Retreat Into the Wilderness

So if we haven't met my name is Mandy, I'm on staff here at

reality Boston. So you may have noticed if you

were with us before I'm had anticipating based on the

envelopes and what we're going to be teaching on today that I'm

not going to be teaching on that, decide that I am going to

be teaching on Matthew chapter 4 which is a passage that I spent

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

a good amount of time in just during my personal devotion and

Bible Study last year. And so through that this passage

became personally significant to me and God No used it to

minister to me as this might be a little bit like reading my

diary today, but I feel like if there is a passage that I have

this Sunday talking about for 20 minutes straight, it would be.

This was a super going to do conveniently enough before we

get started. Now before also has really

Salient themes for the season of Lent, which is coming up and it

overlaps as well. But this month's spiritual

formation guy that we've been putting up monthly and this

month's guide focuses on silence and Stillness.

So, without a night out of the sermon today, where I'm gonna do

something a little bit different and we're going to set aside

some time where I will lead you through a guided a time of

reflection and prayer. Before we respond to God's word,

in musical worship, essential sets the agenda for today, that

kind of came together in the last 48 hours, so you definitely

need prayers. So, let me just open this

because I'm here to prepare and ask the Holy Spirit to meet with

us. We're God.

We just thank you for the ways in which you are present to us.

Lord, God, you are the one who speaks through your word, you

are the word incarnate or Jesus. And so we just have so much

faith that you can speak to us. When we come to, you just

Desiring to be taught by you, where we, thank you for what we

see in this passage or that. You are both Divine, but you're

also human, and we can look to your Humanity, we can look to

the ways in which you walk and think about things and pray

about things, Brussels of things and in approach, difficult

challenges and be inspired with how it is a call.

In us to live and we thank you for the gift of your.

Holy spirit that fills us in the powers us to live in the way

that you call us to. So let me just painting teaches

today, be present to us today, that help us to see more of who

you are. I was to have the confidence to

draw near to you with all of our need and all of our weakness and

over, Messina's God, we just pray that through our time

together today that we would see you more clearly and that we

would have more confidence during your daily workout.

So you bring all these things in Jesus name.

Amen. All right, go to Matthew.

The Book of Matthew is one of four beautiful tapestries that

illustrate the significance of who Jesus is.

So each of the gospels, he has its own nuanced, picture of what

it means, that Jesus is the Messiah.

The Savior who comes in fulfillment, of centuries of

Jewish prophecies that he came to enable forgiveness for all of

Humanity's sins to offer healing.

Our Brokenness and to bring about the restoration of the

world into a place where God's goodness and Grace completely

reshape our reality. So Matthew's gospel in

particular. Starts off with mystery and

momentum, there's a virgin birth or these Persian astrologer is

traveling from afar and come worship.

The newborn king of the Jews was a young Jesus and his family

fleeing from Egypt to escape danger.

And then finally returning to Israel, when an angel calls them

home, so the narrative is dramatic, And otherworldly and

leads you to believe that something extraordinary is

happening. And then chapter 3, we see this

beautifully symbolic moment when Jesus baptized with the Holy

Spirit descends on him and God the Father speaks favor and

blessing over the son, Jesus. So this point, the scene is

really set for Jesus to begin to live out his mission to reveal

to the world who this long-awaited Messiah is and what

it looks like for the Divine danis Act of humanity for God to

enact his plan. An salvation.

But instead of launching into the story of Jesus, doing like

Messiah, like things like hewing and Performing, Miracles,

Matthew Ford against with these words then Jesus was led by the

spirit Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

So all this movement, emit, energy, and prophetic

fulfillment builds up to 40 days and Jesus alone in the desert

with nothing to eat and nothing to do the pray, some - leave

your may be expecting like a crescendo an impressive launched

Ministry. And what we get is over a month

isolation and fasting, this kind of feels like an interruption

like an unexpected detour like a burst of heavenly light followed

by a descent into Gray fog. So why is this here?

The text says that Jesus was led by the spirit Into the

Wilderness into a place of Temptation or testing as it

could also be translated. So this verse Jesus is

characterized as passive. He's being led, he is submitting

himself to the guiding force of the Holy Spirit, who is active,

and remember the spirit has just descended Upon Jesus after his

baptism. So the very first thing that the

spirit does Does. And he's like, the very first

thing he does is to lead him into the desert into a place of

emptiness of hunger of weakness, a challenge and stretching So

God the father has just anointed Jesus for Ministry and the next

step. According to the wisdom of the

holy spirit is to retreat to fast and pray.

