1 Year Lectionary – First Sunday in Lent – Sunday, March 6, 2022 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough
| Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough: |
| Time Stamp | Transcript |
| 0:28 | the holy gospel according to saint |
| 0:30 | matthew the fourth chapter |
| 0:33 | [Music] |
| 0:39 | then Jesus was led by the spirit into |
| 0:42 | the wilderness to be tempted by the |
| 0:43 | devil after fasting 40 days and 40 |
| 0:45 | nights he was hungry and the tempter |
| 0:47 | came and said to him if you are the son |
| 0:50 | of god command these stones to become |
| 0:52 | loaves of bread but he answered it is |
| 0:53 | written man shall not live by bread |
| 0:55 | alone but by every word that comes from |
| 0:57 | the mouth of god then the devil took him |
| 1:00 | to the holy city set him on the pinnacle |
| 1:02 | of the temple and said to him if you are |
| 1:04 | the son of god throw yourself down for |
| 1:06 | it is written he will command his angels |
| 1:07 | concerning you and on their hand they |
| 1:09 | will bear you up lest you strike your |
| 1:11 | foot against a stone Jesus said to him |
| 1:14 | again it is written you shall not put |
| 1:15 | the lord your god to the test again the |
| 1:17 | devil took him to a very high mountain |
| 1:19 | showed him all the kingdoms of the world |
| 1:21 | and their glory and he said to him all |
| 1:23 | of these i will give you if you will |
| 1:25 | fall down and worship me and then Jesus |
| 1:27 | said to him be gone satan for it is |
| 1:29 | written you shall worship the lord your |
| 1:30 | god and him only shall you serve then |
| 1:32 | the devil left him and behold angels |
| 1:34 | came and were ministering to him this is |
| 1:37 | the gospel of the lord in the name of |
| 1:39 | Jesus |
| 1:40 | amen |
| 1:41 | boy these are great texts got to tell |
| 1:43 | you that there’s an interesting |
| 1:45 | alternative old testament text and i was |
| 1:48 | tempted to throw it in |
| 1:49 | but i thought you know let’s kind of let |
| 1:51 | them all work together so as we are |
| 1:54 | entering this lenten tide and we know |
| 1:56 | that again we need to examine our lives |
| 1:59 | in light of god’s commandments and his |
| 2:01 | law and see all the different ways in |
| 2:04 | which we sin against god and sin against |
| 2:06 | neighbor and thought word and deed by |
| 2:08 | the things we do and don’t do it’s here |
| 2:11 | then in the beginning of the lenten |
| 2:12 | season where we consider the devil’s |
| 2:15 | great attack against us |
| 2:17 | and how he continues to attack us and to |
| 2:20 | tempt us and how he tempted our first |
| 2:22 | parents tempted adam and eve and then |
| 2:24 | we’ll see what the solution to all of |
| 2:26 | this is is the solution try harder do |
| 2:29 | gooder |
| 2:30 | well you know be more intentional in |
| 2:32 | your |
| 2:33 | no it’s not it’s it’s really not it’s |
| 2:35 | something very different all together so |
| 2:38 | in that regard let me remind you what |
| 2:40 | the devil was up to according to Christ |
| 2:43 | in the gospel of john chapter 8 |
| 2:45 | he says these words that the devil that |
| 2:48 | he was a liar and a murderer from the |
| 2:50 | beginning that’s a reference to the book |
| 2:51 | of genesis so we know from Christ’s |
| 2:54 | words in the gospel of john that what is |
| 2:57 | happening in the book of genesis chapter |
| 2:59 | 3 is an attempt to murder the newly |
| 3:03 | created human beings who were made in |
| 3:05 | the image of god and the devil knows |
| 3:07 | full well something and this is |
| 3:08 | something we need to pay attention to |
| 3:10 | because this is really what it’s all |
| 3:12 | about |
| 3:13 | god means what he says and he says what |
| 3:15 | he means and his words do something god |
