Sermon: A Holy Hunger

[0:00] All right, who's ready for more Beatitudes?

[0:25] I think we're good. We ready? Okay, awesome. All right, I can just keep talking, right? If you need me to, okay? We've been going through the Sermon on the Mount now for several weeks, and we've been looking at each of the Beatitudes kind of one by one.

[0:39] And so tonight, we're going to focus specifically on verse 6, but if you are able to stand, would you please do so as we honor the reading of God's Word. And we're going to read as we've been doing each week, beginning at verse 1 down through verse 12.

[0:54] Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[1:08] Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

[1:22] Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

[1:34] Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against If he judged you falsely on my account, rejoice, be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

[1:54] For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. This is God's word. Please pray for me and with me. Let's ask God to teach us tonight. God, thank you for this moment in our week when we get to be together.

[2:09] We get to worship you through song and the community of just being with one another. We pray, God, now for this moment in your word.

[2:19] You've been speaking to us so directly through the Beatitudes, tearing away everything the world calls wise and showing it to be foolishness.

[2:33] And showing us what life in your kingdom really looks like. What the good life, the life that flourishes, the blessed life truly is.

[2:45] So peel back the layers tonight once more and help us experience your grace. We pray it in Jesus' name and God's people said, amen. Amen.

[2:55] Please be seated. Faith family, what is your white whale? What is your white whale? That phrase is actually a reference to the 1851 classic tale Moby Dick.

[3:12] You remember the story, no doubt, about a ship captain named Captain Ahab who sets out on an epic quest to find and kill this white whale.

[3:23] And the reason for the quest is because in a previous encounter with the whale, it had attacked Ahab or bitten off part of his leg.

[3:34] And so now Ahab has this mission, this all-consuming obsession in life. It's all he thinks about. It's all he talks about.

[3:44] He is consumed with the whale. In fact, on one occasion in the book, Ahab says, and I quote, Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale.

[3:56] To the last I grapple with thee. From hell's heart I stab at thee. For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee.

[4:09] Ahab is a man obsessed. And his obsession throughout the book begins to transform him. He's unable to relate to people socially.

[4:20] He starts to lose a sense of his own humanity. His obsession for that whale actually results in his own death at sea.

[4:33] It really is a story about obsession. And it's from that story that the phrase white whale has become a part of our lexicon. It's come to stand for something that you're so obsessed with that it consumes you.

[4:48] Something that you obsess over and can't obtain on your own. And everybody has one, maybe multiple. Just doing some research on people that identified what their white whale was.

[5:04] Here were a few examples. A woman by the name of Elizabeth says, My white whale is the quest for knowledge. The constant unending stream of things to do, see, and learn. Rosie said, Greater productivity is my white whale.

[5:18] I'm constantly wanting to do more. Eric said, My white whale is the Jets finally winning the Super Bowl. Unlikely to happen in my lifetime.

[5:29] Eric said, Paul said, It's the constant pursuit to find meaning in life. There's a good book in the Bible on that one. And then Joe Firestone said, I think I am my own white whale.

[5:48] What's yours? What's yours? What's your white whale? What's that thing you're obsessed about? What's that thing you constantly think about? What's the thing that you want more than anything else in the world?

[6:01] Maybe for you, You obsess over a sports team. Maybe you obsess about your appearance. Maybe you obsess over winning.

[6:13] Maybe you parents, You obsess over your children. Maybe you obsess over the size of your biceps. The struggle is real. Right? Maybe you obsess over work.

[6:26] Maybe you obsess over getting married. Maybe for some of you, Your obsession is politics. Maybe you obsess over money. Or grades.

[6:38] Or food. But make no mistake. Make no mistake about it, Faith Family. Everyone in this place, And watching online, Has a white whale.

[6:49] That thing that preoccupies your mind, And consumes your desires, And sets your heart out on a mission to obtain. And that's exactly, What Jesus is talking about, In the fourth beatitude.

[7:08] Look at verse 6 again. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

[7:19] This beatitude is getting at the very core of, What do you really long for in life? What do you want more than anything in the world? What do you obsess over?