So when I'm reading Matthew and I reach this chapter and your

little theoretical level that the Temptation narrative has to

be important because everything in scripture is incredibly

intentional. But emotionally I feel a sense

of resistance because I don't want the pause.

I don't want the retreat into an ascetic existence and I

definitely don't want to come face-to-face with my greatest

Temptations to sin and to abandon the path, God has called

me to walk down. This is the hard truth that we

Face In this passage sometimes following God seeking his well

being obedient to his guidance leads us to places of a parent

emptiness and weakness. It leaves us the hard places.

It draws us deeper into silence and Stillness were left alone

with just who we are and who we believe God to thee.

And yet somehow the season in the wilderness is an essential

part of God's plan, in this preparation for a life of action

and relationship and god-given purpose.

Jesus must first go deeper and human weakness.

So, have you ever been in a season of life?

That felt like Wilderness look at Desert, where you felt

spiritually dry, or you were acutely aware of your need of

what you're lacking, but there didn't seem to be any way to

save Earth. Thirst.

Maybe you simply found life to be exhausting but they didn't

seem to be any relief like walking a mile after mile

through the Wilderness in the scenery never seems to change in

the journey, never seems to end. If you've been through a time

that felt very much the testing your strength of your character

of your faith. Jesus had to do all the things

that God could prioritize in launching the messiah's ambition

to humanity. He chose to experience the

extremes of human hunger emptiness and weakness, 40 days,

40 days of solitude silence fasting.

And again, this seems like a disruption on the way to

Ministry, huge buildup, and only let's pull that down.

But in reality, this empty desert based Health Everything

Jesus needed to take the next step of living out his calling.

Because in this space, Jesus was not alone, the spirit was there

in a space, where Humanity encounter is the.

Holy spirit is a sanctuary, it's Holy Ground.

And if you face of emptying, pouring out your desires and

burdening, your fear is wrestling with your weaknesses,

but it's also a place of being filled.

So we don't expect to be tempted and tested when were in the

sanctuary to sometimes. That's what growth looks like.

That's what healing looks like. That's what transformation looks

like. The Wilderness is a place to be

about drawn deeper into the heart of God.

And so I was thinking about this and I have this image in my mind

of a seed being planted to plant the seed and Week's go by and

still no sprouting and there's no leaves and there's no

Greenery is know anything. So be tempting to think that

nothing's happening the below the surface, its roots are

growing and pushing through the soil, extending their region

becoming more deeply anchor and when that deep work is complete,

then the seed is ready to sprout to grow in ways of the world and

see to her fruit. That could be a blessing to

others and I think that's what we see happening in Jesus's.

Feet into the Wilderness because at the end, we see the fruit.

Do this triumph over Temptation, after 40 days of hunger, pains

and emerging in prayer. Jesus emerges with this

resiliency, a confidence in the kind of mission.

He's been given an astounding be Curative character and what we

see through his response to these Temptations, the depth of

Jesus surrender, the death of his humility, the death of his

trust in the father. These things are revealed

through that time in the world. Dennis from that testing.

This is true. I think for Humanity a large

going to that piece will be aware of our need for God to

sustain us where we are aware of our dependence on him is the

path to deeper Faith under 40 days of fasting.

We would assume that Jesus is at his weakest right?

And probably that's true physically.

But what if spiritually Jesus is at its strongest The each day

that he couldn't turn stones into bread and relieved his

hunger, but he didn't each day that he could have looked for a

shortcut to launch his ministry then evolved less waiting and

struggling. Like the big performative jump

off the roof of the roof of the mighty on the word stationary

and or like submitting to Satan to it, Glory over all the cities

of the earth instead of taking the shortcut each day, that he

committed to surrendering to the will of the father was a Jury

not just the final day where we see him overcoming, those final

three Temptations every day that we've passed in and seek God

even when we feel dry, even if the Temptation threatens to

become overwhelming, even for long for relief or for short cut

to the end of this difficult season.

Every day, our roots go deeper and we are one step closer to

seeing the growth and tasting the fruit.

Because growing in the faith requires us to experience.

Chi, especially in the hard places, we cannot merely

memorize throughs or recite. Good theology.

For understanding of God is only abstract, we cannot grow roots.

So 134 invites us to taste and see that the Lord is good.

