Soul Cravings - Matthew 5:6 - August 14, 2011
Series: Kingdom Life – Living in a World Turned Upside Down #4
Dr. Samuel Palmer Brooks was president of Baylor University in Texas from 1902 until his death in 1931. On his deathbed he wrote a message to the senior class of 1931. He wrote …
“I stand on the border of mortal life but I face eternal life. I look backward to the years of the past to see all pettiness, all triviality, shrink into nothing and disappear. Adverse criticism has no meaning now, only the worthwhile things, the constructive things that have built for the good of mankind and the glory of God count now. There is beauty, there is joy, and there is laughter in life—as there ought to be, but remember, my students, not to regard lightly, nor to ridicule the sacred things, those worthwhile things.
“Hold them dear, cherish them, for they alone will sustain you in the end, and remember, too, that only through work and oft-times through hardships may they be attained. But the compensation of blessing and sweetness at the last will glorify every hour of work and every heartache from hardship.” (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.)
Let’s pray. Father, teach us to number our days rightly that when we are called to stand before You we may do so without regret, without remorse at years that have been wasted, at time that has been squandered, at things that could have been but never were because we ran after the things of this world rather than the kingdom of God. Redeem the time we have left whether it be hours or decades – redeem it to your glory and open our hearts to receive Your word this day. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Open your Bibles with me this morning to the Gospel of Matthew. We’re going to be in Matthew 5 again this morning as we continue in our study of the Beatitudes. We’ve already looked at the first three; today we will examine the fourth. And really the first three have been foundational to the Beatitude which we will look at this morning. For if you are not poor in spirit, if your sin does not cause you to mourn, to sorrow with a sorrow that leads to repentance and brings forth salvation, if you are not meek, that is surrendered to God, you will never hunger and thirst for righteousness and you will never know the filling that comes when hunger is satiated and the thirst quenched. Let’s read Matthew 5:6 and let’s read it aloud together: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6, NIV)
Folks, let me tell you a little secret. I love the smell of fresh baked bread. And it’s a hard temptation for me to resist when I’m out and I walk past a bakery and that wonderful smell of fresh bread wafts my way. It doesn’t matter if I’ve already eaten or not. The effect is instantaneous. I smell that bread and immediately I have a craving for it. Some of you know what I’m talking about because fresh baked bread has the same effect on you!
I considered bringing our bread maker from home this morning and plugging it in up front so that as we worship the Lord together, as we look into His word, the wonderfully enticing aroma of fresh baked bread would be rising up in our midst. I am certain that if I had done so it would have awakened in many of us a desire, a longing to get a piece of that bread for ourselves, to satisfy the hunger, the craving that it had awakened within us. We know what it means to hunger like that. But that’s not really, hunger, is it?
When Jesus talks about hungering and thirsting He’s taking these concepts that we are well familiar with to help us understand the extent of the desire with which we should be seeking righteousness. It’s not a little rumbling in the belly, it’s not a little dryness in the mouth. The manner in which He uses these words speaks of an intense craving for food; of being painfully in need of water. When it comes to real food and real drink you and I have probably never experienced such a hunger or such a thirst! A bit of bread will not do; a sip of water will not satisfy such a hunger or thirst.
Is anyone here this morning hungry or thirsty – even just a little? Raise your hand if you are. Let me ask you a question. If I gave you a choice this morning between receiving a $20.00 bill, or a glass of cool, refreshing water, which would you take? Probably the $20.00, right? You wouldn’t hesitate. With the amount of thirst you feel you believe $20.00 will satisfy you, bring you more happiness and enjoyment, than that glass of water. But if I was to offer you the same choice two days from now – two days in which you had been out working in the hot sun and hadn’t had even a sip to drink - you wouldn’t hesitate either – only this time you would take the glass of water without thinking twice. Why? Because you desired that water above all else. You truly thirsted for it. Nothing else would satisfy.
That is how Jesus is telling us that we should be hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Those who do, He says, are the ones who are blessed, who are happy. Why are so many unsatisfied today? Because they’ve taken the $20.00 bill when what they really needed was that glass of fresh water. Folks, by the time your body starts to feel thirst, it’s already getting dehydrated; it’s already in need. And what we’re doing, we’re feeling this need, this desire, this hunger, this thirst within us for something more – we’re already in need – and we’re trying to quench the thirst, to satiate the hunger, with something that will not satisfy.
