What’s your food?

30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. John 4:30-34

In Liberty (www.wearelibertychurch.com) over the last few weeks I have begun to teach on the Beatitudes, Jesus’ ‘Kingdom manifesto‘. Unsurprisingly enough we learn that the ‘blessed or happy life’ taught by Jesus is not found the way our modern society is convinced it will be gained. Jesus teaches instead that we need to be ‘poor in spirit’ and to understand our utter need of God, His will, and His presence in our lives.

As the sermon continues Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled (satisfied)“. Those who have come to understand their NEED for God don’t see this as a one or two-time ‘religious moment’ to get credit with God and just get our ‘escape pass’ to heaven. We don’t only wait for the ‘not yet’ we also are hungry for the ‘already and now’ of His Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven! His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven! Funny that sounds like a prayer I have heard of!

Hungering for something comes with a real sense of priority. There is a search! A search for food! Those who claim they are hungry for God but have little to no sense of urgency and priority for the will of God to be done, or to know God Himself, may need to question which gospel narrative they heard in the first instance. When we are hungry we look for food! Real hunger isn’t put off to accomplish ten other things first, it get’s priority!

Jesus teaches us that His Kingdom life is one of seeking Him to help us grow in godliness. We will not be able to grow without God’s help. We must live in union with Christ and in fellowship with the Spirit. We need to know what God’s will is too and we get this from studying the Bible carefully!

If we are really hungry we are not easily put off in our pursuit of a satisfying meal! If someone says ‘come with me’ we will probably say ‘OK, but first I have got to eat something!’. We are not easily deterred from this objective! Our stomach is letting us know that we are short on fuel and we need a ‘pitstop’! Yet Satan is a ‘hinderer’ (this is one of his names). He wants to hinder and thwart God’s Kingdom in and through us. He comes to rob, kills, steal and destroy. He likes to devour. So Jesus teaches us that anyone who is to grow in godliness will need to learn to overcome hindrances and trials, with His help. They will come! In this world we WILL have trouble but we need to take heart so that we can overcome the ‘world’ and all its hindrances….

Having a hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God’s kingdom looks like something – ‘we will grow to love the things that God loves and grow to hate the things that He hates’.

Our food, like Jesus will become to hunger and thirst for His righteousness. We forgive when others think we should be bitter. We pray for those who have hurt us. We find peace in a time of turmoil. We surrender to God when others are freaking out! Our ‘food’ is also to do the will of the Father and to complete His work. We love when others could’t care less. Hindrances are going to come. Following God’s will can sometimes be really costly and hard. Yet when we are ‘hungry and thirsty’ we are transformed from being ‘wet noodles in the hurricane’ to being solid and rooted in Christ. Pillars in the storm! We pursue rather than remain passive.

God has an incredible way of using trials and tests of our faith and character to reveal what the ‘real food’ is that we are looking for.

Don’t be surprised if he is wanting to upgrade you to ‘dine’ in His Kingdom! To ensure that your ‘food’ (will) is to live for God’s glory and to pursue His will….

So don’t allow those hindrances in life to stop you! The hungry will pursue and prioritise, but remember we can only love because He has FIRST loved us…..

JASON SHIELS