Sermon Title: The Power of the Spirit

Sermon Text: Luke 4:1-15

Sermon Date: October 7, 2007

Rod read from Today’s New International Version, now I am going to read from Clarence Jordan’s Cotton Patch Gospel. The Cotton Patch Gospel was Jordan’s way to bring the scriptures to the poor in the south. To put the Bible in the language of the people. As these weeks go by you will hear three versions each Sunday. One from a more mainline version, then the Cotton Patch Gospel, and finally one written for us today…mostly by Jake Atkinson.

As you listen to this passage, read in different voices, I’d ask that you look for something new, something just for you to learn.

Here goes:

So, on fire for God, Jesus returned from his baptism. Then in this spirit he was moved to go into the back woods for forty days, where the Confuser took some cracks at him. During that time he didn't eat anything, so he was hungry when the time was up. Then the Confuser said to him, "So you're God's man, huh? Well, then, tell this rock to become a pone of bread."
            Jesus answered back, "A man can't live on bread alone."

5.         Then the Confuser took him up and showed him, in the twinkling of an eye, all the countries of the civilized world. And he said, "Look here, all this power and glory has been turned over to me, and to anybody I want to share it with. Now if you'll just let me be boss, I'll put you in charge and turn everything over to you."
            Jesus shot back, "The scripture says, 'You shall let the Lord your God be your boss, and you shall give your loyalty to him alone.’"

9.         The Confuser then brought him into Atlanta, and put him on the steeple of the First Church, and said, "Okay, you're God's man. Now jump down from here, because you know the scripture says, 'He will give orders to his angels to keep close watch on you,' and also, 'They'll carry you along on their hands to keep you from stumping your toe on a rock.’"
            Jesus told him straight, "It also says, 'Don't make a fool out of the Lord your God.’"

13.       So when the Confuser got through giving him the works, he left him for a while. Then Jesus, spiritually invigorated, returned to south Georgia, and the news of him spread through the whole area. He was speaking in their churches, and the people respected him.

MESSAGE

Recently a friend recommended a new book. Even Oprah has read it. The book is “Eat. Pray. Love.” By Elizabeth Gilbert.

She has gone through a very difficult divorce in which she found God. Probably not like you would, but she didn’t have any experience with God before….so she looked in interesting places. One place was in Bali, where she had gone to write a story about Yoga vacations. There she met a medicine man and was allowed to ask him one question. Here it is:

“I want to have a lasting experience of God. Sometimes I feel like I understand the divinity of this world, but then I lose it because I get distracted by my petty desires and fears. I want to be with God at the time. But I don’t want to be a monk, or totally give up worldly possessions. I guess what I want to learn is how to live in this world and enjoy its delight but also devote myself to God.”

Does that sound familiar to you? You want a deeper, more lasting experience of God, especially to get you through the times when you, like Jesus, are in the wilderness.

We all have them. If you have never gone through one, well, maybe you aren’t living fully. Going through wilderness experiences is a normal part of life. We shouldn’t live to avoid them, only to deal with them. For Jesus it was about preparing for what was yet to come.

This is the difference between preparing for something and reacting to it.

Far too often we react more than we prepare for the stuff that will happen. Jesus has shown us in this passage that the way to prepare for the hard times is to get close to God before they hit.

I want to ask you a question: “Do you leave room for the Spirit to be active in your life?” That’s what Jesus did. In his life and in his heart there was room for the Spirit of God to not only work, but to grow. To become stronger and stronger. To teach him how to deal with the complications and difficulties that lay ahead of him.

So, do you? Do you leave room for the Spirit to be active in your life?

Last week when Reta Bowman told her story of growing up without church you heard her story. Of losing her first husband to leukemia when she was 40 and had four children to support. You heard her talk about how she never thought to blame God for it and how being part of a Renovare group changed her life. She had been in church for about 16 years when she was baptized and joined our group. For her it was a decision not to be taken lightly.

“Renovare” is Latin meaning “to renew.” It is a study group that involves some bible study and discussion and a little bit of homework. Let me share with you the topics and some of the homework:

1. Practicing the Prayer-filled Life: set aside time for prayer each day, including a time of silence. Read from a devotional book or write prayers.

2. Practicing the Virtuous life: pray for the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and mind, then listen. Fast for 24 hours. Pray for the Spirit to curb your tongue. Refrain from saying anything negative or dishonest.

3. Practicing the Spirit-Empowered Life: Discover your spiritual gifts. Study Galatians 5:22 and nurture the fruit of the Spirit in you.

