September 29 Sermon: Not By Bread Alone
This week, we explore why God's Word is more than an optional extra—it's essential for our spiritual survival. Using Deuteronomy 8:1-3 and Matthew 4:1-11, we see how Scripture sustains, strengthens, and guards us against temptation. Discover how daily engagement with God's Word nourishes our souls and equips us to live faithfully in a world full of challenges.
Contemplate these questions as you listen to this week’s message:
How does the experience of Israel in the wilderness illustrate our need for God's Word in our daily lives?
Why is it important to rely on Scripture as our defense against temptation, as Jesus did in the wilderness?
In what ways can you make God's Word more central to your life, ensuring it nourishes and sustains you?
Transcript:
Imagine someone conducting a 30-day experiment that for an entire month, they decide to give up on all solid food and survive on nothing but water. At first, they might feel okay. Maybe they would be confident that they can handle this. They just need to get used to it. But as the days pass this person's body would start to weaken. Their energy levels would plummet because they're not only losing their fat stores but their muscles are wasting away. And by the end of the month they would barely be functioning. They would be frail and exhausted. Now we may have never gone for an extended period of time like this without food, but we know what it is like to ignore proper nourishment. We know that when you do that, if you were to do that, you would be in trouble. Because if we go without food for even a short period of time, or our diet is void of good and proper nutrition, we can feel it within us, right? We know. We know that if we were to neglect properly nourishing ourselves, the negative consequences of doing something so foolish would quickly become painfully clear to us.
We would know that what we were doing was not a good thing. But how often do we as Christians do the exact same thing spiritually? We know how we are to be fortified as believers, but the rich and nourishing food that God has given us is often ignored. We can understand the authority of the word of God and its sufficiency and still not make sure that we are taking in this nourishing gift that God has blessed us with. When we do not take in the bread of life that God has given us in His Word, we starve ourselves of the nourishment that we need as His people. The nourishment that we need to survive in a dark world. And just as our bodies can't survive without food, our souls can't flourish without God's word. The Bible isn't meant to be an occasional snack or a once in a while supplement. It's meant to be our daily bread, our source that sustains us in this life. It strengthens us. It guides us. And so today as we look at Deuteronomy 8 and Matthew 4, we discover why scripture is not just an optional extra, it's an absolute necessity for our lives. So let's set up the guideposts of our main points and we'll get into this topic. Today we're just gonna have 2 points as we consider this idea in this series, the necessity of the word of God. So first, we will see that God's word sustains us. Just as physical food is necessary for our bodies, the word of God is essential for our spiritual life. Without it, we will wither spiritually. Second, we'll discuss how God's Word guards us in temptation and therefore guides us in holiness. Jesus demonstrated that Scripture is our defense against the enemy's lies and against his attacks and showing that we need the Word of God to help us navigate the trials and the temptations that we face. So as we come to our first point this morning regarding the sustaining power of the Word of God. We look at the opening of this eighth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. Now maybe you've wondered, maybe you know, but maybe you've wondered where that name comes from. That's an interesting word. We don't use that regularly. Deuteronomy. Well actually it's a pretty simple word to know the meaning of. We just need to break it down. If we look at the word Deuteronomy here, we see that do in the beginning, right? We use that all the time. Deuce, dual. It means to or second. Well the last part is a little bit more difficult. It's from the Greek word nomos, which means law. And so the word Deuteronomy is second law or the second giving of the law. So the word literally means this is the second time that God is telling his people what they need to know. And the idea is that they're preparing to go into the promised land.
