Richard L. Eslinger - "Tempted in the Wilderness" (March 11, 1984)

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	(bagpipe music)	0:03
	(organ music)	10:18
	(choir singing)	10:58
-	Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation	13:53
	for the spirit indeed is willing,	13:58
	but the flesh is weak.	14:00
	Now let us test and examine our ways before God,	14:03
	confessing in the presence of one another	14:07
	and Almighty God, our sins.	14:10
	Let us pray.	14:13
	Oh God of mercy, you sent Jesus Christ	14:24
	to save a lost humanity.	14:27
	Judge us with love, lift the burden of our sins.	14:30
	We confess that we are twisted by pride.	14:35
	We see ourselves pure when we are stained,	14:39
	great when we are small, we have failed in love,	14:42
	forgotten to be just, and have turned away from your truth.	14:46
	Have mercy oh God, and forgive our sin,	14:51
	for the sake of Jesus your son, our savior, amen.	14:55
	For as the heavens are high above the Earth,	15:34
	so great is God's steadfast love toward those who fear God,	15:37
	as far as the east is from the west,	15:43
	so far does God remove our sins from us.	15:46
	In the name of the Jesus Christ,	15:50
	our sins are forgiven.	15:52
	Let us then give thanks, for God is good,	15:55
	and God's love is everlasting.	15:59
	Thanks be to God, whose love creates us,	16:02
	thanks be to God whose mercy redeems us,	16:06
	thanks be to God whose grace leads us into the future.	16:10
	We welcome you this beautiful spring morning,	16:18
	the first Sunday in the holy season of Lent,	16:22
	here to worship with us in Duke University Chapel.	16:25
	It is a day of Joy for Duke University,	16:29
	it has been a highlight and a weekend	16:32
	that we are indeed proud of.	16:35
	And we celebrate today, both as a university,	16:38
	and the ACC conference, but particularly	16:41
	we gather this morning as the people of God,	16:45
	and together we begin our journey in Lent.	16:48
	We are particularly pleased to have today	16:56
	as our guest musicians, Mr. John Sprague	16:59
	and Mr. Joe Sebert, our bagpipers.	17:03
	We are overjoyed with their music	17:07
	and their gift of music to us in the service this morning,	17:09
	and look forward to hearing them again later in the service.	17:13
	This evening at seven o'clock here in the chapel,	17:18
	will be the Yale Russian Chorus,	17:22
	a performance for the whole community.	17:26
	You are invited to attend,	17:29
	there is no charge for the concert.	17:31
	Our guest preacher for the morning,	17:37
	is the Reverend Dr. Richard L. Eslinger,	17:39
	he has come to us at the Divinity School this year,	17:43
	as associate professor of Christian worship.	17:47
	Dick brings with him many skills and gifts in ministry.	17:51
	He is an ordained United Methodist Pastor,	17:56
	having gotten his degrees at Boston University	18:00
	School of Theology.	18:03
	Immediately prior to this appointment,	18:06
	he was director of preaching in the section of worship,	18:09
	Nashville Tennessee for the denomination.	18:13
	Dr. Eslinger has been involved in many training events,	18:17
	workshops, and seminars in creative possibilities	18:22
	for worship and preaching.	18:26
	We are very pleased to have him be our preacher today,	18:29
	and we look forward to the Lenten message	18:33
	that he will bring.	18:36
	The sermon title is, Tempted in the Wilderness.	18:38
	And now Mr. Rob Calhoun,	18:44
	cantor for this service of worship this day	18:47
	will come and teach us the antiphon.	18:50
-	In your bulletin, under Psalm 130,	19:00
	you will see listed, the antiphon.	19:03
	This is the choral refrain.	19:05
	(organ music)	19:11
	♪ My inmost, my inmost self ♪	19:23
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	19:30
	Now join with me please.	19:35
	♪ My inmost self, my inmost self, ♪	19:37
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	19:44
-	Let us pray.	19:58
	Oh Lord our God, you have given your word	20:02
	to be a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.	20:05
	Grant us grace to receive your truth in faith and love,	20:11
	that by it we may be prepared unto every good word and work,	20:16
	to the glory of your name,	20:21
	through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	20:23
	The Old Testament lesson	20:29
	is from Genesis 2:4B-9, 15-17, and 25,	20:30
	chapter three, verses 1-7.	20:40
	In the day that the Lord God made the Earth and the heaven,	20:45
	when no plant of the field was yet in the earth,	20:50
