Craving the Word of God

9/6/1991

Something that I think is probably worth mentioning in this whole discussion is maybe just a way of looking at some different kinds of gatherings. I had a couple people talk to me today. Apparently there was, at least in some people’s minds, some small degree of confusion maybe. The way it went was, “The voicemail sounded like we were getting together for a gathering, the thing on the bulletin board sounded like a softball thing. Which is it? I’m trying to decide whether to go.”

There’s something about looking at it from that perspective. I asked one person, “Well, what’s the difference?” And there is a difference, but a way of looking at it is, “Is this a gathering, is this something I can gain from, or is it just a softball game?” Are you going to serve no matter what? What is your purpose for going? What is the heart behind going? Are you going as a servant, and if people are playing softball, might you play softball and encourage other people? Or if other people are watching, will that be a chance for you to interact with people and serve them? Or is everything always a selfish thing? “What can I get out of this versus what can I not get out of this? And based on that, I’ll decide whether or not I’m going to go.” We’ve got to raise our vision above that. It’s just absolutely essential.

No matter what you do (and I think I mentioned it when I was praying before), whether we eat or drink, we do all to the glory of God. Whether we gather in His name, whether we’re watching a softball game, there should be something inside our hearts like Mike was talking about, like a sword ready to strike. We’re also ready to laugh and enjoy each other, but it’s got to be a higher vision than what might really boil down to, “What’s in it for me?” I know there could be other circumstances that might give some legitimacy to that question, but in general, I just know that that’s a big element of it: “Is it JUST ______, therefore it’s not worthy of my time?” Versus, “Here’s an opportunity to serve, and I’m going to pray about it, I’m going to consider. There are a couple of people I think I want to talk to...” You go ready and prepared with a fire and a preparation in your heart to be a servant. So, if you’re in the former category (and like I said, I got a couple phone calls along those lines), raise your vision, please!

I don’t think you need to stop—go about another 20 minutes along those lines! I want to add another perspective to that too, on the “What’s in it for me?” category. I’ll bet you there are maybe one or one-and-a-half people here that the “What’s in it for me?” wouldn’t even apply necessarily to the gathering. Actually, if no one would think anything of it if you weren’t here, there are probably one or one-and-a-half people here who might not come for the sake of hungering for the word of God. Everybody but one or one-and-a-half people, I’m sure, would.

We’ll talk about levels again here. If it were just softball, what’s in it for me? “Well, I’m not a softball player, so why should I go? I don’t really want to go...I’m not interested in softball...my knee hurts anyway...they wouldn’t want me on their team. What’s in it for me? But, if the word of God is there, if worship of God is there, I want to be there. So I don’t want to play softball, but I’m hungering for the word of God. Like newborn babes craving pure spiritual milk, I crave the word of God. So if we’re gathering together, I have to be there.”

Okay, that’s “what’s-in-it-for-me.” Even that is selfish. But that’s a higher level than, “Well, if we’re gathering, I’ll be there because somebody might notice if I’m not. I’m not craving the word of God. I could take it or leave it, and I’m not sure I’ll even pay attention if I am there. But I’d better be there, because if it’s a gathering, it wouldn’t be good if I weren’t there.” Do you see the difference?

You can selfishly come just because you crave the word of God. That’s really not good enough for a priesthood of believers. Do crave the word of God, but a higher level still is, whether it’s softball, whether it’s at a synagogue on Saturday, or if it’s a gathering of the saints, or whatever it may happen to be, you want to be there to serve with the word of God and to serve in a material way if possible, as well as craving pure spiritual milk. But at the very least, if you’re just selfish, and not just empty, at the very least you would want to come to a gathering and not softball because you crave the word of God like newborn babes. You crave it, and you don’t think there will necessarily be much of it at a softball game.

That’s the second level, and even that’s not nearly high enough. And the third level is, “I really ought to go to a gathering, but I don’t see how a softball game would be mandatory, so I’ll skip it. I’ve got other plans. I can entertain myself in ways that *I* like, rather than softball, which other people like.” So, let me encourage you to go to the highest level on that one, too.

If you don’t crave the word of God, if you don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness, you have some repenting to do. I’ll say it as nicely as I can. It is the word of God and a command to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s a command to keep your spiritual fervor (Romans 12). It’s a command to do that, and if we’re not there, it’s because we haven’t, as Peter said, added goodness to our faith, and self-control and those things that are listed in 2 Peter 1. We’re not adding to that so that we’ll never lose our fire, so that we won’t lose the inheritance that God has given us in this life and our highest place in the life to come. So, at the very least, if I’m not hungering and thirsting and craving, then there is something really wrong! It shouldn’t be that way, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Please don’t let it be that way, and don’t let it be that way for anybody else you know, either. If you see that they have no real interest, they don’t crave the word of God, then that should concern you deeply.

And that’s back to the point we were making before about the difference between carnal fellowship or friendly fellowship, versus godly, light-walking fellowship. What’s important to you? Do you care if they’re walking in the light? Does it matter to you if they crave the word of God like newborn babes craving pure spiritual milk? Does it bother you that they may not be? Do you even know whether they are, and does it bother you that you don’t know? That’s the nature of fellowship, true fellowship. And that’s what makes our joy complete, the apostle John went on to say, is walking in that kind of fellowship, seeing no man after the flesh.

Consider the last phrase of the song “Shine, Jesus, Shine,” which we’ve talked about on another occasion: “Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light.” Send forth Your word. The book of Acts speaks continually of the word of God increasing. Even the Old Testament mentions a famine in the word of God. You can have the Bible and still have a famine. “Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light.” Let there be an anointed word that can touch even me in my dullness. Send forth Your word. I can harden my heart, I can stiffen my neck just like they did with Stephen. We can butcher the prophets that God sends to us as all of history has done. But, God, send forth Your word for the sake of people who do care.

For the people who have a hungry heart, that want to change, that don’t want to stiffen their necks, that want to be all that God wants them to be regardless of any personal cost, that want to be humble servants, that don’t need a reputation or recognition or affirmation. They don’t need to be appreciated, they don’t need to be invited. They just want to serve Jesus with all their heart and open the word of God and the light of life to a corrupt generation. Send forth Your word, Lord and let there be light!

Shine, Jesus, shine

Fill this land with the Father’s Glory

Blaze, Spirit, blaze

Set our hearts on fire

Flow, river, flow

Flood the nations with grace and mercy

Send forth Your word, Lord

And let there be light!