| 3:20 | never and i mean never lies and so the |
| 3:24 | devil banking on this taking one of |
| 3:26 | god’s great virtues if you would his |
| 3:29 | truthfulness decides to turn that |
| 3:31 | against humanity murder humans by having |
| 3:34 | them disobey god’s command and god |
| 3:37 | himself is now the murder weapon and in |
| 3:39 | the annals of evil i don’t think you can |
| 3:42 | come up with a more evil plan than this |
| 3:44 | but what is it that happened what went |
| 3:46 | wrong the problem was that adam and eve |
| 3:50 | listened to the voice of the serpent |
| 3:53 | listen to their feelings |
| 3:55 | rather than to the word of god |
| 3:58 | and so as a result of this well we know |
| 4:00 | that we’ve been plunged into the misery |
| 4:02 | that we now experience in our life |
| 4:04 | including sickness disease aging |
| 4:08 | obesity and other things like this right |
| 4:11 | yeah we suffer all of this as a result |
| 4:13 | of our fallenness and ultimately death |
| 4:15 | but there was this great promise in our |
| 4:18 | old testament text |
| 4:20 | i will put enmity between you and the |
| 4:22 | woman between your offspring and her |
| 4:24 | offspring he shall bruise your head and |
| 4:27 | you shall bruise his heel you’ll note |
| 4:30 | that the he being referred to is the |
| 4:32 | seed of the woman and i only know one |
| 4:34 | guy who is the seed of a woman and not |
| 4:36 | the seed of a man and of a woman and |
| 4:38 | that’s Jesus and so he’s the one |
| 4:40 | promised by god who would ultimately |
| 4:42 | defeat the devil on our behalf pay |
| 4:45 | attention to that so now Jesus Christ |
| 4:48 | son of god son of man son of david son |
| 4:51 | of god he is now |
| 4:53 | been baptized by john the baptist that’s |
| 4:56 | immediately what precedes our gospel |
| 4:58 | text today and there’s Jesus coming up |
| 5:00 | out of the water and the heavens open up |
| 5:02 | the holy spirit descends on him in the |
| 5:04 | form of a dove and the voice of the |
| 5:06 | father is heard from heaven saying these |
| 5:08 | words |
| 5:09 | you are my beloved son in whom i am well |
| 5:12 | pleased |
| 5:13 | and what does the devil always go after |
| 5:16 | the word of god with adam and eve the |
| 5:18 | question was did god actually say with |
| 5:21 | Jesus you’re going to note he’s got to |
| 5:22 | get after just kind of niggle see if he |
| 5:24 | can work the angles to get Jesus to |
| 5:28 | somehow |
| 5:30 | not trust these words of god and you’ll |
| 5:33 | see then that the devil’s temptation |
| 5:35 | results in three very common ways in |
| 5:38 | which we are all tempted as well either |
| 5:41 | by the devil or our own sinful flesh and |
| 5:43 | it’s here we must remember these things |
| 5:46 | that Jesus is like us in every way |
| 5:49 | except for without sin and he was |
| 5:52 | tempted in every way that we have been |
| 5:54 | tempted and is without sin and as a |
| 5:57 | result of this he has great mercy on us |
| 5:59 | and understands the difficulties of this |
| 6:02 | life firsthand they are not something in |
| 6:04 | the abstract for him so Jesus was led by |
| 6:06 | the spirit into the wilderness to be |
| 6:08 | tempted by the devil |
| 6:10 | after fasting for 40 days 40 nights he |
| 6:13 | was hungry and every time i read this |
| 6:15 | text i sit there and go well of course i |
| 6:17 | don’t even make it 40 minutes you know |
| 6:19 | you just got to think this through here |
| 6:21 | so the tempter then comes and listen to |
| 6:23 | the words |
| 6:24 | if you are the son |
| 6:27 | of god |
| 6:29 | Jesus had heard those words you are my |
| 6:31 | beloved son in whom i am well pleased |
| 6:32 | and so now the devil’s trying to get |
| 6:35 | Christ to not trust these words if you |
