Two Peas In A Pod

---

Sometime in life we have wilderness experiences. Times of loneliness – anxiety – grief – fear - war or national unrest – loss of a loved one or loss of job. These sad and depressing times can put us in a funk for a few days – or for a few months and in extreme cases – years if not treated. And they can have serious emotional and physical repercussions on our mind and body and soul.

I’ve read stories and I’ve seen documentaries describing the experience of allied soldiers as they liberated Nazi concentration camps at the end of WW II. They witnessed some of the most grotesque examples of evil human behavior. In interviews with these former soldiers – decades later – they tell how those terrible images still haunt their mind and for some they still suffer emotional and physical symptoms because of those experiences.

Today phycological medicine has a name for those symptoms – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -PTSD.

When I was in the R.C.M.P. in Surrey – I saw and experienced some terrible things. Not just bad – but in some cases I could feel a real dark presence.

For some police officers who experience terrible acts of crime - those images and how they felt linger on for many years.

I still remember the terrible things I was involved with - but I did not and do not suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (although some would argue with that).

Y’see. I knew – like everyone else that terrible things happen. Humans are capable of the most heinous acts of violence against each other. Read the stories in the Old Testament. And I knew human history. But unlike some others - I had Jesus. It was like having an emotional protective bubble around my heart. Seeing terrible things was and still is sad but I did not lose any sleep because of them. Nor did I suffer any emotional or physical trauma.

Of all the terrible things I saw – there is only one incident where I still get a little teary.

In the Scriptures there are many examples of what we call -‘Man’s inhumanity against Man’. Starting with Caine killing Able. And how the people living before the flood were wicked. Hear what God thought about them in Genesis 6: 5 – 7;

“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”

Even after the flood there was evil and wickedness. That sinful seed that infected Adam and Eve, carried through to their children and their children’s children down to Noah and his family. The sinful seed did not drown in the waters of the flood and it has survived up to today.

The LORD speaking through the prophets Isaiah and Jerimiah tells how unholy we are.

In Isaiah 64:5 we read;

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;”

And in Jerimiah 17:9 we read;

“The heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart

and examine the mind,

to reward each person according to their conduct,

according to what their deeds deserve.”

When we look around the world today – not much has changed in our sinful make up over the last six thousand years. Still, “…great (is) the wickedness of the human race” People suffer with emotional and physical pain either because of the poor decisions they make or the poor decisions of others that adversely affect them. I’m sure that someone living in Poland in 1936 did not expect what would happen to them in 1939 to 1945.

So what do most people do when they are going through a wilderness experience of loneliness – stress – emotional or physical pain?

Well here are some examples; liquor (like a small glass of whiskey with ice). But seriously – liquor to excess – binge eating or binge not eating – binge partying – or some other binge activity. It is usually all the acts of the sinful nature that Paul lists in Galatians 5: 19-21;

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”

But these activities never accomplish the peace these emotionally and physically stressed people are looking for.

Peace. Something to help cover over the pain. ---- But – we know (and some from experience) that there is no peace in those kinds of life styles. They just make their wilderness experience worse.

But – in life there is always a but -- there is a better way – there is a satisfying way.

There is peace in knowing Jesus and accepting the peace that he offers. The peace that he said to the disciples after the resurrection when they were hiding in a locked room for fear of the Jewish religious authorities. Jesus came to them and said in Luke 24:36; “…“Peace be with you,…”

And know this to be absolutely true. There is no real peace except the peace that Jesus passes unto us.

And how do we get access to that kind of peace?

PRAY. And if we read more from God’s Word it can also include FASTING.

During Lent prayer is an integral part of fasting. They belong together and help form a complete relationship between us who pray and our Father in Heaven. It seems that together they give more power to prayer.

Fasting is like a cleanse. It eliminates those things that bind us to the world and allows for a private unfiltered conversation with God.

I noticed something else when we read what Jesus says about fasting in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6: 16-18. He says; “When you fast…” I never thought of it before - but it is a command. Therefore, when Jesus says to fast – it is higher priority than a casual suggestion. And to add emphasis – he says it twice.

And notice that Jesus talks about fasting right after praying. They belong together – like two peas in a pod.

Now it doesn’t mean that we have to be fasting to pray. It seems that what Jesus is saying is that when we pray during a fast our prayers have more power – more effect.

