Wilderness Time Is Not Wasted

Transcript

Auto-generated from the audio. Click a timestamp to jump to that part of the video.

[0:00] The sermon text today comes from Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. But Jesus told him, No, the scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

[0:38] Then the devil took him to the holy city Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, and said, If you are the Son of God, jump off. For the scriptures say he will order his angels to protect you, and they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. Jesus responded, The scriptures also say you must not test the Lord your God. Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. I will give it all to you, he said, if you kneel down and worship me. Get out of here, Satan, Jesus told him. For the scriptures say you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil went away, and the angels came and took care of Jesus. Let's pray.

[1:35] God, we ask your blessing over this word. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So our experience in Lent is about being in the wilderness. And we don't often like that time. Look at the Israelites. They grumbled and complained.

[2:05] And therefore, the Israelites deem the dewi de go out to the wilderness when they really have to. The wilderness experience can make us feel all alone, under pressure, lost, and even wondering if God has abandoned us. Many of us experience wilderness times in life, those times that seem dreary, those times where life feels heavy. During Lent, we reflect on Jesus's journey to the cross. The whole season is overshadowed by wilderness, the idea that at the end of the season Jesus will die for our sins.

[3:05] There's darkness in this journey, but it's important to have these wilderness times in life. God actually leads us into the wilderness if we would only quiet ourselves amidst the distractions and tune in to hear his voice. Deuteronomy 8, 2 to 3 says, And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. So he humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know. That he might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

[4:04] Why would God lead us into the wilderness? To get closer to him, to get aligned with him, to focus in on what's truly important and let the stuff that's just filler fade to the back. I want you to notice something very important about our sermon text from this morning. The timing of events. First, Jesus is baptized. And then the Spirit leads him into the wilderness. And then he is tempted by the devil. But before he is tempted, he fasts in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. On purpose. Jesus is preparing himself for the battle. He is modeling a behavior that we should imitate. Jesus is resting. Jesus is pausing. He's taking some time before digging into the hard work of fighting off the devil and the strenuous work of his ministry. The wilderness time is not time that we should avoid at all costs. It's time that he deures itself. that we should invest in ourselves, it's time that we should deliberately seek out.

[5:30] There's a well-known novel, The Brothers Karamazov, by Dostoyevsky. The Grand Inquisitor's speech is a pretty famous part. During the Spanish Inquisition, Jesus appears on earth. He's recognized and he heals many. But then he's arrested. During the night, the Grand Inquisitor comes to him and he says that Jesus has failed. He accuses Jesus of missing his chance in the wilderness. He says that Jesus could have acted to change all of human history, feeding the hungry, forcing people to eat, and so on. But he's not. He's not. He's not. He's not.

[6:25] Jesus is alive. Right Did Jesus miss his chance? I don't think so. I think that Jesus conquered evil in the wilderness, but before he could do that, he meditated and he fasted. He entered the wilderness deliberately and with a purpose. He prepared himself by emptying himself.

[7:02] If you think about it, after the baptism by John, Jesus might have been anxious to start his formal ministry. Then the baptism must have given him a huge burst of energy. But before he can jump into his work, the spirit leads him off into the wilderness.

[7:23] Lent is the time when we are called to pull back, to rest, and examine our lives to access our faith and renew our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. During Righteous Righteous Righteous this season we are called to repent. That literally means to turn from our sin, to turn to God and release those material things that we think we control but that actually control us. The power of Lent is in the wilderness of letting go. Lent calls us to pause, to reflect, to disengage. I know that I need time to pause before every important task. Even when I've finished my research for a sermon, I can't write it until I've had some thinking time. I often find that if I research during one day, even if there's plenty of time left over, it helps if I sleep on it. Even if it's just a few hours, it helps if I read it. Right now, I read it every 2 or 3 hours. even if there were plenty of hours left in the day before. If I sleep on it, I can get up and write it far more easily. It just flows better, because I've had a chance to let things settle and let things sit.

[8:45] Lent reminds us that disengaging is healing. Without refueling and re-energizing, our spiritual and physical and intellectual lives suffer. As we unplug and unwind, we find that the spirit leads us to a place of spiritual rest to prepare us for what lies ahead.

