Okay so I am finally putting a plug in for the book I just finished "The Rest of the Gospel -When the partial Gospel has worn you out" by Dan Stone and David Gregory. It took me forever to read this book, very meaty, alot to chew on!!! But I highly recommend it!
Here are a few tidbits, that stuck out to me;
"I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." John 6:35
Has anyone ever noticed the promises here, we will NOT hunger, and NEVER thirst. This doesn't mean bodily hunger...this is in the spiritual realm, our spirits. He is saying that if we know whom we are in union with -God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit - if we know and live from that, there's no such thing as hunger or thirst. Jesus is you total spirit sufficiency. For the person who knows he is in Christ and Christ is in him, there's no occasion for a sense of lack. Jesus says, "I am your total sufficiency." This is something we come to know by revelation.
Jesus said to the woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks of this physical water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
"If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scriptures said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:37-38
What is going to flow out of us? Rivers of living water, or the Holy Spirit, too many of us have settled for a trickle. Out of you flow rivers of living water. If the river comes out of you, which direction does it flow? Away from you. So you can't run down to the river and drink your own spiritual water. We have to know that Christ Himself is this very moment filling us. We can rest, knowing that we are not hungry or thirsty. "I am your total sufficiency" (Isn't this so comforting!)
However, someone may ask, what about Matthew 6:33 -"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." The "these things" are food and clothing. Jesus promised that if we seek first the kingdom of God, we will have these things supplied. Another verse tell us to seek: "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" Luke 11:9-10
I thought I was doomed to be a seeker forever. I would never really find, though. I was taught, " You're saved, now you just keep on seeking the kingdom, keep on seeking, keep on seeking...." Perpetual labor and striving.
But I have discovered that through union with Christ I am no longer a seeker. I am a finder. Jesus said the kingdom of God is where? In us. Every kingdom has a king. And the King lives in us. The basic definition of our kingdom of God is the rule and reign of God. Well, that's taken place in our heart, hasn't it? So we're no longer seeking the kingdom. We're finders. Whatever the kingdom of God may look like in the future in the external, it has already begun internally for us. This frees us, we no longer need to be PREOCCUPIED or ANXIOUS about ourselves or our spiritual state.
Our outer person, our soul, can feel thirsty, hungry or needy....however, we can remind ourselves of the the truth: " I AM YOUR TOTAL SUFFICIENCY."
There is nothing spiritual about saying you're seeking more of Jesus. Because He can't give you any more. He can give you more awareness about Whom you already have, but He can't give you any more of Himself. You've got Him, and He's got you. The needs that preoccupy us so much of the time, that keep us focused on ourselves, have already been met in Christ.
It's so important to know that we don't have any more spiritual needs. We don't need any more life. We don't need any more spirituality. We don't hunger and thirst in our spirit. He who said, "I am the life, " has come to dwell within us. He has already satisfied our hunger. He is our total sufficiency. We are free to be preoccupied with God's world and His work, because we have been released from a preoccupation with ourselves.
~ I probably could put a bunch more, but in the interest of keeping it short and sweet.......~
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