IDENTITY
“Holy Spirit, why would anybody want to read about Matthew 4. The temptations of Jesus have been discussed and elaborated extensively. Everybody knows about it.”
I replied to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to read and write about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Yet the Holy Spirit wanted me to expound on the topic. “IDENTITY”, as its title.
A little background about Matthew 4, to set the stage.
- The Holy Spirit LEDJesus into the wilderness TO BE TESTED – God allows testing, in fact He leads us into the paths of testing. (Matthew 4:1). God will test.
- What happened to Jesus those 40 days and 40 nights? The same thing that happened to Moses on Mount Sinai. He was downloading all the information from God. His identity was going to be tested. (Matthew 4:2). God prepares you for your test.
- Jesus ended his fast, He was hungry. He was immediately tempted. Just when you think you are at the end of the race, you are not. The tempter comes but Holy Spirit and Ministering Angels also come alongside Jesus (Matthew 4:2,11). God is with you through your test.
- Satan can only tempt if God allows him to do so. (Matthew 4:5). But after the 3rdtemptation, Satan left for a season. God knows your limits.
Let’s turn up the gauge and dive deeper into the temptations.
| Physical dimension tempted – what we need
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His identity as the Son of GOD linked to GOD”s WORD – JESUS Himself is the living WORD – do we know and believe GOD’s WORD as a child of GOD (do we doubt GOD’s WORD) |
| Soul Dimension tempted – who we think we are
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His identity as the Son of GOD linked to His authority – HE is the Captain of the Heavenly Host – do we know the authority we have in Christ as a child of GOD (do we know our authority) |
| Spirit Dimension tempted – our relationship with GOD
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His identify as the Son of GOD linked to His relationship with the Father – being loyal to GOD- do we have an intimate relationship with GOD as a child of GOD (are we totally devoted and loyal to GOD) |
These are Satan’s limited strategies:
| DOUBTS | He will keep raising DOUBTS about your identity. He makes you doubt the promises of God about you. |
| VULNERABILITY | He will test us when we are the most VULNERABLE, physically and emotionally |
| WORDS | He always uses WORDS to raise doubts– death and life is in the power of the tongue |
| COPY | Satan is a COPY master. He uses your strategy that defeated him back on you. |
| COMES BACK | He keeps COMING BACK – he is a roaring lion prowling looking for a prey. Satan failed the first time, but continued to use the Pharisees and Sadducees to question His identity. |
The test is ALWAYS about Identity, your identity and who you are in God Almighty. In Daniel 11:32b, it says those who know their God will do great and mighty exploits. This is the key.
Why would Satan test if Jesus knew if He was the Son of God?
Jesus knew that Satan knew that Jesus knows that He is the Son of God.
What if Jesus had proven to Satan that He was the Son of God and changed the stones to bread? Jesus would have fallen into his trap. A trap to set a precedence that requires Jesus to always having to prove that He is the Son of God throughout His ministry on earth. But Jesus saw through Satan’s scheme and did not fall for it.
Who are you in God? If the identity of Jesus was tested in the wilderness, do you not think that your identity as a child of God be challenged time and time again?