Good morning and welcome to the Panhandle. Well come on in, open your Bible and sit a spell. While your getting settled I gotta tell ya, “I am excited! We will start Revival Services on the 21st and go through the 24th, and this is always a blessed time for me. Okay, y'all ready? Matthew 5:6.
It was a hot, sultry day. No doubt the wind was blowing and there was dust in the air. The sun was beating down on those who were gathered around Christ Jesus on a flat plateau between two small mountains. Those who heard the Sermon on the Mount could well identify with the first three beatitudes. They were certainly acquainted with poverty, and they knew what it meant to mourn. The Roman government had taught them the meaning of control. If some were beginning to lose interest by now, Christ Jesus regained their interest with the fourth beatitude. Perhaps at the very time that He spoke these words, the stomachs of many growled with hunger and their mouths were parched with thirst.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness—those who seek God—for they shall be filled. In Matthew 6:1–8 Christ Jesus shows the difference between religious rites and genuine hunger for God. There He contrasts the hypocrites who made a big show of giving their offering and the poor who give what they had from their heart. His statement of “hungering and thirsting” also reminds us of the words of the psalmist, As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. (Psalm 42:1). Blessed are those who's souls pant for God's righteousness.
Reckon you've got a strong stomach? You might reconsider once you've heard these...These are some of the world's weird foods.
White ant eggs soup - One of the world’s more unusual soups, combines a mixture of ant eggs and partial embryos from the white ant, plus a few baby ants to add sourness - Loas
Fertilised duck egg, with its partly developed embryo inside, is boiled alive and then eaten from the shell with salt, chilli and vinegar. You’re supposed to tap a hole in the top of the shell, sup the savoury liquid and then crunch down the rest of what’s inside – feathers, bones and all. - Philippines
Few people would look at a tarantula and think “lunch”, so it’s perhaps no surprise that these spiders were first eaten by Cambodians starving under the Khmer Rouge regime. - Cambodia
We
find the thought of eating these things repugnant and disgusting. We
like to believe that, no matter what, we would never eat such a
thing. However it would be more accurate to say, “I have not been
that hungry yet” than to say “I would never eat that.”
Maybe
you have heard people make the statement, “I wasn’t fed at
church.” I guess they mean that they didn’t learn anything useful
or that they didn’t feel the presence of God. How about the charge
that, “I don’t like doing it this way” or “I don’t like
that version of the Bible.” Have you ever had your kids or
grandkids come to you complaining that there is nothing to eat in the
house. Then when you point out different foods, they say, “I don’t
like that.” My response to this is always the same, “Then you
must not be all that hungry.” I think it is the same with God's
Word. I think some of those who gripe about church are just not all
that hungry or thirsty for God's righteousness.
Matthew 5:6
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
There are challenges in living a life of righteousness.
1. The Challenge: A Life Of Righteousness
Many are seeking happiness when they should seek righteousness. Those who make happiness the goal of their lives seldom find true happiness.
A religious sect in Hungary had as its chief tenet that salvation was gained by laughing, so they practiced their religion by laughing all of the time. They laughed long and loud. In fact, they laughed so loudly and boisterously that they were brought into court for disturbing the peace. They were not really happy, because they were too busy doing things that they thought would bring happiness.
Instead of seeking happiness, you should seek righteousness. When pressed about earthly concerns Christ Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Seek Gods righteousness and true joy, contentment, and peace will be added to your life.
Righteousness what does this word mean? It means Holy and upright living. It means living a life obedient to Christ Jesus. In the Old Testament, righteousness and salvation are thought of as the same thing (Isaiah 46:13; 51:8; 61:10).
In the New Testament we are told that righteousness and salvation come through Christ Jesus: “Righteousness from God comes through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Through Christ Jesus we are made “the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).
The verbs used in this beatitude describe the hunger of one who is starving for food and the thirst of one who will die unless they drink. Christ Jesus rarely becomes a reality to someone until He first become a necessity. We hunger, and He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). We thirst, and He is the “water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).
The Christian should takes seriously the warning, “Be ye therefore perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The closer you get to God, the more repentant for sin you become. This is righteousness. The further you get from God, the less you feel regret over your sins. This is wickedness, immorality, debauchery and more.
True righteousness is found in living right with God: in a state that conforms to an authoritative standard in accordance with God's standard. God's character is the definition and source of all righteousness (Gen 18:25; Deut 32:4; Rom 9:14). Therefore, your righteousness is defined in terms of God's righteousness. God's righteousness is the righteousness, that you and I should hunger and thirst for.
There is comfort found in this beatitude.
2. The Comfort.
This beatitude is considered by many to be the most challenging and the most comforting of all the Beatitudes. The challenge is righteousness. The comfort is that blessedness is promised to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness — not just to those who achieve it. One of the major reasons that people reject Christ Jesus is that they do not desire Him enough to become a Christian. When you are truly saved, you maintain a sort of holy dissatisfaction with yourself. There is a holy tension between what you are and what you ought to be. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. (Romans 7:19-20)
Many people hunger and thirst for pleasure, prestige, position, possessions, and wealth. Some people actually join a church because they are seeking these things instead of seeking righteousness. But the true Christian’s attitude is much different.
The Christian does not say, “I am interested in Christ Jesus”; they say, “For me to live is Christ.” (Philippians 1:21). The Christian does not say, “I would like to come to terms with Christ Jesus ”; they say, “I surrender all to Christ Jesus.” The Christian does not say I will try on Christ Jesus and see if I like Him. They invite Christ Jesus into their heart and put on the full armor of God.
Are you playing at being a Christian or do you hunger and thirst for Christ Jesus' righteousness?
There is a promise that comes with this beatitude.
3. The Promise.
The Christian who hungers and thirsts for righteousness shall be chortadzo (khor-tad'-zo); satisfied. This word was used to describe the feeding and fattening of cattle with fodder and grain. Just as the animal is fattened a little bit more at each feeding, the Christian who hungers and thirsts for complete righteousness gradually grows in their Christian life.
As a Christian with a spiritual appetite you should grow in your Christian life. Because of your spiritual appetite you will receive peace of mind. The Lord is your Shepherd who makes you lie down in green pastures and leads you beside still waters (Psalms 23:2). If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, in God you will find satisfaction. In Christ Jesus you will find rest and all your needs will be met.
The paradox of this beatitude: is that as you continue to hunger and thirst you are filled. The more you are filled, the more you hunger and thirst. So it goes on and on, and yet as a Christ Follower even though you hunger and thirst for more of Christ Jesus in your life, you are filled and fully satisfied in Him.
Do you have a spiritual appetite? Is your appetite being spoiled because you are gorging yourself at Satan’s table, or are you hungering and thirsting for God's righteousness?
In Matthew 5:6, Christ Jesus commends the one who “hungers and thirsts” for righteousness. As a Christian you should be ready to eat from whatever it is God lays on the table. To accept whatever condition, correction or assignment He gives you, without hesitation.
When you come to Church and worship in such a way, according to Christ Jesus, you will leave filled and content, you will be satisfied. So if you leave still hungry and discontent, whose fault is that?
I glad you drop by today, and I pray you will join me again next week. May the the Lord our God richly bless you and your.
Biblesurfer
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