They need to be told this again. It's another generation. They need to hear it again. They need to know what they are to do when they go into the promised land. So God is restating His law in the book of Deuteronomy for these people as they prepare to go into this land that has been promised to God's people for generation upon generation. Now remember, that in going into the promised land, what they are doing is figuratively returning to the Garden of Eden. The sin of our first parents had expelled us from the presence of God and now the people of God are to return and they're to a banish idolatry from the land and live in communion with God. Essentially by going in with their following of God's laws and following of his rules for worship, they are telling the serpent to get out. And that's why the cleansing of the land is so important. They are to do what Adam and Eve did not do. They did not tell the serpent to leave and by their worship and going into land that's what they are to do. Well, like the covenant that God made with Adam and Eve in the garden regarding the tree. This is a conditional arrangement. It's based upon their obedience. And so this is a covenant of works. In order to remain in the land, they must remain faithful to the commands that God has given them. That's why he's stating them so clearly for them. And we see this lined out here very clearly as the passage starts. It says that they are to be careful to do what the Lord God has commanded, because it will cause them to go in, possess the land that was promised to them, and then they will do what God has commanded. They are to be fruitful and multiply there. Well, that's quite the task that has been set before them. They aren't just going to waltz into the promised land and, wow, it's flowing with milk and honey, let's get our recliners out and sit back and do nothing. Yes, they're going into this land that is full of these blessings, but they don't just sit back. They are to go in. They are to possess the land. They are to remain faithful as they establish and grow their families in this place that God has promised to them. They are not only to banish the serpent and the agents of the serpent that live there, they are to through their following of God's law keep the serpent out. No false worship. So think back to when this promise of the promised land was made to Abraham and think about when we journeyed through the book of Genesis what we saw regarding the promise there. How often were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, were they actually in the parameters of the land that God had promised to them? They were there. But what we kept coming back to is that They are there, but they're not in the promised land. They're physically within the confines of it, but they haven't taken possession of it. The idea there was that they did not have what was needed to push the people out, to keep the pagan idolaters from overcoming them. They were just a small band of people. But they go into Egypt. They go into slavery. They are fruitful there. They multiply there. And now they're preparing to go into the land. And they've gone from being a small family to being a great multitude. They are a great nation. But it isn't just about having the numbers to run the people off. This isn't just a battle of strength here. It's about faithfulness to God. True strength actually, right? It's hard to remain faithful to God. It's easy to have numbers. It's hard to keep the commands of God and not be tempted by sin and idolatry. And so as they go in here, it's about they're going in to cleanse the land of this idolatry and then worshiping God in spirit and in truth and being faithful to Him. And if they do this, It is necessary that they know the law of God. If they are going to worship the Lord, they must know how he is to be worshiped. And something important that comes out of this passage for us is knowing the purpose of what they have experienced in the Exodus and the 40 years in the wilderness. So as they are to go into the land where they are told that they are to remember how they have been led for 40 years. Now I find that to be interesting As I was looking at that and thinking on this this week, they were led in the wilderness. Now why do I think that's an interesting statement? That they've been led? Think back to what they've been doing. What do we refer to what the people did for 40 years when we talk about the history of Israel. It's the wilderness wandering. And yet God says that they have been led. When I wander, I'm not being led anywhere. I don't know about you. But that's what God says here. They were wandering in the wilderness, but they are being led. You know, the trek from Egypt, where they were in slavery, to the Promised Land was not very far. It should have taken them a few months, maybe even a few weeks if they were just to go that distance. But instead this mass of humanity has been in limbo between Egypt and the promised land for 40 years. And if you were observing this from the outside looking in, it would seem like this is a group of people that is not being led. This is a group of people that lacks direction and purpose. They're kind of like Bugs Bunny. They took a wrong turn at Albuquerque. They're completely lost. That's the impression that we would get that this is haphazard, but this experience in the wilderness is not random. It is not haphazard. They're being led by God and they're told to remember this. You'd think that seeing a generation of people die out in the wilderness because of the rebellion against God would