WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.100 If you would, if you could please turn with me to Matthew chapter five. 00:00:06.100 --> 00:00:11.320 We're continuing our study in the Beatitudes, which is the very beginning of the Serm of 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:16.719 the Mount, which runs from chapters five all the way through seven. 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:21.039 And Corey began this series by looking at the Beatitudes as a whole in the past few 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:27.480 weeks we were looking at them just one by one coming this time to the fourth Beatitude. 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:31.080 And as we consider the message, we need to keep in mind the context. 00:00:31.080 --> 00:00:35.399 And to see the context, we need to be mindful of the Old Testament. 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:41.640 So the Gospel of Corinne of Matthew seems to have been written to a predominantly, although 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:47.159 not, you know, primarily, you know, exclusively Jewish audience, you know, an audience that 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:49.920 would be familiar with the Old Testament. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:56.120 And we see here in verse one of chapter five, Jesus going up on a mountain. 00:00:56.119 --> 00:01:02.799 And with the disciples being near him and the crowds then being at the base of the mountain. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:08.599 And we see a similarity of this in the book of Exodus, as we see how Moses comes up on 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:12.000 the mountain to meet with God. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:17.239 And we see the leaders of Israel being just a little further down and then with the rest 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:20.719 of the people at the base of the mountain. 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:24.599 And here in Matthew, we see the picture of Jesus here. 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:31.399 You know, as a Moses-like figure who is on the mountain to get and to deliver the word 00:01:31.399 --> 00:01:34.319 of God to the people. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.239 But there's a big difference, isn't there? 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:41.159 Because Jesus is fully God and fully man. 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:44.599 He is thus both Moses and God. 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:46.359 He is the greater Moses. 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:51.639 And when Jesus speaks, he's speaking to us as God. 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:55.079 And the crowds, they notice this difference. 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:59.120 As you see at the very end of the Sermon of the Mount in chapter seven, you know, they 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:07.359 say that Jesus was teaching them as one who had authority and not like one of the scribes. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:15.039 See Jesus is the God-man who comes and brings the word of God directly without an intermediary, 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:19.680 without someone that is between the people and God. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:25.319 And in his message in the Sermon of the Mount and in the Beatitudes, we're not told, live 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:29.319 like this and then you'll become Christians. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:35.159 Rather, we're told, because you're Christians, live like this. 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:39.719 And to continue with the connection to the book of Exodus, what is the giving of the 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:40.719 law like? 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:42.439 You know, what do we see? 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:48.159 Well, in the decalogue, in the giving of the Ten Commandments, the law that was given did 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:52.560 not say, you know, live like this and you will become my people. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:57.039 You know, live like this and I will save you. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:00.919 Instead what do we see God say right before the First Commandment? 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:08.519 He says, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house 00:03:08.519 --> 00:03:10.680 of slavery. 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:18.000 You see, the preamble to the Ten Commandments is that God has saved them, that he has brought 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.039 them out of Egypt, delivered them from slavery. 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:29.039 And now, in light of this glorious redemption, live like this. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:32.080 And thus, God gives the Ten Commandments. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:37.199 So when we approach the Sermon on the Mount, we do so as God's covenant people. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:42.920 We do so as those whom God has saved as he has brought us out of slavery. 00:03:42.920 --> 00:03:47.159 And now that we no longer belong to the kingdom of Satan, but to the kingdom of God, this 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:51.719 here in the Beatitudes is what our life should look like. 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:57.599 Now, does this not mean that it's a message just for the Christians? 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.079 It's not a message just for God's people. 00:04:00.079 --> 00:04:07.680 Because at the same time when the law was given, yes, it was given for a sense of telling 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:15.599 the people what the life as God's people looks like, but it was also given as a way to show 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:23.560 people their sin, as a way to show people their need for a Savior. 