By Every Word

Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” [Matt 4:3 but by every word that comes from the mouth of god]

INTRO

Adam vs. Christ - both had the power, ability, to eat.

but neither had the authority to do so.

Adam, tested w/ a full belly in the middle of a sinless paradise - failed.

Jesus, tested w/ a empty stomach in the wilderness - faithful.

but what exactly was the sin here? turning rocks to bread? no.

jesus turned one fish into many and that was fine… so what is the problem?

According to Jesus - refusing to live by the word - instead living by his appetite. rather than living by the word living by his desires.

The bread was just the bait on the hook. The hook was refusing to trust the Lord. Instead to live according to another God, his stomach, his appetite, the god of self satisfaction… instant gratification.... whatever makes you happy… the god of self.

Jesus’ response to the bait? No. He trusted God. Lived by the Word. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

But what does it mean to ‘LIVE BY THE WORD’?

Everything we do - by the word of God.

our goals/priorities, big small decisions, new job? big move?,

our budgets, weekly routines,

the decisions we make about our health - who we hang out with, who is marriage material and who is not

As a pastor - I’ve been blessed by having a congregation of young Christians who want to know

but I’ve also been discouraged by those who hear and just don’t care.

but see, in the end everyone has a “word” that they are heeding, it’s just not God’s Word.

bread, instead of word.

If it’s not god’s word, then what is it?

established practices of the day? Societal norms? Conventional wisdom? Models, algorithms, the advice of experts? Old wives tales, personal experience? Happiness? With the flow of the mainstream

Its Either bread or word

If its not gods word then you are doomed to frustration

The god of self: he's an incompetent, blind and dumb god. That is, he is very susceptible to deception...and all that he leads you to do, leads to death.

The Bible says - There is a way which seems right to a man...but the end thereof is death

I’m not saying it’s easy

In fact, it requires trial and tribulation to learn this way of life

Its when faced with trial that we come to know just how little faith we have

(loss, fear, childs apostasy, bankruptcy, public embarrassment, or temptation to great riches) its in the wilderness we learn we all fall

BUT - Its in the wilderness we learn to trust. Deut 8:3 and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Are you hungry today? Not for food but for fulfillment? A friend? A spouse? A life? Is your soul not quite satisfied? Is there something you thirst for..and you're not quite sure...the lesson is plain: god tests you to teach you to live by faith in him and his word. Follow his commandments and wait.

Things can get ugly in a trial.

We rant, rail, flail, muscle our way through, compromise things we always held dear.

We judge others harshly for not treating us properly

Forsake our entire church community?

Turn our back on the wife of our youth?

Lose your soul

But BIBLE SAYS we have the power of god to salvation….(not escape or security) victory through our trials.

God will never test you without giving you a way out.

Well. Maybe. But the way out is often your discipled resolve.

Living by worldly wisdom seems easier

Sexual satisfaction: tinder

Bread form rock vs. from work and waiting

Living by our own thinking seems like freedom, but its slavery to hormones, lusts, belly god.

There is a way that seems right to a man...but in the end it leads to death

there are many here that have been scrounging for the experts for long, trying to avoid what God’s word calls us to do.

i was one of them. and when it was me, my marriage was in trouble, my kids were in trouble, i was in trouble....

but there came a moment when we just decided, as a family, to just order our lives the way the Bible calls us to...

IT’S NOT EASY - BUT IT’s RELIABLE

Close your eyes - point west - open them.

notice - some certain - some not - no one is exactly precise - but those that are close have a general idea because they had a general sense of direction when they walked in here.

Lets ask a tougher one - how should we discipline our children? What is a healthy diet? How should we engage the culture around us?

If I take out a compass and give us exact north, then asked you to point west - youd do better. Why? because you’d be oriented.

except for those that’d refuse to accept true north. They’d be headed off to some godless land.... like New Iberia.

Now here’s my point. We have a true north. It’s the word of God. and by it’s reference, we can live. We can be guided. We can order every facet of our lives.

If we are given a sure word, how to live, and it is better for us than bread, then what else is there that’s actually an option?

Jesus’ disciple Peter - John 6:68 “Where else would we go? You alone have the words of life.”

Run to Christ and his words. Let HIM order your life.

repent of your sins and trust in him alone.

seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things will be added.