MORE!Hungry & Thirsty for MORE of JESUS

Oyewole O. Sarumi |PhD|

Sermon Song

You have made my life

So beautiful and that is

What you have made me

Here on earth, there is

Nothing greater than You,

That is why I love you

Forever more] 2ce

CHORUS

I want MORE of YOU

Jesus ]2ce

The MORE I know You

The MORE I want to know You

Jesus, MORE of You!

Opening Scriptures

Mathew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Isa 55:1-2

"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.

2 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. NKJV

Introduction

"You are what you eat" applies in the spiritual realm as well. Jesus challenges us to look at our spiritual appetite with the penetrating words of the Fourth Beatitude: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

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A HOLY HUNGER will be one of the most crucial elements required to survival these coming days.

We are speaking about a spiritual hunger that can never be quenched, but will always increase, not a natural hunger.

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In this simple sentence, Jesus tells us that our hunger determines our spiritual health.

In order to grasp its meaning for us, we need to know what Hunger and Thirst is!

What is hunger?

The meaning of the word HUNGER is: A strong desire and/or craving for, to crave ardently, to seek earnestly

Hunger is one of the most important spiritual qualities a believer can possess.

It is a quality that expressively displays such a longing, need for the presence of God, that if unavailable, would result in death!!! That is HUNGER!!!

What is Thirst

Thirst = a feeling of needing or wanting to drink; lack of liquid needed to sustain life; a strong desire for (Oxford)

Hunger & Thirst…

As seen in both of these hunger & thirst has to do with our desires! They are also both needed to survive!

THREE CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HUNGER

1.) The Spiritually Dead

When you are dead you cannot hunger! Only those who are alive can hunger! When my spirit is dead then it cannot huger.

Remember – What causes spiritual death? When I am not constantly spending time in the manifest presence of God – then my spirit will begin to experience spiritual death!

2.) The Spiritually Sick

When a person is sick in the natural, they usually lose their hunger. So it is in the spirit.

Many are spiritually sick, and they have lost that ‘holy hunger’ for the things of God and for His presence!

If you have lost that hunger, then it might just be a sign that you’re spiritually sick!

Two of the most common spiritual "sicknesses" are:

Unbelief and

Unforgiveness.

3.) The Spiritually Fat

These are those who sits in the pews/chairs of the church and just only receives the best revelation, but never gives it out to anyone else.

Remember in Rev 2:4 Jesus rebuked the Ephesus church for losing their first love.

Have you not see many times people sitting under a ministry, receiving so much revelation, and falling in the trap of only receiving and not giving out? This would always result in a decrease of spiritual hunger!

– Those who just receives and never give out!

THREE KINDS OF SPIRITUAL THIRST

1. Thirst of the Empty Soul

The natural, i.e. unconverted man or woman has an empty soul. Devoid of God, he is constantly in pursuit of that which will fill his emptiness.

The range of his mad scramble may include money, sex, power, houses, lands, sports, hobbies, entertainment, transcendence, significance, education, etc., while basically "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Ephesians 2:3).

2. Thirst of the Dry Soul

The difference between the empty soul and the dry soul is that one has never experienced "rivers of living water" (John 7:38) while the other has and knows what he is missing.

How is it then that a true believer in Christ can become a dry soul when Jesus promised that "whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst" (John 4:14)?

3. Thirst of the Satisfied Soul

Unlike the dry soul, the satisfied soul thirsts for God precisely because he is satisfied with God. He has "taste[d] and see[n] that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8), and the taste is so uniquely satisfying that he craves more.

The Apostle Paul personifies this in his famous exclamation, "that I may know Him" (Philippians 3:10).

Some Laws of the kingdom of God that Guarantees MORE

The Kingdom of God has Laws, and those who deals with God and hopes to please Him must observe these Laws.

The Laws are inflexible and of general in application.

Spiritual Law 1 The JUST shall

live by FAITH

Hab.2:14, Rom.1:17, Gal.3:11, Heb.10:38, 11:6

I never satisfy my thirst if I have more faith in me than I have in Jesus Christ:

Example (Mark 5:25-34)

The woman was in great need of physical healing

She has suffered for 12years

She believed that all she had to do was to touch His clothes to be healed.

After she did, she received Jesus’ undivided attention.

“Daughter, your faith has made you well”

Seeking the Lord does not mean trying to understand what He thinks but also implies wanting to know what He wants done and going ahead to do it in the way He way wants it done.

