INTRODUCTION:
We left off in our study of Luke in chapter 3 with John’s message of repentance. John was preaching at the Jordan river and baptizing when Jesus came to be baptized by John. We pick up the account in chapter 4 with Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.

One of the greatest conflicts in the history of the church has been who Christ. is and trying to come to an understanding of his humanity and his deity. The more liberal theologians some denominations and some cults have placed great emphasis in his humanity while minimizing his deity. Often as a reaction to that His deity is emphasized while his humanity is minimized almost as if there is a fear of admitting that Christ was human. We’ve talked about it before. Jesus was not a half god/half man mythological being. The scriptural view teaches Christ was fully human without ever giving up being fully divine. We struggle to understand the mechanics of such a union between the human nature and divine nature. Recognizing Jesus is fully God and at the same time fully man I want us to look this morning at the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and His triumph over the devil.

Matthew, Mark and Luke all make mention of this event.. Mark mentions it only briefly in 1:13, writing, He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. Matt and Luke give a more complete account of the temptation though the order of the temptations are different. Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him. . . NASB

Let’s look first at the Source of the temptation. I’m talking about the devil. He is known in a number of different ways in the Scripture. Matthew and Paul both referred to him as the tempter (Matt 4:3; 1 Th 3:5). John called him the “father of lies” (Jn 8:44). Peter called him a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Mark referred to him as Satan in his account of the temptation. Satan is a Hebrew loan word meaning adversary or accuser. He is also known as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2) and the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4).

The devil is a real being. Today many think of the devil as merely a personification for evil. Evil exists in the world so to explain it we create an evil person who is the devil to be the source of evil. Some people believe Satan is a personification of our own evil desires, if you are a star wars fan you might think of the dark side. However, if we take the Bible seriously not only a religious book and a Revelation from God but also an historical book thinking again of Luke’s opening comments about examining the evidence for the things we have been taught, we must logically conclude the devil to be a real being.

We should recognize Jesus did not have a dark side to wrestle with so this is not a story about Him wrestling with His own desire to somehow avoid the cross. The Bible also ascribes to the devil distinctive traits of personality, including intellect (2 Cor 11:3; Luke 4:lf.). The Bible ascribes to him the emotions of desire (1 Tim 3:6; cf. Isa 14:12), jealousy (Job 1:8,9), hatred (1 Peter 4:8), anger (Rev 12:12), and will. The Devil commands (Luke 4:3,9) and leads rebellions (Rev 12:1-3).

(from Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics © 1999 by Norman L. Geisler. All rights reserved.)

Understand, however, that while Satan is real he is not a god, neither is he God’s counterpart. He is a created being. While he is powerful he is not omnipotent neither does he posses the other attributes of God. He is neither omniscient nor omnipresent. He does not know everything and he can not be everywhere at the same time. But he doesn’t have to be. In tempting Jesus he came personally. He doesn’t need to do that with us. We know from Scripture that he has spiritual forces at his command. Paul explains that we are involved in spiritual warfare against spiritual forces in Eph 6:12. Satan, as the god of this world, that’s god with a little g (2 Cor 4:4), has also introduced his lies into the world system and into the minds of men. That’s why Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world and that before we turned to Christ we walked in the ways of this world (Eph 2:2). As a matter of fact James 4:4 tells us that friendship with the world is to be at odds with God. Add to that as believers we are also engaged in internal spiritual warfare between the old nature and the new nature. We sin when we give in to the old nature and are carried away by our own personal desires (Jas 1:14). Jesus didn’t have an old nature to wrestle with he was perfectly human. His human nature was what we were created to be.

The place of the temptation.

The spirit led Jesus into the wilderness a place of isolation to fast and pray and prepare for His ministry and to an encounter with His adversary. Jeremiah describes the wilderness in Jer 2:6 as a land of deserts and of pits, of drought and of deep darkness, a land that no one crossed And where no man dwelt? It was a desolate place and as Mark says a place with wild beasts. It was there after forty days of fasting when he was tired, hungry and weak the devil came to tempt Him.

You may have been there, not in an actual wilderness like Jesus was but that desolate place where you have been tired and weak and felt desperate and alone. It may have been a wilderness of your own making through bad decisions, anger spite whatever, or you may be in a wilderness place brought about through sickness or because of something someone else did and you had no control over how you got there. But you’re there, and often your guard is down. Someone did something to you and you want to get back at them, or someone said something hurtful and you’re full of anger. Maybe you lost your job or your marriage and you feel like you’re hanging on by a thread. At those times temptation comes in whatever form it might take when you are most vulnerable and it catches you unaware.

Satan thought Jesus was vulnerable when he came to Him. He tempted Jesus in three times in ways that cover any type of temptation we might face. The heart of his temptation of Jesus is to have Him avoid the way of suffering and death that would take Him to the cross.

The first temptation was to compromise faith in God. This is and assault on our natural desires, our appetites, our cravings and our hungers. The devil used the natural desire of hunger to tempt Jesus. There is nothing sinful about the desire for food. It’s how our body is sustained. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and he was hungry. It was a real need. But, Satan takes this natural desire and tempts Jesus into filling it in way that would dishonor God. Luke 4:3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” NASB. This is the conditional use of the word “if” that we have talked about before in the Greek where something is assumed to be true. It’s used differently here, however because there is a challenge. It is like the temptation of Eve where Satan said, “has God really said.” It’s almost a taunting, since you really are the Son of God go ahead and satisfy you hunger.

It would have been easy for Jesus to do. But we see in Scripture Jesus never used supernatural power fo other than God’s purposes. The temptation wasn’t in turning the stones to bread it was to use His Sonship in a way inconsistent with His God-ordained mission. It was to satisfy a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. Why was illegitimate? Because the Father wasn’t telling Him to do it. It wasn’t God’s will for Him to do it that way. We read in Matt 4:11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. NASB

We encounter things like that all of the time in our lives. When I first came to Nebraska there was a financial need in our schools we were told and if we would just legalize gambling that need could be met, schools wouldn’t have to worry about budget shortfalls. The law legalizing it was fought but soon it happened and we have legalized gambling in NE and you know what we still are having budget shortfalls in our schools. We have many legitimate needs in our own lives the temptation we don’t want to fall into is meeting those needs in ways that dishonor God.

The second temptation Luke records, is to compromise the will of God. This really focuses on the kind of king Jesus was to be and the kingdom He was to establish.

Luke 4:5-7 5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” NASB

Luke doesn’t tell us how this leading took place or how this visionary experience happened. It’s not important to the account. It’s the confrontation that’s important. Jesus came to rule and reign in the hearts of men, not just rule them. The temptation was for Jesus to be successful in the establishment of His kingdom, but to do by compromising the will of God.

We all have within us the desire to be successful, the desire to make a difference. We sometimes get confused over the definition of success. We often think if we have more of things we are successful. The people we seem to look up to the most seem to be the ones with power, prestige, fame and fortune and we think that’s what it means to be successful that’s what I want. There is nothing wrong with having power, prestige, fame and fortune. Abraham had all that. Satan’s temptation is to take a shortcut. For you it may not be any of those it may be something as simple as having more friends. We tell ourselves If I had more popularity, more power, more money more fill in the blank life would be wonderful I’d be a happier person and God wants me to be happy so whatever it takes to have that and be happier that’s what I’ll do even if it means doing things I know are wrong because after all God wants me to be happy.

God wants us to be joyful and God has promised us life abundant. He created Adam and Eve in perfection and provided for all of their needs but Satan said look you can have more you can be like God Himself if you just listen to me and take a bite of the forbidden fruit. Satan promised Jesus what wasn’t his to give. If Jesus would just bow and worship him. Just cut a deal with me and it will all be yours right now, you won’t have to suffer or go to the cross.

Satan’s lie is if you want to get ahead in this world don’t wait for God. Cheat a little here, steal a little there, lie a little more and it will all be yours. Worship me by the way you live and I guarantee you’ll have it.

Jesus knew compromising God’s will has consequences. He asked the question in Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? NASB Compromising God’s will to achieve your goals at what cost; success at what price. The temptation of Satan is to forsake God’s plan and God’s purpose to compromise God’s will for what we think is what we want, what we imagine is what we need. And the question resounds in our hearts “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

The third temptation Luke records is the temptation to presume upon God.

