1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,060 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,060 –> 00:00:11,860 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. 3 00:00:11,860 –> 00:00:15,080 Or visit our website OpenTheBible.org. 4 00:00:15,080 –> 00:00:20,840 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:20,840 –> 00:00:25,520 Well would you open your Bible at Matthew chapter 5 and verse 6 where we come again 6 00:00:25,520 –> 00:00:27,520 to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. 7 00:00:27,520 –> 00:00:31,559 This time in the fourth Beatitude Matthew 5 and verse 6. 8 00:00:31,559 –> 00:00:37,160 And the Son of God says to us blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness 9 00:00:37,160 –> 00:00:42,160 because they shall be satisfied. 10 00:00:42,160 –> 00:00:48,740 Now the fourth Beatitude is really a turning point in our series. 11 00:00:48,740 –> 00:00:53,139 The first 3, as we’ve seen, have really been about our own need, about our desperate 12 00:00:53,139 –> 00:00:54,139 position. 13 00:00:54,139 –> 00:00:56,580 We started with this truth. 14 00:00:56,580 –> 00:00:58,320 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 15 00:00:58,320 –> 00:01:03,080 To be poor in spirit means that I know that before God I do not have what it takes. 16 00:01:03,080 –> 00:01:06,180 Then we read, blessed are those who mourn. 17 00:01:06,180 –> 00:01:07,180 Why would I mourn? 18 00:01:07,180 –> 00:01:12,059 I mourn because seeing my own spiritual poverty I am compelled to see that my own sins are 19 00:01:12,059 –> 00:01:13,620 not few, but they are many. 20 00:01:13,620 –> 00:01:15,220 They have been costly to me. 21 00:01:15,220 –> 00:01:21,879 They have been costly to others and they have been supremely costly to my Lord Jesus Christ. 22 00:01:21,940 –> 00:01:25,639 From that we came to the next Beatitude, blessed are the meek. 23 00:01:25,639 –> 00:01:26,639 What is that? 24 00:01:26,639 –> 00:01:31,839 I grow in meekness because I see that God has not treated me as my sins deserve, but 25 00:01:31,839 –> 00:01:36,480 He has shown me grace, He has shown me kindness, He has shown me favor. 26 00:01:36,480 –> 00:01:42,839 And as I have received it, so that begins to work in the heart of the receiver. 27 00:01:42,839 –> 00:01:49,120 So these first three Beatitudes then are all about seeing our own position. 28 00:01:49,239 –> 00:01:55,040 And the fourth Beatitude really moves us forward from there because it speaks to us about the 29 00:01:55,040 –> 00:02:02,879 desire that arises out of the work the of the Holy Spirit in the first three. 30 00:02:02,879 –> 00:02:07,080 At the beginning of this series I suggested that there is actually, using our orchard 31 00:02:07,080 –> 00:02:12,880 language, a roots life fruit pattern in the Beatitudes. 32 00:02:12,880 –> 00:02:14,259 Think of it this way. 33 00:02:14,259 –> 00:02:19,679 These first three Beatitudes deal with the roots of a growing and thriving spiritual 34 00:02:19,679 –> 00:02:26,580 life, being poor in spirit, mourning, becoming meek rather than being self-willed or defiant 35 00:02:26,580 –> 00:02:27,580 towards God. 36 00:02:27,580 –> 00:02:34,479 I’ve come to see I don’t have the wisdom to lead my own life rightly and so I submit 37 00:02:34,479 –> 00:02:36,740 to the hand of God in the light of that. 38 00:02:36,740 –> 00:02:37,740 These first three Beatitudes deal with the roots of a growing and thriving spiritual 39 00:02:37,740 –> 00:02:38,740 life, being poor in spirit, mourning, becoming meek rather than being self-willed or defiant 40 00:02:38,740 –> 00:02:39,740 towards God. 41 00:02:39,740 –> 00:02:40,740 I have come to see I don’t have the wisdom to lead my own life rightly and so I submit 42 00:02:40,740 –> 00:02:41,740 to the hand of God in the light of that. 43 00:02:41,740 –> 00:02:42,740 That’s what meekness is. 44 00:02:42,740 –> 00:02:43,740 These are the roots of a godly life. 45 00:02:44,059 –> 00:02:50,619 Well, a life that is animated by a desire for something, a desire for righteousness. 46 00:02:50,619 –> 00:02:54,000 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 47 00:02:54,000 –> 00:02:58,559 There is a desire that comes out of these roots to be like the Lord Jesus Christ, a 48 00:02:58,559 –> 00:03:01,460 desire for godliness. 49 00:03:01,460 –> 00:03:08,419 And the desire to be godly is the very life that springs from the work of the Holy Spirit 50 00:03:08,419 –> 00:03:10,460 in a Christian believer. 51 00:03:10,460 –> 00:03:16,139 And then we’ll see later in our series that out of this life that comes from the roots, 52 00:03:16,139 –> 00:03:24,500 there is wonderful, beautiful fruit that Jesus Christ forms, mercy, forgiving other people, 53 00:03:24,500 –> 00:03:30,419 and purity of heart comes out of all this, and the wonderful, wonderful gift of being 54 00:03:30,419 –> 00:03:32,160 a peacemaker. 