The Secret to a Satisfied Life

Introduction

Today we are continuing on in our series on the Beatitudes. Now, I’ve said something specific about these Beatitudes each Sunday since we’ve started and I’m gonna give you a little test this morning to see who’s been listening.

These Beatitudes are what?

They are attitudes that ought to be found in the born again believer.

There are 9 character traits for Christian living listed here that our Lord talks about and we have managed so far to make our way through the first three.

If you will remember, in the first message, we learned that these first three deal with attitudes and ourselves, right?

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We must come broken in spirit before the throne of grace in order that we might be saved and inherit eternal life.

Then, when we see our sad, sinful state in the light of a holy and righteous God and understand that God had to send His one and only Son to rescue us from our sins, it causes a godly sorrow to overcome us and we mourn over our sin.

But we also learned that those who mourn are blessed for they shall be comforted.

When we come to God broken and undone and submit to His call upon our lives, He instills within us His Holy Spirit to guide us, convict us and comfort us.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

And then, last week that our might resides not in ourselves and what we can do but in God and what He can do through us if we are totally submitted to Him and His will for our lives!

We learned that meekness is not weakness but rather strength under control. Submission to the Savior is what meekness is all about.

And we learned that those who bow low will ultimately be lifted high and will inherit the earth for all eternity.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth!

And today we are going to transition to our attitude towards God as we look at Beatitude #4 and a message entitled The Secret to a Satisfied Life.

If you have your Bibles with you this morning, I’d ask you to stand with me in reverence to God’s word. We will begin in Verse 1 of Matthew Chapter 5 and read down through Verse 12 with our focus today being on Verse 6.

Matthew 5 Verse 1, if you have it would you say Amen.

The Result of the Beatitude — (Vs. 6a)

“Blessed” — I don’t want to spend a ton of time here this morning because we looked extensively at the word blessed in the first message but the Greek word used for blessed is the word (makarios).

In it’s simplest form it means fortunate, well off and happy.

But in a deeper sense, the more I think of this word blessed, I believe it to mean complete, self contained, self sustaining.

The man who is blessed has everything he needs for the world has nothing else to offer him.

The man who is blessed understands that he’s just passing through; that his real home on high is somewhere beyond the blue!

He needs nothing for in God he has everything. God is his sustenance and supplication. He trusts in Him for provision and trusts totally and completely in God’s will and way for his life.

And Jesus tells us here that if these attitudes be in us we shall be blessed. We shall have everything we need.

Maybe not in a physical sense or in the eyes of the world but spiritually speaking, the one who is born again and exudes these attitudes has all he/she will ever need!

They shall be blessed!

And He says here in Verse 6, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled!

The next thing I want us to look at this morning now that we’ve covered The Result of the Beatitude is...

The Requirement in the Beatitude — (Vs. 6b)

And the first thing I want us to see here in The Requirement is that this Beatitude has to do with desire.

A desire to do what you ask?

A desire to follow God!

And that’s the first thing I want to hone in on here in the requirement.

The Focus of the Desire.

The Focus of the Desire

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after “righteousness”: for they shall be filled.

The focus of our desire is to be on what?

The focus of our desire is to be on righteousness!

The Bible says in...

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We are to seek God and His righteousness.

The word righteousness used here in it’s original form means the quality of being in accordance with God’s law. The character or quality of being right or just.

But the Bible says in...

Isaiah 64:6 KJV 1900

6 But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

And then in...

Romans 3:10 KJV 1900

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

So if we aren’t righteous and cannot be righteous on our own, and the very best of man’s righteousness is as filthy rags in the eyes of a holy God then that means we have a problem right?

That means that we need to be cleaned up some how. We need something to take away our filthiness and cleanse us and make us clean!

If we have no righteousness of our own then we need to obtain it from somewhere else, right?

Well praise God, the gift of righteousness was sent down from heaven, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger and given a name that is above every name and His name was Jesus!

The Bible says in...

1 John 2:1 KJV 1900

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Listen to me this morning friend, the only way any man, woman, boy or girl can be made righteous is through the blessed blood that was spilled on that old rugged cross on Calvary's hill!

