Most people think temptation is about doing bad things.

But what if it’s deeper than that?

What if temptation is really about the search for security, validation, control, comfort, or power?

In this message from Matthew 4:1–11, Martin Chairez explores Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and why those same struggles still shape modern life. Through the images of bread, the temple, and the mountain, we’re invited to examine what drives us, what forms us, and what kind of kingdom we’re actually building.

Rather than choosing control or self-preservation, Jesus models a different way forward—one rooted in trust, surrender, and faithfulness.

Whether you’re wrestling with purpose, identity, ambition, or simply trying to understand why certain patterns keep pulling at you, this message offers a thoughtful and deeply practical perspective.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Setup

01:07 Why Stay in Matthew

02:53 Why the Gospel Details Matter

05:09 Reading the Temptation Story

07:38 Kingdoms in Conflict

13:38 Why the Wilderness Matters

16:13 Temptation One: Bread

21:03 Temptation Two: The Temple

26:55 Temptation Three: The Mountain

31:49 What This Means for Us Today

36:10 God With Us

38:25 Communion Reflection and Prayer

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OC Church of Christ

Good morning, buenos dias.

2

Please turn your Bibles to Matthew

chapter 4, verse 1 through verse 11.

3

For us in the Spanish ministry here

4

studying out the Gospel of Matthew.

5

Amen?

6

Amen.

7

Uh, and it's been quite a journey.

8

We're all the way up to chapter 7.

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And during Palm Sunday, uh, Good

Friday, and Easter, we kind of

10

fast-forward into the story toward

the later chapters there in Matthew.

11

And as I was given the opportunity to

share God's Word, preach God's Word, try

12

and teach God's Word today, uh, there's

only one thing I can teach at this time.

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Uh, it's Matthew.

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Uh, and so that's where,

that's where we're at.

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Amen?

16

Amen.

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This is actually my first time

preaching in this building.

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Uh- It feels like it's not the first

time, but, but it is, so that's-

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that's cool.

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I guess that's encouraging.

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Um, anyway, I don't

know why I shared that.

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So we're in chapter 4.

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One of the things that we have been

trying to do, that I've been trying to

24

do and our ministry's been trying to

do, is to dive deep into the world of a

25

gospel, and stay there, and live there,

and not worry about other gospels,

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the oth- any of the other three.

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But just stay in that world and try

to honor the gospel that we're in, in

28

this case Matthew, and try to listen

to it, and not try to kinda add other

29

things to it, but just kinda walk

with Jesus and see what stands out.

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Amen.

31

And I've shared this before,

and I'll share it again.

32

Um, but after almost 30 years of

being a Christian, I will confess

33

that I got bored reading the Gospels.

34

I often felt like, "Okay, I

already know what it says.

35

Okay, I already know that."

36

Yeah.

37

"I know what to say about that."

38

About that.

39

Because of my high school

campus ministry experience.

40

You know what I mean?

41

Like...

42

Yeah.

43

And so I ended up feeling

bored, and I'd try to find other

44

inspiration outside of the Gospel.

45

And so if in your Christianity you're

looking for something else other than

46

the Gospel narrative, something is off.

47

Off.

48

Other resources are great, but to

exclude the Gospel or to label it like

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I had, I had, um, is really alarming.

50

And so in the last few years,

trying to relearn how to read these

51

Gospel worlds, how to honor for what

it says, stay there and read it.

52

And one of the things that has jumped out

is the distinctions between- Each gospel.

53

And so as we read this very familiar

passage about the temptation

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narrative, it's also somewhat

present in Mark, it's definitely

55

present in Luke, and here in Matthew.

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And one of the things that Matthew

does that's different from the

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Gospel of Luke is he rearranges

the order of the temptations.

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And so he places the third

temptation of the mountain as the

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third temptation, whereas in Luke,

I believe it's the second one.

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And for our modern Western

mind, that could be troubling.

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It shouldn't be, because we're thinking

chronologically, we're thinking order, or

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we've used analogies like each four, each

of the four Gospels is like one camera

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recording the same thing from a different

angle, and I guess that kind of works.

64

But if we try to honor the scripture,

we have to think like Easterners.

65

Kind of we have to think about, oh,

the context when it was written.

