Pr Henry Wright - Starving

Adventist Radio London inspiration for the sung. I'm reminded of the importance of separating

what's important from that that is essential. It's the hardest thing to do in

life. We have a lot of important things, a lot of important things

Richard Washington sitting over there in dulles that we do, but being able to

take out of that important stuff that is essential. And the reason why I

stress that is because in these last days, that's exactly what the Christian who

lives through the time of trouble will have to do. A lot of important

things will have to do without. Can I get witness, Maybe even things

as important as a house. But the essential thing that you cannot do without

in the time of trouble is a relationship with Jesus Christ. See, that's

essential. This text we just read lifts the relationship with God to another level.

That's the heart. That's a deer having run and ripped through the forest

first for water, So my soul starves for God. Huh. In our

earlier sermons under the theme to know Jesus, to Share Jesus, we've established

four important things. First of all, we've learned that man became separated from

his knowledge of God when he became separated from God's word. We went back

to Genesis two seventeen where the Lord said to Adam and Eve, don't eat

of the tree. And when they ate of the tree, they separated themselves.

They separated themselves from from God's word and therefore separated themselves from him.

And then that resulted we found in Genesis three eight, having separated themselves from

God's word, that then became separated from his presence. Remember, when God

came, they hid themselves. Is anybody listening separate from God's word, then

you separate from God's presence? And then third, third, in Genesis four,

we saw the struggle of caing. Once mankind became separated from God's word

and then separated from his presence, then he became separated from worship of God.

Sin separates you from God's word and then separated you from his presence,

and then separate you from being able to worship. And then, last,

but not least, once they forsook God's word and became separated from his presence

and unable to worship like they should. The fourth thing, then we find

in Genesis six five through seven, they became separated from God's destiny. In

other words, they gave up on God's plans for them. God has planned

that the human race one day refellowship with him. Hey, all, I'm

going to heaven. I'm going to look in the face of God myself.

Nothing between my soul and my savior. I want you to be excited about

it. So so so this is the this is the mantra, this is

the this is the theme, this is the Golden chord we're dealing with,

as we've been preaching during this year. And so we see that the race,

then the race, then the human race, not knowing their creator,

came to not even know that they had been created. Look at the religions

around the world. These religions do not do not teach the creation of God.

And of course man modern man's most popular religion is evolution. Evolution is

not science, it's a theory. So it's a religion. You got to

have faith to believe in evolution because you sure can't prove it. It's a

religion. So so so the the the separation has been has been almost complete.

And then and then God did something special to bridge the gap, the

gap between us and him. He sent his son he sent Jesus. Yes

he did. Yes he did, y'all, Yes he did, Yes he

did, he said Jesus. And so because he said Christ, we have

some idea of who God is, because John one and verse eighteen says he

came to declare him. Are you with me? So far? My sermons

up to this point have stressed seeking God through prayer, and that's all right.

Seek the Lord. We've read the text why He may be found Isaiah

fifty five, call upon Him, why it is near. We read those

texts and we stressed prayer. But now now in Theday's sermon, I want

to shift to seeking Him through the word. Hence the subject starving seeking Him

through the word. One of the one of the characteristics of modern man is

boredom, and the reason why we get bored so quickly because we are over

entertained. Yeah. Yeah. Entertainment is a narcotic in the sense that the

more you have of it, the more you want. And then for the

entertainment junkie, not only must there be more, it must be even more

entertaining or we get bored. The need for a greater high has now become

part of the religious world. What is our priority. See, when we

come to church, what is our priority? Do become starving baker for the

word, no matter who dispenses it, or we looking for the show,

the person, the personality of the setting. What are we coming for?

And this is because we are looking for something. Watch me se see during

the week we're over entertained. I want to be nice to you, we'll

be entertained. So we're spoiled. So when we come to church, we

still we still need a high, and we don't realize what we're saying.

We're saying to God, You're not important enough to enjoy just by yourself.

