H. Grady Hardin - "God Under Pressure" (March 8, 1987)

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	(mysterious, regal organ music)	0:00
	(mysterious, regal organ music)	0:05
-	Good morning.	0:23
	Welcome to this service of worship,	0:25
	the first Sunday in Lent.	0:27
	Thank you for being with us this morning in Duke chapel.	0:30
	Let me call your attention to several announcements	0:33
	which are in the bulletin.	0:35
	We are very pleased this morning to have with us,	0:37
	leading us in the ministry of music, the Raleigh Consort.	0:40
	We've already heard them this morning	0:44
	and look forward to their other additions	0:46
	to the service, later in the service.	0:48
	The flowers this morning that grace the chapel	0:52
	are given by Dr. And Mrs. James Siemens	0:55
	in memory of James Augustus Thomas,	0:58
	one of the significant founding leaders of Duke University.	1:01
	This represents the 125th anniversary of Mr. Thomas' birth.	1:06
	We are pleased to have as our special guest this morning	1:12
	Girl Scouts from the Durham area.	1:15
	I would like all the Girl Scouts who are worshiping	1:18
	with us this morning if they would please stand.	1:21
	1987 is a year that marks the 75th anniversary	1:28
	of the founding of the Girls Scouts of America.	1:34
	Let us now continue in our worship of God.	1:37
	(somber organ music)	1:43
	(somber organ music)	1:48
	("Ah, Holy Jesus")	2:13
	♪ Ah, holy Jesus ♪	2:21
	♪ How hast thou offended ♪	2:27
	♪ That we to judge thee ♪	2:32
	♪ Have in hate pretended ♪	2:37
	♪ By foes derided ♪	2:43
	♪ By thine own rejected ♪	2:48
	♪ O most afflicted ♪	2:53
	♪ Who was the guilty ♪	3:02
	♪ Who brought this upon thee ♪	3:07
	♪ Alas, my treason ♪	3:13
	♪ Jesus, hath undone thee ♪	3:18
	♪ 'Twas I, Lord Jesus, ♪	3:23
	♪ I it was denied thee ♪	3:29
	♪ I crucified thee ♪	3:34
	♪ Lo, the Good Shepherd ♪	3:43
	♪ For the sheep is offered ♪	3:48
	♪ The slave hath sinned ♪	3:54
	♪ And the Son hath suffered ♪	3:59
	♪ For our atonement ♪	4:05
	♪ While we nothing heeded ♪	4:10
	♪ God interceded ♪	4:16
	♪ For me, kind Jesus ♪	4:25
	♪ Was thy incarnation ♪	4:30
	♪ Thy mortal sorrow ♪	4:36
	♪ And thy life's oblation ♪	4:41
	♪ Thy death of anguish ♪	4:47
	♪ And thy bitter passion ♪	4:53
	♪ For my salvation ♪	4:58
	♪ Therefore, kind Jesus ♪	5:07
	♪ Since I cannot pay thee ♪	5:13
	♪ I do adore thee ♪	5:18
	♪ And will ever pray thee ♪	5:23
	♪ Think on thy pity ♪	5:29
	♪ And thy love unswerving ♪	5:35
	♪ Not my deserving ♪	5:41
	(organ fades out)	5:46
-	Let us pray.	5:51
	Oh, God, who by your word do marvelously work	5:54
	out the reconciliation of all humankind.	5:58
	Grant we beseech you that following the example	6:02
	of our blessed Lord, and walking in such a way	6:05
	as you would choose, we may be obedient and faithful	6:08
	to you with all our heart and mind and soul and strength	6:12
	and that we may be united to each other in holy love,	6:16
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.	6:21
-	Lets us pray.	6:35
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	6:38
	by the power of your holy spirit,	6:42
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	6:45
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	6:49
	Amen.	6:54
	The first lesson is taken from the Book of Genesis.	6:57
	In the day that the Lord God made the earth	7:02
	and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet	7:06
	in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up,	7:09
	for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth	7:14
	and there was no one to till the ground,	7:18
	a mist went up from the earth	7:21
	and watered the whole face of the ground.	7:24
	Then the Lord God formed a human creature	7:27
	of dust from the ground and breathed	7:30
	into his nostrils the breath of life	7:33
	and the human creature became a living being	7:37
	and the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the East,	7:42
	and there God put the human being whom he had formed,	7:46
	and out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree	7:51
	that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.	7:56
	God also placed the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden,	8:01
