Tim Tebow's Big Fumble & Two Great Sermons About the One Who Never Once Dropped the Ball

Okay, now time for kind of a roundup of Tim Tebow news. Let's do this though We're gonna start with kind of like what

I would think is the ground zero article from the CBS sports .com

website headline reads agreeing to speak at intolerant church is Tebow's greatest sin this is by Greg Doyle now

Kind of kind of bring you up to speed what we're gonna do here is we're gonna take a look at the at the headlines that I think led up to Tim Tebow's decision to withdraw from appearing at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas now

I want y 'all to keep a couple of categories separate in your mind Okay, now

Tim Tebow is just you're as far as I'm concerned is your garden variety celebrity sports

Christian representative of generic Semi Pelagian Arminian Evangelicalism, okay, we're not gonna make that the issue.

We're not gonna talk about that now Jeffress I think kind of fits into that same category himself And there's some issues that we could talk about like how much they're spending for their new facility and things like that But again, that's not the issue

Okay, there's there's something bigger going on here and this impacts all of us and so what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at what

I think is kind of the Ground zero for the furor that has come up regarding Tim Tebow's appearance at a so -called

Intolerant church. Okay Jeffress is not a representative of Westboro Baptist.

Okay far from it. He is a man who Puts out that well homosexuality is a sin and that that there is salvation only in Jesus Christ And that is what is the big brouhaha?

Because how dare Tim Tebow up here to speak at an intolerant church like that So there's something bigger going on that we all have to address and we need to take a look at what's going on here

So what we're gonna do we need to look at the bigger reality of where we're at We need to look at the fact that we cannot put our faith and hope and trust in men like Tim Tebow Okay, he was tempted and he fumbled.

Okay, and We need to understand that this Situation is gonna be coming to all of us.

All of us are going to be tested and tempted Regarding these issues not one of us will be allowed to Not have to make a decision as to what you're gonna say because this is something that's coming to all of us

So what we're gonna do we're gonna look at the the sports CBS sports comm Op -ed first we're going to switch gears

Look at how the Huffington Post and how Paul how Paul Rauschenbusch covered it and then we're going to leave the the final word to Albert Muller from his

Christianity Today column that just went out called Tebow's big fumble So that's what we're gonna do Take a look at this and then to finish this out this two sermons that I've picked for our number two are good sermons

That point us to the one man whom we are to put our faith hope and trust in and here's the good news

When tempted he didn't cave to the temptation Jesus is who

I thought who I'm talking about and when tempted and tried he didn't fumble so This put let's put it this way this segment and the sermons that you're gonna hear.

They all work together They all work together to not listen to the good sermons is to not get all of the information

That's here that I'm trying to put out there to help you properly frame and understand this So let's go back in time to February 18th.

Just last week and look at what Greg Doyle wrote Okay, this is what created

You know This is you know ground zero for all of the pressure that was put on Tim Tebow agreeing to speak at intolerant church is

Tebow's greatest sin Greg Doyle wrote he says Tim Tebow was about to make the biggest mistake of his life

Tebow has agreed to speak at a hateful Baptist Preachers Church an Evangelical Cretan named

Robert Jeffress who does the work of the Lord sort of like Westboro Baptist in Topeka, Kansas Does the work of the

Lord not at all Jeffress isn't as bad as Westboro He doesn't send his flock to funerals of US soldiers and have his sheep yell awful things like God hates fags

But he comes close too close He believes he has said quote.

It's a fact that AIDS is a gay disease So there's a reasonable reason to exclude gays from the military.

Jeffress is a bad guy He says Jews and homosexuals are going to hell. He says the

Catholic Church is a satanic cult He says Islam is a religion that promotes pedophilia sex with children

Mormons while they're going to hell too But Jeffress was willing to overlook that and promote Mitt Romney over Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election because Obama Jeffress said is paving the way for the future reign of the

Antichrist Quote I'm not saying that President Obama is the Antichrist. I'm not saying that at all

Jeffress said in November one reason I know he's not the Antichrist is that the Antichrist is going to have much higher poll numbers when

He comes Tim Tebow supports this man more than supports him Tim Tebow is going to throw his weight and it's considerable

We're talking about Tim Tebow for God's sake behind this preacher by speaking at his church in Dallas in April And that is a mistake.