[7:29] And that's why many people consider this beatitude, To be one of the most important, Of all the beatitudes. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones writes this, I do not know of a better test, That anyone can apply to himself or herself, In the whole matter of the Christian profession, Than a verse like this.

[7:51] If this verse is to you, One of the most blessed statements, Of the whole scripture, You can be quite certain, That you are a Christian. If not, Then you had better examine, The foundations again.

[8:08] What do you hunger for? What are you obsessed with? Let's unpack this beatitude. First notice the obsession, That Jesus is talking about. Blessed are those who hunger, And thirst.

[8:23] First. Just like all of the other beatitudes to this point, This sounds on the surface strange. Have you not noticed that in all of these?

[8:33] This is not the way we would typically think, It's not what we would typically say. For example, We would never, Ever say, You know the fortunate people, Those are those beggars, Who realize they have nothing.

[8:46] You wouldn't say that. You'd say, No, The fortunate people are those, Who are confident in themselves, And their abilities. You would never, You have never said, The really fortunate people, Are the sad, And crying, And mourning people.

[9:01] No, You would say, The fortunate people, Are the ones that are happy all the time. You would never say, That fortunate are those, Who submit themselves, To the good of other people.

[9:12] You'd say, Nonsense. Fortunate are those, Who assert themselves, And win, Over other people. In the same way, Faith family, You would never, In a million years, Ever say, Fortunate are the starving.

[9:32] The hungering people, The people who are really, Thirsty and desperate. Those are the good, The good life. No, You would say, Fortunate are those, Whose bellies are full.

[9:43] The good life, Is the buffet. Amen? That's like an American pastime. I mean, Blessed are those, Whose refrigerator is full.

[9:54] That's the good life. And if you don't believe me, Look at the Super Bowl spread, Some of you are about to enjoy tomorrow. You will think, Tomorrow afternoon, This is the good life.

[10:06] Why? Because look at all the food we have. Look at all that I am able to enjoy. Here's why I know, Here's why I know, That you would never say this. Why what Jesus is teaching here, Is so counter cultural.

[10:19] How many of you have ever been, On a mission trip to a third world country? How many of you have ever seen pictures, Of kids from a third world country? How many of you have ever been up late at night, And a TV commercial came on, Asking you to help, Children who are starving, In a third world country?

[10:37] Faith family, Listen to me, Have you ever looked, At an image like that, And said, Those people are so blessed, Man, I wish I could be like them, I would switch places with them, In a heartbeat, No, You want to help them, But you don't want to be them, Amen, That's what I'm getting at here, Is what Jesus is saying, The blessed people, Are those people who starve, That doesn't make any sense, At least the way we think, In terms of the world, Now if you think, That using the third world imagery here, Is just a way to play with your emotions, That's not my intent at all, In fact, That imagery is actually, What you should have in mind, Because that's what Jesus is addressing, With his original audience, Listen faith family, The people who are hearing, These original beatitudes, When they're first being taught, On the sermon on the mount, They're living day to day,

[11:39] Jesus will teach them, Give us this, Say it with me, This day, Our daily bread, Why? Because they don't know, If they're going to have food tomorrow, God, I'm dependent on food today, And tomorrow, Because I don't have a refrigerator, Full of steak, I don't get to have a Super Bowl party, I don't know, If I'll eat tomorrow, So give me this day, My daily bread, In fact, The Greek word here for hunger, Means a desire so intense, It's painful, In other words, It's the idea of starvation, What Jesus is talking about, In this fourth beatitude, Is people who are starving, They are absolutely starving, And that's why it's hard for us, To relate to this beatitude, Because when we're hungry, That's probably, About the equivalent, Of our stomach growling, Most of us eat three meals a day,

[12:40] And seven snacks in between, Our children will say, 30 minutes after lunch, Has this not happened to you? 30 minutes after they eat, Mommy, I'm starving, And what do you say?

