Heart of Worship: 30 Days to Deeper PraiseNäide

It’s Essential Worship and today we are diving right into Matthew 4:10 (ESV):

“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.’””

Over the past few weeks we have been committed to studying different Scriptures on praise & worship - which means that we couldn’t let this series go by without discussing this one. Matthew 4 begins by outlining when Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tested and tempted by Satan.

Before we go any further, we have to be willing to ask - why? Why on earth was Jesus led “by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (4:1 ESV)? Don’t we pray to NOT be led into temptation?

All of these are incredible questions and while we will never fully be able to understand the mystery of God, we do get a small glimpse of why this may be.

The first possibility is to show that Jesus was fully human, “tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). Jesus walked in our shoes and became the perfect example to us, not because He was never tempted, but because He was tempted (like us) and overcame it! The second possibility for the Holy Spirit leading Him into the wilderness was to show us the value of knowing God’s Word for when we are in battle. There are many others that we could dive into but these are the 2 main objectives that people talk of.

I spent some time surveying our co-workers (aka I walked around the office stopping everyone I saw) asking, “What do you think these temptations mean for us today, as humans with wandering hearts?” While all of them had incredible and wildly different insights - one in particular stood out from our friend Turner.

He had just walked into the office for the day when I posed the question and he said, “I think that the 3 temptations from Satan that Jesus comes up against are all examples of when we want the right thing but at the wrong time. Each time, Jesus is faced with a decision to rely on God’s perfect plan or go off-course. In the first temptation, Jesus could have chosen to turn stones into bread and fill His hunger - instead the Bread of Life trusts in the provision of God to come. In the second temptation, Jesus could have jumped off the high place on the temple and had angels come to save Him - instead the One Who Defeated Death trusts in the purpose God has for His life later down the road. In the third temptation, Jesus could have bowed down to Satan and gained the kingdoms of this world - instead He bows to the power of His Father and trusts in the authority to come over heaven and all of earth.

As another one of our co-workers, Darion, broke it down: Provision, Purpose, and Power were all tested in the wilderness. And yet, Jesus chooses to “worship God…only,” thus proving to be our blameless Sacrifice, our more than holy Savior.

Finally, Vanessa reminded me of how Jesus’ work in the wilderness was actively redeeming the work of Adam & Even in the Garden. He does not take power, purpose, or provision for Himself outside of His Father’s will. He waits upon the Lord, listens to His Word, and knows the plan set before Him.

Today, we want to encourage you to sit in this Scripture for a little bit, reading over it and pondering it for yourself (just as we did in the office). Then, take a moment to reflect: which of these tests tempt me the most? Is it the temptation to provide for myself without waiting upon the Lord? Is it the temptation to rush along the plan of the Lord, ignoring what His purpose for your life may be? Or is it the temptation of power, climbing the ladder, and taking authority for yourself, especially when it appears that you could do a better job than the person on top?

Now that you know - can you pause and give worship back onto Him? You weren’t created to serve provision, purpose, or power - but God alone. He is the only One worthy. The only One holy. The only One we must worship. May we all praise Him today.