Spiritual Law 2 MAN shall not live

by BREAD alone…

Deut.8:3, Matt.4:4

The BREAD refer to ‘every other things’ to be added in Matt.6:33

It includes: money, sex, power, houses, lands, sports, hobbies, entertainment, transcendence, significance, education, other pleasures of life, etc.,

Esau’ & Judas lived by the BREAD and missed their destinies by whiskers!

The more of BREAD you labour for, the less of BWORD that you retain.

God most times may pass us through certain experiences to test us, humble us and to know what is in our hearts whether we would keep His commandments or not and to enable us learn the laws of the kingdom.

The word SHALL is a legislative word that carry a mandatory import. So, we can’t live by human standards as prescribed by our tribes, professions, class or nationality.

The link between this law and Law of faith is: We have to prove our faith by obedience to every WORD that proceeds from the mouth of GOD.

Spiritual Law 3

You shall not TEMPT the LORD your God

Deut.6:16, Matt.4:7

The wilderness journey of Israelites took them to Marah. Where they have no water to drink as they were thirsty.

They confronted Moses and murmured against him saying ‘he brought them here to kill them’.

These words connote: 1. That God has wrong motive for delivering them from Pharaoh hold. 2. They exasperated God with their words. 3. They tempt God.

Those who tempt God are rebellious, they blame God fro saving them, are ungrateful, have forgotten God’s work in their lives, they have gone astray in their hearts and don’t know God’s ways. They grieve God and stir up His wrath.

Spiritual Law 4

YOU shall WORSHIP the LORD your GOD and

Him only you shall SERVE

Deut.6:13, Matt.4:10,

Principles Of Worship

The basic principles of worship in the Kingdom are described in Matthew 6:1-18. Read this passage in your Bible. The basic principles of worship include:

Giving: Outward look Matthew 6:1-4Praying: Upward look Matthew 6:5-15Fasting: Inward look Matthew 6:16-18

All three areas of worship are to be done in secret in order to be blessed of God.

No amount of wealth, fame, riches, position, power should induce us to depart from the worship of the true God.

Getting involved in esoteric societies, cults, and groups for the purpose of POWER, PROMOTION and PROMINENCE is an aberration to WORSHIPPING God.

Many of us had developed INSTAMATIC MENTALITY when it comes to dealing with God.

Spiritual Law 5 GOD is a Rewarder

of those who diligently SEEK Him

Heb.11:6, Isa.55:6-7

Seeking the Lord is a long life pursuit. Like King David and Paul.

What is the GOD-CONTENT of your life?

Joseph sought the Lord in Egypt and it became a turning point for the destiny of the people.

Knowing the will of God in any situation, circumstances is priceless.

Case Study of King Uzziah

In 2 Chron 26:5, King Uzziah sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

His GOD CONTENT made him to prosper!

Spiritual Law 6

No One can SERVE two MASTERS… You cannot

SERVE GOD and Mammon

● Matt.6:24

Serving God does not necessarily mean doing religious things or taking part in church chores.

Serving God involves: your personal character, the choices you made, the service you render to others at work, business, in your profession and whatever you do towards men.

Spiritual Law 7

Without HOLINESS no man shall see

the Lord…● Heb.12:14

The problem with most people's concept of "holiness" … they think it is some state of spiritual depth that makes them more spiritual than others, or that it is some negative constrictive lifestyle that is boring and uninteresting.

In reality however, holiness in the Bible is an ACTION concept! Holiness is not just what we DON'T DO; it is very much what we POSITIVELY DO!

Holiness in the Bible is almost always connected with actual lifestyles, not just with some state of mind. It is very powerful, and very practical, and very positive!

The basic concept of holiness in the Bible is that of "separation," a separation from sin, and a separation to God!

We must be holy—because without holiness on earth, we should never be prepared and fit for heaven. It is written of the heavenly glory, "There shall never enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatever works abomination, or makes a lie" (Rev. 21:27).

Paul says expressly, "Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord!" (Heb. 12:14).

Would you continue holy, when you have once been made so? Then abide in Christ. He says Himself, "Abide in Me, and I in you. He who abides in Me, and I in him—brings forth much fruit" (John 15:4, 5).

Jesus is the Physician to whom You must daily go, if you would keep well. He is the Manna which you must daily eat, and the Rock of which you must daily drink. His arm is the arm on which you must daily lean, as you come up out of the wilderness of this world. You must not only be rooted, you must also be built up in Him.

Spiritual Law 8

Love the LORD GOD with all your heart….Love your

Neighbour as yourself…

● Matt.22:38-39,

Love God with Your EverythingMk.12:29-30

To love God is to enjoy God’s sustained favour.” Deuteronomy 7:9–10, Romans 8:28.

Love God with your passions, hungers, perceptions, and thoughts.