55 00:03:32,160 –> 00:03:34,460 And one more thing is added at the end. 56 00:03:34,460 –> 00:03:39,220 Know this, that if this root is in you and this life grows within you and this fruit 57 00:03:40,160 –> 00:03:45,779 is seen in you, you will be blessed by God, but you will also be persecuted by the world, 58 00:03:45,779 –> 00:03:48,100 says our Lord Jesus Christ. 59 00:03:48,100 –> 00:03:52,259 Now that’s the pattern, that’s the overview, and we’ve come now to the turning point. 60 00:03:52,259 –> 00:03:57,639 We’ve seen the roots that give rise to this life, and now we’re going to look at the life 61 00:03:57,639 –> 00:03:59,720 itself and what is it all about. 62 00:03:59,720 –> 00:04:04,380 It is a hunger and thirst after righteousness. 63 00:04:05,339 –> 00:04:10,559 Again we’re following our usual pattern in which today we’re going to try and get on 64 00:04:10,559 –> 00:04:15,440 the inside of what Jesus Christ is calling us to here, and then next week, God willing, 65 00:04:15,440 –> 00:04:18,559 we will look at how we can pursue this life. 66 00:04:18,559 –> 00:04:23,980 Understanding what Jesus is calling us to in this fourth beatitude, our purpose today 67 00:04:24,000 –> 00:04:30,480 are four headings, a relentless pursuit, a holy passion, a strange paradox, and a glorious 68 00:04:30,480 –> 00:04:31,799 prospect. 69 00:04:31,799 –> 00:04:33,359 Let’s start here. 70 00:04:33,480 –> 00:04:36,239 A Relentless Pursuit. 71 00:04:36,239 –> 00:04:46,079 Blessed are those, who Jesus says, hunger and thirst for righteousness. 72 00:04:46,079 –> 00:04:53,920 Not those who have a vague interest, not those who consider righteousness from a distance. 73 00:04:53,920 –> 00:05:01,019 The words hunger and thirst speak of an intense desire that motivates action. 74 00:05:01,359 –> 00:05:06,119 A person who is really hungry will do almost anything to get food. 75 00:05:06,119 –> 00:05:12,760 And Jesus uses this word that suggests the strongest of motives, it has energy in it, 76 00:05:12,760 –> 00:05:15,220 it drives decisive action. 77 00:05:15,220 –> 00:05:17,559 It’s powerful. 78 00:05:17,559 –> 00:05:24,459 And this intense desire, this hunger and thirst for God, this passion to pursue righteousness 79 00:05:24,459 –> 00:05:30,000 is a hallmark of a genuine Christian Believer. 80 00:05:30,000 –> 00:05:33,299 Now, of course, you’ll be familiar with this throughout the Bible. 81 00:05:33,299 –> 00:05:36,119 Listen to how David puts it in the Old Testament. 82 00:05:36,119 –> 00:05:43,239 He says, “…as a dear pants for flowing streams, my soul pants for You, O God. 83 00:05:43,239 –> 00:05:45,200 My soul thirsts for You.” 84 00:05:45,200 –> 00:05:50,059 There is David, the Holy Spirit is at work within him, and the evidence of the life of 85 00:05:50,059 –> 00:05:54,640 the Spirit is this great thirst for God, this hunger for God. 86 00:05:54,640 –> 00:05:56,920 Psalm 63 in verse 1, the same thing. 87 00:05:56,920 –> 00:05:58,519 O God, You are my God. 88 00:05:58,519 –> 00:06:02,040 Earnestly, I seek You, my soul thirsts for You. 89 00:06:02,040 –> 00:06:07,920 My flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 90 00:06:07,920 –> 00:06:10,980 Think of the apostle, Paul, in the New Testament. 91 00:06:10,980 –> 00:06:15,239 What’s so striking to me about what he says in Philippians and chapter 3 is that it’s 92 00:06:15,239 –> 00:06:17,440 towards the end of his life. 93 00:06:17,440 –> 00:06:20,040 He’s been in ministry for years. 94 00:06:20,040 –> 00:06:24,119 He’s done just about everything that you could do in church, planting. 95 00:06:24,119 –> 00:06:26,880 And towards the end of his life, when he’s in prison, what’s he saying? 96 00:06:27,320 –> 00:06:32,480 I want to know Christ, like he didn’t know Him already. 97 00:06:32,480 –> 00:06:34,440 I want to know more of Him. 98 00:06:34,440 –> 00:06:35,440 That’s the passion. 99 00:06:35,440 –> 00:06:40,700 I want to know more of the power of His resurrection and more even of the fellowship of his sufferings, 100 00:06:40,700 –> 00:06:44,559 writes this man, even while he is there in prison. 101 00:06:44,559 –> 00:06:50,059 So all through the Bible, there is this hallmark that when the Holy Spirit is present in a 102 00:06:50,079 –> 00:06:54,640 person’s life, there’s this hunger, there’s this thirst, there’s this passion that is 103 00:06:55,299 –> 00:06:59,820 energized to know more of God, and to know more of His righteousness. 104 00:06:59,820 –> 00:07:02,239 Three observations about hunger. 105 00:07:02,239 –> 00:07:07,119 Very simply and obviously, hunger is a sign of need. 106 00:07:07,119 –> 00:07:09,399 When you’re hungry, your body’s telling you something. 107 00:07:09,399 –> 00:07:12,660 It’s too long since your last meal. 108 00:07:12,660 –> 00:07:15,579 Hunger indicates an absence. 109 00:07:15,579 –> 00:07:18,079 An absence of food. 110 00:07:18,079 –> 00:07:23,100 It’s the way in which the body indicates its need to you. 111 00:07:23,100 –> 00:07:28,739 And Jesus says, now the people who are really blessed, think about it, are the people who 112 00:07:28,739 –> 00:07:30,559 hunger and thirst for righteousness. 