As citizens of a heavenly kingdom, we are exiled from our homeland, strangers in a foreign land, and pilgrims on our way home. One of the chief perils we face on our journey in the wilderness of the world is inordinate concern with earthly affairs. God's dealings with the Israelites in the wilderness highlight the way we can overcome protect ourselves from this peril.

To apply Mark's account of Jesus' temptation to our own times of temptation, we ask the following two questions, Why is Jesus the one able to help us resist temptation and how does he do so? We learn that Jesus is the one to help us because he obeyed where Adam and Israel did not, he overcame and bound Satan, and he was given the Spirit beyond measure. Jesus helps us resist temptation through his Spirit, who convinces us of God's love, reassures us of our adoption, helps us in our weakness by praying for us, reminds us of God's faithfulness, and makes us watchful in prayer.

We in this sermon discuss how to read Colossians 3 and then apply what we learn to verse 16. Herein we are reminded that those in Christ are commanded to let the gospel dwell in them richly because of what Christ has done and who they are because of his work. As we strive to obey this command, we depend on the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.