Sermon: Credited as Righteousness

Lent 3 “Credited as Righteousness”
Cynthia O’Brien

Genesis 15, 17, Romans 4
March 19, 2006

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

^{GE 17:1} When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. ² I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."

^{GE 17:3} Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, ⁴ "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. ⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

^{GE 17:15} God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

Romans 4:13-25

^{RO 4:13} It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

^{RO 4:16} Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

^{RO 4:18} Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." ¹⁹ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²² This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." ²³ The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Years ago there was a football player at Chico State named Rick McKinley. At the time, it was the number one party school in the nation, and Rick did his share of partying. After months of drunken binges, though, he began to wonder whether there was anything more fulfilling in his life than alcohol and sex. He began to long for God. So one Sunday morning, he made a point of being sober and walked to a local church to attend services. This was Rick’s first time in a church. That morning, the pastor talked about sin, and how we are all sinners, and he talked about Jesus, and how Jesus died so that God could forgive us of our sin. Rick prayed and became a Christian at age 19. (see Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz )

Lots of people can point back to the time when they came to faith, or when they converted to Christianity, or when they accepted Jesus as their savior, or however you want to describe it. They can point to a moment, like the old song says, “All my sins are washed away, I’ve been redeemed.”

All the way back in the Old Testament, we see that Abraham had a specific time when God forgave his sins. We read about it in Genesis 15:

^{GE 15:5} (God) took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

^{GE 15:6} Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

God credited it to him as righteousness. In other words, God forgave his debts, paid off all his credit cards, set up a clean bank account, and cleared his credit report.

This is theologically significant. I hear people make a distinction between the Old Testament being about law and the new testament being about faith, but the truth is that everyone who is saved is saved by their faith in God by the free grace of God, and Abraham is a prime example.

Sometimes I wonder, though, why Abram believed God when God promised him offspring. After all, Abram and Sarah were very old, far past childbearing age.

But Abram believed God. Sarah, it took her a while longer to believe that God was serious. Abram believed God. And Paul explains in Romans that Abram was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what God had promised.

SO, GOD CREDITED IT TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS (based on Dan Fuller, The Unity of the Bible.)

Once you believe God, trust God, accept God, God takes away the barriers between you and God. In Romans, it seems that Paul is saying that Abraham was forgiven both his past sins and his present evil tendencies that would produce future sins. In other words, God credited him as righteous while he was still sinful so that God could get started on the great blessing God had promised. What Abraham had to do was simply believe the promise that he would be the father of many nations.

God cleared away all his anger against Abraham for his sins, so that now he could fully bless Abraham and fulfill the promises.

Now Abraham can become the hero of the faith, right? One of those “Bible Heroes” that we can look up to, the saints that we should treat as models, right?

I wish I could say that Abraham was a super righteous man. But he wasn’t. Genesis consistently portrays Abraham as a wicked man who needed forgiveness.

Look at all the rotten things Abraham did, AFTER God credited him righteousness.

First, he said Sarah was his sister so that when Pharoah took her into his harem he would not murder Abraham to get her. This was a huge sin and huge punishments followed. Another great sin was Abraham’s attempt to have a son by Hagar, his wife’s servant, and acting contrary to God’s promise that he would have a son by Sarah. Later he told Abimelech, the Canaanite king, that Sarah was his sister, again, selling her into a harem to save his own skin.

The Bible makes it clear that Abraham was a fallible person. He learned to fear God gradually over 25 years, and he made a lot of serious mistakes in that time.

Remember the college student I talked about a few minutes ago, Rick McKinley, who was such a partyer and went into a church and became a Christian? Portland writer Donald Miller talks about Rick in his book Blue Like Jazz. A few weeks after Rick started coming to church, the pastors of the church visited Rick, explained that he had been forgiven of his sins, and told him that it was important to try to live a righteous life. Rick agreed with them. After all, it would be easier to listen to the Sunday sermon if he didn’t have a hangover. So he began to choose purity over sin, but from time to time he would fail at his moral efforts. He really wanted to do the things he had done before, and before you knew it, he was doing it. Rick says that those were the most depressing moments of his life because he felt he was failing the God who saved him. He was anguished by his inability to control his desires. He felt that he had been given this new life, this key to heaven, and yet couldn’t obey Jesus in return. So one evening he got on his knees and told God he was sorry. He told God how much he wished he could be good and obedient. He then sat on the edge of his bed and swallowed enough muscle relaxants and sleeping pills to kill three people. [1]

