Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”

After looking at the requirement Jesus now gives us the:

• Reason

The reason is righteousness; our appetites should ache for righteousness. Righteousness should be our relentless pursuit, and the object of our desire. Yet for many of us the idea of righteousness is not only a foreign concept but a foggy one. What does it mean, for many righteousness is a bit of a mystery, but righteousness means being right with God. Righteousness involves right living and in the Sermon on Mount the word righteousness is used four more times. Taken together these four passages paint a picture of what it means:

Matthew 5:10 says: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…” This is the eighth beatitude, and when taken together with the fourth, we discover that righteousness is a lifestyle which not only identifies us as followers of Christ but also invites opposition from the world.

Matthew 5:20 says: “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The spiritual leaders in Jesus day had created a religious system built on rules and regulations instead of on relationship. True righteousness starts in the heart, changing us from the inside out. This is more than just behavioral modification where we conform on the outside while staying corrupt on the inside.

Matthew 6:1: “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” The Pharisees not only loved to be noticed by others, they lived for it. Instead of practicing true piety they participated in performance based religion that promoted self. Instead of their goal being to give God the glory they practiced self-praise. Their prayers pointed to self not the Savior, their giving was done to get attention. True disciples seek a righteousness that is not self-seeking and that does not need to be seen by others. Authentic righteousness seeks an audience of one.

Matthew 6:33: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Seeking God’s righteousness is paramount and should precede everything else.

Putting these four passages together it becomes clear that we are to hunger and thirst after a Christ centered lifestyle which changes us from the inside out, so that we stop seeking the praise of others and start seek God’s approval above all else. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness means seeking to do whatever it takes to be in a right relationship with Jesus. This involves both imputed righteousness and imparted righteousness. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Imputed Righteousness is given to us at our conversion. When we place our faith in the finished work that Christ did for us on the Cross, His righteousness is credited to our account. This imputation of righteousness is always by faith, never by our works. Faith is the same footprint that is seen throughout scripture, from the Old Testament to the New. From Abraham in Genesis 15:6 where it says: “Abraham believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” to Romans 10:10: “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we receive His righteousness. Have you receive the righteousness of Christ? Has your hunger and thirst led you to Christ, the only One who can satisfy the cravings of your soul? 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that Christ died as our substitute, taking our sin and exchanging it for His righteousness: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Imparted Righteousness involves right living; this is what Christians are called to live out in their lives. Where imputed righteousness comes as a result of salvation, imparted righteousness comes from hungering and thirsting for sanctification. Because we are righteous in position, we must live righteously in practice. Because we are right with God we are to live right for God. Romans 6:18 says: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Do you have a hunger for holiness and a relentless thirst to do what is right? How hungry and thirsty for righteousness are you? In contrast to the self-righteousness of the religious leaders, Jesus wants us to live rightly not out of obligation and duty but out of a deep desire to live for Him. Lastly Jesus reminds us of the:

• Reward

Our requirement is to hunger and thirst, the reason is for righteousness, and our reward is that we will be filled. This means that when we seek Him we will be satisfied. God’s plan is for us to live satisfied lives not starved ones. But until we come to the place where we are single-minded in our pursuit of the Savior, we will never be satisfied. Are you seeking to find your satisfaction in the Savior? The Prodigal Son sought satisfaction in the world and wound up eating pods with the pigs. It was only when he was starving that he sought the Father. Sometimes it’s only when we come to the end of ourselves that we finally allow God the Father to have His way. The bible tells us that true satisfaction only comes when we seek God with all our hearts.

Psalm 23:1: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

Psalm 34:10: “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”

Psalm 107:9: “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

Jeremiah 31:14, 25: “I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty…I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Do you want to live a full life or a famished one? Do you desire righteousness? What is it worth to you, is it worth giving up worldly things? Are you going to pursue God’s purposes or your plans? The Message paraphrase renders Jeremiah 29:13 this way: “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” Most of us today are living mediocre lives instead of meaningful ones because we are filling our lives with junk instead of Jesus. While our souls are crying out for Christ we are feeding them crumbs. Instead of seeking true sustenance we are seeking substitutes. What are you filling your life with is it the Father? Jesus invites us to dine with the deity, how about you, are you ready to sup with the Savior?

Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”

As Jesus continues to communicate the blessings that come from beatitude living, He uses a metaphor we can all relate to, food and water because it’s something we all need. Have you ever been so dry and dehydrated that all you cared about was something to drink, or so famished that all you could focus on was food. The Message paraphrase puts it this way: “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” This beatitude starts first with the:

• Requirement

The word Jesus uses here for hunger, describes the desperate craving of someone that is starving, and the thirst that He speaks of involves more than just a desire to drink, it means being painfully parched. Hungering and thirsting involves not only a desire for something more but also a dissatisfied with our present situation. Before there can be spiritual satisfaction we have to admit that we are starving, this means coming to grips with our current condition and being honest about our hunger. Jesus is saying that true change will only come when we have a hunger for Him, which means we have to develop an appetite for the Almighty. Developing a good diet involves first watching what you eat. One of the reasons that we don’t crave God and His Word is because there’s too much of the world in us. Instead of feasting on the Savior and being full we are snacking on substitutes and getting fat. Is your life being filled by Jesus or by junk? You will never cultivate a craving for Jesus while you are cramming yourself full of junk. One of the biggest reasons that we don’t have a hunger for holiness is because we are full of junk food. Proverbs 27:7 says: “He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.” Are you snacking on substitutes or feasting on the Father? Are you craving Christ or are you junk food addict? When we end up eat the junk food we feel bloated and while we are no longer hungry for healthy food we are not satisfied with the substitute, and it’s not long before we feel hungry again. One of the biggest growth blockers for Christians is that they are feasting on fillers instead of food. Many of us are consuming things that will not satisfy because they were never designed by God to bring us fulfillment. What are you eating? Have you been consuming the comfort food, that may feel good at first, but later on leaves you dissatisfied? The sooner we realize that our longings can only be filled by the Lord, the lover of our souls, the sooner we will be motivated to change. In Isaiah 55:2-3 God askes us why we fill our lives with things that do not fulfill: “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 your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.” Today there are many Christians munching on material things in the hopes that they will fill them up. Some are snacking on sin thinking that it will somehow satisfy. Others are consuming their careers in the hope of filling that hole in the hearts. For some they are substituting sports, or trying to fill their hunger through hobbies. Some are trying to dull their heart hunger and despair through drinking. But the only way to truly satisfy your heart is to gorge yourself on God. Second we need to weigh what we eat, when it comes to eating right we have to pay attention to our portions. Most of us don’t super-size our spiritual meals; instead we are malnutrition spiritually because we are consuming the bare minimums. Instead of feasting, we are   snack on spiritual appetizers. If you were to count Christ calories, how much of Him would you say you are consuming? Many of us are apathetic toward the Almighty because we are spiritually anemic. Are you letting your desires drive you to God, Proverbs 16:26 says: “The laborer’s appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on.” The only one who can satisfy our soul is the Savior but if we turn from Him He may let us face the famine of our folly, Amos 8:11-12 says: “The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine through the land- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. In that day the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.’” Some of us are facing the famine of our foolish choice to feast on substitutes instead of the Father. Do you feel like God is far away right now, maybe He is allowing this time of barrenness so that you will hunger and ache for Him and return. Many of us hate diet plans because we have to watch and weigh what we eat, but Jesus tells us that we are also to welcome what we eat. Not only does He tell us to eat and drink but He says to enjoy it. In the Greek this is in the present tense, meaning that we should continuously hunger and thirst. We need to continually crave God, not just every day, but throughout the day. It’s the picture that is painted for us in Psalm 42:1-2: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Just as the physical body needs to eat several times a day so it can stay physically healthy, so too, must we consume spiritual food on a regular basis if we are to grow spiritually. In Matthew 6:11 Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” God’s plan is for us to receive daily food, not all the food for the entire year so that we can fill our fridges and forget about Him. Just as the Israelites received manna every morning so that they would learn that God meets their daily needs so must we. He provides the meal but we have to take the time to dine. What are you filling your life with, is it His Word or the world? Today take some time and read through the following verses in Psalms and ask yourself what your soul is seeking:

Psalm 63:1: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you.”

Psalm 84:2: “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”

Psalm 143:6: “I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.”