“Renewable Energy: Swimming in the River”
Luke 4:1-13
The night of my Ordination – the time at which I officially became a Minister of the Word – is still vivid in my mind. The joy, the solemnity, the anointing through laying on of hands – when the night was completed I felt exhilaration and anticipation, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility, that could not be put into words. It was one of the spiritual high points of my life.
You may have had similar feelings. You finally received your diploma, you got the job, the wedding day finally arrived, the baby was born, you won the election or got the part. Whatever the occasion, you knew you had arrived, that all the preparation and waiting had finally paid off. And you knew that it marked a new beginning with new responsibilities. It was a great feeling – a high point in your life.
Welcome to Jesus’ life. JESUS EXPERIENCED A SPIRITUAL HIGH. Luke wrote about it in Chapter 3. JESUS WAS BAPTIZED in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Why in the world would the Son of God, who was and would be sinless, submit to a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin? Jesus was baptized so He could identify with our sin, to symbolize the fact that one day He would take our sin upon Himself on the cross. Going under the water and coming up again stood for cleansing from sin. Jesus entered the waters of sin and swam in the river of grace so we, too, could swim in the river of grace.
But Jesus consented to be baptized also as a sign of His commitment to do the Father’s will; it was a public testimony of His unwavering commitment to enter into a ministry of salvation; He was making it known the He would walk the way of the cross. He was acknowledging the purpose for His life.
And after He was baptized “…heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” JESUS RECEIVED HIS FATHER’S AFFIRMATION. It’s significant that Jesus had not yet done any miracles, preached any public sermons, or died on the cross. Yet the Father affirmed Him. The Father loved Jesus for who He was and affirmed Him for His desire to do His will. Having swum in the river of grace Jesus was now swimming in the river of God’s love.
Can you imagine being affirmed and loved by God, the Creator of the world? Can you imagine the overwhelming awe of hearing His voice of love? I wonder how often Jesus, as he faced the difficult times of ministry, remembered the voice of God and gained strength from the affirmation?
After the baptism and affirmation JESUS WAS FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. He was now gifted, empowered, prepared, and strengthened as never before. When the great moment was over Jesus felt exhilaration and anticipation, and an overwhelming sense of responsibility, that could not be put into words. It was the spiritual high point of his life.
But notice what happened next. ‘Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” JESUS WAS SEVERELY TEMPTED. The exhilaration and joy of the moment didn’t last long. The Spirit led Jesus to the desert for 40 days. In the Bible the desert is the place of testing and temptation and 40 days is the symbol of the fullness or completeness of a period. So the first thing Jesus did, in obedience to His Father, was to enter into a time of testing and trial.
Why is this important? SATAN PLANS HIS TIMES OF ATTACK. Having made His public commitment, Jesus was now a target of the enemy. Whenever someone makes a deeper commitment, whenever they are spiritually high, they are vulnerable – because Satan is upset. As the late Matthew Henry once said, the richest ship is the pirate’s prize. This brings me to lift up a word of caution. We, too, are vulnerable immediately after highly spiritual moments. Such moments sap our physical and emotional strength, opening the door to weakness. Do you realize that, as a congregation, we’ve just come down from a wonderfully high time – an extremely successful Cultivating Generations of Hope Campaign and an inspiring Christmas season? The warning alarms should be going off – this is an opportune time for the tempter to strut his stuff. The more deeply we commit ourselves to Jesus Christ the more the devil steps up his attacks against us. We are not dealing here with a red suit, a pitchfork, and horns. There is a real, live tempter – he is the devil. He is not just some figment of our imaginations or some cartoon or comic character. He is a real, true person or force, which can call all the hosts and forces of evil against us. So beware – if you choose to be more devoted to Jesus, or make a stronger commitment to Him in some area of your life, you will be tempted, perhaps as never before.
SATAN ALSO PLANS HIS POINTS OF ATTACK. Knowing Jesus was hungry and tired, he went after his appetites. And he goes for the same appetites within us. He goes after the PERFORMANCE APPETITE. He asked Jesus to turn a stone into bread, to perform a miracle. It’s tempting. After all, the world measures our worth on the basis of our achievements and accomplishments, on our levels of success. Since we want affirmation, we long to perform well. But the desire to perform can lead us into the trap of believing that “I am what I do.” Once we believe that, performance becomes our purpose.
Satan also attacks the POSSESSION APPETITE. He told Jesus He could have all the kingdoms of the world. It’s tempting. Let’s face it, the world honors and respects those who own, who are wealthy, those who have it all. The bumper stickers read He who dies with the most toys wins.” Since we want affirmation, we want to win. But the desire to own can lead us into the trap of believing that “I am what I possess.” Once we believe that, ownership at any cost becomes our purpose.