be something that you would want to banish from your memory, that you would want to shove out. Instead, they are told to remember and understand what God was doing through all of that. He was humbling them and he was testing them because they needed to understand that in order to go into the land, and not just go in, but to remain there, they needed to keep the commandments that God had given to them. And they were prone to rebellion and unfaithfulness, just like Adam and Eve, Just like the sin of the generation prior to them that was grumbling against God in the wilderness. The siren call of idolatry and sin is strong. And so they needed to know that they would be sustained. This is why God led them in the wilderness. We see this in verse 3. And we know the story of these people well. They left Egypt where they were in slavery, but their bellies were full in Egypt, and so they were content. And they're brought out of slavery, and they find themselves to be hungry. And how do you feed a multitude like the Hebrew people? And so they find that they are hungry, and what happens, they say that they desire to be satisfied just like they were when they had slavery. There's talk that they're willing to go back to slavery in Egypt because at least our bellies were full. And when the people get to this point of hunger and this problem presents itself, what do we find? That God provides manna. God gives them bread from heaven and he feeds his people this way and we see that through this God was testing them and showing them something more important than just fine stop your whining I'll give you food He's showing them that He is the 1 who provides for them. He is the 1 who gives them their physical needs. He's the 1 who nourishes them. He's showing them that they need Him in all things and that man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Just as their bodies were sustained by bread from heaven, the word of God comes to the people of God and nourishes them for the challenge that they will face in the promised land. So when the call to sin, when the call of idolatry comes to them and they desire to break the covenant with God that they have made with Him, they will know how they need to be faithful. They will know that God was faithful to feed them in the wilderness and so He will be faithful to them even in the face of these temptations. He will supply for them and they can know this truth and then hold fast to His Word and know that God will sustain them in the midst of the temptation. The Word of God is nourishing for us in the Christian life. This is something that we know, but in practicality we often want to try everything but what has been set before us. We want some sort of easy fix to become more spiritual and some easy fix to help us remain faithful to the commands of God. You know our flesh and our minds that want to fast-track the easy way tell us that what we really probably need is some sort of spiritual energy drink. When we're floundering we think that we need something that will give us a boost, a spiritual experience or event that's the equivalent of a 20 ounce can of liquid that is a hundred ounces of sugar and caffeine. We think we can find something like that, some sort of boost, that will get us on track, that will get us going. We'll be able to be better if we can find something like that, but that's not what we need. What sustains us as the people of God is the daily manna of God's Word coming to us and building us up in faith and the Spirit being used in us through that word to convict us of sin and to drive us to repentance that that is what we need that is what sustains us in the Christian life that is what keeps us faithful to this one who has saved us who has brought us out of the slavery of sin. That's the picture for us. That was the picture for them and it's the same picture for us. But here's the reality. We can know that God's Word sustains us yet still find ourselves vulnerable when life's challenges come our way. It's not just about surviving, it's about standing firm. And that's where we see the second purpose of God's Word and its necessity is that it doesn't just feed us, It guards us. It shows us how to live. It shows us how to remain in holiness. And so just as Jesus relied on Scripture to fend off temptation in the wilderness, we too need God's Word as our defense in the battles that we're going to face. So let's take a look at how the word equips us to resist the enemy's attacks and to remain faithful. So as we read this passage from Matthew, I'm certain you caught that what we had just read in Deuteronomy was being quoted by Jesus. You got the cross reference there. But really there's an even deeper connection in this whole story, the music playing in the background as it were, than just Jesus quoting a verse from Deuteronomy here in Matthew. So as the ministry of Jesus is beginning, he is being tempted and we see that the story of Israel is being repeated. So our first parents failed in the Garden of Eden when they were tempted and then they were expelled from the presence of God. And as I've mentioned a few times in this series, the people of God are given this opportunity to return to the garden by their going into the promised land and they are to be faithful to God. But we also know the rest of the story, right? The Old Testament is littered with the stories of the people falling into idolatry and rebellion and sin and they're being sent into exile being banished from the land again and then they come back. There's this ebb and flow to the history of the Old Testament