I Want to Be That

“Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’” - Matthew 4:8-9 
 
As we come to the end of Satan’s three temptation tactics, we continue to look at how Jesus responded to him. Remember, if you have followed along with us the last couple of days, you know that despite this being over 2,000 years ago, Satan has played his hand.  

The devil still to this day uses the same tactics and strategies, appealing to the same desires we have today. He played his hand when he tempted Jesus in Matthew 4. His first temptation was tempting Jesus’ desire to lust for the flesh. This was a physical desire to FEEL. Then he tempted Jesus with a desire for the lust of the eye. This was an emotional desire to HAVE.  

Today, we look at the third temptation; a desire to BE. This desire is known as the pride of life. It is when we look at something and think, “I want to BE that...” Satan was offering Jesus the opportunity to be the king and ruler over all the kingdom.  

He said in Matthew 4:8-9, “Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’”
 
But Jesus responded perfectly (for a third time) when He said, “Get out of here, Satan... For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.’” The Bible then says in verse 11, “Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”  

Satan appeals to all of our desires. And He does it through three things: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. What do these mean? It means he gets you thinking...  

“I want to FEEL that...”
 
“I want to HAVE that...”

“I want to BE that...”
 
He gets you to concentrate on these things rather than what God wants for you, and then you spend all your time and energy appealing to these worldly desires. But Jesus gives us the blueprint for how to respond. When we fix our eyes on God, we can reject these desires and remember that we serve Him and not ourselves!