KNOW YOURSELF – as part of your community
Psalm 139:1-6; Luke 4:1-13; Romans 12:3-5
Wangaratta, 18/9/16
Have you ever wondered why Jesus spent those forty days in the wilderness? Just prior to this, the gospels describe his baptism in the Jordan, by John the Baptist, and God’s voice from heaven, confirming Jesus to be his much-loved son. The very next thing we read is Jesus, out in the wilderness for forty days, alone.
Can you imagine what that must have been like? Now I quite like my own company, without interruptions, for reasonable periods of time. But I’m talking hours, rather than days. And if weadd going without food, I’m definitely thinking hours, not days! What would have been running through Jesus’ mind, in all that time? And why would God have put him through what, to us I’m sure, sounds like a major ordeal?
Growing up in Nazareth, Jesus knew something at least of his identity and heritage. Did he fully know and understand, through those years as a carpenter, that he was God’s own Son in human form? At his baptism God said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”[1] Then, forty days of solitude and hunger; followed by the devil’s first words, “If you really are the Son of God... .”
We’ve just spent forty days in community. Jesus spent forty days away from all community, separated from all human contact. I don’t know God’s plan in sending Jesus into the wilderness. But out there alone,I reckon Jesus would have thought aboutall God had been preparing him for, and the ministry ahead of him. Did he also question his identity; his suitability for this role?
How did being tempted feel for Jesus? Could he really have given in to the devil’s temptations that day? He must have been able to, surely, for it to have been real temptation. We read “he was tempted”. Jesus, even for the briefest moment, must have considered the possibility of the devil’s suggestions. But what a horrible prospect! God himself, surrendering to the devil, committing sin. If that thought horrifies us, then consider this: Jesus didn’t give in. Jesus, as fully one of us, went forty whole days, under the most trying conditions imaginable, without sin. What then are the possibilities for you and me?
This morning, following our forty days of community, I want us to consider how well we know ourselves, and the significance of knowing ourselves as part of our community.
I’m currently reading a very challenging book called “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality”, which, as the title suggests, challenges us to consider how healthy we are emotionally, and how this affects our faith. I’ve borrowed my three main points this morning from this book. Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, so we may be tempted to see ourselves in unhealthy ways. Let’s follow the sequence Luke gives us in Chapter 4; and Jesus’ first temptation is in the area of Performance. For us, it says, “I am what I do.”
Temptation #1 Performance (I am what I do)
And we note here firstly,
- The Devil Questions Our Identity.
What was the first thing he said to Jesus? “If you are the Son of God... .” Can we see what he’s doing here? He’s trying to make Jesus doubt his very identity. “You think you’re the Son of God; you think God has called you to save the world. Are you sure about that? Why don’t you test these so-called powers you think you have?”
Jesus was tempted! At one level, it kind of makes sense. Here was an opportunity to prove to himself, before he hit centre stage, that he really was the beloved Son God told him he was, by exercising the powers that went with the position. Besides, he really was hungry! He’d done his forty days without food. Where was the harm in a little snack?
The fate of the world, your future and mine, hung in the balance at that moment.
The devil questions our identity, too. “You call yourself a child of God, after what you just did?” And we easily find ourselves buying into his line of thinking. We can start to define ourselves by the things we do. We say, “I’m a farmer, I’m a teacher, I’m a nurse, a pastor.”
No I’m not! I’m a child of God! “Pastor” happens to be the role God has assigned to me for this particular time in my life. I was his child before I became a pastor; I’ll continue to be his child when the role he has for me changes; when he decides that my time in this life has reached its use by date. The things we do, good and bad, don’t define us.
When we allow them to,
- We Measure Our Worth in Terms of Success.
Most of us are tempted at times to sneak a little sideways glance to see how others around us are doing. Especially those of us born with something of a competitive streak! I reckon most of you will agree with me that this is a shallow, a ridiculous form of assessment. How many of us do it?
Schools are great places for learning. At school we learned where we ranked amongst our peers, in things like maths and spelling; and the really important ones, like kicking a football! We learned to assign to others, and maybe ourselves, value and worth according to the things we did, or couldn’t do. Then we grew older, and hopefully, a little more mature. Did we manage to shake off this shallow, inadequate way of evaluating ourselves and others; or does it persist? Do we still give performance a higher rating than it deserves?
Because we don’t have to live long before we discover,
- We Always Fall Short!
Even in those areas where we’re moderately successful, someone always does it better! And as we keep adding on those years, we very soon find ourselves not able to do as well, things we once did easily. If I’m defined by my performance, then I’m not the man I used to be! And if you’re still in your prime; just wait a few years!
Jesus refused to have a bar of it! God had declared him to be his beloved Son. Jesus had no need to prove this to himself; and he certainly wasn’t going to try and prove it to the devil! We will choose to do the things we do to the best of our abilities, to honour God who gave these abilities to us. And we will not assess our worth, or determine our identities on this basis.
Round one to Jesus. The devil wasn’t ready to give up. His second temptation centred around Possessions; and for us, the temptation to base our identities on the things we have.
Temptation #2 Possessions (I am what I have)
The devil took Jesus up on a mountain, either literally or in his mind. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world, which he claimed to own, and promised to give to Jesus. There was a little clause to his offer, in fine print at the bottom: “you just have to bow down and worship me.”