like that. While God is continually faithful to the covenant made to the people, the people themselves are covenant breakers. God is covenant keeper, the people are covenant breakers and they continually fall into sin and idolatry. So like Adam and Eve they are then banished from the land and like I said taken into exile. That's the story, that's the music playing in the background as the temptation of Jesus starts here in Matthew. So now as this ministry of Jesus is going to begin, we saw in Matthew the birth of Jesus, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, and now he is taken into the wilderness to be tempted. So the question that we're meant to understand as we look back on the history of Israel, the history of the Old Testament, the question that we're to be naturally asking is will Jesus remain faithful or will he be like the people of God who went into the land fell into idolatry and sin and be banished from the land? Well the story happens here. We remember that in the garden our covenant head, Adam, he disobeyed God. Well now we have a new representative, our new covenant head, Jesus is going into the wilderness to be tempted. Again, That's important, wilderness. Just as the people were in the wilderness in the Old Testament, will he listen to the serpent like Adam and Eve, or will he listen to God? So this understanding of what is happening with this temptation becomes really clear when we see how this is expressed here in chapter 2. Like I mentioned, it's 40 days and 40 nights and believe it or not he is hungry, similar to what happened to the people of Israel. Well through that time what did he have to do? He had to trust that God would sustain him just as the people of God in the wilderness had to trust that there would be man and to sustain them for 40 years. Jesus has to endure 40 days of hunger, trusting that he is doing what God has willed for him to do. And so you can see the connection here between the wilderness experience of the Old Testament and what Jesus is doing. And so at the end of this period the tempter comes at him with the temptation that would be greatest to you on day 40 without food. So if you're like me, when you read this story, The Temptation of Jesus, you think, if I had the power to turn stones into bread, I would not have needed the tempter to encourage me to do so after that many days of not eating. Jesus was at 40 days, I wouldn't have made it 40 hours. And there would have been the biggest rocks, not the smallest rocks turned into bread, right? And so this is a legitimate temptation that Jesus is facing here and it's relatable. But Jesus takes that allure that comes from wanting a full stomach and he turns to scripture to rebuke and resist the devil. He repeats what we read in Deuteronomy 8. Jesus has not come to serve himself and to give into the temptation to use his power to give into what the devil is offering. No, he has come for another purpose and we're reminded here that obedience to God is better than what is placed before us. It is better to remain faithful to the 1 who has saved us and sustained us than to give into the desires of the flesh. And hunger itself is not the issue here. Jesus is going to eat after this. In fact, he is going to multiply bread in his ministry to feed the people of God, right? The point here in the story is the temptation to give into the flesh instead of trusting in the provision of God. So this gives us an important understanding of how you and I resist sin. We trust that what God provides for us is better than the easy path to satisfaction that our flesh desires. So Let's quickly run through the second table of the law and see how this translates practically in our lives. So I'm gonna put catechism students and former catechism students on the spot here. What's the fifth commandment, guys? You know it. Honor your father and your mother, very good. So honor your father and mother. The temptation is to disrespect and disregard the authority figures that God has provided in our lives. That's the temptation there. Am I gonna take the easy path and reject what God has given?
But when we obey that commandment, we trust in the provision of God to sustain us and guide us when we choose honor instead of disrespect. We're trusting the provision of God. What's the sixth commandment? Yeah, you shall not murder. So the temptation is hatred towards your neighbor for being wronged by them. So when we obey the command of God in the sixth commandment, we acknowledge that God is the judge and that he provides justice in his time not our timing and we also look to the mercy that that God has shown us in Christ and we see how this has sustained us and it will sustain us And so we want to show mercy as God has shown mercy to us. We trust in the provision of God by doing that. Seventh. Yeah, keep your marriage pure. You should not commit adultery. Awesome. Okay, so the temptation there is to seek the pleasure of the flesh wherever it can be found. And we stand firm here by trusting that God will sustain us through that temptation and that the love and faithfulness that God provides for us is better than any of the pleasures of the flesh. We trust the provision that God's love is better and faithfulness to him is better. We trust again the provision, the necessity of understanding that God gives more than what we chase after. The eighth, It's not steel, awesome. So with that, the temptation is to take what is not ours through a power that has not been given to us. We're not granted that authority, but What do we want? What's the temptation