113 00:07:30,559 –> 00:07:36,079 In other words, when it comes to righteousness, the people who are really blessed are not 114 00:07:36,079 –> 00:07:38,040 the ones who think they have it. 115 00:07:38,040 –> 00:07:42,179 They’re the ones who know they need it. 116 00:07:42,179 –> 00:07:44,579 They hunger and thirst for it. 117 00:07:44,579 –> 00:07:50,959 Now, friends, this is very important, because this is describing to us what it feels like 118 00:07:51,299 –> 00:07:53,440 to be a Christian. 119 00:07:53,440 –> 00:07:57,839 Some of us are newer Christians and you think, you know, I really don’t feel I’m a very holy 120 00:07:57,839 –> 00:08:01,720 person, and you wonder if that may mean that you’re not actually a Christian. 121 00:08:01,720 –> 00:08:04,959 Let me tell you what it feels like to be a Christian. 122 00:08:04,959 –> 00:08:09,440 You do not feel that you have arrived when you’re a real Christian. 123 00:08:09,440 –> 00:08:11,859 You find yourself longing for more of Christ. 124 00:08:11,859 –> 00:08:14,339 You say, I wish I was further on. 125 00:08:14,339 –> 00:08:17,079 That’s the mark of genuine spiritual life in you. 126 00:08:17,079 –> 00:08:20,839 That should be an encouragement to every real Christian. 127 00:08:20,839 –> 00:08:22,320 Because not everyone is like that. 128 00:08:22,320 –> 00:08:25,040 Some people are confident of their own righteousness. 129 00:08:25,040 –> 00:08:28,279 Jesus said that about some folks, some Pharisees. 130 00:08:28,279 –> 00:08:31,920 And you remember, Jesus did not pronounced them blessed, if they were confident of their 131 00:08:31,920 –> 00:08:32,919 own righteousness. 132 00:08:32,919 –> 00:08:33,919 Why? 133 00:08:33,919 –> 00:08:41,159 Because the blessing does not belong to people who see themselves as little paragons of virtue. 134 00:08:41,159 –> 00:08:46,659 The blessing, Jesus is saying, belongs to those who know their own need, who are very 135 00:08:47,380 –> 00:08:53,400 of how far they have to go and very, very little of how far they have come. 136 00:08:53,419 –> 00:08:57,460 And there are other people who, at the other end of the spectrum, as it were, they are 137 00:08:57,460 –> 00:09:01,020 very content in their own sins. 138 00:09:01,020 –> 00:09:05,200 They don’t really feel a need to change. 139 00:09:05,200 –> 00:09:07,659 And Jesus does not pronounce these people blessed either. 140 00:09:07,659 –> 00:09:13,979 No, the blessing does not belong to people who are content to remain as they are. 141 00:09:13,979 –> 00:09:21,000 The blessing is on those who have a strong desire, Jesus says, to gain more of righteousness. 142 00:09:21,000 –> 00:09:26,460 If this is you, then, Jesus says, you are blessed. 143 00:09:26,460 –> 00:09:29,039 Hunger is a sign of need. 144 00:09:29,039 –> 00:09:31,679 Hunger’s a sign of life. 145 00:09:31,679 –> 00:09:36,580 Nobody teaches a newborn baby to be hungry. 146 00:09:36,580 –> 00:09:41,099 You don’t have mentoring on how to become hungry for newborn children, right? 147 00:09:41,520 –> 00:09:44,799 It simply arises out of the fact that there is life. 148 00:09:44,799 –> 00:09:46,900 Where there is life, there will be hunger. 149 00:09:46,900 –> 00:09:53,780 Spurgeon says this, to hunger after righteousness is the sign of spiritual life. 150 00:09:53,780 –> 00:09:57,900 Nobody who was spiritually dead ever did this. 151 00:09:57,900 –> 00:10:02,400 If you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you are spiritually alive. 152 00:10:02,400 –> 00:10:03,960 This is how you know you’re a Christian. 153 00:10:03,960 –> 00:10:06,700 That you experience this hunger within you. 154 00:10:07,400 –> 00:10:08,159 Spurgeon again. 155 00:10:08,159 –> 00:10:13,539 He says, when the Spirit of God has changed our nature, that new nature hungers and thirsts 156 00:10:13,539 –> 00:10:15,119 after righteousness. 157 00:10:15,119 –> 00:10:20,659 The old nature never did, it never could, and it never would do so. 158 00:10:20,659 –> 00:10:23,119 So the flesh never hungers after righteousness. 159 00:10:23,119 –> 00:10:25,179 The flesh is always wanting to go and sin. 160 00:10:25,179 –> 00:10:29,580 If you have a hunger after righteousness, it is a sign that you are spiritually alive 161 00:10:29,580 –> 00:10:32,940 and thank God for it. 162 00:10:32,940 –> 00:10:38,539 Not only is a hunger a sign of need, not only is it an evidence of life, it is a sign of 163 00:10:38,539 –> 00:10:40,400 health, isn’t it? 164 00:10:40,400 –> 00:10:45,960 When someone is unwell and they’re beginning to recover and they start eating a little 165 00:10:45,960 –> 00:10:46,960 more. 166 00:10:46,960 –> 00:10:50,119 Well, the doctor comes round, and he is pleased that this is a good sign. 167 00:10:50,119 –> 00:10:52,119 Oh, you’re getting your appetite back. 168 00:10:52,119 –> 00:10:53,400 That’s the sign you’re getting better. 