The pastors had explained that Rick had been forgiven of his sins, but Rick could not believe it. Rick could not just believe that God really loved him and forgave him and did not want anything in return. Rick didn’t know how to receive free grace from God. Rick thought he needed to pay God back by doing things right. The harder it was for Rick to pay God back, the more he wanted to hide. It was as if God was his loan shark – that God’s love and salvation were conditional on Rick being able to do things that Rick could not manage to do.

As Rick lay in his bed waiting to die, he heard God saying to him, “Your life is not your own, but you have been bought with a price,” and he felt a certain peace. He understood that his role in his relationship with God was to humbly receive God’s unconditional love. Then he slipped into sleep.

He is still alive; it’s a miracle he can’t explain. He woke the next morning with energy, as if he had never swallowed the pills. After surviving the suicide attempt, he went to Bible college, married, had four children, and in 2000 he started a church in his living room in Portland. The church, now called Imago Dei, has been meeting in the old Laurelhurst Church and next month will move to Franklin High School because they’ve outgrown the church building.

I worshiped there a year or two ago and heard Rick preach. He delivered a sermon that was grounded on a solid Biblical foundation and packed with what I consider to be intelligent Presbyterian theology, but it was packaged in such a way that all the 20-somethings around me could take it in. He learned the hard way about God’s love, and now he’s turning around and becoming the father of hundreds of new young Christians in Southeast Portland.

Some people, in their despair, find a way out and even find God. Some people, as we’ve seen tragically this week, don’t make it back to this life.

Nick Vining was a junior at Reynolds who died tragically this past Tuesday night when he took his own life. He was a member at St. Henry Church, and an altar server there. Like you and me, he believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. No matter what Nick might do after that, no matter how much he might mess up, he was forgiven.

We don’t know why he took his life. Perhaps he forgot about how much God loved him, or about how God would forgive him no matter what. Perhaps he didn’t realize how much his friends and family cared about him. Perhaps the trials of his life seemed too great, and the temptation to escape was too strong.

I know many of you knew Nick and you’re deeply hurt at his sudden death. You need to know that Nick is in the hands of God now, the God who loves him, the God who is merciful.

Now it is time for us to remember that God gives us an offer. God holds out an offer to us, an offer of grace and blessing. All we need to do to receive that credit is to believe God. It’s not too late to believe.

Let us pray.

Merciful God, in Rick McKinley’s moment of crisis, you saved him, but in Nick Vining’s moment of despair, he didn’t make it back to this life. Some people, after coming to Christ, are able to joyfully walk a fairly straight path, while others come to you and then keep messing up. How good it is to know that you loved us all from the beginning, that you loved us when we believed in you, and that you love us still. Amen.

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[1] Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

Story of St. Patrick

St. Patrick
Cynthia O’Brien

Hebrews 11:32 – 12:3

On St. Patrick’s Day, people go to special church services, drink toasts and celebrate Ireland. Patrick’s name is found all over Ireland in the names of towns like Kirkpatrick, Downpatrick and Kilpatrick. Who was St. Patrick and why is he so important?

The book of Hebrews lists many saints. Here’s another story of one of those saints whose weakness turned to strength, who fixed his eyes on Jesus, who threw off everything that hindered him and ran with perseverance the race laid for him.

I’ve read a handful of accounts of St. Patrick, from the article in Butler’s Lives of the Saints to books like Edna Barth’s Shamrocks, Harps and Shillelaghs. You can also find St. Patrick on the internet and on The History Channel. I’m drawing on several resources and condensing some of them to put together this account for you.

Edna Barth explains how we get our information:

“Most of what is known about St. Patrick comes from his own Confession, written in his old age. In it there are few names and no dates. [However], the Confession does tell us a good deal about his thoughts and feelings. So as a person he is better known than most saints of those early years.

Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, but he was not Irish himself. He was born in around the year 385 in Scotland to a good family. All of Britain was under Roman rule at the time.

The Roman empire had conquered Britain back in the time of Christ. Many people were Christians living under Roman rule. They had Roman customs and Roman names. Patrick’s father worked for the Roman government. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. It is thought that Patrick’s name was originally Maewyn, but he was given the Roman name Patricius, which means well-born. He describes his young self as one who broke God’s commandments – a young man with a reckless disregard for God’s ways.

At the time Patrick was a boy, the Romans occupied Britain as part of the Roman Empire, but the Roman army was busy defending Rome from invaders and wasn’t looking after its holdings across the sea. Britain became an easy prey for raiders from Ireland. They sailed across the Irish sea and invaded farms, looting and taking about a thousand Englishmen as slaves. A band of Irish pirates captured Patrick’s family’s farm when Patrick was 16, kidnapped him and took him back to Ireland, where he was sold into slavery.

At that time there were very few Christians in Ireland. Most Irish people worshiped the sun, moon and stars. Their teachers were called Druids. The people were afraid of the Druids and let them have control, because they believed that the Druid priests understood all the mysteries of the world and could foretell the future.

Tradition says that Patrick worked for a tribal chieftain named Miliucc who made him take care of cattle and sheep in the fields. He was a slave, like Joseph in Egypt. He was a shepherd, like David. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for comfort, becoming a devout Christian. He remembered breaking God’s commandments and not paying attention to priests who had tried to save him. He thought, “Perhaps God is giving me my well-deserved punishment.” During the long hours in the fields and hills, he found comfort in praying. He wrote later, “I said a hundred prayers by day and almost as many by night.”

After six years in slavery, Patrick had a dream in which God told him to return to England. A voice said, “The ship is ready for thee.” He believed this was God’s way of telling him to run away. He escaped his owner and headed for the coast, nearly 200 miles away, and when he got there, a ship was just ready to sail. Its cargo was Irish wolfhounds – hunting dogs. The ship was going to Gaul, which is now called France. The captain refused to let him on board, then changed his mind and made Patrick a member of the crew.

They sailed for three days and landed. But the area had been invaded and ruined. For nearly a month he and the other sailors wandered through a barren area. Some died from exhaustion and hunger. One day, when Patrick was praying for food, a herd of wild pigs came out of the woods. The sailors thought this was clearly a miracle, and that Patrick was a miracle-maker. They decided to keep Patrick as their slave. So he had to escape again.

Patrick now wanted to make up for the education that he lost while he was in Ireland. He studied for several years in Gaul, then went home to visit his family in England. But God had planned something better for [him]. Once he was there, he had a strange dream. Patrick says he heard “the voice of the Irish, crying as with one mouth, ‘Come hither and walk among us.’” He felt that this was God’s command that he should return to Ireland, to convert them to Christianity. But first he would prepare to do God’s work. He went to the monasteries of Europe to study further, for over 10 years. He was ordained deacon, then priest and finally bishop.

At this time, although the Roman empire was near collapse, the Christian church, based in Rome, was growing stronger. Missionaries were being sent out into other lands to spread the gospel.

In 431, the pope sent a bishop named Palladius to Ireland, but Palladius failed.

Patrick knew Irish manners, the customs and the language. He also had a deep desire to go there. So Patrick was sent to Ireland with a dual mission—to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish.

He prepared for success, packing gold and silver ornaments for the churches he would build, and taking along seamstresses who could make priests’ robes and hangings for the altars.

Patrick first landed in County Wicklow, south of what is now Dublin, and started preaching. He was driven out of town, just as Palladius had been. But he kept going north toward the home of Miliuc, his former master. When they finally reached it, they saw that it was on fire. No one knows how this happened, although one legend says that Miliuc had heard of Patrick’s arrival and about this powerful new religion. Rather than be put to shame by a former slave, he had set his house on fire and thrown himself into the flames.

Patrick was one of those like the ones spoken of in Hebrews, whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful.

He met a chieftain named Dichu who was already a Christian. Dichu gave him a wooden barn which became Patrick’s first church.

