Jan.
14pm, 2001 Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst...
Mat. 5
By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville
Baptist Church
Remember who you are.
Who am I as a Christian? If you can remember who you are then
you will know what you are not. You
will remember what you have and what you have not.
You will remember who your Father is.
You will know where you came from and where you are going and what you
are supposed to be doing these years and days of your life. These be-attitudes
describe the characteristics of the person who has become born again into the
kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
These are the keys, principles, or laws of Christ’s new kingdom.
Where is the kingdom? The
kingdom is the domain of the king. If
He is King in your house then these principles apply.
The kingdom was inaugurated by Christ and will culminate at the end of
the age. These principles of the life of the Christian are for each one who
has allowed Him to rule in their life. This
is a description of the spiritual life of the follower of Jesus. Remember you
are what you eat.
The purpose of this message is to show why it is good to
“hunger and thirst,” after righteousness.
Scripture
Text: Matt 5:1 (KJS) And
seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his
disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4
Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed [are]
the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed [are] they, which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7
Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed [are] the
pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for
they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed [are] they which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11
Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they
the prophets which were before you.
The World’s
Standards: Blessed are those who
satisfy their every desire, for they will attain personal fulfillment.
1.
What’s you hungry for?
What do you really want out of life? How does that compare with what
you want in life? What you
want to receive from life should be what strive for in life?
Do you want happiness and heaven?
There is fulfillment in taking in the righteousness of the Lord.
God’s Righteousness and justice is right living in the sight of the
Lord. Having a right relationship
with the Lord. What do you want?
What have you developed a taste for? His
salvation is free for the asking. Have
you asked?
Isaiah 55:1 (KJS) Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,
and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which
is] not bread? and your labour for [that which] satisfieth not? hearken
diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul delight
itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul
shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, [even] the sure
mercies of David.
2.
What
have you been filing upon? Life is an all you can get buffet. Everyone
is filling up on something. There
are so many things to choose from.
Good to be hungry for God and alive to God.
In our natural state it is normal to have no desire for the Lord or the
things of God. We have to develop
a desire and a taste for the Lord.
Neh. 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink
the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for
[this] day [is] holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the
LORD is your strength.
3.
What happens to those who don’t eat or eat the wrong things?
They become weak and susceptible to disease and illness.
They become irritable and hard to live with.
Some of the things that people eat are sweet to the taste but in the
belly it turns poison. They
will get weak and dizzy so that they will be easy to get knocked off.
Their spiritual life will eventually amount to nothing but a shell.
There will be no sign of life and for all practical purposes they will
become like the dead because they have no blood in their spiritual bodies.
The spiritual life will be drained out of them.
You need a spiritual refill and refresh and revival.
4.
What about those cheap substitutes?
Devil’s food cakes. The
devil, the world, and our own sinful nature will continue to try to give
substitutes to replace the spiritual life we can have in the Lord.
There are the sinful pleasures of the world.
There is the prideful self sufficiency of life that tends to lead you
away from a healthy dependence on the Lord.
There are secret sins, secret hatred, and spiritual neglect that all
lead us away from the Lord.
5.
Order Now! What do you want to eat?
Remember this: You
are what you eat. You have to eat
spiritual food to grow spiritual life. You
can be filled and satisfied and happy by and through the Lord’s food.
If you will try it then you will like it.
Happiness is to desire God in your life and allowing him to fulfill
your natural desires with the spiritual things of God.
6.
Do you want to be full?
Do you want to be satisfied? Do
you want to have so much to eat that you will never get hungry again?
God says that if you become hungry and thirsty for God then you will be
blessed and full. It doesn’t get any better than this. What have you been filling up on? Will you try to get full of God?
Try God? You may be happy
forever with the Lord.