OPENING SCRIPTURE: Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS to be tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1 NIV)

• The wilderness is not an unusual place for anyone whom God wants to use.

Between the promise and the miracle, there is often a wilderness.

What does wilderness mean for us believers?

• A season when God feels silent. – Silent but not absent.
• A season where direction feels unclear – Unclear but His light is still shining.
• A season where temptation feels intense. Intense but His Grace is stronger.

Why does God use wilderness season?

To strip away false dependencies; to strengthen spiritual endurance; to reveal identity; and to deepen our trust.

The wilderness exposes what comfort conceals.

There is a story told of a master blacksmith. A young apprentice asked why iron must be placed into fire and beaten repeatedly.

The blacksmith replied, “If I do not place it in the fire, it cannot be shaped. If I do not strike it, it cannot be strengthened. If I do not cool it at the right time, it will shatter. The fire reveals what the metal is made of—and makes it usable.”

The wilderness is God’s forge.

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.” ~ C.S Lewis

• God’s presence is loud in our wilderness.

Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

LESSON 1: The Wilderness Tests Our Identity

Your identity is not defined by the season you are in.

• Your identity which comes from God, and that cannot be changed.

The very first thing satan challenges Jesus with is His identity:

“If you are the Son of God…”

The enemy will always attack what God has already affirmed.

• Satan attacks the identity or the image of God’s most prized creation: mankind.

The Good News: Our identity was settled before the test begins.

Then God said, “Let us make MANKIND in OUR IMAGE, in OUR LIKENESS … So God created MANKIND in his OWN IMAGE, in the IMAGE OF GOD he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27 NIV)

• The enemy wants to destroy mankind by destroying our identity…by questioning our identity…we are questioning God.

The wilderness will test our identity.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: When the enemy challenges our identity in the wilderness?

Start with Genesis 1:26: “I was created in the image of God. In His likeness, He made me.”

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV)

LESSON 2: The Wilderness Deepens Dependence on God’s Word

“IT IS WRITTEN”

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Matthew 4:2-3 NIV)

• Jesus responded to satan with the written word.

“man does not live on bread alone but on every WORD that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:3 NIV)

• In the wilderness, our spiritual hunger will increase. Our dependence on Him and His word would increase.
• The word is still light in the wilderness.

Your WORD is a lamp for my feet, a LIGHT on my path. (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

PRACTICAL APPPLICATION:

When in the wilderness, no need to argue with the devil. Do what Jesus did. Anchored yourself to scripture, to what is written. Show resistance by using the Word.

LESSON 3: The Wilderness Prepares Us for Authority

SUBMIT yourselves, then, TO GOD. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 1:7 NIV)

Our authority is restored when we submit ourselves to the authority of God.

• Jesus returned to His assignment in power and

JESUS RETURNED to Galilee IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. (Luke 4:14 NIV)

The wilderness period does not last forever. After if it over, you return to your God given assignment with His Power and His Authority.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

Submit to God’s authority in the wilderness. Afterwards you will walk in His authority as you follow His assignment.

Wilderness is not where God abandons you, it is where He prepares you.

CONCLUSION

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