Intro
Our text today is Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”i What do you long for in life? People are hunger machines. Bruce Springsteen sang in the 80s, “Everybody’s got a hungry heart.”ii Even the world recognizes the internal motivations of the heart. For the ungodly, the desires are often corrupt and lead to destruction.iii But if you’re alive, you are pursuing something. The intensity of the pursuit varies from person to person. But desire drives the direction and activities of our life.iv
That’s why Proverbs 4:23 counsels us: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Everything you do proceeds from the desires of the heart. The course of your life is profoundly affected by the desires that dominate your heart. The proverb begins with the words, “Above all else.” Make it your top priority to monitor the desires that arise in your heart. The Living Bible says, “Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life.” Guard your affections. The implication of the verse is that you can do that by the grace of God. You can, and you must manage the internal motivations of your heart. “Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life.” Colossians 3:2 tells us to “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (KJV). Again, the implication is that you can do that by the grace of God.
In this series, we are examining the Beatitudes with an interest in how these attitudes of heart may affect our opportunity to participate in revival. We know from Isaiah 57:15 that attitude of heart is a factor in determining who gets revived by the Holy Spirit. In that verse God connects attitude of heart with revival. “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Who gets revived? Who gets refreshed? Who gets filled? Those who hunger and thirst for the right thing. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”
When Mary was pregnant with Messiah, she visited her relative Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. The moment Elizabeth encountered Mary, the child in her womb leaped for joy. It’s impossible to read this story and think an unborn baby is not human. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and her unborn child responded in her womb.v Mary burst forth in a prophetic song of praise. In Mary’s Magnificent she says this about God. “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty” (Luke 1:52-53).vi “He has filled the hungry.” There is a relationship between getting filled and being hungry. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” Are you hungry for more of God? Are you hungry for righteousness?
We will examine this beatitude under three headings.
(1) The Object of the Desire.
(2) The Nature of the Desire.
(3) The Result of the Desire.
I. The OBJECT of the Desire is clearly stated.
What are those in this beatitude desiring? They are desiring righteousness.
That comes as a surprise. You would think the verse would read this way: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God or perhaps more of God. But Jesus is very specific here. The objective desire is righteousness.
Many in the church today desire refreshing. Many want to feel God’s presence in their church service. A great number just want God to enrich their marriage or advance their career. People come to church desiring all kinds of things. Why are you here this morning? What do you want? What is most important to you? Where does righteousness place in the hierarchy of your desires?
Further in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed us concerning priorities when he said, “. . . seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). There is that word “righteousness” again. Couldn’t he have just said, “. . .seek first the kingdom of God” and simply let righteousness be implied? He could have, but he didn’t. The word “righteousness” is not there by accident.
We can look around the church today and understand the importance of adding the words “and His righteousness.” Even with that emphasis in Scripture, many professing Christians want the kingdom of God without too much righteousness in their lives. They want an easy believism that leaves their lifestyle substantially unchanged but guarantees a ticket to heaven when they die.vii They want a mild form of Christianity that does not upset their personal agenda too much.viii But our text does not say, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for heaven. That’s not the focus. The focus in Matthew 5:6 is righteousness.
In this series, we have talked about our motives for wanting revival. In my personal observations over the last 60 years, the most common reason Christians want revival is to feel better. They want the refreshing that comes with revival. Certainly, that is part of it. But if you are not desiring to advance in righteousness, you may not get filled.