Luke 4:9-11 9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You to guard You,’ 11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’” NASB

Luke says the devil led Him, Matthew says he took Him. Again we don’t know how this was accomplished but these verses show that while Satan is not omnipotent he is powerful. He took or led Jesus to a very high place and showed him the kingdoms of the world and now he in some way takes Him from the wilderness to the pinnacle of the temple. Satan took Jesus to the highest point in the holiest place overlooking the splendor that is the temple of God to tempt Him. Temptation in the church can you believe the nerve of Satan? Would he really do such a thing, obviously he would.

He can do that in a number of ways in church on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels. Tempting us to look down on someone else in church, or to gossip about someone or to reject someone, to get angry or get distracted from actual worship to go through the motions and become distant from God while being in church. To do things our way instead of God’s way or to simply not do anything at all. At this point Satan is more subtle and more cunning. He again used the challenge he used in the first temptation “if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from this high place. Then he quotes Scripture. Then he tries to use God’s own word against Him. The ultimate bad use of proof texts. This isn’t new this is what he did to Eve when he asked her “has God really said if you eat this you will die?” Satan himself is a student of the Word of God. Here he quotes Ps 91 vs. 11-12. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone. NASB

The temptation is to first of all doubt God’s Word? Did He really say that, does He really mean that, will he really do that? Does He really love you and care about you, does he really want you to be happy? Then it is to presume upon the grace of God…if God really loves you have Him prove His love for you by doing this or that or giving this or that. We also presume upon God’s grace when we listen to the lie don’t worry about doing this or that whether God says it is right or wrong, God will forgive you anyway. We never want to presume upon God’s grace.

How did Jesus respond to temptation? Jesus didn’t need God to prove anything. Throughout history God has already proved His faithfulness. God’s word was sufficient for Jesus and that’s how he responded to the temptations of the devil.

When the devil said, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” (Deut 8:3)

When the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and said:

7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”

8 Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” (Deut 6:16)

When the devil took him to the pinnacle of the temple and said

“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

10 for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You to guard You,’

11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut 6:13)

When Jesus was faced with temptation he turned to the place that had the answers the Word of God. He trusted God’s Word and He relied upon God’s promises. The Lord told Moses He would never leave him, He told Joshua the same thing and he tells us today the same thing (Heb 13:5).

Jesus said in Matt 7:24: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.

NASB When the storms came and the winds blew when the trails and temptations came the house did not fall. When we are faced with temptation no matter what it is, no matter what it involves we must learn to trust God’s word and rely on God’s promises.

Luke wrote in 4:13: And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. NASB

Temptations will come.

We can be sure if temptation came to Jesus they will come to use. It is not a matter of if, but when. Trials and temptations will as sure as the sun comes up every morning, they will come in different forms at different times in different places. They will come when we think we are strong and our guard is down, they will come when we are at our weakest. They will come especially during times of trials, and when you think you have weathered them they will come again at an opportune time. The devil will come by whatever means in whatever form or manner and will try and get you to compromise your faith in God, to compromise the will of God and to presume upon God.

When they come to us we need we must take our eyes off the trial off the temptation, off the world off the struggles that make us want to give up and give in and instead turn our eyes upon Jesus.

THE APPEARANCE OF JOHN V. 1-2

Luke sets the historical setting of John’s coming. Again not as precise as we would give it today, but So Luke gives a Roman date (the known Roman ruler of their world, Caesar Tiberius), a regional date (Pilate, Herod Antipas & Philip son’s of Herod the great as well as Lysanias in Syria) and a Jewish date (when Annas and Caiaphas served as high priests in Jerusalem) so that the events he shared could be easily verified by people from anywhere.

Israel had been a slave in Egypt 400 years before God sent Moses. It had been between almost 1500 years between the deliverance from Egypt and the arrival of John the forerunner and Jesus the true deliverer. That might be hard for us to realize or visualize in our minds. We have only been a nation 234 years, in the grand scheme of the world we are young. But as Paul said concerning Jesus the fullness of time had come (Gal 4:4) and out of the wilderness God called John. Luke identifies John as the son of Zacharias so we know which John this refers to so it is verifiable.

John seems to be a unique person as were many of the prophets God called. Looking back at verse 80 in chapter 1 Luke 1:80 where Luke wrote: And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. NASB We don’t know how long John was living in the wilderness but when God called him Mark wrote he came clothed with camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, a description resembling the description of Elijah found in 2 Ki 1:8. We also know the Bible says John came in the sprit and power of Elijah (Mal 4:5-6; Matt 11:14; Lk 1:17). His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey (Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6) dried grasshoppers and honey that is found in the rocks. He was a man who lived off the land, he didn’t require much in the way of physical necessities. He wasn’t obligated to anyone other than God to speak the Word as God commanded him.

THE MESSAGE OF JOHN V. 2-3

Luke wrote in verse 2 The Word of God came to John. There is a connection there to the Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Ezra, Hosea, Joel and others who used that phrase in their writings “the word of the Lord came to …” John was the promised prophet of Isa 40:3, i.e., the one who was the voice calling in the wilderness” (Luke 3:4). His ministry was the bridge between the Old and New Testaments. It had been 400 years since Malachi, the last prophet in Israel, called the people to spiritual renewal and reform and now the Word of the Lord came to John calling him out of the wilderness with a message for the people.

Luke and Mark wrote John came (Lk 3:3 Mark 1:4) preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; NASB

Baptism

Before we talk about what the focus of John’s message was lets first be clear about what it wasn’t. John was not preaching baptismal regeneration. I don’t know if you’ve heard that phrase before or not. Baptismal regeneration ascribes to water baptism a sacramental meaning. That is water baptism conveys regeneration or is necessary for regeneration. Regeneration means to regrow Christian regeneration refers to being born again, saved, converted, trusting Christ. It is to be made a spiritually a new creation. Water baptism cannot regenerate or save a person, nor does it insure that a person is saved. Regeneration is signified by water baptism, and therefor water baptism is seen as the initiatory rite for membership in the local church as well as the universal church. Water baptism is a first act of obedience in response to regeneration or become a new creation in Christ.

How do we know baptismal regeneration isn’t what John was preaching and teaching? First the form of the Greek word for repentance used here is qualifying and defines the term baptism. John proclaimed water baptism as an act expressing repentance. Secondly we have the rest of the New Testament as a commentary to explain both baptism and regeneration.

There are many proof texts such as Acts 2:21 everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, Acts 16:31 in response to the question of the Philippian jailer’s question what must I do to be saved; Eph 2:5, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), Eph 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. NASB

Rom 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. NASB We also have John’s own words in verse 16 which minimizes in a sense the water baptism he is doing compared to that done by the Holy Spirit. None of these important verses indicate baptism necessary for salvation.

Now having said that let me also briefly mention baptism by the Holy Spirit mentioned in only once in the book of Acts. What it’s not is a second act of grace or second blessing where a person who has been saved at some later point receives the Holy Spirit. All three gospels mention this as something that will come from Jesus that is different from that which John is doing. In the book of Acts 1:5 it’s mentioned in connection with the initial coming of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem the disciples were to wait for this baptizing by the Spirit symbolizing the permanent presence of the Spirit with believers and it’s repeated with the Gentile and the Samaritan believers signifying they have received the same Spirit as the Jews.

Those who understand this as a second work of grace see the Holy Spirit as a power rather than a person. The Scripture makes it clear the Holy Spirit is the second person of the triune Godhead or the second person of the Trinity God the Holy Spirit. He is referred to as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God the Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit of Christ. He is powerful but he is not a power and believers receive all of God’s presence at the moment of regeneration or the moment of salvation which itself is the work of the Spirit and we are filled with His presence (Eph 1:13-14; 1 Cor 6:19) and sealed by the Spirit of God.

Repentance

The Baptism John speaks of is a baptism which follows repentance, and is a sign of that repentance.

