MY HUNGER MATTERS

Hunger for God is shown through obedience.

Ps Brayden Preston | Citipointe Church West

One of the greatest arguments of all time is - who is the G.O.A.T? If you know what I'm talking about, you know it's between Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. For me, this is a simple answer, there's only one name you shout when you throw up a shot - Kobe! Why do I say Kobe Bryant, the basketball legend who played his entire NBA career with the LA Lakers? It's because Kobe had one of the most important and rare traits out of any athlete. He didn't have the athleticism or the stats of Michael Jordan, he didn't have the strength or longevity or LeBron James. Kobe had something really special; he had a hunger and discipline to be the greatest. Ps Craig Groeschel said this, “Great people do consistently what good people do occasionally.” Kobe knew that if he was to be better than anyone else in the league, he was going to have to do what no other player was willing to do.

Another former NBA player Gordon Hayward spoke about the time he trained with Kobe Bryant. Kobe told him to meet at the gym at 7am to start a training session. So to impress his mentor, Hayward arrived 30 minutes early, only to find that Kobe had already been there for an hour training and working hard at his craft. This was something that he did continually throughout his entire NBA career. Not only would he give 110% in each team training session, Kobe would do at least two extra training sessions a day to keep in front of the competition, to work harder than anyone else in the league, to be hungrier for success than anybody else. Because he had the hunger to achieve greatness, that wasn't going to happen by doing the same thing as every other player in the league. He needed to want it more, he needed to be more committed, he needed to be more deliberate in what he did each and every day. God has a plan of greatness for each and every one of us, all in different and unique ways that is planned just for you. The only thing standing between us and the great things God has called us to be - is ourselves.

We read in the book of Joshua this young man, who was hungry for the kingdom of God, to see God's people reach the promises God had spoken to them and Joshua knew if he was to outwork the calling on his life and serve God faithfully, he needed to be faithful, he needed to hungry, and he needed to be disciplined. Although it was Moses who led the Israelites out of Egypt, he never made it to the Promised Land because he disobeyed God, it was in fact Joshua who led his people into the land of milk and honey because at all times, he obeyed the voice of God. Joshua's hunger for the things of God, to serve God and to please God was why he was able to stay disciplined in the way God had called him to, and because of it, he was able to achieve great things for the kingdom of God and lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Your hunger as a follower of Jesus matters!