I Know Who I Am

Okay, you all ready?

Okay, the book of Matthew, chapter number three.

The book of Matthew, chapter number three, is where you will find my assignment for today.

And I'm gonna read a few verses in your hearing, and then I'll give you the title, we'll pray, and we'll see what the Holy Spirit has to say.

Matthew chapter number three, starting at the 13th verse.

I'm reading from the New Living Translation of the Bible.

Here's what it says.

Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.

But John tried to talk him out of it.

I am the one who needs to be baptized by you.

He said, So why are you coming to me?

But Jesus said, it should be done.

For we must carry out all that God requires.

So John agreed to baptize him.

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.

And a voice from heaven said, This is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy.

I want you to pay close attention to the 17th verse because this is where we're going to open it up from.

And a voice from heaven said, This is my dearly loved son who brings me great joy.

It's my assignment to teach from the subject this evening.

I know who I am.

I know who I am.

Would you all say that with me?

I know who I am.

Bow your hands, let's pray over the word, shall we?

Holy Spirit, thank you for the reminder that we are yours and you are ours.

Amen.

Quick pairs rock.

In this particular passage of scripture, we have uh the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry.

The thing that is absolutely amazing about it is how long we had to wait for it.

The first messianic prophecy given with promise is in Genesis 3.15.

The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent, and he shall bruise his heel.

From that time to the time of our Savior's birth is some 4,000 years.

Can you imagine waiting that long for a prophetic word to come to pass?

Some 4,000 years pass before he's born, and another 30 years passes before he actually starts his earthly ministry.

Now, there was this time when Jesus was 12 years old that he tried to make a cameo appearance and he ran up into the synagogue and was talking with uh some of the leaders there, and uh his parents, when they got home, realized um that they still had their ticket from checking in in at children's ministry, and they didn't have their child.

And so they have to run back for about three days and try to figure out where is Jesus, and Jesus is sitting up talking with all of these theologians, and when they were when they asked him, What are you doing here?

He makes this very grown statement.

This is before his bar mitzvah, he makes this grown statement, like, I must be about my father's business.

And they were like, Not now, young man, you better get home right now.

And he goes back home, and there's 18 years of silence until Jesus pops up one day and attends his cousin John's church.

It's called the River Church.

You all are so bright.

And he goes down to his cousin John's church and he stands in line for baptism.

He's just in line.

That's what you do when you're waiting in line to be baptized.

There's no action going on, it's just.

And John looks up and he sees them and he goes, That's the one I've been talking about.

That's him right there.

Now you must understand how excited John is because this has been a very difficult ministry for John to try to prepare the way for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to come.

And the reason why he's so excited is because this is not the first time they've met.

They met a long time ago.

They were cousins, but they met each other before they even saw each other.

Because when his mom Elizabeth came into the room with Jesus' mom Mary, when their bellies got close to each other, John went, whoo! Well, somebody is in here.

This wasn't a kick from a little baby that was hungry.

This was the kick of prophetic destiny on the inside of Elizabeth saying that the Messiah is in the same room as I am, and he's about to do something special in the earth.

So John is sitting there baptizing people in the water, and Jesus keeps getting closer, he's baptized, and he keeps getting closer.

He's baptized and keeps getting closer.

And then he finally gets in the water and he's like, mm-mm.

Mm-mm.

Look, man, um you need to be baptizing me.

I don't think I should do this.

And and and and and Jesus says, we have to do this.

That's all the Old Testament prophets have been talking about.

If we don't do this, you're calling Jeremiah a liar.

If we don't do this, we're calling Isaiah a liar.

If we don't do this, then what was the whole Old Testament for?

He steps back and he goes, Well, you have a point.

He didn't say that, but that's what I think he would have said.

Sits there and he says, We must do this so that all things can be fulfilled.

Now, now here's an interesting point that I don't want to uh rush, and that is if there was one man that could have circumvented checking in with someone's earthly ministry, it would have been Jesus.

And ladies and gentlemen, he simply didn't do it.

He respected earthly authority so much that he would not start his earthly ministry until he submitted to another man's ministry.

May that be a reminder to us that have aspirations to do great things for God in ministry.

If you cannot submit yourself to local authority, you cannot be sent into ministry and have any long-lasting effect.

God doesn't have long rangers in his kingdom, he has people that are connected in relationship that are sent out into ministry to bring to bring heaven to earth.

He baptizes him in the same way that many were baptized last week.

And when Jesus comes out of the water, something amazing happens.

Now, we had so many spontaneous baptisms last week.

Two-thirds of all of our uh uh uh uh baptisms last week were spontaneous, which means people came to church, they didn't even think about planning to be baptized, but once they got here, they were like, oh yeah, I'm gonna do that.

And then they just went and did that.

