Identity Theft

Identity theft is the crime of someone acquiring your personal identity and using it for their own personal reasons, in others words they commit fraud.

Spiritually, we have an identity theif, but he does not want to be our identity, he does not want to use our identity, no, this thief wants to steal, kill and destroy our identity by attacking who we are in relationship with God and the ministry God calls us to.

Who is this theif? Satan.

Before Jesus started His ministry in Matthew 4, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, fasted for forty days and nights, and became hungry. It was in His state of weakness that Satan attacked. This is so like Satan to attack when a person is down, weak, and stricken. And where is the first place that Satan attacked Jesus? And where does he attack us when we are in this state? Our identity.

Just before Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Spirit of God, He was baptized by John and concluding this baptism, the Spirit of God descended as a dove and came upon Jesus; God's voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17) Publically, God announced that Jesus is His Son, His beloved Son; "beloved" refers to Jesus' mission and takes us back to Psalm 2:7, informing us that this word "beloved" is in reference to Jesus' resurrection from the dead. The baptism was in reference to His death and His burial, but God's claim that Jesus was His "beloved" referred to His resurrection. God claimed the identity of Christ and declared His mission.

Clearly stating the identiy of Jesus, Jesus was taken into the wilderness. Concluding the forty days of fasting, and entering a state of human weakness-hunger, what does Satan say to Jesus at the point of His weakness? "If You are the Son of God..." (Matthew 4:3) and immediately after the first temptation failed, Satan comes back at Him again in verse 6, "If You are the Son of God..." Both instances, Satan attacks His identity. Then failing yet again, Satan attacks Jesus' mission, by attempting to entice Him with the lust of the eyes and the riches of the world - all He said could be His if Jesus would fall down and worship Satan. (Matthew 4:9) If Jesus had fallen and worshiped Satan, Jesus' mission would have been halted and mankind would not experience what Jesus promised "...that mankind would have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

We can have the same baptismal and wilderness experience; we can have that wonderful quiet time in the morning; God lifts us up and encourages us as His child and directs us into His purpose, and then the struggles of the day come. We have a choice, just as Jesus had a choice: to easily fall into the pit of a stolen identity or fight Satan's tactic with the truth of God's word.

Protecting yoruself from the crime of identity theft takes time and effort. It takes delibertate actions to prevent the crime from happening to you. It takes inquiring and acquiring information that will help protect you. Just like taking these necessary steps to protect yourself from the identity theives of our culture, we must take the time to immerse ourselves in God's Word so that we are armed and ready to fight the spriitual identity theif - Satan. We must protect the truth of Who God says we are and the mission He has set before us. It truly is a matter of protection, life and death.