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:28.639 And at a similar manner, we can come to the Sermon of the Mount and to the Beatitudes and 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:33.879 see our need, and to see our need. 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.759 Now enough of an introduction. 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:38.560 Let's get into the text. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:46.600 And before we do so, please pray with me. 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:51.639 Father God, your servants are listening. 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:57.040 So we pray this evening that you may speak. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:06.160 We pray that there may not be, it's the words of man, but Lord, the words of God, your words 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.000 to us this evening. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.520 So Father, speak to us. 00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:14.320 We pray by your spirit. 00:05:14.320 --> 00:05:17.000 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.560 Amen. 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:24.120 So we will read from Matthew 5 beginning in verse 1. 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:29.760 This is the word of God. 00:05:29.760 --> 00:05:33.960 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain. 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:38.599 And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 00:05:38.599 --> 00:05:46.159 And he opened his mouth and he taught them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for 00:05:46.159 --> 00:05:49.519 theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:54.959 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:05:54.959 --> 00:06:00.319 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:08.920 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:09.920 Amen. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:15.000 And that's Mark's reading, God's word. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:20.039 Now Martin Lloyd-Jones, one of the most famous preachers of the last century, when preaching 00:06:20.039 --> 00:06:25.959 on the Beatitudes said that the heart of humanity's problem is sin, and if everyone 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:32.799 hungered and thirsted after righteousness, there'd be no danger of war. 00:06:32.799 --> 00:06:36.399 Now, this may seem a bit simplistic, doesn't it? 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:44.599 But each problem on earth can in one way or another be traced to sin. 00:06:44.599 --> 00:06:50.679 And the solution is in one way to hunger and thirst for righteousness, not that this would 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:59.680 fix all problems, even the holiest of Christians still sins, but this yearning is what is so 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:01.160 desperately needed. 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:05.720 Now, do you recognize this picture of painted? 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:07.079 Picture this with me. 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:13.800 You're in the grocery store with your child, or if you don't have children, let's say you 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:18.680 have one of my children with you, and the child wants something. 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:27.759 And maybe it's one of those pet-buck-pig-shaped cookies at the perfect eye level for a child. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:32.000 And the child, of course, wants the cookie. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.480 And you say, no, you don't need the cookie. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.280 And the child starts screaming. 00:07:40.280 --> 00:07:45.879 In that moment, as the child is screaming and everyone is looking at you, what is the 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:48.040 problem? 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:49.040 What is the problem? 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:51.960 Is the problem the child's screaming? 00:07:51.960 --> 00:07:53.640 Or is there something else? 00:07:53.640 --> 00:07:55.360 Is there another problem? 00:07:55.360 --> 00:08:01.960 To me, in that specific moment, the problem is that it's my child's screaming, and I'll 00:08:01.960 --> 00:08:05.240 do whatever it takes to stop the screaming. 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:06.439 You want a cookie? 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:08.840 How about two of them? 00:08:08.840 --> 00:08:13.720 Anything to get people to stop looking at us? 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:19.600 The actual problem and the actual solution has not dawned on me in that moment. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.840 See, it is my child's heart. 00:08:22.840 --> 00:08:27.640 It is their sin that is at the root of the issue. 00:08:27.640 --> 00:08:31.800 And what they need more than anything is Jesus. 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:33.879 What they need more than anything is the gospel. 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:40.360 What they need is to hunger and to thirst for righteousness. 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:44.159 So again, that question is before us. 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:49.039 Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:53.560 Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? 00:08:53.560 --> 00:09:02.320 Because Jesus tells us here that satisfaction awaits the seeker. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:05.600 That satisfaction awaits the seeker. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:09.039 And there are two things that we will look at this evening. 