We need to got to meet us in our places spiritual hunger, the

moments where we struggle. We discover that, we don't seem

to have what it takes. Move forward.

The pieces of weakness and emptiness are where we developed

an appetite. For the things of God.

So you like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 going to be spending a

couple of months, just exploring these in our next sermon series.

But in the Beatitudes we see that those who are grieving and

longing for comfort with see that those who long to see

righteousness and Justice in this corrupted world are filled

those who lean into the way of meekness and mercy and Purity.

Despite living in cultures that promote the opposite.

Find the most drawing nearer to God.

Those who know they are. Empty for poor in spirit receive

the fullness and the rich. - of the kingdom of God, those who

come to God. Full of need are in the perfect

position to discover, that he is a provider.

He is generous and gracious, he is sufficient to read about the

Temptations of Jesus. We likely know, in theory that

we should seek strength in God's word.

As Jesus says, that we should walk the path of humility that

we need to wait on God, to lead us in reveals purposes in his

timing. This is often not until really

tested that we Leave. These things are true in a way,

that transforms us. So there'll be no scripture has

the ability to sustain and revive us, but until we

experience it until we see that shift, our perspective or renew,

our hope with a perfectly timed Bible passage or a Discerning

word from a friend or sermon, we don't yet fully know that the

word of God is life. And in theory, we know that

taking shortcuts or making excuses, the ends justify the

means developing this is trouble.

But until we actually wait on God until we've practiced

surrendering. Our will to his wisdom again.

And again, we can't get taste. The pure sweetness of

discovering that cost faceless has but there is joy in serving

in and that he can bring about more Goods to our surrender than

we could ever achieve trying to do things her own way.

In turn into a place of weakness, like Jesus did in the

desert feels vulnerable Humber hurts and it makes sense that

he'd rather just wrong way. But how will we know that God

can sustain us? Unless we let ourselves go

hungry, unless we stop filling ourselves with spiritual junk

food, things that distract us from loneliness and emptiness

and boredom opinion, but they really do nothing to truly

resolved. The deep ache inside of that.

Until we create space that only God in occupy will continue to

underestimate the sustaining and satisfying.

His presence can be so many of you have heard me, tell the

story of how I got to Boston back in 2013, I moved here from

Los Angeles to join this church plant, when it was just a year

old, and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.

But I was banking on God, doing, big, exciting things in my life,

I had hoped that surrendering to his calling lead to growth that

fruitfulness. But my first year here was

honestly more like a desert season was lonely.

I was undergoing a really hard deep healing process from

painful things. In my family, life experience.

A lot of inertia and trying to find a job, trying to discern a

vocational direction, to develop a new community and friendships.

And I often feel frustrated, like each movement forward and

up feeling like a false start. And on top of that, I went

through a several month period where a job and My relationships

at the time. Let me to ask really hard

questions about my faith and tempted me to compromise on what

I believed, even just for the sake of making life, a little

bit easier. So didn't exactly want to walk

away from God or church, or the face.

But I just wants tired. Like I might have to give up by

default because pressing on Justin Bieber, possible.

After a long stretch struggling through the day-to-day God

brought this passage into my life into my attention from John

John 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6. So in John chapter 6, at this

John 6 · chapter mention

point, in that narrative Jesus has a lot of followers has

become very popular but then he begins to teach things that are

difficult for people to receive that challenge people.

A lot of things truly looks like so some of them walk away

because what Jesus is Calling them to just feels too hard.

So there's this moment where Jesus turns to his 12 disciples,

his closest friends and he asked them, do you want to go away as

well and Peter replies? Lord to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life and we had believed and

have come to know that you are the Holy One.

That God that question struck a chord with me.

Lord to whom shall we go? The testing and the Temptation.

In my life had almost become overwhelming to me, but when it

came to that question, I knew I would walk away because yes

following God is hard and sometimes it feels that the

challenges are unrelenting. But I look around at the world

at my options for living without God.

And remember, what that was like the first 20 years of my life

before I knew Jesus, how I felt like and unanchored boat just

tossed about in a stormy thieves lost and Direction lesson in.

Hoping against hope that by some chance, I wouldn't capsize.

The way to for God is hard but there's life on that path.

There's the comfort of the Holy Spirit, there's reassurance and

being incurred in. What is true?

There's hope in a God who remains strong and steadfast a.

We are at our weakness. So, Jesus Jesus has the words of

eternal life. They believe that because I've

experienced it somehow that is strength in Grace.

