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Hunger and Thirst

November 03, 2013

Passage: Matthew 5:6 Speaker: Pastor Lukus Counterman Series: Beatus - Favored by God

Length: 52 mins Plays: 2899

Speaker: Lukus Counterman - So how does Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” fit into the flow of the Sermon on the Mount? Well, this longing for righteousness is the spiritual consequence of the first three beatitudes. If we know our sin and spiritual poverty, if we mourn over it and live meekly because of it, we will hunger and thirst for righteousness. That is, we will seek it, yearn for it, and ask God to help us attain it. The pursuit of righteousness however is not a popular endeavor in our culture. Some view it as a prudish, narrow-minded, or even an arrogant form of legalism. They are content to seek other things – spiritual maturity, real happiness, positive outlooks, effective skills, or some spiritual experience. But how many hunger and thirst for righteousness? It’s not to say that those other things are not desirable, but they are not as basic as righteousness. What is needed in our day is a pursuit that views righteousness as important as food or drink. Christians should have parched souls and famished hearts that long for righteousness such that they cannot get along without it. As Martin Luther once said, what is needed is “a hunger and thirst for righteousness that can never be curbed or stopped or sated.” All of mankind has a spiritual hunger, a longing and a restlessness that can only be quenched by God through the Lord Jesus. Augustine spoke of this craving when he said “Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” May the Lord fill those who hunger today.