A pure hunger
A pure hunger
(Drawing Nigh to God)
David Wilkerson
(Isaiah)
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
Isaiah 1:10
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
Isaiah 1:11
You see the sacrifice represents ‘praise.’ ‘bring a sacrifice of praise to the Lord’(Hebrews 13:15). Incense represents ‘prayer.’ On that altar incense was poured so that you can smell that odor, that incense all over Jerusalem filled and wafted through the air.
God said,
“It’s a stench in my nostrils.”
He said,
“I don’t want to see this blood sacrifice any more because your heart is not in it.
Your heart is not in it.”
He said, “You come in half passively.” He said, “Where did you get the idea? You can come in, make your sacrifice and then just trample around My courts. None shall knock like a tourist.”
They trampled because they came in. If you had looked at them they look religious, they look fine. But there was sin in their lives and they come in.
The picture of it is people coming today into the house of God habitually bound by sin, have no heart for God, don’t even want to be delivered, but still go through the religious traditions.
And God says, “I will not accept this kind of sacrifice.”
I wonder how much of the praise God is receiving. Or rather we should send a prophet and say, “Listen. You can’t draw nigh to Me unless you want to be cleansed, unless you want the Holy Ghost to mortify your sins, unless your mind and your heart is in it.”
How many of us today, and I say it lovingly, How many of us came into this church today would your mind set on the Lord as you worshiped and as you praised Him?
Would your mind be somewhere else this morning? Did your mind wander? Did you come in and trample at His courts this morning?
Did you tread on His courts?
God says, “What make you think you can do that?
How dare you come into My presence?”
And He’s saying this through the prophets.
“How dare you?”
When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your
hand, to tread my courts?
Isaiah 1:12
Did you just come anyway as you pleased? You said, “God ought to be pleased that I am here.” So far as God concerns you are not here. You are wherever your mind is.
God spoke to me years ago. It is very very important when you come into His presence to keep focused on who He is and why you are there.
To be focused on Him, if your mind wanders go out, do your thing and come back when you’re at your best. Because God says, “I want your very very best.”
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isaiah 29:13
And they seek to hide their counsel from the Lord and their works are done in the dark(Isaiah 29:15).
He said,
“You know the night before they do these things in the dark when nobody sees.
And then they come into My house without cleansing. They walk right into My presence and their hearts are not even with Me.”
Jesus took these words of Isaiah and applied them to His generation. Listen to what Jesus said to the Pharisees and Scribes.
Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Matthew 15:7
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Matthew 15:8
Jesus is saying,
“Isaiah was talking about you.
He wasn’t talking about His people alone.
This is a dual prophecy.
He’s talking about you.”
Folks we can do the same thing. We can take what Jesus said today.
And we can say to any hypocrite and folk person who believes they can come into the house of God, and just say, “I went to God’s house. I saw His face. I drew near to God. I spent two hours at church. And I worship with people.”
“How did you come here? Did you come with deeds done in darkness that you didn’t come to Him for cleaning, you didn’t come here for power over sin? You came hear to ease your conscience, to do a religious thing.”
And God said, “I won’t accept that. Won’t have it.”
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, … (Hebrews 10:22)
Come with a true heart. Come with nothing hidden.
You want to come and have God expose everything that’s in your life and say, “God, here it is. I’m not hiding anything. I come to meet You. Now Lord, expose it. And then give me the power to deal with it.” And He has promised to do just that.
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee,
that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Psalms 65:4
If you’ve been feeling a pull, ….
I can’t explain how strong that pull is in my heart this past year.
If you feel that pulling to draw nigh to the Lord as never before, you have a hunger and a thirst and you are not satisfied with what you have so far. You know there is so much more.
That is God’s choosing you.
He says, “I will cause you to draw near to Me. I will cause you. It will not be a struggle to you now.”
Folks, if you have that, rejoice in it. That’s the Lord fulfilling this very prophecy. He has chosen you because He put that hunger. He put that thirst in you.
There are many many Christians. They’re satisfied with just going to church and a little devotion for today. That’s all they want and they’re happy with it. And they’re probably saved if their hearts are sincere.
But there are others.
The Lord says,
“No. I’m gonna put a hunger in you. I’m gonna put a thirst in you like you have never known. This is the way you know I put My hand on you and I’ve chosen you.
And I’m causing you to draw nigh to Me. Because I have got something for you and a way of walk with Me that so few have known.
I’m gonna lead you, and guide you in the words that you speak.”