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:14.639 The first is the seeker, and the second thing is the satisfaction. 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:18.000 So let us begin by considering the seeker. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:25.159 We see the text say, the blessed are those who hunger and thirst. 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:29.839 To hunger and thirst means to recognize our need. 00:09:29.839 --> 00:09:37.279 Of how each one of us recognizes that we need to have something to eat and we need to drink. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.639 Those are things I don't think I have to convince you of this evening. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:45.039 But if we don't eat and we don't drink, we will die. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:52.319 But when we use hunger and thirst in a different way, in the way that we see Jesus use it, 00:09:52.319 --> 00:09:56.199 then suddenly it becomes a little bit more difficult, doesn't it? 00:09:56.199 --> 00:10:02.480 For when I tell you that you need earthly bread and heavenly bread, well, you may agree 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:06.240 about the first part, but not maybe the second part. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:09.240 And that's actually what we see in John 6. 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:15.159 In the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus has taken just a few loaves of bread, 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:19.879 a few fish, and he has multiplied them enough to feed 5,000. 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:24.960 And then Jesus leaves the crowds, and he goes off by himself. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:28.240 But the crowd, they're not done with Jesus. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:32.680 They pursue him, and the next day they find him. 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:39.759 And Jesus says that you have come, you have sought me out, not because of the power they 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:47.359 saw, not because they want Jesus, but because they want more bread. 00:10:47.359 --> 00:10:50.399 They want more bread than they have been given. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:54.879 See, they recognize the need for bread. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:58.639 They did not recognize the need for the bread of life. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:04.559 They did not recognize their need of a savior, the need for Jesus. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:09.919 Now in this beatitude, blessed is the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:20.799 Blessed is the one who in a sense knows their need, who lacks a false sense of self-reliance, 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:27.360 who does not believe the lie that they can be self-made. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:32.200 Arnold Schwarzenegger in a speech that he gave at a commencement ceremony some years 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:36.159 ago said, you can call me whatever you want. 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:46.840 Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnie, the Austrian oak, but never call me a self-made man. 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:49.159 You never call me that. 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:53.800 And then he lists the many ways that people have helped him throughout his life and throughout 00:11:53.800 --> 00:11:55.600 his career. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:03.800 And now we can take this statement, this truth, and take it one step further in that we are 00:12:03.800 --> 00:12:10.360 indeed relying on other people in life here on earth. 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:17.120 But to a greater extent, we are relying most of all on God himself. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:23.639 We have a great need, and he is the one that we need. 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:27.679 And do you sense this need this evening? 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:37.279 The Psalmist says, as the deer pants for streams of water, so pants my soul for you, oh God. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:44.080 It's a beautiful imagery, beautiful picture of what is being portrayed here. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:52.480 And the question that is before us is, is this the yearning of our heart? 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:59.279 And as we move on and to see what the yearning is for, we see that it is for righteousness, 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.080 the hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:08.960 And elsewhere, we see Jesus say, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.920 and all these things shall be added to you. 00:13:12.920 --> 00:13:18.560 Now we may see the great value in light of that, to seek righteousness. 00:13:18.560 --> 00:13:21.519 How do you become a better spouse? 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:27.319 There are many practical things that you can do to become one, to think of ways you can 00:13:27.319 --> 00:13:34.720 serve your spouse, to work on your listening skills, to carry out what you promise to do, 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:37.480 taking out the trash on time. 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:44.079 But in another way, how do you become a better spouse? 00:13:44.079 --> 00:13:49.559 Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:52.199 How do you become a better son, a better daughter? 00:13:52.199 --> 00:13:53.199 Seek the kingdom. 00:13:53.199 --> 00:13:57.519 How do you become a better friend, hunger and thirst for righteousness? 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:06.359 Now these, though these are all good, should not be the reason that we seek righteousness. 