Shortcut to Glory

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Recently while in prayer during one of our Spirit & Truth Awakening Weekends I felt the Spirit lead me to the Gospel accounts of Jesus being led into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan. I have always been fascinated by this intense story. It follows right on the heels of the beautiful account of Jesus’ baptism. The Spirit descends like a dove. The Father’s voice breaks through from heaven. In the Jordan River Jesus’ identity and calling are affirmed in a striking way.

And then right away the Spirit leads Jesus into a treacherous time of testing. If I am honest about it, this makes me a little uncomfortable. At very least we must wrestle with the fact that in this instance, God is ok with hardship and temptation. He is not the one causing the temptation, but the Spirit leads him to the place where he will face it. I am challenged by the fact that sometimes the wilderness is exactly where God needs us to be so we can learn to actually depend on him fully.

There is so much in this account, but the one part I want to highlight today is the last temptation as recorded in Matthew’s gospel.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Matthew 4:8-10

The ironic thing about this last temptation is that both Satan and Jesus know that all things already belong to him. Satan knows the identity of the Son of God. He keeps tempting him using that title throughout the encounter. He knows that creation belongs to him. So what is the real temptation here?

I think the heart of what is being offered is this: A kingdom without a cross.

“Jesus…you don’t need to die. I’ll give you a shortcut to glory right now. You can rule over these kingdoms and not have to suffer. Doesn’t that sound good, Jesus?”

And yet Jesus knows his mission. He knows the will of the Father. And his kingship will not be temporary, so it will not come so easily.

Here’s what was so convicting to me as I read this again recently. If I had to pick one temptation that is ours right now in the American church it’s this one. We want a shortcut to glory.

Do you know what I mean? We want power without sacrifice. We want prestige without any pain. We want revival without prayer. We want a harvest without any personal labor.

But here’s the problem…what is the cost of this temptation? What does Satan say? You can have all of this…if you bow down to worship me. The cost is idolatry. The cost is literally breaking the first commandment.

We want power without sacrifice…and so we pursue earthly power and politics becomes our god. We want prestige without any pain…and so we pursue vanity. We build monuments to ourselves in the church. We often build programs and structures not because the Lord told us to, but because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We want a harvest without any labor so church folks hire mercenaries in the form of more church staff to hopefully tell others about Jesus so long as I don’t have to do any evangelism myself.

We want Jesus without giving anything up. Discipleship without any cost. We want a kingdom without a cross. We want a shortcut to glory.

How was Jesus able to refuse such a temptation? I think it goes back to his baptism just before the wilderness. He already knew who he was. And if you know who the Father says you are, you don’t need the affirmation of idols.

Friends, it’s time for the church to stop trying to build our own kingdoms and get desperate for God’s kingdom.

Here’s what I sense is happening in the American church right now… Through all the unrest in recent years…cultural shaking, political shaking, COVID, grappling with our own mortality, denominational shaking, all of it…God is allowing all the idols in our lives to be torn down.

He has led us by the Spirit into the wilderness so all that could be stripped away and we could learn to depend on him again.

So, church leaders, here is my encouragement to you today: God doesn’t need you to build him a nice church! You don’t have to keep looking for a shortcut to glory.

Jesus has already built himself a church. And it will include you, but not because of something you can do for him. It will include you when you choose to surrender yourself to the King.

Jesus said if anyone would come after me he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me. There is no shortcut to glory. The kingdom of God always includes a cross. Stop trying to find a quick fix (which always leads to idolatry) and surrender to the One who has already guaranteed an eternal kingdom.