Instead of turning to the righteousness of God we turn to the world to satisfy that hunger. And it takes the edge off for a while, but it doesn’t fill, it never really alleviates the hunger pains, it just leaves us wanting more and with a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Jesus says that it’s those who hunger and thirst after righteousness who will be happy, satisfied, content – why? – because it is they who will be filled.
Listen to the invitation that God extends to His people in the book of Isaiah. He says, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:1–3, NIV)
So that’s the invitation – it’s valid even today - but what is it that we are being invited to? What is this righteousness we are to seek after? Remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? The outcry against their sin had risen up to the Heavens and God was going to pass judgment and bring destruction upon them but Abraham called out to Him and cried for mercy. Abraham asked God if He would still destroy the city if 50 righteous people could be found within it’s walls. And God said, “No,” he wouldn’t. And then Abraham said, “What about for 45?” And again, God said He would not destroy the city if 45 righteous people could be found. And so it went, all the way down to 10. If there were only 10 righteous people in the city God would withhold His fearsome wrath. But we all know what happened don’t we? Not even 10 righteous people could be found in the entire city, and so the fire of God fell upon it, and destroyed it.
What was God looking for in that city? … He was looking for a righteous people – a people who lived in accord with the standard that He had established. That’s what righteousness means – being in accord with an established standard – a standard of morals, of beliefs, of relationships and so on. God was not looking for perfection, but He was looking for a people who hungered after Him and His ways, and who let His Word and His Will, guide their lives. God looked down upon Sodom and couldn’t find even 10. What has He found as He has looked upon us?
In Matthew 5:6, Jesus is pronouncing blessing on those who strongly desire to be in accord with what God requires of them, who desire to live the life that God is calling them to. Friends, is that you? Are you one who desires to be right with God? Be careful how you answer! It is not a question to answer carelessly. Most of us here this morning would likely say, “Yes, I want to be right with God.” But when push comes to shove, we choose the $20.00 bill over the life giving water of God.
What many of us have is a false hunger, a false thirst and so we find that while we like the idea of righteousness in our heads, the reality of it never moves our hearts. We find we aren’t willing to put in the effort to read God’s word on our own, or to spend time in prayer, or to bring our life into alignment with the Word of God. And we try to satisfy that need, that hunger, that longing that we feel within, with the empty things of this world, and yet we’re never filled.
Do you know how to tell when you are hungering and thirsting after righteousness? I like how a pastor by the name of David Bisset has put it in one of his sermons. (David Bisset, Clifton Park Community Church) When you get to the place where, “Anything but God will not satisfy, and the soul will remain restless, until it finds it’s rest in God,” – that’s when you’re hungering and thirsting after righteousness. It’s when you’re willing to do whatever it takes to live in such a manner that your life rises up as a living sacrifice, a fragrant offering, to the Lord your God.
The truth is that we all hunger and thirst after things in our lives. It’s simply a way of expressing desire for something. But unless that hunger and thirst is for God above all else, we are never going to find, what we are ultimately looking for. If we want to satisfy this soul craving we feel we need to drink from the living waters and to eat the bread that feeds the soul. That’s why Jesus speaks to His disciples, of God the Father, and says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33, NIV) Seek first – it’s a matter of priority.
That hunger and thirst for righteousness shows through in the choices we make; in the way we live our lives. Today there are four people here with us who are going to let that show through as they take the step of baptism. To seek righteousness is to seek to be in accord with God’s standard, with His will. Among other things the word of the Lord tells us to believe, to repent, and to be baptized. These ones have believed upon the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior, they have repented of their sins, they are seeking after the righteousness to which we are called and today they will declare their faith, take their stand, as they are baptized in accord with that same righteousness that is spoken of in Matthew 5:6.
In a few minutes we are going to hear their testimonies – of what has brought them to this day and of how God has moved in their lives. But first I want to challenge you – and be honest with yourselves – what is it that you are hungering and thirsting after? How are you seeking to satiate that hunger and quench that thirst? If it’s in anything but God you will never be filled; you will go through life seeking for something that you cannot find and never knowing the blessing that Jesus is talking about. Hear again the invitation of the Lord, Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:1–3, NIV)
Let’s pray …