169 00:10:53,400 –> 00:10:58,520 A healthy appetite is a sign of health. 170 00:10:58,520 –> 00:11:02,880 And losing an appetite may in some cases mean that something is seriously wrong with the 171 00:11:02,880 –> 00:11:04,859 body. 172 00:11:04,859 –> 00:11:10,080 Now apply this spiritually, because this is the analogy that the Lord Jesus is using here. 173 00:11:10,080 –> 00:11:16,419 If you have a deep longing within you to grow in Jesus Christ, that is a good statement 174 00:11:16,419 –> 00:11:18,900 about your spiritual health. 175 00:11:18,900 –> 00:11:27,320 The sign of spiritual health – understand this – is never to feel that you have arrived, 176 00:11:27,320 –> 00:11:32,619 but always to feel that you have a great longing for more and a sense that you have a long 177 00:11:32,659 –> 00:11:34,020 way still to go. 178 00:11:34,020 –> 00:11:39,640 This is what it is like to be a Christian, let this encourage you, the mark of a Christian 179 00:11:39,640 –> 00:11:42,780 is that he never feels he has arrived at a righteous life. 180 00:11:42,780 –> 00:11:43,780 What does he do? 181 00:11:43,780 –> 00:11:48,919 He hungers, he thirsts after righteousness. 182 00:11:49,020 –> 00:11:53,159 Here’s the second thing, it’s relentless pursuit, that was the first. 183 00:11:53,159 –> 00:11:55,700 Second it’s a holy passion. 184 00:11:56,059 –> 00:12:01,000 Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what? 185 00:12:01,000 –> 00:12:05,080 For righteousness. 186 00:12:05,080 –> 00:12:11,679 Now all of us folks are involved in a great search for satisfaction, the big question 187 00:12:11,679 –> 00:12:15,039 is where do we think we’ll find it. 188 00:12:15,039 –> 00:12:20,000 What do you think will satisfy you? 189 00:12:20,000 –> 00:12:23,840 Because whatever you think will satisfy you, that will become the consuming passion of 190 00:12:23,859 –> 00:12:24,859 your life. 191 00:12:24,859 –> 00:12:29,219 If you think that a certain achievement will satisfy you, then the consuming passion of 192 00:12:29,219 –> 00:12:31,739 your life will be that achievement. 193 00:12:31,739 –> 00:12:35,039 Because we all go after satisfaction. 194 00:12:35,039 –> 00:12:41,239 If you think that leisure or retirement is going to be the thing that will satisfy you, 195 00:12:41,239 –> 00:12:43,280 then all your affections will be set on that. 196 00:12:43,280 –> 00:12:47,080 How long will it be until we get that? 197 00:12:47,080 –> 00:12:49,039 What do you think will give you satisfaction? 198 00:12:49,039 –> 00:12:51,599 Is it to be loved? 199 00:12:51,599 –> 00:12:52,799 Is it to be appreciated? 200 00:12:52,799 –> 00:12:56,599 Is it to get revenge? 201 00:12:56,599 –> 00:13:02,000 Whatever it is that you think will satisfy you most deeply, that will become the consuming 202 00:13:02,000 –> 00:13:10,919 passion of your life, and Jesus tells us right here, there is one desire, and only one that 203 00:13:10,919 –> 00:13:15,719 will be completely satisfied, the only one that is. 204 00:13:15,719 –> 00:13:20,460 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for this thing, righteousness. 205 00:13:20,460 –> 00:13:21,460 Why? 206 00:13:21,479 –> 00:13:29,320 Because they are the ones, and they alone, ultimately, who are really going to be satisfied. 207 00:13:29,320 –> 00:13:34,500 And here’s my question. 208 00:13:34,500 –> 00:13:41,400 Is this, then, what Christians today are looking for? 209 00:13:41,400 –> 00:13:46,940 Is it what we who profess faith in Jesus Christ, is this what we want? 210 00:13:46,940 –> 00:13:50,059 Is it what we’re going after? 211 00:13:50,059 –> 00:13:54,940 Is this what we really want from God, this thing, righteousness, or are we actually looking 212 00:13:54,940 –> 00:13:57,960 for something else? 213 00:13:57,960 –> 00:14:01,239 You go into a Christian bookshop, you’ll see what Christians are looking for. 214 00:14:01,239 –> 00:14:09,960 It’s a happy family life, growing churches, fulfillment in ministry. 215 00:14:09,960 –> 00:14:14,539 Try and find 10 books on the pursuit of righteousness. 216 00:14:14,539 –> 00:14:17,419 Is this what Christians want today? 217 00:14:18,039 –> 00:14:23,260 Or have we sold out to the idea that God is there to give us something else which we think 218 00:14:23,260 –> 00:14:27,700 is actually a higher priority? 219 00:14:27,700 –> 00:14:33,820 What do we know as those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ about this hunger 220 00:14:33,820 –> 00:14:37,440 for righteousness? 221 00:14:37,440 –> 00:14:39,219 We want to be blessed. 222 00:14:39,739 –> 00:14:51,099 Oh yes, we want to be blessed to prosper, to have health, to have peace, to have security. 223 00:14:51,099 –> 00:14:55,500 We want to be blessed, but think about this. 224 00:14:55,500 –> 00:15:03,299 Jesus did not say, we are righteous if we hunger and thirst to be blessed. 225 00:15:04,179 –> 00:15:10,820 He said, we are blessed if we hunger and thirst, to be righteous. 