Matthew 4:8-10 (NKJV) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”
As Christians, we need to know that the devil will use the same lie and tempt us the way that he tempted Jesus, and we need to be on our guard.
Mark 4:18-19 (NKJV) Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Thorns in the Bible can refer to a number of things but one of them is people who influence our lives. Because thorns grow faster than the seed, it is always easier to learn about wickedness and bad behaviour than to change for good. Because the thorns blocked the sunlight from reaching the seed, the seed yielded no crops. Therefore, we need to be aware that not everyone we associate with is a positive voice of influence in our lives as their values and principles might be different from ours. They might value money, work, status, possessions, looks, and other things of this world as more important than God, family relationships and church.
We all need another voice that will influence us correctly—the voice of God through His Word and godly counsel. We should let the seed that is sown into our hearts lead and guide us so that we will truly experience the God kind of life.
Godly mentoring by older believers to the younger generation is much needed. If only these younger ones could hear from those who had based their worth on their achievements and possessions, but only to have a hard fall when their identity was shaken in an economic downturn, a demotion or job loss, and if only they could be spared the sorrows of learning life’s lessons the hard way.
It is possible to love God, be passionate about serving Him with our gifts and do well in our careers at the same time—they are not mutually exclusive. Godliness with contentment is great gain because we bring nothing into this world, and we cannot bring anything with us either when we leave. God says we will have no lack because we are His children. These are the truths that we need to teach our children and remind ourselves of.
There are two roads to success: God’s way or the way of the world. The devil will lure us to use his way through the deceitfulness of riches, but we need to hold fast to God’s way, by seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and trust that He will provide for all our needs.
Sermon Series: The Seed Can be Stolen but It Is Difficult to Uproot the Tree! (Part 3)
坚守神的道
马太福音4:8-10魔鬼又带他上了一座最高的山，将世上的万国与万国的荣华都指给他看，对他说：“你若俯伏拜我，我就把这一切都赐给你。”耶稣说：“撒但退去吧！因为经上记着说：‘当拜主你的 神，单要侍奉他。’”
作为基督徒，我们需要知道魔鬼会用同样的谎言来试探我们，就像牠试探耶稣一样，我们需要保持警惕。
马可福音 4: 18-19还有那撒在荆棘里的，就是人听了道，后来有世上的思虑、钱财的迷惑，和别样的私欲进来，把道挤住了，就不能结实。
圣经中提到荆棘可以指很多事情，但其中之一就是那些影响我们生命的人。因为荆棘总是长得比种子快，学坏三天，学好三年。因为荆棘阻挡了阳光照射到种子上，所以种子没有结果。因此，我们需要意识 到并不是我们交往的每一个人都对我们的生命产生积极的影响，因为他们的 价值观和原则可能与我们的不同。他们也许重视金钱、工作、地位、财产，容貌以及在这个世界上的一切更甚于对神、家庭关系和教会的重视。
我们都需要另一个能正确影响我们的声音 —就是神通过祂的话语和敬虔的忠 告发出的声音。我们应该让撒在我们心里的种子引导我们，使我们真正地经历 神的生命。
年长信徒给予年轻一代的敬虔教导是非常必须的。如果这些年轻人只听那些以成就和财产衡量人生价值之人的声音，当遭遇经济衰退、降职或失业的时候，他们的身份认定就会被动摇，从而重重跌倒，倘若他们可以免于以这种惨痛的方式学习人生功课就好了。
爱上帝，满怀热忱地以自己的恩赐服事祂，而同时自己的事业又能做得风生水起，这是可能的，二者并不互相排斥。敬虔加上知足就是大利了， 因为我们两手空空地来到这个世界，离开的时候也无法带走任何东西。上帝说我们不会缺乏，因为我们是祂的孩子。这是我们需要教导给我们的孩子并提醒自己的 真理。
成功之路有两条： 神的道路，或是这世界的道路。魔鬼会通过财富的欺骗引诱我们使用牠的道路，但我们需要坚守 神的道路，首先就是要寻求神的国和祂的义，并相信祂会供应我们一切的需 要。
讲章系列: 种子会被偷走，但很难把树连根拔起！ (第三部分)