04.24.2022 | HUNGRY FOR MORE
HUNGRY FOR MORE
Psalm 63:1-2 – "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory."
Psalm 63:3-5 – "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus, I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your Name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."
Psalm 63:6-8 – "When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me."
Psalm 63 – A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah
David is thirsty for the presence of the Living God.
Psalm 63:1a – "O God [Elohim – Creator God], You are my God [El – the Strong One], early [earnestly, diligently] will I seek You."
Psalm 42:1-2b – "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."
Spiritual hunger is a gift from God.
Psalm 63:8a – "My soul follows close behind You."
Follows close – cling, cleave, pursue, catch up
Psalm 63:8a (KJV) – "My soul followeth hard after Thee."
Psalm 63:8b – "Your right hand upholds me."
HOLY SPIRIT, I HUNGER FOR YOU!
How do we pursue His presence and His power?
1. Pursue His Presence Through Worship and Praise
Psalm 63:3 – "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You."
Shabach – a shout of praise
Psalm 63:4 – "Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your Name."
Psalm 63:5b – "And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips."
Hallal – to praise God with enthusiasm; undignified praise
2. Pursue His Presence Through Reading His Word
Psalm 63:6 – "When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches."
Meditate – to ponder, reflect; when reading the Word, we repeat it over and over
Psalm 1:1-2 – "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night."
Psalm 1:3 – "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."
Psalm 46:4a – "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God."
If you have the Word without the Spirit, you dry up. If you have the Spirit without the Word, you blow up. If you have the Word and the Spirit, you grow up.
3. Pursue His Presence Through Prayer and Fasting
Psalm 63:4 (NLT) – "I will praise You as long as I live, lifting up my hands to You in prayer."
1 Timothy 2:8 – "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."
Matthew 6:10 – "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 17:21 – "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
Fasting – abstaining from food for spiritual purposes
Psalm 63:2 – "So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory."
WE ARE GRATEFUL, BUT WE ARE HUNGRY FOR MORE!
Matthew 5:6 – "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."
Discussion Questions:
1. What are some of the enemies of spiritual hunger?
2. Are you pursuing the Presence of the Lord with all your heart?
3. If you are not pursuing Him with all of your heart, what is holding you back?
4. Are you spending time in worship at home and during the week outside of services?
5. Are you reading His Word consistently? Are you spending time in prayer?
6. Would you be willing to ask the Lord to increase you hunger and thirst for Him?