Spiritual Cravings: Blessed are those who Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness...; Build your Life #6, the 4th Beatitude

Intro: Several years ago, a popular candy bar had a set of ads with the tagline “you’re not you when you’re hungry.” There were a series of commercials showing people in normal settings- a game of golf, the office, a party, a road trip, etc. It would show someone famous, like Betty White playing a pick-up football game, her teammates called her “Mike” & accused her of playing like “Betty White” out there, when Mike’s girlfriend ran up & gave him a Snickers to satisfy his hunger, then he became himself- he was ready to go.

‌The ad campaign is a case study in marketing. Why was it so successful?Snickers was tapping into a universal truth that everyone can relate to. There are universal aspects of hunger (crankiness, weakness, anger) and when you’re hungry, or h’angry, you just aren’t yourself.

‌Feeling hungry or thirsty is a universal sign from our bodies that we need something! Did you know our brain doesn’t even know- it gets the same message whether we are hungry or thirsty? Because of these mixed signals, we often eat more than we need, and drink less than we should. One way to test whether we are really hungry is, if we feel “hunger pains,” then drink 8 ounces of water, & wait 15-20 minutes. That’s how long it takes for our brains to process what we need.

‌What is true for humans is true for Christians. Many of us are not ourselves, or our best selves, because rather than being physically hungry & thirsty, we are spiritually hungry and thirsty. I think in the same way that our brains get mixed messages about hunger & thirst, we get spiritually confused about what we need. Jesus knows what we need to fill our most basic internal spiritual desires- righteousness.

Matthew 5:6, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

I love how simply John Stott explains righteousness in his treatment of this passage.He says that “Righteousness in the Bible has at least three aspects: legal, moral and social.” We want to talk about each of these 3 aspects of righteousness, & how our craving for each one is filled.

1. Our spiritual cravings for righteousness are filled by CHRIST.

‌In the historical context, most of the people Jesus was preaching to were physically hungry. 90% of the people in the Roman Empire lived below the poverty line, just barely subsisting. Later Matthew will report on two separate occasions how Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 (ch. 14), then later 4,000 people (ch. 15). Large crowds of people constantly followed Jesus, not just to hear His preaching, or see His miracles, but because they wanted Him to feed them. Jesus said as much, John 6:26, Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

‌We need to be careful that we are not like them- following Jesus because we believe He will meet our physical, emotional, or social needs? God is not a “sugar daddy,” Jesus is not an “emotional support Savior”, the Spirit is not a “genie”. Do we hunger & thirst for Jesus because we want Jesus, or because we want what Jesus can give us?

‌Jesus is the bread of God who came from heaven to give life to the world(John 6:33). He said that if anyone would come to Him, they would never hunger, & whoever believes in Him would never thirst (John 6:35). ‌Water of Life- John 4:14, whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

‌Jesus is the bread of life and the water of life. If we are spiritually hungry & thirsty, He is the only one who can meet that need. What is that need? What are the hunger pains trying to tell us? What is this thirst for? ‌Hungering & thirsting for righteousness is an intense desire to be made right with God, & only Jesus can fill that need.

‌2 Corinthians 5:21, For He (God) made Him who knew no sin (Christ) to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

‌God regarded Christ as sin for the sake of sinners. Christ was both the sacrifice for sin & the substitute for sinners. Through Christ’s death & resurrection, God showed His righteousness by judging sin yet showing mercy to sinners. This is Legal righteousness, i.e., justification- a declaration of righteousness by the Judge that makes you right with Him. You only get that with Jesus.

2. ‌Our spiritual cravings for righteousness are filled in COMMUNITY.

‌A 2nd aspect of righteousness is moral uprightness. Moral righteousness is having character & conduct that pleases God. It goes much deeper than outward behavior, it is formed in the inner person- heart, mind, & motive. What is an inner quality must be cultivated in our outer life.

