Sermon on the Mount - Righteousness

Sermon on the Mount – Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Matthew 5:6

Matthew 5:6 ESV

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

1. Introduction – Today we come to the 4th Beatitude. We also come to a slight change in perspective.

a. For the first 3 Beatitudes have been rather negative – poor in spirit, mourning over sin, meekness…

i. All of those are there to bring us to a place of repentance before God.

1. And a natural result our poverty of spirit, of mourning, of being meek…they all bring us to this place…

a. To a place where we are hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

b. And to talk about the importance of righteousness – the basic necessity of righteousness – Jesus uses a physical need to describe a spiritual reality.

i. Hunger and thirst – 2 basic human needs. We all need to eat and drink.

1. But in this Beatitude, Jesus reminds us that our ultimate satisfaction doesn’t like in food or drink – but in righteousness.

a. But for the most part, hunger and thirst are 2 things we know very little about.

i. There are a few of you who lived through the Depression and WW2 – you know what hungry and thirst are all about,

1. But for most of us – we know nothing of real sustained hunger and thirst.

ii. We know the between meals kind of hunger. When we are thirsty, we have a tap in our house where water comes out of.

1. And out of our abundance – complacency sets in…and these precious resources from God end up getting wasted.

c. But people in Jesus’ day knew what it was like to be hungry and thirsty.

i. In an arid climate – a place that lacks water – they would know what it feels like to thirst.

1. They would know what it feels like to be totally consumed with a hunger for food – to thirst for a drink.

a. So Jesus takes these physical images, these all-consuming images – and redirects the focus towards a spiritual reality.

i. Jesus says that we should be hungering after righteousness – it should be an all-consuming passion in our lives.

1. We are to thirst for it – we are to be consumed by our longing for righteousness.

d. So here’s what we’ll do today. First, we’ll define righteous. Again, we’ll look at what righteousness isn’t, then we’ll look at what it is.

i. We’ll discuss these words ‘hunger’ and ‘thirst’ and drive home what Jesus means when he uses these words.

1. And we’ll look at the promised reward. A lot to get through.

a. Hear God’s Word – Matthew 5:6.

2. What Righteousness isn’t – Instead of looking at a whole bunch of things that might be considered righteousness but aren’t,

a. Today I want to make one clarification about this verse.

i. I really want to drive this point home that we are to be hungering and thirsting after righteousness…

1. So notice that the verse doesn’t say we are to be hungering and thirsting after blessedness. And by blessed I guess I really mean happiness.

a. The world seeks after happiness. We are a pleasure driven society.

i. Buy more stuff and you’ll be happy. Use this shampoo and your life will be great.

1. Eat at this restaurant and you’ll have all the friends in the world.

a. Buy this piece of tech and it will change your life.

ii. We are natural born consumers…always wanting more…thinking that more will make us happy.

1. But the more we get, the more it takes to satisfy our desires.

a. A lot of people in this world hunger and thirst after happiness…after comfort….

i. But what they end up with is misery.

2. They pursue happiness, but all they find is misery.

a. But happiness in place of righteousness, and you’ll never attain happiness.

iii. We are not meant to hunger and thirst after happiness….we will never find satisfaction that way.

1. If we want to be truly blessed…have unspeakable joy in our lives, not just fleeting happiness…

a. Then we must not hunger and thirst after blessedness or happiness, but we are to thirst and hunger after righteousness…and when we do that, God will bless us.

3. What Righteousness is – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness…

a. But what IS righteousness? Well, that’s a big question. This word righteousness…or righteous – is load with meaning.

i. In some theological dictionaries…dictionaries that explain theological concepts – this word righteous and righteousness…takes 51 pages to explain.

1. We aren’t going to go in that much detail – but we are going to look at a few aspects of this word.

b. The first part of righteousness we’ll look at starts with God…where everything starts.

i. Throughout the Bible, righteousness refers to God’s mighty acts to save.

1. The crossing of the Red Sea – was a mighty act of God that saved the Israelites.

a. God delivering Israel from her enemies – a mighty act of God that saved Israel.

i. God sending Jesus to die on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sin…the ultimate salvation act….an act of righteousness…God’s righteousness.

c. But righteousness has a meaning beyond that.

i. Because the Apostle Paul writes a lot about Christians being declared righteous.

1. The big theological word for this is called imputed righteousness.

a. It is a righteousness that is given, not achieved. It isn’t something we conjure up on our own, but something that is given to us by God.

i. Imputed righteousness is a free gift that God gives to us at out salvation.

2. Because of imputed righteousness, because you have been declared righteous by God – God no longer sees you as the sinner you are, but he sees you as a sinner he has forgiven.

ii. Righteousness is given to humans when we come to God repenting of our sins.

1. Recognizing that Jesus is the only to have a right relationship with God.

a. Righteousness before God is something we have on our own – it is a verdict that is made in our favour when we come to the Father through Jesus the Son.

d. And the last aspect of righteousness I want to look at is this.

i. Righteousness is a response.

1. In response to God’s mighty acts, in response to God declaring us righteous because of our repentance,

a. In response to those things – Christians seek to live a life that is pleasing to God…and it is this kind of righteousness that Jesus is speaking of here.

i. Remember Jesus is preaching this sermon to his disciples, to those who have already decided to follow him.

ii. And as a result of deciding to follow Jesus – following Jesus means living a life in conformity to God’s will.

