Satan’s Schema – Part 4

Jesus is tempted three times in Matthew 4. The third and last temptation goes something like this: “Worship me and I will give you all of the kingdoms of this world.”

This temptation is a little less subversive than the others. Satan simply wants Jesus, the Son of God, to worship him. It is no secret here that this is what Satan wants. That’s his motive for everything he does. That’s why he got kicked out of heaven (FYI: he used to be an angel). He stopped worshiping God the Father because he wanted to be like God and be worshiped.

This temptation can be broken down into two temptations: WORDLY AMBITION and IDOLATRY- yet both are linked together.

An idol is anything we worship other than God. Idolatry is not simply worshiping Satan or other gods, but can be a worship of money, sex, our boyfriend or girlfriend, our family, our job, or even our favorite Sports team.

An idol is anything we elevate and make supreme over the one true God.

If we are worshiping (talking about, praising, meditating on, etc.) anything more than God it is idolatry - which is Satan’s desire for us. As long as he takes our attention off of worshiping God (which is the only worship that is truly satisfying to our souls) he wins. There is no middle ground. There is no gray area. There is only lightness and darkness. There is the kingdom of God and kingdom of Satan. If we aren’t worshiping God as supreme, we are in the realm of Satan’s kingdom.

In Matthew 4, Satan was trying to transfer Jesus out of the kingdom of God and place him in his own kingdom.

And how did Satan try to accomplish this with Jesus? By appealing to his fleshly need for power – which is exactly what he does with us.

Here are a few examples of how Satan uses power and ambition as a temptation for us to worship in his kingdom:

• Satan: If you just put in more hours at work you’ll be a) richer and b) more powerful within your company. You won’t have time to worship God, and your family will be left in the dust, but you’ll be powerful.
• Satan: If you spend all your time studying for your classes, I will give you a wonderful job someday. A job that will give you power and prestige. Even if you don’t have time for God or time to go to church or time to serve others, you’ll get a lot of money someday which will take care of all your needs.
  

Now, I think that working hard in school and working hard in the workplace are good godly desires. However, my point is that Satan’s goal is to take good things and make them ultimate in our lives so that we worship those things and not God. If Satan gets our eyes off of God, he wins.

What are the idols in your life? What are you fixing your eyes on, thinking about, praising - that is not God Himself? How is Satan using worldly ambition to tempt you away from God?

Satan’s Schema – Part 3

Jesus is tempted three times in Matthew 4. The second temptation goes something like this: “Throw yourself off this building so that they angels can catch you.”

Is Satan board and looking for some entertainment, or is something else going on here?

Underneath the surface, Satan is trying to get Jesus to TEST God the Father. In other words Satan is saying: “God is a good God. Therefore, he will protect and defend you at all times no matter what you do.” This sounds very “Christian” but it doesn’t take into account the sinful actions that God doesn’t want you to take. Satan is trying to get us to test God by acting imprudently and then expecting him to show up.

Some examples of TESTING God might look like:

• A couple who goes on handling their finances foolishly because they think that God will probably come through for them in the end and send them a big check through a family member of friend. They are testing God to see if he will cover for their foolishness.
• A college student who goes on having a sexual relationship with their boyfriend/girlfriend thinking that God will just forget about their actions someday and allow them to start over when they get married.
• A person who goes on living the Christian life by themselves, rather than getting involved in a spiritual community. They are testing God to see if he’ll actually grow them spiritually without any help from others.
• A person who buys more things than he can afford because he was told by his preacher that God wants to bless those who love Him.
  

All of these examples are of people who are living in sin and are believing Satan's lie that God blesses those who disobey Him.

If we are testing God, we are desiring to be in control of our spiritual lives. Satan is trying to get us to reject the authority of our loving Father and replace it with a doubtful skepticism.

Satan’s Schema – Part 2

Jesus is tempted three times in Matthew 4. The first temptation goes something like this: “Turn these stones into bread so you can have something to eat.”

On the surface, it looks like the temptation has something to do with a meal, but it goes much deeper than that. The root issue here is that Satan is trying to get Jesus to DISTRUST THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE AND SUPPORT OF GOD THE FATHER.

In other words, Satan is saying: “Because you are hungry and God is obviously not providing for you, you should take matters into your own hands.”

This temptation comes in many forms to us on a daily basis.

Here are three ways in which we are tempted to distrust the divine providence and support of God the Father:

1) IN PRAYER

Often times I find that it is rather hard to spend a significant amount of time in prayer in the mornings or throughout he day. I am tempted to instead get on my laptop and start working away. I doubt that my dependence on God through prayer will actually be more productive than my ability to get things done. Instead of relying on God to work and provide for my family and ministry, I take matters into my own hands and rely on myself.

2) IN GIVING

Research has shown that the average person tithes about 2% of their income. And with the economy the way it is, that number is expected to go down. Many churches currently are getting hit hard – finding that their giving has dropped 30% in 2008. Satan, during this financial crisis, would tempt us to believe that we need to stop trusting in God’s providence and to cut back on our giving. Are you listening to this temptation? Or are you trusting that God will take care of all your needs?

3) IN PATIENCE

Since I work with college students, I have to mention that many of them neglect patience when it comes to friendships or dating relationships. I have seen many college students make poor decisions on the friends they select or the guys/girls that they choose to date because they have lost patience with God. Since God is obviously not providing them with their dream guy or girl right now, they have to take matters into their own hands and lower their standards. This leads to one big mess. Are you continuing to trust in God’s providence in the relationship area in your life, or are you giving into the temptation to neglect patience?

We’ll cover the second temptation in the next blog.

Satan’s Schema – Part 1

Most people would not claim to be following Satan - because they are not hosting Satanic parties in their homes or participating in evil rituals. But you are under his power and control if you are not under God’s power and control.

First of all, Satan is a lot smarter than you think. Remember, Satan was once an angel in heaven with God. He knows the system. He knows how to win the hearts of Christians and non-Christians alike.

He doesn’t appear in the form of a monster or a man in a red cape with a pitchfork. He comes in the attractive form of a helper or savior. He even appeals to Christians by using Scripture to back up his main points. Therefore, there are many government officials, actors, musicians, and even pastors (to name of few) who claim to be in the God camp but are actually in the other camp. They are not following the true God because they have been deceived by the "angel of light" - also known as Satan.

Jesus ushered in the Kingdom when he came to the earth. However, the fulfillment of the Kingdom has not yet come – therefore, we live in a age where Satan still has some authority and power to do as he wishes.

Jesus gets a dose of Satan’s crafty self (in Matthew 4) when he goes off into the wilderness. He tempts Jesus in these three ways by saying:

• Turn these stones into bread so you can have something to eat.
• Throw yourself off this building so that they angels can catch you.
• Worship me and I will give you all of the kingdoms of this world.
  

The next three blogs will be unpacking these seemingly trivial temptations by looking behind the scenes to figure out what Satan is really trying to do.

If we understand how Jesus was tempted, we’ll get a clearer picture of how Satan subversively attacks us on a daily basis.

The purpose of these writings will not be to help you get a one-up on Satan, but to realize that Satan has already been defeated by Jesus (because of the cross) and therefore we have the power available, if we are in Him, to overcome temptation and to live in peace with God and others.