BLESSED ARE THE HUNGRY
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." - Matt 5:6
It may not really be reasonable to see the blessing in hunger, but for that which will satisfy the spirit man - there has to be a hunger. When a man is not hungry feeding may be a task, when a man is not hungry especially as regards the things of the spirit, he loathes the bread of life, when a man refuses to be hungry for righteousness, he will be well fed in the body but malnourished in the spirit.
If the church is seen as a time of leisure then we can accurately deduce that there is no hunger, if worship is more of an acting than an experience, then hunger is absent, to be hungry for righteousness is to possess an undeniable and obsess desire for God, it is to embark on a quest to know God beyond the surface and to strive for a filling.
The truth is that, in this spiritual race - hungry men are men full of the spirit, those who are hungry are knowledgeable, those who are hungry have an uncommon zeal that drives them even when heads are bowed. Hungry men are those who continually abide in the shadow of the almighty. They cannot be psyched to worship and the environment can never influence their worship, be it one or two, even if they are standing alone - they will lift their hearts to heaven and run in accomplishing a mission for God - it is a quest for God.
Hunger is a natural phenomenon that occurs in everyone, sometimes we may not be hungry to eat at home because we may have eaten somewhere else or taken junx along the way. This same thing also occurs for the believer who refuses to hunger for righteousness; it is possible that you are being fed with carnality and you expect your spirit man to grow. It is possible that you may have been feeding on chaff of religion and tradition yet, you want to grow in spirit. This is an abnormality and it doesn't occur so.
For one to be hungry for righteousness, one must first recognise the meal and desire it genuinely, then a natural hunger comes. We must reject every other diet that is not spiritual, we must insist on the heavenly meal for a healthy spirit man. This is the way to go.
HUNGER FOR THE BREAD OF LIFE
"And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" - John 6:35
I know for a fact that the church is always full on those days where food will be shared, people will not want to miss such an occasion and Jesus had this same challenge in His time. While the physical food is a crowd puller any day anytime, we must also press for the bread of life. We must develop that kind of desperation for the Bread of Life.
Jesus took out time to dish the word of God to the people, but most of them were not concerned about that. This is the challenge of the church today, men appear in church only to find a connection or business to fill their stomachs, but they ignore the bread of life. It will also be instructive to draw our hearts to wisdom this day, the man who has the bread of life cannot really be hungry in the physical. Such a man cannot even die.
It is an abnormality to seek the bread that will perish at the expense of the everlasting bread. It is an abnormality to ignore the Bread of Life because the wheat bread is now in abundance - men have a tendency of always developing such hunger. We must stick to the Bread of life, it satisfies the soul and make the spirit man strong. I hope you know Jesus is the bread of life, and He is also the Word of God.
"Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.'" - John 6:53
In case you are the kind of person who is keen on healthy eating, if you have not taken the bread of life, it is necessary to state here now that, you have no life in you at all. Everyone should grow to that point where they desire Jesus more than the daily bread He brings. It is in Him that we have eternal life, but to ignore this fact, is to keep on feeding fat for death.
This bread of life is living, because the Bread Himself speaks, it speaks life in us and the best way to assess this Bread is through His word. Some people felt like Jesus was not in His right mind, when He declared Himself as bread, they wondered if they will have to eat Him - and saw impossibility. Many departed from Him that day because of this teaching, but indeed the Bread of life says this is My body.
Everything about Jesus is food to the soul, everything concerning Jesus is growth to the Spirit man, if men will just go beyond their senses and put faith in action, they will see that His flesh is meat indeed.
BE SATISFIED
"For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." - Psalm 107:9
There are those who have tasted and they know that the Lord is good. But there are those who are now testing Him and of course, they will get their fingers burnt. We must move beyond the level of tasting and move to the point of satisfaction in Jesus. There is no fear of overfeeding, there is no caution, only eat and be filled.
The journey is far as it was told unto Elijah, you too must know that the journey may be far, why not eat to your satisfaction. While the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, there was always a daily bread for them to eat to their satisfaction, and God was the supplier - we too must constantly have our daily fill of Jesus for the journey that is before us.
You must first be filled before you can be a source to feed others - the Lord wants the fed to help the hungry feed, but it is an anomaly for a hungry man to feed the hungry. It shouldn't always be like that. There is satisfaction in Christ and everything we need to attain any point of spiritual heights is in Jesus.
"So she said, 'As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." - 1Kings 17:12
Sometimes what we have or know of Christ may be too small and we think we can never find satisfaction in Him. Some have even seen the small measure and have taken to fate, they think to themselves that if only this knowledge of Christ will serve them till they die...but let me state clearly, that the man who values the little He knows of Christ has a big chance to increase in the knowledge of Him.
Every Word, every experience, no matter how little it may appear has an inherent potential to increase us into another spiritual realm higher than little. Let every man who has experienced Christ to a certain measure trust that satisfaction can be attained if one values the little. Valuing will entail giving thanks, and having faith for an increase.
