Sep6
Matthew 4:8-9……Ready
Again, (Displays the persistence of our enemy, that Satan will never be off our backs or far from bugging us.) the devil took him to a very high mountain (See below) and showed him (Suggests a visionary experience. In an instant-Luke 4:5) all the kingdoms (nations, empires) of the world (Egypt, Greece, Rome) and their splendour. (power, wealth, glory, riches) 9 “All this I will give you,” (See below) he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (Not sure if this was to be done in private, or for just one moment in time?)
Continued From Book
“Satan is tempting Jesus with a shortcut to ruling the world now without all the pain & suffering of the cross.” ⇒ Satan is tempting Jesus to seek the crown without the cross. What Satan is really offering is glory without the pain, power without suffering. What Satan is saying is “You don’t have to go through this fasting thing”. “You don’t have to go through the three years ministering and preaching”. “You don’t have to deal with Twelve backwards disciples”. “You don’t have to go through all the suffering and mocking”. “You don’t have to go through the death on the cross, the burial, and the resurrection”. You don’t have to wait 2000 years for the Kingdom to be built, you don’t have to wait for the Millennial age, you can have it all right now”! In the same way Satan will tempt us to bypass all the hardships and struggles of being a Christian. Why go through the discomfort of witnessing. Why go through the humility of loving people deeply. Why go through the inconvenience of having to help those we are called to serve. Why go through the mess of other peoples lives. Why go through the hard work of going out into our neighborhood.
“Warns how Satan tempts us by holding out what would be beneficial and good for us.” ⇒ You can almost hear the devil say to Jesus; “Imagine Jesus all you can do for the world, the peace you bring and the people you can help”. Imagine Jesus all the crime, wars, suffering, poverty, and hunger you can end.” What a temptation that was! But the danger here is that if Jesus gave into this temptation He would only have become a ruler and not a Savior. A leader and not a Redeemer. Would Jesus go for it? No, because that was not His Father’s plan. So to the devil tempts us in thinking of all that we can accomplish in our mission for the church. Imagine all the people you can bring to Jesus through revival. Imagine all the people you can bring to Jesus with a Prosperity Gospel of health and wealth. Imagine all the people you can bring to Jesus through music and entertainment or with raffles and giveaways.
“Warns how Satan will present us with gifts and nice offers, but it always comes at a high price and strings attached.” ⇒ Satan’s promises are never what they seem. Sin will promise you pleasure for a time, but it will end in destruction. Sin promises you freedom and ecstasy, but it will only end in bondage, guilt, and shame. Sin promises you peace, but will only end in anxiety. Sin might promises you hope, but will only end in more and more despair. Sin will take you to places you don’t want to go. Places you never thought you end up. Things you never thought you do. There’s a saying that goes; “Sin will take you farther than where you want to go, hold you longer than what you want to stay, and cost you more than what you want to pay”. Every addiction starts with just one attempt. No one goes into an addiction saying “I want to be addicted”. However, the feeling of euphoria is only temporary, and you soon desire more and more until you are fully consumed. Following God and what the Bible teaches, the gains realized are long-term and healthier (both physically and emotionally) It brings joy, peace, and gladdens of heart. Whereas the devil only brings bondage and despair.
“Warns how Satan tempts us with instant and immediate gratification.” ⇒ Just as Satan temped Jesus with immediate Kingship. So to Satan will tempt us in seeking immediate gratification.That we deserve to be satisfied, fulfilled, and happy. We do what satisfies in the moment without considering the consequences. We look for the quickest route to obtain what we want, even if it means going into debt, or making a deal with someone we shouldn’t. We want immediate relief from some problem, “God, I need you to fix this right now!” And if God doesn’t come through right away we will look somewhere else instead. Usually in unhealthy places; drugs, alcohol, food, sex, etc. Think about how many Christians get off script because they want it now rather than wait for God. We see the same temptation used in marketing and advertising. The world bombards us with commercials telling us “You can have it now. Just put it on your credit card and pay later.” “You can place an order on Amazon Prime and have it delivered to your doorstep the same day, or at best the next day.” Instant gratification can be dangerous because we end up settling for less than God’s best. Instant gratification often comes with regret when we realize what we gave up and the high price we paid to get it. We’ve all experienced this. We commit a sin, expecting some awesome gratification, but once we commit the sin, we feel totally disappointed, let down, and stupid. What a waste of time. What a waste of money! When making decisions we need to step back and look at what we really want, compared to what we are getting. Are we gaining a temporary fulfillment that will leave after the sin is over? Are we putting short-term satisfaction over long-term benefits. If we don’t value God’s decision and timing above all else, we sell our souls for a cheap substitute and a lot less. Esau sold out for a bowl of soup, Samson for sex, Judas for thirty pieces of silver. [Note: The process of resisting the temptation of instant gratification is the most difficult challenge in the Christian life. But if we will lay down the fundamental principals of waiting on God’s will, God’s way, and God’s timing will we able to escape the instant gratification trap.]
“Warns how Satan tempts us to compromise and take shortcuts, that the end justifies the means”. ⇔ Satan will offer shortcuts that look real appealing. Saying things like, “Hey, here’s what God has promised to give to you, but God’s ways take too long and require too much effort. You see, whenever God promises us something, the route to get there is often full of potholes, detours, and inconveniences. And knowing this, Satan comes along and offers us a more practical and easier way to get there. How many have been tempted to sacrifice their principles for a short-term gain. How many have done the easy thing in getting what we want, rather than the hard thing we know we should have done. Aren’t there times when we can see a shortcut to accomplishing something good, and it seems like it might be worth it in the end, even if it’s not the best way to accomplish it? Or we think taking a few shortcut won’t make that much of a difference, hurt anyone, or cause any real harm, that it won’t be that bad. Some will do whatever it takes to advance to the top, even “Selling their souls to the devil” in order to achieve a certain level of success or fame. We may be tempted to enroll in a get-rich-quick scheme, instead of starting at the bottom of the ladder in a genuinely productive profession. We can be tempted in thinking “I might have to stab somebody in the back to get that promotion, but once I’m in the job I will use my influence for the good.” Ever been tempted to lie on your resume or fabricate your qualifications to get a better job. That it’s going to bring in more income, benefiting everyone around us. Its going to be better for our family, our future, and our retirement. Ever been tempted to take a promotion from your boss, that with the bigger salary you can do great things for God and His Kingdom, you can help the church, you can donate more to charities, and the only thing you’ll have do is just cheat a little bit for him. (If your trying justify the ends in thinking your doing it for a good cause. Your most likely serving self or worse serving Satan.) Shortcuts have consequences. Abraham and Sarah had to learn the hard way that taking shortcuts will only lead to trouble. God had promised Abraham that he would have a son. But Sarah got impatient and had Abraham sleep with his wife’s maidservant Hagar to give him a son.” And as a result it lead to unforeseen strife.-(Gen. 16:1-12) How about Moses who was destined to be Israel’s deliverer, but acted too soon and committed murder instead of waiting on God’s timing and as a result it cost him a forty year sojourn in Midian.-(Ex. 2:11-15) Whereas men like Joseph are to be commended, he did not seize what was offered by Potiphar’s wife, but waited upon God’s timing and as a result he became governor of Egypt.-(Gen. 39:6-23, 41:41-43) As did David, who had every opportunity to seize the throne from Saul, but would not do it in his own way, but waited upon God.-(1-Sam. 24:1-11) There are many more examples of people in the bible who took shortcuts and paid the consequences for it later. The problem with shortcuts is not that there always bad, some can even be practical –the problem is the path we’re being offered to get there often involves dishonesty and deception. Were so focused on the shortcut, that we forget the harm we do to others and the harm we do to our witness. Shortcuts are dangerous in two ways. One; There is no guarantee that they will ever work out. Two; There are things in life we need to learn, and taking shortcuts prevents us from learning those lessons, as well as giving us a slew of new ones. But what’s even more dangerous is shortcuts can short-circuit and deaden our spiritual lives. Shortcuts can distract us from what God wants us to do in our life, eventually eating up our time, energy, resources, and creativity. Shortcuts may seem profitable in the short-term. but they will never get us anywhere in the long term. Shortcuts may get you where you want to go, but only character can get you what you really want. That’s why it’s better to do things God’s way!