I got saved in 1962 during a move of God. The leaders of that Pentecostal church knew how to invite the presence of God into the service through heart-felt worship. I personally benefited from that. But the end-objective was almost always to simply get refreshed and feel better. That is certainly a good thing, but the refreshing should lead to character development and evangelism. The leaders in that church did not deal with a lot of personal sin issues. They had some superficial rules that they adhered to: No make-up or jewelry for the women, no dancing, no movies, etc. Those legalistic external rules actually deflected attention away from more fundamental issues of unrighteousness that needed to be addressed.ix In this beatitude, Jesus makes righteousness the target. The text does not say Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for an emotional lift. It does not say Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to feel better. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
I talk with a lot of Christians who are stunted in their spiritual growth because they are not desiring more righteousness. They are quite content to attend church on Sunday morning and live the rest of the week much like the world. The cry of their heart is not to be more like Jesus. The heart is not motivated to pursue righteousness. They may want some good things. They may want their church to grow. They may want their family to get along. They may even desire greater ministry expression.x Those are good things if they are sought under that higher objective of being righteous. The blessing Jesus is pronouncing is on those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
We know from other New Testament passages that this righteousness begins as a gift from God. It is something provided by Christ at the cross, and it must be received as a gift of grace. Jesus took our sins and bore the penalty of those sins at Calvary. And in the most profound exchange in human history, he shares his righteousness with all who will put their faith in him. Without that impartation of righteousness as a gift from Christ, no one can be considered righteous in the eyes of God.
In Romans 4 Paul explained this using Abraham as an example. Abraham’s right standing before God was not based on his own performance; it was based on his faith toward God. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul told the Philippian jailer, “and you will be saved” . . . (Acts 16:31). Faith in Christ is the only pathway to salvation.
Paul explained in Romans 4:3: “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’” Then he applies this to us. In Rom 4:23-25 he writes, “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” So how do you begin in your pursuit of righteousness? You begin by acknowledging your need for God’s mercy through the cross of Christ. You begin by surrendering yourself to the Lord and receiving by faith the righteousness of Christ. That is the essential foundation of a person’s pursuit of righteousness.
But empowered by that internal transformation, we continue to pursue righteousness as a Christian. Through the new birth we become partakers of the divine nature. And the divine nature within produces the fruit of righteousness in our lives. It produces behavior consistent with God’s nature.xi The New Testament is full of verses commanding Christians to pursue righteousness. Here are a few examples:
Rom. 6:19 “For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”
2 Cor. 7:1: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Eph. 4:24: “Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
2 Tim. 2:22: “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Heb. 12:14: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”
In our text the Greek word dikaiosune is translated “righteousness.” It is used for “the right conduct of man which follows the will of God and is pleasing to Him. . . .”xii It begins with the forgiveness of sin through the cross and the impartation of a new nature as a gift of grace. But it is then to be expressed in the Christian’s daily life as a testimony and evidence of that grace.
The Apostle John confronts the idea that you can have some kind of abstract righteousness that never bears the fruit of godly behavior.xiii He labels that theology as a deception. In 1 John 3:7 he writes, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” If the person does not “practice righteousness,” it is proof that he is not righteous. He may have said the sinner’s prayer. He may have been baptized in water. He may even be heavily involved in his religion. But if his heart has really been transformed by the grace of God, his lifestyle will reflect that change. His daily habits will not be the same as the world. His language will be godly. He will treat people right. He will do the right thing even when it costs him. “. . . let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous. . . .”xiv
The object of desire in the beatitude is righteousness. But righteousness is unattainable without God. So, by extension the desire is for God. He is the only source of true righteousness. Furthermore, if we truly connect with God, and he has our heart, then righteousness will be worked into our behavior.xv “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. . . .” The stated objective of desire is righteousness.
II. The NATURE of the desire is portrayed as “hunger and thirst.”
This desire is ongoing in the Christian’s life. It does not end when we get born again. In fact, it grows from that day forward. The Greek words translated hunger and thirst are present active participles. It’s not just something you did in the past. It is an ongoing desire of your heart. You have entered into a level of righteousness in your walk with God, but you long to be more like Jesus. You long to put away every vice that hinders your intimacy with the Father. You want to be upright in all that you do so that the Father is pleased.xvi
Paul expressed this mindset in Philippians 3. After years of serving Christ as his apostle, Paul still says I want to “know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (vs 10). At that point, had Paul suffered any for Christ? Yes. In fact, he is writing this letter from a Roman prison. Had Paul experienced the power of Christ’s resurrection in his ministry? In Christ’s name he had healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. When he wrote this, he knew Christ intimately. But there was a hunger in his heart for more.
In verses 12-14 he continues, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Are you reaching out for more of God? Are you pressing “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”? Are you hungering and thirsting after righteousness in the present tense? It’s not a one-time thing; it is an ongoing desire in the believer’s heart.
