He Hath Filled the Hungry

The main thoughts of this message
that I'll be bringing today will be taken from the first chapter
of Luke. If you care to follow in your
Bibles, you may open them to the book of Luke, chapter one. Now, here's the subject. He hath
filled the hungry. He hath filled the hungry. But
now, to lay a foundation for this message, I want to go back
and make just a few comments, and you stay with me. I'm going
to build up to something here that is very important. Now,
our Lord said in Matthew 11, take my yoke upon you and learn
of me. Learn of me. Again, He said,
eternal life is to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
he had sent." Eternal life is to know God, to know his wisdom,
to know his power, to know his will, to know his ways, to know
his character. Well, how does one know God?
Well, John said, the Son of God hath come and hath given us an
understanding that we may know God. The Son of God hath come
and hath given us an understanding that we may know God that is
true, that we're in Him that is true, and this is the true
God, and this is eternal life. Learn of me." You see, no man
knoweth the Father but the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal
Him. So Christ reveals the Father,
and eternal life is wrapped up in this knowing God. And not
only eternal life, but spiritual freedom. Spiritual liberty. Liberty from the bondage of the
curse of the law, from the traditions of religion, from the customs
of religion. Spiritual freedom. Spiritual
liberty is to know God. Ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. Who is this Son? It's Christ.
Who is this truth? that sets men free. It's Christ
Jesus the Lord. Another thing, knowing God, having
some understanding of the character and the will of God, is to have
love. Genuine love is born of a knowledge
of God. Did you know that? Well, the
Scripture says, he that loveth not knoweth not God, because
God is love. How does man know love? To know
God. How does a man have love? To know God. The love of God
is shed abroad in our hearts for the Holy Spirit. This is
the reason so many religionists are not lovely nor loving. It's
because they don't know God. He that dwelleth in God dwelleth
in love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God. God
is love. Genuine love is to know God.
Not to make a profession of religion, but to know God. And then the
assurance of salvation comes from a knowledge of God. Paul
said, I know whom I have believed, and therefore I'm persuaded that
He's able to keep that which I've committed to Him against
that day. I know Him, and therefore I'm
confident. I know Him, and therefore I'm
persuaded that I have nothing to worry about. I'm secure in
Him because I know Him. I know Him. Do you see the importance
of knowing God? Eternal life is to know God.
Genuine love is to know God. Spiritual liberty is to know
God. Any confidence or peace of heart and assurance of mind
is to know God. That's the reason Paul cried
in Philippians 3, "'Oh, that I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection! Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in Him.'" Not in the church, in Christ. Not in the
doctrine, in Christ. I want you to go back to the
text now, to Luke 1. You remember I mentioned that
a moment ago, Luke chapter 1. And I want you to hear from one
who knew God, who really knew God, therefore knew something
of this assurance and this love and this liberty and this joy
and this life. One who at that very time, this
person who's speaking here in Luke 1, was called blessed among
women, blessed among women, highly favored of God. That's what she
was talking about Mary. She was highly favored of God,
blessed among women, not blessed above women, but blessed among
women. And who at that very time that
she spoke these words bore in her body that holy thing, that
holy thing. That's what God called it, that
holy thing conceived by the Spirit of God. the Son of God. Listen to Mary as she declares
the character and the glory of the God whom she knew, the God
who had revealed Himself to her. It's at the beginning in Luke
1, verse 46. Would you turn over there to Luke 1, verse 46. Now,
listen to this. She said in verse 46, My soul
doth magnify the Lord, magnify the Lord. My spirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour." God to Mary, first of all, is her Saviour. Yes, even Mary, even Mary, the
sinner, needed the Saviour. Mary's not a priest nor an intercessor. Mary's a sinner saved by the
grace of God. And she calls Him her Saviour.
She said, my soul doth rejoice in God my Saviour. He's a just
God. And He's a Savior. He's God,
a just and holy and righteous God, who changes not. And yet in the giving of His
Son, in the coming of the Lord Jesus, in the sacrifice of the
Son of God, in the perfect obedience of Christ in the flesh, God becomes
my Savior. My God is my Savior. My God is
my Father. My God is my Redeemer, that's
what she's saying here, a merciful, gracious Redeemer. Then notice
in verse 49, she says this, He that is mighty, He that is mighty,
Almighty, hath done great things to me. She said, He's not only
God my Savior, but He's God my Sovereign. Is your God sovereign?
