We continued our series “Homecoming” at Gateway Church in Austin.
Before Jesus began His ministry, He was baptized and immediately tested. Like Him, we must know who we are before we face the pressures of the world. Even when we wander like the lost sheep, coin, or son, God always invites us back to our identity in Him. Temptation may test you, but grace still finds you. True Growth Requires Testing.
Digging Deeper
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own or get together with your group, spiritual
running partners, or family to talk through what you are learning.
Message Video:
Message Notes by Ricky Echeona:
Root Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself
In this series we are trying to help you know God, create the right disciplines that lead to growth, and to stay ROOTED. In order to stay rooted you have to be in the right environment, because the right environment will speak God’s identity over you. And before Jesus overcomes this temptation, His identity is declared, not for His sake because He already knew, but for the listener’s sake. FOR OUR SAKE. Watch this:
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph – Luke 3:21-23
Jesus is baptized to fulfill all righteousness Scripture tells us. He gives us an example to follow. This is why we encourage you to be baptized if you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus. In baptism we follow the way of our Lord, who did not just tell us to do something, but showed us and went first.
In baptism as we will see in just a second you are also declaring allegiance to the God of the universe. You are professing “believing loyalty” to Jesus by aligning yourself with his death and resurrection. You are declaring to the very real forces of darkness all around you- YOU CAN’T HAVE ME!
I need you to understand Jesus was fully man and fully God. Not 50/50. 100% man, 100% God. His deity never compromised by putting on human flesh, yet his humanity never shortcutted by access to His divinity.
We hear the affirming words of the Father over his real identity. “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
If you are going to grow roots in your faith you need to
Understand Who You Are and Whose You Are
- Here’s why knowing your identity is so crucial to your walk with Jesus:
- If we see ourselves as a failure, we never expect much of ourselves. If we see ourselves as capable in an area of our life, we tend to show up confidently.
- The same works with God — if you see yourself primarily as a “servant,” you will likely work under pressure and with some fear. If you see yourself as only “forgiven sinner,” you could feel like a burden to God and might be likely to repeat the same.
- He calls us children because it’s the only self-understanding that creates the kind of relationship he wants and helps us realize that his DNA has been planted in us — we have a new power that makes us more like Him!
When you and I have said “Yes” to Christ, when we have believed with our hearts and confessed with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, as Romans 10:9 declares, then we are saved. That means we enter into the family of God. We are adopted into His glorious family John 1:12 puts it this way- 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Why is that important?
Because the words that the Father spoke over Jesus, are the same words He Speaks over you as His son and daughter.
Listen to me – before Jesus gathers any followers, before He has preached a sermon, before he has performed any miracle, and before He fulfills His mission… The Father declares his Love and delight over Jesus.
Hear me, your Heavenly Father looks at you and says:
“This is my son, this is my daughter, whom I love and I am pleased with you.”
This means you cannot do anything to earn more of His love, and you cannot do anything to unearn it. This means your identity is not:
- Your titles, degrees, and occupation
- My identity is not built in being a pastor! And I think that’s why so many people quit or wreck their lives in ministry. Because they have built their lives on the opinions of those they were called to lead. And they have settled for being liked.
- Your role in your family- dad, husband, mother, wife, auntie, brother
- Listen I love that woman Deborah right there. I tell her about everyday she is the most beautiful woman inside and outside in the world to me. I gotta pinch myself that she decided to build this life with me.
- But my identity is not rooted in being next to her. And her identity is not rooted in being next to me.
- My identity is not in my children or their “success”
- Your identity is not in what you possess OR the power you acquire
We will see in a few short verses how the devil uses these things to twist and thwart the plan of God for your life and to deceive you into ROOTING yourself into an identity other than God, so that he destroy your life and derail the purpose of your life.
Root Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
And in order to do that you must Understand Who You Are and Whose You Are
Remember the Lion King. Spoiler Alert Mufasa dies. You’ve had 30 years.
Simba believes it’s his fault that Mufasa is dead.
Watch this- the enemy causes him to RUNAWAY in shame.
Years go by and someone, Rafiki, speaks life and his true identity into him- “Your Mufasa’s boy!”. Remember
-Simba goes, “You knew my father?”
-Rafiki: Correction, I KNOW your Father
-Simba: Sorry to tell you but He’s dead.
-Rafiki: Wrong again, He is alive and I’ll show him to you.
Simba goes to the water and Rafiki has Him look at his reflection to his amazement the 2nd time he sees Mufasa. And then a voice comes from the Heavens
“Simba, you have forgotten me… You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me.”
The lasting statement- Remember who you are… You are my Son!
Have you forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten the King?
This is but a fraction of who God says you are:
- “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” -Ephesians 2:20
- “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -1 Peter 2:9
- “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” -Romans 8:17
- “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” -Romans 8:37
That is who you are!!!