1. The one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness hungers and thirsts for conformity to God’s will.

a. This righteousness is about right conduct.

e. In response to God’s mighty saving acts – in response to a righteousness that is given to us, not achieved by us – we will seek to live lives that are pleasing to God…

i. We live our lives conforming ourselves to God’s will…obeying his commands.

1. Delight in his Word…and seeking justice for the world around us.

4. Hunger and Thirst – And how is it that we can live a life in conformity to God’s will…Where do we even begin?

a. Well…the verse lays it out for us. It begins with basic human needs.

i. Notice what God doesn’t require of us. Notice what the verse doesn’t say.

1. It doesn’t say – in order to have righteousness you have…

a. Scale the highest mountain.

i. Sail the 7 seas.

1. Go on a pilgrimage to this place.

a. Whip yourself, beat yourself up. Deprive yourself in order to filled.

ii. It doesn’t say we have to perform 1000 good acts in order to be filled with righteousness.

1. God doesn’t require great feats of strength.

a. He doesn’t require us to abuse ourselves…

i. God requires the most basic of human needs…hunger and thirst.

1. It’s as if God is making it as easy as possible for us humans to attain righteousness.

a. He makes it no harder than things that come naturally to us anyway.

b. Hunger and thirst are signs of life.

i. Every night when we’re putting Veronica to bed, she likes us to tell her our memories of when she was born.

1. So I tell her mine – I was the first person the nurse handed her to…though that’s disputed.

a. And I tell her that I gave her her first bottle – and she just chugged it down.

i. This little human being was a live in my arms…and she was hungry and thirsty for some sustenance.

2. Where there is physical life, there is hunger and thirst for sustenance.

a. And the same is true in the spiritual life. A hunger and thirst for righteousness is a sign of life.

c. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is a desire to be conformity to God’s will.

i. It is a desire to delight in god’s Word…a desire to obey his commands.

1. In a the same way a newborn baby desires and craves milk, with that some intensity and desire we are to long for righteousness.

a. As physical hunger follows physical birth, so a spiritual hunger follows a spiritual rebirth.

d. One last thing before we move on to the promised reward.

i. I want you to taken not of the blessing. Notice this – God’s blessing doesn’t come when we have achieved righteousness.

1. The verse doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who have searched for and found righteousness…”

a. The blessing doesn’t come I the finding of righteousness…the blessing comes in the searching.

ii. The hungry are blessed – not for a possessed righteousness, but for a desired righteousness.

1. Blessed, not because they ARE righteous, but because they feel starved for and empty of a needed righteousness.

a. And the hungry-for-righteousness don’t think they can live until they get it.

e. This verse isn’t telling us that we have to attain a certain level of righteousness in order to be blessed by God.

i. All we have to od is want it…and come to God with an appetite to get it.

5. Promised Reward – For they will be filled. Presumably those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled with righteousness.

a. A few points to consider about this filling.

i. In order to receive a filling of righteousness…we have to be empty.

1. We can’t fill up on junk…and still expect to have room for God.

a. Its like we talked about a few weeks ago…if we are constantly eating junk throughout the day – we won’t be hungry at meal times.

i. The same is true in our hearts and in our minds.

1. If we are constantly filling our hearts and minds with information that contrary to God’s Word…then we’ll have no room for God’s righteousness.

2. If we are seeking first our kingdom, our happiness, if we are seeking first what the world has to offer…then we obviously aren’t seeking first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness.

a. If we are filling our with this and with that…filling up on useless that stuff that may satisfy us in the moment but runs out quickly…

i. Then we will have no room for righteousness.

ii. The filling of righteousness, first requires an empty vessel that God can fill.

b. Secondly – know that this filling is cyclical.

i. In fact, this hunger and filling, this thirsting and filling is really the cycle of the Christina life.

1. When we first come to Christ, we have this insatiable urge to know all we can.

a. We are seeking truth, seeking knowledge, hungering and thirsting after righteousness…devouring God’s Word, spending hours in prayer…we are being filled.

i. But that filling only lasts for a season…because we grow.

2. And like babies who are growing…who first start to take more and more milk…and eventually move on to solid food…

a. So the knowledge that sustained us in our spiritual infancy is not enough sustenance anymore…we need meat…we need solid food.

i. So we search deeper and deeper…we continue to hunger and thirst…and we are filled with even more in the process.

ii. But the cycle continues…and as we continue to grow, the more sustenance we need…and we hunger and thirst even more for righteousness…and we go deeper and grow more.

1. And each time we hunger and thirst for more righteousness, God fills us with what we need…and that sustains us through a season…

a. Until we hit another growth spurt…and we need more.

i. Here’s the thing about righteousness…you can pig out on righteousness with no negative side effects.

1. Unlike hamburgers or Oreos or chocolate cake or cookies…all of those have negative side effects – high blood sugar…weight gain.

2. Righteousness, when it is devoured and guzzled down – has no negative side effects.

iii. This is the pattern of the Christian life – it’s not that we are filled once and we live off that past experience for the rest of our lives…

1. No, we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness as long as there is breath in our bodies…and you will be filled by God. That is his promise to us.

a. The more someone pursues righteousness and conformity to God’s will – the more attractive the goal becomes – and the greater the advances made.

i. The more we filled with righteousness, the more we WANT to be filled…

1. That is the pattern, the cycle of the Christian life.

c. And finally – know that this cycle of hungering and thirsting and being filled will continue until Jesus comes again.

i. When God’s kingdom comes fully and finally to earth – this cycle will end…our faith will be sight.

1. Our hearts, our minds, and our stomachs will be fill…and we will be transformed fully and finally into the image of our Saviour.