Sunday, March 9, 2025

First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-13
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13

Jesus answering, said to him, ‘It has been said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’

We have some land in Pennsylvania. The land is undeveloped, but it is not untouched. Nearby family members take care of it for us, cleaning out the brush and cutting down some trees. A local farmer rents some of the land to plant feed for his animals. Family and friends use it during hunting season if the deer travel that way. Though the land is well used, we have not come to possess it. It is ours, but we have not made it our own.

From the time of Abraham, God promised the Israelites that they would have a home of their own. He showed Abraham and the other patriarchs the land that would be their own. In today’s Old Testament lesson, God showed them how to make that land their own. Possessing the land meant more than just owning it. It even meant more than inhabiting it. The land had been given by God, and in response to God’s grace the people were called to dedicate all they had to God by offering the first fruits of the land to Him.

The ritual behind presenting the first fruits is found in this passage. The people are not to simply thank God for what they are able to give, but also to remember everything God had done for them. The exodus was more than an event in their history. God used the time in Egypt, the escape from slavery, the forty years of wandering, and the victories over their enemies to mold them into the nation they were meant to become. Those experiences, even the hard ones, were gifts from God. Everything they had in the present was theirs by the hand of the same God who did so much for their ancestors.

When they presented the first fruits, not only in that first generation, but in every generation to follow, they were to remember their roots. How they got to that moment was as important as what they had to give. It was in the recitation of their history that they praised God for every incredible gift. It did not matter that a future generation were not the ones who escaped and wandered; those gifts of God were given to every generation that followed.

We tend to forget the past, that what we have today has nothing to do with what our parents and grandparents might have had. Yet, I can’t help but think about that land in Pennsylvania. It came from Bruce’s family – not only his parents, but from his ancestors who have lived on that land for hundreds of years. Their history is our history. Their successes have become ours; their failures are a part of how we have gotten to this time and place.

I wonder if any of us really think about our ancestors and what God has done for them as we offer our gifts to God. Do we consider how God’s hand was in their lives, and do we praise Him for all that He did for them? Perhaps we should. We may not be able to claim the story of the Exodus for ourselves, but we have a story, too. We have a story in which God saved His people - our own ancestors - and blessed them in this world. As we present our offerings, whether they are the tithe of our weekly paycheck or the first fruits of some harvest, let’s remember where we came from and thank God for the history that has brought us to that moment.

Our land in Pennsylvania has been in the family for a long time, but when we moved to Texas, we bought a house in a new neighborhood. The oldest houses at the time were less than five years old. We were the first owners of our house. There were still many plots on which houses would be built, the development continued to grow for several years after we moved in. The thing I found interesting is that some of the older houses were already for resale when we purchased ours. I wondered why people would buy a used house when there were plenty of new ones available.

The reasons these houses were already for sale were many. We lived in an area that had heavy turnover from military families moving to new duty stations. This happened to non-military families, too. We knew one family that decided they wanted a different house in our development, so they sold their old one to move a few blocks. Unfortunately, some families have financial reasons for moving. They thought they would be secure when they purchased the house, but for one reason or another, the mortgage payments became unbearable. They bought a house beyond their means and realized after a few years that they could not continue. If it weren’t for the grace of God, we might have been in the same situation, but the housing market was good, so they were able to get out of a bad situation and find something better.

We put so much energy into taking care of ourselves and satisfying our deepest desires. We look for the perfect house, thinking that we will find happiness and security and contentment if only we get exactly what we want. I’ve known way too many people who have purchased above their means and then struggled for years. They never really knew the security they thought they would find in the perfect dwelling. We are tempted by the things of this world, hoping that God will provide what we want, not what we need.

After Jesus was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He was there for forty days, eating nothing. Though He was alone, He was never far from God, always dwelling in the presence of His Father. He was hungry at the end of the forty days. Satan came and taunted Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Note the way Satan questioned Jesus’ very identity. “If” was a way for Satan to goad Jesus into proving Himself. Jesus answered with the Word of God.

Satan taunted Jesus by showing Him all the kingdoms in the world, saying, “I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I want.” This promise required action: he wanted Jesus to worship him. Satan did not have the authority to grant what he promised. It was a lie to get Jesus to turn from His Father. Again, Jesus answered with the Word of God.

A third time Satan taunted Jesus. “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here.” Again, Satan questioned Jesus’ identity, but he went even further using the scriptures to make his point. “He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone. He twisted the scriptures to tempt Jesus into testing God’s love for Him. Our faith is given not to test God but to love and worship Him.

Again, Jesus answered with the Word of God. Each time He faced Satan’s taunts, Jesus had an answer that came from God. Jesus was secure not because He thought God would save Him from trouble, but because He dwelled in the shadow of the Most High God who dwelt within Him. He had the power to change stones to bread, to command the nations of the world, and to call the angels to His aid. Yet that moment was neither the time nor the place to prove Himself. Satan took God’s Word and twisted it, claiming for himself the authority that he did not have.