In Matthew – Mark and Luke they tell about an incident where Jesus rebukes a demon and expels him out of a young boy. Apparently, the disciples had tried to do so but failed. In the NIV and NLT translations – in Mark 9: 29 they record Jesus saying to them; “This kind can come out only by prayer.” However the NKJV records Jesus saying in Matthew 17: 21; “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

I’m not sure why some translations leave out fasting. It seems to me that Jesus would have included fasting considering how important it was when combined with prayer.

And fasting and prayer are part of Old Testament traditions.

In the book of Ezra. Before he and some Jews returned to Jerusalem - he proclaimed a fast – with prayer. Asking God for a safe journey. We read in Ezra 8:21; “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.”

In the book of Nehemiah – he fasted and prayed before making his request to Persian - King Artexerses. Nehemiah requested that the king allow him to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls.

In Nehemiah 1: 4 we read; “So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

And in the Book of Acts Luke tells us that while Paul and Barnabas and others are praying and fasting the Holy Spirit gives them a message. We read this at Acts 13: 2 – 3; “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Ezra and the retuning Jews – Nehemiah – Paul and Barnabas were called to important ministries for the salvation or God’s people. And Jesus is about to begin - the most important ministry to save God’s people. And his success or failure will depend on his ability and willingness to face a hostile world. And who better to test him then Satan.

In our gospel reading this morning – we read at v. 1 that – after Jesus was baptized, he was; “…led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights…”

In a recent message I pointed out that the human body can last three weeks (21 days) without food – and I think that is a very generous generalization. Yet - in the end Jesus completely survived his forty day wilderness experience.

So the great test of Jesus’s abilities to face hostility is from the temptations of Satan. These temptations are the most compelling temptations that we all to face – in some case – every day of our lives.

In the first temptation – Satan says at v. 3; “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” This is lust of the eye. And Y’ know the lust of the eye goes way beyond filling our stomach with food. But Jesus says; “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Even thought the world does not know it – or it does not want to know it – or it denies it – we would all die in our sins if we do not live by the Word of God.

In the second temptation Satan takes Jesus to a high point on the temple and says at v. 5-6; “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 

This is the lust of pride and Jesus says; “It is written again, ‘You shall not [a]tempt the Lord your God.’ It is like Jesus would be saying ‘I’m so important that my Father will protect me. If I fall it will be a test to see how important I am to Him.’

In the third temptation Satan says at v. 8-9; “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” This is the lust of power and wealth.

It is a subtle way in which Satan is trying to get Jesus away from the cross. If Jesus has power over all people then maybe he can save them by some other way than sacrificing his blood and his life on the cross.

But there is no other way.

After Peter and John healed a man lame from birth they are brought before the Sanhedrin – that is – the Jewish ruling council – Peter says in Acts 4:12; “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Jesus had to face the most insidious temptations that Satan uses against all humanity. And he did not fail God and thankfully he did not fail us.

So how did Jesus survive those forty days and nights? What kept him going? Well the Scriptures don’t say – but I’ll bet there was a lot of praying. And I bet his praying became more intense the farther he went into the forty days of fasting.

I would think that his faith and his reliance on God His Father grew exponentially. His body would be weak and emaciated – hunger would be extreme. His cognitive and mental abilities impaired. Yet with the strength of God in him he was able to rebuke the temptations of the master deceiver – the master liar – the master manipulator.

I’ve fasted for a day before but maybe we have to fast longer than a day to get to the point where our faith and trust is fully committed to God to carry us through. Fasting need not be confined to lent and it must not be a casual effort. It must be determined and it must be from the heart.

So as Jesus commands; “When you fast.” Fast with prayer. Because a time is coming when our faith and trust in Jesus will be tested. Remember then that fasting and prayer will carry us through.

When we are in a wilderness experience – follow the example of Jesus and the Old Testament prophets;

FAST and PRAY

Amen

Copyright © 2026 St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops

https://standrewslutheran.ca

Lent is a time for Christians to spiritually and physically recognize the depth of love and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. When we see him on that cross we are reminded of our own mortality as a consequence of our sinfulness. In the eyes of God - sinfulness is lawlessness against his perfect – life sustaining commands – laws and precepts. And yet - we continually violate one or more of His laws each day of our lives -- even though we try not to. 

This dilemma was recognized by Paul in Romans 7:15; “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” On this side of Paradise – we are spiritually and physically incapable of living up to God standards. Or – again Paul says in Romans 3: 23: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

So during Lent we are called to repentance – prayer – fasting or abstinence and charitable giving of our time and talents. Charitable giving because of God’s gracious gifts of life – love - grace and mercy in our lives - we are charged to share those divine gifts with those around us.