| 6:39 | are the son of god command these stones |
| 6:42 | to become loaves of bread |
| 6:44 | and you’re going to note that this |
| 6:46 | temptation when you kind of work it |
| 6:48 | through |
| 6:49 | this is the temptation to despair |
| 6:52 | and to not trust god’s word and not |
| 6:55 | continue to believe his words by faith |
| 6:58 | because of our circumstances remember |
| 7:01 | Jesus hasn’t eaten for 40 days he’s |
| 7:03 | hungry |
| 7:04 | and the devil’s basically saying listen |
| 7:07 | this is no way for the real son of god |
| 7:09 | to be suffering if you really are the |
| 7:11 | son of god well work a miracle here |
| 7:14 | Jesus and things will get better for you |
| 7:18 | let me kind of work out how this comes |
| 7:20 | to us oftentimes this temptation to |
| 7:23 | despair |
| 7:24 | well one of the reasons or one of the |
| 7:26 | ways it comes to us is through our own |
| 7:28 | suffering |
| 7:29 | maybe it’s a medical ailment maybe it’s |
| 7:31 | a chronic disease maybe it’s persecution |
| 7:34 | or things like this |
| 7:35 | and the devil comes along and says well |
| 7:38 | doesn’t scripture say that you’re you’re |
| 7:40 | the apple of god’s eye |
| 7:43 | don’t you think that if you were really |
| 7:45 | a Christian that you wouldn’t be |
| 7:47 | suffering in this way |
| 7:49 | it’s an interesting temptation you sit |
| 7:51 | there and you go well maybe i’m not |
| 7:54 | maybe i’m not a Christian |
| 7:56 | you know i remember years and years and |
| 7:58 | years ago long before i was a pastor we |
| 8:00 | were teaching a bible study at a church |
| 8:02 | in san juan capistrano and one of the |
| 8:04 | members of the church took ill and he |
| 8:06 | was going to die |
| 8:07 | i went to visit him in the hospital and |
| 8:09 | he said to me |
| 8:10 | i really must have done something wrong |
| 8:12 | to upset god this way you know that he’s |
| 8:15 | causing me to suffer |
| 8:18 | and i said your suffering has nothing to |
| 8:19 | do with god’s love for you |
| 8:22 | god loves you because he says so in his |
| 8:24 | word and Christ has bled and died for |
| 8:27 | your sins so i redirected him back to |
| 8:29 | the promises that we have in Christ and |
| 8:31 | it’s important for us to note this as |
| 8:33 | Christians then we do have promises and |
| 8:36 | the promises have to do with the |
| 8:38 | forgiveness of our sins being reconciled |
| 8:41 | to god and Christ does this even for us |
| 8:44 | when we were the enemies of god and |
| 8:46 | scripture is very clear in romans 8 that |
| 8:49 | we have been adopted into the family of |
| 8:53 | god we are now adopted children and |
| 8:55 | here’s where we have to pay attention to |
| 8:56 | one little note here |
| 8:58 | this is not like well the adoption |
| 9:01 | papers have been filed |
| 9:03 | but they haven’t been signed yet by a |
| 9:06 | judge you know |
| 9:07 | it’s still pending and of course if i |
| 9:10 | screw up during this this inter period |
| 9:12 | that somehow the adoption won’t go |
| 9:14 | through remember the the movie orphan |
| 9:17 | annie you know about orphan annie it was |
| 9:19 | a big thing when i was a kid right the |
| 9:21 | sun will come out tomorrow right you |
| 9:24 | know what i’m talking about here and |
| 9:25 | it’s a great three-act play but the |
| 9:27 | drama is always is is about whether or |
| 9:30 | not annie will actually finally be |
| 9:33 | adopted by daddy warbucks and of course |
| 9:36 | it has that great conclusion at the end |
| 9:38 | but the conflict is all around that |
| 9:41 | that’s not our conflict brothers and |
| 9:43 | sisters that’s not our conflict |
| 9:45 | you have been baptized into Christ |
| 9:48 | you have been buried with him in his |
| 9:50 | death in his resurrection your sins have |
