The Desert refinery
Mark 1:9-13, Psalm 91:1,2 9-16
With Peter Veysie
George Methodist Church
Sunday 6th March 2022
8am communion
10am
Mark 1:9-13
The Baptism and Testing of Jesus
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Introduction
How many of us are going through a deep desert experience right now? We are living in a world that is faced with deep trauma from covid to the Ukraine Russian war to our own South Africa dealing with corruption and an economic crisis. There are clear times when we need to withdaw and try to sort things out but most of the time we are in it and it’s a matter of just having to go through the desert refinery.
Jesus came from Nazareth and went to John the Baptist his cousin to be baptised. He was fully man and fuly God and many respects did not need to be baptised for the forgiveness of sins and so why was he going to John in the outspirts of Israel on the Jordan river?
What we do know is that in Jewish tradition there was a journey towards being a Rabbi :
n 1st century Jewish culture, all boys wanted to become a Rabbi. Memorising Leviticus by age 6 and the full Torah by age 12, with progression determined by how well a 12-year-old could ask and answer questions with the teachers of the law – sound familiar? The next stage would last 18 years, and if you made it through, at 30-years-old you would be baptised to become a Rabbi. Ever wonder why there’s this gap in Jesus’ story between 12 and 30?
Once a Rabbi, Jesus had to teach the Torah as determined by His Rabbi’s yoke. A yoke being a Rabbi’s interpretation of the ancient scripts. That is, unless Jesus had authority. And the only way to have authority was if when during the baptism there were two verbal witnesses. Think of the verses…
“Behold the Lamb of God…” (John 1:29)
“This is my Son with whom I am well pleased…” (Matthew 3:17)
You’ll also note other verses like “You do not teach as the others teach, but as one with authority” (Matthew 7:29) and “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Ever wonder how He could draw such crowds? The 1st-century society was used to a yoke that required temple visits, animal sacrifice, brutal punishments and it shunned those who were most in need. But not Jesus.
Once a Rabbi, the next step was to appoint disciples. This was usually done through the words “Follow me”, and it was usually to those who had been qualified as a 12-year-old to study to become a Rabbi. Jesus however, found men the world had disqualified and qualified them. That is the yoke of my Rabbi.
He now has all the qualifications to do what he needed to do and he is led out into the desert for 40 days.
Obviously this number is highly significant in terms of biblical theology and we find many a time that there are 40 days or 40 years in the history of the Israelites which was highly significant .
I want to give you some keys then today as to why it’s critical for us to experience the desert refinery.
Led by the Spirit and not just a good idea or a dietry idea. As we experience lent and the incredible teaching from my friend Andy Luke – 40 days excluding Sundays to reflect and give up on some things in order to focus on the Lord, it’s essential to be aware of the Lord leading us. It may sound strange that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness but we need to see that withouth this he would not have been prepared for what was to come, and it’s a teaching lesson for us.
The desert refinery is critical for spiritual maturity. Very often when you are in a desert situation you may find yourself initially moving into a very dark place, but when you begin to acknowledge some of the refining things that the Lord is doing then it becomes more easy for us to manage it.
The desert refinery is where we can either spiral up or down. It’s so easy to move into selfish introspective narrative when we are going through a desert experience and in most cases we will because we are human, but when we start to see our own weaknesses and find the refining fire of God working in our hearts, then we begin to experience the deeper benefits.
In this desert experience we will be tested as Jesus was and it was in three specific areas :
Provision status and power
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
Matthew 4: 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Provision :The desert refinery calls us to depend not just on bread alone but on every Word that comes from the Lord. In the refinery we begin to learn what is important and what is not, what is necessary and what is not and this constant desire for more worldly stuff becomes less important. It’s important to have provision and then realise that everything comes from the Lord but we must be refined to realise that if it is all taken away we have a satiffaction from above.
Power: We live in a crazy competitive world which is both good and bad. The good side of competition is that it keeps us sharp but the bad part is when we get a hunger for more and more power. Jesus at the temple – throw yourself down. We need to know that in the desert refinery we will be sapped of power and will need to be totally dependant on the Lord – When Jesus is all you’ve got then Jesus is all you’ll need. Corrie Ten Boom. There is a lot of humility that grows in the dry soil of the desert.
Status: All this I will give you – just worship me – Satan to Jesus. It’s so easy to live on the accolades that come from the world but a lot more difficult to live totally on pleasing the lord and knowing that those are the only accolades that we need. Jesus says away from me satan – Worship the Lord and serve Him only. In the refinery of the desert status is no longer important and your character is refined to the point of having nothing at all left. It’s a tough place to be in but it’s essential that we come out of this and find strength from above. Paul, Moses, Elijah, the prophets, Daniel and many others found that their greatest refining moments were in the desert.
In closing realise that as you come through this desert refinery that the Lord will send his Angelos messengers to attend to you – you begin to find who the real ones are !!!Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. Psalm 91 : 11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
Conclusion:
What lessons is the Lord wanting us to learn in the refinery?
How do we respond to – him?
What do we need to deal with in our own personal lives in order to be more like Jesus – provision status or power ?
Psalm 91
1
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14
“Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
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