Transcription downloaded from https://sermonarchive.gfcbremen.com/sermons/100780/who-do-you-worship/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Matthew 4, verses 1 to 11. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

[0:12] ! After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

[0:26] Jesus answered, It is written, Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

[0:38] Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down.

[0:50] For it is written, He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

[1:02] Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

[1:18] All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan, for it is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.

[1:37] Then the devil left him and angels came and attended him. I am going to give you a list of items this morning.

[1:51] And I want you to see if you can determine what they all have in common. The things are friends, money, fun, sleep, vacation, work, your wife, your children, your husband, video games, God, sports, sex, approval, power, food, movies, popularity, Satan, cars, celebrities, clothes, clothes, books, TV, exercise, your house, your body, your church, strength, skill, influence, love, prosperity.

[3:03] And we could keep going. And there may be more than one thing that these have in common, but I'm thinking of something in particular this morning. And you all can tell me later if you thought of what I'm thinking of.

[3:19] All of these things are potential objects of worship. They're capable of receiving your supreme adoration and attention. But in that list, there was only one who is worthy of your worship.

[3:32] And that is God. We've already heard this morning how we are to be His worshipers. And He is the only one who is worthy of that worship.

[3:43] God alone is to be worshipped and praised forever. And surely we know this. We say it when we recite the Ten Commandments together. Say the first commandment together with me. You shall have no other gods besides me.

[3:58] No other gods besides me. And it's God speaking. Which means that He is the only God. Which means He is the only one, the only thing that is to be worshipped.

[4:10] And surely many here would say, I don't have any other gods besides God. I don't have a shrine at home to marry. I don't bow down and worship my money or anything else.

[4:22] I worship only God. And that is good. And I hope and trust that it is true for many here today. But what would an outside observer say looking at your life?

[4:33] Well, sure, he goes to church on Sunday where they worship God. Or at least they go through the motions of worshipping God. But it seems to me that there are other things that are much more important to him or to her.

[4:48] Things that occupy more of his affection and time and attention than God does. It looks to me like his God is his hobby. He's always exercising. He's always golfing.

[4:59] She's always scrapbooking. Those things take up all of their time and it's all they talk about. And if I had to guess, it doesn't look to me like he worships only God.

[5:11] It looks like he's got other gods. And maybe some that are even more important than the true God. Or maybe some of you here freely admit that you don't worship God.

[5:23] You don't love him. You don't trust him. You've rejected his message. And so you find no reason to worship him either. You're glad to say that there are other things in your life that are more important to you than God.

[5:37] Regardless of where you stand today, Jesus has something to say to you and to me. Those who believe you're worshipers of God today, we need to be encouraged in our present course.

[5:49] We need to examine ourselves to see if what we believe to be true is indeed true. Are you a worshiper of God? Because that is what Jesus says. Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.

[6:03] And those who admit you're not a worshiper of God, you need to see the danger of your present state. Look at the fate of those who don't worship God this morning. There's great danger in serving any master other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[6:17] And so may we each see that danger today and be warned, be encouraged to worship God and to worship him alone. Who do you worship? To consider that question, we want to consider three things this morning.

[6:31] Temptation, truth, and triumph. Of course, we've just read from the temptation of Jesus. And we're going to focus in particular on this temptation to worship something or someone other than God.

[6:43] And then we'll see the truth which Jesus answers that temptation. And then the triumph of Christ over the devil. So we begin with temptation this morning. Our Lord is being tempted by the devil.

[6:54] He's been led into the wilderness there by the Spirit. And he's fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. And he's hungry at the end of that time. And it's then that Satan comes to him and tempts him to turn stones into bread.

[7:07] Tempts him to test his God and Father. And here at the end, tempts Jesus to worship someone besides God. To worship himself.

[7:17] To worship Satan. And you notice, first of all, the source of the temptation, it's the devil. He's shrewd. He's evil. He seeks to throw the most difficult of temptations our way. At the most difficult times for us.