66

And so the, when, when the Bible,

when the Gospels are rearranged,

67

it's not a contradiction.

68

It definitely is a distinction, but

it's an invitation for you to note, "I

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want to tell you something here that

the other Gospel is not telling you."

70

Are you with me right here?

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Yes.

72

And so in this case, why is

the temptation of the mountain

73

third in the Gospel of Matthew?

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What do mountains have to

say in the Gospel of Matthew?

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And if we remember our Old

Testament, what happens in mountains?

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God reveals God's self and speaks Torah,

life, His covenant with His people.

77

And so distinctions are invitations

for you to notice this Gospel's

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pointing something very unique to us.

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Are you with me right here?

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Yeah.

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Let's go ahead and read chapter 4:1.

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"Luego el Espíritu..."

83

Ah, that's in Spanish right there.

84

"Then Jesus, Jesus was led by

the Spirit into the wilderness

85

to be tempted by the devil.

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After fasting for 40 days

and 40 nights, he was hungry.

87

The tempter came to him and said,

'If you are the Son of God, tell

88

these stones to become bread.'

89

Jesus answered, 'It is written'"

"Man shall not live on bread

90

alone, but on every word that

comes from the mouth of God."

91

Then the devil took him to the

holy city and had him stand on

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the highest point of the temple.

93

So they're in Jerusalem.

94

"If you are the Son of God,"

he said, "throw yourself down.

95

For it is written, 'He will command his

angels concerning you, and they will lift

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you up in their hands so that you will

not strike your foot against a stone.'"

97

Emphasis added by the speaker.

98

Jesus answered to him, "It is

also written, 'Do not put the

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Lord your God to the test.'"

100

Again, the devil took him to a very

high mountain and showed him all the

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kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

102

"All of this I will give you," he said,

"if you will bow down and worship me."

103

Jesus said to him, "Away from me,

Satan, for it is written, 'Worship the

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Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

105

Amen.

106

Then the devil left him, and the

angels came and attended him.

107

Amen.

108

Up to this point in the narrative

of the Gospel of Matthew,

109

one thing has been clear:

the identity of Jesus.

110

And so the fact that the first

two temptations are addressing his

111

identity, it's somewhat ironic.

112

And when we read this passage on

its own, sometimes we can miss.

113

As a standalone passage, sometimes we can

miss, so we need a little context here.

114

So the Gospel of Matthew begins

with a genealogy account letting

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us know that Jesus is a direct

descendant of Abraham and of David.

116

And it names a lot of other people,

people that you usually do not put in

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a genealogy for a king who wants to

look good and not have any skeletons

118

in their closet kind of thing.

119

But it places people, Gentile

women who were faithful to God,

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and yet they were treated in a very

unjust, unfair way during the time.

121

And so from the very beginning we

see the theme of God with us, and

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it includes those who had a very

difficult situation And then the

123

angel lets them know, "Hey, call him

Immanuel," which means God with us.

124

And so we see the Magi who come from the

East, kind of a foreshadow because the

125

end of the gospel, uh, Jesus is gonna

command them to go into the Gentile world.

126

And so you kind of have this encounter

there between two worlds, and

127

the God who's mediating and who's

wanting to reach all, all nations.

128

The Magi vow and worship, and

we are introduced to a king,

129

Herod, and then later his son.

130

And from the very beginning, the Gospel

of Matthew's already letting us know

131

there's already a kingdom established,

but there's a new kingdom that's breaking

132

in, and they are at odds with each other.

133

The values of the kingdom of heaven,

that's the phrase Matthew is going to

134

use rather than the kingdom, uh, of God.

135

He uses the kingdom of heaven.

136

The original audience, it's a very

Jewish audience and so in order

137

to honor that, you try to say...

138

Uh, you try to avoid to say

the actual name of God in that

139

context 'cause it's so holy.

140

Are you with me right here?

141

And so in the Jewish context, he says

the kingdom of heaven, whereas in Luke,

142

it was written to the Gentiles, and he

says kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God.

143

Anyhow, so and then we see, uh, the, the

family having to flee and take refuge, uh,

144

in Egypt and then be called, called back.