226 00:15:12,659 –> 00:15:15,859 You see how easy it is to get the whole thing completely the wrong way around, 227 00:15:15,859 –> 00:15:17,619 even as Christian people? 228 00:15:19,380 –> 00:15:22,820 He did not say that we are righteous if we hunger and thirst to be blessed. 229 00:15:24,020 –> 00:15:29,539 He said, we are blessed if we hunger and thirst to be righteous, which raises the 230 00:15:29,539 –> 00:15:33,780 question that I’ve been pondering, and I ask you to ponder, is this what I’m 231 00:15:33,780 –> 00:15:36,500 hungering and thirsting after? Is this what I really want from God? 232 00:15:38,340 –> 00:15:42,099 Or has the agenda of my life sold out to something else that I think ultimately is 233 00:15:42,099 –> 00:15:47,539 going to be more satisfying for me? Let me turn the question another way and put it this way. 234 00:15:49,940 –> 00:15:51,460 Why did Jesus Christ die? 235 00:15:53,700 –> 00:15:58,179 Now if someone asks you that question, why did Jesus Christ endure everything that he went 236 00:15:58,179 –> 00:16:02,500 through on the cross? There are obviously many answers that you could give that are 237 00:16:02,500 –> 00:16:08,659 faithful to the Bible. You could say that Jesus Christ died so that we might be forgiven. 238 00:16:09,780 –> 00:16:15,299 You could say that Jesus Christ died so that we might have eternal life. 239 00:16:17,299 –> 00:16:22,900 But I want to suggest to you that if you look at the great statements of the purpose 240 00:16:22,979 –> 00:16:26,020 of the death of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, 241 00:16:27,059 –> 00:16:36,099 you will find that God places something else at the center. Let me give you three examples. 242 00:16:36,820 –> 00:16:41,460 Three of the greatest statements about the atonement in all of the New Testament. 243 00:16:43,059 –> 00:16:50,500 They all contain clear statements of what Christ did that are immediately backed up by why he did 244 00:16:50,500 –> 00:16:57,700 it. Number one, Second Corinthians chapter five in verse 15, do you see the pattern here? What 245 00:16:57,700 –> 00:17:08,180 did Christ do? Christ died for all. Great statement. Why did he do that? Answer. That those who live 246 00:17:08,180 –> 00:17:14,180 might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 247 00:17:15,140 –> 00:17:23,099 Why did he do it? So that there would be a transformed life that is no longer about the 248 00:17:23,099 –> 00:17:30,280 self but gives evidence of the pursuit of righteousness. That’s why he did what he did 249 00:17:30,280 –> 00:17:39,260 on the cross. Think of another one, First Peter chapter two in verse 24, what did Jesus do? He 250 00:17:39,260 –> 00:17:46,540 himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. Isn’t that a marvellous thing? He bore your sins, 251 00:17:46,540 –> 00:17:55,239 but why did he do it? Here’s why, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. It’s the 252 00:17:55,239 –> 00:18:01,339 same thing, the pursuit of a holy life. Number three, Second Corinthians chapter five in verse 253 00:18:01,339 –> 00:18:08,459 21, what did God do for us in Jesus Christ? For our sake here’s what he did, God made him who 254 00:18:09,099 –> 00:18:17,040 knew no sin to be sin. Christ himself became sin for us. And why did he do that? Why this 255 00:18:17,040 –> 00:18:25,579 extraordinary atonement? Answer, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 256 00:18:25,579 –> 00:18:32,859 So you put these together and I could list many more but just these three for the sake of time, 257 00:18:32,859 –> 00:18:38,339 we have to come to this conclusion that we can state the purpose of the passion of Jesus Christ 258 00:18:38,500 –> 00:18:43,619 in many ways. The New Testament again and again and again focuses our minds and our hearts on 259 00:18:43,619 –> 00:18:49,459 this. The purpose of the passion of Jesus Christ is that we should have a passion for righteousness. 260 00:18:50,420 –> 00:18:51,459 It’s that important. 261 00:18:53,459 –> 00:19:00,180 Christ died to redeem a people who no longer live for themselves but are marked by a passion for 262 00:19:00,180 –> 00:19:06,020 holiness, which is why he says, seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these 263 00:19:06,020 –> 00:19:11,540 things will be added to you as well. Blessed, he said, are those who hunger and thirst after 264 00:19:11,540 –> 00:19:16,739 righteousness. Why? Because they are the ones who are going to be satisfied. So I have to ask this 265 00:19:16,739 –> 00:19:24,900 question, what then do I know about this mighty longing after God, this passion to live in a way 266 00:19:24,900 –> 00:19:33,540 that really pleases him, to be done with sin? Is that longing more intense than it was a year ago? 267 00:19:34,099 –> 00:19:39,619 Is it growing or is it receding? Have I become casual and compromised in my Christian life? 268 00:19:40,660 –> 00:19:45,939 Because in the light of the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ is calling me to this. He died for it. 269 00:19:47,540 –> 00:19:55,300 So we’ve thought about a relentless pursuit. We’ve thought about a holy passion. Here’s the third 270 00:19:55,300 –> 00:20:02,979 thing, we’re trying to understand what Jesus Christ is calling us to here. And it’s a strange paradox. 