[7:30] He wants to ensure himself the greatest chance of success. In getting us to sin. To turn astray. He wants to win us over to his side.

[7:41] And so he'll do whatever it takes. Notice some of his tactics in tempting Jesus. He meets him at his weakest point. It's when he's hungry. That he says, just take the stones and turn them to bread.

[7:55] It's when he's in a state of physical weakness. And exhaustion. That he brings these temptations. And so it will be with us. He'll come when we are at our lowest at times.

[8:08] Tempting us to doubt our Lord. The question is goodness. Is he really good? If he was, why are you so low at this moment in your life? Maybe we do. We take the bait.

[8:18] And we begin to doubt. And we begin to question. Another time when we're vulnerable, it seems, is when we're at our best. Things are going well. We're on a mountaintop, spiritually speaking.

[8:30] And we begin to become self-sufficient and satisfied that our walk with the Lord is good. And we're okay. And he comes and he tempts us to self-righteousness. And to pride.

[8:43] And to self-dependence. When we think nothing can touch us. And we take the bait. And fall into those sins. He gets us when we're least expecting it.

[8:55] When we're least able to put up any sort of resistance to it. Since we're considering worship, he meets us at another weak point.

[9:05] He comes with some legitimate pleasure that you enjoy. Something that's good and fine in and of itself. But slowly encourages you to allow that thing to become more and more and more important in your life.

[9:20] Until suddenly you wake up one day and you realize that it has become the most important thing in your life. More significant to you even than God himself. And you find that you're no longer worshiping the one true and living God.

[9:35] You see it doesn't have to be a full out frontal assault as it here is with Jesus. An all or nothing proposition. Worship me. You can have all these kingdoms of the world.

[9:47] It might take that form. But Satan is often much more subtle. Are you ready for that sort of temptation? The kind that comes when you least expect it. When you are at your lowest. Your weakest.

[9:58] Your most vulnerable. We must be ready. The source of the temptation is the devil. We want to see as well the nature of this temptation. Here it's putting something before the one true and living God.

[10:14] Worshiping something besides God. Worship me, says Satan. He doesn't want us to worship God. And when he tempted Jesus, he showed him all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Jesus.

[10:28] If only he would worship at Satan's feet. He takes those potential pleasures. All the kingdoms of the world. Power. He holds power before. Before the Lord of all.

[10:40] Foolish tactic here. Jesus isn't going to be one with such a thing. But he will win us over. Who are less prepared. He will win us over with things that are appealing to us.

[10:54] Holding the pleasure before us and hiding the pain. And you notice that Satan doesn't remind Jesus that if you worship me, that's going to be contrary to God's law. And contrary to your own divine mission.

[11:05] To your divine nature. He doesn't tell him any of those things. He doesn't tell him the bad. He only tells him the good. And that's what he'll do with you. For the fish, it's the big, juicy night crawler.

[11:18] And such a thing as we find it hard that that would be appealing. But apparently to fish it is. I don't know. But underneath that big, juicy, fat worm is a hard, cold, steel hook.

[11:34] And the point is to deceive the fish. So that he takes the bait and then he's hooked and he's pulled out of the water to his death. And so it is with temptation. It might not be a blatant word asking you to worship Satan.

[11:46] But isn't that what he ultimately wants? He wants you to worship him? To follow him? Isn't that what led to his downfall in the first place? Wanting to be in the place of God?

[11:58] Wanting to worship the power that he received? And so he and his followers cast out of heaven. And guess what? Satan still wants that worship. He still wants you to follow him. And not God.

[12:10] And so when he's dangling temptations before you, it's not just a temptation to that particular thing. He wants you to worship him. He wants you to follow after him. And he'll do anything to get you to do it, including destroying your soul in the process.

[12:27] And so Satan comes to you with a temptation to put something before God. Not a temptation to Satan worship. He's not that obvious, but it pulls you away from your worship to God.

[12:38] It fixes your attention on some other object. And then you are serving Satan and not God. That's his subtlety. If somebody came to you and said, do you want to participate in Satan worship?

[12:49] Likely, I hope everybody here would say no. And you think of animal sacrifices and all these things. No, I'm not going to do Satan worship. You can't tempt me with that. But that's not what Satan's going to do.

[13:00] He's going to come to you with something that you love. Something that you enjoy. And he's going to start quietly stirring your affections, we'll say this morning, for money. It begins innocently enough.

[13:12] There's nothing wrong with money. In fact, it's something we must have to live and survive in this world. And that's where your thought process begins. And so it starts with a legitimate desire to provide for yourself and your family.

[13:23] I need money to be able to do that. But soon you're convinced that your family needs the very best of everything. The biggest and the best.

[13:34] TVs and the best cell phones and service and texting plans. And the biggest houses and the nicest cars. And everything that money can buy. And quietly, money has become very important to you.

[13:47] There's nothing wrong with providing for your family and providing well for them. But all of a sudden, you're using that as an excuse to spend foolishly and to get things that you don't need.

[13:59] It could be even said that you love money now and what it can buy. And then you begin to think that your family not only needs the best of everything, but they need everything. And they need more than everybody else.

[14:13] So that it's the best. And you begin to think about that money that you give to the church. And is that really doing any good? And there's other things that I probably don't need, but it would be nice.

[14:24] And it's for my family. I need to provide for them. And so giving to the church falls off. And as your love for money grows, Satan is failing to remind you.

[14:36] He doesn't want you to turn over to 1 Timothy 6. And read verse 10 where you find that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. He's not going to remind you of that when he's dangling it out there before you.

[14:51] And then there's the rest of the verse that we never remember to quote. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith. Satan's certainly not going to remind you of that.

[15:04] And then they've wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. He doesn't want you to know about that.

[15:16] And you say, well, I haven't been pierced with any grief yet. I haven't felt the hook yet. And so I'm going to keep chewing on the worm. Money's brought me good and pleasure. And you don't see it, but you've been deceived.

[15:27] The worm of the money has hidden the hook of the devil. And you're now a slave to your need for money and what it can buy. And money is now more important to you than God himself. It's become your God, the object of your worship.

[15:40] And Satan has you now in his grasp. Not worshiping God, but worshiping the almighty dollar. And in this way, you prove yourself a servant of Satan.

[15:50] A child of the devil because he's turned you away from God to follow after him. Started innocently enough. But Satan's warped your good desire. And he's led you away from God's subtle temptation.

[16:03] Let's think how this will work with a couple other examples. We've talked about money. You're sitting here, I don't have a problem with money. I don't have any to have a problem with. And so that's not my hang up. That's not the temptation the devil holds before me.

[16:17] Let's consider a couple other examples and see how Satan twists legitimate pleasures to lead you away from worshiping God to following himself. Let's consider popularity.

[16:31] That too begins innocently enough. The Bible tells us that friends are a good thing. Even a gift from God and speaks of the blessings of a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And so you set out at the beginning to make good friends and to be a good friend.

[16:46] You want people to like you. And that's how it begins. With friendship. And you think maybe if they like you more, they'll be more likely to listen to you. So you're going to develop a relationship with them.

[16:57] And then speak to them about Jesus. And invite them to church. And as you grow in that friendship, you become more and more attached to that affection and that attention and that love that they give to you.

[17:10] And you enjoy it so much that you begin to think, if I tell them about Jesus or invite them to church, that might damage our friendship.

[17:21] They might be turned off by that. And I might lose that affection and that desire that they've been giving me. And I don't want to lose it. And I don't want to jeopardize our friendship. And so I'm going to keep my mouth shut when it comes to those things.

[17:34] And even as you begin to hear them taking the Lord's name in vain and abusing His name and speaking ill of others and gossiping, telling all sorts of dirty stories, you don't say anything.

[17:51] You don't want to call them on it because they might be upset with you. And then you'd lose that friend and you'd lose that affection. And so you keep your mouth shut. And not only this, you begin to enter into it.