	and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.	8:05
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	8:09
	Will you join in the responsive reading of the psalter?	8:14
	Please stand.	8:23
	Out of the deep have I called unto thee, Oh Lord.	8:30
Congregation	Lord, hear my voice.	8:34
Pastor	Oh let thine ears consider well...	8:36
Congregation	The voice of my complaint.	8:39
Pastor	If thou, Lord, will be extreme	8:41
	to mark what is done amiss...	8:43
Congregation	Oh, Lord, who may abide it?	8:46
Pastor	For there is mercy with thee...	8:48
Congregation	Therefore shalt thou be feared.	8:51
Pastor	I look for the Lord. My soul doth wait for him.	8:53
Congregation	In his word is my trust.	8:57
Pastor	My soul fleeth unto the Lord	9:00
	before the morning watch.	9:02
Congregation	I say, before the morning watch.	9:04
Pastor	Oh, Israel, trust in the Lord,	9:07
	for with the Lord there is mercy.	9:09
Congregation	And with him is plenteous redemption.	9:12
Pastor	And he shall redeem Israel...	9:15
Congregation	From all his sins.	9:18
Pastor	The second lesson is taken	9:30
	from Paul's letter to the Romans.	9:32
	Therefore, as sin came into the world	9:35
	through one human being, and death through sin,	9:38
	and so death spread to all humanity because all sin,	9:42
	sin indeed was in the world before the law was given,	9:46
	but sin is not counted where there is no law.	9:50
	Yet, death reigned from Adam to Moses.	9:54
	Even over those whose sins were not like the transgression	9:58
	of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.	10:02
	But the free gift is not like the trespass,	10:06
	for if many die through the trespass of one,	10:10
	much more have the grace of God and the free gift	10:13
	of the grace of that one person,	10:16
	Jesus Christ, abounded for many.	10:18
	And the free gift is not like the effect of that one sin,	10:22
	for the judgment following one trespass	10:26
	brought condemnation, but the free gift,	10:29
	following many trespasses, brings justification.	10:33
	If, because of the trespass of one, death reigned	10:38
	through that one, much more will those	10:41
	who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift	10:45
	of righteousness reign in life,	10:48
	through the one person, Jesus Christ.	10:51
	Then, as a trespass of one led to condemnation for all,	10:55
	so the act of righteousness of one	10:59
	leads to acquittal and life for all.	11:02
	For if by one disobedience of one many were made sinners,	11:05
	so by the obedience of one many will be made righteous.	11:11
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	11:17
	(choral singing)	12:03
	(echoing, harmonizing voices)	12:16
	(echoing, harmonizing voices)	12:29
	(singing continues)	12:48
	(men and female voices interwoven, words muddied)	13:05
	(song ends)	13:52
	(choir starts new song)	13:57
	(men and female voices interwoven, words muddied)	14:21
	(men and female voices interwoven, words muddied)	14:57
	(men and female voices interwoven, words muddied)	16:08
	♪ Amen ♪	17:06
	(song ends)
-	The gospel reading is from Matthew.	17:38
	Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness	17:41
	to be tempted by the Devil	17:44
	and he fasted 40 days and 40 nights	17:47
	and afterward he was hungry	17:50
	and the tempter came and said to him	17:53
	"If you are the son of God, command these stones	17:56
	"to become loaves of bread" but Jesus answered	17:59
	"It is written: "One shall not live by bread alone,	18:03
	"but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.""	18:07
	Then the Devil took Jesus to the holy city	18:12
	and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him	18:15
	"If you are the son of God, throw yourself down,	18:19
	"for it is written "God will give the angels charge of you,	18:23
	"and on their hands they will bear you up,	18:27
	"lest you strike your foot against a stone.""	18:30
	Jesus said to him "Again, it is written:	18:34
	"You shall not tempt the Lord your God.""	18:38
	The Devil again took Jesus to a very high mountain	18:42
	and showed him all the kingdoms of the world	18:45
	and the glory of them and he said to Jesus	18:48
	"All these I will give to you	18:52