“Warns how Satan will show us all the pleasures of sin while hiding all the bondage, misery, destruction it brings.” ⇒ Notice how Satan was selective in only showing Jesus the splendor of the kingdoms while glossing over all the sin, filth, and crime that goes with it. The enemy will list all the benefits, but he will never tell you the cost in the loss of joy and peace, the loss of enthusiasm for Christ and the church, loss of innocence and purity, loss of integrity and reputation, loss of marriage and family, loss of freedom and victory, loss of peace with God and Salvation. Satan will dangle before you the pleasures of sex. But he doesn’t mention the risk of SDT’s, aids, and pregnancy. He dangles before you the fun in doing drugs and getting drunk. But he hides the ruined lives it brings in drug addiction, alcoholism, prison, and homelessness. He dangles before you the fun of sin. But he does not mention the spiritual and emotional consequences, loss of joy and peace with God. And, of course, he never sets before you the eternal wrath of God! When it comes to temptations there’s more at stake then what you think in the moment. Not only was Satan’s presentation selective, but it concentrated on the temporary, the passing, and the fleeting. That’s what sin does, it makes you feel good in the moment, only to leave you ruined, scarred, and empty in the end. Better to trust that God knows what’s right and best for us, because our own perceptions and life experiences rarely show us the whole truth!
“Even today, Satan may not offer us the Kingdoms of the world. But we can be tempted to shrink from the cross to taking a path of comfort and ease. Or we can be tempted to worship and put other things before God. Or our careers, our schedules, our free time, our vision of the good life.” ⇔ Satan offers a path of ease, comfort, and good times. We often shy away from making the best choices, which maintains our obedience to God because those choices involve an element of suffering or hardship. So we end up choosing to settle for the convenient course, what is easy, comfortable, and pleasant. The object isn’t about quickly getting to the place where “we arrive,” but to pick the way of God over the comforts offered by the world. Satan will tempt us in thinking we can be a Christian are way. When we should be holding out for eternal treasures. Do you ever find yourself pursuing love, fulfillment, success or acceptance everywhere but God? Any pursuit, priority, or preoccupation that diverts us from God should be seen for what it really is: The Devil, The Tempter, or Satan’s Temptation!
Additional Notes & Applications
Warns how Satan offers counterfeit promises in what will make our lives happy and fulfilling. Satan never told Jesus what I am offering you is only temporary. Satan will offer us a cheap imitation of the real thing. Satan will make it look good at first, but its beauty and dazzle will slowly fade away. Some of Satan’s biggest lies is to get us to think that money and wealth will make us happy when it wont. Satan will promise us prosperity, health, and long life that he can’t deliver. Or Satan will stroke or egos in thinking power and success will bring us fulfilment when it won’t. If He can’t get us that way he will try to get us to think lightly of sin, that Hell isn’t real, God doesn’t exists, the bible is outdated, theory of evolution is true, we can play with sin and it wont suck us in.
Warns how Satan pretends to be super-helpful and accommodating. That he’s looking out for our best interest in what will make our lives more happy and fulfilling, when in reality he’s out to destroy us and turn us away from God. Satan offered the same thing to Adam & Eve. Telling them by eating the forbidden fruit it would make them wise and give them everything they ever needed and wanted. He offers the same thing to every believer that he will give you your heart’s desire.” “Are you lonely? Just one night with that girl in the bar”. Or “That girl you’ve had your eyes on can make all of your dreams come true. Or “Just a little drink and everything will be better.” Or “If you just submit a little bit more, bow down a little bit more, take it a little bit more, and you can have the home of your dreams”.
Warns how Satan flashes the newer, bigger, and seemingly better things of this world in front of us, trying to lure us into thinking we must have it. He tempts us to think: “This will make me fulfilled” or “This will make me happy”. And then it wears out, breaks down, and gets old, it reveals just how fleeting and temporary they really were. Jesus refused the counterfeit of passing riches, temporary position, and fading glory of this life in exchange for eternal goods that would not fade away.