Is anything too hard for God? The scripture says, the Lord
God omnipotent reigneth. I like that. God said, my arm
is not short that I cannot say, my ear is not heavy that I cannot
hear, can I not do with my own what I will? He reigns in the
armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and
giveth it to whomsoever he will. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. I get so weary of hearing preachers
talk about God that wants to do something and can't, who's
trying to do this and not able. That's not God. Mary said, God
my Savior is God my Sovereign. He that is mighty, mighty, hath
done great things. And then in verse 49, she says
this about him. She says, she says, For holy
is his name. See the last line in verse 49,
holy is his name. God is my savior who is my sovereign
and God is my righteousness. What is his name? What is the
Lord's name? What is the Lord's chief attribute?
Do you know what the Lord's chief attribute is? If I were to ask
you today to sum up the character of God in one word, what would
you say? You know what you ought to say.
Holy. It says here, holy is his name. Holy and reverend is his name.
God is holy. When the high priest went into
the holy of holies, he had on his miter holiness to the Lord.
This is his holy word. The angels are his holy angels. The tabernacle is the holy of
holies. Heaven is a holy place. His people
are holy people. God is holy. And when Isaiah
saw the Lord, what were the seraphims crying? Holy, holy, holy. God is holy. That's his chief
attribute. And in his holiness, he has provided
a holiness for me, because his holiness demands a holiness of
me, and a righteousness which I do not have and cannot produce,
because the righteousness God demands and the holiness God
requires is a perfect holiness, which can only be provided by
a perfect man. And Jesus Christ the Lord is
that perfect man because He is the God-man. He is my Savior,
He is my Sovereign, He is my Righteousness. Listen to it. Verse 50, And His mercy, His
mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation.
This God who is sovereign, thank God He's merciful. Here's mercy,
sovereign mercy. Moses says, show me your glory.
And God said, my glory is my goodness, and I'll cause my goodness
to pass before you, and I'll be merciful. But I'll be merciful
to whom I will be merciful. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. It's merciful. It's sovereign
mercy. Our God is merciful. God is plenteous
in mercy. There's plenty of mercy. He delights
to show mercy. Our God is merciful. Now look
at verse 52. Now watch this. Verse 52, And
this God my Savior, who is the Almighty Sovereign, who is holy
as His name, merciful, He is gracious to the guilty. This
is the good news. The gospel is called good news,
glad tidings. And this is the good news to
folks like me and you, needy creatures, sinful men and women.
God is gracious to the guilty. God is merciful to those in need. But God will bring down the proud
and the mighty. Now, that's God. You see, my
friends, the wheel, God's providence is like a wheel. And that which
is at the top, and it moves slowly, but it moves. And that which
is at the top will one day be at the bottom. And that which
is at the bottom will one day be at the top. That's what he
says here. Listen. He hath put down the
mighty from their proud seats, and he hath exalted them of low
degree. That's God. Now, as Mary describes
the Lord God, she says, my soul rejoices in God my Savior, my
Sovereign Almighty, the Holy God, my Righteousness, the merciful
God who's gracious to the guilty. But she's talking about a God
who says here that He will put down the mighty and the proud,
and He will lift up and exalt those of low degree. Listen in
Luke 6 verse 20. I want to read this to you. Our
Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples and He said, Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed
are ye that hunger now, you shall be filled. Blessed are you that
weep now, you shall laugh. But woe unto you that are rich,
you have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full, You
shall hunger. Warning you that life now, you're
going to weep." The Master said that. And that's what Mary is
saying. He puts down the mighty and exalts
those of low degree. Listen to I Samuel 2, 7 and 8,
"...the Lord maketh poor," Hannah speaking here, "...the Lord maketh
rich, the Lord bringeth low, and the Lord lifteth up. The
Lord raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the
beggar from the downhill to set him among princes." Isaiah 65. I've been preaching
a lot of years, and it wasn't long ago that I saw this passage
of Scripture as I see it now. Isaiah 65, 13. Behold, my servant
shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold, my servant shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty. Behold, my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be ashamed. Behold, my servants shall sing
for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart. He bringeth
down the mighty, and exalteth them of low degree." And I Corinthians
says, that which the world calls wisdom will prove to be folly,
foolishness. And that which the world now
calls foolishness, such as the preaching of the cross, will
prove to be the very power and wisdom of God to those who believe. Now, note the text here, the
next verse. That was verse 52, now verse
53. This great God, our Savior, our
Sovereign, the Holy God, our Righteousness, who is merciful
and gracious, look at verse 53, He hath filled the hungry, with
good things." This is Mary speaking. She's talking about God. Who
is this God? This is the living God. She's
talking about the living God, the only true God, whom to know
is to have eternal life, whom to know is to have freedom and
peace. And she says, this God hath filled
the hungry with good things. Why does she use the word hungry?
