|
The Beatitudes: The Hungry and
Thirsty
Matthew 5:1-12: Seeing
the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples
came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 "Blessed are
the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 "Blessed are
the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 "Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 "Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when others revile
you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my
account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in
heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Introduction
If the first three beatitudes
were about the kind of person we will be
like in Christ, the next beatitude is about what those who are united
to Christ pursue and try to attain by His grace!
I.
A Big
Appetite for Righteousness: Hungry and Thirsty People
A. The
Psalmists Desire: Psalm 42; Psalm 63
Psalm 63: "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul
thirsts for you, my body longs for you,in
a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the
sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is
better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I
live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be
satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will
praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the
watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow
of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of
the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for
jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will
praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced."
”I
love this psalm, which was written when David was in the desert of Judah. Although he does
not have much to feast upon ("in a dry
and weary land where there is no water"), he feasts upon
God's word ("My soul will be satisfied with the richest of
foods"), and finds in it all that he needs to sustain
himself.”
B. Why
are they hungry and thirsty?
1. Illustration:
Just as our bodies crave food and thirst for water, so our souls created by
God long to be satisfied with only God Himself!
o Sin
has made us “someone else”- - who we were never meant to be at
creation!
2. But we
can’t work up a hunger and thirst…we don’t make ourselves
this way, it happens naturally!
3. They
long to be like Jesus! They long to
become more righteous as the gnawing in our stomachs from hunger or the
dry, parched mouths desiring water, so the “hungry and thirsty”
are looking to only One for satisfaction.
4. Illustration:
We long to be like other people. We
have people that we know and people that we admire that we want to
emulate. When we ponder God’s
grace and goodness in Jesus Christ and then meditate upon Jesus as
Glorified God-Man, we will long to be like him!
5. HE is
the picture of perfection and righteousness for which we all truly long!
C.
Righteousness is Not only
the doing the right thing… (as the Pharisees did fine
externally)
1. External:
“Going-through-the-motions” kind of righteousness.
2.
Internal: “Grateful
because of his grace taking away our guilt before God” kind of
righteousness!
a. Matthew
5:20
b. Matthew
6:1
c. Matthew
6:33
D.
But doing the right thing for
the right reasons… (out of love for God and gratitude for what he has done
in Christ! An inward change of heart or a “change of
appetite”.
Jesus says our righteousness must exceed the righteousness
of the Pharisees and the Scribes in Matthew 5:20.
Romans 1:17: For in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written,
"The righteous shall live by faith."
II.
The
Pursuit of Satisfaction or the Pursuit of Righteousness?
A. “I
don’t Get No Satisfaction”
B. Have
you a desire to have all of your spiritual needs met by the only One who
can do it?
1. We
search desperately in this fallen world to find something or sometimes someone who will meet our
needs and satisfy our longings.
2. Only
God can satisfy, all other things and others will leave us starving and
dry.
3. Illustration:
C. S. Lewis’ quotation
C. The Israelites hungered
and thirsted to go back to Egypt
rather than trusting in God’s Word and seeking him. We must watch our tendencies to find in
“Egypt”
or in this world the fulfillment of our soul’s longings. Many try, but many come up empty and
fail.
III.
A
Final and Ultimate Satisfaction of Hunger and a Quenching of Thirst:
“They Shall be
Filled”
Psalm 17:15:15 As for
me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be
satisfied with your likeness.
Read 1 John 3:2
For further meditation on the Scriptures: Deuteronomy 8; Psalm
42-43; Isaiah 49; 55; John 6;
Philippians 3:8-15; 1 Peter 1: 13-25
|
