WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.320 Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren. 2 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:08.320 We are so glad you're here with us. 3 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:08.720 Today. 4 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:12.000 We're going to continue our series called The Keys to 5 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:13.119 a Blessed Life. 6 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:13.359 Now. 7 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:17.199 In these messages, Rick walks through Jesus' Sermon on the 8 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:20.239 Mount and shows us how to live a truly hopeful 9 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.480 and purpose filled life. And now Rick brings you the 10 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.480 final part of why you need to stay hungry. 11 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.640 The Bible says the wages of sin is death. That 12 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:33.000 means somebody's got to pay for all the things I've 13 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:36.799 done in life that hurt other people, hurt myself, hurt 14 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:38.479 God and all you know, all of the things that 15 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:40.399 I've done wrong in life, Somebody's got to pay for him, 16 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:44.920 either me or somebody else. And the judge says, I'll 17 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:48.159 be the Savior, and I'm going to come to earth 18 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:51.320 in human form, and I'm going to die for your sins, Rick, 19 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:55.159 So you don't have to go to hell, you don't 20 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:58.439 have to pay for it. You can be with me forever. 21 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:03.479 Do you understand? And why the Gospels called good news, Hello, 22 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:08.719 It means everything you've ever done wrong in life, or 23 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.719 ever will do wrong in life has already been paid 24 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:15.120 for by Jesus Christ on the cross. He said, it 25 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.120 is finished, not I'm finished. It's finished. What paying for 26 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:22.640 all the sins of everybody? That's such good news. You see, 27 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:27.519 this is the difference between Christianity and every other worldview, philosophy, 28 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:31.680 or religion. Every other religion can be summed up in 29 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:35.640 one word. It is the word do. And everybody just 30 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:37.719 has their own to do list. And one religion says 31 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:39.640 you got to do these things and God will think 32 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:42.079 you're cool, and another religion says you got to do 33 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.480 these things and God will think you're cool. Christianity is 34 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.680 not summed up in the word do. It's summed up 35 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:51.840 in the word done. It was done for you twenty 36 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:55.319 and thirteen years ago on across by Jesus Christ. It 37 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:59.120 is finished. It has all been done for you. Now 38 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.120 load us. There's a book in the Bible that explains 39 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:04.599 us in quite detail. It's the Book of Romans, and 40 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:07.599 there are ten chapters that deal with this very issue. 41 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:11.240 But Romans chapter three really gives a synopsis. Let me 42 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.680 read you a little bit of it. There on your outline, 43 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:18.159 for all has sinned, and all falls short of the 44 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.599 God's glorious standard. In other words, we're none perfect. None 45 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:22.599 of us measure up to God's standard. We don't even 46 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:25.280 measure up to our own. Okay, now that's not good news. 47 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:28.039 The fact, it's not even news because we all know 48 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:32.479 that we're imperfect. Yet it says, here's the good news. Now, God, 49 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:40.759 in his gracious kindness, that's his grace, declares us not guilty. 50 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:46.000 Unrighteous becomes righteous. I'm now declared not guilty. He has 51 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:49.240 done this not because of what I've done. He has 52 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:54.159 done this through Christ, Jesus, who has freed us by 53 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:58.680 taking away our sins. For God sends Jesus to take 54 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:03.120 the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger 55 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:07.960 against us. We are made right with God. That's righteous. 56 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.000 We're made right with God when we believe that Jesus 57 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:17.439 shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. That is 58 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:21.639 the good news. Jesus gave us two symbols, and he said, 59 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:24.800 I never want you to forget the sacrifice that I've 60 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.520 done for you, so you can go to heaven. And 61 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:30.479 he gave us two symbols. One's called baptism and one's 62 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:34.319 called the Lord's Supper or communion. Baptism is a symbol 63 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.080 of Jesus dying, being buried in the ground and raised again. 