But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
22 sermons cite this verse
… I've been practicing for a lifetime. Now, the scriptures tell us, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. God is saying, you're alive because I talk. You're alive because I talk. Everything about you thrives because I have spoken. Everything about you thrives because I have spoken. I have deposited through word. I have transfer from my world to yours through a decree. And when we take that word seriously and prayerfully consider, put it on, I've done this, put it on a three by five card, stick it on the dashboard of my car if I have a distance to drive. And I just have that to look at, just to refresh my mind. I maybe can quote it without the card, but I look at it anyway, because I want everything about me. I speak it because I want my ears to hear it. I see it with my eyes because I want my eyes to see it. I speak with my mouth because I want to participate with God in saying what he is saying. …
… to in here that says you know what i'm not hungry for nothing else but what god has for me jesus said you can keep your stones because man shall not live by bread alone but by every word young people i gotta tell you something that if they don't got the word to offer you then they ain't got no business being around you. Hey, if they ain't got the word to offer you, then they ain't got no business being around you. Yeah, they cute, but can they pray? Yeah, they dress nice, but what's with their heart? Because see, they can have an Instagram Bible, a Bible scripture in their Instagram bio, but that don't mean it's in their heart. Gotta be careful. Don't you let them feed you. look at your neighbor and say what are you hungry for would you look at another neighbor and say you're not yourself when you hungry see that's why your identity has been in confusion because you're hungry but real quick would you lift your hands and say God make me hungry for you Make me hungry for your presence. …
… It calls it the bread of life. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The Bible calls itself the meat of the Word, the bread of the Word, the milk of the Word. The Bible says it tastes sweeter than honey. The Bible says it is fruit. The Bible says it is fulfilling. The Bible says it is tasty. and over and over and over. All of those terms, banquet terms, describe the Bible itself. And you can have a feast anywhere you've got one of these. You can be sitting in a bus stop and pull out a Bible and start having a feast right there of all the things God has promised to do in your life. And your anger goes down and your fear goes down and your anxiety goes down. The reason why your anxiety is up is because you're not in this book. you don't know what God's promised to do in this book now if God has provided a feast a banquet in this book why would you ever go eat internet granola bar when there's a feast laid out for you. …
… tells us the devil says if your son of God turn stones into hot water cornbread Jesus said no man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God and then the book lets us know 10 chapters later he's in the wilderness and y'all know what happened the book says it's a crowd that is food insecure and then Jesus says y'all we need to feed them to his disciples and they say but we ain't got nothing but a two piece and five biscuits he says that's all I need he takes it multiplies by dividing and feeds the multitude he used the power to feed the hungry but not to take care of themselves. I'm trying to let you know when you have people in power who are only about themselves, then what they will do, they will get $3 billion richer from the time they got elected. What they will do, they will weaponize their power and the military to start wars that are unconstitutional, unjust, and unnecessary, and people are getting killed unnecessarily because you don't want us to read the Epstein files. …
… And he says every single time back a scripture to the devil, it says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Man shall not put God to the test. Anybody thankful today that you and I have the living, breathing word of God that can lead us in times of temptation. And if Jesus needed the Bible when he was in the wilderness, you're going to need the Bible when you're in the wilderness. That's why I want to invite you to read the Zoe Devo. I want to invite you to read every day. we follow along a reading plan and we read the Bible. Why? Because the wilderness is coming. I'll never forget a few years ago, I was preaching at a conference in Montana in the summer and Pastor Julia tells this beautiful story she told at her night where we were in this outdoor, like, I don't know, just fields. Montana just is fields. It's like just horses, cows, fields. …
… it's taking the step from the information into a relationship with Jesus he quoted Deuteronomy when tempted in the wilderness and he said man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord and what he's inviting you to today what he's inviting me into today is not just to get the nugget, but to get Jesus. and that's I think somehow what we've ended up with in our culture is we're transactional people who want to tell everybody what we heard learned or saw versus actually experiencing Jesus and savoring him for who he is and yeah maybe sharing that a little bit later but that's not my first thought was, wow, I got to post that. My first thought was, I want to linger with you. I just am asking again today, is there more in this relationship than you're experiencing? I was sharing about being a young speaker, youth speaker primarily decades and decades ago. And I went to speak at this youth event, and when the person came and picked me up at the airport, the first thing they said was, hey, we're glad you're here. Man, you're going to love your hotel room. And I was like, that's a weird kind of opening, but okay. I'm a youth speaker. If it's a Hampton Inn, I'm flying high, man, so let's go. You know, if it's a hotel, if you open the door and you're in a hallway and not in a parking lot, okay, I'm already happy. So we drive for a little …
… Jesus answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Okay, listen carefully. we are alive because he talks We live because he speaks. The Bible says he spoke the worlds into being. Let there be light and there was light. He spoke things into being. Secondly, the Bible says that all things are held together by the word of his power. So his abiding, prevailing word actually holds every molecule in place. It's the glue that holds everything in place. thirdly we know that he sustains us and brings life to us with his voice again back to the it's the only book you can read that the author shows up when you read it because he sustains us with his word Paul said in Romans, the faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It doesn't say faith comes from hearing the word of God. I'm not saying that's bad or wrong. …
