Blessed Are the Hungry, Part 1

There once was a man who was very unhappy with his work. He was very unhappy with his family and extremely unhappy with life in general. So he decided to escape and get away from it all, so he joined a mute monastery where he took a vow of silence and he could say only two words every five years.

He thought this was perfect, no stress, no one to bug him, nothing but complete silence. This was bliss for him. This would be the happy life for him.

So he stayed there five years without uttering a syllable. At the end of that time, his superior called the man into his office and said, "You have two words that you can speak. Would you like to say anything?" The guy nodded his head and said, "Bad food."

He went for another five years without uttering a syllable and again his superior called him into his office and asked if he would like to say anything. He nodded his head again and said, "Hard bed." Another five years passed and as his superior called him in and asked him if he would like to say anything, the guy responded by saying, "I quit."

His superior responded, "Well, I'm not surprised. You've done nothing but complain since you arrived."

I read that story and I'm reminded of all of us as we try to find that place of utter blissfulness, that place of happiness, that place where if we could just attain that level, that atmosphere, there'd be no more worries, there'd be no more pain, there'd be nothing but pleasure for our lives.

And as I think about that, I'm drawn to the fact that every one of us has a strong pursuit in life. We're all in the game of pursuing something. In fact, let me pose this question to you and you don't have to respond, just respond maybe in your own mind and see how you would answer this question.

The only motivation available to the human personality is the drive for fulfillment. True or false?

Let me give it to you this way. "Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, what injustice did your fathers find in me that they went far from me and walked after emptiness and therefore became empty? And they did not say, where is the Lord who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of deep darkness, through a land that no one crossed and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and its good things, but you came and defiled my land. In my inheritance, you made an abomination. The priest did not say, where is the Lord? And those who handle the law did not know me. The rulers also transgressed against me and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that did not profit. Has the nation changed gods when there were no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this and shudder. Be very desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Let me ask you the question again. The only motivation available to the human personality is the drive for fulfillment. Answer? True.

The nation of Israel is a classic example. God would come back in Jeremiah chapter 2 and say, "Be astonished, O heavens, be amazed at this. Can you believe what my people have done? They have forsaken me, the well of living water, and they have dug out for themselves cisterns that hold no water. They are broken cisterns. They went after emptiness and therefore found themselves empty. Yet they did not come back to me. Be appalled at this," God says.

You see, deep within each and every one of us is a pursuit to accomplish something, to be something, to be satisfied, to be fulfilled. And whenever we get what it is we think we so badly need, we realize that it doesn't do what we thought it would. And therefore we find ourselves in total emptiness. The thirst that you and I have is a valid kind of thirst to seek fulfillment. The path we choose outside of God to fulfill that thirst is utter foolishness.

Because somehow we think that the world has what God does not have. And so we forsake God. We hew out for ourselves broken cisterns that hold no water.

So Isaiah would come along in Isaiah 55 and say this, "O everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in abundance."

The Lord says you come to me, you purchase from me that which money cannot buy because what I want to give you is something that you will be able to delight in in over abundance. My friends that's God's call to everyone. Even at the end of the book of Revelation in Revelation chapter 22, God gives what's entitled the last invitation to man.

The last words of God are an invitation to people who are thirsty, who are needy to come to the one who can satisfy their deepest longings. And so tonight we come to the next beatitude, Matthew chapter 5 verse 6. "Blessed are those who hunger, blessed are those who thirst for righteousness, for they and they only shall be satisfied."

Let me ask you a question. Are you satisfied? Can you actually say yes I am satisfied with everything that's happened in my life? I am satisfied with what God has done in my life. I am at the point of utter satisfaction. Can you say that? Jesus says those who hunger and those who thirst for righteousness are the only ones who will ever be satisfied.

Everybody else keeps on seeking for something and they find that outside of Christ there's nothing but emptiness. So tonight let's define the condition. Same outline as we've had in the previous three beatitudes and look at it two ways.

A negative way and a positive way. First of all negatively. We all have pursuits in life. It is a driving ambition of ours. In fact one man said the 17th century philosopher Pascal when he said these words, "All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war and of others avoiding it is the same desire in both attending with different views. They will never take the least step but to this objective. This is the motive of every man even those who hang themselves."

Every man is seeking happiness. Every man is in pursuit of something but most of us pursue that which is material versus that which is spiritual and find ourselves totally devoid of any sense of well-being.

Some of us are hungry for praise. We live for the praise of man. We get good grades. We get a good job. We like to tell people of our accomplishments so that somehow they might praise us for what we have done. Over in Matthew chapter 6 and we'll look at it in weeks ahead when the Lord said this, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them otherwise you have no reward with your father who is in heaven when therefore you give alms do not sound the trumpet before you as the hypocrite do in the synagogues and in the streets that they may be honored by men truly I say to you they have their reward in full that is their reward those who seek the praise of men that's all the reward they get there is no more reward."

