Title: Gluttony: The Hunger to be Filled
Text: Matthew 5:6
FCF: Our desire to be filled with anything other than Christ is deadly.
Outline:
1. Stats on Hunger
a. Obesity Rates
b. Dos Manos Burrito
c. Other things we try to fill (Alcohol, Drugs, Sex)
2. Hunger is a Signal
a. Needed signal to keep nutrients in body
b. Fasting doesn’t work, Water diet?
3. Hunger is a Passion
a. Video Gamer deaths
b. Jennifer Strange – Hold your Wee for a Wii
4. Hunger is filled by God
a. Augustine (Restless), Lewis (God-Shaped Hole)
b. We want a taste of heaven
c. Sex (Intimacy); Power (to Fix); Food ( God’s Creation)
The point is, these hungers are really nothing but legitimate desires gone wrong. Misinterpreted. Signals crossed. The remedy, then, isn’t to ignore the hunger, it’s to direct it
5. Be filled with the Word
a. Fasting
b. Reading the Word (Ps 19)
c. Church (And it’s Groom!)
This church may not fill you, but it’s groom…
He had a passion for life just like you and me. He went to parties, he made good wine, he loved it. But he had an even greater passion, and even greater love. He choose to love us, and in doing so, he made it possible for us to be with him for ever.
You can receive that love. You can be filled. But only if you will realize that this passion will be greater than all the others. He loves you, if only you will be filled him.
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As recently as 1991, only 4 states in the union could muster obesity rates as high as 15-19%, defined as 30 lbs or more than average body weight. By 2005, the situation had completely reversed – only 4 states could say their obesity rates were in the 15 – 19% category, every other state was higher. In fact, three states – Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia were in all sense of the word, over 30%.
It isn’t hard to figure out why – you only need to see what we are filling ourselves with. McDonalds, for instance, has decided that a Quarter Pounder is no longer big enough. Their new Triple Angus burger boasts one third of a pound of beef. Or, perhaps closer to home for me, I decided to investigate the calories inside a Baja Fresh Steak Burrito, Dos Manos, Enchilado style. Just that one plate, plus the chips would give 3260 calories.
To put that in perspective, a 5’9” male weighing 195 pounds, only needs 1665 calories per day to maintain his weight. Or, to put it another way, while the average American may consume 3600 calories, the average Somalian will consume only 3000 calories in two days.
As Americans, we fill ourselves with all sorts of things that are killing us, and not just food. The CDC reports that nearly 400,000 Americans die preventable deaths each year from smoking , and 75,000 from alcohol.
And the list doesn’t even stop there. There seems to be an insatiable hunger for drugs, alternative spiritualities and other deadly choices. How we choose to feed these hungers is literally killing us. Yes, of all the seven deadly sins we’ve been examining, gluttony is probably the easiest to quantify, and the hardest for us to admit.
It’s biological, we say. We’re just designed to eat. And that’s true! We all hunger, and that’s not wrong. But how we fill that hunger will literally determine whether we live or die.
Jesus understood this, and that’s why he gave us this morning’s text. As he began his Sermon on the Mount, he just mentioned all sorts of normal people, and why God loves them. Blessed are the poor, he said, blessed are the merciful. But within this list he calls out one specific population that we need to hear. He said, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Now I’d like you see what Jesus is saying her on the subject of gluttony. It isn’t wrong to hunger, it isn’t even wrong to be filled. In fact, Jesus is saying you should hunger, and you should be filled. It’s just that if you want to be filled, you need to direct your passion for righteousness.
--Hunger is a Signal--
Before I talk about how to be filled, however, I need to talk about the hunger for a minute. You see, hunger is, in fact a natural mechanism. We need it. The body needs certain chemicals to stay alive. If we don’t eat them, we die.
But you know, our bodies give us all sorts of signals, and sometimes it’s easy to confuse them.
Have you ever had a stressful day at work, ready to hit the sack, only to realize you can’t fall asleep? Your body knows it needs a certain amount of physical activity in a day. You can be exhausted mentally without breaking a sweat physically. But it’s hard to tell the difference.
Physically you can eat as much as your stomach can accommodate, but without the right nutrients, you still feel hunger. So, you keep eating. That’s why I could actually consume a Baja Fresh Dos Manos burrito, and still feel hungry. How many vegetable servings in that, eh?