	and no herb of the field had yet sprung up,	20:53
	for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth,	20:56
	and there was no man to till the ground,	21:01
	but a mist went up from the earth,	21:04
	and watered the whole face of the ground.	21:06
	Then the Lord God formed man, of dust from the ground,	21:10
	and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,	21:15
	and man became a living being.	21:19
	And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east,	21:23
	and there he put man, whom he had formed.	21:28
	And out of the ground, the Lord God made to grow,	21:31
	every tree that is pleasant to the sight	21:34
	and good for food.	21:37
	The tree of life also in the midst of the garden,	21:39
	and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.	21:42
	The Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden,	21:47
	to till it and to keep it.	21:50
	And the Lord God commanded the man,	21:53
	saying, you may freely eat of every tree of the garden,	21:55
	but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,	22:00
	you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it,	22:03
	you shall die.	22:07
	And the man and his wife were naked,	22:10
	and they were not ashamed.	22:13
	Now the serpent was more subtle	22:16
	than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made.	22:18
	He said to the woman, did God say,	22:23
	you shall not eat of any tree of the garden?	22:26
	And the woman said to the serpent,	22:30
	we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,	22:33
	but God said, you shall not eat of the fruit	22:36
	of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,	22:39
	neither shall you touch it lest you die.	22:42
	But the serpent said to the woman,	22:48
	you will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it	22:50
	your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,	22:54
	knowing good and evil.	22:58
	So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,	23:01
	and that it was a delight to the eyes,	23:05
	and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,	23:08
	she took of it's fruit and ate,	23:12
	and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.	23:15
	Then the eyes of both were opened,	23:20
	and they knew that they were naked,	23:23
	and they sewed fig leaves together,	23:26
	and made themselves aprons.	23:28
	Here ends the reading from the Old Testament lesson.	23:31
	(organ music)	23:41
	♪ My inmost self, my inmost self ♪	23:53
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	23:59
	♪ From the depths I cry to you, ♪	24:04
	♪ Lord listen to my voice ♪	24:08
	♪ Let your ear be open to the sound of my plea for pardon ♪	24:12
	♪ My inmost self, my inmost self, ♪	24:22
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	24:28
	♪ Lord if you keep a count of wrongs, ♪	24:34
	♪ Who will be able to stand ♪	24:38
	♪ But you are prepared to forgive us ♪	24:42
	♪ That we may worship you ♪	24:46
	♪ My inmost self, my inmost self ♪	24:51
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	24:57
	♪ My inmost self longs for the Lord ♪	25:03
	♪ I wait for the word of God ♪	25:08
	♪ I tell myself wait for the Lord ♪	25:12
	♪ As a sentry watches for morning ♪	25:17
	♪ As a sentry watches for morning ♪	25:22
	♪ Israel wait for the Lord ♪	25:27
	♪ My inmost self, my inmost self ♪	25:33
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	25:40
	♪ Surely the Lord will be faithful ♪	25:46
	♪ And redeem us again and again ♪	25:50
	♪ God will redeem Israel from all our guilty deeds ♪	25:56
	♪ My inmost self, my inmost self ♪	26:05
	♪ Longs for the Lord ♪	26:13
	(bagpipe music)	26:31
-	Let us stand for the reading of the gospel.	27:48
	Then Jesus was led up by the spirit	27:57
	into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.	28:00
	And he fasted 40 days and 40 nights,	28:04
	and afterwards he was hungry.	28:07
	And the tempter came and said to him,	28:10
	if you are the son of God,	28:12
	command these stones to become loaves of bread.	28:14
	But he answered, it is written,	28:18
	man shall not live by bread alone,	28:20
	but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.	28:23
	Then the Devil took him to the holy city,	28:27
	and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,	28:30
	and said to him, if you are the son of God,	28:32
	throw yourself down, for it is written,	28:35
	he will give his angels charge of you,	28:38
	and on their hands they will bear you up,	28:42
	lest you strike your foot against a stone.	28:45
