SERMON: THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN (BEATITUDES): BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART

 I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:1-12

 

Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

            -- as everyone knows, the state of Texas was hit with an unprecedented natural disaster this week -- for the first time ever, the entire state of Texas was under a winter weather warning, as temperatures dropped into the single digits or even below zero for the majority of the state

            -- snow fell as far south as San Antonio and Houston and Galveston -- in fact, every single county in the state experienced some snow last week, as well as ice accumulations on roadways and bridges

            -- the disaster became even worse as the power grid failed and millions of people were left in the extreme cold without power or any way to heat their homes -- over 30 people died from cold exposure, as a result -- but the disaster is far from over

            -- with the power and the heat off, the pipes in many homes froze and burst -- and as the temperatures have finally risen above freezing, a lot of people are experiencing significant water damage -- and, to make things worse, more than 1,100 public water supply systems reported weather-related disruptions, which means the water that is now flowing to homes has not been properly decontaminated -- about 15 million people have been advised to boil their water because it is tainted and contaminated and is unfit for drinking or showering without purification

 

II.  Pure in Heart

            -- but, as hard as it is to find pure water in Texas today, it is even harder to find someone on planet Earth with a pure heart

            -- that’s what makes this sixth Beatitude here in verse 8 so difficult to consider -- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”

            -- if you go back to the original Greek and look at the phrase, “For they will see God,” you’ll realize that the real meaning of this Beatitude as Jesus gave it to us is “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they are the only ones who will ever see God”

            -- out of all the Beatitudes that we have looked at, this is one of the most sobering and convicting -- it tells us that if we are not pure of heart, then we won’t see God -- and who among us can say that they are pure in heart?         

            -- just walking through this world -- just living in our world today -- contaminates our hearts and makes them dirty -- so who can ever live up to the goal that Christ presents in this Beatitude? -- who can ever hope to see God?

            -- well, let’s talk about that for a few moments

 

            -- I guess the best place to start is to find out what Jesus means by that phrase “pure in heart”

            -- the Greek word for “pure” that Jesus uses here is “katharos” -- it’s the word that we get our English word “catharsis” from -- which we use to describe a cleansing of one's mind or emotions

            -- the word katharos actually has two meanings

            -- first, it means exactly what you’d think a word translated as pure in the Bible would mean -- it means free from corrupt desire or wrongdoing -- free from sin and guilt -- moral purity

            -- this is the first thing that probably came to mind when we read that phrase, “pure in heart” -- a clean heart -- uncontaminated -- spotless -- without blemish

 

            -- who comes to mind when you think of a person like this? -- if you’re like me, when you try to imagine someone who is pure in heart, you probably start thinking about those heroes of the faith -- those super-Christians that we all know -- who lived lives of integrity and moral purity and holiness -- people like Mother Teresa and Billy Graham and the Pope

            -- what about the people in Jesus’ day? -- who did they think of?

            -- for the people who were gathered around Jesus when He gave this sermon on the mount, there is no doubt who came to mind -- when it came to holiness -- when it came to moral purity and spiritual uprightness -- their first thought would have been the Pharisees

            -- when it came to religion -- when it came to following God’s laws and being obedient to what God said -- the Pharisees were the cream of the crop -- they were very careful about what they said and what they did and who they hung out with

            -- God had originally given Moses the law for the Israelites to follow -- the law had three parts -- first, you had the moral law -- the 10 Commandments -- then you had the civil law, which dealt with civil life of the Jews -- and finally, you had the ceremonial law -- the law that governed the religious life of Israel

            -- and the Pharisees believed that to be pure and holy, you had to keep all three parts of the law perfectly, especially the 10 Commandments -- so, to be sure that they didn’t miss anything, they added their own special interpretations to the law -- this amounted to over 600 new rules that they applied to make sure that they did everything that God wanted them to do and they could be pure and holy in all they did

            -- when it came to religion, it seems like these guys had their act together -- and I’m sure, when the people heard Jesus say that only the pure in heart were going to see God, they immediately thought of the Pharisees

 

            -- look down at verse 20 -- that’s exactly what Jesus says right there, isn’t it

 

20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

            -- if anyone was pure in heart, it was the Pharisees, right? -- well, maybe not

            -- flip over to Matthew 23, starting in verse 25 and let’s read a few verses there

 

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

 

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

 

            -- so here we see the truth about the Pharisees’ purity and holiness -- they were only good on the outside -- they only put forth an appearance of being pure -- to everyone around them, they looked good and holy and religious, but Jesus said all that they had done was wash the outside of the cup -- all they had done was paint the outside of the tomb -- while on the inside, their hearts were still dirty -- their hearts were still contaminated -- their hearts were not pure

            -- if the Pharisees -- the epitome of righteousness in Jesus’ day -- could not meet the criteria of being “pure in heart” -- then who had any hope of ever seeing God?

 

            -- we actually find the answer in Acts 15, and I would encourage you to go and read that passage later today -- in Acts 15, the church leaders met in Jerusalem to discuss what should be done about the Gentiles who were responding to the good news of Jesus and His salvation -- as the discussion went on, Peter stood up in the congregation and told everyone of his experience in preaching to the Gentiles

            -- he told them the conversion of the Gentiles is real, because he had seen that God had accepted them and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell them after salvation -- and he goes on to say in Acts 15:9, “[God] made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith.”

