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May 21, 2020 4:00 am
What are you hungry for power. Praise possessions, pleasure because the answer you give to that question will determine whether you're in the kingdom are not what you hunger and thirst for righteousness or happiness to want deep down joy the difficult circumstances, even tragedies, can't shake.
Oddly enough, before you can satisfy your hunger for happiness. You first have to hunger for something else today on grace to you. John MacArthur explains exactly what you need to hunger for as he continues his look at the opening statements of Jesus sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, that's the title of John's current series, the Beatitudes, and now here's John with the lesson. Take a Bible clear look at Matthew chapter 5 in verse six, Matthew chapter 5 verse six as you know we've been studying the Beatitudes. Let me read verses 1 to 6 to set the pace for what comes in verse six and seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain and when he was seated his disciples came on to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Now, as we look at the sermon on the mount.
We find that it is a masterful presentation of the conditions for entering his kingdom, and the characteristics of those who are in his kingdom is a manifesto of the kingdom is the teaching of living in the kingdom of the king begins with the introduction here in the first 12 verses and Jesus introduces this sermon by telling us that it's happiness that he's after its blessedness that he is offering. So our Lord is offering real happiness, real blessedness, but it is the kind of blessedness that only comes by being a part of his kingdom. These are the truths of his kingdom. So as I said, they express both a necessary condition for entering the kingdom as well as a characteristic of those who dwell in the kingdom. People say are the true here in the Beatitudes. How you get in the kingdom or how you live in the kingdom.
The answer is yes, they are all about how you are when you come into the kingdom and how you will be as you live in the kingdom. In other words, to enter the kingdom you must be poor in spirit, and as you live in the kingdom you continue to recognize your spiritual poverty in order to enter the kingdom you must mourn over your sin, and as you continue living in the kingdom as a son of God, you will mourn over your sin in order to enter the kingdom you must come and meekness, not tried a proud man can enter and once you're in the kingdom. Meekness continues to be your attitude as you look at God and his God becomes more and more wonderful as you study and learn more and in order to enter the kingdom you must hunger and thirst after righteousness. And once you're in the kingdom will continue to hunger and thirst for more of that same righteous so it is both a condition for entrance and a characteristic of living in the kingdom.
This is a description of coming in and living in his kingdom. Now let's look at verse six. This particular aspect. Blessed are they who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness for they shall be filled.
Now this Beatitudes speaks of a very strong desire.
It speaks of a driving pursuit.
It speaks of a passionate force inside of us and ambition if you will, and ambition as a word can be used in a good sent. It also can be used in a bad sense. There are a lot of things that people strive for in pursuing have a passion for and have ambition to see fulfilled and there are a lot of strong desires that are perverted but going the wrong way. For example, I think of Lucifer. Lucifer was God's most glorious creation, the most wonderful thing that God ever made and Lucifer had a consuming resolute ambition. He had a passion that was really a driving force within his mind. What was it in Isaiah 1413. It tells us what the passion of Lucifer was, I will ascend into heaven by will exalt my throne above the stars of God.
I will sit also on the mount of the congregation and the sides of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most high is ambition was to be like God, he was hungry but he was market power hungry, he was power-hungry he had a resolute ambition in a consuming passion, but it was for power, he was power-hungry and in the response of God. We see God says you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the pit. You will not realize your ambition and that was Nebuchadnezzar.
In Daniel chapter 4. It tells us of his desire. In verse 30 the king spoke and said, is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power. If Lucifer was power-hungry. Then Nebuchadnezzar was praise hungry so praise hungry was he that he praised himself and God reacted old Nebuchadnezzar. Thy kingdom is departed from the and they'll drive the from men of thy dwelling shall be with the beast of the field they shall make it wheatgrass like oxen and seven times pass over the until thou know that the most high rule within the kingdom of man.
Lucifer was power-hungry and Nebuchadnezzar was praise hungry, and neither of them ever saw the fulfillment of their ambition.
There's another individual.
I would draw your attention who had ambition. There are many, but I'm just giving you an illustration in Luke chapter 12 in verse 17 we meet the rich fool the rich fool said within himself, what shall I do, because I have no place to bestow my crops and he said this will I do I will pull down my barns and I will build greater barns and there will I bestow all my crops and all my good wasn't about to share with anybody was going to pile them up and I will say to my soul soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many many years.
