Temptation CRUSHED

How is Temptation CRUSHED?  It was CRUSHED when Jesus our champion went toe to toe with the devil and won.  But maybe we should have an example of someone giving into a temptation that could have had terrible consequences.

Witnesses said that the unidentified man, who was described as being in his 20s, had taunted the big cats before jumping over a barrier at the Range of the Jaguar exhibit and inserting his hand into an enclosure, according to WJXT. A jaguar then clawed the man’s arm, leaving zoo employees a trail of blood to clean up after emergency workers bandaged the man and transported him to the hospital.

“This is an individual that wasn’t using his head… He stuck his hand in through the mesh that separates the jaguars from the outside,” deputy zoo director Dan Maloney told the outlet, before adding that the incident “would have been a very different story” if the animal had been able to secure a stronger grip on the man.

What happens when you put your arm into a jaguar enclosure at a zoo?  There is a good chance that the jaguar will grab it.  These aren’t nice animal.  That man could have lost his arm and even his life.

When we are face with temptations, Satan knows where the fence is the lowest and sometimes we take that jump.   Then we creep up to the temptation and stick our arm in.  All we want is a touch.

But what can we do to escape?  Our text from Hebrews 4 is all about our great High Priest, Jesus.  He represents us before the throne of God and intercedes on our behalf.  He didn’t offer an animal like the Old Testament high priests; rather, he offered himself, once for all, so that we might be forgive.

But what can you do when the temptation returns?  The first rule from an insurance agent or an attorney representing his client is – stop talking.  You want your representative to do all the talking so you don’t get yourself into more trouble.  So also with our champion Jesus and us.  You want to know how to crush temptation?  Watch Jesus in action against the devil.  He didn’t use his divine power.  He went back to the word.  That is all that we have to do.  Let our God do the talking for us.  Go back to God’s word for strength and comfort.  When we do that, Jesus fights the battle for us, and we find temptation CRUSHED.

Want to hear more?  Watch this week’s message taken from the book of Hebrews.