We need some some trappings. And I wonder how we're gonna make it in

the last days, Darrel, because I've read my Bible, and the Bible

tells me some of us are gonna be living in caves. Ain't gonna be

no organ ain't gonna be no pews, ain't gonna be no great pre You're

gonna be glad to have a Bible? Will that be sufficient? So so,

so we've got to be careful. We've got to be careful that we're

not starving for the wrong thing. And we have to be careful that we're

not demanding of the church what the church was never designed to supply. Now

the Lord understands our need for sight, sound, Oh you got it.

Oh you gotta do is start at the sanctuary service. It was it was

full of pageantry, wasn't it full of pagentry? But notice what Isaiah complains

about? And Isaiah one go there. See there's a danger in the sight

and sound. And in Isaiah one. The Lord speaks to Isaiah starting in

verse eleven, and he says, to what purpose is the multitude of our

your sacrifices? Unto me, saith the Lord, I am full of the

burnoffings of rams and the fat of fed beasts, And I delight not in

the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goos. God

is saying, I'm getting tired of all this. Why when ye come to

appear before me, who hath required this at your hand? To read my

courts? To tread my courts? Bring no more vain? Ah ah ah.

He's not ready against the sacrifices. He's calling them vain. Why bring

no more, Bring no more vain? Oblations in senses and abomination, unto

me, the new moons and Sabbaths the calling of assemblies. I cannot away

with it. It is iniquity. Even the solemn meeting, your new moons

and your appointed feast, My soul hateth. They are a trouble unto me.

I am weary to bear them. And then Jesus kicks in and Matthew

thirteen forty fifteen says the pop miss having ears, ye hear, not having

eye. If you see not words, you come. You come. You

enjoy the music, you enjoy the preaching, you enjoy the prayer. But

because you did not come for the right reason, God says, I'm sick

of it. Cut out the praying, forget meeting the scripture, and just

leave the sermon alone. I'm tired of it because it's vain. Why you

did not come for me. You came for the show, in fact,

to go to Matthew. Let's go and since we refer, let's let's read

that texts Matthew's texas. Jesus is Jesus is pretty he's pretty rough. He's

pretty rough. And Matthew thirteen and we'll look at fourteen and fifteen, and

in them it fulfill the property of Issias. He's referring back to Isaiah which

saith. By hearing, ye shall hear and shall not understand, And seeing

you shall see and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is what.

Look at the text, what does it say? And their ears are how

dull of hearing? In their eyes? They have closed? Less at any

time, Oh, oh, finish that with me. Less at any time.

They should see with their ears eyes, and hear with their ears,

and should understand with their heart, and should be convert. He's saying.

He's saying. The problem is they're here for entertainment, and the purpose while

they should have come, has not been fulfilled because I brought them here to

convert them and heal them. That's why you're in church, not for the

show. So I don't care who preaches. I don't care what Bible they

use. I don't care how the music is. God says, I drew

you out of your bed on Sabbath morning, knowing your soul was broken in

bare, and I got you here not to hear a certain person, but

to be changed by me. I like the way. I like the way

Verse fourteen of Matthew thirteen appears in the Amplified Bible. Well, this is

something, this is something you shall indeed here and here, but never grasp

and understand. And you shall indeed look and look, but never see and

perceive. Simple sentence. I love to put these in my sermon notes.

Simple sentence. You can go to Hell with a Bible in your hand.

You can go to Hell and the ten church of a Sabbath, religious mechanizations,

attractions and attachments to make me feel holy, and Sabbath after Sabbath missing

the point. You know, walking here on Sabbath morning because of your righteousness

and religion. You're walking here on Sabbath morning because of your brokenness and sin,

and you cry unto God. You walk in the door. Let something

happen from me today. I'm always reminded. I'm always reminded, Damon,

that my grandfather, at one hundred and six years old, Daddy Morgan,

he called him, fought in the Spanish American War, shook the hand of

President McKinley, Grandpaul Morgan. We prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed for

years for that old man to come into the church. And then when Sabbath

he joined on a Sabbath, when the elder read from the Reviewing Herald,

why he was there for Jesus. He was there for Jesus. He was

there for Jesus. And so God never intended that worship be a spectacle and

that the presentation of the Word be entertainment. I will say it again.

