ALL IN
ALL IN
Week 1: Thirsty – Desire
Thirsty -
Running Waters - Deny Yourself - Call to Fast (Jan 8 – Jan 28)
Rough Waters – Take Up Your Cross - Power
Deep Waters – Follow Me -
The New Year is usually all about starting over and to be honest it is based upon just us. But maybe this year can be different. Maybe, just maybe we make the New Year that we are ALL IN about Jesus. Instead of making new resolutions that we usually drop before the month is over, we can make a decision to be ALL IN with God!!!
Now, maybe you have used these two words before to describe something in your life that you were doing. In my life , I’ve used them to describe a sport I played growing up. When I lived in Augusta, one of my best friends, Chris Smith and I were season ticket holders to UGA. Now that we have both moved, him to Charlotte and of course me to Waycross we text constantly during the games. One of the very first things we text before the game officially starts is…ALL IN and the other one will reply with “with NO PLAN B.
Now as silly as that phrase sounds, and as challenging as it is during the ebbs and flow of a game, it means not stopping short or walking away when it gets too tough. It’s about giving it my all no matter what the outcome. No bandwagon fan here. We were fans even before all of the success.
In American churches sermons have become more about how you have to discover yourself. It's all about me, myself, and I. They teach where you do whatever you want. You don't have to give your life for Jesus. Nothing has to change.
Jesus said it like this…
Matthew 16:24-25 New King James Version
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires (1) to come after Me, let him deny (2) himself, and take up his cross (3), and follow Me (4). 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
This week I want to bring out the word, Desire…
THIRST – DESIRE
What do you thirst for? When you feel parched? What do thirst for when hanging around your friends? What do you thirst for when you eat your favorite meal? Watch your favorite sports? Show? Etc.
Why is that question important?
Desire Determines Destiny.
As long as desire is burning, there is always fuel to keep it going, for desire determines destiny.
Football games are not won in the first half when both teams are fresh. Victory comes in the second half when their bodies ache, and they only want the grueling punishment to end. That is when the team with the deepest desire digs to the depths of their being for that reserve energy to keep going. If there is no deep desire to win, it is all over. If it is there, however, there is no telling what kind of spectacular plays will be made. Deep burning desire drives a team
to do in a few minutes what they could not do in hours.
Proverbs 4:23 New Living Translation
23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Everything you do proceeds from the desires of the heart. The course of your life is profoundly affected by the desires that dominate your heart. The proverb begins with the words,
“Above all else.” Make it your top priority to monitor the desires that arise in your heart.
The Living Bible says,
23 Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life.
Guard your affections not just check them. The implication of the verse is that you can do that by the grace of God. You can, and you must manage the internal motivations of your heart.
Colossians 3:2 King James Version
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Again, the implication is that you can do that by the grace of God.
Jesus said it this way,
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
As you know, we are planning a revival. Here are the particulars:
____
Dates and Times – Jan 21 Sun 6PM
Mon – Wed 7PM
Location: Pebble Hill
Speaker: Bishop Bussey
…..and he will bring his church with him…
The theme will be I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT
Then on - Jan 28 Sun 6PM
Mon – Wed 7PM
Location: Victory Temple
Speaker: Christian Walker
____
So we are planning a revival but the attitude of our hearts may affect our opportunity to participate in the revival.
Isaiah 57:15 NLT
15 The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.
The attitude of the heart is a factor in determining who gets revived by the Holy Spirit. In that verse God connects attitude of heart with revival.
Who gets revived? Who gets refreshed? Who gets filled?
The humble and repentant…
There is a relationship between getting filled and hungry and thirsty (Desire).
Do you desire more of God?
Isaiah 55:1-3 New Living Translation
55 “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free!
2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.
3 “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.
In Isaiah, the one who comes to the waters and the one who comes to buy imperishable food is the same as the one who listens carefully: “Listen carefully to Me … Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live …”
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
I. The OBJECT of the Desire is clearly stated.
According to Jesus, what are we supposed to be hungry and thirsty for? What are we supposed to desire?
