Status Quo: Heaven Responds to Hunger

 

Status Quo! Sermon Notes Pastor Brad Myers

Heaven Responds to Hunger May 4, 2025

Review: Week 1: Drawn Deeper

The status quo in Scripture refers to going through the motions without any movement. It’s a spiritual routine, living on autopilot, indifferent and self-satisfied.

Luke 5:4 (NIV)

• Geography: Fish!! Means provision, money, and meals!
• Supernatural: Jesus was drawing Peter deeper! “Followed Him!”
  • Something profound is coming
  • Unfathomable or immeasurable
  • Inviting: A deeper revelation, & deeper encounter.

The shallow waters of spiritual life are calm; safe and predictable. But nothing really happens there. Recognizing you’re in the shallow is the first step to breaking the status quo!

• it’s about our willingness to go deeper!

Jesus wasn’t just asking Peter to go farther out — He was asking him to go further in. The same thing He’s asking us to do!

The story didn’t end with fish — it ended with followship.

Today: Heaven Responds to Hunger!

Bible is very earthly: real stomachs, real food, and real hunger.

• Lack of food Physical Hunger!
• Describes suffering, judgment, testing, dependance, etc.

Luke 4:2 (NIV)

• Jesus tested and was hungry

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)

• God teaching dependence on Him

Spiritual Hunger Deeper Part

• Bible flips physical hunger into a metaphor for our inner desire for God, truth, righteousness, or purpose.
• This hunger: Is voluntary and holy

Blessed, not Cursed

Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

John 6:35 (NIV)

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Physical Hunger	Spiritual Hunger
About the body	About the soul
Sign of need/lack	Sign of desire/longing
Temporary, returns with time	Can be deepened, not just satisfied
Satisfied with food	Satisfied only by God Himself

Barna Study: 2023

• 62% of adults in America feel spiritually empty at least once a week.
• Six out of ten people in our church today are silently starving.
• Longing for something real… but not sure where to find it.
• You’ve tried to fill it with busyness, blessings, & ministry… but it still lingers.

Spiritual Hunger is about longing for God’s Presence!

Exodus 32: Israel Rebelled at Mount Sinai

• Moses down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments…
• Finds Israel worshiping the golden calf
• God was furious. God wants to destroy the people and start over with Moses.

Exodus 33:1–6: God’s Threatens to Withdraw His Presence

• Tells Moses He’ll send an angel to lead them to the Promised Land…
• but He won’t go with them.
• Moses devastated: Promise Land nothing without God’s Presence

Moses Hungers for God’s Presence!

Exodus 33:18 (NIV)

• Huge moment in Moses’ journey.

Hunger and Desperation collide!

Aspect	Spiritual Hunger	Desperation
Definition	Deep, consistent desire for more of God	An urgent, panicked cry for help
Motivation	Love, awe, pursuit of God’s presence	Pain, fear, or crisis
Tone	Steady, intentional, worshipful	Raw, urgent, emotional
Posture	“I want to know You more”	“I can’t survive without You right now”
Example	Psalm 63:1 – “Earnestly I seek you…”	Psalm 69:1 – “Save me, O God…”
Result	Ongoing intimacy with God	Immediate intervention from God
Danger	Can grow cold if not nurtured	Can fade after crisis passes
God Response	He fills and draws near (Matt. 5:6)	He delivers and rescues (Psalm 34:17)

Desperation is often born in the storm, while Hunger is chosen in the calm. Desperation says, “I need You to save me,” while Hunger says, “I need You to stay with me.”

Exodus 33:18 (ESV)

• He wasn’t content with what God had done. He wanted more of who God is.

Heaven responds to Hunger!

Exodus 33:21-23 (NIV)

If you’re tired of a spiritual routine… If you’re saying, “There’s got to be more than this…” You’re not alone, and you’re right where God wants you.

Hunger is Born in the Presence

Exodus 33:11 (NIV)

Real hunger for God doesn’t start in the middle of a storm — it starts in the middle of His presence!

Moses wasn’t crying out for more because life was falling apart. He wasn’t desperate because of a crisis. He was hearing God. Talking to Him. Leading miracles. But that presence did something deep in him… It made him hungry for more!

• You would think that being that close to God would make you feel satisfied.
• But no — it made Moses thirstier.

That’s what happens in real intimacy with God: it doesn’t fill you to the point of settling. It fills you to the point of longing for more!

• Moses didn’t ask for power… or a new miracle… or another promise.
• He asked for God Himself: “Now show me Your glory.”

Many times, we fill our lives with spiritual activity but fail to touch His presence.

• You can lead a ministry, preach messages, sing songs, run programs… and still be dry on the inside if you’re not encountering Him.

We want to see revival in our churches, our cities, our generation — but revival doesn’t start in a crowd. It starts in the secret place. It starts when someone says: “Lord, I want more of You.”

Hunger Is Never Satisfied With the Past

Exodus 33:15 (NIV)

• Moses had already seen more than most of us could ever imagine — burning bush, plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea parting, manna falling from heaven, water from a rock.
• When God said, “I’ll send you ahead with an angel… you’ll make it to the Promised Land,”
• Moses said, “No thank you… if You’re not coming with us, we’re not going.”
• That’s the kind of heart that refuses to be satisfied with past moves of God

“I thank You for what You’ve done… but I want more of who You are.”

• Hunger refuses to live off leftovers.

Many believers get stuck in the status quo. They build monuments to old moments. They remember what God used to do — but stop expecting what He still wants to do.

• “Remember that time we had a revival back in 2003?”
• “Remember when I first got saved and felt so alive?”
• “Remember how it used to be?”
• Remember. But don’t remain there.

God told Moses: “I’ll give you the land.”

Moses replied: “I don’t want the land without You.”

Hunger doesn’t need to ask for repeat blessings. Hunger asks for a deeper presence.

Hunger Dares to Ask for More

Exodus 33:18 (NIV)

• love Moses’ boldness here.
• He’s already seen miracles. He’s already been in God’s presence. He’s been talking to God face to face… and then he says something outrageous:
• “Now show me Your glory.”
• That’s not a casual ask. That’s not someone bored or curious. That’s someone hungry — someone who’s tasted God’s presence and refuses to stop short of His fullness.

God is not offended by your hunger. In fact, heaven responds to those who are bold enough to ask for more.

• We settle too soon. One breakthrough, one spiritual high, then we coast.

Hunger says:

• “I don’t want just a touch — I want transformation.”
• “I don’t want just a miracle — I want Your manifest presence.”
• “I’m not satisfied with a memory — I want more of You.”

Moses didn’t ask for another miracle or more stuff — he asked for glory.

“All I wanted was more of God’s presence. What I got was more than I ever imagined.” Pastor David Wilkerson

• There’s a difference between interest and hunger.
• Interest waits for the right moment. Hunger creates one.