            -- there’s our answer -- it goes along with what God told Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26 -- God said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

 

            -- when we turn to Jesus -- when we first approach the throne of grace and stand before the cross poor in spirit and mourning of our sins, God gives us a new heart and a new life through His justifying grace -- when we put our faith in Christ Jesus, the Bible tells us God purifies us on the inside so that we might truly be pure and holy as He is pure and holy -- not just on the outside like the Pharisees -- but pure and holy from the inside out because of the change in our life brought about by faith in Jesus

            -- because of Jesus, our hearts are katharos -- clean from sin and guilt -- pure and spotless and without blemish -- not of our own doing -- but simply by God’s grace through faith

 

III.  Being Holy

            -- but, what about the fact that we don’t seem to be able to live pure and holy lives? -- even though the Bible tells us that we can choose to live lives free of sin, we know that most of us don’t

            -- most of us -- let’s just say, all of us, go through life disobeying God every single day and doing things we shouldn’t do -- and, as a result, our sin contaminates our hearts

            -- it’s just like what happens when I add coke to this clear glass of water -- it contaminates it -- it makes it dirty -- unclean -- impure

            -- so, what do we do about that?

 

            -- well, that brings us to the second meaning of the word katharos -- in this definition, katharos describes a heart which is pure in motive -- a heart that exhibits single mindedness, undivided devotion and spiritual integrity -- the idea here is a heart that is set apart or separated from the world

            -- to be set apart or separated from the world is the biblical definition of holiness -- it describes a person or a thing that has been taken out of the world and dedicated for service or relationship with God

 

            -- it is this ongoing relationship with God that keeps us katharos -- that keeps us pure in heart and mind and soul

            -- with this understanding of katharos, we think of a person who is striving for perfection -- who is trying to follow God -- to do His will -- to be obedient to His commands -- someone who is single-mindedly doing everything they can to live for Jesus and to be morally pure in their lives

            -- to be pure in this way doesn’t mean that you won’t occasionally fall -- it doesn’t mean that you won’t occasionally miss the mark -- but what it does mean is that when you do fall, you pick yourself back up, and look back towards God, and start walking again -- the direction of your heart is always towards Him

 

            -- several years ago, I read a story about mountain climbers -- a psychology student was studying them to find out what made the difference between those who were successful in their quests versus those who failed and quit half-way up the mountain

            -- and what she found was that when the sun was shining and the climbers could look up the hill and see the top of the mountain before them, they were filled with vigor and strength and could keep going, no matter how hard the obstacles before them

            -- but, when it was overcast and cloudy and when a fog settled over the mountain and the climbers couldn’t see the top, they didn’t make progress and many of them turned back and quit

            -- the difference between those who made it and those who didn’t was that the ones who finally succeeded were the ones who kept that image of the top in their hearts and in their minds -- even when the clouds covered the mountain peak -- even when it was overcast and the rain fell -- they had their goal firmly in their mind’s eyes -- firmly in their hearts -- they knew where they were going and nothing would dissuade them

 

            -- that’s what Jesus means here by katharos of heart -- people who have before them the image of God -- they know Who they have believed -- they know Who they have trusted -- and when the clouds come and they can’t see the top and they find themselves falling and failing and giving into sin -- they don’t give up -- they get back up and confess and repent of their sins and they start moving again

            -- these are the people that Jesus calls “pure in heart” -- pure in heart because they have been given a new heart through faith -- and pure in heart because they keep on keeping on this path that leads to Jesus and to Heaven

            -- these, and only these, are the ones who will see God -- because without faith, you cannot be saved -- without faith, your heart cannot be purified -- without faith, you can’t keep going and becoming more like Jesus everyday

 

IV.  Seeing God

            -- now, before we close, I wanted to touch on the phrase, “for they will see God” just real briefly

            -- what does Jesus mean when He says that the pure in heart will see God? -- what does it mean to see God?

 

            -- probably not many of us remember the name Yuri Gagarin -- but he was the first person to travel into space -- it was back before our own space program began to really develop -- the space race was going on and the Russians were beating us at every turn -- first, there was Sputnik and then, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin went into space and circled the earth

            -- when he landed, he made much of the fact that while he was in space, he looked outside the capsule window and didn’t see God anywhere

            -- Dr. W.A Criswell, a well-known pastor and speaker and the two-time President of the Southern Baptist Convention, responded to Gagarin’s declaration by saying, “If he would have stepped out of his space suit for just one second, he would have seen God quick enough”

 

            -- the Bible tells us that all of us are going to see God in the end -- that all of us are going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ -- so, why does Jesus say that only those who are pure in heart are going to see God?