	Jesus said to him, again it is written,	28:48
	you shall not tempt the Lord your God.	28:52
	Again, the Devil took him to a very high mountain,	28:56
	and showed him all the kingdoms of the world,	29:00
	and all the glory of them, and he said to him,	29:02
	all these I will give you,	29:06
	if you will fall down and worship me.	29:08
	Then Jesus said to him, be gone Satan,	29:13
	for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God,	29:16
	and him only you shall serve.	29:19
	Then the Devil left him, and behold,	29:22
	angels came and ministered to him.	29:25
	The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.	29:29
	(organ music)	29:32
	(choir singing)	29:41
	The number 40 is special in the Bible.	30:43
	The flood lasted 40 days, and at it's end	30:47
	Noah saw the dove returning with the olive branch.	30:51
	The people wandered in the wilderness for 40 years,	30:57
	and at the end of that time crossed the Jordan	30:59
	into the promised land.	31:02
	Moses was on Mount Sinai with the Lord	31:05
	for 40 days and 40 nights,	31:09
	and returned to the people with the law, the tablets.	31:11
	Elijah went to Horeb, the Mount of God	31:17
	for 40 days and 40 nights,	31:20
	and at it's end there was that still small voice.	31:21
	Now Jesus has been in the wilderness 40 days and 40 nights,	31:28
	but at it's end, he's confronted by Satan.	31:34
	His time of trial was only beginning.	31:40
	Satan's first challenge to Jesus is quite straightforward,	31:45
	this son of God has been fasting	31:50
	here in the wilderness for 40 days, 40 nights,	31:52
	so Jesus command these stones to be turned into bread.	31:55
	End your hunger right here and now.	32:02
	Kind of an interesting twist on the Old Testament theme.	32:06
	In the wilderness, God gave manna to the people,	32:10
	but here you can feed yourself.	32:15
	Satan acknowledges that Jesus is son of God,	32:19
	but what kind of son?	32:23
	Maybe one of those wonder workers,	32:27
	like those in the cult of the month clubs	32:30
	in Greece and Rome.	32:33
	Jesus, if you turn these stones into bread,	32:34
	we'll build a shrine for you in Corinth,	32:37
	or Ephesus, or maybe even Athens.	32:40
	But at it's most basic, this appeal	32:45
	is simply to satisfy yourself,	32:48
	to use your religious power for your own good.	32:51
	We don't need to look very far for examples of this.	32:56
	Everywhere you look, there are people	33:00
	trying to use some sort of religious power	33:03
	and authority for their own good.	33:06
	All we have to do is be home right now,	33:10
	and turn on our television.	33:12
	Wouldn't take too many flicks of the dial,	33:13
	and there'd be some TV preacher,	33:15
	talking at us about faith and Jesus,	33:19
	and all those religious things,	33:22
	but in the back of his mind, wondering about money,	33:23
	and TV ratings, and political influence.	33:26
	Beyond that though, beyond this possibility	33:32
	of using your power for self satisfaction,	33:36
	there's also the challenge to use this religious power	33:41
	for self fulfillment.	33:44
	Jesus, you're out here in the wilderness,	33:47
	you've had a rough time of it,	33:51
	you need something to eat, you probably need more than that,	33:54
	but at least you've gotta turn these stones into bread.	33:56
	We're exposed to it all the time.	34:01
	Be good to yourself, important values are at stake,	34:04
	you, be all that you can be, hey, be a winner.	34:08
	John Denver said not too long ago,	34:15
	"I reflect in a very real way,	34:17
	"where humanity is going".	34:19
	And he's tried all the approaches of self fulfillment.	34:23
	TM, yoga, EST, Rolfing,	34:27
	Pyramid Power, EST,	34:31
	he's tried them all, and what he says is,	34:34
	"I can do anything, one of these days	34:36
	"I'll be so complete, I won't be human,	34:38
	"I'll be an angel".	34:43
	Yeah, that's right Jesus, try all those routes,	34:46
	and you'll be an angel.	34:49
	But first, hey, you've gotta change that stone into bread.	34:52
	There's something else here too.	34:59
	Satan doesn't suggest to Jesus,	35:02
	if you turn that stone into bread, you can eat,	35:05
	or you can change that stone over there into bread.	35:09
	No, Satan says, Jesus, turn these stones into bread.	35:12
	There's something economic and political going on here.	35:16
	That kind of miracle goes beyond self satisfaction.	35:23
	It goes beyond self fulfillment.	35:26
	It has economic, it has political implications.	35:29
	Jesus, if the people hear	35:34
	that you've turned these stones into bread,	35:35