He'll never overcome I'm not even sure he can overcome what he's already done simply agreeing to speak at Jeffress's church

Tebow could change his mind today announce that he's not speaking there in April or any other time and it would be enough for some people

You even thought about speaking there you support Jeffress you agree with him

Here's the truth about Tebow and what he does to us. He divides us Yes, but there is wiggle room here lots of wiggle room

There are zealots on both sides of the Tebow chasm those who support him Unconditionally many of whom probably agree with the theology of Robert Jeffress and those who will never be anything but annoyed by Tebow's faith

His popularity popularity his phenomenon, but there are many more people

I suspect like me a Vote to be swayed and I've been swayed both ways as I am sure have many of you

Tebow's religious views are not mine But lots of us don't care about that We're sports fans and Tebow is a sports story and he's one of the most fascinating sports stories in recent history a truly great

College player a truly puzzling NFL player maybe now a truly finished player whatever the case his ups his downs have been fun to watch and So for the last 18 months or so since the remarkable unexplainable run we had the debt with Denver in 2011

I've counted myself as a Tebow a Tim Tebow fan Many folks have recognized that giving me a hard time in emails and on Twitter about my affection for Tebow.

That was fine I wasn't ashamed to like Tim Tebow. I'm ashamed to like Tim Tebow now

More specifically. I don't like Tim Tebow now I can't liking him means liking someone who wouldn't just a who wouldn't just agree with but would support

Robert Jeffress and I despise Robert Jeffress and there are people like me

I promise you thousands maybe millions of us who have enjoyed Tim Tebow as a sports spectacle But who won't enjoy this who can't enjoy this?

I suspect there are Christians many of you who are as Disappointed as I am that Tebow would align himself with something as monstrous as Robert Jeffress, please read that sentence again because this column isn't an attack of Christianity I don't consider

Robert Jeffress as theology to be Christianity a religion built on love Jeffress speaks hate

Jeffress wouldn't have saved Mary Magdalene. He would have stoned her Tim Tebow will speak at this man's church

Be gone Tebow. I'm done with you see

Yeah, that that's in a sports column in a sports column.

Well Tebow ended up caving sent out a tweet basically saying that new things had come to light and he has bowed out of Speaking at Jeffress's church.

Okay. This is from the Huffington Post Roshan Bush is the author.

Here's what it says The headline is Tim Tebow officially puts evangelical right on the sideline in an astonishing turn of events

Tim Tebow has now canceled his appearance at First Baptist, Dallas and in doing so he has officially placed the political religious right to the far margins of society

Tim Tebow's appearance was meant to be a pretty routine if flashy event

First Baptist Church invited the football star more famous for his prayerful pose and Then his forward passes to be a part of the reveal of their nerd of their new church campus

Which a press release calls the largest church building project in modern history Tebow was scheduled to speak on April 28th at 9 15 in the

Sunday morning service none of this seemed at all surprising Tebow has spoken at many churches and Christian filled stadiums in the past years

The First Baptist Dallas was surely thought of as just one more preaching moment for the football player

Just to be clear First Baptist. Dallas is not an outlier Church.

Let me read that again Roshan Bush is right here just to be clear First Baptist Dallas is not an outlier

Church. It is headed by Pastor Robert Jeffress a very influential Conservative Christian voice who leads an 11 ,000 strong congregation connected to the

Southern Baptist Convention The theology and the constituency is squarely within the mainstream of contemporary right -wing

Christian thought But what has changed is that the views of the right -wing Christians are now

Officially out of step with the growing majority of Americans including apparently Tim Tebow Dr.

Jeffress has never been shy about his opinions and he offered up some great sound bites in the last election first He called

Mormonism a cult but it is and Changed his mind when Governor Romney Mormon was

Republican nominee and topped it all off on the Sunday before the election by saying the President Obama's reelection would lead to the rise of the

Antichrist Jeffress has also had a few choice words to say about the gays namely the that homosexuality is perverse

It represents a degradation of a person's mind and Muslims who are following a religion. That is a heresy from the pit of hell

While dr. Jeffress has a tendency not to sugarcoat his feelings in In most respects.

He is simply voicing what Bible believing religious right Christians have been saying for a long time

Jesus is the only way gay relations are sinful Catholic Church of Satanic Mormonism is a cult

Billy Graham's website said this very thing But was scrubbed in the run -up to the 2012 elections

So while it was not surprising that first Baptist Dallas would want one of America's most beloved and celebrated

Evangelicals be part of their churches open opening. It was surprising that a petition began to circulate through the change .org

urging Tebow to cancel and it is positively a miracle that Tebow decided to Cancel as Recently as yesterday

Jeffress seems certain that Tebow would speak at his church and told conservative radio host

Janet Medford Quote, I believe as long as he listens to the Holy Spirit and to God's voice and maybe not that of his handlers

You know, I think he will stand firm but I believe that Tebow was listening to the

Holy Spirit when he made the decision to not associate himself with Jeffress and His worldview apparently, it's got all these people now claiming all this extra revelation and this is all playing into The Tim Tebow story, isn't it?

