Scripture
Matthew 4:5-7
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Sermon Summary
Traditionally, a Jewish day begins in the evening and flows into the morning. This is because it reflects the structure of Creation, which moves from darkness to light. The perspective through which we view our lives is aligned with this direction—establishing order out of disorder.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Giving us a heart that yearns for eternity and allowing us to hope for God’s sovereignty even within tragedy are in the same context as moving toward the light.
Micah 7:8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
God does not explain; He promises. He promises that He will be my light. And Jesus fulfilled that promise by dying on the cross (Evening) and rising again (Morning). We must realize that our lives, too, must pass through the night to welcome the morning. Then, how should we pass through that night?
Deuteronomy 6:16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.
A sign only demands yet another sign. We are not people who live by what is visible to our eyes. We must endure to experience His grace. Faith is not merely about receiving answers to our prayers. Let us not reduce faith to mere problem-solving. Praying and drawing near to God in the midst of affliction is faith, and this must be our attitude as we pass through the night.
God is the One who watches what kind of person I am becoming. If your life feels like the night right now, try asking Him: “Lord, what do You want me to do here?” Let us have a faith that offers ourselves according to God’s needs.
Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
Do not Christians today live lives focused on filling their own needs rather than fulfilling God’s will? God is not an entity whose purpose is simply to satisfy my needs. Do not test the Lord your God.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
We must possess a faith that seeks God’s will first.
Psalm 91:1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Let us become people who rely on God and live within Him. Let us live a life that acknowledges God as God. Let us live a life where God comes first, and I come next. In times of pain and confusion, let us pause to question God and look at our problems through His perspective. By doing so, let us live a life that passes through the evening to welcome the morning.
Personal Reflection
The words “Let us not reduce faith to mere problem-solving” resonated with me deeply. When I think about the kinds of prayers I usually offer, I can see how I truly treat God. Haven’t I been treating Him somewhat like Genie from a magic lamp?
God is the One who guides me into the light and takes full responsibility for my life. Instead of giving up and feeling frustrated in times of affliction, I need to ask God how He wants me to grow through this hardship. I must ask what kind of person He wants me to become as His child.
Rather than thinking, “This matter is too trivial, so I can just do it my way,” I pray to become someone who lives according to God’s will, even in the smallest details of life.