RIGHTEOUSNESS!
What is righteousness? In a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God.
Right standing or right doing
I don’t know if you have ever thought about it and now that I have it comes as a surprise. You would think the verse would read this way:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God or perhaps more of God.
But Jesus is very specific here. The objective of desire is righteousness.
Many in the church today desire a refreshing. Many want to feel God’s presence in their church service. A great number just want God to enrich their marriage or advance their career. People come to church desiring all kinds of things.
Why are you here this morning? What do you want? What is most important to you?
Where does righteousness place in the hierarchy of your desires?
Further in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed us concerning priorities when he said, “. . . seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33).
There is that word “righteousness” again.
Couldn’t he have just said, “. . .seek first the kingdom of God” and simply let righteousness be implied? He could have, but he didn’t.
The word “righteousness” is not there by accident.
We can look around the church today and understand the importance of adding the words “and His righteousness.”
Most church people in America want an easy “believe-ism”.
What is that?
It’s professing Jesus but leaves their lifestyle substantially unchanged but guarantees a ticket to heaven when they die. They want a mild form of Christianity that does not upset their personal agenda too much.
This is actually one of the signs of the Last Days:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 New Living Translation
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
It doesn’t say, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for heaven.
What are our motives for wanting revival? The most common reason Christians want revival is to feel better.
As you know, my desire is to invite the presence of God into each and every one of our services. But we must be careful that the end-objective is to not simply to get refreshed and feel better.
Refreshing is a good thing!!! But the refreshing should lead to character development and evangelism.
The text does not say Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for an emotional lift or to feel better.
Do you feel stunted in your spiritual growth?
Maybe it is because you are not desiring more righteousness. You have become quite content to attend church on Sunday morning and live the rest of the week much like the world.
The desire of your heart is not to be more like Jesus. Your heart is not motivated to pursue righteousness. Oh you may want some good things. You may want Pebble Hill to grow. You may want your family to get along. You may even desire greater ministry expression.
Those are good things if they are sought under that higher objective of being righteous.
The blessing Jesus is pronouncing is on those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
See, Jesus is saying we should desire “Right-standing with God” which only comes through Him so that we can desire “right-doing” in our life which comes through Him.
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
II. The NATURE of the desire is portrayed as “hunger and thirst.”
This desire is ongoing in the Christian’s life. It does not end when we get born again. In fact, it grows from that day forward.
The Greek words translated hunger and thirst are present active participles.
It’s not just something you did in the past. It is an ongoing desire of your heart. You have entered into a level of righteousness in your walk with God, but you long to be more like Jesus. You long to put away every vice that hinders your intimacy with the Father. You want to be upright in all that you do so that the Father is pleased.
Paul expressed this mindset
Philippians 3:10-14 New International Version
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
At that point, had Paul suffered any for Christ? Yes. In fact, he is writing this letter from a Roman prison. Had Paul experienced the power of Christ’s resurrection in his ministry? In Christ’s name he had healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. When he wrote this, he knew Christ intimately. But there was a hunger and thirst in his heart for more.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Are you pressing “to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of for you?
Are you desiring to follow Him in the present tense? It’s not a one-time thing; it is an ongoing desire in the believer’s heart.
In Luke’s gospel, he adds the word “now”
Luke 6:21 NKJV
“Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled.”
I’m glad you were hungry and thirsty when you first started attending Pebble Hill. But are you hungry and thirsty now? Are you hungering and thirsting for more of God and his righteousness now?
The desire in our text is intense.
Hunger is an intense desire. This is not the mere craving for a food like we often experience in America. We’re so dramatic: “I’m starving for pizza.” No. If you were starving you would not be that picky.
Real hunger is a driving force. It captures the mind and motivates action to satisfy that desire.
Thirst can be even more intense. You can last several days without food. But after three- or four-days thirst can be extremely fierce. A man dying of thirst wants water more than anything else.
