A Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

As we turn to Matthew chapter 5, you come into what's titled, as you see in the ESV Bible,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

! It's the Sermon on the Mount, so where Jesus is here with his disciples and a large crowd

! Gathered and he's teaching them many different things about life and our experience in this

world, but above all, our experience with him. And the Sermon on the Mount covers from chapter 5

through to chapter 7 in Matthew's Gospel. We're going to focus this evening on one of the Beatitudes,

as they're called here, in verse 2 to verse 12. We're going to focus on that one I mentioned

earlier in verse 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be

satisfied. When you turn to this sermon, the first thing we want to notice about the sermon is it's

not all about just how we practically live. It's not telling us these are the do's and don'ts in life.

But first and foremost, we see that the Lord here is teaching us about his gracious ways towards us.

It's not about what we do for him, but what he does, has done and will do for us as his people.

And we have to bear that in mind as we go into this. If we're just looking for something where we're

asking, Lord, what do I have to do? It's not all about that. Because our focus is first and foremost

on the Lord himself, what he has done for us. And as you go through the Beatitudes, you realise

that there is so much in them that he has already done. But you see that there's also things that he

is yet to do for us as well. They're great sayings, these Beatitudes. They remind us of just how the

Lord is with his people in every kind of circumstance. And you see it just in the kind of things that it

speaks about. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek. There's a whole host of different kinds of

people mentioned here. So as we look at a Beatitude here, it helps us to see what the Lord has done

for us. And they're not just found here in Matthew chapter 5. Beatitudes are found all the way through

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

the scriptures. You have the same ones mentioned in Luke chapter 6, verse 20 to 22. It's mentioned

Luke 6:20–22

there as well. But you see them in other places as well, like Psalm 1, which we sang together.

Blessed is the man. So it's there speaking about a Beatitude, a blessing upon the one whose focus

is on the Lord. And then what you find is in Psalm 1, it then goes on to describe what that person is

like. They're like a tree that is planted near a river, which yields its fruit and its leaves are

always green. So there's a blessing that we are finding in the Lord, but then we see that there

is profit from that as well, what the Lord does for us. So a Beatitude, it's like a statement,

a pronouncement from the Lord to his people, followed by a promise. So as you go through them

here in verse 2 down to verse 12, you see, blessed are, and then it says, for they shall.

And so when you're thinking of Beatitude, you're thinking, well, if we want that blessing,

what's in it? How do we find it? There's something for us to do. And as we look at verse 6,

we are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. And when we do that, then we see

they shall be satisfied. And so it asks questions of us. It asks us, well, is that the way our heart

is towards the Lord? Are we with that hunger and thirst for righteousness? As a people, we don't

maybe know what it is to physically hunger and thirst. We can be well satisfied every day of our lives

with the food that we eat, with all that we have to drink to satisfy our thirst. There are people

around us, though, who do know what it is to physically hunger and thirst. And when you find that hunger

and thirst satisfied, quenched, you realise then how powerful a thing it is to have that hunger satisfied.

But this is looking at not just that kind of practical way, not that practical way at all. It's looking at

how are we with the Lord? How are we hungering and thirsting for him? Like Psalm 42, which we sang

together as well. That's speaking of the deer that pants for the water. Do we have that desire for the

Lord, that hunger, that thirst for the Lord? And so do we have that hunger and thirst for righteousness?

We're going to look at this verse and just look at what it's saying to us as we see the different

words that are used in it. And we begin with the word blessed. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst

for righteousness. Blessed is a word that's commonly used. We see it everywhere in the scriptures, Old and