            -- obviously, He’s talking about something different than just seeing God at the judgment seat or seeing God in heaven -- in fact, He’s talking about seeing God now -- He’s talking about seeing God relationally

            -- the Greek word that we translate as “see” doesn’t just mean to see physically -- it also means to perceive that which can be seen -- it means to comprehend -- to gain awareness or understanding of something that others can’t see or perceive

 

            -- an easy way to think of this is the radio -- right now in this room we are being bombarded with radio waves -- in Valdosta, there are over 20 different radio stations -- and right now, every single one of them is blasting their signal and their message to us right here in this room

            -- however, we’re not aware of it -- we don’t perceive it because we have no way of picking up and translating the radio waves into something that we can understand -- even though there are over 20 different signals coming through here, we don’t see them

            -- but, if I were to get a radio and turn it on and set it to the right station, we would hear the message that is being broadcast -- our ears would perceive that which others outside cannot

 

            -- that’s the way it is with seeing God -- purity of heart cleanses the eyes of the soul so that God is "visible" -- purity of heart makes it possible for us to see God here and now

            -- not see Him in a physical form, of course -- but to see with the eyes of our heart -- to see His Spirit -- to see His presence -- to be aware of God in us and through us and around us

            -- those who are pure in heart have the ability to see God’s fingerprints on all of His creation -- and they can see Him in their midst and see Him working even when others don’t

            -- when you are pure in heart -- when you have that katharos -- that single-minded pursuit of God that makes you holy and keeps you running after Him -- then you will see Him in every moment of every day

            -- that is what Jesus means when He says that the pure in heart are the only ones who will see God -- it’s not that God isn’t there for the others -- but only the pure in heart are able to perceive Him and see Him

 

V.  Closing

            -- some of you will remember the movie, “Harvey,” that starred Jimmy Stewart -- in that movie, Jimmy Stewart’s character, Elwood P. Dowd, had a friend named Harvey -- an invisible giant white rabbit that no one could see but him -- actually, he was a Pooka, but that’s a different discussion

            -- regardless, everyone thought Elwood P. Dowd was crazy -- no one believed that Harvey existed -- and they all thought that Dowd should be committed to an institution -- in the movie, Dowd’s sister calls a local institution, and they come out and take Dowd to their facility to have him committed because he is seeing things that no one else can see

            -- as the movie moves into its final scenes, Dowd explains to the psychiatrist how he came to first meet Harvey and what an impact Harvey has had on his life and those around him -- as Dowd explains, the eyes of the head psychiatrist are opened, and he looks up and actually sees Harvey standing there before him

            -- as Dowd explains, all it takes is faith and belief in the impossible and great things will happen and you will see what is truly there

 

            -- many people in our world today think Christians are absolutely nuts -- they think that we gather together on a Sunday to worship an imaginary friend -- they think we are just as loony as Elwood P. Dowd

            -- but the reason they think that is because their eyes have not been opened and their hearts have not been purified and they can’t perceive the God that we see and that we know and love

            -- Jesus tells us in this Beatitude, “Blessed are those who are pure in heart for they will see God”

            -- may you be pure in heart today -- may you see God today and every moment of every day of your life -- may you know Him and follow Him as He touches your life and changes you into the pure and holy person you are called to be

            -- let us pray

Engaging New Perspectives

 I read an article this morning by Lindsey Funtik (click here to read the entire article) about Bible study that had some relevant thoughts pertaining to our divided and polarized nation (emphasis added by me):

"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 and it was that awakening, the absolute gift, which has helped to shape me as a theologian, writer, reader, and Christian. 𝑰𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉, 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 and, if we want to be robust believers and thinkers, 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎."

Note that to engage with different voices does not mean you have to agree with them, but it means that opening yourself to other's stories, feelings, and perceptions about events will help enlighten your understanding of complex issues, not only theologically, but also politically.

"...after having it recommended to me on more occasions than I can count, I finally listened to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk entitled “The Danger of a Single Story”. I have long been a fan of her writing (you can check out a book review I wrote here), and in this grounded and prophetic speech, she highlights the fact that 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆. She speaks at length about the caricatures that people often sketch about her home in Africa, but her principles apply to reading the Bible, too. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 "𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆", 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕. Because I had not heard feminist voices talking about Scripture, I assumed those voices did not exist or were not valid. 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉."

Years ago, someone recommended to me that for every three books or articles I read on a subject, I should read one book or article from a differing or opposing perspective. Once again, this does not mean you have to accept the differing perspective. But you should be aware of the other voices that exist, if for no other reason than it helps you understand their position and their concerns.

"𝑩𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆...Your perspective is part of the mosaic of interpretations that can lead to richness of faith for all of us."

Do not let others silence your voice. Your voice matters. Your perspective matters. We may be living in a culture that is increasingly trying to silence or cancel the perspectives of others, and the case can certainly be made that this has occurred in the past, but every person has a voice. Every person has an experience that needs to be shared and heard and understood by others, whether that is related to a journey of faith or discussions about the future and direction of this country.

"𝑩𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔...Just as the perspective you bring to the table is valid, so are the perspectives of others."

Alternately, allow the voices of others to be heard, too. Their words and their lives have meaning, and can inform your decisions and your beliefs in the future.

"...sometimes, reading different perspectives will make you want to throw the book across the room, never to be picked up again. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕."

"𝑩𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘. The whole point of bringing in different perspectives is so that we might be both affirmed and challenged by one another. If we only ever work with material that is comfortable to us, we will remain exactly where we are."

This is perhaps the most important point that Lindsey made in her post. All of us should be willing to learn and to grow. None of us have arrived. None of us are where we should be, especially in our walk with Christ. We should all be learning and growing daily, and part of that process of growth comes as we engage with those around us and allow different voices and perspectives to inform our faith and our lives.

http://www.allanbevere.com/2021/03/engaging-new-perspectives.html#more

SERMON: THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN (BEATITUDES): BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL

 I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:1-12

 

Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

            -- There is a story told about a mother who came to Napoleon on behalf of her son who was about to be executed -- The mother asked the ruler to pardon her son for his crimes -- when Napoleon heard her plea, he pointed out that it was the man's second offense and that justice demanded that her son be put to death for his crimes

            -- the woman replied, "I don't ask for justice -- I plead for mercy." -- Napoleon spoke up again, "But your son doesn't deserve mercy." -- "Sir," the mother replied, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask." -- Her son was granted the pardon.