You will know, you will know where you are spiritually the day you can

come to church and worship the Lord, no matter what's going on and no

matter who's speaking. And as long as you've got another criteria, I guarantee

you you'll never see the earth made new. I'll be very frank with you.

You ain't going in because that's an insult to God. He knows you've

never come here for him and you will not spend eternity with him. So

my real listuy, today is do you have a hunger for the Word,

a starving for direction that would give you the Word at home or at the

church. The Bible prophesies about the time when people will be ripping and running

for knowledge and Daniel twelve four running to and fro, and the context of

that text is eschatological and in ny time, last Day's tex Having knowledge,

having access to knowledge is important to this modern world, and the Internet has

opened up the libraries of the planet and with my anger fingertips. Now I

can instantly find knowledge helpful and destructive. And we know that knowledge itself listen

to this next sentence. We know that knowledge itself is not bad. But

our priority in knowledge says a lot about us. You remember what Jesus said

in Matthew six thirty three, Seek he finish it for me first, come

on the kingdom, seek it, win, seek it whin he saw my

priority. See what's see? What's the most important thing in your life to

know? And you know how we are. We need to know something.

We go google, we google, and we just that and the other and

so forth. We get it, type it out, have it knowledge,

got it, instant knowledge. You got one of these land at home.

When you face with a life situation, how often do you think about going

here first? This is beyond folk starving? Are we really starving? And

and the Bible is clear about the fact that it has the knowledge. I

mean, let's go to that text. We all love very famous texts Two

Timothy. Go to two Timothy three fifteen through seventeen, and that from a

child thou hast known the holy scriptures. What you're able to make the wise

and the salvation he's writing to Timothy Paul is through faith in Christ Jesus,

all scripture come on vote is given by what inspiration of God. And it's

profitable for doctrine, for reprove, for correction, for instruction and righteousness,

that the Man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished all good works. That's

what the Bible burrel. That's what it has for us. It has everything

we need. Here is your Google source for every life situation. No Ah,

we too intellig we're too modern for that. You're not starving. That's

starving. And our approach to the Bible must be like a two Timothy two

fifteen study to show thyself what a workman that needs not to be ashamed right

to divine the word of truth. One translation says, be a good worker

who does not need to be ashamed, and who correctly explains the word of

truth. Second Timothy two fifteen tells me that Biblical truth must be sought after,

desired, mastered, master value. And the reason is because to know

him is to share him the heart of the Bible. John five point thirty

nine. He search the scriptures so you think you have each tonal life,

but they are they that testify of me, Jesus saying, studying for studying

sake ain't enough. You have to find Jesus in the scriptures. The sermon

has to have Jesus in it. Jesus himself set the example. Remember he's

walking with those fellows from in maas Luke twenty four to twenty seven, and

beginning at Moses and all the prophets he explained to them, and all the

scriptures the things concerning what himself he said. They had no new Testament,

They had no new Testament. He said, look at the old Testament of

all up in them scriptures. Heart of the Bible, core of the Bible,

strength of the golden cord of the Bible is Jesus. Somebody say,

man, yes, sir, Jesus Jesus. So why is searching for the

Bible when it's available? Important? Man? I got a text for you.

I got a text for you. We're going to Amos. Where are

we going? Get on up in Amos? Hoseiah joel Amos. Yes,

sir, he's one of those texts. Just you almost have to stand up

when you read it. Amos eight, eleven, eleven and twelve. Can't

wait on you whenever you see a prophetic test, start off with the word,

behold, I love this stuff, Shane, Behold, behold the days

come saith the Lord God. Who's talking? Who's talking that I will send

a famine in the land. Read that text with me. Come on,

not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of what

it shall not always be available. His text just sends chills up through me.