New Testament alike. It's a word that's used often and we use it often as well. We use it at the end of

a text message or an email. Blessings to you. In some form we say blessed to people in day-to-day

language. It's a word that's commonly used. There was the phrase hashtag blessed. The word is used in so

many different ways. But what does it actually mean? It's used both from our perspective towards God

and God's perspective towards us as well. In a sense of from ourselves towards God. It's what we do is

we praise him as we worship him. When you think of Psalm 103, although my soul bless God the Lord and all

that in me is, there's that sense of us blessing God and giving praise, giving worship to him. And it's that

desire in the psalm is that his soul will be stirred up, stirred up to bless the Lord. So we can give that

full praise to him. And so in terms of from our perspective towards God, it's about having that

right relationship with him. We know blessing when we are right with God. As we trust him, as we look to him,

as we lean on him, as we depend on him for all things. But then again, you see it, it's not just

us towards God. It's more importantly, God towards us. Because blessing is divine. It's in God, it's from

God. It's not some kind of emotional state that we find ourselves. And we're not blessed just when we

have peace around us. We're not blessed when we are in good circumstances or when we're surrounded

by joy. It's much more than joy. And when you look at it as it's used in the Beatitudes, you realise,

well, it has to be more than that. Because when you look at the circumstances that the Lord is speaking

about here, it's not the natural place you would find joy as he goes through these Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. It's not those who are rejoicing and glad. It's those who are poor

in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. So you see, it's not just circumstances that dictate how we are

blessed. It's much more than that. It's knowing that the Lord is there for us no matter what. One

person noted it like this. Those who are blessed in this sense. Outwardly, they may have much to be

pitied. But from the higher and therefore truer standpoint, they are to be envied, congratulated and

imitated. So it's not just looking at circumstances and saying that person is to be pitied when they have

the Lord. Because when you look at it from God's perspective, they can be blessed because they are

trusting in him. And the Christian should be seen in that perspective. So that no matter what circumstance

we are in, we are going to know that God is with us. There are some people that translate the word

happy. Blessed and happy are used intermittently. They're interchangeable in some ways. But the problem

is when you look at the word happy and understand it in the English sense of the word, how do we

understand it? What does the word happy mean to us? Happy is an emotional state in many ways.

And it's the opposite of sadness. It's the opposite of sorrow. So when we talk about being happy,

generally we think about things that make us feel good, give us a sense of joy that there are good

things going on in our lives. Happiness, we can be talking about circumstances. So if you get a new job,

you're happy, you might also say you're blessed. When you get a promotion, you might say you're happy,

but you might describe it as blessed. When you have a child or a grandchild, you're happy. And you say

you're blessed. And there's so many of these ways that we could describe that the word can go together.

Happy and blessed can go side by side. But would you say you're happy when you're in poor spirit?

Would you say happy is the one who is mourning? We don't say it naturally because it's almost like

the opposite. And so blessed is not just happy. It's a very different kind of meaning. And the meaning

is found when we see in the Beatitudes, the circumstances. It's got a much deeper reality.

It's much deeper than just a happiness in a good circumstance. It's a happiness, a blessed,

no matter what. So it's not to do with our circumstances. It's to do with what the Lord

is doing for us in our relationship with him. To know that God loves us, that God cares for us,

that God has done great things for us. And what's what we see when you go through the scriptures,

when you find God's people in so many different circumstances, they know they are blessed when

they're able to look to God and know that he is there with them. Blessed are those who are poor in

spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who are meek. There's so many things that you

would say. It's not just happy, but blessed in knowing God. And so it is with blessed are those who

hunger and thirst for righteousness. It's not just happy in it, but knowing God's blessing in it. Just

as we go back to Psalm 1 again, blessed is the man who walks in the ways of the Lord. And that ways of

the Lord, it's not always straightforward. As you go through the likes of Psalm 23 as well, where you see

God's blessing, it's in the midst of all the different varieties of life, whether it's by the still calm

waters, whether it's through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is with us. And so blessed

has that relational side to it, where we are trusting God, where we are seeking to bless God

ourselves with all that we are, but we are seeking God's blessing on us in our right relationship

with him. So it's not a prayer just asking God to bless us. Jesus isn't teaching us, pray like this

here. It's more a reminder to us, a reminder to us to keep trusting God, to keep looking to God.

