If you don't toot your own horn, who will? Have you ever heard that before? Let's face it, we really enjoy those moments when good things happen to us. We feel good when we've accomplished something. And with those good experiences, we naturally want to tell others about it. Unfortunately, in the process of telling others, our words can easily turn into, "LOOK AT ME!" We don't have to say those exact words, but it can come across as exalting ourselves.
Along comes social media. These sites are overrun with posts that make the person look really good. And the more “likes” a person gets for what they have said, the better this person feels. But exalting yourself is deceiving and doesn't hang around long. What happens when our next post doesn't get as many “likes”? Then we feel defeated.
Today we're going to talk a little bit about exalting ourselves above God or putting something else before God. Jesus was tempted to exalt Himself in a way that was not right. Of course, Jesus certainly deserves our praise and exaltation, but He would not seek it in a way that was outside of God's plan. As we think about this temptation that Jesus faced, I think we'll discover the joy that comes with making more of God than we do ourselves. Prayer.
****************
If it's one thing we Christians can look forward to, it's living in the presence of Christ in His kingdom for eternity, amen? This Kingdom was actually prophesied and promised centuries before Jesus came to earth.
Isaiah 9:7 – “The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.”
Daniel 7:14 – “He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.”
Let's keep these two passages of Scripture in mind as we look at the third attempt by Satan to tempt Jesus. If we were truthful with ourselves, we would admit that we can be tempted to worship things other than God. The devil had tempted Jesus twice now, but he wasn't finished.
Matthew 4:8-9 – “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”
Let's think about this temptation for a moment. Satan tempted Jesus with something that had already been promised to Him. So, it makes us wonder where is the temptation in that? The temptation came in that Jesus could take the kingdoms of the world at that moment without delay and without the road to the cross that lay ahead of Him. Satan offered Jesus a shortcut: the rule and reign of a kingdom without having to experience suffering.
We know that Jesus's rule over all the kingdoms of the world is a good thing, but to chase after it instead of being obedient to God would have been wrong. So once again, Jesus rejected that offer and responded by citing another truth found in the law recorded in Deuteronomy 6. We'll look at that in a moment.
So, Satan tries to tempt Jesus with the promise of earthly kingdoms and material splendor. Satan does the same thing with us. He is cunning. He offers us good things, even things that are already promised to us, but he tempts us to get them in sinful ways. We see something similar in Jesus's parable of the lost son. The son had an inheritance waiting for him, but out of selfishness, he wanted his father to give it to him immediately.
IDOLATRY
Many times we equate idolatry with worshiping images made of wood or metal, but idolatry happens whenever we place anything ahead of God. We can even make good things idols. When we take something good and place it ahead of God, that is wanting something more than God, and that is the definition of idolatry.
But heads up! Satan is still very much in the business of idolatry today. His goal is to get us to worship anything other than God. He wants us to bow down to these things because he stands behind them. When we bow down to them, we bow down to the devil. It was D. L. Moody who said, "If I walk with the world, I can't walk with God." That is so true. God is asking us to refuse the temptation to worship anyone or anything other than Him. So what does Jesus do?
Matthew 4:10-11 – “Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.”
We need to recognize that idols come in many forms. Let's look at just three good things that God has given us that often get turned into objects of worship and are placed before God.
MONEY
Money is not evil, but the love of money is. For example, the idea of financial security is a good thing. It's good to work hard and put money away for future needs. But if we're not careful, we can put our hopes on financial security instead of fully trusting in God. The next thing will open many eyes this morning.
SEX
Sex is a good gift from God. But God has designed a marriage between one man and one woman to be the only place where sexual desire is to be satisfied. Satan loves to entice us to find sexual satisfaction outside of marriage. When this pursuit of sexual satisfaction leads to sacrificing holiness, relationships, marriages, and family, we've made an idol out of this gift from God.
AUTHORITY
Authority is another good gift from God. He uses authorities to establish order in this world, but when we pursue power to domineer over others and sacrifice their well-being for our own selfish gain, we have taken a good gift and made it a God. Jesus's response to all of these temptations should be ours as well. WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE ONLY HIM.
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 – “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, 11 houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.”
For the Israelites journeying in the wilderness and preparing to enter the promised land, God was about to pour into their lives good things: land, cities, houses, cisterns, vineyards, and olive groves. God's people would enter the promised land and be provided with ready-made facilities - cities, gardens, and homes - in which to live and work. But, when all of these good things were theirs, they would face the danger of resting in these things and losing their reliance and dependence upon the One who provided them.
We are continually tempted to make idols, and this was Israel's ongoing problem. God warned them that when they entered the land and found all the blessings that He promised, they were to be careful not to forget Him.
This is also our temptation. See if you don't agree. We all do it or are tempted to do it. We tend to forget God when life is good. Then, when crisis hits, we tend to turn somewhere else before going to God. Yet, if we'll just remember that God is the one that gave us all the good things, we could avoid the temptation to look to other things for the satisfaction that only He can provide.
See if you don't agree. Troubling times, adversity, and difficulties are not what threatens our walk with God quite like prosperity does. When we get comfortable, we often let our guard down. We can be lulled into complacency. We gradually replace our reliance on God with our reliance on ourselves and what God has provided.
We see it all the time. Someone is trying to get a job. They are at church almost every time the door is open. “Please pray that I get a job!” Then God gets them the job. And we don’t see them nearly as often if at all.
Our loved one is ill and not doing well at all. So you come to church consistently asking God to heal them. Then God miraculously heals them. And we see them no more. It’s pretty much a common thing,
The way to avoid this is to do what Moses called the people to do: remember! Moses reminded the Israelites who God is: He is the Lord, the God who established a covenant with them. He is the one who brought them out of slavery and into freedom. The people were never to forget this.
God is telling us today that we, too, must remember. We must remember all that God has done for us in Christ and all He has provided for our enjoyment and contentment. It was James who wrote, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
Deuteronomy 6:13 – 15 – “Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and obliterate you from the face of the earth.”
Let's talk about this jealousy of God. In last Sunday's children's sermon we talked about how wrong it is for us to be jealous of someone. And yet here Moses describes God as a jealous God. So, our culture typically treats jealousy as a bad thing. And it is when it reflects an envy of others. But jealousy is also a virtue when it comes from a sense of protection over something that is rightfully ours. In that sense, jealousy can be a righteous response. Jealousy in a good way, if you will.
When we accept Christ, we are God’s property. We are His children. When Moses described God as a jealous God, he was describing God's feeling over His people, those who have entered into a relationship with Him. Even though we are continually tempted to turn away from God to pursue idols, God will pursue us. He will not let us go because we are His. And He Wants Satan to have nothing to do with us.
Another way to understand temptation and sin is turning away from God to find satisfaction in something or someone else. This was the temptation Israel would face as they entered the promise land. They would be tempted to chase after the things of the world, the things the pagan nations chased. To avoid this, the people were asked to do three things. We are asked to do these same things:
Fear God
Fear is a natural response when God reveals Himself. Fearing God is how the world feels because they don't have a covenant relationship with Him. For those of us that have this relationship with God, that fear is expressed in worship and submission before Him. It’s a reverent fear.
Worship God
With a fear of the Lord, we recognize God for who He is, and we act accordingly. We are drawn to worship God, who inspires respect because of His greatness and sovereignty.
Take Oaths in God’s Name
Like on the witness stand in court. You raise your right hand and promise, “to tell the truth, the whole truth so help you GOD.” That’s an oath in God’s name. Israel was to base their integrity in God. Only God could guarantee their honesty as they obeyed His word and kept His covenant. It reflected their total reliance upon God.
We are supposed to follow this same pattern. Fear God with a reverent fear. Worship God with all our hearts. Take oaths only in God's name.
Someone once stated that self-sufficiency is the idol of choice in today's church. Self-sufficiency is basically saying, “I can do it myself and leaving God out of the picture. That is what I mean when I say that we are tempted to put ourselves or anything else before God. I can tell you that you will never be fully satisfied with relying on yourself.
Satisfaction never comes from chasing after other things that we think might satisfy us. Idols will never fully measure up to God Himself. They simply can't deliver on all they promise. But God can.
So again, Satan is going to tempt us time and again to think that as long as things are going well, we can put God on the back burner. And many do. God reminds us today to never forget Him and all that He has done, is doing, and will do for us. And that is why we gather to worship Him.
When we live as God calls us to live, we experience our greatest joy. We can say no to the temptation to bow before the things Satan throws at us as we remember this truth. A life spent in worship and exaltation of the One who loves us deeply will always lead us to satisfaction.
Don't be tempted to place anything or anyone, including yourself, before the only One who can truly satisfy.
I can testify that Jesus is all you need. And if you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, I am giving you that opportunity right now. Why not choose Him today?
