Sermon Tone Analysis

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: