Who is Father Here?

^{Matt 3: 16} As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Enter Matthew 4...the chapter where Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness. We see Jesus hungry and alone after 40 days of not eating in the wilderness. I wonder what happened in those days. The narrative tells us He was led there to "be tempted by the Devil." Did He not hear from His Father for those days? Was He alone? How I wonder what happened. If it were me I'd have been munching on sand. OH the discipline it took. 

When He was his most hungry and most exhausted then the Tempter arrived. "Turn these stones into bread." 

What?

Jesus was STARVING....and Satan was telling Him to satisfy the longings of his flesh and use his power to turn stoes into something edible. It was a test of who was "father"....the flesh....or the Father. 

The next test: Satan tells Jesus to throw Himself off of the temple pinnacle. 

“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.’"

Who would win? The father of the fleshly desire to be noticed? Or the Father who sent the Son for a specific purpose? 

The third test: "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

 ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

The Father always won. The father of the flesh begged for attention and begged to be noticed. But that wasn't the calling for the Son. 

Whatever we surround ourselves with is what will govern us. If we are submersed in the Word then it will rule. If we are submersed in culture then it will rule us. Values change based on surroundings. After Satan was defeated and Jesus chose the Father the angels came and ministered to Him. He was filled. He chose the Father. 

 He resisted the Tempter through scripture. He followed the Father...not His flesh. 

Are you finding yourself in temptation right now? Who will you follow? The Father? Or the father of the flesh? Are you resisting with scripture?

If you aren't, you probably aren't resisting at all. 

Who will win?

Seeking the Father, 

Sarah