Butler records some highlights of Patrick’s mission:

In the first year of his mission, he attempted to preach Christ in the general assembly of the kings and states of all Ireland held yearly at Taraghe, the principal seat of the Druids and their paganish rites. The son of Neill, the chief monarch, declared himself against the preacher; however, he converted several, and afterwards baptized the Kings of Dublin and Munster, and the seven sons of the King of Connaught, and before his death almost the whole island.” [1]

He was famous throughout Ireland. Whenever he came to a new tribe, he preached to the chieftan and described Christianity. If the chieftain agreed to be baptized, the rest of the tribe usually did, too. Then Patrick would ask for land to build a church. He would mark off the church foundations with his staff, leave some monks behind to build the church, then move on.

Patrick was often nearly captured by savage tribes. He was in constant danger on his travels, but he trusted God for safety. His prayer says, “I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity … the host of heaven to be my guard.”

Once Patrick went to Tara, where the high kings of Ireland were seated. It was the beginning of the holiday called Beltane. Tradition said that all lights were put out throughout the land and no one could light a fire until king Lagohaire lit his fire on the hill of Tara. But Patrick’s campfire could be seen across the river. The king was outraged and went with some Druids to Patrick’s camp. The Druids were afraid of Patrick’s magic, and they advised the king not to enter the camp. Patrick preached to the king, and was unharmed.

The Druids were his worst enemies. Some of them cast spells on him and plotted to kill him. They worried that he would take away their power. But many Druids were impressed by Christianity and became Christians themselves, even Christian priests.

Since he was familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick could find ways of making the gospel understandable to the uneducated people. He did not insist that they give up all their native Irish beliefs, but chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity. For instance, the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fires in the spring, so he used bonfires to celebrate Easter. I learned on the History Channel website that the sun was a powerful Irish symbol, so Patrick superimposed it onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. [2]

Patrick worked among the Irish for 30 or 40 years. He traveled to Armagh, and after baptizing the Armagh chieftain, he built a church on a hill called The Ridge of Willow. That town became his home, and that church was the center for all of Ireland. Students came from all over Europe to study with him.

Patrick baptized people everywhere he went, in streams, rivers and wells that today are still called “St. Patrick’s wells.” He also taught everyone the Roman alphabet so that they could read and write. Before Patrick came, Ireland had no written history. He brought the Bible and other sacred books in Latin. In the monasteries he built, monks copied books by hand, often decorating the pages in gold and colors. He liked the tales of Irish heroes, and especially enjoyed the poems of Caolite, an Irish bard, so Patrick ordered that the poems be written down for Irish people in the future.

Meanwhile, in much of Europe, fewer people learned to read and write Those books that were written were mostly of poor quality. Arts and crafts were being forgotten. Rome was crumbling. The Dark Ages was beginning. But Ireland kept Roman learning alive. It became known as the Island of Saints and Scholars. Today it is widely known that the Irish saved Western civilization by preserving books and Roman teaching. That could not have been possible if Patrick hadn’t brought reading and writing and books to Ireland. Patrick’s legacy is with us today.

It’s no wonder that the Irish and people in many other places set aside a day to celebrate St. Patrick. By the time of Patrick’s death, 80 percent of Ireland was Christian, supported by churches and schools and monasteries. An incredible legacy for a slave boy who cried out to God from among a flock of sheep.

(Heb 12:1-3 NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. {2} Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. {3} Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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[1] Butler, Lives of the Saints, 1750, p. 49

[2] The History of St. Patrick on The History Channel at www.historychannel.com

Sermon: Be Strong and Courageous

“From Terrified and Discouraged to Strong and Courageous”

Joshua 1:1-9, Psalm 27
Cynthia O'Brien
March 12, 2006

Psalm 27

Of David.

^{PS 27:1} The LORD is my light and my salvation--

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life--

of whom shall I be afraid?

^{PS 27:2} When evil men advance against me

to devour my flesh,

when my enemies and my foes attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

^{PS 27:3} Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then will I be confident.

^{PS 27:4} One thing I ask of the LORD,

this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD

and to seek him in his temple.

^{PS 27:5} For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle

and set me high upon a rock.