Displays how the devil doesn’t tempt us with some dark or gloomy thing. But rather, Satan is going to make it look good and very appealing or it wouldn’t be a temptation to begin with. Therefore Satan begins with the enticement first; “Showed him all the kingdoms of the world”. The condition next; “Worship me”. Then he lays the trap with the bait of a promise last; “All this I will give you”.
Warns how we can unwittingly start to serve Satan without even knowing it. I image you’ve never been tempted to become a devil worshiper outright. But we have done so unknowingly when we’ve chosen convenience over righteousness, comfort over character, etc.
Teaches how Satan often works on the Lust of the eyes first before any of the other senses. Just as Satan did with Eve in seeing the tree, he also tempts us through what we see. In this age of visual stimulation, our eyes take in millions of bits of information through the day. Satan may not use a tree. But he can use billboards, movies, T.V. commercials, music videos, junk-Emails, pop-up messages. Eve Saw the fruit that it was good for food and able to make one wise.-(Gen.3:6-7) Achan Saw the spoils of war and he had to have them.-(Josh. 7:18-24) David Saw Bathsheba taking a bath and had to have her.-(2-Sam. 11:1-5) Samson Saw Delilah and had to have her.-(Judges 14:1-3, 16:4-5) Ahab Saw Noboth’s vineyard and had to have it-(1-Kings 21:1-15) [Note: This is not saying there’s a danger in what we see. Eve probably saw the “Tree of Good & Evil” everyday. But rather it’s one thing to see something, and its another thing to behold it, gaze upon it, fantasize about it, and fixate on it.]
Displays how Satan’s temptations know no bounds. That if the incarnate Son of God can be tempted to bow-down and become an Idolater, what makes us think will escape from being tempted to do that same thing.
Emphasizes the persistence of our enemy, that Satan will never be off our backs or far from bugging us, that just when you made it through some heavy temptation, praising God you made it, here comes Satan just around the corner waiting to hit you again with even bigger, fancier, and more enticing temptations. Satan’s softer approach of, “Why don’t you turn these stones into bread?” had not worked. Neither did quoting the Bible out of context. With this third temptation, the old wily foe must’ve thought, “Go big, or go home.”[Note: Temptations, unlike opportunities, will always give you second chances. “Opportunity only knocks once”, but with temptation it knocks on the door our whole life”!]
Teaches how the point of all temptation & sin is to get us to bow down and worship something else. Satan doesn’t care how we do it, so long as it turns our hearts away from God. Whether its committing ourselves to an overt evil. Or through the pursuit of good things for our own happiness, security, and wellbeing. [Note: Not only can our hearts be turned away from outright sinful things. But also from seemingly innocent things as pride, self-dependence, dissatisfaction, prosperity, success, etc.)
–“high mountain”-The exact location of this mountain is unknown and impossible to determine. Many take this temptation as a visionary experience. Arguing that there is no mountain on earth, including Mt. Everest, that is high enough to survey the entire world! (Its not like what we have today where all we would need to do is pull-up Google Earth and see every city in the world.) Plus the fact that even they’re splendour of wealth, music, arts, science, culture, etc. is not something you can normally see with the naked eye. [Note: A question arises can Satan give men visions in order to promote his lies and his enticements? The answer to that is yes he can! The Old Testament records false prophets who saw false visions, and who received false dreams.] (cf. Jer. 14:14, Col. 2:18-19)
