yourtown4jesus.com

Dinner is served!

Back when I was the Assistant Pastor of a 300-member charismatic

church, I was also in charge of the Children’s Ministry, newborns

through high school. Over 30 volunteers signed up to assist, including

high school and college students. It never failed that, on any given

Sunday morning, someone scheduled to work would approach me in

the hall and say, “I’m sorry, Pastor Mike…but I can’t help you…

I need to get fed today. I need to sit under the Word.”

So, guess who had to take care of their class?

When it comes to “getting fed,” let’s examine the sayings of Jesus and

try and get HIS perspective on that issue. He said:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they

shall be filled.” (Matt 5:6)

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and

eat it, for this is My body.” (Matt 26:26)

“My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and

from finishing His work.” (Jn 4:34)

“Yes, I am the Bread of Life!” (Jn 6:48)

“I am the Living Bread that came down from Heaven. Anyone who eats

this Bread will live forever; and this Bread, which I will offer so the

world may live, is My flesh.” (Jn 6:51)

Seems we don’t need to get fed as much as we need to get DEAD! Why?

Because dead people don’t get hungry. They don’t get depressed and

suffer from whatever life throws at them. They’re dead and they don’t

require ministry. They don’t “need to get fed.”
HEARERS OR DOERS?
In the growing House Church Movement, despite the professed desire

to want more than the traditional church was offering, the all-too-common

tendency is to find a cozy seat on the couch – generally the same spot –

and hunker down, in essence doing EXACTLY what we’ve been trained

to do.
We are too often hearers, not doers, of God’s Word.
During his address at the annual Southern Baptist Convention (SBC),

President Frank Page called for churches to experience a “Holy Ghost

revival” to help mend his denomination. He said, “I believe we are at an

irrecoverable moment in which the Lord wants to speak to our hearts…

He has immensely blessed us for a reason - not that we might become

spiritually obese, but that we might be a magnificent body of Believers

across this world to do a major mission work for Him …And I believe

God wants us to experience a genuine Holy Ghost revival.”
“Spiritually obese,” he said? Yes, fat babies love to eat. For those who

aren’t daydreaming in church, or wondering if they turned off the stove,

the anointed Word of God is addictive. “O taste and see that the LORD is

good…” (Ps 34:8). Those who will eat WILL want more. Page used the

phrase “do a mission work.”Yes, like starving people who’ve found a

bountiful feast, we really should be telling others about our discovery.

So many times I’ve heard people say they needed their “midweek fix,”

admitting their motivation for attending Wednesday night church services.

Truth is, Christianity is a lifestyle – not a Church-style - and that “fix’ is

as close as our next breath. Yet, we cram our schedules so full of the

junk food that the world has to offer, we rarely appreciate God’s Heaven-

sent meal, served up hot whenever we want it – not merely during church

services, no matter how many goose bumps we feel there. Problem is,

we’re so rarely hungry for it.
As it is in the Natural realm, so it is in the Spirit realm. One look at

America’s weight problem and you can easily discern what the American

Church looks like; it’s morbidly obese. We must exchange our current

“weight” problem for a “wait” problem, learning how to wait upon the

Lord and serve His Kingdom Cause, following His marching orders,

remaining available and obedient to the Spirit’s leading.

Biblical illiteracy is rampant throughout The Body. Regardless of our

rituals, piety, and self-righteous appearance, many don’t know God

because we don’t know His Word. We ascribe more honor to our

manmade traditions and doctrine than we do that of Christ.

We have been given much and much will be required. Sadly, as The Church

goes, so goes the nation. Across denominational lines, our statistics are

dreadful. What can we do about it? Isaiah 55:2 says, “Why spend money on

what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen

to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”

So, are YOU ready to eat? Are you ready to share what you’re served?

May God grant us all a ravenous, insatiable appetite for what our Father

has to offer His children – a meal that produces LIFE – and one that’s worth

sharing. Like the loaves and the fishes, the manna and quail, there’s always

more than enough for those who will “do lunch” with Jesus.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and

open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with

Me,” (Rev 3:20).

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

A servant of God

www.YourTown4Jesus.com