| 9:53 | been washed away today we will feast on |
| 9:55 | his body and blood given and shed for |
| 9:57 | the forgiveness of our sins the adoption |
| 9:59 | papers have been signed |
| 10:01 | you are the children of god |
| 10:04 | adopted loved bled for cherished it is |
| 10:08 | sight |
| 10:09 | that being the case |
| 10:11 | don’t let the devil |
| 10:12 | somehow think that |
| 10:14 | well maybe that’s not true for you it is |
| 10:18 | TRUE |
| 10:19 | it is absolutely true as certain as |
| 10:21 | Christ’s resurrection from the grave |
| 10:24 | so all of that being said |
| 10:26 | don’t be tempted to despair but there’s |
| 10:28 | another way in which we can be tempted |
| 10:30 | to despair and goes along the lines of |
| 10:32 | this |
| 10:33 | well if i were |
| 10:34 | really |
| 10:36 | a Christian |
| 10:37 | then i wouldn’t be struggling |
| 10:39 | with sin |
| 10:41 | now how many of us can legitimately say |
| 10:45 | you know when the devil comes a knocking |
| 10:47 | and says things like you know it’s just |
| 10:50 | a little sin |
| 10:51 | it’s just a little malice it’s just a |
| 10:53 | little gossip it’s just a little |
| 10:55 | coveting it’s just a little sexual |
| 10:57 | immorality it’s just a little |
| 10:59 | dishonoring of your parents |
| 11:01 | we sit there and go yeah it’s it’s not |
| 11:03 | that bad it’s not that bad right and |
| 11:06 | then as soon as we give in to the |
| 11:07 | temptation like morons we said they go |
| 11:09 | yeah sin cool right what happens the |
| 11:12 | devil comes flooding at us basically |
| 11:15 | saying you’re going to hell this is no |
| 11:17 | way for a Christian to behave you’re not |
| 11:19 | really saved |
| 11:24 | right |
| 11:25 | these are the temptations that we face |
| 11:27 | is the temptation to despair and note |
| 11:29 | Christ has faced this temptation |
| 11:32 | he’s faced |
| 11:33 | straight on and unlike us |
| 11:36 | Christ never yielded to the temptation i |
| 11:38 | always loved the fact that Christ |
| 11:41 | in this account quotes from the book of |
| 11:44 | deuteronomy three times i mean talk |
| 11:46 | about biblical illiteracy the world we |
| 11:48 | live in so many people who call |
| 11:49 | themselves Christians |
| 11:50 | they’ve never read the bible i mean |
| 11:52 | legitimate they have no clue what it’s |
| 11:53 | about and then if you ask them have you |
| 11:56 | read the book of deuteronomy they they |
| 11:58 | might even question whether or not |
| 11:59 | that’s a real name of a real book in the |
| 12:01 | bible but it really is |
| 12:03 | that’s where Christ goes so Christ |
| 12:06 | trusting in the written word of god |
| 12:08 | says it is written man shall not live by |
| 12:10 | bread alone but by every word that comes |
| 12:11 | from the mouth of god |
| 12:13 | so if i’m hungry i’m hungry |
| 12:15 | this is absolutely good right salutary |
| 12:18 | and fitting for the son of god |
| 12:20 | and as they say in baseball swinging a |
| 12:22 | miss strike one for the devil |
| 12:25 | well next temptation so the devil took |
| 12:27 | Jesus to the holy city set him on the |
| 12:29 | pinnacle of the temple and said to him |
| 12:31 | if you are the son of god throw yourself |
| 12:33 | down for it is written he will command |
| 12:35 | his angels concerning you and on their |
| 12:36 | hands they will bear you up lest you |
| 12:38 | strike your foot against the stone here |
| 12:40 | we know from our gradual that the devil |
| 12:43 | is twisting psalm 91. all right he’s he |
| 12:46 | omitted a little bit of a portion of the |
| 12:48 | text but all of that is to |
| 12:51 | really tempt Jesus into committing the |
| 12:54 | sin of presumption |
| 12:55 | let me explain how this one goes all |
