The Three Temptations - Part 14
Jesus gave us a key to conquering covetousness in his encounter with the rich young ruler.
A certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher [You who are essentially and morally good], what shall I do to inherit eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”
Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially and morally] good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not testify falsely, Honor your father and your mother.’”
He replied, “I have kept all these things from my youth.”
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “You still lack one thing; sell everything that you have and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have [abundant] treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].”
But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Jesus looked at him and said, “How difficult it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man [who places his faith in wealth or status] to enter the kingdom of God.”
And those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
Peter said, “Look, we have left all [things—homes, families, businesses] and followed You.”
And He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much in this present age and in the age to come, eternal life.”—Luke 18:18-30 (AMP)
The rich young ruler stumbled at Jesus’ instructions to sell his possessions, not just because he was wealthy, but because his heart was with his possessions. He not only had great wealth. His great wealth *had him. That *was the problem. That was what he was unable to overcome.
But this young man did not seem to realize that Jesus was offering him the solution to overcome the third temptation when he gave these instructions. And he assured the young man that his treasure would not be lost. It would be transferred, in effect, to a heavenly account as the young man distributed his wealth to the poor. He would still be wealthy, and his wealth would be secured for all eternity.
If he had followed Jesus’ instructions, this young ruler would have overcome the third temptation because as he took those things that meant so much to him, sold them, and gave to help the poor, his heart would go with his wealth. Jesus knew that. This young ruler’s heart would go with his treasure to the poor people who had needs. In this way, the focus of his heart would be transferred from the pursuit of wealth and influence to the call of God on his life.
In this way, he would lay down his life for Jesus’ sake and the Gospel’s, and this young ruler would finally discover the reason he was born. He would finally enter into his purpose in life.
“Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life.”—Matthew 16:25 (ERV)
The rich young ruler chose not to do this, but we are all given the same command that he was given.
Many people believe that this command was only given to the rich young ruler in Luke 18, but before Jesus ever met this young man, Jesus gave the same command to all of us, His disciples, in Luke 12.
This discussion with his disciples was sparked by an encounter with a man who tried to recruit Jesus to be his advocate in a dispute over the inheritance of a personal empire.
Jesus responded by cautioning His disciples to guard themselves against the third temptation.
“Then he told them, ‘Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, because a person’s life doesn’t consist of the amount of possessions he has.’”—Luke 12:15 (ISV)
Then Jesus shared the parable of the foolish rich man who was focused on building his personal empire of wealth.
Jesus spoke truth to assure his disciples that as long as they sought first the kingdom of God, their needs would always be met.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.** There is more to life than food and more to the body than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither plant nor harvest, they have no silo or barn, yet God feeds them. You are worth so much more than birds! Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? If you can’t do such a small thing, why worry about the rest? Notice how the lilies grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, how much more will God do for you, you people of weak faith! Don’t chase after what you will eat and what you will drink. Stop worrying. **All the nations of the world long for these things. Your Father knows that you need them.”—Luke 12:22-30 (CEB)
“But [strive for and actively] seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid and anxious, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”—Luke 12:31-32 (AMP)
Then Jesus gave us a key to overcoming the third temptation:
Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Make for yourselves wallets that don’t wear out—a treasure in heaven that never runs out. No thief comes near there, and no moth destroys.—Luke 12:33 (CEB)
And He told us why:
“Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—Luke 12:34 (ISV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”—Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
We may admire the extraordinary ministries of John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, George Müller, Heidi Baker, and others, but we may not realize that they all took Jesus up on the invitation that he gave to the rich young ruler.
**The Third Temptation of John G. Lake **
John G. Lake conquered the third temptation by following Jesus’ commandment to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Lake was a successful businessman who made a fortune in real estate and life insurance. But shortly after he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he experienced a growing passion to reach people with the message of Jesus Christ and to demonstrate the power of God to heal and to save.
His business appointments often turned into ministry sessions as he responded to a new passion to help people connect with God.