[18:03] You begin participating in the way they talk, the things they do, the places they go. Because if you don't, again, you might lose that friendship, that popularity that you're beginning to enjoy with so many people.

[18:14] And so the opinions of your friends begin to control you. That's what we've been learning about in Sunday school, in the adult class. Pleasing people. And you find out that they think it's silly that you go to church.

[18:27] So you begin to slack in your attendance. They think it's foolish that anybody would listen to the Bible. And so that drops off. Prayer is pointless because God doesn't hear or answer it.

[18:40] So they say, and that begins to wane as well. And God is no longer the object of worship. You're a servant to the opinion and the favor of your friends.

[18:50] And Satan is smiling. You're no longer worshiping God alone. You're worshiping the devil. You're being deceived. Not a people pleaser.

[19:02] I can see how that would bother some people. But that's not a particular temptation. That's not going to be an idol in my life. Let's consider one third thing. And you can dodge all of these.

[19:13] Not money. Not people pleaser. And we're going to talk about sex for a moment here. That's not my hang up. Take any one of the things from the list at the beginning. The big long list.

[19:24] Or anything else. And put it in here. And see for yourself how Satan might begin to deceive you. Start with a legitimate pleasure. And then turn you astray to follow after him.

[19:35] Sexual desire to take up a third example. Is a God given desire. A good one. That's to be fulfilled only within the bonds of marriage.

[19:47] And you plan on keeping that way. But you do need to know something about it before you get married. And the talk with your parents didn't really clear up very much.

[20:00] And so you begin to think. Oh. Some AIDS. Some visual AIDS. I just need to know what it's about. I need to understand it. And so begins an enslavement to pornography. Or maybe it's the actual physical contact.

[20:14] With your significant other. With a boyfriend or girlfriend. It starts with innocent holding hands. But the physical touch makes you want more. And so it progresses to kissing.

[20:25] And then more passionate kissing. And more intimate touching. Until you've lost the innocence. The virginity that the Lord has given you. And you've forgotten the part about sexual desires being fulfilled only within the bonds of marriage.

[20:39] And that desire to you has become more important than God Himself. Isn't any time we break off. We're showing that our sin. Our desires are more important to us than what God wants.

[20:51] Or maybe it's not a single young person. Maybe it's somebody within the bonds of marriage already. With a married person. That becomes enslaved to these things. And fulfills these desires in a sinful and twisted and perverted way.

[21:04] You see it's Satan at work tempting you. Not just to sin and break the seventh commandment. But to break the first commandment. Something has become more important to you.

[21:15] Than God Himself. Serving Him only. And we could go on and on to show how Satan tempts. And how we succumb to the dangers of worshiping idols. Allowing things like your body or your children or video games to supplant God on the throne.

[21:29] It's insidious. It's destructive. Satan holds out that reward. But we're going to see the truth today. That there's no real reward. For disobeying God.

[21:42] For worshiping someone besides Him. There's only judgment. You say, well. I think I'm above all that. I'm stronger than that. Then pride goes before a fall.

[21:56] These are strong temptations. We've seen it in the nature of them. They're strong because they appeal to our desires. Because they're deceitful. They dissemble. They turn our eyes aside from the truth.

[22:07] And lead us down a path that seems okay. But in the end proves deadly. They're strong because they appeal to our sinful nature. If you're not saved, you're glad to indulge your sin and reject God.

[22:19] The temptation to worship something else is strong for you. Because you're already rejecting God. And you're glad to give in. Those who profess faith in Christ, these things are still attractive to us, sadly.

[22:34] There's enough of our remaining sin in us that finds what the world holds out before us is attractive. What Satan holds out before us is attractive. And so our remnants of sin within us make these temptations strong.

[22:48] The world in its pleasure still draw our affection. And so we must then always be on our guard. Always ready to thwart the enemy's attack. We must not be blind and naive.

[22:59] Thinking that we're not vulnerable. That we're not going to be seduced by the pleasures of the world. Take heed, you who think you stand, lest you fall. There's the temptation. Jesus was tempted to worship something or someone, Satan himself, besides God.

