Blessed Are The Persecuted

Temple Baptist Church - 10-2-2016

Matthew 5:10-12

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Persecution: is it a curse or a blessing? 

 

1.  Through the eyes of humanity, we see persecution as a terrible thing and many avoid it at all costs.  The reason that the many avoid it is because they have never had to pay a price for their confession of faith.  We live in comfortable days in which we have neither persecution nor need of anything.  We have fat bodies instead of fat souls. 

 

a)  Psalms 106:13-15  They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:  (14)  But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.  (15)  And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

 

b)  I have often said that fat bodies make for lean souls.  God’s people are good people and I hate to see them suffer.  I hate to hear that some missionary or child of God has lost their life simply because that they have professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

c)  I certainly am not a “fan” of suffering and pain either.  I do not pray daily for the Lord to send me a “messenger of Satan” to buffet me or some religious zealot to persecute me.  I do not long for the day that our own government will label us the enemies of the nation and try to regulate what we preach, teach, and live. 

 

d)  I am sure that believers throughout the ages have hated to be stoned, sawn asunder, burnt at the stake, crucified, etc. just for trying to live their lives in quietness and peace for the Lord.

 

2.  Through the eyes of the Bible, we find the blessedness of those who are persecuted.  Again, a Beatitude is a state of blessedness and is not based upon what is happening to us at the moment.  The local church has actually been blessed in many ways during hard times of persecution.  Persecution causes self-examination; persecution brings holiness; persecution causes the chaff to separate from the wheat; persecution brings about unity and love in the body.

 

1.  The history of persecution.  Adaptation!  The Old Paths!  God’s people have suffered persecution from Genesis 4 to this day and we are not ashamed of their testimony and hold to their paths.

 

a.  Cain killed Abel in the very beginning.

 

b.  The Prophets in the Old Testament

 

c.  Our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary

 

d.  The Apostles and the Church in the New Testament

 

e.  An estimated 70,000,000.00+ have died since the death of our Lord.

 

f.  One statistic says that a Christian is martyred every 5 minutes in our day.

 

g.  And we think that we may not have to suffer?

 

2.  The Reason for Persecution.  Identification!  Identification with the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ instead of the world.  Because of a godly life that condemns an empty profession.  

 

1 John 3:12  Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

 

John 15:20  Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

 

3.  The Rejoicing of Persecution.   Association!  We are partakers with Christ’s sufferings as He is touched with ours.

 

1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

 

Hebrews 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

 

2 Timothy 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

 

4.  The Glorification of Persecution.  Magnification!  As we suffer after a godly manner, we bring glory to our Lord.

 

Philippians 1:20  According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

 

1 Peter 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

 

1 Peter 4:14-16  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.  (15)  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.  (16)  Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

 

5.  The Reward of Persecution.  Exultation!   If we suffer with Christ, we will also reign with Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

 

Mark 10:28-30  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life

 

6.  The Promise of Persecution.  Exhortation!  We have suffered very little to this point but the persecution is on the horizon for those who will not capitulate.  Our government is getting ready to “turn up the heat” upon those of us who will not accept sinfulness by becoming politically correct.  We are not hateful.  We are not unloving as we love all people.  Yes, the sinful is welcome to come and sit upon our pews.  They are welcome to hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

2 Timothy 3:10-12  But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,  (11)  Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.  (12)  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

 

1 Peter 4:12-14  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  (13)  (14)  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Temple Baptist Church - 9-25-2016

Matthew 5:9

 

Introduction:

 

A.  Beatitude – a state of blessedness.  Not a happening that produces rejoicing but a realization of being blessed in spite of circumstances and not because of them.

 

B.  When pronouncing the result of God’s children making and living in the realm of peace.

 

1.  In the last part of this Beatitude, find the phrase “they shall be called the children of God.”  Not that they will be the children of God but called the children of God.  The implication is that, when we seek and make peace with others, then others will know that we have been with Christ and are His children.

 

Acts 4:12-13  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.  (13)  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.  (I feel that it is vitally important that the world, though they may not agree with us, SEE Jesus Christ in our lives.  “They took knowledge of them, that they had been WITH Jesus.”)

 

2.   God’s children are to take on the characteristics of their Father.

 

Luke 6:35  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.  (In our heavenly Father, we find kindness.  To those who are unthankful and also to those who do evil.)

 

Luke 23:34  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

 

C.  In the Bible, we find a Biblical command:  Hebrews 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:  we are to “follow peace with all” which may not be the path of least resistance but is the path of righteousness.