In Luke’s gospel, he adds the word “now” to this beatitude. Luke 6:21: “Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled.” I’m glad you were hungry in 1995 when the Brownsville Revival broke out. But are you hungry now? Are you hungering and thirsting for more of God and his righteousness now?
The desire in our text is intense. Hunger is an intense desire. This is not the mere craving for a food like we often experience in America. We’re so dramatic: “I’m starving for pizza.” No. If you were starving you would not be that picky. Real hunger is a driving force. It captures the mind and motivates action to satisfy that desire. Thirst can be even more intense. You can last several days without food. But after three or four days thirst can be extremely fierce. A man dying of thirst wants water more than anything else. Offer him gold, and he will push it aside. Offer him fame and notoriety, and it is meaningless to him. The desire to satisfy that thirst is all-consuming. Either metaphor, hunger or thirst, could communicate intensity. But Jesus uses the double metaphor of hunger and thirst, to indicate the heightened degree of the desire.xvii
The rich young rule in Luke 18 wanted righteousness, but he did not hunger and thirst for it. When Jesus told him he would need to give his wealth away to pursue God’s path for his life, he walked away from the offer. Hunger and thirst do not represent casual desire. The blessing of this beatitude is not for the half-hearted, lukewarm Christian. It is not for people who are double minded about their pursuit of God and his righteousness.xviii The desire here is so passionate that nothing can replace it.
In Revelation 3, Jesus did not pronounce this blessing on the lukewarm Laodicean church. They were not hungering and thirsting after righteousness. They were quite content with their compromised form of Christianity.xix They were complacent about their sanctification in Christ. Their apathy toward the righteousness of God was depriving them of this blessing.xx
The desire for righteous can be cultivated in our lives. We can fan the flame of our zeal for God and his righteousness.xxi Sadly, the desire of many Christians for worldly success, entertainment, and material prosperity is burning brightly while their desire for righteousness is only a dim flicker. Their minds are so occupied with many worldly things that there is little room for this pursuit of righteousness. The desires of the flesh have snuffed out the higher desires in God.xxii
When we fuel one desire, it tends to diminish other desires. Everything can’t be the priority in our lives. The good news is this: you can choose which desires you will nurture and cultivate. Typically, the drug addict does not become hooked on drugs with one use. He uses the drug, likes the feeling, and goes back to it over and over. The more he uses, the more he wants. He has (through his own choices and continued pursuit) cultivated a passionate desire for the drug. A person gets hooked on pornography the same way. A shopping addition, a gambling addiction, alcoholism all develop by choosing that activity over and over.
When the Bible tells us to follow after righteousness (1 Tim. 6:11), it is offering a choice. You can choose to nurture this desire for righteousness. You can choose to practice it and experience the affirmation that comes from God when you make that choice. You can embrace the biblical disciples that promote righteousness in your life. Communion with God in prayer stirs desire for righteousness. The more you commune with him, the more you want to be near him, the more you want like him. Meditating on God’s word reinforces hunger and thirst for righteousness. As you read the stories of how God rewards the righteous and judges the wicked, you desire to be in the first category. As you read the promises of God that accompany righteousness, you want to participate in those promises. And righteousness is the pathway to those rewards. When you fellowship with believers who desire righteousness, they tend to stir you in that direction. And if you are desiring righteousness, you encourage them in that as well.xxiii These are some ways that you cultivate hunger in your hearts for “the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
In the natural we can cultivate an appetite for certain foods. I love Thanksgiving because my wife makes dressing just like my mother did. It is made with cornbread with black olives and just the right mixture of sage and other spices. I developed a taste for that kind of dressing at a young age. I have friends that will only eat dressing made from white bread. They developed a taste for that kind of dressing.
Colin Smith tells the story of a friend who had a severe heart attack. The man said it felt like an elephant on his chest. He survived, but the doctor told him he would have to change his diet. Colin asked the man what he ate before the heart attack. The man said he loved cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, and ice cream. None of those were on the new diet. The new diet called for lots of vegetables, grilled fish, and grilled chicken. At first the man struggled with the change. The food tasted so bland. But after two or three months he developed a taste for the healthy food. Every time he was tempted to go back to the old diet, he just reminded himself of that elephant on his chest.xxiv
If you have unhealthy passions in your life, you can change that. It will be a bit difficult at first. You will be tempted to go back to the old pursuits. But if you know and consider the end result of those passion, you can make the change. Titus 2:11-12 instructs us to do that. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” God’s grace is available to you for success in that.xxv
If we want our appetite for righteousness to grow, we must avoid appetite killers. This is true in the natural. Every parent knows that kids who eat too much candy will not have an appetite for the healthy food at dinner time. The same is true with our spiritual appetite. If we snack on the things of the world, we can lose our appetite for righteousness. That’s why 1 John 2:15 tells us to “not love the world or the things in the world.” Nurturing worldly desires can kill our appetite for righteousness.xxvi Even legitimate things like TV, sports, games, and other forms of entertainment can quinch our thirst for God if practiced in excess.
On the other hand, when we nurture our passion for God, when we cultivate our hunger for righteousness, when we set our hearts on the kingdom of God, the passion for that tends to quinch the desire for worldly things. Overcoming additions, overcoming worldliness is not just a matter of saying “no” to the thing that has captured our attention. It is not just pushing that out of our life. It is also filling our lives with the things of God. A passion for “the kingdom of God and his righteousness” will in time snuff out illegitimate desires.xxvii “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
III. The RESULT of the Desire is stated at the end of our text: “For they shall be filled.”
The Greek word translated “filled” could be translated “saturated.”xxviii They will be completely filled. They will be fully satisfied. The certainty of this is based on the fact that you are wanting what God wants you to have.xxix There are some desires that God is absolutely committed to fulfilling. This is at the top of the list.xxx If you are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, you can be very sure that God is on board with that pursuit. In fact, he inspired it, and he will fulfill it.
God’s invitation in Psalm 81:10 is: “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Have you ever seen baby birds in the nest waiting for the mother bird? You look in that nest and all you see is a bunch of mouths. Their mouths are open so wide you can’t even see their bodies. They are hungering and thirsting after something. And does that mother bird disappoint them? Not at all. She fills their mouths will good things. If you want to be filled with righteousness, God will fill you.xxxi He will fill you over and over again. You will be satisfied with one level of righteousness, and that will stir you to want more. The process is to continue throughout your Christian journey.xxxii The promise of God to us is: “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
We never attain to perfection in righteousness during this life. There is progress. But the fullness only comes when we receive a glorified body. That is the capstone of our salvation. In the meantime, we are growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.xxxiii We are in a continual pursuit of righteousness. We are being molded and shaped into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). The important thing is what we have allowed God to do in our formation during this life. What will you be when you take your last breath? There is a work of God in you that can only be done in this life. There are no second chances in purgatory, for purgatory does not exist. Now is the time to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
C. S. Lewis vividly explained this when he wrote, “every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature; either in a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at
each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.”xxxiv The passionate pursuit of righteousness points us in the right direction to be something worthwhile at the end of the matter.
I want to conclude with this final thought. I think it will be an encouragement to you. The text does not say, “Blessed are the righteous.” That could be very intimidating for us to read. For we are all aware of our shortcomings in righteousness.xxxv If you’re not aware of shortcomings, you’re excluded from this blessing. You’re self-righteous. Why should you hunger and thirst for something that you have fully acquired? We are all work-in-process and the closer we draw to our God and see his holiness, the more aware we are of our imperfections.xxxvi Do you know that you’ve got a way to go in this pursuit of righteousness?
Here is the good news. This blessing is to those on the journey, not to those who think they have arrived. To get in on this blessing all you need is the desire. Blessed are those who long to be righteous. They pursue it because they have seen its value. They have seen righteousness in Jesus, and they want to be like him. They want righteousness so bad that it has become priority in their lives. The desire is so strong that they deny themselves things that others indulge in. They want it so much that they search the word to know “the paths of righteousness” and “the way of holiness” (Isa. 35:8). They pray daily, “Lead me not into temptation.” They ask God to lead them in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Oh, the relief to discover: This blessing that Jesus pronounces in our text is not reserved for those who have fully attained. This blessing is for those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Am I hungering and thirsting for righteousness? I do desire it, but I want to desire it more. I am humbled by my lack of desire and motivated to ask God to increase that desire. A. W. Tozer prayed a prayer that I can identify with. Perhaps it resonates with you as well. Here is the first part of his prayer.
