Sunday Worship Service September 3, 2023

Call to Worship Psalm 107:20
Hymn JBC # 81 God, our Father, we adore Thee!
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Offering
Scripture Luke 4:1~15
Prayer
Sermon “Man Shall Not Live on Bread Alone”
https://youtu.be/s65g1iwgv8o
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 103 When upon life’s billows
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction

We all have periods of temptations or trials in our lives. There are times when suffering or bad things happen to us one after another.
There are times we may ask, "Why do these sufferings keep happening to me? Just why?”
So how do we deal with temptations and trials at such times?　　

　In today's passage, Jesus Christ is tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
By learning how Jesus Himself, our Lord and God, faced the temptations of the devil and his painful trials, we would like to learn how we should face temptation.

In the first part of today's passage, chapter 4, verse 1, we read
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

In chapter 3, the previous chapter, we read that Jesus was baptized and began his public ministry when he was about 30 years old.
Today's passage in chapter 4 takes place shortly thereafter. Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days.
During the 40 days of the temptation, it says, that Jesus ate nothing and was hungry. After 40 days of fasting, Jesus must have been extremely hungry. But the temptation did not end there. Jesus was then tempted harder by the devil himself.

The devil told Jesus,
“If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
For Jesus, being in the midst of extreme hunger, it was a great temptation. Since Jesus is the Son of God, He could have turned the stone into bread to satisfy His hunger in an instant if He had wanted to do so.
In fact, Jesus later once filled the bellies of 5,000 hungry people by blessing, praying over, and multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish.
Then why did Jesus not turn the stone into bread to satisfy His own hunger when He was tempted by the devil?
Even though Jesus was very hungry and suffering, He did not intend to perform any miracles to save Himself from His own suffering.

Even though He was very hungry, and even though He was attacked (tempted) by the devil, Jesus still drives home the truth that "Man does not live on bread alone." (written in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy) to us.
In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verse 3, it says, "Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Bread, or the food we need to live, is very important. Jesus never said that bread (food) is unimportant.
However, Jesus boldly cried out against the devil's temptation from the agony of hunger, "It is the Lord God, and the Word of the Lord God that truly gives us life.”

It is God who gives us the very bread (food) that we definitely need. Therefore, we must first believe in God and trust in Him as we go about our lives.
Let us etch into our hearts the truth of Jesus' bold teaching, that the Word of God, the source of our life, truly gives us life and that God protects us even in the midst of suffering and doubt.
　The Word of God gives us life — with this trust and confidence we can face even the toughest temptations from the devil.
The devil then led Jesus up to a high place and in a moment showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. He then said, "If you worship me, I will give you all the authority and splendor of these kingdoms.”

What does “all their (*all kingdoms of the world) authority and splendor” mean?
It means to rule the world as you wish. It is the power to change the world as you wish, to make the people of the world instantly believe in you (or fear you) and obey you.
Again, Jesus could have done this (changed the world in an instant) even without getting such power from the devil, if He so desired.
However, Jesus did not try to force people (us) to follow Him (God) by forcing them to be under His control.
Rather, Jesus (i.e., God) spread His (God's) rule by preaching His Word to people, who then preached His Word to others.

Even if it takes many years, God's Word is transmitted from person to person, and each person opens his or her heart to hear and accept God's Word.
Then, those who are moved by the Word of God will serve God with joy of their own volition (will). This is how God truly desires to spread His kingdom.
Then Jesus replied in verse 8, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'”
This is the attitude of seeking God's will first and foremost, not one's own desires.
It is not about gaining power and prosperity and ruling (or changing) the world as you see fit, but about worshipping the Lord your God and serving Him only.
We are to seek what God wants rather than what we want. Perhaps the reason temptations and trials are painful is because we cling to our own desires and thoughts.
By relinquishing our own selves, prioritizing God, and uniting in prayer with fellow believers, we can come to understand God's will, which transcends our own understanding. Together, we pray, engage in discussion, and earnestly seek God's will.

Only then will we be able to worship the Lord our God and serve Him only in practice.
As a church, let's join in prayer and ask, "What is the mission that God has entrusted to us in this place and time, and what does God desire from our church?"
　The devil had Jesus stand at the edge of the temple roof and said at the end, "The scripture says, 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully' so throw yourself down from here.”
Jesus dismissed this temptation as well with scripture, which express His firm faith (trust) in God, "Do not test the Lord your God.”
Jesus withstood the devil's temptation with scripture. The Words of the Bible are the Word of God. The Word of God protects us from the devil's temptations (trials) with the power of God Himself.
We, too, should store up in our hearts as much scripture as possible to protect us as we face the temptations and trials of the devil.

In the last verses of today's passage, verses 14-15, Jesus returns to His native Galilee, full of the Spirit, after having defeated the devil's temptations.
Jesus' reputation spread throughout the surrounding region, and we read that He taught in the synagogues and was respected by all.
As the Son of God, Jesus Himself experienced the same physical suffering of hunger as others, and in the midst of such suffering, faced severe temptations from the devil.
And Jesus withstood the devil's severe temptations with the Word of God. Through such an experience, the words that Jesus spoke and taught became more powerful and appealing to people.
Since Jesus, the Son of God, spoke the true Word of God through His own severe trials, His words must have had tremendous power and overwhelmed the people.（There's simply no other explanation!)
　When we share the Word of God with others, we must be moved by the Word of God ourselves. How can we tell people the truth if we ourselves are not moved by it or do not believe in it?

Or, when we are tired, weak, depressed, or sad, the words of the Bible sustain us — by sharing these experiences with others, we can pass on the truth of God's Word to others.
　Let us convey to others, in our own words, the truths found in the Bible that we personally believe in, as well as the experiences we've had living out our faith. Through this, even if it's just little by little, God's Word will continue to spread throughout the world.
Jesus resisted the temptations of the devil with verses from scripture (which were from the Old Testament as we know it today).
Scripture has the power to resist the temptations of evil. The words of the Bible are the power we need to make it through our trials. Because the words of the bible are given to us as a weapon of faith.
　Let us be strengthened by the Word of God, as Jesus was when He repelled the temptations of the devil in the wilderness with the Word of God.
Protected by the Word of God, we need not fear even the temptations of the devil. God's power is upon us, and let us never forget this and rely on God's Word as we live out our faith.