Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled

Now, before we turn to our beatitude, I want to read again, actually, a passage that we read not too long ago in church from Isaiah chapter 55 and verses 1 to 7, which says,

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread and your labour on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me and eat what is good and you will delight in the richest of fear. Give ear and come to me. Listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not and nations you do not know will come running to you because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendour.

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on them and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

And then our beatitude for this evening in Matthew 5 and verse 6, Jesus says,

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Now when we hear the question, are you hungry? And we understand that that question works on two levels. On the one hand, there's the physical aspect, but we also get that image because we hear it today.

In the realm of sports, we can think of athletes and sports people who still have the hunger.

In our careers, perhaps, we hear talk of being hungry for success or recognition.

Bruce Springsteen famously sang that everybody has got a hungry heart.

Everybody's looking for satisfaction.

And the question is, where is our heart looking for satisfaction?

Where do I think satisfaction is found?

Do my appetite lead me towards Jesus or distract me from Jesus?

Here we are in beatitude number four.

And there's again a flow to the beatitudes.

So the first three help us to see clearly our spiritual emptiness,

our poverty, that we should be mourning over sin,

that there ought to be a meekness about us.

But our response as followers of Jesus is not to despair

and say, here's where I lack and there's nothing I can do about it.

Rather, disciples of Jesus, aware of our need,

we long for greater righteousness.

We sense that lack, but that lack leads us to hunger for God and for his will.

Now again, we've said this every week,

there is a counter-cultural challenge to the beatitudes.

Here's Jesus saying, the person who is blessed,

who is happy, who knows God's favour,

is the one who desires to conform to God's will.

Is that the message of our culture?

Not really.

Because by and large, we have replaced virtues,

the will of God, what's right and wrong,

virtues with personal values.

Instead of our society being built on,

here's the solid rock of what we know and have received

as good and right and true,

grounded in God's word,

that's been replaced,

that solid rock foundation has been replaced

with the shifting sands of my personal beliefs and values.

And those are constantly in flux, as we've seen.

And the result,

to borrow from the title of a book by the Christian philosopher Dallas Willard,

is that we live in the age of the disappearance of moral knowledge.

Simply put,

we do not often know where to go

to understand what is good and right and true.

C.S. Lewis put it another way.

He said,

we're living in a time where there is the loss of moral courage.

So we need to get to a place where we can see

that our moral decisions matter

and what we choose as our moral compass matters.

And this beatitude

says to us,

once again,

make God,

make the will of God,

our pole star.

Make that be the thing that guides us.

Some questions for us to think about.

What is this righteousness

we are to hunger and thirst for?

And there's a number of important answers to that

that we can find in the Bible.

First of all,

that righteousness

that we hunger and thirst for

is for God himself.

Because he is righteous.

Righteous.

Psalm 145 in verse 17.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and holy in all his works.

Ours is a God who is faithful to his character,

who fulfills his promises,

who is righteous both in judgment and in salvation.

And Jesus is saying

there is blessing to be found,

there is joy

and favour with God to be found

when we have a hunger

for a right relationship with God,

when that is our fundamental desire.

Jesus would say it shortly

in the Sermon on the Mount,

Matthew 6.

Seek first his kingdom

and his righteousness

and all these things will be added to you.

We read from the Old Testament

in Isaiah chapter 55,

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

God's invitation

to those who would listen

towards true satisfaction.

Don't settle for temporary pleasure,

satisfaction that comes and goes.

Rather, find satisfaction that lasts

based on knowing and enjoying life with God.

He calls us towards an everlasting covenant

where God binds himself

in loving relationship to his own people.

And how does he do that?

Well, according to the book of Isaiah

in chapter 53,

he does that by sending his own son Jesus

to be the suffering servant,

the one who will die

in the place of unrighteous people

to bring us to a righteous God

and to be reconciled to him.

So righteousness that we hunger for

is to know God

and to know more of God.

It's also important to see

that that righteousness we hunger for

is a righteousness

that is provided by the Lord Jesus.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 5

and verse 21 says,

God made him,

that is Jesus,

God made him who knew no sin

to be sin for us

so that in him

we might become

the righteousness of God.

So here's this great exchange

that takes place at the cross.