64 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.120 That's why in the Bible, every baptism in the Bible 65 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.240 is you're buried underwater and raised again, because it's the 66 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:48.680 symbol of jesus death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus goes down 67 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:52.159 to the Jordan River, is baptized by John, and comes 68 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:55.919 back up. The other symbol is communion, where Jesus takes 69 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:58.879 bread and wine and says, this is going to represent 70 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.120 my body and my blood. And when he said it, 71 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:03.199 he hadn't even gone to the cross yet. He said, 72 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:05.599 this is my body and this is my blood which 73 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:08.319 is given for you. Let me show you a couple 74 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:14.039 of other verses. Two Corinthians, chapter five says this verse 75 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:18.959 twenty one. God made Christ, who never sinned, to be 76 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:23.560 the offering for our sin, so that we could be 77 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:27.639 made right with God through Christ. And in the Old 78 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:31.240 Testament there's an entire sacrificial system of the scapegoat and 79 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.920 the sacrificial lamb who take the sins of the nation. 80 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.439 It's the symbol of what Jesus would do for us. 81 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:40.399 One day. Look at this verse on the screen Titus three, 82 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:44.279 verse five. God saves us not because of righteous things 83 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:47.319 we've done. In other words, Wow, I'm really impressed with that. 84 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:50.120 God doesn't save us because of what we've done, but 85 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:55.000 because of his mercy. So this is the good news. First, 86 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:59.079 I can't make myself righteous. I can't make myself there's 87 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.000 not a snowballs chance in hell you're getting into heaven 88 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:05.360 on your own effort because you're not good enough, and 89 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:08.959 neither am I. But good news, God sent Jesus to 90 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:11.319 pay for my sins. Now here's the third part of 91 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:15.319 the gospel. Write this down. I accept by faith what 92 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:20.759 God did for me. I accept by faith what God 93 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.639 did for me. That's all you have to do. That's 94 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:26.959 all I'm required to do. I simply. All I do 95 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:31.800 is accept God's grace, his mercy. I accept God's forgiveness, 96 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:35.160 and I say, I believe that what Jesus did on 97 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:39.319 the cross paid for my sins. So I can go 98 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:42.000 and be a part of God's family. I can live 99 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:43.279 the way he wants me to live now, and I'm 100 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:47.360 going to have an eternity that is righteousness. Let me 101 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:51.399 show you a couple verses Romans chapter three. We are 102 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:57.519 made right in God's sight. That's righteousness when we do 103 00:05:57.560 --> 00:06:00.000 a whole bunch of good things. And that doesn't say 104 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.560 that we're made right in God's sight when we trust 105 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:05.800 in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And I 106 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:08.519 love this part. And here's the cool part. We can 107 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:12.839 all be saved. That's everybody in the same way, no 108 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.040 matter who we are or what we've done. All right, 109 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:19.439 I like that part. I want to say hallelujah to 110 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:22.040 that part. We can all be saved, nomember who we are, 111 00:06:22.199 --> 00:06:24.360 what we've done, who we've done it with, how long 112 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:27.680 we've done it. All be saved now. I don't care 113 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:31.879 what religious background you are. Your background may be Catholic, 114 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:39.079 your background may be Baptist or Buddhist. Your background may 115 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:44.680 be Muslim or Methodist, or Mormon or Pentecostal or Presbyterian. 116 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:48.240 You and background may be atheist or agnostic or secularist, 117 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.279 or no faith at all, or mix up of everything. 118 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:56.079 I really couldn't care less about that, because religion, no religion, 119 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:59.399 can get you to heaven. Only God's grace can get 120 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.959 you to heaven. No amount of works can make you righteous, 121 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.199 whether it's this guy's list or this guy's list or 122 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.360 that guy's list. None of those religious lists can get 123 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:13.800 you to heaven because you can't be righteous enough. It's 124 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:18.319 just simply a relationship to God, to his son Jesus. 