Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
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September 22, 2013 |
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 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matthew 5:6).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
The righteousness of God is to follow the will of God and to practice the Word of God who is the goodness and truth itself. It refers to every step that we have to take until we completely recover the lost image of God and become sanctified.
When we hunger and thirst for righteousness we can enjoy satisfaction forever. This is spiritual satisfaction. Let's delve into it.
1. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
A Korean saying goes, "One will become a thief if he goes without eating for three days." It tells us of the pain of being hungry. In the past, people lived on a porridge made from the inner bark of a tree or roots of wild plants because they were so poor.
In the Old Testament, people even ate their own children due to extreme hunger (2 Kings 6:28-29). But it is even more difficult to bear with thirst. When we are thirsty on a scorching summer day, we desperately want even just a sip of water.
God wants His beloved children to long to achieve the righteousness of God just like a person who is hungry and thirsty will earnestly ask for food and water. That is to say, He tells us to seek His will with earnest, keep His Word in our hearts, and act according to it.
This is because those who eagerly long to cast away all sin and evil, dwell in the Word of God, resemble the Lord, and take part in divine nature can become truly blessed persons.
Then, how much do you feel hunger and thirst for righteousness? Do you think, 'I am satisfied just by diligently going to church and listening to the Word.'? Although you may have vast knowledge of the Word, if you do not show works of faith, then as it is written in James 2:17, your faith is dead. Such people are just like those who are always hungry and thirsty because they do not eat and drink even though they have food and drink before them.
2. They can act in Light by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of Man
In John 6:53, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." In John 6:55, He also said, "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink." It means that the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, Jesus, is the spiritual food and drink that satisfies our hunger and thirst.
Then, what does it mean to eat the flesh of the Son of Man? John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And John 1:14 reads, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus is the Word of God who came to this earth in flesh. Therefore, the flesh of the Son of Man refers to the flesh of Jesus who came to the earth in flesh, that is, the Word of God.
To eat the flesh of the Son of Man is to diligently learn and take the Word of God as our spiritual bread. It is not just to have the Word of God as knowledge, but it is to pray fervently based on the Word of God that is learned, to check ourselves, to gain realization from the heart and plant the Word deep in our hearts.
What is 'to drink the blood of the Son of Man'? No matter how delicious and nutritious the food you eat, if you do not consume any water, the food cannot be digested. In the same way, when you listen to and learn the Word of God, if you do not practice it, you cannot make it yours. Therefore, "Drinking the blood of the Son of Man" is to put God's Word into action with faith. After you listen to the Word of God, discover your shortcomings, and plant the Word in your hearts, you should obey the Word, cast away evil, and act in Light. Then, you can digest the food, God's Word, and accomplish the righteousness of God. This is 'to drink the blood of the Son of Man'.
Those who know what is meant by 'spiritual food and drink' and eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood have to keep trying hard to discover and change their shortcomings in their actions, hearts, and thoughts.
They also have to be thirsting to learn how they can repay the love of the Lord, please God, and achieve things that God wants. And they have to endeavor to achieve the righteousness of God with longing just like a hungry and thirsty person. Then, they can obey the Word of God right after they listen to it, cast away sin and evil, and act in Light.
3. In order to receive the blessing of spiritual hunger with the faith of a father
If we are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness, we come to long for sanctification. Thus, we can more quickly throw away things that God tells us to throw away from our hearts, thoughts, and actions. We can obey the words in the Bible telling us to 'do,' 'not do,' 'keep,' and 'cast off.'
We will cast away sin and evil and achieve the heart of spirit when, with this hunger and thirst for righteousness, we take the Word of God as our spiritual bread and act according to it. When we do this we've become men of spirit. This is the blessing of spiritual satisfaction. In addition, if we completely achieve the Word of God, we can become men of whole spirit who have perfect resemblance to God. If we resemble the Father, He will give His authority and power to us to that extent.
As 1 John 2:13 says, "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning..." we can attain to the faith of fathers who know God's will exactly and keep it, which is the blessing of spiritual satisfaction.
In order to have great faith like that of fathers, we should eat spiritual food and grow up well in faith. In fleshly sense, when children grow up well by eating as well, they become young adults and mature adults who can understand the heart of their parents. Spiritually, if we practice the righteousness of God, we can increase our faith, and reach the level of obeying Him with the knowledge of God's heart. In other words, we can enjoy being spiritually satisfied.
When our spiritual faith grows up and we have faith of fathers, the blessing of all things prospering is given and we can overcome and drive away the enemy devil and Satan. Also, we can accomplish the spiritual heart and understand the deep heart of God. Thus, we can understand the heart of God and His will, and obey it.
Romans 8:14 reads, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." If we possess the faith of spirit we can communicate with God and receive the Spirit's guidance and enjoy prosperity in everything. When we are inspired, influenced, and filled by the Spirit and leading our daily lives in communication with God, this is the blessing of being spiritually satisfied.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, those who receive the blessing of being satisfied have no reason to encounter any tests or trials. Even if there are obstacles, God provides for us to avoid them through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be hungry and thirsty for the righteousness, receive blessings of salvation and answers, bear spiritual fruits, become men of spirit and whole spirit, and dwell in the position of shining glory like the sun in Heaven.
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