Take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. Yet ambition he was possession hungry possession and you know what God said to you fool, this night thy soul shall be required of the then whose shall those things be, which you have provided other than plenty of people with ambition, power-hungry praise, hungry possession, hungry. We could even say of this man. He was a pleasure hungry eat drink and be merry, but they were all fools. They were hungry for the wrong thing.
Nothing wrong with ambition. Nothing wrong with passion. Nothing wrong with a resolute drive. Nothing wrong with a great desire if it's for the right thing to say what's the right thing go back to verse six that's the right thing. Happy are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. While this is a strong statement. Food and water are necessities, beloved, remember that that's right there necessities so as righteousness.
That's the first indication of this beatitude, you need righteousness like you need food and water. Is it wrong to hunger is wrong. The first is the most normal thing is the most common drive is the most necessary drive and so it is with righteous our physical life depends on food and water. Our spiritual life depends on righteousness. You can't live physically without food, water, and you will never live spiritually without righteousness. And Jesus is here saying that the real thing that a man needs his righteousness, and anybody coming into my kingdom and anybody living in my kingdom has as great an appetite and thirst for that as a man does for food and water unsafe people do have ambition. They have hunger and they have thirst physically and I guess they have thirst for happiness and hunger for fulfillment, but they seem to find it in the wrong place. In fact, Peter compares the unsaved to a dog that goes back and looks up at vomit, Peter compares the unsaved to a pig that goes back and wallows in its own Meyer DC the world is trying to feed on what is not nourishing. The world is trying to feed on that which cannot fulfill its need the heart of every person in the world.
Believer and unbeliever, the heart of every man ever made was created for it with a hunger for God, but man tries to satisfy the hunger for God with all the false things with the garbage. The husks of the hogs.
Like the prodigal son. His heart hungers to be fanned in the feeds on the hogs food the dog goes back and looks at vomit.
They don't seek the bread of life. They seek what the Scripture says that which is not bread Jesus offered himself as that bread he knew people were hungry.
He offered himself as that water. He knew they were thirsty. Jeremiah said it vividly.
This is Jeremiah 213 listen what it says they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters and have huge them out cisterns, what kind broken cisterns that can hold no water. In other words, God is made man with a thirst and a hunger for him, but man refuses the well of living water and makes himself broken cisterns that can't even hold water. It's so sad to see people hunger and thirst for the wrong things. Hunger and thirst for happiness and meaning and fulfillment and inevitably try to fill themselves up with self-indulgent pleasure's possessions, power and praise prodigal son.
He longed for the pleasure belong to possess long for the popularity of a riotous life. We went hungry in his soul, and finally had the sense to come to himself and say how many of my father's servants have bread enough and to spare.
Why am I doing this and he went back to his father's house and he was given a feast in that feast is a picture of a spiritual feast the world and its riotous living tries to fill itself with the husks of the swine tries to fill itself the pleasures of sin, and it comes up absolutely empty and those who respond to the spirit of God, come running back to the father and there is a feast to fill up the empty heart to fill up the hungry soul thirsty soul. First John chapter 2 warns that you can't get satisfied in the world love not the world, neither the things that are in the world what's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and none of that stuff abides forever just wind so right at the start. Ask yourself this, but as we begin our study. What you hungry for power. Praise possessions, pleasure are you feeding yourself on the husks of the swine are you like the dog who lets his own vomit. The pig that wallows in his own Meyer are you looking to the only real source because the answer you give to that question will determine whether you're in the kingdom are not what you hunger for the blessed hunger and thirst after righteousness. Those in his kingdom. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Now let's ask some key questions as we have for each of the beatitude question number one. How does this beatitude fit in with the others. How does it fit in with the others will notice first of all, in verse three it says blessed are the poor in spirit. We talked about the fact that that means morally bankrupt. That is the recognition that you are destitute of any righteous thing that is the recognition that before God, you stand absolutely stripped naked and empty that is the recognition when you've added up all the pluses of your life. They are zero. That is the recognition that you cannot help yourself. You are hopeless you are sinful and that is followed by the next one.