There is no limit to the level of satisfaction the Lord gives to them that comes to Him hungry, if you would just be hungry, you can be sure, He will fill you. You will get hungry if you are separate from the world, knowing that nothing else can satisfy except Him - at this point, the Lord constantly fill.
DON'T LOATHE THIS BREAD
"Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so that the children of Israel also wept again and said: 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!'" - Num 11:4-6
After a while, some of the mixed multitude started complaining about the diet in the wilderness, they weren't satisfied with the bread, because they were a mixed multitude they desired to mix the diet and had a feel of their past life, they wanted something balanced.
This scenario is not too far from what is obtainable in our time, after we must have had a satisfaction in Jesus, we sometimes go and mix with the crowd, who sometimes will want to pass the message that what we have is not enough. The people complained about the fish and other food they ate, this is how some people begin to look for the arrogance of the past, they want the fame that came with compromise and they feel that Jesus is not enough. In fact, they said, their whole being is dried up!
This was angel's food the Lord provided for mere mortals yet they said their soul is dried up. Sometimes we begin to think we are boring because we are spiritual, and we may be tempted to go in search of intense excitement, this is a dangerous trend. In fact, in Numbers 21, they called the bread worthless bread and fiery serpents bit them. In this case of Numbers chapter 11, they said they needed meat, and while the meat was in their teeth, the Lord struck many of them.
"But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'" - John 6:68
It is when we mix with the world that we begin to loath the Bread of life..what do you expect, we were never on the same diet, we can never be satisfied with the same diet, why not be satisfied in this Bread of life and not give Him to intense craving. If you are hungry, Jesus is able to satisfy you.
Some went ahead and started mixing the bread, pounding and making it into pastries of their taste, and this is definitely what also happens as regards the Word. We take the Word in its raw form and desire that it sooths our carnal craving, we are sometimes deceived to think that because the original is in the component, then it is ok - this is a dangerous trend. The Lord would not be mixed with any other in your life except Him Himself.
The Bread of life is meat indeed, the Bread of life alone can satisfy our spiritual soul, don't mix the Word, don't give in to fables - find excitement in the fact that this Bread of life can sustain you into everlasting bliss, and there are no side effects to Him. To crave for another, is to invite ones destruction unnecessarily. Jesus is enough and let your soul be convinced as such.
CONCLUSION:
Hunger is a necessary requirement in the kingdom, and Jesus who is the Bread of Life fills us to satisfaction, let not the believer think He can be fed anywhere else.
God bless you and I love you
Akinsuroju Femi
© The Fundamentals
It may not really be reasonable to see the blessing in hunger, but for that which will satisfy the spirit man - there has to be a hunger. When a man is not hungry feeding may be a task, when a man is not hungry especially as regards the things of the spirit, he loathes the bread of life, when a man refuses to be hungry for righteousness, he will be well fed in the body but malnourished in the spirit.
If the church is seen as a time of leisure then we can accurately deduce that there is no hunger, if worship is more of an acting than an experience, then hunger is absent, to be hungry for righteousness is to possess an undeniable and obsess desire for God, it is to embark on a quest to know God beyond the surface and to strive for a filling.
The truth is that, in this spiritual race - hungry men are men full of the spirit, those who are hungry are knowledgeable, those who are hungry have an uncommon zeal that drives them even when heads are bowed. Hungry men are those who continually abide in the shadow of the almighty. They cannot be psyched to worship and the environment can never influence their worship, be it one or two, even if they are standing alone - they will lift their hearts to heaven and run in accomplishing a mission for God - it is a quest for God.
Hunger is a natural phenomenon that occurs in everyone, sometimes we may not be hungry to eat at home because we may have eaten somewhere else or taken junx along the way. This same thing also occurs for the believer who refuses to hunger for righteousness; it is possible that you are being fed with carnality and you expect your spirit man to grow. It is possible that you may have been feeding on chaff of religion and tradition yet, you want to grow in spirit. This is an abnormality and it doesn't occur so.
For one to be hungry for righteousness, one must first recognise the meal and desire it genuinely, then a natural hunger comes. We must reject every other diet that is not spiritual, we must insist on the heavenly meal for a healthy spirit man. This is the way to go.
HUNGER FOR THE BREAD OF LIFE
"And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" - John 6:35
I know for a fact that the church is always full on those days where food will be shared, people will not want to miss such an occasion and Jesus had this same challenge in His time. While the physical food is a crowd puller any day anytime, we must also press for the bread of life. We must develop that kind of desperation for the Bread of Life.
Jesus took out time to dish the word of God to the people, but most of them were not concerned about that. This is the challenge of the church today, men appear in church only to find a connection or business to fill their stomachs, but they ignore the bread of life. It will also be instructive to draw our hearts to wisdom this day, the man who has the bread of life cannot really be hungry in the physical. Such a man cannot even die.