… It's a lifetime of engagement with that which God has said. Now, the scriptures tell us, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. God is saying, you're alive because I talk. you're alive because I talk everything about you thrives because I have spoken everything about you thrives because I have spoken I have deposited through word I have transferred from my world to yours through a decree and when we take that word seriously and prayerfully consider put it on I've done this put it on three by five card stick it on the dashboard of my car if I have a distance to drive and I just have that to look at just to refresh my mind. I maybe can quote it without the card, but I look at it anyway because I want everything about me. I speak it because I want my ears to hear it. I see it with my eyes because I want my eyes to see it. I speak with my mouth because I want to participate with God in saying what he is saying. If you want, Jesus only said what his father says. If you want to learn to say what the father is saying, then start saying what he has said. Yeah, I'm so glad that you watched this video. I do pray that it's a great, great strength and encouragement to you. And I've got a verse that really is my cry for all of us. And it's Psalms 20, it's verse 4. May he grant you your …
… No, no, no. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. See, Jesus is saying, I'm not the criterion of good and evil in my human nature. It's my heavenly Father. And then the devil takes him to the parapet of the temple. Throw yourself down. The angels will pick you up. What matters most here? Safety. Safety. Keeping myself safe. That's what life's all about. When I eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, I'm the criterion of right and wrong. I'll say what's right is what keeps me safe. What's wrong is what puts me in danger. Yeah, look at the lives of the saints. Is that how they operate? That above all, they're going to try to avoid danger? that safety at all costs is the criterion? No, no. It's doing the will of God, which might put me in grave danger. Look at the martyrs. And so Jesus says that. No, no. Don't put the Lord your God to the test. …
… When I'm anxious, I don't hear well. It says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So the very voice of the Lord is what activates life and sustains me as a believer. It's not the wow factor. It's the fact that his voice brings a substance that I live off of, that I thrive off of. Faith comes from hearing, not from having heard. It's a present tense relationship. And so fear disrupts that. I used to have an issue with my knee where it would get dislocated in football. And I remember the first time it happened, the coach ran out and put his leg on this part of my leg and pulled this part straight out and then slowly. And then there's this huge pop. It was nauseating. I'm just trying to make all of you sick is what I'm trying to do. But it happened several times. Chris helped me on one of the occasions. …
… It shows God how serious you are. Man shall, Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The greatest miracles I have received in my life can be traced back to seasons of fasting. I was on a 21-day fast many, many, many years ago, decades ago, when we desperately needed resources to build our first building. And a man and a family walked in and gave the first $1 million gift our ministry had ever received on a 21-day fast. I can't explain that, but that's what I'm talking about. Every one of the buildings that we have are debt free. Everything that we have is debt free. I don't believe that's an accident. I believe one of the purposes that God has raised Free Chapel up as a church was to model and to continue to model to the nation and to young pastors and many thousands of churches, the pattern of fasting and prayer and how critical it is to never, ever lose your passion for God. And when we fast, it stirs us up and it causes us to draw near to God. …
… Yet, Father, we humbly come before you tonight asking for your help. Lord we do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from your mouth and we like the disciples are asking tonight where else can we go for the words of eternal life Lord please give us your word show us Christ through the scriptures by your spirit we pray these things in Jesus holy name amen this evening we're going to be in Mark chapter 2 verses 1 through 12 but and you can start flipping there right now. But before we read through the text, I want to briefly give some context of where we are at in Mark's gospel. So once you flip to chapter 2, if you can flip back one page to chapter 1, we'll situate ourselves and then get going. You see there in chapter 1, verse 1, that Mark starts right away by telling you what he is doing. He says, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, And he shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy in Isaiah, specifically as John the Baptist is the forerunner to the Messiah. …
… the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs of water. One verse from Matthew chapter 4 verse 4. The Bible says, Jesus answered, it is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Say amen to that, somebody. I want to take those two words from verse 4. Put it up again, please. Jesus answered. The title I'd like to preach to you from today is two words. he answered. Turn around and hug five people on your way to your seat. Say, I'm so glad he answered. I'm glad he picked up my call, my collect call. I'm glad he paid the price for me. He answered. I'm grateful because he answered. I'm standing here today because he answered. He answered. I asked him for another day and he gave it. He answered. I asked him to help me keep my mind together. Somebody put it in the chat. Say, he answered. Say it out loud at every location. He answered. Aren't you glad you have a God who answers prayers? …
… command these stones to become loaves of bread. but he answered it is written man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God so here's Jesus himself face to face with the devil the devil tempts him to make food for himself Jesus responds with three words it is written and then he quotes a verse from Deuteronomy chapter 8 about the Word of God. Then, right after that, the devil took him to the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, if you're the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it's written. So here's the devil using the Bible, twisting it. He'll command his angels concerning you. On their hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against the stone. Jesus said to him, again, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. This time Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy chapter six. And then the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. …