And we saw so many amazing uh moments that happened as families got together and and and fathers were baptizing their sons and friends were seeing their uh uh uh their relatives baptized.

It was just an amazing moment.

But let me tell you what did not happen last week.

There was nobody out of the hundreds of people that got baptized, there was nobody that got baptized last week that heard this.

This is my son.

This is my daughter in whom I am well pleased.

Nobody heard that last week.

We had some special moments, it wasn't that special.

Not only did we not hear that type of thunderous voice, we did not see any birds.

Literally or figuratively come and just kind of chill on somebody's head.

It didn't happen.

What happened to Jesus in this moment was his God, his father affirming him and validating him before he did anything in ministry.

Think about this, ladies and gentlemen.

Pun intended, Jesus in this moment was wet behind the ears in ministry.

He hadn't done anything.

And before he did anything, here's what God the Father wanted to do for him that he does for us when we're reconciled to him through his son Jesus.

He wants to affirm us and validate us before we even try to prove anything to him.

You are my son, you are my daughter, and I am pleased with you right now.

Don't try to go out and work for this, don't try to go out and do something extravagant for me.

Here's what I want you to know.

On day one, when you give your life to me, here's what I want you to know.

I already love you, you're already mine, and I'm pleased with you.

That's what he says to his sons and his daughters.

He's not he's not waiting for you.

Uh, let's give them a year trial and let's see how they go through new members' class, and let's see if they take good notes, and if they take all those good notes, then I'll say I'm pleased with them.

No, from the very beginning, ladies and gentlemen, here's what your dad says about you you're my child, and I'm pleased with you.

And do you know why?

He settles that first because when we know our identity, we can literally walk out our lives relaxed and comforted knowing he's already approved me.

I am his, and he is mine.

Now there's three points to this message that I want you to see, and I want you to write this down at the top under where if you've if you've written down uh uh I know who I am, here's what I want you to write underneath that.

When I know who I am, I will not be.

Dot dot dot.

And there's three points that I want to give you.

But when I know who I am, I will not be dot dot dot.

You would think that after Jesus had the best baptism ever, that he would run straight out and start doing miracles and start healing people and have a line for lepers and have a line for for those that had blinded eyes and have a line uh uh of caskets lined up so he can pop them open and show all of his resurrection power, but quite the opposite happened.

He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

This seems absolutely anticlimatic to the event that just happened.

Woo! I'm about to start my earthly ministry, it's gonna be amazing! And here's what the Holy Spirit says not before our quality assurance check.

Come with me.

Now listen, he didn't rebuke this moment, he accepted it because he was being led there.

And anywhere the Holy Spirit leads, he also provides.

And so you don't have to rebuke a season like the wilderness.

If the Holy Spirit is leading you there, here's what he's saying in all truth and honesty.

You're gonna come out better on the other side.

When you get done with this process, you are going to look so much like your dad that there is no demon in hell that's gonna try to mess with you.

That's all the Old Testament wilderness was about.

It was not about uh this expedient trip all the way to Canaan.

This was about a purification of the heart so that when you get into the promised land, you would stay in the promised land because your heart no longer has a longing for Egypt, it has a longing for the Lord.

And so he goes into the wilderness.

So that's what verses one and two say, and he was in verse number two for 40 days and forty nights he fasted and became hungry, and then the devil comes.

And this is where it gets interesting.

Here's what he says: During that time the devil came and said to him, If you are the son of God, now let's think about this.

He didn't say, if you can do miracles, what is the very thing that God just did?

He affirmed them and he validated them.

What is the very thing Satan just comes to do?

Discredit his identity.

See, here's what you got to understand.

Satan cannot take the giftings that God has given to you, he cannot take the power God's given to you, and he cannot take the authority that God's given to you.

The only thing he can do is try to discredit your identity.

Because if he can discredit your identity, you'll still do awesome things, but for all the wrong reasons.

When you have authority, power, and gifting, but don't know your identity, you abuse it.

Here's what he says.

If you're the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.

But Jesus told him, No.

There's an exclamation mark, so I have to put some No.

The scriptures say, people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Write this down.

When I know who I am, point number one, when I know who I am, I will not be performance driven.

When I know who I am, I will not be performance driven.

I don't have to prove anything to you because my dad already told me I'm his son.

See, when you know that, you can rest.

When you don't know that, you'll be running around trying to do things to prove to people that you are loved instead of resting in the fact that you are loved.

Think about this.

Turn a stone into bread.

I can hear your stomach growling.

I know you're hungry.

Ooh, thank you, Holy Spirit.

Yeah.

See, you don't you don't have to talk about things in order to get the enemy's attention.

He'll just listen to your desires.

What's rumbling in your belly?

And he'll come to you and he'll try to make you take one element and transform it into another element for your own satisfaction.

