Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Satan teaches a worship class on Mt. Everest S31e25 Mt4:9

Michael Smith Season 31 Episode 25

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0:00 | 6:32

I’m sorry to say this, but Satan here teaches us how to worship better. Point one, of course, is to have nothing to do with him. Point #2: worship God alone and serve Him.  Point #3 is bow down and hopefully for all of us, to “take a fall” in worship.

Join me to see what sense we can gather in this encounter of Jesus and Satan.

https://youtu.be/M55a7GP4-1M

des of matthew

 

Satan teaches a worship class on Mt. Everest S31e25 Mt4:9

#1 Turn these stones into bread. Skip the humanity, the living a perfect life thru hardship and temptation part. In other words, make yourself unqualified for representing humanity. Without this bearing of physical discomfort, without this enduring of temptation, Jesus would not endure the Cross. No hunger=no cross.

#2 Throw yourself down. Murderous, 15 stories tall. Spiritually Presumptuous. A real relationship with the Father, doesn’t lead to playing fast and loose with the rules of God.  A right relationship with The Father should lead to an INCREASED attention to, and increased affection for the waysand laws of God.

#3 The Mount EVEREST of worship

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 

       “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God 

and him only shall you serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. 

 Let’s look at temptation #3

Place: Mt. Everest: very high mountain. All kingdoms before Him. 

         

         What happens when I see All the glory of all the kingdoms of all the world all at once? – does this lead to worship of Satan?

         He didn’t make the world. He didn’t make the kingdoms nor did he make them glorious—yet Satan betrays his big ask: worship me. How much? A lot: all the way to the FALL DOWN category

Satan takes Jesus to a Mount Everest to betray the Mount Everest of Satan’s desire: to be worshipped.

Imagine the pride, the unbounded sinful ego to want to be worshipped, to think it is right for you to be worshipped. 

Imagine standing before Jesus, who deserves, and will enjoy all appropriate worshiop for all time and telling Him that it is not Jesus who deserves this eternal firehose of praise, but that it is Satan who deserves it…Right to His face.

         Picture the gall, the audacity, the impudence to even make this suggestion.

 

I hope, that in such a gross comparison we respond: 

         This is ridiculous.  It is maddening, to think a finite, sinful, created being boldly comes to the 

mount Everest of places,

with the Mount Everest of the person of Jesus

 to betray his mount Everest of pride, 

to request the mount Everest of worshiop.  Not just average worship: falldown worship.

         Satan didn’t make the real mount Everest

         Satan didn’t make the all the kingdoms of the world

         Satan does have any power to give kingdoms and their glory

                  That is not temporarily allowed by the sovereignty of God

         Satan doesn’t deserve worship because he is a liar, theif, murderer just to name a few

         Satan doesn’t deserve worship in that he stands ON mt. Everest with the Mount Everest of goodness, gentleness, truth, justice, sacrifice, and yet he refuses to see it.

 

This picture is so ridiculously bold as to make a good point:

Here’s the easy answer to Satan, ah….NO. Dt 6:13 ‘You shall worship the Lord your God 

and him only shall you serve.’ ” 

Of course no. that is an easy no, and a hard no. 

But also it is a yes.  Not to Satan, but a YES to God

Of course We should be worshipping. we are made to worship.

We are made to bow down, and like Satan teaches FALL DOWN.

We are made by our Creator to recognize and creatively respond to our Creator: worship, song, poem, melody, 

It is in our DNA. 

         I have come to bow down and HOPEFULLY, if I get a clear dose of HIM, to fall down.

         The pursuit of God leads to bowing down

         The sudden revelation of God could lead to falling down

PRAYER May our bowing down lead to falling down.

May we all take a fall in worship:

         Unexpected, unplanned, unpretty, sudden, upending, overturning and yes toppling worship

 

I’m sorry to say this, but Satan here teaches us how to worship better. Point one, of course is have nothing to do with him. Point two: worship God aloneand serve Him.  Point three is bow down and hopefully for all of us, to “take a fall” in worship.

 

Jesus commands Satan: BE GONE, and he leaves.

What does he leave, after he has left? A Call to the conduct of worship: directed, bowing and hopefully falling.

 

Tomorrow: I hope you “take a fall”