In his own words,
“This division in my soul between business interests and the desire to help men find God became intense. In many instances what should have been a successful business interview and the closing of a great business transaction ended in a prayer meeting. I would invite the individual to kneel with me while I poured out my heart to God on his behalf.” (Lake, p.28)
Lake was experiencing the truth of what Jesus said, that no man can serve two masters. Knowing that Lake was conflicted, the president of his company gave Lake three months off work to settle his thoughts. During that time off, Lake accepted an invitation to join an evangelistic ministry, and at the end of his three-month vacation, he declared, “I am through forever with everything in life but the proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Lake, p.29)
“I disposed of my estate, distributed my funds in a manner I believed to be for the best interests of the Kingdom of God, made myself wholly dependent upon God for the support of myself and family, and abandoned myself to the preaching of Jesus.” (Lake, p.29)
If he had not decisively conquered the third temptation and redirected his life away from the pursuit of wealth and influence, we probably would not know the name of John G. Lake today.
After he set his heart to seek first the Kingdom of God, all of his needs were met, sometimes in the most miraculous ways, as God took care of Lake as He promised to do.
“But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”—Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
The Third Temptation of Smith Wigglesworth
Living in 19th century England, Smith Wigglesworth was illiterate until his wife taught him to read the Bible at age 23. Even so, he became a master plumber and built up his own plumbing business.
His business became very successful, and Wigglesworth devoted more and more time and attention to the business and eventually stopped going to church and stopped going to the mission where he and his wife, Polly, had ministered regularly.
But Polly did not give up on her backsliding husband. She prayed earnestly for her husband, and God rekindled the fire of devotion in the heart of Wigglesworth.
After he received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire, Wigglesworth received invitations to speak and to minister in meetings in different parts of the country. Not all of the invitations were from churches. One factory owner closed down his factory in the afternoons to allow Wigglesworth to speak and minister to the factory workers.
In Wigglesworth’s own words,
“I soon saw that my business would have to give place to the ministry that God was giving me. I had supported my family with my plumbing business; but I was called out of town so often, and people could not wait—they had to seek help from other sources. Each time I returned to Bradford I had less business.”
“A friend once remarked: ‘All the people who live by faith seem to have their heels worn out, and their clothes are old and green.’ I believed that God would abundantly provide if I served him faithfully. I promised Him at that time that I would obey him implicitly, but I laid down the condition that my shoe heels must never be a disgrace, and I must never have to wear trousers with the knees out. I said to the Lord, ‘If either of these things take place, I’ll go back to plumbing.’ He has never failed to supply all my needs. He increased my vision and faith and gave me calls all over England. I was a pioneer with the Pentecostal message to a great many assemblies throughout Great Britain. Soon calls began to pour in from other countries.
“I had a lot of money on my books that I was not able to collect without court action, but I preferred losing it to going to law. All the debts that I owed at that time were met by a young friend whose heart the Lord opened to make me a gift of some fifty pounds (approximately $250.00).” (Frodsham p.52-53)
For the rest of his life, Wigglesworth trusted God to meet his needs, and he gave generously to meet the needs of others.
In one instance, Wigglesworth heard about a situation in which a missionary couple wanted to go back to their mission work in India, but they did not have money for the trip. Wigglesworth had just finished a month of meetings in one particular location that had given him a generous love offering at the end of his time there. When he heard about these Indian missionaries, he endorsed the check, handed it to the missionaries, and said, “Here is your fare back to India.” (The Revival Library)
When Wigglesworth received the royalties from his book, Ever Increasing Faith, they amounted to about £20,000. Today, that would be the equivalent of around $100,000. Wigglesworth didn’t keep even a single penny for himself. He gave every cent of it to missions. (The Revival Library)
Smith Wigglesworth discovered the truth of Luke 6:38:
“Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.” (AMPC)
Wigglesworth never lacked. His shoes and trousers were always in good condition, and he never went back to plumbing.
References:
Frodsham, S. H. (1948). Smith Wigglesworth: Apostle of Faith. Gospel Publishing House.
Lake, John G.. The Collected Works of John G. Lake. Jawbone Digital. Kindle Edition.
The Revival Library. (n.d.). The Spiritual Life of Smith Wigglesworth by George Stormont. Smith Wigglesworth. Retrieved February 8, 2023, from http://smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-audios
