Jump Start # 2890

Luke 4:13 “When the devil had finished every temptation, he left him until an opportune time.”

From our verse we learn that the temptations were finished, but the devil wasn’t. He hadn’t given up yet. There was no white flag being waved. He’d be back. He’d come in the form of Peter, who rebuked Jesus. He’d come in the form of Pharisees, who tested, twisted and turned everything Jesus said, upside down and inside out. He’d come in the form of shouts from the crowd at the Calvary who dared Him to come off the cross. The devil tried. He tried hard. Jesus was tempted as we are, yet without sin.

There are some things we ought to see from this:

First, the devil isn’t finished with you, either. As long as there is breath in your body and you are walking on the Lord’s side of things, the devil is after you. Paul told Timothy to “flee youthful lusts.” Light years ago, I was invited to speak at a church. They told me to bring a lesson that I liked. I did. It was a sermon on “fleeing youthful lusts.” The youngest guy in the congregation was in his mid 60s. But there are also middle age lusts. And, there are lusts for senior citizens. The type and nature of the lusts may change, but what doesn’t change is that the devil is still after you. He has chased us all of our lives. There have been days when it seems that he won, but there are many more days when we know that he hasn’t.

All of this tells us that there is no coasting along as Christians. We must keep our guard up and be alert. We must put on that full armor of God. The arrows of Satan fly across the skyway, but with the help of God we will make it safely through.

Second, somethings in life seem to repeat and come back around. It’s looking more and more like this pandemic is firing up again. The first time around, most churches were caught off guard. We hurriedly put things together, cancelled things and limped along as best as we could. Now, we know. Now, if the storm clouds darken again, we ought to be better prepared. Shame on us if we get caught off guard again. Be talking. Be planning. Be stock piling. Be ready. Let’s do things better this time, if there is a second wave. Better communication among the shepherds. Better communication between the shepherds and the flock. Better use of social media. Better ways to stay connected and better ways to teach.

Third, Satan is looking for an “opportune time.” Phillips states this as: “the next opportunity.” Just when is a good time for Satan? Have you thought about that? Have you heard a sermon on that? Anger, Paul told the Ephesians, gives the devil an opportunity. When we are mad, we typically don’t think. We let our emotions get the best of us. We say things that we shouldn’t. We make decisions that are not thought out well. Opportunity. Opportunity for us to sin. Opportunity for us to put our light of influence out. Opportunity to join the devil in doing wrong.

When did Satan first tempt Jesus? In the wilderness, when Jesus was alone, tried and hungry. Opportunity. The devil knows when you are alone. The devil knows when you are stressed. The devil knows when you are tired. Those times are golden moments for Satan. Away from your church family—an opportunity. Out of town– an opportunity.

If we can learn about opportunities, then we can go a long way in protecting ourselves from Satan. Learn to step up your game when you are in those moments. I hate snakes. I hate snakes with a passion. And, I know, some well tell me that snakes kill mice and that they are good. So will a cat. While I was out of town recently, my wife was pulling weeds at the back of our place near the woods. She saw a snake. A big one. A copperhead. She found a neighbor and he took care of it. It didn’t go to Heaven, either. Now, when I’m back there, I’m looking very carefully. My mind is attentive to the area. We must be the same when we are in those moments of Satan’s opportunities.

Fourth, Satan left Jesus for a period. That is good to know. There are moments when Satan won’t be hounding you. There are times he leaves, especially if you resist. James promises that Satan will flee. Not for good. Not forever. But for a moment. And, it is then that you catch your breath. It is then that you take spiritual inventory. It is then that you rest, pray and get ready for the next round. Not every waking moment of every day is an attack from Satan. It’s not that way. I especially find comfort during worship. Worship can seem like a spiritual oasis. We need that.

You and I also have opportune times. Times to invite. Times to have a conversation. Times to do good. Those opportunities often do not come at a good time for us. But we can make adjustments. We can work things out.

The devil left…but he was certainly coming back.

Roger

Jump start # 2724

Luke 4:13 “And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.”

Our verse today is how Luke concludes the temptation of Jesus. The devil had finished, but he really wasn’t finished. There would be more attacks. He would use people. He would use questions that tried to put Jesus in a corner. The devil pushed and pushed but he never could make Jesus fall down. He left, but he was coming back.

And, that’s a lesson for us. So many are looking forward to the day when things will be normal and the world will be free of Covid-19. But that won’t happen. This virus isn’t like a weed in your yard that you spray and then it dies and it dies for good. We have a vaccine for the flu, but every year there is a flu season. The flu never goes away for good. So what this tells us is that rather than looking forward to a time when we can reset things as they once were, we now have to look at how to manage things in a covid world. Some things that we do not like leave, but they always seem to come back. Leaders of God’s people may have to make some permanent changes and adjustments to how we sit, serve and do things. I expect Adam wished he could go back to the days of Eden. But that wasn’t going to happen. The new world he lived in had things that weren’t in Eden, such as struggles, pain and death. Those were going to remain. Adam, and the rest of us, have to deal with those things.

Some thoughts for us:

First, the book of James is true that if we resist, the devil will flee. We see that in Jesus’ temptation. The devil left. But, he’d be back. And, that’s true when we resist. He never leaves for good. It’s going to be a constant battle until we leave this planet and then we will be finished with the devil once and for all.

Second, the devil has more than one trick up his sleeve. He’ll try one thing for a while. It if works, he’ll stay at it. More intense. But, if we resist, he’ll return with another trick up his sleeve. He’ll push all of your buttons until he finds the right one. It’s always a battle. We must keep our eyes open and keep close to the Lord.

Third, the adjustments we must make to deal with the world we live in often are not what we want and they are not easy. Little ones will grow up with a view of things much differently than we older ones. But it’s always been that way. There was a time, long ago, when people never locked the front doors of their homes. They went to stores and left the car key in the ignition. We’d never do that today. It’s just not safe. The world has changed and we’ve had to make adjustments. I’ve talked to many in different congregations and there seems to be a new and better way of collecting money than passing the plate down the rows. A lot of fingers touch those plates. Others are thinking about using the prepackaged Lord’s Supper as a permanent way of observing the Lord’s Supper. Less touch by others the better. This will make a shift in the number of men needed in scheduling. This will require more behind the scenes in getting it all set up. Adjustments. Making things safer, more efficient, and more healthy.

Fourth, some do not do well with changes. This is seen when a congregation moves to a new location. Some fight and drag their feet and never do like the new place. This is seen when a congregation changes preachers. Some just never warm up to the new guy. Some are always comparing the new one with what the old one did. And, when we don’t do well with changes, we resist unity and connecting as God wants us to. Some, decades later, continue to talk about how things used to be. And, we wonder if we will do the same with conversations about covid? Will we continue to talk about how we used to have worship and how we used to do things? Some things may never go back to the way they once were.

Finally, one of the great lessons we learn from Jesus is that He continued to faithfully serve His Father. Tempted or not. Pressured or not. People following Him or not. Easy or not. And, that’s the lesson for us. How we do things is not nearly as important as what we are doing. We will continue to bow before the Lord, honor Him and walk closely with Him. The pre-covid and post-covid way of worshipping may have some differences, but worship will remain the same. Worship comes from our insides. Worship is built upon hearts that love the Lord.

Satan left for awhile. He was coming back. He always does. But one day, as we say goodbye to this world, we will say good riddance once and for all to that ole’ Devil. He’ll be out of our minds, out of our way and out of the world we will be living in.

Roger