 

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series on the Beatitudes that I have entitled, “The Measure of a Christian” -- as you remember, these Beatitudes are the attitudes and behaviors and attributes that we are seeking in our lives as we grow more and more like Jesus -- as we become more and more mature as Christians

            -- each Beatitude that Jesus gave us represent a step of progression in our Christian lives -- we started with the call to be poor in Spirit and respond to the grace that is offered us at the cross -- next, we were made aware of our sins as we mourned them and began the arduous path of sanctification

            -- we learned to experience and express the power of the Spirit in our lives through meekness -- not prideful of God’s presence in our lives -- not boastful of our position -- but power in control -- power exercised for our good and the good of others

            -- and then last week, we talked about continuing growth in Christ as we realized that this Christian life is all about our relationship -- being in a right relationship with God by living lives focused on God through the power of the Spirit within us as we hunger and thirst for righteousness

            -- this week, we are looking at the fifth Beatitude which informs us how we are to live with those around us -- especially those who have wronged us

            -- as we begin, let me read verse 7 for you again

 

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 

II.  Defining Mercy

            -- when I was in school, one of my professors constantly quoted from Voltaire in the middle of his lectures -- he would say, “If you would converse with me, define your terms.” -- that’s pretty good advice

            -- in the church we have developed this Christianese language -- we have this list of words and phrases that we use all the time and we just assume that everyone knows what they mean -- but that’s not always the case -- so, before we begin looking at this Beatitude in depth, let’s start by looking at some definitions so that we all know what we’re talking about

            -- let’s start with mercy -- what is mercy? -- if you’ve been in my Bible studies, you’ve probably gotten this question thrown out at you several times

            -- mercy is not getting what you deserve -- it’s really a legal term -- mercy describes a situation where you’ve done something wrong -- you’re guilty -- you deserve punishment -- but you are set free without having to pay the penalty that you rightfully owe

            -- “When you forget to do your homework, and your teacher lets you turn it in the next day with no penalty, that's mercy -- When a police officer catches you running a stop sign and decides to let you off with a warning, that's mercy.”¹

            -- as Brian Wilkerson put it, “Mercy is kindness or compassion where it's not expected, because the person showing mercy is under no obligation to show it, or because the person's suffering was somehow deserved -- Mercy goes beyond what might be considered normal and natural.”

            -- mercy is not justice -- it is not fair -- it is not getting what you deserve

 

            -- mercy is often paired with grace, so I wanted to mention grace quickly before we move on -- grace is often defined as God’s unmerited favor -- a good way of thinking about grace is that while mercy is not getting what we do deserve, grace is getting the blessing we don’t deserve

            -- grace is always a gift -- it is a kindness or a blessing that we don’t expect -- that we don’t earn -- that we don’t deserve -- but that is given to us because of the greatness of the One who bestows it

 

            -- mercy deals with our sins -- grace has to do with our relationship with the Father

            -- the Bible tells us that everyone of us has sinned and deserves the punishment of death for our sin

            -- God showed us mercy by not punishing us for our sin and by forgiving us for what we had done

            -- God showed us grace when He let the righteousness and holiness of Christ take the place of our sinful natures and restored us to a right relationship with Him again

            -- so, that’s what grace and mercy are -- that’s what those words mean when we see them in our Bibles and poured out in our lives

 

III.  Mercy Displayed (Matthew 18:21-35)

            -- so now that we know what mercy is, the real question before us, then, is “What does mercy look like in the life of a Christian?” -- or, to put it a little differently -- “How do we show mercy to others?”

            -- Jesus says here, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”

            -- What does that look like?

 

            -- I think to really answer this, we need to look at another passage of Scripture -- if you would, flip over to Matthew 18, and let’s look at verses 21-35

 

Matthew 18:21-35

New International Version

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

 

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

 

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

 

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

 

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

 

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

 

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

 

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

 

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 

            -- before we start talking about this passage in depth, let me give you the background and context so you’ll know what’s going on -- remember what I’ve said -- you have to always interpret and understand scripture in context -- and I would encourage you to go back and read the rest of this passage in detail because it will help you really understand what is going on here and what Jesus is calling us to do in this fifth Beatitude

 

            -- this passage from Matthew 18 is found within a larger teaching by Jesus on how we should live holy lives as Christians

            -- Jesus begins by warning His disciples to avoid sin and to be careful that their actions don't lead anyone else into sin -- especially children and little ones in the faith -- "Don't be the person who causes someone else to fall," He tells them

            -- Jesus tells His disciples the parable of the lost sheep and calls His disciples to respond the same to the sinner in their midst -- to those who have fallen into sin in the church -- that they should go after them and bring them back into the fold

            -- and then He teaches His disciples how they should act when someone sins against them -- that they should seek to offer mercy and forgiveness and the opportunity for the sinner to repent of their sins and come back into a right relationship with the Father and with the church

            -- their first move should always be to offer forgiveness and mercy to their offenders

            -- "when someone sins against you," He says, "try to work it out between you first -- offer God's forgiveness to them and forgive them of what they have done -- try to restore the relationship"  

            -- which brings us to verse 21 and Jesus’ story of the unmerciful servant

 

            -- look back at verse 21

 

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

 

            -- now Peter has been standing there listening to all of Jesus' teachings on sin and forgiveness -- and it seems like he just wants to puff himself up before the others -- he's trying to establish himself as the leader and as the one who really gets it -- someone who really understands what Jesus has been saying -- so he turns to Jesus and asks, "how many times should I forgive someone who sins against me -- even up to seven times?"