[23:14] And that's what temptations are to you. To put something on the throne besides God. To worship someone else. But it doesn't end there, does it?

[23:24] It doesn't stop with the temptation. There's something more. There's truth. And that's the second thing we want to see. When tempted, Jesus was ready with an answer of truth.

[23:36] The source of that truth was, of course, God's own word. As the temptation came from Satan, truth comes from God. Who stands opposed to Satan in all things.

[23:48] And we know that the father of lies is no match for the God of truth. And at each temptation, Jesus answered the devil with Scripture. With God's truth. And that's our weapon.

[23:59] Our ally. In the battle against the devil in his arsenal. It's our sword with which we slay those temptations. As they come. It stands written. That's the import of what Jesus says.

[24:10] It stands written. It is established. It is not going anywhere. The truth of God was true yesterday when it was spoken. And today when Jesus quotes it. And it will be true. Until Jesus comes again.

[24:21] And forever. And so it stands written, says Jesus. You cannot move me from the truth. Because it is the truth. It is what God has said. And it's not going anywhere.

[24:32] The word of God is powerful. It's living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword. And so when Satan comes with his temptations. You say. It stands written.

[24:44] You bring the truth to that temptation. And the truth with which Jesus answers the devil. Is that God alone is to be worshipped. He says. Here's all the kingdoms of the world.

[24:55] You can have all of these if you'll bow down at my feet. And Jesus says. Get away from me Satan. Be gone. For it is written. It stands written. It is established. And he quotes Deuteronomy 6.

[25:07] In verse 13. Where we read. Fear the Lord your God. Serve him only. And take your oaths in his name. For Jesus. The thought of worshipping someone other than God.

[25:19] Was absurd. Because it was contrary to the truth of God's own word. Jesus wasn't confused. He didn't think. Well maybe. Maybe my mother Mary.

[25:30] Should be worshipped. She's a good and godly woman. Or maybe some of these great saints and prophets. That have gone before us. Maybe we should worship them. And serve them. Or maybe we should worship and serve something created.

[25:42] Instead of the one who created them. Or maybe. Maybe we should worship Satan. Since he's given me this great offer. Of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus isn't. Foolish.

[25:53] He's not deceived. For Jesus. It was simple. Worship and service belong only to God. And that means. They don't belong to anyone else. We are.

[26:03] His. Worshippers. And scripture bears this out. True. Legitimate. Worship. Is going. In the scriptures.

[26:13] Is offered to God. And to his son. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever it's offered to men. Or to angels. It's declined. With Peter. He turns in the center. I'm a man like you.

[26:24] And when John falls at the feet of the angel. In the book of Revelation. To worship him. The angel says. Don't do it. I'm a fellow servant. With you. A servant of God. A fellow servant.

[26:34] With you. And with your brothers. The prophets. And of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God. That was the angel's response. When John fell at his feet. Worship God.

[26:46] It's a no brainer. And the guy that did accept worship. When people shouted the voice of a God. And not of a man. What happened to him? He's eaten by worms. He died.

[26:57] It's clear in the pages of scripture. That worship is to be given to God alone. The scriptures bear this out. And we know it from our life. That God is the only one worthy of worship.

[27:11] For all of the time. And attention. And effort. We pour into our idols. That occupy our hearts. They do nothing for us. Nothing lasting. But not so.

[27:23] With the only worthy object. Of our worship. God is glorious. He is the creator. Who made us. And the sustainer. Who upholds us.

[27:34] And all that he's created. He is the one who providentially rules over all things. Bringing them all to pass according to his plan. He protects us. He provides for us. In our time of need.

[27:45] He comforts us. During our grief. And our mourning. He counsels us in our confusion. He strengthens us in our weakness. He forgives our sins through Christ.

[27:55] He's going to bring us safely home. He is an awesome. A powerful. A mighty. A great God. God. Why would we worship anyone else. Or anything else. He is worthy.

