Peter Tan-Chi - Find Your Satisfaction in Christ
Today's information is related to legit. We are talking about a series called What? Legit. do you know? I didn't understand this word before. This word is used by young people, legit. What does legit mean? Reality. Get rid of hypocrisy and be free. Be truly happy. Oh my god, I'm learning a new word, true happiness. Do you believe God wants you to be happy? Yes or no? Well, let me tell you, God wants you to be truly happy. Let me ask you to do a test...are you willing to take the test? The first one is easy; how many times do you have to raise your hand? Every time you ask a question you either raise your hand or you don't, okay? Do you believe God wants you to be happy? OK. Do you want to be happy? Lift higher. Because of the people who didn't raise their hands, I asked a psychiatrist to wait for me. Do you want to know how to be happy? Do you see the problem?
Fewer and fewer people are raising their hands, because the truth is you want to be happy, but you really don't know how to be happy, right? If I were to ask you, could you tell your family, could you teach someone: What does it take to be truly happy? Do you know what to tell them? If you know, raise your hand. Look, there aren't many people. That's why today's message is for all of you, for all of us. How I wish the whole world knew what it takes to be truly happy. I was in America a few weeks ago and was in shock; by the way, did you guys miss me? [Thinking about it...] Very good, very good, I miss you too. I was shocked. After learning about Anthony Bourdain, according to different magazines, different newspapers, this guy has the most coveted job in the world. He's famous, he's rich, he's a celebrity, but what happened to him? He was looking for happiness, and you would think he was happy; he looked happy, but he hanged himself even though he had a daughter.
Have you heard of... this same week, almost the same time, a girl named Kate Spade; how many of you have heard of Kate Spade? I noticed there were ladies; men, do you know Wala Tayoun Alam? Do you know why? Kate Spector is a fashion designer; she designs bags, expensive bags, you know? She was chosen as a glamor girl in the year 2000. She was famous, had a lot of money...and committed suicide. How did you die? Hang yourself. How I wish someone had touched these people and shared with them that happiness is actually very natural. The question is where do you find happiness? We are looking for happiness in the wrong places. Some people think it's a matter of money, "Money will make me happy". So you pursue money; and then you find out, what is the result? Still empty. For some people, it's relationships... A relationship will make you happy temporarily, but ultimately it won't. For some people, it's family; we need to praise God for our family, but does family really make you happy? And fame, being popular... these don't make you really, really happy. How can you be truly happy?
You know what St. Augustine said nearly 2,000 years ago: You created us for yourself, and our hearts are always restless until they find rest in you, st. Augustine. Now, how do you experience true happiness, true contentment? Over the past few weeks, we've been talking about the Beatitudes, right? Remember the Beatitudes, the word blessed means happiness. Blessed, what is the first blessing? "Blessed are the poor in spirit". This has to do with humility, understanding that you need God: "Blessed are the poor in spirit". Next line, "Blessed are those who mourn". Know how to repent of their sins. Blessed are the people. Third, "Blessed are the meek". Note, happiness is counterintuitive to God, but it all leads you to Jesus. If you are proud and arrogant, you will not come to Jesus. You won't come to Jesus if you don't feel you need Him. If you are not meek and meek, you will not come to God; you want to be in control.
Today, I want you to remember today's message. Find Contentment in Christ. Where did you derive this principle? Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, let's read this verse together. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. In today's message I will explain this verse. Let's start with the word "Blessed". Which word does the word blessed come from? Marcarious, tell me, Marcarious, how many of you are named Macarios? Please raise your hand. I once had a friend whose name was Macarios, happiness. Happiness, joy, joy, joy, celebration, words like this appear more than two thousand times in the Bible, because what does God want from you? happiness. When the Bible talks about being blessed, it simply means to be happy. But the translators didn't translate it into happiness. They translated it into this word-blessed. But actually, what does "blessed" mean? Real, true happiness, contentment.
So God wants you to be truly happy. Do you believe God wants you to be happy? Blessed! Let me reveal the heart of God to you through the Bible. You know, in order for you to give your life to Jesus, you need to know God. Many of us have religious beliefs, but we don't know God. We don't know Jesus. For example, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, about two thousand times you read this sentence: You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God. Look, it's a command, "You...rejoice..." "You and your children," you rejoice. For example, Psalm 40:16: Let all who seek you rejoice and rejoice in you; this is a command to rejoice and rejoice. People are shocked to learn that God wants you to be happy and rejoice. They think that God is the KJ (disappointment) in the universe and that God does not want to make you happy. That's not right; God wants you, to be happy.