	"if you will fall down and worship me,"	18:55
	then Jesus said to him "Begone, Satan!	18:59
	For it is written:	19:03
	"You shall worship the Lord your God	19:04
	"and him only will you serve.""	19:07
	Then the Devil left him, and behold,	19:10
	angels came and ministered unto him."	19:14
	This ends the reading of the Gospel.	19:19
-	They were expecting a shorter preacher today,	19:50
	and so there's a platform under here	19:52
	and I had to move the Coke crate,	19:54
	if you'll pardon the advertisement.	19:57
	We live in so many calendars.	20:03
	There was a time in western civilization	20:05
	when western civilization and Christendom were identical	20:07
	that when you got to the first Sunday in Lent,	20:11
	the whole of civilization,	20:15
	the whole culture was moving with you.	20:17
	Now, the nearest thing we come to a recognition	20:22
	of the beginning of Lent, certainly in the Cajun country	20:26
	around New Orleans, is that it is the end	20:29
	of Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.	20:32
	Rio has finished its Carnival.	20:36
	Duke has started its spring break.	20:41
	The ACC Finals will be soon.	20:45
	By the time the 40 days of Lent have come to an end,	20:51
	we will be almost at the Final Four.	20:55
	For those of you who are not familiar	20:59
	with the Final Four and the ACC,	21:00
	read Revelation this afternoon	21:03
	and you'll begin to catch on to its...	21:06
	(congregation laughs)	21:08
	Eschatological dimension.	21:10
	Last year, I was citizen of Dallas at this time	21:14
	and the Final Four happened there	21:16
	and the Final Four and Easter were so intertwined	21:20
	that we did not know precisely what	21:24
	to sing when the morning came.	21:26
	I'm especially glad for various calendars here.	21:30
	The music we have heard has not been the	21:35
	normal music of the new choir,	21:40
	and they are on break of course,	21:43
	but there has been the unusually great music	21:45
	we have been hearing now from these our friends	21:48
	from the Raleigh Consort.	21:51
	I also wanna say a welcome to those	21:56
	of the Girl Scouts who are here.	21:58
	Girl Scout Sunday.	22:00
	I remember once, earlier in my ministry, when the confusion	22:03
	of calendars came to a head and it was the first Sunday	22:07
	in Lent and it was Brotherhood Sunday	22:12
	because it was the Sunday between Washington	22:14
	and Lincoln's birthday, and it was Boy Scout Sunday	22:17
	and I wonder what we observed.	22:22
	Well, we all dressed up in our Boy Scout uniforms	22:26
	and observed the other emphases, too.	22:29
	It's delightful to be able to mix up all of the variety	22:33
	of interests which we have, and can begin to see	22:37
	at the beginning of this 40 days of Lent	22:41
	this close relationship to the 40 days of fasting	22:44
	that Jesus faced after his baptism	22:48
	and when he went into the wilderness.	22:52
	A forty day time for Lent, not counting Sundays	22:57
	because Sundays are not fast days	23:01
	and so the forty days are those days	23:06
	when we discipline ourselves afresh and anew	23:09
	to the meaning and reality of the Christian faith,	23:15
	to follow the pattern of the early church	23:17
	and prepare ourselves for the great baptism	23:21
	which Easter means to us all.	23:24
	It is the time in which we examine our characters.	23:28
	I can remember hearing from this very pulpit,	23:34
	many, many years ago, Henry Crane saying	23:37
	that Lent is not a time to forgo,	23:42
	it is a time to go for,	23:48
	so he led us on a stirring message	23:51
	about what we were to go for during this season.	23:53
	It is a time in which we call ourselves to the reality	23:58
	of a character of which, by the grace of God,	24:04
	might sustain us in days such as this.	24:08
	And so we see the temptations of Jesus,	24:12
	but we see the temptations throughout the biblical record	24:15
	and we begin to see the tests of character	24:18
	of one kind or another.	24:22
	Read, in the Book of Daniel, the test of character	24:23
	that came to Daniel when he was tested by the king	24:26
	to see if he really could interpret those dreams,	24:30
	and he indeed did.	24:34
	And you recall he did it so well that,	24:36
