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Attitudes of the Blessed
Pastor Jerry C. Vargo
Matthew 5:1-12
Blessed Hunger (5:6)
I. Introduction.
A. Verse 6 brings out another principle that is so contrary to the world system.
B. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. This is so opposite of the world’s values. The world thirsts for everything but righteousness!
C. The order of these attitudes is important. After one is empty of self, mourning over sin, and walking in humility…there is a great need to fill this void. God says that when we hunger and thirst…we shall be filled.
D. Empty of self and sin = full of God and righteousness!
Illustration
Church…listen to me! So many in the church universal are not hungry and thirsty…
Listen to Jeremiah 2:13:
“For my people have committed two evils: {1} They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, {2}To hew (cut/carve) for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, That can hold no water.”
God is the only source of true love, joy, happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. We must rely on the supply of living bread and living water.
Yet many have rejected him and attempted to create alternative reservoirs of happiness. But they are cisterns that are broken and can hold no water.
True joy is found only as a by-product of seeking God’s righteousness.
E. Today, I want to examine Matthew 5:6 carefully. I want to break it down in four parts:
1. What is hunger and thirst?
2. What is righteousness?
3. Submission to the rule of God.
4. The reward of a yielded life.
II. Body.
1. What is hunger and thirst?
A. Jesus uses physical hunger and thirst to describe a deeper spiritual need that all of us have.
B. If you are a true relational Christian, and not a religious Christian, you will have a passionate hunger and thirst for goodness and holiness.
C. We as western Christians really don’t understand true hunger and thirst!
D. Our lives of comfort get in the way of understanding the words of Jesus Christ.
E. Jesus uses these words to describe complete desperation.
Illustration
Have you ever been really hungry or thirsty? I mean REALLY hungry or thirsty? What happens? You drop everything you are doing and you go and find something to eat or something to drink!
You become preoccupied! Only one-thing matters! You know you are empty and you need to be filled.
To be truly hungry or thirsty for God is to make relationship your highest priority and purpose in life! We must persist until we are satisfied.
Are you doing that???
F. When you have this kind of desire, it is evidence that you are truly dissatisfied with your present spiritual position before Christ. This is so unlike the Pharisees of old. Turn with me to Luke 18:9-14.
2. What is righteousness?
A. Thank God He didn’t say that blessed are those who “attain righteousness.”
B. In other words, you don’t earn righteousness through your own efforts. It states that we should be hungry and thirsty FOR righteousness.
C. What is righteousness? It is a deep passion for personal virtue. They have a desire to see Psalm 27:4 become a reality:
“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to meditate in His temple.”
D. The Greek word here describes the character as “being right with God.” It carries the idea of conforming to God’s rule or revealed will.
E. To be hungry for righteousness is to be hungry for God and thirsty to conform to His will for our lives. Our greatest desire should be to please Him by living under His rule!
3. Submission to the rule of God.
A. Many things try to rule a Christian’s life.
1. Lust of the flesh.
2. Lust of the eyes.
3. Pride of life.
B. We don’t like authority. So often the enemy has influenced us. Do you know why? Because he doesn’t like authority either.
C. God deserves the right to interrupt my life. He can break in without question or explanation at any time! He calls me to submit to his rule.
Quote
To have God do his own work through us, even once, is better than a lifetime of human striving.
-- Watchman Nee
Quote
To applaud the will of God, to do the will of God, even to fight for the will of God is not difficult ... until it comes at cross-purposes with our will. Then the lines are drawn.
-- Richard J. Foster
D. Basically, I have to choose to submit. It is not something that will happen automatically! This is true of my relationship with my God, my friends, and my family! We must submit in order to experience God’s righteousness.
4. The reward of a yielded life.
A. I believe that this idea of being filled speaks of being filled with His righteousness.
Illustration
How do I know if I am filled with this righteousness? Think a moment about a water-saturated sponge. If we push down with our finger even slightly, water runs out onto the table. We immediately know what fills the interior pockets of the sponge. The same is true of us. We can tell what fills us on the inside by what comes out under pressure.
A. The words “shall be filled” originally referred to the fattening of animals in a stall. Shall be filled = shall be saturated.
B. The words are also found in Matthew 14:20 when Jesus fed the 5000…which speaks of the miracle of provision. What could be more of a miracle of God filling us with His righteousness?
C. We stand before the Father today accepted and loved. He made us the way we are…and we are filled (if we are hungry and thirsty)!
Quote
“People wrap themselves up in the flimsy garments of their own righteousness and then complain of the cold.”
D. Self-righteousness is another word for pride. Church, the enemy is out to deceive you into thinking that all is well with you and God. In our religious ways we begin to think that we are righteous…May God help us today!
III. Conclusion.
A. We must…
1. Hunger and thirst for God alone.
2. Seek after His righteousness.
3. Intentionally submit to His rule over EVERY area of our lives.
4. Then, and only then will we be filled!
Altar Call
