All This Authority

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ” Luke 4:5-8 (ESV)

The beauty of the Biblical accounts of Yeshua is that He left heaven and became a man. Yeshua had all glory and power, yet He gave it all up to become like us.

“though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Phil 2:6-8 (ESV)

There are many reasons why Yeshua did all this; however, I only want to write about one of them. When He became like us, taking the form of a servant, Yeshua set an example to all of us who follow Him. If Yeshua, who had all glory and power, was willing to become a man, then we, who are born mere men, must be willing to become servants as well. This is a concept that few are willing to accept.

At the beginning of His ministry, Yeshua went through 40 days of testing and temptation in the wilderness of Israel. He experienced the same trials that we experience. At the end of the 40 days, Yeshua was tired, hungry, and sunburned to a crisp, while at the same time physically and mentally vulnerable to satanic temptations.

One of the fascinating parts of the accounts of Yeshua’s temptations in the desert is Satan’s offer of extreme earthly power. Satan not only tried to get Yeshua to disobey His father by eating during a fast, but also offered Yeshua a fast way to accumulate power and authority.

Yeshua’s response was to reject any path that did not come from His Father and not in accordance with scripture. His rejection of the satanic offer is an example and warning to His followers. If the devil tempted Yeshua, the Son of God, during a time of stress and weakness to shortcut the biblical process, then we will receive the same temptation. All of us, at some point, will be at a similar crossroads in our walk with the Lord. There will seem to be more than one path to fulfill your calling. One path will be the easy way; the other path will be long and arduous. Only one of the paths will be correct. One leads to the Lord. The other path leads to Hell.

Yeshua rejected the satanic path of quick fame and fortune. He gave up temporary paths to follow the eternal road.

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father Phil 2:9-11 (ESV)

How Do You Want to be Remembered?

What do you think about when you read the title of this article?

Do you start thinking about doing more and more things in the hope that you will be remembered? Do you think you should brag about your accomplishments? What about giving money to a cause or putting your name on plaques?

Many people spend their life trying to make a name for themselves. They spend time trying to succeed in business, sports, arts, politics or even religion. Some want to be remembered as a philanthropist, some as a business genius or notable sports great. Whatever the reason, people spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make others believe they are someone great or will soon to be someone great.

What do you think about when you hear the name Moses (Moshe)?

Some of the things that come to mind are national leader, prophet, teacher, writer, husband, father and intercessor. He saw the Lord face to face and let the Lord work mighty miracles through him for the nation of Israel. If I had to choose two people who have had the greatest influence throughout history, the first would be Yeshua (Jesus) and the second would be Moses. People have done paintings and sculptures of Moses. Pastors preach about him. Books have been written about him. The Jewish people still consider Moses one of their greatest Rabbi’s.

However . . . .

How does the Lord refer to Moses?

In the book of Joshua, chapter one, the Lord refers to Moses as “My servant Moses”. If you look in scripture, you will find several places where Moses is referred to simply as a servant of the Lord (or some form of that phrase).

Why?

In the Kingdom of God, a servant is the very definition of the word “great”. There can be no greater honor than having the Lord calling you His servant. Moses did great things, but he was great because he was first a servant of the Lord. Being a servant was not just a title to him but an attitude and a way of life.

Yeshua stated that the greatest people in the Kingdom of God are servants. He is not trying to be a poet or a philosopher. He means every word. God’s word says that if you spend your life trying to make a name for yourself you will find yourself humbled. However, those who humble themselves will be exalted.

“In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’ ” Luke 17:10 (New Living Translation – NLT)