            -- you get the sense that Peter is fishing for a compliment -- I think that he hoped that Jesus would praise him for his question -- you see, the Talmud -- the teachings of the rabbis based on the Old Testament law -- said that you only had to forgive someone three times -- the fourth time, it was up to you how to respond -- you could forgive them or you could hold it against them and make them suffer the consequences of their sin

            -- Peter is, in essence, saying to Jesus -- "Look how holy and merciful I am -- I would forgive someone not just three times -- but all the way up to seven times -- isn't that the right way to do it?"

            -- but Peter doesn’t get the response from Jesus that he expected

 

            -- verse 22

 

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

 

-- you can almost sense the humor in Jesus' reply -- "Peter, not seven times but seventy-seven times" -- some translations say "seventy times seven times" -- this was an enormous number -- the only way you could do that would be to carry a book around with you and keep track of how many times someone wronged you

            -- Jesus was trying to make a point -- the mercy you show to others -- the forgiveness you offer -- should be like the Father's -- the Father doesn't keep track of how many times you sin and how many times you come before Him -- He doesn't quit forgiving you at three or seven or seventy-seven -- He forgives every time -- His mercies are new every day -- and this is the way we should forgive those who wrong us -- this is how we should show mercy to them, too -- by telling Peter to forgive seventy-seven times, Jesus is saying, "don't limit your forgiveness but let it flow out of your heart without ceasing" -- always be merciful to others

 

            -- to make His point, Jesus then told a story -- a parable -- to help everyone understand what mercy and forgiveness looks like -- verse 23

 

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

            -- every sin that we commit is a debt to God -- as David said in Psalm 51, "Against you and you only have I sinned" -- all of our sins are stacking up against us as a debt against God -- we’re borrowing against His mercy -- and at some point, that debt is going to have to be paid -- when we die and stand before the Great White Throne, He's going to settle His accounts with us, just as the king here started to settle accounts with his servants

 

            -- verse 24

 

24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

 

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

 

-- so Jesus gives us the picture of a man who owes a lot of money to the king -- ten thousand talents in today's money would be somewhere between one and ten million dollars -- we're talking about a lot of money here -- this is not just some pittance -- this is significant

            -- this debt that he owed is like the sin debt that we have racked up before God -- the number of sins that we commit in our lifetime just grows larger and larger and larger until they reach an amount that we never could hope to repay

            -- so, when the king brought this man before him and demanded to be paid, there was nothing this man could do -- he couldn’t pay that sum back -- he fell to his knees and begged for mercy

            -- the king listened to this man as he pleaded for mercy -- he understood the man’s hopeless situation -- there was no way he was going to be able to work off that debt, try as he might -- and so the king had pity on the man and showed him mercy and grace

            -- mercy -- not giving him what he deserved -- not selling the man and his wife and his children into slavery to repay the debt like he deserved -- and grace -- giving him what he did not deserve -- wiping the man's debt totally clean -- marking the account "paid in full"

            -- what a beautiful picture of the forgiveness of the King -- of the mercy and the grace of God through Christ Jesus -- forgiving us a debt so great that we could never hope to repay it -- no matter how long we worked -- no matter how many sacrifices we made -- through Christ we have the complete forgiveness of our sins -- through Christ we know what mercy and grace look like

 

            -- verse 28

 

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

 

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

 

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

 

 -- now this fellow who has been forgiven a debt of over one million dollars goes out and finds a fellow servant who owes him only a hundred denarii -- that's less than $100 -- and he demands that the servant pay him back immediately -- and when he can't, he has him thrown into prison until the debt is paid back in full

            -- the one who was shown mercy shows none to another -- the one who was shown grace offers none to another

 

            -- verse 31

 

31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

 

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

 

-- the master calls this man a "wicked" servant -- not wicked because he had accrued a debt of over a million dollars -- but wicked because he has refused to show mercy to another

            -- after being forgiven so great a debt, how could this man not forgive such a lesser debt owed him? -- and so the king has the man thrown into prison to be tortured until he can pay back all of the money he originally owed

 

            -- now look at Jesus' final summary of this parable and of all His teachings on the topic of mercy and forgiveness -- verse 35

 

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 

            -- this parable makes it clear -- as a Christian, we have a duty to forgive -- to show mercy to others -- it is not a choice, but a requirement -- if we are going to enjoy the forgiveness of God for the sins that we have committed against Him -- if we’re going to receive the mercy God offers -- then we have to extend the same mercy and forgiveness to those who sin against us -- to those who hurt us -- especially to those we are in a relationship with

            -- God always calls us to return mercy and grace and forgiveness to others in the same way it has been given to us -- remember what we pray in the Lord’s prayer? -- “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” -- in other words, “forgive us our sins in the same way that we forgive those who sin against us”

            -- the exact same thing that Jesus teaches us in the fifth Beatitude -- blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy -- the mercy and the grace you pour out on others will be returned to you in kind

 

IV.  Closing

            -- let’s bring this to a close -- Ray Stedman wrote, "Not a day goes by but that we do not stand in desperate need of the forgiving word of the great King -- Again and again he cancels out [our] debt as we come in our guilt and abandon, in the consciousness that we have terribly failed, hearing anew the tender forgiving word

            -- "And yet, when someone offends us, how quickly we revert to the basis of justice and start demanding, "Pay me what you owe." -- "I demand an apology." -- "Give me my rights." -- "Let me have what's coming to me." -- "Treat me like I deserve." -- "I demand to be treated with respect."

