Am I Hungry Enough

Hunger is something you come across every day. There are young businessmen whom we describe as “hungry” because they want to make the sale so badly that they’ll do nearly anything. There are athletes whom we describe as “hungry” because they go all out to win. And there are people who so want to know God better that they can be described as “spiritually hungry.” A.W. Tozer once noted that the great people of Christendom have had an insatiable hunger for God. The great missionary Hudson Taylor wrote, “I saw Him, and I sought Him, and I had Him, and I wanted Him.” He was hungry for God. That’s a characteristic of those who walk with God and experience the joy of knowing Him.

Am I Hungry Enough?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

Sept.  30, 2007 – PM Service

I. INTRODUCTION

 A. Scriptural Background

·         Psalm 27:4, David describes his relationship with God by saying, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” The desire to know God was at the center of David’s life.

·         The sons of Korah reveal a similar theme in Psalm 42:1: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.”

·         And Psalm 63:1–2 reads, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.”

 B. Note the Psalmists’ Depth of Hunger for God

  1. Throughout Psalm 119 you can find illustrations of that desire.

·         Vs.34 the author says he wants God’s word in his heart.

·         Vs. 40 speaks of longing after God’s truth

·          Vs. 145 - “I cry out with my whole heart..”

   a. These verses reveal a longing to know God.

    1. If you’ve ever worked with someone who approached the job in a half-hearted way, you know how frustrating it can be. “Just showing up…just going through the motions.”

   b. The psalmist was whole-hearted when it came to knowing God.

  2. But to give everything toward seeking Him—that is the essence of spiritual hunger.

   a. All of the great men and women of God have had it.

·         Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, David, and John had a hunger for God.

·         Martin Luther, George Whitfield, Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards

Charles G. Finney spent his boyhood in the frontier country of New York. He was, as he admitted later, “almost as destitute of religion as a heathen.” Yet, when he went to Adams, New York, to study law, he linked up with a Presbyterian church and listened attentively to the sermons of the minister, the Rev. George W. Gale. He even directed the choir. But he was not a Christian.

It was in 1821 that Finney was dramatically converted. He got interested in the Bible through references to the Mosaic laws in his legal books. He bought a Bible and through reading it became intellectually convinced of the truth of Christianity. But the question remained — should he become a Christian?

One autumn morning he was on his way to his office when he was stopped in his tracks by an inward voice which seemed to say, “Will you accept it now, today?” Instead of going to his office he went off into the woods. Reaching a spot where he thought no one would see him, he knelt down. He tried to pray but could not. He was just about to give up when he heard a rustling and looked up in alarm to see if someone had discovered him. Suddenly, he realized how great was his pride. Remembering the words of Scripture, “Then shall ye seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart,” he cried out, “Lord, I take Thee at Thy Word.” Finney left the woods in a lighthearted mood. He didn’t quite understand what had happened to him.

That evening in the back of his law office he was overcome with a sense of unutterable ecstasy. He later wrote: “The Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going through and through me. Indeed it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love; for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me, like immense wings.” Finney dropped his law studies the next day and went about the town telling what the Lord had done for him. A revival began immediately.

• I am convinced that we have as much of God as we really want.
• You may claim to want more of God in your life, but you already have as much as you want.

  3. We don’t know or we have forgotten what it’s like to have a passion for God.

   a. We want a convenient religion—one that can fit into our schedules without too much difficulty.

   b. We want God in our lives, but we don’t want to be fanatics.

·         Yet, Jesus said that it is the spiritually hungry and thirsty who will be happy, for they’ll be filled with the satisfying presence of the Lord.

(BODY)

II. Spiritual Hunger Is the Reality of Our Faith

 A. The Most Demanding of the Beatitudes (D. Jeremiah)

  1. Jesus did not say, “Blessed are they who attain righteousness,” or none of us could be blessed.

   a. Christ doesn’t permit happiness to only the spiritually mature; but to those who are seeking maturity.

   1. Many people call themselves Christians, but they don’t seek after the things of God…no hunger.

    a. They have an entry-level relationship with the Almighty – they assume they need nothing more.

·         “If there isn’t a holy dissatisfaction in your heart about your spiritual life, and a hungering and thirsting to go further with God, then there is something missing in your faith.” (D. Jeremiah)

·         Illustration: Pupil to the Teacher (Desired the Secret to His Knowledge/Understanding –when you thirst to understand as much as you desired that next breath, it will come!)

   2. Spiritual hunger is evidence within our hearts that we truly belong to Him.

·         If you are unhappy with your spiritual life, that’s a good sign.

·         Spiritual Hunger Is the Reality of Our Faith

III. Spiritual Hunger Is the Requirement for Our Growth

 A. Christ wants us to have a hunger for Him. (A infant that doesn’t desire the bottle is quickly taken to the doctor)

  1. The rich young ruler – searching for eternal life.

   a.  Jesus was impressed with the man:

·         Attractive, successful, and seeking the right things…Jesus “loved” him!

·         So the Lord told him to sell everything he had and give the money away. He couldn’t!

·         Having money was NOT the problem…the problem was one of spiritual hunger.

·         Jesus was saying, “If you don’t want me more than you want money, you’re not going to make it.”

 B. Jesus’ Early Ministry

  1. Followed by great crowds…the crowds around J. the Baptist waned…

  2. Yet, the people followed Him for His miracles and ministry….not for the commitment He demanded!

·         He said…“If you want to follow me….deny yourself, leave home / family, will be divisions in relationships…may suffer injustices, hurts and pain….” – if not, you can’t be disciples!

·         Suddenly there were no crowds!

·         The thing that separates people from the Lord is the thing we call spiritual hunger—the desire to know God above all else. If you want to grow in Christ, you must have spiritual hunger.

IV. The Lack of Spiritual Hunger Is the Reason for Our Spiritual Failure

·         “Sometimes we don’t want to be Christians. We claim that we do, but we aren’t willing to do the hard things necessary.”

 A. Few Christians are willing to sacrifice anything to find God.

·         Dan Henning, a former head coach in the National Football League, once told me that what separates a great quarterback from a good quarterback is the intangibles. The great ones have an inner toughness and desire to succeed. They hunger to win football games.

  1. One of the secrets to success and achievement is desire.

   a. If you’re happy just to be in the game, you won’t accomplish much for Him.

·         Paul – a man of desire (revelations, visions, yet the goal at the end of his life…to know God…he had NOT arrived…the closer he got, the more he gave himself to it)

·         Paul found that there is no adventure with mediocrity…if you really want to be happy, develop a hunger for Him.

 B. A question about your spiritual life:

  1. First, are you satisfied with yourself?

   a. Funny how that spiritual hunger works, for it’s the exact opposite of physical hunger.

   b. Feed your physical hunger; no longer hungry. The more you taste of God, the more you want. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.”

    1) Are you hungry for God?

      a) If you’ve gone through the process of pushing God out of your life, force-feed yourself.

      b) Sit down, open up your Bible, and start to read…a fire will rekindle in your soul.

       1) You have as much of Him (God) as you really want.

·         Are you satisfied with where you are with God? Or do you want more? Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will one day be filled.

·         If you want to have that satisfaction of being filled up with God, develop your hunger for Him now.