Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. There was a song recorded years ago titled I Can t Get No Satisfaction by Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones. For those of you who haven t heard it before, the words are simple I can t get no satisfaction, I can t get no satisfaction, Cause I try and I try and I try and I try. Whenever we hear that song we are reminded that the reason that song was a hit, was that the words expressed accurately the condition of our culture and it is still relevant for our society today. Satisfaction seems to be so elusive for so many people. It could be rephrased as: "My life seems so empty." "I ve got so much and yet something seems to be missing." "I m bored with living." "Is this all there is?" The world pounds us with commercials, companies will invest millions of dollars to get their slogan or image into our minds. They know when this is accomplished it will influence the choices we make. This image or slogan is put before us over and over until we believe that to buy their product is our own idea. Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus understood how this works because He created us. One of the most powerful and influential images over the past two thousand years has been the Cross of Calvary. Jesus used several images in His teachings, a mustard seed, a lamp on a lampstand, a city set upon a hill, a hidden pearl, a lost coin, and to hunger and thirst. These are images that are ingrained into the minds of the ones that know God through His Holy Word. The image of hunger and thirst is what sends us speeding down to our favorite fast food restaurant. Being feed physically is important, without it we could not survive very long. However, being feed spiritually is more critical because it involves our eternal life. In order to have and keep a healthy spiritual life we must have a hungry and thirst for the truth of the gospel of Christ Jesus. This is the cornerstone of the foundation of our next beatitude, Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. There is another way this verse could be phrased. "Blessed are those who do not seek after their own righteousness through works, but seek after the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus our Lord, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It has also been suggested that this verse might be paraphrased as, blessed are the ones that seek after all God has to offer, because they are not satisfied with the small blessing in life, but have the desire for God to be their everything and the center of their existence. The hunger described here is a profound hunger that cannot be satisfied with horderves, it 1
requires a full complete meal. The ones described in this verse by Jesus, are those that hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God, His Holy Word and His presence in their daily lives, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We hear some in the world say that their life is empty, that they are bored and restless or there is something missing in their lives. There is no way to find complete satisfaction in the ways of the world because people are looking for it in all the wrong places. People Look for Satisfaction in the three Ps People Look for Satisfaction in Pleasure (Remember Solomon from the first This is seen in the phrase: If I could just; then attach any and everything that you think you heart wants or desires. Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. Have you ever gone to the fridge and just stood there because you were not sure just what you wanted to eat? We then snack on everything in the house and never really get our hunger satisfied. It works the same in our spiritual lives, we know we are hungry and thirsty for God but often end up shacking on anything and everything spiritual or religious. Or the worst-case scenario, filling our lives up with things that will never satisfy, and Satan will certainly provide you with a long list of things, if you take your focus off of Christ Jesus. People Look for Satisfaction in Performance (Remember Solomon from the first Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. There s a myth that says worldly success will bring satisfaction. But it s only a lie from Satan, because after the thrill of winning comes the emptiness of fading glory. You see they can t keep it going, age and competition catches up with us all. 2
People Look for Satisfaction in Possessions (Remember Solomon from the first While there are more products with the statement, Satisfaction Guaranteed, there are actually more people than ever before who are dissatisfied. Even when we get everything we want, it s never enough. Solomon, the richest man ever, said: Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. And so, if pleasure, performance, and possessions can t bring satisfaction, what can? What is the Secret of Satisfaction? Recognizing Our Real Hunger Most people don t know what they want. But as spiritual beings the Bible tells us that God made us to love Him, to know Him, and to be loved by Him. Nothing takes the place of this. There s no spiritual substitute for a personal loving relationship with God. Our real hunger is a hunger for God and His righteousness, and the sooner we recognize this, the better off we re going to be. God is the one who creates this hunger. Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every woan is put before us overrd that comes from the mouth of the LORD. The children of Israel wandered the wilderness 40 years. There were no Taco Bells in the Sinai, or McDonalds at the watering holes. So, they got hungry and God provided them with manna and quail. Exodus 16:13-15 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning, there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. God let them get hungry so they would recognize their need for Him, and then depend upon Him for their daily bread. God uses problems in our lives to get our attention. God lets us get hungry as well so that we recognize our need for Him and depend upon Him. 3
So, it s not pleasure, performance, and possessions that will meet our need, but only God. Stop Eating Junk Food We Christians eat a whole lot of junk food, which is why so many are undernourished even when there is so much available from God. What the Lord saying to us is that we need to stop eating spiritual junk food, food that truly doesn t satisfy. Isaiah 55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Only Christ Can Satisfy John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. To His disciples Jesus said John 6:48-51 I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." And to the woman at the well Jesus said, John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." At the deepest level of our soul we wonder if there s more to life than merely getting up in the morning, going to work, coming home, having some dinner, watching some TV, and going to bed, only to do it again tomorrow. When we were born God gave us a physical appetite to keep us alive. He also gave us a spiritual appetite to know Him, and only Jesus can truly satisfy that hunger and produce ultimate satisfaction. Money can t. A nice home can t. Having kids can t. Being famous, powerful, and having every pleasure imaginable can t. And the reason is what satisfies isn t physical, it s spiritual. 4
Only in God is our satisfaction guaranteed. Our spiritual hunger is met in knowing God and being known and loved by God. And when we seek Him, then we ll find the happiness that satisfies. And so, a satisfied life is a life lived in and for God alone. This attitude can come only in a life that loves God, and a heart and soul belief that it is only through the grace and mercy of God that we are saved. It can only be present in those that do not seek after works for self-righteousness, but who truly want to follow the leading, guiding and direction of the Holy Spirit, that indwells in every follower and believer of Christ Jesus. This verse, or beatitude, also includes a hunger and thirst for the will of God in our lives. The only way we can be sure that we are following the will of God, for our lives, is to always follow the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit, that indwells in every believer of Christ Jesus. This will bring about our good works as a natural by-product of our faith and trust in Christ Jesus. Additionally, this will become a witness of our love for our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, to all the people we come into contact with. Jesus said that those that do seek after the righteousness of God, will be filled. This is a peculiar type of filling, that only God could provide, on one hand, satisfies us and on the other keeps us longing for more. Those that do seek after God s righteousness will be filled now, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the study of God s Holy Word and prayer. This filling will find it s completeness when we are face to face with Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. What a glorious, magnificent, great and wonderful day that will be. 5