Interesting, right? We continue though Tim Tebow has joined the ranks of many Christians who are refusing to be associated with a particular strain of religious faith that is

Publicly connected with an anti gay stance and flagrantly hostile to other faith traditions

Like many evangelical young people Tebow seems to care more about loving and being loved by Jesus than the than the politics that too many

Automatically associate with him in his press release Tebow mentions that he was looking forward to sharing quote

Christ's unconditional love at First Baptist Dallas apparently Tebow like so many of his Evangelical brothers and sisters now feels that the religious right is no longer a place where that can be

Done, huh? Interesting, huh? Well to kind of round this out

Just to let you know Robert Jeffress is claiming that Tebow has agreed to come to first First Baptist in Dallas once all the hubbub

Has subsided. Yeah, here's the relevant soundbite from a radio program. I think from Yesterday listen in Tim Tebow Posted on his

Facebook that he wouldn't be there. He's canceling because of quote new information What what more do you know if you had a chance to talk to Tim?

Tim called me last night and We had a very pleasant conversation He explained to me that because of personal and professional reasons that he felt like he needed to lay low right now and avoid

Controversy and said that he would be you know would like to come back to our church at a later date So, you know, that's

Tim's decision and he has to do what he thinks is best but of course all of this as you guys know this controversy is

Based on just really lies and misrepresentations Yeah, so there you go.

That was Robert Jeffress on the pathway to victory radio program basically saying that Tim needs to avoid controversy right now and lay low lay low

Let me read Albert Muller's piece this is just posted on the Christianity Today website

It's entitled Tebow's big fumble and I think dr. Muller does a fine job of helping us understand

How Tebow has really fumbled the ball. Here we go Muller writes he says for Tim Tebow speaking at the

First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas had to look like a great opportunity He grew up attending a large Southern Baptist Church and an invitation to speak at one of the most venerable and historic

Baptist churches in the world Had to look like an easy call He was going all of that changed yesterday when

Tebow the National Football League's most prominent evangelical symbol Sent word through Twitter that he was

Withdrawing from the event his sudden announcement came after a whirlwind of controversy over his scheduled appearance at the

Dallas Church It's senior minister. Robert Jeffress is no stranger to public controversy His sound bites are often well incendiary

But his convictions including the exclusivity of the gospel and the belief that homosexual behaviors are sinful are clearly within the mainstream of American Evangelicalism while many complained about Jeffress's tone and stridency

The controversy quickly shifted to secular outrage that Tebow would agree to speak to a church known for such beliefs

Greg Doyle of CBS Sports warned Tim Tebow was about to make the biggest mistake of his life by speaking at a hateful

Baptist Preachers Church Doyle described Jeffress as an evangelical

Cretan guilty of serial hate speech, of course Doyle Engaged in hateful and slanderous speech of his own by associating

Jeffress with a truly hateful Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas Jeffress isn't as bad as Westboro Doyle admitted, but he comes close too close other sports writers piled on Benjamin Hockman of the

Denver Post Offered his own warning to Tebow after a season on the sidelines the balls in your hands

Timmy You better not fumble this one The controversy threatened to dominate

Tebow's life so that the 25 year old athlete withdrew attempting to escape his predicament stating that he has wished to share a message of hope and Christ's Unconditional love with the historic congregation

Tebow said that due to information that was brought to my attention He has decided to cancel the event and then he pledged to use the platform

God has blessed me with to bring faith hope and love to all those needing a brighter day If Tebow meant to mollify his critics

It is not likely to work for long Tebow has identified himself as a vocal evangelical believer

His church roots go deep and it is safe to say that he has never had a pastor who those speaking in a different tone

Would have disagreed with Jeffress on the exclusivity of Christ and the sinfulness of homosexuality

He has given no indication that he has moved from these convictions and his closest friends assure that he is not

Writing at the Huffington Post Paul Rauschenbusch made it clear. The controversy wasn't just a matter of Jeffress's tone conceding while dr

Jeffress had a tendency not to sugarcoat his feelings He is nonetheless voicing what evangelical

Christians have been saying for a long time The central scandal here is the belief that Jesus is the only

Savior and that homosexual behavior is a sin in Terms of the larger public debate is the issue of homosexuality that has predominated the larger public debate

At least for now the Tebow controversy comes weeks after just weeks after evangelical pastor

Louie Giglio withdrew from delivering a prayer at President Barack Obama's second inaugural ceremony

Giglio had been outed as having preached a message almost 20 years ago that affirmed the sinfulness of homosexuality and stress

That quote the only way out of homosexual lifestyles through the healing power of Jesus No one could have could accuse

Giglio of stridency or reckless language famously non -confrontational

On such issues. He even explained that homosexual has not been in the range of my priorities in the past 15 years a fact that puzzled many evangelicals who wondered

What guidance the young people in Giglio's church had been receiving from him on this issue for a decade and a half?

