Lent, 2006
Strengthening the Spirit, Weakening the
Flesh
Pastor Joe Fuiten, March 5, 2006
We observe the 40 days of Lent
leading up to Easter. It is 40 days in
length because Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. During that time he was tempted by the
devil. Because of his hunger Jesus was
vulnerable. He wanted to eat. His humility made him vulnerable to being
made ruler of the world. His diminished
self made him vulnerable to being cared for by God.
The devil seized the opportunity to
try to get an advantage over Jesus. This
is what the devil does.
Satan makes every effort to
hinder our lives and work.
1
Thessalonians 2:17-20 “But, brothers,
when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought),
out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to
come to you-- certainly I, Paul, did, again and again-- but Satan stopped[1]
us. 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory
in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you
are our glory and joy.”
The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, “You were
running a good race. Who cut in on you
and kept you from obeying the truth”?[2] The word he uses for the hindrance is enkopto. This is the same word that is
translated “stopped” in 1
Thessalonians 2:17-18.
Paul used a different Greek word (koluo
is translated as “let” in KJV and “prevented” in NIV) to make the same point to
the church at
The word “hinder” enkopto was
used of impeding persons by breaking up the road, or by placing an obstacle
sharply in the path. Paul said of his
planned trips, that Satan “stopped” or hindered his plans. He makes no apology for blaming the
roadblock on Satan himself.
It is the work of Satan to hinder,
in every way possible, the work of God.
This includes hindering the people of God in their life and
efforts. Such hindrance might take the
form of political, legal, environmental, physical, or any other seemingly
natural difficulty. However, like
Job’s fire, wind from the desert, or attacking neighbors, its source is
none other than the devil himself.
“Hindrance” is what we call the effect of Satan’s work against us. The method or methods he employs against us can be of any type. If a church is appearing before a City Council, or some similar political body, the devil might very well try to speak lies into the minds of those hearing the case, or try to cause an accident of a key supporter. Whether it is the penetration of the mind with Satanically inspired thoughts or buffeting a supporter, the effect is still to “break up the road” or hinder.
Understanding that the devil can do
things to try to hinder should motivate us to pray over every decision and
action. No wonder Paul said he prayed
“without ceasing.” The constant attacks
upon his life and work taught him the importance of God’s grace and of prayer.
Satan comes against the people of
God in every possible way. He tries to
make children feel unwelcome. If he can
work through a playground bully or some little girl to criticize another child,
he wins a victory. That might be all it
would take for that child to feel like they don’t belong in church. He is after every child, every young person,
and every adult. He wants to attack
every life and every family. He
hinders. He puts up barriers. He tears up things that could make it go
smoothly. Jesus said the devil comes to
rob, kill, and destroy.
We have 40 days of Lent
because of the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness
Maybe the most famous statement of Jesus in that period
was “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.” Jesus was weak in the
flesh after 40 days without food. Even
so, he successfully resisted the devil and won a great victory. He remained full of the Spirit. In fact, the Spirit was strengthened within
him even though his body was weakened.
The devil comes to us in temptation, appealing to
the worldly side of our thoughts, or by exploiting some weakness. In this
season we join with Jesus in consciously choosing to hear the voice of God
rather than these other voices.
Satan was allowed to tempt Jesus because Jesus was
destined to be tested in all points as we are.
Testing weakens the flesh
and strengthens the Spirit. It pries our cold, dead,
grasping fingers off the stuff of life.
When your spouse does you wrong it has a lot of
impact on your life. Your confidence is
shaken. You feel like you don’t quite
fit anymore. Your hopes and dreams about
life are dashed. You wonder what is going to happen to you in the future. Are you going to be old and all alone? It is
a time of severe testing. Everything
about your flesh is weakened. Even our
attachment to this world is loosened.
When there is sickness we have a similar reaction.
We fight it but pain has a way of wearing you down. We start to ache. Our energy level drops. We want to withdraw from the world and pull
inside our little space. We go from
expansive conversations in the office to getting into our car and driving
home. Then we pull into our garage and
head for the bedroom. Finally we crawl
into bed and pull the covers up over our head.
At last we are in the tiniest space possible. We want to sleep. Our vast world is reduced to a tiny space and
we are weak.
When you lose your job a similar weakness comes upon
you. You don’t feel as sure of yourself
or as confident. You have
self-doubt. You question your decisions
and the wisdom of your choices.
You are misunderstood in your best efforts. You tried hard to do it right but it didn’t
work out. People thought you had other
motives. They thought you were doing it
for yourself. Your confidence in your
ability to communicate shrinks. We
wonder at your judgment. Your flesh is
weakened.
These kinds of things happen in the normal course of
events. They can also happen as a
consequence of the devil tempting you.
We would think of it as being attacked by the devil but it really is the
same thing.
When we voluntarily humble ourselves we choose to
fast. We pamper ourselves a little less
than we normally do. We take intentional
steps we weaken our flesh so that we have to rely more on the Spirit. Whether by voluntary humbling, or by the
humbling that inevitably comes from life, the impact is similar. Our ability to rely on ourselves in diminished.
The flesh is weakened. Hopefully our
dependence on God is increased. If so,
then we are better prepared for eternity.
When these crisis hit, look to God. Even though you feel weak and vulnerable, you
are in one of the better places to increase and improve your relationship with
Jesus. He was weakened in the
wilderness. You feel like you are in the
wilderness. In each case, they prepare
you for a increase of the Spirit in your life.
When I met with some of the unemployed people a
couple of weeks ago I was impressed by their spiritual strength. They were in a weakened and vulnerable place
as far as their flesh was concerned, but they were turning it into strength as
far as the Spirit was concerned.
If Satan hinders you, then find your strength in
God.