[9:09] So in the season of Lent, where do we begin to disengage? Probably the best place to start is our calendars. We're gonna get practical for a second here. How many of you keep your important events on the calendar in your phone, just for a second? Just raise your hand.

[9:29] Good. How many of you have your phones with you right now? Better. Pull out your phone right now and hold it above your head. And if you do not keep your important events on your phone in your calendar, go through your purse or whatever you have and pull your calendar or your journal or your daily planner out and hold it above your head.

[9:59] Okay. Ooh, even better. We've got a couple of those. You can put them down, but don't put them away. We are going to take a full minute and I want you to look at the dates and activities that you already have scheduled for the next six weeks.

[10:17] Is there a day of the week where there's some open time? A good chunk of open time, like at least half an hour. Okay. It might be a different day every week in the next six weeks, but write down Lenten rest on those days. We're going to do it right now. I'm going to time out a minute. You can start working on it while I'm talking. I'm going to time out a minute.

[10:45] Do it right now. Or if you don't have your phone or calendar with you, then take out a piece of paper in front of you. There's a card in the pew in front of you. You can use that and the pencil there. We're definitely doing this right now because if we say we're going to do it later, we won't. And I just want you to make a note of possible dates for the next few weeks if you don't have your calendar with you. Possible dates that you think you're free. And if you're resisting this idea, it's entirely possible that you're actually resisting the Spirit's prompting of you. And I'm obviously not the Spirit. But the Spirit is there. And the Spirit might be trying to tell you that your plate is too full. And some time off for God would be a welcome opportunity. So you may be arguing with God himself on this one. And I've found that I never win when I fight with God. So Easter is on April 5th.

[11:46] So schedule one day a week until then. And we'll pause for one minute starting now. Just a half an hour. Just a half an hour. If you want more, you can do more, though. Like if you have a whole day and you want to take a retreat, that's a great idea.

[12:10] Yeah, you can coordinate with your family. Yes. Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[12:56] Okay, that's been a minute and I'm going to keep talking, but if you haven't finished planning your Lenten reflections, keep doing that because that's honestly more important. The author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People says that he has a weekly date with his wife. This is a famous author who's in huge demand, but every year he goes through his appointment calendar and writes in those dates before he does anything else. He doesn't write the word date or his wife's name. He writes VIP meeting. So when someone asks him to schedule something else on those days, he looks at his calendar and says, I'm sorry, I have a meeting that night. Okay. Of course, there are times when he has to break the date and that's okay if it's few and far between, but they surprisingly are only a few times once in a while, once he has it on his calendar. So I'm not asking you to make a year long commitment. I'm suggesting finding one day throughout Lent, which only lasts six weeks. Once you've made the commitment, you can pray and you can think. And you can explore what kind of activities relax and renew you. You could spend a whole day retreating. Maybe you could go out to Mission Springs or maybe to a wilderness preserve.

[14:33] You could even come to church and spend some time in the quiet of the sanctuary. Or you could do it in your own home if you trust yourself to remain undistracted by the things around you. Okay. Half hour does not count if in that half hour you look at your phone and if in that half hour you put away the dishes, it does not count.

[15:00] So maybe you would like to read a good book. If you want to see a show or a movie, do it. All these activities can be restoring. But I'd also like to ask you to consider the three traditional Lenten disciplines of fair, fasting, and giving. I tried to combine those two words. Prayer, fasting, and giving, which we'll spend a little time exploring.

[15:28] So I found this online. I haven't actually read this book, but there is a book called This, I Believe, Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. And this is written by a chaplain at a medical center, a writer and a mother of three named Susan Cosio. So it's a longish excerpt, but she says this.

[15:52] I believe I have to remove myself from the voices that barrage me in order to find my true compass. This includes a daily walk just to listen. The guiding light of my life is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. In our hectic, noisy world, I have to slow down or withdraw in order to hear it. Prayer I have discovered. Prayer I have discovered is less about what I say and more about what I hear. Discerning God's voice is not so hard when I make the time to listen closely. Sometimes I hear it as a sudden insight when I step back from a situation. Other times it's a deep sense of my priorities or a conviction about something I should do or say. I often take a walk with a pencil and notepad in my pocket and return with notes for a speech or a piece of writing. Later someone tells me she was moved by the words I'd scribbled on that paper, and I know my prompting came from God. My pursuit of spiritual truth is not about religion as much as it is about relationship.