145

And along the way, there's more trouble

because this earthly, worldly kingdom

146

does not go away, and it hasn't.

147

It's there.

148

It's aggressive.

149

It's ambitious.

150

It's everywhere.

151

It's in us.

152

Yeah.

153

Yeah.

154

It's forming us.

155

Yeah.

156

It's encouraging us.

157

It's creating a vision of what the good

life is because that kingdom needs us to

158

be consumers and think about ourselves.

159

And so if you get anything from

our story today, our, our passage

160

today, I want you to consider which

kingdom is forming you the most.

161

They both are.

162

Right.

163

Come on.

164

But which kingdom is forming us the most?

165

What kind of person

are you striving to be?

166

A faithful participant

in the Kingdom of God?

167

I'm sure it is because we're here.

168

But this other kingdom, Herod's

kingdom- Yeah ... the kingdom

169

of the world, it's there.

170

You may call it empire, you may

call it all different things.

171

It's there.

172

It's in us.

173

We're consuming it all the

time, and it's forming us.

174

And the challenge is when it's forming

us, then we read the scriptures from

175

that lens and that filter, and it ends

up br- creating in us an entitled people.

176

Wow.

177

Who is...

178

And then we're assigned labels,

and we're assigned enemies, and who

179

deserves and who doesn't deserve,

and da, da, da, da, da, da, da.

180

And it goes on, and it goes on, and

it goes on, but it's always present.

181

Yeah.

182

But thanks be to God,

Emmanuel, God is also present.

183

God is also with us.

184

God is in mission right now, contrasting,

combating this type of kingdom and forming

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a new kind of people where He is king.

186

Yeah.

187

And so then Jesus

participates in a baptism.

188

In some ways, Jesus is reenacting

the entire life of the community

189

of Israel from the Old Testament.

190

And in every stage where Israel fails,

God wins, which we can also personalize

191

that to our past, to our wounds, to our

failures, to our regrets, that there

192

is a God who dives into our past, who

walks with us to restore and to heal.

193

Amen?

194

Amen.

195

And that could be our personal past,

our family's past, our church's past.

196

It's a God who is with us, who's

in for restoration and healing.

197

And right after baptism, we see the

description of the Holy Spirit hovering,

198

which is a sign of new creation.

199

Very similar language to the

creation story in Genesis.

200

And what does the Spirit do right after?

201

The Spirit leads Jesus to the wilderness.

202

And so sometimes we can read this passage

and only stay to learn the tactics

203

of the tempter, which is pretty good.

204

You want to know your enemy.

205

But this passage is more, it's less

about learning our enemy's tactics, and

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it's more about learning who our God is.

207

It's more about learning what kind of

Messiah Jesus is, what kind of king and

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what kind of kingdom He is bringing.

209

Amen.

210

Yeah.

211

And so it's not a test of

let's see if you're worthy.

212

It's a test of confirmation to show

us, the readers and the audience,

213

"Look- Look what God's about to do.

214

He's about to expose the enemy.

215

He's about to expose the values of

this empire, of this kingdom that keeps

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manipulating, controlling, and abusing

people- Yeah ... and dividing them.

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That's why Jesus comes later

and says, "Love your enemies."

218

What?

219

That doesn't fit in this kingdom.

220

In this worldly kingdom,

you have to have enemies.

221

That's right.

222

They're assigned to you, even now.

223

Yes.

224

And sometimes we embrace that.

225

But Jesus calls us to be a

different kind of people.

226

Yeah.

227

Come on.

228

The challenge is there's suffering

and vulnerability and permanent

229

weaknesses in the Kingdom of God.

230

Yeah.

231

Yeah.

232

And we don't like that a whole lot.

233

Yeah.

234

Yeah.

235

We want guaranteed wins, and so we

try to control outcomes, and there's

236

that evil word of control which

always leads to manipulation, and

237

it always becomes violent, whether

physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

238

But that's not the

Kingdom- Right ... of God.

239

And so the first temptation that

Jesus receives is, "Hey, you're

240

hungry, and you are the Son of God.

241

Why don't you take these stones

and turn them into pan dulce?"

242

The translation in English, banana loaf.

243

I don't know.

244

And so immediately you see the tempter

trying to get Jesus to prove his worth.