Going to be a famine now he predicted, He predicted in Matthew famines

and pestilences, didn't he You thought he was talking about them other famines.

He said, No, there's another famine bigger than the one for bread,

water. There's gonna be a family. There's gonna be a day when you're

gonna have a hard time finding a Bible. Read verse twelve. Read verse

twelve. Come on, and they shall wander from C to C, and

from the north to even to the east. They shall run to and fro

to seek What will happen? What will happen? Now? I made four

points out of that text. How is this text being fulfilled? Here?

It is number one? The Bible will become less and less available. Now

I know right now it's the number one seller in the world. But the

devil's busy all Number two disc Now, this is the one. Distortions of

the Bible will become more and more available. Some of y'all got to watch

some of these bibles you buyd out of these stores, pairaphrases of the Word,

summaries of the Word. Here's my test. When a new Bible comes

out, I go immediately to the key doctrinal tess if they've waded down the

text on the Sabbath and the state of the dead, because I don't just

want the word. Hey, I want the pure word. Number three,

churches with preachers that really present the unadult created Bible will be harder to find.

So you don't get so carried away about how does he preach? What's

he saying? Ellen White writes, the word is perishing for one of the

Gospel. Now, this next thing is something. There are few who preach

the Word unmixed with human tradition. This next thing is really something. Though

men have the Bible in their hands, they do not receive the blessing that

God has placed in it for them. You sitting there Bible in your hand

in church, don't get the blessing there for the wrong reason, there for

the wrong reason. There for the wrong reason. So Jeremiah said, there's

your text. My words were found. What did he do and what was

the result? Joy and rejoicing of marrow Let Job chime in Job twenty three,

verse twelve. Job has a word to say, that's hearing Job twenty

three and verse twelve, Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his

lips. I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than what y'all ah

starving. Job said, I'm starving. I'd rather eat this than eat food.

And then one Peter two says, desire the sincere milk of the word.

Jeremiah, give me the Bible that old him Jeremiah twenty verse nine.

Jeremiah is having a bad moment. Being a prophet chem is not doing him

a whole lot of good. Very discouraged, and he basically says to the

Lord, I'm through with this. I'm not gonna do any more prophesying.

Jeremiah twenty verse nine. I'll read the whole chapter. He's upset with God,

so Jeremiah resigns. Then he confesses he said the word was like fire

in my bones. I could not keep silent. See. Another proof that

you starve for the Word is that you're always giving it. You're always giving

it made the Lord plant each one of us a hunger for the Word.

Are you starving? Is the Word sufficient to hold you? Even if the

preacher is not that good or the music's not that great? Is the word

sufficient to have you come to church? Well? Is that enough for you?

Or does it need embellishment? Do we have to decorate it so you

can enjoy it? That's the question for you to answer. I can't answer

it. I know this. If that's the way you are, you will

not last through the time of trouble. The Word must be sufficient to sustain

you and keep you. Is that all right? Let's pray. Let's pray.

Enough preaching, let's pray. Father, this pastor deans leads the congregation

and dull us now into their moment of commitment. I lead this congregation here.

I'm not going to make any kind of an appeal. Will you study

the Bible more? We've done that fifty five times and then some None of

that. Just sit there in your pew, think about what you've heard,

apply to yourself. I will open the doors of the church that old fashioned

Christian phrase, if there'd be a person sitting here who has never taken their

stand in the Seventh day Adventist Church, or you've been coming and you want

to learn more, it's like to take Bible studies and you want to respond

to that. I'll give you a moment to do so right now. Father.

We thank you so very much for trying to keep us on point.

We're moving into that final hour of verse history. We have to be solid,

living on the essentials. We've talked about it today. We thank you

for the straightness of the word in Jesus name, and everybody said amen.

Adventist Radio London inspiration for the Sun