Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8-9 (NLT)
We need to begin looking at what is behind agendas. Satan’s temptations of Jesus are prime examples. (See Matthew 4:2-11.)
First, Satan told Jesus to turn stones into bread if He was hungry. That temptation doesn’t seem bad. After all, God provided manna and quail for the Israelites. So, what was wrong with Jesus turning stone into bread? There was something else behind that temptation.
Next, Satan tried to get Jesus to jump off the peak of the Temple—even quoting Scripture to back his suggestion. He wasn’t tempting Jesus to become an axe murderer, so what was the big deal?
On Satan’s third try, his agenda finally becomes obvious—to divert Jesus from completing His mission. Notice how the earlier temptations seemed so harmless?
We need to wake up! We can’t afford to be gullible to the enemy’s plans.
Satan is still up to the same tricks, subtly trying to slide believers into a fruitless faith and off their God-given mission. And if you don’t know the Word and aren’t actively growing in your relationship with God, you may find yourself naive to his agenda.
We cant’ just drift through life, unconcerned about getting involved in voting or government policies. Should we stand by while the world trains our kids, runs our countries and makes our decisions? No!
As believers, it’s time to rise up. We serve a powerful God and are integral to God’s plans to reach the world for Christ (Matthew 16:18)!
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