271 00:20:03,780 –> 00:20:12,579 Look at the verse again, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 272 00:20:12,579 –> 00:20:17,140 for they shall be satisfied. Now, you see the paradox 273 00:20:18,579 –> 00:20:26,099 that Jesus Christ here is talking about hungering and being satisfied at the same time. 274 00:20:26,420 –> 00:20:36,739 Now how are we to understand this? When you feel hungry and you go out and you eat a meal, 275 00:20:36,739 –> 00:20:41,300 then you are satisfied and by definition when you’re satisfied you are no longer hungry. 276 00:20:42,099 –> 00:20:46,900 The food takes away the hunger. That’s what we experience at least for a time. And when you’re 277 00:20:46,900 –> 00:20:52,900 satisfied, what satisfied means is that you are no longer hungry. But Jesus speaks here 278 00:20:52,900 –> 00:21:03,859 about a hunger and a thirst that exist at the same time as a satisfaction. They exist together. 279 00:21:05,380 –> 00:21:10,660 Let me quote a couple of authors who speak about this helpfully. AW Pynk says this question. 280 00:21:12,020 –> 00:21:16,979 ”Can one who has been brought into vital union with him who is the bread of life 281 00:21:17,540 –> 00:21:22,420 he is still hungering and thirsting and he answers yes.” 282 00:21:23,859 –> 00:21:29,859 This is the experience of the renewed heart, and thats what Jesus is saying here. 283 00:21:31,219 –> 00:21:36,979 Dr. Lloyd-Jones puts it this way. ”The christian is one who at the same time is both hungering and 284 00:21:36,979 –> 00:21:42,900 thirsting and yet is filled. And the more he is filled the more he hungers and thirsts.” 285 00:21:42,979 –> 00:21:50,739 This is the blessedness of the christian life, he says it goes on. Hunger and thirst. I experience 286 00:21:50,739 –> 00:21:55,459 more of christ. And the more i experience of christ the more i hunger and thirst and the 287 00:21:55,459 –> 00:22:00,260 more i hunger and thirst the more i experience of christ. And so it goes on, this is the dynamic 288 00:22:00,260 –> 00:22:05,219 of a growing christian life throughout all your years, until faith is turned toside. 289 00:22:06,979 –> 00:22:12,660 Nobody has spoken in my view about this more compellingly than A.W Tozer. 290 00:22:12,660 –> 00:22:17,619 If you’ve never read A.W Tozer’s book the pursuit of god it is a must read i think 291 00:22:17,619 –> 00:22:21,699 for every christian and right in the first chapter he says this marvelous. 292 00:22:22,500 –> 00:22:30,739 To have found god and still to pursue him is the soul’s paradox of love. 293 00:22:32,180 –> 00:22:40,979 To have found god and yet still to pursue him, to know him and yet still to hunger and thirst 294 00:22:40,979 –> 00:22:51,780 after him. Godly men and women over centuries have rejoiced in the mystery of 295 00:22:53,219 –> 00:22:58,660 this hunger that is satisfied and this satisfaction that produces hunger. 296 00:23:01,780 –> 00:23:08,900 When i was a boy growing up in Scotland we used to sing a hymn that was written in the 12th 297 00:23:08,900 –> 00:23:15,300 century. That’s a long time ago that’s an oldie. Written by Bernard of Clairvaux 298 00:23:16,500 –> 00:23:19,939 and I don’t know that any words have been written in poetry that capture 299 00:23:19,939 –> 00:23:24,579 this mystery more beautifully than Bernhard’s words from the 12th century. 300 00:23:24,579 –> 00:23:29,780 Some of you may know them think of this around the communion table. We taste thee 301 00:23:30,660 –> 00:23:39,300 O thou living bread, and long to feast upon thee still. We drink of thee 302 00:23:39,859 –> 00:23:49,859 the fountainhead, and thirst from thee our souls to fill. You see what he’s saying? 303 00:23:51,380 –> 00:23:58,420 The more I taste of Christ, the more I long after him. The more I drink of the water of life that 304 00:23:58,420 –> 00:24:05,859 Christ gives to me, the more I thirst after more of the knowledge of this Christ. I thirst my soul 305 00:24:05,859 –> 00:24:15,540 from thee to fill. Deep, speaks to deep. This is the life of the spirit. This is the life that 306 00:24:15,540 –> 00:24:20,099 rises up from everything Jesus has been teaching us in these first three Beatitudes. 