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A Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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  Matthew chapter 5.
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  As we turn to Matthew chapter 5, you come into what's titled, as you see in the ESV Bible,
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  ! It's the Sermon on the Mount, so where Jesus is here with his disciples and a large crowd
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  ! Gathered and he's teaching them many different things about life and our experience in this
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  world, but above all, our experience with him. And the Sermon on the Mount covers from chapter 5
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  through to chapter 7 in Matthew's Gospel. We're going to focus this evening on one of the Beatitudes,
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  as they're called here, in verse 2 to verse 12. We're going to focus on that one I mentioned
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  earlier in verse 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be
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  satisfied. When you turn to this sermon, the first thing we want to notice about the sermon is it's
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  not all about just how we practically live. It's not telling us these are the do's and don'ts in life.
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  But first and foremost, we see that the Lord here is teaching us about his gracious ways towards us.
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  It's not about what we do for him, but what he does, has done and will do for us as his people.
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  And we have to bear that in mind as we go into this. If we're just looking for something where we're
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  asking, Lord, what do I have to do? It's not all about that. Because our focus is first and foremost
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  on the Lord himself, what he has done for us. And as you go through the Beatitudes, you realise
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  that there is so much in them that he has already done. But you see that there's also things that he
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  is yet to do for us as well. They're great sayings, these Beatitudes. They remind us of just how the
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  Lord is with his people in every kind of circumstance. And you see it just in the kind of things that it
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  speaks about. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek. There's a whole host of different kinds of
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  people mentioned here. So as we look at a Beatitude here, it helps us to see what the Lord has done
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  for us. And they're not just found here in Matthew chapter 5. Beatitudes are found all the way through
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  the scriptures. You have the same ones mentioned in Luke chapter 6, verse 20 to 22. It's mentioned
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  there as well. But you see them in other places as well, like Psalm 1, which we sang together.
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  Blessed is the man. So it's there speaking about a Beatitude, a blessing upon the one whose focus
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  is on the Lord. And then what you find is in Psalm 1, it then goes on to describe what that person is
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  like. They're like a tree that is planted near a river, which yields its fruit and its leaves are
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  always green. So there's a blessing that we are finding in the Lord, but then we see that there
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  is profit from that as well, what the Lord does for us. So a Beatitude, it's like a statement,
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  a pronouncement from the Lord to his people, followed by a promise. So as you go through them
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  here in verse 2 down to verse 12, you see, blessed are, and then it says, for they shall.
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  And so when you're thinking of Beatitude, you're thinking, well, if we want that blessing,
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  what's in it? How do we find it? There's something for us to do. And as we look at verse 6,
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  we are blessed when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. And when we do that, then we see
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  they shall be satisfied. And so it asks questions of us. It asks us, well, is that the way our heart
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  is towards the Lord? Are we with that hunger and thirst for righteousness? As a people, we don't
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  maybe know what it is to physically hunger and thirst. We can be well satisfied every day of our lives
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  with the food that we eat, with all that we have to drink to satisfy our thirst. There are people
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  around us, though, who do know what it is to physically hunger and thirst. And when you find that hunger
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  and thirst satisfied, quenched, you realise then how powerful a thing it is to have that hunger satisfied.
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  But this is looking at not just that kind of practical way, not that practical way at all. It's looking at
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  how are we with the Lord? How are we hungering and thirsting for him? Like Psalm 42, which we sang
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  together as well. That's speaking of the deer that pants for the water. Do we have that desire for the
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  Lord, that hunger, that thirst for the Lord? And so do we have that hunger and thirst for righteousness?
