Dunbar United Church of Christ - February 21, 2010

I. This morning we saw the devil trying to pull off the crime of the ages. And his crime wasn’t murder -- it wasn’t extortion. It was identity theft. He was trying to steal the identity of the Son of God.

Jesus had just spent 40 days in the wilderness trying to understand who he was. At his baptism he heard God say: “You are my son.”

But Jesus still had to figure out: What is God’s son? Am I a powerful king? Am I a servant? Will I kill my enemies or love them? Will I heal, or destroy? Will I cast out the demons that make people miserable, or will I increase their demons?

II. Jesus knew he was God’s son, but he wasn’t sure who God is. So he didn’t know who he would be. He spent 40 days in the wilderness trying to figure it out. That’s when the devil came and tried to steal his identity.

“You are a magician,” the devil said. “You will amaze people with your powers of sorcery -- turn stones into bread -- feed the poor -- get them all to follow you. In no time you will have an army. The whole country will be behind you.”

“You will shock people, and awe them with your displays of power -- and then they will do whatever you want.”

III. Satan even offered Jesus a career in politics. He said that was his domain -- and actually I think he was telling the truth there. He told Jesus he would make him the greatest politician ever -- he’d rule the whole world.

IV. But Jesus kept saying no to evil. He said God’s nature was love, not destruction; mercy, not punishment; peace, not war.

The devil offered Jesus a palace and a vault full of gold, and Jesus turned it down for a pair of sandals and a commission to bring good news to the poor, the sick, the hopeless.

V. It’s easy to talk about God -- it doesn’t take courage or intelligence. The question is: which god are you talking about? Politicians are always trying to exploit God for their purposes. They say things like: “God wants us to go to war. God wants us to be capitalists, not socialists. The problem with our nation is that we don’t pray in our schools.”

If you study the bible -- none of this is true. But every day the devil finds people to sell us a phony god.

VI. Look at what politicians say about prayer, then see what Jesus says. Who do you want to listen to? Some argue, “The problem with our nation is that we don’t pray in public places. We need to pray in schools again. We need the ten commandments posted in front of court houses across the land.”

Is that what Jesus said? Didn’t he say the opposite? Didn’t he say to go in our rooms when we pray -- and close the door -- and not make it a public thing?

VII. Every day the devil tempts us to change our God. If we can change God, then we can justify anything, even torture. But God won’t be shaped by public opinion polls, but remains a God of justice, mercy, and love for all God’s children. And if you’re not the devil, that’s very good news.