245

To prove his value.

246

To prove that, hey, you can

do s- you can do something.

247

You're worthy.

248

You can be productive.

249

Show them.

250

Show yourself.

251

Prove it.

252

Start thinking about you.

253

Yeah.

254

Which is the temptation that Israel

had in the Old Testament as they

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grumbled after leaving Pharaoh's

empire because they couldn't

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grasp a kingdom in the wilderness.

257

All they knew was the structure

of Pharaoh, and what do they do?

258

"Oh, we got nothing here 'cause

I've never been here before, so

259

let me go back to what I'm used to.

260

Didn't we have it good back then?

261

Didn't we have fish every now and then?

262

I mean, are you kidding me?"

263

But that's us.

264

Yeah.

265

Yeah 'Cause when we can't see

the outcome, we want to try and

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control it and go back- Yeah

267

and enslave ourselves again.

268

Yeah.

269

Right.

270

But quickly, God, surprise,

shows up and provides water and

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quail and food for his people.

272

And so this temptation, and first one

is clearly overcome by god, but it's

273

also an echo of the past, as I just

mentioned about what happened in Israel.

274

And where Israel failed, Jesus wins.

275

So it's an echo of the past, but it's

also a foreshadow of what's about

276

to happen the rest of the gospel.

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So a couple chapters later, what

does Jesus teach us when we pray?

278

Ask God for your daily- Bread ... bread.

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Because for Jesus, providing bread

is not for self, but providing

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bread is for the sake of his people.

281

Right.

282

In two different times, he will

multiply bread and fish and m-

283

and feed the multitudes, showing

us what kind of king he is.

284

Not one that produces bread for self-gain,

but one who produces bread for the sake

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of his community and those in need.

286

The tempter knows, "Hey, you can provide

something that could really help people,

287

but why don't you provide it for yourself?

288

Think about yourself first."

289

Yeah.

290

And Jesus says, "That's not my kingdom.

291

In my kingdom, we provide

for the sake of others.

292

We give to those that do not have.

293

That is my kingdom.

294

That is what is written.

295

It has always been written," and later

he'll say, "I've not come to abolish

296

the law, but to fulfill it," to give

his original intent and live it out,

297

and what the prophets said, because

you can't separate law from prophets.

298

And so Jesus embodies this at all.

299

And so if you ever wonder, what is the law

really about, look at the life of Jesus.

300

Generosity, giving.

301

In every example he uses about the law

in chapter five, it's all relational-

302

Yeah ... for the sake of other,

that God who's re- from the very

303

beginning has been wanting to restore

all creation, all relationships.

304

But his Old Testament son, the

people of Israel, what did they do?

305

They grumbled, complained, failed,

and they bel- ended up believing that

306

this was about them being on top.

307

Like us.

308

Which can be just like us.

309

Thank you.

310

So we come to the second temptation.

311

Now he's taken to the temple,

to Jerusalem, and out of all the

312

passages Satan could have used,

he chose Psalm, and you heard the

313

emphasis there on you, you, you, you.

314

Read the scriptures

like if it's about you.

315

And Jesus says, "No, I'm reading the

scriptures because it's about God."

316

Yeah.

317

Which might be an invitation when

we open the scriptures, it's less

318

about us and it's more about God.

319

In that, you will find what you need,

because God gives us our daily bread.

320

But our first move in reading scripture

should be, "Let me learn about God."

321

Yeah.

322

And sometimes it has

nothing to do with you, yet.

323

Yet.

324

Amen.

325

But later, the Spirit will remind

you, "Remember you read this?"

326

Oh, yeah.

327

God is always there.

328

Amen?

329

Amen.

330

And so the second temptation is

organized to be at the temple.

331

And if we move forward in the

story, what happens at the temple?

332

See, Satan says, "Hey, come up here.

333

Look at all this.

334

Throw yourself down and

let the angels catch you."

335

Like this.

336

No, I'm just kidding.

337

And the temptation to be spectacular,

338

to see how great you are, to win

people over by how spectacular you are.

339

And let's, so let's have this show of

greatness, this wonder working, let's

340

have it at the temple so you can rule

the temple as you know you are going

341

to, but do it with this kind of vibe.