You can offer them anything (gold, fame, notoriety, etc) and they will put it aside. It is all meaningless to them. The desire to satisfy that thirst is all-consuming.
Either metaphor, hunger or thirst, communicates intensity. But Jesus uses the double metaphor of hunger and thirst, to indicate the heightened degree of the desire.
Hunger and thirst do not represent casual desire. It’s an ALL IN! type of desire.
The blessing is not for the half-hearted, lukewarm Christian. It is not for people who are double minded about their pursuit of God and his righteousness. The desire here is so passionate that nothing can replace it. ALL IN!!
See, when we fuel one desire, it tends to diminish other desires. Everything can’t be the priority in our lives. The good news is this: you can choose which desires you will nurture and cultivate.
Typically, the alcoholic does not become hooked on beer and spirits with one use. He drinks it, likes the feeling of the buzz, and goes back to it over and over. The more he drinks, the more he desires it. He has (through his own choices and continued pursuit) cultivated a passionate desire for the alcohol.
A person gets hooked on drugs, pornography, shopping addition, a gambling addiction, all develop by choosing that activity over and over.
When the Bible tells us to PURSUE after righteousness
1 Timothy 6:11 New King James Version
11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
You can choose to nurture this desire for righteousness. You can choose to practice it and experience the affirmation that comes from God when you make that choice. You can embrace the biblical disciples that promote righteousness in your life.
Practical ways of PURSUING RIGHTEOUSNESS..
PRAYER: Communion with God in prayer stirs desire for righteousness. Use Prayer as an exchange…This means that the goal of prayer is not answered prayer, but divine desire. The highest goal of prayer is not to get what we want, but to come to want what God wants us to have. We see this so clearly in Christ's prayer battle in Gethsemane.
WORD OF GOD: Meditating on God’s word reinforces hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Psalm 1:1-2 NLT
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
Delight means desire! He desires the Word of God, and he cultivates that desire through meditation every day. Do you desire God’s Word?
The Bible is our greatest source of truth. It gives us the practical ways that we can align the desires of our hearts with God’s desires. When it comes to our spiritual growth, desire is the fuel. Without we just simply won’t operate in the same way. God wants us to desire Him above all else. He wants us to desire to know Christ and make Him known. He wants us to crave to drink from His living well – one that is full of life, love, righteousness, mercy, and grace. Jesus shows us how to have a holy desire for the Father and make Him known to all nations.
FELLOWSHIP: When you fellowship with believers who desire righteousness, they tend to stir you in that direction. And if you desire righteousness, you encourage them in that as well. These are some ways that you cultivate hunger in your hearts for “the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
Hebrews 10:25-26 New Living Translation
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.
WALK IN THE SPIRIT:
I want point out that the text does not say, “Blessed are the righteous.”
That could be very intimidating for us to read. For we are all aware of our shortcomings in righteousness. Paul points this out:
Galatians 5:17 New Living Translation
17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
Everything around us is a temptation, a challenge. We get angry, jealous and envious, and things take our focus away from Jesus.
So what do we do? Good news! Paul tells us in the preceding verse:
Galatians 5:16 New Living Translation
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Matthew 5:6 NKJV
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
III. The RESULT of the Desire for Righteousness
What will be the result if we hunger and thirst after righteousness? We desire Righteousness?
It says… For they shall be filled.
The Greek word translated “filled” is translated as “saturated.”
You will be completely filled! Fully satisfied. The certainty of this is based on the TRUTH that you are wanting what God wants you to have. There are some desires that God is absolutely committed to fulfilling. This is at the top of the list. If you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, you can be very sure that God is on board with that pursuit. In fact, he inspired it, and he will fulfill it. Jesus read this scripture in the Temple:
Isaiah 61:1-3 New Living Translation
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners will be freed.
2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn
that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.
3 To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory.
God’s invitation
They pursue it because they have seen its value.
Here is my prayer this morning:
Luke 24:32 New Living Translation
32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
Their desire for God, which was cold and lifeless before, had now been rekindled.
ARE YOU ALL IN?