            -- how many times do we utter such words? -- how many times do we joyfully receive the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God but turn in anger and unforgiveness against our brother and sister?

 

            -- blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy -- in this Beatitude, Jesus calls us to a different way -- He tells us to stop living according to the pattern of this world -- to stop doing what the world would expect and demand us to do -- and to start doing what God would want us to do

            -- be merciful, Jesus says -- when others wrong you -- when others do things that demand justice -- show mercy and offer forgiveness because of the mercy and grace you have already experienced and continue to enjoy in your daily life

 

            -- In one of his radio spots, Chuck Colson tells a story from Iraq about a U.S. triage facility that was doing its best to save the lives of two Iraqi insurgents -- two enemy soldiers who had been fighting against our troops in Iraq -- these men had been wounded in the attack, but when our soldiers found them after the battle, they rushed the two wounded enemy soldiers to the hospital

            -- The medical team worked on them to heal their wounds -- they had done everything possible to save the lives of the insurgents, but one of them was not going to survive unless he got 30 pints of blood, which this triage unit did not have on hand

            -- The call went out through the facility for volunteer donors, and within minutes, dozens of American soldiers had lined up to donate blood -- At the head of the line was a battle-hardened soldier named Brian -- When a reporter asked if it mattered to him that he was giving his blood to an enemy soldier, Brian replied, "A human life is a human life."

            -- That's a picture of mercy in action -- unexpected kindness to a person who doesn’t deserve it -- forgiveness to those who have wronged you

            -- blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy

            -- go, and do that

 

            -- let us pray

 

 

 

References:

¹[Bryan Wilkerson, pastor of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts, http://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2008/september/changeofheart5.html?start=1]

 

 

SERMON: THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN (BEATITUDES): BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:1-12

 

Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

            -- Socrates was a renowned philosopher in ancient Greece -- he was known world-wide for his wisdom and understanding of life -- one day, a devoted follower of Socrates came to him and said, “I want to know as much as you -- how do I become wise?”

            -- Socrates led the man to the ocean and as they stood on the shore watching the waves roll in, he asked the man, “What do you want?” -- the man said, “I want knowledge”

            -- Socrates led the man into the water until it was chest deep and he paused in the breaking waves and asked the man, “What do you want?” -- the man said again, “I want knowledge”

            -- Immediately, Socrates grabbed the man and plunged him underneath the water -- The man struggled to free himself, but Socrates kept his head submerged -- Finally, after much effort, the man was able to break loose and emerge from the water

            -- Socrates then asked, “When you thought you were drowning, what one thing did you want most of all?” -- Still gasping for breath, the man exclaimed, “I wanted air!”

            -- Socrates paused for a moment and then wisely commented, “When you want knowledge as much as you wanted air, then you will be wise!” (Adapted from Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries)

 

            -- Jesus tells us here in the fourth Beatitude that this concept of Socrates is true for righteousness, as well -- look back with me at verse 6

 

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

 

            -- in other words, Jesus is saying that when we want righteousness as much as a drowning man wants air, we will find it -- when we want righteousness as much as a starving man wants food or a thirsty man wants water, then we will find it

            -- when righteousness and holiness become the overwhelming desire of our heart -- when they become all we want and all we need and all we seek -- then we will find them

 

            -- this morning, as we continue in our sermon series on the Beatitudes, we are going to be exploring this concept of desiring righteousness in our lives

            -- just like the earlier Beatitudes we looked at, this Beatitude builds on the first three and continues to move us higher and higher on the ladder of faith -- helping us to become more and more like Jesus as we seek His presence and desire His presence and power in our lives

            -- in a very real sense, this Beatitude is the first test of our devotion to Christ -- previously, we talked about how the first three Beatitudes were the foundation of a life with God and a life in Christ

            -- in the beginning, we find ourselves poor in the spirit -- being made aware of our condition and our need for a Savior -- aware that we need forgiveness and salvation at the cross

            -- next, we mourn our sins as we become aware of the true depth of our sinfulness and of the vast gulf between us and God -- and we cry out for complete forgiveness and cleansing through God’s mercy and grace

            -- which leads us to the third Beatitude -- beginning the first steps of a holy life -- realizing the power of God within us -- exercising the power of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to start us on the path of sanctification -- the path of holiness and righteousness

            -- and, now, in this fourth Beatitude -- blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness -- we are confronted with the question, “Are we progressing in our spiritual lives?”

            -- this Beatitude asks us to pause and think about how we are living and what we are living for -- what do we spend our time and energy on? -- what desires fill our hearts? -- what drives us on a daily basis? -- are we seeking after God or are we still following the ways of this world and the desires of our flesh?

