If you are the son of God…  -Luke 4:9

The power of identity is foundational to the type of life we live.  If we have our identity misplaced, our decisions, emotions, and relationships will be easily shaken.  If we live our lives rooted in a clear sense of identity in Christ we will flourish.  Who of us is not hungry to have this experience?

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit… -Luke 4:14

We cannot experience the power of the Spirit until we have learned the lessons He is teaching us.  Make a note of the process Jesus walked through.  Ask God to show you what He is doing in your life to bring you to a place where you experience the power of the Spirit.

The process begins when God clarifies for us what it means to live with a strong sense of identity in Christ.  This is where it all began for Jesus!

You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.  -Luke 3:22

This statement clarifies a right sense of identity.  The words God spoke about Jesus are the same words He speaks over us.  When we are found in Him, He calls us His children.  The Bible says we are adopted into His family, and we have a righteousness that has no correlation to how good we can be.  We are “the righteousness of God in Him.” (1 Corinthians 10:5).  It’s a gift of God’s grace that we experience through faith.  It’s the foundation to the Christians life.

Identity puts us at rest in this life.  It’s the key to enjoying a relationship with The Living God.  When we stop trying to please Him, we can spend our lives enjoying Him!  Many Christians discover the power of identity long after they make commitments to follow Christ.  It’s such a radical shift in their Christian experience that they often wonder it they had truly been born again up until that point!  I believe they were saved, but understanding identity takes time.

Clarifying our identity causes people to catch a fresh fire to serve the Lord.  The news is so good they cannot contain it.  They become evangelists to both Christians and pre-Christians alike.  They want everyone to experience the power of God’s spirit.  Maybe you can recall a time in your life when you understood this truth for the first time.  Maybe you are just starting to see it!  Either way, know this, it would be nice if we could stay there but God has greater things in store for us.  The moment a believer grasps the truth of their identity they find a new passion for the Gospel is rekindled.   Unfortunately that’s when the enemy moves in…and God allows it!

Study the process Jesus walked through and you will gain helpful insight into what would otherwise be a frustrating wilderness experience.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.  -Luke 4:1

One of the challenges of understanding our identity is the assumption that God will never lead us into the wilderness.  We tend to think we have arrived.  We imagine, like a young child, that God’s love means He will always lavish us with gifts and provide us with protection.  When He leads, we expect His favor.  Meditate on this truth for a moment.  “Jesus…was led by the spirit into the wilderness.”

Few experiences can be more troubling to a Christian than following the leading of the Spirit only to find yourself in the wilderness.  We tend to see wilderness as a place for the disobedient.  Jesus was neither disobedient nor in need of discipline, Yet the Spirit led Him into the wilderness!  It is because God loves us that He leads us into the wilderness.  It’s in the wilderness that the truths we have learned of identity are hardened, so He can truly use us.

It is possible wander in the wilderness longer than necessary.   Like the children of Israel we refuse to believe God would ever lead us there for good and we miss the lessons we are supposed to learn.  Satan uses this struggle to keep us from moving forward.  We stop trusting God and resting in His love for us.

The fire that was sparked by our newly discovered identity begins to cool as we spend more time wandering and wondering.  Nothing makes sense and we forget that…

God is not a God of confusion but of peace -1 Corinthians 14:33.

We often fail to recognize that the wilderness is the set of circumstances that make temptation difficult to withstand.  However, the wilderness is also the place God solidifies the lessons of identity and allows us to experience even greater power through His Spirit.

Have you been there?  Maybe you are there now.  Pay attention to what’s happening.  The temptations are going to come.  The enemy wants to rob you of the sense of identity that sets your heart ablaze.  Read and learn!

If you are the son of God…

It’s in the wilderness that Satan begins plants seeds of doubt.  If our sense of identity is lost, so is our ability to live for Him.

Satan’s goal is getting us to replace our identity in Christ with identity in something else.  This is at the root of the wilderness experience.  “If you are the Son of God…”  God’s desire for us is to rest.  He wants us to be satisfied with who we are in Christ, and who God is according to His word.  The wilderness will end, but not before the lessons are learned!

As a side note, I need to mention that I’m thankful for men like Mike Breen at 3DM who helped me understand this.  Had it not been for my time with him I wonder if I would still be in the wilderness wandering and wondering!  Maybe this blog will be helpful to you.  Here goes!