	my goodness, you'll be elected man of the year,	35:38
	hero of the revolution, most likely to succeed,	35:41
	Jesus, you'll get an invitation to the White House,	35:44
	made a knight of the British Empire,	35:46
	why Jesus, you'll be more famous than Jackie O,	35:50
	Michael Jackson, and James Watt all rolled into one,	35:53
	just change these stones into bread.	35:57
	That's all you've gotta do.	36:00
	So that's Satan's first challenge,	36:04
	end your hunger, change the stones into bread.	36:08
	Jesus' response is known by heart,	36:14
	man cannot live by bread alone.	36:19
	Human beings need more than bread, Satan.	36:22
	They live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.	36:26
	Jesus refuses to take advantage	36:31
	of his sonship for physical reasons,	36:33
	for psychological reasons, this one for others	36:36
	will not at the beginning of his ministry	36:40
	be another one for myself.	36:42
	It's quite tempting though.	36:47
	Jesus, that stone over there	36:49
	really looks like a loaf of pumpernickel.	36:52
	As a matter of fact, this one over here,	36:56
	that flat round one looks quite like some pita bread,	36:57
	and that long one's a kind of french bread loaf,	37:01
	you can smell the savor just ready to pop forth.	37:04
	And in the background, later on Matthew will remind us,	37:10
	in the words that taunt, he saved others,	37:14
	but himself he cannot save.	37:19
	So the fast continues.	37:23
	But note this, church, note this,	37:27
	even our Lord's fast is not a self contained	37:29
	expression of religious power.	37:31
	This fast, this life	37:35
	is dependent on the word of the creator.	37:39
	We don't have a Brechtian hunger artist	37:42
	trying to pull it off himself,	37:46
	drawing attention to himself,	37:49
	we have endurance, we have a time of trial	37:52
	that points to Jesus' relationship to the Lord God.	37:56
	Life comes only through God's word,	38:02
	and Jesus is obedient to that word,	38:04
	and therefore he is son of God.	38:06
	The power to provide bread,	38:10
	that's not at issue.	38:14
	That never was the issue here.	38:17
	The power to have bread come forth	38:21
	is there with Jesus son of God.	38:25
	We saw that on the hillside with the crowds	38:28
	that were sat down in groups,	38:30
	and those little loaves were broken,	38:32
	and God was blessed, and they were distributed	38:34
	and fed the multitudes.	38:37
	The power to provide bread is not at issue.	38:40
	Food for the hungry, oh yes,	38:44
	but food for himself,	38:48
	that's not for the son of God.	38:52
	So it is at the Lord's supper,	38:55
	when we gather for the holy communion.	38:59
	Bread is not magically created somewhere,	39:03
	other religious bread, separate from our lives,	39:06
	but it's offered down the aisle here,	39:09
	out of the midst of the people,	39:11
	the bread of our daily lives,	39:12
	then it's offered to the Lord,	39:14
	and we give thanks, we bless the bread,	39:18
	and we break it, and our Lord Jesus feeds the multitude.	39:23
	That's the way it has to be, Satan.	39:30
	We do not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.	39:34
	Next, Jesus is taken up by Satan to Jerusalem,	39:42
	he is placed on the temple heights,	39:47
	on the pinnacle of the temple, Matthew says.	39:51
	Now Jesus, cast yourself down.	39:54
	Jesus, all you have to do is throw yourself off here.	40:01
	Be a mighty feat, look Jesus,	40:10
	you could even pretend you slipped,	40:14
	but throw yourself down.	40:16
	Remember Jesus, the promise in Psalm 91,	40:20
	this refuge and fortress of yours,	40:22
	this God of yours will deliver you.	40:25
	This God of yours will send the angels	40:29
	to bear you up, lest you strike your foot on a rock.	40:31
	But the challenge here is not just to show off	40:39
	some accumulated holiness,	40:42
	it is not as if Jesus is some kind of guru	40:46
	who lives on roots, and nuts, and organic carrot juice	40:50
	and has made himself very holy,	40:54
	and now we get to see the results of that holiness.	40:57
	There's something more at stake than that, by far.	41:02
	Satan is saying to Jesus,	41:05
	look, you're a son of God, prove it.	41:08
	Exploit the sacred traditions, holy city,	41:12
	holy temple, holy scriptures.	41:18
	You've got 'em all behind you, Jesus,	41:22
	you're son of David, you're son of Abraham,	41:24
	let's show it off.	41:28
	We see that all the time,	41:34
	it's a constant challenge	41:38
	that's presented to every one of us	41:40
	to justify ourselves by justifying our tradition.	41:43