^{PS 27:6} Then my head will be exalted

above the enemies who surround me;

at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Psalm 27:7-14

^{PS 27:7} Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;

be merciful to me and answer me.

^{PS 27:8} My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"

Your face, LORD, I will seek.

^{PS 27:9} Do not hide your face from me,

do not turn your servant away in anger;

you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me,

O God my Savior.

^{PS 27:10} Though my father and mother forsake me,

the LORD will receive me.

^{PS 27:11} Teach me your way, O LORD;

lead me in a straight path

because of my oppressors.

^{PS 27:12} Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,

for false witnesses rise up against me,

breathing out violence.

^{PS 27:13} I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

^{PS 27:14} Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

Joshua 1:1-9

^{JOS 1:1} After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: ² "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates--all the Hittite country--to the Great Sea on the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

^{JOS 1:6} "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Memory Scripture

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Being Terrified

When I was a kid, for years I slept on my back because I was afraid of the dark. Not afraid of the dark, but afraid of the scary monsters or people who might attack me – I had to be ready to see them and fight them, so I always slept on my back – It felt better, as if it would ensure that I wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

Of course, I knew that nothing could harm me, and that my mom would protect me, but it was still a real fear. I couldn’t help but feel it. Any of you kids who are afraid of the dark: Try to remember that your family is there with you and there’s nothing to be afraid of, and that fear will go away.

Now, as an adult, I am more creative about how I would deal with these fears. Like maybe I would put some fresh meat in my little brother’s room so that the monsters would eat him first!

Children are also afraid of the unknown, a new school, the new teacher, a big crowd of people, or that you might get to school on crazy sock day with your crazy socks on and find out that today’s NOT crazy sock day. Teenagers may be afraid of failing a class, or losing a friend, or coming home late at night after your job at Wendy’s.

There are plenty of reasons for adults to be terrified. Terrorism is a start. But there are other fears more close to home. When we had our parenting class on Sunday mornings – and we’re thinking of starting a new one in the fall – one of the moms said that she had a desperate fear that one of her children would come to some harm. Sometimes it was almost a paralyzing fear. She knew it wasn’t helpful, and that worrying wouldn’t necessarily be productive, but it was there.

Being discouraged

Kids: What’s something you’ve tried and tried to learn to do but you just can’t get it yet? You have tried and tried to snap your fingers, or tie your shoes, or whistle, or do a cartwheel, and so far it seems like everybody else but you can do it.

Teens: You’ve always wanted to be a gymnast, but you realize your body type will never cooperate. Your best friend has moved away and communicating online is just not the same.

Adults: At work the deadlines are coming too fast and you can’t stay on top of them. Or you’ve tried and tried to reach your teenager but she tunes you out. Or your spouse left you and now you believe that no one will ever love you again.

Psalm 27 is a desperate plea from someone who is terrified and discouraged.

^{PS 27:7} Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;

be merciful to me and answer me.

^{PS 27:9} Do not hide your face from me,

do not turn your servant away in anger;

Do not reject me or forsake me,

lead me in a straight path

because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,

for false witnesses rise up against me,

breathing out violence.

He is pleading for God to hear him, not to turn away from him, not to reject him, not to let his enemies beat him.

Joshua was set up to be terrified and discouraged, after Moses died and he was called to lead the people into the Promised Land. Joshua had already been chosen to rule the people. He was a gifted leader. But even the best, most well equipped leader may waiver when it is time for action. So God inspired Joshua with special confidence. “Be strong and courageous… I will not forsake you.”

These are words used throughout the Bible. They are used to challenge and encourage soldiers just before engaging in battle. This is how Moses and God exhorted Joshua before leading Israel into battle. David used these words when strengthening Solomon to assume the leadership of the kingdom (1 Chronicles 22:13, 28:20). King Hezekiah exhorted his military officers when Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem (2 Chron 32:7) These are words of preparation for action.

“I will not fail you.” Paul in Hebrews 13:5, used these words to calm down anxieties and fears.

“Be strong and take heart.” God says it three times for emphasis… which is not unheard of in the Bible.

At least three times angels said to people “Fear not” when announcing the birth of Jesus. There was a reason for people to be afraid, so the angels reassured them.