| 12:57 | right so you may have heard a preacher |
| 13:00 | somewhere on youtube or on the interwebs |
| 13:02 | or maybe you’ve even attended a church |
| 13:04 | we’ve heard a sermon to the effect of |
| 13:06 | well |
| 13:07 | you need to embrace your royal identity |
| 13:10 | as a Christian |
| 13:12 | you did you not know that you are a |
| 13:14 | royal |
| 13:15 | that’s right you Christian women you are |
| 13:18 | princesses and you Christian men of |
| 13:20 | course you are handsome strapping young |
| 13:22 | princes and as the royals of god we have |
| 13:26 | the authority |
| 13:28 | as royals to decree royal proclamations |
| 13:32 | to decree and declare things like health |
| 13:34 | and wealth and should a hurricane be set |
| 13:36 | handed towards florida or texas we can |
| 13:39 | take our gandalf stick and whack that |
| 13:41 | thing in the name of our royal decrees |
| 13:44 | back into the ocean right |
| 13:47 | isn’t that not exactly what kenneth |
| 13:50 | copeland did covet 19 |
| 13:53 | i blow the wind of god on you this is a |
| 13:55 | sin of presumption |
| 13:57 | all right |
| 13:58 | totally the sin of presumption and what |
| 14:01 | the devil is tempting Christ to do is |
| 14:03 | sit there and go yeah well |
| 14:04 | well that that psalm psalm 91 really is |
| 14:07 | written about me i guess i can just go |
| 14:09 | willy nilly breaking the laws of gravity |
| 14:12 | and not have to worry about any of the |
| 14:14 | consequences i can throw myself off of |
| 14:16 | cliffs i can go skydiving without a |
| 14:19 | parachute and god will save me |
| 14:22 | complete |
| 14:24 | and utter |
| 14:25 | presumption |
| 14:27 | and that’s the temptation how many |
| 14:28 | people have fallen into this sin in our |
| 14:30 | day how many people have |
| 14:32 | have heard oh you are so special you’re |
| 14:35 | hearing the voice of god you need to |
| 14:37 | open up a youtube channel and prophesy |
| 14:40 | every week and every month and tell |
| 14:42 | people about their breakthroughs and |
| 14:44 | their suddenlies that god’s gonna give |
| 14:46 | them stuff like this |
| 14:47 | pure utter |
| 14:49 | presumption |
| 14:51 | so Jesus said again |
| 14:54 | it’s written |
| 14:55 | you shall not put the lord your god to |
| 14:57 | the test god has not promised that if |
| 15:00 | you go skydiving without a parachute |
| 15:02 | that he will save you |
| 15:04 | so as they say in baseball |
| 15:07 | strike two |
| 15:09 | see what happens |
| 15:10 | so the devil then took Jesus to a very |
| 15:12 | high mountain |
| 15:14 | showed him all the kingdoms of the world |
| 15:16 | and their glory and he said to him all |
| 15:18 | of these i’ll give you if you’ll fall |
| 15:20 | down and worship me |
| 15:24 | hey man serious now what is this aside |
| 15:28 | from the uh obvious here the |
| 15:31 | temptation to worship satan |
| 15:33 | at the core we need to come to grips |
| 15:35 | with something here scripture warns us |
| 15:37 | that in the last days within the visible |
| 15:39 | church there will be taught doctrines of |
| 15:41 | demons |
| 15:43 | and that’s a true thing that people will |
| 15:46 | exchange the truth of god for lies and |
| 15:49 | for myths and as a result of it they |
| 15:51 | would end up in fact really |
| 15:54 | engaging not only an apostasy but |
| 15:57 | apostasy that doesn’t worship Christ but |
| 16:00 | at its core is still a worship of the |
| 16:02 | devil |
| 16:03 | this is the temptation to apostasy that |
| 16:04 | we all |
| 16:06 | all experience and so Christ points us |
| 16:09 | back to true worship true worship is |
| 16:12 | with truthful words from the scriptures |
| 16:15 | themselves |
| 16:16 | and Jesus says to the devil you shall it |
| 16:19 | is written you shall worship the lord |