It is an abnormality to seek the bread that will perish at the expense of the everlasting bread. It is an abnormality to ignore the Bread of Life because the wheat bread is now in abundance - men have a tendency of always developing such hunger. We must stick to the Bread of life, it satisfies the soul and make the spirit man strong. I hope you know Jesus is the bread of life, and He is also the Word of God.
"Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.'" - John 6:53
In case you are the kind of person who is keen on healthy eating, if you have not taken the bread of life, it is necessary to state here now that, you have no life in you at all. Everyone should grow to that point where they desire Jesus more than the daily bread He brings. It is in Him that we have eternal life, but to ignore this fact, is to keep on feeding fat for death.
This bread of life is living, because the Bread Himself speaks, it speaks life in us and the best way to assess this Bread is through His word. Some people felt like Jesus was not in His right mind, when He declared Himself as bread, they wondered if they will have to eat Him - and saw impossibility. Many departed from Him that day because of this teaching, but indeed the Bread of life says this is My body.
Everything about Jesus is food to the soul, everything concerning Jesus is growth to the Spirit man, if men will just go beyond their senses and put faith in action, they will see that His flesh is meat indeed.
BE SATISFIED
"For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." - Psalm 107:9
There are those who have tasted and they know that the Lord is good. But there are those who are now testing Him and of course, they will get their fingers burnt. We must move beyond the level of tasting and move to the point of satisfaction in Jesus. There is no fear of overfeeding, there is no caution, only eat and be filled.
The journey is far as it was told unto Elijah, you too must know that the journey may be far, why not eat to your satisfaction. While the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, there was always a daily bread for them to eat to their satisfaction, and God was the supplier - we too must constantly have our daily fill of Jesus for the journey that is before us.
You must first be filled before you can be a source to feed others - the Lord wants the fed to help the hungry feed, but it is an anomaly for a hungry man to feed the hungry. It shouldn't always be like that. There is satisfaction in Christ and everything we need to attain any point of spiritual heights is in Jesus.
"So she said, 'As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." - 1Kings 17:12
Sometimes what we have or know of Christ may be too small and we think we can never find satisfaction in Him. Some have even seen the small measure and have taken to fate, they think to themselves that if only this knowledge of Christ will serve them till they die...but let me state clearly, that the man who values the little He knows of Christ has a big chance to increase in the knowledge of Him.
Every Word, every experience, no matter how little it may appear has an inherent potential to increase us into another spiritual realm higher than little. Let every man who has experienced Christ to a certain measure trust that satisfaction can be attained if one values the little. Valuing will entail giving thanks, and having faith for an increase.
There is no limit to the level of satisfaction the Lord gives to them that comes to Him hungry, if you would just be hungry, you can be sure, He will fill you. You will get hungry if you are separate from the world, knowing that nothing else can satisfy except Him - at this point, the Lord constantly fill.
DON'T LOATHE THIS BREAD
"Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so that the children of Israel also wept again and said: 'Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!'" - Num 11:4-6
After a while, some of the mixed multitude started complaining about the diet in the wilderness, they weren't satisfied with the bread, because they were a mixed multitude they desired to mix the diet and had a feel of their past life, they wanted something balanced.
This scenario is not too far from what is obtainable in our time, after we must have had a satisfaction in Jesus, we sometimes go and mix with the crowd, who sometimes will want to pass the message that what we have is not enough. The people complained about the fish and other food they ate, this is how some people begin to look for the arrogance of the past, they want the fame that came with compromise and they feel that Jesus is not enough. In fact, they said, their whole being is dried up!
This was angel's food the Lord provided for mere mortals yet they said their soul is dried up. Sometimes we begin to think we are boring because we are spiritual, and we may be tempted to go in search of intense excitement, this is a dangerous trend. In fact, in Numbers 21, they called the bread worthless bread and fiery serpents bit them. In this case of Numbers chapter 11, they said they needed meat, and while the meat was in their teeth, the Lord struck many of them.
"But Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'" - John 6:68
It is when we mix with the world that we begin to loath the Bread of life..what do you expect, we were never on the same diet, we can never be satisfied with the same diet, why not be satisfied in this Bread of life and not give Him to intense craving. If you are hungry, Jesus is able to satisfy you.
Some went ahead and started mixing the bread, pounding and making it into pastries of their taste, and this is definitely what also happens as regards the Word. We take the Word in its raw form and desire that it sooths our carnal craving, we are sometimes deceived to think that because the original is in the component, then it is ok - this is a dangerous trend. The Lord would not be mixed with any other in your life except Him Himself.
The Bread of life is meat indeed, the Bread of life alone can satisfy our spiritual soul, don't mix the Word, don't give in to fables - find excitement in the fact that this Bread of life can sustain you into everlasting bliss, and there are no side effects to Him. To crave for another, is to invite ones destruction unnecessarily. Jesus is enough and let your soul be convinced as such.
CONCLUSION:
Hunger is a necessary requirement in the kingdom, and Jesus who is the Bread of Life fills us to satisfaction, let not the believer think He can be fed anywhere else.
God bless you and I love you
Akinsuroju Femi
© The Fundamentals
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