00:14:06.359 --> 00:14:10.119 There should not be the reason for that. 00:14:10.119 --> 00:14:15.839 Because we see in Psalm 1 that blessed it is the man whose delight is in the law of 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:20.160 the Lord and who meditates on it day and night. 00:14:20.160 --> 00:14:23.200 That's the same word, blessed as we have here. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:27.360 Blessed is the one who delights in the word of God. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:34.040 And this delight is in the word because of whose word it is. 00:14:34.040 --> 00:14:42.360 It is a delight of God himself, of yearning for him, of seeking him. 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:49.519 And elsewhere in the Psalms we see it say, I have stored up your word in my heart that 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.720 I might not sin against you. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:57.639 So how do you store up God's word in your heart by reading it, by meditating on it, by 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.539 delighting in it? 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:09.680 Because you hunger and thirst for God, for his kingdom, for righteousness. 00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:11.759 It is a matter of diet. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:16.759 Is it not as we hunger and thirst, what do we hunger and thirst for? 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:20.039 What do we seek to fill ourselves with? 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:27.120 Now in hungering and thirsting for righteousness, in seeking first the kingdom, what you seek 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.279 is Jesus. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:35.600 What you seek is to be conformed into the image of the Son. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:43.480 What you seek is for the Holy Spirit to work mightily in your heart, which you yourself 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:46.519 are unable to do. 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:51.639 And another place in Matthew, when Jesus speaks of the difficulty of entering into the kingdom 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:56.240 of God, the disciples say, then who can be saved? 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.320 Who can be saved? 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:11.040 And Jesus replies that with man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. 00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:12.360 And we can apply the same here. 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:18.560 This mighty work with man, this is impossible to be the man or woman perfectly embodying 00:16:18.560 --> 00:16:20.280 these beatitudes. 00:16:20.280 --> 00:16:28.280 It's not possible, but with God, he is able to do a mighty work, a mighty transformation 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.279 of forming work in your life. 00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:41.399 So that as time goes on, a reflection of these become brighter and brighter in your life. 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:49.519 And the words that we read from Isaiah earlier, they're words this evening from your Savior. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:51.399 Do you thirst? 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.439 Come. 00:16:53.439 --> 00:16:55.000 Do you have no money? 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.399 Well, it does not matter. 00:16:57.399 --> 00:16:58.399 Just come. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.279 You'll listen to Jesus. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.399 You eat what is truly good. 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:10.079 Why do you spend your money and labor for those things that will not satisfy? 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.119 Jesus is the bread of life. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:17.059 Whoever comes to me, Jesus says, they shall not hunger. 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:20.559 They shall not thirst. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.759 So what do you hunger and thirst for this evening? 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:34.000 See, to yearn for righteousness is not only a desire to not be sinful, but it is also 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:43.559 a desire to be holy, to be like God, to love the things that he loves, to really want to 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:48.440 embody the fruit of the Spirit. 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:54.039 But Sebastian, you may say, who does not want to embody the fruit of the Spirit? 00:17:54.039 --> 00:18:01.839 Well, there are times in life, is there not, when we have been so wronged that we don't 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:04.720 want to be loving? 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:06.559 We don't want to be patient. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.319 We don't want to be kind. 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:14.159 And that is the flesh in us, the remnants of that old self. 00:18:14.159 --> 00:18:17.079 Yet the word compels us. 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:25.119 And the Spirit empowers us to embody this fruit, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, means 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:29.319 to yearn to be like Christ. 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:36.720 Even when we are wronged, Christ who suffered the most of wrongs, the worst of them embodied 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:42.839 the fruit of the Spirit, embodied the beatitudes. 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:51.119 So the question before us is, how do I become someone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness? 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:56.399 And as we've said, it is not a work that we can do alone. 00:18:56.399 --> 00:18:57.759 We can't do it by ourselves. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:18:59.679 We need the Holy Spirit. 00:18:59.679 --> 00:19:05.679 He needs to do his work in our heart, not just in conversion, not just in that first 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:13.840 moment when we step out of darkness into light, when we see things clearly, but indeed each 00:19:13.840 --> 00:19:16.080 and every day. 00:19:16.080 --> 00:19:18.480 That's when we need Him each and every day. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:20.000 But how? 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:26.600 Well, by the means of grace, by the means that God has given us, by words, sacrament, and 00:19:26.600 --> 00:19:32.080 prayer, these are the means of grace that God has given to His church that He has given 00:19:32.080 --> 00:19:33.080 to us. 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:39.559 And at the heart of these is communion, is fellowship with God. 00:19:39.559 --> 00:19:45.399 As Herman Boving says, the essence of the Christian life is fellowship with God. 00:19:45.399 --> 00:19:53.599 It is fellowship with the Father as we are one with Him, as He has given Himself completely 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:55.960 to us and He loves us and leads us. 00:19:55.960 --> 00:20:01.559 It is fellowship with Jesus, the Son, as we are one with Him, if we are in Him and He 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.039 is with us. 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:08.960 It is fellowship with the Holy Spirit as He dwells in us, convicts us of our sin and 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:10.559 guides us. 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:14.399 See, this is the essence of the Christian life. 00:20:14.399 --> 00:20:22.879 It is fellowship with God in the Holy Spirit, through Christ, with the Father. 00:20:22.879 --> 00:20:27.799 So we see a satisfaction awaits the seeker. 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:32.000 We've looked at the seeker, but now let us consider the satisfaction. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:40.000 See, we see the blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and we are told 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:42.680 that they shall be satisfied. 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:44.680 Now the verb here is clearly future. 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:48.119 It says that they shall be satisfied. 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:51.319 It is really connecting us to the second coming of Christ. 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:57.480 It is connecting us to the restoration of all things, as we see it in the book of Revelation, 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:04.360 but at the same time, this satisfaction is not just a future reality, something that 00:21:04.360 --> 00:21:10.839 we have to wait for, for with the first coming of Christ, with His accomplished and finished 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:17.759 work and His resurrection and ascension, the kingdom of God has arrived. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:24.160 The kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus said, and the blessings of God, they're here today. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:29.320 We see the theologians call this the already and the not yet. 00:21:29.320 --> 00:21:34.880 There are blessings that we already have, but we don't have all of them yet fully. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:37.720 There are things that we have not yet received. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:45.720 So when we consider the satisfaction, we may think of it in really a threefold way, of 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:51.800 a past satisfaction, a present, and then finally a future satisfaction. 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:55.519 So let's think in the first of these, the past satisfaction. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:22:00.240 We think of that that we have already, as Christians, received. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.879 And as we consider these three, I want you to keep in mind that these are ones that are 00:22:03.879 --> 00:22:07.200 connected to righteousness. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:13.159 For blessed are those, says Jesus, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall 00:22:13.159 --> 00:22:19.079 be satisfied, meaning they will receive the very thing that they hunger for. 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:24.079 And as we said in the previous section, the thing that they hunger and thirst for is ultimately 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:25.960 God himself. 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:34.679 It is to be reconciled to him, to no longer be his enemy, to not be a rebel, but to be 00:22:34.679 --> 00:22:43.439 his child, to hate the things that God hates and to love the things that God loves. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:49.279 See, these are the things to be conformed to the image of God's Son, Jesus. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:56.680 So as they hunger and as they thirst for righteousness, they do not yearn for righteousness. 00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:59.000 For righteousness is sake. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:01.559 That's not the thing that they're ultimately searching for. 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:10.980 No, they yearn for righteousness because their greatest desire is God himself. 00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:16.519 So here we have received satisfaction in the past, in our justification. 00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:24.440 So through our faith in Jesus and relying upon him and him alone for our salvation, 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:27.960 we have been declared righteous. 00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:35.400 We've been declared rights because of his perfect life, because of his terrible death. 