Repentance was a key element of John’s preaching, as well as that of Jesus. Matt 4:17 17 writing from that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” NASB Mark records Jesus words in Mark 1:14-15 14 And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” NASB. Repentance was also a key aspect of Peter’s message in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Acts 2:38), and It was Paul’s message as well. In Acts 20:21 Luke records Paul’s words that he was 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. NASB When Paul was giving an account of his ministry before King Agrippa recorded in Acts 26:19-20 he said: 19 “Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, NASB

In the Old Testament the requirements of repentance were “to turn from evil, and to turn to the good.” Theologically the idea was returning to God, or turning away from evil. Three times Ezekiel included God’s call to the people of Israel: “Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!” (14:6); “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses” (18:30); “Turn! Turn from your evil ways” (33:11). This same call to repentance was characteristic of other prophets as well ( Isa 45:22; 55:7; Joel 2:12-13)

In the New Testament, the key term translated repentance means to have a change of mind or to turn away from. John the Baptist called for people to make a break with the old way of life, to turn from it and turn to God. That is the key for our understanding of repentance.

In any presentation of the gospel for salvation repentance is implied if not actually stated. Luke records the strong calls for repentance in Jesus’ teachings ( 10:13; 11:32; 13:3,5; 17:3-4). In the Book of Acts metanoia repentance is often connected with remission or forgiveness of sins (see 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 26:18,20).

When we use the terms believe and confess in the New Testament they both contain within their usage the understanding of repentance. When the Philippian jailer asked what he had to do to be saved Paul & Silas responded believe in the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:30). Paul was not saying just believe facts about Jesus but believe in Him, who He was, what His purpose in coming was and what He taught concerning our condition. The idea of repentance is implied here as well as in the proof texts we use most often in regards to salvation.

Eph 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

NASB

Rom 10:9-11

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” NASB

Rom 10:13 for “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” NASB

For Paul repentance confession and faith all go hand in hand so that under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit there is the recognition of our condition as sinners, a contriteness of spirit because of condition much like that of Isaiah in Isa 6:5 that contriteness or genuine sorrow causes us to turn from sin and by faith turn to God which is by definition repentance.

In Acts 11:21 Luke quotes Paul: And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. There you see believing and turning used together. Later when Paul was giving an account of his ministry in Acts 20:20-21 describing the same event He said this “. . .I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. NASB

Rom 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? NASB

2 Cor 7:10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

NASB

2 Tim 2:25-26 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. NASB

Peter does the same in Acts 10:43 preaching to Cornelius believers receiving forgiveness later in 11:18 he talks about God granting them repentance.

In salvation there is the free sovereign act of God’s mercy, and a conscious decision on our part to turn to God in faith (a turning that goes beyond sorrow and shame). The idea is when we recognize our sinfulness, our need for a savior there is a genuine sorrow for sin that causes us to turn away from sin abandoning are both evil intentions and evil deeds, turning to God in faith that repentance then by His grace and through His Spirit motive and conduct are radically changed.

Conduct V. 8

The third part of John’s message refers to conduct. In verse 8 John said: “Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance. NASB In other their actions the fruit of their lives would demonstrate the genuine nature of their repentance.

We often think James and Paul were on separate pages because James says faith without works is dead. But, going back to Paul’s testimony before King Agrippa in Acts 26:19-20 we see they are not. Paul said: 19 “Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. NASB

Listen to these passages:

Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, NASB

Eph 4:22-24 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. NASB

Eph 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. NASB

Eph 5:1-5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3 But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. NASB

What is Paul saying? That our faith makes a difference in our works and our life.

Paul, James and John the Baptist are all in agreement with Jesus. We are saved by grace through faith but the genuineness of our faith is demonstrated through a changed life style. That’s what happens when we decided to follow Jesus. We repent of our sin and turn from it to serve the living God. Have you decided to follow Jesus, not be an observer but a genuine follower? That’s what we call you to today repent turn from sin and follow Jesus.

This morning we are really continuing the theme of God being the God of the Impossible. It is the Christmas story in May. We looked previously at God doing the impossible with the conception of children through a woman well beyond child bearing years and a young virgin. This morning we look at another impossibility and that is the coming of Jesus the Christ, the Son of God and God the Son into the world.

There are three parts to the narrative of chapter 2 we want to look at this morning. The first is the historical setting of Christ’s coming into the world which Luke is careful to give us in verses 1-5.

Luke mentions two historical figures Caesar Augustus, who was emperor in Rome from 30 B. C. To A. D. 14, and Quirinius whom Luke says was governor of Syria. Luke is not precise in his dating other than in those days. There is a lot of controversy about the translation of v. 2 because there are no extrebiblical or secular sources to confirm Luke’s account of a census, which he refers to as the first, and the dating of this census so that it would coincide with the probably birth year of Jesus believed to be somewhere between 6 and 4 B. C.

But, we know two things for certain about this narrative. One Luke is writing under this inspiration of the Holy Spirit and, two he said he researched the things he was writing. So whether there are outside sources available now or in the future or whether we understand precisely the nature and time of Quirinius’ as ruler of Syria, and we do know historically that he was governor and also ruled as a military governor at different times or whether we understand the exact nature of this census we can reasonably believe the accuracy of Luke’s statements. Additionally, we know Luke was aware of the more well known census that took place later in A. D. 6 and caused an uprising among the Jews because he mentions it in Acts 5:37. Acts and Luke are two parts of the same narrative so it’s not like Luke made a mistake or was confused about the time frame.

The important thing is to understand God uses the events of history good and bad for his purpose. The prophet Micah who prophesied from approximately 750 – 687 B. C. wrote about 700 years before the birth Jesus in Mic 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” NASB

How did Mary and Joseph the couple from Nazareth come to be in Bethlehem that this prophecy could be fulfilled? The Roman government arranged for it to be so. God doesn’t have to manipulate history for His purpose he can simply use history to accomplish it. We see here the supernatural hand of God at work in the events of history. This is obviously not something Jesus could have staged to make Himself appear to be the Christ, and while today we may not totally understand all the details of what Luke wrote this is another one of those things that could have been easily discredited early on if it were not true. In all of this we must remember Luke’s point for writing these things he researched 1:4 so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught. NASB

The second portion of this chapter is the birth narrative. Paul wrote in Gal 4:4, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Luke gives us the only account in the Bible of the Inn or the manger and that is almost after the fact kind of statement. We know the story well, probably better than any story in the Bible, yet there are only two verses about it in all of Scripture. Luke 2:6-7 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. NASB

Again no embellishment, no attempt to make this more believable, or more awe inspiring or worshipful or anything we might think of that would mark the coming of God into the world. Nothing to make this event look great in the eyes of men. Just a matter of fact statement.

Mary and Joseph made the 90 mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem which probably took 3 days in Mary’s condition maybe longer, and Luke wrote while they were there she had her baby. Luke doesn’t tell us how long they might have been there before Jesus was born just that while they were there the time came for her to have the child. We don’t know where they might have stayed until this time. We don’t know if they might have stayed outside as they likely did traveling to Bethlehem and then when they saw it was time to have the baby sought a place to have the child or if they had gone immediately to the Inn and had been staying there a few days or if this happened right after they arrived in Bethlehem. There are no details at all about the greatest birth in human history. Mary simply, or maybe not so simply, gave birth Luke says to her first born son and wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room in the Inn and apparently no where else Bethlehem either for her to have her child.

The third part of the narrative is the announcement of His birth to the shepherds 2:8-20. I won’t go into great detail here. At Christmas time we talk and sing and preach about the angels and the shepherds and their coming to manger. Certainly there was something special and wonderful and miraculous going on here. What does this tell us about Jesus?

Lincoln native William Jennings Bryan said of Jesus, “Reared in the home of a carpenter, never having access to the wisdom of the past, never coming in contact with the sages of other lands, and yet, when only thirty years of age He gave to the world a code of morality the like of which the world has never seen.” Thomas Jefferson, said Jesus gave us, “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has been offered to man.”
Psychiatrist J. T. Fisher and coauthor L. S. Hawley in their book A Few Buttons Missing wrote: If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene — if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the excess verbiage — if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the sermon on the mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison.. . .Here. . .rest the blueprints for successful human life with optimum mental health and contentment. (WITBHNBW, p. 12)

Very commendable statements about Jesus all of which are true. Jesus was a great moralist and apparently a great psychologist and psychiatrist as well. Today people still write and talk about Jesus with speculation, wonder and animosity and today there are many different Jesus’. The Mormon, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, various cult groups as well as Islam all talk about Jesus.