But the truth of the matter is, you don't need to transform anything when you know he's gonna provide everything you need.

David said it this way: I've never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging for bread.

I don't have to take something and manipulate my gifting to try to make it something else.

My God shall supply all of my needs according to his riches in glory.

I'm his son, I'm his daughter, and because I'm affirmed, everything I need is coming to me.

I don't have to try to trick it into being something it's not.

He's I don't have to be performance-driven, I don't have to prove anything to you.

And here's the thing that's absolutely ridiculous that the enemy does.

He says, if you're really the son of God, think about that identity, why don't you turn the stone into bread?

Now let me tell you why this was absolutely ridiculous to say to Jesus.

He is the stone and he is the bread.

Hello.

He is the stone and he is the bread.

I am the chief cornerstone upon which the church will be built, and I am the bread physically that the manna was talking about in the Old Testament.

When you get me, you'll never be hungry again.

Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.

He said, Don't talk to me about stone of bread.

I'm both.

Dummy.

So point number one, when I know who I am, I don't have to be performance-driven.

And he says, the scriptures say, People don't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Look at look at what the enemy does for his next temptation.

Verse number five.

And then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the temple, and said, If you are the son of God, again, what is he after?

Identity.

If you are the son of God, jump off.

For the scriptures say, uh oh.

Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

The devil knows the Bible.

I'm just gonna stand on the word of God and I'm gonna rebuke the enemy, and I'm just gonna stand flat-footed and tell him that with the scriptures by his stripes, I am healed.

And the devil goes, Oh, oh, you want to use scripture?

I know scripture too.

Here's what he says: this is Satan talking.

Oh, you want to use scripture?

Okay, I'll use scripture.

For the scriptures say, he will order his angels to protect you, and they will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.

Jesus responded, the scriptures also say, Now let me stop right there.

This is how you prevent yourself from walking into doctrinal error.

You don't take one scripture and extrapolate it and hold it up against the rest of scripture and push the rest of scripture aside and say, This right here is what I'm gonna hang my entire theology on.

Here's what here's what here's what the word said when he saw his self being manipulated.

Don't do that because the scriptures also say.

See, see, he was quoting uh uh Psalms chapter 91, but he was trying to you to just take one piece of that scripture out and use it to to twist Jesus up.

Psalms 91 · chapter mention

But but here's what Jesus knew: you're a dummy.

Because if you read just two verses down, it talks about crushing serpents under your feet.

How come you didn't read that part?

Because he only wants to give you enough scripture to mess you up.

He doesn't want the believer theologically sound.

So he'll go, oh, you got that one scripture.

Run, keep, keep running with it, keep running with it.

Don't balance it, just keep running with it.

You're right.

You can do what you want to in life.

You're right.

You're awesome.

Do whatever you want.

But here's what Jesus knows.

You can't twist me.

Can you imagine he tried to quote scripture to Jesus and he is scripture?

You see, you see what lunacy does.

Satan is literally trying to come at Jesus with his own word.

And Jesus says the scriptures also say you must not test the Lord your God.

Point number two, when I know who I am, I will not be arrogant.

When you know who you are, you don't have to be arrogant.

This would have been the most arrogant thing Jesus could have done.

I'll prove this to you.

I'm going way up there.

Going all the way up there and watch what happens.

Michael's coming, Gabriel's coming, and a whole bunch of angels that we don't even know the names to are coming.

But he doesn't have to test the Lord to prove that he belongs to God.

Once he heard what his father had to say, thank you.

Once he heard what his father had to say, he believed it.

I think one of the biggest things fighting us as believers is simply believing what the Father says about us.

For some reason we just can't receive it.

He said it and we're like, I know you said it, but I did think I need to do more works, and I know you said it, but I just think if I go on a fast for 72 days, that'll help.

And I know you said it, but if I just read my Bible for eight hours and then miss work, it'll work.

No, stop.

When he told him, he received it.

Arrogance is when you try to keep jumping off of stuff to prove that God's on your side.

Look at me.

Look at me.

Look at me.

I'm not doing another one.

Jumping off is arrogant.

When we put God in a position to prove that we're validated, we're testing him.

We're tempting them.

We don't need to do that.

Let me tell you one of the most subtle forms of arrogance.

Exaggeration.

It's when we try to make ourselves a little bit bigger than what we really are.

We don't think our lives are just good enough where they are, and so we have to bump it up a bit.

Yeah, I was playing with my son at the park, throwing the ball out, and Jerry Jones drove by and told me to come to camp.

He told me he wanted to check me out.

He thought I was doing a real good job.

You saw Jerry Jones when you were playing catch with your son in the park.

Oh yeah.

I got a mean gun.

I can help them cowboys out.

You don't have to exaggerate.

Or here's a more subtle form of exaggeration.

We had 7,000 baptisms last week.