‌American Christians are notorious for dividing these two things- the inner & outer life, & you just can’t do that, not if you want to grow in righteousness. ILL: 2 Timothy 2:1-2, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. I think 2 Timothy 2 can be used as a pattern for disciple-making ministry in the local church. I don’t have time to go through it all, but I want to point out that it is centered on community- Paul to Timothy, Timothy to faithful men, faithful men to teach others also (at least 4 generations of disciples). ‌Near the end of the chapter, Paul continues to instruct Timothy in how to fulfill his calling- 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.It should be no surprise to us that Paul commands this young pastor & church leader to flee youthful lusts. We would expect nothing less.

‌It’s also no surprise that Paul offers replacement desires for youthful lusts- righteousness, faith, love, & peace. We know that you can’t just quit something, you must replace it with something better. So, the commandment is to run from youthful lusts, and run after righteousness, faith, love, & peace. ‌This is moral uprightness.

This is that character & conduct that pleases God. This is that outward behavior that is formed in the inner life- heart, mind, & motive. But notice, Timothy is not to do it ALONE. Paul’s instruction is to pursue… WITH those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We need to take our personal discipleship out of our private life and put it on display.

‌Let’s apply this admonition to the words of Jesus- those who hunger and thirst for righteousness should not eat or drink alone. We need to pursue Christ with other people. What people? Here’s a hint- look around. ‌Get in a group- a Sunday school class, Bible study, d-group…

3. Spiritual cravings for righteousness are filled when CULTURE is made right.

Biblical righteousness is more than forensic, it’s more than personal moral uprightness, it is an intense desire for the world to be made right.

‌It would be a mistake for us to think that biblical righteousness is merely private or personal. Else, why would Jesus say, “you are the salt of the earth,” “you are the light of the world,” you “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works” & glorify God. At some point, what is private & personal must become public. There is a social aspect to this righteousness.

‌Don’t you ever get tired of what you see on the news? Don’t you ever get weary from what you hear on the radio? Are you ever worn out by what you scroll through on social media? Never have we known more about social evils than we do now but do less about them than ever before.

‌John Stott- “… Christians are committed to hunger for righteousness in the whole human community as something pleasing to a righteous God.”

‌When you read God’s commands to Israel in the OT, and you see what the prophets condemned Israel for, you understand that God cares about how His people care for others. Social righteousness is another way of saying biblical justice.

We don’t seek justice to the exclusion of the gospel but neither do we proclaim the gospel at the expense of justice. We should be people who bring these extremes together- a framework of social responsibility to engage in Gospel-centered activism for the good of the world. ‌How?

1, I think we start with PRAYER.Pray for Jesus to come back. Pray for Him to return & make all this right. 2 Peter 3:13, … we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. We pray! ‌Rev 22:17, And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Like John we pray “even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

‌2, add to prayer the PURSUIT of righteousness- privately, personally, & publicly, in every arena of life. We need to bring good works back to the good news!

‌Galatians 6:9-10, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. We need to practice what we say we believe.

‌Either the gospel makes a difference, or it doesn’t. If we believe the gospel makes a difference, then we stand on it as the basis for making us right with God and doing good to all people.

‌Are you hungry & thirsty for righteousness?You may not be.

‌Let’s be honest, if we are truly hungry, should we turn to Snickers for satisfaction? No, we know that’s not a healthy choice. Similarly, when we find ourselves spiritually hungry and thirsty, we often turn to things that do not truly satisfy us. Or we get confused about what it is we really need. Jesus says that true spiritual hunger and thirst (i.e., cravings, hunger pains, that thirst) is an intense desire for righteousness.

‌But we are so full already! So full of ourselves. So full of physical & material substances. So full of our own social agendas. We aren’t spiritually hungry because we never let ourselves experience any lack!

- Takeaway: try fasting some time, from food or some other substance, to make room for Jesus.

If we want to be filled with righteousness, ‌Christ is the only one who can fill that need. He fills that need with Himself, and He fills that need in the Church.

Takeaway: you need to get in a Sunday school class. That is where the church is really the church. That group is where you get to meet people, make friends, share prayer requests, use your spiritual gifts to care for others and get cared for. ‌We have this spiritual craving that can only be filled in that community.

Hebrews 10:24-25, And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Jesus is using the church to transform culture. If we truly want to see things change, we need to be that change we want to see.