[17:05] I believe in a daily walk to listen because that is when I am close to God. That is when I find my way. And I am most at peace. I am at peace when I tune out the voices of the world long enough to hear the still small voice of God directing me. Be still, Psalm 46 reminds me, and know that I am God.

[17:29] How many of you have taken time in prayer to just listen lately? Listening is hard. In your Lenten journey this year. I encourage you to keep going. I encourage you to take extra time for prayer. Maybe that entire half hour that you just penciled in. Maybe you could use that entire half hour just for prayer.

[17:57] But I also encourage you to challenge yourself to spend some of that time just listening. You can take a walk, like the author suggests, or remove yourself somehow from the distractions of life. Right now you have access to the Right Right especially since experts have been telling us that if you fast you'll just overeat at your next meal or fasting could lead to disordered eating and that's true so if you're going to fast from food I suggest you truly examine yourself before you do that and maybe even talk to your doctor but I still suggest fasting whether we fast for a meal or for a day the exercise reminds us what hunger is it's easy to forget what it feels like to be really hungry not just ready for lunch it's worth remembering because just today 28,000 children will die of starvation or preventable diseases around the world just today and of course you don't have to fast from food Lenten tradition says to give up one thing for six weeks one thing that distracts you or one thing that takes you away from God sometimes in Lent we use these six weeks to fast from an unhealthy habit we say hey I can show my devotion to God and get healthier at the same time and that's not wrong entirely but it's not

[20:03] entirely right either fasting should be about drawing closer to God full stop if this thing that distracts you from God is also unhealthy from you for you then fasting from it has this bonus of getting healthier but that bonus is not the intention of the fast I want you to fast with intention though think of things that you will be intentional about during your fast what scripture will you read to your children what scriptures will you focus on what spiritual practices can you take up in place of the thing that you are fasting from who can hold you accountable to your fast we're told to fast in secret but it's okay if you tell one friend who can hold you accountable and who also has your spiritual journey in mind who can say how has this helped you to grow with God and you can be honest with them the third traditional discipline of Lent is giving we give of ourselves so that others might live and have hope what can you give of yourself during Lent there are plenty of places to give money to there are plenty of worthy causes of course you could also give of your time and resources some people make make kits for the homeless and keep them in their cars so that when they see someone in need, they only need to grab a pre-packed box of their trunk and hand it to them. That's great. It takes

[21:46] a little time to do that, but then you have a ready available thing that will truly help someone. Some people volunteer their talents and lead classes or demonstrations that could help people develop important skills or find resources. And you could give of your time. There are many places in the Bay Area that are short of volunteers. Brian's with the kids this week, but Brian just told me this week of the prison ministry looking for additional support. And we have an opportunity coming up with Hope's Corner that Zach talked about in the announcements on April 18.

[22:28] Sure, that is an 18-year-old. I know it's April and it's after Lent is over, but I'm sure Jesus won't really mind if you volunteer after Lent ends. So it's amazing how much effect a small gift of time or money or resources can make. And not just on the people who are receiving it, but it changes your own perspective.

[22:51] Those are just three of the Lenten disciplines you can involve yourself in. Hopefully, they become such a blessing in your life that you draw nearer to God and you want to do them even after Lent is over. That's actually the hope and expectation with these Lenten practices.

[23:15] Lent is about withdrawing from life to be with God in the wilderness. We are so used to all our creature comforts that giving up any of them can feel like we've entered the scary homes. Right? and foreign place, but in the wilderness we can be renewed. In our weakness, God's strength is perfected. And that's my prayer for each of us this Lent, that in our weaknesses, God's strength would be perfected. Let's pray. God, we pray that this Lent and beyond, we would draw ever closer to you. We pray that in this wilderness time, you would be at the front of our minds. We pray that in our weakness, you, God, would be perfected. These things we pray in Jesus' name.