09.29.2021 | BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST
Charles Spurgeon believed the beatitudes are a progression (poor, mourn, meek…). You needed to recognize your poverty; then it builds upon that.
It’s a map. Looking for Jesus? The Kingdom? Look for these groups of people.
The Ekklesia!
Matthew 5:1-3 – “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
Matthew 5:4-6 – “’Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.’”
Matthew 5:7-10 – “’Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
Matthew 5:11-12 – “’Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’”
Matthew 5:6 – “’Blessed [happy, favored] are those who hunger and thirst [crave] for righteousness [justice], for they shall be filled [satisfied].’”
1. Hungry or Hangry?
Let's define hunger.
To be HUNGRY is a sign of being healthy. No appetite is normally a sign something is not right.
Hunger is a sign of maturity.
2. Righteousness Defined – Justice (making the wrong right)
To hunger for righteousness/justice is to yearn for God’s rule in our lives.
Job 29:12-14 – “Because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.”
Job 29:15-17 – “I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth.”
Isaiah 58:6-7 – “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Luke 4:18 – “’The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.’”
Acts 10:38 – “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
3. 3 Areas to Highlight
A. Hunger on a Personal Level (me)
Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Psalm 63:1-3 – “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.”
Psalm 63:4-6 – “Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your Name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.”
Psalm 63:7-9 – “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. my soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.”
Psalm 63:10-11 – “They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.”
Psalm 84:1-3 – “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.”
Psalm 84:4-6 – “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools.”
Psalm 84:7-9 – “They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed.”
Psalm 84:10 – “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
Psalm 84:11-12 – “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!”
B. Hunger in Our Inner Circle (our family, friends, church family)
Psalm 68:5-6 (TPT) – “To the fatherless He is a Father. To the widow He is a Champion Friend. The lonely He makes part of a family. The prisoners He leads into prosperity until they sing for joy. This is our Holy God in his Holy Place! But for the rebels there is heartache and despair.”
Psalm 107:4-6 – “They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.”
Psalm 107:7-9 – “And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
Acts 16:31 – “So they said, ’Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”
Acts 1:14 created Acts 2:1
Acts 1:14 – “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.”
Acts 2:1 – “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”
C. Hunger in Our Outer Circle (our neighborhood, workplace, city, nation, nations)
Haggai 2:7 – “’And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11a – “…He has set eternity in our hearts.”
Hunger was built in our DNA. When we say, “yes” to Jesus, that hunger is actualized and magnified.
Romans 8:15b – “You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’.”
Psalm 107:33-36 – “He turns rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground; a fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings. There He makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place.”