But I sometime wonder – am I doing enough and am I giving enough – not just in church but in my life outside of church. In a way my Lenten response has less to do with doing and giving than the attitude of a humble – contrite and repentant heart. Remember Cain and Abel. In Genesis 4: 3-5 we read; “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.” Abel showed reverence to God by providing the best of the firstborn from his flock where as Cain just gave some of his produce. Was it the best from his first harvest? Probably not. Y’ see God knows our heart and knows our attitude towards him. Abel was reverent – Cain was casual.

It wasn’t the offerings to God from Cain and Abel that was the issue but the attitude of their heart. Abel had the right heart attitude toward God – and sadly like so many in this world he paid with his life for it. 

Similarly with Jacob and Esau – it’s the heart that revels our attitude toward God. Esau was only interested in his hunger to fill his stomach. But Jacob recognized the importance of a blessing from his father was like a blessing from God.

Jesus says in Mark 7: 20-23; that it is what comes out of our heart that defiles us. We read; “He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

So how much do our hearts value a right relationship with God our Father? How important is God to us? Do we view God with a reverent attitude or a casual attitude. In this post-modern world, we are probably a little of both.

So we are called to repentance – prayer – fasting or abstinence and charitable giving. 

Our heart attitude toward God is related to how we repent of our sinful life.

The simple meaning of repentance is - to turn from a sinful life and turn to God. Simple enough – right. But real repentance suggests something far more dramatic than simply turning from sin and turning to God. It would mean a fundamental spiritual regret and remorse that we have deeply offended God our Father and grieved his Holy Spirit. It is more than simply being apologetic for something we said or did. It the thing that makes us sob and cry from the depth of our heart when we know we have deeply offended and grieved the heart of God. 

And I’ll bet that everyone of us has had those moments of deep regret knowing we have offended God. Sadly it’s part of our life – and it’s a life long struggle between our sinful nature and our need to be right with God.

Hear again is some of what I read in Joel;

Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,

Rend is a perfect word to describe how we separate ourselves from a sinful life. Rend means to violently tear away with great emotional pain and anguish. I think of Lot’s wife. She could not rend herself from the life she must have enjoyed in Sodom. So – in this post-modern world – how do we – or can we - rend our heart and life from a sinful world.

In Psalm 51 - King David’s laments that he offended God. You can feel his sense of remorse as you read the words. He violated two of God’s ten commandments – adultery and murder. But – sometime I wonder – would he have been so remorseful if the prophet Nathan had not confronted him with his crimes. And don’t we try and hide those things and hope we are not found out. – What can we hide from God.

Fasting and Abstinence

Over the years I’ve heard some Christians say that during lent - they are going to give up chocolate or meat or wine or watching TV or whatever. There is no meaningful personal sacrifice – no heart felt submission to God. Heart attitude. Lots of people live with out those things all their lives – it is not a real repentant sacrificial fast.

As I go through the Scriptures there are several examples of fasting.

In the book of Ezra. Before he and some Jews returned to Jerusalem - he proclaimed a fast – with prayer. Asking God for a safe journey. We read in Ezra 8:21; “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.”

And Isaiah refers to fasting and we read in 58: 3a; 

“Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’

Clearly fasting and prayer go together. Luke tells us in Acts that Paul and others are praying and fasting. During their prayer time the Holy Spirit speaks to them. In Acts 13: 2 – 3 we read; “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

Our reading in the gospel of Matthew is part of Jesus’s – Sermon on the Mount. In it he speaks about giving to the needy – prayer and fasting. But he says we must be careful; “…not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.” But to be charitable – to pray and to fast in private. It is something we do for and with God not for the world or worldly. We are not to seek brownie points or accolades from the world - like showing people how good we are. But how do we define ‘good’?

When we do these things in private, we must be doing them with a humble and contrite heart. These things are private because it is a private conversation or action between each or us individually and our Father in heaven. And in doing so we are to be storing up treasures in heaven. 

So during our time in lent – it is a time to focus our heart on our heavenly Father. To build on our relationship and our faith in God and the blood of Jesus. 

So how do we rend our sinfulness for our worldly life and turn to God. Well – whether you fast or give to the needy – we must always pray. And pray as if our life depended on it – because – truly - it surely does.

AMEN

Copyright © 2026 St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops

https://standrewslutheran.ca

View ths sermon presented live here: https://youtu.be/NzpNTNGIvTw