"Shout to the Lord, all the earth;" Attention, everyone, "raise your voice and sing for joy..." Oh my God! We have a wonderful God, don't we? Yeah, the question is, why are most people unhappy? Let me share it with you through the New Testament. Let's read it together: Rejoice in the Lord always! I say again, rejoice! Notice, this is a command, rejoice. Do you know what a command is? How can you command someone to be happy? Have you ever thought about this? Not just rejoicing, "Rejoice in the Lord always..." Louder always... rejoice in the good times and in the bad times; do you know why? We can be happy for many reasons. For example, Jesus said: Don't rejoice because evil spirits have surrendered to you. In other words, don't rejoice over things that don't really matter. Be happy in what is right. What should you be happy about? Everyone read together: "But rejoice because your names are written in heaven".
Let me ask you, how many of you today are convinced that when you die, your name will be recorded in heaven, and therefore you will go to heaven? If you feel confident, please raise your hand. If you are not sure , just don't force it, okay? But if you're sure, raise your hands. I didn't tell you to put it down, raise your hands. You know what, I'm surprised; over 90% sure, so if you're sure, I want to see your smiling faces, smile. When you die you're going to heaven, are you happy about that? But, let me tell you something, that doesn't mean you won't have pain or problems. Look what Jesus tells us: You too are in sorrow now, but I will see you again, and you will have joy in your hearts; no one can take that joy away from you. This is reality... We live in a world of sin In this world, there may be crying and there may be pain. But never forget that the core of the Christian life is joy, and around joy there may be crying, there may be disappointment, and others may take advantage of you.
Cheap, but sorrow won't characterize your life. You may be in pain, someone dies... Yes, but at the core is joy. According to Jesus, the Bible tells us: I have told you these things... … Read it together: Louder, "…my joy," whose joy? The joy of Jesus, did you know that God is a happy God? Did you know that Jesus is happy? Louder. Correct. "…that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full". In other words, it's one thing to be happy, but it's another thing to be truly filled with joy and happiness. Question: Have you experienced the fullness of joy that God has promised us? If not, I'm going to teach you today. Do you want to listen? Do you want to learn the secret of true joy? So you can teach it to the people you love, right? I'm going to share it with you, and this is what you have to do, okay? This is what you have to do To do, A. W. Tozer said: God's people should be the happiest people in the world. – A. W. Tozer.
Can I see you smile one more time? Smile? You know, at CCF I don't know why, when You come in here, you better come in joyful, amen? If you come to CCF and you see someone who is not joyful, frowning, what are you going to do? Tell them, this is against the law. Don't do it. Can you imagine coming to God with a weeping face? What is the Tagalog synonym for simangot? My friend, can you turn to the person next to you and tell the person next to you, "Rejoice, rejoice". You know why? You will never make a (good) impact on your neighbor, your co-worker, your family for Jesus if you are not joyful. When will they come to Jesus? Right? Is it enough to just look at you? One look at you makes you depressed. The question is, are you happy? My friends, if you are not happy, as measured by God's Word, you are sinning. It's surprising but true. This shocks me, because it's a command to rejoice, and if I don't rejoice, I'm disobeying the Lord.
Now the question is, you say, "Peter, how can I pretend, I'm not rejoicing". Huh?! Why aren't you joyful? We're going to talk about that today, amen? But do you believe God wants you to be joyful? Louder OK, tell the person next to you, be joyful. Tell the person next to you, "Find your contentment in Christ". Tell your neighbor, "Find your contentment in Christ". Look at me, friends, if you want to be happy, don't feel guilty about it, because God created you to be happy. Don't feel like there's something wrong when you want to be happy, but you can't be happy.. Because God wants you to know that it makes sense. The only question is, where do you go to find happiness?
