The Church in Post-Christian Amercia: Recovering Our Distinction
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Pursuing His Presence
(Developing An Appetite For The Divine)
Intro:
Intro:
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 1570 Causes of Famine
The causes of famines are many:
It usually follows war. The greater the war, the greater the subsequent famine. As a result of World War I and the revolutions which followed, 27 million people starved to death. Moreover, during conditions of hostilities, farmers are universally reluctant to plant and labor, only to see marauding armies take away their crops. Uncontrolled human reproduction also leads to famine. The population of the world is growing at the rate of 2% a year, but the food supply is growing at a rate of only 1% a year. The president of Pakistan predicted that within a decade, “human beings will be eating human beings in Pakistan.”
Famines also arise from natural causes such as droughts, excessive rains or floods, exceptionally cold weather, typhoons and freakish storms, tidal waves, and other natural calamities.
Vermin, such as insects and plant diseases diminish food resources. At the 143rd annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver, it was revealed that “35% of the world’s food was being lost to insects, weeds and animals prior to harvest and an additional 10–12% was being destroyed by pests after reaping and storage.” It was noted that despite efforts to produce more food, global agriculture was virtually at a standstill.
We have, today in the modern church age, become somewhat stale, stagnant, and static. Many parts of the American church are in a drought. There is no fresh revelation coming from heaven as spiritual bread; instead, the same old stale sermons are regurgitated year-after-year. Consequently, it has led to a spiritual famine in this country. We will never grow w/out proper nourishment.
Have you ever tried to make someone eat who was not hungry, or has anyone ever tried to make you eat when you were not hungry?
Just as someone cannot make you physically hungry or thirsty, no one can make you spiritually that way either.
You and I are responsible for our own spiritual hunger. If you are not as hungry for God’s presence as you would like or should be, pray and ask God to stir that hunger in you.
‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.You’ll find that the admonitions to seek God are not to the lost, but to God’s own people.It is the call of God to those who long for His presence, who want nothing but Him, and will pay any price to get it.
The true essence of worship is what we bring sacrificially to Him.
So God beckons:
“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!Oh to experience the goodness and presence of God; to be filled w/ His glory! This, my friend, is where life truly begins.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!Oh to experience the goodness and presence of God; to be filled w/ His glory! This, my friend, is where life truly begins.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
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. My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
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. My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land.
Selah.
Just as all hunger and thirst for natural nourishment; so, too, all hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment. Everyone is looking for that something to fill the void inside of them.
Just as all hunger and thirst for natural nourishment; so, too, all hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment.
Everyone is looking for that something to fill the void inside of them.
God beckons come and eat and drink of Him and find true fulfillment.
“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
God is the only true happiness, satisfaction, meaning, and purpose anyone can and will ever find.
We were created to image Him and being anything else leaves one hungry and searching.
Sadly, many rummage through dumpsters looking for the substance of life when all the while the master says, “come there is plenty of room at my table.”I speak of those in the church!!
Obviously those w/out are hungry and searching.
Too often have we had our hunger tempered by the mere ceremony of worship w/out the heart of true sacrifice.
We must become like Moses
This same Moses experienced God at the burning bush; experienced Him in the exodus out of Egypt, was called into the cloud where God’s presence was and spoke w/ God face-to-face as a man speaks w/ his friend.
Yet!! He wanted more! This is having an appetite.
The more we experience the presence of God, the more we want of His presence.
It is a paradox: The presence of God is the only reality that can truly satisfy the craving of man’s soul; yet, God’s presence leaves us wanting more.
A healthy appetite can be had by all.
The secret to developing a healthy appetite is discipline yourself to eat even when you may not be that hungry.
We eat b/c it is necessary not b/c we always want to.