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:43.640 He has taken upon himself not just our sins, but he has given us his righteousness that 00:23:43.640 --> 00:23:47.640 becomes ours through faith. 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:54.360 So in our hungering and in our thirsting for righteousness, we have been satisfied as we 00:23:54.360 --> 00:23:56.519 are declared righteous. 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:01.000 Now this righteousness is illegal righteousness. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:09.319 God looks at us and he sees the righteous works that Jesus had accomplished, but we're 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:12.519 still sinners. 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:21.200 We still sin and break the law, and that leaves us in one sense unsatisfied, doesn't it? 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:23.960 We still have a sin problem. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:30.680 So let's think about the next satisfaction, because alongside and following justification 00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:36.320 comes what is called sanctification, because not only has the way that God looks at us 00:24:36.320 --> 00:24:45.560 changed, so he looks at us and he sees the perfect work of Jesus, but we have changed. 00:24:45.560 --> 00:24:46.920 We have been transformed. 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:54.080 It's not as if God simply declares us righteous and then leaves us in the state that we were 00:24:54.079 --> 00:25:03.000 in, no for an Ezekiel 36, God promised that we will be given a new heart, a new spirit, 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:09.319 so that he would make us able to follow him in obedience and in love. 00:25:09.319 --> 00:25:14.399 Now this is an exciting thing to see in conversion, isn't it? 00:25:14.399 --> 00:25:21.079 When someone who was knee-deep in sin enslaved to their passion suddenly makes this 180 shift, 00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:27.119 when you see this change in their life, a new life, a new person, because if anyone is in 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:31.079 Christ, he's a new creation. 00:25:31.079 --> 00:25:37.199 So the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 00:25:37.199 --> 00:25:44.119 And I remember this very thing in my own life a little more than 11 years ago. 00:25:44.119 --> 00:25:54.159 And I found myself there having read the scriptures and I believe them that they're true. 00:25:54.159 --> 00:25:59.399 They said about God, what they said about me. 00:25:59.399 --> 00:26:05.679 They said about how helpless I was. 00:26:05.679 --> 00:26:07.199 And that's what I felt. 00:26:07.199 --> 00:26:09.119 I felt helpless. 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:18.919 I felt broken, that I was unable to get myself out of this place that I was in. 00:26:18.919 --> 00:26:25.039 And my state, I felt, was very well captured by Charles Wesley. 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:34.479 As he says, long mind, prison, spirit, lay fast bound in sin and nature's night. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:42.279 But then suddenly, suddenly indeed I felt the way that Charles Wesley continues. 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:46.160 You know, thine eye diffused a quickening ray. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:56.360 I woke the dungeon, flamed with light, my chains fell off, and my heart was free. 00:26:56.360 --> 00:27:01.680 I rose, I went forth, and I followed thee. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:09.640 See, the Holy Spirit does a great, transforming work in us the moment that we become, that 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:16.920 we come to believe the gospel and rest upon Jesus alone for salvation. 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:19.320 But He doesn't stop there. 00:27:19.320 --> 00:27:25.160 The entire Christian life is one of sanctification, is an ongoing process. 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:28.279 We continually feed on the bread of life. 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:34.079 You know, we say, as in that great hymn, guide me, oh, that great Jehovah. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:43.799 As we say, bread of heaven, you know, feed me now and evermore, evermore. 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.359 It's an ongoing reliance on God as He works in us. 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:54.240 As we strive toward Him, that we become more and more like Jesus and find our satisfaction 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:56.480 in Him. 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:59.799 And then finally, the future, the final satisfaction. 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:03.400 Now, as I said, the Christian life is one of sanctification. 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:08.720 We will never become perfect of this side of eternity. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:15.440 Apostle John says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.480 in us. 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:22.680 It does not matter how far by God's grace we have come in our sanctification. 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:33.120 We will not reach that great desire of being unable to sin, of always obeying, of always 00:28:33.120 --> 00:28:36.880 following God until the return of Christ. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:43.560 And this is the future satisfaction, which we call glorification, of how Judge Mende will 00:28:43.560 --> 00:28:44.920 come upon us. 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:51.799 And we will stand there before the Lord, and He will look at us, and He will say, before 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:57.519 all, that one is righteous. 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:00.079 That one is mine. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:03.200 That one is my child. 