Satisfation Guaranteed

Introduction

Read National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day, 1984 proclamation

Since that time, the third Sunday in July continues to be National Ice Cream Day. That is today! …as if any of us needed another excuse to eat ice cream.

I love ice cream but I do have a bit of a problem with it. Small amounts just don’t satisfy; they always leave me wanting more. Satisfying amounts (large amounts), though, usually leave me feeling ill. I’m sure this is a me thing, but when it comes to ice cream my desire and sense of satisfaction seem to be misaligned.

I think this misalignment is something mostly universal—though probably not for ice cream—but when it comes to other desires we have. We all have desires that are not satisfied. We all have taken steps to satisfy some craving we had. And, we have all faced the resulting experience of discomfort in some way when “enough” proved to really be too much.

It’s frustrating, maddening even, but we have all experienced it in one way or another.

Transition

Jesus addressed this misalignment with a promise satisfaction in the Beatitudes.

Illumination

Matthew 5:6 NKJV

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

Of all the Beatitudes we have examines so far, this one seems the most instantly understandable and relatable. But, hopefully predictably by now, there is more going on in this statement than what we see on the surface.

The Necessity of Desire

hunger and thirst relate to appetite, or wants

hunger and thirst also relate to survival, or needs

hunger and thirst relate to repetitive, intractable, wants and needs

The Unattainable Object of Desire

It is demoralizing to call this unattainable, but think with me.

Q: What is our most common response to righteousness?

A: Action

Q: Do the actions I take satisfactorily result in righteousness?

A: No

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV

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

Q: What is Righteousness?

A: The character or quality of being right or just that results in consistently right actions and attitudes

Q: Are you there?

A: No

Q: How do we get there if not through action?

A: Good Question

God Is Righteous

Romans 3:21–26 NKJV

21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

God Gives Righteousness

Romans 4:1–4 NKJV

1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

Desire Fulfilled

Paul’s text in Romans brings us right back around to the end of Jesus’ beatitude.

Matthew 5:6 NKJV

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

I’m generally a big proponent of duty. I think a sense of duty is missing but desperately needed in our world today. There are just a lot of things in life that you have to do, regardless of any personal contradiction. But this is not one of those things. When it comes to righteousness, desire will take you further than duty. Duty will take you to legalism and that is not satisfying for anyone. Desire will take you to God. God will give you satisfaction.

Conclusion

The filling is a filling with His Spirit. Filled with His spirit, we will be right, do right, think right, and even emote right. Desire, not duty, leads to satisfaction. It is as counter-intuitive as any other beatitude but it the way. Satisfaction is guaranteed, if approached correctly.

So the question to wrestle with this week is what do you desire? What is it that you really want? Most people in our culture are far more concerned with being subjectively right—that is right in their own eyes—than they are in being objectively right. Jesus’ Manifesto was an expression of the culture of His followers. Which cultural norm do we choose?