| 16:20 | your god in him only |
| 16:22 | shall you serve |
| 16:24 | and so we’re going to note here |
| 16:26 | Christ has succeeded where we have |
| 16:28 | failed |
| 16:29 | here the one promised by god all the way |
| 16:32 | back in the garden of eden has come on |
| 16:34 | the scene the one who was going to crush |
| 16:37 | the head of the serpent |
| 16:39 | he is on the scene and he’s doing his |
| 16:41 | conquering work |
| 16:43 | now there’s another place to go with |
| 16:46 | this here |
| 16:47 | and i mentioned it at the beginning of |
| 16:49 | the sermon and that is |
| 16:51 | our alternate text the alternate text |
| 16:54 | the option for the old testament text |
| 16:57 | that for this sunday is first samuel |
| 17:00 | chapter 17 the story of david and |
| 17:02 | goliath you’ll note i don’t normally |
| 17:04 | preach on this because it doesn’t really |
| 17:05 | come up very often but there it is and |
| 17:07 | it’s like ah i gotta i gotta preach a |
| 17:10 | little bit on this we’re gonna note |
| 17:11 | something here we’ve also in the in |
| 17:14 | regards to the sin of presumption heard |
| 17:17 | really bad sermons throughout our |
| 17:18 | lifetime on the story of david and |
| 17:20 | goliath and it generally goes something |
| 17:23 | like this |
| 17:24 | so what are the goliaths in your life |
| 17:27 | okay so you read the story of david and |
| 17:28 | goliath and then you ask yourself the |
| 17:30 | question what is what are the goliaths |
| 17:31 | in your life is is it a mountain of debt |
| 17:34 | is it a bad job is it a broken down car |
| 17:38 | or a boss who treats you poorly or it |
| 17:41 | worse is it misbehaved children i had |
| 17:43 | three goliaths in my house |
| 17:45 | right |
| 17:46 | well you need to get out your five |
| 17:48 | smooth stones and you need to run out |
| 17:50 | into the battlefield and you need to |
| 17:52 | take your sling and slay your goliaths |
| 17:54 | right |
| 17:57 | no |
| 17:58 | no in this regard then |
| 18:02 | i would remind us of an interesting |
| 18:04 | context here |
| 18:05 | in the chapter before |
| 18:07 | this this the chapter where david and |
| 18:09 | goliath is what happened to david |
| 18:12 | is that he was anointed by the prophet |
| 18:15 | samuel to be the next king |
| 18:18 | of israel |
| 18:20 | and we learn from that text as well as a |
| 18:22 | good cross-reference in hebrews chapter |
| 18:25 | 11 that david is a man of faith he |
| 18:27 | believes the words of god and there were |
| 18:30 | actual promises to those in the mosaic |
| 18:32 | covenant in his day that david acted on |
| 18:35 | in faith this is the reason why he was |
| 18:37 | able to slay a bear or things like this |
| 18:40 | he trusted god and as a result of that |
| 18:44 | god |
| 18:45 | followed through on the promises that he |
| 18:47 | had made and now david |
| 18:50 | after his anointing |
| 18:52 | is also facing a great temptation a |
| 18:55 | champion if you would who’s kind of a |
| 18:57 | stand-in for the devil and david’s words |
| 19:00 | are super important because they help us |
| 19:02 | because i must remind you that after |
| 19:05 | Jesus baptism he was |
| 19:08 | thrown into great temptation after |
| 19:10 | david’s anointing he also was put into |
| 19:13 | great temptation |
| 19:14 | after our baptisms we also are put into |
| 19:17 | great temptations the devil is not |
| 19:20 | content to leave us alone and so some of |
| 19:22 | the david’s words here really are going |
| 19:24 | to help us |
| 19:26 | so it says in verse 40 of first samuel |
| 19:29 | 17 david took his staff in his hand |
| 19:32 | he chose five smooth stones from the |
| 19:34 | brook |
| 19:36 | he put them in his shepherd’s pouch his |
| 19:38 | sling was in his hand and he approached |
| 19:40 | the philistine and the philistine moved |
| 19:42 | forward and came near to david with a |
| 19:44 | shield bearer in front of him and when |
| 19:46 | the philistine looked and saw david he |
| 19:48 | disdained him for he was but a youth |
| 19:51 | ruddy and handsome in appearance and the |
| 19:53 | philistines said to david am i a dog |
| 19:56 | that you come at me with sticks and the |
| 19:59 | philistine cursed david by his gods the |
| 20:02 | philistine said to david come to me and |
| 20:04 | i will give your flesh to the birds of |
| 20:05 | the air and the beasts of the field and |
| 20:08 | then david said to the philistine you |
| 20:10 | come to me with a sword and with a spear |
| 20:13 | and with a javelin |
| 20:15 | but i come to you in the name of yahweh |
| 20:18 | sava oath |
| 20:19 | the god of armies the god of the armies |
| 20:22 | of israel whom you have defied |
| 20:25 | this day and these are the words this |
| 20:27 | day yahweh will deliver you into my hand |
| 20:30 | and i will strike you down and cut off |
| 20:33 | your head and i will give the dead |
| 20:35 | bodies of the host of the philistines |
| 20:36 | this day to the birds of the air and to |
| 20:38 | the wild beasts of the earth that all |
| 20:40 | the earth may know that there is a god |
| 20:42 | in israel and i would note here this |
| 20:45 | imagery of the dead philistines being |
| 20:48 | their flesh being eaten by the birds is |
| 20:50 | exactly the same kind of imagery that we |
| 20:52 | find in the book of revelation regarding |
| 20:54 | the last battle itself the armies of the |
| 20:58 | evil one arrayed against Christ and they |
| 21:00 | all die and there’s a big feast for all |
| 21:03 | the birds that day it’s interesting when |
| 21:05 | you think about it |
| 21:06 | but he continues |
| 21:08 | so |
| 21:09 | he let me back up he says that all the |
| 21:11 | earth may know that there is a god in |
| 21:12 | israel and that all |
| 21:14 | this assembly may know |
| 21:16 | and listen to the words |
| 21:18 | that they may know that yahweh |
| 21:20 | saves |
| 21:22 | yahweh |
| 21:24 | saves |
| 21:26 | fun little play on words in the hebrew |
| 21:29 | here by the way there is one word in |
| 21:31 | hebrew |
| 21:32 | that actually means |
| 21:34 | yahweh |
| 21:36 | saves |
| 21:37 | do you all know that one |
| 21:39 | yahushua |
| 21:42 | yahweh |
| 21:43 | saves now david used two words yahweh |
| 21:47 | um yes |
| 21:49 | yeshu i can’t even remember the ending |
| 21:51 | on this one but he uses the same yeshu |
| 21:53 | word that opening phrase there and so |
| 21:56 | it’s kind of fascinating here |
| 21:58 | that in this text in the hebrew david |
| 22:00 | says that yahweh saves and the reader |
| 22:04 | who knows who this is pointing to Christ |
| 22:07 | the one who crushes the head of the |
| 22:08 | serpent can see at least an echo of |
| 22:12 | Jesus’s name here it is the lord who |
| 22:15 | saves Jesus who saves yahweh saves |
| 22:18 | that’s his name |
| 22:19 | he doesn’t save with sword or spell |
| 22:21 | spear for the battle is the lord’s and |
| 22:24 | he will give you into our hand listen |
| 22:27 | again to the words the battle is the |
| 22:28 | lord’s he will give you into our hands |
| 22:32 | so brothers and sisters listen to what i |
| 22:34 | have to say here |
| 22:36 | you are not strong enough to defeat the |
| 22:38 | devil i am not strong enough to defeat |
| 22:41 | the devil i assure you i am not the one |
| 22:43 | promised in in genesis chapter 3 verse |
| 22:46 | 15 |
| 22:48 | neither are you |
| 22:49 | but Christ is the one who’s who is |
| 22:52 | promised Jesus is the one who saves and |
| 22:55 | you’ll note he is the one who conquers |
| 22:57 | the devil for us and so he’s also and |
