The Path Is Already Established (4)
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· 13 viewsPart 4 of a 4 part series how we can walk through the wilderness walking in the footsteps of Jesus
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The Path Is Already Established Part 4
The Path Is Already Established Part 4
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 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.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 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.’ ”
11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
what does it mean to fall down?
prostrate oneself before, bow down. This is the same concept used in
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
and worship?
Bow as an act of allegiance and reverence. This is the same word used in
2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
To give all glory and honor.
What does it mean to worship
Bow as an act of allegiance and reverence.
Away - get thee behind me - is this a sign of power? Is this authority?
Depart from my presence. This is very much a sign of power and authority. He could of used His Godhead power, but he did not. He used the same power that he has given us.
19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve?
the supernatural master over all, your God, worship - bow as an act of allegiance and reverence Him only, worship and serve
Angels came and ministered - what does this mean?
a class of beings created to serve the Lord and also function as a messenger
When you put this all together, the verse looks like this:
At that time, the Christ born of Mary, emphatically states a fact, to him, depart from my presence, Adversary, it is written because the supernatural master who is over all, your God, worship such as bow as an act of allegiance and reverence and Him only, worship and serve. Matthew 4:10
At this time, Adversary leaves Him and LOOK!!, members of the class of created beings that are servants of the Lord and functions also as messengers approached and wait upon the Christ with food and drink. Matthew 4:11
This changes how it looks.
Let’s consider a different kind of allegiance.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
This means we are willing to give our blood, sweat, and tears to the defence of what our flag represents.
Here is a different one:
PLEDGE TO THE CHRISTIAN FLAG I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe.
or what about
PLEDGE TO THE BIBLE I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word, I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.
Would you be willing to give your blood, sweat, and tears to preserve the only light and hope we individually and corporately have?
It is something to think about. What in our lives has our highest allegiance?
We may think this seems a little strong. But let us look back at Jesus Christ. His time in the wilderness and the path He has established for us. We may thing of Jesus as not really understanding what we go through.
Someone may say to us, they understand, about a problem we are going through, but they do not understand at all unless they have walked in our shoes. We may think that Jesus is separated from our struggles, our dreams, and our failures. Yes, He is God and yes He never sinned. But He was tempted in all ways such as us.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
For the first time, Jesus was separated from God the Father. I think this something very hard for us to wrap our minds around. From the time of our birth, we have not seen God. We have learned about Him. We have heard the gospel message and have accepted the gift He offers us. We have allowed the words God inspired to numerous men to write living i different cultures and under different governments to change us and mold us. We are so much the better for it. Jesus has been with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit from the beginning. There is perfect unity between the three.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Now for the first time ever in all of the expanse of eternity, the Son was separated from the Father. Jesus Christ had to use faith to believe everything He had experienced in eons past and everything He had taught the Disciples and the people. It did cost Him blood, sweat , and tears.
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Pledging our Allegiance to the Lord will cost us tears. Numerous tears were shed for you and for me. We shed tears for the lost, those headed for eternity without Christ. We shed tears for a fellow brother or sister in Christ going through a rough time. We are praying for God’s deliverance and a peace that passes all understanding.
I once found myself, as a teenager, feeling complacent and the thought of someone bound for hell did not move me. I knew I needed to feel the heart of God to get my priorities right again. I prayed for this and God granted my prayer request. Be prepared for what you pray for. The deep sadness and despair for the lost came on suddenly and gradually increased until I could bear it no longer. I thought my heart would explode and I asked the Lord to remove it. If we have the mind of Christ, then we are deeply motivated to reach those who have no hope.
Pledging our Allegiance to the Lord will cost us sweat. Anytime we put work into ministry, we will work up sweat. Whether it is preparing and serving a funeral dinner, trunk or treat night, youth outreach, or building projects to make the Lord’s house more beautiful, we will sweat.
Pledging our Allegiance to the Lord may cause us blood. It cost Jesus Christ all of His blood. I pray the Lord takes us home before it comes to that, but it could. Jesus said to count the cost. Is your pledge of allegiance to the Lord worth more than anything? Especially in days like this, we need to make sure our priorities are straight. Do our priorities line up with the Word of God or do they need to changed? Let us commit today that our lives will be an act of worship. True worship. An allegiance and a reverence for the supernatural master and owner of all things who happens to also be the lover of our soul.
Conclusion:
Do you find you have not given God your complete allegiance? Are their things in your life that have creeped up to the top and you want to change that? Well praise God, today is your day. God made it so easy. He did the hard part. It is as simple as A,B,C
A. Acknowledge – Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”
B. Believe – Acts 16:31
“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.’”
C. Confess – Roman’s 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
