Introduction: You may not recognize the name but Vinko Bogataj, but in a few minutes those of you over the age of 35 will remember him, and those of you who are younger than that will be able to identify with him more than you might think.
On March 21st, 1970, Bogataj was competing at the World Ski Flying Championships in Oberstdorf, West Germany. It had been snowing lightly since the beginning of the competition. That had not affected the skiers through the first two rounds, but by the time Bogataj got ready for his third run, the snow had become quite heavy.
Half way down the ramp for that jump, Bogataj realized that the additional snow had made the ramp too fast making it highly unlikely that he would be able to complete the jump safely. So he attempted to lower his center of gravity and stop his jump, but instead he lost his balance completely and rocketed out of control off the end of the ramp, tumbling and flipping wildly, and crashing through a light retaining fence near a crowd of stunned spectators before coming to a halt. Even though it took your breath away to watch it, Bogataj only suffered a mild concussion from the crash.
It is likely that Vinko Bogataj’s crash would have remained obscure had a film crew from ABC’s Wide World of Sports not been there filming the event. As many of you may recall the show featured an opening narration (by host Jim McKay) over a montage of sports clips.
The phrase which many of you will recognize was this, “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… this is ABC’s Wide World of Sports!
The producer of the Wide World of Sports made the decision to insert the footage of Bogataj’s tremendous tumble to coincide with the words "...and the agony of defeat,” in the shows introduction.
Throughout the long history of the show, various film clips were used to illustrate the phrase "The thrill of victory..." which directly preceded the phrase “the Agony of Defeat.” Most of the time these clips were of teams celebrating their victories in the World Series, or Super Bowl, or World Cup.
But for over 20 Bogataj’s dramatic crash was the only film clip used to illustrate the "agony of defeat"
HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED THE AGONY OF DEFEAT?
ME: Most Devastating Loss –May of 1981, I was a Senior in High School. We were playing “Christian County in the Regional Baseball Tournament – at Murray State University.
- After that game my arm wasn’t the only thing that hurt, I hurt all over.
- I felt like someone had knocked the breath out of me.
- I felt like I had let everyone on the team down.
- I felt like crying.
- I felt like a failure.
- I felt like a Loser.
WE: You know what I’m talking about. Many of you have also experienced the “Agony of Defeat.”
- Maybe you struck out with the base loaded in the bottom of the last inning.
- Maybe you missed a free throw with less than a minute to go in the game and your team ended up losing by 1 point.
- Maybe you fumbled the ball on the 1 yard line, or dropped a pass in the endzone, that cost your team a touchdown.
- Or Maybe you missed a tackle that cost your team a touchdown.
Of Course the World of Sports is not the only place where “The Agony of Defeat” can be experienced.
-Maybe you forgot part of your Dance routine…
-Maybe you couldn’t remember your line in the Christmas program.
-Maybe you couldn’t remember the words to the song you were singing.
-Maybe you missed an important question during the Academic meet.
-Maybe you couldn’t remember The Bible verse for the week during Team Kids and it cost your team some points.
TRANSITION: THE POINT IS: TO ONE DEGREE OR ANOTHER WE HAVE ALL EXPERIENCED THE AGONY OF DEFEAT.
AND AS BAD AS IT FEELS TO LOSE; AS BAD AS IT FEELS TO FAIL AT SCHOOL, AS BAD AS IT FEELS TO FAIL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD,
IT HURTS EVEN WORSE WHEN WE EXPERIENCE THE AGONY OF DEFEAT IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM.
You know what I’m talking about.
Despite the fact that you know it’s wrong. Despite the fact that you know you shouldn’t. Despite the fact that you know you’re going to regret it, you give in to that temptation and you sin.
- You know you shouldn’t listen to that kind of music
-You know you shouldn’t cheat on the test
-You know you shouldn’t gossip about a friend
-You know you shouldn’t tell that joke.
-You know you shouldn’t cheat on your taxes
-You know you shouldn’t watch that movie or go to that website.
-You know you shouldn’t drink that beer
I don’t know about you but when I give in to temptation and sin, it makes me feel like ‘I’m the scum of the earth.” I get mad at myself for being so weak, or so stupid, or so gullible.
Of course that’s how Satan wants us to feel:
-He wants us to feel like dirt.
-He wants us to feel like losers.
-He wants us to feel unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness.
In fact He wants us to become so obsessed with our failures that we simply give up and quit trying.
Unfortunately sometimes we set ourselves up to fail.
illustration: We’re like the guy who was trying to lose some weight. When he got to the office one morning his co-workers noticed that he was carrying two dozen Crispie Cream Donuts. They asked him why He had bought two dozen donuts if he was trying to lose weight. He said, “Well on my way to work this morning I said a short prayer. I said, “God if you want me to buy some donuts for breakfast this morning, just let there be a vacant parking space in front of the donut shop. And wouldn’t you know it, on my 8th trip around the block a parking place suddenly opened up.
