Sons And Daughters are Hungry for God. Joel Weaver March 5, 2017

Transcription

1 Sons And Daughters are Hungry for God Joel Weaver March 5, 2017

2 Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV) You re blessed when you ve worked up a good appetite for God. He s food and drink in the best meal you ll ever eat. (MSG)

3 Share What is the best meal you can ever remember having? What is your favorite meal? Why do we enjoy eating good food?

4 Hunger & Thirst Noun: A feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. Noun: A feeling of needing or wanting to drink something. Verb: Have a strong desire or craving for. Verb: (of a person or animal) Feel a need to drink something. Synonyms noun: starvation - famine - longing - yearning - craving Synonyms verb: starve - crave - long - lust - hanker - yearn Synonyms noun: craving - longing - hunger - eagerness - thirstiness Synonyms verb: crave - yearn - lust - hunger - long - hanker

5 Basic Assumptions Hunger and Thirst are signs of physical health. Hunger and Thirst are signs of spiritual health.

6 Basic Assumptions God honors hunger--he loves it when we come with a yearning for Him and His ways. We WILL be satisfied when we come to Him for filling.

7 Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (NIV) You re blessed when you ve worked up a good appetite for God. He s food and drink in the best meal you ll ever eat. (MSG)

8 Are you spiritually Hungry? Are you spiritually Thirsty? If not, this is a sign of spiritual sickness or sin. Have you been eating a balanced diet? Have you been snacking on the wrong food? Have you been drinking from the right source?

9 Making the change Recognize that only God can give you hunger and thirst for Him. Recognize that only God can help you address the reasons you may not be hungry and thirsty. Recognize that only God can satisfy-- really satisfy--your spiritual hunger and thirst.

10 Why aren t we spiritually hungry? John Piper:"If we don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great."

11 Why aren t we spiritually hungry? Mark 4: Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

12 Why aren t we spiritually hungry? 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.

13 v. 19--the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. If our hunger for God is not strong, it is not because he is not onolicious, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with other things. Desires for other things is the enemy. The only weapon that will triumph over this is a deeper hunger for God.

14 Why aren t we spiritually hungry? C. S. Lewis:"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

15 Jeremiah 2:13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Why aren t we spiritually thirsty?

16 Spiritual junk food and drink

17 Check your spiritual fridge!

18 What to do... If you suspect that your spiritual eating habits are taking the edge off your hunger for God, don't feel condemned! Cry out with the psalmist, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me...and see if there is any wicked way in me" (Ps. 139:23). Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal whatever it is and revive your desire for God.

19 Sins dull our appetite Habitual sins like unforgiveness and unbelief block us from connecting with God.

20 Unforgiveness Unforgiveness not only dampens our hunger but also puts us in a very precarious position with God. Jesus said, For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matt. 6:14-15).

21 Unbelief Most of us believe God exists, but if we don t really believe that he will reward us with more of Himself, we may be half-hearted in our appetite for Him. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

22 Sins dull our appetite for God Break Free! STOP actively participating in the sin REPENT and confess your sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness RETREAT from the situations that lead you into sin. We are told to resist, but also flee. RETRAIN your mind and body to eschew sin. REPLACE your bad habits with good ones

23 LENT

24 LENT 40 Days leading up to Easter A time to open your heart to God's refining grace through prayer, confession, fasting Fasting turns your appetites towards God as you deny yourself so that when temptations arise, you are already used to saying "no" to your desires. NOT SALVATION BY WORKS!

25 What people are giving up for LENT

26 Rank What Number of 1 social media 1,978 2 alcohol 1,932 3 twitter 1,840 4 chocolate 1,824 5 chips 1,284 6 swearing 1,141 7 school 1,055 8 soda fast food sweets 809

27 Making the change Do not love the world or the things in the world For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.(1 John 2:15-17). And what is the will of God? To "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind'" (Matthew 22:37).

28 The longing inside John Piper: "God has filled the human heart with longing. But we know not what we long for until we see the breathtaking God. This is the cause of universal restlessness. Hence the famous prayer of Saint Augustine: 'You made us for Yourself and our hearts find no peace till they rest in You.'"

29 The longing inside Blaise Pascal What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and unchangeable object; in other words by God himself.

30 Taste and See! Run to the table of God! Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is! Blessed are those who run to him! Psalm 34:8

31 Taste and See! In the natural sense of taste, we place food in our mouths to get the flavor, texture and composition. There are five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, a Japanese word meaning delicious, savory taste.

32 Taste and See! In the spiritual realm of taste, we enjoy tasting God through... Prayer--not only talking to Him but also listening to Him; Reading & Studying the Word; Worshiping and enjoying Him in times of intimacy In quietness, receiving the revelation of the Holy Spirit Practicing His presence throughout the day.

33 We enjoy the best food of all! "Come, everyone who is thirsty here is water! Come, you that have no money-- buy grain and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk--it will cost you nothing! Why spend money on what does not satisfy? Why spend your wages and still be hungry? Listen to me and do what I say, and you will enjoy the best food of all" (Isaiah 55:1-2).

34 The Good News of delighting in feasting on God s presence There are no rules, no constraints to the depths of delight in God. When it comes to satisfying our appetites for Him, there is no excess. There is no speed limit in this pursuit, no signs that say "Stop" or "Caution" or "No Trespassing." No rules. No regulation. No requirements for moderation or balance.

35 The Good News of delighting in feasting on God s presence When it comes to the pursuit of fulfilling yourself in hungering and thirsting after God, you never see in Scripture words like, "Warning. Be careful. Proceed at your own risk." No, the Bible says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart," Psalm 37:4. God doesn't give us the choice to delight. It's a command. It's a duty.

36 The take-away... Embrace your appetite for good things. Cry out to God for hunger and thirst for things only He can give! Satisfy your hunger and thirst with the right kind of food and drink--we have been given the Bread of Life and the Living Water!

37 MINISTRY TIME