Lent Service 3 sermon Matthew 26:69-75

In the novel The plague by Albert Camus
a North African coastal city has been hit with the bubonic plague.
They are cut off from the rest of the world.
Imagine that, living in a place where no one could get in or out.
By law no one was allowed in to the city and no one was allowed to leave.
You could almost here the worry...
Where would our food come from?
Where would our fuel come from?

As a result of this isolation small businesses popped up everywhere
to fulfil the demands and desires of this coastal town.
And not all of them legal businesses.

One enterprising family who owned some boats offered anyone who was healthy the opportunity to leave the city for a mammoth price.
And heaps of people were willing to illegally buy a ticket out of the place to avoid the plague.
When someone brought a ticket they were instructed to wait in a warehouse so they wouldn’t be infected by the disease and wait for their boat to arrive.
But you guessed it, the boats never came.
And once the plague was over they left the warehouse.
But they were too afraid to tell the authorities that they had been ripped off because not only were the boat owners acting illegally, they too were also acting illegally.

Now fortunately this is only a story,
however it highlights a problem that each of us face.
The temptation that we look after ourself at any expense.

For Peter in this evenings gospel reading it meant him denying being one of Jesus’ disciples.
Listen again to what happened reading from Matthew 26:69-75
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Now in just a few verses prior to our reading we hear how Jesus was being treated and Peter most likely was aware of this.
Reading from Matthew 26:65
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?”

Now imagine if you were Peter.
What would you have done, if someone asked you are you with him?
The character who was being beaten up.
Would you have been tempted like Peter to deny Jesus,
to save yourself?
It is real temptation isn’t it?

In some places, throughout the world,
being a Christian means risking your life.

One of the refugees from Liberia in Launceston shared with me one day that she had just got news that the head usher of a church where she worked had been killed on his way home from church.
Apparently his attackers waited until the last person left the church and followed him home.
They ambushed him, sliced him up and spread his body parts around the streets of the church as a warning to others.
Would you be willing to be the last person to leave church?
Could you imagine living in that sort of situation?

In Australia we are fairly fortunate that not too many people get killed or beaten for being a Christian.
Yet we often fall for the temptation of not revealing we are one Jesus’ disciples so as to protect ourselves.
Now you might be saying hold on a moment.
I am here, I have made the extra effort to attend a Lenten service.
I have never denied Jesus or knowing him.

But think about when you are interacting with other people.
Do we always follow the commands of Jesus.
The commands to make disciples of everyone.
The command to love God and to love others.

I know of a lady who said it is hard being a Christian
because not everyone respects us.
She had some children who had drifted away from the church and thought that going to church was not that important.
Whenever they came to visit she said she it was always tempting to keep the peace,
by not going to church or praying grace at meals but doing what they wanted to do.
She said I realised some years ago whilst it might be comfortable for me now
that if I did this I was missing the opportunity to share Jesus love
and possibly missing out on spending eternity with them.
Ever since then she has gently invited anyone visiting her to church and to pray grace at meals.
And to her surprise more often than not they accept her invitation than they reject it.
Often she simply says on Sunday I am going to church, you are invited to come but if you won't here are the keys and i will see you after church and coudl you please do the dishes.

What about you, can you think of other ways you are tempted to deny Jesus so that you feel comfortable or at ease?
Maybe it is by not being graceful.
Perhaps it is by being more concerned about money than Jesus’ mission for you and us.
Maybe you worry about how you look or that you might miss out on something or what people say about you
Or that something may not work.
Or how people may react?

Dealing with this temptation is not easy.
Our natural thing response is to look after ourself first, without considering God and others.
That is what will always happen when we rely on ourselves to deal with any temptation.
We will think of ourselves.
And that is why when we are confronted with temptations we need to rely on God.
We need to turn to God for help.

From Galatians 5:17 we hear
17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature

And so our first reaction in dealing with temptation is to rely on God.
As Romans 13:14 says
Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature

In other words surround yourself with God.

Now what does this practically mean.
It means having hope that what God says is true.
That God’s promise of eternal life means that He is stronger than any other power.
In other words that even if things look tough and difficult we make decisions and live lives that reflect his grace, his compassion, his love.

I love the story of a beggar in India who automatically shares everything she gets with someone else.
When she gets a bowl of rice, which maybe her only food for the day she divides it in two and gives half of it away.
And why?

So others can experience and be encouraged God’s generosity
that she received.
And relying on God means for each one of us
Praying regularly to God
not just seeking his protection,
but also his will in every situation.

It means frequently opening up our bibles and being familiar with God,
his perspective on life now
his way of life that is summarised in the Greatest Commandments of loving God and loving others.
and the future he promises.

It means having forgiveness as a major theme in our lives.

It means worshipping God with others
And it means being involved with each other, not just for a good time, but to encourage each other, be accountable to each other and to help each others.

Because ultimately your future is not limited to this place and it doesn’t only involve yourself.
But it is a future created and secured by God and involves many other people.

It is a future that Jesus wants you and others to have so much that he said, “not my will but my Father’s will.”
And in doing so he made that future possible for you everyone else.
Now isn’t that someone worth relying on for every situation you face.
Someone who is prepared to say not my will but my Father's will even though it cost Him his life so that you and everyone else can have the opportunity of new life.
Amen