Over in Daniel chapter 4 verses 30 and 32 we're able to read of of Nebuchadnezzar when it says in in verse number 28, "All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king 12 months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon the king reflected and said is this not Babylon the great which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty."

Nebuchadnezzar was a man who was hungry for a praise that was his ambition in life and there are many people even in the church of Jesus Christ who long for the praise of men who serve in the church so that they might hear "great job" people are ambitious for praise some are ambitious to gain more possessions over in Luke chapter 12 verses 17 and 19 the man who would who would tear down his barns and build up bigger barns because he wanted to accumulate all that he could so that he could eat drink and be and be merry he did not want to share his possessions with others he wanted to obtain more possessions that was his pursuit in life.

Others had the pursuit of power. Lucifer was that way in Isaiah chapter 14 verses 13 to 14 he wanted to be like God if just he could be like God and obtain what he has he would have ultimate power others pursue pleasure the prodigal son of Luke chapter 15 wanted his inheritance that he might spend it on riotous living spend it searching for that realm of satisfaction knowing that if he could get out there and spend his money and live in the way of the world he would gather all the goods and have joy and blissfulness and be happy and finally be satisfied in life only to find himself amongst the pigs eating the food of the pigs knowing that there's nothing that will satisfy outside a relationship with Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to be hungry and thirsty? You don't hunger and thirst for the things of the world. You hunger and thirst for the things of God. That's the positive aspect. We're all hungry for something but the one thing we all need to satisfy our longings is found in Matthew chapter 5 verse number 6 to hunger into thirst for righteousness as food and water are common necessities to physical life righteousness is a common necessity to spiritual life. You can't live without food and water. You can't live without righteousness. And Christ is saying that anyone coming into my kingdom has a great appetite for righteousness as one in the physical realm would have a great appetite for food and for water.

You see once a man understands that he is poor in spirit and begins to mourn over his sin in meekness he begins to hunger and thirst for that which can only satisfy him because he has realized that there is nothing in and of himself that he could obtain to receive satisfaction. So it's almost like a cycle one beatitude leads to the next which leads to the next which leads to the next.

John Stott in his commentary says this, "Looking back we can see that the first four beatitudes reveal a spiritual progression of relentless logic each step leads to the next and presupposes that one that has gone before to begin with we are to be poor in spirit acknowledging our complete and utter spiritual bankruptcy before God next we are to mourn over the cause of it our sins yes and other sin too the corruption of our fallen nature and the reign of sin and death in the world thirdly we are to be meek humble and gentle toward others allowing our spiritual poverty admitted and bewailed to condition our behavior to them as well as to God and fourthly we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness for what is the use of confessing and lamenting our sin of acknowledging the truth about ourselves to both God and men if we leave it there confession of sin must lead to a hunger for righteousness."

Martin Lloyd Jones in his commentary on the sermon of the mount would say these words, "I do not know of a better test that anyone can apply to himself or herself in this whole matter of the christian profession than a verse like this if this verse is to you one of the most blessed statements of the whole of scripture you can be quite certain you are a christian if it is not then you had better examine the foundations again." In quote in essence he says look if you're not one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness if you're not longing to have more of God then maybe there's something wrong with the foundations because a child of God wants to be more like his God and if you don't hunger to be more like God maybe you don't have a part of God. You see that's what Martin Lloyd Jones says.

And Christ says look the people of my kingdom have a hunger the people of my kingdom have a thirst they can't get enough of the kingdom of God they can't get enough of the righteousness of God they want more and righteousness can be seen in two ways one in the realm of salvation justification and one in the realm of of sanctification. I think it's important to understand this. When we are justified at the point of salvation we are made right with God we are declared right with God and the only way to really be happy in life is to be declared right with God. Romans 5:10 says we are the enemy of God and while we were his enemies Christ died for us and brought us to himself. So if we are the enemy of God as long as we are outside of God the blessed God of the universe who offers blessing to his children if we are outside of the realm of who God is we will never obtain the blessing of full satisfaction. So you must understand that to to be blessed in your life means that you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior first.

And so the righteousness that we have here is the righteousness that speaks of the salvation of God where we are made right with God. If you go back to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah is very clear on using righteousness as a synonym for salvation. Over in Isaiah chapter 45 it says this, Isaiah 45 verse number eight, "Drip down oh heavens from above and let the clouds pour down righteousness let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit and righteousness spring up with it I the Lord have created it."

And over in Isaiah 46 verses 12 and 13, "Listen to me you stubborn minded who are far from righteousness I bring near my righteousness it is not far off and my salvation will not delay and I will grant salvation in Zion and my glory for Israel." Over in Isaiah 51 verse number 5, "My righteousness is near my salvation has gone forth."