Jesus,

Jesus,

the one truly righteous one,

he becomes sin,

he bears sin

for his people

so that rebel sinners

might be declared,

reckoned to be

as righteous

as the Lord Jesus.

He takes my sin

and he gifts me

his righteousness

so that in God's eyes

I am declared

to be righteous.

That's all of grace

and it's not something

that we earn

or deserve

and so it's really important

to understand

that when Jesus talks

about pursuing righteousness

he's thinking about

inner transformation

not an external

set of laws

that we keep

as a tick box exercise.

You can compare

the teaching of Jesus

with the Pharisees

and how often

they were in conflict

because for the Pharisees

their righteousness

was all about

the externals

whereas Jesus

in the Sermon on the Mount

and all through his ministry

is calling us

to be transformed

from the inside

to have an inner heart

and mind

and motive

that desires

the will of God.

So we are to hunger

and thirst

for

to be satisfied

by

and to find

our hope

in

the perfectly

righteous one

the Lord Jesus

and that righteousness

he gives to us

and that's something

that we're never

to lose our appetite for.

But there's also

a social dimension

to this righteousness

that we are to hunger

and thirst for.

We are to hunger

for

living rightly

for God.

Where do we take

our cues

for moral goodness?

For a Christian

and for the church

we are to take

our cue

from God

and his word

not

the shifting values

of our culture.

It's a reminder

that when Jesus

is our saviour

he is also

our Lord

and our King.

He directs

what goodness

looks like

and what truth

sounds like.

This is not

the cheap grace

that Bonhoeffer

spoke against.

This isn't

Jesus gives you

forgiveness

as a free pass

so you can do

whatever you want

because you'll be sure

of going to heaven

so long as you say

a prayer.

This is not

some kind of

get out of jail

free card.

No,

this is

the reality

that when Jesus

bids a person

to come and follow

him,

he bids that

person come

and die,

come and die

to self

to live

for Jesus.

So to hunger

for that righteousness

is to

have a new

appetite,

a hunger

for holiness.

That we sense

the gnawing

pain

in the pit

of our stomach

because of

our disobedience,

because of

our failure,

because of

our lack

of love

for God

and for

others.

We sense

where we let

God down

in our words

and our actions

and our motivations

and that pains

us but it also

motivates us

in our desire

to become

more like

Jesus.

So we hunger

and thirst

for living

rightly

for God.

And again

on that social

dimension,

we hunger

and thirst

as we seek

God's

righteousness

in God's

world.

Remember how

Jesus taught

his disciples

to pray,

your kingdom

come,

your will

be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven.

So we desire

to see

the righteousness

of God

in the world

that he has made.

And that has

implications

for our

personal relationships

so that in

our family,

in our homes,

in our workplace,

with our colleagues,

in our friendships

and with

fellow church

members,

we want to

speak and

act towards

people in

a righteous way,

in a way that

conforms to the

pattern that

Jesus said.

But it's not

just about

relationships,

it's also about

a desire for

justice.

You read the

Old Testament

prophets and

so often

Israel is

being condemned

because of

injustice,

oppression of

the poor,

stealing the

homes of

widows,

justice in

the courts

that could be

bought and

sold.

Martin Luther

King,

as he saw

the social

injustice of

racism,

used the

words of

an Old

Testament

prophet,

Amos,

quoting Amos

5,

24,

on a number

of occasions,

let justice

roll on like

a river,

righteousness,

like a

never failing

stream.

So we

pursue justice

looking at a

high level,

but also we

pursue justice,

for example,

when we

defend a

co-worker from

gossip or

slander.

So it's about

relationships,

it's about

justice,

it's about

moral integrity,

that we hunger

and thirst to be

known as a

people who

tell the

truth,

who work

with honesty,

even when

that hurts,

who are

known for

fairness,

who are

careful

against

using our

words in

person or

online to

tear others

down.

them.

So the

righteousness

that Jesus

calls us

to long

for is

that we

would live

in relationship

with God

and want

more of

that,

and to

live rightly

before God

and for

God in

his world.

next question

for us to

think about

is this,

what can

we say

about

hungering

and thirsting?

What's it

look like?

And again,

this is an

image that's

helpful on

various levels,

you think about

hunger,

you think about

thirst,

we recognise

these are

fundamental,

basic needs.

Jesus is

saying at

our core

as Christians

is to

long for

God and

to long

for his

will,

to desire

to be

more like

him,

to live

in faith

and obedience,

that should

be the

appetite above

all that

drives us.

We see this

in David's

life in the

psalm,

psalm 42,

he uses that

picture of

the dehydrated

deer,

desperate for

streams of

water,

and David

said that

reflects my

longing for

God.

Psalm 63

which we'll

sing at

the end,

David says

I thirst

for you,

my whole

being longs

for you,

I'll be

satisfied as

with the

richest of

foods when

I come to

know and

enjoy that

sense of

intimacy with

my God.

And if

David gives

us a good

example,

Jesus gives

us the

perfect example

in John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

he says

my food is

to do the

will of

him who

sent me

and to

finish his

work.

Just as

he said

in Matthew

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

man does

not live by

bread alone

but on

every word

that comes

from the

mouth of

God.

Jesus'

will was

that he

did the

Father's

will.

Jesus loved

to hear

and to

obey the

Father's

word.

Jesus lived

to pursue

and complete

his Father's

work for

him.

That was

fundamental

to his

life.

Perhaps in

response,

we need to

take time to

talk to

God, to

think about

how is my

appetite for

God and for

holiness and

to ask that

God by his

Spirit would

increase,

our desire.

Another thing

that we can

recognise about

hungering and

thirsting is

that these

are needs

that must be

met.

We know that

they can be

really painful

experiences,

hunger and

thirst, if

you've ever

had a

dehydration

sickness or

simply that

rumbling and

crumbling in

the pit of

your stomach

because you

haven't eaten

for a day.

You know

that it's

painful.

So as a

common

practice, we

naturally plan

for our

meals so

that hunger

and thirst

can be

satisfied.

Here's the

question for

us as

followers of

Jesus.

Do we

plan for

righteousness

and for

character?

Do we

plan for

those longings

to be

satisfied so

that we

would grow

in our

fellowship with

God and

our obedience

to him?

God's

need to

think about

our

needs.

How can

we plan

to meet

those needs?

Maybe we

need to

think about

our bedtime.

Maybe we

need to

make use of

our alarm

clock, that

we would go

to bed

early and

we would

get up

early to

give ourselves

more time,

time when

we're awake,

not half

asleep, for

reading God's

word, for

reflecting on

it and for

praying to

him, to

build a

relationship, to

confess our

sin, to

worship him, to

ask for our

needs at the

start of the

day.

It will

involve us

in time

management.

Who doesn't

struggle with

time management?

So many

things to do

in the course

of a day, but

we all need

to learn to

either create

time or

protect time

for God and

for the people

of God.

That we

cannot be

satisfied, we

cannot grow as

a Christian as

we should unless

we are making

time for God

and his word

and worship

and spending

time with the

family of God,

our spiritual

family.

So we need

to be around

hungry people.

Who do you

know who loves

digging into

the Bible?

Who do you

know who has

an active

prayer life where

you sense

here is

someone who

knows friendship

with God.

Here is

someone who's

working on

their character.

Here is

someone who's

honest about

sin.

Let's get

around those

people.

Watch them.

Learn from

them.

Talk to

them.

Have your

appetite stirred

as you see

theirs in

action.

And also it's

a call to us

as Christians to

be who we

truly are.

are.

We need

always to be

talking to

ourselves about

the reality

that in

Christ we

are a new

creation.

In Christ we

are adopted

into the

family of

God and as

such we need

to put on

the qualities

of our

father in

heaven.

We have a

new set of

family values

to live by

so we put

off the

old self

like an

old set of

clothes.

as Paul

wrote so

often in

his lecture.

So we

are to be

hating sin,

killing sin,

staying far

away from

temptation when

we can.

So we put

off the old

and we are

to put on

the new

like a new

set of

clothing as

the people

of God

by his

grace with

the help

of his

spirit

seeking to

grow in

obedience.

Again

thinking about

these needs

of hunger

and thirst.

We need to

understand that

these needs

will be

life long.

When Jesus

calls us to

hunger and

thirst after

righteousness he's

not saying to

his first

followers well do

that for so

long as the

Sermon on the

Mount is

happening and

then you can

live however

you want.

This is not

some kind of

fad diet.

This isn't

30 days towards

a better you.

No this is an

entirely new

appetite.

This is an

entirely new

diet.

This is a

deep change

at the

level of

desires and

at the

level of

heart.

And that

desire for

God and

for his

will needs

constantly to

be fed.

Just as we

wouldn't

willingly and

we shouldn't

willingly starve

ourselves or

cause ourselves to

become dehydrated,

neither should

that be the

case spiritually.

we make progress

in the Christian

life and in

Christian maturity

when we have a

God-directed

hunger.

Here's what I

want most of

all, it's

more of God.

So I'm going to

come to him.

I'm going to

come to Jesus

to find

satisfaction.

I never want

to say I've

had enough,

I've had my

fill.

Japanese

culture

talks about

learning to

stop when

your stomach

is 70%

full.

That's not

what we want

to do as

Christians.

It makes

for probably

really healthy

lifestyle.

Not spiritually

though.

We want to

be completely

filled and

satisfied by

God, his

word, his

will.

Which takes

us to our

last question.

How is our

hunger and

thirst to be

satisfied?

So I

remember as

a student

suffering a

bout of

food poisoning.

Not from

my own

cooking,

mercifully,

from dodgy

mushrooms.

But I

remember

days of

pain and

that sort

of gnawing

hunger during

that enforced

fast.

Well, after

two or three

days, I

planned.

When I

feel better,

my reward

will be a

feast.

And so we

went off to

pizza.

And my

goodness,

although it's

average pizza

tasted so

good, because

I'm starving.

Jesus says

the blessed

person, the

truly happy

person, the

person who's

found favour

with God, is

someone who

recognises I

have a God

shaped hole in

my life.

And we're not

trying to fill

the hole in

our lives with

small things that

cannot ultimately

satisfy.

love.

But we've

come to

understand that

knowing God,

enjoying God,

is the appetite

to satisfy.

And not just

do we see,

here's where our

hunger is, we

come to Jesus

for satisfaction.

Because Jesus is

the one who, in

John chapter 4,

John 4 · chapter mention

said to the

Samaritan woman who

is searching for

love and security,

in any number of

relationships with

men, I am the

water of life.

I am the one

who can truly

satisfy.

I am the end

of your searching

for love and

security.

Because in me,

you find God.

In me, you find

eternal.

And Jesus is the

one in John

John 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6, as we

thought about in

church not that

long ago, who is

the bread of life.

He is the gift of

God that comes

down and gives

life.

And he invites

us to come.

To turn from

sin, to turn from

unrighteousness, to

look to him and

be satisfied.

Isaiah 55, turn to

the Lord so that he

might have mercy, that

we might find his

pardon, we might

find his satisfaction

in knowing him.

The wonderful truth

is that as

Christians, we can

taste joy now.

we can know God

deeply today.

We can do God's

will today.

And that's great

news.

And that's something

that should cause our

desire to increase, but

still, when we're

honest, we also know

there are times of

emptiness.

When we are

distracted from

Jesus, when we seek

our satisfaction in

other places, there

are times of

frustration where

we feel our

weakness, our

sin, our

failure, our

rebellion, our

lack of desire,

our falling into

the same sinful

habits time and

time again.

So our hope

isn't ultimately

for now,

good.

It's for the

future.

Our ultimate

hope is for the

return of Jesus

because then we'll

take our place at

God's feast.

Isn't it wonderful

how often the new

heavens and the new

earth are described

as a feast, as a

banquet?

And then our

desire for

righteousness will be

satisfied because we

will be with

Jesus and we will

see him face to

face.

Our desire for

God will be fully

satisfied and our

desire for

righteous living will

be satisfied because

we will be made

like him, we will be

made perfect, that

sin will be gone

forever.

So friends, let's

let that hunger

drive us to

Jesus.

Drive us to

God and his

word to

recognise

realise it's in

him and his

will that we

can find that

true and lasting

satisfaction.

pursuant.