MANKIND SHALL LIVE BY EVERY WORD OF GOD

At the beginning of His Gospel Ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ spent 40 days and nights fasting, and at the end when He was hungry, satan came to tempt Him, saying in Matthew 4:1-4, "If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread."

But Jesus answered satan, "The Scripture says, 'Man cannot live on bread alone, but needs every Word that God speaks.'"

We are told that the basics of life every human being needs are food, shelter and clothing but here is the Lord Jesus Christ saying mankind needs something additional - every Word that God speaks.

With His response to satan, the Lord Jesus Christ was confirming the instruction God gave the Israelites through Moses when God commanded the Israelites to faithfully obey His Laws. Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8:3, "God made you go hungry, and then He gave you manna to eat, food that you and your ancestors had never eaten before. He did this to teach you that man MUST NOT depend on bread ALONE to sustain him, but on EVERYTHING that the Lord says."

Everyday of our lives, adults of work age are busy chasing a means of livelihood to sustain themselves and their families. It is instructive to note that it is only Christians who look up to God for their sustenance but even at that only fewer Christians still are able to access the blessings that God gives to His children.

If God our Father says mankind or humans must depend on everything He says to sustain themselves, the question now is, why are only few people doing this? God's Word, the Holy Bible gives the answer in Hosea 4:6, "My people are doomed because they do not acknowledge me (God). You priests have refused to acknowledge me and have rejected my teaching, and so I reject you and will not acknowledge your sons as my priests."

The Bible tells us in Malachi 2:1-2, “The Lord Almighty says to the priests, "This command is for you: You must honour me by what you do. If you will not listen to what I say, then I will bring a curse on the things you receive for your support. In fact, I have already put a curse on them, because you do not take my command seriously."

In verse 7, God says "It is the duty of priests to teach the true knowledge of God. People should go to them to learn my will, because they are the messengers of the Lord Almighty."

Clearly, what this means is that everyone, no matter who, should learn about God's teachings and obey them faithfully. Why is this so? Again, the answer is found in God's Word in 2 Chronicles 20:20b, "Put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will stand firm.  Believe what His prophets tell you, and you will succeed."

God's Word is life. Without it, a man cannot navigate through this world successfully and will be subjected to the vagaries of life. What is even more important to realise is that even as knowledge of and obedience to God's Word here on earth will ensure a man lives peacefully and well, it will also point one to the truth about life after stay here on earth.

So God's Word achieves two objectives for the person who is fortunate to find it: peaceful and successful living here on earth and an assurance of eternal life with God in the hereafter if the person obeys all that is commanded therein.

There is no problem one faces on earth that cannot be resolved using God's Word - is it financial, marital, health, education, job, relationships, emotional or psychological trauma, inability to forgive a hurt, drugs, alcoholism, insomnia, demonic attacks, etc etc?

God's Word has solution to every problem because as the Lord Jesus Christ stated in Mark 10:27b, "Everything is possible for God." So, if everything is possible for God, why does mankind always look in the wrong places for solution to their problems?

There are 2 reasons for this: very few people are able to see God as the Almighty Father greater than any problem they face and able to solve their problem. As a result, they treat God as a man and are unable to trust Him fully to get their issues resolved.

The second reason is because satan or devil or lucifer is always causing confusion in the hearts of people to distract them from knowing God fully and coming to the full awareness of God's Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence, which will enable them to resolve their challenges.

As the Lord Jesus Christ says in John 10:10, "The thief (satan) comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy. I (Jesus Christ) have come in order that you might have life - life in all its fullness."

So satan always does everything possible to distract people and point them in the wrong direction to get solution to their problems. The reason satan does this is because he wants people to sin against God and die in sin to join him (satan) in eternal torment in hell fire because that is where he (satan) has been condemned along with the fallen angels or demons when they rebelled against God's authority.

Every human being needs to understand this simple fact to enjoy God's grace and blessings here on earth and then join God in eternal life after departing this world either in death or at the Rapture that is imminent when the Lord Jesus Christ will come a second time to take His Bride, the Church faithful here on earth to join Him in the Wedding Feast in Heaven.

For those who do not know, Jesus Christ is the Word of God and became a human being (John 1:1-14) when God sent Him to die on the Cross on Calvary to redeem man from eternal damnation in hell caused by the sin of disobedience by Adam and Eve (Hebrews 1:1-3).