Three times Jesus said to Peter, “Peter do you love me?” Peter needed to pledge his love to Jesus after betraying him three times the night of Jesus’ arrest. Three times Peter had to say, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Three times God said to Joshua, “be strong and courageous.” To Joshua, who was a strong and courageous leader. Joshua, who had all the talent, skill and gifts to do what needed to be done. If Joshua needed to hear this, how much more do we need to hear it? God said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

David also received encouragement from God. Psalm 27 is full of suffering and desperation, but the beginning and the end of it are a rock of confidence.

^{PS 27:1} The LORD is my light and my salvation--

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life--

of whom shall I be afraid?

God is our “light.” Where light is, darkness cannot exist. A flashlight pierces the dark and helps us find our way. There’s no such thing as a “flashdark” which covers the light. Our fears and anxieties thrive in the dark, but they can’t survive in the light. Like a flashlight, light shows up our fears for what they really are. God illumines our way and reveals our fears for what they are.

God is also “the stronghold of my life.” God is the secure place when all else fails.

Too often human relationships fail, because they are human. When we place our hope in fallible human beings, we’re bound to be failed at some point. When our human resources are unreliable, God is the one reliable support… “though my father and mother forsake me” (Psalm 27:10)

David is confident:

when my enemies and my foes attack me,

they will stumble and fall.

^{PS 27:3} Though an army besiege me,

my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

even then will I be confident.

^{PS 27:5} For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle

and set me high upon a rock.

^{PS 27:6} Then my head will be exalted

above the enemies who surround me;

at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make music to the LORD.

^{PS 27:13} I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

“I am still confident.” He is convinced that he will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Here’s a tip for deacons and anyone who prays with someone who is about to have surgery. Read this scripture to the person who is about to undergo surgery – I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. “The land of the living” clearly means in this present life. This is not the same confidence that Job had – “Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him.” This is confidence in seeing God’s goodness in this life.

So how do we navigate from terror and discouragement to strength and courage?

God gave some direction to Joshua:

Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Reading this Scripture reminds me of the Michael W. Smith song in the 80's "Be Strong and Courageous." A Christian rock-anthem along the lines of the Theme from "Rocky." That would really pump you up.

But there are other kinds of encouragement. In 1964, Life Magazine ran an ad for Hunt's Ketchup which featured a little green tomato on the vine, and the caption said, "Hang on, little tomato." 40 years later, the band Pink Martini made a song of it. Pink Martini is a Portland group that is part 1930's Cuban dance orchestra, part classical music ensemble, and part Brazilian street band. They wrote this little song called "Hang On, Little Tomato" that goes like this:

"You've got to hold on, hold on to the vine
Stay on, soon you'll be divine.
If you start to cry, look up to the sky..."

When things are hard, hang on, and look up.

David knew what he needed to do:

^{PS 27:8} My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"

Your face, LORD, I will seek.

These are the times when we pay attention to see where God will lead us.

I ran into my friend John this week and asked him how his new job was going – It’s not really a new job, he’s had it about a year and a half. He said, “Well, as a matter of fact, last Monday I quit.” “Oh, tell me about that,” I said. Well he liked the work – it’s in sales and he’s good at sales – but he couldn’t stand his boss, because the boss had the mindset that you simply get as much money from the customer as you can, forget what their needs are, just make them pay as much as possible. The customer wasn’t someone to serve, or even an asset to the company, but just a commodity to use up and throw away. John realized that he couldn’t work in that environment and nothing was going to get better. He called the owner and said, “I can’t work here.”

John doesn’t have any other job to go to, and his wife doesn’t make enough to support them, and he has a kid going to college next year. But he has some leads on jobs and some things he can do to make ends meet, so it’s not totally irresponsible. It was the right thing to do, a courageous thing to do. It was time to get out from under that oppression, to stand up for what is right. Now he has to trust that God will be with him, that as he seeks God, God will not let him go.

And so David wrote,

^{PS 27:14} Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

God promises, Be strong, I will never leave you.

