Luke 4:5-8 (NKJV) 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
As we look at the idea that it is possible for us to win every day, we realize it is impossible to do that if we do not know how to deal with trying times. We are currently looking at the trying times Jesus went through in the wilderness at the very beginning of his ministry. Although the word translated temptation in this scripture can also mean any test or trial, temptation is a major tool of the devil in our lives as well as in Jesus’. James tells us that temptation never comes from God, and that when we are tempted we can overcome it. Temptation is not sin, although the devil would like us to believe it is. If we resist temptation as Jesus did, we can overcome it and James also tells us that will lead to the crown of life. How did Jesus deal with temptation?
We found that the first temptation was to turn bread into stone after a 40 day fast. Hunger had returned in Jesus’ body. He was at the point of starvation. He was the son of God, but it was the son of man being tempted here. He could have done what Jesus suggested. His answer was, “It is Written.” If God had said, Son, turn these stones into bread and eat” that would have been fine. Since the devil said it, Jesus knew it would lead only to bad things. The first temptation is to follow the voice of the devil or the world. It may seem logical. It may seem right, but if the devil is the source, pain is the end.
It was also a temptation to take care of the problem in our own strength and not to trust God. When we are faced with trying times it is easy to fall into this temptation. We know something must be done. We do have a part to play, but it is important for us, as believers, to take a step back and ask God what we should do. Sometimes a decision has to be made and an action taken, but do your best to make that decision by faith in God. That way, you will find that if it is the wrong one you will quickly know to pivot in the right direction.
The written Word of God is key in overcoming this temptation. The more we know the written Word the more clearly we will hear the voice of God. The writing Word provides the principles and boundaries that should guide our decisions. It is also food to the spirit of man which will strengthen that part of us that is vitally connected to God.
In the next temptation Satan tells Jesus that he has been given authority over the whole world. If Jesus will worship him, all this authority would be his. This is interesting on two points. Did Satan lie to Jesus? He did not. It would not have been a real temptation if he had. At the fall of man, the authority God had given to Adam in creation was put in the hands of Satan. This was the case because man’s sin had put him in Satan’s hands. It was Satan’s to give to anyone who would worship him. What is even more interesting is that this power was part of what Jesus was going to obtain in his death, burial and resurrection.
Matthew 28:18 (NKJV) 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
This is a statement Jesus made after the resurrection. Do you see the similarity to that with which the devil tempted him? The temptation was not so much having the authority over all the earth, it was to bypass the cross in order to obtain it. In trying times we are usually tempted to compromise our faith in God to get what we want or need without having to go through what we must deal with to receive it God’s way. There are no shortcuts to the will of God. In Jesus’ answer we find out something important. “Get behind me Satan, For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
When compromise to get what we want, need or thing we deserve, we always end up serving other gods. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus points out one of the false gods we may end up serving if we trust in money. He says, “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” What is mammon. According to Strong’s concordance it means wealth personified and greed deified. Mammon is not just greed or wealth. It is the God of greed and wealth. Mammon is one God we may end up serving. It could also be the god of pride and ambition. It could be the god of fear. There are many things we could put here. Whatever is driving you to compromise your walk with God or your integrity to get what you need or want will lead you to serving another God. Not all at once of course, but the first compromise makes the second easier. In the end you will be serving another god and, no matter what the name my be, it will be him.
Jesus’ response gives us the answer to this temptation. Notice that he uses the written Word once again. “You shall worship the Lord you God and him only you shall serve.” What is worship. The Greek carries the idea of doing reverence and to adore the one you worship. Reverence means to treat someone with deep respect. To adore, or course, means to love but also to admire. When we compromise to obtain something, we respect something else more than we do God. We admire the easy way more than we do God. Jesus flatly refuses because he understands this truth.
I am laying out what happens when we give in to compromise, but that does not mean I think every time we give in to the easy way we are terrible people who worship the devil and do not love, admire and respect God. We give in to compromise because we do not understand that that is the devil’s trap for us. If we fall into that trap, all we need to do is repent and God will help us out of it. If we understand the plan of the devil we are less likely fall into the trap in the first place.
Worship is an attitude of the heart. It is also an action. We love the Lord, but the act of worship reinforces what we believe. It puts us in a place where our focus is upon him. We focus on how wonderful and awesome he is. We focus on what he has done for us and how much we can trust him. When we view this temptation from a posture of the worship of God, we will se the temptation to worship the devil through compromise for what it is. It is foolishness.
The act of worship that does not begin in the heart of worship is just religious form. However the act of worship is very important in keeping our heart of worship in control. Do not think that the times of praise and worship in church are just what we do before the preaching of the Word of God. Understand that they are a very important part of keeping our inward worship. When you feel the temptation to compromise, actively worship God. Worship does not end in church. It is reinforced in our corporate time together, but worship is a lifestyle. It is one of the keys to winning every day.
Let me close with one more key to overcoming this temptation. As we saw in Matthew 28, the thing offered by Satan to get Jesus to worship him was going to be his anyway. He had to go through the cross to get it, but he ended up with what the devil offered him without having to bow down to evil. There is nothing the devil tempts you to compromise for that God cannot provide in a better, fuller and purer way.
Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV) 22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
You may have to go through a journey to get there. You may have to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, but in the end, you will have what God wants for you. However, you will have it with no pitfalls attached.
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