No, we didn't.

We keep trying to bump it up because we don't think anything's good right now.

And so the higher we think we can make ourselves, the more we feel like people, oh, you, oh God, oh, favors really on your life.

Let me tell you one of the most blessing things that you could have going on in your life.

Nothing.

Oh my goodness.

The blessing of absolutely nothing.

Hey, what's going on in your life?

What's going on?

Come on, tell me what's going on.

Nothing.

And I am cool with nothing right now.

Life by itself has enough drama it's gonna bring through the course of your life that when you get the season of nothing, you need to just lay up in that as long as you can.

What you doing today?

Nothing.

Where you going?

Number one, what you do this weekend?

Absolutely nothing.

What your kids doing?

Nothing.

It's a blessing.

Did you go anywhere this weekend?

No.

How about Greyfest?

It's hot! I'm not going.

I'ma just sit down and do nothing.

Nothing rocks.

It's hard to fall off of nothing.

And pride comes before a fall.

When we set ourselves up, we are pretty sure to bring ourselves down.

Can I go a little bit deeper?

Okay, so uh so that's the second one.

Here's the third one.

Verse number eight.

Next, the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

I will give it all to you, he said, if you will kneel down and worship me.

At this time, Jesus is sick with him, so he goes, get out of here, Satan.

Jesus told him, for the scriptures say, you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.

Write this down, point number three.

When I know who I am, I will not be selfish.

This last temptation was Satan's last ditch effort to try to get our Lord and Savior to be selfish enough to just enjoy what he was already going to get by himself.

Let me tell you what selfishness looks like, especially in this context.

When we choose to accept something without sacrificing for it, without paying full price for it, the only one that gets to enjoy it is us.

When through exact when we decide to sacrifice and show extravagant love and we receive something in that way from our Father in heaven, guess what?

Not only do we get to enjoy it, but everybody around us gets to enjoy it with us.

Jesus said, because you gotta remember, it's in Jesus' DNA to pay for stuff.

Somebody tried to do this to Abraham, and Abraham was like, mm-mm, I'm gonna pay full price for that.

You're not gonna get me.

Because you'll try to say you did it.

Same thing happened with his great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather David.

I want to give you something.

Nope.

I will not take it unless I pay full price for it.

Jesus on a DNA level knew if I'm gonna get it, I'm gonna pay full price for it so that everybody can enjoy it with me when I'm raised.

And sitting next to my dad on his right hand.

When I know who I am, I don't have to be selfish.

And here's the thing that was absolutely amazing.

This is the bonus part.

Are you ready?

This part is so cool.

Look what it says in verse number 11.

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Okay, this part makes me happy.

You ready for this?

Okay, this part is good.

Do you know why Jesus did not pay attention to that second temptation?

He didn't pay attention to none of them.

But do you know why he was really looking at him crazy at the second one?

Hey, put go up on the top of this pinnacle in Jerusalem and throw yourself down.

And I'll, and and the scripture says angels will come and bear you up.

And here's what Jesus knew: all I had to do is wait for you to stop talking, and angels are coming anyway.

Hear me, believer.

When you can withstand the temptations that the enemy tries to bring into your life, angels are coming to take care of you, ministering angels, carrying love and joy and peace and mercy and supernatural grace, so you can move on and do the things that he has called you to do before the beginning of time because he's in love with you.

Here, here, here is what the enemy hates.

A confident believer who knows who their dad is and knows that their dad loves them.

He can't stand that person.

Because no matter what comes out of them, they're like, I keep messing with me.

My dad's coming.

You know I'm gonna tell my daddy on you, right?

You know my dad's coming.

You know my dad does not like when you do it.

You know my dad's coming.

He's coming.

You know what's gonna happen to you.

You're gonna die.

When we know who we are, performance isn't an issue.

When we know who we are, arrogance is never in the heart.

When we know who we are, we are the most extravagant givers that we could ever be.

We don't have to be selfish.

Here's what God says to you.

I just want you to receive this.

I know.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

For some of you, this message has brought some confirmation.

Maybe in your quiet time, your devotional time, you've been hearing him speak to you about this very thing.

For others of you all, this has been hard for you to receive, hard for you to believe.

Are you sure you just love me right now?

I don't have to do anything else.

But listen, he gives us the opportunity to respond.

And in a moment, we're gonna give you that opportunity.

Here, our altar ministry team would be down front at all campuses.

And if you need prayer for any reason at all, whether the Holy Spirit was pulling on your heart through this message, or whether you've been carrying a burden that you simply just need to drop off at the altar, you need prayer.

You don't have to be a member of Gateway Church to come for prayer.

But wherever you are, if he's speaking to you, as we sing one more song, we just want you to come.

So, Holy Spirit, I pray that you would draw every person that needs prayer to you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.