"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6, ESV)
My stomach is growling for lunch even as I type. Everyone has experienced what it means to be hungry. The desire for food gets stirred. Discomfort follows the desire for food. Weakness follows discomfort. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." Spiritual hunger is first revealed to us when our spiritual man desires to be spiritually fed. Spiritual hunger is a 'spiritual mechanism' that causes us to look for God. God created us to be like this. He created us to be spiritually hungry so that we would look for Him. There is, in the heart of every man, the desire to connect with something bigger than himself. Discomfort is described as mild pain. Discomfort tells us something is wrong, but it is not overbearing. Spiritual discomfort is a mild pain from being separated from God. We want more of Him. This discomfort is described as being 'empty.' If that pain is not filled with an encounter with God, we will grow weak spiritually. But if we answer the call to seek Him when we are hungry for Him, we will find Him and be satisfied! Blessed and happy is the man who hungers for righteousness. For as he seeks after God, he lives with the promise to be filled/satisfied! Be thankful when you are spiritually hungry for your seeking God-initiative is 'kicking in' and you are about to be filled. Keep seeking Him!
0 Comments
"Besides this, you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed." (Romans 13:11, ESV)
When our boys were little, I used to wake them up to the tune of Reveille, "It's time to get up. It's time to get up. It's time to get up in the morning!" Paul tells the church, "It is time to wake up from sleep!" The implication is that the church has fallen asleep. It is no longer prepared for the arrival of Jesus. Jesus in John 17:1–3 also speaks of "the hour has come." It was not an hour of resignation to death. It was the realization of all that He had been preparing for! Revival is not needed because of the condition of the world. Revival is necessary because of the condition of the church. Revival returns the church and the saints from backsliding. It gets the church right with God! Saints come out of secret sins and shake off lethargy. When the church gets right with God, the 'fire' jumps out of the pews and into the streets. Holy Spirit conviction falls on lost communities, resulting in radical salvations. In Romans 13:11–14, Paul says, Wake up! Cast off the darkness! Put on the light of Christ! Make no provision for the flesh! Roar, Lion of Judah! Roar over Your bride! May we hear the reveille of heaven and awaken from our slumber! No more business as usual! "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John," (Revelation 1:1, ESV)
You must see Jesus to overcome! Seeing Jesus empowers us to overcome sin, trials, crises, pain, loss, and disappointments. In crisis, the question we must ask is, "Where is God?" If I can see Him amid my struggles, I will overcome. The first five words of the Book of Revelation are: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." It is not the revelation of the end times. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ! You must see Jesus to overcome in this life. Also, notice that the revelation is given to John to give to the servants of Jesus Christ. He wants us to see Him in all things we face. The Father knew that the only thing that would empower an end-time church to face wickedness, disappointment, adversity, pain, and loss would be a revelation of His Son, Jesus Christ. Have you noticed there are thirty-four truths about the majesty of Jesus Christ found in the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation? Seeing Jesus and setting my eyes on Him gives me spiritual blinders to focus on Him during difficulties. He is bigger than anything I will ever face, so I must keep my eyes on Him. If I do not, I will begin to sink into fear. May we receive revelation knowledge of Jesus Christ! "He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15, ESV)
"Who do you say I am?" is a question of identity. If you do not have a correct image of who Jesus is, you will never truly understand who you are in Christ. The context of Matthew 16:15 is a place called Caesarea Philippi. It was the location of a freshwater spring and connected to several roadways. Many cultural religions collided here, along with their foreign gods. The twelve start their most intensive training in the chaos and 'uncleanness.' of all these religions. Jesus asks them, "Who do men say I am?" (How do others see me?) Jesus is helping these soon-to-be apostles to focus on Him. It was an all-eyes-on-Jesus moment. In a world of many gods, you have to be able to identify the one true God and fix your eyes on Him. The next question goes deeper: "Who do you say I am?" (How do you see me?) That is a very personal question! Everyone must answer that question. Peter has the best answer: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." You are anointed, Messiah. You are the Son of God, sent by the Father. Peter's answer was a revelation from God to Peter! It would be the bedrock foundation on which the church would be built. Look into Jesus' eyes and answer, "Who do you say I am?" “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30, ESV)
It is customary to put blinders on racehorses before the race. The blinders block out distractions or frightening things the horse may see. The blinders keep the horse looking straight ahead. They keep the horse from being afraid. They help the horse focus on running the race. We, too, are to focus on running the race before us. Life is full of things that make us fearful or cause us to become distracted. Like the racehorse, we need to put on spiritual blinders that keep us from looking at the scary stuff in life and focus on running the race. It can be easy to lose sight of our Christian beliefs when we go through adversity. For example, in faith, Peter got out of the boat to walk on the water toward Jesus. His eyes were fixed on Jesus! But something happened while he was walking on the water. He took his eyes off Jesus for a moment, saw the wind and the waves, became afraid, and started to sink. Peter could walk on the water by faith as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. We are called to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Fix your eyes on Jesus, step out of the boat, and start walking. You will make history and leave a legacy of faith! "And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him." (Luke 4:20, ESV)
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Why? Because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah was on the move! Lions in the wild roar for three main reasons. One, they communicate relationally through their roar. Two, they roar to scare away intruders. Third, they roar to demonstrate health and strength. Fourth, they roar to communicate their location with other pride members. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is roaring! He roars because He wants a relationship with us. He roars to warn and frighten intruders. He roars to let the church know where He is and where He is going! Jesus is on the move! Those in the synagogue were amazed at the word of the Lord spoken by Jesus. They fixed their eyes on Him because they expected something to happen. Listen to these words from Hebrews 12:2 in the Message Bible: "Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God." I greatly encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus! |
Bringing Freedom and Life to People and Glory to God!
© 2015 Freedom Christian Center, Inc., all rights reserved.
|