            -- so, let’s look at this Beatitude now and see what we can learn about living for God on a daily basis

 

II.  Righteousness

            -- let’s start by thinking a moment about righteousness -- Jesus tells us here, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”

            -- what is righteousness? -- that is a common word in the Bible -- both in the Old Testament and the New Testament -- we use it a lot in our churches -- we sing about it in our hymns -- we read about it in our devotions -- but what is it? -- what does that word really mean? -- what does Jesus mean when He tells us to hunger and thirst after righteousness?

            -- really, Jesus means two things -- first, He means that we hunger and thirst after a right relationship with God -- we seek to be right with God

            -- I think most of us here have been in a relationship of some kind -- whether it’s a romantic relationship or just a friendship with another person -- and I guarantee you, at some point in that relationship, you had a fight -- you got into an argument -- something happened -- somebody did something wrong or said something wrong and the other person got hurt

            -- and what happened to the relationship at that moment? -- it suffered, didn’t it? -- it was strained -- it was broken -- it wasn’t…right

            -- and what had to happen to make that relationship right again? -- the person who messed up had to make amends -- they had to apologize or buy flowers or whatever it took to repair the hurt and to make that relationship right again

            -- that’s part of what Jesus means here by righteousness -- He’s telling us we are all called to be in a right relationship with God -- but when sin comes into our life, it damages that relationship -- God cannot be where sin is -- and until we deal with that sin -- until we take steps to get that sin out of our life -- it’s not right

            -- and we can’t make it right -- there’s nothing we can do -- we can’t make it right by going to church or by doing good things or by tithing or by giving money to good causes -- we can’t make it right by reading our Bible everyday or by doing “churchy” things

            -- we can only make our relationship right with God through faith in the atoning death of Jesus on the cross for us -- by believing that Jesus paid the price for our sins with His own body and blood and asking Him to forgive us for our sins -- we apologize for what we have done -- we repent of our sins and turn from ourselves and the world and turn to God -- we ask Jesus to make amends for our sins with His body and His blood

            -- and God’s grace, through our faith and trust in Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection, saves us -- it puts us back into a right relationship with God -- that’s part of what He means here when He says that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are blessed

 

            -- the second part of righteousness is keeping that relationship from getting broken again -- and how do we do that? -- by being true and faithful to God -- by living holy lives -- by doing the right things -- the things that God wants us to do -- turning away from temptations and sins and living for God with our whole hearts and mind and strength

            -- to be righteous means that we try to live lives of integrity and character and holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit within us -- that we try to live the way God wants us to live so that our relationship with Him grows stronger everyday

 

III.  Hungering and Thirsting for God

            -- that’s what Jesus means by the word, “righteousness,” in this Beatitude

            -- which leads us to the next question -- how? -- how do we become righteous? -- how do we stay righteous? -- how do we keep our relationship with God right?

 

            -- one night at a campfire, an elderly man took the opportunity to teach his grandson about the inner struggles with right and wrong that he had dealt with his whole life -- he told his grandson that inside of him were two wolves -- one of the wolves was mean and evil -- the other wolf was good -- and they fought constantly for control of his life

            -- the young man stared at the fire for a moment and then asked, “Which wolf ends up winning?” -- the old man paused a moment and said, “the one I feed the most”

 

            -- it’s the same way with us in our daily lives -- every day we wake up with desires in our hearts and in our flesh -- we wake up with wants and wishes -- we have needs to be met

            -- in this Beatitude, Jesus uses the analogy of a person who is hungry or thirsty to describe what it is like to have a desire in your life -- the point He is trying to get across here is that our desires are natural -- they are good -- they have their source in God Himself

            -- think about it like this -- why do we get hungry and thirsty? -- because our body needs food and water to survive -- God put this desire in us because He knew it was something that we needed -- hunger and thirst are good things, because they remind us to get food and water so that we can live

            -- all of the desires that you have are things that God knows you need -- things like food and water -- things like relationships and marriage and sex -- things like houses and possessions and jobs -- things like spiritual satisfaction -- all of these are desires that God has put in us because He knows that we need them to live and to be happy -- these are all good things

            -- but the problem comes in when we begin to try to fulfill our God-given desires in ungodly ways -- by trying to get more than we need or by trying to fulfill our desires in places or in ways that God does not approve of

 

            -- this Beatitude forces us to ask the question, “what wolf am I feeding?” -- “where do we go to have our desires met? -- what do we do when we seek to be filled and satisfied?”

            -- really, there are only two choices -- we can go to God or we can go to the world

            -- if we go to God, then our desires will be met in Godly, righteous ways and our relationship with Him will be right

            -- if we go to the world, then our natural tendency is to meet our desires in ungodly ways -- and, as a result, our relationships with God and with others may be strained or broken

 

            -- let’s use food as an example of what I’m talking about -- we need food -- getting hungry is a God-given desire that meets that need in our life -- we all know that, right?

            -- now, let me ask you this -- how many of you have ever paid attention to the way grocery stores are designed? -- how the groceries are placed on the shelves?

