Spiritual Equilibrium: Part 2
Scriptures: Matthew 4:5-11; Mark 16:17-18
This is part two of my message “Spiritual Equilibrium.” In part one we reviewed the first of three temptations that Jesus experienced at the hands of Satan. Last week we learned that we needed to have a balance in our flesh, especially when we are warring against the Spirit. Jesus said “…..Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” From this we understand that we need to be feeding on the Word of God for our spiritual equilibrium just as we need natural food to keep our physical bodies in equilibrium. This morning we will examine the final two temptations that Jesus faced which gives us instructions on where we need to have balance in our lives. Please turn with me to Matthew chapter four and we will begin reading at verse five.
Relationship To God
“Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning you; and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, ‘On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Matt. 4:5-7
Jesus knew that as long as He walked with His Father in His mission, there was a timeline affecting His life and nothing could happen to Him before His time. That being said, Satan attempted to make Jesus test God to prove that God really had Him. After the first temptation Satan recognizes that Jesus was walking in a commitment to His Father so what does he do? He tries to get Jesus to tempt God through doubt. He wanted Jesus to doubt that God had Him. You see, if Jesus did not jump off the cliff Satan could claim that He was afraid and was doubting God. If He did jump off, then He would in fact be testing God which is something we are not supposed to do. What he was doing was daring Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God and in doing so would be testing God and sinning all at the same time. If He did this, Satan would win and we would lose through Jesus’ failure. Jesus knew who He was and understood that He did not have to prove it to Satan. Satan was trying to get Jesus to question His connection, His relationship with the Father. We also do this routinely.
Let me give you a couple of examples of people who I believe tests God. There are Churches in South that believe in handling poisonous snakes as a part of their worship services. They base this on Mark 16:17-18 where Jesus said, “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Now understand that although Jesus did say this I do not believe that He meant that we should do this as part of our faith or worship experience. I have read several accounts of pastors and members being bitten by snakes during these services and refusing medical treatment and ultimately dying after being bitten. While they died expressing and walking in their faith, I believe this is an example of someone testing God. In Acts chapter twenty-eight there is an example of Paul being bitten by a viper and was not injured. This was an example of this Scripture being fulfilled. The difference is that Paul did not reach for the snake to prove he was a servant of Christ. If you can handle snakes but you’re not casting out devils or healing the sick, what good is that? How is handling snake proving anything relating to your walk with Christ?
I read another account of a church leader had his buttocks mauled by a lion after running towards a group of lions in a bid to prove the “Lord’s power over animals.” The Zion Christian Church prophet, was attacked on a safari while trying to show that God would save him in front of fellow church members. He is said to have fallen into a trance and started speaking in tongues before charging at a pride of lions feeding on an impala in South Africa's Kruger National Park. But as he sprinted towards them, the lions immediately viewed him as prey and zeroed in. Realizing that the Lord wasn't about to help, he fled back to the car, but not before one of the lions clamped down on his buttocks. He was only saved from further injury or possible death when the game ranger fired shots to scare the lions off. He later said: “I do not know what came over me. I thought the Lord wanted to use me to show His power over animals. Is it not we were given dominion over all creatures of the earth.” In both of these examples believing individuals stepped out in what they believed was proof of their faith and walk with God, believing that God would protect them. This is exactly what Satan was attempting to get Jesus to do. But Jesus did not respond in this manner. Jesus said plainly, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Satan tactics have not changed. He still tempts us to prove that we have a true relationship with God by having us test God. He speaks things like, “If you were really saved, you would not think like that.” Or, “Look how hard you are struggling, just give up and enjoy this life – God wants you to be happy – besides, what harm will it do, you can always ask for forgiveness later.” And when we believe his lie and fail he takes that opportunity to stress upon us that our faith is worthless and God is a myth. Why? Because we stood on His word and acted out what He said and it did not work! We fail to understand what Jesus said when He was tempted.
When Jesus told Satan, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” He was quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 which says, “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah.” In other words, we are not to tempt God. The King James Version of the Bible reads, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” The word “tempt” here means to try to prove; and in reference to the Children of Israel, we must remember the circumstances alluded to God was not only provoked, but "tested" in His power and goodness. This sin we are warned against. In order to have spiritual equilibrium in our relationship with God, we cannot “test” Him. We test God when we:
• Doubt His presence and power to help. God was present with the Children of Israel night and day in the wonderful pillar of fire yet they cried, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7.) God had destroyed their enemies, delivered them from famine and danger, and yet they "tempted God in their hearts" and cried in unbelief. We murmur at our daily mercies and count actual enjoyments as nothing if they do not conform to our ideal of what is pleasurable. When we stop believing and expecting God to be present in our every situation then we are by default asking Him to prove Himself. We cannot test (tempt) God with our unbelief! We also test God by:
• Rebelling against His authority. We find fault with God's will, set up our own will instead, and thus insult God. Remember how the Children of Israel spoke against God at the Red Sea and the waters of Marah? God had a plan for them but their focus was always on what they wanted. We too sometimes get impatient following the will of God when we believe we know how something should be done – especially when it pertains to our personal lives. Lastly we test God when we:
• Provoke His patience. When God led the Children of Israel in the wilderness, He gave them plentiful supplies, but their gratitude was not commensurate with His goodness. "How often did they provoke Him?" They often rebelled and were constantly provoking God regardless of how kind He was to them. God said in Numbers 14:22, “They have tempted me these ten times” (i.e., often and in full measure), but at last God's patience was provoked, and they were punished for their sins. God is not insensible to our conduct. We may vex His Holy Spirit, which would have been long ago withdrawn if God had not been merciful to us. We are dependent, and need God's guidance and grace. As Israel tried God by longing for the things left behind in Egypt and distrusted for the future, we too may tempt and offend God by hankering after pleasures which are forbidden, longing for that liberty in sin from which Christ has delivered us.
In order to maintain our spiritual equilibrium in our relationship with God, we have to trust Him and we have to know with certainty that He has us. When we know this, we do not ever have to prove it to others. People may choose to believe whatever they want about us, but my walk with Christ will speak for itself. I will not be put into a situation where I have to prove it. The third temptation that Jesus faced pertained to power. Turn back to Matthew chapter four and we will continue reading at verse eight.
Quest for Power
“Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 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, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.” (Matt. 4:8-11)
I want you to notice something in this third temptation. Satan was very subtle in this temptation as he uses Jesus’ two previous responses as a means for this last attack. Twice before he assaulted Jesus as the Son of God and our Savior answered as man. Satan understanding this now chooses to tempt Him as man. He tempted Jesus with power, something that has proven to ruin many a great men (and women) on this earth. How often has ambition conquered those who have conquered nearly everything else! Satan decides that if Jesus is walking as a man, he will offer Him what all men desires, power. So he takes Him to the summit of an "exceeding high mountain," and shows Him “all the kingdoms of the earth.” Now understand, he did not show Jesus one kingdom, he showed him all of them because they all belonged to him! He would have been more powerful here on earth than all of the present world leaders of our present age put together. All He had to do would be to bow down and worship Satan. What a prospect! What easy conditions! Was there ever before so dazzling a prize to be had on such terms? Not for a moment, however, was Jesus tempted by the offer. The other temptations had come in somewhat of a disguise. This one, however, was a naked incentive to treason. Unlike the other temptations, therefore, Jesus responds with an open rebuke. He told Satan, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” (Vs. 10)
Jesus made it perfectly clear that we are to worship God and Him only shall we serve. This passage forbids every kind of religious adoration to any other object other than God. It does not matter what it is; whether it be idols, false gods, popes, Virgin Mary, saints, or angels. We are to worship God! Jesus would not bow down and worship Satan in order to receive all of the kingdoms of the world. Can you imagine the strength and balance He held within to be able to turn this offer down? He was able to do this because He understood real power. He understood that everything on this earth was temporary and what He was working for held eternal ramifications. Satan told Jesus that He could have it all if He would just bow down and worship Him. If Satan walked up to you and said he would make you a billionaire if you would bow down and worship Him, would you do it? Power is a wonderful thing, but it can corrupt. We see power on our jobs, in relationships, in our communities and in our Churches. Some people are what we call “natural born leaders”, but with that come a healthy respect for the use of power. Satan offered Jesus the world, He could have it all. All He had to do was just bow down and worship him. Satan did not understand what Jesus already knew – it was already His. Jesus had the power because His Father had the power. Power on this earth was not important to Jesus and for us to be in balance, we cannot be motivated by the power that we may obtain here.