342

Come on.

343

Yeah.

344

And I'm sure it was tempting, but

Jesus quickly responds, directly

345

responds that, "It is written, do not

put the Lord your God to the test."

346

So when we hear the echo constantly,

the people of God kept testing God.

347

When things got difficult,

they blamed God.

348

There is room for that, but i-

there's no room when you stay there.

349

And they started wondering,

"We need a king."

350

Everyone has a king except us.

351

That's how they said it.

352

The m- I was there in the reading.

353

I heard the notes.

354

And so what did they do?

355

They make themselves a king.

356

And that was the beginning of

the end of so many, you know,

357

of the Kingdom of God there.

358

And yet God comes back, continually

restores, and is faithful.

359

And so we see this

temptation to be spectacular.

360

Now, that temptation is present in all

of us and is being formed in all of us

361

personally, as a family, for sure in

our careers in the workplace, 'cause

362

you kinda have to work in that work

situation, but sometimes even in church.

363

We can desire a, a group that provides

all of these things for us, where

364

I don't suffer, I don't struggle.

365

Just take care of me.

366

Because that entitlement

just keeps coming back up.

367

Why?

368

Because we're being

formed by it all the time.

369

Oh, yeah.

370

Yeah.

371

That's right.

372

But Jesus, we've heard the echo,

now let's look at the foreshadow.

373

Palm Sunday, He rides into Jerusalem.

374

And the people are

shouting and worshiping.

375

There's another reference to stones there.

376

Uh, Jesus says, "Yeah, even

the stones will cry out."

377

And so this time they won't be bread.

378

This time they're gonna be

worship leaders, you know?

379

In the Gospel of Matthew, it...

380

Jesus stays the day and enters

the temple, whereas in Mark,

381

Jesus looks around and heads out.

382

So that's already a distinction,

which is an invitation.

383

So what does Jesus do?

384

He flips the tables, then He enters a

temple, and if you read there, I believe

385

it's chapter 21, what does He do?

386

He begins to heal.

387

And it mentions all the

people that He is healing.

388

All the people, because after

centuries and centuries of additions

389

of rules to the g- law of God, a lot

of people started being excluded, no

390

longer having access to the temple.

391

And so what does Jesus do?

392

He avoids this temptation to be

spectacular so that people can pay

393

attention to Him, and what does He do?

394

He flips over that table of being

spectacular and prod- productive

395

and, and gaining all kinds of,

uh, power and control, and He

396

begins to heal at the temple.

397

Because the temple is not for

selfish gain, but in the temple of

398

God, it's a space for healing, for-

Amen ... restoration, for inclusion.

399

Amen.

400

And we see the living present

God do it the right way.

401

Yeah.

402

So a quick recap before we come to

the close here for the third one.

403

Sometimes we can read this and only

focus on the tactics of the enemy.

404

We should read this and look at

the greatness and the goodness

405

of God- Amen ... as well.

406

Amen.

407

And so for the third one: Again, the

devil took him to a very high mountain

408

and showed him all the kingdoms

of the world and their splendor.

409

"All this I will give you," he said,

"if you will bow down and worship me."

410

And either that word bow down or

worship me, I can't remember right

411

now, it's the same word that is used

to describe when the Magi came to

412

Jesus and bowed down and worshiped.

413

It is also the same word used when

the resurrected Lord encounters

414

the women to went to the tomb, and

they see the resurrected Lord, and

415

they bow down and they worship.

416

It's that same word of

reverence, of giving everything,

417

of giving your allegiance.

418

And the empires and the kingdom of this

world, the main thing that they are

419

requiring from us is our allegiance,

your consumption, your support.

420

Defend me and attack them.

421

Because without us...

422

And a- and so the narrative goes on, back

and forth and back and forth and back and

423

forth, and we're hearing it all the time.

424

Yeah.

425

But we should also be hearing the gospel.

426

Amen.

427

Amen.

428

The King, the God with us, who

doesn't use bread for selfish gain

429

but provides it for those who need it.

430

Who doesn't use his authority over

his temple to be man- to manipulate

431

and draw the masses, but goes in

there and heals those that have been

432

neglected and excluded from that place.