[12:53] You don't know what starving is, Isn't that what you say? And you're right, Because we're not a people, That really know, What it means to hunger, This is how most of us, Relate to food, I do love going out to dinner, I always get the appetizer, Because the appetizer, Is just an excuse, For an extra meal, Let's see, I will start with, The 80 buffalo wings, And do you have a locale, Blue cheese?

[13:20] Because I don't want to, Fill up too much, It would be embarrassing, Trying to explain, What an appetizer is, To someone from a starving country, You're like, Yeah the appetizer, That's food we eat, Before we have our food, No no, You're thinking of dessert, That's food we eat, After we have our food, Yeah, We eat tons of food, Sometimes it's so much, We just stick in a bag, Bring it home, You ever get the doggy bag, You're like, No no, Put this in a box, In a bag, And I'll bring it home, Throw it out tomorrow, It's so true, It's so true, That's our understanding, Most of us, To hunger, But not to Jesus' Original audience, No they know, What it's like to hunger, They are on the verge, Of starvation, That's why, Do you remember, When Jesus fed them, What did they do, They followed him around, I mean here's a guy, That I can go to every day, And he's going to hand out, More bread and fish, That's a guy, You should follow around, Because they're desperate,

[14:21] For food, Let me give you, Four characteristics, If you're taking notes, Of a starving person, Because this is who, Jesus is referring to, Four characteristics, Of starving people, And I want you, To apply this spiritually, Because that's ultimately, What Jesus is talking about, Okay, So number one is this, Is focus, Focus, By focus, I mean, That they only have, One thing in their mind, They are obsessed, With one thing, And one thing only, And what is that, Eating, That's all they care about, Nothing else matters, You don't find, Them wasting time, On superficial things, They are consumed, Entirely, With food, Ernest Shackleton, Who is a famous, Explorer, For his, Antarctic expeditions, His first three expeditions, Were to, The south pole, And he took three men, With him, And there was one point, Where they, Lost all of their supplies, And they walked, 127 days,

[15:25] In the bitter cold, Now you came in tonight, It was freezing cold, Amen, I at least can get an amen, On that, Okay, Can you imagine, 127 days, In that, And in his book, In the heart, Of the Antarctic, Shackleton writes, That among, Many of the obstacles, They face, Here's what he said, This is so good, Quote, Every, Waking, Hour, Was occupied, With the thoughts, Of eating, That's all, They could think about, Why?

[16:03] Because they were starving, They had a single focus in life, A single obsession, And it's food, Number two, Not only focus, But drive, A starving person, Is not only obsessed, With food, They are also actively, In pursuit of food, They do not debate, The theological implications, Of organic food processing, They aren't concerned, About the lighting, Of the restaurant, Or, Proper etiquette, For eating, And what side of the plate, The fork's supposed to be on, They don't, They're not concerned, About any of that, They're on an active mission, To do one thing, What is it, Faith family?

[16:44] Eat! Their focus, Is eating, Their drive, Is to eat, Thirdly, Is humility, You don't hear them, Complaining about the meal, Being overcooked, Or undercooked, In fact, You may even find them, Digging through the garbage, If it means getting food, They aren't concerned, About what anybody, Thinks of them, Or how they look socially, They just want to, What?

[17:12] Eat! And then fourthly, Gratitude, When they do, Find food, And that hunger, Is satisfied, They are the most grateful, Thankful people, In the world, And do you know, What else they do?

[17:27] They tell others about it, Are some of you, Already seeing, The spiritual implications, Just by addressing this? It's like, Some of you eat, At a good restaurant, And you're like, Man, You got to eat there, Can you imagine, If you were a starving man, Or woman, Driven, Entirely focused, Humbly, To the point of, Getting food in, When you found food, What would you do?

