LISTEN TO JESUS - WORSHIP ONLY GOD

LISTEN TO JESUS

WORSHIP ONLY GOD

Then saith Jesus unto him,

Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,

and him only shalt thou serve.

Matthew 4:10

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Luke 4:8

Matthew 4:8-9 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Luke 4:5-7 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

Susie: Satan has power (remember it is limited and controlled by God), and he whisked Jesus away to a point high enough to see for miles. Then the devil showed Jesus every nation of the earth, and told Him he could rule over all of it!

Susan: You may be saying, “Wait a minute! Only God has the authority to put a person in that place of power!”

Susie: However, Scripture backs up what Satan claimed here—that God had given him authority over this world, even calling the devil the “prince of this world.”

John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Susie: For now, the whole world is under the curse and lies in the power of Satan (only as far as the Lord allows).

1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

Romans 8:19-22 (NIV) For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Susan: Satan’s condition for giving Jesus all He could see was that He worship him, give him the place reserved for the Father.

Susie: Satan was appealing to the “lust of the eyes,” something ingrained in our fallen nature. A baby’s first words are often “no” followed by “mine!” If they see it, they want it. I remember reading a children’s book titled More, More, More Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams. Our quest for more begins early in life and can only truly be satisfied by a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Susan: The devil was tempting Jesus to forfeit His purpose on behalf of the divine Kingdom and accept the poor substitute of ruling on earth.

Susie: Many of Jesus’s followers thought He should be an earthly king and conquer the Romans, but Jesus knew this was not the Father’s plan, and resisted the temptation to give in to their desires.

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Susie: Jesus again rebuffed Satan by paraphrasing Scripture.

Deuteronomy 6:13-14 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you. . .

Susan: In His replies, Jesus is paralleling His temptation with the wilderness experience of the Israelites, with the difference being that He succeeded in not giving in to the devil where the Israelites had failed.

Susie: We are not to place anything or anyone above the Lord our God. He alone is worthy of worship. We trust Him alone to give us what we need.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

Susan: After Satan had put Jesus through the demonic wringer of temptation and was unsuccessful in his quest to destroy Him, he left Him for a time. God sent His angels to minister to His Son who as a human must have been completely weary and spent.

Susie: There were temptations for Jesus throughout His ministry as crowds continued trying to make Him an earthly King and detractors were always demanding a “sign,” a miracle to prove He was the Messiah.

Susan: Jesus passed every test that Israel had failed.

Susie: He passed every test that we fail in our human frailty. Therefore, He served as the perfect sacrificial Lamb to redeem us from sin.

Susan: Because of Jesus’s death in our place on the cross, and His subsequent resurrection from death, God sees those of us who believe and trust in Him as 100% clean!

Susie: He also promises to enable us to combat temptation:

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Ways we can apply this to our lives:

·     Jesus answered every temptation by quoting scripture. It is the “way of escape” promised to us. The Bible is our sword to fend off temptation.

·     We need to not only read but meditate upon and memorize Scripture.

·     We are to worship only God. No other person or thing should take first place in our lives.