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  We're going to look at this verse and just look at what it's saying to us as we see the different
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  words that are used in it. And we begin with the word blessed. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
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  for righteousness. Blessed is a word that's commonly used. We see it everywhere in the scriptures, Old and
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  New Testament alike. It's a word that's used often and we use it often as well. We use it at the end of
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  a text message or an email. Blessings to you. In some form we say blessed to people in day-to-day
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  language. It's a word that's commonly used. There was the phrase hashtag blessed. The word is used in so
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  many different ways. But what does it actually mean? It's used both from our perspective towards God
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  and God's perspective towards us as well. In a sense of from ourselves towards God. It's what we do is
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  we praise him as we worship him. When you think of Psalm 103, although my soul bless God the Lord and all
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  that in me is, there's that sense of us blessing God and giving praise, giving worship to him. And it's that
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  desire in the psalm is that his soul will be stirred up, stirred up to bless the Lord. So we can give that
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  full praise to him. And so in terms of from our perspective towards God, it's about having that
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  right relationship with him. We know blessing when we are right with God. As we trust him, as we look to him,
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  as we lean on him, as we depend on him for all things. But then again, you see it, it's not just
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  us towards God. It's more importantly, God towards us. Because blessing is divine. It's in God, it's from
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  God. It's not some kind of emotional state that we find ourselves. And we're not blessed just when we
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  have peace around us. We're not blessed when we are in good circumstances or when we're surrounded
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  by joy. It's much more than joy. And when you look at it as it's used in the Beatitudes, you realise,
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  well, it has to be more than that. Because when you look at the circumstances that the Lord is speaking
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  about here, it's not the natural place you would find joy as he goes through these Beatitudes.
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  Blessed are the poor in spirit. It's not those who are rejoicing and glad. It's those who are poor
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  in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. So you see, it's not just circumstances that dictate how we are
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  blessed. It's much more than that. It's knowing that the Lord is there for us no matter what. One
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  person noted it like this. Those who are blessed in this sense. Outwardly, they may have much to be
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  pitied. But from the higher and therefore truer standpoint, they are to be envied, congratulated and
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  imitated. So it's not just looking at circumstances and saying that person is to be pitied when they have
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  the Lord. Because when you look at it from God's perspective, they can be blessed because they are
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  trusting in him. And the Christian should be seen in that perspective. So that no matter what circumstance
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  we are in, we are going to know that God is with us. There are some people that translate the word
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  happy. Blessed and happy are used intermittently. They're interchangeable in some ways. But the problem
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  is when you look at the word happy and understand it in the English sense of the word, how do we
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  understand it? What does the word happy mean to us? Happy is an emotional state in many ways.
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  And it's the opposite of sadness. It's the opposite of sorrow. So when we talk about being happy,
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  generally we think about things that make us feel good, give us a sense of joy that there are good
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  things going on in our lives. Happiness, we can be talking about circumstances. So if you get a new job,
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  you're happy, you might also say you're blessed. When you get a promotion, you might say you're happy,
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  but you might describe it as blessed. When you have a child or a grandchild, you're happy. And you say
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  you're blessed. And there's so many of these ways that we could describe that the word can go together.
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  Happy and blessed can go side by side. But would you say you're happy when you're in poor spirit?
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  Would you say happy is the one who is mourning? We don't say it naturally because it's almost like
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  the opposite. And so blessed is not just happy. It's a very different kind of meaning. And the meaning
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  is found when we see in the Beatitudes, the circumstances. It's got a much deeper reality.
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  It's much deeper than just a happiness in a good circumstance. It's a happiness, a blessed,
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  no matter what. So it's not to do with our circumstances. It's to do with what the Lord
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  is doing for us in our relationship with him. To know that God loves us, that God cares for us,
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  that God has done great things for us. And what's what we see when you go through the scriptures,
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  when you find God's people in so many different circumstances, they know they are blessed when
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  they're able to look to God and know that he is there with them. Blessed are those who are poor in
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  spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who are meek. There's so many things that you
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  would say. It's not just happy, but blessed in knowing God. And so it is with blessed are those who
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  hunger and thirst for righteousness. It's not just happy in it, but knowing God's blessing in it. Just
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  as we go back to Psalm 1 again, blessed is the man who walks in the ways of the Lord. And that ways of
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  the Lord, it's not always straightforward. As you go through the likes of Psalm 23 as well, where you see
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  God's blessing, it's in the midst of all the different varieties of life, whether it's by the still calm
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  waters, whether it's through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is with us. And so blessed
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  has that relational side to it, where we are trusting God, where we are seeking to bless God
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  ourselves with all that we are, but we are seeking God's blessing on us in our right relationship
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  with him. So it's not a prayer just asking God to bless us. Jesus isn't teaching us, pray like this
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  here. It's more a reminder to us, a reminder to us to keep trusting God, to keep looking to God.