-“All this I will give you”- Here again, we see the subtle deceitfulness of Satan. In one sense he has temporary ownership of this world, but in a greater sense, God already owns it all. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world three times in the Gospel of John. Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”-(Eph. 2:2), and ‘the god of this age’-(2 Cor. 4:4)While it is true that He is the god of this age and the god of this world, it is not true that he owns them and can give them to whomever He wishes. Satan may have taken control of the earth, as a result of Adam’s & Eves sin, having forfeited the earth over to his dominion. But it is not Satan’s to give away.- (Dan. 4:32). Note how Jesus NEVER disputes Satan’s claim to be able to deliver the kingdoms of the world. (Note: Arguing with Satan makes the tempted person even more vulnerable.) Scripture calls the devil the “Prince of this world, and that the whole world lays under the sway of him”. Satan could have delivered to Jesus what was His right to rule over; the kingdoms of the Earth. But, the time was not right, nor the means. At first glance this would seem like a obvious “No” for Jesus. Like Jesus is really going to be tempted to bow to the devil for all the kingdoms of the world, which He would eventually have one day anyway.-(Ps. 2:7-8, Phlip. 2:10-11, Rev. 11:15)
-Bow down and Worship–Meaning: Anything you bow down to or elevate as if were a god. Anything that captures our hearts or becomes more important than God. To put it simply, when you elevate a good thing to become the ultimate thing it is now a form of idol worship. In this modern age we may not worship Sun god’s, or bow-down to carved wooden images or bronze statues. But we have bowed our hearts down to worshiping Idols in different forms. Some idols are obvious and easy to spot, others so subtle that you often don’t even realize your worshiping it. Did you know that all most anything can become an idol. Food, sex, fitness, and looks can be an idol. Achievements and success can be an idol. Who hasn’t wanted to be honored, admired, and respected. Popularity can be an idol. Who doesn’t want to be liked on Facebook or Instagram. Celebrities can become idols. Who hasn’t dreamed of living the celebrity life, having all that fame, wealth, and popularity. Sports teams can be a idol. How many skipped Church to catch a football or baseball game? Education can be an idol. Who hasn’t said; “Once I get this degree I will be somebody, I’ll have purpose and value”. A life of comfort, ease, and luxury can become a idol. Technology can be an idol. Country & Nation can be a idol. Even good things like your spouse, your kids, your career can be an idol. One of the more common idols is “Self”. Who hasn’t said, I deserve to be happy. I deserve to pamper my self. I deserve to live my life the way I want and no one’s going to tell me different. One of the biggest and most insidious idols is money, wealth, and power. All things are a gift and blessing from God, but they’re idolatrous when made an ends in themselves or when made the ultimate thing.
Note: The temptation Satan is offering Jesus here is the temptation in taking a shortcut to being King right now without having to suffer on the Cross. What Satan is offering Jesus is the crown without the cross, glory without the pain, and power without suffering. What Satan is really saying is; “You don’t have to go through this fasting thing”. “You don’t have to go through the three years ministering and preaching”. “You don’t have to deal with Twelve backwards disciples”. “You don’t have to go through all the suffering and mocking”. “You don’t have to go through the death on the cross, the burial, and the resurrection”. You don’t have to wait 2000 years for the Kingdom to be built, you don’t have to wait for the Millennial age, you can have it all right now”! Besides that, look at all the good you can do. You can wipe out all the suffering, misery, war, crime, poverty, abuse, and torture in this world. What a temptation that was! But the danger here is that if Jesus gave into this temptation He would only have become a ruler and not a Savior. A leader and not a Redeemer. Would Jesus go for it? No, because that was not His Father’s plan. And Jesus knows that when you try to do things outside the Father’s plan—when you try to accomplish things your own way (regardless of how good your intentions might be) when you try to accomplish things your own way, with no regard for God and His will—the result is always disaster.