There are volumes written which verify the many positive influences in the world that have come about because of His birth. Every area of life has been affected by what He taught and what He revealed to men about God. From feeding the poor, to orphanages to city missions and the majority of efforts in the area of world hunger relief today the influence of Christ has been and continues to be the driving force behind most of these charitable endeavors. In an 1855 article the “New York Observer” said Infidelity makes a great outcry about its philanthropy, but religion does the work.”

The value of life itself was given importance by Christ. In the centuries before his birth human cultures exhibited a thoughtlessness and complete disregard for human life. Life was cheap. The spilling of human blood thrilled the masses in Rome. Men fought to the death for the pleasure of the people. Today we see this same kind of thoughtlessness and disregard for human life in cultures where Christianity has a lessened influence and unfortunately today we see that same thing happening in places where Christian influence is beginning to weaken as well as a decline in moral values as well. Jesus was a great moral teacher and a great religious philosopher and prophet and all those kinds of things. But He is much more.

The truth about Jesus as more than moral teacher, philosopher and psychologist as is summed up in the angel’s words in Luke 2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. NASB He was God in the flesh entering into human history.

Here Word mean and context are important. Jesus is Savior or deliverer. The word is related to the word salvation. Jesus was the one who would deliver His people not from the Roman oppression but from their sin. Matt wrote in 1:21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” NASB That’s God’s position and authority.

The name Jesus is the English spelling and pronunciation of the Greek word which is the translation of the Hebrew Yeshua which means Yahweh is salvation. The angels were probably speaking Aramaic to the shepherds which, was the common language of the day. In referring to Him as Savior the angels called attention to the Old Testament. Particularly we look at:

Isa 43:11-12 “I, even I, am the Lord; And there is no savior besides Me.
12 “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And I am God. NASB

Isa 45:21 “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. NASB

God affirms there is no other savior beside Him and there is no other God besides Him. The one who is born is Savior which means then He is God. That is reinforced through the phrase Christ the Lord Christ meaning Messiah, God’s anointed, who is Lord or the Master. How can this be? The Bible says His thoughts and His ways are too great for us to understand(Isa 55:9); He is spirit (Jn 4:24) and no man has seen Him at any time (Jn 1:18). Paul refers to Him as eternal, immortal and invisible (1 Tim 1:17). Again God is the God of the impossible.

We see Him through His creation which is a form of general revelation that reveals to us God exists. We have the special revelation of His written word which at that time was only the Old Testament scrolls and those were not available to everyone. Mankind needed a greater form of special revelation that we might know God, not just that He exists and that salvation might be made available to us. So in the fullness of time or when the time was right God Himself became flesh and Dwelt among us (Jn 1:14). Paul summed it up in Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, [That’s through Jesus sacrifice and resurrection] 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,. That’s His message. That’s what He taught. But Paul then adds not only are we to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age but in Titus 2:13 Paul wrote we should be “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;” NASB

Paul was talking there about the return of our God and Savior, Christ Jesus. This morning as always we ask the question do you know Him as God and Savior? That’s the question every person must ask and answer in this life. God give life in this world meaning and purpose and your destination in eternity depends on your answer to that question. And for those who know Him as God and Savior we anxiously look forward to His glorious return. This morning we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and Paul wrote 1 Cor 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. NASB It is an enacted proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ by believers. That’s why we always give an invitation before we celebrate so that if there is anyone who doesn’t know Christ as Lord and Savior they might have the opportunity to make that decision. Without Him we are lost in sin as the song says like a ship without a sail, but with Him thank God I’m saved. Are you with Him this morning or without Him? As we sing this hymn of invitation this morning you decide and then we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

INTRODUCTION:

This morning’s message is a continuation of what I began two weeks ago with the impossible conception by Elizabeth and Zacharias. It’s not a special emphasis for Mother’s Day, but an appropriate one since the past message and this one has to do with mother’s.

Impossibility #1 Gabriel’s appearance to Zacharias with news that Elizabeth would bear a child who would be the forerunner to the Messiah.

Impossibility #2 Gabriel’s Appearance to Mary 1:26-46

Go back in chapter one to verse 26. About six months after Gabriel’s visit to Zacharias he appears to a young girl, a virgin named Mary with the announcement that she will bear a child. Not only will she bear a child but she will bear the Christ child. God moves from a woman who is past childbearing years and who was unable to conceive physically to a young girl who is a virgin and announces to Mary that she will conceive the Christ Child.

The Virgin Birth

In the first Impossible situation Elizabeth was too old to have children and unable to conceive children. But God did the impossible and she had a child. God goes a step further now and does the same with a virgin. The virgin birth is an important doctrine in Christianity. It is not essential to salvation in that you don’t have to know and understand and believe it to trust Christ to save you. It is essential in understanding the nature of the Christ who saves us. And it is true!

There are many today even within Christianity who deny the virgin birth and don’t teach it. Which affects how they understand and teach who Jesus was. This is one of those places where just word meaning alone doesn’t help our understanding. Many people point out the Hebrew word translated virgin in Isaiah and the Greek word in verse 27 can simply mean a young girl, and that’s true it can mean that. However, as we have seen words have usage as well as meaning and you have to take this in context in both Old and New Testament. I’m not going to spend a lot of time with all the dynamics but in the context of a sign in Isa 7:14 the Hebrew word is understood as referring to a virgin. Matthew of course ties this to Mary in Matt 1:23. In this passage from Luke Mary’s response in verse 34 indicates the word is used to mean virgin. In the NASB the phrase is simply translated by meaning as virgin.

I know not a man? KJV Luke 1:34 I do not know a man?” NKJV The key is the Greek verb ‘to know’ or know which is used to indicate intimate relations. So as the (HCSB) translates it Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” Which by definition means virgin.

Luke who said he was writing to an accurate historical account so we could be sure of the things we have been taught is a Dr and obviously understands reproduction. By what he writes then in this passage he helps us understand this is the sign prophesied by Isaiah. The sign is that a virgin shall be with child. The impossible made possible by God.

This is different from Greek and Roman mythological accounts where the gods or immortals desired and had sexual relationships with humans and produced individuals who were half human/half god. For instance, Achilles was the son of an immortal mother and human father. Hercules was the son of Zeus, the king of gods, and a mortal mother.

In contrast to the mythological accounts the New Testament narrative mentions nothing like that. God is not described or pictured as desiring Mary. The virgin birth is the creative work of God through His Holy Spirit. Also in contrast to mythology Luke and Matthew are rather matter of fact in their narratives about the conception and birth of Jesus. They don’t add unnecessary facts or additional narrative to embellish the story they simply state it as fact and only 2 their combined 52 chapters mentions it. And it is not mentioned anywhere in the rest of Scripture.

The other thing to consider is Jewish antagonism toward Christianity would have made the truth known if Jesus’ birth had happened otherwise. We see some indication that this wasn’t as well known outside Christian belief in Matt 13:53-56
53 And it came about that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 And coming to His home town He began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they became astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these miraculous powers? 55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 “And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” NASB

Later second-century Jewish arguments against the virgin birth shows, there was no independent piece of tradition or evidence to appeal to; the arguments at that time are simply a reaction to the widely accepted tradition of the virgin birth.

What we have through the virgin birth is the invisible God, who could not be held nor touched nor seen was made visible. God became flesh (Jn 1:18). As John wrote 1 Jn 1:1 what was from the beginning our eyes have seen and our hands have handled. The invisible God became not only visible but also knowable on a personal level in Jesus Christ.