Blessed are they that mourn, and that is the response to that recognition. When you see yourself in your broken and your spirit. You will mourn here is the sorrow that comes over the moral bankruptcy and then there is meekness and meekness says look at me in comparison to God, I am nothing and meekness is humility. And when you see your sin and you are broken and you mourn you will take the place of meekness before God and in your meekness before God, you realize that the only you have of ever knowing righteousness is to seek it out his hand and so you come to the fourth beatitude and you hunger and thirst after what you know is not yours on your so the progression is simple.
Martyn Lloyd Jones writes this beatitude follows logically from the previous one as it is a statement to which all the others lead is the logical conclusion to which they come.
It is something for which we should all be profoundly thankful and grateful to God. I do not know of a better test that anyone can apply to himself or herself in this whole matter of the Christian profession than a verse like this. If this verse is to you. One of the most blessed statements of the whole of Scripture you can be quite certain you're a Christian. If it is not you and better examine your foundations again." Because if you have been broken in your spirit and are overwhelmed with your sinfulness and you mourn over your sinfulness and then you got to recognize the holiness of God. The response should be that you hunger and thirst for what he has that you need and if you do not hunger and thirst after righteousness.
You are not a citizen of God's kingdom. Our society chases all the wrong things you see they chase money materialism fame popularity pleasure. Usually, all because of greed not need. But it's all the wrong stuff and you know the sad part of it is, even though the United States grants us The Pursuit of Happyness people to find it because they define happiness in wrong way. Happiness is money. Happiness is pleasure.
Happiness is having material things here it says happiness is brokenness.
Happiness is morning happiness is meekness. Happiness is hungering and thirsting after righteousness. But you notice the response to each of those. Looking back at verse three. Get theirs is the kingdom of heaven, they shall be comforted. They shall inherit the earth. They shall be filled is not fabulous if you sum that all of you know what you get. You get everything there is your fill. You inherit the earth. Your comforted and you inherit the kingdom of heaven is fabulous. In other words, on God's condition. Everything is going to be ours. Here's the point.
The world is working like mad to gain material things to gain money to gain all the stuff. What if they came into God's kingdom on his terms.
They get on the end anyway right so apply if either breaking your neck to get what God wants to give see in and going out the way you're trying to go to get it. You never get it coming on God's conditions when you don't try to get you get in other words it's available as a gift just cantered so Jesus is saying why are you working so hard to get all this, the Jews man they were working to bring the kingdom they were trying their best to be comforted in a very difficult situation and they wanted to inherit the earth, so bad they could taste it, and they were trying to fill up their life with meaning and they were chasing on the wrong way and the Lord simply says to them I give you everything you want to give you the kingdom will give you present comfort all fill your life with everything it needs to satisfied. I'll give you the whole earth. You have the whole deal.
If you just come on my condition. Brokenness mourn fullness, meekness, hungering, thirsting for righteousness. I guess maybe the key to the whole thing is this meekness.because the meek person is the person who is broken over sin and seeks God's gift is no pride just seeks seeks God's gift it in every example of meekness. Listen to this and every example of meekness in the Bible. The underlying motive was always that the individual knew God's promise of sin again. In every example of meekness in the Bible. The underlying motive was always at the individual knew God's promise. For example, taking. Abraham was meek because when lot and he will to decide who gets the land right. He said let you take whatever you want. He was meek, but you know what he knew his mark got a promise and the whole thing anyway Inc. Aeroflot had a little of the temporarily see meekness can always take its place because it knows in the end everything belongs to it member David. David wouldn't raise a sword against Saul. Never I told you could kill Saul, but instead he just cut off his robe. Why because David knew he was the king's gonna get it all anyway what he afterward. In other words, the basis is God's promise, and once we believe God's promise. We don't have to try so hard to get all this stuff.
I Read My Bible Is Way, God says MacArthur you're my child there so I said I spent all my time on my own right now trying to get it make any sense. Everybody I want some of the people borrowing for what all coming back to me based on his promise.
See, this is the underlying thinking. We have to realize this is the whole basis of motivation in the sermon on the map you enter God's kingdom.
And you know it's all yours anyway. Only can it become yours at his hand and later on, this becomes the motivation for other things.