 

1 Peter 3:10-11  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:  (11)  Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

 

D.  In the Bible, we find a Biblical disclaimer: Romans 12:18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

 

E.  “If it be possible” shows the possibility of impossibility!  Sometimes, there can be no peace and Ecclesiastes 3 lists the options:  a time to kill …  a time to hate … a time of war!  God’s people are peacemakers, not pacifists. 

 

F.  Be a good citizen; be a good neighbor; be a good friend and you will not have to tell others that you are children of God for others will see you as such.

 

G.  One of the devices of Satan and possibly the greatest is division.  We live in days of division politically, racially, and Biblically (which is a good division when false doctrine is in play).

 

1.  When there is division within your family, be the peacemaker!  Mark 3:25  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  (Be a peacemaker, even in the realm of spiritual division which is something that God causes in the home.  He brings the sword of the Word of God which always divides between saved and lost or obedient and disobedient.  You can live in peace if you allow God to work in their hearts: “without the word.”)

 

Matthew 10:34-36  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.  (35)  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  (36)  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

 

1 Peter 3:1  Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

 

2.  When there is division with a brother, be the peacemaker! Matthew 5:23-24  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;  (24)  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.  (Most disagreements between brothers or sisters in Christ have no eternal value.  They are differences of opinion and carnality is the culprit that magnifies that which means so little.)

 

Philippians 4:2  I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

 

Colossians 3:13  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

 

3.  When there is division within the church, be the peacemaker!  1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.  ;

 

Romans 14:19  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

 

Hebrews 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

 

James 3:17-18  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

 

Conclusion:  Rewards Of The Peacemaker.

 

a. The Peacemaker shall be content. "blessed"  Thank the Lord for the peace that He gives.

 

b. The Peacemaker shall be called.  "children of God"  The peacemaker shall be identified with God!

 

c. The Peacemaker shall be Christ like.  “of God”  In seeking peace, and following after peace, and bringing peace, we are like the Prince of Peace.  The greatest reward is Christlikeness.

Blessed Are The Pure In Heart

Temple Baptist Church - 9-18-2016

Matthew 5:8

 

Introduction:

 

A.  This Beatitude mentions the heart or the soul of man. 

 

1.  Man is a trichotomy: three in one.  He has a body which is world conscious; he has a soul which is self-conscious; he has a spirit which is God conscious.

 

2.  The soul of man is called the heart in the Bible and is of the utmost importance because the heart’s condition determines our relationship with both God and the world.

 

Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

 

Proverbs 23:7  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

 

Matthew 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

 

B.  I do not want to begin a series on the heart this morning but do want to emphasize its importance in our walk with God as well as in our daily walk before men.  I want to look at two types of purity for a few minutes.

 

1.  Outward Purity of the moralist.  Though purity is beginning to be old fashioned in our day, there are still people who have some integrity left and it shows.  It is outward.  Readily recognizable because of the lack of purity of the majority of people that surround them.  Morals have “gone to pot” in these last days and the things that were once not to be spoken of publicly are now publicly displayed and flaunted. 

 

Proverbs 30:12  There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

 

2.  There is also the outward purity of the religious man.  The Pharisees made clean the outward man but they were full of deadness on the inside.  Religion loves to look right without being right.

 

Matthew 23:25-28  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  (26)  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.  (27)  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.  (28)  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

 

3.  Inward Purity.  The inward purity spoken of in our Beatitude for this morning is much more than just an outward show though it does affect the outward man.  Inward purity is the purity that God sees in us.  God is a Discerner of the heart of man. 

 

1 Samuel 16:7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.  (Some have used this verse to qualify their erroneous thinking that God is not concerned with our outward appearance but with our heart only.  Too much is said about the Temple of the Holy Ghost, which is our body, for this reasoning to “hold water.”  We are to present our bodies to God a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable which is our reasonable service.)

 

C.  The Purity of the Godly is Inward. 

 

1.  The believer is given a holy nature at the moment of the New Birth. 2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

2.  That new holy nature must be nurtured in what is referred to as progressive sanctification. 

 

Ephesians 3:16-17  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  (17)  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

 

D.  The product of a pure heart is that the believer “shall see God.” 

 

1.  This not a visual sight of God but a spiritual one.  Most religious people have concocted a “god” of their imagination: a “god” that they are comfortable with and who is comfortable with their lifestyle.

 

a)  America no longer sees God as He is!  I hear these Washington politicians end their anti-God speeches with “God bless America.”  What “god” are they talking about?  A “god” that loves sodomy?  A “god” that loves abortion?  A “god” that loves lying and deception?  A “god” that accepts other “gods” such as Allah, Joseph Smith’s “god” or some other “god?”  The God of the Bible is a holy God who rejects these things.