Godly Character

Luke doesn’t give us a description of Mary’s character as he did with Zacharias and Elizabeth except to record Gabriel’s words that she found favor with God and that she was a virgin, certainly both suggesting she was a young woman of godly character. We are also told that Joseph was a righteous man (Matt 1:19) which again suggests that Mary’s character was virtuous.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, Christian character has always been important but character is an especially important issue for the church today. I recently read an interview with Gina Welch. Gina wrote a book: In The Land Of Believers: An Outsider’s Extraordinary Journey into the Heart of the Evangelical Church.” According to her she went “undercover” at Thomas Rd BC in VA, faking a conversion experience and even going on a mission trip with the church. I haven’t read the book only the interview, but several things caught my attention. Her observation as a nonbeliever and one she said fascinated her was that many people in the church didn’t really know what they believed or why they believed it. Her observation was they had only an emotional attachment to the Christian faith. The second thing was the fact as a nonbeliever she observed many who professed to believe in the Bible and Christianity but whose lives showed nothing different, same moral standards, same lifestyles, same way of living as those outside the church. She also commented that though it was talked about a lot she never really understood what it meant to have a “relationship” with Christ. Did that mean she stayed up late talking to him about things or something like that? I hope I have made clear over the years that a relationship with Christ while by faith and not a relationship between equals is much the same as we would have with our spouses our children or even our friends. We have to get to know Christ and we do that through the Bible, prayer and the Holy Spirit. And we do indeed spend time talking to him and listening to Him late at night through these things. The last thing that caught my attention was her statement there were a lot of things about Christianity she liked and wished were true but she didn’t believe they were.

There are several things to be concerned with in what she observed. One is that we need to know what we believe and why. Though emotions play an important part in a faith experience as do family relationships and friendships but it has to be deeper than that. Just because mom and dad were saved or my friends are saved and I go to church all the time doesn’t mean I’m saved. Or, just because I get goose bumps when I listen to the music or emotional when certain hymns are sung doesn’t mean I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. A relationship with Christ is based on my understanding and acknowledgment that I’m a sinner in need of savior, that Jesus Christ is that Savior which we understand by faith but as Luke told us it is faith based on historical fact and repenting of that sin and calling on Him to forgive me and save me.

The second thing is the fact that hypocrisy is rampant in today’s church. This has always been used as an excuse by some for rejecting the church or Christianity. What I am talking about is not the fact we are not perfect but the fact we simply don’t live out our faith. We always walk a fine line between being legalistic about what we do and don’t do and stressing the fact that we must live out of faith in the world. Legalism is the idea that what we do or don’t do determines our salvation. Living out our faith on the other hand means that the genuineness of our salvation depth of our relationship with Christ determines how we live our lives. That’s why Jesus says if you love me you will obey me (Jn 14:15), and obeying me is not burdensome or oppressive (1 Jn 5:3). Living out our faith does take effort on our part. That’s what Paul explains in Col 3 1-11 where he tells us to think about certain things and act in certain ways and in verse 9 and 10 tells us we have laid aside the old self and are to put on the new self. That’s willfully living righteous in response to our salvation not in order to gain it.

This kind of hypocrisy may be one reason she found that she couldn’t believe some of the claims of Christianity were really true. I just purchased a book I have started to read yet called The Christian Atheist which is about that same subject people claiming to be Christian but living lives that reveal a practical atheism that denies God by the way we live.

My point is this when someone sees us or knows us, especially nonbelievers, they need to see that Christ and Christianity make a difference in how we live, think and act. And, when the Lord looks at us like he did with Elizabeth, Zacharias, Mary and Joseph we will be people who because we trust Him live for Him.
What does this have to do with mother’s day? In the broadest sense of the word any woman who can have a child can be a mother. You don’t need to be saved to be a good mother. I’ve known good mother’s who weren’t saved. But, it takes the miraculous intervention of God to be a good and godly mother and God can make a godly mother out of any woman. Through God’s presence in your life you can be a good and godly mother, step mother, foster mother or grandmother. And the influence of a good and godly mother is of unestimatible value. In not only influencing her children but in influencing the world. We don’t often hear of Susanna Wesley her life was a struggle but by all indication she was a godly mother. How did she impact the world? Through her godly influence especially through two of her son’s John and Charles.

What I’m saying is that all mother’s especially godly mother’s, stepmother’s, foster mother’s and grandmother’s have the opportunity to touch the world through their influence on their children. That doesn’t mean women can’t influence the world outside of children don’t misunderstand that. I am simply saying you don’t have to be well known or be in politics or anything like that to influence the world. With God all things are possible and what our world needs now more than ever is the influence of godly mothers. Those of us who privileged to have both good and godly mothers should thank God everyday. And all of us who have mothers are to honor them in accordance with God’s command (particularly the 5th commandment) not only on Mother’s Day but every day. We can honor our mother’s in many tangible ways with gifts of appreciation and things like that but the best way to honor our mother’s is by living lives that honor God. Does your life honor your mother? It can and will if you surrender all to Jesus, every thought every action.

We are not going to cover all of this passage in depth. This is a second part of our overview or introduction to Luke. These two chapters focus on two miraculous events that are the advent of New Testament history. That which he investigated carefully from the beginning. I had planned to cover both this morning but as my sermon took shape I found that it will take two Sunday’s so this will be part 1.

In Matt and Mark when Jesus was teaching about salvation he made the statement found in Matt 19:24; Mark 10:25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” NASB The Bible says the disciples were so astonished by this and asked, who can be saved? Jesus responded in Matt 19:26 “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” NASB The angel Gabriel affirms that truth in Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.” NASB Luke is about to introduce us to the God of the impossible.

Impossibility #1 Gabriel Appears to Zacharias 1:5-25

After Luke gave his explanation for writing in 1-4, he begins his gospel with the story of a miraculous conception, but not the one we might imagine. Luke begins with the story of John the Baptist, rather than Jesus. Luke is the only gospel writer to mention the supernatural aspect of John’s birth. In both Matt 3 and Mark 1 John simply arrives on the scene. In 1:5-25, however, Luke records for us the account of the angel’s visit to a man by the name of Zacharias with the message God is about to do the impossible.

Luke writes as the historian. He sets the time period, though it is a broad span of time because Herod served for a long period. He also establishes the linage of the parents. Zacharias was of the division of Abijah. Division referring to the class of priests organized by family that served in the temple on a rotation basis, described in 1 Chronicles. But not only was Zacharias of priestly heritage, Elizabeth was as well. She was a descendent of Aaron. That means the forerunner of Jesus was of priestly heritage which placed him in the center of Hebrew history as well as the religious structure of Israel. Luke ties the birth of John to the birth of Jesus and the heritage of Israel linking Old Testament history with the New Testament and Christianity.

Luke also wants us to understand the character of John’s parents. In verse 6 he wrote, And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. NASB They had impeccable character. I thought about this verse because I had not originally made it a big part of this message. Why is that important? I think it’s important in the historical setting of what God is about to do, it’s important in the broader scheme of the gospel message of Jesus which is about internal righteousness and I think the emphasis here is that Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous outwardly because they were righteous inwardly. As we see the confrontation that develops throughout the New Testament between Jesus and the religious leaders of Israel it’s clear He condemns that which is only outward through following the commandments and laws and not inward out of devotion and love of God. It’s also important because the teaching of the New Testament shows Christian’s character is important.

The Bible makes it clear we are saved by grace alone. His grace is sufficient for even the worst or what we might think of or classify as the worst offenders. When we looked at the sayings from the cross we talked about the word used to describe the men crucified with Jesus as career criminals, men hardened by their lifestyles and yet when the one thief repented God’s grace was sufficient. Paul was also a great example of the sufficiency of God’s grace and life changing power.

Zacharias and Elizabeth are referred to as righteous. In the Old Testament righteousness was based on works. Luke wrote, they walked blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. Righteousness in the New Testament is a righteous based on faith rather than works. That means we are righteous in Christ for attaining salvation. We don’t have to work for it. In Paul’s description of himself in he talks about the distinction between the two. As we see through the gospels though even the external righteousness based on works was to come from the heart.

Today we are saved by grace and righteousness is imputed or credited to us in Christ. Sometimes we mistakenly believe that’s the extent of the Christian experience. God doesn’t expect us to stay the same as we were when He saved us. The many different words used in the Bible to describe the nature of salvation and sanctification make that clear. Paul’s letters which comprise most of the New Testament are not only about theology but also about character, which you might say is putting theology into practical application. Christian character, however, is not the product of our own self efforts. It is a product of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives and it is the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work and our yielding to Him. Our yielding is important. Paul says whatever is good and pure and right think on these and practice them (Ph 4:8-9), Whatever you do in word or deed do in the name of Jesus (Col 3: 17, 23). He wrote in Col 3: 3 -3: 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. NASB

He wrote in Col 3:5-7: 5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. NASB

That means our nature is changed when we come to Christ in faith, but we have to work intentionally in changing our character. So if there isn’t a change in our lives it can only be one of two things: We either don’t have the Holy Spirit in us which means we aren’t saved in the first place, because that’s the nature of salvation the Holy Spirit indwells us when we come to Christ in faith. Or, we are not yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work in our lives, which again may also beg the question of whether we have really placed our faith in Christ. But certainly means we are not yielding our lives to God as we should.