| 23:00 | this is important he’s also left us an |
| 23:03 | example for us to follow |
| 23:05 | because the problem is that we listen to |
| 23:09 | other words |
| 23:10 | we trust other voices |
| 23:12 | we trust the voice of the devil we trust |
| 23:15 | the voice of the world |
| 23:16 | we trust the voice of our own sinful |
| 23:19 | flesh |
| 23:20 | when god’s word so clearly says it is |
| 23:23 | written |
| 23:25 | and so we need to repent of all of the |
| 23:28 | different ways in which we have cast the |
| 23:30 | word of god beside us behind us and as a |
| 23:33 | result of not listening to god’s voice |
| 23:35 | we have fallen into the temptations that |
| 23:39 | afflict us as Christians but also this |
| 23:43 | let us come back to the promise of the |
| 23:45 | forgiveness of our sins Jesus is the one |
| 23:47 | who’s conquered the devil for us and |
| 23:50 | Jesus is the one who also promises us |
| 23:52 | some amazing things if you remember in |
| 23:55 | your in the book of revelation the first |
| 23:59 | few chapters have a lot of red ink in |
| 24:01 | them i think a lot of people forget that |
| 24:03 | there are red letters in other portions |
| 24:05 | of the new testament in fact if i were |
| 24:07 | to kind of show you as a visual aid look |
| 24:09 | at all the red ink on that right Jesus |
| 24:11 | is doing a lot of talking here and so |
| 24:14 | Jesus is having letters written to all |
| 24:15 | these different churches and Jesus makes |
| 24:18 | promises like this to the one who |
| 24:20 | conquers i will grant to eat of the tree |
| 24:23 | of life which is in the paradise of god |
| 24:25 | the one who |
| 24:26 | conquers will not be hurt by the second |
| 24:30 | death he says the one who conquers i |
| 24:32 | will give some of the hidden manna and i |
| 24:34 | will give him a white stone with a new |
| 24:36 | name written on the stone that no one |
| 24:38 | knows except for the one who receives it |
| 24:41 | and he goes on and says to the one who |
| 24:43 | conquers i will give him the morning |
| 24:44 | star these are the promises of Christ to |
| 24:48 | his churches |
| 24:50 | but i would remind you then that we only |
| 24:53 | conquer |
| 24:55 | by faith |
| 24:57 | faith in the one who has already |
| 24:58 | conquered the devil |
| 25:00 | faith in the one who crushed the head of |
| 25:04 | the serpent by going to the cross and |
| 25:06 | bleeding and dying for your sins and |
| 25:08 | mine and then rising victorious from the |
| 25:11 | grave on the third day |
| 25:13 | so |
| 25:14 | at the beginning of lent let us repent |
| 25:17 | of all the different ways |
| 25:18 | we have listened to voices that we ought |
| 25:21 | not to listen to |
| 25:23 | and let us come back to the voice of god |
| 25:25 | found in the written text let us not |
| 25:28 | despair of our standing before god as |
| 25:30 | his baptized forgiven beloved children |
| 25:34 | let us not |
| 25:36 | fall into the sin of ten of of |
| 25:39 | excuse me i lost my train of thought |
| 25:41 | there fall into the temptation of |
| 25:43 | presumption the sin of presumption or |
| 25:46 | worse into apostasy which really is |
| 25:48 | truly the worship of the devil let us |
| 25:50 | repent of all the different ways in |
| 25:52 | which we have participated that and let |
| 25:54 | us again trust in the one who has |
| 25:56 | conquered for the battle truly belongs |
| 25:58 | to the lord and it is Yahweh who saves |
| 26:01 | not with spear or sword or javelin he |
| 26:03 | saves by his suffering bleeding dying |
| 26:06 | son of God who is given and shed for the |
| 26:08 | forgiveness of our sins so that we might |
| 26:11 | have life and life abundantly and |
| 26:13 | eternal in Jesus name amen |
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