Hunger and Thirst

I will sing unto the Lord a cheerful song, I will Praise His Name for my God is good. Sisters sing unto the Lord a cheerful song, I will Praise His Name for my Lord is good.2x come see the Lord is good. Come and see the Lord is good. There is nothing He cannot do, come and see the Lord is good. Come and join me sing, come and see the Lord is good, come and see the Lord is good, there is nothing He cannot do, come and see the Lord is good.

Thank You Father for Your goodness and mercies in the life of Your children, glory be to Your Name on high. My Father, my Father, who is like unto thee, who can be compared with thee. Great are Your works and they are greatly to be Praise. Eternal Rock of Ages, we bless Your Holy Name, we honour Father, be Thou glorify. Excellent is Your Name, Excellent is Thy Power O Lord, Wonderful are You Lord.

I am thanking You Lord for Who You are, indeed You are Self- Existing God. You made the whole from nothing but from Your Spoken Word. Father, we bow at Your feet once again to receive Your Word afresh in our heart. Help us O God to look steadily unto You, Our Savoiur, our Redeemer and our Comforter. Glory be to Your Name alone Who lives and reigns forever more.

Beloved, how has it been? I hope you are bouncing in the Lord every day. I hope the Lord has been gracious to you and your family? We have been moving gradually with the Beatitudes and today again we will be considering those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Beloved do you know that hunger and thirst are the strongest of all our bodily appetites, therefore a soul that hunger and thirst for righteousness are after the image of God, it is the strongest of all our spiritual appetites, when it is once wakened in the heart, it swallows up all the rest in that one great desire. It help us to seek renewed after the likeness of Him that created us.

Secondly, when we hungry and thirsty, those appetite do not cease, but are more craving and importunate, till we either eat and drink, or die. even so, from the time that we begin to hunger and thirst after the whole mind which was in Christ, these spiritual appetites do not cease, but cry after their food with more and more importunity; nor can they possibly cease, before they are satisfied, while there is any spiritual life remaining. We may,

Thirdly, observe, that hunger and thirst are satisfied with nothing but meat and drink. If you would give to him that is hungry all the world beside, all the elegance of apparel, all the trappings of state, all the treasure upon earth, yea thousands of gold and silver; if you would pay him ever so much honour; — he regards it not: All these things are then of no account with him. He would still say, “These are not the things I want; give me food, or else I die.” The very same is the case with every soul that truly hungers and thirsts after righteousness. He can find no comfort in anything but this: He can be satisfied with nothing else. Whatever you offer besides, it is lightly esteemed: Whether it be riches, or honour, or pleasure, he still says, “This is not the thing which I want! Give me love, or else I die!”

And it is as impossible to satisfy such a soul, a soul that is athirst for God, the living God, with what the world accounts religion, as with what they account happiness. The religion of the world implies three things: (1.) The doing no harm, the abstaining from outward sin; at least from such as is scandalous, as robbery, theft, common swearing, drunkenness: (2.) The doing good, the relieving the poor; the being charitable, as it is called: (3.) The using the means of grace; at least the going to church and to the Lord’s Supper. He in whom these three marks are found is termed by the world a religious man. But will this satisfy him who hungers after God?

No: It is not food for his soul. He wants a religion of a nobler kind, a religion higher and deeper than this. He can no more feed on this poor, shallow, formal thing, than he can “fill his belly with the east wind True, he is careful to abstain from the very appearance of evil; he is zealous of good works; he attends all the ordinances of God: But all this is not what he longs for. This is only the outside of that religion, which he insatiably hungers after. The knowledge of God in Christ Jesus; “the life which is hid with Christ in God;” the being ” joined unto the Lord in one Spirit;” the having “fellowship with the Father and the Son;” the “walking in the light as God is in the light;” the being “purified even as He is pure;” — this is the religion, the righteousness, he thirsts after: Nor can he rest, till he thus rests in God.
Blessed are they who” thus “hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” They shall be filled with the things which they long for; even with righteousness and true holiness. God shall satisfy them with the blessings of his goodness, with the felicity of his chosen. He shall feed them with the bread of heaven, with the manna of his love. He shall give them to drink of his pleasures as out of the river, which he that drinketh of shall never thirst, only for more and more of the water of life.

Whosoever then thou art, to whom God hath given to “hunger and thirst after righteousness,” cry unto him that thou mayest never lose that inestimable gift, — that this divine appetite may never cease. If many rebuke thee, and bid thee hold thy peace, regard them not; yea, cry so much the more, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on me!” ” Let me not live, but to be holy as thou art holy!” No more “spend thy money for that which is not bread, nor thy labour for that which satisfieth not.” Canst thou hope to dig happiness out of the earth, — to find it in the things of the world? O trample under foot all its pleasures, despise its honours, count its riches as dung and dross, — yea, and all the things which are beneath the sun, —“for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,” for the entire renewal of thy soul in that image of God wherein it was originally created.

Let read more:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst  for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

Hunger and thirst are the body’s way of telling us that we are “empty.” Our natural response to physical hunger and thirst is to seek food and water to satisfy our need. Each Christian has an inner longing that only Christ’s righteousness can satisfy. But we cannot be filled with righteousness if we are filled with self. Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes that the one who longs for Him with all his heart will find Him (Jer. 29:13). As we crave righteousness, we will repent of our sin, and God will remove it from us. Our selfishness will be replaced by the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). The Spirit will make us to be like Christ.

Righteousness is not to be taken lightly, nor is it easily attained. Holy God does not give His righteousness to people indiscriminately. He gives it to those who know they cannot live without it. Our desire for personal righteousness must be powerful, all-consuming, dominating everything we do. Pursuing righteousness means that we value the opinion of God far more than we treasure the opinions of people.

Righteousness is not merely an absence of sin. It is allowing God to fill us with His holiness (Rom. 6:11). It is being like Christ. Jesus is our model of One who sought God’s righteousness first, and then the Father glorified Him. We are not only to seek the kingdom of God, but we are also to pursue His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). If we will hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be satisfied!

And the absent of the above in the life of a Christian means that he or she is slipping, discover what this means:

I Am Slipping ⁸²

• When I begin to act as if genuine joy is dependent on the state of the circumstances surrounding me.
• When I begin to lose the distinct aroma of the fragrance of Christ in my life.
• When I begin to feel or act as if my self-worth and acceptance is dependent on how well I perform.
• When I am losing my grip on the reality of spiritual warfare. Then I begin to treat my brother or my fellow human being as my enemy and seek to do battle with fleshly weapons.
• When I act as if victory or success depends on me and my ability rather than on the adequacy of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
• When I place undue emphasis on programming and planning to the exclusion of His direction, leading and guidance.
• When more time is spent in the “activities arena” than in the prayer closet.
• When the praises of men and women become more important than the approval of God.
• When relating to and caring for people is less important than programs, planning, meetings, and budgets.
• When I assume responsibility to worry and fret over things and people that God in His sovereignty and power would take charge of (if I would allow Him to do so).
• When my rights become more important than God’s will and way.

Beloved therefore beware of quenching that blessed hunger and thirst, by what the world calls religion; a religion of form, of outward show, which leaves the heart as earthly and sensual as ever. Let nothing satisfy thee but the power of godliness, but a religion that is spirit and life; thy dwelling in God and God in thee, — the being an inhabitant of eternity; the entering in by the blood of sprinkling “within the veil,” and sitting “in heavenly laces with Christ Jesus.”

With this dearly beloved, we draw the curtain for this week and we believe that by the special grace of God we will be back next week to continue with this beautiful session. God bless you. The Lord will make our feet more sure-footed in His Word. Amen!

Remain blessed in the Lord