For a lot of us, listen to me... You're looking for happiness in the wrong place, When you're in the wrong place When looking for happiness, like, where do we look for it? For some, it's money, for some, it's boyfriend/girlfriend, for some, it's relationships, and when you look for happiness in those places, you are committing idolatry. Because what is idolatry? Idolatry is making something your god, and that's not what it should be. There's no perfect family, there's no perfect husband, There are no perfect friends, there are no perfect wives. If you look for happiness in people, in relationships, I guarantee you will be disappointed, and your happiness will be fleeting. But if you look for happiness in the right place, You will be amazed. Are we ready? Let's look at this verse again; Hungry [peinao] Thirst [dipsao] Blessed are those who desire righteousness, for they will be filled.
This is a wonderful promise, but first Let me tell you what it means. He gives you the conditions for true happiness, true contentment. You must hunger and thirst for righteousness. The Greek word for hunger is peinao and for thirst is dipsao. Why do I want you to learn some words like this?? Because you and I don't know what hunger means. For example, how many of you have actually experienced hunger? You haven't eaten for days, not because you don't want to eat, but because there is no food. Have you really experienced it? There's been no food for days. Raise your hands. You see, very little; you don't know what hunger is. For those of us who fast and pray, and those of us who have fasted and prayed, we have experienced what is Hungry. But you know what? After I fasted and prayed for a few days, I tell you, you know what I dreamed about? Burger King, KFC. You know why? Because you're really hungry; thirsty, we don't have any today that question.
Let me tell you a true story so you know what hunger is. A group of men were traveling across the Sahara Desert to the Middle East. They wanted to visit a place. Are you familiar with the Sahara Desert? You don't want to cause trouble there, They were lost. Remember at that time there was no GPS, no cell phones, you know? At that time, they were lost. And when they were lost, they wisely said that just getting out of this car would be suicide.. Because the sun is very hot in the desert, and if you don't have protection, you will die from the heat. So they decided to stay under the vehicle. What about food? What about water? They were scared and didn't dare to eat because it would Make them thirstier, but you have no choice.
When you are hungry, you have to eat a little and drink a little; eventually they have no food and water because it has been 3 weeks. Their only hope was that someone would find them, so they didn't get out of that place. They were so thirsty that they decided to drink water from the radiator. Everybody knows that the water that comes from the radiator is rusty water; that water is not clean because when you're desperate, when you're really thirsty, you're willing to do anything to quench your thirst, right? Now the Bible says that just as food and water are important to life you will be hungry and thirsty and that is normal. You have to hunger and thirst for righteousness, because righteousness is so important to your spiritual life. Now most of us don't understand what hunger and thirst means. Do you really desire righteousness? ah!
Let's discuss the next word now. What does righteousness mean? You must hunger and thirst for righteousness. What is righteousness? Righteousness comes from the Greek word dikaiosuné. To put it simply, dikaiosuné is a state that is acceptable to God. You want righteousness because you want to get into heaven; you want righteousness because you want to please God. What does righteousness mean? Righteousness is a condition acceptable to God. Here 's what you need to understand. There are three parts to the righteousness that Jesus is talking about. The first part is that Jesus is our standard; Jesus is righteousness. Second, Jesus is the source of our righteousness. Third, Jesus is our strength.
Let me repeat, what is righteousness? Jesus is our standard; say it to me: the standard, Jesus is our standard. Most of us don't know what true righteousness is. Second, where do you get this righteousness? From Jesus, the source is Jesus. The standard is Jesus; the source of righteousness, Jesus. Where do you find the strength to be righteous? Power comes from Jesus. Now let me tell you why this is so important. Many people do not understand the Sermon on the Mount. Sermon on the Mount, Beatitudes Blessings and happiness are not optional. This is what the King commands, this is what Christians should do, it is not optional. If you belong to Jesus, this is evidence that you are a true disciple of Jesus: Who are the blessed? Read it again; who are the blessed? Read together, who will be blessed? "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness".
So let me explain to you what righteousness means, because He gave you a promise, what promise? "They will be satisfied". I'll explain that word in a moment. are you ready? Okay, everyone, let's see how Jesus explained righteousness. Let's read together, Matthew Chapter 5: "I tell you", Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven". What does this mean? Jesus will describe what righteousness is according to His standards; Jesus said unless you have that righteousness you will not enter heaven. So this is not optional, this is very important. Let's see Look what the Bible has to say, for example in Matthew chapter 5, after this verse, what is true righteousness, what is the next verse? Can you tell me? In chapter 5 verse 20 After that, what's the next verse? Pay attention!