[17:51] Tell other beggars, Where you found food? That's what starving people do, This, Is the obsession, Jesus is talking about, One of the things, That people have said to me, As we've been going, Through the Beatitudes, Is that, You know, In my devotional reading, I just kind of, You know, Skip through the Beatitudes, And it's like, Oh, That's sweet, And that's nice, But going through these, One by one, Has just opened my eyes, To see, The real, Intensity, Of what Jesus is teaching, This isn't, Coffee cup Christianity, Jesus is talking about, Absolute and total, Obsession and desperation, But here's what he's saying, These are the people, Who belong to the kingdom, These are the blessed ones, That have this kind of life, They are focused, And driven, And humble, And grateful, Why?

[18:44] Because they're obsessed, With something, What are they obsessed with, What is their white whale, What is the thing, That they are on a mission, Daily for, Verse six again, Blessed are those, Who hunger and thirst, For righteousness, Righteousness, Righteousness, So now we see, The object of the obsession, Not just the obsession itself, And Jesus here says, That the object, Of this person's obsession, Is righteousness, What does that mean, What does Jesus mean here, By righteousness, We'll look at his teaching, Later in Matthew chapter five, Verse twenty, Matthew five, Verse twenty, For I tell you, Unless you're what, Righteousness exceeds, That of the scribes, And Pharisees, You will never, Enter the kingdom, Of heaven, Okay that's a clue, Same chapter, Just a few verses later,

[19:45] That's a clue, As to what Jesus means, By righteousness, We know, That the Pharisees, Were obsessed, With being right, Before God, Of being accepted, By God, Of looking good, In the eyes of God, To be right, With him, That was the righteousness, That they, Were after, And how did they go about, Getting that, By keeping the law, Okay, So the more law I keep, And the more law I create, So that I can keep that, The more right, I'll be before God, This is the righteousness, Of the Pharisees, Are you with me, Say yes, The problem is, Jesus here says, You actually have to hit, A mark higher, Than the Pharisees, Take the most, Obedient, Strict, Focused person, You can think of, And you actually have to, Exceed that, Jesus says, Not, If you have the, Desire of righteousness, As of the Pharisees, He says, No, You have to exceed, The righteousness, Of the Pharisees,

[20:46] So you actually have to, Be better than them, And then he takes it, Another step further, Just a few, Verses later, Who's with me, Verse 48, Verse 48, Matthew 5, 48, Look at what he says, You, Therefore, Must be, Oh, No, Perfect, But that's not, Bad enough, It's not just, That you have to be perfect, Look at the next phrase, As, Your heavenly father, Is perfect, You thought achieving, The mark of the Pharisees, Was high, How about that one, You have to be perfect, And what do you mean by perfect, The perfection, Of your heavenly father, That's the righteousness, You must have, If you're going to be, Accepted by God, Are you feeling, What I'm feeling, You should be, It's what Jesus wants you to feel,

[21:47] And it's namely this, The greatest hunger in my life, The greatest hunger in my life, My ultimate white whale, Which is to be right before God, And to be accepted in his eyes, I can't do, I am starving for that, Which I can't get, That's really frustrating, I'm so desperate, And obsessed, With something I can't achieve, Namely, Righteousness, Being right before God, Perfect, As your heavenly father is perfect, And all of us, In so many ways in life, Are on this journey, To feel like we are right, And good enough, We're hungry for this, Every one of us is looking to something, To tell ourselves, I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm accepted, I've done enough, I've used this before,

[22:48] But it's such a good example of, In the movie Rocky, When he's preparing to fight, Apollo Creed, And I want you just to listen, To what Rocky says, As he and his wife, Are discussing the upcoming fight, I can't do it, What?

[23:24] I can't beat him, Apollo? Yeah, I've been out there, Walking around, Thinking, I mean, Who am I kidding?

[23:38] I ain't even in the guy's league, What are we gonna do? I don't know, You work so hard, Yeah, It don't matter, Cause I was nobody before, Don't say that, Oh come on Adrian, It's true, I was nobody, That don't matter either, You know, Cause I was thinking, It really don't matter, If I lose this fight, It really don't matter, If this guy opens my head either,

[24:38] Cause all I wanna do, Is go the distance, Nobody's ever gone, The distance with Creed, And if I can go that distance, See, And that bell rings, And I'm still standing, I want to know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.

