WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.140 And I turn back to that passage that Marsha read for us earlier from Matthew chapter 5. 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:16.100 ! Happiness is what life is about for many, isn't it? 00:00:16.580 --> 00:00:20.400 As long as it makes you happy, that's the mantra for our day. 00:00:21.340 --> 00:00:25.640 And whatever we do, we want to try and make ourselves happy, don't we? 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.340 I don't know what you think makes you happy. 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:32.799 Some think get rich and get happy, don't they? 00:00:33.620 --> 00:00:36.579 Some think they need to be busy to be happy. 00:00:37.219 --> 00:00:38.299 Some want to be lazy. 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:40.579 Some want to be single. 00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:41.920 Some want to be married. 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:43.900 Children, no children. 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.100 Some want to eat to be happy. 00:00:46.239 --> 00:00:48.759 Some want to diet to be happy. 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:53.100 But whatever it is you do, the aim seems to be happiness, isn't it? 00:00:53.299 --> 00:00:56.939 But do you really know what makes you happy? 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:04.039 How is your happiness project working out for you, in all honesty? 00:01:06.859 --> 00:01:13.599 Well, the secret of human happiness is wrapped up in these verses. 00:01:13.900 --> 00:01:23.440 A few weeks ago, we took our first look, didn't we, at this introduction to Jesus' famous sermon on the mount. 00:01:24.260 --> 00:01:31.939 And in these blessed statements, Jesus opens up with a kind of pocket guide to the good life, 00:01:32.860 --> 00:01:37.180 to the blessed life, or to the happy life. 00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:43.140 But we saw that this is not the kind of happiness that we grasp for in a moment, 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:46.620 and then it slips away when life goes bad. 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:49.400 This is not me-centred happiness. 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:54.080 This is God, Christ-centred happiness. 00:01:55.240 --> 00:01:59.340 And it comes from things that actually we normally try to avoid, 00:01:59.960 --> 00:02:02.520 because we think they make us unhappy. 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:04.979 Just look down the list. 00:02:05.759 --> 00:02:09.699 Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:13.139 Mourning, or grief. 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:14.960 Meekness. 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:16.460 Hunger. 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:18.300 Persecution. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:19.060 Thirst. 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:24.379 And all of these words are normally things that we draw a sad face next to, aren't they? 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:28.259 But this is happiness, God's way. 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:31.900 This is true blessedness. 00:02:32.740 --> 00:02:38.180 The secret of human happiness is wrapped up in these verses. 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:43.319 Last time we were in chapter 5, we looked at verse 4, didn't we? 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:44.680 Blessed are those who mourn. 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:48.960 I want us to look particularly at verse 6 this morning. 00:02:49.060 --> 00:02:50.019 That is our text. 00:02:50.139 --> 00:02:51.460 Let me read that again. 00:02:51.460 --> 00:03:03.600 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 00:03:05.740 --> 00:03:12.300 So, can we dive in and talk about the elephant in the room, please, straight away? 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.100 Because there's a paradox here, isn't there? 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:23.259 The paradox of this happiness Jesus speaks about is that it satisfies through hunger. 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:24.680 See that? 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:25.879 That is the shock. 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:33.560 We are happy, Jesus says, when we hunger and when we thirst. 00:03:34.359 --> 00:03:36.359 For this thing called righteousness. 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:36.760 Righteousness. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.340 Now, there's a lot of things that that could mean. 00:03:39.440 --> 00:03:46.340 But in the context of this sermon and in Matthew's Gospel, righteousness, it means to be more like Jesus. 00:03:47.440 --> 00:03:48.980 It is a character trait. 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:51.480 It is to be godly like Jesus. 00:03:52.940 --> 00:03:58.940 And when we thirst and when we hunger for that, Jesus says, we are going to be blessed. 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:01.380 We are going to be happy. 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:09.299 I don't know when the last time you felt real physical hunger or thirst was. 00:04:09.359 --> 00:04:12.039 I think it's quite hard for us to grasp that, isn't it? 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:16.779 In our culture, water and food, it is relatively easy to come by. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:27.079 But Jesus speaks to a culture here where the whole of life was arranged around the availability of water and of food. 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:32.659 This isn't the hunger of missing a meal or two or missing a snack. 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:36.159 Get the sense of this here. 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:42.539 Jesus is saying the secret of human happiness is to long for this righteousness. 00:04:43.919 --> 00:04:55.479 It is to long to be more like Jesus and to thirst for that in the same way that a starving man longs for food and nourishment. 00:04:55.480 --> 00:05:05.080 Or a perishing woman languishes in the heat and in the dust for drink. 00:05:06.200 --> 00:05:08.200 It is to long for it like that. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:15.340 And so the great challenge of this is that Jesus is not dealing with outward stuff, is he, in our lives? 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:21.580 He's dealing with stuff that goes in our hearts for this true happiness. 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:25.319 He's asking you to do something on the inside. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:31.259 He is telling you, isn't he, to do something with your affections. 00:05:32.759 --> 00:05:37.199 Hunger and thirst, they're words that are to do with our cravings, aren't they? 00:05:37.419 --> 00:05:38.439 And our desires. 00:05:39.819 --> 00:05:42.120 So it's not an easy thing to understand. 00:05:42.299 --> 00:05:44.439 It seems paradoxical, this happiness. 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:48.519 But it's an even harder thing to actually do, isn't it? 00:05:49.980 --> 00:05:56.339 It's been said that the biggest barrier in the Christian life is the malady of not wanting. 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:00.839 I mean, we love what we love, don't we? 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:03.839 And we hunger for what we hunger. 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:08.659 You know, if you put a bacon sandwich or a lettuce sandwich in front of me, 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:12.080 ten times out of ten, I know which one I'm going to go for. 00:06:12.380 --> 00:06:13.780 And it isn't the green one. 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:15.860 Now that is the problem, isn't it? 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:17.900 We love what we want to love. 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:21.140 And we can't change our desires, can we? 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:26.000 And this is the challenge of this secret to happiness. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:32.460 It is to have our desires and our affections changed and transformed. 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:36.560 It's to stop loving the things actually we wish we didn't love. 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:39.819 And it's to love the things that God loves. 00:06:39.919 --> 00:06:41.620 So how on earth do we do this? 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:43.859 How do we change what we love? 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:48.899 How do we hunger to be more like Jesus for righteousness? 00:06:50.479 --> 00:06:53.819 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:55.479 And three things. 00:06:55.480 --> 00:07:03.600 Number one, you won't be hungry for righteousness until you taste the meal. 00:07:04.280 --> 00:07:09.180 You won't be hungry for righteousness until you taste the meal. 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:17.840 Now as we thought about these things, I guess there are some people here actually who know exactly what I'm talking about. 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:24.939 You know what it is to hunger and thirst to be more like Jesus. 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:27.399 You know you're not there yet. 00:07:28.219 --> 00:07:35.180 And there are things about yourself that you know God knows and you know that you wish would change. 00:07:35.579 --> 00:07:37.540 You want to think more like Jesus. 00:07:38.579 --> 00:07:42.620 To obey and enjoy God more like Jesus. 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:46.319 To love your enemies more like Jesus. 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:52.819 To be holy and set apart for God's service more like Jesus. 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:55.159 To pray like Jesus. 00:07:56.599 --> 00:07:59.339 And we long for that, many of us. 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:02.659 And we know what it's like to hunger for that. 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:06.899 But actually, others of you here this morning don't really know what this is about. 00:08:07.800 --> 00:08:09.899 And you don't quite get this. 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:19.439 Maybe it's in the same way that some of you might hunger for Sunday lunch round at Daphne's place after the service. 00:08:20.179 --> 00:08:20.939 Isn't it? 00:08:21.979 --> 00:08:23.699 And some of you know what that's like. 00:08:23.779 --> 00:08:25.679 But actually, others of you don't. 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:28.539 Because you've not had the pleasure yet. 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:31.539 Some of you don't even know who Daphne is. 00:08:31.599 --> 00:08:32.779 You don't know what I'm talking about. 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:37.799 But if you do get an invitation, let me say, don't turn it down. 00:08:38.819 --> 00:08:44.539 If you see the point here, you won't long for it until you know what it's like, will you? 00:08:45.079 --> 00:08:50.519 Your mouth won't melt at the thought of a steak until you've tried a good one. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:55.639 You won't long for chocolate cake until you've tried it, until you've tasted it. 00:08:55.639 --> 00:09:00.500 And you will not wake up one morning thinking, do you know what? 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:01.580 I feel a bit peckish. 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:06.120 I feel a bit partial to some righteousness this morning. 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.000 Yeah, Friday's a good day for righteousness. 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.919 I feel like I'm going to hunger for righteousness today. 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:19.159 I'm going to thirst to be more like Jesus and get some of this secret happiness that he's been talking about in Matthew 5. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:20.919 No, it doesn't work like that, does it? 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:36.779 The odd thing about this hunger is that it begins with satisfaction of this righteousness before it becomes a hunger for this righteousness. 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:42.199 Now, if that sounds odd, in other words, you won't be hungry for it until you taste it. 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:48.360 This hunger, it starts when you get a taste for Jesus. 00:09:49.540 --> 00:09:56.160 Of the satisfaction and happiness it is to be more like him and to enjoy him. 00:09:57.180 --> 00:10:02.040 It's when we taste Jesus' food and drink in our lives. 00:10:02.920 --> 00:10:07.640 And when we do that, there's this curious flavour that we haven't tasted before. 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:12.220 And it tastes of satisfaction. 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:16.879 There is something tasty about holiness. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:23.620 About living for God instead of eking my way through life in my own way. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.620 Under my own rules and laws. 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:33.039 There is something delicious about loving God's ways more than my own. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:37.539 And when you get a taste of that, you get a whiff of that and you start to think, 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:41.799 hmm, this is tasty. 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:43.419 This is good. 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:46.860 This righteousness is satisfying. 00:10:47.839 --> 00:10:50.299 Suddenly I'm tasting this righteousness. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:52.779 But this hunger, it doesn't come naturally. 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:56.339 You won't hunger for it until you taste the meal. 00:10:56.340 --> 00:11:02.780 Actually, it is a hunger that God has to give to you in the first place. 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:11.100 You know, when we start off, our taste buds aren't tuned, are they, to this righteousness. 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:14.920 Actually, the Bible says that we are unrighteous. 00:11:14.919 --> 00:11:20.059 In our confession of sin earlier on, we heard, didn't we, Paul say, 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:21.779 none is righteous. 00:11:22.079 --> 00:11:24.899 No, no one is righteous. 00:11:25.059 --> 00:11:26.539 No one understands. 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:29.459 No one seeks God. 00:11:29.579 --> 00:11:32.779 No one has the taste for God. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.899 To be unrighteous, it means to have no appetite. 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:41.399 Elsewhere, the Bible says, we are dead in our sins. 00:11:41.599 --> 00:11:43.039 That's how bad it is. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:46.099 And dead people don't get hungry. 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:51.319 Naturally, we do not want to be like Jesus, do we? 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:56.980 Naturally, we don't think this righteousness thing is tasty at all. 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:59.139 Naturally, it tastes bitter. 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:03.839 And doing things our own way, the Bible calls that sin, 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:05.659 that is tasty. 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:07.659 And that is sweet. 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:11.599 We want to live our own way, not God's way. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.279 And righteousness is an acquired taste. 00:12:15.680 --> 00:12:19.960 And being a Christian, it means to have God deal with our own righteousness 00:12:19.960 --> 00:12:25.940 and give us his righteousness through Jesus. 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:35.900 And when we taste what that is like, to be treated by God and to be thought of by God as he thinks about Jesus, 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:39.420 in his righteousness, we want more. 00:12:40.400 --> 00:12:43.280 We want to be more like Jesus. 00:12:43.780 --> 00:12:45.780 Our tastes are transformed. 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:53.799 King David, in the Psalms, he says, taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:56.819 Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.059 And just let me try and illustrate this. 00:13:00.139 --> 00:13:04.620 Imagine a family who, all they ever eat is beans on toast. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:07.080 365 days a year. 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:11.019 Every year for their lives. 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:12.860 That's all they've eaten all their lives. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:14.500 And to be honest, they're fine with it. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.080 They like the toast. 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:17.539 They like the beans. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:20.480 And they've not tried anything else. 00:13:20.560 --> 00:13:22.220 And they don't want anything else. 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:30.220 But then a generous, rich friend offers to give them something of what he eats every day. 00:13:31.220 --> 00:13:35.840 He says, guys, chuck away the beans on toast and try surf and turf. 00:13:36.100 --> 00:13:37.680 Just try surf and turf tonight. 00:13:37.779 --> 00:13:39.279 What on earth is surf and turf? 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:42.440 He says, well, come on, it's lobster and steak. 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:46.779 I'm going to serve you fried potatoes with it with some truffles on the side. 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:48.240 They've no idea what it is. 00:13:48.300 --> 00:13:49.560 It hasn't got toast in it. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:51.820 It hasn't got beans in it. 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:54.660 It doesn't sound too nice. 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:57.860 Actually, they've never really liked those people who eat meat. 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:01.279 And they thought that fish looks a bit boring. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.879 And they don't really want to go there. 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:07.180 But nevertheless, the friend comes round. 00:14:07.300 --> 00:14:10.879 And he puts some of his food on their table. 