Jesus says: Worship God

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

(Matthew 4:8-11)

“All these things I will give You.”  I wonder what they were.

You know, we are continuously warned that the devil is cunning, because he can deceive us with his lies, but I just realized what else Satan is.

Stupid.

Jesus is the Son of God.  Through Him, the world was made.  Jesus is one with the Father.  Wouldn’t Jesus know that all that was made on earth was nothing compared with the Spiritual richness of God?

It makes me want to say to the devil, “Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

However, this does show how tenacious evil is.  Satan is so wicked, that he uses everything he knows to try to take down Jesus.  And beware, the devil knows how to throw scripture at you, too.  Look at what he pulls with Christ:

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,

‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

(Matthew 4:5-6)

That sneaky devil!  Those words are from Psalm 91:10-12!

Thankfully, the Bible was written by the Lord speaking into man’s spirit.  I firmly believe that.  So, who knows the Bible better than God?  Jesus’ retort to the use of Psalm 91 to tempt Him is:

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”  (Matthew 4:7)

Take that from Deuteronomy 6:16!  SNAP!

If you read Matthew 4:1-11, each time Christ is tempted, He responds with a word from scripture.  He knows it so well, that the devil cannot win.  However, as I said, Satan won’t give up—even after he tries to use Psalm 91 to lure Jesus.

So, the devil tries another tactic. When he brings Jesus to the mountain and offers Him all the riches of this world only if Jesus would choose him over God, Jesus again responds with a truth from scripture, but first He says:

Go away!

Just get away from me, Satan. Get out of here! Go!

Jesus cannot be successfully tempted.  The devil tried, and he failed.  Why did the Father allow this to happen to Jesus in the first place?  As usual, I think God did it for us.  Jesus was God, but He was also human.  His coming to earth offered us a way to understand how to live in our bodies, with all the things that can be thrown at us.  He is the example of how we are supposed to be.

So, when we read about this temptation attempt, we’re supposed to think, “Oh, OK, this is how Jesus handled that situation.  I have to do it the same way.”

Jesus says, “Go away, Satan.  We are supposed to worship and serve God only.”

How do you worship God?  With your whole life and your entire body (Romans 12:1).

Try a “worshipping God self-check”.  Ask yourself if you are doing the following:

• Submitting to God’s authority (knowing He’s the one in charge and in control).
• Praying to God regularly, with all sorts of prayers (thanksgiving and requests for help).
• Studying the scriptures, so you can have knowledge to arm you against what is evil.
• Connecting with other believers, so you can learn from one another, share your love and time, and serve each other, in Christ’s name.
• Praising God in a community (do you have a home church).
• Reaching out to all sorts of people, whether they believe or not, to treat them with the love that Christ showed everyone He encountered.
• Telling the devil, in all his shapes and forms (media, negative messages, worldly possessions), to jump in a fiery lake!

Is anything catching your eye that is distracting you from the Lord?  Are you being seduced by “all these things” in the world?  Are you feeling that if you just serve your ambition, lust, or greed, you’ll be given more?  Well, maybe you will be given more wealth, more sex, and more stuff…

…but you realize that all the things of this life will perish, right?  Nothing you acquire from this world stays after death.  If you choose evil over Good, then nothing is all you will have after you die.  A forever of nothing.  It’s just not worth it.

Jesus says:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  (Matthew 6:19-20)

Treasures in heaven—love, truth, wisdom, mercy, compassion, encouragement, patience, selflessness…everything of His Spirit lasts forever.  Salvation through Jesus Christ lasts forever.  If you believe in Jesus, and accept that He died for you to rescue you from your sins, then you will last forever.  With Him.

“All these things” of this world are just rubbish, compared to all that our Lord is.  He is more than enough for us.  Only He will complete us and quench our spirits.

Lord, we choose You.

Away from us Satan.  We will worship the Lord and serve Him only.