The hymn “Wondrous Love,” has a verse that completes God’s promise”

When I was sinking down, sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,

Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

It is because of the love of God through Jesus Christ that we know God truly will never leave us. It is because of Christ, giving his life for us, that we have the strength and courage to face whatever comes.

“Do not be terrified and discouraged, but be strong and courageous.”

Sermon: The Temptation of Jesus

Lent 2006: “Between You and God: The Inner Journey”
Cynthia O’Brien

First Sunday in Lent
"The Temptation of Jesus"
March 5, 2006

Psalm 25

Of David.

^{PS 25:1} To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

^{PS 25:2} in you I trust, O my God.

Do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

^{PS 25:3} No one whose hope is in you

will ever be put to shame,

but they will be put to shame

who are treacherous without excuse.

^{PS 25:4} Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

^{PS 25:5} guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

Matthew 4:1-11

^{MT 4:1} Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:

" `He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' "

Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

We are all subject to temptation. But temptation is not the same for each of us. One person may be tempted by chocolate. Another person is not interested in chocolate, but is tempted to gossip behind other people’s backs. One person is tempted by sexual relationships, another will easily overspend on a credit card.

When I was at USC I worked for a year in the USC bookstore. I hardly ever took home a paycheck, because I felt I just had to buy all these books! Buying books was a huge temptation. Finally I got smart and quit the bookstore and took a job in the USC restaurant. Plenty of people would not have been tempted to buy books, but I was, and I had to deal with it.

Notice that none of these temptations is necessarily a sin. Books and chocolate aren’t inherently bad. Sex isn’t inherently evil. Just talking about another person isn’t bad in itself. But too much chocolate is a problem. Books can be used for evil purposes. Conversation and sex can destroy people if not done rightly. The enemy twists these good things for evil, and tries to get you to do it wrong.

Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in to it, is.

Let’s look at the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and find the ultimate model of resisting temptation.

[Many thoughts from the NIV Application Commentary on Matthew

by Michael J. Wilkins]

^{MT 4:1} Then Jesus was led by the Spirit

The Spirit will give power to Jesus to withstand the temptation.

into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

This is the first time we encounter the devil. The Greek term diabolos means accuser. This is The devil, the enemy of God. This is not just a battle in the desert, but a clash of kingdoms.

² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him

when he was weak and hungry, and gave him three attractive suggestions, or temptations, to try to derail Jesus from the ministry Jesus was about to begin.

The first temptation is to misuse the power God gives you.

and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

The devil is saying, “Since you have the power and you are hungry, do it!” Seems like a perfectly reasonable idea. But the devil is not trying to encourage Jesus for good. He’s trying to get Jesus to go contrary to the Father’s will.

Temptation is one of the ways that the devil tries to get a person to go contrary to God’s will. A temptation is not necessarily trying to get you to do something that is inherently sinful. It’s not wrong to turn stones into bread, which we find out later Jesus would certainly have been able to do since he miraculously multiplied loaves and fishes.

But the Father’s will at this time was for Jesus to fast, and then to have the experience of living a truly human life.

Have you ever been tempted to turn stones into bread? Did you ever get the idea, and wonder where it came from, that you should use your power at a time and place that it wasn’t appropriate?

You’re the biggest kid in your class. You stand taller and weigh more than everybody else. Out on the playground, you don’t like the way someone talked to you, so you push them around just to show them who’s boss. You say, “Hey, they deserved it,” but you really shouldn’t have done it. You had power and you used it wrongly.

Or you are a grandparent, and every time you visit your son and daughter-in-law, you give them a lecture from your own experience on how they ought to be raising your grandchildren differently. Your daughter in law listens politely, because you’re an “honored citizen,” but she’s feeling abused. You’ve misused the power God gave you.

There may be a time for a big kid to use your strength, and there may be a time for a grandparent to share your wisdom, but in God’s time. Jesus had power, but he refused to use it when it wasn’t God’s time.

How did Jesus resist this temptation? He quoted a passages from Deuteronomy, in which Moses reminded the people that God had led them in the desert to humble them and to test them. One of the tests was through hunger and God’s miraculous provision of manna. The lesson was:

`Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'

In other words, we have to trust God to care for us. And since Jesus was in the desert at God’s leading, he wasn’t going to undermine God’s plan for him. He showed that he had personal trust in God’s leading. He doesn’t need to turn stones into bread in order to confirm that he is the Son of God or to supply his own food.