Understand none of us are perfect not even close by any stretch of the imagination. That doesn’t mean saved people don’t sometimes use bad judgement it doesn’t mean saved people don’t sometimes do bad, wrong or hurtful things. But, as Paul wrote and as he and other’s demonstrate salvation brings a change in one’s life. Those other things those other kinds of lifestyle choices are the exception not the rule of life. Jesus said in Luke 6:46 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? NASB And in John 14:15 He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. NASB Jesus expects those who are His to demonstrate the power of God through lives changed by the power of God. If we expect to be used by God, and everyone who is saved should expect that, we must allow the Spirit to work in our lives and change our character.

In the sermon on the mount Jesus said lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. He didn’t say I will lay up for you treasures in heaven. We have to ask ourselves how much of this past week did we lay up in heaven? How much of our time and energy was used by the Lord for His purposes and for His glory? How much time did we spend allowing God to control our time, our talents, our attitudes, and our actions?

In Gal 5:22-25 Paul wrote: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
NASB Christ’s control of our lives through yielding to the Holy Spirit produces fruit. That’s what Paul called walking in the Spirit or abiding in Christ. Abiding in Christ or walking by the Spirit is a choice we make. As believers we make daily, hourly, and moment-by-moment choices whether to yield and obey God or whether to yield to the flesh and obey our own desire. God sovereignly allows us to make choices, good and/or bad but He also holds us accountable for the choices we make. In Gal 6:7 Paul wrote Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. NASB That applies to Christians as well as non-Christians. Where does your life stand, where is your heart?

For Zacharias and Elizabeth their hearts were with God and God is about to do the impossible through this couple of great character. He is about to give them a child. What’s impossible about a couple having a child? What makes this conception unique? Verse 7 is the key to that. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. The Greek word translated barren is (stay ra) sterile. Elizabeth was unable to conceive a child. Not only that Luke writes they were well advanced in years in the Greek that means they were old. The KJV says well stricken in years. Like Abraham’s wife Elizabeth was well beyond child bearing years. There were no doctors to visit no fertility drugs to take. Luke the physician understood and makes the point that for them to have a child at that time in their lives was not just an improbability but an impossibility.

One day, however, while Zacharias, was doing his daily ministry rotation in the temple the angel Gabriel (1:19) appeared to him with the news Elizabeth would bear a son in answer to his prayers. Not only would they have a son, but he would be a very important son. Luke 1:17 Gabriel said: “And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” NASB

These words are important we see later in Matt and Mark the question came up about Elijah preceding the Christ and Jesus explains this prophecy was fulfilled through John the Baptist (Matt 11:10-14, 17:10-12; Mk 9:11-14) .

Because Zacharias did not believe what he was hearing and seeing (1:20) as a sign of what was to come he would be unable to speak until the child was born.

Skip down to verses 57-80 Luke continues the story with the account of John’s birth. Again I won’t read all of this. The child was born, there was concern about what to name him. I find that interesting (58-63). They named him John just as they were told and Zacharias got his voice back. In Luke 1:66 the people wondered about John, And all who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him. NASB

Zacharias explains Gabriel’s message of who John was and what God had called him to do in verses 76 and 77: 76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; 77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, NASB

John’s early life is then summed up by Luke in one verse, verse 80 And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. NASB

Matt doesn’t mention anything about John’s birth but writes in 3:1-2: Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” NASB

Mark also doesn’t give any account of his birth either but does tell us his coming is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. Mark 1:1-4 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way; 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’” 4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. NASB That’s is from Isa 40:3.

God used Zacharias and Elizabeth, a couple of godly character. A couple unable to have children and brought forth the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah’s ministry. The impossible became possible because God is the God of the impossible.

Have you placed you faith in Him this morning? Are you yielding every aspect of you life to Him?

There are many impossibilities in our lives. The impossibility to save ourselves, the impossibility to live godly lives in our own strength and power and ability. But God can take the impossibilities of lives and make them not only possibilities but realities if we yield to Him and His will, because He is the God of the impossible and nothing is impossible when you place you faith in Him.

How do we know if something is true or not? Was the holocaust fact or fiction? Did it really happen or was it a myth, a fairy tale, a work of fiction? There are people today who deny it happened. How can we be sure it did?

Today historical events are well documented. Books, magazines, pictures, news papers, although they seem to be dying out and getting smaller, there is 24 hr news Television and of course today we have the internet. Sometimes the reliability of the facts of certain events are questionable, especially on the internet where anybody can post most anything as being true. We used to go to encyclopedias for information which was pretty reliable. They had people who researched details and checked facts for accuracy. Today we have Wicipedia on the internet, which is great but anyone can add information to Wicipedia articles and pawn it off as fact. Not to mention the endless number of blogs that offer as much fiction as fact

How can we be sure things are factual. We either are eyewitnesses ourselves or we have the writings of eyewitnesses or others who have interviewed the eyewitnesses and recorded their account. And generally there are enough accounts to compare the facts. This is particularly true with the Bible. Over there years there have been many who tried to say the holocaust was myth including most recently the president of Iran. Those kinds of criticisms and accusations are hollow because we have records of all types including pictures, but even today we still have access to those who were eye witnesses. Though they are dwindling in number there are still many of our own soldiers from WWII who liberated some of those camps still living, and there are still survivors who actually experienced the horror that was the holocaust.

The Lincoln Journal Star recently carried an article on the front page “Holocaust survivor: Keep the story alive.” It mentioned several survivors who live here in Lincoln who were eyewitnesses to the things that happened.

The gospel of Luke was written for much the same reason – to keep the truth and the story alive. In the Bible Luke and Acts are separate books, but they are two parts of the same narrative.

What do we know about the writer of this gospel? I don’t think it is important to go into great detail here. He doesn’t identify himself by name. He doesn’t identify himself as an eyewitness (v. 2) so we know he wasn’t an apostle or early follower of Jesus. It is almost a certainty he was not Jewish based on how he refers to the Jews and particularly his concept of writing in a sequential manner. This would make him the only Gentile writer of Scripture. The overwhelming determination of tradition, however, is the writer was Paul’s companion Luke the beloved physician of Col 4:14.

I mentioned what I believe to be the overarching purpose of Luke-Acts and that is to keep the truth and the story alive. But there are a number of different purposes emphases found throughout the narratives themselves.

Luke begins his narrative with an explanation of why he decided to write this material. First he wants us to know he is writing a history. Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, . . .NASB

He doesn’t say how many have undertaking this task but that others have undertaken the task of compiling an account or writing a narrative of the things he said were accomplished among us just as they were handed down. In other words others had already begun to record both oral and written accounts from those who were actually eyewitnesses. And we understand from verse three he used some of these in his careful investigation.

Writing as a historian: Luke wants us to have an accurate, consecutive account of what had taken place up to the point of his writing this account. Why is that important? We have talked about this before the Bible doesn’t teach or command blind faith, though some think it does. It doesn’t teach that you check you mind at the door to the church. When Paul went to Berea and taught, the Bible says they searched the Scriptures to make sure what he said was true (Acts 17:13). The bible does teach faith – that absolute trust and total dependence on God but it is faith based on truth and on facts.

The greatest commandment as stated by Jesus in Matt 22:37 says “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” NASB

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, NASB

Eph 4:22-23 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, NASB

2 Peter 1:15-16 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind. 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. NASB

Christianity is not mindless, blind faith. Christianity is a faith relationship with Jesus Christ based on truth and fact. Luke tells us he is setting out to compile these facts on which our faith is based and he wants to do it in a consecutive order. It’s important to note here that again the mind set of that culture and era was not like the modern Western mind set where we expect a exactness in order. But because things are not always recorded that way doesn’t mean there is a error. If you were to ask what did you do at church today. I might say we sang hymns we sang praises we took an offering prayed and had a sermon. There wouldn’t be any error or mistake to that, we did all of those things just not exactly in that order. Sometimes that’s exactly what we find in Scripture.

