hungering and thirsting for righteousness€¦ · hungering and thirsting for righteousness matthew...

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Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness

Matthew 5:6

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

• This is one of the “beatitudes” contained in Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 5.

•Mt 5:3 ¶ "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.

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

• 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain 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 they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

• 12 "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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• Jesus says the people who find themselves in the situations he describes here are “blessed”.

•Normally when we think of someone being “blessed” we think of it in the context of them being given something usually by God.• We think of someone being blessed with good health, good

job or maybe a good spouse.

•Blessed in this context means very happy.


• Several lessons could be preached and have been preached on all of these beatitudes.

• Today we want to focus in on just one of them in verse 6

•Mt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

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• Fortunately, in the time and country in which we live very few experience true physical hunger and thirst.

•Usually we eat before we get hungry and drink before we get thirsty.

•Unfortunately it is not like this in some parts of the world.

• There are places in the world today where people would give anything to have enough water to drink and enough food to eat.


•We have seen the pictures on tv of these poor families in these desperate circumstances.

• These people truly hunger and thirst!

• It is this strong desire for life sustaining food and water that Jesus is using in order to make His point.

• Those that have a strong desire to be righteous are “blessed”

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•Why are they blessed or happy?

•Because they will be able to obtain what they greatly desire, righteousness!

• There are a lot of complicated definitions of righteousness out there.

• I believe the definition of righteousness is very simple.

• Someone who is righteous has had their sins forgiven by God.


• They are guiltless when it comes to God’s Law.

• They are perfect in the eyes of God!

•Not because they have never sinned but because God has forgiven their sins.

•David makes a point very similar to this.

•Ro 4:6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

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•Ro 4:7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;

• 8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.“

• For those who hunger and thirst after righteousness there can be no better news than the Gospel!

• Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will hunger and thirst for the Word of God.


• If we feed on the Word of God then we can obtain our goal of being righteous.

• John 6:33 "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

• 34 Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

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• 35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

• You may be thinking that doesn’t say feed on the Word instead it is saying Jesus is our food.

•Do we remember who John said Jesus was?

• Jesus is the Word of God!


• Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

• 2 He was in the beginning with God.

• Let’s skip down a few verses

• Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

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Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness• If Jesus is the “Bread of Life” as He says in John 6 then

the Word must be the “Bread of Life”

• Those of us who “hunger” for righteousness can be filled by the “Bread of Life” which is the Word of God!

• Jesus also compares the Word of God to water while talking to the Samaritan woman.

• Joh 4:5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness• 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being

wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

• 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."

• 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food

• 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

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• 10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

• 11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?


• 12 "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"

• 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

• Joh 4:14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.“

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• This woman thought Jesus was talking about physical water.

• Instead He was talking about the Word of God.

• It is His Word that brings about everlasting life.

• Joh 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.


• Since this is the case then those who thirst after righteousness will quench that thirst with the Word of God.

•We need to ask ourselves whether or not we really hunger and thirst for the Word of God.

•We fill our physical bodies with food and drink everyday.

•How often do we feed our souls with the spiritual food of the Word of God?

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•Do we feel that great desire and need to sustain ourselves spiritually by feasting on God’s Word?

•Peter tells us we should desire the Word.

•1Pe 2:1 ¶ Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

• 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

•We should desire God’s Word like a baby does milk!


•Do we feel a daily need for God’s Word or can we let it set on the shelf and gather dust day after day?

• If we truly hunger and thirst for righteousness then we need to develop the same attitude towards the Word of God that psalmist expresses in Psalms 1.

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•Ps 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

• 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

•Do we take delight in studying God’s Word?

•How often do we think about the Word of God?


• This same attitude about the Word of God is seen in Psalms 119

•Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

•Ps 119:162 I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.

•Do let the Word of God direct our steps and do we see it as something of great value?

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•Paul tells Timothy the scriptures instruct us how to be righteous.

•2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

• 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

•Do I want to be righteous? God’s Word tells me how.

Conclusion•God’s plan for us to be made righteous is simple. It is too

simple for many people.

•Hear the Gospel: Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

•Believe: Mr 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

•Repent of our sins: Lu 13:3 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

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Conclusion

•Confess Christ: Ro 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

•Be Baptized for the forgiveness of sins: Ac 22:16 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.‘

Conclusion

•Remain Faithful: Re 2:10 "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

•God’s plan isn’t hard to understand.

•What it boils down to is whether or not we hunger and thirst for righteousness?

hungering and thirsting for righteousness€¦ · hungering and thirsting for righteousness matthew...

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