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:12.440 And all the remnants of our sinful flesh will fall off, and we will be perfect in body and 00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:20.399 in soul, unable to sin, and we will be fully and truly righteous, and we will be fully 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:28.519 and entirely satisfied, not solely because we are fully righteous, but because we, as 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:38.920 righteous, receive the fullness of that great desire itself, which is God, which is God 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:40.320 Himself. 00:29:40.320 --> 00:29:41.680 And this is our great desire. 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:43.640 This is our great hope. 00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:49.360 And we see in Revelation 19 of the marriage supper of the Lamb, and there we will be 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:55.199 in the presence of the one that right now we only see by faith, but one day we will see 00:29:55.199 --> 00:29:56.479 by sight. 00:29:56.479 --> 00:30:05.599 And we will be given that robe that's been washed, and we will stand before Him pure 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:14.519 and clean, and we will be with God, and it will say there will be no temple in that heavenly 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:22.440 city in the New Jerusalem, for God will be in our midst, and we will see Him face to face. 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:25.680 And that is our great treasure. 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:30.639 That is our great satisfaction that we look to. 00:30:30.639 --> 00:30:34.759 So satisfaction we see awaits the seeker. 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:40.160 So for the Christian, let me ask you, are you satisfied? 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:42.599 Are you satisfied? 00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:46.039 Are you hungering and thirsting? 00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:51.639 Do you recognize the glories of the grace that we've talked about of justification, 00:30:51.639 --> 00:30:55.039 sanctification, and glorification? 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:57.799 The question may be asked, how do we know? 00:30:57.799 --> 00:31:02.119 How do we know if we hunger and thirst for righteousness? 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:06.359 And that's the value, I think, of being introspective. 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:07.359 I struggle with this. 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:09.159 I'm not very introspective. 00:31:09.160 --> 00:31:15.000 It takes me great energy and effort to be introspective, and this is one of the places 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.240 where I see that God has really blessed me and has really thought through because He's 00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:24.600 given me a wife who is very introspective and who can show me and guide me in this, setting 00:31:24.600 --> 00:31:30.160 a great example for me to ponder and to consider. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:37.320 We can learn much from sitting in solace and in quiet, especially in a busy world like 00:31:37.319 --> 00:31:46.879 ours, thinking through our thoughts, our actions, our desires, and then ask ourselves this question. 00:31:46.879 --> 00:31:52.279 Martin Lloyd-Jones recommends that we look at Hebrews 11, that we look at these examples 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:58.960 of people of God who acted out of their faith that they had. 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:06.159 The final consideration, again, from Lloyd-Jones is to consider avoiding not just the things 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:13.680 that are sinful, but even to avoid certain things that are okay. 00:32:13.680 --> 00:32:21.480 It is okay to watch Netflix, Disney Plus, or Prime, especially after a long and grueling 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:22.480 day. 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:29.120 It's okay to catch up on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, but if we're spending much of our 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:40.639 time doing that, we crowd out time, attention, effort that could have gone to spiritual things. 00:32:40.639 --> 00:32:47.679 We may even begin saying that we're too busy, that we're too busy to read, we're too busy 00:32:47.679 --> 00:32:51.479 to pray, we're too busy to serve. 00:32:51.479 --> 00:32:56.799 We may consider the time that we've spent on the means of grace, of word and prayer, 00:32:56.799 --> 00:33:02.119 of seeking communion with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:09.359 Have we let other desires, even good desires, crowd out our desire for God? 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:14.000 The problem is not the desires themselves. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:16.839 God has given us desires. 00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:23.279 For our good, the problem is when we allow good desires to become the primary desires. 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:32.359 The primary one, when we say that we want the gift rather than the giver, when we say 00:33:32.359 --> 00:33:35.960 that we rather have the gift than the giver. 00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:39.680 What is your greatest desire this evening? 00:33:39.680 --> 00:33:46.480 Is it the great gifts and desires that God has given you out of His grace, or is it rather 00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:49.680 God Himself? 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:54.240 For the children, those who are here this evening, you may be familiar with the song 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:58.240 that I know you've been doing down at Kids' Church. 00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:04.600 It's actually one of Felicity's favorites at the moment, Jesus' Strong and Kind. 00:34:04.600 --> 00:34:08.559 Because I think this song answers this very well. 