Each temptation represents a universal replacement for identity in Christ.  If we lay aside who we are in Christ, and begin chasing these things, we forfeit a life marked by the power of the Spirit.  Each of us struggles with all three but the one we struggle with the most will be different for everyone.  Maybe you will recognize your struggle as these are unpacked.

…command this stone to become bread.  John 4:4

APPETITE

Hunger is normal.  Questioning God’s love for us because our hunger is not satisfied is a tactic the enemy uses to keep us from resting.  It’s not an issue of food, it’s an issue of allowing our appetites to drive our sense of identity.  We begin to assess God’s love for us based on weather or not our appetites are being satisfied.

Jesus was hungry.  There is no question he had a legitimate need to eat. Satan was not just tempting Jesus to feed Himself, he was tempting Jesus validate His Identity by satisfying his appetite.  “If you are the son of God?” In other words, use your power to satisfy your hunger and prove to yourself that you are the Son of God.

Understand this point.  The issue is not satisfying your hunger, it’s measuring God’s love for you based off of your appetite.  How often do we elevate our appetites to the place of understanding God’s love.  The problem with this kind of thinking is it’s a cycle that never ends.  God’s love for you is not measured by how quickly your appetite can be satisfied.  God’s love for you is understood when we know what the Apostle Paul knew.

For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  -1 Corinthians 12:10

Jesus shows us how to withstand this temptation. He knew the Word of God and life was not summed up in our appetites being satisfied but in feasting on The Word of God.

It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.  – John 3:4

ACCOMPLISHMENT

Satan doesn’t stop there. He moves to the second area He knows we will look to find a sense of Identity. Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and showed Him all the Kingdoms of the world.

To you I will give you all this…if you then will worship me. – John 3:6-8

The drive to achieve is celebrated in our culture. It’s considered part of the American dream. Unfortunately this drive has taken over evangelicalism. What underlies the drive to achieve is worship. Just ask the father who abandoned his family for a successful career. The ability to achieve almost always requires we are consumed with goals we have set.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work hard and accomplish things. It means that our accomplishments need to be motivated by the right things. Working with excellence to Glorify God will drive a man or woman to accomplish a lot, but it will also drive them to live with balance. People don’t glorify God when they sacrifice their families to pursue their careers. They do both with excellence and without compromise. There will be times when we take a step back in our careers because the decision will Glorify God.

When our sense of identity is derived from our accomplishments we will worship anything other than God to maintain a sense of self worth. Jesus saw through the temptation and stood firm on this principle.

You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. -John 4:8

One of the lessons learned in the wilderness is continuing to worship God even when we find ourselves dealing with failure. Worshipping God regardless of life’s success and failure is only possible when our identity is grounded in Christ.

APPROVAL

Finally, resting in God’s approval is at the core of understanding our identity in Christ. The truth is, all of us are tempted to question God’s love for us when we are in the wilderness. We start looking for ways to test God’s approval.

We want an immediate rescue. If we don’t get it we wonder if God really loves us. This was what Satan was asking Jesus to do. Pit himself in a position that forces God’s hand and proves His love for him.

…throw yourself down from here…He will command his angels concerning you.         -John 4:9&10

One of the great challenges in life is believing God loves us when circumstances tell us otherwise. How often do we forget God’s promises about His love for us when times are tough.

This is when the enemy sews seeds of doubt. If we believe it we start looking for signs, or even demanding God prove himself in ways that have nothing to do with His love for us.

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. -John 4:13

Jesus knew testing God’s love was forbidden. Instead he quoted scripture and rested in what he already knew. “This is my beloved son…”  With that the enemy left Jesus alone.  However the story doesn’t end there.  It’s after Jesus overcomes the temptation to find identity in accomplishments, appetites, or approval, that we read…

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit… -Luke 4:14

I’ve come to the conclusion that many believer never experience the full power of the Spirit in their lives because they have built their sense of identity on satisfying their appetites, boasting about accomplishment, and seeking men’s approval.  In our world, the opportunities to develop a sense of self worth in these things is not only abundant but celebrated, even in the church.

Maybe some of us will find that God is waiting for us to let go of these things, and wait on him, in the wilderness, so when we have been tested we too experience the full power of His Spirit in us and through us!