 

b)  God cannot continue to bless America!  God cannot continue to be gracious to America!  God is still merciful to America but I believe that will end soon.  “One nation under God” is a pledged by a nation that rejects God.

 

c)  What is the problem?  People no longer see God.  Our nation no longer sees God as He is but has created a “god” of love without holiness!  Pulpits across America have been silenced because sin has entered the “camp” and it there to stay.  Look at the Bible Belt and its liberal, casual, contemporary churches.  They no longer see the God of the Bible because their hearts are impure.

 

2.  The pure hearted believer sees God as He is!  He is a loving, kind, merciful, compassionate God but He is also a holy and just God.  I want to look at an often quoted verse that explains how we shall see Him as He is. “For they shall see God!”  They shall see God as He is, not as man too often perceives Him to be.  A thrice holy God!  As the majestic Sovereign of the universe!  As the Lord of lords and King of kings!

 

1 John 3:2  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  (I understand that this is speaking of when we stand before Him in our glorified body and see Him with our eyes but the key is “be like him…see Him as He is.”  The purer our hearts become, the more that we are like Him, the clearer that we see Him as He is.)

 

E.  How do we get a pure heart?

 

1.  Purity of heart comes through obedience to God’s Word - Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

 

2.  Purity of heart comes through purity of thought - Proverbs 23:7  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

 

3.  Purity of heart comes through fleeing from sinfulness – 2 Timothy 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

 

4.  Purity of heart comes through an unfeigned love of the brethren – 1 Peter 1:22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

 

5.  Purity of heart comes through watching for the coming of our Lord – 1 John 3:3  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

           

Blessed Are The Merciful

Temple Baptist Church - 9-11-2016

Matthew 5:7

 

Introduction:

 

A.  In this verse, we find that those who are merciful obtain mercy.

 

1.  In Matthew 6:12, one of the verses in the Model Prayer in which our Lord taught us to pray, He ties our request for forgiveness with our forgiveness of others.

 

Matthew 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 

2.  This is one portion of prayer that we are probably more familiar with than any other:  the need for forgiveness of sin.  If you are saved this morning, you have no problem with knowing that you are both a sinner and sinful. 

 

3.  This is one of the works of the Holy Ghost who indwells the believer.  One of the most evident signs of salvation is sensitivity to sin.  Things that never bothered you as an unbeliever now bring you to a place of repentance.

 

B.  There will be times when other will sin against a child of God and each of us throw ourselves on the mercy of God.  I have never come a place in my life that thought myself worthy of God’s love and know that I am just an old hell deserving sinner.

 

Lamentations 3:22  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

 

C.  If we expect to be recipients of God’s mercy, then we need to show mercy to those who sin against us also.  I want to quote this verse again:

 

Matthew 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 

D.  At this point, let me say that I know that we are not God and God knows that we are but flesh so I thank Him that his mercy extends beyond the realm of the mercy that I show to others.

 

E.  But, at the same time, we need to strive to be as merciful to others as we expect God to be merciful to us.  Let’s examine the mercy of God that we are to pattern our lives after.

 

1.  God Forgives Immediately.

 

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Psalms 86:5  For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

 

We Are To Forgive Immediately.

 

Matthew 5:23-25  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25  Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

 

The First Mention Of Forgiveness - Genesis 50:17-21  So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. 19  And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21  Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.  (Notice the word “Now.”  We are to forgive immediately as we desire God to forgive immediately!)

 

2.  God Forgives Completely.

 

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (There is nothing in the believer’s life that God cannot or will not forgive!  What a blessing!)

 

Psalms 25:18  Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.  (Notice the prayer.)

 

Psalms 85:2  Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

 

Psalms 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

 

Isaiah 38:17  Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

 

Isaiah 43:25  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

 

Micah 7:19  He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

 

We Are To Forgive Completely.

 

Ephesians 4:32  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

 

3.  God Forgives Continuously.

 

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Psalms 130:4  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.  (“There is” is present tense!  You will always find forgiveness with the Lord.)

 

We Are To Forgive Continually.

 

2 Corinthians 2:7  So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.  (“Ought” speaks of moral obligation.)

 

Matthew 18:21-22  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

 

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Blessed Are They Which Do Hunger And Thirst After Righteousness - When Our Blessings Become A Curse

Temple Baptist Church - 9-4-2016

Matthew 5:6

 

Introduction:

 

A.  In our fourth Beatitude, we find a blessing for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (holiness).

 

1.  This is not a reference to the imputed righteousness that brings salvation though it must be desired above all else.  We do live in a time when few are interested in Biblical salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone.  Men would much rather earn their salvation that receive the free gift offered by God. 

 

2.  The only thing that makes any sense at all is that men think more highly of themselves than they ought!  Sinners cannot save themselves and yet these believe that God will accept the based upon their personal merit!  He will not!!!

 

3.  The righteous spoken of in this Beatitude is that of godliness and purity.  Even within the churches, there are fewer and fewer who have such desire.

 

B.  First of all, I want to put this verse in a right historical context. 

 

1.  The disciples of our Lord had given up what little that they had to follow Christ.  The Jewish people of that day were basically poor and had little.  They also had little hope of ever having anything.  This verse came easier to them and yet most never had a hunger and thirst for God, therefore, this Beatitude.

 

2.  Our day is so different and is rapidly becoming much worse as we live in the Laodicean Church Age of having need of nothing.  When I was a boy, we had enough but did not have what the rich kids had.  Eating out for us was “once in a blue moon” and normally was a Chrystal Burger or an ice cream cone at the Shady Nook.  No Walmart, no online shopping, no gas to go anywhere, eating out of the garden along with what meat we hunted to put on the table, hand-me-down clothes, a Santa Clause who was CEO of Fruit of the Loom, and walked to school (25 miles in 3 feet of snow at -30 degrees J ).  Barbara and I did not own a car until we were married, lived on $73.00 a week, and thought a picnic lunch at the lake was a good day (and it was).

 

3.  Today, the things that once belonged to the rich have become a way of life for even the poor.  It has changed our spiritual perspective!  We try to live a moral life because we have been taught from the Bible to do so but we do not “hunger and thirst after righteousness.”

 

C.  The world will leave you empty, especially the child of God. 

 

1.  Things do not satisfy for long and more is required.  More does not satisfy for long and more becomes the desire of the natural man. 

 

2.  This does not mean that you cannot be filled with good days, happy days, successful days, and the such.  Life in itself is good and the Lord wants each of us to have a measure of happiness in this life but the joys of the world are not always lasting and can leave one empty.

 

3.  The joys of this life are temporal at best and have neither spiritual nor lasting eternal value.  We sing “Thank you, Lord, for your blessings on me,” but it is for the temporal things and not because of a filling of the blessings of God for hungering and thirsting after righteousness!

 

D.  Have you ever gotten hungry for something or had a taste for something? 

 

1.  You can eat everything in the house but nothing else satisfies.  When on a diet, you have a taste for what is a “no-no” and you nibble instead of just satisfying that desire and then going back on the diet.  What happens is that you eat all of those calories and then still end up eating the “no-no.”  It is better to just eat what your body is telling you that it needs. 

 

2.  When someone is sick or dying, one of the first things that happens is a lack of appetite.  You try to reason with them, “You have to eat!  Without fuel in the tank of the car, the car will not run.”  As a general rule, hunger and thirst are signs of physical health.  Spiritual hunger and thirst are signs of spiritual health. 

 

3.    Physically, the appetite must be trained.  When we were young, we did not get a lot of junk food.  It was beans, taters, cornbread, veggies out of the garden, etc. but, in this day, it is junk food with little of the above mentioned.  Kids today do not like to sit down to an old-fashioned meal.

 

4.  Spiritually, the appetite also must be trained.  We cannot feed from the junk of the world and desire the things of God.  The Spirit of God creates a hungering and thirsting in the child of God so that He may fill it.

 

E.  Hungering and Thirsting is:

 

1.  A Hungering and Thirsting for Personal Communion with the Lord. Psalms 42:1-2  As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.  (2)  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

 

Psalms 63:1  O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;  (We live in a spiritual “drought” in the Bible Belt!  “Where no water is.”)

 

2.  A Hungering and Thirsting for God’s Word. Job 23:12  Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

 

Jeremiah 15:16  Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

 

3.  A Hungering and Thirsting for God’s House.  Psalms 84:1-2  How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!  (2)  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

 

Psalms 27:4-6  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.  (5)  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  (6)  And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

 

4.  A Hungering and Thirsting for Holiness of Life. Psalms 19:12-14  Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.  (13)  Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.  (14)  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

 

Psalms 26:1-2  Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.  (2)  Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

 

5.  A Hungering and Thirsting for the Souls of Men. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20  For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?  (20)  For ye are our glory and joy.

 

Daniel 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

 

6.  Hungering and Thirsting for Heaven. Revelation 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

 

2 Timothy 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.