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"Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires."
Matthew 5:6
“In the heart of the non-believer there is
a hunger for sin. But God in His might power reaches into that heart at the point of conviction and takes out that hunger
for sin and replaces it with a hunger for righteousness. And the person stops seeking that which is not bread and seeks
the true bread of life or as Jeremiah puts it very vividly in Jeremiah 2:13, ‘They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed themselves out cisterns, broken
cisterns that can hold no water.’ They are thirsty, all right, but they turn their back on the true water.
They're hungry but they turn their back on the true bread.”
“...we live in a world of people who are hungry and thirsty, driven people, pursuing, a compelled people. And
they're running as if they were starving and running as if they were perishing with thirst after what they think will
satisfy. And it doesn't. But the people in the kingdom also are ambitious. They're driven, they're
passionate but it's for righteousness...”
“So, right at the start in looking at this beatitude ...you can ask yourself the question...what do I really hunger
for? ...the results of that question, the answer to that question will tell you whether you are a kingdom citizen or
not. ... what is the driving ambition of your life? What is the compelling desire of your heart? What is
it that you really long for? What is it that you really want? [Jesus said] ‘The people who are entering
My kingdom and living in My kingdom, those who are coming into My kingdom, those who are members of My kingdom hunger and
thirst for righteousness.’”
“When the prodigal son was hungry, he went to feed on the husks. But when he was starving he went to his father."...”What
does it mean to hunger and thirst? It means to be desperate. It means to want one thing and one thing alone and
that's righteousness because you're literally overwhelmed with your sin. ...
“Now what is the result? Well
the result is given in verse 6, ‘They shall be satisfied...and blessed.’ The pursuit of righteousness brings
satisfaction. If you pursue it you'll receive it. ‘They shall be satisfied’ is a literal word
for feeding animals, foddering them so that they're full, satisfying them. When you come to God and you pursue all
His righteousness, you get it all. When you [want and desire] to be satisfied by His righteousness, He will give it.
The verb chortazo means to be really filled, totally filled. Psalm 107:9 says, ‘For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness.’ Psalm 34:10 says, ‘Those that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.’ And what did the psalmist say? ‘”The
Lord is my Shepherd...’what's the next line?’...I shall not want.’ And later on he says, ‘My
cup runs over.’"
“Jeremiah 31:14, Jeremiah said, ‘My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, saith the Lord.’ ‘You'll
be blessed,’ Ephesians 1, ‘with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.’ ‘You'll
be able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think.’ You will have all the fullness of Christ dwelling
in you, all the riches and treasures of the Godhead are in Him and all that He is dwells in you. That's what it
means to be satisfied. You are seeking the righteousness of Christ to be imputed to you in salvation, you will receive
it. You are seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ in sanctification, as you pursue that God will graciously
grant that to you until one day when you will be made like Him for you shall see Him as He is, 1 John 3:2. Therein comes the happiness.”
John MacArthur Copyright 1998 Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission
The Only Way to Happiness: Thirst for Holiness | Matthew 5:6
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Copyright 1998
Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission
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"Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires." Matthew 5:6
“God has put eternity in our hearts and
we have an inconsolable longing. We try to satisfy it with scenic vacations, accomplishments of creativity, stunning cinematic
productions, sexual exploits, national sports extravaganzas, hallucinogenic drugs, ascetic rigors, managerial excellence,
etc., etc. But the longing remains.”
“Isaiah put it like this in 55:2-3: ‘Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Hearken diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear
that your soul may live.’”
“And Jeremiah, like this in 2:12-13: ‘My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed
out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.’”
...”Your soul is hungry and your heart is thirsty. You feel an insatiable longing for something. You
are restless. Almost everywhere you turn, the grass is greener than where you stand. And the great tragedy for some ... is
that even though this is the Spirit of God beckoning you to himself, you turn away again and again to short-run, temporary,
backfiring pleasures of R-rated video cassettes or movies, or drugs or alcohol or tanning parlors or a new toy. [Jesus promises
that Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Matthew 5:6
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By John
Piper. February 16, 1986 © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
Used by permission
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