Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:1-4)
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." (John 19:28)
Recently, our family returned to some familiar memories and a week of nostalgia for me personally. Webster’s tells us that nostalgia means, a longing for familiar or beloved circumstances that are now remote or irretrievable.
Sun Lakes is the Palm Springs of Eastern Washington - 95° during the day, breezy nights, a light show at Grand Coulee Dam, swimming, fishing, and hunting snipes at night (someday my kids will catch on). Things have changed in the 30 years since I was a boy from Everett/Seattle, Washington vacationing at Sun Lakes. The hayrides and high dives have yielded to espresso stands and a new playground.
A local pastor took us fishing at a nearby lake. We drove about three miles east of his church, down a gravel road, through two cattle gates, and ended up out in the middle of nowhere. The lake couldn’t have been more than 300 yards by 400 yards, but it was deep enough for Dad to be concerned about a six-year-old falling in. A small rowboat lying overturned on a nearby shore became our fishing vessel.
That day the lake yielded fish of all kinds and sizes (crappie, catfish, and bass), but the greatest catch was a day of memories. My three boys (Kenny, 14; Jesse, 8; and Joseph, 6) each caught dozens of fish as we played catch-and-release. What a joy to watch them reel in their catch and laugh as they cast out for another one. Dinner that night was extra delicious as we ate a couple of bass they had caught. My heart was full that night, knowing my boys were making memories that would last a lifetime.
The sad news is that I have taken my kids fishing so little that it took half the day for them to catch on. It even took squeamish Dad a few times before we could properly remove the hook from the fish’s mouth. Now my boys are hooked. They want to fish - often. But if I don’t get them some poles, tackle boxes, and bobbers soon the memory and longing for fishing will fade.
What is true of my boys’ longing for fishing is even truer of our longing for spiritual matters. Each of us are created by God to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and, like fishing, if we don’t experience and cultivate it often, it will fade.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
Let me open today’s message by asking you a penetrating question: “When was the last time you did anything for the first time for Jesus’ sake?” Has your Christianity become so predictable that you can’t remember experiencing something new and fresh in the Spirit of God?
We serve a God that is so infinite, and yet we are so predictable.
Be careful, God’s Spirit will not allow you to accept the status quo. It is imperative that we rethink our lifestyle, our priorities, and our Christianity in order to give rise to a fresh breath of God’s Spirit with this fourth beatitude. God is calling you to once again discover those life-giving thirsting and hungering of the Spirit that will produce a walk with God that is filled with vitality, freshness, authority, and anointing. Perhaps these questions will help!
Where do you find fresh strength when you are fatigued from work?
How are you rehabilitated when you have been crippled by sin?
What creates a dream for the future when your past has been plagued by failure?
When you cry out, “I thirst,” how are you satisfied?
Except when I am on vacation my life is people and their needs. I think of God’s people and their needs when I go to work, as I study, write, and as I pray. The problems and challenges we all face are my constant concern as I search God’s Word for new insights on how to unlock the supernatural resources of God’s grace and anointing. As I was on vacation this past week, I spent a lot of time meditating and praying, and today I am excited to share a fresh discovery from God’s Word.
Forgive me if you’re already there. Perhaps you’ve already made this discovery. I suppose for many of us, though, it will be a first and fresh encounter with the truths surrounding this fourth beatitude.
”Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled…”
God loves to shower you with approval. You are a blessed one. He is trying to find everyway possible to congratulate you for work well done. If you’re like me, you read the verse and place the congratulations or blessing on those who achieve righteousness. We are all driven to achieve. We know that righteousness, or being like Jesus, is our goal. But God is blessing us not for achieving righteousness, but for hungering and thirsting for it! How the disciples must have been surprised when Jesus congratulated them for their hunger and thirst.
Most of us want to be like the Pharisees. Just tell us what rules to keep, then we can kill ourselves trying to keep them or proudly showing others we have “arrived.” I can’t help but notice that God is more concerned about my hunger and thirst than my righteousness. It seems the journey is more important than outcome. Sadly, many people give up because they can’t pull off the righteous life. The good news, my friend, is that you can pull off the “hunger and thirst” life. In fact, you are experiencing it even as you hear and read these words.
The world is in trouble. The streets, malls, and stadiums are filled with human zombies who are continuously hungry and thirsty. People don’t suffer from lack of spirituality but lack of longing. Filling their lives with the finest foods and the trendiest drinks (go Starbucks), countless people waste their lives and are never satisfied. The two ambitions that drive this are self-indulgence and lack of contentment.
Ø Self-Indulgence: Christians are not above the Solomon-like passions of wanting to satisfy their pleasures.