Under a glare of intense and even overwhelming controversy Giglio withdrew from the inaugural ceremony and Tebow has withdrawn from speaking at First Baptist Church both did so in an effort to escape a

Controversy that threatened to hinder their efforts to represent Christ in a whims in a whimsome way

Both decisions are understandable in light of the pressure But neither Giglio nor Tebow can escape the question that the larger world is now pressing upon them

What exactly do you believe about homosexuality? No statement short of celebrating and affirming the normalization of homosexuality will be found acceptable to those

Demanding an answer writing for Yahoo! Sports Jay Busby Stated what is now obvious whatever the reason for his cancellation

Tebow is fast approaching the point where he'll need to make more Definitive stands on his own.

There are plenty of people needing him to speak up for one reason or another He'll need to decide how public to go with his perspective on Christianity He has the power and potential to be an influential voice for his religion

But he'll need to decide how much of that religion he wishes to demonstrate now

Take out Tebow's name and insert your own the massive moral shift taking shape around us is fast

Eliminating any neutral ground on this issue those Celebrating the moral normalization of homosexuality will demand an answer from us all

Giglio and Tebow withdrew from controversial appearances But they will not evade the demand to answer the fundamental question and any

Christian who will not join the moral revolution Will be marginalized as a moral outlier in the larger society

Evangelical Christians are now called upon to think strategically about what it means to speak truthfully and lovingly in a society that increasingly

Sees us as the moral outlaws Clearly we must watch our speech carefully

Measuring every word for truth and tone and avoiding incendiary sound bites

We must also guard our hearts towards the persistent temptation towards self -righteousness

But at the same time even the most humble statement of biblical truth can now be turned into a sound bite

Described as hate speech and a refusal to affirm the normalization of homosexuality is turned into repulsive intolerance we now face no shortage of arguments for capitulation, but Abandoning the truth of God's Word is not an option

We deny the gospel if we deny the sinfulness of sin that sin every sin our own sin further

Evangelical should not miss this opportunity to rethink our focus on Evangelical celebrities in popular culture including sports heroes for now

The controversy is over Tebow's withdrawal from an invitation extended by a historic church the pastor's statements

Have been the center of the controversy inevitably the controversy will shift to Tebow's own statement

Which he will eventually have to make there will be no escape Before long the ball will be thrown back to Tebow.

I hope and pray that he does not fumble it I pray the same for myself and for every

Christian in the midst of this tumultuous cultural landscape Sooner than later the ball will be thrown to each of us

And that's absolutely correct Dr. Muller has it right You know we did back in in January Okay I did the program and I even took out that segment and put it up on our

YouTube channel that basically said this Message is outlawed by the official state religion of the

United States Okay, we now live in a different time we now live in a different time and You and me all of us we're gonna be thrown this same ball that Tim Tebow has been thrown and This trust me when

I tell you this when the ball is thrown to you you're going to have a gun held to your head and the basically the way this is gonna work is real simple if you want to Be able to continue doing this or keep your job or your family or whatever

There's there's going to be a cost associated with this you will either agree with the culture that Homosexuality is to you know to be a celebrated and affirmed and that Jesus is not the only way this or There was going to be consequences

Okay, it's very clear by what Tim Tebow said to that in that Interview that at least

Jefferson saying that he told him privately that he's willing to come back after the thing blows over that there You know he's trying to lay low and that you know all that kind of stuff the

Tim Tebow saw standing for the truth Stating the truth on this issue would have cost him something and The reality is this

That each and every Christian you and me included we are called to take up our cross and follow

Jesus crosses are implements of death

It's right We're called to confess Jesus even if it means losing our lives losing our job

Tim Tebow the right thing for him to have done is to say yeah,

I'm gonna speak there because God's Word says this and His Word is true, and if that meant that Tim Tebow never

Becomes the head quarterback of any NFL team So be it

That's the cost Keep this in mind When it comes time for you to be counted on this it won't be hey just hey tell me your opinion it'll be

Do the right thing here say the right thing or else a gun is gonna be put to your head

Now it won't be a literal gun. It'll be a figurative gun because Standing with Christ standing with God's Word is going to cost you.

It's going to cost you Prestige your job, whatever we now live in a day where Christianity is openly persecuted in the

United States of America because of this issue and You know what?

