HUNGER & THIRST (PSL)

[The Way To Happiness]
[ Matthew 5:6 ]
A Message by Rev. Dr. Stanley Lim on 3 & 4 March 2001

INTRODUCTION:

There are no two people exactly alike in all the world. There never has been. There never shall be. We are different in so many ways. We have different fingerprints, personalities, heritage, intelligence, not to speak of height or weight.

But every one of us are alike in that we all hunger and thirst. Jesus in his usual manner of simplifying the complicated, uses this common demonstration to communicate the truth of the 4th, way to happiness.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” A rather strange statement indeed. How could hunger and thirst ever make a person happy. To be quite truthful. I am not only unhappy when I am hungry and thirsty, I am might be in an angry mood. But Jesus contends that the right kind of hunger and thirst will lead to happiness.

In reality, Jesus is asking, “How much do you want righteousness? As much as a hungry man wants food?” As much as a thirsty man wants water?”

Hunger and thirst are the way to happiness for the following reasons:

I. BECAUSE OF THE THINGS THEY SUGGEST.

Just what do the two words, “hunger” and “thirst” suggest? For one thing they suggest pain and agony. But Christ looks on the other side, on the positive side of hunger and thirst. There are 4 positive things that are suggested.

A. Life
As soon as a baby comes into this world, he hungers and thirsts for one reason: he is alive! And as soon as you are born into the Kingdom of God you begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Be aware of this fact, Peter says, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow.”

In west Texas, a normal mesquite tree in the summertime will use 55 gallons of water a day. It is hence not strange to see many of these trees destroyed. For the water is better use for grass. Nevertheless, the moment a mesquite tree ceases to drink, it is dead, or perhaps has been dead for sometime.

A Christian cannot afford to cease hungering and thirsting for righteousness. For where there is a hunger, a yearning within, you can be sure you have the life Christ came to impart.

B. Health
The believer who has an appetite for Bible reading and study, who loves to be in the fellowship with other believers, who just can’t get enough of God and His goodness will always receive a good report from the Great Physician on his spiritual checkup.

C. Growth
Hunger and thirst after righteousness means we eat well spiritually. When we regularly eat well the things of God, we grow. And as we grow we hunger and thirst after the deeper and meatier things of God. The church at Corinth experienced a stagnated spiritual growth because they remained satisfies with the milk of the Word and developed no appetite for the meat of the Word. [Read: 1 Cor.3:1-2 ]

D. Enjoyment
Eating is something to be enjoyed. But essential to enjoying a meal is a healthy appetite. And the person who hungers after righteousness will enjoy feasting on God’s Word. We will enjoy Christian fellowship, worship, and prayer. And as he satisfies his appetite he will in that very process experience happiness.

II. BECAUSE OF THE LESSONS THEY TEACH

When you are hungry or thirsty, you can learn a number of things that you would never learn otherwise. If lost in a desert, you might learn to get water from a cactus plant or to enjoy wild berries. Many of the lessons that hunger and thirst after righteousness would teach us.

A. Things cannot fully satisfy
Jesus said, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” [ Matt.4:4 ]

Do you remember the story of old King Midas who had such a hunger for gold that he wished that all he touched would turn to gold? One day his wish was granted. All he touched turned to gold – his furniture, his clothing, his dinnerware, everything! And it was so wonderful until his little girl came running home. When he reached out to touch her she also turned to gold. It was then King Midas realized that things alone cannot fully satisfy.

Jesus said something about this many years ago. “A man’s life consist not in the abundance of the things he possesses” [ Luke 12:15 ]

B. God alone meets our total needs [ Psalms 42:1-2 ]
God has placed in everyone of us an insatiable hunger and thirst for Him.

III. BECAUSE OF THE DESIRES THEY CREATE
Just what is this righteousness after which we are to hunger and thirst? It is more than judicial justice. It is more than a rigid code of conduct. It is nothing less than goodness.

A. The desire for personal goodness
In Rom. 7:18, Paul said that he had the will [desire] but not the power to do what is right. He realized that he was not all he desired to be. But we can be assured that if the desire for personal goodness is within us, the Heavenly Father will impart the power required to be good.

I am glad that Christ did not say that only those who are righteous would be blessed. But rather he said those who desire [hunger and thirst] to be righteousness are blessed. When the desire for personal goodness saturate us, happiness becomes a reality.

B. The desire to be good to others
Micah 6:8 – What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?

When we have a sincere desire to be good to others, we become generous in our remarks about people and even judgments of others. We shall go the second mile to be good to others.

C. The desire to know the person who alone is good
Who alone is really good? Jesus asked, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but One that is, God” [Luke 18:19]. Some desires degrade, and some, when satisfied, destroy. But the desire to know God who alone is good edifies and instills happiness. No one is any happier than the person who is hungering and thirsting to know Christ better.

CONCLUSION:

Do you hunger and thirst for more than this world can give you. Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink…he that believes in me…out of his inner self shall flow rivers of living water.”

Do you hunger? Are you thirsty? There is room at his banquet table for you today.