Hungry. Well, I'll tell you why. It goes
right back to that other verse. He exalts those of low degree,
the hungry. Do you know the hungry are the
poorest of the poor? There's nobody as poor as a man
who's hungry. Now, when a man is homeless,
he's poor, but he may still be able to buy food, even if he's
homeless. When a man is homeless and broke,
he is poor. But he still may have some food
to eat, or have a neighbor that'll give him some. But when you say
a man is hungry, genuinely hungry, you're saying he has nothing.
He has no one. He has no relief. That man's
poor. And that describes a true sinner
who comes to Christ for mercy. He's poor. Blessed are the poor
in spirit. for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. That's right. He, blessed are ye, are they
that hunger and thirst, they're poor, for righteousness they'll
be filled. The man who's poor spiritually
has nothing, knows nothing, and can do nothing, and his soul
craves that which only Christ can give, hunger. He fills the
hungry. Tell you something else about
a hungry man, why she used the word hungry. The hungry feel
their poverty in a way that no one else feels it. The man without
a home, he feels his poverty, but not like a hungry man. The
fellow that's got no money, he feels his poverty, but not like
a hungry man. The hungry man feels his poverty
like no one else. in a way that he can't forget.
It's never away from him. Never. The man who has a few
clothes, well, he'll forget his problem when the sun shines.
He's comfortable when it's warm and the sun's shining. And the
man who sleeps under the railroad bridge, you say, well, boy, he's
poor. No, not too much. He sleeps as
well as anyone once he gets to sleep. Park Beach, Railroad Bridge,
wherever. But the man who's hungry, he
has a constant internal awareness of his need that he cannot deny,
he cannot forget. Never away from it. He's hungry. So the true sinner
who is hungry, my Lord will fill him, because he has a poverty
and a hunger that finds no peace, And no joy and no relief till
Christ fills him. And then the hungry. Why does
she use the word hungry? The Lord, He, the sovereign God,
the righteous God, the saving God, will fill the hungry. The hungry will be satisfied
with nothing, nothing, nothing but bread. Don't rattle money
in front of Him or jewelry or clothes. He's hungry. He wants
bread. Suppose you have a man who's
actually hungry, and you bring him into this beautiful dining
hall. Beautiful. The finest architect
has designed it. The interior decorator has decorated
it. And you've got this table with
the finest linen and set with the best glasses and plates and
saucers and cups and glasses and knives and forks and spoons
and flowers and trimming. No food, no bread. Well, he's not satisfied. You
can't do him any good. He's as miserable sitting in
that lavishly furnished dining hall as he was outside. And so
the church, with all of its finery, and fashion, and beauty, and
stained-glass windows, and soft carpets, and air-conditioned,
and all of this fine, lavish trimming, That won't do a sinner
any good, a hungry sinner. He wants bread. Well, rattle
the dishes. Rattle the cups and saucers.
Rattle the spoons. Make all sorts of noise and even
some singing and a little entertainment. Maybe this will help him. No,
that won't help him. He's hungry. He's hungry. He won't be satisfied with noise
and the rattling of dishes and these things. He wants bread.
He's hungry. The children's bread. Well, what
is the bread? The children's bread? The Word
of God. The Word of God. Someone says
two things ought to always be on the table. If we go to church,
whether it's a fine dining hall or whether it's just an ordinary
wooden building, it doesn't matter whether there's a tablecloth
on the table or not, whether you've got finest china or glassware. If you got bread and water, bread
and water, my friend, that's the gospel of Christ in the power
of God's Spirit preached from His blessed Word, and that'll
do a hungry sinner good. And he'll be so grateful and
so thankful and so satisfied because he feeds on the Word
of God. And I'll tell you this about a hungry man, too. He'll
be pretty persistent. Our Lord talks about that in
Luke 11. He called it importunity. You remember the story when the
fellow came over to his friend's house late at night, and he knocked
on the door, and his friend called from the upstairs window and
said, What do you want? He said, We're hungry over at the house.