	despite the fact that he was a Jew,	24:38
	he was made Chief of Staff!	24:43
	They were having a mess in that particular leadership	24:46
	under Nebuchadnezzar at that particular time,	24:48
	and so they reached as far as they could go	24:52
	and they reached to one who had shown the kind	24:54
	of stamina and insight into the interpretation of dreams.	24:57
	Or look at the test of character	25:01
	in Daniel in the story of the...	25:03
	Of his faithfulness to his faith	25:06
	until finally he was thrown	25:09
	to the lions and, by some great intervention of God,	25:11
	he was delivered from the lions.	25:17
	Or, as a child I used to love	25:21
	to hear the story also that went along in Daniel	25:23
	of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.	25:26
	I supposed the poetry of those three words,	25:29
	the beauty of the song that went along with it,	25:32
	made it even more thrilling to think	25:35
	about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being faithful.	25:37
	Even in a foreign land, when all others were bowing down	25:42
	before other gods, they would not bow down,	25:45
	and so they were thrown into the furnace,	25:49
	but they were not burned.	25:51
	This is the kind of hero story that seems strange	25:55
	in this particular day and age, doesn't it?	25:59
	We know better than that. We are sophisticated.	26:03
	We don't listen to stories like that.	26:05
	But one of the things that made it possible	26:08
	for me to tell you these stories was the presence	26:10
	of the Girl Scouts here,	26:14
	because when they were just a little younger,	26:16
	they spent almost five days a week	26:18
	looking at hero stories of approximately the same sort.	26:21
	Have any of you the kind of touch with children	26:25
	that make it possible, in the afternoon,	26:31
	to see He-Man and Masters of the Universe	26:33
	or She-Ra, the Princess of Power?	26:39
	Somebody told me, when I was talking about Daniel one day,	26:45
	that she sees that every afternoon with her children and so,	26:48
	I began to look at He-Man and She-Ra	26:52
	and I could hardly draw myself away from it,	26:54
	it's so thrilling.	26:58
	These are cosmic contests in which the forces of evil	27:02
	are just about to win out over the forces of good,	27:06
	and it looks like the jig is indeed up.	27:10
	Not so!	27:14
	This magic wand rises and the light of it	27:16
	sends back the evil in such a remarkable way	27:20
	that every afternoon, evil looks like it's going	27:25
	to take over, but finally it is defeated	27:28
	by this intervention from outside.	27:32
	Those of us who don't look at those programs	27:37
	in the afternoon certainly have seen	27:39
	in Star Wars and other such cosmic events	27:40
	the sort of belief in The Force.	27:44
	That isn't calling us to temptation.	27:49
	It's calling us to become a good guy,	27:51
	so that when push comes to shove,	27:53
	you can grab the right sword	27:56
	and stand there and be victorious.	27:59
	The Force will protect you.	28:02
	What kind of mythology are we raising our children on?	28:06
	What kind of lie are we telling	28:09
	about the universe in which we live?	28:12
	See, this is no test of character.	28:14
	This is a test of the good guy, bad guy	28:17
	and everybody knows who the good guys are.	28:20
	And all of us know where the bad guys go.	28:24
	We're in a remarkable state of confusion.	28:29
	What we're saying to ourselves, and to our children,	28:32
	what life's about, what the tests of character really are,	28:36
	so that when we enter into this 40 days of	28:40
	fasting and discipline and penitence of Lent,	28:45
	before we see the majesty and greatness	28:51
	and life giving power of the message of Easter,	28:55
	we must come to grips with the cosmic forces that face us	28:57
	in every decision in every moment of our day.	29:02
	But there's something so different	29:08
	from the story of the temptation of Jesus,	29:10
	that we heard a few moments ago and the temptations	29:13
	of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,	29:17
	or these current stories of heroes	29:21
	on our present television.	29:24
	See, the thing about being faithful like Daniel was	29:27
	that he got into the midst of the lions	29:30