307 00:24:21,780 –> 00:24:26,020 Tozer has a remarkable phrase that I found so helpful. He says this, 308 00:24:26,020 –> 00:24:32,579 that we have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic that if we have found God we 309 00:24:32,579 –> 00:24:39,219 need no longer seek Him. And I think we can adapt that today and put it this way, that we have been 310 00:24:39,859 –> 00:24:45,939 snared in the coils of a spurious logic that if we are righteous in Christ we need no longer 311 00:24:45,939 –> 00:24:51,140 hunger and thirst after righteousness and Jesus says we do. He calls us to it, 312 00:24:51,140 –> 00:24:59,219 blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied 313 00:25:01,140 –> 00:25:04,020 Did you see that’s what you find all over the Bible. The apostle Paul 314 00:25:05,140 –> 00:25:12,579 is saying I want to be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, 315 00:25:12,579 –> 00:25:16,819 I want to have that righteousness that’s through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So he’s talking 316 00:25:16,819 –> 00:25:22,660 about his justification is standing in God but why does he want that, he goes on to say, 317 00:25:22,660 –> 00:25:28,099 so that I may know him. Press on after him, no more of the power of his resurrection, 318 00:25:28,099 –> 00:25:32,819 even enter into the fellowship of his sufferings, that’s the position I want to be in. 319 00:25:34,420 –> 00:25:39,219 John says something very similar when he lays out that marvelous truth about heaven, 320 00:25:40,099 –> 00:25:50,979 but where does that truth take the Christian, answer, everyone who has this 321 00:25:50,979 –> 00:25:58,180 hope of one day being pure like Jesus Christ in him or in her, that person will purify themselves 322 00:25:58,660 –> 00:26:04,819 even as Christ himself is pure. So here’s what we’re learning, 323 00:26:04,819 –> 00:26:10,900 the distinguishing mark of those who are righteous in Jesus Christ is that they long 324 00:26:10,900 –> 00:26:17,140 for righteousness. They are not people who sit around saying, I made a decision 25 years ago. 325 00:26:18,579 –> 00:26:26,739 There is a momentum of hunger and of thirst that is moving them forward in an active pursuit of 326 00:26:27,459 –> 00:26:32,979 living faith in and obedience towards Jesus Christ. That’s the hallmark of a true Christian. 327 00:26:32,979 –> 00:26:36,260 Folks, we said at the beginning of this series, one of our objectives 328 00:26:36,260 –> 00:26:39,699 is to discover afresh what a real Christian is, 329 00:26:42,339 –> 00:26:46,339 and so as we see what a real Christian is here in this fourth Beatitude, 330 00:26:46,339 –> 00:26:54,819 I have to ask this question. Is this you? Is this you? Are you a person who feels your need 331 00:26:54,819 –> 00:27:00,979 of righteousness? Has God awakened within your heart a real desire to be holy? 332 00:27:01,540 –> 00:27:06,339 Is there a sense of discontent about your present spiritual position, 333 00:27:06,339 –> 00:27:12,099 a desire to move forward, a desire to advance or has somehow all of that been lost? 334 00:27:13,780 –> 00:27:19,540 Is there a longing to be done with sin? If this is the desire of your heart, 335 00:27:19,540 –> 00:27:24,020 you can be very sure that you are indeed a Christian. It is an unfathomable hallmark, 336 00:27:24,579 –> 00:27:32,420 but if it is not true of you, I pray that God will use this theme from the Scripture to 337 00:27:32,420 –> 00:27:41,540 waken you up. Great paradox. Last heading, a glorious prospect. Look at what he says here. 338 00:27:42,180 –> 00:27:53,380 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, why? For they shall be satisfied. 339 00:27:53,380 –> 00:27:57,699 Choose the wrong thirsts and you will never never be satisfied. 340 00:27:59,459 –> 00:28:04,099 Hell is a place of unending hungers and thirsts 341 00:28:05,540 –> 00:28:09,619 where the soul is always being destroyed because it can never be fulfilled. 342 00:28:11,459 –> 00:28:14,739 But Jesus says, people who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 343 00:28:14,739 –> 00:28:18,260 they are blessed, why? Because they will be satisfied. 344 00:28:18,979 –> 00:28:24,020 The beginnings of that are known now because Christ is given to us by the Spirit 345 00:28:24,020 –> 00:28:30,180 as we pursue him. But the fullness of it lies in the future in the presence of the Lord Jesus 346 00:28:30,180 –> 00:28:34,900 Christ. And you remember the book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of what it will be like 347 00:28:34,900 –> 00:28:40,020 when the whole family of God is in the presence of Jesus and before the throne 348 00:28:40,020 –> 00:28:47,060 and John says this, they shall hunger no more and neither shall they thirst. Why? Because the lamb 349 00:28:47,060 –> 00:28:52,260 who’s at the center of the throne will be their shepherd and he will lead them where? Into springs 350 00:28:52,260 –> 00:28:59,300 of living water. So, God’s people will be satisfied because Christ will give them the righteousness 351 00:28:59,300 –> 00:29:06,579 that they seek. And this is the great promise of the gospel. Christ has become for us wisdom from 352 00:29:06,579 –> 00:29:15,060 God. He is our righteousness, sanctification, and our redemption, 1 Corinthians 1 in verse 30. 