125 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:23.720 And here's what the Bible says Romans chapter ten. If 126 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:28.199 you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. In 127 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:29.920 other words, he is who he claimed to be. He's 128 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.160 the Son of God, the savior of the world. He 129 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.680 came to die for you. If you confess with your 130 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.959 mouth that, yeah, I believe Jesus's Lord, and you believe 131 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.319 in your heart that God raised him from the dead, 132 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.279 That's what Easter is all about. You will be saved 133 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:50.040 for you believe him. For you believe with your heart, 134 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:56.240 resulting in righteousness, and you confess with your mouth, resulting 135 00:07:56.399 --> 00:08:01.000 in salvation. Now, I want you to say this issue 136 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:05.079 this morning, as your friend, as somebody cares about you, 137 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.839 as your pastor. I don't want you to ever doubt, ever, ever, ever, 138 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.000 ever again that you're going to heaven when you die. 139 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.079 I don't want you to worry about it. I don't 140 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:15.879 want you to be concerned about it. I don't want 141 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:19.000 you to have any doubts about it. So we're gonna 142 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:22.279 do what Romans tends says to do. Confess with your 143 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:24.959 mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved. 144 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:29.480 Would God lie? Know why? Because God cannot lie? People 145 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:31.319 haven't ask me is there anything God can do? There 146 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:32.960 are a lot of things God can't do. One of 147 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:35.120 them is he can't deny his character. So it means 148 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:39.000 God cannot lie. God can only tell the truth. And 149 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.279 what's true is always true, and what's false is always false. 150 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.159 If truth wasn't always true, the universe wouldn't work. If 151 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:49.480 law of gravity was only true on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 152 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:54.639 that would be a problem. The universe operates because some 153 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:58.320 things are always true and some things are always untrue. 154 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:01.120 The moon is not made of cheese. You might want 155 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:05.440 to think that, but it's not true. And so the 156 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:07.679 Bible says, I am true. She's that I am the way, 157 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:09.679 I am the truth, and I am the life. No 158 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:13.200 one comes to the Father but by me. So I 159 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:15.080 want you to settle this. I want you to have 160 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.240 this assurance and never doubt again. Am I going to 161 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:21.960 heaven when I die? What do you do? You accept 162 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:24.960 the good news that we just talked about. So let's 163 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.399 bow our heads right now. You may have been in 164 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:30.279 church your entire life, for this may be the very 165 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.759 first time you've ever been in a service. I want 166 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:36.600 you to pray this prayer in your heart. Just say 167 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:43.000 something like this, Dear God. I know I'm imperfect, and 168 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.840 I know I never can be perfect. I can't be 169 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:52.240 righteous on my own. And yet I thank you for 170 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:56.000 loving me in spite of myself. I thank you that 171 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.240 you made me, that you created me. I thank you 172 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:02.440 that you have a plan and purpose for my life 173 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:06.639 and you made me to know you. Thank you for 174 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:10.279 the choice that you've given me to accept or reject, 175 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:16.159 to love or not love you. And today I humbly 176 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:21.440 ask you, humbly ask you to save me because of 177 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:24.840 what Jesus Christ did for me. Not on the basis 178 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:27.960 of what I have done or haven't done, but because 179 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:33.720 on the basis of what Jesus came to do. Dear God, 180 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:37.600 I don't understand it all, but as much as I 181 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:41.320 know how, I want to put my trust in your son, 182 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.440 Jesus Christ. I want to get to know you. I 183 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:47.480 want to learn to love you. I want to hunger 184 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:51.480 and thirst for being right with you the rest of 185 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:56.720 my life. And so I simply say that I put 186 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:01.559 my trust not in my works, not in the good 187 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.440 or the bad that I've done. But I put my 188 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:08.679 trust in your grace and in your forgiveness. Jesus Christ, 189 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:15.080 I want you to be the lord of my life. Amen. 190 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:21.159 You know doctors say that a loss of appetite is 191 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:24.639 a symptom that you're sick. You know that when you're sick, 192 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:26.840 When you're ill, you don't feel good. The last thing 193 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:29.240 you think about doing is eating. If you've got a fever, 194 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:33.600 your stomach's upset. A loss of appetite indicates something's not 195 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:38.080 right in your life. The same is true spiritually. If 196 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:40.960 you don't have a hunger to know God. If you're 197 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:45.919 not thirsty to know God, you're sick spiritually. You're not 198 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:51.759 healthy spiritually. How do I maintain my spiritual hunger for 199 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:55.240 God the rest of my life? I mean for the 200 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:57.759 rest of my life, so that tomorrow I want to 201 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.840 know God better than today. Week I want to be 202 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.159 closer to Him than I am now, and next year 203 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:05.600 I want to be wiser and closer to God than 204 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:10.679 I am today. How do I maintain a spiritual appetite? 