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Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil.
Matthew 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was
hungry.
Matthew 4:3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of
God, command that these stones become bread.”
Matthew 4:4 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.’
Rule #1: Unless we’ve been born again we cannot know Christ and understand
the Word of God
Rule #2: All the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, Prayer, and Worship go through
Meditation that honors God.
Rule #3: We must read our Bible prayerfully
Through His Word, God talks to us, through prayer we talk to God,
Rule #4 We are to take God Word, His every Word, as Food for Living.
I. TO WE EAT THIS BOOK, WE MUST FILL THE SPIRITUAL.
Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil.
Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me…”
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,
who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God
was with Him.
Jesus never cheated when He was tested and used His divinity to pass the test for
His own benefit.
He lived His life and endured it all as a man full of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is
coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit …”
II. TO EAT THIS BOOK, WE MUST FAST FROM THE PHYSICAL
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil.
Matthew 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was
hungry.
Fasting means going without food, and certain pleasures for the purpose of seeking
God for a time of spiritual renewal
When we fast the time we normally spent eating physical food, we spend eating
this book (spiritual food).
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, …
There are some temptations we need to fast from for a season and there are
other temptations we need to fast from for a lifetime.
Proverbs 23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what
is before you;
Proverbs 23:2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.
Proverbs 23:3 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.
Sometimes the only way to reset a computer is simply to reboot it, turn off and
then turn it back on..
We tend to get out of control and we need to reset for self control
We worship our way into trouble by worshiping someone or something other than
God.
We worship our way out of trouble by worshiping God.
III. TO EAT THIS BOOK, WE MUST FOCUS ON THE SCRIPTURAL.
Matthew 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was
hungry.
Matthew 4:3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of
God, command that these stones become bread.”
Our identity is not determined by what we do, but by what Jesus has done for us.
The first temptation was the temptation of instant food.
The devil always likes short cuts.
Matthew 4:4 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.’
We naturally have physical appetites, we supernaturally need a spiritual appetite
which comes from being “born again.”
Pastor Andy Stanely claimed that “Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian
faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well.”
The living Word honors the written Word.
The written Word honors the living Word.
John 10:35 “… the Scripture cannot be broken;
Matthew 4:4 Man shall live … by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Jesus is saying, “Here is a principle to live by … God’s Word is given to be lived.”
Just like we have to make a set time to eat physical food, we also have to make a
set time to eat this book, eat spiritual food.
We must eat God’s Word as if our life depended on it.
D.L. Moody once said, “The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to
change our lives.”
