Sermon for Ash Wednesday 21st February 2007

Into The Desert – 210207WE 2000 – Ash Wednesday service

Reading: Luke 4: 1-14

In our reading from Luke 4, we read how Jesus went out into the desert. He stayed there for 40 days and nights. He fasted. And he was tempted.

If we look back to Luke chapter 3 we read how Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. At that time the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

And you might expect that at this point Jesus would set out for the towns and villages, eager to heal the sick, to preach about the kingdom, and to grow his band of disciples.

But instead of this Jesus heads out into the desert. Why? Because that is where the Holy Spirit leads him.But why? Surely there is more important work for Jesus to do, people to meet, lives to change. Why waste all this time going out into the desert?

But God’s timing is not the same as our idea of timing. “My thoughts are not your though neither are your ways my ways.” Time led by the Spirit is not wasted. Time not led by the Spirit is more likely to be wasted.

And Jesus goes out into the desert to be tempted? Why? What’s the point? Why try to derail Jesus’ mission before it has even begun? Why take risks? Why not just protect him from all temptation?

Luke tells us that Jesus went into the desert full of the Holy Spirit.

He went into the desert to prepare for his mission. To share in our trials. To experience our pressures. To experience our hunger. To feel our desire for the quick fix … and power … and celebrity and influence … and to turn his back on them. To glorify his Father.

And then Luke tells us that Jesus returned from the desert in the power of the Holy Spirit.

He healed the sick, not because he had to but because he had compassion on them. I read about someone who years ago went to the Soviet Union for an eye operation. She went there because they had the best treatment in the world. The surgeons and nurses were highly trained and experienced and the best in the world. But her experience of the procedure was like being on a production line, passed from one robot- like worker to the next with no sense of care or compassion or human feeling.

But Jesus didn’t use his powers like a production line robot. What he went through in the desert prepared him for his ministry. He gave individual care and attention to everyone who came to him.He was filled with compassion and understanding for everyone, whatever their problem.

Jesus returned from the desert preaching that the Kingdom of God is here. He called people to follow him.

And now he is calling us to follow him. He’s calling us to follow him into the desert. To face temptation. To allow the power of the Spirit to be released in us.

In we might think, “I don’t need to go into the desert. I’m strong enough, I can get right on with the work of building the kingdom.” But even the apostle Paul needed to go into the deserts of Arabia for 3 years to let God prepare him for his ministry.

James 1: 2-4 tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. And it is as were persevere in following Jesus wherever he leads us that we become mature and complete.

And as we follow Jesus, he understands our weaknesses and our failures. He has been there before us. He knows what to expect. He doesn’t say to us, “Well I defeated that temptation – why can’t you?” He picks us up and puts us back on our feet and encourages us to keep following and relying on him. He treats us with compassion. He says, “I didn’t come to judge the world; I came to save.”

We have a Saviour and Lord who understands what we go through. Heb 4: 15-16 tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathise with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” So we can come to him for mercy when we foul up, for grace when we fail, and for help when we fall down.

Over the next few weeks up till Easter we are going to be thinking about healing and wholeness. We will be thinking about Jesus, the Compassionate Healer.

But we need to remember that for Jesus, healing and wholeness were not simply ends in themselves. He healed people and made them whole so that they could be part of his kingdom.

And now He heals us not so that we can live in comfort but so that we can follow him. In Matt 20: 32-34 – we read about the blind men who were healed by Jesus. Verse 34 tells us, “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight … and followed him.”

Jesus doesn’t say he will heal us in every way. He will heal us so that we can fulfil the purpose he has for our lives. He will heal us so that we can live! Paul tells us that he had a thorn in the flesh that he begged God to remove – but God didn’t. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

We find it a struggle to accept this. Why would a compassionate Jesus not heal us in every way possible. Our problem is that for many of us our chief goal is our own peace, security and comfort, and we get frustrated because Jesus doesn’t share our goals.

R. Arthur Matthews in his book “Born for Battle”, writes: “God can be reckless with the physical safety of his children because spiritual issues are more important than security and prosperity. And the spiritual issue about which God is concerned is loyalty, even to the bound of death. Why did God leave Watchman Nee imprisoned in China? We would have liked to see him released and brought to freedom and safety. Because the light is for the dark places. Because loyalty has priority over safety, endurance over escape.”

I would like to be a strong Christian. But I know that I am not. I can only trust God to work through my weakness. That is the only way I will be of any use to him.

Jesus heals us. And he makes us whole. We can try as hard as we like to get it together, but the result will not hold water. We need him to make us complete. Someone said that we have a God shaped hole in our lives and we are not complete until we allow him to fill it. Completeness is when we have learned not to let go of him. It is about living life with Jesus. It is about becoming real and authentic. Bill Hybels tells us that “character” is who we are when we know that nobody’s looking.

So over these next few weeks, why not walk out into the desert with Jesus. Take the risk. Let him prepare you for whatever he has in store for you. Let him heal you and make you whole. If you feel you have so many responsibilities that you can’t afford to take the time to spend with Jesus, then you really need to lay something down during this time so that you can be with Jesus.

And then you will be able to walk back into the Church, the World, Life, in the power of the Spirit and let him bring healing and wholeness through you to people who are struggling.

Are you willing to follow Jesus wherever he leads you? Are you prepared to turn away from the world’s values and seek Jesus’s kingdom and his righteousness? Are you willing to take up your cross and follow him?

If you are I’d like to invite you to come to the front and receive a mark of the cross on your forehead to signify that you will follow Jesus, the compassionate healer, through the desert and into the purposes he has for your life.