205 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:16.320 Five things? Number one remind myself how much God loves me. 206 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:19.200 And you need to do this every day you get 207 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:21.679 up in the morning, say Lord, help me to remember 208 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:25.399 how much you love me, because the more you understand 209 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.600 how much God loves you, the more you're going to 210 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:31.559 love him. I was talking to a guy one time 211 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:34.039 and he said, I don't really feel close to God. 212 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:36.720 But here's the problem, Pastor, I don't feel like I 213 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:40.399 want to be close to God. And he said, I 214 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:44.360 guess my problem is I just don't love Jesus enough. 215 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:48.240 And I told him, I said, no, that's not your problem. 216 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:51.200 Your problem is not that you don't love God enough. 217 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.519 Your problem is you don't understand how much He loves you, 218 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.720 because if you did, you couldn't help but love him. 219 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.200 You want to hang out with somebody who's head over 220 00:13:02.279 --> 00:13:06.440 heels in love with you. The Bible says this. Ephesians three, 221 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.120 pray that you have the power to understand how wide, 222 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:13.320 how long, how high, and how deep God's love really is. 223 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.519 May you experience this love of Christ, though it's so 224 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.159 great you're never going to fully understand it, he says, 225 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:25.120 Then then you're going to be filled with the fullness 226 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:28.960 of life and the power that comes from God, hunger 227 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:31.519 and thirst, righteousness, you'll be filled. First, you got to 228 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.480 know how much God loves you. Remind yourself, God, help 229 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:36.440 me to feel how much you love me. Number two 230 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:41.200 second key to having a spiritual appetite. Stop filling up 231 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:46.679 on junk food. Stop filling up on spiritual junk food. 232 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:49.519 You're a spiritual being with a God shaped hole in you, 233 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:52.000 and only God can fill that hole in your heart. 234 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:55.159 And when you try to fill it with salary or 235 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:03.039 status or success or sex or passion, possession in position, power, prestige, 236 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:07.639 or anything other than God, it's not going to be fulfilling. 237 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:12.279 If you're not hungry for God, it's because you're full 238 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:18.639 of yourself, it's the truth or something else. And when 239 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:21.480 you're full of yourself or full of something else, you're 240 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.759 obviously not going to have a hunger for God. Proverbs 241 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:29.159 fourteen fifteen fourteen says a wise person is hungry for truth, 242 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:33.279 while the fool feeds on what. Sure, maybe you need 243 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:37.720 to take some trash out of your life now. If 244 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:41.080 you're always thinking about something else instead of God, you're 245 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.000 not gonna have any time for God. If I'm always 246 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.759 thinking about my sport or my favorite team. I don't 247 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.879 have any hunger for God. If I'm always thinking about politics, 248 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:52.159 I don't have any hunger for God. If I'm always 249 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:55.440 thinking about work or making money or anything, I don't 250 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.080 have any hunger for God because I'm feeding on other things. 251 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:01.120 I'm filling my mind with other things. Okay, and I 252 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:05.039 have this old routine every Thanksgiving. She says, No, honey, 253 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.600 don't fill up on the appetizers before the big meal. 254 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:13.120 You know what I'm talking about. You ever done that? 255 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.799 You fill up on the appetizer in the big banquet 256 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.759 and you're not even hungry for the banquet because you 257 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:24.279 filled up on the little sausages or something. You've gone, really, 258 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.840 I eat carrot sticks instead of this. You've done this 259 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:32.039 in a restaurant where you fill up on you know, 260 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.320 chips and salsa or bread and butter before the real 261 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:40.960 meal gets there, and then you're not hungry. You got 262 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:45.399 to stop feeding yourself, filling yourself on junk food. I 263 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:49.000 love this Isaiah fifty five. God says this, all of 264 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.000 you who are thirsty, come to me. Notice you didn't 265 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:55.120 say come to religion, come to rules, regulations, Riche says, 266 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:58.120 come to me. If you're thirsty, Come to me and 267 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:01.360 drink God says those of you don't have any money 268 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:03.919 to buy food, Come and eat free. Why do you 269 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.000 spend your money on something that isn't real food and 270 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.320 doesn't really satisfy you. Why are you wasting all your 271 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.639 life on that. Come to me and eat what is good, 272 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:18.039 and your soul will enjoy the stuff that really satisfies. 