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.’”
Matthew 4:4
We're still in preventative care!
How? (Continued...)
RECAP
We run to Jesus, not away from Him, knowing that He is there, willing and wanting to help us.
Though we sin (whether we are aware of it or not), there is grace that covers us. We are not condemned, but justified through the blood of Christ. Now we can come boldly before the throne of GRACE and ask for help in the time of need. We cannot plead innocent because truly we have all sinned. We can only plead the blood of Jesus that has covered the cost of our guilt.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
Now... #2 of HOW?
Once we have step 1 figured out (coming to Christ for help to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh) we can move to step two:
WALKING
How do we walk?…
Step by step.
Psalms 199:133 says...
Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.
Psalm 119:105 says...
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
Matthew 4:4 says...
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.’”
James 1:22-25 says...
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
What does this mean?
Well for starters...
We walk step by step. The writer of Psalms 199 asks God to guide their steps by His word and in psalms 119 we see that the word is a lamp and light for our feet to walk on the proper path. The word not only shows us the Way (path) which is Jesus, but it also shows us how to walk on that path… step by step.
Walking in the way and steps of Jesus starts first by knowing who He is/ His character & letting him be our perfect example (read the gospels).
In Matthew 4:4 Jesus is telling Satan that we don't just live by what we feed our bodies, but also by what we feed our spirits. After all, His words are spirit and life.
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:63
Our spirit man eats up every word that proceeds from God's mouth. That includes the scriptures and also whatever instruction He has given us personally...like leave your job. You won't find a scripture that says leave your job, but God can lead you to scriptures about trusting Him, His provision and His instruction to others in the scriptures that have faced similar situations.
DISCLAIMER
Don't misunderstand me here...we cannot just take any scripture and isolate it out of context and use it like a spell book to conjure up our own will.
The Lord can show you a specific scripture or scriptures over and over again everywhere you go and turn and of course that's fine, BUT going into the word yourself and just taking scriptures out of context is a dangerous game.
In prayer God can communicate scriptures to us that are necessary to aid us in our specific circumstances.
LIVING BY THE WORD
Now Christ said something very profound here. He said we live by the words that come out of God's mouth. When I sat and thought about it, I saw a scenario in my head where God was speaking and I could see the words coming out of His mouth and I took them and lived by it. I immediately understood that its not necessarily in taking the words and eating it like in Ezekiel's encounter lol, but actually living by the counsel of God or DOING what He says to do! Being a doer of the word is crucial.
Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
Ezekiel 3:1-3
How do I do this?
It's actually more simple than it may seem. Now I said simple, not easy. Taking one step is simple, but when that step is outside of a boat and onto water its not very easy. However, He understands and gave us the HELPER!
Step by step looks like decision by decision we seek the counsel of the Lord. In the scenario I saw, I understood that hearing God's words come from having a conversation or praying.
Simply seek the Lord's counsel before you make a decision even if it seems to be right or good in your own eyes. Now this doesn't mean before you use the bathroom you have to ask the Lord about it lol, but sometimes I ask Him what outfit I should wear and I usually always ask if I should take on certain projects or job opportunities.
I say usually because I'm not perfect with this either and sometimes I get excited and take on projects that I shouldn't have and end up having to back out etc.
Even when I make the wrong decision He has always been faithful to correct me and get my feet back on the right path towards Him.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
Jude 1:24
I asked Him who I should date/ marry, what school I should go to, what major to study, what apartment to live in, what church to go to and He always led me and continues to lead both me and my husband.
SIDE NOTE
Lol this looks a little different now that I'm married, but the same God that has always led me in my singleness led me into this marriage and continues to lead me in it and us together as a new unit.
Because of that I can trust that God is also leading my husband and I can therefore submit to his decisions with assurance even if God doesn't outrightly speak to me about it. Christ is his head and our ultimate husband together because we both are a part of his bride, his wife, the church. Sounds weird right? lol.
(1 Corinthians 11:3 & Revelation 21:9)
Of course I can also pray about it if we haven't prayed together on it already, but my point is that the Lord can, will continue to, and does lead me through the counsel and decisions of my husband along with the ways He has always led me before, as He does with all His married daughters.END OF SIDE NOTEHe cares...so you can feel safe to cast your cares on Him and ask Him for help. He wants to see you succeed, He will not just let you perish. He chases after us with a burning love and He wants to be actively involved in all the little details of our lives.Will you involve Him?
Walking in the Spirit requires active help from the Spirit of God, all we need to do is ask, seek, knock. He is waiting.Behold,I stand at the door and knock.If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:207 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:7-12
