My Stomach Is Growling

Here is an excerpt from my book, chapter 10, "Where the Wind Bloweth". I hope you enjoy it along with the Jambalaya. As you prepare and indulge in this wonderful dish be in prayer for those who are hungry for the Lord and need the Light and Love of Jesus. “...lovest thou me...? ....He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. ...Feed my sheep. ...Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep” John 21:15, 16 & 17 Well, it is 3:54 in the morning. That’s what the clock says, but it is in the middle of the night to me. I have been tossing and turning for about two hours now. [This seems to be the time the Lord gets my attention] Talking to the Lord and praying for others that are on my heart, going over the day. Then my stomach started growling. Now, here it is in the middle of the night and boy, I felt hungry! You know, you just get that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach. Then the Lord spoke to me about our spirit being hungry; our spirit growling; our spirit is hungry for the Word of God. Do we just ignore the feeling or do we reach for His Word and feed ourselves? There is a big world out there that is hungry for Jesus. They are “growling” for the Word. Are we just going to feed ourselves and let the rest of the world go hungry? How many times did Jesus tell Peter to “feed my sheep” (Luke 22: 31-34)? He knows that we have been feasting at His table. We hear the Word from our Pastor, teachers and Christian friends and by reading the Word. Feed my sheep. There are a ton of Christians, new believers, which are hungry for the Word of God and have not been going to Church since they were two weeks old like me. This is a picture of my dad holding me before church. (They now have “pumpkins” seats”- they may call them something else these days) But as I talk to some new Christians or I am teaching, I just assume they know the Bible story that I am talking about. But they don’t. I will be teaching and say “you know how the story goes”. They look at me with this perplexed look on their face. They have never heard it. They have no clue about what I am talking about. They weren’t brought up in Sunday school as I was. Which reminds me, brothers and sisters, having Sunday school in our churches is one if not the most important meeting that we offer. The Word tells us in Proverb 22:6 to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I was trained by caring Christian parents. My mother was a saint; loving, caring, patient, longsuffering. My Dad was the pastor so we heard a lot of his sermons even before church. But I thank God for the teachings that I received from them. When I was six years old I came to the realization that I needed Jesus to come into my heart and save me, forgiving me of my sins, that He loved me and died for me. It was there at that Sunday school altar that Jesus came into my heart and my life was changed forever. I’m the one with the purse around my neck and over my stomach. Don’t laugh, you were little once too. Oh, go ahead and laugh, I did. Yes, I grew up and ventured out on my own. Doing what the rest of the world was doing; headed for destruction. But, deep in my heart I was still His child. His Word abided in me. He never left me nor forsook me. He was there all the time. There is a song that goes “He was there all the time, He was there all the time waiting patiently in line He was there all the time”. As I grew older my life was in complete turmoil, laden with sin, but the Word deep inside me led me back to Jesus. I was like the “Lost son” [here I go again assuming you know what I am talking about]. The story that Jesus taught was about a son who told his father that he wanted his inheritance now. So, he takes his inheritance and travels to a far country, spending it all and living a life of sin to the point he had spent all his inheritance and lost all hope. He came to himself while in a pig stile, eating the pig’s food. He remembered that his father’s servants had it better, so he decided to return to his father’s house and ask for forgiveness and to be allowed to be a servant. When he was still far away, his father saw him coming and ran and had compassion on him and kissed his neck, overjoyed that his son that was lost was now found. And boy, they had a big party. (Luke 15: 11-32) I had become that “lost son”. I came back to the Lord, fell on my knees, went out on the deck and put ashes from the BBQ pit on my head, [I am not saying that is what you need to do to repent] repenting and crying out to God to forgive me. I told Him that I would do anything for Him. I would clean the bathrooms at church and they would be the shiniest “potties” in the world. I loved the Lord even when I was drawn away by the world. He had watched over me, protecting me. There were many times that I could have lost my life, by the hands of another, or myself, but, He was there all the time watching over me. As we read Luke 5:1-11, Jesus was teaching by the Lake Gennesaret (There was such a large crowd that had congregated to hear Him teach) and saw four fishermen. Jesus went onto Simon’s boat and asked him to move his boat away from the land. Then Jesus sat down and taught the people. When Jesus was through teaching, he asked Simon to launch out into the deeper water. Jesus told him to cast his net. Simon told him that they had been fishing all night and had not caught a thing but since you asked me, I will. He let the nets down and they filled up with fish until the nets were torn. When Simon Peter saw all that had happen, he fell down at Jesus’ feet and said “depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord”. This is where Simon Peter recognized and accepted Jesus as his Lord. Jesus then told him to forsake all and follow him. Simon Peter and his brothers left all to become Disciples of Christ. As we read on about Simon Peter, in Luke 22: 31-34, Jesus told Peter that Satan wanted him and that he would be tempted. Jesus told him that He had prayed for him, that his faith would be strong and to strengthen his brethrens when he was converted. [“Feed my sheep”] The Lord Jesus knew all along the plans that He had for Peter. Jesus told Peter that before the cock crowed he would deny Him three times. With great sorrow Peter denied Christ three times. In Luke 22: 54-62 you can read about Peter denying the Lord. After the death and resurrection of our Lord, Peter felt very sorry about denying the Lord when they were crucifying Him. Before His ascension to God the Father, Jesus was with his disciples and He asked Peter three times “Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thy me more than these?” John 21: 15 – 18. Three times Peter had denied Him and three times Jesus asked him if he loved Him more than these. The first time He told Peter to feed His lambs. The second and third time He told Peter to feed his sheep. I look at the lambs as being the children. He wanted the children to be taught the word which goes back to Proverbs 21:6 that we talked about earlier. Also, I see children as being “babes in Christ”, new believers. They need to be fed with the “milk” of the Word. Now the second “feed my sheep” was to continue feeding the believers with the “meat” of the Word so their faith and walk with the Lord would become strong and they would be able to overcome the flesh and worldly desires. Now the third, I believe, after reading verse 18, was to the mature believer. To encourage them to continue to run the race, not to give up, that the promise of Christ’s return was near; to take them by the arm and lead them through to victory in this life and into the eternal life with the Lord Jesus. My dear Brothers and Sisters, there are a lot of hungry souls out there. How will they know Him; but by His Word; how will we tell them unless we go, teach and do the things that we have been sent to do. We are to do as Christ has done. “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7-8 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do; that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14 “The Great Commission” Matthew 28: 18-20 NKJV (V 18) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (V 19) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (V20) “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always; even unto the end of the age” Amen. Believers, let’s go and feed His sheep. They are so hungry and time is running out. Conclusion “...Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6 Listen! Can you hear the wind? Do you feel it blowing? The Holy Spirit is moving across the World today. He is searching for a heart that is seeking Him. He wants to bring you comfort, power and gifts. The Holy Spirit will guide you and give you strength to walk in the Spirit; to be intimate with God our Father. He will bring you through and out of the fire. He will guide you into all truth. He will create you into the image of Jesus as you yield to His presence. He will give you knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and power to go and teach all that He has taught you. He will give you boldness to go and preach to a lost and dying world. Let’s open our hearts To The Holy Spirit