	Exploit it.	41:48
	My goodness, in the presidential campaign,	41:50
	we see it already, we're gonna see it for months.	41:53
	If the candidate has a military tradition,	41:56
	exploit it, and so the TV cameras show one candidate	41:58
	climbing out of an M-1 tank.	42:02
	That's right Jesus, that's the kind of thing you have to do.	42:04
	Get yourself photographed in front of the temple,	42:07
	or better yet, jump off it.	42:11
	Use the tradition, throw yourself down.	42:15
	But Jesus refuses.	42:24
	Neither Satan, nor Jesus, nor any of us here	42:27
	should tempt God's righteousness.	42:33
	You shall not tempt the Lord your God.	42:34
	The righteousness of God is not to be tested.	42:38
	Over and over again people try that though.	42:45
	Over and over again, there's the temptation	42:50
	to make that move.	42:53
	And so there he is, type A,	42:55
	workaholic, overweight, three packs a day,	42:59
	buttons straining on his vest,	43:03
	a blood pressure of 160 over 100,	43:05
	muttering some pious nonsense	43:08
	about the man upstairs deciding when I go,	43:10
	hoping that on his tombstone it will be carved,	43:15
	the Lord took him home.	43:18
	We try that all the time.	43:22
	We're quite effective at putting the Lord to the test.	43:25
	Some people even specialize in throwing themselves	43:29
	off of some pinnacle or other,	43:32
	seems like every other week, yup,	43:36
	there they are again, up on the pinnacle ready to jump.	43:38
	God's righteousness is our rock.	43:44
	God's healing is at the heart of reality,	43:47
	but to tempt God, to tempt God is sin,	43:49
	so you shall not tempt the Lord your God.	43:54
	To exploit all these holy traditions	44:00
	would confirm the old, but at the expense of the new.	44:02
	And in sending this son, God has proposed a new thing,	44:07
	which will make all things new.	44:12
	This new covenant is for everyone,	44:15
	this new Israel is for everyone on Earth.	44:18
	So it doesn't matter anymore	44:24
	whether we're Jews or Gentiles,	44:26
	whether we're males or females,	44:28
	whether we're slave or free,	44:31
	it doesn't matter anymore, because in the new Israel,	44:33
	the tradition has now been expanded.	44:37
	We're all part of it.	44:39
	This new Israel's for all the saints.	44:43
	It's for Peter and Paul, it's for Augustine and Teresa,	44:45
	it's for Luther and Leo,	44:49
	it's for Calvin and Wesley,	44:52
	it's for the Methodist deaconesses,	44:55
	and the Roman Catholic nuns,	44:56
	and it's for you and me, right here in this place,	44:58
	the new Israel, that's who it's for.	45:01
	The something new,	45:03
	the something God has intended in Jesus Christ,	45:05
	it's for all of us.	45:10
	Besides Satan, in the fullness of time,	45:13
	in the fullness of time when God triumphs in the end,	45:17
	there will be no temple,	45:20
	there will only be the lamb, and those in white robes	45:24
	gathered round the lamb, singing their hosannas.	45:29
	There will only be glory,	45:34
	and the lamb will be in the midst of them.	45:37
	So you shall not tempt the Lord your God.	45:40
	Finally, Satan takes Jesus up to a very high mountain,	45:46
	a tantalizing offer is made,	45:52
	all these things, all these things,	45:55
	these kingdoms of the world and their glory,	45:59
	they're yours Jesus, they're yours if you worship me.	46:03
	There's no longer a need to preface this challenge	46:11
	by the words, if you are God's son.	46:15
	That has been established by now.	46:18
	But the question now is,	46:22
	to whom will allegiance be given by this one,	46:24
	God or the evil one?	46:27
	You see, worshiping the Devil is not a real test	46:33
	for one who is God.	46:36
	Worshiping the Devil is not a challenge,	46:40
	it's not a trial for one	46:42
	who was with God from the beginning.	46:44
	But for one who was with God from the beginning,	46:50
	yet emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,	46:54
	and pouring himself out,	46:57
	this one who empties himself,	47:01
	this one who identifies with the poor,	47:04
	the outcast, the oppressed, the sick.	47:06
	This servant reaching out	47:10
	to touch and cleanse a leper,	47:14
	this servant of Yahweh, there is a challenge here.	47:19
	Whose allegiance will be that which will be given?	47:25
	You who have been given so much power.	47:32
	But Satan's appeal at this point	47:38
	is not for Jesus to change his motivation.	47:41
	We know you're a very good man, Jesus,	47:43
	but just think, if you fall down and worship me	47:46

