SOMEONE ELSE WANTS YOUR WORSHIP

“The devil said to him,
"I will give all this to you, if you
will bow down and worship me."
Matthew 4:9
(New American Standard Bible)

Worship is of the utmost importance to God. Revelation 4:11 says, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Absolutely everything was created for God’ pleasure, even the angels. Unfortunately, one of the angels, Lucifer, decided that he wanted to be worshipped instead of being a worshiper!
If you will take the time to read Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:13-17, you will find a description of two kings. While these two passages are referring specifically to the king of Babylon and the King of Tyre, they also reference the spiritual power that was behind those kings - Satan. He became lifted up in pride, rebelled against God and thought to exalt himself above the throne of God! He was even successful in leading one-third of the angels in the revolt (Revelation 12:4). For this high treason, he was cast out of heaven. Since that time, his hatred of God and mankind has raged on through the annals of time and will one day climax with him ultimately be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). Until that time, he wants revenge against God by turning worship from God to himself. He continues his attempt to turn what God created for His pleasure against him.
While Jesus, the son of God, walked the earth, Satan offered Jesus the world if he would only worship him. He used the same old lines in the Garden of Eden against Adam and Eve. It worked then, but Jesus was armed with the WORD of GOD. Jesus succeeded in true worship where Adam and Eve fell.
Satan wants you to engage in self-worship like he did. In an effort to redirect your worship, Satan’s temptation tactics can be summed up in three areas; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Satan wants to you to take all the things that were created for God’s glory and skew and distort them for your own pleasure.
Just as he tempted Jesus and Adam and Eve, he will tempt you because he doesn’t want you to worship God, but his world system. Ultimately, the conflict is between God and Satan. We are only pawns to Satan, but priceless to God. Don’t give him the worship that is due to God and God alone. Stay in a position and posture of humility, resist the devil, use the word and worship God with passion and extravagance!