The three temptations had been met: three times the tempter had been baffled; three times the victory had been won. The first assault had been made through the door of appetite, “the lust of the flesh;” the second through vain glory, “the lust of the eyes;” the third through ambition, “the pride of life." All had appealed to Jesus to turn away from the pathway of self-denial and suffering marked out for Him. All had been met by the shield of faith, and the tempter beaten back by the word of the Spirit. Jesus was able to face His tempter because He had spiritual equilibrium. There was nothing this world could offer Him that could entice Him to turn away from His Father. He fed on the very words of His Father that equipped Him to stand firm against His tempter. What about us? Are we so spiritually balanced that we can withstand the lusts of our flesh and eyes and not give in to the pride of life – vain ambitions? We have all heard phrases of people selling their souls to the devil in order to obtain something in this world. We have all been tempted to temporarily set aside our faith in order to fulfill some lust within us. We have all had desires for more and the fame that comes along with it. We have all imagined winning the lottery and thought of all the things we could do with the money – even giving a little bit of it to God. You see where I am going with this? What Jesus was tempted with are the same things we are tempted with. The difference is that we are not so important that Satan would have to come himself and do the work. He sends the little demonic forces to trip us up because we are not so spiritually balanced that we can stay centered when faced with temptations. This does not have to be the case. God has more for us and has given us everything we need in order to stand firm.
I had a dream several years ago about temptation. In that dream I was in a situation where I could choose to sin. You know those dreams where you are able to do things that you would not do during your waking hours. In the midst of the temptation, as I was trying to decide the total impact if I gave in “just this once,” I heard God say “Rodney, Satan can give you everything that you want if you choose to serve him”. Then I woke up. After that dream I had to consider if there were things in my heart that I held secretly that I longed for and could have if I chose a different lifestyle. At that moment the Spirit of God told me that I needed to get my life back in balance. There were things that I held within that if acted on could fulfill a lot of desires that I had but at the same time would cost me what was most dear to me, my life with my Father. As you read the account of Jesus being tempted there is one theme that is repeated throughout. As He walked in His ministry, this same theme was evident in everything that He did. For Jesus, serving His Father was most important. He chose not to give in to physical pleasure (in the sense that we do) or the need for power or fame – proving to the world that He was the Son of God. These things were not as important to Him as He was focused on serving His Father.
When Satan was making his offers, Jesus made choices that were based on truth. His truth was based on the “Word of God” that was within Him. Everything that Satan offered Him, Jesus already understood was His because it was His Father’s. Satan is known as the god of this world, but that is god with a little “g”. With that being a little “g”, he answers to the big “G” God, so although we call him the god of this world, he is more of a “manager”. Now here is what we need to understand to grasp the reason we need to get in balance, Satan is a manager and we are the VPs. God has given us authority and power in this world to defeat Satan’s temptations so we are ranked higher than him in the food chain. We must understand our place in this world. A lot of the reasons we are not in balance is because we do not understand the truth. Our truth is that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, set apart for service unto our Father. Is this the most important thing in your life? Or is living the most important thing in your life? Our lives are much more than this physical realm in which we live, so much more.
Are you in spiritual equilibrium? Are you in balance spiritually? Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