Sometimes we give in to temptation because we plan on it. But we’re not the first generation of people to do that. The Bible is full of examples of men and women who set themselves up to fail, or put themselves into a situation where they knew they were going to be tempted.
From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, God knew that temptation was going to be difficult for us to overcome.
But the good news is God doesn’t want us to feel the “Agony of Defeat.” The good news is: God wants us to enjoy the “Thrill of Victory” when it comes to overcoming temptation.
GOD:
TEXT: MATTHEW 4:1-11
That brings us to our text this morning. If you have your Bibles I encourage you to follow along as I read Matthew 4:1-11.
MT 4:1 THEN JESUS WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE DESERT TO BE TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL.
This took place at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus had just been baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist. He had just seen the Heavens open up and the Holy Spirit descend upon him in the form of a dove. He had just heard the voice of His Heavenly father say, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” and immediately after that, according to the Bible the Holy Spirit led him into the desert to be tempted by the Devil.
Now I don’t know about you, but that seems a little strange to me. Jesus has been waiting His entire life to begin His earthly ministry. Now that He had been baptized by John, you would think that He would be anxious to get on with it.
But that’s not what happened. Instead the Holy Spirit led him into the desert to be ‘tempted.’
Why? Have you every wondered why God wanted Jesus to be tempted by the Devil? Think about that and we’ll come back to it in a few minutes. Look at verses 2 and 3 with me.
MT 4:2 AFTER FASTING FORTY DAYS AND FORTY NIGHTS, HE WAS HUNGRY.
MT 4:3 THE TEMPTER CAME TO HIM AND SAID, "IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, TELL THESE STONES TO BECOME BREAD."
“PAUSE”
Have you ever noticed how much more susceptible you are to temptation when you’re tired?
Verse 2 tells us that Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights.
I don’t know about you but I have trouble comprehending that. It’s hard for me to skip one meal, much less go 40 days without having something to eat.
Jesus had spent the last 40 days in the Desert praying and fasting.
How many of you like to camp? I’m not really all that crazy about camping? The idea of sleeping on the cold, hard ground has never excited me much. But that’s what Jesus did. After all it doesn’t say anything about him spending the night in the “Holiday Inn.” ……………………………..“Pause”………………………………
So not only was Jesus Hungry, but He must have also been physically exhausted. And that’s when Satan made His move.
He said, “"IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, TELL THESE STONES TO BECOME BREAD."
In the fourth verse Jesus responded to Satan by saying, "IT IS WRITTEN: `MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.’
Jesus used The Word of God to help Him overcome this temptation. He reached back into the Old Testament and used this passage of Scripture. Now most of you have heard this passage of Scripture all of your life. But do you have any idea where it comes from, or who said it, or what the situation was?
If you don’t know its okay, because we’re going to look at it, and after we read it we’re going to realize why Jesus said what he did. You see Jesus realized what the Devil was trying to do.
Jesus realized that the issue wasn’t whether He was hungry or not.
He realized the issue wasn’t his self-control.
He realized that the real issue was whether He could trust God.
Which by the way, whether you recognize it or not, is the same thing you go through every time you are tempted?
You see, Temptation is always a test of your confidence in God. Temptation always tests your faith? Temptation always puts your trust to the test.
So Jesus reminded Himself that His Heavenly Father could in fact be trusted to provide for His Physical needs. He does so by recalling the story of How God had provided for the Children of Israel after He had delivered them from Slavery in Egypt. You remember this story don’t you?
Moses had led them out of Egypt. They had crossed over the Red Sea on Dry Land. God had completely destroyed Pharoah’s army and delivered them from their suffering. Were they grateful? No! Of course not.
Before long their supplies started running out, and they started to get hungry. Now I don’t know about you, but when I get hungry I get cranky. If you don’t believe me, just ask Mary Anne.
Well, Moses had a couple Million hungry, cranky people on his hands, and they started to complain and grumble about it. They said, “WE WERE BETTER OFF IN EGYPT! AT LEAST THERE WE HAD ALL THE FOOD WE WANTED TO EAT. Then they looked at Moses and Aaron and said “BUT YOU HAVE BROUGHT US OUT INTO THIS DESERT TO STARVE US TO DEATH.” Exodus 16:3
God heard the people grumbling and for the next 40 years as they wandered around in the Wilderness, He provided them with Manna, which was a light flaky bread or cake. Every morning when the Israelites woke up, all they had to do was go out and gather up enough Manna for their breakfast.
So you see, every single day that the Israelites wandered around in the Wilderness God had given them “Their daily Bread.”
Not only were they being fed physically but more importantly they were learning a valuable lesson. They were learning that God could be trusted to provide for their daily needs.
In the book of Deuteronomy, the Nation of Israel was preparing to enter into the Promise Land, and Moses wanted to remind them of everything that God had taught them during that 40 years of wandering around in the Wilderness. Follow along with me as I read a few verses from Deuteronomy chapter 8.
