn’t trust in God. He certainly does. But he is refusing to try to manipulate God and get him to do what he wants him to do.

The third temptation has to do with idolatry. Because that is what you get when you try to worship anything in the creation and put it in the place of the creator. Now in our day and age we may not see this in the same way that it would have been present for the people of Jesus’ day or for the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. For them the temptation was to literally go after other gods. Because in doing so they would find a better place or status in the world, or in the culture around them. The devil tempts Jesus with this as a way of attaining glory without having to go through the cross to do it. Instant success, instant glory, no pain, no suffering, no death, simply bow down and worship. Yet in spite of even this, Jesus remains faithful. He prevailed.

So how do we relate to this story? Where does it connect with us? What are the implications for our day to day lives? Well, it’s actually quite a bit. Now at first glance maybe you don’t see it. Maybe you think this only applies if you have a tendency to be visited by the devil while you are fasting in the wilderness and whisked away to differently locations around the world. But I am willing to bet that most of us do not have that kind of experience.

The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, who has been tempted in every respect that we are, yet without sin. And so, while we might not be tempted to turn rocks into bread or to jump from the bridge or idolatry, we do struggle with what is ultimately at the heart of these temptations, and that is to treat God as less than God.

We can spend so much time focusing on ourselves and wants and needs that we can even convince ourselves that God won’t or can’t do anything for us. Or that he won’t empower us to face our struggles or to stand up under temptation. Or that we question God’s helpfulness when things go south. Or that we find ourselves feeling compelled to compromise with the ways of the world that are so appealing, so seductive, and so contrary to what God has in mind for us.

You see it is easy for us to get so caught up in our own lives that we lose sight of the life that God calls us to live. We lose sight of all the wonderful and amazing and awesome ways that he works in our lives. Not only did Jesus successfully resist the temptations of the devil, but he gives us his Spirit and his strength that we too may do the same. Our God constantly demonstrates his faithfulness in our lives. We have in presence as he works through his word, through baptism, through communion. He is with us always. He forgives us and removes our sins. He gives to us life and salvation.

God is to be number one in our lives, not because he demands it, but because he is the only thing in our lives worthy of being in that position. His love and grace and mercy were all shown, long before we took our first breath. Yet they are still strong and constant in our lives today. This is something that we can be sure and certain of, because we have these because of and for the sake of Jesus.

One of the images that you will find throughout this outflow series is that of a fountain. God’s love, grace, and mercy are abundantly poured out into our lives, so much so that they not only fill us, but that they over fill us, so much so that they flow through us into the lives of others. They flow from us into the lives of our family and friends. They flow from us into the lives of our community. They flow from us into the lives of our world.

When we place God in any other spot than number one in our lives, we find that this clogs the fountain. It is not that God’s love and grace stop flowing into our lives, as much as it is that we get in the way of it flowing through us into the lives of those around us.

So then, this is a great study to do for Lent. Because as I said, Lent is about emptying ourselves, so that God can fill us. It is about us saying to those things that we place as more important than God, you are no longer going to be most important. May this Lenten season be a blessing to you. May you grow in your faith and relationship with God. May you be strengthened in your faith, especially as you see God working in and through your life. Now and always. Amen.