In this in-depth Bible study on Matthew 4, we'll delve into the devil's cunning strategies to undermine your identity. Learn how Satan uses temptation, doubt, and fear to manipulate your thoughts and actions. Discover the powerful truths from Jesus' encounter with the tempter that can equip you to resist these attacks and find lasting freedom.
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(upbeat music) What's up, what's up? It's your boy, Pastor Ron. Hope all is well. Yo, we're gonna have a Bible study today. We're gonna talk about the importance of identity and the reason why we need to know who we are in Christ and how that affects everything that we do, which is pretty much modeled to us by Jesus Christ. So before I go on, please don't forget to like, share, subscribe, listen, if you want engaging Christian content, this is your place to be. Today we're gonna book a Matthew chapter four, right? Matthew chapter four, and I'm gonna go through the first, probably like four verses, and then we'll pick up in another video, Matthew chapter four, right? And it says, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit "into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." Pause. So this shows us that a lot of the tough times that we go to a lot of the temptations and a lot of the challenges that we are going through, a lot of the storms that we're going through, we're not all sent by the devil, they were sent by God. The storms that we go through, the trials that we go to have a purpose, like James chapter one says, counted all joy, the trials that we endure. So we're quick to rebuke a season that was actually sent by God for a purpose. Again, the reason why it's sent to us is for a particular fruit, is for a particular purpose. So before you sit here and be like, "Oh man, the devil's attacking me, I rebuke you Satan, "I'm gonna praise my way through this." You need to understand a lot of what you're going through is not actually sent by Satan, they were actually sent by God for a purpose. And the reason why you're seeing cycles and seeing things happen to you over and over again, is because of the fact that you failed to have the desired fruit the first time it went around. So a lot of times God is sending the same storm and same thing over and over again, not as a level of persecution, but to basically produce a fruit. So the goal is learn your lesson the first time. As opposed to rebuking a storm saying, "God, why don't you allow this storm? "Why don't you allow me to go through this? "What is the purpose and what I'm going through?" Before you curse the storm and say, "God, you're God all by yourself." And nothing happened without your permission. Why are you allowing me to go through this? So the text says, "So he was sent to the wilderness "by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil." After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry, right? 30 days before that he was hungry. So you would think that after this time of fasting and doing what God called him to do, things should get easier. Then he should go from glory to glory. Then he should go from blessing to blessing. Then he should see all the fruits and his answered prayers. However, he now goes through a temptation by the devil, right? So oftentimes, right, you think things just get better or things should just go in a positive direction, but actually after your difficult time, then come to storm. After your fasting, then come to storm. Maybe the purpose as to why one of the purposes why he went through his fast is to prepare for the temptation. Maybe the Holy Spirit said now that he's at a place of humility and where he was hungry and he was weak. He wanted to model to us that at this place, now you're ready to be tempted by the devil. So don't ignore the timing. 'Cause oftentimes, we say, God, why now? I just got done doing a 21-day fast. Why am I going through this now? I just got bad news. I just got negativity. But maybe God's saying you're exactly where I want you to be. You're exactly at the spot that I called you to be. So you're gonna go through some difficult times. You're gonna go through some challenges. You're gonna go through some heartache. You're gonna go through some pain. But that is the purpose why you're going through what you're going through. That is the purpose why you're going through this particular season. So you're now better equipped and prepared to go through the temptation. If you weren't fasting, if you weren't hungry, if you weren't at a place of weakness, you'll probably go through a temptation and try to achieve things in your own means. So the fact that he was hungry tells us that God often sends the trials and tribulations at our lowest point because the purpose of it, the purpose of the trial, the purpose of our tribulation is to focus on God. And now at a weak point, we have no choice but to go to him. If he was full of food, if he was in a great part of his ministry, it should be easy. Nah, but then maybe he would not use God but use his own power. So I think we often see like God, why am I going through because God wants us to get to a place of humility and get to a place of trusting God and get to a place of weakness. Why after all that, I get more. God said now that all that, that stone that you went through was to break you down to get you to a place to trust God. That storm that you went through, that difficult season you went to was to get you to a place where you rely on the grace of God which will better equip you to go through the temptation. And he says, and we in verse three says, the tempter came to him, the tempter. So let's be very clear. The tempter is not the Holy Spirit. The tempter is the devil. God will never tempt you. The Holy Ghost will never tempt you. However, he will lead you to a place of temptation. So it showed that even the devil is working for God because God uses the devil to achieve a purpose. God uses the devil to achieve a particular fruit. So again, God will never tempt you. God will never push you to fall but God will send you to a place of temptation by the devil for a purpose. And James one talks about counter-dollar joy because as we