Worship the Lord
I wish to give credit to Dr. S. M Lockridge for the rhetorical and literary devices as well as some ideas and structure of content that I employ in this message.
Our Text today is Matthew 4:8-10:
“8 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; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 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.”
Our theme today that is tucked away in Matthew 4:10, says: “Thou shalt worship the Lord”
Like the vast majority of the world, I watched the horrifying scenes of the chaotic events of Wednesday January 06, 2021 unfold at the US Capitol. These disturbing scenes are reminiscent of the heart-breaking words of the prophet Isaiah “Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; … truth is fallen in the street, …” (Isaiah 59:14). These scenes remind me of the sad commentary of Judges 21:25 KJV - In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
However, this issue is neither unique nor novel. It is sad but not unexpected. It is traumatic but not unprecedented. It would be hypocritical to not see that there are events of history that have positioned this nation for this depth of international humiliation and global ridicule. Is this the city on the hill? Is this the light on the candlestick? Is this the beacon of modern democracy? Is this the law and constitution driven societal mecca, to be emulated by all who live within its shadow? Is this the house built for righteousness that pledges allegiance as one nation under God? Is this the nation that has sent its military might to every part of the globe to enforce democracy? Is this that country? Is this the United States of America? And I must answer yes. So, let me speak the truth and speak it loud and clear. Truth is fallen in the street! Yes, America was established for freedom of ideas, freedom of religion, freedom of worship, freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness. But let us not forget that the freedom claimed by some, was at the expense of the armed robbery and enslavement of others, namely the Native Americans, the African Americans, Asians, Latinos and many poor White Americans, whose blood drench this soil. Let us not forget that the American War of Independence, was primarily beneficial to a ruling Plantocracy, and remember that without the help of France, England would have prevailed, and the Planter class would have failed. Had the Planter Class, now called the founding fathers, failed, historians would not call them patriarchs, but they would go down in history as terrorists. Nevertheless, God in His infinite mercy allowed the rise of the United States of America and America has prodded along. America has lived through the war of 1812, the bloody Civil War, the assassination of Lincoln, the founding of the Ku Klux Klan, legal or de jure segregation, two World Wars, a War in Korea, the assassination of Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the Nixon impeachment, two Gulf Wars, 911, the rise of ultra-liberalism, the election of the first non-white president, Barack Obama, the emergence of ultra-conservatism, the election of Donald Trump, white nationalism, black lives matter, proud boys, neo-nazis, skin heads, aryan nation and covid 19, yet through thick and thin, we have soldiered on. But, on Wednesday the line was crossed when “truth fell in the street.” It seemed like everything that was held near and dear to the hearts of Americans was dissolving before our very eyes. Even the church in America was stunned by the dissolving of what was once the bedrock of civility and stability of the entire world. Therefore, like the apostle Peter we now question, saying: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be…? 2 Peter 3:11 (KJV). In other words, what kind of man or woman should we be for the future to prepare for our Lord’s return. Accordingly, I wish to submit to you that to be the people God wants us to be for the future in this nation, the believer must do two things,
(1) Take our eyes off man and
(2) Put our eyes on the Lord.
It is time to say to the devil, like Jesus said to him, “Get away from here, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” I say to the United States of America in General and to the American Church in particular, “come home, come back to the arms of our heavenly Father, come back to the holiness of our holy fathers and mothers.
You have wondered around in the world of materialism, secularism, hypocrisy, exploitation and oppression of the weak for far too long. Come home, America…. In the words of Will L Thompson, I urge you America: “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me, see at the portals He’s watching and waiting, calling O sinner, Come home.” Come home to the Lord. I’m not just saying to come back to church, I am saying Come back to the LORD! Come back to the Lord, …. Like Jesus said to satan, “It is written, you must Worship the Lord.” Notice, He is not a Lord, but the Lord! There are many lords, but Jesus Christ is the Lord. Worship the Lord because:
1. He is the Lord of the angels:
He created the angels, that “innumerable company of body-less spirits” (Hebrews 1:13-14), called angels. He is the Lord of them all (Hebrews 12:22). He is the Lord of the warrior cherubim, Lord of the ‘Holy, holy, holy’ seraphim, and Lord of the forever-worshiping, four-faced “living creatures.” (Revelation 4:8) He is the Lord of the archangel Michael and of the messenger angel Gabriel. He is the Lord of the unmarried, very powerful, exemplary, ministering, God obeying, God glorifying angels. He is the Lord of the angels. I say, “He is the Lord.”
2. He is the Lord of the Creation—because He is the owner…
Ranchers put brands on their cattle to register ownership.
Artists sign their paintings for people to identify the painter.
Scholars, songwriters and musicians copyright their works.
Inventors patent their products, car owners have titles, and landowners have deeds, heirs have wills, bank account owners have signatures on their checks and pins for their cards, homeowners have keys and alarm codes to prove their ownership.
