The Devil Will Take You Places

“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; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8-9

The devil will take you places if you let him! He will not only show you the world, but he will give you the world as well. All for the price of your soul. It is said that “Nothing is for free.” This is true, for everything has its price. Even our salvation which is freely given came at the cost of the “precious blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:18,19) Satans price for your soul is that he wants you “Bow down and worship him.”

This third temptation is through the Lust of the eyes. The devil showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. Who doesn’t want to rule the world? There have been many great men and woman with humble beginnings who sought out to make the world a better place. It was only when that made it to Washington that they sold themselves to the devil by making promises to lobbyists and aligning with parties and policies that at one time went against their convictions and values.

There have been others who were very talented who the devil took to Hollywood or Nashville and made them a big star to only waste away their talents and in the meantime ruining their lives through sex, drugs, and alcoholism. He may show you the glory of them, but will never show you the cost of them. It is said that Sin will take you further than you want to go and make you pay more than you want to pay. Life appears to be better at the top. But in reality it only looks better from the top and lives harshly at the bottom.

It can happen to anyone. He showed Eve the fruit of the tree that it was one to be desired. He led David to the top of the roof and showed him Bathsheba. He led Sampson into the lap of Delilah. Finally he filled Judas heart and showed him thirty pieces of shiny silver. It looked like much, but wasn’t very valuable. (Around $200 present day) And he took Jesus up to the mountain and showed him the glory of the kingdoms. But Jesus didn’t give in!

Jesus did not give in because that was his purpose for coming into the world to begin with. Adam sold the world to the devil through his transgression and Satan became the “god of this world.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Jesus came to redeem the world and the only way that was to be done was through the cross! Satans purpose of this temptation was to entice Jesus to bypass the cross because he knew that through the cross Jesus would “Destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8) Jesus overcame this temptation by saying “Get thee behind me Satan, for thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only thou shalt serve.”

The lesson for us today is to Love not the world. (1 John 2:15-18) The Scofield Study Bible defines the world as “In the sense of the present world-system, the ethically bad sense of the word, refers to the "order," "arrangement," under which Satan has organized the world of unbelieving mankind upon his cosmic principle of force, greed, selfishness, ambition, and pleasure.This world- system is imposing and powerful with armies and fleets; is often outwardly religious, scientific, cultured, and elegant; but, seething with national and commercial rivalries and ambitions, is upheld in any real crisis only by armed force, and is dominated by Satanic principles. If we do not love the world then when Satan shows it to us and offers to give it to us, then we will not fall into his trap and waste away everything that has been given to us in Christ. God has made us not for the world, but for his kingdom. Unlike the world, God’s kingdom will never pass away, but will endure for ever. This kingdom is ours because of the price Jesus paid at the cross.

So our challenge this Lenten season is let us not love the world and it’s fading glory, but let us embrace the cross and all of its glory and someday we will exchange it for a crown!

Pastor Robby