            -- to get to the fruits and vegetables, what do you usually have to do? -- walk past rows of freshly baked doughnuts and cakes -- you have to walk past the smells of doughnuts fresh out of the oven or fresh-baked bread -- and it just feeds your senses

            -- to get to the milk and dairy section, what do you have to do? -- you have to go all the way to the back of the store -- you have to walk past displays and end caps with potato chips and cokes and cookies -- and that’s not by accident -- it is intentional

            -- the store is using your God-given desire for food, but they’re trying to get you to meet those desires in a way you probably shouldn’t -- doughnuts and potato chips may be less expensive than healthy food, but the stores know they won’t satisfy you, so you’ll buy more and more of them to satisfy you -- like the potato chip ad says, “Bet you can’t eat just one”

            -- and those doughnuts and potato chips look so good and smell so good and we’re so hungry and they’re right there in front of us, so we grab the potato chips and the doughnuts and start eating them in the car on the way home -- and while they may taste good and take away your hunger for a moment, they won’t meet your nutritional needs like a healthy meal would -- and in just a little while, you’ll get hungry again and you’ll come back and you’ll buy more -- that’s their goal

            -- if they can get you to meet your God-given desire for food by spending more of your money on things you don’t need, then they’re happy

 

            -- it’s the same way with getting any of your desires met -- you’ve got two choices -- you’ve got the world’s way and you’ve got God’s way -- you can either choose to let God meet your desires in His healthy ways, or you can give in to temptation and try to get your needs filled in ungodly and unhealthy ways

 

IV.  Filled with the Presence of God

            -- in the context of this Beatitude, Jesus is not only talking about the physical desires and needs that we have, but also our spiritual desires and needs -- God made us with this place in our heart that can only be filled by His presence -- in other words, we need God in our lives and in our hearts

 

            -- Psalm 42:1-2 makes this clear -- “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

            -- God put this desire for Him and His presence in our hearts and in our spirits -- He wants us to pant for Him -- to thirst for Him -- or, as Jesus puts it here in this Beatitude, to hunger and thirst for His presence -- to desire Him and a relationship with Him more than anything else that this world has to offer

            -- and, when we choose Him over this world -- when He is our desire -- our all-in-all -- when He is what we are seeking more than anything else -- He promises that we will be filled

 

            -- filled with what? -- obviously not food and drink -- but filled with the presence and power of Christ in our lives

            -- filled with the very righteousness and holiness of God as the Holy Spirit works in our lives -- from the inside out -- to help us to become holy as God is holy

            -- in the church, we call this sanctification -- that’s just a ten-dollar term that means that we are becoming more and more like Jesus everyday -- this means that we are not only following Jesus, but we’re starting to act like Jesus -- we’re starting to think like Jesus -- we’re starting to look like Jesus -- inside and out

 

            -- this means that in our daily lives, we are showing those around us the same love that Jesus showed to those in His day -- this means that we are choosing to walk past the displays of doughnuts and potato chips and alcohol and drugs and sex and pride and arrogance and all the other temptations that the world throws at us and we are choosing to follow God and to follow His ways

            -- to hunger and thirst for righteousness means that we are living for God -- we are desiring God -- not just on Sundays -- but every day

 

            -- think about what this Beatitude says -- blessed are those who hunger -- blessed are those who thirst -- those are active words -- those are words that indicate this is an on-going situation

            -- right now -- this moment and every moment -- we should be actively hungering and thirsting for God -- we should be seeking His presence and His ways and choosing to follow Him, forsaking all others

            -- this isn’t something that we do one time and get the t-shirt and go home -- no, this is something that needs to become a part of us -- just like breathing -- it’s something that we do without even thinking about it -- it becomes our reason for living -- it becomes our life

            -- what Jesus is telling us here is to keep on hungering and keep on thirsting for righteousness -- and when you do that, He promises that God will fill you with His presence and His power

 

            -- remember that I said that this Beatitude is a good test of your relationship with God -- of the depths of righteousness that you have obtained

            -- if you are truly hungering and thirsting for righteousness -- if you are truly hungering and thirsting for God in your life and are walking in His ways -- then you should see be able to see where a change has happened

            -- you should be able to look back on your life six months -- one year -- five years ago -- and be able to say, “I’m better than I was then -- I’m more righteous than I was then -- I’m more holy than I was then -- I’m choosing God over sin more now than then”

            -- when we hunger and thirst after righteousness, God promises to meet us and to fill us with His presence so that we might continue to grow in grace and become more and more like His Son, Jesus

 

V.  Closing

            -- C.S. Lewis wrote, “We are half hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us -- like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a [vacation at the beach], we are far too easily pleased”

 

            -- it is too easy to go through this life chasing and being satisfied with what the world has to offer while ignoring the true gifts that God has waiting for us

            -- too many of us waste our time and our energy and our resources by trying to have our wants and wishes -- desires and needs -- met by this world rather than by our Creator

            -- Jesus tells us that if we would turn our eyes from the glitter and glamour of this world and would instead hunger and thirst and chase after God, that He would fill our lives with His power and His presence and His glory

            -- this Beatitude tells us that the path to a full life does not lay in the temporary satisfactions of this world but in the righteousness of God and in a relationship with Him

            -- joy comes from being in a right relationship with God and from living life according to His plan and His will

            -- so, as we close in prayer, let me encourage you to take a moment and think about where you are in your life -- are you making mud pies in a slum instead of enjoying a vacation at the beach? -- are you gorging on potato chips rather than feasting on the riches of God’s heavenly banquet? -- are you living the life that God wants you to live?

            -- if not, then I want to encourage you to make a change right now -- this morning

            -- start feeding the good wolf -- chase after God -- hunger and thirst for His righteousness -- so that you will be filled and satisfied and happy living in God’s presence

            -- come to Him now -- turn to Him -- for the forgiveness of your sins -- for new life with Him -- and for a change that will last forever

            -- let us pray