Blessed is God's gracious way of dealing with his people. So there's so much in the word blessed,

blessed are those who hunger to bless us. And yes, we could say so much more about it as you find it

through the scriptures, but it's just a reminder to us of a relationship with the Lord. Whatever

experience we have, whatever we're going through, that we can know God's blessing on us. And so the word

blessed then is used in each of these beatitudes, these statements that are made for us.

But as we look at verse 6, we focus in then on blessed are those who hunger and thirst.

There's a desire here, or there should be a desire here. If we want to know the blessing,

then this is how we are going to know it. When we hunger and thirst, and we're hungering and thirsting

for righteousness. This should be our attitude, if you like, towards righteousness. This is how we

should be living our life. And are we? Are we living like this? Is this the way that we live? With this

hunger and thirst for righteousness? He is speaking to a people who would have known times of real hunger

and thirst in that experience. We may not know it ourselves, but many of the people Jesus is teaching

here, they would have. They would have experienced times of hunger and thirst in a literal way.

And so as he's speaking to them, he's speaking into their experience and saying, well, in that experience,

you longed, you hungered, you thirsted for something to take away that hunger, for something

to take away that thirst. And as he's speaking to them, he's saying, this is how your relationship

should be with the Lord as well. When you've known times of not having God, when you've been

spiritually thirsty, when you've been spiritually hungry, when you've had no satisfaction in anything

that this world has offered, and yet you come and know the grace of God. You should keep longing

for it, longing, hungering, and thirsting for that righteousness. Like Psalm 42, the psalmist

there describing the deer panting for the water. So pants my longing soul for you. That's what

the psalmist is saying. Can we sing these words and say, well, that's my soul. That's my soul

towards you as my Lord. I'm just panting for you. I'm yearning for you. I'm thirsting for

you to know more.

There are times when we just have to look at ourselves and ask, is that me? As I look

at these beatitudes, is that the way I am? Am I hungering and thirsting for righteousness?

We are all capable of giving good praise to God. We are all capable of doing good things

for the cause of God. We're capable of praying to God in the good times. But do we do it all

the time? Do we do it in the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows? Are we a people who

have that hunger and thirst for righteousness? To have that right walk with God? There was

a story from World War I when the Allied forces, they were in the Middle East at the time and

they were chasing the enemy, if you like, through the desert. And they were going through battle

after battle after battle, slowly making their way through the desert. But as they were journeying

on, they were realising their supplies were running low and water was starting to become scarce.

And they thought, well, we can't keep on fighting if we don't have any water. And so as they were

pressing on, they realised they had to get somewhere that they could get that water supply replenished.

And they were marching through the hot desert. And so as they were journeying on, they realised

they were in trouble. But they knew where they could get water and they decided, we need to get

there. We can't keep fighting without this supply. But it took them so long to get there, they lost

many of the battalion on the way. But eventually, they reached the place where the water supply was.

But they were exhausted. Many of them were almost collapsing. And there were so many of them and

they couldn't all get to the water immediately. And they also had to set up defence in case an attack

came. So it was agreed that those who were the fittest would go on lookout to guard against the

enemy coming. And those who were the weakest would go to the water first. And one soldier who was a

Christian was in those who was feeling fitter at the time. And they had to wait until they got the

chance to drink the water themselves. For four hours, they waited. And eventually, he got to the water

himself. But as he did, and as he reflected later on, he said, we realised and learned a real lesson

in that time. And he said it like this, as we marched from Beersheba to the Sharia wells,

He said, if we're such our thirst for God, our thirst for righteousness and for his will

in our lives, a consuming, all-embracing, preoccupying desire. This was his reflection on the thirst

that he experienced. If that was our thirst to God, how rich would all of us be in the fruit

of the Spirit? That was the lesson that he took from that thirst. To realise that longing for his

natural thirst to be quenched. If only he had that thirst, if we had that thirst for God,

how rich would all of us be in the fruit of the Spirit? Jesus is speaking about that intense

longing. Where we're hungering and thirsting for righteousness. And so that hunger and thirst

is directed towards, thirdly, righteousness. Righteousness.