What's the verse after chapter 5, verse 20? Verse 21 is great! You guys wake up. 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, okay?? So let me give you an example of how Jesus explained dikaiosuné, which will shock you, an example of righteousness; according to Jesus it is not just external, but both external and internal: So He said, "You have heard that it was said, You shall not murder..." But Jesus said, "I say to you," and this was said with authority, Whoever is angry with his brother has committed what sin? Murder. Now listen to me, you Some of you think you are righteous because you are not guilty of murder, but Jesus is telling you today, if you are angry with your brother or sister, according to Matthew chapter 5, if you say, "You are a fool"!
What do you say in Tagalog, fool? If you curse someone, you are committing murder by Jesus' standards. My God! Who among us has this kind of righteousness? Tell me the truth, how many of you are... Are you angry with someone today or in the past? Raise your hands, go higher. Your problem is anger; you have an anger problem, raise your hands. You curse, you yell, do you? According to Jesus standards, that's a no-no. Did you know that the scientific evidence supports what Jesus taught? To be truly happy, to truly live a meaningful life, you have to get rid of anger and bitterness. Let me tell you why, this doesn't come from Christianity , which is based on research.
You know, how many of you have heard of Dr. Dan Colbert, he's a doctor and he wrote the book "Deadly Emotions". He wrote the book "Deadly Emotions", have you read that book? What it says is that when you get angry, you release toxic substances into your bloodstream. According to this author and another author, Peter McWilliams, "You can't afford it. The consequences of negative thoughts or negative emotions", why? It poisons you. So, according to research, now listen to me, according to research, when you're angry, you either go into fight mode or you go into flight mode. When you're angry At times, either you want to fight or you want to flee. Fight or flight mode prepares your body for fight. Because you prepare to fight or flee, all other systems in your body are temporarily affected. For example, you Your digestive system shuts down, your immune system shuts down, your circulatory system that supplies blood to other organs shuts down. Why? Because you're angry, because you have heavy negative emotions; among their findings.
Negative emotions lead to a higher chance of heart attack increased by 300%. Here's what they found, if you want to die early, get angry. Listen to me, you want to die young; you know when you're angry and bitter, it affects your mood and makes You're anxious. It keeps you awake at night, without peace, and some of us suffer from emotional distress. The CDC, one of the most conservative organizations, has warned that almost 85 to 90 percent of Physical illness is associated with negative emotions. So, my friend, ask your neighbor, "Why do you want to die young"? So according to Jesus, to deal with anger, unless there's a problem, and all these authors have a problem; how do you deal with anger? Where's the answer? Jesus has the answer. So, my friend, think about what Jesus told you. Hungry Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness. Hungry for what? Righteousness, righteousness is not just doing things you shouldn't do, like anger, bitterness; it's doing things you should do, forgiveness, love.
See next Phrase, it says: Thou shalt not commit adultery, Jesus said, whoever looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery. People ask me, is pornography wrong? Look at this verse, God wants to protect you, Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery. Why? Because God wants to protect us because based on non-Christian research, scientific research; unfaithful people, people addicted to pornography do not truly enjoy sex after marriage Life. Let me repeat, if you watch porn, it will affect your sex life, whether you like it or not. According to this study, the happiest people who actually enjoy sex are the ones who are committed to monogamy. of couples; that's what research has shown. Jesus was right, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," but adultery begins in the heart.
So let me ask you, how pure are your thoughts? Do you struggle with porn? I can tell you Something? In my survey, most young people and even men around the world struggle with pornography. So I want to tell you now, you are not the only one. CCF can help you, but first you have to admit that you There are struggles in this area, admitting that you are addicted to pornography; that you are addicted to computer games, and if you keep denying that, you will never be happy. Our pastors, many of them have experienced immoral things in the past, We're here to help you, and the reason we can help you is because God has saved us from pornography and sexual immorality. Look at Jesus' standard, it's inward and not outward, look, "You should love your neighbor and hate your enemy". Oh my God! Jesus now says to see true justice, please read this together: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Oh my God! You are to love your enemies.