-	This will be yours, all those kingdoms and their glory,	0:03
	and just think what you could do with it.	0:07
	You could mandate world peace, Jesus,	0:11
	defuse every nuclear weapon,	0:15
	plug up every hole in the ground where	0:18
	a rocket sits ready to go off.	0:20
	You could increase the standard of living	0:23
	all over the place.	0:25
	You could guarantee a moral majority in each place, Lord.	0:27
	All you have to do is worship me,	0:31
	and I'll give you all that.	0:34
	Just imagine, Jesus, think of it now,	0:37
	a mighty procession.	0:40
	The gates of the city of David open to you,	0:42
	palms, Hosannas by all the people, triumphal entry.	0:45
	And then we see Jesus, absurd little figure	0:55
	about to ride into that city on a donkey.	1:03
	No.	1:07
	These kingdoms, their power,	1:13
	not that way, Satan.	1:18
	There'll be another way.	1:21
	So Jesus' response is made to Satan,	1:24
	"You shall worship the Lord, your God,	1:26
	Him only you shall serve.	1:29
	"Your service of worship, your service in the world	1:32
	"are for the Lord God and not for you."	1:35
	To have been tempted by all that worldly power	1:41
	would simply be to substitute one oppressor for another	1:44
	and we've seen that over and over again.	1:47
	We hear all the rhetoric of revolution,	1:50
	the Shah is expelled, the Peacock Throne is overthrown,	1:54
	and we get an Ayatollah, and that happens	2:00
	over and over again.	2:05
	No, for Jesus, obedience is a call to serve,	2:09
	not to lord over the people	2:14
	Obedience will shortly be spelled out by this new Moses.	2:17
	Matthew records that after this time in the wilderness,	2:23
	Jesus returns to the people	2:28
	and he opens his mouth on a mountain as Moses of old	2:34
	and he says to them, "Blessed are the poor in spirit,	2:37
	"for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."	2:41
	"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.	2:44
	"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.	2:47
	"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."	2:52
	This is what obedience means.	2:58
	This is how we are to worship God.	3:01
	This is how we are to serve,	3:05
	worshiping the Lord our God and serving	3:08
	only the Lord God all our days.	3:11
	And this is what it means to be blessed.	3:15
	So what about us?	3:21
	We who are called to this obedience,	3:24
	this righteousness, this worship?	3:28
	What about us?	3:32
	We who are tried and tested in our wilderness.	3:35
	Well, for one thing,	3:39
	and today it is clear,	3:44
	we have been given unto us a son.	3:47
	And we never have to be ashamed of Jesus.	3:53
	We never have to be embarrassed.	3:57
	We never have to make excuses.	3:58
	We don't find ourselves trying to apologize	4:03
	for this obedient one.	4:08
	Here, in this wilderness, this day,	4:11
	we see Jesus	4:17
	who is the word that proceeds from the mouth of God.	4:18
	He has taught us the way of life.	4:24
	He's called us to be obedient.	4:28
	He will be with us,	4:32
	and our Lord can be trusted.	4:35
	Amen.	4:40
	(organ playing)	4:49
	(choir singing hymn)	5:19
-	As the people of God let us affirm what we believe.	7:55
	We believe in God, who has created and is creating,	8:00
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	8:05
	to reconcile and make new,	8:08
	who works in us and others by the Spirit.	8:11
	We trust God, who calls us to be the church,	8:15
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	8:20
	to love and serve others,	8:23
	to seek justice and resist evil,	8:25
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	8:29
	our judge and our hope in life, in death,	8:33
	in life beyond death, God is with us, we are not alone.	8:38
	Thanks be to God.	8:44
	The Lord be with you.	8:46
-	And also with you.	8:48
-	Let us pray.	8:50
	Oh Lord, our God, in this holy season of Lent,	9:03
	let us remember Jesus, who though he was rich	9:08
	yet for our sakes became poor and dwelt among us,	9:13
	who was content to be subject to his parents,	9:18
	the child of a poor couple's home,	9:22
	who lived for nearly 30 years the common life,	9:26
	earning His living with His own hands	9:30
	and declining no humble task,	9:33
	whom the common people heard gladly,	9:37
	for he understood their ways.	9:40
	So let us remember this Jesus,	9:44
