The Centrality Of The Word Of God

Matthew  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  22:54
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Jacob was having one of those mornings—late for work, cranky from no sleep, and of course, the coffee machine stopped working.
He stood in the kitchen, eyes half-shut, and muttered, “The enemy is attacking my joy through caffeine withdrawal.”
He laid hands on the machine and prayed, “In Jesus' name, I command this machine to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit!”
and you know what happened? Nothing!
His wife walked in and said, “You didn’t plug it in.”
Moral of the story: Sometimes it’s not spiritual warfare—it’s just your own forgetfulness.

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 4:1–11 NKJV
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - To Be Successful In Life We Must Know, Live & Use The Word Of God.

Life Point- Live The Word Of God

Exegetical -

Matthew 4:1–4 NLT
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Homiletical -

Notice a few things here.
Who led Jesus into the wilderness? God The Holy Spirit.
So the devil knew Jesus was hungry and he said “If you are the Son of God”
He was trying to put Jesus in a situation of, prove to me that you are the son of God.
Folks don’t let people put in a prove or lose it situation. You don’t have to be there.
Don’t let people say things like “If God exists then why does bad things happen to good people.”
Now you find yourself on the defensive. There are three way to handle this question.
1) Sin has entered into the world and effects everyone, not just the bad.
2) Who is good in God’s eyes? God said, “Be ye Holy for I am Holy” can anyone on earth say they are good?
3) You prove to me that God doesn’t exist. Do you have all knowledge? The answer is no, because if you did that would make you God.
You could even throw in a verse from Hebrews for good measure.
Romans 9:20 NKJV
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”
Notice Satan then follows up with what he wants him to do. Someone on the defensive will try to prove the person wrong. Don’t fall for that trap. It would have been wrong for Jesus to do that because it would give place for Satan, it would show that Satan could best Jesus and we know that isn’t the case. So Jesus goes back to scripture. Just like we should when problems and situations arise in our lives. We should go back to scripture to show us what to do.
This Christian life isn’t about going to church on Sunday and forgetting what the Bible teaches the rest of the week. We should put it in practice.
James 1:22–25 NLT
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
So what does Jesus do? He quotes scripture and puts it into practice by telling Satan “NO!” He quotes deut. 8:3
Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
We call ourselves Christians, then let us act like Christians and put into practice the principles that are found therein.

Illustration -

In the Book of Joshua, God commands him to meditate on the Law day and night so that he may be careful to do everything written in it. Joshua’s adherence to God’s word resulted in success and prosperity for the Israelites. This moment teaches us that serious commitment to practice God's word leads to divine direction and blessings. It challenges us to consider how actively we are applying the biblical principles that lead to spiritual victory.

Life Point - Know The Word of God

Exegetical -

Matthew 4:5–7 NLT
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, jump off! 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, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Homiletical -

Now from where Jesus was, Satan takes him to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem and tells Him to jump off and then takes scripture out of the context of the rest of scripture to prove his point.
Let’s break this down a little shall we. He continues to put Jesus on the defensive and says “If you are the Son of God…” In other words prove to me you are the Son of God.
Now the phrase Son Of God in our English today is not the same as it was then. To be the son of someone meant that you came with the same authority, likeness, and are the same as the person who is your father. So for Jesus to say He is the Son of God meant that He was indeed equating Himself with God. Meaning He is God in the flesh. This will come into play many times as we move forward throughout the scriptures.
Now Satan, the enemy of our souls, misquotes Jesus scripture name
Psalm 91:11–12 NKJV
For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Notice the actual scripture says to keep you in all your ways. As in all of God’s ways. Jesus knew it was not God’s desire for Him to do that, so to do that would have been sin.
You know the enemy is real good at twisting scripture to justify a sinful act. You know who else is good at that? You and I are! As humans we are real good at justifying our sinful and selfish acts. We even justify it with twisting scriptures, at least in our own minds.
I can give you many examples of this but I don’t think I need to do that because we have all got examples in our lives. Either from ourselves or from others in our lives. I knew a man who thought his church was getting into his life too much and said that is why he quit going. Turns out he was running from God and the church because he was having an affair. He justified it to others saying his wife was displeasing to him and he found someone else. He knew that wouldn’t fly with the church so he just quit going.
Now let’s look at Jesus’ response. He responded with scripture. He took the scripture and untwisted it by quoting “You must not test the Lord your God.”
Folks it is vitally important that we know and understand the scriptures so that we are not tempted by every new wind of doctrine. So that we don’t go after the wrong things in this life. So that false teachers who have been empowered by the devil don’t draw us away.
Ephesians 4:11–16 NKJV
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Illustration -

When we went through our study of the book of Acts, do you remember the Bereans who embraced the teachings of Paul with an open mind. 'Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true' (Acts 17:11). Their commitment to knowing God's Word empowered their faith. It is through our understanding of the Word of God that will catapult us to life filled with God’s Acts.

Life Point - Use The Word

Exegetical -

Matthew 4:8–11 NLT
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.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Homiletical -

Now Satan appeals to Jesus’ sense of doing what the Father wants. Jesus knows that He is to rule the nations as the Messiah, which He will do when He comes back as conquering king in His second coming.
Would it be wrong for Jesus to directly rule all the kingdoms of the world on an earthly throne? No, because He is God.
Would it be wrong for Jesus to bow down and worship Satan? Yes!
So again, Jesus does not fall for the trap that what looks good and right is what God wants.
Proverbs 14:12 NLT
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.
So what does Jesus do? He lives and breathes scripture. So it is not a strange thing for Him to quote scripture yet again. However, this time he tells Satan to get away from Him and says “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”
After this massive amount of tempting which was done by the Devil Himself, angels came and ministered to Him.
These angels were not human, but supernatural beings who serve God. They came and took care of Him.
We are told the Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword and that it is powerful.
Hebrews 4:12 NLT
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Ephesians 6:11–13 NLT
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Illustration -

During World War II, soldiers were trained rigorously to use their weapons effectively. In the heat of battle, it wasn’t just about the weapon’s power—it was about knowing how to wield it with precision. Similarly, God’s Word is our spiritual weapon. In Ephesians 6:17, Paul calls it the "sword of the Spirit." Just as soldiers must practice their skills, we must immerse ourselves in Scripture to utilize it against spiritual battles we face daily.

Life Principle To Be Successful In Life We Must Know, Live & Use The Word Of God.

Call to Action – altar call….

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