Holy Hunger

Holy Hunger

Text: Ps.107: 9

Intro: Webster defines hunger as, “A strong desire; craving.” This strong desire and craving is usually thought of in the context of food. But actually, a person can experience a hunger for almost anything.

The world in which we live is literally full of hungry people. Some, unfortunately, hunger for food. They simply don’t have a sufficient amount to eat. Others hunger for less vital things, such as power, popularity, success, or material gain.

But whatever the object of a person’s hunger, it often leads them to make certain sacrifices to satisfy their craving and desire for it. A person who is truly physically hungry won’t be very picky about what they eat, as long as it’s food. A person who is hungry for success or material gain might be willing to sacrifice almost anything to get them. Sometimes they go so far as to sacrifice not only time and energy, but also friendships, and perhaps even their family.

One fact of life is that not everyone’s hunger is going to be satisfied. For instance, “one in twelve people worldwide [are] malnourished, including 160 million children under the age of 5;” “six million children under the age of 5 die every year as a result of hunger;” “it is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.”

In like manner, many people work all their lives to gain all that the world has to offer, perhaps accumulating great stores of worldly possessions, and yet die unfulfilled and miserable.

The truth of the matter is that earthly things never really satisfy. One may hunger for food, but even if their craving is satisfied once, it will only return. If one acquires great riches, they often only want more and more. There is however, a type of hunger that can be positively satisfied. What’s more, it is a hunger that every child of God should possess. That desire—that craving of which I speak is a holy hunger for God.

It’s amazing these days to observe the scores of people who claim to be saved, and yet demonstrate no hunger for God, or the things of God. They acknowledge God and His Church, but they’ll make no sacrifices for either. It’s sort of a “take it or leave it” proposition with them. I’ll tell you folks; there’s something wrong with that kind of so-called Christianity!

My prayer is that God will do such a work on us as a church, that we will never lose our appetite for Him. Notice with me today some things that will be true of a person who has a holy hunger for God.

Theme: Some indications of a holy hunger are that:

I. THE HUNGRY SOUL SEEKS THE LORD

A. They Seek God’s Person.

1. Moses wanted to know God personally.

Ex.33: 11a “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…”

Ex.33: 13a “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee…

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21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift (cleft) of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

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Ex.34: 5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.”

NOTE: [1] You’ll notice in the verses just read from Exodus, that Moses wasn’t simply interested in getting to see the awesome power of God. He wanted to know the very person of God. He didn’t want a relationship with God that was plastic, but one that was personal.

[2] A lot of Christian people these days are obsessed with the miracles of God. Don’t get me wrong; I am amazed anytime God performs a miracle for someone. But folks, those things should point one back to God Himself. The point is never God’s miracles, but the Master. The power of God is never the point, but the person of God. God has given His children the capacity to know Him personally, through daily fellowship with Him. Why focus your attention on the gifts of God when you can have God the Giver? The late Manley Beasley once related the following story: