Pastor Pat Mcfall
June 28, 2015 - W1526

There is a beautiful side of evil, a side so appealing, so attractive that it pulls us in.  It’s fun, it’s exciting but many temptations are really twisted versions of beautiful things.  What if we would look at temptation differently?  What if temptation is not about an attack on our salvation?  What if temptation’s primary role is to get us to forget our God-given, God-designed identity? 

In Matthew 4:1-11, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after He had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to him, he said, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’  But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” ’ Then the devil took Him to the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle (highest part) of the temple and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written: “He shall give his angels charge over you and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” ’  Jesus said to him, ‘It is also written, “You shall not tempt/put to test the Lord your God.”’  Again, the devil took Him up to an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory/splendor.  And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’  Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you Satan!  For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered/attended to Him.”  (Luke’s version of this scripture says that the devil had been tempting Jesus the entire time, not only at the end when he was hungry and tired.)

Are you dealing with a struggle, a temptation, or a sin?  It may not be because God has left you.  Psalm 23:4 says, “He leads me through the valley of the shadow of death, and I will fear no evil for you are with me.” After Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, He heard the audible voice of God from heaven saying, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  Recall that it was the Spirit of God that led Jesus into the wilderness forty days before the temptations.  

The temptations of Jesus were a critical moment in the history of humanity.  Understand what is at stake here.  If Jesus were just another prophet or just another man, He would have failed because no man can stand this type of test.  Adam proved that.  But if Jesus is the Son of God, then everything rises and falls on this moment for if He fails, we’re all done for.  Jesus had experienced perfect intimacy and relationship as the Son of God within the Trinity in eternity, but now He is in human flesh, experiencing things from a different perspective.  The devil tries to get Jesus off course, but Jesus is not buying it because He knows exactly who He is—the Son of God.

OUR IDENTITY

The root of temptations comes when you identify yourself by what you do (your vocation), what others say about you, and what you have.  Whenever you introduce yourself as, “I’m so and so, I do this, and my career is that,” you are in survival mode—not the abundant life God intended—because your identity becomes what you do, so you perform to survive.

What people say about you can wreck you.  When you look at your neighbors and compare yourself with them, what does it say about you?  This is not our destiny, church.  We were never meant to live by the ebbs and flows of a changing culture.  We were meant to stand on the Rock, not on the shifting sands of what we do.  What if I can’t do what I do anymore?  What if nobody says anything good about me?  What happens when I lose everything?  I would be fighting for something that was already given to me from eternity—my identity in Christ.

How is this applied?  The way to successfully stand against the onslaught of temptation and evil facing you daily is to have a revelation of your identity in Christ.  The devil’s temptations are meant to distract you from the reality of your identity.  If you act like employees of King Jesus, then you will try to perform to get approval; but if you act like a son or daughter, then you will do as Jesus did as the Son of God.

The devil tried to distract Jesus from His identity and said, “If you are the Son of God turn these stones to bread.”  Jesus was hungry and tired but He remembered His Father’s affirmation, “You are my beloved Son and I am very pleased with you.”  Jesus’ identity was confirmed.  He did not have to prove Himself.  He simply knew He was the Son of God and in so many words said, “I don’t need to turn these stones to bread and do a magic show for you, devil.  Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father.”

Any reference point by which we identify ourselves other than through God is wrong.  My career is not who I am.  My talents and gifting are not who I am.  Jesus Christ is the great equalizer because in His presence we are all exposed—broken and lost without Him.

The Bible passionately identifies us as sons and daughters of God.  When we know we are the loved of the Father, then that love is passed on to our relationships/marriages. Competition about who is right and who is wrong vanishes.  I won’t care anymore.  I’ll be more concerned about being reconciled than I would be about being right.  I’ll be more concerned about serving and dying to myself like Christ did, than about getting my own way.  We will see the fruit of the kingdom in ways we have never experienced before.   Church, we are to be united, not divided.  We are to reflect the face of God.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS?

If the loss of identity is the purpose for temptation, then what is the process?  Matthew 4:1-11 describe the enticements the devil uses to cause us to settle for lesser pleasures that promise satisfaction, but is nowhere close to what we actually need or desire. Temptations reinforce the identity of our carnal self to settle for lesser pleasures.

Our reputation is important but inconsequential.  If I’m the beloved of the Father, I don’t have to prove myself to anyone.  I don’t have to worship anything worldly.  My highest pleasure is being in my Father’s presence, so I say to every temptation, “No, devil!”

Say aloud, “I am a chosen and loved child of God.”  It’s all in Christ.  I get to filter out all the highs and lows through the status of the “beloved,” and life is no longer a matter of survival—it becomes the abundant life God intended.  You will experience what Ephesians 1 tells “about the abundant riches of your inheritance in Christ Jesus.”  You will experience mercy and peace, and receive an amazing inheritance and the knowledge of God.

Knowing your identity in Christ and the love of the Father changes everything!   The devil is afraid when a believer knows his identity in Christ because the believer will then be able to tap into the infinite supernatural resources of the kingdom of God!  Jesus said in Matthew 3:2, “The kingdom of God is at hand.”  It’s right now!  Chains can no longer bind you.  You can receive healings and breakthroughs and you will hear the spirit of God speaking.  How then can something so powerful get us so side tracked?  Remember, to settle for a lesser pleasure is to settle for a lesser life.

WHAT ARE YOU TRADING YOUR IDENTITY FOR?

What lesser pleasures are you willing to be okay with?  Is it entertainment?  Is it your rights?  Is it money, reputation, or ministry?  Don’t be side tracked and settle for the good instead of the greatest pleasures of Christ!  I would say, give up everything that is keeping you from the pleasure of knowing the freedom that is in Christ Jesus.  Be consumed with the fact that there is a God who loves you.  You can know Him.  Let nothing hold you back, run to His presence.  Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount that it’s better to cut off your hand, pluck out your eye, or whatever you need to do, than to miss the Kingdom of heaven.

Temptation is not an attack on your salvation; it is an attack on your identity.  The devil’s hand is exposed.  His tactics are revealed.  What the devil is offering does not satisfy and cannot hold a candle to the fire that is God!  St. Augustine in his book Confessions said, “You made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it finds its place of rest in you, God.”  The fruit of an identity based on anything other than God is only restlessness.  There is no peace and freedom outside of Jesus Christ; and there is no condemnation, shame, or accusation in Him.  We all come to the table of grace equally broken, saying, “Jesus, I need you.”

Love does not win just because we all agree with each other.  Love does not win just because there is an absence of conflict or disagreement.  Love wins when truth infects us so deeply that the Kingdom of God shoots out of our lives.  God is our North Star.  If we root ourselves in Christ and drink deeply of His soul satisfying love, I can promise you that will be the beginning of a hunger that will refuse to be satisfied by the inferior trinkets that the enemy offers us.  Your hunger will only be satisfied with the superior treasures of God and His kingdom.

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. What is temptation’s primary goal?

2. Name three things that are the root of temptations that hinder us from knowing who we are in Christ—our identity.

3. Complete the following sentence:  The devil is afraid when a believer knows _______________________________________.

4. To settle for a lesser ________ is to settle for a lesser _____________.