[25:14] Did you hear that? All I want to do is go the distance. If the bell rings and I'm still standing, then I'll know, listen to this, listen to this, then I'll know for the first time in my life, I wasn't just a bum from the neighborhood.

[25:32] He's obsessed with acceptance. And he thinks that acceptance will be found if he can just go the distance. If he can just do what nobody else has done, then he'll finally matter.

[25:46] Listen, listen, if you're online, listen, listen, that's hungering for a righteousness. It's something that will tell yourself, I'm right, I'm accepted, I'm not a bum.

[25:59] But even bigger in the eyes of the boxing community, what is a far greater experience is in the eyes of God. What is it that I can have whereby I feel accepted by God, that I can know that I'm right with him?

[26:15] And the frustration here is that the thing that I hunger for the most, namely that righteousness before God, I can't obtain.

[26:26] You are hungry and starving for a food that you cannot produce. Are you with me, faith family? You say, well, how do you know that you can't produce this?

[26:38] How do you know that you can't achieve this? I would give you three references to that. Number one is, remember the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are interconnected. It's an, anybody remember the big technical word?

[26:51] It's an inclusio. Some of you are whispering it. You know it. It's an inclusio. All of these things go together. So the flow would go like this. You're spiritually bankrupt, poverty of spirit, to the point that you're broken over that condition, you mourn, resulting in a position that refuses to see oneself as superior, you're meek.

[27:14] So the acceptance you need, the righteousness you want is something you clearly can't produce or purchase. Why? You're poor in spirit.

[27:25] You don't have a spiritual penny to your name. How in the world are you going to have any kind of food whereby you are accepted in the eyes of God?

[27:38] Secondly, is not only the Beatitudes, but the imagery here of a beggar. The Beatitudes gives us this picture of a starving beggar. In other words, you can't walk to the store and just buy food.

[27:50] Why? You ain't got no money. You're spiritually penniless. And so you are in the position of begging for the food you desperately need.

[28:03] You with me? And then lastly is the word blessed. As we have seen, this means recipient of divine favor, namely grace. The fact that you are hungry for righteousness and the promise of satisfaction are gifts of grace.

[28:20] It's not something you can do in and of yourselves. And even the best of the best, namely the Pharisees, could not achieve it. So the only way, you with me?

[28:39] The only way you get the righteousness you starve for, here's the gospel, is you have to look outside yourself to the righteousness of another.

[28:50] The only way to get the righteousness you hunger and thirst for, that you are obsessed with, is to look outside yourself to the righteousness of another.

[29:03] And when you do that, look what happens. Verse 6 again. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

[29:16] Satisfied. The last part of this beatitude is the outcome of our obsession. There is an obsession. An obsession for what? Righteousness. It's not a righteousness that we can do because we are poor in spirit.

[29:28] We are beggars. It's the righteousness of another. And when we look to the righteousness of another, what are we? Satisfied. Somebody just say, preach, preacher. That was pretty good right there, all right?

[29:39] We are satisfied. We are filled. That's the result. But this too, on the surface, is quite strange.

[29:50] And I'm going to be just slightly technical for a moment, but there are two technical details for which this statement, for you shall be filled, is strange. Number one is the satisfaction that Jesus is talking about here is both now and later.

[30:06] That is, when you hunger for a righteousness that is outside yourself, namely the righteousness of Christ, then you are satisfied. You are satisfied now and you will be satisfied in the future.

[30:19] You say, well, how do you know that's the case? Well, again, the beatitudes is a unit. They go together. And so you'll have examples in the beatitudes where theirs, listen, listen, theirs is the kingdom of heaven, present tense.

[30:34] And they shall be comforted. Is that present or future? Talk to me. That's future. So is the kingdom of heaven, present tense, and shall be comforted.

[30:47] That's future tense. Meaning these promises are both now and later. Now in part full later. So there's a real satisfaction now, but a fuller satisfaction later on.

