The
religions of the world have the same concept of God that Satan does. When the
religious system talks about God it is simply repeating
Satan’s concept of God—a God who always has his wishes satisfied and is always
gratified.
“If you study the religion of Islam, Allah gets whatever he wants,” says Pastor Alex Kurz. “The God of the Bible says, ‘I’d rather go hungry.’
“Jesus
Christ answered Satan, saying, ‘But it is written, man shall not live by bread
alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ Christ is
demonstrating what Paul says in Philippians 2: ‘He made himself of no
reputation.’
“God says,
‘I’ll starve.’ What kind of God is that?! What kind of God says, ‘I’d rather go
hungry; I’d rather not be self-gratified’?! And here’s the devil whose plan of
rebellion is, ‘Listen, God can have whatever He wants—He has a right to!’
“Jesus
Christ, as the true God-man, is demonstrating something about the character
which defies human logic.”
*****
Referring to
Christ’s 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, as reported in the Gospel
accounts, Kurz explains, “When the
Tempter came, he said, ‘If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be
made of bread.’ What does a self-serving spirit and attitude say if you’re
hungry?
“Let me ask you this, if you’re God, why would you go hungry? Doesn’t God deserve to be full? Doesn’t God deserve to enjoy happiness and to possess? You see what the devil’s mindset and attitude is? ‘The one who created the universe—why can’t you just take a rock and turn it into bread and satisfy the hunger pangs?!’
“You see, the Adversary, and the origins of this go back to
Ezekiel, his concept of God of being like ‘the most high God’ is a God who
never lacks, who never wants—a God who always enjoys unbroken comfort and
happiness and has every desire, wish and whim automatically fulfilled. That’s
what Lucifer sought as ‘the most high God.’
“When the
Lord Jesus Christ responds, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,’ He’s saying, “I’m not here to
satisfy my own longings but I’m here to obey my heavenly Father.’ That’s why
Jeremiah says, ‘I found thy words and I did eat them.’
*****
As far as
the rest of the famous “temptations” passage in Matthew 4 reads, Kurz explains,
“Satan is saying to the Lord Jesus, ‘Listen, jump and God will be there to
serve,’ because, as far as Satan’s concerned, he’s consumed with a desire to be
served by others. Satan, in his deluded concept of what God is, can get anything
he wants.
“The idea
is, you deserve to be adored and cared for by others. It’s this issue of being the centerpiece. You see, the Adversary and
the lust of the devil—his concept of ‘the most high God’ is he’s the darling of
the universe, the object of adoration and attention by the creation, and he’s
saying, ‘Why not let the angels care for you?’
“Satan is
saying the angels have a responsibility to provide for the Lord Jesus and in
verse 7, ‘Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the
Lord thy God.’
“To try to get God to do something He’s not—when you have people today who insist and pray to God for physical deliverance, for healing, for all of that kind of stuff, you’re tempting God! You’re trying to get God to do something He’s not doing.
“When people who think God is nothing but a big genie in the
sky reason, ‘My heart aches and so forth and clean my life up, maybe God will
answer me and heal me and deliver me and give me a better job, a better life,’
all they’re doing is tempting God. What makes you think you’re the center of
God’s universe?!
“You’ve
heard it many times before—people are always asking, ‘Am I at the center of
God’s will?’ Shouldn’t God’s will be the center of your life? You see the
difference there? Satan is saying, ‘Then you should be in the center of God’s
will,’ and what the Lord Jesus says is, ‘No, I’d rather have God’s will be the
center of my life. Don’t tempt the Father.’ ”
*****
In the third temptation of Christ, it says, “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;
[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
Kurz
reasons, “Do you see the progression here? Self-gratification: ‘I get what I
want and, not only that, people need to appreciate me, they need to care for
me, they need to respect me, they need to value me, and I have the right to
rule over them.’
“You see the progression? That’s how Satan operates—get what
you want and others need to respond in kind, and not only that, you get to rule
and exercise authority. The lust of the devil seeks not only to be served but
to rule.
“In the
Scriptures, pride has all sorts of synonyms. Arrogance, puffed up, high-minded.
Paul says, ‘Be not wise in your own conceits.’ That’s satanic. That’s the
origins. It’s the devil himself.
"He feels he has the right to reign and rule
over men, so he tempts the Lord Jesus Christ with, ‘Hey, if you are God, don’t
you want to rule over the kingdoms of the earth?’ It’s this issue of seeking to
be exalted; seeking to be something that is not yours.”
(another article tomorrow)
No comments:
Post a Comment