Ø Lack of Contentment: The drive in mankind that says, “Enough is never enough.”
The net result is that people feel a huge void in their lives and are willing to grab anything to try and fill it. They are willing to be satisfied with spiritual junk food. Like cotton candy it is very eye appealing, but one bite and you discover it has no substance and is full of air. It is neither nourishing nor satisfying and leaves you wanting something more.
Jesus understands mankind’s longing and offers each of us true happiness by “hungering and thirsting after righteousness.” Hungering and thirsting are our most fundamental needs. Jesus came into this world hungry and left this world thirsty. Only He knows what will truly satisfy our deepest longings and cravings. The answer: “I want My people to want Me more than anything!” Is this possible to pull off?
Jesus often condemned those who were satisfied with their relationship with God and commended those who hungered and thirsted for Him. But before we apply the text to our lives, let me offer a little English grammar for syntax-starved Americans:
Hungry and thirsty are present active participles; they refer to an action that is currently taking place or which takes place repeatedly.
Righteousness implies the desire for the total object (in this case, hungering and thirsting).
Truths That Transform
1. God alone can satisfy our deepest hunger.
1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry (Matthew 4:1-2)
Your consuming passion for hungering and thirsting is not a human passion but a spiritual blessing bestowed by God. We can’t take credit for choosing to be spiritually hungry or thirsty. It’s not some human accomplishment that you add to your list of spiritual badges. Please remember friend, what God desires, God inspires.
Whatever God desires from us, He will impart to us!
Do you know that you already have the gift of a consuming passion for hungering and thirsting? You activate it when you surrender your life to the Spirit’s working. Billy Graham was asked, “What is the most important theological concept in the Bible?” Without hesitation he responded, “Surrender.” Jesus often condemned those who were satisfied with their relationship with God and commended those who hungered and thirsted for Him.
Those condemned: We find an unusual parable in Matthew 11:16-17. There are two groups of children shouting taunts at each other in the marketplace. One group wanted to play songs of celebration for weddings and the other wanted to play funeral dirges. The two groups represented those who couldn’t decide between not liking John the Baptist because he was too serious, or complaining about Jesus because He was too positive and affirming. In the end they didn’t know what they wanted, so they chose not to pursue God at all because it couldn’t be done on their terms.
Those commended: Jesus was always looking for people whom He could applaud for wanting God and His power to change their lives: a centurion who pressed through the crowd to request healing; a Samaritan who persisted in seeking healing for her daughter; a women resolute in her determination to touch Jesus’ garment and receive healing. God blesses those who have a consuming passion to pursue Him and His will. Do you want God’s blessing in your life? Pursue God and be obedient to His will!
2. God alone can satisfy our greatest thirst.
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." (John 19:28)
Jesus Values Our Humanity
Do you realize that Jesus can identify with and intercede for all your needs? Jesus has experienced all you will ever go through. When you are tempted, tired, lonely, and feel like giving up, he fully understands.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet, without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 - NIV).
Take note of those words - just as we are. Notice the word of hope - yet, without sin. That’s worth shouting about.
Jesus’ life shows us that our human nature is not to be despised. God approves of our human nature. From the days of Plato and Aristotle mankind has elevated the spirit and soul and devalued humanity. The net result was that matter or the physical component of man’s being was considered bad.
Remember what Paul said to the Corinthians, “… in whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31 - NIV)
The best thing some of you could do is get a good night’s sleep. Others of you might just need some Christ-honoring recreation. Maybe coloring with your kids will place you back at the top of their list of the most influential people of their lives. Go on and eat. Go ahead and play.
Finally, Jesus only satisfied His physical needs on the cross in order to accomplish a more noble cause. “It is finished.” Only after three long, grueling hours of carrying our sin did he look for relief for His own needs. Jesus was about to announce what God was going to accomplish through his death. In order for Him to make that declaration, He had to be heard. It was at this moment that he said, “I thirst.” He wanted a drink in order to open his parched airways so he could declare a statement of triumph, “It is finished.” Jesus only satisfied His physical needs when it would help accomplish a more noble cause. What an incredible model on how to submit our physical needs to the on-going work of the Spirit in our lives.
Thank you, St. John. We owe you a debt of gratitude for giving us the human side of Jesus, for reminding us that He was more than supernatural. He was more than sinless, more than a sufferer, more than a sin bearer, more than a Savior. He was human. Did John really mess up sayings when he slipped this one in? It sounds too simple. It is easily overshadowed by the BIG SIX: They are statements that we expect: forgiveness, salvation, care for Mom, completion, trust. He is more than a Savior; He was a man like you and me.
3. God’s reward to those who continuously hunger and thirst for righteousness is a life of fulfillment (you will be filled).
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
The consuming passion of the hungry, thirsty person will result in God providing more than enough. That is complete fulfillment. You will lack nothing. God creates a longing in the starving, parched person that fills them completely. The Greek word used to translate Jesus’ words in the Beatitude employs the accusative case rather than the genitive case. So what, Pastor! Stay with me. The genitive expresses a desire for an object that only requires partial effort; the accusative case implies the desire for the entire object.
It is for the totality of righteousness that we are given the gift to hunger and thirst. That’s the point Jesus was making. You have forgiveness of sins, right standing before God, and a love for spiritual habits is born.
Admissions of hunger and thirst don’t come easy for us. False fountains satisfy our thirst daily and non-nutritional meals offer a shallow substitute for the real deal. Some would rather die than admit their need. Others are willing to admit it and escape through Christ. They cry out, “God, I need your help!”
So the thirsty and hungry are looking for the Savior just as the masses in Jesus’ time were looking for meals and miracles. Their shattered dreams and damaged families draw them. Broken children trapped in the basements of parental mistakes and failures. We’ve all drunk from the pools and eaten the rotten reality of those meals. They don’t satisfy or fill - they kill.
But there is hope. A longing for a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning, each of these triads of hope offer a righteousness that is complete. No partial righteousness. It is the “accusative” kind of righteousness.
The cross of Jesus Christ is the answer for our speculations about why we hunger and thirst. The easiest way to discover the purpose of an invention is to ask the inventor. The owner’s manual for God’s creation is the Bible. It explains how we got here, what we are to do with our life, what the pitfalls are, and what the future holds.
It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. (Ephesians 1:11-MSG)
Amdrei Bitov, a Russian novelist, grew up under an atheistic, Communist regime. But God got his attention one dreary day. He recalls, “In my twenty-seventh year, while riding the metro in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) I was overcome with a despair so great that life seemed to stop at once, preempting the future entirely, let alone any meaning. Suddenly, all by itself, a phrase appeared: Without God life makes no sense. Repeating it in astonishment, I rode the phrase up like a moving staircase, got out of the metro and walked into God’s light.”1
God came along and made it clear. He understands where you live. Jesus is so much more than a stained glass picture of the Shepherd holding a lamb. He is so much more than a cosmic God who has declared Himself to be without sin. Just when you thought he was only limited to clouds, the galaxy, or some fourth dimension beyond our comprehension, a knock came to the door that said, “He was human.” He was thirsty and hungry. You are thirsty and hungry. God wants us to live our lives with a passionate longing for a hunger and thirst for God. Don’t forget it!
We will often get what we hunger and thirst for. The problem is that the treasures of this life will leave you eating a cornhusk in a pigsty far away from the Father’s care. The promise to you and me is that the treasures of Heaven and the Father’s house satisfy every time. God reminds us that there are more riches and blessings at His banquet table than you could ever dream. Concentrate on hungering and thirsting and your reward will be righteousness.
Summary Thoughts
1. Let me open today’s message by asking you a penetrating question: “When was the last time you did anything for the first time for Jesus sake?” Or has your Christianity become so predictable that you can’t remember experiencing something new and fresh in the spirit of God? Let me open today’s message by asking you a penetrating question: “When was the last time you did anything for the first time for Jesus’ sake?” Has your Christianity become so predictable that you can’t remember experiencing something new and fresh in the Spirit of God?
“We serve a God that is so infinite, and yet we are so predictable.”
2. Jesus often condemned those who were satisfied with their relationship with God and commended those who hungered and thirsted for Him.
3. Your consuming passion for hungering and thirsting is not a human passion but a spiritual blessing bestowed by God. We can’t take credit for choosing to be spiritually hungry or thirsty. It’s not some human accomplishment that you add to your list of spiritual badges. Please remember friend, what God desires, God inspires.
Whatever God desires from us, He will impart to us!
Surprising Thoughts
1. But God is blessing us not for achieving righteousness, but for hungering and thirsting for it! How the disciples must have been surprised when Jesus congratulated them for their hunger and thirst.
2. The world is in trouble. The streets, malls, and stadiums are filled with human zombies who are continuously hungry and thirsty. People don’t suffer from lack of spirituality but lack of longing. Filling their lives with the finest foods and the trendiest drinks (go Starbucks), countless people waste their lives and are never satisfied. The two ambitions that drive this are self-indulgence and lack of contentment.
Ø Self-Indulgence: Christians are not above the Solomon-like passions of wanting to satisfy their pleasures.
Ø Lack of Contentment: The drive in mankind that says, “Enough is never enough.”
End Notes
1. Rick Warren. Purpose Driven Life, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, pg. 21.
