Sunday morning, Josh preached a good sermon on Isaiah 40:31: they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. He took the offering at the right time and in the right way; he started and finished the service right on schedule; and he was at the door to shake people's hands as they left the sanctuary. The only thing he did differently was ask Harry Allen to teach the congregation a song, based on his sermon text. Everything seemed to go okay, and he felt relaxed and excited at the same time.
Sunday evening the turnout was relatively small, but he was "up" for his lesson on the life of Jesus. He had Harry teach those assembled the two scripture songs they had sung Tuesday night. Then, he had them sing the verses from "Isaiah" that they had sung during the morning service: They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings, as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Teach me, Lord. Teach me, Lord, to wait.
Enough people knew the words to make a joyful noise from the start. After singing each song several times, the congregation was clearly loosened up. Harry went back to his pew, and Josh took over the service.
"That was terrific! Another week, and we'll be ready to go on the road!"
That brought grins and a little laughter. He and they were ready.
"Two weeks ago, I began a series of Sunday night lessons on Jesus, and what we know about Him. That first night, you'll recall, I talked about His claim to be the Son of God, and how if we don't believe that, we can't really go any farther, Everything we believe as Christians is based on the premise that Jesus was God walking among men. What He did and said as He walked among us is our subject matter for the next several Sunday nights.
"We all know the story of the birth of Christ - the story of Christmas, you might say - as it was told in the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. But we don't know much about Him from His birth until His ministry started in earnest when He was about thirty years old. Luke 2:40 tells us that He 'grew, and. waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.' But only one specific event is recorded, one that happened when He was twelve years old. You can read about it starting at Luke 2:42. At the tender age of twelve, He sat in the temple in Jerusalem and conversed with the teachers there, on their own level. He was smart! But verse 49 shows that He knew He wasn't just a precocious kid. When His earthly parents expressed surprise that He was there, He said in essence, ‘where else should I be, folks? This is My Father's house!’
"After this introduction to Jesus in 'Luke', all four gospels pick up with Jesus about thirty years old, and John the Baptist traveling the land, proclaiming that the Messiah is on His way. In Matthew 3:13-17, we see Jesus being baptized by John, with John protesting that Jesus should be baptizing him, not the other way around. Jesus makes it clear that He might not need to be baptized, but that He wants to do it as an example. We all need to do what God wants. And when He did go under the water, we read (in verse 17) that the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, and a voice from Heaven told the world that this was God's Son, in whom God was well pleased."
Josh paused, and looked around the sanctuary at the attentive faces, He smiled.
"So what do you think happened next? Listen. God was very pleased with Jesus. It therefore naturally followed that Satan wasn't! So The Devil did everything he could to tempt Jesus into turning away from God. He offered Him success; he played upon His current bodily needs; he taunted Him, daring Him to 'prove' that He was the Son of God. He blatantly misquoted scriptures. So, how did Jesus react? He quoted scripture right back, drawing on His knowledge of what God really meant, and what God really wanted. And what happened? Satan can't fight truth, and he left Him alone. Well, he left Him alone for a little while, anyway.
"There are two good lessons here. The first is that Satan is going to try and harass you if you're trying to live for God. Think about it: this is war! Light against dark, good against evil, no holds barred. No need for Satan to fight the whole world. He's going after those who pose a threat, those who are helping God win back the world. That means you, if you're a Christian. Expect it; be alert for his attacks. They will come!
"But this is a bad news - good news situation, because the second lesson is that you have the ammunition to repel Satan. Oh, he'll be back again - and again and again and again - until God puts him down for the last time. But you can win each skirmish and keep him at bay just like Jesus did. Just know what the word of God says, and say and do those things that you know are right in God's eyes. Just like Jesus, you can say 'get thee behind me, Satan!' When you do, he has to - I repeat, has to - flee. He can't stand face to face with God's truth.
"So, again, what is the scripture telling us? First, don't underestimate the Devil. He's here, and he's tough, and he'd love to mess with your mind and your life. But, praise the Lord, don't overestimate him, either. He's hanging on, but he's ultimately a defeated foe and he knows it. We can call direct on the word of God and on His Holy Spirit to help us win the skirmishes that will take place between now and the final battle. We just need to know our authority, and then use it."
* * *
Later, in their bed, Evalyn lay with her head on Josh's chest. They hadn't spoken for some time.
"That was a great church service tonight."
He kissed her hair. "Thank you, my love. It felt good. Everything feels so good, and so different."
"Uh huh", she murmured. "But remember your sermon: when you're doing good for God... "
"Get thee behind me, Satan!" he concluded, for her. "Do you have to remind me?”
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