There’s a third appetite that Satan attacks: the POPULARITY APPETITE. He challenged Jesus to let the public know how much He trusted God – how much He dared to test God – by jumping from a great height. It’s tempting. The reality is that the world worships those who are powerful. The powerful and influential are popular. Since we want affirmation we want the crowds to like us; we like to be popular. But the desire to be popular can lead us into the trap of believing “I am what others think of me.” Once we believe that, power becomes our drive.
The bottom line is that none of the three things Satan asked Jesus to do was wrong in itself. There’s nothing wrong with doing miracles – after all Jesus would do plenty of them. There’s nothing wrong with owning everything – after all, Jesus would one day own and rule it anyway. There’s nothing wrong with proving God’s faithfulness – after all Jesus would prove it one day anyway. But the reason for doing them was all wrong – it was to please Satan not God; it was to please self and not God; it was to seek affirmation from anyone or anything but God. It was to take a shortcut and seek to gain the crown without the cross. But Jesus already had his affirmation: ‘You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ And he got it by committing to do the Father’s will and walk the Father’s way – which was through the cross.
So JESUS DREW STRENGTH FROM HIS ROOTS. After each temptation He quoted Scripture. HE STOOD FIRMLY IN THE SOIL OF GOD’S WORD. He swam in the river of God’s grace and love.
And Jesus continued to do so throughout His life. And it’s a good thing he did. Luke tells us, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, He left him until an opportune time.” Indeed, he came back. He attacked in a Garden called Gethsemane. But Jesus was prepared; again He drew from his roots. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
You and I can SWIM IN THE SAME RIVER. We can stand on the Word of God and draw from our roots. Listen to the apostle Paul (Rom. 7:21-8:5): “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me…The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins…Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Now this morning you stand at a crossroads. There are no shortcuts. Jesus is calling you to follow Him, to make Him the priority of your life. Are you? Will you? Have you swum in the river of grace? Have you been baptized? Have you made your public commitment to walk in the will of your Father in heaven? Have you seized the purpose of your life? If not, what’s holding you back? If it was important for Jesus to do, isn’t it important for you as well? Would you like to hear the voice of God loving and affirming you? Look to the cross. There God speaks loudly. Through the cross He hollers “I love you! You are my beloved Child!” Your commitment would be pleasing to Him. Some of you have swum in the river of grace but you have not heard yet the voice of affirmation. It’s time for you to step up, make the commitment to serve God by being a disciple of Jesus. Some of you have taken the plunge into the river of grace and are now swimming in the river of love. You’ve heard the voice; you seized your purpose for life. It’s time for you to share your life with others.
As Jeremiah said, “This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”” Are you ready to swim in the river of God’s grace and love?
Paul Harvey wrote about his own baptism. He said that even though he had received almost every reward for his broadcasting ability that he still felt empty inside. One summer, however, he & his wife were vacationing in a place called Cave Creek, AZ. Sunday morning came & they decided to go to church. So they went to this little church, & there were only 12 other people present. He believed in Jesus, but he had never gone forward in a church service. One night he had prayed in his hotel room & asked Jesus to come into his heart, but he felt that there was still something that was missing. He said that the preacher got up & announced that his sermon was going to be about baptism. Paul Harvey said, "I yawned. But as he started talking about it I found myself interested. He talked about the symbolism behind it, & how it symbolized the complete surrender of one’s life to Jesus Christ, & how there was nothing really magic in the water. But there was this cleansing inside that took place when you yielded yourself to Jesus."
He went on to say, "Finally, when he came to the end of his sermon he said, ‘If any of you have not been baptized in this way, I invite you to come forward and join me here at the pulpit.’ To my surprise, I found myself going forward. The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into the depths & rose again I knew something life changing had happened - a cleansing inside out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain contradictory Paul Harvey’s, just one immensely happy one. I felt the fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit in my life.” Paul Harvey concluded, "The change this simple act made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. Since totally yielding to Him in baptism, my heart can’t stop singing. Also, perhaps because baptism is such a public act & because one’s dignity gets as drenched as one’s body, I discovered a new unself-consciousness in talking about my beliefs." Paul Harvey swam in the river of God’s grace and love.
As we celebrate communion this morning, we focus on what God has done for us in Jesus Christ; we are swimming in the river. But we cannot do so without also focusing on what we are doing for Him. Will you choose to follow Him more diligently? As we share communion, draw from your roots. For the devil has only left until an opportune time.