433

And now they are in a mountain.

434

So if we hear the echo, as we

mentioned earlier, what is Jesus...

435

What does God do in the Old Testament?

436

He calls Moses to this mountain,

and God appears and reveals God's

437

self and speaks and provides.

438

But what happens quickly after?

439

Those people t- quickly turn to worship

and give their allegiance to idols,

440

and the story continues and continues

and continues, and they keep falling

441

apart, and God comes back and restores

them, and then they keep falling apart,

442

and God comes back and restores them.

443

I don't know if I'm still talking about

us or the Old Testament, but maybe both.

444

But the point is, God is good.

445

Yeah.

446

Amen.

447

So foreshadow mountains.

448

What happens in mountains

in the Gospel of Matthew?

449

Chapter five, he's gonna go up on

a mountain and sit down and teach.

450

No longer...

451

It's, it's, it's God's

self, Jesus, teaching.

452

And the fact that he sits down,

it's a sign of his authority,

453

his throne, his kingdom.

454

He's sitting on this mountain like

the Earth is his thron- throne,

455

and he begins to, to teach.

456

Later, he will also be in a mountain and

there will be a tras- transfiguration of

457

Jesus, and that happens in a mountain.

458

Then he goes to the Mountain

of Olives, and once again he

459

sits down and teaches some very

complex things, chapter 24 and 25.

460

And what else happens in a mountain?

461

He is crucified in a mountain.

462

And then he rises from the

dead, and where does he go?

463

To a mountain.

464

And what does he say?

465

"All authority on heaven and

on Earth has been given to me."

466

What did Satan want to give him?

467

Authority.

468

Yeah.

469

But he didn't do the shortcut,

manipulative, self-gaining,

470

self-preserving way.

471

Jesus shows us, unlike Israel, unlike

us, God is good and faithful, and

472

Jesus embodies the true kingdom

of heaven, and he is serving.

473

And so at a mountain,

he doesn't gain power.

474

God gives of God's self

for the sake of the world.

475

Amen.

476

And every single temptation that we

have heard so far, he hears it again

477

and again, but no longer by this

figure of the tester and the tempter.

478

It's now the disciples.

479

And just like he told Satan himself,

"Away from me," when his faithful disciple

480

Peter has still not let go of this

false mountain, of this false kingdom,

481

of this manipulative nature because he

can't imagine any other way- He's never

482

seen it that way, and even though he's

heard it from Jesus, he's seen all those

483

miracles, it's still in him to survive.

484

And he says, "Jesus, do not die."

485

Let's have power without suffering.

486

Let's have authority

without being generous.

487

Amen.

488

Let's be at the top ourselves.

489

We'll be better than them.

490

And Jesus looked at him and

said, "Get behind me, Satan."

491

The same thing.

492

And then when Jesus is

hanging on the cross,

493

the first and second

temptations show up again.

494

If you are the Son of God, why

don't you bring yourself down?

495

If you are the Son of God,

why don't you save yourself?

496

And then the chief priests, the elders,

and the teachers of the law, same thing.

497

He s- he said he can destroy all this.

498

Why don't he s- why don't you save

yourself if you're the Son of God?

499

That same temptation is present.

500

And guess what?

501

It's still present now.

502

Yeah.

503

Yeah.

504

Can you identify where the

temptation is present in your life?

505

Yes.

506

To prove your worth, to be spectacular

and adored without giving and providing,

507

to have entitlement because don't they

know who I am and what I have done?

508

Right.

509

To have authority without suffering

and generosity and pouring out

510

of self for the sake of others.

511

Right.

512

Yeah.

513

Is that, are those temptations not

real for us- Yeah ... personally

514

and as a community of faith?

515

Absolutely.

516

And they're so subtle.

517

And for a temptation to work, it's

for actually for you to buy in

518

without noticing you bought in.

519

Yes.

520

And so Jesus comes and he's

disrupting all of those things,

521

bringing us to wilderness, because

there's also life in the wilderness.

522

There's surprises in the wilderness.

523

There's encounters with God that we

have not experienced before in the

524

wilderness, and it always leads to cross,

525

to suffering, to death, to the

pouring of self for the sake of

526

others, and that always leads to

resurrection and new hope- Amen

527

and new thoughts and new ideas

and fresh practices of worship and

528

community and spiritual formations.

