Matthew 5:6 and Luke 6:21&25
It's good to be back and able to do the weekend sermon again. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I had a nice holiday. Thursday, I watched the football games. On Friday night, my brother and his wife took me out to eat for our family Thanksgiving. It was really good.
Since our Dad passed away, I've become a lot closer to my brother. He is my Dad's son from my Dad's first marriage. My brother is a lot older than me, and we didn't get to spend much time together growing up. It's nice to get to know him better now.
The last time I posted a sermon, we continued in our series of messages on Jesus' teachings in the Sermon in the Mount. We looked a Jesus' statement, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
The meek are those who have a humble and gentle heart that imitates the humble heart of Jesus. The meek follow the example that Jesus set during His time on this earth. They imitate the sacrificial love of Christ.
People with a worldly perspective don't understand how someone who is meek will inherit the earth. Jesus here is talking about ultimate things. When Jesus returns, those who have follwed Him and served Him will rule and reign with the Lord. Only those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will live forever with the Lord at His Second Coming.
Today, we turn our attention to the next in the list of beatitudes given by the Lord. In Matthew 5:6 Jesus says, " Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Luke records this beatitude in a slightly different way in Luke 6:21 where Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied." Like the rest of the beatitudes recorded by Luke, Jesus gives an opposing statement in Luke 6:25 where He says, " Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry."
What does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness? I believe that there are a couple of meanings to this statement. First of all, there are those who have yet to come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord who have a hunger and an emptiness in the depths of their soul. They are looking for something to fill the spiritual void in their life.
Many people are searching for something to provide meaning in their lives. This is one of the reasons that there are so many different religions and spiritual groups in this world. People are seeking to satisfy their spiritual hunger. They want to be free from self.
Thanks be to God that many people who are spiritually hungry hear the true message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They come to realize that faith in Jesus is the only answer to their spiritual hunger. Only a relationship with the risen Lord can satisfy their soul.
When a person comes to faith in Jesus, that person is freed from guilt, shame and sin. He is cleansed from sin and washed in the blood of the Lamb. That individual receives the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and becomes a new creation in Christ. The hunger of their soul is satisfied.
This beatitude also has a meaning for those who are already followers of Jesus. It should be the desire of our heart to want to follow the commandments of the Lord and live a life of righteousness and holiness. It should be our desire to diligently and earnestly seek to be imitators of our Lord.
Those of us who place all of our efforts into living a life of righteousness for Jesus will be rewarded when we die or when Jesus comes again. The Bible says that Jesus is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Jesus will give to each of us according to what we have done.
Now, let's look at this beatitude from Luke's perspective. Luke's account says, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied."
Their are many people in this world who do not have enough to eat. To me, this is an unbelievable tragedy. In a world with so much food, there's no excuse for people going hungry except for man's inhumanity to man. Injustice, political strife, and a lack of giving are, for the most part, the major causes of hunger.
As believers in Jesus, it is our duty to help feed the hungry where we live and around the world. Every church that has the ability should have a food bank or some similar ministry to help alleviate the problem of hunger. We also need to work to end the injustices that cause so many to go without.
When Jesus returns, He will institute justice. No one who went without will do without in Jesus' kingdom. Everyone will have enough, and they will be full and satisfied. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
When Christ returns, He will judge those who didn't pay people working for them enough to eat properly. He will judge those who didn't provide from their abundance to those who lacked.
It is my prayer that if you don't know Jesus as Lord that you will consider coming to Him. He is the Bread of Life who can satisfy the hunger in your soul. Jesus is the only way.
Next week, Lord willing, we will continue our study of these important words from the Lord. I've been reading a lot of good animal books lately, and I hope to post some reviews this week. May God bless you. Amen.
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