This is to be expected Jesus told us it would be this way so when the time comes

Pray now Pray now that you are given the strength Through Christ and the

Holy Spirit and His Word That you will not fail the temptation but like the

Apostles like the Christians who've gone before you you will give a sure and certain testimony to the truth of God Confess what

Scripture says and call sinners to repent and to be forgiven because there is no other name

Given by which men must be saved than in Jesus Christ. And yes Mormonism is a cult and yes

Homosexuality is a sin. And yes, Jesus is the only way This is absolutely true so Don't look to Tebow.

Don't look to Sports stars or celebrity pastors or whatever all over the place and for the past few years

They've all been letting us down But I know somebody who stood the test

I know somebody who when tempted by the devil literally offered the world refused and instead chose to go the way of death even death on a cross and His name is

Jesus Christ He's the one we're stood were to be looking to and Tim Tebow is well

He's just sinful like you and he's sinful like me He's just as sinful as all of us and in a moment of weakness under the pressure of temptation

He caved he fumbled he let us all down Pray that he repents and is forgiven and stands side -by -side by all

Christians Who want to pray preach and proclaim and defend the truth?

No matter the cost you see the world didn't like like Jesus's message it ended up getting him crucified and as the

Apostle Peter who by the way was crucified upside down for his Testimony for Christ his witness for Jesus.

He writes this in first Peter chapter 4 verse 12 beloved Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you but Rejoice insofar as you share

Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad When his glory is revealed if you are insulted for the name of Christ You are blessed because the spirit of glory and God rests upon you

But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler

Anyone suffers as a Christian let him not be ashamed But let him glorify God in that name

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God and if it begins with us

What will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God and if the righteous is scarcely saved?

What will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore let those of you who suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing so This is what

God's Word says Tebow has fumbled Don't look to man look to Christ We're gonna take a quick break and when we come back

We're gonna listen to two good sermons that point us to the one man who when tempted didn't cave

Instead went to the cross That's Jesus Christ. Stay tuned. You don't want to miss it like to email me

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Gunners you got to see it to believe it All right, we're back our number two of fighting for the faith two good sermons back -to -back regarding the temptation of Jesus which

I think are right on topic considering Tebow's huge fumble

Don't put your trust in men folks or celebrities sports stars

They're gonna let you down but Jesus stood the test and triumph let's do this, right?

The ugly we review it all here at fighting for the faith

We're an equal opportunity sermon reviewing service today's sermons come to us first from Trinity Lutheran Church in Murdoch, Nebraska second coming from Faith Lutheran Church Capistrano Beach, California Our first sermon is preached by the

Reverend Brent Kuhlman and the name of his sermon is entitled when the Son of God Jesus was put to the test

The second sermon is entitled without blemish both sermons are preached

From the gospel text Luke chapter 4 verses 1 through 13

Luke chapter 4 verses 1 through 13. In fact, hang on a second here. Let me kill the music

Let me read for you the gospel text and then we'll get right to it you will find that these sermons pointing us to Jesus and his withstanding of the wiles and temptations of the devil are the exact antidote that we need in light of Well, what's happening out there today so many

Christian celebrities stars spokespeople and in the others are continuing to waffle and fail the test

When asked to speak the truth Regarding the Christian faith and what God has said, but Jesus didn't fail

Let me read the gospel text Luke chapter 4 starting at verse 1 Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from the

Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by the devil and he ate nothing during Those days and when they were ended he was hungry

The devil said to him if you are the Son of God Command these stones to become bread

Jesus answered him it is written man shall not live by bread alone and the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms

Of the world in a moment of time and said to him To you I will give all this authority and their glory

For it has been delivered to me and I give it to whom I will if you then will worship me it will all be yours and Jesus answered him it is written.

You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve and The devil took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him

If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written

He will command his angels concerning you to guard you and on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a rock and Jesus answered him it is written

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test and when the devil had ended every temptation.

He departed from him until an opportune time Here's our first sermon on this text pastor

Brent Kuhlman and his sermon entitled when the Son of God Jesus was put to the test

Grace peace and mercy to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text is the

Holy Gospel Please be seated Dear brothers and sisters of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Well a mighty sermon has just been preached We heard it a few weeks ago Do you remember the sermon was preached at Jesus baptism in the

Jordan there heaven cracked wide open the Holy Spirit? Descended on him in the form of a dove and then the father's voice boomed from heaven

Yes sermon time their word of the Lord time there and the father's sermon you remember went like this

You are my son. I love him. I'm delighted with this boy Jesus that was quite a sermon a ringing out voice from heaven sermon

Anointed by the Holy Spirit in his baptism Jesus then is equipped to carry out his

Good Friday ministry Yes, that's right. Son of God. Jesus will do and it is finished salvation for the world and for all sinners on the cross

To fulfill the first divine promise given to Adam and Eve you remember those violent

Rebellious enemies of God and to all their sin infested descendants Yes, the

Genesis 315 promise of the of the Savior Yes, Jesus has come to crush

Satan's head and to free us from the red dragon's lair Again, that's precisely why the father preached those words at Jesus baptism.

