Baptized In Beloved Identity
(5 minutes)
One day, Jesus came to be baptized along with all the others. As he was consumed with the spirit of prayer, the heavenly realm ripped open above him and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove and landed on him. Then God's audible voice was heard, saying, "My Son, you are my beloved one. Through you I am fulfilled." (Luke 3:21-22)
Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was being led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had finished, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." (Luke 4:1-3)
How important is it to be fully convinced that you are beloved of the Father?
Before Jesus performs any miracles, before He heals anyone, before He resurrects anyone from the dead, the Father is peeling back the heavens so everyone can hear His heart loud and clear. One of only two times that we hear the audible voice of the Father in the New Testament and He is saying, "This is my dearly beloved Son, in whom I take the greatest delight!" Another translation interprets these words, "You are my much-loved Son who makes my heart glad!" Abba is declaring His unconditional love and pleasure for the Son. Of all the things that Abba could say... of all the things that He could talk about... this is what He chooses to say.
Immediately after Jesus is baptized in beloved identity, the Spirit leads Him even deeper into the wilderness. And in His most vulnerable moment, the enemy comes and tempts Jesus saying, "If You are the Son of God..."
It seems that the devil left something out.
Pastor Tim has said this before, "The enemy is fine with you believing that you are a son of God, but he does not want you to believe that you are beloved."
The enemy fails to mention Jesus' state of beloved-ness in the Father's eyes. He leaves it off completely. He then tempts Jesus to prove His sonship and anything you feel the need to prove, you are not fully convinced of in the beginning. In the same wilderness where the Israelites struggled to be seated in Yahweh's goodness, and confronted by the same serpent that deceived Adam and Eve about their divine identity in God, Jesus finds victory simply by believing Abba's words over anyone else's. This is the victory that's possible when you hear Abba's voice for yourself, thundering through the heavenly realm and into your ears, "You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, in whom I find the greatest delight. You make my heart happy!"
Pastor Tim made this statement on Sunday: "Every decision you make is about these two things: what you believe about God and what you believe about yourself." The bedrock of Jesus' victory in the wilderness, the very foundation of His faith in those moments, hinged on what He believed about Abba, and what He believed about Himself. It's the same with us. Our response in our most vulnerable moment will be shaped by what we believe about Abba, and what we believe about ourselves. Trials have a strange way of revealing what has been brewing in our inner world all along. Storms cause our true beliefs to come to the surface. Head-knowledge, intellect, and a new vocabulary will not sustain you in these vulnerable moments, but Abba's voice will. He has hidden these treasured words in the light that surrounds Him, waiting for us to come to the secret place, called intimacy, to hear them for ourselves.
Have you been baptized in beloved identity? Have you been immersed in that which is flowing down from Abba's heart? Are you seated in Yahweh's goodness and your belovedness in His eyes? Have you heard Abba's declaration of love for yourself? This moment marked Jesus. And when we are baptized in our beloved identity, it will mark us, too.
Come and discover what the enemy and the lie of religion never wanted you to know: that you are His beloved, and before you ever lifted a finger... He found His greatest delight in you. You don't have to strive for it. You can cease all of your efforts to earn it. And you don't need to prove it to anyone. Only one thing is asked of you: will you believe it? Will you be fully convinced, like Jesus was, that Abba is pure light, and there's not even a trace of darkness in Him? Will you be fully convinced that Abba loves you with the same nature and measure of love that He has for Jesus?
Come and be baptized, beloved.
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Worship: "Jireh" by Elevation Worship & Maverick City
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
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