Today's Passage - Matthew 4:8-11

Matthew 4:8-11     Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.   "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.'"  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.     The devil presented the entire world before Jesus in order to tempt Him, and he mentioned two things that represent the foundation of the worldly value, which are authority and riches of the world.  Authority is for ruling over others, and riches are for satisfying ourselves, and these two things form the foundation of the values of the world.  Trend of the world wants us to rule over others and satisfy ourselves, so we often experience how, in both life and work, people work hard towards rising up by stepping over others.  Those are not the values of God's kingdom though.  Values of God's kingdom are the same as family values, and in family it's more important to love one another and be accountable for one another.  We no longer rule over others, but we want to build up others; we don't just seek to satisfy ourselves, but rather to satisfy others.     Jesus clearly knew that He bellowed to God's kingdom.  He was there to lead the sinners to enter the family of God.  Therefore, the Lord clearly recognized the devil's ploy and He rebuked the work of the enemy.  We belong to God; we no longer follow the trend of the world, and we shouldn't allow the values of the world to influence us.  Instead, we should follow the values of God's kingdom and be willing to build up others and satisfy their needs.  On the other hand, the secret of dismissing the enemy is to rebuke the world of the enemy with the words of God's kingdom when we are confronting the world and Satan.  When the devil tempted Jesus, the Lord rebuked him, so when we confront the enemy we should also proclaim the word of God's kingdom.  Jesus has already granted us the authority to overcome.  When we pray for others, we don't need to beg for mercy.  We can come before God knowing that we have the authority and assurance to overcome, and we need to proclaim victory again the enemy and the world according to the authority that God has given us.     It is important to proclaim in our daily life in order to overcome by the name of the Lord.  When we proclaim the victory of Christ against the enemy, the enemy will flee from us.  Not only should we rebuke Satan, we also need to worship true God.  Jesus said here: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."  When we worship true God, we welcome the throne of Christ to be established among us, and the devil must flee because there's no room for him.  Let us worship continuously in our daily life, to welcome the authority of Jesus, and to rebuke the work of enemy Satan by the authority that Christ has granted us.    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we welcome you to sit on the throne in our lives.  We want to worship you and serve you alone.  May your spirit help us to understand the authority that you've given us.  In the victorious name of Jesus, I rebuke any of the enemy's work on me.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!          Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!