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
Pause there. This is why I tell people, when you give your life to Christ, especially when you make a declarative statement of baptism, don’t be surprised if things get harder. The target on your back grows bigger.
Isn’t it funny when you’re out here living buck wild it seems like everything is fine. The moment you start pursuing Jesus, the car battery wants to die, your toxic ex is hitting you up like “I miss you”, and it seems like grenades are being launched at you left and right! LOL
Why? Because the enemy attacks those He sees as a threat. When you’re in the world, or on the fence- 1 foot in the world and 1 foot with Jesus, YOU’RE not a threat. Because you’re in his playground.
And listen we have to many Christians who are not ROOTED and instead have RETIRED themselves on the sideline. Many Christians have settled for a cultural Jesus they can be a fan of from the bleachers, and your roots are shallow, and there’s no FRUIT in your life.
Listen if the enemy can’t have your ETERNITY, he will settle for your EFFECTIVENESS. Root yourself, before you wreck yourself.
Let me just interject here for a moment. This passage assume you understand a bit about the spiritual realm as it mentions the devil and the Holy Spirit.
The question I’m asking is about the role that unseen world may in fact play in enticing us… drawing us toward actions we then willfully choose to do.
We have talked about this before, there is a very real presence of evil in the world. When we’re talking about evil, we’re not talking about a cartoon-like character with pointy ears and a pitchfork. We are talking about evil forces, forces that entice us toward destructive living,
We do believe there’s an unseen spiritual world. And we do believe there’s such a thing as evil. We will spend our entire next series on overcoming the dark forces in our world in September.
Scripture does, though, exhort us regarding this unseen world when it says: …take your stand against the devil’s schemes… – Ephesians 6:11
That’s a power-packed statement. It tells us there is an unseen evil in the world, and that unseen evil literally schemes against us and tempts us.
Fortunately, God has a way out for us through his Holy Spirit.
Notice this passage says, full of the Holy Spirit.
If you and I don’t go into testing and temptation full of the Holy Spirit, you’ll go into it full of the world or full of yourself. Either way, it will break you.
led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
If you and I are going to be Rooted in Christ, you have to understand that Growth is Always Tested
In 1987, a group of engineers, entrepreneurs, and earth scientists set out to build an artificial ecosystem in Oracle, Arizona.
- Biosphere 2 encompassed 3.14 acres, making it the largest closed system ever created at the time.
- Designed as the ideal ecosystem for plant life to thrive, the climate‑controlled environment included purified air, clean water, nutrient‑rich soil, and natural light.
- Despite what seemed like perfect conditions, something curious kept happening.
The trees that were planted would grow to a certain height, and then they would fall over. - After some head‑scratching, the scientists finally figured out what was missing. The biosphere lacked a critical component for growth.
- In her summary of the findings in an article titled Biosphere 2: Research Past and Present– “The trees inside the closed system developed rapidly but suffered mechanical failure due to the absence of natural wind forces. Their root systems lacked sufficient strength to support them once they reached a critical height.”
Here’s the point- Without adversity, trees atrophy. And so do humans!
It says the Spirit led him into the wilderness. And the same Spirit will allow you to be tested. A faith that is not tested is not real.
One of the mistakes we make as individuals, as parents, and as leaders, and even honestly we have made unknowingly as a church is this: we do everything within our power to create emotional and relational and spiritual biospheres. We baby-proof our lives, our kids lives, the people we lead, and then get confused when they/we can’t handle real life.
We shield ourselves from conflict, keep things safe, avoid discomfort, and make everything easy — then wonder why we hit a ceiling, fall apart under pressure, or flake when things get hard. We sidestep sacrifice and testing.
Testing doesn’t mean failure—it means formation!
What is God trying to teach you in this season? Learn it now instead of trying to escape the pain, so you don’t have to keep repeating the same lessons. Some of you all brag how long you’ve been a Christian, like, “I’ve been saved 20 years?!”…. Have you? Or have you repeating the same 2 years 10 times?
Growth is Always Tested
James the brother of Jesus put it this way in James 1:2-4, 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
So the devil comes to Jesus in His physical weakness, but Jesus is Spiritually strong. I wish I had someone in this place that new I might be weak, but greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.
- My circumstances may be rough, but blessed be the name of the Lord
- My pockets may be poor right now, but I am rich in faith.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
We wouldn’t possibly have time to cover each temptation in depth, that’s a whole series unto itself. But here’s what I want you to catch the enemy LIES and DECIEVES.
But each time Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, rooted in the Father, and in the Word of God, because he was the Word made flesh – combats deception with the truth.
And the enemy comes to Him the same way he came to Eve and Adam in the Garden, taking a morsel of truth and twisting it with a mountain of deception.
The enemy was after Jesus’ IDENTITY and His LOYALTY. The enemy is after your IDENTITY and your LOYALTY.