[31:01] But here's maybe the most perplexing or strange part of this. Is that hungering and thirsting, okay, are you with me? Listen, hungering and thirsting is in the present tense. So what do you mean?

[31:14] What do you mean? What do you mean? That means they're ongoing. So those who are starving get satisfied only to continue starving.

[31:26] Don't lose me. Don't lose me. This is a good point. Don't lose me. Right? Those that are starving get satisfied only to continue starving. In other words, you could honestly and faithfully to the text say the beatitude this way.

[31:40] Favored, fortunate, blessed are those who continually starve for righteousness after receiving satisfaction. But why would you still starve if you've already satisfied?

[31:55] How can you be hungry and satisfied at the same time? How can you want something and have it at the same time? Matthew chapter 5 verse 17. Hang with me.

[32:08] Do not think, Jesus said, that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

[32:21] Okay? Who is this righteousness that we're so hungry for? Jesus.

[32:33] Think of the flow. It will go like this. Okay? Zone in here. We are starving for righteousness. Acceptance before God. That's the ultimate form of acceptance in life. And we try to get that through the law.

[32:44] Look at what I do. Look at what I don't do. I'm better than that person. I didn't disobey that law. We are hungry and starving for righteousness. The problem is Jesus says that that righteousness has to be higher than, exceed that of the Pharisees.

[32:58] The most strict of law keepers. And as if that isn't bad enough, it actually has to be perfection that you obtain. And not just your own perfection but perfection of your heavenly father.

[33:09] Okay? That means I am a beggar and I cannot obtain this righteousness on my own. Are you still with me? But Jesus, Matthew 5 verse 17, fulfilled the law.

[33:22] He fulfilled the prophets. Jesus is the perfection of the heavenly father. Which means when I look to him by faith, the righteousness I hunger for is satisfied.

[33:40] Because I get the very righteousness I need in Jesus. But guess what? I get to keep coming back to Jesus for the rest of my eternal life.

[33:52] I starve for righteousness. I get it in Jesus. I'm fulfilled now in him.

[34:04] And guess what? If you've ever had your belly full of Jesus, you keep going back for more. So you're starving and you're hungering for Jesus actually becomes greater.

[34:18] And you're satisfied and hungry at the same time. That's beautiful. That's beautiful what Jesus is teaching here.

[34:28] Because here's what it shows us. It means that the fundamental difference between you being satisfied in the world and satisfied in Jesus is this.

[34:39] Look at it on the screen. The world will keep you coming back for more because it doesn't satisfy. Jesus will keep you coming back for more because he does satisfy.

[34:51] Jesus is like eating your favorite meal over and over again, except it gets better every time. Amen? And that is what Jesus means when he teaches us in the Gospels, come to me and you'll never hunger again.

[35:11] He doesn't mean that you'll never be hungry. What he means is you'll never need another food source. You'll never need a refrigerator, spiritually speaking, because you'll have the bread of life.

[35:26] Do you see? This is the Gospel in a Beatitude. I am a spiritual beggar and I am obsessed to be right before God.

[35:37] And the way I know that, even if I won't acknowledge that, is look at how much I'm like Rocky. I'm trying to gain acceptance in other things. I'm constantly obsessed with, am I good enough?

[35:50] Am I right enough? That is hungering for righteousness. And the problem is you don't have a spiritual penny to your name. So you can't go to the store and buy this. You have to look outside yourself to the righteousness of another.

[36:02] That's Jesus. He is the perfection that you need. And when you get him, you can just keep coming back for more. You don't need anything else. He is sufficient bread.

[36:15] Amen? That is the Gospel. That is the Gospel. So let me give you one example as we close in the life of the Apostle Paul. And I think it's so important to give you this example from the life of the Apostle Paul.

[36:29] Why? Because he was a what? Pharisee. One of those ones trying to get righteousness from the law. Obsessed. Are you kidding me?

[36:40] Obsessed with getting righteousness from the law. And here's what Paul discovered. Philippians 3 verse 7. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

[36:55] Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and I count them as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ.