We've got company, and we've got no bread. I've got to have
something to eat. He said, Well, I'm already in
bed. Go your way. See me tomorrow. He said, Now,
wait a minute. I'm hungry. I'm hungry. And he keeps knocking.
And our Lord said, if he won't come down and give him bread
because he's his friend, he'll do it because of his importunity,
his persistence. And I'm saying this, you let
a hungry sinner, a genuine hungry sinner with a guilt of sin and
a hunger of soul and the fear of God, and let him really experience
his need, his emptiness, his guilt, his need of Christ, He'll
continue to seek the Lord until he finds Him. He'll continue
to seek the Word, the Word of God, study the Word of God. He'll
hunger till he's filled. Notice this. It says, He filleth
the hungry. That's what she said. This Lord,
He's the one that fills the hungry. Who does? It's Christ. Now, you
hear a man speaking. but you hear God who speaks through
His servant. It's God who's speaking through
His Word and God who speaks through His servant. There was a man
sent from God whose name was John. When God spoke to Saul
of Tarsus and broke him down on the road to Damascus and sent
him to the street called Straight, what did God do next? He sent
him a preacher, a truthful, God-honoring, Christ-loving gospel preacher. And Ananias came and told Saul
of Tarsus what God wanted him to hear. And yes, we preach and
we read the Word to you, but it's God, Christ, who fills the
hungry. And I pray that you'll never
be comforted till Christ comforts you. All this hand raising and
walking the aisle signing pledge cards and going into inquiry
rooms and talking to people that don't know what they're talking
about on the telephone, that's not going to help you. You need
to get in touch with Him, the living God. You need to read
His Word and hear His gospel. And don't consult with a man.
Don't consult with flesh and blood. They can't take you any
higher than they've climbed. They can't give you what they
have. I can't give you anything from my own heart. God can give
you life. God can give you light. God can
give you truth. God can give you peace. God can
give you comfort. Nobody can. We want to run and
talk to somebody. Run and talk to somebody. Help
me. You know, give me some assurance. No man can do that. I hope you'll
never be comforted until Christ comforts you. He fills the hungry. I'm just a messenger. I'm not
a savior. Well, I said to me one time,
are you still saving sinners? I've never saved a sinner. I
didn't die on the cross. I'm not God. I can't save myself,
you or anybody else. I'm just telling you who He is.
I'm telling you to look to Christ. Like John the Baptist, behold
the Lamb of God. Don't look to me. Don't look
to the water. Don't look to the table. Don't look to the preacher.
Don't write for my books to save your soul. Call on God. I pray
you'll never find peace till Christ gives you peace, till
Christ is your peace. These false prophets cry, peace,
when there is no peace. I pray you'll never, never, never
suppose that you're clean until you're washed in the blood of
the Lamb. I don't care how many churches you've joined, how many
times you've been baptized. Salvation is in the blood of
Christ. Cleansing is in the blood of Christ. The atonement is in
the blood of Christ. And I hope you're never comforted
till He comforts you. And no one ever speaks peace
to your heart till He speaks peace to your heart. And no one
ever says you're saved and on your way to heaven till He tells
you you're saved. Do business with God. I'm so
weary of all this hour-walking and hand-shaking and card-signing
and pledge-making and all this. This is ridiculous. It's ridiculous.
Salvation's not down here, it's in Christ. It's a living, vital,
personal union and knowledge of the living God. And whether
you're in a church, or in the field, or out in the creek, or
in a home, or out on the street, or on your job, or wherever you
are, you walk with the Redeemer. You don't need a preacher to
hold you up. He fills. Our Lord leaves nothing
empty and undone. He meets every need. He fills
us full. He gives us all we need. In Him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're
complete in Him. He's the fountain that fills
you full, and He fills the hungry with good things. What are the
good things? It's not a new car, that'll wear
out too. It's not a new house, that'll
burn down. It's not just health in these old bones, it's health
of soul. He gives wisdom, righteousness. Sanctification and redemption,
they're all in Him. He fills the hungry. You've been
hungry? He'll feed you with good things.
Go to Him. Now, I've got two messages on
this tape. That one I brought last week
on An Honest Heart with God, and this one today on Hungry. He fills the hungry. Two dollars. We'll mail it to you. Write to
me. Here's the address. God bless you, everyone.

He Hath Filled the Hungry

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He Hath Filled the Hungry

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