Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5:6
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Good evening and God bless my brethren. The beatitude for tonight rings with such blessedness to the heart of a believer. Truly when looking at the words hunger and thirst you see desire followed by the words "after righteousness". I do believe this is what we all as brothers and sisters long for and desire to grow in hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Tonight my desire is as always to edify the church, bring glory to God and Lord willing someone were to come across this who does not know the Lord may it be used to draw this individual to Christ. As I stated last night the blessing I've had going verse by verse. I'm not sure how many brethren do so take the time to study. Granted we all don't have to be theologians of which I don't think I am, but the scriptures do say study to show thyself approved unto God a workman who need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth( 2 Timothy 2:15). So I encourage you my brethren don't just read the Word take some time to get in and dive into His Word. Take time to meditate on His Word, after all I must ask has it become honey to your lips and better than fine gold? If so than I ask why can one not take sometime and spend more time in the Word getting to know God. For how shall we answer the world and be ready to give them an answer for the hope that is in us(1 Peter 3:15 ), if we read..and sadly that reading only occurs on Sundays or Wednesdays. Please let these thoughts sink in and if you are guilty of any of these I'm praying for you, that you grow in Him. I'm praying that you would truly hunger and thirst for righteousness. That truly you would begin to grasp more and more what it means to seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. I pray this devotional,encourages and convicts if need be. Now to the passage.
Jesus continues in His sermon on the mount with this beatitude by saying, " Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Alright let examine this passage in two parts beginning with who are blessed.
Once again as we have seen in the previous beatitudes Jesus states blessed and then states who are blessed. In this beatitude we see the blessing of being those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now let me examine the blessing in two parts. First we have it says blessed are those who thirst and hunger. Right here I'd like to restate something I stated earlier and that is a desire. Truly when it say we are new creatures in Christ(2 Corinthians 5:17 ), that isn't poetry it's the truth. See before Christ our desire is not seeking or as stated here in His sermon to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Well, we hunger and thirst, but what we desire for is completely different because of our state. The state of natural man is for himself. See this here in this blessing shows just how radical His message was for the people who love God.They will seek Him and His righteousness( Matthew 6:33 ) above all things and people, including their own desires.
This we need to remember today as often we can get caught up in what we want and put God on that back burner. That needs not be the case. Instead we need to say Lord I'd like this,but end when we ask Him Your will be done trusting that He knows best and will provide not only our best,but what will bring glory to Him. I believe in the modern church people are either praying with laundry list or just hoping God gives them what they want and not so much about "His will be done". Truly I could dig into that more,but just some thoughts to meditate on and while you do. Think on these passages, Philippians 1:21 and Romans 12:1.
Now let us continue with it says blessed are those hunger and thirst after righteousness. As stated previously it is the Lord who changes ones desire to seek after righteousness for truly no one, not a single person would seek the Lord if He did not change their nature. For as it is written, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. ( Romans 3:11 ) " Left to ourselves it is proven we would not seek after God, but praise be to God for it is Him who changes men and women. I know for my life is evidence of the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth. So what is this righteousness in which those who have been truly changed or as written in the gospel of John, "born of the spirit" ? Well, let me describe this righteousness using the best interpretation of the scriptures and that is the scriptures themselves. Look in Jeremiah 23:6, where it states, "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. ( Jeremiah 23:6 )" Let us examine another passage of scripture, "Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. ( Isaiah 45:24 ) " Are we beginning to gather an idea for what the believer is to hungering and thirsting after? Is it not evident ? For if in the book of the prophet Jeremiah was it said the Lord our righteousness and that was said by our Lord and Saviour blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Do you see the connection?
May I should draw one more passage which I hope should make the point clear if not already clear at this point."And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ( John 6:35 )" Do you see how the very lines connect ? The Lord is our Righteousness in whom we should be seeking with all that we are. There are a few verses that immediately come to mind and often might I add, Deuteronomy 4:29, Deuteronomy 6:5, 1 Corinthians 2:2 , and Matthew 6:33. All of these give us a centrality of God being the focus of our lives. In Deuteronomy 4:29 it speaks of seeking Him with all that you are, in Deuteronomy 6:5 to love Him with all that you are, 1 Corinthians 2:2 the Apostle Paul talks about how he determines know Jesus Christ and Him crucified above all else another words his focus is preaching the gospel above all else, and Matthew 6:33 seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Now I move to the second half of the verse where Jesus states for they shall be filled. Now don't get this confused with meaning that once you read God's word once your done and don't need it again. No that is not what He means nor does Jesus mean to His audience or for us believers that at some point we will get enough righteousness and be full. No that is not it at all. No, instead what it means is our filling will be found in God. Our true satisfaction will be found in the things of God. I know that sounds simple,but it is true. For example I can tell you the difference in a day for me. If I miss a day in the Word I know it. I'm miserable, I'm hungry and can't wait to get back in it. Now I'm sure somebody would say yeah right your kidding. but I would say no I mean it. The time spent in the Word of God makes a difference. For me I look forward to that time, just as I look forward to prayer. Once again I will show scripture to interpret scripture. Look at how He truly fills us, "Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. ( John 4:13-14 ) " or here again in the gospel of John, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ( John 6:35 )" This in no way states we won't need daily provisions but,it shows where all comes from and that He is what we truly should be hungering and thirsting after. That in doing so, we should be desiring more and more to be like Him that is growing in holiness and not being like this world. Truly die to our desires and as He said ," Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness."
Brethren I pray this has been as I stated earlier both encouraging and convicting. May you I pray continue to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now I leave you with these words from the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome,
" I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. "
( Romans 12:1-2 )
Good night and God bless,
John W. Whybrew III <><
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