[37:08] And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law. No. That which comes through faith in Christ.

[37:22] The righteousness from God that depends on faith. Verse 12. Here it is. Not that I have already obtained this or I am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Jesus Christ has made me his own.

[37:37] Paul is saying, when I look at everything I gained from the law, I consider it all rubbish. All those worldly attempts through sports and academics and Judaism and evangelical legalism and all the different things that I look to to make me feel accepted.

[37:57] I finally realized it's one big pile of you know what. And it smells like it too. I received all the righteousness I need by faith in Jesus Christ.

[38:12] I looked outside myself to fulfill my hunger. And when I found that fulfilled in Jesus, I kept pressing on for more.

[38:28] So much so that the Apostle Paul who got to physically see Jesus earlier in life is an old man when he writes this later in life. And he still doesn't have enough of Jesus.

[38:40] He's still hungry even though he's satisfied. He's still starving even though he's full. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones says it this way.

[38:51] He says, the Christian is the one who one and at the same time is hungering and thirsting, yet he is filled. The more he is filled, the more he hungers and thirsts. That is the blessedness of the Christian life.

[39:04] And that it is indeed. What is your white whale? What is your obsession, faith family? What is it that you hunger and thirst for?

[39:16] When you peel back all the layers, when you peel back all the layers, at the core of you is a starvation for acceptance before God.

[39:30] And I'm telling you, I rather, Jesus is telling you that satisfaction begins. The good life begins when you realize you can't achieve that acceptance.

[39:44] You're a spiritual beggar. You can only receive that acceptance in the person of Jesus Christ. And the good news of the gospel for starving beggars is this.

[39:56] The bread that Jesus offers is free and all you can eat. Amen? We love that part, the all you can eat part. Yes, sign me up. And do you know why this buffet of blessedness is free to you?

[40:12] Why he doesn't charge you a penny? Why you can come by faith just as you are? Because Jesus had a white whale. Jesus had an obsession.

[40:29] Jesus had a hunger deeper than any hunger you have ever known. Let me show you what it was. John 4, 31. Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him saying, Rabbi, eat.

[40:44] Aren't you hungry? But Jesus said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought him something to eat?

[40:58] And Jesus said to them, My food, my hunger, that thing I starve for is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

[41:14] That's what I'm hungry for. That's my food. And Jesus had an obsession to do the will of his father. And listen, he satisfied that hunger by taking our place on the cross.

[41:29] And on the cross, he said, I thirst. So you would never thirst again.

[41:41] And so that you, this very night, would know this forever reality. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they will be satisfied.

[42:02] And all God's people said, Amen. Let's pray together. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for teaching us this beatitude.

[42:19] In one single sentence, you have taught us the gospel. We are spiritual beggars without a penny to our name, and yet we keep trying to buy a righteousness that won't work.

[42:33] The good life, the blessed life, eternal life begins when we stop kidding ourselves.

[42:46] And we look outside ourselves to a food we cannot purchase.

[42:59] The very life of Jesus Christ. And in him, for the first time ever in our life, we're finally satisfied. And at the same time, keep coming back for more.

[43:16] And we always will for eternity. We will feast on the bread of life that is the person of Jesus Christ.

[43:29] God, I pray, I sincerely pray for the person here tonight, and I know that there are people here tonight to whom this applies to. They're starving.

[43:39] There's hunger signs all around their life. But they keep thinking that the Walmarts of this world will have enough food for their soul.

[43:57] And yet they're still empty. There is a bread offered to them tonight, and that is the person of Jesus Christ. And they can forever be satisfied if they would look to you, Jesus, by faith and believe.

[44:12] Eating is believing. Believing is saying, Jesus, you are the bread of my life. So there are people here tonight for the first time that need to do that.

[44:24] And there are others in the room, our appetites have been way too spoiled by worldly food. And we need to be reminded of what it's like to sit at the table and be satisfied in Jesus alone.

[44:43] Speak to us, Holy Spirit. Take this and apply it to us. You know exactly what we need. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.