PSBC 8/29/99

In a nutshell: To be completely satisfied in this life we must pursue the things that God would pursue if He were in our shoes.

What would you include on a list of the most significant songs of the latter half of the 20^th century? Would you include the all time chart toppers? Would you include songs from World War 2? Or the Vietnam War? Or something sung by Elvis? Or the Oak Ridge Boys (my favorites)? Or something New Age? Or something from alternative Rock? What would you choose?

This might surprise you, but I would include, very high on the list, the song, "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. Look at the words for a minute...

To some of you, you’re probably thinking I went off the deep end. Some of you think I’m in danger of losing my sanctification. But, don’t judge me too quickly. Let me tell you why I think I think this is one of the most significant songs written in the latter part of this century...

It’s significant because it expresses the most honest heart-cry of modern western-civilization. You see friends, every person you make eye contact with every single day is searching for satisfaction in every place imaginable, and for the most part, they are not finding it.

They’re not finding it because they haven’t discovered the truth in the fourth Beatitude, that we’re going to be studying today. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Now, let me show you a verse from the Old Testament writer, King Solomon, that states an important spiritual truth that is a key to understanding this beatitude...

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Commenting on this verse, St. Augustine, said, (front of bulletin) "You made us for yourself, and our heart is restless, until it rests in Thee."

The important spiritual truth I’m talking about is this... There is a hole, exactly the size of God, in the heart of every human being . And to try and fill that hole with anything other than God is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

...that’s why the Rolling Stones sang the song, "Satisfaction" at the height of their career...

-they had more money,

-more toys,

-more sexual encounters,

-more drugs,

-more success,

-more relationships,

-more fan-adoration

-and more recognition... that just about any other group of human beings who have lived in the latter part of this century. Yet ... they still sang, " I can’t get no satisfaction!..."

Do you know why they couldn’t find it? Because the void, that left them searching for satisfaction, was exactly the size of God, and they went to Him to fill it.

But why should this surprise us. That’s the way humans are. It’s part of our prideful nature. People in Isaiah’s day did the same thing. God said back then...

2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.

Later, in the prophet Jeremiah’s day, you had the same searching for satisfaction going on. God said at that time...

12 Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD.

13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

And Jesus’ day was no different. People were searching for satisfaction in their lives. They were trying various religions, trying to keep rules, or indulging in sexual perversion or pursuing greed. And in the midst of their searching, Jesus said this...

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

In the message this morning, I’m going to focus on two things, from this fourth beatitude...

1- What, is this righteousness that Jesus is talking about... and

2- What does it mean to hunger and thirst after it?

So, let’s look at that first question. What is righteousness? And we’re fortunate here, because Jesus helps us with that in this very chapter. Let your eyes go to verse 20...

From that verse we know that righteousness looks differently from something that the Pharisees were trying to do.

Illustration: Back, 2000 years ago, the term, POLITICALLY CORRECT, meant something entirely different than it does today. The Pharisees were the ruling political party of the Jews. For them to be P.C. meant that a person had to keep to a strict adherence to the hundreds of rabbi-written rules that were designed to keep a person from violating any of the laws that God gave to Moses during Israel’s wilderness wanderings. This meant that a Pharisee obeyed the letter of the law–not one word less and not one word more.

But if you keep reading, you’ll see that Jesus defined righteousness very differently than the Pharisees did. Follow along in chapter 5, starting at verse 21...

21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

Now go to...

27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.’

28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Next, go to...

33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’

34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all...

37 Simply let your `Yes’ be `Yes,’ and your `No,’ `No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Next go to ...

38 "You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’

39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Then He says...

43 "You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Now, we’re going to be looking at each one of these more in depth, starting in February. But for this morning’s focus, I want you to keep in mind what we just read, and then factor in the key verse of this whole sermon, that I shared with you last week...

48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

If you put all this together, you can define the righteousness that fills or satisfies as... thinking desiring and valuing like God does, and acting on that basis alone.

You see, based on what Jesus is teaching, true righteousness doesn’t begin from the outside, in. In other words, it doesn’t start with a system of rules and regulations that we try to keep.

True righteousness begins from the inside, out. It starts with our motives and desires, and from those motives and desires, our actions follow.

It’s this kind of righteousness that affects all our decisions, all our actions, all our re-actions and all our plans. This righteousness fills the God-sized and God-shaped hole in our hearts, and by doing that, gives us satisfaction–Because the righteousness Jesus is talking about in this beatitude, is a righteousness that is perfectly patterned after God’s size and God’s shape!

But it’s not enough to know what righteousness is, we have to know how to get it into our lives so it satisfies that God-sized hole that we each have in us. That’s the second question I want to answer this morning...

The answer to that question is found in the understanding of some parts of Greek grammar. Specifically I’m talking about the difference between the partitive genitive and the direct accusative.

Now, I don’t expect you to become Greek scholars this morning. But the understanding between these two cases in the Greek is crucial to understanding the nature of the righteousness that satisfies.

Explanation: Normally in Greek grammar the verbs like "hunger" and "thirst" would be followed by the partitive genitive case.

But in this Beatitude, something unusual happens in the Greek language.

Jesus blew people out of the water, when, instead of using the partitive genitive, He used the direct accusative. If we use our bread example... The direct accusative doesn’t just mean the whole loaf, it means every part of anything having to do with bread. You see, the direct accusative case in Greek doesn’t mean a part of. It means the totality of the whole thing.

Do you see what Jesus is saying? He is saying, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after all of God’s righteousness in every single area of their lives–the whole thing–it is those people who will find satisfaction!"

The truth is, putting God first in all areas of our lives is the only thing that brings satisfaction and fills the God-sized hole in our lives.

But don’t miss the importance of the metaphor that Jesus uses of hungering and thirsting. Because like normal hungering and thirsting, committing to righteousness is not just a one time shot. This isn’t just a one time decision you make and then you’re done with it.

Think about this...To satisfy the hunger and thirst that comes throughout the day, we need to be eating and drinking the right things, regularly. We don’t just eat one meal each week, and count on that to sustain our hunger and thirst for the week. We repeat the action of eating and drinking often, so we can satisfy our thirst and our hunger.

Illustration: In the movie Karate Kid, young Daniel asks Mister Miagi to teach him karate. Miagi agrees under one condition: Daniel must submit totally to his instruction and never question his methods. Daniel shows up the next day eager to learn. To his chagrin, Mister Miagi has him paint a fence. Miagi demonstrates the precise motion for the job: up and down, up and down. Daniel takes days to finish the job.

Friends, listen to me...

...understanding that there is a God-sized hole in your life is good–but it isn’t enough.

...Making a decision to fill that hole with God’s righteousness is good, but that also isn’t enough. You need to practice it daily. Just like eating and drinking. Every day, and in as many situations as you can consciously think of...practice thinking, desiring, and valuing like God does..., then act on that basis, alone.

And the promise of God is that you’ll find what the Rolling Stones are still looking for–satisfaction–in the truest sense of the word.

Amen.