00:14:12.160 --> 00:14:13.879 He gives them some of his food. 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:15.120 He pays for it. 00:14:15.680 --> 00:14:16.519 He owns it. 00:14:17.300 --> 00:14:18.580 And he gives it to them. 00:14:19.420 --> 00:14:20.700 And they tuck in. 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.740 And the world is changed, isn't it? 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:25.660 But they taste it. 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:31.440 And their taste buds are opened to see amazing new things. 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:34.820 And after that, they want to trash the toast. 00:14:35.400 --> 00:14:36.760 And bin the beans. 00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:39.180 And eat proper stuff. 00:14:40.500 --> 00:14:42.280 And that is the thing here, isn't it? 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:50.860 You are not going to get this happiness until you are satisfied by this hunger for righteousness. 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:56.200 But you will not get this hunger for righteousness until you taste the meal. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:00.659 Until the Lord Jesus gives you his righteousness. 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:03.559 And he puts it on your plate. 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.620 The theological term for that is imputation. 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:13.320 It is when Jesus comes and his righteousness is put on us, on our dinner table. 00:15:14.060 --> 00:15:16.659 And God sees us as he sees Jesus. 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:22.899 And as we trust in him, we get all of his righteousness loaded onto our dinner table. 00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:26.620 And when that happens, we get a taste for more. 00:15:27.579 --> 00:15:35.759 The hunger to be more like Jesus starts when you are satisfied with Jesus and his righteousness. 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:37.959 It is an acquired taste. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.120 So you won't be hungry until you have tried the meal. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:47.440 Secondly, you won't be hungry just because you are empty. 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:53.120 You won't be hungry just because you are empty. 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:58.799 You know, it is possible to be spiritually empty and not feel a thing. 00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:01.799 To have no hunger pangs. 00:16:03.139 --> 00:16:06.480 Travelling down the north circular the other day. 00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:08.980 We knew the car was low on petrol. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:12.519 And it got to that moment where the gauge went into the red. 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:14.980 And nothing seemed to change. 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:16.519 The car was running fine. 00:16:17.300 --> 00:16:20.019 And suddenly the bips came up on the screen. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:22.320 And we knew we were running on fumes. 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:25.139 But the car was running on fine. 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:27.740 And if you could have sort of asked the car, 00:16:28.180 --> 00:16:30.639 do you feel thirsty right now? 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:32.000 And the car could speak back to you. 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:33.879 I am not sure it would say yes. 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:36.159 It sort of behaved in the same way. 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:37.659 You could still accelerate. 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:39.259 Nothing seemed to change. 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:45.199 And I guess the only time you are going to know is when it finally coughs and splutters and it dies. 00:16:45.719 --> 00:16:46.259 Isn't it? 00:16:47.959 --> 00:16:52.379 And in the same way, it is possible to look pretty normal on the outside. 00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:55.939 But to be empty on the inside. 00:16:56.059 --> 00:16:58.360 To be running on fumes spiritually. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.659 And actually not think anything of it. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.519 To be asked, do you feel thirsty? 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:04.559 And you think, no. 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:12.680 Being empty spiritually doesn't necessarily mean you are going to hunger for something else. 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:18.200 So the danger is that you might be here today and you might think, well, I'm well. 00:17:19.259 --> 00:17:22.440 I'm not hungry actually because I'm doing okay. 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:28.940 But actually a lack of hunger is a dangerous, dangerous thing. 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:32.660 It means something is not right, doesn't it? 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:35.559 When you go to the doctors, what's the first thing they ask you? 00:17:35.620 --> 00:17:36.380 How are you eating? 00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:37.840 How's your appetite? 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:41.620 Hunger is a good test of health. 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:43.559 Hunger is a sign of life. 00:17:43.660 --> 00:17:49.880 And the problem for some with Jesus is they can treat Christianity like a cookery TV show. 00:17:50.539 --> 00:17:51.519 Kind of flick it on. 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:53.140 You see all the dishes served. 00:17:53.320 --> 00:17:54.360 Oh yeah, that looks great. 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:56.740 But you never actually eat any of it, do you? 00:17:57.659 --> 00:18:01.119 You never actually grab it and take it for yourself. 00:18:02.919 --> 00:18:07.779 It is what Jesus says to one of the churches in Revelation chapter 3. 00:18:07.919 --> 00:18:09.879 To the church in Laodicea. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:14.559 He says that you say, I am rich. 00:18:15.379 --> 00:18:16.559 I've prospered. 00:18:16.659 --> 00:18:18.019 I need nothing. 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:21.839 Not realising that you are wretched. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:25.000 Pitiable, poor, blind and naked. 00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:30.759 You see the church in Laodicea, they were running on empty but they didn't know it. 00:18:31.639 --> 00:18:34.299 They didn't thirst for this righteousness. 00:18:34.679 --> 00:18:36.599 I don't know, maybe you know folk like that. 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:39.839 I wonder if that's you this morning. 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:41.699 It can be so tragic, can't it? 00:18:41.899 --> 00:18:43.279 It can come in different ways. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:54.000 For some, you can actually be in church but you can crave controversy and discussion about all sort of conspiracy theories and theology. 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:58.180 You can pick bones with people, can't you? 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:03.740 You can pick bones but never actually eat the meat off the bone. 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:08.740 For some, it's a case of sheer laziness, isn't it, if we're honest? 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:10.420 Or weariness. 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:19.000 There's a clip online of a toddler who is at the dinner table who is so tired that he face plants into his bolognese. 00:19:19.539 --> 00:19:23.120 And then he sleeps in his kind of warm tomato pillow. 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:25.339 And some of us are like that, aren't we? 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:33.159 We can be so lazy, we're like that fool in Proverbs who puts his hand in the honey and doesn't lift it to his mouth. 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:36.619 Not actually eating by faith. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:41.659 Not actually taking in the things that Jesus gives to us on his table. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.199 For others it's entertainment, it's recreation, isn't it? 00:19:46.199 --> 00:19:48.939 It's like the parent who calls the child in. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:49.819 Dinner's ready. 00:19:50.399 --> 00:19:51.759 Dinner's ready, it's on the table. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:57.839 But the football game, the TV, whatever it is, is too important and the food goes uneaten. 00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:03.539 You know, just because you're empty it won't automatically mean you are hungry. 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:05.579 You might think, I'm doing okay. 00:20:07.259 --> 00:20:09.920 But you won't be hungry until you taste this meal. 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:14.160 And you won't be hungry just because you're empty if you think you're okay. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:18.940 And the last thing, thirdly, you won't be hungry when you're already full. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:22.320 You won't be hungry when you're already full. 00:20:24.620 --> 00:20:30.299 It might be that you've not tasted this righteousness yet. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:34.120 And maybe you don't realise you need it. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:36.740 Maybe you don't realise you're empty. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:40.640 Or actually, maybe you're already full of other stuff. 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:42.640 And that's the problem. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:45.900 Just imagine turning up to a party. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:47.380 You get invited round. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:49.440 And they lay on a great spread. 00:20:49.560 --> 00:20:50.340 They're a good host. 00:20:50.460 --> 00:20:51.060 You turn up. 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:52.580 You sit on the table. 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:54.780 And as the food is brought out, you actually say, 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:56.020 Do you know what? 00:20:56.040 --> 00:20:57.040 I'm really sorry. 00:20:57.280 --> 00:20:58.280 I've already eaten. 00:20:59.540 --> 00:21:01.740 There's nothing more embarrassing than that, isn't it? 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:03.800 And it's an uncomfortable experience as well. 00:21:04.060 --> 00:21:06.280 To bloat yourself when you've already eaten. 00:21:06.320 --> 00:21:07.860 It's just not pleasurable, is it? 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:11.619 But you're not hungry when you've already eaten. 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:16.639 And sadly, that is how some of us treat God, isn't it? 00:21:17.899 --> 00:21:20.240 You say, thank you for this offer of satisfaction. 00:21:20.459 --> 00:21:21.819 Thank you for this offer of blessing. 00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:24.099 But sorry, Lord, I've already eaten. 00:21:24.099 --> 00:21:27.879 You won't be hungry if you're already full. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:36.399 What could it be that we are eating and drinking instead of this righteousness that Jesus gives us? 00:21:36.459 --> 00:21:38.839 I guess it could be secular stuff, couldn't it? 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:44.419 You know, our tastes tune, don't they, to what we eat most of? 00:21:44.659 --> 00:21:45.459 Maybe that's it. 00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:49.119 Maybe we've got an unhealthy appetite for stuff. 00:21:49.819 --> 00:21:50.740 Material things. 00:21:50.740 --> 00:21:55.519 Maybe physical food and drink or things or prestige or whatever it is. 00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:56.359 Maybe that's it. 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:57.279 It could be that. 00:21:59.259 --> 00:22:08.980 I wonder though whether actually our biggest craving, most of us here, is a craving for, not a secular thing, but a religious thing. 