… Matthew 6, verse 11, give us this day our daily bread. Now go down to Matthew 4, man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So twice he calls God's word bread. What is he teaching us? He's teaching us that the Bible is our sustenance, that we don't just live off of air one and whole foods. Okay, Trader Joe's too. we live off of God's word. But in fact, put this on the screen. Jesus connects daily dependence with God's word. Just like you feed your body daily, your soul needs the nourishment, needs the nourishment of scripture. You need the Bible. This is so crazy. You think that you're studying it, it's studying you. And when I get into the presence of God, I do it through the Word of God. And this is the only book that's ever been written where the author himself comes to sit with you to show you what he wrote. And when I sit and I read this book, your word is a lamp unto my feet and it's a light unto my what? My path. It shows me what to do. It shows me what not to do. …
… he says, it is written, verse four, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That was a rhema word that was a specific word to address a specific situation that he was dealing with, that he was in, where the devil was tempting him and asking him and telling him and suggesting to him that he would turn these stones into bread. And Jesus responded with the rhema word is written. It applied to this particular situation that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Verse 5, then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, he shall give his angels charge over you and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. …
And when Satan came to tempt him, the Bible says that he wrote, his response to the enemy when he came was, it is written, it is written, it is written that man shall not live on bread alone, but from every word that comes out of the mouth of God. This is the word that came out of the mouth of God. This is how we overcome. This is how we fill our souls back up. This is how we encourage ourselves. Timothy 1 and 18, he said to Timothy, Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord's battle. Who are they? the word of God is who they are. May they help you fight well. I'm in a health battle, but I've got a word. I haven't seen my child. They're lost. They're strung out on drugs, but I've got a word. Jeremiah 31 says, my children will return from the land of the enemy. …
… remember what Jesus said, the replacement of food was, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word. This is so critical to the fast. every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So every one of us, raise your hands again if you're going to read. See, put your hand down a minute. Because a lot of people say, I'm going to read all the way through the Bible. You'll never read through the whole Bible until you set a time, a date, and then you get accountable to something. That's why this is so powerful. If we do this, I know what's going to happen in this congregation. because when you read the word, you're saturating your spirit person with the anointing. The word is cleansing. The word is anointing. The word is revelatory. The word will speak. It will come alive. It will talk to you about things you are asking God's help in. You watch what I tell you, but you got to read it. …
… Now the scriptures tell us, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. God is saying, you're alive because I talk. You're alive because I talk. Everything about you thrives because I have spoken. everything about you thrives because I have spoken I have deposited through word I have transferred from my world to yours through a decree and when we take that word seriously and prayerfully consider put it on I've done this put it on three by five card stick it on the dashboard of my car if I have a distance to drive and I just have that to look at just to refresh my mind I maybe can quote it without the card but I look at it anyway because I want everything about me. I speak it because I want my ears to hear it. I see it with my eyes because I want my eyes to see it. I speak with my mouth because I want to participate with God in saying what he is saying. …
… remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 4 verse 4 man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God that the Bible is to you bread is to the natural man. And then Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Do you know what the word blessed means? Let me tell you what the word blessed means. It's a Greek word, makarios, and it literally means happy or satisfied, content, to be congratulated, joyful. You can and roll them all into one, and you have the idea of this word, blessed. Now notice what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, verse 6, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. How many people do you know today that are hungering and thirsting after righteousness? The green pastures of His Word, the still waters of His Spirit. How many people do you know that have a hunger for the Word and a thirst for the Spirit? How many? Well, not many. Now let me ask you another question. How many people do you know? Not many. Now listen, what He said is this. He did not say, blessed are those who seek after blessedness. Happy are those who seek after happiness. He said, happy are those who seek after righteousness. Let me tell you something. The most unhappy people in the world are …
… what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 4 verse 4, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, that the Bible is to you what bread is to the natural man. And then Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Do you know what the word blessed means? Let me tell you what the word blessed means. It's a Greek word, makarios, and it literally means happy, or satisfied, content, to be congratulated, joyful. You can take many words and roll them all into one, and you have the idea of this word blessed. Now notice what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. How many people do you know today that are hungering and thirsting after righteousness? The green pastures of His Word, the still waters of His Spirit. How many people do you know that have a hunger for the Word and a thirst for the Spirit? How many? Well, not many. Now let me ask you another question. …
… KNOW IT. MATTHEW 4, 4, WHERE JESUS SAID, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Every word. Now people say, oh, well, the Bible, the thoughts are inspired, but the words are not inspired. That's ridiculous. You can't have thoughts without words anymore. You could have math without numbers. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Hebrews 30, excuse me, Proverbs 30, verse 5, every word of God is pure. Now, if the Bible is the word of God, can it have error? It's impossible. How could a God of truth inspire error? If it's God's word, then you know there's the absolute perfection. And the second thing I want you to think about is the wonderful character of the word of God. You see, when the Bible calls itself the Word of God, that says something more than its perfection because God gives the same term to the Bible that He gives to His Son. …