Those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness

Introduction

We’re going to cover the next beatitude

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

One of the most significant beatitudes given current culture

Sin is a taboo word nowadays

Common culture blurs the line b/w right and wrong

Result = significantly undermined seriousness of sin

= no “hunger for righteousness”

Need to take a look at this beatitude again. Why is this important?

Given, not Achieved

Note that there is nothing about “achieving” this righteousness

It is a given righteousness

The blessing is not on those who “achieve’” it, but on those who hunger and thirst for it

This is why the blessing ends with “they shall be satisfied” - God will impute this righteousness to them.

but the premise is that we would actually hunger and thirst for it

We need to ask the question - why do we no longer hunger and thirst for righteounesss?

Answer: we have lost reverence

Reverence is a lost art in the church today.

We no longer see God as “other” “holy”

2 Samuel 6:1–15 (ESV)

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.

And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.

SO many things went wrong in this story

Disobeyed instructions - carrying of the ark (meant to be Kohathites)

Unneccessary fanfare and show

Culminates -> irreverent act of Uzzah thinking he needed to help God

The heart of the issue here is Irreverance

Uzzah did not respect the sanctity of the Ark (God’s dwelling place)

Despite his good intentions, his touching the ark is a violation of divine commandment

His action implies lack of respect for sacredness of the ark

or lack of faith in God’s ability to take care of His own sanctity

God’s severe response is a stark reminder of His holiness

We live in a time of Uzzahs. Inside and outside the church

Reverence for God runs dangerously low

Tolerance for sin grows in Christians/churches

ILLUSTRATION: Desecrating the Bible

The Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow, Scotland, is hosting a series of exhibitions called "Made in God's Image." Organized by a company called Culture and Sport Glasgow, the exhibition includes Untitled 2009—a simple, opened Bible. Next to the Bible is a container of pens and a notice which reads, "If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it."

There are a number of things disconcerting about such an invitation—chiefly, it makes us the subject and the Bible an object that can bend to every whim and agenda. But what is worth noting is the venomous response of people who have visited the exhibit. Visitors have responded to the invitation by daubing the Bible's pages with a litany of angry and lewd comments. One person wrote: "This is all sexist pish [a word used to express deep disdain], so disregard it all." Another wrote on the first page of Genesis, "I am Bi, Female, and Proud. I want no God who is disappointed in this." Others have even taken the opportunity to alter verses, including Genesis 1:1, to prove that everything about the Bible and God himself is man-made.

The producers of the exhibition have indicated that the most offensive pages will be removed, but Christians in the U.K. are angry that the show had been staged at all. "This is symbolic of the state of our broken and lawless society," said Andrea Minichiello Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre. "We have got to a point where we call the desecration of the Bible modern art.

This is the world we live in right now - and some of it is seeping into the church.

“How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?”

David’s moment of realisation - his mistake was irreverence

He had mixed up fanfare with reverence. All show, no substance.

And at that moment - David rediscovered the fear of God

Does that sound familiar to us today?

We know how to act like Christians WITHOUT a genuine hunger and thirst for righteousness.

When David sees that God is blessing Obed-edom (the place he left the ark), he returns to collect it and continue It’s journey to Jerusalem.

The return journey looked so different: David wore a linen ephod, he danced before the Lord, they sacrificed every 6 steps.

The journey was more a return to Reverence than it was to Jerusalem.

Our hunger and thirst for righteousness begins with a revelation of reverence.

Without knowing who God is, and glimpsing how Holy, how other He is - we will never fully grasp the burden of sin in our lives.

We must return to reverence, to a biblically sound version of God

Yes, He loves - but He is also holy, and just, and jealous, and fiercely righteous.

James 4:4–5 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

What I’m talking about is not just “not sinning”

That is not the gospel. We have no strength to do that on our own.

We are fallen, the enemy is deceitful - sin has a way of finding us

What I’m talking about is pursuing God, and as we pursue God - we catch His passion and heart for righteousness.

For too long my generation has gone without heeding the call to reverence

I believe your generation is different

Let’s build a generation that treasures reverence

Let’s build a generation that values holiness

May your generation be one after God’s heart

The journey to revival starts with reverence

And the first step in that journey is repentance

ILLUSTRATION:

ILLUSTRATION: First Encounter with God

Church the closest encounter I had with God in my life so far was at a camp in 2012. Some of you may have heard about this incident. But basically it was a camp where we had problems with an very serious case of demonic possession - the stuff that you can’t make up, not even if you were trying to get attention to yourself. The full crazy eyes, the speaking in an uncomfortable unknown language, 3am night terrors, the lot. And to cut what is an incredibly scary story short - on the last night the presence of the Lord fell in the building - HARD. I’m talking, tangible presence of God. And can I tell you the overwhelming feeling? It wasn’t love, it was fear. Fear that something so powerful had just entered the room - people couldn’t stand, the room was on its knees. And you might think this sounds like such a terrible experience - I never want to experience that ever but can I say to you that in that moment where confusion, chaos and darkness seemed so ever-present, I was so GLAD that I worship a God who is not just love, but who is a warrior too. I was so glad I worship a God who is so much greater, so much more transcendent than any other force, so terrifying in His power - that He made anything else in that room, demon or person, feel suddenly small - suddenly insignificant. This it God we worship. Since that day I have always been careful and taken approaching His presence, whether alone or in church, with a reverence that was not there before. I stopped putting my bible on the floor from that incident forward. I met the king, the creator, the warrior. This is our God. I was reminded of a saying “You defend God like you defend a lion - you get out of His way.”

Altar Call

Get pieces of paper and write down the sin they’re struggling with. KEEP THE PAPER. Response tomorrow.

Respond to front?