And we note here that the people, it's not that the people are righteous. They have a righteousness

through faith. But that there's still a longing for more. And what is this righteousness that

we are hungering and thirsting for? Well, again, the word righteousness, it can have different

meanings. There's at least three different meanings you could take. Ways that the word righteousness

is used. One is a legal righteousness. Where we're looking at it more in the courtroom kind

of setting. Where a righteousness is a legal standing. Guilty or not guilty. And as we think

of that, well, if we're hungering and thirsting for righteousness, what are we wanting with God?

We are wanting to be found that the verdict is not guilty. That our sins are forgiven. That

instead of our righteousness, which are like filthy rags, we are hungering and thirsting for

the righteousness of Christ. By which we know that we are forgiven our sins. So that as we

appear at the judgment seat of Christ, as we appear on the day of judgment, that we will be

declared right with God. So there's that aspect of it. There's another aspect of it as well,

as we think of hungering and thirsting for righteousness. It's this ongoing nature of it

as well. It's not just coming to the well and taking a drink and your thirst is satisfied

and you're done. It's that thirst is satisfied until the next time. And so it is with our hunger

and thirst for the righteousness of God. It's always ongoing. We never have a full store. We're

never fully satisfied. We're always with that need of it on an ongoing basis. And so our righteousness

is linked into our sanctification as it were. We're going on with the Lord. We're growing in the Lord.

We're growing to be like the Lord. So that his righteousness is becoming our righteousness more

and more. And then there's a third meaning for righteousness here as well. This righteousness

that we are hungering and thirsting for isn't just for ourselves, but it's for all around us.

So that as we experience this righteousness, as we are blessed in this righteousness,

our longing is that this righteousness will go out to all others. And you see that throughout the

scriptures, through the Old and the New Testament, righteousness exalts a nation. So it's not just

about an individual righteousness. It's a collective righteousness where we're not just saying, well,

I'm going to hunger and thirst for righteousness, but we will hunger and thirst for righteousness.

As a church, as a nation, as a world, this should be our longing, our desire.

This is what the Lord wants for his people everywhere, to know his righteousness. So that when we have it for

ourselves, we know that we are declared righteous in Christ. When we see it as a need for ongoing,

but that we see it too, that it goes out broader. It grows beyond just us, goes beyond just our walls.

It goes out into all around us. So the hunger and thirst for righteousness should be part of our

mission as well. Where that mission is when you receive water, when you receive food, you don't

just keep it all to yourself. If there's others who are hungry and thirsty around you, you share it out.

And so there's a sense of that mission in these words as well. Where this righteousness is not just

contained to ourselves, but shared with others. As a righteousness that's described in the scriptures

in different ways as well. In Romans chapter three, the righteousness from God comes through faith

in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short

of the glory of God. We all fall short. Everyone around us falls short. But this righteousness comes through faith

in Jesus Christ. And we don't depend on our own righteousness. Ezekiel chapter 33 verse 13 makes that clear for us.

Ezekiel 33:13

So if I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil,

none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. He will die for the evil he has done.

So there's the warning. A righteous man, but he trusts in his own righteousness and does evil.

So we need to keep going in this righteousness as well. Don't trust in our own, but hunger and thirst

for the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

And then you see, finally,

blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they shall be satisfied.

And so here is the promise that God gives to his people.

They shall be satisfied.

And this

final part reminds us

of two things.

The first thing is,

not everyone

will be blessed.

because not everyone hungers and thirsts

for righteousness.

And so it's only through this righteousness,

this righteousness that comes

through faith in Jesus Christ

that anyone will ever

be satisfied.

And there's that warning there for us

too,

that there are those

who are perishing,

that there are those who are perishing

in their sin.

And so,

as a people,

that is why the righteousness of Christ

needs to be made known

to others.

