Are You Hungry?
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:6
Context
Context
So far, we have been able to see that these beatitudes, or attitudes that ought to be, these character tests, are not given at random.
The first beatitude dealt with coming to God bankrupt. Its focus was on how sinful we are in the presence of a Holy Righteous God. The result of that was the second beatitude of mourning.
Last week, we looked at the third beatitude of meekness, which focused on seeing Christ for all He is, seeing Him in all of His glory.
The natural result of that is what we are going to be looking at today, which is longing for the righteousness of God in our lives.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Content
Content
The Depth of Our Hunger
The Depth of Our Hunger
As we have discussed before, it is important to know the words that we are studying. As we read the word, knowing the tense of a word can change the meaning of a passage. Here is this text, the hunger and the word thirst are verbs, not adjectives. These words are not simply describing the condition of an individual, but are rather describing the actions of an individual. They are telling us what we are to be doing.
The Greek word for hunger here is “Peinao (pi-nah-o)”. It means more than just being hungry. This word means to be famished. It means to crave. It carries forth the idea of being beyond hungry; to toil and to pine in hunger. It carries forth the idea of having a deeply rooted desire for something that causes you to actively pursue it at all costs.
The Greek word for thirst here is “Dipsao (dip-sah-o)”. Like the word for hunger, this word also means to have a desire for something and to be putting forth extreme effort to achieve that thing.
The character trait that Jesus is unpacking here for us is that of longing. It is a longing to be like Christ and to be with Christ.
We are designed with a hunger for God:
We can survive about 40 days without food.
We can survive about 3 days without water.
We can survive about 8 minutes without air.
We cannot survive one second without Christ.
This hunger is there by design. This hunger is not the result of us doing something bad, but rather because we have done something right. We have approached the throne of Glory, we have surveyed beauty grand, and we now long for that in our lives.
As we see Christ in all of His glory, we see the most majestic thing in all of existence. We see His radiance, His beauty, His perfection, and it changes us. It places this deeply rooted desire for Him in our hearts.
Everyone close your eyes. Imagine Jesus hanging on that cross. Imagine what it must have been like to be there, to see it with your own eyes. What do you see?
Do you see the blood? Do you see the open wounds? Do you see His ribs showing where the flesh has been ripped from his body? Do you see the bruising around his hands and feet where those massive spikes were hammered through? Do you see the welts all over him where he was whipped continuously, over and over? Do you see the crown of thorns that were forced upon his head? They have dug into His flesh and now blood trickles from each spot. Do you see His eyes almost swollen completely shut from the repetitive strikes He took? Do you see the blanks on His face from where they ripped His beard off? What do you see?
I saw a picture, of Christ on the cross
Hanging in a second-hand store.
I heard some people, saying such a cruel scene
Shouldn’t be displayed anymore.
Oh, what they failed to see,
Is what it means to me.
I see a Savior, I see a Redeemer
I see a sinless man, dying to set me free.
I see forgiveness, I see Grace and Mercy
It looks like love, It looks like love to me.
Some people, they don’t understand
The reason He died on that tree.
What may look like, the darkest of days
Is glorious victory
Oh, only the heart can see
The Freedom in Calvary
What do you see?
Now look into heaven. See the throne of God. See the majestic light that radiates from it. Now look to the right of the Father. Who do you see? It is Jesus. The One who was on the cross, now wears a crown. The One who was beaten and battered, now sits full and restored. The One who was stripped of His clothes and hung in shame is now robed with royal linen. See the angels around the throne bowing down before Him. Hear their cries as they say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Do you see it? Do you see it?
What does it do to your heart? How does it make you feel? Are you hungry?
The Direction of Our Hunger
The Direction of Our Hunger
So we are to be hungry, but hungry for what? We are to be hungry for righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
This word, “righteousness - (dikaiosyne: dik-ah-yo-soo’-nay)”, means to be right, to be just. To be righteous is to uphold the law of God. It is to be obedient.
It is important to note that this word here is a noun. That means that this thing we are hungry for is not an action to take, but a thing to be. Simply doing good things will not fulfill this longing, this hunger that we have. It is not enough to do just do good things, but rather we must be good.