Do you see this Jesus? He's my son my beloved son. I couldn't be any more pleased with him after all

I've sent him to bear the sin of the world in his body He will shed his divine blood as the only sacrifice that atones for purifies and cleanses from all sin

He will give his his divine life into death to justify the ungodly But now brothers and sisters now all of a sudden this week

The father's sermon at the baptism of Jesus is immediately put to the test

Contested disputed challenged questioned and yes, the battle is on a battle of sermons and it happens when

Jesus is on Satan's turf when he's wandering in the Wilderness the desert for 40 days starving emaciated vulnerable susceptible at risk

Satan quickly goes on the attack. How does he do it? He opens his mouth. He speaks.

He preaches devilish lies insidious slander contradictory speech

The devil preaches an impressive sermon listen listen Son of God really oh

Sure, Jesus. We all heard the father say something at the Jordan, but but did he really mean it?

You know now that I actually think about it and replay it I'm not so sure that he actually called you his son after all look at you

What good is your father's sermon now is he living up to his promise to be your father?

Oh, I don't think so Jesus. Oh Jesus you poor poor thing

I Hate to see you suffer like this is This what you call a holy spirit filled life is

This what it means to be God's son Yeah, if that's of course what the father said

Is this how your father takes care of you Jesus? He lets the spirit dump you off here on my home turf in my hood

Where the demons rule and roam He lets you just drift here all by yourself in the desert for over a month

He leaves you here with nothing to eat not even like John the bat least John the

Baptist had locusts and wild honey you have nothing Jesus I'll tell you if I had a cell phone

I'd call social services, and I'd have your father and the spirit brought up on child

Endangerment and child abandonment charges the father and the spirit.

I tell you Jesus are not to be trusted They're abusing you and it has to stop right now at this very instant

Jesus So Jesus look here come on come on If you're

God's son Then act like it. I mean take care of yourself

Fix yourself something to eat you deserve it. I know your way with words

So go ahead and command this rock over there and turn it into bread Go ahead

Jesus there's really no need for you to suffer like this People need you and you want to help them you want to love everyone

Don't you so you know let's have a little compromise here. Shall we just this just this once You're in extraordinary

Circumstances we can even call it a once -in -a -lifetime experience for your ministry, so you know here's what

I'll do Jesus Here's what I'll do in exchange for your once -in -a -lifetime worship of me

I'll let you reign as God's Son with all the splendor and the authority of every

Earthly kingdom good grief. I'll give you all their wealth I'll give you all of their connections.

There won't be any more struggle for you Jesus There won't have to be any more pain you can be

God's Son in that way. You'll be totally famous You'll be totally popular.

I promise It can be that way for you Jesus seriously.

You know the Bible says so Psalm 91 jump jump The angels all

I tell you they'll watch over you you'll suffer no harm You won't even stub your toe, and you certainly won't ever have to die

Good grief Jesus the last thing in the world you need as the Son of God is is pain

Suffering or dying I promise you now whose sermon or whose word

Will son of God Jesus listen to live on trust his father's or the devil's

This is a huge crisis seriously This is an enormous predicament not just for For Jesus, but for you and me

Which sermon will he choose to listen to? Which sermon will he trust and to which one will he cling to with all of his heart?

One sermon gives salvation another will dish out damnation one bestows heaven another will hand out hell

One grants forgiveness the other calls out curses Jesus stands on the theological cliff

And I'll bet you never thought listening to a sermon meant so much, but it does

What sermon Jesus believes determines whether he truly is the

Son of God Savior for you or Whether he is a total failure

Satan wins and you remain in your sins and get damned in them forever So what does

Jesus do? He trusts His father's sermon

Not the devil's preaching. Oh Satan Jesus declares. Oh, you're a sly one

But I will live on my father's word and my father's promise every word that comes from his mouth not yours

Oh, I am his son Satan. I will worship my father. Not you

I will not put my father to the test. I am his son I desire only to do his will and therefore

I will go to the cross Satan I must This 40 -day wandering and suffering hunger is nothing compared to what is coming.

I will suffer it all of it I will give my life into death for the salvation of the world.