Note: This not saying that authority and influence is wrong. The bible is full of leadership lessons and roles in the Church. But they can become a problem…….(To be continued)
Note: Many question the devils claims, did Satan really have those kingdoms to give or was it sheer bluff? Satan must have some real authority over the Kingdoms of the world or this would not have been a true temptation. You can’t tempt me with millions of dollars if I know you don’t have millions of dollars to give. Plus the fact that Jesus did not disagree or dispute it. Jesus did not say, “No, Satan you can’t offer me what you do not have and here’s why.” Therefore there must be some validity to Satan’s claims. We see evidence of this in a world that is full of violence, war, and crime. All you need to do is turn on the news and hear the stories of crooked politicians, Hollywood breakups, celebrity affairs. The Enron scandal, mass shootings, 9/11, famine, slavery, gay-pride, abortion, prostitution, war, etc. We see Satan’s influence in a culture of materialism, secularism, consumerism, naturalism, instant gratification, and more. We see Satan’s influence in the false philosophies of the world. Astrology, Atheism, Spiritualism, Skepticism, Mysticism, Humanism, Liberalism, Evolution. (cf. Col. 2:8) We see Satan’s influence in politics and court rulings. Legalizing marijuana, homosexuality, same sex marriages, abortion, birth control, pornography under the rule of “Freedom of speech”. We see it in the removal of Ten Commandments from schools and public places. We see Satan’s influence through world leaders and evil dictators like Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong-un. We see Satan’s influence in the false religions of the world, Buddhism, Deism, Hinduism, Islam, Polytheism, Scientology, and many more. We see Satan’s influence in the Church, causing divisions over denominations, worship, music, bibles, clothes, baptism, tongues, the Lord’s Supper, etc. We even see Satan’s influence slipping into the pulpit, preaching a “Prosperity Gospel” of “health & wealth, “Name it and claim it”, “Word of faith”.
Note: Because the order of the 2nd & 3rd temptations are reversed in Matthew and Luke. Many try to use this as another proof of the bible’s inconstancy. Not realizing that the Holy Spirit was using each Gospel writer to bring out different emphasis. Luke was not concerned with the chronological order in which theses temptations took place whereas Matthew was. Therefor this is not inconsistency or contradiction, this simply means that each Gospel writer had a different goal and aim in mind when writing their Gospels. So we are to ask “Which account is correct”? Many commentators believe Matthew’s is probably chronologically correct. This opinion is based on the fact that Matthew uses the word “then” while transitioning from one temptation to the next. Where Luke only uses the word “and”, which leaves a little more wiggle-room for being out of order. Also Jesus’ response to the last temptation, in saying “Begone, Satan!”, likely signals it as the third and final temptation.
THINGS WE BOW-DOWN AND WORSHIP….
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We worship the god of power, wealth, success
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We worship at the altar of beauty, fame, popularity
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We worship entertainment, parties, sports
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We worship the god of retail, consumerism, shopping
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We worship self-sufficiency, self-dependence,
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We worship celebrities, pop-singers, movie-stars, athletes, famous authors
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We worship the god of convenience, instant gratification,
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We worship the god of knowledge, science, technology
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We even worship religious rituals, saints, pastors, and ministry
IDENTIFYING AREAS OF IDOL WORSHIP….
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What are the things you covet?
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What do you find yourself defending or excusing?
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What are you finding your value, worth, approval in?
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What are you taking refuge & security in?
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What are you putting all your hope & trust in?
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What’s capturing your heart, time, energy, and affection?
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What’s making you fearful & anxious?
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What’s drawing & pulling you away from God?
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What are you finding ultimate joy & fulfillment in?
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What are you finding comfort & relief in?
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What do you worry or complain about the most?
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What do you feel you can’t live with out
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What consumes & occupies you?
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What do you devote most of your time too?
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What or who do you thank when things are going well?
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What do you find yourself getting upset over or tearful over
REASONS TO WORSHIP GOD AND NOT IDOLS….
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Worshiping God brings long term benefits, Idols bring short term pleasures
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Worshiping God brings peace & security, Idols will only fail you and let you down
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Worshiping God brings right living, worldly Idols bring immorality & low standards
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Worshiping God brings newness of mind, Idols bring false values, attitude, and belief’s
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Worshiping God brings truth & clarity of reality, Idols distort & confuse
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Worshiping God will keep you spiritually focused, Idols will sap your energy, resources, and attention
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Worshiping God brings joy & fulfillment, Idols will leave you empty & dissatisfied
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Worshiping God will keep you Saved, Idols will have you compromising & negotiating
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Worshiping God will keep you in His grace, Idols will leave you striving and exhausted
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Worshiping God will keep you generous & giving, Idols will have you selfish & uncaring
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Worshiping God will keep you humble & surrendered, Idols will make you prideful & legalistic
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(For more Applications get the whole Book) 
(All material is copyrighted and may be used for preaching, teaching, and instructing. And not for publication in any form without the written permission of the author.)
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