	and he was delivered from the lions	29:33
	because the lions were made absolutely impotent.	29:35
	But in this glorious story of character,	29:41
	the hero story of the faith,	29:44
	when Jesus was taken out into the wilderness	29:48
	and began to face up to the horrifying demands	29:50
	of how one lives in the Kingdom of God.	29:55
	Lions' mouths were not closed.	30:01
	Furnaces were not cooled off.	30:07
	Jesus was crucified.	30:11
	See, there's a very real difference	30:16
	between the temptations that face so many of the heroes	30:17
	of the Old Testament, or the heroes of the present.	30:20
	You can just grab the right wand and hold it up and win.	30:24
	No, no.	30:27
	In the Christian story, the great wand is the cross	30:29
	and on it you die.	30:33
	There's a real difference there.	30:38
	That's why I'd like for us to look at this temptation	30:41
	that Jesus was undergoing.	30:44
	When he went out into the wilderness	30:46
	and first saw the opportunity, 40 days later,	30:48
	to turn stones into bread.	30:51
	Can you imagine what it would mean in a hungry world	30:57
	to able to create bread miraculously?	30:59
	This was no hungry Jesus, stomach growling,	31:08
	who'd do anything just for a bite to eat.	31:12
	No, this was Jesus, the Christ, struggling	31:15
	with the ultimate meaning of life in the Kingdom of God.	31:18
	And one of the greatest forces	31:23
	and powers that were available to him,	31:25
	and available to us, is the possibility	31:28
	of feeding the multitudes who are starving.	31:31
	All the further temptation when they took him	31:39
	to the top of the temple and said "Jump off here.	31:42
	"You're the son of God. You're all-powerful.	31:47
	"You can do anything you please.	31:49
	"The way to rule the world,	31:51
	"the way to establish the kingdom,	31:53
	"is to get the attention of the people,	31:55
	"and you get the attention of the people	31:58
	"by some great, spectacular deliverance."	32:00
	Even more spectacular than She-Ra or He-Man.	32:05
	And the people will follow gladly into the Kingdom of God.	32:10
	No, don't tempt God that way.	32:14
	Don't tempt Jesus that way.	32:17
	It doesn't work that way.	32:21
	Or that final temptation when he looked out	32:25
	over the nations of the world.	32:28
	"Just bow down to me a little bit.	32:32
	"Just use some of Satan's trickery	32:34
	"and you will rule the earth."	32:37
	What a terrifying temptation: to rule the world!	32:42
	To take over in God's name and for God's sake,	32:48
	only nodding here and there to some of the forces	32:53
	and tricks of the Devil himself.	32:58
	See, this is the reason for the title of the sermon.	33:03
	This doesn't seem to me just a story of Jesus of Nazareth,	33:06
	who was born there in Bethlehem,	33:10
	who went out after his baptism to face up	33:13
	to the temptations of the establishment	33:16
	of God's kingdom and to live in the heroic deliverance	33:19
	of the savior of the world.	33:24
	No, not that.	33:25
	You see, in every part of the New Testament,	33:27
	when we talk about Jesus, we're talking about Jesus Christ.	33:31
	Jesus of Nazareth. The Chosen One.	33:34
	Here, lo and behold, when we see Jesus struggling	33:39
	with these three temptations, it's not just Jesus the man.	33:43
	You can't separate it that way.	33:49
	It is God Almighty facing the terrifying	33:51
	demand to be the kind of God revealed in	33:56
	Jesus of Nazareth.	34:00
	I think the church sort of fell into some of these traps.	34:05
	I'm not sure that the church believes this yet,	34:09
	because when we were writing the story of Jesus...	34:12
	Read the story of the temptation of turning the stones	34:17
	into bread and the story of the feeding of the 5,000	34:21
	and see if you don't get a little inkling of the fact	34:25
	that the church itself would like very much to have a God	34:29
	that turns stones into bread and does something spectacular	34:34
	to meet the needs of the world.	34:39
	Or, in that second temptation...	34:43
	"Jump off that tower, over there.	34:46
	"It won't hurt you.	34:51
	"It'll get the people's attention.	34:53
	"The people will love your for it.	34:56
	"They will know that you are the all-powerful God."	34:58
