Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Hello Sunday! So glad to see you, because you bring the joy of going to the Lord’s sanctuary to worship and fellowship with other believers; a joy that nothing in this world can surpass. For when we worship our sovereign God, when we give Him the thanks and praise He so rightly deserves, then our hearts are opened and refreshed, as His goodness and mercy float into our spirits and raises the levels of our confidence and spiritual maturity, which gives us the strength, wisdom and patience to carry on with the Lord’s work in this evil and ungodly world.
And our opening song of worship this morning is a relatively young one, only about three decades old. (smile) Its that famous gospel soul tune done by the then popular gospel group, Andrae Crouch and the Disciples, titled ‘Take Me Back Dear Lord,’ from the album of the same name. Many of you might not know it, and I only rediscovered it myself a few weeks ago. I’d completely forgotten how sweet and soulful it was, and how the lyrics resonated especially well for these sad times of lessening and lost faith in Almighty God.
So let’s raise our voices in sacrificial praise, in a sweet, soulful, heartfelt and harmonious version of the song. And we begin with a double dose of the haunting chorus: ‘(Chorus: Take me back, take me back dear Lord, To the place where I first received you. Take me back, take me back dear Lord, to where I first believed) (twice) I feel, that I’m so far from you Lord, But still I hear you calling me. Those simple things that I once knew, The memories are drawing me. I must confess, Lord I’ve been blessed, But yet my soul’s not satisfied. Renew my faith, restore my joy, And dry my weeping eyes.
(Chorus ‘Oh Lord, Oh Lord Take me back…) (Bridge:) I tried so hard, To make it all alone. I need your help Lord, Just to make it home. (Chorus: Take me back, dear Lord, Please take me back, to the place where I first received you. Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I first believed. Ohhh Take me back dear Lord, Take me back, I’m pleading dear Lord, I’ve got to get back there, to the place where I first received you! Take me back, dear Lord, Back to the place where I first believed.’
Ah friends, it’s a simple song, but it says oh so much. And right now I believe it mirrors the state of Christ’s church in these fickle and faithless times. It calls, it cries out for a strong renewing of our faith. For us to go back to the time when we first received Christ. How we were excited and overjoyed to be His disciple, to do His work. Not like we currently are, lazy, cynical, and joyless. Yes my people, we need to get back to those times when we truly believed in God. For as the song says, so many of us feel so far from God, but we still hear Him calling us; the memories keep drawing us back to Him.
And to truly find ourselves, we need to get back to the simple things we once knew. For, although we know we’ve been blessed, yet there’s still dissatisfaction in our souls because with all the confusion and temptations in this world, we’ve strayed from the path God set us on. Remember what Jesus said: ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)
Yes my people, many of us have unfortunately strayed from that straight and narrow path where life is found, and we desperately need to get back to it, so that our faith can be renewed, our joy restored and our tear-filled eyes dried. We’ve become like Jesus said in the parable of the Sower: ‘He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care (cares) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’ (Matt. 13:22)
It’s sad, but true that we’ve fallen prey to the pretty baubles and bangles that the world advertises and we’ve forgotten God and been trying to make it on our own. But that’s a total impossibility. We can NEVER make it on our own. No! Never without the Lord’s help. And how do we get back to where we began? I believe the first thing is to remember these encouraging words of Jesus from the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6)
Yes friends, we need to regain that deep desire for personal righteousness. We need to realize our spiritual poverty and hunger and thirst for that inner satisfaction which only God can give. As the psalmist so rightly says in Psalm 107: ‘For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107) That’s the gospel truth! And how do we do all of that you ask? I guess we can begin with these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2)
And what does renewing your mind mean, and how do we do it in practical terms? This simple commentary explains it in a down to earth manner. ‘Renewing your mind means doing away with unhealthy thought patterns and replacing them with true, godly ones. You take notice of thoughts you have that don’t line up with scripture (truth), and when that thought comes up, choose not to keep thinking that thought.’
But then, to do that means you have to know the truth, for as Jesus said, ‘…thy word is truth.’ Now that in turn means meditating continually on the Word, so that it’s truth can fill you, and you have it right there to use when needed. And believe me, it’s always needed in these turbulent times. So let’s get serious about our faith and turn back to God, hungering for His righteousness, renewing our minds and meditating on His Word, so that we can faithfully walk the straight and narrow path that leads to life eternal! Much LOVE!
…only as we sincerely seek God…will we find Him…
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