Beattitudes- Blessed Are Those Who Hunger And Thrist For Righteouness by Anne Gibson

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

Well, here we are! Week five of our e-study! Week five of seeking for “the bottom of the boat” as Pastor David described in the Beatitudes’ introduction. Today we look at righteousness, a word not used so much in daily context, but a word that as Christians, I suspect many of us would use to define the kind of life we aspire to live. I mean, who doesn’t want to live a just, right, life? Who doesn’t want to be a good person in the world, doing good things?

I knew I’d be writing this study five weeks ago. Since that time, I’ve been praying about what to say. My “righteousness radar” has been up…And I’ve truly been amazed at how often it shows up in Scripture. Multiple times a week, I found myself focused on it. And, you know what? Hungering and thirsting for righteousness has nothing to do with being a good person!!!

Let’s find out why!
Hunger—A strong desire or need for food. The discomfort, weakness, or pain caused by prolonged lack of food. A strong desire or craving.
Thirst--A sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat related to a need or desire to drink. The desire to drink. An insistent desire; a craving: a thirst for knowledge. To have a strong craving; yearn. (www.answers.com)

I suppose you knew what those words meant, didn’t you? At least, I assume you’ve experienced them—Probably not to the extent that many people in the world do, but perhaps you’ve had that time when you were running so fast from one thing to another all day that it wasn’t until late at night that you discovered you hadn’t eaten all day and were famished? Maybe you were intentionally fasting. Maybe you were on a restricted diet for a period of time. Maybe you were in the hospital and they restricted your liquids. Or hiking in the heat of the desert or summer and had no water left. We do know, to an extent, about hunger and thirst. Take a moment to think about your experiences for each craving.

What are some things that we crave beyond food and water? Acceptance, love, money, cars, homes, certain friendships, new products, belonging….The list could go on for miles! As humans, we desire a lot of stuff! We tend to crave everything we don’t have, and then some. Commercials tell us to satisfy our cravings with whatever product or line of thought they are peddling—And we often cave to them. Getting an upgraded cell phone plan can’t be that bad—I mean, accessing the Internet on the road will save me time!

Here’s something that I heard in a sermon by Pete Briscoe—He was reading David’s Psalm 63:1—“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. “ Someone had asked him why we don’t seem to have that same longing, hunger, and thirst for the Lord today. Pete’s answer: People are thirstier and hungrier than ever—But they are misguided. Our culture tells us there are many water fountains to drink from—Many things that will bring us pleasure and relief. We are told that there is more than just Jesus that can quench our thirst, so drink, enjoy—Whatever satisfies you for right now is good. We get distracted by things that don’t really satisfy and miss the One true fountain: Jesus Christ. We all have a God-sized hole in our hearts—What—Who, rather—Will fill that void?

He couldn’t be more correct. When was the last time you actually desired—No, craved the Lord? Not something from Him, but the Lord God Himself???

Francis Chan, in his book “Crazy Love” (An incredible, but challenging book that I highly recommend!) gives us some food for thought. He asks, “Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words, half-hearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better? Has your relationship with God changed the way you live? Do you see evidence of God’s kingdom in your life? Are you satisfied with being “godly enough” to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to others?

He then proceeds to look at Revelation 3:15: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth!” Yikes!

Chan spends the entire rest of the chapter profiling a lukewarm person, based on what Scripture says. I pulled out a few of the haunting examples.

Lukewarm people…
…Are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones.
…Say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
…Think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation.
…Do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.
…Probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong.

Ouch! Did any of those hurt? Chan is giving us an “in your face” reminder that we are to be upside-down Christians.--Radicals who truly hunger and thirst for the Lord—Who are submitted to Him—And whose lives bear the fruits of that eternal relationship!

So—We know about hunger and thirst—But what about “righteousness”?

Let’s go back to Psalm 62:1 again…For David was one of the blessed spoken of in Jesus’ beatitudes. He hungered and thirsted for God—Who IS righteousness.

I found 239 entries listed for “righteousness” in Scripture in the Strong’s concordance! Perhaps that’s why I kept hearing about it the past five weeks—In any case, it’s repeated enough that we should see it’s a rather important word!

Righteousness –holy and upright living, in accordance with God’s standard. It comes from a root word that means “straightness”. God’s character is the definition and source of all righteousness…Therefore, man’s righteousness is defined in terms of God’s.
(Source: Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Take a look at Deuteronomy 32:4--4 He [the Lord] is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!

Psalm 36:6—“Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.”

Isaiah 5:16—“But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.”

When we are seeking righteousness, we are essentially seeking God, and the things of God!

Matthew 6:33—“But seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

So—Do you see that seeking righteousness is so much more than being a good person (by the way, there is no such thing according to Romans 5:12) and merely doing good things (often set by our own lowly standard!) in this world?

If we are truly hungering and thirsting for righteousness, we realize that we cannot effectively serve two masters (things of earth and God). We toss our agendas and measurements of right living and accept God’s “straightness standard”. We accept that we must die to our sinful nature through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:2-4). We realize that on our own we are imperfect and utterly unrighteous people, and yearn for the gift of grace, forgiveness, and righteousness that our perfect God gives us through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:18). Something within us changes…And, as we live out our new lives in Christ, we crave time with the Lord daily, in prayer, and in His Word. We hunger to put His Word into action, and to bear His fruit in the world—Not our own!

We long to be the mirror that effectively reflects God’s perfect love and grace to the world around us. We are defined by God’s righteous standards of living; not the worlds. We seek out examples of righteous living in Scripture and seek to emulate them (check out James 2:23, James 3:18, Hebrews 11:7). We are not lukewarm, and we see that filling that void in our lives with anything other than Christ will actually leave us empty, hungry and thirsty for something more.

No wonder people that live like this are blessed!
--Will you join me in hungering and thirsting for God’s righteousness alone?

Questions to ponder:
· What are some things that you crave? Write them down…Lift them up to the Lord, one by one.

· Did any of Francis Chan’s definitions of lukewarm people convict you? Ask yourself why…and spend some time in prayer about it. If you haven’t fully submitted yourself to Christ—This may be the time to re-commit your life to Him.

· Read through some of the Psalms that talk of God’s righteousness—As you read them, lift them up as prayers to the Lord.
Psalm 23:3; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 35:28; Psalm 36:6; Psalm 65:5; Psalm 71:2, 15-16

· Look up some of those men and women whose lives were considered righteous. How can they be examples for you?
James 2:23 (Abraham)--
James 3:18 (peacemakers)--
Hebrews 11:7 (Noah)--