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:18.500 Maybe it's a craving for another kind of righteousness that Jesus is not talking about here. 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:23.059 A righteousness that isn't quite righteousness. 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:26.599 A kind of fake righteousness. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:36.920 A righteousness that bloats us up and fills us up so that we don't hunger for Jesus' righteousness, for the real thing. 00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:40.180 Jesus calls this false righteousness. 00:22:40.180 --> 00:22:52.880 He rebukes the Pharisees for it, doesn't he, in the Gospels, for filling up on false righteousness instead of feeding off of him. 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:56.560 And this false righteousness, it was served up in three ways. 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:58.900 Three kinds of dish that you could eat. 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:01.440 There was superficial righteousness. 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:06.920 He says, you know, you wash cups and plates, but your heart is dirty. 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:09.040 Just outside stuff. 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:12.580 Just an outward veneer of righteousness. 00:23:14.080 --> 00:23:19.560 It's doing religion, isn't it, without the faith and the trust in the heart of Jesus. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.600 The second dish, selective righteousness. 00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:28.339 You tithe mint and cumin, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law. 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:34.859 It's having sort of unhealthy spiritual obsessions about rituals and ceremonies or traditions. 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.679 But neglecting the weightier matters of love. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:40.179 Loving others. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:41.079 Loving God. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.179 Loving, seeking justice. 00:23:43.879 --> 00:23:45.480 Loving God's people. 00:23:46.699 --> 00:23:47.719 Selective righteousness. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:49.919 It could be dessert dish, couldn't it? 00:23:49.919 --> 00:23:52.179 Self-centred righteousness. 00:23:52.180 --> 00:24:00.640 You know that when Jesus scathes on the Pharisees for public praying, which is designed to show off. 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:05.220 They love to stand on the street corners that they may be seen by others. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:09.980 I wonder whether we treat church like that sometimes, as a kind of old-fashioned social club. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.740 To show off our righteousness in some way. 00:24:17.080 --> 00:24:20.440 Thomas Watson, the Puritan writer, he writes, 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:26.900 If a friend invites guests to his table, he doesn't expect that he should bring them money for the meal. 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:29.519 Only come with an appetite. 00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:32.400 Only come with an appetite. 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:36.320 But I wonder if some of us are saying, 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:37.220 Do you know what, Lord? 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:39.500 Thank you, but I've already eaten. 00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:48.000 And some of us are so full of superficial, selective, self-centred righteousness, aren't we? 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:49.339 That we're bloated up. 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:55.819 And we cannot enjoy, we cannot hunger for this real, homemade righteousness. 00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:57.640 Of Jesus. 00:24:57.640 --> 00:25:03.220 This righteousness is something that only God can give us. 00:25:03.300 --> 00:25:07.280 And as we come to Jesus and feed on him, by faith and trust. 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:17.480 So to finish, this happiness, this blessing, is blessing not our way, but God's way, isn't it? 00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:21.839 And notice how Jesus says, does not say, 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:24.660 Blessed are those who search for blessing. 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:26.160 It's interesting that, isn't it? 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:30.920 Our goal in life cannot actually be our happiness. 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:33.120 It seems odd. 00:25:33.800 --> 00:25:36.660 But our goal cannot be our happiness. 00:25:36.840 --> 00:25:39.259 Because then we will never ever find it. 00:25:40.420 --> 00:25:46.940 Our goal actually needs to be, to be more like Jesus and to grow and enjoy this righteousness. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:50.840 And this is the secret of human happiness. 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:56.800 So the challenge is this morning, what is happening with your desires? 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:06.740 And if your hunger is not satisfied by God, perhaps God is not satisfied with your hunger. 00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:11.579 Maybe you need to taste this meal for the first time. 00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:15.639 Maybe you've had this meal before, but you've lost your appetite. 00:26:17.220 --> 00:26:23.599 And you can remember those times when you're used to hunger and thirst for righteousness so much more. 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:25.960 Well, the same rule applies, doesn't it? 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:28.579 You won't be hungry until you taste the meal. 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.380 It's a hunger to be more like Jesus. 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:34.840 It starts when you are satisfied with Jesus. 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.700 And you come to him in trust and in faith. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:41.400 Let's pray together.