Monday, 16 March 2015

WHERE’S THE OLD HUNGER


MEMORY VERSE: Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelations 2:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 1-5

Hunger and thirst are mechanisms God has put inside every living creature, especially animals and humans, to ensure their survival. Without these mechanisms functioning as it should function, the human race will become extinct within a year. That is, if we all decide to stop eating and drinking, within 6 months we will all be dead. Hunger and thirst do not only act as mechanisms for survival but also mechanisms to achieve our God-given goals. Proverbs 16:26 says: “He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.” Hunger for good grades caused some of us to do some things when we were in the university. I remember going to ‘Infinity’ to read. ‘Infinity’ was an uncompleted primary school building, on a fairly large expanse of land, where students go to at night to read. We gave that building the name ‘Infinity’ because it was a spot to read till Infinity i.e. till you are tired. At infinity some students study for 12 straight hours! I remember i was once awake for more than three days, studying and going for exams.

When some of us gave our lives to Christ, the hunger to serve the Lord caused us to take some actions. I remember days after i had the dream that changed my life, i deleted 6,000 tracks of songs from my PC. I had Lil Wayne, Bob Marley, Aerosmith, Gnarls Barkley, Pink, Nelly, Bone Thugs N Harmony, 2 PAC, B.I.G, Fela, Just name it. I had virtually songs from every artist you can think of, i had albums, mix tapes, etc. In one day, i deleted all because i wanted to burn the bridge between my horrible past and the glorious future Christ had for me. I deleted over 100 movies, threw away close to fifty worldly novels, and threw away some clothes. Then i had two pairs of Ed Hardy jeans, each costing around 150 pounds at that time. I threw them away because of the skulls that were drawn on them and what it stood for. A particular sister was sharing with us that when she gave her life to Christ, the hunger to burn the bridge between her past and the glorious future Christ had for her, made her to return all the gifts - clothes, bags, shoes, etc, her ex boyfriend bought for her. Not only that, she burnt all the pictures of her wearing clothes that exposed her body and the ones she took with her exes.

Also, that hunger to serve Him caused some of us to join the group of workers in the church. That hunger to please Him caused some of us to start personal evangelism. That hunger to be close to Him caused some of us to spend time with Him learning the scriptures. That hunger to be His special sons and daughters caused some us to give some special offerings. And whilst we were doing all these, He kept on increasing us and blessing us. He kept on anointing us and giving us deep revelations. Some of us even began to see visions and hear His audible voice. As we were doing all these, we kept on growing in the Lord. Some of our spiritual growths even astound fellow brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, that old hunger has now died in the life of many of us. Many of us are no longer hungry to serve the Lord. The hunger to please the Lord is missing in our lives. That hunger to be close to God is no longer there. Majority of us cannot remember the last time we thought about heaven and the second coming of Christ. The hunger to be His special boys and girls is no longer there. Back in the days, it was standard for many of us to spend quality time with God at least once a week. Today, that no longer happens. What is God saying to us? “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelations 2:4)?

QUESTION: Where is that old hunger to grow spiritually? Where is that old hunger to please the Lord? Where is that old hunger to excel in the things of God? Where is that old hunger to be the best you can be for Jesus? Where is that old hunger to live holy?

PRAYER POINT: Father, please create in me a deep hunger to please you.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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