The second temptation is about trying to manipulate God into proving God loves you.

^{MT 4:5} Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

probably the southeast corner of the temple area, which was 450 feet nigh over the Kidron Valley. The devil again says “If you are the Son of God” but this time the devil quotes from Psalm 91:11-12

" `He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' "

This is also something Jesus would be able to do. Later in chapter 26, just before his arrest, he said that if he wanted, he could call on his Father to rescue him by sending angels. The devil is trying to manipulate Jesus while he is twisting the scripture. Psalm 91 does not say that God will protect us from every harmful situation. So Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 4:7:

`Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "

If Jesus intentionally put himself in harm’s way, Jesus would be inappropriately testing his Father’s love, trying to manipulate his Father into sending a rescuing force of angels. True faith does not make those kinds of demands.

Have you ever been tempted to throw yourself off a roof to see if God would save you? Well, if you think about it, you might have had this temptation… that is, to manipulate God into proving God cares for you.

Oh, Father, we pray, if you really loved me, you would do this for me.

Or, your agnostic friend says, “Gee, you say your God loves you but look how screwed up your life is.” It makes you want to say, “No, God still loves me, let me think of how to prove it to you.”

True faith does not try to manipulate God to show God’s love.

The third temptation is cheating and idolatry.

^{MT 4:8} Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

This last temptation is the hardest. All those kingdoms – that’s why Jesus came, to gather all the nations into the kingdom of God. But before Jesus sits on the royal throne, he must hang on the cross. So the devil offers a shortcut. Jesus can bypass the suffering of the cross. But that would mean giving up the will of his Father in heaven to worship the devil on earth.

Think of what Jesus could have … and not have to suffer for it.

Have you ever been tempted by the promise of getting everything you want, and just having to make one “little” accommodation?

Get it all, and you won’t have to suffer for it. All you have to do is worship me.

There is an epidemic of cheating in schools. The “bad” kids are cheating, so the “good” kids feel that they have to cheat to stay ahead. Everybody wants a short cut. Not everybody, but a lot of people. Somehow they feel the world owes them, so they give up their integrity and their work ethic, two critical aspects of their character, key components of their eternal soul.

But Jesus will not fall for this one, and he answers stronger than ever; in fact, he issues his first command over the devil:

"Away from me, Satan!

Then Jesus quotes Deuteronomy for the third time.

`Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "

You have to be clear in your own mind about who’s in charge of this world and whether you are going to worship him or somebody else.

^{MT 4:11} Then the devil left him,

As powerful as the Devil may be, as weak as Jesus must have been after the fasting, Jesus got rid of him with just a word. The hymn we sang last week, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, speaks of the Prince of Darkness, and says, “For lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him.” Jesus stood fixed on his Father’s will. He stood on the truth of Scripture.

and angels came and attended him.

Temptations are real. The fact that you are a church-going, God-pursuing Christian doesn’t mean that you won’t continue to be tempted. This sanctuary doesn’t protect you from being tempted. Remember even Jesus was tempted. It’s not a sin to be tempted.

Jesus has given us an example. These temptations in the desert were unique to Jesus’ mission, but they give us an example of how we can resist temptation. He resisted the maximum that the demonic world could throw at him. His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane show just how agonizing his temptation was, but he never gave in.

God has promised us that we can overcome temptation. Paul says in 1 Corinthians: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

You CAN stand up under it. You don’t have to give in. Just remember Jesus.

When you are tempted to use your power inappropriately, remember why God gave it to you.

When you are tempted to try to get God to prove his love for you, remember that God is love and that we are not to put God to the test.

When you are tempted to sell out in order to use a shortcut, remember that Jesus could have avoided the cross, but didn’t, out of love for you. Hold on to your character and your integrity and your work ethic. You can do it.

Let us pray.

Lord, we know that Jesus faced every temptation that we did, and that he did not sin. We thank you for his example. Help us on our journey to be strong to resist the devil, so that he will flee from us. Amen.