Again, Jesus was tempted. All the kingdoms of the world? Wasn’t this what he had come to earth for? Let’s note here,
- The Devil Tells Lies!
“All this has been given to me,” he claimed.[2] I don’t remember reading that in the Bible! I think the devil has delusions of grandeur, and would love to have powers and property beyond his station. We don’t believe for a moment he has the power or possessions he claims, and we don’t believe he’s about to hand over anything, if we begin to give him what he wants.
He continues to lie to us about the importance of possessions. It appears to be one of his more successful lies in our times; and modern media gives him ample opportunity to develop his craft. What do I really need to be happy? A shiny new car, new clothes, bigger power tools, the latest technology, more toys? Most of us have tried it, at some level. It doesn’t really work! It never lasts.
B.There Is Always Something More.
J. D. Rockefeller, at one time the richest man in the US, was once asked what it would take to satisfy him. He is famously said to have replied, “Just a little bit more!”
There is an old fable told of a king who was fabulously wealthy, and desperately unhappy. He sought advice from his counsellors, and was told that to be happy, he should wear the shirt of a happy man. So he sent servants to search the kingdom for his happiest subject, and when they found him, to bring him his shirt. They discovered a man, down by the river, fishing; not a care in the world. They told him to take off his coat, and underneath it, he had no shirt! (It must be tough being a king!)
The devil tries to tell us that who we are depends on what we have. He continually offers us more stuff.
- God Offers Us Contentment.
Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.”[3] He said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”[4] He said “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”[5]
The Apostle Paul gives us a personal testimony. He writes, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”[6]
I wonder if Paul learned this secret easily. I rather suspect, like us, it was a process for him, and maybe something of a struggle. Is this what he implies when he says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”? As we consider this logically, who wouldn’t rather have contentment, than more stuff? I wonder how often, in practical terms, we settle for more stuff.
Next, the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, and a temptation related to Popularity. It comes to us as, “I am what othersthink.”
Temptation #3 Popularity (I am what others think.)
At times when we are vulnerable,
- The Devil Whispers, “You Need to Be Noticed!”
He said to Jesus, “You’re about to start your public campaign. Why not start it with a bang! The Romans and the religious leaders aren’t going to like you or your message; you need to get the people on side. You need the publicity. Do something so they’ll like you!”
And again, Jesus was tempted. Where was the harm? If they liked him, they’d be more likely to listen to him. If they could see he was different; if they knew he had special powers; they’d be more likely to follow him.
It doesn’t feel nice to be overlooked. Most of us don’t have those special features, or abilities, that make us stand out from the crowd. Some of us are a bit shy and introverted. We don’t really want to be noticed; but we don’t like to be overlooked! What a dilemma! At times when we’re feeling a bit insecure, we can use those around us as a kind of mirror. “If they like me, then I must be sort of likeable, I must be OK.” Or we can take the attitude, “You overlooked me when I was nice. You’ll notice me when I’m obnoxious!”
The Bible offers us a better way. It reminds us
- God Knows Us Intimately.
I’ve included just a few verses from one of my favourite psalms, Psalm 139. The whole psalm is great! In it, David marvels at the depth of God’s knowledge of him. God knows his actions, he knows his thoughts. He knit David together in his mother’s womb. He foresaw and planned every day David would ever live; and he did all this before David was even born.
With David, we marvel too at this depth of understanding God has of us. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too; too lofty for me to attain.”[7] If God knows me this well; if I’m the end product of his careful design, and intimate craftsmanship; then I’m going to take note of what God says about me, and who I am. And I’m going to ignore, as best I can, any other voice suggesting I’m something other than the child of God he declares me to be.
God knows us intimately; he puts each of us together lovingly, carefully, the way he wants us to be; and
- He Places Us in Community.
We discover, right back in the Garden of Eden, that God never intended us to be alone; not for extended periods of time, not permanently. As we reflect on who we really are; as we seek to know ourselves, and get to know ourselves better, we do this better in community. What did Rick Warren tell us? We’re better together! We certainly understand ourselves better in the context of community.
Paul has some sound advice for the Christians in Rome, recorded in his letter for our benefit today. “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”[8] And he reminds us that this faith, and the gifts of faith are given to us in community, for the benefit of that community.
How well do we know ourselves? I’m convinced we often don’t know ourselves as well as we may think we do. We carry our own frame of reference, and our biases, around with us, wherever we go. Where better to discover and learn who we really are, than in a loving, encouraging community? And of course, we’re never this settled, static entity. Loving, caring communities are great places for us to grow in God’s grace, and develop into the people he always planned for us to become.
Temptations to perform, to accumulate possessions, to run after popularity will always be with us. As Jesus did, we can choose to reject them, and establish our identities on much stronger foundations. God calls us his children, and who are we to argue? He places us within a community which he calls his body. We’re better together! A body functions only as the various parts fulfil their individual roles, and cooperate with each other.
Whenwe do this, we find that we are safe, secure, and significant – in him.
1
[1] Luke 3:22
[2] Luke 4:6
[3] Luke 12:22b, 23
[4] Luke 12:15
[5] Luke 12:32
[6] Philippians 4:11-13
[7] Psalm 139:6
[8] Romans 12:3