HUNGRY
AND HAPPY
Matthew 5:6
Introduction:
Hunger and thirst express two basic needs. In
I. WE’LL
When we lean on God we are expressing
A. A Reliance On God. (Heb.11:6)
(Heb 11:6) "But
without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Reliance on God is faith in God
B. The Righteousness Of God (Rom.3:10-12)
We must lean on God for His RIGHTEOUSNESS because we have no righteousness of our own.
 | We need forgiveness. |
| We need cleansing. |
| We need guilt removed. |
| We need eternal life. |
| We need righteousness. |
Do you know why Jesus Christ died? Yes,
He died for your sins, and the sins of the whole world. Yes, He died so
you can be forgiven. Yes, He died so you can go to Heaven, if you trust
Him as your Savior. But He also died so God could declare you righteous or
right with Him! (2 Cor 5:21) "For
he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him."
When our sins are dealt with; when our sins are paid for; when our sins
have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, we are made right with God!
We are declared righteous by God, when we place our faith in that shed
blood of Christ. (Rom 5:1) "Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ:"
Because Christ has already died, has
already been buried, and has already risen from the dead, all I must do
for righteousness is to lean on Him by faith. Have you leaned on God by
putting your faith in Christ for righteousness? Those of us who have
leaned on Christ for salvation should not stop learning.
We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness in such a way that
we continue to lean on Him! Just as I could not be right with God apart
from leaning on Christ by faith, I can not live a righteous life, apart
from leaning on Christ now (Gal 2:20) "I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Illus:
See yourself as dead!
When Christ died, you died. See
yourself as alive. When
Christ rose from the dead, you rose from the dead with Him. See yourself as having
Christ alive and living inside of you. See yourself as leaning on Him
for a righteous life! …The life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me).
Our hunger and thirst should be such that we simply trust Christ who is in
us to live His life through us. Be
hungry enough to totally rely on Christ for your righteous Christian life.
Be thirsty enough to lean entirely on Him who lives in you, for
everything!
II. WE’LL LEARN FROM GOD
Christians come with an operator's manual. It tells you how to live your new life in Christ. It tells you how to adjust and allow Jesus control in your new life. It tells you how to maintain your new life in righteousness; it is the Word of God! The hunger for righteousness must include:
A. A Proud Hunger For The Word (1 Peter 2:1-3)
The one who will hunger and thirst after righteousness, is going to hunger and thirst after this book in order to learn from God. Just as a baby craves milk, so should we crave the Word of God for it will teach us who we are in Christ, and how we should act in Christ.
B. A Prompt Hearing Of The Word (Amos 8:11)
(Amos
8:11) "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a
famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of
hearing the words of the LORD:"
C. A Proper Handling Of The Word (Neh.8:7-8)
(Neh 8:7-8) "…and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. {8} So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." Not only must we Hear the Word, and Hunger for the Word – we must properly handle the Word of God. It is not enough to just read the Word – we must submit to the teaching of the Word!
| “Distinctly” = to specify clearly, to distinguish – in other words, with boldness. |
| “Gave the sense” = insight and perception were given. |
That means that the man of God stood with boldness and authority and the people understood because the Word of God was made clear. Do you know what they said about Jesus, (Mark 12:37) "And the common people heard him gladly." My, how we need teachers and preachers today that will get a Word for God and “cause the people to understand”!)
When folks proudly hunger for the Word; when folks promptly hear the Word; when folks properly handle the Word; then they begin to heed to the Word of God and it produces a transformation!
III. WE’LL LIVE FOR GOD
A. Consistently
(Psa
19:14) "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be
acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." If
you hunger and thirst after righteousness, it means you want your life to
count for God.
B. Constantly
(Mat 5:16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." You want your life to count for God not just on Sunday, but all week.
Conclusion: Having a hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness will cause us to Lean on God, Learn from God, and Live for God. When these things are true we’ll be LOVING WITH GOD - Because Christ lives in you, He wants to love through you! Jesus Christ gave the greatest expression of love when He went to the cross (1 John 4:10) "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." And now Christ wants us to express Christ's love to an unsaved world and even to our enemies. Jesus especially wants us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.