Now my friend, tell me the truth, there are Are there some people you find hard to love without, yes or no? Be honest with me, yes or no? Are there any KSPs (Attention Craving People) in your group? It's okay to crave attention but there are real dislikes Your people? People who hate you? Do you have those experiences, yes or no? What do you have to do? Let me tell you my secret, I can't make everyone like me, but I can choose to love them, So my wife and I practice loving other people. You may not like me, but I love you, and what do you do? There's something wrong with you, there's something wrong with me, and you don't like me; that's okay, I love you. Oh my Oh my God? That's what Jesus said. The problem with Christianity today, is that we are superficial; we only love those who love us, and when they attack us, we fight back.
My friend, that's not what Jesus said; righteousness... It's about learning to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors. Friends, wherever you are right now, if you don't think so in your heart, if you don't agree that this is the standard of righteousness and that you must desire that righteousness, you You'll never experience the fullness of life because you think it's optional. So now let me show you how you can have this righteousness. Are you ready? Well, righteousness and redemption, in the Bible Go together. For example, in Isaiah chapter 61 verse 10, salvation and righteousness go together; He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, and he has clothed me with the robe of righteousness. Righteousness and salvation go together.. In order to experience righteousness, you must be redeemed.
Another verse, Isaiah 56, thus says the Lord: "Keep judgment and do righteousness, for my salvation is near and my righteousness will be revealed". Therefore, righteousness and salvation are mutually reinforcing and cannot exist without the other. So how you experience this, the Bible is clear, comes from Christ; the standard is Christ, the source is Christ. Let us read this together, everyone, together: 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Notice, God made Jesus sinless; Jesus kept the Ten Commandments, he kept every law, but He made Jesus to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
This is the principle of the gospel: substitution. I deserve to go to hell. I deserve to die for my sins. Jesus Christ bore my sins on the cross. If Jesus bore my sins on the cross and paid the price for all my sins, how many sins do I have left to pay for? If Jesus paid for all my sins, past, present, and future. I wasn't even born when Jesus died. If He paid the price for all my sins, did He know that I would be a sinner, yes or no? Did he know I was into pornographic stuff? Did he know I would lie? Did he know that I was guilty of all sorts of sins? OK, but when He died on the cross to pay for all my sins, how many sins were left, answer? louder please! Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for all your sins? Do you believe he paid it all? If he paid it all, would you go to heaven? Why? Because the Bible tells us, read it together, that we may become... you are righteous like Christ; this is called positional righteousness.
For example, Philippians chapter 3 verse 9, how do you have this righteousness? "And are found in Him, not having a righteousness of your own that comes from the law". This righteousness, this salvation, is not earned by yourself, but is the righteousness that is through faith in Christ, which comes by faith in God. Righteousness, do you understand this kind of righteousness? This is what is called imparted righteousness. God gives you this righteousness because of Jesus, do you understand? Many people stop here, they are not trained, they are not taught that this righteousness given to you will awaken in you the desire to practice righteousness. Let me repeat, righteousness by grace, by faith, will inspire in you a deep desire for true righteousness. For His people, righteousness is a normal desire and desire. He who does not have the life of Christ within him will not hunger and thirst for righteousness, for hunger and thirst are the hallmarks of life.
How can you hunger and thirst for righteousness if you have no spiritual life? That's why the Bible is very clear; "the grace of God which brings salvation has been revealed to all men". It is God's grace that brings us salvation to all men. But please note, it also teaches us to put away unrighteousness and worldly passions and live righteously and godly lives. While God's grace brings you salvation, it also works on you: teaching you how to live? Everyone is reading: Titus 2:11, 12 "Teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age". Living a righteous and godly life is a work of grace. No wonder Paul told his spiritual child Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:22 Read together, "Flee youthful lusts... pursue righteousness..."
You must pursue righteousness. A true Christian will pursue righteousness. A A true believer will hunger and thirst after righteousness. When you look at your life, you will have a holy dissatisfaction and you will say, "Lord, I am so far from Your standards, please change my heart. " You will hunger and thirst for righteousness. If you don't hunger and thirst, I'm afraid you may not be a true Christian. Are we communicating? Because this hunger is inspired by God. Now I want to explain to you: What you have to do Even if you are hungry and thirsty, God will help you. "The Father of our flesh chastens us temporarily according to his own will, but the Father of all spirits chastens us for our benefit so that we may participate in His holiness".
