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Living by the word ~ Bro. Philemon Okeke

Living by the word ~ Bro. Philemon Okeke

Topic:         Living by the word
Text:           Matthew 4:4
Preacher:   Bro. Philemon Okeke

Matthew 4:4

4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

INTRODUCTION

To embark on this journey “Living by the word”, we’d need to define some terms that will guide us and give us perspective in our journey. Some of the terms are highlighted below:

i.        What is Living? Living simply means to live. To live mean to be alive and can also mean a lifestyle. When they say I don’t like the way you are living your life, it means they don’t like your lifestyle.

ii.       Living by the word simply means, when your lifestyle is controlled by the word of God. If you want to know a man that is living by the word, you evaluate the man’s lifestyle based on the word of God. We can do that by putting the characteristics of living things according to elementary biology, and the word of God on a scale for such evaluation.

 Characteristics of Living things.

  • Movement: If your movement is controlled by the word
  • Respiration: The air you breathe is controlled by the word
  • Nutrition: You should eat nothing but the word. You are alive because of the word, meaning you should esteem the word above food. [Matt. 4:4]
  • Irritability: The ability to respond to stimuli, when the Lord speaks you respond
  • Growth: Desire the sincere milk of the word of God
  • Excretion: This means removing what you don’t need “Whatever my heavenly father has not planted must be rooted out”
  • Reproduction: The word has the ability to reproduce
  • Death: To live by the word is that your life must be controlled by the word of God.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

1.       Movement: The word of God can move. The bible says he sent forth his word. Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. If the word of God does not determine your next step, you are not living by the word. In 1 Samuel 30:7-8 “And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.  30:8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all, we see howDavid being under pressure still waited to hear the Lord. In Genesis 12 we see how God called Abraham out of his father’s house and he obeyed and he enjoyed covenant with God. Jesus said I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life [John 8:12]. If you are living by the word, it is inside God you will move [Acts 17:28]. That means you’ll only go where God wants you to go.

2.       Respiration: This is the ability to breathe. If you are alive because of any other thing apart from the word of God, then you are not leaving by the word. The spirit of God is the breath of life. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.

3.       Nutrition: If you live by food, you’ll die by food. Jesus speaking “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Matt. 4:4). Jeremiah 15:16 “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. As food is to the natural man, so is the word to the spiritual man. Bankruptcy of joy is starvation of the word. 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”.

4.       Irritability: This is ability to respond to stimuli. Peter had an experience, after toiling all night without catching any fish. And Jesus came and asked him to cast his next; and he responded saying “nevertheless at thy word”. When all hopes are down, will you still respond to the word?

5.       Growth: Acts 19:29 “And so mightily grew the word of God, and it prevailed the word of God has the ability to grow. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. The word has the ability to make you grow. We have many baby Christians in the church because of bankruptcy of the word of God, where the word of God there is growth.

6.       Excretion: This means to remove substance or to remove waste from the body. Matt 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. The word of God can remove what God has not planted in your life.

7.       Reproduction: To reproduce means to bring something new or to bring something of its kind. The Shunamite woman never asked Elisha for a child, it was Elisha that prophesized. You have tried many things, try the word. What makes somebody fruitful is the word.

CONCLUSION:

If you are not controlled by the word, you will be controlled by the world. If you have been living your life outside the word, you can decide to live your life by the word.

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