Yes, Satan. I will suffer Yes, I will experience pain and yes,

I will die Yes, the divine Son of God will die So that sinners are redeemed and so that you

Satan are defeated head crushed Satan you will not keep me from going to the cross and doing a

Good Friday and Jesus did it He did the

Good Friday dying as the father's divine Son for you and for your salvation

You then are saved and forgiven and heaven is yours You too then brothers and sisters for Jesus sake are to the father's sons and daughters

The father loves you He is delighted with you as you are covered in Christ's blood and as you have been baptized into Christ's death

Yes, you brothers and sisters you like Jesus now wander in the wilderness after your baptism and sometimes in your life, it sure looks like your father has abandoned you and Then the devil comes and attacks and he tempts and he lies in many in various ways

But son of God Jesus steps up to the plate again to fight for you.

And how does he do it? He preaches He unloads a flurry of his divine promises on you.

He categorically declares it is finished Whoever believes in his baptized will be saved.

I Am the resurrection in life whoever believes in me, even though he dies will live and whoever lives and believes in me will never die and So you

Audaciously dared to sing the third stanza of the hymn a mighty fortress

The hordes of devils fill the land all threatening to devour us. We tremble not unmoved

We stand they cannot overpower us. Let this world's tyrant rage in battle will engage

His might is doomed to fail God's judgment must prevail one little

Word Subdues him and That word is the gospel the gospel good news spoken to you today in the sacrament by Jesus himself

Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins The Lord's Word of forgiveness is everything for you who suffer so much in this wilderness of the world

So much so that just a few minutes ago You got right in the devil's face and you boldly sang the last stanza of a mighty fortress

God's Word forever shall abide no Thanks to foes who fear it for God himself fights by our side with weapons of the spirit

Were they to take our house goods honor child or spouse

Though life Be wrenched away They cannot win the day the kingdoms ours forever.

Did you hear that? Were they to take our house? goods honor child or spouse

Though life be wrenched away They cannot win the day

The kingdoms ours forever. Yes, that's true The kingdom is yours forever

All because of what Jesus did for you in the wilderness and then on the cross in the name of Jesus Amen Now here's pastor

Jeremy Rhody's sermon same text his sermon is entitled without blemish In the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen Jesus full of the

Holy Spirit Returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days being tempted by the devil

With these words we remember that Jesus had just been baptized in the

Jordan the Spirit had descended upon him and the father had preached his baptismal sermons saying

This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased as baptized

Christians we pray Lead us not into temptation But God did the opposite for his beloved

Son He led him directly into temptation To stand to stand toe -to -toe with the ancient serpent with a roaring lion

The Spirit that had descended upon Jesus like a dove now drives

Jesus into the wilderness into cosmic battle For the fate of our world

For 40 days our Lord ate nothing He fasted

He prepared for this great cosmic battle by weakening himself

God's strength is made perfect in weakness When Adam battled the same serpent he was well fed and surrounded by paradise

When Israel journeyed into the wilderness God protected them and fed them with manna and quail

But God's beloved Son is afforded no such luxuries Alone in the wilderness

Without even a morsel of bread from his father's hand He faces down the evil one

Who begins his temptation by questioning if Jesus really is

God's Son If you are the Son of God he said command this stone to become bread

Go on Jesus put an end to your hunger Israel hungered in the wilderness and your father gave them food

Why has he not given you any? Perhaps you aren't really his beloved son

Perhaps he's holding out on you Put an end to your hunger and eat

Just like Adam did to which

Jesus responds Not with a word of his own But with a word of his father

Man shall not live by bread alone Beaten But not defeated the tempter tries a different attack

He takes Jesus up and shows him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time

And he says to him to you. I will give all this authority and all their glory

For it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will If you then but worship me it will all be yours

Think of it the whole world all its pleasures and wealth and power all of it can be yours and you can sit and reign as King But Jesus had come to be a very different kind of King The sinners came a king crowned not with gold but crowned with thorns a

King who empties his treasury for the people By shedding great drops of blood from his head to redeem the lost

To redeem you from your sin It is written

Jesus answered You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve

Last but not least in fact deadliest of all Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple itself and Satan took

God's holy word upon his own unholy lips This is the greatest of all temptations when the devil uses

God's own word against us So he says to our

Lord if you are the Son of God Throw yourself down For it is written.

He will command his angels concerning you and on their hands They will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone

Aha But where dear devil does

God's Word instruct Jesus or anyone else? To leap from the temple

So Jesus answered him it is said you shall not put the Lord your

God to the test For God's beloved Son Came not came to give his life as a ransom for many not by leaping off the temple

But by hanging from a Roman cross God's beloved

Son had come not to be saved by the Father But to be forsaken by the

Father So that you might be saved And so when the devil had ended every temptation he parted from him until an opportune time

Our Lord Jesus had done what Adam failed to do

Our Lord Jesus had done what Israel failed to do our

Lord Jesus had done What you and I have failed to do?

