THE THIRD TEMPTATION

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve

Of the three temptations, this was, perhaps, the hardest. With the promise of the kingdoms of the earth and their glory, the flesh could have had anything it desired! As Adam took us down to defeat in the temptation in the Garden, Christ takes us to victory in the temptation on the mountain.

Aim of the message. To help us get our priorities straight.

Vanity - What is offered. Does Satan have a right to offer it?
II Cor 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Stolen Property! Receiver?

A. Riches?
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
The cattle of a thousand hills.
Psalm 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

What Solomon says of the vanity of earthly riches.
Ecclesiastes 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

If a man should gain the whole world --
Mat 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

B. Acclaim?
He has heard the praise of angels and shall hear the praise of all creation! He experienced in his earthly life, the fickle praise of men. One day they wanted him to be king and the next they wouldn’t even listen to His teaching. They welcomed him into Jerusalem as king but before the week ended shouted, “Crucify Him!” (Denied, Hailed, Assailed)
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
John 11:53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

John 12:12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Mark 15:14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

C. Power ?
John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Christ before Pilate
John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. “You have no power but that given by God!”
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

He created it all and even the limited power the devil wields today is by the power of an almighty God, who allows it to work out His will among men! Before Him, EVERY knee shall bow!
Romans 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Vanity of power - worms and death
Acts 12:21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

D. Pleasure?
Who for the JOY that was set before Him
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

II Value - what is at stake
A. A throne in the heaven, eternal -
Acts 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

For us - a chance to reign with Him
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

B. The hope of salvation to all men! Since the promise was made in eternity, the very integrity of God is involved
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. )

C. He would have traded the thousand year honeymoon with his church for a short time of governmental headaches!

D. The destroyer, satan, would have been god! Then what would the glory of the kingdoms be? It is the power of Christ that literally holds all things together
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Had Jesus accepted the devil's offer, it would have meant the destruction of the very things for which he traded! Lesson for the child of God; You destroy anything you reach for outside of the will of God.

III Vacillation Why halt ye between two opinions:
I Kings 18:21 Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.

A. There are still false gods and to worship any is to yield to the third temptation.
1. There are some who worship their own fleshly desires
Phil 3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.

Their mind is on earthly things.
Putting a religious tag on it doesn’t make it right. Christian nudist camps? Sacred sex outside of marriage? Multiple marriages made In Heaven? Truth through drugs?

2. Idolatry of covetousness.
Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Which of the things in this verse is worst?
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

3. Through witchcraft the devil still attempts to get man’s attention away from God. Trust God or a rabbit foot or a horse shoe. Pray or throw salt over your shoulder

B. This third temptation is leading many to hell.
Mat 19:22 - But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
-Lu 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

C. It leads many of the saved out of God’s service
14 The sower soweth the word.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Which leads us to the last thought

IV. Victory.. A positive affirmation solves the problem.
If you will concentrate on these two points, you will not be plagued with questions of what NOT to do!

A. There is only ONE to worship. The very nature of worship rules out 2 objects, for it must be UNDIVIDED ADORATION. Worship is that ability of man, through the spirit, to go beyond the world of pain, sorrow, heartbreak, prison walls, Iron curtains, Laodicean lukewarmness, sinful surroundings, and into the very presence of the Holy one. This IS our conversation which is in heaven! It is ONLY in worship that we are ever "made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Worship truly transcends this life and lifts us into the presence of the object of our worship. Worship God!
B. Only one is worthy of our service.
1. If your service is to please men, you might as well quit!
2 . If your service isn’t justified by the Bible, you might as well stop.
BUT -- If your service is for the GLORY OF GOD and is in accordance with the Word of God, then there is nothing more important in this world to you, nothing more pleasing to God or more devastating to the devil. "Whatsoever you do, do all for the glory of God." THIS IS VICTORY

THE THIRD TEMPTATION

Open mine eyes that I may see,
When Satan tempts this heart of mine,
That all he offers is vanity -
It cannot stand the test of time
And holds no hope for eternity.

Give me wisdom, Lord, to recognize
Those things that have eternal worth
And so, reach forth to claim the prize,
Lest all the glitter of the earth
Should win my heart and blind my eyes.

I would not waver like a reed,
But serving you with heart and soul,
Strive in every thought and deed
To make obedience my goal
And your desire alone, to heed.

I would worship, none but Thee -
To you alone, I make my prayer -
None other can give me victory
And lift me from my worldly care,
And make me what I ought to be.

fcc