Do you understand? How has God done something in my life? Hungry and thirsty for righteousness, He sometimes disciplines me. Have you ever been disciplined by the Lord? Yeah... I've been disciplined by God a lot of times, in other words, God has been spanking me in the past and I'm like, "God, stop spanking me, I'm going to follow you". You know what, He changed my desires because God knew I was stubborn, but He did something through discipline, through experience, through His Holy Spirit, through fasting, through prayer. My desire for Him grows stronger because righteousness is all about Jesus. My friend, I want you to hear an amazing testimony from one of our members about how God touched her life. Her desire changed from living with her boyfriend to Jesus, Let us welcome Bettina.
Praise God. Friends, the most important thing you need to know is that blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for what will happen to them? If you read it together, you will be satisfied. The word "sat" is an amazing Greek word; it talks about a cow in a corral, why? Because in the corral you have unlimited food, in the corral you are protected from wild animals, but the cows can eat as much as they want and have more than enough. The same word "satisfied" is used in the five loaves and two fishes. The Bible says Jesus fed 5,000 people until what happened to them? Everyone is full. Did you know that God promises complete satisfaction and comes with a money-back guarantee? Ha! Let me share it with you. Does the thing you buy come with a warranty? Yes or no? You want assurance, yes or no?
Did you know that God has promised you not just a lifetime guarantee, it's an eternal guarantee if you pursue His righteousness; the Bible says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, ye All these things you need will be given to you". Safety, happiness, contentment, Amen? Why are some people dissatisfied? I have some theories... Biblically, you have false contentment; you are pursuing the wrong things. You know many years ago, the Bible talks about a woman at a well. Have you heard the story of the Samaritan woman, raise your hand? Okay, let me quickly talk about this. Jesus went to Samaria specifically to meet this woman, and Jesus started a conversation. Jesus wanted to give her living water. Jesus said, "If you drink the water I give you, you will never be thirsty".
So when the Samaritan woman heard about this miraculous water, she did just that, okay? Let's read together: John 4:15-16 The woman said to him, "Sir, please give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty and I will not have to come so far to draw water". Do you understand? So, she wanted living water so she would never be thirsty again. Now, what did Jesus do? Jesus did something unusual; Jesus did not give her water right away. Jesus said, everyone read: "Go and call your husband, and come here too". Why did Jesus connect "call your husband," with the hunger of her soul? Have you ever thought about it? This woman wants living water, she wants water. Jesus said, "Well, let your husband come". Why? Ah... read next verse: John 4:17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband". Jesus said to her, "You are right, 'I have no husband'; for you already have five husbands. This is not your husband, you are true".
Jesus knew that the woman was thirsty; there was a longing in her soul. She wanted to fill this vacuum with relationships, in her case, family, marriage; she had five husbands. Jesus said, "That's the problem". You think a relationship or something else will satisfy your deepest desires. I'm sure there are many of you here today who are like this Samaritan woman. Maybe it's not the person, maybe it's the money; you think money will make you happy. Maybe it's acceptance, you think, "As long as people accept me, I'll be happy". Maybe, I don't know what it is exactly; relationships, to some people are a computer game... I don't know. But Jesus said, "You will not experience contentment". So what Jesus did was draw this woman to Himself. Jesus told the woman, I am the Messiah. When that woman discovered Jesus, do you know what she did? She experienced true contentment and the Bible tells us she dropped her pitcher. The Bible tells us, "...The woman left her pitcher of water and went into the city and said to the people..."
Look, there is a man who told me all the things that I have done. Could this be it? Christ? The Bible tells us that many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because the woman testified, "He told me everything I did". In other words, if you Be satisfied with Jesus and you will talk about Jesus. If you are satisfied with a particular product, will you talk about that product if you are not talking about Jesus, is it because you have not experienced complete satisfaction? Why are you not filled with Jesus, why are you not satisfied with Jesus? Let me tell you, the problem with some Christians is not all, the problem with some Christians is because we have substitutes, according to John Piper: It's not our feasting with the wicked that robs us of our desire for God, it's our feasting with the world Small bites at the table keep us so full that we have no appetite for God. Those are the junk foods that come into your life, substitutes for God; there is nothing wrong with being busy, but you are so full of those substitutes that you have no more room for God. Is this possible? Is it possible that you're so busy with life... that you don't have more room for the real (meaningful) stuff?
