Page Three: “Blessed Are They Which Hunger” 07/08/2012
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Second, the means to the end. The one worthwhile change: hungering and thirsting after righteousness. The one worthwhile means to the end. The one thing that matters if we are ever to enjoy and experience the blessedness Jesus speaks about is this: hunger and thirst after the right things and you will be filled.
Now, third, what is this righteousness that Jesus refers to? Of all the things Jesus spoke about; of all the things He teaches, this has to be very close to His heart. So, what is it that Jesus wants us to be filled with when He tells us to hunger after righteousness? Turn with me now to just a few passages that will give us the LORD’s thoughts on this. First, turn just one page to Matthew 5:20. Matthew 5:20 “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” It’s the kind of righteousness Jesus is concerned about here. And specifically, it’s the kind that’s not known by the Pharisees. There’s always been those who’ve got their own type of righteousness. But that is the exact opposite of what Jesus means. The Pharisees had the outward type. But the outward type of righteousness can never lead anyone to a state of blessedness. Here’s how Jesus explains this type of righteousness. Matthew 23:28 “Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. You see, you might appear righteous to others and all the while be full of hypocrisy and iniquity. The outward self wants others to think you are righteous, when in fact, you are not. The kind of righteousness Jesus is concerned with is the kind that exists first and foremost in the heart. It’s truly a heart righteousness. Folks, this is critical. Do you have a desire for heart righteousness or is it that you merely want people around you to “think” that you are righteous? This is the question that will help you discern whether you have the kind of hunger and thirst Jesus speaks about. |
First, it’s a righteous that must be desired if we are to discover blessedness.
Second, it’s a true, heart righteousness. Third, it’s God’s righteousness. And the question here is this. Do you have a true desire for the righteousness of God Himself? And it’s God’s own righteousness that you need in contrast to your own human type of righteousness. That, as you are about to see, is enough to please God. Let me show you this in the Book that describes righteousness more clearly than any other in the world; the Book of Romans. Please find with me Romans 3:10. Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (12) They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Inside the heart we’ve all got an awareness of God and truth. But we are also aware of the fact of our sin. That’s a sense of morality; right and wrong. Now, can you see that it’s your sin that keeps you from this divine blessedness; nothing else? Paul says that by nature we are not righteous. So, by nature we can’t produce it. By nature we become unprofitable. We don’t truly do good. Now that message is essential to our finding God’s righteousness because as long as you believe you are able to generate a measure or righteousness on your own, you lose out on the kind of righteousness that matters most in eternity. Paul’s point is this. We must accept the simple truth that by nature we are sinners. You were not born with a righteous heart. Yet, how often have you and I thought that we were good or that we have enough of something inside us to do the things that please Heaven?. Folks, the only way to possibly hunger for righteousness is to be convinced by the law of God that, by nature, we are not righteous people. We are sinners with a sin nature. We all sin by choice, by habit, and by nature. First, it’s a righteous that must be desired if we are to discover blessedness. Second, it’s a true, heart righteousness. Third, it’s God’s righteousness. |