Look at the 3 ways really quickly he comes after Jesus and often comes after us:
- You can have it now (Pleasure)
- You can have it all (Power)
- You can play god (Pride)
John hyperlinks to this and gives us the lens in 1 John 2:16– 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
You Can Have It Now
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.
In each of these temptations Jesus responds directly with the Word of God, each time out of Deuteronomy. Here out of Deuteronomy 8:3. And Matthews Gospel expands his response to include ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.
What does this mean for us?
The temptation for all of time has been- pleasure your way, not God’s way. Pleasure on your time, not God’s time.
- “You deserve to get high look how hard you work.”
- “It’s ok to flirt with that co-worker you don’t get attention at home.”
- “Hook up with whoever you want, however you want, whenever you want. You’re not hurting anybody.”
But the voice of Jesus says, no baby boy I’m the designer and I set the guardrails for you to experience an abundant life. And when we align ourselves with our primal feelings and give into temptation what erodes first is our LOYALTY to the king and overtime unchecked- our Identity.
See people think Christianity is a bunch of rules to limit you, that’s the enemy’s trick since the Garden. (“God just knows you’ll be like Him” – He’s holding back.)
As followers of Jesus He has given us a new lens!! We aren’t free TO sin, we are free FROM sin. We recognize what looks like freedom to the world is actually slavery
You can have it all (Power and Position)
The devil then shows him the kingdoms of the world and says you can have it, it’s been given to me. You can have it if you bow down
Jesus responds with Deuteronmy Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
What is interesting is the most that the devil could offer him was political position and military power, which is EXACTLY what so many peolpe wanted then and NOW.
Settling for a cultural Jesus. One who changes my country, but not my life.
The Lie of the enemy is to deceive us into thinking be LOYAL to only you, “God won’t look out for you. Look out for yourself.”
What does it mean for us?
The temptation to fudge the numbers at work, in order to get ahead
Trust your hustle and step on anyone to get what you want. Mortgage your character and integrity for the almighty power of the almighty dollar
Settling for social influence, instead of kingdom impact
But the voice of Jesus, is FEAR God, do not bow down to beastly patterns of this world
- You can play god (pride)
The devil gives this vision on the top of the temple and twists Psalm 91 and tells him “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Listen the devil knows the Bible. The question is how well do you know yours? And if you don’t He will use it and twist a web of lies around around you.
This is not a guilt trip, it’s this- if the enemy of your soul wants to us Scripture to weapon against you, how much more should we as CHILDREN and CO-HEIRS be armed with what the Bible calls the Sword of the Spirit- which is the WORD of God?!
Listen- the devil’s shortcuts are always dead ends
What does it mean for us:
The temptation to: Trust signs, feelings, or dramatic experiences more than God’s Word.
Set conditions for our faith: “God, if You really love me, then do ______.”
Demand that God prove himself before you obey
But Jesus masterfully pasts the test. He passes every test. Not just in the wilderness, but also in the Garden, and also on the Cross. Unlike the first son of God, Adam, who fails in the Garden. And unlike Israel in the wilderness who fail and wander for 40 years.. And unlike US, who fail Him time and time again. JESUS NEVER FAILS.
And we can stay rooted, when our identity is in Him and his finished work on the Cross.
Root Yourself before you Wreck Yourself. You do that by
- Remebering who you are and whose you are
- Understanding Growth Must be tested
- And when your identity and loyalty are under attack- grounding yourself in the Word of God and the Person of Jesus
[Invite everyone to stand]
Because WHEN you blow it. When you wreck it. When you are trying to root yourself and you give in to temptation. You can ALWAYS, ALWAYS, run back home to your Father. It’s the reality of the story of the prodigal son. Who wants the pleasure, power, and pride all to himself. Eventually he hits rock bottom. He has a thought maybe I can go back to dad, and maybe he’ll let me be a servant. And scripture says when we was still far off the Father runs to him, embraces him, kisse him, and throws a party for him.
That my friends is the grace of God. The unexplainable, unconditional LOVE of God for broken kids like you and me.
Maybe shame has had you wandering in the wilderness for too long. Maybe you were walking with Jesus and temptation promised freedom, but it feels like prison and you’re ready to come home.
I never want to pass up an opportunity to invite you into the family of God whether for the 1st time ever, or a prayer of repentance back to the Father’s arms. Because the same way we started is how we will end, that if you are in Christ, the Father loves you and is pleased with you. THAT is your IDENTITY. And today He is calling you HOME.
If you’ve never related to God as Father and experienced reconciliation with him to the point of becoming a child in the family — now is the time. It’s who you are to him — but only you can toss aside the identities you’ve made for yourself or that others have forced on you.
Before you try do anything — there’s nothing you can do to earn it. Hear the words of the Father to you just as he spoke them to Jesus: “This is my beloved son/daughter. I’m fully pleased with you.” You could just receive that right now… you could let it in your heart and mind. You could let it ROOT down into your soul and build a life on it. “