273 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.159 When I see that phrase, most of the time, we're 274 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:25.519 not eating real food. I read an article recently about 275 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.799 how people are starving to death eating worthless food, and 276 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:33.440 it gave it several illustrations. One of them was in China, 277 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:37.720 in the Great Famine of China, there was no food 278 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:41.639 and people were starving to death, and so they actually 279 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:45.879 used a kind of edible soil. It was actually dirt, 280 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:49.080 an edible kind of soil that they began to make 281 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.879 bread out of and they would bake it and they 282 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:54.080 would eat it, and it filled them up and they 283 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.440 feel temporarily satisfied. Only it had no nutritional value to it, 284 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:03.039 no vitamins, no mennerals, no carbohydrates, no proteins, no fats, 285 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:05.839 and so it had no value. It filled them up, 286 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.759 but they were still starving to death. Same thing happened 287 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:14.119 in Australia when they had a great depression there and 288 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:17.440 people had no food, and they went out to the 289 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:22.640 they started making porridge out of the spores of navoo ferns. 290 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.240 Now navoo ferns are very common, They're all over Australia. 291 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.440 And they would take these pods or these spores and 292 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:34.839 the nardoux plant, they would take it and make porridge 293 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:37.960 out of it. The only problem was it had again 294 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:42.200 no nutritional value, no fats, no carbohydrates, no proteins, no minerals, 295 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:47.160 no vitamins, and so people were dying of starvation with 296 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:54.000 full stomachs. Friends. That is a metaphor for America today. 297 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:00.680 We are a nation of full stomachs and people are 298 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:06.839 spiritually starving to death because they're eating junk food spiritually 299 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.720 and has no nutritional value. And their stomachs may be 300 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:14.960 full and they may be temporarily satisfied, but they're starving 301 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.599 to death and they're gonna die. Number three. And by 302 00:18:19.640 --> 00:18:22.039 the way, you know this real food thing. Kay and 303 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.319 I have this ritual. My Monday's my day off, so 304 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:26.880 we like to go out to lunch or dinner on 305 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.559 Monday and we play this game every week. It's the 306 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:34.480 ritual of what are you hungry for? You ever had 307 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.359 this ritual? Let's go out to eat. Okay, what are 308 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:44.319 you hungry for? Mexican, Chinese food? You know, Indian food, tie, 309 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:48.559 you know, Mediterranean? You know, you know you're hungry, but 310 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:51.920 you don't know what you want. I want to ask 311 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:54.599 you that question right now, what are you hungry for? 312 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:00.200 Because whatever you're hungry for is determining the destined of 313 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:04.000 your life. If you're just hungry to go play golf, 314 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:07.480 it's not a big enough hunger to satisfy you. If 315 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:10.200 you're just hungry to go make another deal, that's not 316 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:13.839 enough to satisfy you. Go ask Solomon. You need to 317 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.400 hunger and thirst after God to be right with God 318 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:20.160 and to live right with God. Number three, make knowing 319 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:23.680 God my number one goal. This is how you maintain 320 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:26.640 a spiritual hunger. You make knowing God your number one 321 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:32.480 goal in life. Not success, not happiness. You seek God, 322 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.559 not those things. Those are the byproducts. Happiness is a 323 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:40.839 byproduct of knowing God. And you go read the Psalms, 324 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:43.319 how David says God, I really got to know you, 325 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.839 and how passionate David is about knowing God. He says, 326 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:50.359 I long for you God. I thirst for you. God. 327 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:54.599 I hunger for you, God. I beg I plead, I 328 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:58.599 cry out. I must have you God, Psalm sixty three. 329 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:02.519 Oh God, I earn it, seek you. My soul thirst 330 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:06.839 for you, my body longs for you as I travel 331 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:10.920 through this parched and weary desert where there's no water. 