[28:07] Why would that bait. That Satan holds out. Even look attractive to us. In the glorious light. Of who God is. Sing a hymn sometimes. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face.

[28:19] And the things of earth. Will grow strangely dim. In the light of his glory. And grace. And that's how it should be. When we look to our glorious God and Father. His Son and the Holy Spirit.

[28:30] We should be so. Consumed with him. So grateful for him. So. In awe of what he has done for us. That we can't help but worship. Only him. And nothing else. And when Satan holds those things out.

[28:42] That pales in comparison to my God. And so I will not worship it. It is written. It stands written. Worship God.

[28:53] And him alone. And for us. We found that there is great blessing. In worshiping God.

[29:04] Haven't you found that to be true? Hasn't God met you in worship. And blessed your soul. Speaks to you. And his word. As you worship. Gives us just the word we need.

[29:15] At the right time. What a blessing it is. To worship God together. Encourages our hearts. As we sing his praise. As we seek to live a life.

[29:27] Of service and obedience. And thus a whole life. Of worship. You know worship isn't confined. To the four walls of this building. Our whole lives are to be a life. An offering. A sacrifice to him.

[29:37] And in that we find great reward. We found it to be true here on this earth. And we will find it in glory as well. There is blessing in worshiping God. He is going to bring us safely home.

[29:48] Where we will worship him. In glory. The scenes painted for us of heaven. Are often of worship. Imagine this. Then I looked.

[29:58] And heard the voice of many angels. Numbering thousands upon thousands. And ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircle the throne. And the living creatures.

[30:09] And the elders. In a loud voice. They sing. Worthy. Is the land. Who was slain. To receive power. And wealth. And wisdom. And strength.

[30:19] And honor. And glory. And praise. Then I heard every creature. In heaven. And on earth. And under the earth. And on the sea. And all that is in them. Singing to him. Who sits on the throne. And to the lamb.

[30:30] Be praise. And honor. And glory. And power. Forever. And ever. The four living creatures said amen. And the elders fell down. And worship. We will spend eternity.

[30:41] In worship of our great God. There is blessing in it. What a thing to anticipate. Worshiping our God. Together with all of his people. Throughout history. And throughout the world. There is blessing in worship.

[30:52] But the flip side of that. Is that there is great danger. In not worshiping God. There is great danger. In worshiping anything. But. The one true.

[31:03] And living God. Just after the verse. That Jesus quotes. Deuteronomy 6. 13. He says. Worship the Lord your God. And serve him only. The next two verses. Read like this. Do not follow other gods.

[31:16] The gods of the people around you. For the Lord your God. Who is among you. Is a jealous God. And his anger. Will burn against you. And he will destroy you.

[31:27] From the face of the land. God is a jealous God. And when you give your worship. To another. He is angry.

[31:40] His anger will burn against you. And for the Israelites. They would be banished. From the land. That warning holds for us. Similar.

[31:50] If you don't worship the Lord. You won't inherit the glorious. Land. The new heavens. The new earth. That await us in glory. In fact. Quite the opposite. You'll spend eternity. With the one.

[32:00] Who deceived you. In the first place. You'll be cast. Into the same. Lake of fire. That's reserved. For the devil. And his angels. His demons. Revelation.

[32:11] Just as it gives us. Glorious glimpses. Of heaven. It gives us. Terrifying pictures. Of hell. A place. For those. Who don't worship God. A third angel. Followed them. And said.

[32:22] In a loud voice. If anyone. Worships. The beast. And his image. And receives his mark. On the forehead. Or on the hand. He too. Will drink. Of the wine. Of God's fury. Which has been poured.

[32:33] Full strength. Into the cup. Of his wrath. He will be tormented. With burning sulfur. In the presence. Of the holy angels. And of the land. And the smoke. Of their torment. Rises. Forever.

[32:44] And ever. For all. Who worship. The beast. For all. Who follow. Satan. For all. Who worship. The idols. That he dangles. Before you. There is. An eternity.

[32:56] Of judgment. An eternity. Of punishment. Awaiting. If you continue.