It is ONLY those who accept this Gospel message of salvation by FAITH that are able to access the blessings of God through Jesus Christ, His Word. As the bible says in Hebrews 11:6 "No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek Him."

God's Word also tells us in Hebrews 11:1 "To have faith is TO BE SURE of the things we hope for, TO BE CERTAIN of the things we cannot see. It was by faith that people of ancient times won God's approval."

Dear friend, what therefore, have we learnt here? It is that:

(1) Mankind or every human being MUST depend on EVERYTHING God says in His Word for sustenance in every circumstance. The reason is because as God's Word, the Holy Bible tells us in Numbers 23:19 "God is not like men, who lie; He is not a human being who changes his mind. Whatever He promises, He does; He speaks and it is done."

(2) God's Word is the Holy Bible, Sacred Scriptures or the Word of Life. As stated in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully equipped to do every kind of good deed."

(3) Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is God's Word manifested as a human being and dwelling amongst mankind. Jesus Christ, the Word of God always existed before time began and He came as a human being to ransom mankind from sin and reconciled mankind to God with His sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary.

(4) Anyone who accepts this Gospel message of Salvation by Jesus Christ will be assured of eternal life as long as such person also accepts wholeheartedly the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus has said in John 8:31-32, "If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

(5) The truth of God's Word as contained in the Holy Bible is taught by Priests or Pastors or Clergy because that is what God has commanded. A church is where the truth of God's Word is preached UNDILUTED. A true Church of God will ALWAYS point the Congregation to our final home in heaven by reminding Christians to live a life of holiness ALWAYS while still alive on this earth.

We are also told in 1 John 2:27, "But as for you, Christ's has poured out His Spirit on you. As long as His Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For His Spirit teaches you about everything, and what He teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.

(6) Our Lord Jesus Christ has clearly told us that His Word, the Word of God can be used by anyone to resolve any issue in life. He states clearly in John 15:7-8, "If you remain in me and my Words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you will have it. My Father's glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples."

Notice that the Lord Jesus said anything you wish, not something but ANYTHING. God's Word is life, I tell you my dear friend and reader.

(7) Anyone who refuses to learn God's Word to obey it faithfully or who learns God's Word and still refuses to obey it faithfully would not only be tossed around by the challenges of this world but will miss heaven forever if he or she dies in that state.

Dear friend, if you have read all this, it should be clear to you that God's Word is the number one resource any right thinking person should have. With it, you learn the truth about God and His commands, about His love for us, about Jesus Christ our Lord, Saviour and Messiah, about the Holy Spirit and about how to access through prayer God's divine blessings to live well in this life and then join God in eternity in His Kingdom in heaven in the hereafter.

The way to use God's Word in prayer to resolve ANY challenge is to study the Bible, see God's Word or promise for that same situation you face, meditate on the promise and use it by FAITH in prayer to God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and God cannot fail to respond and resolve if you are living right according to His will as contained in His Word, the Holy Bible.

There is no impossible situation with God. There are only people who approach God in prayer either without faith or with unrepented sin in their lives. The Word of God says in James 1:6-8. "But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. A person like that, unable to make up his mind and undecided in all he does, must not think that he will receive anything from the Lord."

God's Word also says in Isaiah 59:1-8, "Don't think that the Lord is too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help! It is because of your sins that He doesn't hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship Him. You are guilty of lying, violence and murder.

You go to court, but you haven't got justice on your side. You depend on lies to win your case. You carry out your plans to hurt others. The evil plots you make are as deadly as the eggs of a poisonous snake. Crush an egg, out comes a snake! But your plots will do you no good - they are as useless as clothing made of cobwebs!

You are always planning something evil, and you can hardly wait to do it. You never hesitate to murder innocent people. You leave ruin and destruction wherever you go, and no one is safe when you are about. Everything you do is unjust. You follow a crooked path, and no one who walks that path will ever be safe."

I therefore urge you, dear friend, to choose right today - choose Jesus Christ the Word of God, the Saviour and Messiah and He will SURELY guide you to eternal life. God bless you as you heed His Word today, accept, act on it and share with others in the Mighty name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Gabriel Ama.