The Bible calls us to wholehearted, life-encompassing, community-impacting, exclusive commitment to our God.”

There needs to be an authentic love for God that starts with God-oriented affections, desires, and thoughts, that permeates our speaking and behavior, and then influences the way we spend our money and how we dress, and drive, and our forms of entertainment.

Whether we’re eating or singing, jogging or blogging, texting or drawing, love for Yahweh —the one true triune God — is to be in action and seen.

Spiritual Law 9

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility

toward one another,…

I Peter 5:5-6, Matt.23:10-12, Jas.4:6, Mic.6:8

Moses was said to be the meekest man on earth (Numb 12:3) but meekness is not weakness but it’s actually strength that is under control.

The fact is that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

The word James uses for “opposes” is the Greek word “antitasso” which means “to range in battle against” so we could put James 4:6 like this; “God is in battle against the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

A tender, humble heart is one that is receptive to change and one that is open to being in submission to God.

King Uzziah

2 Chron 26:5 - He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.

2 Chron 26:16 - But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

MORE FAITHMORE GRACEMORE HOLINESSMORE WORSHIPMORE SERVICE MORE OBEDIENCEMORE SEEKINGMORE HUMILITY

MORE of What?

PRACTICAL STEPS FOR THIRSTING AFTER

THE THIRST-SLAKER How To Respond And Grow In Your Hunger.

1. Develop Good Appetite to Eat Spiritual Food Regularly:

Feed yourself, don’t expect other’s food to be enough for you. Learn to encourage yourself in your faith.

While Christian community is necessary for encouragement, you cannot sustain true growth based on other people’s experiences in God.

We must learn to "taste and see that the Lord is good," as Psalm 34:8 encourages us to do.

You eat by Meditation only. Note "meditate," not merely read. Many languishing souls are assiduous Bible readers.

Without the addition of meditation, warned the great man of prayer and faith, George Muller, "the simple reading of the Word of God" can become information that "only passes through our minds, just as water passes through a pipe.

Reading provide for believer information, while mediation leads to revelation. Without absorption of the water of God's Word, there's no quench of our spiritual thirst. Meditation is the means of absorption

2. Pray, Pray through Scripture …& Pray Daily

After you read through a section of Scripture, pray through part of that same passage, and verse by verse, let the Words become the wings of your words to God.

Pray and pray, whether you feel “hungry”, or not. You may not feel hungry for God all day, But know your deep need for Him is real, whether you feel it or not, so pray and enter the Holy of holies daily!

We must realize that only God can satisfy us. No matter what else we try to substitute for Him, it will bring only passing pleasure.

Regardless of where in the Bible you have done your reading, we suggest that you turn to one of the Psalms and pray your way through as much of it as you can.

3. Read thirst-making writers

After the God-breathed words of the Bible, read the time-tested works of those Christian writers with a thirst-making pen.

If you can find the collection of Puritan prayers and devotions called The Valley of Vision, you will be blessed by reading it meditatively.

Don't neglect John Bunyan's classic, Pilgrim's Progress.

Read the more devotional pieces of Puritan writers such as John Owen, Richard Sibbes, Thomas Brooks, John Flavel, and Thomas Watson.

Enjoy the books and sermons of Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon, for they will be treasured as long as the church is on the earth.

Remember AW Tozer’s piece, and CS Lewis classics among others.

4. Demonstrate

Love.

Knowing God is not only about us, it is about pouring out what we have been given into the lives of others.

You cannot worship extravagantly and not love extravagantly. Loving others extravagantly is the way God created us to have more capacity to receive. (Luke 6:38).

It could be ministering to the physical, spiritual, or emotional needs of others.

5. Proper Attitude!

Have any of you ever heard someone say, “man he has an attitude?”

What do they mean by this? They mean a “bad” attitude!

The way we respond to the difficulties we face in life has a great deal to do with our attitude!

Do you remember the story of Joseph? What kind of attitude did he have and did this help him or hurt him?

6. Proper Acquaintances!

How many Christians have taken these passages on this too lightly! Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful

works of darkness, but rather expose them.

1 Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

2 Cor 6:17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.“

2 Cor 6:17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."

Prov 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

PROPERAcquaintances:-

Some Examplesfor Study

Amnon and Jonanad – IISam.13:1-21

Jonathan and David – I Sam.20:1-41

Judas Iscariot & Elders – Matt.26:14-16

Demas and worldly friends - IITim.4:10

John MacArthur said:

"If you claim a relationship with Christ but you aren't hungering and thirsting for righteousness, you need to honestly question whether you know Him."

Conclusion