“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still.”xxxvii
May God grant that request for each of us. May he give each of us increased passion for his righteousness in our lives. May we hunger and thirst for more of God and more of his character in our lives. May you and I pant after him and his righteousness as the deer pants after the water brook.xxxviii
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Bruce Springsteen, “Hungry Heart.” Accessed at https://genius.com/Bruce-springsteen-hungry-heart-lyrics.
iii Cf. Prov. 16:25.
iv Cf. Prov. 16:26.
v Luke 1:41.
vi This principle was previously declared in Psalm 107:9: “For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
vii See Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 433-435 for a fuller discussion of this.
viii Cf. Mark 8:34-35. A Christianity that requires no self-denial is not New Testament Christianity.
ix Legalism tends to do that. Jesus confronted this problem in the Pharisees of his day (Mark 8:34).
x Greater ministry influence can reflect negatively on the cause of Christ if not sought in the context of this passion for righteousness.
xi Cf. John 3:3-6; 2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Pet. 1:4-8; Col. 1:12-14; Matt. 3:7-10; 7:17-23. Even the hunger and thirst for righteousness flows out of the new nature. The fallen nature of man does not hunger and thirst for righteousness.
xii Gerhard Kittel, ed., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. II. 1964 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978) s. v. “Dike” by Shrenk, 198.
xiii Simply pursuing forgiveness of sin without the desire for a change that discontinues the sin itself comes short of the biblical standard. Dallas Willard wrote, “One specific errant concept has done inestimable harm to the church and God’s purposes with us—and that is the concept that has restricted the Christian idea of salvation to mere forgiveness of sins” (emphasis Willard’s). Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (New York, HarperCollins, 1988), 33.
xiv See Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John, 182-186.
xv Cf. Phil. 2:12-13.
xvi Cf. 2 Cor. 5:9; John 14:15.
xvii Cf. Ps. 27:4.
xviii Cf. Matt. 6:24; James 1:7-8.
xix “Lukewarm people call ‘radical’ what Jesus expected of all His followers.” Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (Colorado Springs, CO: David Cook, 2008), 71.
xx They were neither hot nor cold. Their longing toward God and his righteousness could not be described with the intensity of “hunger and thirst.” In fact, they were claiming to “have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17). To love righteousness with a passion that pursues it with intensity includes hating iniquity (Heb. 1:9). To love righteousness are hate iniquity are two sides of the same coin.
xxi Cf. 2 Tim. 1:6 (NIV); John 2:17.
xxii Cf. Prov. 27:7.
xxiii Cf. Eph. 4:15-16, 29; Heb. 10:24-25.
xxiv Colin Smith, “Cultivating a Godly Appetite,” Beauty for Ashes. Accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLfnPjCE5Dw.
xxv Cf. Rom. 6:14.
xxvi Cf. Mark 4:19.
xxvii Cf. Gal. 5:16-17.
xxviii Matthew 5:6 (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
xxix Cf. 1 John 5:14; Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John, 372-377.
xxx Cf. 1 Thess. 4:3.
xxxi Cf. Luke 11:9-13.
xxxii Cf. 2 Cor. 3:18.
xxxiii 2 Pet. 3:18.
xxxiv C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1952), 92.
xxxv Of course, at one level we are righteous through justification by faith. But, like Paul in Phil. 3, we are aware that we have not fully arrived in the practical expression of righteousness in our daily lives.
xxxvi Job 42:5-6; Isa. 6:1-5; Dan. 10:7-8; Rev. 1:17.
xxxvii A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 2007) as quoted by Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (Colorado Springs, CO: David Cook, 2008) 99.
xxxviii Cf. Psalm 34:8; 42:1-2; 63:1.