I kept going through that first Season.

And eventually the fog lifted I began to slowly build deeper

Community to my surprise. I was has to be a community

group leader and season where my faith definitely still felt

shaky. But I felt called to Preston,

and I learned what it's like to lead from a place of weakness.

It's incredibly hard but it's better.

It's better to be human to be frail to be completely reliant

on God, to make it possible for you to show up to minister to

others. So, keep walking in the faith.

It's Hard to better. Because in our weakness, we can

actually experience that God's strength somehow enough in our

emptiness. In our hunger, we discover that

he can fill us. So you can do this passage from

Matthew for those last-minute pick.

It feels surprisingly timely because land is just around the

corner, let begins with Ash Wednesday, which is on fabric to

me, s coming up and it continues until Easter.

And this season in the church calendar is set aside for us to

identify with Jesus, 40 days of fasting, praying and enduring

Temptation for many of us who serve lent.

It may honestly feel labor, taking doses, With bitter

medicine. Know, we're getting a vegetable

that you dislike the, you know, it's good for you to eat it

anyway. In theory, we know that silence

Stillness fasting dedicated time for solitary prayer can

strengthen our relationship with God.

But in reality, those Wilderness faces are intimidating.

They challenged Parts investment.

May not feel ready to have challenged.

You can simply being alone with our thoughts.

Might make us aware of things. We've been working hard to

ignore. If I'm honest, I'm gonna avoid,

I want to avoid fasting. I don't like going to that place

of weakness. I'm worried.

It'll bring out the worst in me. I'm not sure what to do with the

hunger, pains. How am I supposed to just walk

around like a normal person? Well, I'm fighting you craving

that I can't fill, and this is something similar about silence

and Solitude the idea of this drawing, to a quiet place to

hear from God, sounds nice, but the reality can bring up

unexpected anxieties. What if I try to seek God and I

only found emptiness Listen for him, I don't do anything but the

a phobia of thoughts. What the time of solitude here

is down the fragile walls. I felt to hide things in my life

that you feel lonely. Practices.

Are these a literal or metaphorical Retreat Into the

Wilderness. Make me so aware of them,

because that's how easily I can go straight up Pickle.

I can be, it seems easier to just not these things about

myself to try to keep them hidden.

But the Holy Spirit calls us out into the open.

The spirit, invites us to go deeper into that place of hunger

and vacancy when we clear a space for God, he begins to work

in new ways. Stretching Us in ways that may

feel uncomfortable, shifting, things in ways that may be

invisible at first, ultimately, we discover that Our Roots have

grown deeper and more difficult Seasons come up in the future.

We can recall those times when God met us in our emptiness and

just like Jesus in the wilderness.

As we find, our faith has become a stronger and much more

difficult to shake. So as we reflect on the story of

Jesus Retreat Into the Wilderness and as we engage

with, Lenten practices, like silent Stillness fasting and

prayer. Remember that, these are not

empty spaces. The spirit has something for

you. Whether it feels like a

spiritual battle for feels like the warmth of an intimate

relationship or it feels like an antifreeze with usual where

every sound Echoes. You're not sure if you're

anything but your own voice no matter what that time a

Stillness and Retreat feels like trust God to take you deeper

believe that when you let yourself be led into desert

places, God can meet me there. Let's press in together and pray

that during the season. We will experience what we see.

See in Jesus, in Matthew chapter 4, that we would develop a

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

resilient faith upon confidence in the kind of mission, God

calls us to, in a purity of character.

That was shine, light into dark a dark and hungry world and draw

Others near to God. So before we begin our time of

reflection of Mayor, I'd like to end with three Confessor

stations based on our passage today, innovate to just notice

which one of these might stand out to you.

Now, these are kind of my prayers for us as a church.

So I'll beat them. Let the spirit leads you to

place a deeper hunger so that you can taste and see that God

himself is our greatest good. Let the spirit lead you to place

a silence and emptiness so that you can hear more.

Clearly the words of life. God wants to speak to you.

Let the spirit lead you to a place where you are aware of

your weakness. So that you will learn what it

looks like. Totally walking complete.

Reliance on got a string. Let the spirit lead you to place

a silence and emptiness so that you can hear more.

Clearly the words of life. God wants to speak to you.

Let the spirit lead you to a place where you are aware of

your weakness. So that you will learn what it

looks like. Totally walking complete.

Reliance on got a string.