DT 8:1 BE CAREFUL TO FOLLOW EVERY COMMAND I AM GIVING YOU TODAY, SO THAT YOU MAY LIVE AND INCREASE AND MAY ENTER AND POSSESS THE LAND THAT THE LORD PROMISED ON OATH TO YOUR FOREFATHERS.
DT 8:2 REMEMBER HOW THE LORD YOUR GOD LED YOU ALL THE WAY IN THE DESERT THESE FORTY YEARS, TO HUMBLE YOU AND TO TEST YOU IN ORDER TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN YOUR HEART, WHETHER OR NOT YOU WOULD KEEP HIS COMMANDS.
DT 8:3 HE HUMBLED YOU, CAUSING YOU TO HUNGER AND THEN FEEDING YOU WITH MANNA, WHICH NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR FATHERS HAD KNOWN, TO TEACH YOU THAT MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF THE LORD.
God was trying to teach them that simply having their physical needs like hunger met was not going to be enough.
There was more to life than having enough food to eat. That, things like God’s Word, God’s principles, God’s Will, and most of all a relationship with God are more important than food.
The Holy Spirit reminded Jesus of this incident and the Lesson that God was trying to teach the children of Israel through Moses.
That’s why He responded to this first Temptation by saying, “`MAN DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.’
Jesus knew and understood that food, and having his hunger satisfied, were no where near as important as His relationship with His Heavenly Father. He knew the Devil was trying to get him to question whether God would provide for His physical needs.
Now are you beginning to understand why the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the Wilderness to be tempted?
Let’s turn back to our text. Beginning in Matthew 4:5.
MT 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
MT 4:6 "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."
MT 4:7 JESUS ANSWERED HIM, "IT IS ALSO WRITTEN: `DO NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ "
As He had done before, Jesus took a situation that took place in the Old Testament and applied it to this Temptation.
While the Israelites were in the Wilderness they ran out of water and thought they were going to die of thirst. They went to Moses and Aarron and said, “Why did you bring us out into this God forsaken desert to let us die of thirst?
Sound Familiar. Moses responded by saying, “WHY DO YOU QUARREL WITH ME, WHY DO YOU PUT THE LORD TO THE TEST?” Exodus 17:2
Jesus took Moses words and used them here as a way of reminding Satan that He knew better than to try to force God into doing something differently they He had planned on doing it.
We need to remember that, because unfortunately sometimes we try to force God to do it our way. We try to play “Let’s make a deal with God.” We need to remember that not only does that show a tremendous lack of understanding about who God is, but it just doesn’t work.
We’re running out of time, so let’s look at the third temptation
MT 4:8 AGAIN, THE DEVIL TOOK HIM TO A VERY HIGH MOUNTAIN AND SHOWED HIM ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD AND THEIR SPLENDOR.
MT 4:9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
MT 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ "
MT 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
As He had done in the previous two temptations, The Holy Spirit reminded Jesus that there was more to life than power. He reminded Jesus that His Heavenly Father was a Jealous God, and that He expected and deserved His loyalty and His worship.
“Pause”
YOU: (Conclusion)
“You may be thinking to yourself, “So What?” How does any of this relate to me? After all Jesus was the Son of God.
Well let me remind you of something this morning, and that is that despite the fact that temptation is an inevitable part of our lives, we do not have to experience the “Agony of Defeat.” In fact, it’s even possible for us to experience the “Thrill of Victory,” when it comes to our temptations.
The Apostle Paul understood this, and in 1 Corinthians 10:13 He said it like this: “BUT REMEMBER THAT THE TEMPTATIONS THAT COME INTO YOUR LIFE ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT OTHERS EXPERIENCE. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL. HE WILL KEEP THE TEMPTATION FROM BECOMING SO STRONG THAT YOU CAN’T STAND UP AGAINST IT. WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL SHOW YOU A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GIVE IN TO IT.”
You see the same Holy Spirit that Led Jesus into the Wilderness and gave Him the strength to overcome the temptations that Satan threw at Him, is the Same Holy Spirit that lives inside those of us who are Christians. And He is willing to do the same thing for us that He did for Jesus.
He is ready and willing to give us the strength and the courage to resist every temptation that the Devil wants to throw at us.
Conclusion: Now I want you to do something a little unusual. I want you to think about that Temptation that Satan uses on you over and over again. I want you to think about that temptation that He always manages to get you with. And I want you to realize that that temptation will affect your future, your family, and your faith. You see, one of the things we don’t realize about Temptation is that there is “always more at stake than what you think?”
Now, with that temptation in mind I want you to repeat after me.
TEMPTATION -
“You will not steal my future.”
“You will not steal my family.”
“You will not steal my faith.”
So this week when the Devil tempts you, just say a quick prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to resist that temptation. Then say, “Temptation you will not steal my future, you will not steal my family, and you will not steal my faith.”
Main Point: “You don’t have to give into temptation.”
YOU DON’T HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THE AGONY OF DEFEAT. INSTEAD YOU CAN EXPERIENCE THE “THRILL OF VICTORY.”
“The Holy Spirit is ready and willing to give you the power to resist the temptations of the Devil.”