What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can wash away your sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Romans 5:17 KJV 1900

17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Romans 3:22 KJV 1900

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

The only righteousness we possess is of God through belief in His one and only Son for He is the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes unto the Father but by Him! (John 14:6)

Paul told the Corinthians in...

1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV 1900

30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

The Lord Jesus Christ is our righteousness and apart from Him our righteousness is as filthy rags!

But not only do we need to know where our righteousness derives from but we also need to make sure we don’t miss what this verse is saying.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

The verse is speaking of desiring righteousness. The focus of the verse is on righteousness and we now know where our righteousness originates but we must not miss the main point that is being made here which is the point that we are to seek to be righteous!

We are to seek to be more like our Savior!

Yes, it’s His righteousness that saves us from our sins and no, we have no righteousness in and of ourselves and yes, His righteousness is bestowed upon us when we believe upon Him but that’s not all.

After we believe, we must seek to be more like Him!

Go back to Matthew 6:33 for a second...

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We are to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Isn’t that what the Bible says here?

You see, we are born in the image of God but we are born with the sin nature of Adam.

And what that means is that our desires from our youth are fleshly desires; worldly desires.

We don’t come out of the womb seeking the kingdom of God or seeking to be like God!

No, we come out of the womb seeking the ways of man but the ways of man the Bible tells us leadeth unto death so therefore something has to happen, there has to be a change that takes place inside the mortal man so that he might become immortal!

Paul told the Corinthians in...

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 KJV 1900

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, he was talking to the church, the born again believers, people who had put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and he explains here that we, those who have been born again, have won the victory over death and sin through the Lord Jesus Christ!

But friend, if you have never trusted in Jesus this morning, then you are corruptible, you are mortal, you are losing the battle to sin and that battle will ultimately end in death, eternal death, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth the Bible says unless you put your trust in Jesus!

But for the born again this morning, we are to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first and foremost!

We are to seek to be more like our Savior!

Over and over and over throughout the Old Testament God told the children of Israel “be ye holy for I am holy!”

Now, some I know are going to say… “well preacher man that was the Old Testament and we don’t live under the Old Testament Covenant any more. We don’t live by the law, we live by grace!”

You know what…you are absolutely right but it doesn’t change the fact that Peter also quoted the Old Testament scripture in the New Testament and said that we should follow it’s lead!

In...

1 Peter 1:13–16 KJV 1900

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Do you see it there?

Peter references the Old Testament and then said, “as it states be ye holy for I am holy we should also be holy in all manner of conversation!”

He also says to not fashion yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance!

What Peter is saying is the same thing the writer of Hebrews was saying in...

Hebrews 6:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The word perfection used here means maturity!

Let us keep growing in our faith to be more like the one who brought us to faith!

That’s why Peter said to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! (2 Peter 3:18)

The focus of our desire is first and foremost to know and have a relationship with the only one who is righteous and then to seek to be more righteous, more holy for He is holy!

The focus of our desire is to be more like Jesus and the way we do that is by doing what he said in...

John 14:15 KJV 1900

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Now that we see the focus of our desire is righteousness, next, I want us to look at the Fervency of the Desire.

With what passion are we to seek righteousness?

The Fervency of the Desire

Blessed are those “who hunger and thirst” after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

The terms hunger and thirst here speak to the greatness of the desire.

I love what the Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible Commentary said about these terms...

To hunger and thirst here means to have a starving spirit. It is real hunger and starvation of soul. It is a parched and dying thirst. It is a starving spirit and a parched soul that craves after righteousness. But there is something more: righteousness means all righteousness. The true believer is starved and parched for all righteousness. This is shown by the Greek, for the verbs hunger (peinōntes PWS: 2047) and thirst (dipsaō PWS: 3969) are usually in what is called the Greek genitive case. This simply means that a person sometimes feels a little hunger and a little thirst; therefore, he hungers and thirsts for a bit of something, for example, an apple or a glass of juice. But in the beatitude, hunger and thirst are in the accusative case. This is most unusual. It means a hunger and a thirst for the whole thing—for all righteousness, not for little tidbits. This is significant: it means that the promise of a filled life is conditional. A person must starve and thirst for all righteousness if he wishes to be filled with the fulness of life. — Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary

When it comes to hungering and thirsting after righteousness the Psalmist put it this way in...