	See, God...	35:04
	We feel he's going to be a God on our terms	35:08
	and when you read the story of this temptation	35:12
	of casting off the temple and also read the story	35:16
	of walking on the water or any other wonder works	35:20
	that Jesus might have performed, do you get the feeling,	35:24
	and I may be all off, I may be irreverent.	35:28
	I don't intend to be blasphemous here by any means,	35:31
	but even the church is unable to see God in God's terms	35:34
	as revealed in Jesus Christ.	35:39
	We want some wonder worker who can jump off the tower	35:41
	and draw all others under him.	35:47
	You see, when Jesus was out there in the wilderness,	35:53
	facing these agonies and we were writing about it	35:56
	in the New Testament, these Gospels would tend	36:01
	to think that "Maybe, maybe just a little ol' bread	36:05
	"from a little stone.	36:10
	"Maybe just a little ol' attention	36:14
	"with a miracle here and there."	36:17
	No, when we read the story of this temptation,	36:22
	especially the third one, when we read all three,	36:24
	we begin to see a good bit more than Jesus of Nazareth,	36:27
	who's just come up from the river and walked out	36:31
	into 40 days of fasting, penitence and prayer.	36:35
	It's not just Jesus who is going	36:40
	through the agonies of temptation.	36:42
	It is God under pressure.	36:45
	It is God asking God "What's the kingdom like?"	36:51
	Is it going to be a magic?	36:58
	Is it going to be controlled	37:01
	by some magic wand held in the air?	37:02
	Is it going to be some trickery	37:06
	that will deliver Daniel from the lions?	37:08
	Would it be something that makes it hot	37:11
	in that furnace, but these three won't be singed?	37:16
	Uh-uh.	37:20
	This is God almighty in the terrifying struggle	37:23
	of the pressures of how to make his kingdom available to us,	37:27
	his children.	37:31
	Lo and behold,	37:34
	the possibilities of establishing in the world	37:36
	a world of peace, a world of justice,	37:39
	a world in which persons respect other persons,	37:44
	a world in which we are obedient to God.	37:49
	All it would take would be the Legions	37:52
	that would come in and enforce this on God's behalf.	37:56
	All it would take would be just a nod and say	38:01
	"Satan, let me use your forces just a little bit,	38:03
	"and let me take over this sinful world."	38:09
	God himself, in Jesus Christ,	38:15
	faces this tension and this pressure	38:19
	and this awful use of power	38:22
	and says "No. God is a God of love.	38:29
	"God is a God of self-giving love.	38:36
	"God is a God of dependable love."	38:41
	And God himself reveals God through	38:46
	Jesus, the Christ, the Son,	38:51
	the incarnation as one who was willing	38:53
	to walk out into the agonies of his days,	38:57
	under pressure, with God his father.	39:02
	What are the implications of this? I wish I knew.	39:09
	I look at it as so vast a thing that we could talk	39:14
	for days about some of its implications.	39:18
	Maybe somebody could tell me how wrong I am,	39:20
	but, if I'm right, let me just suggest one or two things	39:23
	that maybe this afternoon would make a difference.	39:28
	How do you live with a God like this?	39:33
	How do you live with a God that's not going	39:36
	to do some great spectacular that gets everyone's attention?	39:38
	How do you live with a God that's not going	39:43
	to use trickery to take care of humans' needs?	39:46
	How are you going to live with a God whose love is so great	39:51
	that the love is willing to give itself and die,	39:56
	instead of hold back a little bit and win?	40:01
	How do you live with a God like that?	40:06
	I'm not quite sure how you will do it,	40:08
	but I would suggest that as soon as we make it	40:10
	to the front doors and head out into this afternoon,	40:12
	that we tell ourselves again afresh "God is dependable	40:17
	"and he's not gonna pull any tricks on us."	40:25
	God is dependable and he's not gonna pull some	40:30
	spectacular that makes us all rush to his way.	40:35
	No, God is dependable in that he is self-giving,	40:39
	loving, suffering love	40:43
	and I can count on him.	40:50
	And I can walk out of those doors this afternoon	40:53