[33:06] In that path. Those of you. That are worshiping. Something besides. God. This day. It will land you. In hell. Fire. Forever. May God. Preserve us. From such. May he make us. To be. His worshipers.

[33:17] Because this is. The truth. Of God's word. So the question is. Who are you. Worshipping. Or what. Are you. Worshipping. If this is the truth. And it is.

[33:29] It is God's word. It stands written. If you find yourself. Here today. In God's house. On God's day. To worship him. And it's not just.

[33:40] A Sunday thing. For you. Or a thing. Of the motions. For you. It's the pattern. Of your life. God is the most. Important thing. To you. He's worthy. And that. An object. Of your praise. If that's the case. For you. Praise God.

[33:51] Praise God. That he has made you. A servant. That he has made you. To be his worshiper. That follows you. Or. Who worships him. In spirit. And in truth. But if.

[34:02] In honesty. Before God. This day. You have to say. There's other things. That occupy. A higher place. In your heart. Than God. Something that you worship. Besides him. Than you're living.

[34:14] In a dangerous place. But you can pray to God. Right now. For forgiveness. And he will forgive you. For your sins. Of not worshiping. The one true. Living God.

[34:24] He will forgive you. For all your sins. And set you on the path. To life. And he will set you. On the path. Of worshiping him. You can find forgiveness. This day.

[34:35] And the reason. You can find that. Is because of the third thing. We want to consider. This morning. That is the triumph. We've seen the temptation. We've seen. The truth. Of God's word. And now.

[34:46] Triumph. We want to. Notice here. In the last place. This morning. That Jesus is much more. Than just an example. Of how to resist temptation. He is that. And he does help us.

[34:58] In that. But he's much more. Than just an example. To us. Of how to ward off the devil. When he comes. With his temptations. Do you remember Adam? Do you remember.

[35:09] That there was somebody else. That was. Tempted. By Satan himself. Our first father. Our first representative. Our first head. Adam. Failed. In the garden of Eden.

[35:20] To resist that temptation. Satan came. Knocking. And Adam and Eve. Gave in. They didn't resist. That temptation. They fell. And Adam was our. Representative. And so.

[35:31] When Adam fell into sin. We all fell into sin. And so. Since Adam. Every one of his descendants. And that's all of you here today. And me. And everyone. That's ever lived. Have been born in sin.

[35:41] Born with a sinful nature. Because he's our. Representative. He failed. When he encountered. The temptation of Satan. And so by nature.

[35:52] We are all sinful. And so by nature. All averse. To worshiping God. We're born with a heart. That doesn't want to worship him. And serve him alone. You say. That's not very triumphant.

[36:03] Where's the triumph? Well. God didn't stop with Adam. Did he? He sent us. The second Adam. As he's called. In 1st Corinthians.

[36:14] 1545. He sent us. A second. Representative. Head. In Christ. And this representative. Didn't fail. When Satan. Came to him. He resisted. He sent Satan away from him.

[36:25] In defeat. Empty handed. And he continued. Through his life. To obey. And worship only his father. And then at the cross. He dealt the death blow. To Satan. The tempter. He triumphs over sin.

[36:38] And Satan. And death. Once and for all. That is triumphant. Not just for Christ. But for all. Who put their trust. In this Christ. There's another. Representative for you now. You don't have to remain. In Adam.

[36:49] You can come this day. And trust in your glorious. Savior. Jesus Christ. And you can triumph. Through him. He has come. And his obedience. Will be credited to you. His penalty. Relieves you.

[36:59] Of bearing the punishment. That you deserve. And that is good news. Because all of us here. Have sinned. And all have fallen short. All of us. Have not made the God. God.

[37:10] The sole object. Of our worship. And so we need forgiveness. And we can find it today. In the triumphant Christ. And there alone. And if you haven't found it. You can.

[37:20] You can come to Christ. Right now. Where you're sitting. And trust in him. And he will make you. A worshiper of God. He's triumphed. Over sin. And death. And the devil.