It is also important to remember that while Luke is writing as an historian, doing research and compiling facts he isn’t just doing this on his own. Luke was inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit of God. As Paul wrote in 2 Tim 3:16 all Scripture is God breathed. The Spirit worked in the heart and mind of Luke to compile this record. He worked in the hearts and minds of the early church to both confirm and accept Luke’s writing as part of the inspired canon Scripture.

Luke emphasized the fact what he is writing comes from those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning (v. 2). Eyewitnesses from the beginning referring to those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. John uses similar language in 1 John 1:1 where he wrote: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life — NASB

Luke probably had access to a copy of Mark’s gospel. He was most likely familiar with or had an awareness of oral traditions and perhaps even some other written records we no longer have for his research. But, the most important thing he had access to were those who were still alive who had been part of what happened; who had seen and witnessed the things that had taken place – the events, the miracles, the teachings, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension. Luke probably interviewed or spoke personally to many of them about the things they had witnessed. That’s very important and very powerful. They could testify to the actuality of the miracles and their testimony could not be impeached or denied when these things were recorded. No one can tell Eli Modenstein the holocaust wasn’t real. He has the number 76470 from Auschwitz tattooed on his arm. We have access to that so we can know for sure the holocaust was fact.

In the same way with the Bible and Christianity. No one could tell the leper that Jesus couldn’t work miracles (5:12-16). No one could tell the man lowered through the roof by friends (5:17-26), or the centurion Jesus didn’t have power to heal (7:1-10). No one could tell the widow of Nain (7:11-17) or Jairus [J irus] (8:40-56) that Jesus didn’t have the power to raise the dead. No one could tell the woman that washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair and anointed him with perfume that Jesus couldn’t forgive sin (7:36-50). No one could tell the disciples that Jesus didn’t have power over nature to calm the sea(8:22-25). No one could tell those from whom demons were cast out demons or those who saw it that demons weren’t real or that Jesus didn’t have power over them (8:26-39). No one could tell those who were fed by the five loaves and two fish that Jesus was just a man (9:12-17) . While people may attempt to discredit the Bible and Christianity, no one can actually cast serious doubts upon the truth and reality of either because the Bible is not only God breathed but in it we have the record of eyewitnesses to the events.

While Luke’s writing is an historical narrative of events he is not just doing so to record history. Luke has a theological purpose as well. Luke wrote that he had investigated everything carefully from the beginning. . . 4 so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught. NASB No only did he want to provide an accurate consecutive account of the things Jesus said and did, he did so for the purpose of confirming the truth of what Christians were being taught (v.4).

In verse 3 He specifically addresses Theophilus whom he refers to as most excellent. We have no idea who Theophilus was. Theophilus means “friend of God.” In Acts Luke records Paul as using the words most excellent in addressing the Roman governor Felix (21:27) and his successor Festus (24:27). There is nothing, however, to indicate in either Luke or Acts nor other writings to give us a any certainty about who Theophilus might have been or position he might have held or what his role was in Luke’s writing. He was likely a Roman citizen of some degree of social standing who was interested in the events and teaching surrounding the beginnings of Christianity. Whether he was a believer or not we don’t know.

Theologically Luke presents Jesus as not only as the Jewish Messiah a national savior, but also a universal Savior who came to bring salvation to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews (2:32; 3:23 -38; 4:25-27; 24:47).

Luke shares with us more of the parables of Jesus than any other gospels. Parables are stories from everyday life used to teach a spiritual truth. They usually have one specific truth, but sometimes there are others. Jesus spoke parables to the multitudes but usually it was within the smaller group of followers that He gave the interpretation of the parable.

Jesus used parables to teach valuable spiritual lessons, to illustrate truth, point out error, transform thinking and call of a response. They sowed seeds of faith, highlighted God’s sovereignty, taught the nature of salvation and revealed the character of life controlled and guided by the Spirit of God.

Luke spoke to those who participated in the ministry, experienced the miracles and witnessed the things accomplished so that we today might know that our relationship with Christ which is by grace through faith alone is supported by and built upon a firm foundation of fact. That means the teachings of the Bible are true and accurate. That means the dangers of careless, thoughtless living are real. The dangers of mocking God through living in an unrighteous manner while claiming to be a Christian are real. The warnings of judgement for rejection are real and our eternal destination either with God in heaven or forever separated from Him in hell are real as well. Christianity is fact not fiction and we are called to respond to that fact in faith by following Jesus – first in salvation then in sanctification. Are you following Jesus today?

That uncomfortable truth, that unpleasing thought, that horrible thing that I confront every time I go to work, or I’m in my car, or I’m at my house, or even when I am here at church is that we live in a culture of sin.

The world around us every day is filled with sins that are made by others and that are made by us. The words we say, the actions we take, the thoughts we have, the clothes we wear, the things that we buy, the things we watch, the things we listen to. It seems that every single thing we come in contact with has been corrupted by sin in some way.

Our entire culture.

No.

Our entire world has been touched by sin so many times that we often don’t even see it anymore.

Unfortunately, the bible has promised us this fate. The bible told us two thousand years ago that not only does Satan rule this world through sin, but that in doing so he would blind nonbelievers to the truth – that we are sinners in need of a savior – Jesus Christ.

That brings us to to the scripture I will be preaching from. Please turn to ..

2 Corinthians 4

Treasures in Jars of Clay

1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
—

Look at verse 4. It says “4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Who is the “god of this world” that is being spoke of in this passage? Is it God? No, if you look closely it is not a capital G, indicating the one true God. No, in this instance the “god of this world” is referring to Satan.

He has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they can’t see the light of Christ in this world. Thus, they can’t see the image of God’s power and grace and beauty in their lives.

However, in our age, it seems that sometimes Satan isn’t just blinding the eyes of unbelievers, but is managing to blind believers as well.

But wait, how can Satan blind us if the bible only mentions Satan blinding the eyes of unbelievers? Doesn’t that passage seem to imply that believers would be kept safe by our belief in Jesus Christ for salvation?

Well, look back at the starting 2 verses…

1.Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Let’s think through the logic here. The people that this letter was talking to were obviously Christian believers. It starts by laying out the idea that we have renounced secret and shameful ways. That is to say that as believers we are no longer hiding our sins from the world. Instead, we renounce and repent from our sins.

By not hiding our sins from the world, but rather living in truth, every man can see our deeds for themselves as well as in the sight of God. Thus, if we are open and honest in both the good and bad things that we have done, sin loses its power over us and also loosens its grip on other believers.

If we truly lived by Jesus’ example, we would have nothing to hide. When Jesus died, he was laid more or less naked on a cross so that everybody could see his shame and suffering. For most who were crucified, this was meant to shame people for their sins, but for Jesus, the shame he felt was for all of the sins of the world. He felt the shame that we all feel when we sin, but at a magnitude we can’t begin to fathom.

If we were truly as open about our flaws as this passage describes, Satan would have no power over us. He would no longer be able to blind us from the truth of scripture on a daily basis. He would no longer be able to lead us towards the sinful paths we so often tread.

As human beings in our culture, we are blind to our sins and even to the sins of others by choice. We choose to be blind because everyone else chooses to be blind. If we are all blind, who is going to be able to see each others sins?

Sadly, this all begins at a young age and by the time you get to be an adult you’re nearly completely blind to all the lies of this world. In fact, the lies all start to sound true and the sins start to sound righteous.

I think of this as a kind of death by 1,000 paper cuts. The lies and the sins start out as very small things. As a culture we even have a term for this “little white lies”. We think they don’t hurt anyone, just like a papercut. However, if you have 1,000 small cuts all over your body, eventually you will bleed to death. Sin often cuts us much the same way.

For example, as a man, if your wife asks you if she looks fat in some outfit she is trying on, our culture tells us that it would be better to lie to your wife than to hurt her feelings by telling her the truth. The truth will make her mad at you! The truth is gonna get you in trouble!!!

See the lie?

Exodus 20: 16 ”You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

God says don’t give false testimony against your neighbor, which is to say don’t lie to other people about other people. God doesn’t say that it’s okay to lie as long as it’s for a good cause. God doesn’t say that it’s okay to lie to not hurt someone’s feelings. God says not to lie.

