Dharius Daniels - HE ATE

I want you to turn with me or click with me or look at the screens with me to Matthew chapter four, beginning at verse one. We’re in a series all the way to Easter on Jesus. Yes, our argument is that Jesus is the greatest of all time, and the greatest of all time not only wants to be your Redeemer; He wants to be your Rabbi. The one who was the best at life wants to teach you how to get the best out of life. So, we are in part six of the sixth sermon in this series. Matthew chapter four, beginning at verse one, says, «Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry.» If you haven’t eaten yet, say «me too.»

Okay, verse three says, «Then the tempter came to Him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'» Jesus answered, «It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'» Now, I’m going to stop the reading of Scripture right there. I need y’all to pray for the preacher today; this has been a crazy day! The 8:30 service got all the points, the 10:00 service got none of the points. I don’t know what’s about to happen, but I want to tag a title to this text, and I see this with Jesus in Scripture. The topic of today’s teaching is two words. Here is the topic of today’s teaching: simply this—He ate. That’s it! Clap your hands if you know I’m right about it. Yeah, He ate.

For those who may be unfamiliar or unclear, the term «he ate» is simply an urban cultural colloquialism used to describe when someone has performed something in an extraordinary way. It’s a designation that’s given to the different; it’s an adjective assigned to the extraordinary. It’s a word used to describe something rare. So, when someone is extraordinary at what they said, what they did, or how they look, some in culture might say, «They ate.» It is appropriate, if you’re not a hater, to acknowledge when someone has eaten. It’s important to appreciate when someone has «eaten,» but it is unwise to simply be impressed by it.

I think our Sovereign Savior Jesus would ask us, are you okay with just being impressed by what you could be learning from? I think Jesus would say to us about Himself that He didn’t come just to impress us with what He could do; He came to teach us how to do it. He came to reveal to you and me, not just as our Redeemer but as our Rabbi, that there is another way you could and should be living your life. He extends to us an invitation to live our life that way—A life that He depicts and describes in John 10:10, when He says, «The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.» Oh my goodness! I want to tell you, people of God, that this particular statement and verse isn’t just about the quantity of life; it is about the quality of your life.

I want to encourage someone with this thought—if you have an appetite for everything God wants to generously give to you, if Jesus is good enough to give it, we should be grateful enough to receive it! Let me read it one more time because I thought the 11:45 service, I know what service I’m at, would respond a little better than that. If Jesus is good enough to give it, we should be grateful enough to receive it! If He died to give me that life, if He lived to show me that life, I want that life! So, I’ve got one word for everybody that’ll receive it at this service—live! Live! Live! Live! Live! Live! You’ve learned too much not to live! You’ve lived through too much to not live! Too much in your life has died for you not to live! You’ve gone through too much agitation not to get some spiritual compensation for all of your frustration! You’ve got to live!

Jesus says these words in John 10:10 to people who are not dead. He says, «I’ve come to give you life» to people that are alive, which means there’s a difference between existing and living. Let me just pray this over you real quick: 2024 was the year you existed; I pray that 2025 is the year that you live! Look at somebody and say, «You look like life!» and tell them, «And do!» And we’ll have it! We’ll pursue it! We’ll chase after it! We’ll pray till we get it! We’ll turn our plates down and fast until we walk in it! We will live! But if we want this life, it takes more than an appetite for it; it takes instruction. It requires expanding your understanding of Jesus and seeing Jesus as more than simply your Redeemer, but seeing Jesus as your Rabbi—the one who does more than save me, but the one who shapes me. And if you allow Jesus to be your Rabbi, He will teach you and me how to have the life He came to give. Here in Matthew, we see Jesus using this text as an instruction manual.