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  Blessed is God's gracious way of dealing with his people. So there's so much in the word blessed,
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  blessed are those who hunger to bless us. And yes, we could say so much more about it as you find it
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  through the scriptures, but it's just a reminder to us of a relationship with the Lord. Whatever
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  experience we have, whatever we're going through, that we can know God's blessing on us. And so the word
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  blessed then is used in each of these beatitudes, these statements that are made for us.
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  But as we look at verse 6, we focus in then on blessed are those who hunger and thirst.
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  There's a desire here, or there should be a desire here. If we want to know the blessing,
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  then this is how we are going to know it. When we hunger and thirst, and we're hungering and thirsting
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  for righteousness. This should be our attitude, if you like, towards righteousness. This is how we
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  should be living our life. And are we? Are we living like this? Is this the way that we live? With this
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  hunger and thirst for righteousness? He is speaking to a people who would have known times of real hunger
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  and thirst in that experience. We may not know it ourselves, but many of the people Jesus is teaching
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  here, they would have. They would have experienced times of hunger and thirst in a literal way.
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  And so as he's speaking to them, he's speaking into their experience and saying, well, in that experience,
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  you longed, you hungered, you thirsted for something to take away that hunger, for something
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  to take away that thirst. And as he's speaking to them, he's saying, this is how your relationship
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  should be with the Lord as well. When you've known times of not having God, when you've been
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  spiritually thirsty, when you've been spiritually hungry, when you've had no satisfaction in anything
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  that this world has offered, and yet you come and know the grace of God. You should keep longing
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  for it, longing, hungering, and thirsting for that righteousness. Like Psalm 42, the psalmist
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  there describing the deer panting for the water. So pants my longing soul for you. That's what
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  the psalmist is saying. Can we sing these words and say, well, that's my soul. That's my soul
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  towards you as my Lord. I'm just panting for you. I'm yearning for you. I'm thirsting for
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  you to know more.
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  There are times when we just have to look at ourselves and ask, is that me? As I look
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  at these beatitudes, is that the way I am? Am I hungering and thirsting for righteousness?
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  We are all capable of giving good praise to God. We are all capable of doing good things
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  for the cause of God. We're capable of praying to God in the good times. But do we do it all
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  the time? Do we do it in the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows? Are we a people who
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  have that hunger and thirst for righteousness? To have that right walk with God? There was
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  a story from World War I when the Allied forces, they were in the Middle East at the time and
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  they were chasing the enemy, if you like, through the desert. And they were going through battle
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  after battle after battle, slowly making their way through the desert. But as they were journeying
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  on, they were realising their supplies were running low and water was starting to become scarce.
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  And they thought, well, we can't keep on fighting if we don't have any water. And so as they were
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  pressing on, they realised they had to get somewhere that they could get that water supply replenished.
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  And they were marching through the hot desert. And so as they were journeying on, they realised
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  they were in trouble. But they knew where they could get water and they decided, we need to get
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  there. We can't keep fighting without this supply. But it took them so long to get there, they lost
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  many of the battalion on the way. But eventually, they reached the place where the water supply was.
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  But they were exhausted. Many of them were almost collapsing. And there were so many of them and
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  they couldn't all get to the water immediately. And they also had to set up defence in case an attack
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  came. So it was agreed that those who were the fittest would go on lookout to guard against the
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  enemy coming. And those who were the weakest would go to the water first. And one soldier who was a
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  Christian was in those who was feeling fitter at the time. And they had to wait until they got the
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  chance to drink the water themselves. For four hours, they waited. And eventually, he got to the water
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  himself. But as he did, and as he reflected later on, he said, we realised and learned a real lesson
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  in that time. And he said it like this, as we marched from Beersheba to the Sharia wells,
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  He said, if we're such our thirst for God, our thirst for righteousness and for his will
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  in our lives, a consuming, all-embracing, preoccupying desire. This was his reflection on the thirst
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  that he experienced. If that was our thirst to God, how rich would all of us be in the fruit
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  of the Spirit? That was the lesson that he took from that thirst. To realise that longing for his
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  natural thirst to be quenched. If only he had that thirst, if we had that thirst for God,
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  how rich would all of us be in the fruit of the Spirit? Jesus is speaking about that intense
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  longing. Where we're hungering and thirsting for righteousness. And so that hunger and thirst
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  is directed towards, thirdly, righteousness. Righteousness.
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  And we note here that the people, it's not that the people are righteous. They have a righteousness
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  through faith. But that there's still a longing for more. And what is this righteousness that
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  we are hungering and thirsting for? Well, again, the word righteousness, it can have different
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  meanings. There's at least three different meanings you could take. Ways that the word righteousness
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  is used. One is a legal righteousness. Where we're looking at it more in the courtroom kind
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  of setting. Where a righteousness is a legal standing. Guilty or not guilty. And as we think
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  of that, well, if we're hungering and thirsting for righteousness, what are we wanting with God?
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  We are wanting to be found that the verdict is not guilty. That our sins are forgiven. That
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  instead of our righteousness, which are like filthy rags, we are hungering and thirsting for
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  the righteousness of Christ. By which we know that we are forgiven our sins. So that as we
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  appear at the judgment seat of Christ, as we appear on the day of judgment, that we will be
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  declared right with God. So there's that aspect of it. There's another aspect of it as well,
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  as we think of hungering and thirsting for righteousness. It's this ongoing nature of it
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  as well. It's not just coming to the well and taking a drink and your thirst is satisfied
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  and you're done. It's that thirst is satisfied until the next time. And so it is with our hunger
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  and thirst for the righteousness of God. It's always ongoing. We never have a full store. We're
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  never fully satisfied. We're always with that need of it on an ongoing basis. And so our righteousness
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  is linked into our sanctification as it were. We're going on with the Lord. We're growing in the Lord.
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  We're growing to be like the Lord. So that his righteousness is becoming our righteousness more
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  and more. And then there's a third meaning for righteousness here as well. This righteousness
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  that we are hungering and thirsting for isn't just for ourselves, but it's for all around us.
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  So that as we experience this righteousness, as we are blessed in this righteousness,
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  our longing is that this righteousness will go out to all others. And you see that throughout the
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  scriptures, through the Old and the New Testament, righteousness exalts a nation. So it's not just
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  about an individual righteousness. It's a collective righteousness where we're not just saying, well,
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  I'm going to hunger and thirst for righteousness, but we will hunger and thirst for righteousness.
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  As a church, as a nation, as a world, this should be our longing, our desire.
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  This is what the Lord wants for his people everywhere, to know his righteousness. So that when we have it for
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  ourselves, we know that we are declared righteous in Christ. When we see it as a need for ongoing,
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  but that we see it too, that it goes out broader. It grows beyond just us, goes beyond just our walls.
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  It goes out into all around us. So the hunger and thirst for righteousness should be part of our
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  mission as well. Where that mission is when you receive water, when you receive food, you don't
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  just keep it all to yourself. If there's others who are hungry and thirsty around you, you share it out.
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  And so there's a sense of that mission in these words as well. Where this righteousness is not just
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  contained to ourselves, but shared with others. As a righteousness that's described in the scriptures
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  in different ways as well. In Romans chapter three, the righteousness from God comes through faith
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  in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all have sinned and fall short
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  of the glory of God. We all fall short. Everyone around us falls short. But this righteousness comes through faith
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  in Jesus Christ. And we don't depend on our own righteousness. Ezekiel chapter 33 verse 13 makes that clear for us.
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  So if I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil,
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  none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. He will die for the evil he has done.
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  So there's the warning. A righteous man, but he trusts in his own righteousness and does evil.
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  So we need to keep going in this righteousness as well. Don't trust in our own, but hunger and thirst
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  for the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
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  And then you see, finally,
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  blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness,
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  for they shall be satisfied.
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  And so here is the promise that God gives to his people.
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  They shall be satisfied.
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  And this
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  final part reminds us
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  of two things.
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  The first thing is,
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  not everyone
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  will be blessed.
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  because not everyone hungers and thirsts
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  for righteousness.
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  And so it's only through this righteousness,
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  this righteousness that comes
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  through faith in Jesus Christ
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  that anyone will ever
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  be satisfied.
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  And there's that warning there for us
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  too,
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  that there are those
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  who are perishing,
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  that there are those who are perishing
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  in their sin.
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  And so,
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  as a people,
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  that is why the righteousness of Christ
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  needs to be made known
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  to others.
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  That they would not perish,
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  but come to believe
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  in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Because they're chasing after
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  everything in this world
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  that will satisfy,
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  that will fill them,
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  that will make them happy,
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  that they might call blessed,
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  but that without Christ
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  is nothing.
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  And so there's a warning.
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  But there's also
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  a promise.
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  There is a promise
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  in there as well.
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  That for those
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  who keep going,
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  for those who hunger
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  and thirst
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  for this righteousness,
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  they shall be satisfied.
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  And
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  this is a sense of
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  what we would call
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  the already,
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  but the not yet.
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  that we have
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  much to be thankful for
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  and we have many blessings
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  here.
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  But that we can remember
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  that there's so much
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  more to come.
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  And when you look at
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  the other Beatitudes
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  here as well,
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  you realise
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  that it's not just
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  for the here and now,
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  but for
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  the future as well
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  and for eternity
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  in many ways.
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  blessed are the poor
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  in spirit,
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  for theirs
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  is the kingdom
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  of heaven.
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  Blessed
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  are those
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  who mourn,
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  for they shall
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  be comforted.
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  Blessed are the meek,
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  for they shall
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  inherit the earth.
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  Blessed are the
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  merciful,
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  for they shall
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  receive mercy.
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  Blessed are the pure
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  in heart,
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  for they shall
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  see God.
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  there's so many
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  of these blessings,
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  Beatitudes,
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  that yes,
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  there's blessing now,
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  but there's so much
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  more to come.
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  There's so much
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  more to look
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  forward to.
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  1 Corinthians
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  chapter 2
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  verse 9
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  and 10
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  it says,
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  but as it is written,
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  what no eye
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  has seen,
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  nor ear heard,
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  nor the heart
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  of man imagined,
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  what God
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  has prepared
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  for those
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  who love him.
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  These things
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  God has revealed
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  to us
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  through the Spirit,
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  for the Spirit
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  searches everything,
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  even the depths
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  of God.
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  We cannot
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  imagine it.
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  What no eye
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  has seen,
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  nor ear heard,
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  nor heart
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  of man imagined,
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  what God
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  has prepared
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  for those
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  who love him.
• 29:08
  And so as you
• 29:09
  look at the Beatitudes
• 29:10
  and the promises
• 29:12
  that there are
• 29:13
  in them,
• 29:14
  and we see
• 29:14
  the grace
• 29:15
  and love
• 29:16
  of God
• 29:16
  towards us,
• 29:18
  it reminds us
• 29:19
  that he has
• 29:19
  prepared
• 29:20
  a place
• 29:21
  for his people.
• 29:22
  He has prepared
• 29:23
  a renewing
• 29:24
  for his people.
• 29:26
  The poor
• 29:26
  in spirit,
• 29:28
  they will have
• 29:28
  the kingdom
• 29:29
  of heaven.
• 29:30
  Those who mourn,
• 29:32
  they will be
• 29:33
  comforted
• 29:34
  and fully comforted
• 29:36
  in the coming
• 29:37
  of the Lord.
• 29:37
  When you think
• 29:38
  of the book
• 29:39
  of Revelation
• 29:39
  and what it says,
• 29:41
  how the Lord
• 29:42
  himself will wipe
• 29:43
  away every tear.
• 29:45
  We don't have
• 29:46
  that yet,
• 29:47
  it's still
• 29:47
  to come,
• 29:49
  but we have
• 29:49
  so much
• 29:50
  to look forward.
• 29:52
  We cannot
• 29:52
  imagine what
• 29:53
  God has prepared
• 29:54
  for those
• 29:55
  who love him.
• 29:57
  And so there's
• 29:58
  so much more
• 29:59
  to come.
• 30:01
  But the question
• 30:02
  is as we finish,
• 30:04
  is it what
• 30:05
  we're hungering
• 30:06
  and thirsting
• 30:07
  for?
• 30:09
  Blessed are
• 30:10
  those who hunger
• 30:11
  and thirst
• 30:12
  for righteousness,
• 30:13
  for they shall
• 30:14
  be satisfied.
• 30:18
  This isn't just
• 30:19
  receiving
• 30:19
  a thimble
• 30:21
  of water
• 30:21
  to quench
• 30:23
  a bit of your
• 30:23
  thirst.
• 30:25
  This is
• 30:25
  the fountain
• 30:26
  of life
• 30:27
  that the Lord
• 30:28
  has to give
• 30:28
  to his people.
• 30:30
  It makes
• 30:31
  our cup
• 30:32
  overflow.
• 30:34
  When we hunger
• 30:35
  and thirst,
• 30:37
  we shall
• 30:37
  be satisfied.
• 30:40
  To go back
• 30:40
  to what that
• 30:41
  Christian soldier
• 30:42
  said,
• 30:42
  if such
• 30:43
  were our
• 30:44
  thirst for God,
• 30:45
  our thirst
• 30:45
  for righteousness
• 30:46
  and for his
• 30:48
  will in our
• 30:48
  lives,
• 30:49
  a consuming,
• 30:50
  all-embracing,
• 30:51
  preoccupying
• 30:52
  desire,
• 30:53
  how rich
• 30:54
  would all
• 30:55
  of us be
• 30:55
  in the fruit
• 30:57
  of the Spirit?
• 31:00
  Is that
• 31:00
  our hunger
• 31:01
  and thirst
• 31:03
  this evening
• 31:03
  for the
• 31:04
  righteousness
• 31:05
  of God
• 31:06
  that comes
• 31:07
  through faith
• 31:08
  to know
• 31:09
  we will be
• 31:10
  fully satisfied.
• 31:12
  may we have
• 31:13
  that hunger
• 31:14
  and thirst.
• 31:15
  Let us pray.
• 31:18
  Lord,
• 31:19
  our gracious
• 31:19
  God,
• 31:20
  as we come
• 31:21
  to your
• 31:21
  word,
• 31:22
  it so often
• 31:22
  reminds us
• 31:23
  of how far
• 31:24
  away we are
• 31:25
  from what we
• 31:25
  should be.
• 31:27
  But we thank
• 31:28
  you that you
• 31:28
  are a God
• 31:29
  who speaks,
• 31:29
  a God
• 31:30
  who hears
• 31:31
  our cries,
• 31:32
  who knows
• 31:33
  our longings,
• 31:34
  who knows
• 31:35
  our shortcomings,
• 31:36
  and yet is so
• 31:37
  gracious and
• 31:38
  faithful towards
• 31:39
  us.
• 31:39
  and we
• 31:40
  thank you
• 31:40
  for your
• 31:41
  word and
• 31:41
  how you
• 31:42
  have given
• 31:42
  it to us
• 31:44
  for every
• 31:44
  experience of
• 31:45
  life.
• 31:46
  To know
• 31:47
  that to be
• 31:48
  blessed is
• 31:48
  not just to
• 31:49
  be happy
• 31:49
  when things
• 31:51
  are going
• 31:51
  well,
• 31:52
  but to be
• 31:52
  blessed is
• 31:53
  to know
• 31:53
  that you
• 31:54
  are with
• 31:54
  us through
• 31:55
  all things,
• 31:56
  that you
• 31:56
  never leave
• 31:57
  or forsake
• 31:58
  your people,
• 31:59
  that you
• 32:00
  remind us
• 32:00
  that you
• 32:01
  take us
• 32:02
  through this
• 32:03
  world,
• 32:04
  through all
• 32:04
  its challenges,
• 32:05
  through all
• 32:05
  its ups and
• 32:06
  downs,
• 32:06
  but that
• 32:07
  we have
• 32:07
  even more
• 32:09
  to look
• 32:09
  forward to,
• 32:10
  the things
• 32:10
  that no eye
• 32:11
  has imagined
• 32:12
  or seen,
• 32:13
  of what God
• 32:14
  has prepared
• 32:15
  for those
• 32:15
  who love
• 32:16
  him.
• 32:16
  And so we
• 32:17
  pray,
• 32:17
  Lord,
• 32:17
  that you
• 32:18
  will make
• 32:18
  us hunger
• 32:19
  and thirst
• 32:20
  for your
• 32:20
  righteousness
• 32:21
  day by day
• 32:22
  and more
• 32:23
  by more.
• 32:24
  So hear
• 32:24
  our prayers,
• 32:25
  forgive our
• 32:25
  sins,
• 32:26
  we ask
• 32:27
  all in
• 32:27
  Jesus'
• 32:28
  name.
• 32:29
  Amen.