You see the only way to happiness is through cleansing and the only way to cleansing is to be made right with a holy God and the only way to be made right with God is to come to him on his terms by faith through the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what he wants to do is help us to understand that the hunger and thirst that we have is a longing to be made right with God but it doesn't end there because you see the scripture never separates justification from sanctification. You are justified and once Christ justifies you declares you righteous the sanctification process are you ready for this automatically begins.

It doesn't happen sometime down the road when I decide well maybe I'll get sanctified today. The Bible doesn't speak to that issue. The Bible speaks to this issue. When you are made right with God the sanctification process is kicked into gear. For those in whom he justified he will glorify and the process between justification and glorification is the sanctification process where we are made right with a holy God. God does not declare sinners righteous legally without making them righteous practically.

Martin Lloyd Jones said it this way, "You cannot receive Christ as your justification only and then later decide to refuse or to accept him as your sanctification. He is one and indivisible and if you receive him at all at once he is made unto you wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. You cannot receive him as your savior only and later decide to accept or refuse him as your lord for the savior is the lord who by his death has bought us and therefore owns us. Sanctification is nowhere taught or offered in the new testament as some additional experience possible to the believer. It is represented rather as something which is already within the believer something which he must realize more and more and in which he must grow increasingly."

In quote so when a man is made right with God the justification process where God legally declares us right with him because we were once enemies with him that kicks in gear the sanctification process. So those who hunger and thirst to be made right with God continue to hunger and thirst to be made more right with God. That is in the likeness of his image. So when you hunger and thirst for righteousness you are hungering and thirsting not only for salvation but you are hungering and thirsting to be made right with God to be Christ like.

Paul would say over in Philippians chapter 3 verse number 12 these words, a man who had been declared righteous and who was right with God says, "Not that I have already obtained verse number 12 of chapter 3 or have already become perfect but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

"Christ has laid hold of me," Paul says, "and since he's laid hold of me I press on I move on to the upward call to be more and more like who he is." And so Christ is helping us understand that a person who is made right with God continues to become more and more like him every single day. That's the condition.

Let's describe for you the the consequences. There are three of them. One you're happy. Two you're holy. And three you're still hungry.

Let me explain that to you first of all. You're a happy person. You're blessed person. You are the one who is filled. You are the one who is satisfied. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they emphatic they and they only are the only people on the entire earth who are ever satisfied." That's what the bible teaches. Outside of God there is no satisfaction and outside of hungering and thirsting for for righteousness there is no satisfaction. How many people do you know that have everything that you could ever possibly want and yet are completely miserable? You ever met people like that? I meet them all the time. People got lots of money got big cars big houses big families you know vacation three times three three weeks a month you know they're always going someplace doing this doing that but they are miserable in life because they just can't get enough and once they get what they think they can get never satisfies they're miserable people. But Jesus says the blessed one the happy one is the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness.

Psalm 107 verse 9, "For he satisfied the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." That's our God. That's why you're happy. Psalm 34 verse 10, "They that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." Mark it down. "They that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." That's the bible says. Jeremiah 31:14, "My people shall be satisfied with my goodness saith the Lord." You want satisfaction? I'll give it to you God says. I'm going to satisfy you with my goodness. Luke 1:53, "Mary said he has filled the hungry with good things." John 4:14, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." John 6:35, "I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger never." That's the blessed person. That's the happy person.

But not only do you receive happiness you receive holiness. When you hunger and thirst for righteousness you are made right with God you are declared right with God and what happens you become a holy person. God no longer refers to you as a sinner. He refers to you as a a saint. You are a kingdom of priests. You're a slave in his kingdom but he doesn't treat you like a slave. He treats you like a kingdom of priests. You become like him. A holy person. The inner man is cleansed on the inside. You are declared righteous. You become a holy person.

Yet thirdly you still hunger. You're never satisfied and this is the great paradox of Matthew 5:6. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are the only ones who are satisfied yet they are never really satisfied because they hunger and thirst for more righteousness. That's what happens. It's like those those those ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies. I love chocolate chip cookies that are ooey and gooey you know and they come out of the oven and they're and they're real soft and moist and and I can sit and eat one and two and three and four and five and six and seven eight I can eat 10 20 of them things and be satisfied but you know what five minutes later I'm unsatisfied. I gotta have more of those ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies. So I'll go back and eat five or six or seven eight and more they don't last more than a day or two at my house. Why? Because once I get satisfied I want more because I have tasted of their goodness. I want more of their goodness.

And that's the way it is in the realm of God. You're still hungry. Hungry more. That's a spiritual cycle. Once fulfilled once satisfied the hunger is intensified. The hunger increases and so I want to be satisfied even more. It was Paul who said in 2nd Timothy 1:12, "I know in whom I have believed. I know him." But in Philippians 3:10 what did he say? "Oh that I might know him." Oh wait a minute Paul I thought you already knew him. He says yes I do know him but I long to know more of him. You see that's the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness.