MATTHEW 4:1-11 TEXT: v8-9 GREATEST TAKE OVER BID/HISTORY
SERMON BASED ON THE TAKE OVER OF MANCHESTER UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me
Life on Planet Football at the moment centres around the proposed take
over bid of Manchester United. An American sports tycoon, Malcolm
Glazier, has persuaded two Irish millionaires (JP MacManus and John
Magnier) to sell their shares (at a cool £70m profit) and he is
offering a high price to other investors, so that he can effectively
own the club and greatly profit himself. The fans are not too happy and
there have been all kinds/protests. Their little world- largely built
round their devotion/Utd - is starting to cave in. I've been there with
following football teams and I understand their grief, but I cannot
help but think/Isaiah's words: Wherefore do ye spend money for that
which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfies not?
hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your
soul delight itself in fatness. (Isaiah 55:2) A good question to ask in
regards to that which costs us commitment-time-money etc. is this:
Where will this thing be, as far as I am concerned, in a hundred years?
Other words: Is it of any spiritual profit to me?
Will it survive the great fire/testing through which all our interests
and commitments must pass? If not…then we must not give too much
time to it. Certainly the word devoted must never be justified in
relation to it. Jesus said: Labour not for the meat that perisheth but
for that meat that endureth unto everlasting life (John 6:27)
This attempted take over/world's richest soccer club reminds me of
another take over bid i.e. when the Devil sought to gain control of the
universe. Like Glazier, he has made a number of attempts. Of the
several passages/Scripture we could turn to…I have chosen this
one from the three fold temptation/Christ. Words could not be clearer:
Bow down and worship me. Yield to me! Worship me as God. It is a take
over bid that makes the present trouble at Man Utd fade into absolute
insignificance. 3 main thoughts:
1) THE UNVEILING OF THIS DARK PLAN:
A/ Use this phrase "dark plan" because of the character of the one/hatches it.
Paul warned Christians: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places
(Ephesians 6:12) Satan is truly the Prince/Darkness.
B/ Right from earliest days (pre fall days/Adam) Lucifer eyed the
throne/God. If not actually stated, at least pictured in Isaiah 14
where he outwardly boasts: I will exalt my throne above the stars/God
i.e. in Heaven itself. I will dethrone God. I will take over the
Highest place which heaven affords. I, myself, will become God!
C/ Satan attempted it before Adam fell and was cast out/heaven: I saw
Satan fall as lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18) Understand he took
about third/angels with him (Revelation 12:4) i.e. now demons.
D/ Here/text: Satan himself confronts head on the Lord Jesus once
again. This time…not heaven but earth. Christ is not in His
glory, but in His self imposed humility. Christ is an hungered having
fasted 40 days. Satan makes a head on attack, noted for its
ruthlessness. Not shadow boxing. A real head to head. Will only be one
winner. Whoever loses…loses big time. Really is the Battle of
the Ages.
E/The last/temptations (according to Matthew) is blunt: Fall down and
worship me. Acknowledge me as one worthy of your respect. Yield to
me…place yourself under me. Express by your words/actions that I
am more powerful…the rightful recipient of any worship. If you
do this, I will give you all the kingdoms/world with all their glory.
This offer shows how excellent it is to be thought as God. Some people
eye the possession/world as the ultimate possession. It's not. To
gain/world and to lose the soul is no gain. Might well be argued: These
worlds weren't Satan's to give. True. How can you give some one
(Christ) what is already His? But it does show, the worth: being
considered God that such could be offered.
F/ This great battle/wilderness should not be passed over lightly.
One of the most dramatic moments/history of the world.
2) THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS DARK PLAN:
A/A real temptation. Bible calls it such. Not a mere skirmish or a
war/words. Really was a battle/death. True…the Lord Jesus was
never going to lose. That doesn't mean Satan never really tried or that
this was a mere farce or merely went through/motions.
B/ Had Satan succeeded/temptation and the Lord/glory had've
yielded…consequences would be so dire for every last one of us.
Consider this:
[i] Divine justice would remain inoperative. Not be banished (eternal
principle) but would be rendered ineffectual. Not be policed. No
comeback for those crimes which escaped justice/earth. What a calamity!
Although hell is not very p.c. yet it is a fact. Necessity. A universe
where sin reigns and where God is cowered into an inferior place is not
a nice place to live. The wicked only fancy that it would be a great
place/live…but they do/cannot picture the full horror of such a
thing. No one could enjoy such a place entirely void of any law or any
safety or any sense of justice. That was at stake/desert.
[ii] Not only would there be NO JUSTICE…NO MERCY. Some people
think…no justice means no hell. Sin and get away with it! Commit
adultery and escape hell. Murder your enemies and no hell!
Thieve/slander/injure your foes and no lake/fire forever. Not so. Satan
isn't a frustrated pleasure bringer. If Satan had got his way: Hell
would have erupted over unto earth. Mercy would be a thing clean gone
forever/earth. Ungodly still enjoy (abuse) God's mercy on earth. Even
while they are indulging/sins. God still feeds/clothes them and evens
allows them to prosper. That's mercy, even if it is abused. Can't blame
God for abuse/His gifts. But had Satan pulled off that greatest
bid/power in the wilderness…the mercy that keeps sinners
out/hell would have ceased altogether and men would know the
torments/hell on earth. Satan isn't one/boys. Satan isn't wanting to
smash everything good so that men can indulge themselves morning to
night without restraint. Satan has men now in his grip and far from
having a good time…they are in the depths/misery. See the
drunkard. Drug addict. See the girl sold into prostitution and unable
to make her escape. Would be like that for us all if Satan succeeded.
No justice…no mercy…something else:
[iii] No HOPE. Remove hope and all else is gone. A man may be
languishing/prison because there is no justice/mercy for him. But he
has hope. May hope that better days will come. Such was Joseph. His
word/ butler suggests as much. Had the promises of God. Always
light/end of the tunnel. Waiting for circumstances to change. Waiting
for a Sovereign God to intervene. He did. If Satan ever gained
control…then God would cease to be sovereign and the hope which
keeps men alive would be stamped out and they would live/die in a
Satanic dungeon called Planet Earth and have no hope/relief.
C/ See from these words what a dark principle sin really is. What a
vile enemy Satan really is. Really is the greatest threat to your
spiritual liberties. Especially to the unsaved. Ponder what happens
when God leaves men to their chosen master. When God gives men up to a
reprobate mind (Romans 1) then their doom/certain. Cross a dead
line…a point of no return. Spirit quits striving with them. Is
the fact you are here an indication He hasn't done so? Well/good but
please remember…only as good as far as it goes. Do not stop
until you are born again/Spirit of God. Only then are you beyond all
danger.
3) THE SMASHING OF THIS DARK PLAN:
How helpless our Man Utd friends are/moment. Glazier has around 70%
shares. Another 5% and he controls the club with needed majority to get
things through Extraordinary General Meetings. If he gets 90% then he
cannot be stopped. Total. Financial experts believe he will.
A/ As we watch Satan take on the Lord Jesus in the Wilderness, we look
on helpless. He took no disciple with him. Went alone. Met Satan head
on and dealt him a massive blow. Resisted the temptations. Satan
pounded Him, but was each time rebuffed with the word/God. See the
power/this Book! This is why we preach so forcefully from it. A true
gospel preacher can lift this book and say the most wonderful things
without blinking/eyelid. Because Satan is no match to it.
B/ Sinner cannot defeat Satan. Sinner is Satan's slave. Held captive by
the devil at his will (2 Timothy 2:26) He is a
child/devil…possesses the Satanic nature/mindset. Walks
accord/course of the Prince/air. Sinner can certainly try to reform
himself etc., and break free…but He cannot succeed. Each time he
will fall back more discouraged than ever. He will run out of
ideas/courage/strength/time. And in hell, Satan possesses him for ever,
because God has totally abandoned him to his desired lusts. There is no
mercy in a Christ rejecters hell.
C/ Bible uses the illustration of a strong man keeping his goods. He
must be overthrown if the goods are to be secured. Sinner cannot be
saved until Satan's head is smashed. The battle/wilderness was only a
forerunner of the greatest battle/all: Battle/Calvary. There Jesus
Christ once/all smashed Satan's head. He really did destroy the
works/Devil (1 John 3:8) Crucified through weakness in what He called
the hour/darkness…He took all that was Satanic and made an open
show of it. He lade it bare and sealed Satan's doom.
D/ This has great implications/sinner. On the Cross, Christ died for
ours sins. Satisfied justice/God. Opened up: fountain/mercy. Swung
open: door/grace. Not only pardon...but power to break the Satanic
chains that bind sinners. But do you want it? hard to believe, but not
every prisoner accepts the promised freedom. Only those who do get it.
This is your chance. You need to be saved. Sin is taking you to hell.
Place of unimaginable anguish/suffering. Escape now! Appeal etc.,