there? Well, we want the easy path instead of trusting that God is going to give, that God provides. When we obey this command, we're satisfied with the provision that God gives us. We trust that he provides. Ninth. Shall not lie, right, very good. We use our fingers to do them in catechism class, so that's why I wasn't just wagging, I'm not having a seizure or anything. That's how we do it. So, you shall not bear false witness. So, in this command, the temptation to us is to alter the truth or slander our neighbor. Why? Because we want to arrange things to be the way that we want them to be. Instead of God being the 1 who speaks and creates and is sovereign, we want to have the power to be sovereign. We want to arrange things we are so we we alter the truth. It's our speech that we are trying to create as God created, right? But when we obey the command to not bear false witness, what we are doing is we are saying that we are going to trust God and what he is sovereignly doing instead of trying to change things to our will, we're gonna trust the provision of God's wealth. And finally we got this 1, what is it? You shall not covet. Very good. The temptation with this one is really easy to succumb to, right, because it's internal. It's an internal thing, coveting. No 1 but us needs to know we're sinning. No 1 needs to know what we desire and what our thoughts are, you know? But coveting is us desiring what God has not given to us. And we justify it by thinking these desires aren't hurting anyone. This all is just happening in my brain. But when we remain faithful to God in this command, we are saying that we will trust in our sustaining God, the 1 who provides all things. We are acknowledging that He is the 1 who sustains us, that we do not live by the things of the world on their own, but we trust in the Word of God, what He speaks and provides. And as we think on this, this practical application through the second table of law, we need to remember that it's so important to see how this story of the temptation of Jesus ends, because It shows us the story of Jesus' faithfulness. And this is the way that salvation came to us. He kept the law for us. Where we failed, where Adam and Eve failed in the garden, where the people of God failed in the promised land, where we fail every day, Jesus had success. And that is why we have salvation from our sin. You know, we don't have the history of eating the manna in the wilderness for 40 years, but we have the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of God in the provision of salvation in Christ. Apart from Jesus, we wander in the wilderness in our sin, And we deserved to remain outsiders from the promised land because we are creatures who are in rebellion against a holy God. But because the Lord Jesus Christ did not fall into temptation, we now have salvation. Because where Adam and Eve, Israel, and you and I have failed to keep the law, our covenant head, Jesus, kept the law perfectly. And through this, he gives us the provision of salvation, and with that comes the desire to be faithful to God because of his faithfulness to us. And this shows us the necessity of God's Word. It shows us how to live, but it also gives us a nourishment in reminding us of the Gospel and filling us with gratitude because we know that even though we are deserving of God's wrath, instead Jesus has done all things to provide us with salvation. So we need to be continually mindful that the Word of God is not just a tool in our toolbox, it is our lifeline. This is our bodies wither without nourishment. Our souls can't withstand the trials of this life without the truth of Scripture. Jesus showed us this in the wilderness. He didn't rely on his strength, his power, or even logic or wisdom. He wielded the Word of God to resist every temptation and stand firm in obedience. So what does this mean for us today? It means that we must make God's Word central to our daily lives. We can't treat the Bible like a spiritual supplement we take when we're feeling weak or when things go wrong. We need to be consuming it daily, allowing it to fill our minds, strengthen our hearts, guide our decisions. Just as you wouldn't skip meals for days on end, we shouldn't starve our souls by neglecting the word of God. Make it a priority, commit to reading, meditating on, applying scripture every single day. Are you struggling with temptation? Are you facing trials that seem insurmountable? The answer isn't to look for a quick fix or an emotional high. It's to return to the word of God, letting it saturate your heart and mind, reminding you of who God is, what he has done, and who you are in him. Because the word of God is not just for our information, it's for our transformation. It's there to sustain us in times of need, to guard us in moments of weakness and to guide us in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. So let's commit together to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers, letting the life-giving truth of God's Word nourish us, protect us, and lead us every day. Because my friends, the Word of God is not just a book, it is the bread of life that feeds our soul. And without it, we cannot survive. Amen. Let us pray. Gracious and merciful God, we praise you for the gift of your Word, that in it is life, that it is bread from heaven for us. We pray that we would feast on your Word, and that in doing so you would fill us, that Your Spirit would be at work in us, helping us to grow and trust in the provision that You have provided for us in Christ. It is in His name that we pray. Amen.