Unfortunately, Satan continues to twist God’s Word, even in our churches. Too many take God’s Word and fit it to meet their needs and desires. They seek God’s power for all the wrong reasons, to bring wealth and fame and power, rather than to glorify God. Jesus knew the temptations we would face today; He faced them Himself in that wilderness experience. Satan did not just offer Jesus a loaf of bread, a kingdom, or angelic protection. He offered Jesus an incredible ministry of miracles, authority, and power. Satan was trying to prove Jesus was nothing more than any other man, easily tempted away from God’s will to a self-centered ministry.

Jesus proved He was the Son of God, dwelling within the presence of God and secure in His calling to save the world. Jesus did not come to feed the hungry, to rule over the nations, or to be a famous preacher. He came to die, to bring forgiveness and healing to a world that was sick and dying from sin. He was Immanuel, God with us, and from then until now God no longer lives in a temple. Instead, He lives within the hearts of those who believe.

Today’s Psalm is difficult because we know that we will probably suffer even if we have the greatest faith. Does God protect us from difficulty? Sometimes, yes. We find comfort in the reality, however, that God makes all circumstances, whether good or bad, work out to the best for those who love Him. The Psalm seems to suggest that no matter what we do, we will not suffer or be harmed if we have faith. This is a mistaken understanding that many Christians believe, even to the point of taking unnecessary risks. This Psalm isn’t a call for us to tread on lions or cobras because we are assured of God’s presence in and through our lives. Satan used this psalm to tempt Jesus into jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple, using God’s Word of promise that He will put His angels in charge of our lives, guarding us from harm.

God’s grace does not give us the encouragement to take risks with our lives. Our assurance that God will take care of us does not give us permission to test Him. Jesus knew this, which is why He answered the Satan’s temptations by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. We can trust God but we need also remember that dwelling in Him will not necessarily buy us the perfect home. God’s grace gives us hope for the future and the strength to see ourselves through. When we know that God is with us, we live with an assurance that He will guard us, lift us, hear us, and deliver us from evil, a promise that not always seen in our earthly lives, but is ultimately fulfilled in eternity. We are called to trust in God, not to do something stupid like tread on lions or cobras or buy houses above our means to test God’s faithfulness.

We don’t need to test God because we have seen Him working in the world, through those who came before us, through God’s Word as it is written and preached and taught be the faithful throughout the ages. We are who we are because of what has come from the past, not only our immediate past, but the generations of faithful witness that came first. All this builds like bricks in a building, one thing upon another. We don’t have a relationship with God based solely on the Bible, but also on how it applies to our life. We also don’t have a relationship with God based solely on our personal experience of Him, but on what has come before us. Jesus used God’s Word to reject Satan’s temptations, and we can do the same.

We have to know God’s Word to use it confidently. This is why we spend time in Bible study and listening to preachers and teachers who can help us understand. Throughout the ages, the Church has established certain statements, or creeds, that give us a foundation on which to build our lives of faith. Creeds define the relationship of God with His people. Some people would rather not use creeds because they seem too limiting and too rote for a true relationship. Yet in our scriptures this week we see the speakers all looking back to the Word as was given by God and experienced by His people. When offering the first fruits, the people were to give it in the knowledge and praise of God for what He has done for His people. They were not to give the offering based on their goodness or accomplishments, but on God’s goodness in the past.

In the Epistle lesson, Paul reminds us that our faith in Christ is not just a heart thing or a head thing. It is both. Jesus Christ is Lord and as Lord He is the foundation on which a new covenant or relationship with God is built. Paul looks to the past, to the scriptures, to explain this new covenant of God. The people of the past personified wisdom as the manifestation of God, Paul identified Jesus as that manifestation. The past established what would be, and Jesus fulfilled the promises.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes wonder if I really know what is good, right, and true. We can find strength, hope, and peace in Jesus Christ, but what does that mean? Why doesn’t He make it clear? As you look at the way people interpret the scriptures, you’ll see that one church says one thing while another says something entirely different. Which one is twisting His Word? Which one is falling for the lies?

Our strength, hope, and peace are found in Jesus Christ. He is Lord. We dwell in Him but dwelling in Him does not mean that we should test His faithfulness. God will protect us, save us, empower us. However, we see in Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness that we can be tempted by things that appear good. We find rest in what God has done for us, which we know through His Word, His promises, and through our past. He will teach us how to discern what is right and do what is truly good.

There is an old movie that starred Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris called “Stepmom.” The movie is about a woman (Julia Roberts) who falls in love with a divorced man (Ed Harris). Susan Sarandon plays the ex-wife. Two children complete this very modern family. Early in the movie Susan Sarandon’s character does everything she can to make it difficult on the loving couple. She even goes so far as to turn the hearts of her children away from the new woman in their father’s life. The young boy even says to his mother, “Mom, if you want me to hate her, I will.”