[37:30] And so we need not fear. Death. We need not fear. The devil's attacks. But we can stand. Prepared for them. In the strength of Christ. So Christ's triumph. If you're trusting in him.

[37:41] Is your triumph. We're saved by his work. And then set free. To live for him. We're to give our lives. To the one who has given. His life for us. Christ. And that means. That as followers of Christ.

[37:51] We'll seek to obey him. We'll seek to honor him. And that means. That we'll seek to worship. God alone. And so Christ's answer. Must be our answer.

[38:02] When approached by Satan. With a temptation. To put something else. In the place of. Your creator. Come on. He says. Put this in place. You love your children. So much. It's okay.

[38:12] To let them more. Be more important. It's your responsibility. To take care of him. God understands. That you don't have time for him. Because you're so busy. With your kids. And after all. They are the cutest kids. That you've ever seen. At least I think.

[38:23] Mine are. But. When you see this. Or any other potential. Idol coming. And that's. You know. Your children. Your own children. Can become an idol. A block. To worshiping God.

[38:35] When you see these temptations. Coming. You say. Get away from me. Satan. I'm in Christ. And he is my master. And I worship God. In him alone.

[38:47] My children. Will not become an object. Of worship for me. You know. You can quote scripture. All day long. And still fall into temptation. If you seek to resist. The devil. In your own strength. And so.

[38:57] What a blessing for us. That this risen savior. Who has conquered. Satan. Who has resisted. His temptation. Is our hope. And strength. Hebrews 2. 18. Because he himself. Suffered. When he was tempted.

[39:08] He is able to help. Those who are being tempted. Oh. That's good news. Because we're tempted. Often. Every day. But we don't have to face it alone. He is able to help us.

[39:20] He has been tempted to. He knows. He understands. And he is able to strengthen you. To resist that temptation. What a blessing. That no temptation has seized you.

[39:30] But such as is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted. Beyond what you are able. But when you're tempted. He will also provide a way out.

[39:41] So that you may stand up under it. That's good news. You don't have to face it in your own strength. You can face it in the strength of the risen Savior. The one who has faced it himself.

[39:51] Who has resisted it himself. And done so successfully. Even as we see here in Matthew chapter 4 this morning. Well then. May God help us to worship him alone. No matter what temptation may come.

[40:03] Isn't he worthy? Doesn't he deserve our praise? How sad it is then. That we all too often get caught up in our sin. And we love our sin so much. That we'll not worship God.

[40:14] Because we love our sin. May he help us to put aside the old man. To put off the old man. And to realize that we're new creations in Christ. Made for worshiping God. And God alone.

[40:26] May God strengthen us. To resist that temptation. And to worship him alone. Let's conclude this morning with hymn number 2. And here in this hymn.

[40:37] We offer praise to our God. Who is alone worthy of honor. And praise. These shall all thy saints adore. Our adoration is to be given to God alone.

[40:48] The second verse says. Honor great our God be fitted. That means God is worthy of honor. And so this is a hymn of praise. A hymn of worship. To God alone. Who is worthy. Let's pray together.

[40:59] Our Father we thank you. That you have given us your truth. And your word. We thank you that it stands written. And that though leaves fade. And flowers fall. That the word of the Lord abides forever.

[41:09] And we pray that you would give us grace. To take shelter in the truth of your word. We pray that we would find refuge under your wings. And that we would indeed worship you. And you alone.

[41:20] Forgive us for our foolishness. And chasing after vain idols. And setting other things. Our affections on other things. Before you. Whatever idol I have known.

[41:30] Help me to tear it from my throne. And worship only thee. We pray that you would strengthen us to that end. Strengthen us in Christ. Who is our hope and strength. We thank you that he has been tempted like us.

[41:42] And yet was without sin. What a marvelous truth. For that means that he is the God man. The redeemer of God's elect. We pray that our hope and our trust this day.

[41:53]  Might be in him. In him alone. So that we might worship you. And you alone. For you alone. Are worthy. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.