Satan says that you should lie when it is prudent, which doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person.

It doesn’t seem to us like a big deal, but how is lying to spouse any different than lying under oath in a court of law? Shouldn’t we have even more reason to tell the truth to the ones that we love the most? Shouldn’t as Christians we be able to speak truth to one another in love without fear of retribution from another Christian?

Here is another example…

Who here in this church is planning on going out to eat today? Who here has ever gone out to eat or got gas or gone shopping or something like that on a Sunday? I have. I know that probably every person in this church has broke this commandment:

Exodus 20:  8 ”Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

For the sake of commerce and convenience we ignore the Sabbath. Oh sure, we can rationalize it by saying that as long as “we” don’t go to work and as long as “we” go to church on Sunday to worship God, that’s keeping the Sabbath day holy. However, you notice that it says neither you, nor your children, nor your servants, nor your animals, nor the strangers in your estate.

If you think about what God is getting at is that both you and all the people and things in your sphere of influence are supposed to take one day a week off of work. So, when you go to the restaurant and your waiter is getting your food, how is that any different than a manservant or a maidservant doing chores in old testament times. Are not both people you are paying to serve you on the Sabbath?

I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad because we are all guilty of buying into this lie and committing this sin. I wasn’t born until 1984, but I’ve heard stories that in say the 50′s or 60′s if you were traveling on a Sunday, nothing was open. In fact, many gas stations were closed. There were even laws in many cities against being open for business on a Sunday. Now every store is open pretty much 24/7 all year long.

Most businesses think they make more money by ignoring God’s commandment, but when I worked in high school at Chick-Fil-A up in Sioux City, we were closed on Sunday. It cost the store money. That is to say, the mall actually fined the business for not being open on Sunday. Do you know what? Our restaurant made more money than any other restaurant in the food court and we were only open 6 days a week. I believe that God blessed Chick-Fil-A as a business because of its commitment to honor God one day a week.

Do you see how these lies hurt us? God gave us rules so that we could live in fellowship with God. To live an abundant life in our relationship with God. When we follow the lies of society, when we sin against God, we not only give ourselves over to Satan’s rule, but we lose out on so many great things that God has for us.

Here’s another example I was just reading about this week.

Did you know that for hundreds of years the Christian, Protestant church was basically against the ideas of capitalism. The Puritans and others were very much against merchants and people who lent money to other people and so on. They didn’t like merchants because they were more concerned with turning one man’s labor and product into a profit just simply by selling it to someone else for more money. That seemed to go against the ideas of charity or even charging fair prices. They didn’t like those who would lend money because they ended up charging high interest rates and would create a kind of bondage to debt. They called it usury.

Over time, society did what society does best – it softened the views of the believers into being less offensive and molded them to fit society’s wants and needs. Eventually the later Protestant believers became champions of capitalism, even though many of the views of the early church – such as giving all of your wealth to the church body to share is now viewed as socialism – something squarely against the ideas of capitalism.

Did you know that we still have laws on the books against usury – charging excessive interest rates? Did you also know that they are almost never enforced because of the way they were written and who they were written by (I’ll give you a hint- it’s the banks).

To show you why the early church looked down on money lenders, look at this last week’s ruling against Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo was caught charging excessive overdraft charges to their customers as a way to make extra money. A judge ordered them to repay over $200 million in excessive charges to their customers. $200 million dollars that Wells Fargo was basically stealing from their customers by the way that they were simply ordering the transaction processing at the end of each day.

Exodus 20: 15 ”You shall not steal.

It doesn’t get much more clear cut than that right? Stealing is wrong, but apparently in our society stealing is seen as okay for businesses as long as it’s done under the guise of “profit maximization”.

I’ll give one last example of the thousand little papercuts we all suffer.

I love sports. Over the years I’ve watched countless hours of television, movies, and video games. I’m more likely to plop on the couch and watch a show after work than I am to crack open my bible. It’s not something I’m proud of.

Now, there is nothing inherently sinful about entertainment. However, as time progresses more and more forms of entertainment seek to entertain us with sinful things. Greed, lust, violence, murder, sexual promescuity are all just a small subset of sins that our entertainment sells us. Worst of all, our entertainment can all fall under a banner of sin that none of us wants to think about…

Exodus 20: 2 ”I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 ”You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
4 ”You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
God wants us to have no gods or idols set forth before him that we worship. It’s pretty black and white.

Yet, what is the most watched television show in America for the last 7 or 8 years? AMERICAN IDOL

It’s in the title of the show for crying out loud. As a culture, we worship celebrities as idols and we even have a talent competition were we find new idols to worship. Not an American Idol fan? How about a Husker fan?

How many of us here spend more time on a Husker gameday watching or listening to the game than we do in prayer or reading our bible or in other service to God on the same day?

How many of us here in this room will be spending more time on any day of the week in bible study or prayer than they will watching television, playing a video game, surfing the internet, or just generally doing something to avoid God? I’m guessing very few of us.

According the the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends 2.8 hours a day watching television. That translates to 19.6 hours a week. The average American spends roughly 1.05 hours a week in religious activites. That means probably most of us here in this room will spend roughly 10 or 20 times as much time watching television than we will at church, in prayer, or reading our bible.

If our 20 hour a week worshiping of a plastic box that shows us pretty pictures and sounds isn’t idol worship compared to the time spent in actual worship, I don’t know what is. God was upset with the Israelites for making a golden calf and worshiping it while ignoring God. How is our worship of movies, video games, computers, sports, or our favorite television show any different?

Again, I point out all of these sins because if we all stay blind to the lies that Satan is telling us, we will not be able to live an open and honest life in public. We will instead live in fear of the truth. Let’s go back to the original scripture we started off by reading…

2 Corinthians 4

1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

- – -

So what happens when we no longer let our sins hide in the darkness? Satan loses his power and leverage that he has over us as sinners. God made the light to shine so that all could see the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Yes, we’re going to be persecuted. I’m telling you that if you get rid of your television people will think you’re crazy. I’ve wanted to for months now and haven’t, but even just telling people how we got rid of cable, we get some confused looks from people. I’ve even heard other Christians basically admit that they couldn’t survive without cable television or their DVR.

If you tell the truth 100% of the time, you are probably going to get yourself in trouble more often than not, even if you are doing the right thing. Your spouse might love you unconditionally, but they might not like you for a while if you’re totally honest with them 100% of the time.

Refusing to work or have others work for you on a Sunday might not make you the most popular when your kids want you to take them out for ice cream on a hot Nebraska summer day.

So be it. Doing the right thing by God was never about being popular or pleasing other people. Following God’s commandments was never about fitting in with society.

In fact, Jesus neither fit in with society nor pleased other people. Jesus didn’t even try to please his own disciples when it came to following God’s will for his life. Jesus never had to be captured, beaten, tortured, and killed for the sins of man.

Jesus CHOSE those things to honor God’s will and God’s plan. He knew there was no other way.

Now, we all have a choice. Do we want to be blind to the sins all around us? Do we want to keep hiding our sins from each other and continue to live out the lies that society tells us? Do we want to live in spritual death by 1,000 tiny little sins?

I’m not asking anyone here to join a cult or try and start some kind of new Puritanical Christian Utopia. What I’m asking as that each and every one of us here examine ourselves and our daily lives in the light of Jesus’s glorious sacrifice. It’s not about making a big public commitment to renew your faith on a Sunday, it’s about making a commitment to God on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday.

The first step is to stop hiding in the shadows. Take a step into the light and away from your sins. Find someone who can keep you accountable and confess your sins from them. You don’t have to tell the whole church body, but you can’t keep sin dragging you back into the shadows alone. The only way to truly break free of the bondage of sin is to confess it to God first and foremost so that He can take that sin away from you, but also to confess to a brother or sister in Christ who can help keep you out of situations where you would sin in the first place. Fighting against sin is hard, but just remember:

17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We’ll be making a lot of changes in the next few weeks, so bookmark this page, check back often, but most importantly, if you’re in Lincoln on Sunday, come visit us. We would love to have you visit our church. You can see out location and service times on the right hand side of the page.