4. Practicing the Compassionate Life: This is the Social Justice part of Renovare. They point out that there is a difference between self-righteous service and true service. Homework includes: write an encouraging letter, volunteer at a local food pantry, guard the reputation of another, look for an injustice and address it. Take a stand.

5. Practicing the Word-Centered Life: Memorize a scripture verse, read one of the shorter books of the Bible aloud, imagine yourself as one of Jesus’ brothers, look for an opportunity to tell someone about your faith.

6. Practicing the Sacramental Life: This is really important. Remove the barrier that keeps God outside of your life. Take an inventory of your life. Read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” to read about the great struggles of the human soul from war to peace to love.

Lastly, the homework is to receive communion as we will be doing in a few moments. But don’t just take the elements and pass the plate. “Prepare yourself by taking a mental inventory of the ways God has helped you bring his presence into your family, workplace, and social contacts during the past six days. Then receive Communion joyfully, knowing that Jesus Christ is truly present to you and longs to strengthen you and teach you daily. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for his presence in your life and ask to be with you during the coming week.”

That is what the Renovare study suggests we do to prepare for the Spirit of God to move in our lives. You may have other suggestions. The medicine man in Bali did:

“He showed her (author Elizabeth Gilbert) a sketch he’d drawn once during meditation. It was an androgynous human figure, standing up, hands clasped in prayer. But this figure had four legs and no head. Where the head should have been, there was only a wild foliage of ferns and flowers. There was a small, smiling face drawn over the heart.

“To find the balance you want, this is what you must become. You must keep you feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it’s like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God.” (“Eat, Love, Pray,” author Elizabeth Gilbert, pp. 26-27)

Now you’ve heard some ways to open your heart to the Holy Spirit. Listen as Jake uses the scripture to tell us a more contemporary version of Luke. Maybe it is a little like your own story.

Jake’s Version of the Scripture

Graduating from CTS following his toughest semester left Chris looking forward to a few days’ relaxation at Turkey Run.  He was gloating in his accomplishments… Top of his class, a national preaching award, and accolades from just about every professor and every department in the seminary, job offers from all over the country.

Now, sitting on the banks of Sugar Creek after 12 hours of sleep he reflected on his upcoming decision to accept the call from First Church in Oxford.  He couldn’t just say no.  It was his home church.  Pastor Johnny had been his hero.  Johnny had moved on years ago but the church kept going somehow.  Ninety members, few of them under 50 (and probably set in their ways) average church attendance of 40, building needs a new roof, tendency of the men to let their wives fill most of the church’s leadership positions, no funds for even a part-time secretary, etc., etc.

“All of this to put up with and for $15,000 a year!  I could make that working at McDonalds!  I could go to Purdue and with my transfer credits and get a degree in engineering or business management in just a couple of years.  I’d make 4 times as much as I would at First Church and I wouldn’t have to walk on egg shells to keep from offending the Chair of the Deacons!  But what a name I could make for myself if this little church did a turn-around.  I could headline some conferences and write books on evangelism and church growth.  I’m probably a good enough speaker that I could be the keynoter at some of those popular Spiritual Power seminars.  Hmmm …”

He left Turkey Run on Saturday and headed home to Oxford.  This was supposed to be a slow journey and he took a circuitous route.  On the way he stayed with friends in Crawfordsville, Clark’s Hill, Romney, Lafayette, Battle Ground, Delphi and Fowler.  Everywhere he stopped he would preach in worship or teach the mid-week Bible study.  He found that whenever he arrived at his next destination, word had already spread about him. In each town there was an air of excitement and expectancy.  And no one was disappointed.

Finally the time had come for him to return home and ultimately make his decision.  Word about his recent triumphs had spread to Oxford, too.  And so he went to First Church on Sunday, just as he had so many times before leaving for college.

The crowd was larger than it had been in years.  But as he looked around he noticed the familiar faces … Tom’s dad (he looked older) …  and Susan’s mom – “too bad about her dad,” he thought to himself.  As the service began he was flooded with memories, “There’s something special about this place … these people … opening this old hymnal … #461 has always meant a lot to me … and this moment of silence… “

And he prayed during that silence: “Thank you, God, for this church, for its influence on my life, and especially for Pastor Johnny who helped me through some tough “growing up” times.  And thank you, God, for the opportunity to serve as pastor of First Church.  Amen.”

Each week we are going to learn more about Jesus, Chris and ourselves. What are you doing to make sure that when (not if) temptation comes your way, you are in the Spirit so deeply that the idea of succumbing is not even there?