353 00:29:15,060 –> 00:29:21,219 And that is why Jeremiah says, thinking of the last day, he says that, the family of God will 354 00:29:21,219 –> 00:29:30,180 give to their Lord, this name. He will be the Lord our righteousness, the Lord our righteousness. 355 00:29:31,459 –> 00:29:38,180 Christ is our righteousness and here’s what that means. If you are in Christ 356 00:29:38,180 –> 00:29:46,979 and Christ is in you, then not only will you have a great hunger and thirst of righteousness, 357 00:29:46,979 –> 00:29:50,140 that’s the life that inevitably flows out from the presence of the spirit, 358 00:29:50,140 –> 00:29:54,540 but that desire for righteousness that is in you will be satisfied. 359 00:29:54,540 –> 00:30:03,520 The holiness that is begun in you in this life will be brought to completion 360 00:30:03,520 –> 00:30:09,819 beautifully in all its perfection in the presence of Jesus, and you, Christian 361 00:30:09,819 –> 00:30:18,459 friend, will sin no more. Won’t that be marvelous? Can you even imagine yourself 362 00:30:18,459 –> 00:30:24,199 without a trace of sin and not only will sin have no place within you, it will 363 00:30:24,199 –> 00:30:28,560 have no place in anyone who is around you. There will be a new heaven and a new 364 00:30:28,560 –> 00:30:35,040 earth, it will be the home of righteousness, and all who hungered and 365 00:30:35,040 –> 00:30:41,719 thirsted for righteousness will be there. And I’m asking you again then, today, is 366 00:30:41,719 –> 00:30:47,760 that you? Is that you? Ask yourself, I plead with you. 367 00:30:47,760 –> 00:30:52,599 Do I have this desire for righteousness? What do I know about this 368 00:30:52,979 –> 00:30:56,520 all-consuming passion? Is holiness really the great quest of 369 00:30:56,520 –> 00:31:02,400 my life, or have I substituted it with something else? What have I put in its 370 00:31:02,400 –> 00:31:07,260 place? Ask yourself, is there anything of the spirit of David in me, when he said 371 00:31:07,260 –> 00:31:11,540 there is so longed for God? Is there anything of the spirit of Paul in me, 372 00:31:11,540 –> 00:31:15,900 when he said, I want to know Christ, and I really want to know the power of his 373 00:31:15,900 –> 00:31:21,000 resurrection and even the fellowship of his sufferings? And if the message today 374 00:31:21,000 –> 00:31:29,380 it makes you feel your own need, then thank God, because it is the Holy Spirit 375 00:31:29,380 –> 00:31:34,439 that brings that awareness. He’s creating the hunger and thirst even now 376 00:31:34,439 –> 00:31:38,719 within you, and if that’s what’s happening, I say to you, from Isaiah 55 377 00:31:38,719 –> 00:31:45,339 that was read earlier, come, anyone who thirsts, come to the waters, come to the 378 00:31:45,339 –> 00:31:52,479 one who is the bread of life, come to the one who is the living water. If you have 379 00:31:52,479 –> 00:32:00,319 any hunger and thirst for righteousness at all, it is Christ who is provoking 380 00:32:00,319 –> 00:32:06,439 this and creating this within you, and he does not do this to mock you, he does 381 00:32:06,439 –> 00:32:12,880 this so that you will draw near and so that you will receive, and so that you 382 00:32:12,880 –> 00:32:18,579 for all eternity will be satisfied. 383 00:32:19,500 –> 00:32:28,300 Once in a while you come across a prayer that is profoundly useful in your own 384 00:32:28,300 –> 00:32:36,560 walk with God, and I want to end the message today by leading us in a prayer 385 00:32:36,560 –> 00:32:41,800 that I have found many times to be so useful in my own life. It’s from A. W. 386 00:32:41,839 –> 00:32:47,579 Tozer and from his book The Pursuit of God. It’s a prayer simply that God will 387 00:32:47,579 –> 00:32:52,739 intensify our own longing, and I want to invite you even now to join me in prayer 388 00:32:52,739 –> 00:33:00,520 as we seek to respond to God’s Word coming before him today. Let us pray. 389 00:33:00,520 –> 00:33:11,619 O God, I have tasted your goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me 390 00:33:11,619 –> 00:33:19,459 thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace 391 00:33:19,459 –> 00:33:26,880 and I am ashamed of my own lack of desire. 392 00:33:27,540 –> 00:33:38,560 O God, Triune God, I want to want you. I long to be fille with longing. I thirst 393 00:33:38,560 –> 00:33:47,780 to be made more thirsty still. Show me your glory I pray that I may know you 394 00:33:48,020 –> 00:33:59,560 indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, rise up, my love, 395 00:33:59,560 –> 00:34:11,139 and come away and then give me the grace to rise and follow you up from this 396 00:34:11,139 –> 00:34:24,899 misty low land where I have wandered for so long, in Jesus name. Amen. 397 00:34:26,060 –> 00:34:30,179 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 398 00:34:30,179 –> 00:34:37,179 To contact us call us at 1-877-open-365 or visit our website 399 00:34:37,179 –> 00:34:39,159 openthebible.org