Be Hungry After Christ’s Righteousness

God created this place for us to enjoy a very happy place to live.  He has covered the landscape with beauty, oceans with peace, stocked the earth with wealth & resources, and provided wisdom and skill to each of us to master it all.  Of course, sin ruined it all causing madness and confusion.  However, our gracious Lord provided the Gospel to once again provide us a place of human care, understanding, and love.

Yet, every day people are asking the question: “What’s wrong with people?” Some people may be asking the question, “What is wrong with the church for it seems it isn’t doing its job to save our civilization from greed, pride, hate and selfishness that is destroying our planet?”  There may be some people sitting here asking the question about ourselves: “What is the matter with our members who claim God with their lips, and then seem to forget all about him by their failure to perform their religious duties?”  Many cannot even get out on a Sunday morning to have their faith strengthened by God’s Word or offer praise and thanks to the Lord.  A wave of religious apathy seems to be sweeping across our country when so many children are not being taught the Bible stories of Adam & Eve, Abraham, Noah and King David—let alone the life of Jesus Christ.  We hear about wars of various nations in the world in the news, but what about the war against spiritual values which is huge battle that fights against hatred, pride and lust?  It takes great effort to rebuild cities and wealth in a country after the devastation of war.  It takes even greater effort to rebuild the moral foundations of spiritual peace and prosperity that now disfigures our society.

We know Jesus is the answer.  Jesus proclaimed the solution in his Sermon on the Mount. Today we will focus on one of his statements. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.” As with all the statements Jesus spoke, this one also turns the ideas of the world upside down.  To correct the madness and confusion of people he tells us to

Be Hungry After Christ’s Righteousness

Honoring God As He Willed

Jesus was speaking to a large crowd of people, and specifically to his disciples.

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up onto a mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² He opened his mouth and began to teach them”

Matthew 5:1

Jesus knew who he was speaking to—people who were concerned about being good.  No doubt many of these people were “good” on the surface, while their hearts remained selfish.  Tell me, how good is a person who goes to church Sunday but does not follow God’s will during the week?  How good is a person at home who behaves himself simply because he knows the others at home will make his life miserable for him if he doesn’t?  How good is a person who obeys the laws just because he wants to stay out of jail and knows what his family and friends will think of him.   Do you see?  All too often goodness is only about “good manners.”  We like to be well-dressed but underneath it all the heart may be a selfish and godless as ever.  This is the sinful nature of all people, yes, even of disciples and people like you and me.

It is to us Jesus speaks these words,

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

Righteousness is being right on the inside.  It is being right with God.  There is no person right with God, with a clear conscience, that really loves God unless he is righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.  What is the object of that faith?  Answer: That Jesus identified himself as the Savior of all people.  To believe that Jesus offered his perfect life on the cross as the payment for our sins.  That we are now right with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  How do we know?  The Holy Spirit reveals it to us through the pages of Scripture!  There we hear

“All our righteous acts are like a filthy rags”

Isaiah 64:6

Then God speaks these words through St. Paul,

“God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him”

2 Corinthians 5:21

To be righteous is to have Christ by faith, and for him to have us.  So, what’s left?  A question:  If you believe this, are you honoring God as he wills?

I can’t imagine any of you listening to this sermon going home today, locking yourself in your room, then opening up the window and yelling out, “Good-bye, God! I’m done with you!”  While this won’t happen, the devil will use other tricks to get you to dis-honor God and tempt you to forget what Jesus warned,

“These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”

Matthew 15:8

It makes no sense, but it happens when we say, “I love you God” and then simply ignore him.  Or “I love you God” but I don’t have any time for you and your kingdom work.  The most glaring proof is in church attendance today.  You have heard me say, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.”  But, why and how we attend indicates how much we love the Savior and how grateful we are.  I hope and pray you come to worship with the attitude of the Psalmist,

“I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord”

Psalm 122:1

It is one way to measure if we are Honoring God As He Willed. God hasn’t left the matter of loving him to our choice, for Jesus said,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”

Matthew 22:37

He also said we are to “hallow God’s name” (Matt 6:9).  As Luther explained, “We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and his Word, but regard it as holy, and gladly hear and learn it” (Explanation to the 3^rd Commandment).  

Therefore, to Be Hungry After Christ’s Righteousness begins with a fruit of faith by Honoring God As He Willed.  After examining our own hearts, we repent for our lack of love of the Lord.  For our failure to joyfully bring ourselves under the influence of God’s Word regularly in worship, Bible class, and personal devotions at home.  For neglecting the influence of God’s Word with less than joyful, attentive hearing.  Then being turned to the cross of Christ where our sins are forgiven, we will Be Hungry After Christ’s Righteousness by Honoring God As He Willed.  This lasting goodness in our hearts will make the difference in our life.  Indeed, nothing else in life will be good, especially our relationship with God, unless we keep God’s name holy by Honoring God As He Willed.  When God is honored, then the appetite grows to Be Hungry After Christ’s Righteousness as we

Empty Ourselves To Be Filled with Christ

Most of us have never really been hungry.  We have seen the pictures of starving children in Haiti and Africa.  We have heard stories of people rising up against their government because of their hunger.  Hunger will fight its way through iron and stone!  Thirst is even more powerful.  Can we think of any greater thirst that Jesus on the cross who experienced thirst during his agony?  Jesus said,

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” 

Jesus showed us both physical thirst and spiritual thirst to save us!  It is with such intensity that we are to seek God.  The problem is that our spiritual hunger and thirst for God have been spoiled by the garlic of materialism.  We have so much stored up in our homes that we are like a 2-year-old sitting on the floor surrounded by new toys with only one thing in mind—having fun!  The materialism around us blocks our faith from valuing our greatest need—to be filled With Jesus Christ.  1) Did we have such a busy week that we’re too tired to come to worship and be filled with Christ?  2) Did we have such a busy Sunday morning that we didn’t have time to come to Family Bible Hour to use Kingdom Kids to teach our children the basic stories of the Bible, and for us to discuss the one thing needful?  Something isn’t right!  We are also told that when there is little to no desire for worship and Bible class on Sunday, there is little to no time spent in God’s Word at home!  These excuses do not stand before our holy God! You remember the parable Jesus told about people making excuses.

“The first one told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’”

And God said,

“Yes, I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”

Luke 14:18, 24

If your life is too busy to engage God’s Word, then change it.  If your priorities are messed up to that you can’t worship with eager anticipation, then change them.  For a hungry life so filled with worldly, materialistic, selfish things results in destroying our appetite for the righteousness of God.

If you would lose your appetite for food, how long would you wait before going to see the doctor?  If you don’t eat you will get weak, and sick and eventually die.  We all know that after we miss a service or two, or for some even weeks, month, and years of worship and no steady, spiritual diet of God’s Word, it doesn’t take a pastor to tell us that we are spiritually sick.  We know it ourselves.  That is the time for us to seek help.  Well, Jesus is that help.

Dear Friends in Christ, first, if we are going to once again “hunger and thirst for righteousness” and have God fill us up, how about we start by emptying ourselves.  Our body becomes hungry when it’s empty of food.  Likewise so many people are spiritually hungry, seeking solutions to their problems, worries and battles in life.  Jesus gives us all the solution today.  For the sake of your faith and soul’s eternal benefit, rid yourself of selfish pride and greed, for the things of this world, lust of the flesh and all the worldly desires.  It sounds hard, and it is if you’re looking in the wrong place. If we scan our lives horizontally, squinting for signs of life in relationships, health, wealth or status all around us, we will remain hungry. Even when life is stuffed with good things, our souls still feel scratchy and discontent, hungry for more.  That is the time for us to look up vertically! Look there at the cross of Jesus! Jesus said,

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”

John 10:10

To have an abundant life that satisfies our spiritual hunger begins and ends with Jesus.  It is here at the cross of Jesus where God’s law reminds us that it was our failure to uphold God’s holy will that nailed him there to endure the punishment of hell we deserved.  Repenting for our sins we empty ourselves of our works.  Then we are Filled Up With Jesus who forgave our sins, opened the gate of heaven, and defeated the power of Satan.  Cling to Christ and his love for you.  Hear Jesus’ words in order to be filled with his righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.” This is Jesus wonderful promise for you that Fills You Up! 

You may not have the happiest place to live, the most beautiful landscapes and oceans to look at, and stocked with wealth and resources.  What you have is Jesus’ satisfaction.  Jesus fills your hungry soul with peace, grace, hope, and joy.  I pray that you will remain hungry and thirsty for Christ’s Righteousness in his Word and today in the Lord’s Supper.  Yes, Christ’s Righteousness will always fill your spiritual hunger and you will be blessed.  Amen!