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:15.559 It says, Jesus said that if I thirst, I should come to Him. 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:18.920 No one else can satisfy. 00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:21.320 I should come to Him. 00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:28.720 See, Jesus is the only one that can satisfy what you want, everything that you desire 00:34:28.720 --> 00:34:29.720 and yearn for. 00:34:29.720 --> 00:34:32.119 So you can run to Him. 00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:33.240 You can run to Him today. 00:34:33.240 --> 00:34:43.519 You can always run to Him because He showed you on that cross that He will come for you. 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:50.800 And for the non-Christian, the question is, what do you hunger and thirst for? 00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:55.440 What do you seek your satisfaction in? 00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:57.599 Is it a job done well done? 00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:02.800 Wasn't there always more that you can do? 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:04.400 Is it pleasure? 00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:06.960 Well, that's not enough. 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:10.239 There's always a desire for more. 00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:15.799 He will go forever wanting, forever longing. 00:35:15.799 --> 00:35:24.599 Jim Carrey in a speech a few years ago at the Golden Globes, he said, I am two-time Golden 00:35:24.599 --> 00:35:27.079 Globe winner, Jim Carrey. 00:35:27.079 --> 00:35:31.319 You know, when I go to sleep at night, I'm not just a guy going to sleep. 00:35:31.319 --> 00:35:39.039 I am two-time Golden Globe winner, Jim Carrey, going to get some well-needed shut eye. 00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:41.480 And when I dream, I don't dream any old dream. 00:35:41.480 --> 00:35:50.039 No, sir, I dream about being three-time Golden Globe winner actor, Jim Carrey, because then 00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:52.440 I would be enough. 00:35:52.440 --> 00:36:03.559 It would finally be true, and I could stop this terrible search for what I know ultimately 00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:06.880 won't fulfill me. 00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:10.559 And Carrey touches here at the heart of the issue. 00:36:10.559 --> 00:36:17.000 We think that if only we can get a little bit more, a little bit more, if we can achieve 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:22.440 one more thing, that will be enough. 00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:25.760 We will be satisfied then. 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:33.119 Yet the terrible search continues, the striving which has no apparent end. 00:36:33.119 --> 00:36:43.559 Like Augustine said, our hearts are restless, restless until they find their rest in God, 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:46.079 in God Himself. 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:53.519 And Bobbinc again, he picks up on this, and he says that the thirst of our heart goes 00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:57.400 forth primarily for the living God Himself. 00:36:57.400 --> 00:37:06.360 And we will find no rest until God becomes our God and our Father. 00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:12.680 So if you don't this evening, trust in and rest in Jesus alone for salvation. 00:37:12.680 --> 00:37:20.240 If you know, and if you recognize this endless search and striving all too well, and you 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:27.479 desire something more, something that will last, something that will last, something 00:37:27.479 --> 00:37:35.959 that is actually worth it, don't wait until tomorrow. 00:37:35.959 --> 00:37:39.719 It's easy because there's no work for you to do. 00:37:39.719 --> 00:37:46.759 There's no amount of righteousness that you have to muster up and achieve because Christ 00:37:46.759 --> 00:37:49.839 has earned it for you. 00:37:49.840 --> 00:37:53.440 Really confess your sin. 00:37:53.440 --> 00:37:59.120 Ask for forgiveness and ask that He would not only be God, but that He would be your 00:37:59.120 --> 00:38:03.280 Father, that He would be yours. 00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:10.160 In the words that Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, they're the words to you this 00:38:10.160 --> 00:38:19.240 evening because everyone who drinks of this water here, this earthly water, they'll be 00:38:19.239 --> 00:38:22.519 thirsty again. 00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:28.759 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again. 00:38:28.759 --> 00:38:37.000 The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water just welling up to 00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:38.959 eternal life. 00:38:38.959 --> 00:38:40.359 Amen. 00:38:40.359 --> 00:38:43.599 Let us pray. 00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:56.880 Oh Father, how we yearn and search for something that is good not just in the moment, not just 00:38:56.880 --> 00:39:05.960 for today, but for our whole lives and, or indeed for all eternity. 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:10.039 We pray that you may give us this. 00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:12.360 Give us this great desire. 00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:17.280 Give us, we ask yourself. 00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:30.360 Father, we pray indeed that the day may come and may it be soon when this life of faith 00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:42.280 that we live will no longer be a life of faith, but indeed be a life of sight when we see you 00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:43.840 face to face. 00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:48.400 Let me pray this in the name of Jesus. 00:39:48.400 --> 00:40:15.559 Amen.