The trick isn’t to stop eating, it’s to eat correctly. In fact, if you want the worst possible way of dieting, you would fast. Trust me, I’ve done this. You can go without eating, but you know what? You don’t lose much weight. The reason is your body knows it isn’t getting enough, so it slows down the metabolism. And so, you’re hungry, but you aren’t losing weight. Now, if instead you choose to eat less, the body doesn’t stop – it just starts burning reserves, and you lose it.
But what about the hunger, you say? Well, let me suggest something. Could it be that you’re just confusing the signal? Before I snack, I make sure I drink a glass of cold water, and then I wait. I’m not a dietician here, but I can tell you I’ve lost 12 pounds since the New Year just by doing this. The problem isn’t the hunger; it’s how you address it.
--Hunger is a Passion--
Let me tell you something else. Hunger can be more than physical. Again, Jesus says as much when he links hunger and thirst to righteousness.
It is amazing what we will do when we a driven by passion. Reuters is reporting this week, for instance, that a 26 year old video gamer went home for the Chinese New Year. And, just to let you know that it isn’t just Americans who overeat, I should tell you this guy was 330 lbs. Anyway, while this kid was home, he started playing World of Warcraft – a highly addictive video game. He is passionate about this alternative world.
I know people who play that game. They do it because of the excitement, the ability to interact with other people – they are passionate about it. There used to be a game called Everquest – or Evercrack – that engendered the same passions. It was literally an addiction, a drug, a hunger that had to be filled for these people.
The passions overtook marriages, jobs, and in the case of this 26 year old, it took his life. The stress of a full week literally gave him a heart attack. In January, a Korean kid died after 51 hours straight. These passions to be immersed can kill.
I’m sure you’ve also heard the case of Jennifer Strange. A 28 year old mother of three, she had a hunger for a Nintendo Wii. She decided to enter a radio contest called “Hold your Wee for a Wii.” In order to win a $250 video game system, she kept drinking more and more water, without listening to the very natural signals her bladder was sending. Ultimately, she couldn’t even keep up, and eventually had to bow out. She was in tears. She really wanted that Wii.
But a few hours later, she started getting dizzier and dizzer until she collapsed. Not long after that, she died. It’s called Hypoxia. She had drunk so much water that the salts her body needed to live were diluted. She had literally died from drinking too much – water! She let her hunger for a toy outpace her passion for life.
I know you’re probably thinking by now, “Glad I’m not a gamer!” But do you see how these passions can override sensible hunger? Whether its food or sex or anything else, it’s not the hunger but the passion that needs to be controlled.
-- Hunger can be filled by God --
And in order to fill a passion, you have to understand what it’s trying to satisfy. That brings me to my last point, namely that Hunger can be filled by God.
The greatest theologian of all Christendom, Augustine, once said, “Our hearts are restless ‘til we find our rest in Thee.” One of my favorites, C.S. Lewis described it as “the God-shaped hole.” The point is actually pretty simple: We all have a hunger for God.
Now, you might be saying to yourself: What hunger? God? I just want … I’m sure you can fill in the blank. Can I suggest that all passions, all hungers, ultimately boil down this: We all really want a taste, not of earth, but heaven.
Think about the person who has an insatiable need for sex. Do you think he’s really looking for a physical release, or intimacy. And what is intimacy but the desire to be joined, like we will in heaven.
Or the guy who wants power – maybe even for good reasons. Why does he want power? Because he wants to fix things – Bring about order, just like there will be in heaven.
It almost seems anti-climatic to think about food. But again, what is food, but God’s creation? Tell me what would rather have – a McDonald’s pre-processed patty, or just a nicely cooked steak. And if I can enjoy a nice tasty piece of fallen creation, aren’t you just the least bit interested in the perfect one?
The point is, these hungers are really nothing but legitimate desires gone wrong. Misinterpreted. Signals crossed. The remedy, then, isn’t to ignore the hunger, it’s to direct it. And so, in the time I have left, could I suggest a few simple strategies to address that?
One joy I’ve been discovering this year is the joy of fasting. You might be saying to yourself, how can starving yourself be a joy? Well, I’ll tell you what I do: I skip just one or two meals, and I try to spend that time in prayer. I’m not asking for things, I’m just trying to direct my passion back to the Author of my passions. It’s even better than cheesecake. And trust me, that means something!
Maybe you don’t feel like you can skip a meal. That’s fine. You can still fast. If you look at Daniel 10:2, you’ll see his fast was just from all the deserts. The point isn’t to starve yourself, but rather to focus yourself, focus your passions on God. It isn’t not eating, it’s being filled with the best! It’s just correcting the signal.
May I also suggest, listen to Jesus when he reminds us that ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ Notice what he recommends: the Word of God. Psalm 19 says it is be desired more than gold, yea than much fine gold. It’s sweeter than a honeycomb. Think of it as a seafood delicacy for everyone. If you can read, you can focus your passion on him. As Good Eats chef Alton Brown would say, “Your patience will be rewarded!”
A food critic can’t prove to you how good food can really be. He can only recommend you try it. As a pastor, think of me as your Zagat. I can point you to treasures you’ll find, but you have to eat it.
And finally, if you just need a first course, look no further than this, your church. Tell me I’m not lying when I say the biggest passion we all have is to be loved. I’m not going to tell you that every person in this church is going to make you feel loved every minute of every day, but I can tell you this: This bride’s husband has already proved it.
He had a passion for life just like you and me. He went to parties, he made good wine, he loved it. But he had an even greater passion, and even greater love. He choose to love us, and in doing so, he made it possible for us to be with him for ever.
You can receive that love. You can be filled. But only if you will realize that this passion will be greater than all the others. He loves you, if only you will be filled him.
You can too, if you’d pray with me.
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Scientists have long warned us of the dangers of bad lifestyle choices. Recently, they’ve even done studies proving that if we could reduce our caloric intake by 30%, we would, on average, live to be 120.
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Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Meditation Isaiah 55:1-3
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #746
“He Keeps Me Singing”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer [See Insert]
*Hymn #548
“As the Deer”
*Responsive Lesson [See Right]
*Hymn #389
“Spirit of the Living God”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow / Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise him above, ye heavenly host / Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Scripture Isaiah 55:1-3; Matthew 5:6
Sermon
“Gluttony: The Hunger that must be Filled”
Invitation Hymn BH#345 (Music BH#375)
“Satisfied”
*Benediction Matthew 5:6
*Congregational Response
May the grace of Christ our Savior / And the Father’s boundless love
With the Holy Spirit’s favor / Rest upon us from above. Amen.
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
RESPONSIVE LESSON
As the deer longs for the water, so my soul longs after you, O God.
I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go to stand before him?
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of fine wine and good milk— it’s all free!
Why do you spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why do you labor for food that does not satisfy?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands?
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry. But then he fed you with manna,
a food previously unknown to you or your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Jesus told his tempter: “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that simply will ruin your life. Rather, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. You will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ps 42:1-2;Is 55:1-3;Dt 8:2-3;Mt 4:4;Mt 5:6;Eph 5:17-20;Is 55:6-7;Ro 15:13
MORNING PRAYER
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread that he may live in us, and we in him; He who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. We ask that in your wholeness you would restore us unto you. Forgive us now these things we confess:
PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SIN
Bread of Life, Fill us and bring us to you we pray.
Bread of life, you who satisfy our every need, we raise to you these whom we love, who have need of your healing, your protection, and your provision. Specifically, we lift up
Lillian & Natalie’s Schulz’s sister
Corey Keely ∞ Andy Phelps
Irene Griffith ∞ Martha Puryear
Warren Lee ∞ Susan Schulz
Jim Schulz
And for these too we pray:
PRAY FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS
Bread of Life, Fill us and bring us to you we pray.
Bread of life, provide for our nation, too. In these perilous times we humbly acknowledge that only in your protection do we rise or fall. Grant our country and our leaders the knowledge of you we pray, that we might seek your face. Call us, this your church to come before you and seek to live in your ways, we pray:
PRAY FOR YOUR COUNTRY AND CHURCH
Bread of Life, Fill us and bring us to you we pray.
Fill us each day with your love, fill us each day with your word. Fill even our prayers with the words you taught us, as we pray: Our Father, who art in heaven …
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please join us after church in the Sunday School room for lunch & a movie. We’ll be watching “Leap of Faith.” There’ll be as much lasagna and salad as you care to eat
Looking for a good deal on a book? JoAnne Cross will be at the Book Cellar – a great place for used books – on Saturday. She’d love to have you come by (or is that buy?)! The Book Cellar is located near the Phelps building in Warrenton.
Saturday night, Middleburg Methodist Church is hosting a benefit dinner and silent auction at the Middleburg Community Center in order to raise money for Fish and Seven Loaves. Last year even featured country square dancing. Who knows, you may even find that dining room table you’ve been searching for! Talk to Sally Witt for details.
SCRIPTURE READING
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
Isaiah 55:1-3 (ESV)
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6 (KJV)
