God's Big Project

Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for dikaiosyne...

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Genesis 1:28-31 “God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good (tov me’od) indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.”

Revelation 21:1-5 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.”

Praying the Beatitudes

Blissfully content are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blissfully content are those who mourn, For they will be comforted.

Blissfully content are the meek and humble, For they will inherit the earth.

Blissfully content are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

Blissfully content are the merciful, For they will receive mercy.

Blissfully content are the pure of heart, For they will see God.

Blissfully content are the peacemakers, For they will be called sons and daughters of God.

Blissfully content are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Shape of the Beatitudes

Beatitudes 1-3 describe a condition or status in the world

the poor

the mourning

the lowly/meek

Beatitudes 5-7 describe a condition of the heart

a merciful heart

a pure heart

a peacemaking heart

The 4th Beatitude is the glue that holds everything together.

Blissfully content are those who hunger and thirst for justice

Principle: When you put Jesus’ Way FIRST, the promises of God will follow.

Jesus Way = hunger and thirst for righteousness

Living Blissfully Content in this world (blessed) all depends on this...how hungry and thirsty are you for Jesus to be the center of everything in your life.

not religion

not morals

not the sinner’s prayer

not church attendance

not even your family

not good works.....

Jesus!

When Jesus is the center of everything we are not just made good, we become agents of his good in the world today.

Or to quote the great scholar Pastor Eric Boggs... “If Jesus is not Lord of ALL, he’s not Lord at all.”

Hungry & Thirsty

To be fair, it is a little hard for most of us to imagine the real meaning of hunger and thirst…food and water are largely available for most of us.

I don’t think growling stomachs on Sunday waiting on the sermon to end so we can go eat chicken counts!

Imagine how desperate you might be to be completely cut-off from a food supply for weeks, even months…

WHO stats tell us even in developed countries 1 out of every 10 people go to be without the food they need.

Not having the necessary food and water drives a sense of desperation.

Apart from the metaphor, this is a real issue our church is addressing every week in our community.

What would it be like to have that kind of desperation for seeing the world restored back to God’s faithful love???

Jesus, I need you more than I need anything...

John 6:66–69 (ESV)

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

dikaiosyne: righteousness, justice, making things right

Genesis 1 and Revelation 21 are the bookends to God’s Big Project...

What began as good (tov) is presently and finally being restored to a new good (resurrection).

But Jesus reminds us that there is a way in which God is making things new…it’s His Way (His Plan/Promise, His Way).

Two siblings playing in the backyard..one of them hurts the other one…the problem is the parent doesn’t know which one is to blame…the one sibling rushes into the house screaming, holding his thumb which has a small scratch…she covers the scratch with a band-aid…but the boy is incessant, “You need to make this right! He hurt me! He needs to be taken care of right now!!!” (Make things RIGHT!)....but the wise mother looks down at the boy and says, “Why don’t you just leave that with me. I’ll make things right again.”

Sometimes the world doesn’t seem to be cooperating with God’s plan for his people…we get frustrated, discouraged, we want to take matters in our own hands!

To “hunger and thirst for righteousness” is to say, Jesus I want this world to be made right again, but I know your way is the ONLY way…I’m putting my trust in your ways, not my way.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”

Seek first the ways of God that lead to the promises of God!

Too often we want the promises of God without following the ways of God.

Blessed are those who don’t just want God’s promises…they want his WAYS!

1 Kings 2:3 “and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do and wherever you turn,”

Let’s Pray Psalms 25

Where have we not put you first Lord?

Lord, put in me a craving for your ways and your will.

Psalm 25:1–5 (NIV)

1 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.

2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.