If you look at verse 40 of Matthew five if a man sues you at the law and takes away your coat, let him have your cloak also why you have all you need in the kingdom. What you care. Whosoever wanted to go home I'll go to give to him and ask. See, and from him that would borrow of the turn not away. Listen, don't hang onto the stuff of the world and try to be possessive. Don't try to grab it all. The law be yours anyway. So Sharon may see with that kind of a heart with that kind of a spirit you can have the right ambition. If you're saying look all I want. God is your righteousness while I want us to be meek before you all I want is to have your kingdom on your terms. You know his promise in the end, is that you inherit everything, everything, in fact, the apostle Paul even said of the Corinthian's all things are yours delete and hear Christ's, and Christ is God's saw yours anyway. All yours. So here were these Jews and boy were trying to get the kingdom they were trying to take the earth. They were trying to be comforted in a discomforting situation or try to fill their lives they were working like mad to do it. And the Lord said, if you just come on my terms of give you the whole thing. He said it this way in chapter 6. Also, verse 33. Listen to this seek ye first the kingdom of God and his what righteousness and what all these things shall be what attitude you see it's all yours anyway. On God's terms. So we say happy are the hungry. There's pain in verse three broken spirit. There's pain in verse four. Morning there's pain in verse five meekness the death of self but there is the comfort of verse six hungering and thirsting, that's the solution we get to the place where you start to reach out to God. It's kind of negative at the beginning. You just heard a lot see your sin and then you begin to move toward God begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness. That's why this beatitude fits here because it makes sense you take a man broken over sin he take a woman broken over sin, meek, before a holy God, knowing he has nothing you can do it himself to gain or inherit anything. Who then reaches out of the hunger to thirst for that which only God can use grace to you with John MacArthur. Thanks for being with us. John is the pastor of Grace Community Church is also chancellor of the Masters University in seminary and his current study here on grace to you is a look at Christ's Blessed are statements known as the Beatitudes. John today made the point that true believers have an appetite for God's word. They desire the things of God.
They have a longing for God. It seems you're saying that if someone wants to know if there truly saved. They need to ask themselves some serious questions about their desires is that a fair way of putting it. It is absolutely a fair way of putting it because salvation is the transformation of a person's nature.
Your your nature at its very essential level is transformed. That's why it's referred to as a new birth. That's why Scripture says you're a new creation.
All things best when new things have come.
So you have new desires you have a new disposition. You have new longings you have new affections and you all of a sudden you hate the things you used to love and you love the things you used to hate. Yes, salvation is not just an external declaration by God.
That's justification.
It is also an internal regeneration and transformation. So if you're looking at yourself and say I don't if I'm a believer.
How do I know if I'm a believer you not to go back to some event in the past were you prayed a prayer or you're not can adjustably say will I believe in Jesus and I asked him to save me if you want to know your spiritual condition you need to assess yourself this way do I love the Lord, do I love his word by love is people do. I love his church.
Secondly, is there humility in my heart. Do I understand myself as a sinner and my always aware of the sweet and abundant grace of God given to an unworthy center. That's humility. And thirdly, is the longing of my heart to be obedient to the Lord.
I was think about those three things, love, humility and obedience as being evidences of the transformation.
Your desire is to love your desire is to humble yourself, your desire is to be joyfully obedient. I want to offer you a copy of a booklet titled is it real and it's talking about salvation but I'll send this to anybody who asks the booklet. Is it real specifically helps you come to grips with the most important question ever is my salvation.
The real thing or my only kidding myself, can I really know that I am saved the heart of the booklet 11 test questions for you to answer that will help you evaluate where you are spiritually. Is it real booklet is yours free. Just let us know you want to copy.
Whether you wrestle with doubts or someone you know wonders if he's really saved.
I urge you to get this little booklet again will send you.
Is it real for free. Just call us or go to our website get in touch today. Our toll-free number here is 855 grace. You can also request a copy of is it real@ourwebsitejidety.org.
You don't have to struggle with doubts about your salvation you can know if it's real. This booklet shows you the difference between a genuine Christian and a spiritual fraud. It can also help you show others the difference between false conversion and real transformation again to get a free copy of the booklet. Is it real. Call 855 grace or go to our website TTY.org and to tap into even more free Bible study tools. Make sure you visit our website TTY.org.
There you can download individual sermons from John including all 10 messages from this current study beatitude. You can also read helpful blog article purchased the MacArthur study Bible download apps and much much more. Just point your browser to TTY.org now for John MacArthur and the entire grace to you. Staff on Jill Johnson. Thanks for being here today. Come back again tomorrow when John continues his study of the Beatitudes with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time wasting