Humans make claims to everything on the planet, when in fact we own nothing. Job said it like this, “naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked will I return…”
We own nothing, but THE Lord owns everything.
Hear the words of the Psalmist, PSALMS 24:1 KJV "The earth is the Lords, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
John 1:3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
If you look, you will see that the Lord has marked everything, because He is the owner.
His divine inscription is on the alabaster beams of the morning sunrise, and the bursting orange rays of the evening sunset, because He is the owner. He is the Lord. His holy autograph is on every fluffy white cloud, and His unique signature is etched across the expansive, extensive, beautiful, blue skies, because He is the owner you know. Psalm 19:1 explains it in this way: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” He has a marker on every corner and crevice of every constellation, every solar system, every galaxy, of every Universe, because He is the owner. Every star is unique and patented, every planet is an original that reveals His artistic brush strokes, because He is the owner. He is the Lord of the Universe.
His divine imprint is on every grain of sand, on every snowflake and on the configuration of every raindrop, because He is the owner. He filled the Atlantic and the Pacific and He could drain them at any time, because He is the owner. The Lord raised up the mountains, scooped out the valleys, channeled the rivers and rolled out the plains because, He is the owner. He is the Lord. His tears are raindrops and His smiles are rainbows, yes, He is the owner. He is the Lord of planet earth.
He is the painter of the lilies, the sculptor of the roses, the shaper of the shrubs. He planted the 280 feet tall giant sequoia tree and the rice grain size Wolffia plant, because He is the owner. He is the Lord of the plant kingdom.
He holds the copyrights to the symphonies, scores, songs, lyrics, melodies and harmonies that the birds sing, because, He is the owner… He is the Lord.
On His divine hard-drives, which by the way, are un-hackable by all the hackers combined, He has the unique schematics for the stripes on every zebra, the spots on every cheater and on every leopard, the unique random patterns on every giraffe, because He is the owner, He is the Lord, you know. He designed the mane for the lion, the stripes for the tiger, the trunk for the elephant, the black and white coat for the panda, the happy feet for the penguin, and the cozy pouch for the baby kangaroo, because He is the owner. He fashioned the feathery plumes of the peacock, He formed the robust wings of the eagle, He built and attached the gills and fins to the fishes, He structured the spiny tails of the stingray, and the tentacles of the octopus, because He is the owner. He is the Lord of the animal kingdom.
Then, He said in Genesis 1:26, 27 “…Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: … So, God created man in His own image, … male and female created He them.” He holds divine utility and design patents on the human anatomy, and no one can dispute it, because He is the owner. Every human cell is imprinted with His DNA signature, because He breathed the breath of lives into humanity. He is the owner. His divine patents are for the 206 bones of the human skeletal system, the 25 feet of intestines of the digestive system, the 62,000 miles of blood vessels of the circulatory system, the more than 90,000 miles of sensations of the nervous system, the brain, the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the eyes, the ears, the hands, the feet and the skin, He holds the patents because He is the owner. Yes, He is the Lord of all humanity. He is the sovereign master who exercises full rights over all of creation because, He is the owner. He is the Lord of the Universes, the Lord of planet earth, the Lord of the plant kingdom, the Lord of the animal kingdom and the Lord of humanity. He is the Lord! He is the Lord of the winds and the waves, He calmed the raging sea with three words, “peace, be still.” He is the Lord of the elements, He introduced water to His power, and it became wine.
He is the Lord that provides, He directed His word to five loaves and two fishes and made a banquet for 5,000 people.
He is the Lord over sickness and diseases, ask Bartimaeus and he would say He is the Lord of seeing. Ask the leper and he would say He is the Lord of cleansing. Ask the deaf man and he would say He is the Lord of hearing. Ask the dumb man and He would say, He is the Lord of talking. Ask the lame and he would say, He is the Lord of walking.
So, Worship the Lord, America. Give up your idols and Worship the Lord. I say to the American church, end the worship of politicians and celebrities, money and even church. Worship the Lord. End the idolatry, and in the words of Joshua, say “… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)
1 Chronicles 16:29 and 31
29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; … Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. … 31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!” Worship the Lord.
Exodus 20:2-5
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, … Worship the Lord.
John 4:24
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” Worship the Lord.
Psalm 99:9
9 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy. Worship the Lord.
Hebrews 12:28-29
28 … worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.” Worship the Lord.
Revelation 14:7
7 …. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” Worship the Lord.
Because when you worship the Lord, you will be able to sing, “He brought me out of the miry clay.”
You will be able to sing, “It is Jesus, oh it is Jesus, it is Jesus in my soul, for I have touched the hem of His garment and His blood has made me whole.”
When you worship the Lord you will be able to sing “Way-maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keep, Light in the darkness, that is who You are…. That is who you are….” Worship the Lord.
In closing let me repeat
Let us: (1) Take our eyes off man and (2) Put our eyes on the Lord.