529

And so Matthew closes with the mountain,

530

because that's where-

God reveals who God is.

531

Not to have control and manipulate,

'cause that always leads to

532

violence, as it happened to Jesus.

533

But in this mountain, he says, "Go.

534

Go make disciples."

535

But not disciples of this kingdom.

536

Not make disciples in

this manipulative way,

537

but disciples Jesus' way.

538

Yeah.

539

Amen.

540

Teach them what I have taught you,

which is not that, but it is this.

541

Yeah.

542

And I'm with you always.

543

One of the things that has been

restored for me is this image that I

544

had, that I'll describe it this way.

545

God came, saved me, and you, but me.

546

And then God left.

547

And before he was leaving, he said, "Hey.

548

Go build a kingdom.

549

Do it for me.

550

And when I come back,

I'm gonna reward you.

551

And you're doing all this for me."

552

So now I'm keep- being facetious a

little bit, but, but I'm stuck with

553

this mindset of, I am the protagonist.

554

I am the savior of the story.

555

And where's God?

556

He's far away.

557

Yeah.

558

He actually left.

559

It's up to me, and so the savior complex

sort of takes form, and now it's up to me.

560

Well, this doesn't work with ... If

it's me, so what do I have to do?

561

I can't do the Michael Jackson, sorry.

562

That would be cool.

563

But then I start being a Christian,

564

but not in kingdom.

565

Yeah.

566

But in empire.

567

Yeah.

568

Empire.

569

Yeah.

570

And then critical and that.

571

You know what I'm saying?

572

It just, it's all there.

573

Yeah.

574

But what does the Gospel

of Matthew teach us?

575

Emmanuel, God with us.

576

What does God say at the end?

577

"I'm with you to the very end."

578

So where is God?

579

God with us, among us.

580

Yeah.

581

God is in mission, and is

present, is living and active now.

582

He's not a far away, distant God.

583

He's a living, present God.

584

And it's not up to us, it's up to

God, but it is up to us to join God.

585

Yeah.

586

And to be told a few times, "Martin,"

'cause God talks to me in Spanish.

587

"Get behind me, Satan.

588

That is not my way, Martinsito."

589

"Here's what I have taught.

590

Here's who I am.

591

Follow me my way."

592

Yes.

593

Amen.

594

Jesus is Lord.

595

Amen.

596

Let's come to a close.

597

I have a question before

here we take communion.

598

It's a question for us to reflect,

to think about, and we'll take

599

two or three minutes to share with

our people nearby our thoughts.

600

Where in our lives are we still

being tempted by the bread,

601

the temple, and the mountain?

602

To seek security, validation, or

power apart from trusting the Father?

603

And how does the cross reveal a different

way of faithfulness, surrender, and love?

604

Amen?

605

Amen.

606

So let's go ahead and take a few minutes

to reflect, and then I'll come back.

607

I'll say a prayer for communion.

608

Go for it.

609

I hope this conversation and

exploration of scripture continues.

610

Let's go ahead and pray.

611

We'll take communion.

612

We have a few announcements, and

then our, our close, and then we'll

613

have, um, uh, conclude our service,

but let's keep the fellowship going.

614

Amen?

615

This passage, again, reveals more

of who God is than what Satan is.

616

It does expose those tactics.

617

And I've heard...

618

I hope that we hear this, and we are open

and invited to be informed by the Kingdom

619

of God, by the King, Jesus Himself.

620

Let's pray.

621

God, we're so grateful for your sacred

text that creates encounters with

622

us within the world, in scripture,

but also our lives, our past, our

623

present, our hopes, our aches.

624

Thank you for your example.

625

Thank you for being a good, faithful king.

626

Help us to embrace you, to obey

you, to follow you, to be like you.

627

Reveal to us where empire or the kingdoms

of this world is being formed in us,

628

that we may let it go and embrace

the way of the cross, your way of

629

life-giving, space-making, restorative,

faithful, full of genuine love.

630

We take communion with gratitude

and humility in our hearts,

631

desiring- to be formed by you.

632

It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen