Resisting satan’s demand for worship

Today, I want to share with you some spiritual keys on how to overcome temptation and live a victorious Christian life.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were spiritual advisers to King Nebuchadnezzar after a special training. They were selected for training after a thorough screening. The gods of Babylon blatantly demanded worship from all residents including the three Hebrew children. Daniel was not mentioned in this matter but could have been exempted from the beginning. We don’t know for sure. Today, these gods still demand worship from people including believers. They blackmail, threaten you with failure, poverty, death, they try to provoke you to be angry and sin, they stir your appetite and encourage you to satisfy it in an ungodly way, they lay snares or traps with the things you like or love, etc.

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Just think of how many ladies have compromised their faith to stay out of poverty. Think of how many brothers compromise to get jobs, advance their business, meet their needs, etc.

Every temptation is an attempt by the devil to demand worship from you. He tried it with Jesus but failed. If he demanded worship from Jesus, just know that he will demand worship from you. He tried it with Adam and succeeded. The consequences were catastrophic!

Idols are gods of our creation, gods that have nothing to them that did not originate from us. A god can be your career, business, marriage, family, spouse, children, sex, your body, your house, clothes, car, etc. Behind every idol is a demon spirit.

In Exodus 20:5, God says, “…don’t bow down to any other god.”

You question God’s love when you blame Him and murmur against Him for the challenges in your life. You question God’s supremacy, wisdom and power when you bow to any idol in fear. You promote the devil above God and that makes God very angry!

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow to the image set up by king Nebuchadnezzar. It’s like saying to him, ‘the way our kingdom is set up, we don’t bow to any other god.’ They understood that their God is a jealous God.

I know that my deliverance does not prove or disprove God’s deity or His love for me. It shows His sovereignty.

They were solid in their faith in God. They recognized His sovereignty over them. This is faith at its best!

Satan demands that you worship him with your mind by believing his lies. He wants you to worship him with your body through the pleasure you crave, your service, your money, and to praise him.

Resisting Temptation

Resisting Satan’s demand for worship is resisting temptation. Temptation is a suggestion to meet legitimate needs or desires through an illegitimate means. It is a suggestion to meet a natural desire through an unscriptural means. For instance, sex is a natural desire created by God but then He also set out boundaries in which it can be engaged in, specifically within the context of marriage. Any attempt to meet that need outside of marriage amounts to sin. Abuse of natural appetites is a violation of God’s law and has serious consequences. Temptations promise pleasure and satisfaction, but they only last a short time. The consequences last for much longer. For instance, a pregnancy from an affair outside of marriage can result in very serious problems. Taking money or property that does not belong to you can land you not only in jail but also in hell.

That’s the reason why you must resist temptation by every means possible.

The enemy will tempt you principally in three areas: power, prosperity, and protection. Whatever threatens your position and dominion threatens the very essence of your being. We fight to retain and maintain control. Likewise, we fight poverty and every threat of danger with everything we have. These fights are legitimate, but we must never go outside of the boundaries of the Word of God. You worship an idol whenever you step outside of God’s Word to meet a need. It leaves you wide open to satanic attack and can put you in serious trouble.

How Do You Resist Temptation?

1. Decide to live by scriptural values. Delight yourself in the Word of God. Be filled with it, hide it in your heart and be determined to live by it. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
2. Pray. Ask the Lord to deliver you from the snare of the fowler.
3. Respond to every temptation by repeating what the Bible says. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He responded by reminding the devil of what is written. Matthew 4:4, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” He made it clear that we are not to take instructions from the devil. We don’t run our lives on the basis of the devil’s proposition or threat, but we live by the Word of God. The Word of God is a potent weapon against the devil and his demons. The Bible says, “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” Psalm 107:20
4. Think of the consequences of falling for the temptation and be determined to avoid them. From the spiritual standpoint, there is zero benefit in the flesh. Romans 7:18. Instead, sin leads to devasting consequences. James 1:14-15. Also, think of the benefit of withstanding the temptation. James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” You will begin to enjoy everything that pertains unto life and godliness even while you are still here on earth and it will continue when you get to glory.
5. Resist, rebuke, bind, and cast out the foul spirit behind the temptation. 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.”
6. Avoid the environment, atmosphere, persons, things that make you prone to sin. He who must not eat of the forbidden fruit should not be found around the forbidden tree. Don’t feed your fantasy, kill it. Don’t feed your weakness, starve it to death.
7. Live a life of praise. Always seek to give praise and glory to God in every situation.

Stand on the following scriptures and pray:

Psalm 91:3, (NLT), “For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.”

Isaiah 49:24-26, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? [25] But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. [26] And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”

2Corinthians 12:9a, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Psalm 124:7, “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.”

You may need to seek help also.

You will escape every trap of the wicked, in Jesus name!

Bishop Dr Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l.