That they would not perish,

but come to believe

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because they're chasing after

everything in this world

that will satisfy,

that will fill them,

that will make them happy,

that they might call blessed,

but that without Christ

is nothing.

And so there's a warning.

But there's also

a promise.

There is a promise

in there as well.

That for those

who keep going,

for those who hunger

and thirst

for this righteousness,

they shall be satisfied.

And

this is a sense of

what we would call

the already,

but the not yet.

that we have

much to be thankful for

and we have many blessings

here.

But that we can remember

that there's so much

more to come.

And when you look at

the other Beatitudes

here as well,

you realise

that it's not just

for the here and now,

but for

the future as well

and for eternity

in many ways.

blessed are the poor

in spirit,

for theirs

is the kingdom

of heaven.

Blessed

are those

who mourn,

for they shall

be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they shall

inherit the earth.

Blessed are the

merciful,

for they shall

receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure

in heart,

for they shall

see God.

there's so many

of these blessings,

Beatitudes,

that yes,

there's blessing now,

but there's so much

more to come.

There's so much

more to look

forward to.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:9

chapter 2

verse 9

and 10

it says,

but as it is written,

what no eye

has seen,

nor ear heard,

nor the heart

of man imagined,

what God

has prepared

for those

who love him.

These things

God has revealed

to us

through the Spirit,

for the Spirit

searches everything,

even the depths

of God.

We cannot

imagine it.

What no eye

has seen,

nor ear heard,

nor heart

of man imagined,

what God

has prepared

for those

who love him.

And so as you

look at the Beatitudes

and the promises

that there are

in them,

and we see

the grace

and love

of God

towards us,

it reminds us

that he has

prepared

a place

for his people.

He has prepared

a renewing

for his people.

The poor

in spirit,

they will have

the kingdom

of heaven.

Those who mourn,

they will be

comforted

and fully comforted

in the coming

of the Lord.

When you think

of the book

of Revelation

and what it says,

how the Lord

himself will wipe

away every tear.

We don't have

that yet,

it's still

to come,

but we have

so much

to look forward.

We cannot

imagine what

God has prepared

for those

who love him.

And so there's

so much more

to come.

But the question

is as we finish,

is it what

we're hungering

and thirsting

for?

Blessed are

those who hunger

and thirst

for righteousness,

for they shall

be satisfied.

This isn't just

receiving

a thimble

of water

to quench

a bit of your

thirst.

This is

the fountain

of life

that the Lord

has to give

to his people.

It makes

our cup

overflow.

When we hunger

and thirst,

we shall

be satisfied.

To go back

to what that

Christian soldier

said,

if such

were our

thirst for God,

our thirst

for righteousness

and for his

will in our

lives,

a consuming,

all-embracing,

preoccupying

desire,

how rich

would all

of us be

in the fruit

of the Spirit?

Is that

our hunger

and thirst

this evening

for the

righteousness

of God

that comes

through faith

to know

we will be

fully satisfied.

may we have

that hunger

and thirst.

Let us pray.

Lord,

our gracious

God,

as we come

to your

word,

it so often

reminds us

of how far

away we are

from what we

should be.

But we thank

you that you

are a God

who speaks,

a God

who hears

our cries,

who knows

our longings,

who knows

our shortcomings,

and yet is so

gracious and

faithful towards

us.

and we

thank you

for your

word and

how you

have given

it to us

for every

experience of

life.

To know

that to be

blessed is

not just to

be happy

when things

are going

well,

but to be

blessed is

to know

that you

are with

us through

all things,

that you

never leave

or forsake

your people,

that you

remind us

that you

take us

through this

world,

through all

its challenges,

through all

its ups and

downs,

but that

we have

even more

to look

forward to,

the things

that no eye

has imagined

or seen,

of what God

has prepared

for those

who love

him.

And so we

pray,

Lord,

that you

will make

us hunger

and thirst

for your

righteousness

day by day

and more

by more.

So hear

our prayers,

forgive our

sins,

we ask

all in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.