Adam listened to the serpent turned his back on God and satisfied his sinful hunger with forbidden fruit

So it is with you Every time the serpent tempts you to satisfy your sinful desires with overindulgence or lust

Greed or self -importance Moping about or fits of rage

Lying to save face or apathy of every kind These are the forbidden fruits that we bite into thinking

They will fill us thinking they will stop the gnawing hunger and give us life But instead they only bring us more suffering and take us one step closer to death

Where we listen to the serpent Jesus will not for he knows the truth

Man lives not by forbidden fruits nor even by wholesome bread

Man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God Israel to fail just like Adam Israel grumbled in the wilderness complained bitterly against God and longed to go back into slavery rather than eat what

God had provided and So it is with us When we are dissatisfied with what the

Lord gives when the bills come When the troubles befall our family

When illness or age takes its toll on our bodies and we wonder if God even cares and we find ourselves grumbling and complaining against him our

Lord Jesus Grumbles not in fact. He suffers in the wilderness without uttering a single word against God Even in the garden agony overtakes him

As he sweats great drops of blood even so he prays

And when the father answers his prayer Jesus prayer with a silent no

Even still Jesus remains obedient to his father even when that obedience means death naked and shameful at the hands of his enemies a righteous man on a criminal's cross

You see Jesus is everything that Adam and Israel and you and I are not

He keeps himself sinless and unblemished Why why is that so important so that he might give himself for you

The unblemished Lamb of God the perfect and complete and acceptable atonement

For all of your sins Every failure

Every slip -up every indulgence every binge the wrongness the filthiness

The pharisaical hypocrisy All of it is forgiven

Because he kept himself unblemished for you So that his death means your life

His blood means your forgiveness His being forsaken by God means that you are beloved in God's sight

Yes, the Lord Jesus knows every one of the temptations that you have failed to endure

He knows that you have lost the battle with Satan and your own sinful flesh more times than you can even count

He knows the embarrassment and the shame and the doubts that you carry

Even so he does not condemn you For he himself the scriptures say has been tempted in every way that you have been tempted

Yet he without sin The point of his being tempted in every way that you have been tempted is so that he might be to you a

Merciful and faithful high priest So Merciful so faithful That he himself will pay the cost just for you and take your shame away and your doubt away and Make you triumph over sin through the victory of his cross

With his bloody death and triumphant resurrection He has brought all the tempters temptations to no effect and all the accusers accusations to nothing

He has broken the jaws of the roaring lion he has crushed the serpent's head and Whether you realize it or not.

He is crushing the serpent's head under your feet as well Thanks be to God For when the devil did his very worst in the wilderness

Jesus stood and He still stands Still your advocate

Still your Savior Still covering every one of your transgressions with his atoning blood

Though Satan would like to pretend otherwise The great clash between heaven and hell is over Jesus is the victor

Jesus is the new Adam Jesus is the new Israel Jesus is even the new you

For it is no longer you who live But Christ who lives in you

So sin is incompatible Incompatible with who you are You have been baptized into Christ Sin is a denial of who you really are

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit Sin is to be put away to be crucified for Christ now abides in you and you in him

So go and sin no more But if you do sin know

That you have an advocate with the Father the Righteous One Jesus Christ Whose blood is poured out on the mercy seat of God for the forgiveness of every one of your sins

And not for yours only for the sins of the entire world in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen Amen You see what

I mean Jesus is the one we need to be looking to not just Christian celebrities and sports stars

Who like you and like me? Oftentimes Or more often than not

Fail the test and temptations when they come Jesus never once never once buckled

Or fumbled He kept his head down stayed on task never sinned never gave in and Went the way of suffering and that's the way we need to go to Follow your crucified and risen

Savior take up your cross deny yourself Follow him the kingdom is already yours let the devil rage in the world cast their aspersions and gnash their teeth and Close their ears and say they don't want to hear the truth.

You've heard it. You've received it. You're forgiven Christ is already conquered trust him.

He'll see you through and he won't let you down and he won't embarrass you

So what'd you think? Love to get your feedback If you'd like to email me regarding anything you've heard on this edition or any previous editions of fighting for the faith

You could do so my email address is talk back at fighting for the faith comm or you can subscribe on Facebook Facebook comm forward slash pirate

Christian or follow me on Twitter my name there at pirate Christian till Monday May God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ and his vicarious death on the cross