	knowing full well that I can depend on God	40:55
	to such an extent that I know that God has shown me	40:58
	that if I give up my vulnerabilities	41:03
	and just go ahead and risk it,	41:10
	that even if I lose my life,	41:14
	I'll find it.	41:22
	Even if I love	41:27
	and it doesn't seem to work,	41:31
	I will have the whole godly universe on my side.	41:35
	The Girl Scouts here learned	41:44
	to swim more recently than most of us.	41:46
	Do you remember when you learned to swim?	41:48
	Water was something in which to drown.	41:53
	All of us sputtered enough to know full well	41:57
	that if went down in the water, it'll kill you.	42:00
	And so you would hold onto the side a little bit	42:05
	and look like, for your mother and father's benefit,	42:08
	that you were swimming.	42:11
	Or keep your feet on the bottom a little bit	42:13
	and say "Look! I'm swimming!"	42:16
	You weren't. You weren't kidding anybody but yourself.	42:19
	You weren't swimming.	42:22
	You were protecting yourself from drowning in water	42:25
	and water's to drown in,	42:28
	until we learn in that strange, remarkable,	42:33
	almost miraculous moment that that in which we would sink	42:37
	and die is buoyant enough to hold us up and live.	42:42
	I would like for us to walk out of those doors,	42:48
	and for the next Lenten days, be ready	42:51
	for the glorious good news of Easter,	42:55
	that says "Don't hold back!"	42:59
	Walk out in confidence that God is dependable.	43:03
	Risk it all.	43:08
	It may kill you, just like water drowns.	43:10
	It may sustain you until you walk into the future,	43:17
	knowing full well that underneath are the everlasting arms	43:21
	and out there, in the risks, you live!	43:26
	Praised be to God. Amen.	43:32
	(cheery mid tempo organ music)	43:44
	(choir and congregation join in singing)	44:07
	(organ drowning out singing)	44:12
	(organ drowning out singing)	44:32
	(organ drowning out singing)	44:49
	(organ drowning out singing)	45:05
	(organ drowning out singing)	45:26
	(music ends)	45:42
-	The lord be with you.	45:44
Congregation	And also with you.	45:46
Pastor	Let us pray.	45:47
	God of power and God of might, through our savior,	45:59
	the lord Jesus Christ, you have faced temptation.	46:04
	You know how difficult it can be to distinguish	46:08
	between vision and mirage, between truth ad falsehood.	46:11
	Lord, help us when we are tempted and save us when we fall.	46:17
	Lord, help us in the church, when we confuse absence	46:24
	of conflict with the peace of God,	46:28
	when we equate the shaping of Ecclesiastical structures	46:31
	with serving you and the world, when we imagine	46:35
	that our task is to preserve, rather than to put at risk,	46:38
	when we behave as though your presence in life	46:43
	were a past event, rather than a contemporary encounter.	46:45
	Lord, help us in these times when we are tempted.	46:49
	Help us in a world when we use meaningless chatter	46:55
	to avoid real dialogue, when we allow the image presented	46:59
	by the media to blind us to the substance	47:03
	that lies behind it, when we confuse privilege	47:06
	with responsibility and claim rights	47:09
	when we should be acknowledging duties,	47:12
	when we allow high-sounding reasons to cover evil actions.	47:15
	Lord, help us when we are tempted.	47:21
	We pray for our families and our friends	47:25
	and hold them before you now in our thoughts.	47:28
	For those who comfort us when we are discouraged,	47:31
	for those who share with us their courage	47:35
	when we are afraid, for those who love us	47:37
	when we are at our most unlovely,	47:41
	for those who strengthen us when we would go astray.	47:44
	We pray especially for any who may be	47:49
	under particular pressures and stress at this time.	47:51
	Lord, help all of your people when we are tempted.	47:56
	Christ Jesus, you have passed through the test of suffering	48:01
	and are able to help those who are meeting their test now.	48:04
	We pray for all who suffer: mental,	48:08
	physical or spiritual agony.	48:11
	And we especially pray for the people of South Africa,	48:14
	the people of Afghanistan,	48:19
	the hostages in Iran,	48:22
	the victims of the ferry disaster in Belgium	48:26
