I'm Hungry

But all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ's sake. Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life. - Philippians 3:7-11 GNT

I wonder what happened to the hunger in God's people. I wonder when it changed. What happened that made us desire the things of the world more than Jesus? Christianity for many has become a way to get more stuff. Just apply faith to whatever you desire and you'll get it. If you want more, you can get more. Don't get me wrong, I know God blesses His people, but when did Jesus become the pathway to possessions instead of the prize we would trade everything for? When did Jesus stop being our goal? When did knowing Him, sitting at His feet, hearing His voice or seeing His face become less important than having an easy and trouble-free life?

I believe that a fresh move of the Spirit is about to break free among God's people, and it's being birthed in those who are tired of seeing Christianity as an avenue to Earthly prosperity. Yes, they are weary of a God who exists only to provide them with more wealth and a stress-free life. They've had what the world has to offer and they've found it empty and meaningless. People everywhere are hungry for something real. People are hungry for Jesus. Our hunger drives us to break out of old habits and religious rules. It drives us to trade our time and money, our desires and dreams for a moment at His feet. 

Hold on! It's going to be a wild ride. The religious institutions are being shaken and much of the dead weight has got to go. Pastors like me better be ready. Don't try to control it lest we find ourselves attempting to put the move of God in a familiar religious box. We cannot put new wine into an old wine skin. It will be different, messy, sloppy, beyond our control, powerful, real, beautiful, difficult at times, it will cost us our lives, but it will be worth it all just to know Him. Our goal is Jesus. We hunger for Him. He is our obsession. He is all we want. We want Jesus.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

There are to few churches still preaching that hell is still hot.
They don't want people to feel uncomfortable because uncomfortable people take their money to a church where they feel comfortable. The mainstream churches have become social clubs where the gospel is luke warm at best! In the ministry that I lead I get invited to a lot of churches and I can't stand what I see when I get there. I can't tell you the last time I seen an alter call for the sick or the lost! It may have been the last time I was at ARC and I've been to many in the Austin area since then! There's no energy in most churches today, like they're on valium or something, starting with the music. The lyrics are fine but the music part of it is all played with the same soft slow tempo that drives me nuts. I want the spirit to flow freely, I want to come up out of my seat and dance as the spirit moves me! I don't want to be in a church where I get told that I need to quiet down or I'll have to leave if I shout hallelujah or praise the Lord! I want a church where I'll hear sermons that shake me with conviction and spur me to be more like Jesus. I have to be part of a church reminds me that I have to work out my salvation daily and with fear and trembling! I'm tired of hearing pastors teach the once saved always saved message that seemingly gives people a license to sin and still get to heaven! Those pastors cherry pick scriptures and passages to validate their teachings. When you point them to scripture that they don't use and ask, what about this? They tell you that's not what that means or that was back then, God doesn't work that way today! But they don't want to mention Hebrews 13:8 which says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever! God hasn't changed it's the church that's changed! And it's a crying shame!
To be clear Pastor Avery, I'm not refering to your church. It's churches like yours that people are leaving in order to go somewhere comfortable where their ears won't burn when they hear the sermon. Keep preaching the truth brother and bringing the soul saving tonic that we all need. God Bless You

Mylon Avery said...

Blessings to you, Danny