THEN JESUS, full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led in [by] the [Holy] Spirit
For (during) forty days in the wilderness (desert), where He was tempted ( tried, tested exceedingly) by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry. [Deut 9:9; 1 Kings 19:8.]
Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread].
And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God. [Deut 8:3.]
Our text tells us something very important about God’s purpose concerning mankind, in a nutshell Jesus reveals to us that God from the beginning designed man to live by faith, which is another way of saying man shall not live by bread, here bread represents natural sustenance, but by the word of God.
The word of God is food indeed, nourishment for the whole man, it feeds the spirit bringing illumination and revelation, brings healing to the body and renews the mind. As believers in Christ Jesus God is restoring His original purpose in creation in us and through us. The natural man cannot be sustained by faith because he is not inclined to the things of the spirit, but as God’s children we must understand that it is our responsibility and privilege to access the provision of God through His word.
The word of God meets every position and need of man, some people find it hard to imagine how the word of God can put food on the table, bring financial supply, give victory over the works of the enemy amongst many other things, it is because the word of God is God at work.
The connection between God and mankind is based on faith which is God’s desired response from mankind concerning His revealed will, it is our acceptance of, dependence on and subsequent action based on our conviction of what God has said.
Years ago, the Holy Spirit inspired me to write down what i call a five point definition of faith,
Faith is obeying God’s commands
Faith is acting on God’s word
Faith is an attitude of trust
Faith is confessing the word of God
Faith is claiming the promises
The natural man lives by what he sees and what he feels, he is at the mercy of the circumstances of life and the devil, he desires more and hopes for better but that is far from him because he has not learnt the way of faith which brings the victory.
In talking about the word of God we need to recognize that this also includes what God says to us by His Spirit as well as what is written in the bible, some bible scholars differentiate it by calling the written word the logos and the revealed or specific word the rhema, we need both for this times in which we live.
These may be difficult times, both God is still the same and his word of encouragement to us is to ‘prove all things and hold fast to what is true’.
The great British evangelist was known to have said the following, ‘if God said it i believe it and that settles it’ this is a good maxim to adopt for today, God cannot lie or fail, He will uphold all those who trust in Him.
When everything around us gives way, the WORD of God will remain forever.
How are you living? By faith in God’s word or by ‘faith’ in the testimony of the economists, sociologists and all the predictors of doom and gloom?
The choice of how you will live is not God’s to make for us but ours to make today, it will take time to retrain ourselves and begin to get used to living by faith but we can, if we allow God’s Holy Spirit to help us.
GOD BLESS YOU
For (during) forty days in the wilderness (desert), where He was tempted ( tried, tested exceedingly) by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, He was hungry. [Deut 9:9; 1 Kings 19:8.]
Then the devil said to Him, If You are the Son of God, order this stone to turn into a loaf [of bread].
And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God. [Deut 8:3.]
Our text tells us something very important about God’s purpose concerning mankind, in a nutshell Jesus reveals to us that God from the beginning designed man to live by faith, which is another way of saying man shall not live by bread, here bread represents natural sustenance, but by the word of God.
The word of God is food indeed, nourishment for the whole man, it feeds the spirit bringing illumination and revelation, brings healing to the body and renews the mind. As believers in Christ Jesus God is restoring His original purpose in creation in us and through us. The natural man cannot be sustained by faith because he is not inclined to the things of the spirit, but as God’s children we must understand that it is our responsibility and privilege to access the provision of God through His word.
The word of God meets every position and need of man, some people find it hard to imagine how the word of God can put food on the table, bring financial supply, give victory over the works of the enemy amongst many other things, it is because the word of God is God at work.
The connection between God and mankind is based on faith which is God’s desired response from mankind concerning His revealed will, it is our acceptance of, dependence on and subsequent action based on our conviction of what God has said.
Years ago, the Holy Spirit inspired me to write down what i call a five point definition of faith,
Faith is obeying God’s commands
Faith is acting on God’s word
Faith is an attitude of trust
Faith is confessing the word of God
Faith is claiming the promises
The natural man lives by what he sees and what he feels, he is at the mercy of the circumstances of life and the devil, he desires more and hopes for better but that is far from him because he has not learnt the way of faith which brings the victory.
In talking about the word of God we need to recognize that this also includes what God says to us by His Spirit as well as what is written in the bible, some bible scholars differentiate it by calling the written word the logos and the revealed or specific word the rhema, we need both for this times in which we live.
These may be difficult times, both God is still the same and his word of encouragement to us is to ‘prove all things and hold fast to what is true’.
The great British evangelist was known to have said the following, ‘if God said it i believe it and that settles it’ this is a good maxim to adopt for today, God cannot lie or fail, He will uphold all those who trust in Him.
When everything around us gives way, the WORD of God will remain forever.
How are you living? By faith in God’s word or by ‘faith’ in the testimony of the economists, sociologists and all the predictors of doom and gloom?
The choice of how you will live is not God’s to make for us but ours to make today, it will take time to retrain ourselves and begin to get used to living by faith but we can, if we allow God’s Holy Spirit to help us.
GOD BLESS YOU
