If you look on the backside of an American nickel, you'll see a picture of it. It's that domed mansion of President Thomas Jefferson, known as Monticello. It's a living monument, really, to the genius of one of America's great minds - the author of America's Declaration of Independence.
Monticello reflects so much of his creative genius and his insatiable, inquiring mind. Everywhere you turn, you see these inventive touches that were there years ahead of their time. Maybe the single feature of that house that best reveals the mind of Thomas Jefferson is the direction that its main rooms are facing. His study, bedroom and library, all face west. See, Jefferson loved to look west. He wanted his guests and his friends to be looking west because he said that's where the frontier is. And Thomas Jefferson was always facing the frontier!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why You're Hungry for Something More."
Facing that frontier - that's an exciting way to live. With a restless heart that says, "There's more out there, and I want it." You know, that's the heart of the spiritually healthy Jesus-follower. However far you've come in your relationship with Christ, however much you've experienced with Him, you know there's much more. And you want to go beyond anywhere you've gone before.
That's the passion of the great Apostle Paul. Look, he's 30 years into what may have been the most powerful relationship with Jesus anyone ever had. But in Philippians 3, beginning with verse 10, our word for today from the Word of God, Paul says: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings...Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it."
Wow! If the great Apostle Paul felt that way - that he had much more of Jesus to experience - you and I should be concerned if we find that our heart isn't restless for more! Oswald Chambers put it this way: "Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation." See, the spiritual level you're at may very well be enough to satisfy your pastor or other Christians. I just hope it isn't enough to satisfy you.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." There is so much more - a greater experience of the closeness of Jesus, of the power of Jesus, of the moment-by-moment leading of Jesus.
There are two major spiritual frontiers to hunger for. First, greater intimacy with Jesus. I'm by nature a doer. I'm more Martha than I am Mary. I'm busy running around serving Jesus. But I need, and I want to experience and to some extent I am, more of the realness of His presence and His love. I want to be better at hearing the sound of His voice in my soul. I want to be a lot more like Him a lot more minutes of the day.
The second frontier - a greater impact for Jesus; making a greater difference for Him than I've ever made before. The road to His glorious "more" is increased time with Him each day, more "cuddle time" where I just love on Him and let Him love on me; a passionate pursuit of the personal orders from Jesus that He has for that day every time I open His book. Every time we're in His book, every time we're in a Christian meeting, we should go with this prayer in our heart, "Jesus, help me come away with more of You!" And then, we need to be mining each day for every possible opportunity to have an impact on somebody else's life for Him.
"More, Lord, I want more. I want all You have for me. I want to go beyond anywhere I've gone with You before!" Let that be the cry of a hungry heart, and don't ever be content with how far you've come. There's so much more! Keep facing the frontier!