Lessons From The Wilderness

Open: The final eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980 was not a sudden event. For two months prior to the massive blast—the most deadly and destructive in American history—earthquakes and volcanic activity signaled a major event was underway and that an eruption was imminent. Authorities had plenty of time to sound the alarm and warn those living nearby of the looming danger. Yet despite the seriousness of the threat, some people chose to disregard the warnings and they did so to their own peril.

When we fail to head the warnings of scripture concerning temptation, we also do so to our own peril. In the tempting of Christ in our text today we learn some lesson from the wilderness concerning temptation.

I. The Realities Of Temptation

A. Temptation Is Ever Present (vs. 1)

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and had just been baptized were God the Father spoke and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and yet He’s headed toward temptation. You can be at your furthest from God or the closest you’ve ever been to Him in this life, and temptation is present!

B. Temptation Is Ever Persistent (vs. 2)

Opportunity only knocks once but temptation just keeps on knocking. You can be sure that as long as you’re alive you’re going to face temptation. I wonder sometimes if we can’t even wake up after a dream with temptation on our mind. Jesus wasn’t just tempted three times but was tempted for 40 days in this passage, but you can be sure that that’s not the only temptation He ever faced.

ILL: In Death Valley there is a place known as Dante’s View. There, you can look down to the lowest spot in the United States, a depression in the earth 200 feet below sea level called Bad Water. But from that same spot, you can also look up to the highest peak in the United States, Mount Whitney, rising to a height of 14,500 feet. One way leads to the lowest and the other way to the highest. From that point, called Dante’s View, any movement must be in one or the other direction.

II. The Ruthlessness Of The Tempter

A. Satan Is A Provoker Of Temptation (vs.2)

Satan hates God and wants to take His place therefore he will do all he can to provoke people with temptation so they will sin against God.

B. Satan Is A Prowler (3-12)

He is always looking for the perfect time to shove temptation at you. He studies and knows your weaknesses. He will try and convince you that there is a better, easer way.

ILL: One of the largest freshwater turtles is the alligator snapping turtle. Found primarily in the southeastern United States, these massive turtles have been known to weigh close to 250 pounds. They are carnivorous, and while their diet is primarily fish, they have been known to eat almost anything else they can find in the water—even in a few cases small alligators! The alligator snapping turtle relies on a uniquely deceitful method of foraging for fish.

The turtle will lie completely still on the floor of a lake or river with its mouth wide open. At the end of the turtle’s tongue is a small, pink, worm-shaped appendage. The turtle wiggles the end of its tongue so that it looks like a worm moving through the water. When a fish comes to eat the worm, the turtle’s jaws rapidly close, trapping the fish so that it cannot escape.

Similarly to the snapping turtle’s lure, temptation comes in the guise of something desirable, but it always carries destruction with it in the end. If we could see the end result rather than the tempting part, it would be far easier to resist. But Satan knows this, so he cleverly disguises what is deadly in the guise of something pleasurable.

III. The Resistance Of The Tempted

A. Has the Father In The Right Position.

There are two types of sin and therefore to types of temptation. Love God & lover others. You put God in the right position and you’ll overcome temptation. Jesus did that with scripture.

B. (vs. 13) Satan will flee but he will be back.

Much like the tree on top of the hill which faces the most wind we will grow stronger with each push. But remember, the wind will always blow.

Close: A number of years ago, the Douglas Aircraft company was competing with Boeing to sell Eastern Airlines its first big jets. War hero Eddie Rickenbacker, the head of Eastern Airlines, reportedly told Donald Douglas that the specifications and claims made by Douglas’s company for the DC-8 were close to Boeing’s on everything except noise suppression. Rickenbacker then gave Douglas one last chance to out-promise Boeing on this feature. After consulting with his engineers, Douglas reported that he didn’t feel he could make that promise. Rickenbacker replied, "I know you can’t, I just wanted to see if you were still honest." (Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 22.)

Eddie Rickenbacker claimed holiness in his hour of temptation. You know the feeling too. It may be the temptation to cheat on your tax return by not identifying all your income so that you get a bigger refund check; it may be to make promises about your product (that are false) to induced someone to buy it; it may be to watch a program or commercial on T.V. that is morally indecent; or it may be to stare at a woman that is provocatively dressed. By the way, the intent of women’s clothes designers is to entice you through their product to look--lust!

The truth is that temptation is a part of our everyday Christian life. Christ was not exempt; neither are you. You will be tempted and always will be tempted. Holiness of character depends upon your resisting these temptations.