332 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.839 He wrote this in the Desert of Judah. Some of 333 00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:16.200 you are going through a desert right now. You're in 334 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:21.480 a desert. In your marriage, it's all dried up. You're 335 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:24.000 in a desert. In your career, it's all dried up. 336 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:28.880 You're in a desert in a relationship. You're in a desert. Financially, 337 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.519 it's all dried up. What do you do when you're 338 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:34.079 in the desert. You hunger and thirst for God because 339 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.960 he can fill you. Matthew six thirty three. Jesus said, 340 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.839 the thing that you should want most is God's kingdom 341 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:46.319 and doing what God wants, then all these other things 342 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:49.640 you need will be given to you as well. Make 343 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:52.680 knowing God my number one goal. Number four. Get into 344 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:58.920 God's word every day. Get into God's word every day. 345 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:02.880 This book, the Bible is your soul food. It's food 346 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:06.839 for your soul. The Bible calls itself bread. The Word 347 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:08.960 of God is milk. The Word of God is meat. 348 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:10.640 The Word of God is food. The Word of God 349 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:14.799 is honey. The Bible uses metaphors saying, you can't live 350 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:17.759 without man shall not live by bread of loan, but 351 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:19.759 by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 352 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:23.839 Jesus said first Peter two, you must crave the pure 353 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:28.000 spiritual milk of the Word so you can grow into 354 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.880 the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment 355 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:36.400 like a baby cries for milk. When we did the 356 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.079 series on forty days in the Word, I showed you 357 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:44.160 this verse. Second Timothy says, this all scripture is God 358 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:48.480 breed that is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and notice, 359 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:52.319 training in righteousness, hunger and thirst righteous. How do you 360 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:56.000 learn righteous by getting into this book? Now, I noticed 361 00:21:56.039 --> 00:21:58.119 I said get into the book every day. I didn't 362 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:00.880 say read it every day. Some of you don't like 363 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:05.079 to read, Fine, listen to it. You can listen to 364 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:08.119 it every day. You can get it on CD or 365 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:14.000 MP three, or you can get daily. Hope that I'm 366 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:16.200 teaching the Word of God every day. You can hear 367 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:19.079 it on the radio, you can listen on the web 368 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.319 every day. You can download the podcast on iTunes or 369 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:26.160 for Android. Are you subscribed to Daily devotional so you're 370 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:29.440 getting into the Word every day. Eating a meal once 371 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:32.880 a week won't keep you healthy. You need to feed 372 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:36.240 on the truth every day. Now, here's the last thing 373 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:39.480 I want to say, and we'll close of this. Appetite 374 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:45.480 is influenced by association. For instance, you get a bunch 375 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:47.519 of kids together and one kid says, I'm hungry. What 376 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:51.519 are all the kids say I'm hungry? Yeah? You know. 377 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.000 If I say to you man, I'm really hungry for 378 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:58.400 and I say a sinnabon, some of you get hungry 379 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:03.400 for a Cinnabonka. Appetite is influenced by association. So if 380 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.039 you want to keep a spiritual appetite for God the 381 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:09.160 rest of your life, here's the last thing. Join a 382 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:13.759 small group for support. Join a small group for support, 383 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:16.880 because whoever you get around with is what you're going 384 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:22.319 to be hungry for. Proverbs two twenty. Join the company 385 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:25.880 of good men and women who will keep you on 386 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:29.799 the path of the righteous. Now, if you hang out 387 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:32.279 with people who All they care about is politics. That's 388 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.359 all you're going to care about. If you hang out 389 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.759 with people all they care about is sports, that's what 390 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:38.640 you're going to care about. If you hang out with 391 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:40.960 people all they care about is a stock market, that's 392 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.279 what you're going to care about. But if you hang 393 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:46.599 out with people who are hungry to know God, that's 394 00:23:46.599 --> 00:23:49.079 what you're going to care about. You need to get 395 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:55.160 in a small group that's power heads. And let's close 396 00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:00.599 with a simple prayer. It simply says this, God, I 397 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:04.079 want you, I need you, and I must have you 398 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:07.319 in my life. Would you say that God, I want you, 399 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:14.039 I need you, and I must have you in my life. Father, 400 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:18.039 this week, I pray a blessing on everyone here that 401 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:21.680