Psalm 119:131 KJV 1900

131 I opened my mouth, and panted: For I longed for thy commandments.

Spurgeon — So animated was the Psalmist desire that he looked into the animal world to find a picture of it. He was filled with an intense longing, and was not ashamed to describe it by a most expressive, natural, and yet singular symbol. Like a stag that has been hunted in the chase, and is hard pressed, and therefore pants for breath, so did the Psalmist pant for the entrance of God's word into his soul. Nothing else could content him. All that the world could yield him left him still panting with open mouth.

For I longed for thy commandments. Longed to know them, longed to obey them, longed to be conformed to their spirit, longed to teach them to others. He was a servant of God, and his industrious mind longed to receive orders; he was a learner in the school of grace, and his eager spirit longed to be taught of the Lord.

The Psalmist also said in that same Psalm...

Psalm 119:40 KJV 1900

40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: Quicken me in thy righteousness.

Spurgeon — Where our longings are, there are we in the sight of God. If we have not attained perfection, it is something to have hungered after it. He who has given us to desire, will also grant us to obtain.

Blessed are those “who hunger and thirst” after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

1 Peter 2:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Psalm 119:97–104 KJV 1900

97 MEM. O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: For they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: For thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep thy precepts. 101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, That I might keep thy word. 102 I have not departed from thy judgments: For thou hast taught me. 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I hate every false way.

No greater illustration can be given than given right there by the Psalmist about the fervency with which we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness!

Not only should there be a Fervency in the Desire but before we move on I want you to see really quickly The Frequency of the Desire.

The Frequency of the Desire

The words hunger and thirst here are verbs and one writer said...

These two verbs are "in the curative present tense to show that the hungering and thirsting continue, going on and on in this life" (Lawlor). The frequency of the desire will prevent lapses into evil. — Analytical Bible Expositor - Matthew.

Listen this morning Church, the only way to ensure we are keeping our minds off of the things of the world is to keep them focused on God, on His righteousness and on becoming more like Him!

The Psalmist said in...

Psalm 119:20 KJV 1900

20 My soul breaketh for the longing That it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

Spurgeon — Note well that our desire after the mind of God should be constant; we should feel holy longings "at all times." He who always longs to know and do the right is the truly right man. His judgment is sound, for he loves all God's judgments, and follows them with constancy. His times shall be good, since he longs to be good and to do good at all times.

The Focus of our Desire is Righteousness.

And there should be a Fervency with which we seek to be righteous! The Fervency of our Desire is to hunger and thirst as if our soul is starving for righteousness! Starving and thirsting to be more like Jesus!

And The Frequency of our Desire is to be ongoing! Each and every day we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!

We are to fill our minds with Him and His Word and His statutes and they are to be sweet as honey to our soul!

Blessed are those “who hunger and thirst” after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

We’ve seen The Result of the Beatitude and The Requirement of the Beatitude and lastly, as we finish it out this morning, I want you to see The Reward in the Beatitude!

The Reward in the Beatitude — (Vs. 6c)

The Sureness of the Reward

Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they “shall be” filled.

Aren’t you thankful this morning for the precious promises in God’s Holy Word?!

If you hunger and thirst after righteousness it’s not going to be easy. There’s going to be some speed bumps along the way. You will lose friends, family members and jobs. You may even lose your life!

But praise be to God, if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, ultimately you “SHALL BE” filled!

Life gets tough friend! Sometimes so tough we begin to wonder how we are going to continue on. But God has promised that if we will stay faithful, we shall be filled.

WE SHALL BE SATISFIED!

Which is how I want to finish us out this morning.

The Satisfaction in the Reward

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

The word filled means to be filled to satisfaction, to be content!

Dear friend The Secret to a Satisfied Life is to hunger and thirst after God and His righteousness and to be more like Him!

The Secret to a Satisfied Life is to seek the Savior and not only seek Him but to seek to be more like Him!

Do you want to be filled this morning?

Do you want to be satisfied this morning?

Does it feel like your life is not complete?

Then come to this altar hungry and thirst for Jesus.

Come and partake of the only meat that fill your soul!

Come and take of the living water that shall make you to never thirst again!

The Prophet Isaiah said this in...

Isaiah 55:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, And he that hath no money; Come ye, buy, and eat; Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, And let your soul delight itself in fatness.