America is hungry!! We eat way more than we are supposed to and the continued appetites that are available prove this fact. We like to eat, whether it is healthy food or not. If you set an order of Fettuccine Alfredo in front of me, I am going to eat the whole plate, and if you throw in a few breadsticks, I am set. I love the flavor and the sauce, and I promise the noodles will call out "David, David," to the point I must eat them!! C'mon really? No, not really!
Are You Hungry? What are you hungry for? Read the following scriptures and see how Jesus addresses this subject. John 4: 27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him. 31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” 33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other. 34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe[e]for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”
It is not wrong to hunger, so you and I are off the hook. The question is, "What are you hungry for? The disciples offered Jesus food they had gotten in the village because they knew he had not eaten. Jesus gets them thinking when He says, "32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” They did not realize a major truth was about to be revealed, and it had to do with what they were hungry for. They first see Jesus talking with a woman, which is not acceptable in their society. She leaves after being told by Jesus that He is the Messiah, and she spreads this realization all over the village to the point that people are "streaming" out of the town to come and see the Messiah. The disciples miss the point of being there by worrying about food and wondering if someone else had brought food to Jesus because He said He wasn't hungry.
Then Jesus tells them what satisfies His hunger, and it is to do the will of God. Jesus also said that His food was a food they knew nothing about. But they were about to get a full course of truth about the existence of this mystery food that filled Jesus up. The reason Jesus was even walking around was to do the will of God, and to the harvest of souls, He was going to die for in the days ahead. The will of His father was to be a harvester and the harvest was massive! The people streaming from the village after hearing the Samaritan woman's words that she had found the Messiah is proof of the importance of Jesus being found by all who were seeking. The disciples did not understand everything that was going on, but now was the "perfect" time for the "perfect" truth, and it is found in the next verses.
John 4:34 Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe[e]for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” We get to rejoice with Jesus in the harvest; rejoicing changes our lives as much as those who are harvested. Oh, if we would realize the importance of reaping this harvest of souls that God has prepared a great sacrifice to offer them. John 3: 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Jesus brings everything into focus when He says, "It is time." The harvest is now, and all we have to do is go get it. All is prepared by the Holy Spirit, and it is time to reach the harvest. That is why we have a church. Not just so we can sit around in our "holy huddles" and make a community of believers. Oh, the community has its place, and that place is to challenge each other to go harvesting. If that is not what you are hungry for, then your food is physical, and we will keep fattening ourselves with our fellowships as the harvest ruins in the field because it is ready NOW! It's so sad to see all of the watering and caring just to leave it in the field and miss the harvest. Are You Hungry? What are you hungry for? We should be hungry to do the will of the Father, and that is to get the harvest because it is ready.
Today's Message
David Warren
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