Blessed Are Those Who Hunger For Righteousness

Matthew 5:1-6Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.The BeatitudesHe said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Dynamics of Beatitudes #1-4 Spiritual Poverty --> Mourning over sins --> Attitude of Meekness --> Hunger for Righteousness Process of Sanctification, becoming more like Jesus Christ Three Aspects of Righteousness 1. Personal Righteousness - godliness, holiness2. Imputed Righteousness - Christ Righteousness 3. Social Righteousness - Justice  Hunger & Thirst: Intense desire, urgency      1. Sign of Need      2. Sign of Life As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1-2O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.Psalm 63:1I want to know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.Philippians 3:10 Satisfaction 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.   Paradox The paradox is that our Lord is talking about hungering and being satisfied at the same time.   A. W. Tozer:To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love. Perpetual Hunger M. Lloyd Jones says:The Christian is one who at one and the same time is hungering and thirsting, and yet he is filled. And the more he is filled, the more he hungers and thirsts. That is the blessedness of the Christian life. It goes on Are you hungry for God and His righteousness? Are you thirsty for God and His word?