	who was mighty indeed, healing the sick and the disordered,	9:48
	using for others the power He would not invoke for himself,	9:54
	who refused to force others allegiance,	10:00
	who was Master and Lord to his disciples,	10:03
	yet was among them as their companion and as one who served.	10:08
	Whose life was to do the will of the Father who sent Him.	10:14
	Let us remember this Jesus, who loved all people	10:19
	yet retired from them to pray,	10:25
	rose a great while before day,	10:29
	watched through a night, stayed in the wilderness,	10:33
	went up into a mountain, sought a garden,	10:37
	who, when He would help a tempted disciple pray for Him,	10:41
	who prayed for the forgiveness of those who rejected Him	10:47
	and for the perfecting of those who received Him.	10:51
	Who observed good customs, but defied conventions	10:55
	which did not serve the purposes of God.	11:00
	Who hated sin because He knew the	11:04
	cost of pride and selfishness,	11:07
	of cruelty and impurity, even to his Father in heaven.	11:10
	Yes, oh Lord, let us remember this Jesus who believed	11:17
	in human beings to the last and never despaired of them,	11:22
	who through all disappointment never lost heart,	11:28
	who disregarded his own comfort and convenience	11:32
	and thought first of others' needs,	11:36
	and though He suffered long, was always kind.	11:40
	Who humbled himself and carried obedience,	11:45
	even to the point of death, death on the cross.	11:48
	May this mind be in us which was in Jesus the Christ.	11:54
	Oh Christ, our only Savior, so come to dwell in us	12:01
	that we may go forth with the light	12:06
	of your hope in our eyes and with your faith	12:08
	and love in our hearts this day.	12:12
	For we pray in the name of this Jesus the Christ,	12:16
	saying together, Our Father, who art in heaven,	12:20
	hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,	12:25
	thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	12:28
	Give us this day our daily bread,	12:33
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	12:35
	who trespass against us,	12:39
	and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,	12:41
	for thine is the kingdom and the power	12:46
	and the glory forever, Amen.	12:49
	(bagpipes playing)	13:06
	(orchestra playing)	14:30
	(organ playing)	19:07
	(choir singing hymn)	19:28
-	Lord Jesus, who for our sakes became poor	20:35
	that by your poverty we might become rich in spirit,	20:38
	grant to your people so to give of our substance	20:43
	that we might acknowledge that we belong wholly to you	20:47
	for your own sake, Amen.	20:52
	(bagpipes playing)	20:58
	("Amazing Grace" by John Newton)	21:02
	(choir singing)	21:41
-	The peace of God which passes all understanding	25:09
	keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God	25:14
	and of His son, Jesus Christ the Lord,	25:19
	and the blessing of God almighty, creator, redeemer	25:22
	and sustainer, be among you and remain with you always.	25:27
	Amen.	25:33
	(bagpipes playing)	25:48
	(organ playing)	29:07

Item Info

Title:

Richard L. Eslinger - "Tempted in the Wilderness" (March 11, 1984)

Description:

Through his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus teaches us a new form of obedience to God that does not exploit human power for the sake of personal gain but is a way of service. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 30:43. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 04:43.
Key quotation: “Here in this wilderness, this day, we see Jesus who is the word that proceeds from the mouth of God. He has taught us the way of life. He’s called us to be obedient. He will be with us, and our Lord can be trusted.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r48w38g83

Date:

March 11, 1984

Speaker:

Eslinger, Richard L.

Liturgical Calendar:

Lent

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0197
ref7917_d5f
uachapelsermaud
duke:320577
dcrau001187
ark:/87924/r48w38g83
c6bb159a-13c6-4999-ae5e-466d3a73b778

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:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Richard L. Eslinger - "Tempted in the Wilderness" (March 11, 1984)

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Duke University Archives

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