There are some who will try to be righteous, without acting righteous.
They want to be Godly, but they are ashamed of it in front of certain people. They go to church, but they don’t talk about it when they are at work. They pray, but they don’t ask others if they can pray for them. They are afraid what others might think, so they hide the fact that deep down, they know they are supposed to be a light for God.
There are some who will try to act righteous, without being righteous.
They will ask others what they can pray for, but then they won’t actually pray for them. They will go to church so they can be seen in the house of God, but when they leave, they leave God at the church, and don’t live righteously the rest of the week.
Neither of these scenarios work out well for the individual. We must be righteous and then act out of that righteousness.
Now some people struggle with this. They will say, “Isn’t it somewhat conceited to call yourself righteous, or even to think of yourself as being righteous?”
No.....it isn’t. God actually commands us to be righteous.
44 For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
45 For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
God commands us to separate ourselves from worldly things so that we might be a witness for Him while on this earth.
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Was apostle Paul conceited? Was he a prideful man? Not in the least.
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
He lived a life separated unto God, and therefore he was a righteous man, but he also knew where that righteousness came from. He said to imitate him.....as he imitated Christ.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Jesus says that we as Christians are to shine the light of God. We are not to hide our righteousness from others, we are also not to be boastful in our righteousness, as if we had something to do with that in and of ourselves. We are to boast in Christ alone, for He is our righteousness.
But how do we do that? How do we become righteous? You do not achieve righteousness by searching for righteousness itself, but by being filled with the one who is. Our search is not for something, but for someone. Our Hunger is for Jesus.
All of these character traits that we are discussing are only possible if we tap into the presence of God. It is as we come into contact with who He is, that we then begin to long for that in our own lives.
The object of our faith is more important than the faith itself, because our faith can only be as strong as that thing in which we place it.
If my faith is in the church, the church will take me so far, but it will not sustain me perfectly for no church is perfect.
If your faith is in a preacher, he can take you so far, but he will not be able to sustain you perfectly for no preacher is perfect.
But if my faith is in Christ, He has the will, power, and the desire to sustain me perfectly. No matter what comes my way, my faith will remain strong, because my faith is as strong as the person in which it is placed.
The Development of Our Hunger
The Development of Our Hunger
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
We are developed through that hunger. Notice what the last part of the verse says, “For they shall be filled.”
As we actively pursue this object of our hunger, we are developed by it.
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Jesus is telling us here that we cannot fill our spirit with things of the flesh. Yes, we require food to live, even to maintain health, but it can only sustain the body. We can only grow closer to God by pursuing Godly things.
It is when we pursue spiritual things that our spirit begins to be filled. I personally think fasting is one of the most underrated spiritual disciplines. Fasting is not about losing weight. It is not about doing a detox. Fasting is not some religious thing you have to do in order to check a box. Fasting is all about seeking spiritual things. It is a period of time that you set aside worldly things, so that you might focus on heavenly things.
When we say, “I am not going to eat for 24 or 48 hours. And during that time, whenever I feel hungry, I am going to hit my knees and cry out to God so that He can fill me instead of physical food.” We are putting the spirit before the flesh. We are denying the flesh the things it desires so that our spirits can be filled instead.
The more we choose to experience physical loss for spiritual gain, the more we are developed by it. We learn to trust in God to provide what we need. Our minds are made more spiritually mature. We learn to exercise self-control over our bodies, which in turn helps us not to sin as much. We learn to say “No” to the flesh. If I can deny the body food, its most essential need, then I can deny it lust, money, and so much more.
The word for filled (chortazo: khor-tad’-zo), speaks of being complete. It means that nothing is missing, nothing else can be added because it is already finished, fulfilled, complete, and perfect.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
This is a matter of priority. Many times, we have a tendency to get this backward. We fill that we have to fulfill the flesh to its capacity, and then we seek Godly things with what time and energy we have left.
Jesus says, it should be the other way around. We should seek His righteousness first, and then all these other things will be added unto us.
When we hunger and thirst for God and His righteousness, we will be filled.
9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Commitment
Commitment
Are you hungry? Do you long for the things of God? Do you seek to fill the spirit first and fully?