Julia Roberts does not know how to be a mom. She is young and inexperienced but willing to learn. The boy got lost one day because he wandered off, leaving Julia’s character scared and his mother angry with her for not caring. She even threatens to restrict visitation. The girl who is a teenager that willfully fights her own mother is rude and mean, trying to get the “stepmom” in more trouble so she will be forced out of the picture altogether. They both think that if Julia Roberts is gone, then their family will be right again.

However, Susan Sarandon was diagnosed with incurable cancer which made her very sick. Though the doctors tried to make her well, her condition progressively worsened. She did not tell her family until it was too late. One day, when she was feeling very ill, she realized that Julia Roberts offered some hope for her family. She would not be around forever, so she began treating the “stepmom” with more respect. The children saw her change and also began treating her differently.

The mother told her daughter, “Try to see something good in her.” One day, Julia Roberts and the daughter were in their home and the daughter was frustrated by an art project she was working on. Julia asked her what was wrong. At first the daughter pushed her away, but then admitted her problem. Patiently and graciously Julia, who was an artist herself, showed her a technique that would work. That moment of grace from both of them was a turning point in their relationship. In the end, the entire family accepted Julia Roberts, even Susan Sarandon, and they all dealt with the future together.

It wasn’t easy. The young Julia Roberts wanted to do things one way, while the older Susan Sarandon wanted to do things her way. However, they found a way to co-exist in a right relationship that helped the children adjust to the inevitable. It took not only an intellectual understanding of one another, but also a love that was beyond their understanding.

It takes heads and hearts for us to live in a right relationships, which is what righteousness is. Paul wrote about the righteousness that is between God and His people. The Old Testament understanding of righteousness came from obedience to the Law. However, Paul explains in the book of Romans that we can’t be right with God based on our works. Human flesh will never be good enough to do enough to be in that right relationship with God. We want to reject the temptations of Satan. We want to know God’s Word so well that we flee from Satan’s lies. We don’t want to test God, but we fail all the time. Sin is a part of our life, whether we want it to be or not.

So, God made it possible in a new way, with a new covenant. That covenant is found in Jesus Christ. God’s Word, which is Jesus, dwells in us and it is He that makes it possible for us to be right with God.

Susan Sarandon grasped the importance with her head of welcoming Julia Roberts into her world, but she didn’t know how to make it happen. There was a scene in a restaurant, the two women opened up about their fears and hopes for the children. They learned to see each other differently. To know each other more deeply. They knew each other with their hearts which led to a right relationship.

We love God. We know God. But it is not enough to just love God or to just know God. For a right relationship, our hearts and our heads must be involved, confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts that Jesus is Lord.

We begin Lent with the story of Jesus’ temptation because we are encouraged during this time to face our own temptations and fight them with God’s Word, just as Jesus did in the wilderness. Jesus did not prove Himself to be the Son of God by doing foolish things. Jesus proved He was the Son of God by dwelling in the presence of God and relying on His faithfulness. He was secure in His calling to save the world. He was Immanuel, God with us, and from then until now God no longer lives in a temple. Instead, He lives in the hearts of those who believe and by His grace we can get through our wilderness, holding fast to His Word.

We don’t do this on our own. He gives us the gift of faith, and then with that faith we can confess that we believe He is Lord. We believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths because God first loved us. Through grace, we dwell in the shelter of the Most High, resting in the shadow of the Almighty. He is our refuge and our fortress. In Him we can trust.

Someone once said (and many continue to say), “It does not matter what you believe, only that you are sincere in your belief.” This might sound good, a way of tolerating other people in a world where there is such diversity. Yet, the scriptures are very clear when they tell us that it does matter what we believe. Jesus is Lord. Salvation comes from no one else. We can’t earn heaven by doing good works, even if we fill our schedules with the busy-ness of our ministry. We can’t prove ourselves to be faithful by our actions. We are called to live in the assurance that God is faithful. He has given us faith, and by His grace we are saved. His Word is on our lips and in our hearts. We won’t be put to shame because He is faithful, but we need not test God on this.

The instructions for entering the Promised Land do not mean much to us. The Exodus is not our story, nor is the taking of the Promised Land. However, it is part of who we are in Christ, because it is part of who He was as a man in flesh and blood. We remember, but that is just part of the story. We have another story on which our faith is built: the story of Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of the promise; it is in Him and through Him our salvation comes.

Lent is a time to follow Jesus into the wilderness, to learn how to abide in the shelter of God so that when Satan taunts us, we will trust that God can pull us through. We may use this time as a time for fasting, as Jesus fasted during His forty days in the wilderness. But even more so, let us take this Lenten season to listen to God’s words, to keep His Word on our lips and in our hearts so that we, too, can face the devil with God’s truth when he tries to tempt us to go by a different path. God has promised to be with us through our troubles and to save us from all that means to do us harm. We may thing we want things our way, but we’ll learn that our deepest desire is a relationship with the God who loves us forever, not by testing Him, but by trusting that He will make all things right. We may suffer, after all Jesus suffered, but we know that God will deliver us to the place He has prepared for us in eternity. Through it our relationship with God will grow deeper as we know Him more with our hearts.