Jesus tells us of things that receive blessings. One of those things is recorded in Matthew 5.

Matthew 5:6 Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Do we hunger and thirst after righteousness? To be hungry you have to be empty. What do children do when they are hungry? Cry. Blessed are they which do hunger. It’s a good position to be in, to be in need; hungering and thirsting after righteousness. David longed and was hungry and thirsted after righteousness.

Psalm 107:3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. 8 Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Aren’t we gathered from the north, south, east and west? The Lord led the children of Israel in the wilderness. When they got hungry and thirsty they cried. The Lord has to take away the earthly props before we require something else to hold onto. When you are in a desperate situation getting hungry and in real need, do you see that as the goodness of God? Why isn’t God giving you what you need?

Psalms 107:8 Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men!

Do we praise the Lord for His goodness? Are we longing for something or do we whinge?

Psalm 84:1 How amiable [are] thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

84:2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, [even] thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

84:4 Blessed [are] they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

84:5 Blessed [is] the man whose strength [is] in thee; in whose heart [are] the ways [of them].

Is you r longing to be with Jesus a longing that makes you faint? Is it such a big desire that you get faint and tired over it? We want to dwell in the house of God to have a longing and craving but not for an earthly habitation but a heavenly habitation. That is what David is talking about.

Psalm 27:4 One [thing] have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

Is that the one thing that you desire that you may dwell in God’s house? We can have desires for earthly houses but there is one thing that we should desire and we should faint over it and that is to be in God’s house. It has peace. Not just his house but to behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in his temple. The Lord is bringing us into circumstances to see if we are longing after Him. Oh that the great interests of the world to come were appreciated. Ellen White had a vision of Heaven. When she came back did she like anything back on earth? No.

Why is it that men are so unconcerned about the salvation of the soul when it was purchased at such cost by the Son of God? {AG 251.2}

The heart of man may be the abode of the Holy Spirit. The peace of Christ that passeth understanding may rest in your soul, and the transforming power of His grace may work in your life, and fit you for the courts of glory. {AG 251.3}

We can long to be in Heaven but we need to be fitted for it. There is a work to be done.

But if brain and nerve and muscle are all employed in the service of self, you are not making God and heaven the first consideration of your life. . . . {AG 251.3}

If the eye is single, if it is directed heavenward, the light of heaven will fill the soul, and earthly things will appear insignificant and uninviting.

Do we get caught up in ideas, projects and things that eclipse the vision of God from our minds?

The purpose of the heart will be changed, and the admonition of Jesus will be heeded. . . . Your thoughts will be fixed upon the great rewards of eternity. All your plans will be made in reference to the future, immortal life. . . . Bible religion will be woven into your daily life. {AG 251.4}

How many plans? Every single one if we are really longing for God. If we aren’t we need to ask God to make us hungry. Starve me. Then there will be a hunger and we’ll cry like little children. Our longing isn’t for the object, it’s for Him. If this is our case, if we really do long for God then all our plans will be in reference to being there with Jesus. Everything will revolve around that.

Some who profess to have true religion sadly neglect the guide-book given by God to point the way to heaven. They may read the Bible, but merely reading God’s Word, as one would read words traced by a human pen, will give only a superficial knowledge. . . . {AG 251.5}

If we do not receive the religion of Christ by feeding upon the word of God, we shall not be entitled to an entrance into the city of God. {AG 251.6}

What is feeding? Filling the hungry soul. In Proverbs it says the full soul loathes honey but to the hungry every bitter herb is sweet. Is it our craving in every day life to be with Jesus? When we have only one goal it’s far easier to stay focused. Everything needs to be revolved around one direction even though we do many different things. They all need to be pointed in that one direction.

Having lived on earthly food, having educated our tastes to love worldly things, we would not be fitted for the heavenly courts; we could not appreciate the pure, heavenly current that circulates in heaven. The voices of the angels and the music of their harps would not satisfy us. {AG 251.6}

If we love worldly music we won’t enjoy the music of heaven. You need to starve yourselves. Lord, if there’s something that is filling me that isn’t you, take it away. That needs to be our prayer. That longing needs to burn with in the soul so we come to the point that we faint over it. It needs to be the biggest desire we have ever had. This needs to be cultivated in our experience. Everything else needs to be secondary. We need to request as it then the longing will come. We are Laodicean. We don’t know that we are poor, miserable, blind and naked. We need to ask and beg for it.

The science of heaven would be as an enigma to our minds. We need to hunger and thirst for the righteousness of Christ; we need to be molded and fashioned by the transforming influence of His grace, that we may be fitted for the society of heavenly angels. {AG 251.6}

In order to be at home in heaven, we must have heaven enshrined in our hearts here. {AG 251.7}

Don’t get comfortable here. It’s not our home.

The same divine mind that is working upon the things of nature is speaking to the hearts of men and creating an inexpressible craving for something they have not. {SC 28.1}

We keep grappling with the things of the earth and try to fill the longing with things of earth but it’s not going to work.

The things of the world cannot satisfy their longing. The Spirit of God is pleading with them to seek for those things that alone can give peace and rest–the grace of Christ, the joy of holiness. Through influences seen and unseen, our Saviour is constantly at work to attract the minds of men. {SC 28.1}

He wants us to be entwined with Him.

You who in heart long for something better than this world can give, recognize this longing as the voice of God to your soul. {SC 28.2}

The desire in Jesus’ heart is something that we can think about in relation to our desires. Just before Jesus died he had a meal with the disciples. What did He say? Jesus longed to sit down to have a meal with his disciples.

Luke 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:

22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide [it] among yourselves:

22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

How much desire does He have to eat again? He wants us to eat together.

On this last evening with His disciples, Jesus had much to tell them. If they had been prepared to receive what He longed to impart, they would have been saved from heartbreaking anguish, from disappointment and unbelief. {DA 643.3}

It was actually a real disappointment. He wanted to tell them more but they were fighting amongst each other. Do we want to acquire a longing in the circumstance of being in a little bit of need or in abject poverty? If we have a few needs let’s translate that into our need for the Lord. We can acquire a longing through a little bit of physical need and save ourselves a lot of heartache.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

What is stopping the fulfilment of that longing? Nothing. God is not holding back. The prerequisite to opening the gates of heaven is our need. When you have that need you can receive it and drink of the water of life freely. Let’s look at all our physical and temporal needs in the light of our need for Heaven. When we look at heaven when our temporal needs aren’t fulfilled we’re still okay. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. May the Lord satisfy the longing of our heart.

Amen.