	and their family members and friends.	48:28
	For these, Lord, and for those we name silently	48:32
	in our hearts, during their time of testing and temptation,	48:34
	we pray that you will help them and save them from falling.	48:39
	We offer this prayer in the name of the one who was tempted	48:45
	in the wilderness, who suffered and died upon the cross	48:47
	and who was raised on the third day,	48:51
	that we might live triumphantly with you.	48:53
	Even Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.	48:56
	With cheerful and joyful hearts,	49:04
	let us now worship God with the giving of our offering	49:07
	and the offering of our lives.	49:10
	(rustling, coughing, footsteps)	49:34
	(stately organ)	50:19
	(women singing faintly)	50:24
	(men join in)	51:08
	(voices harmonize, blurring words)	51:13
	(singing gets quieter)	51:26
	(men and female voices interwoven, words muddied)	52:02
	(men and female voices interwoven, words muddied)	53:01
	(reverent organ)	1:01:25
	(singing starts again)	1:01:48
	(singing stops)	1:02:24
-	Gracious God, all the riches of our daily lives	1:02:28
	are blessings you bestow upon us.	1:02:32
	For sunshine and rain.	1:02:35
	For meaningful work and rest at the week's end.	1:02:36
	For our homes and families and friends.	1:02:40
	For opportunities to grow and for opportunities to serve.	1:02:43
	For the beauty of chance encounters with strangers.	1:02:48
	And most especially for your son,	1:02:51
	Jesus Christ, our Lord, we give you thanks.	1:02:53
	We ask that you accept these, our gifts,	1:02:56
	and with these gifts, the offering of our lives,	1:02:59
	that they may be used by you for your kingdom here on earth.	1:03:03
	And we pray the prayer Jesus taught his disciples (mumbles).	1:03:07
	Our father who art in heaven,	1:03:11
	hallowed by thy name,	1:03:15
	thy kingdom come,	1:03:17
	thy will be done,	1:03:19
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:03:20
	Give us this day our daily bread.	1:03:23
	And forgive our trespasses,	1:03:26
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:03:28
	And lead us not into temptation,	1:03:32
	but deliver us from evil.	1:03:35
	For thine is the kingdom,	1:03:37
	and the power,	1:03:38
	and the glory forever.	1:03:40
	Amen.	1:03:42
	(somber organ)	1:03:46
	(choral singing mixed with church organ)	1:04:19
	(organ and reverb drowning out words)	1:05:42
	(organ and reverb drowning out words)	1:06:27
	(singing stops)	1:06:40
-	Go forth from this place remembering that you are people	1:06:43
	of a God who is utterly dependable.	1:06:46
	Dependable even unto death upon a cross.	1:06:49
	And may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,	1:06:52
	the love of God and the encouragement	1:06:55
	of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always. Amen.	1:06:57
	(somber organ)	1:07:04

Item Info

Title:

H. Grady Hardin - "God Under Pressure" (March 8, 1987)

Description:

In the temptations of Jesus we see not only the man Jesus of Nazaraeth wrestling with how he will live as the Messiah, but we also see God Almighty being put to the test. Will God bring about the kingdom through spectacular tricks and evil forces, or is God a God of dependable love? This story answers definitively the latter position. Because of this, we are free to take great risks, because we know God is dependable. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 19:50. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 43:37.
Key quotation: “It is not just Jesus going through the agonies of temptation. It is God under pressure. It is God asking God, ‘What’s the kingdom like?’”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r42f7k630

Date:

March 8, 1987

Speaker:

Hardin, H. Grady

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0024
ref8303_tcf
uachapelsermaud
duke:321496
dcrmv001024
ark:/87924/r42f7k630
efcde304-ba59-4ae8-968c-34c2f9886063

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

No Re-Use

In Copyright

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Transcript

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Duke University Archives

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