The Three Temptations - Part 12
“Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory [splendor, magnificence, and excellence] of them; and he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.’
**“**Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go away, Satan! For it is written and forever remains written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”—Matthew 4:8-10 (AMP)
This third temptation (in the order that Matthew writes it) is the temptation to focus on building our own empires of wealth and influence, rather than seeking first the kingdom of God and His glory, as Jesus told us to do in Matthew 6:33. Jesus responded to this temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 because he correctly discerned that this was a temptation to commit idolatry—to set something besides God as our object of worship and pursuit.
The surrounding verses in Deuteronomy chapter 6 speak very sternly to this issue.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being]… . You shall fear [only] the Lord your God; and you shall serve Him [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect] and swear [oaths] by His name [alone]. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the Lord your God who is among you is a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]—otherwise the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled and burn against you, and He will destroy you from the face of the earth.”—Deuteronomy 6:4-15 (AMP)
This third temptation has taken down many great ministers of the gospel. This is the temptation that caused the downfalls of the ministries of Alexander Dowie, Larry Lea, and many others whose focuses were diverted to building their own empires rather than serving God’s purposes and building His kingdom.
Besides all of the established ministries that have fallen to this temptation, many, many other believers have never even begun to enter into the great purposes that God had for them because their lives were so focused on building their own empires of wealth and influence.
You don’t have to be a rich person to fall to this temptation. Your social status doesn’t matter. It is a matter of focus. What are your priorities in life? Many people fall to this temptation because their lives are focused primarily on “getting ahead” in life—getting into the best college, building a profitable career, increasing wealth, buying the dream home in the dream neighborhood, having the best of everything life has to offer, and constantly being focused on “moving up,” and having more.
Jesus shared a parable to warn us about this.
**“**Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’
“And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.’”—Luke 12:15-21 (NIV)
The Downfall of the Greatest Ruler on Earth
This was the temptation that caused the downfall of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4 and his successor, King Belshazzar, in the very next chapter.
The great King Nebuchadnezzar was warned by God in a dream that was interpreted to him by Daniel. The dream shocked Daniel, who was so alarmed by this dream that he urged the King to repent.
“Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”—Daniel 4:27 (NIV)
But Nebuchadnezzar did not heed the warning. Judgment came upon him as he expressed pride in the glory of the majestic empire that he had built for himself.
“But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
“While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’
“That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.“—Daniel 4:28-33 (NLT)
I remember Stephen Covey asking, “Wouldn’t it be terrible to spend all of your life climbing the ladder of success, only to reach the top and to realize that you had set your ladder against the wrong wall?”