go through trial, it produces the fruit of long suffering. It on produce faith, we already have faith but it produces long suffering. And it says that the tempter said to him, when the devil said, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. You know what's crazy about that? In Matthew chapter three, Christ is baptized by John the Baptist and in the midst of that baptism, the heavens opened up and God says, listen, this is my son in who I am well pleased and he releases a dove. This is the only place in scripture where you physically see the Father's son and the Holy Spirit. So he says, this is my son in who I am well pleased. And the first thing the devil says to Jesus Christ, if you are the son of God. So the devil is always going to test the last word that God spoke over your life. Look at Adam and Eve, God give him a word. And the enemy say, you know, did God really say that? So the enemy will always test the last word that God has spoken over your life. So after that prophecy, after that sermon, after that promise, there will come a level of testing. And it's important for us to be able to be grounded and rooted in the word of God and trusted that whatever God says is going to happen is going to happen. Not only he tests the word, but he tests his identity. He says, if you are the son of God, but God just said to him, he is my son in who I am well pleased. So his identity was not tied to miracles. His identity was not tied to friends. Identity was not tied tied into ministry. His identity was found in Christ, was found in God. So don't allow yourself to get to a place, to try to find other things, to try to label what your identity is. Our identity was formed before the foundation of the world. Our identity was formed before we came to this earth. The things that you do, the child that you have, the career that you have is not your identity. Identity is found in God. So it is imperative for us to be able at a place where we are secure in our identity because the enemy will do what he can to challenge what God has said to us. The last thing that God said to him, this is my son in who I am well pleased and the very first in the enemy says to Jesus Christ, if you are the son of God, that turned these bread into stone. If, as if there's a level of uncertainty and I love what Christ said, Christ said it is written, "Man's not lived by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." First and foremost, that response to the last point about seeking bread. He said, "I don't need to live based on bread. I need to live based on the words of God." Furthermore, it also addresses the initial thing if you are the son of God, which means my life is dependent on what God says, not on what I do. We often think ministry. We often think having being a mom, being a dad, being a great entrepreneur is who we are. Our identity is not tied into that. Our identity is in who God tells us we are. And Christ did not fall into the temptation of going back and forth with the enemy to try to prove his identity. He was secure in who God said he was. And there was no need for him to go back and forth to prove his identity to the devil. And we often get tripped up because we have these fruitless conversations. We get caught up in trying to prove people that what God said about us is true, as opposed to us being at a place of being secure and what God tells us that we are. God does not need people's approval to give us our identity. God just wants to make sure that we believe it. God wants to make sure that we have a proper perception of ourselves and that it's not tied to what the enemy says or what to the world says or what to anyone says, that we have a proper perception that whatever the Lord says shall come to pass. Because the enemy understands that if he gets to the point where he affects our perception, he gets us out of position. Because he knows he can't change the God, he can only change us. That the word of God is yes and amen. But he also understands that we can't receive what we can't perceive. If we're unable to perceive and to walk into what God and to believe what God and who God says that we are, we can't walk into it. So he can't change God, he can change us. He can create doubt. He can create a level of frustration and a desire to prove ourselves. God don't want us to prove ourselves. God just wants us to believe in what he says and walk into it. Long as we talk about having arguments and try to prove to the enemy, "Hey, I want to get married just to prove all those "that said I couldn't do it." I want to finish school, to shut the mouth of all it. No, no, no, let's walk into who God says that we are. Because our identity is not tied to anything that we do. God talked about Christ's identity and established Christ's identity before any miracles, before any healing, any sermon for dying on a cross, his identity was found in the Father. We believe that our identity is found in culture. Our identity is found in ministry. Our identity is found in what we do and what we have. But our identity is tied to God. So one of the major attacks of the enemy is to our identity. And the way he attacks our identity is that he brings doubt into our mind for us to, A, not believe in what God says, and B, not to not walk into a level of faith and try to prove to others who God says that we are. God don't need anyone else to believe but us, as long as we believe or walk into it. But it's important for us to understand the fact that our identity is tied to God. Our identity is tied into who God says that we are. And that should be where our confidence lies, not in man, not in friends, not in money, but our identity needs to be tied into who we say we are. I want to encourage you, I want to challenge you, I want to push you to walk in your identity and believe in who God says we are. Despite the words and the chatter of the enemy, let's not lose focus. I said the promises of God. I pray this word blesses you, challenges you. Drop this link in your group chat on your page, leave a comment, let's talk. But either way, thank you for watching, thank you for your time, I love you guys. Walk in your identity, God bless you, peace.