I was shocked to find a deer in Arizona, these are malnourished deer. Why are they malnourished? They have all the grass, they have all the food, but not only have they lost their appetite, they have also lost the ability to eat grass normally. Why? Because they are filled with junk food left behind by tourists. Seeing tourists give them chips, cereal, so they get used to that food, not only do they lose their appetite for real food, which is grass, but they also lose the ability to do that, and I realize that's like a lot of Christians today Just like disciples. You are here but you no longer desire God, you do not even look forward to praying and fasting, your desire for God is gone.
My friend, let me warn you, this is dangerous, because the desire for food and the desire for water are essential. Hungry and thirsty for righteousness is also crucial. You will not experience life; you may not even have life. Why talk about appetite when you have no life? Do you have the life of Christ within us? So today I want to give you an opportunity to truly repent and ask God to restore your desire for the real thing. You know Jesus gave you an amazing promise, and let's read this together toward the end: John 6:35 Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger; whoever believes in me, Never thirst". Jesus tells us, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst".
Present Continuous Tense, blessed are those who always hunger and thirst for righteousness. You want to be who God wants you to be, don't lower your standards; don't be so proud and polite, but always hunger and thirst. The Bible promises you, "You will be filled". foot. "This is an eternal guarantee that you will never regret it". I have walked with the Lord for many years, over 50 years; I have walked with Jesus. I can tell you that I will never regret following Jesus. Only in Jesus can you Find complete contentment. At the end of your life, if you are hungry for His righteousness today, repent of your substitutions.
I guarantee that at the end of your life you will say, "This was a life worth living". You will never regret it, but some people may not take it seriously. You will regret it, because in the last chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord.'" Everyone can enter the kingdom of heaven. In that day many will say, Lord, did we not cast out demons in your name? Aren't we preaching in your name? Jesus said, "I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of evil". You see, righteousness is the evidence of those who know the Lord, not perfection; the desire for righteousness will change your life. Because Jesus gives you this desire; He gives you the power to live a life of integrity. If God has been speaking to you, do you want to get serious with God today?
I want you to bow your head, I want you to think, I want to pray for you. Bow your head, you want to give your life completely and be everything God wants you to be, without reservation. Be righteous according to His standards. Give up anything that prevents you from being righteous according to His standards. And you need His help, raise your hand. Praise God and lift high. In fact, stand up now. Those of you who have raised your hands, stand up and be serious with the Lord. Say: "Lord Jesus, this is such a serious thing. I'm here and I want to be hungry for You", and you say, Pastor, can you pray for me? I want to pray for you, is there anyone else? God is saying, are you willing to surrender and give up everything that hinders you from practicing the righteousness of Christ? It may be a relationship, it may be some kind of business, it may be something you know is wrong, but God is saying, I am willing to help you, but you Gotta admit, is there anyone else?
Now is not the time for you to look left and right, I don't want you to stand just because so many people are standing, it's because others are standing I want you to stand because you are serious about God, You say: "Lord, I need you of righteousness, I want your righteousness I can only get it because of Christ". Please, accept His complete forgiveness. This is the first step, you are justified, but to live out this righteousness, is there anyone else? Praise God.
You see, you have experienced the righteousness of God at one time but for some reason you have been putting it off. You are consuming junk food. It is never too late to stop being hungry for the Lord. You have to be willing to curb your craving for junk food. Desire, that's how I developed my appetite, I said no to other things, I said yes to prayer time, I said yes to devotion time, I said yes to reading the Bible, I fasted and prayed, you know why? Because I long for righteousness. If you don't have a desire for righteousness, something is wrong. Don't you understand? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Is there anyone else? Praise God!
Our Father God in heaven, I thank you for these men and women! We clearly see their hunger and thirst for righteousness. Lord, this desire comes from you. You are the source. You are our standard. And you are more than the source. You are our strength. We need your strength. Lord Jesus, we are like this. To be what You want us to be, I pray for everyone here right now that because they are hungry for You, You will cause their appetite to grow, grow, and give us this appetite so that we can truly experience it. What you are is not an appetite for counterfeits, not an appetite for substitutes, but an appetite for you. Please help us, let us honestly say at the end of our lives: Lord, you are enough, you are enough. Far above all, you have truly satisfied us. We have fullness of joy in your presence. At your right hand are everlasting bliss. Thank you Jesus, in your name we pray. Amen! Amen!