THE MEASURE OF A CHRISTIAN: BLESSED ARE THOSE
WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
(The Beatitude Series)
19 June 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 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.
He said:
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 get it!” (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 that we want and all that we need and all that we seek -- then we will find it
--as we continue in our sermon series on the Beatitudes, we are going to be exploring this concept of desiring righteousness in our lives
-- this Beatitude builds on the first three and continue 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 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 each Beatitude led us to begin living a life with God
-- first, we are poor in spirit -- aware of 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 depth of our sinfulness and of the vast gulf between us and God -- we realize that we can’t do it on our own -- we can’t live this life in our own power
-- which leads us to the third Beatitude -- realizing the power of God within us -- exercising the power of the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to start us on the path of holiness and righteousness
-- 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?
-- 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 what Jesus means here by righteousness -- 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, our relationship is broken -- it’s not right
-- we make it right by believing that Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross and asking Him to forgive us for our sins -- we apologize for what we have done and we ask Jesus to make amends for our sins with His body and His blood -- and that 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 and staying away from sin and temptation
-- to be righteous means that we try to live lives of integrity and character and holiness -- 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 old native American was teaching the younger generation about the inner struggles that he had dealt with in his life -- he told them that inside of him were two dogs -- one of the dogs was mean and evil -- the other dog was good -- and they fought constantly for control of his life
-- when the young men around the campfire asked him which dog wins, 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 heart -- we have 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
-- problems come only when we seek to fill our God-given desires in ungodly ways
-- this Beatitude forces us to ask the question, “where do we go to have our desires met? -- where do we go seeking 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 good
-- if we go to the world, then our desires will be met in ungodly ways, and our relationships with God and with others may be strained or broken
-- think about food again -- how many of you have ever been shopping at Walmart for groceries? -- have you ever noticed how the stores are laid out? -- to get to the fruits and vegetables, what do you have to do? -- walk past rows of freshly baked doughnuts and cakes
-- to get to the milk and dairy section, what do you have to do? -- walk past displays and end caps with potato chips and cokes and cookies
-- why is that? -- because the store knows that, not only are these doughnuts and potato chips more expensive than healthy food, but that they won’t satisfy -- potato chips may taste good and take away your hunger for a moment, but they won’t meet your nutritional needs like a healthy meal -- 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
-- it’s the same way with getting your desires met -- you’ve got two choices -- you’ve got the world and you’ve got God -- 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
-- as David wrote in Psalm 42:1-2, “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 in our heart to want Him -- He wants us 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
-- 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 all the other temptations that the world throws at us and we are choosing to follow God and to follow His ways
-- this means that we are living for Him -- not just on Sundays -- but everyday
-- 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 are hungering and thirsting for God -- we are 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 becomes 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
-- 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 a change -- 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”
-- 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 to 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 what the world has to offer while ignoring the true gifts that God has waiting
-- too many of us waste our time and our energy and our resources by trying to have our wants and wishes and our desires and needs met by this world rather than by our Creator
-- Jesus tells us that is 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
-- 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 chase after God -- to 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
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