September 2 - The Root Of Deception.

Luke 4:7
“If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”
 
At first glance, the sentence found within our verse today appears to be a promise that we should desire. If read alone, one could assume that if we choose to worship God we shall have anything we want. 
 
Yet the context of this verse is the exact opposite from that assumption. 
What an example of how context is key to the interpretation of Scripture.
 
It is not the Lord speaking in this verse, but rather Satan himself.
 
The devil promises us a lot of things, but never discloses what the attempt to possess those things will cost us.
 
The root of deception…pride. 
 
It was his pride that caused Lucifer to fall in the first place, why would he not continue to use it in his attempt to cause others to fall?
 
Pride is found in the desire to be worshipped, but it is also found in the fleshly desire to possess things.
 
Satan thought that he could tempt Jesus into wanting things. 
The truth of the matter is that they were already His to begin with, for He created all that they saw from that high mountain.
 
Luke 4:8
“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
 
Jesus used the Word of God to rebuke Satan. 
 
We have the same Weapon at our disposal today, and the only Weapon we will ever need in order to defeat our enemy.
 
Proverbs 16:18
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
 
1 John 2:16
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
When pride creeps in, defeat it by dwelling on the Word.
 
 
Bible Reading:
Ecclesiastes 5-6   |    Revelation 8