WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.800 So I'm picking up week four of the series called The Way Back Home. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:29.760 For those of you who've been here, we've been going verse by verse through one of Jesus' sermons, the beginning of a sermon, actually. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:40.640 And The Way Back Home is really the story of us, the beginning recorded in Genesis, where we're created by God and we started in harmony with God. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.719 The first two of us, though, Adam and Eve, went their own way. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:46.240 They didn't listen to God. 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:52.960 Wandering and disobeying resulted in shame and a break in the good relationship that they had with God. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:56.719 And their relationship with each other was broken as well. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:04.159 So God has been on this restorative, redemptive rescue mission ever since. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:07.840 And we need a way back home, just like they did. 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:09.519 We do our own thing. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:10.799 We don't listen. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:13.439 We look for satisfaction apart from God. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:16.239 But what are we really looking for? 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:23.439 Underneath it all, don't we want the wholeness and the flourishing of our true home, our true identity with God? 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:32.719 We believe Jesus is pointing us toward home with this sermon, this surprising, sometimes hard to understand sermon of Jesus. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:37.280 In the past three weeks, we've zoomed in on three of the verses so far. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.400 Nassim helped us to understand how we're poor in spirit. 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:42.560 Chris taught us about meekness. 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:48.159 And then last week, Roland gave us a powerful picture of what it looks like to mourn in the kingdom of God. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.239 And today we're up to the fourth one. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:53.120 It's found in Matthew chapter 5, verse 6. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:02:03.680 And if you brought your Bible, you can get it open and ready in Matthew chapter 5, or if you use your an app on your phone, or of course, that most of the verses are all in the digital bulletin. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:09.199 But before we get to our specific verse for the morning, I want to zoom out for context just a little bit. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:11.599 I want to specifically look at the audience. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:17.039 This teaching comes from the beginning of Jesus' public recorded interactions with people. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:23.520 But it was long enough that the crowds began to form and follow him. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:28.000 Verse 1 of chapter 5 says, when he saw the crowds, so there was a crowd. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:34.240 And at the end of chapter 4, we get a glimpse of what this group was like in verses 23 and 25. 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:38.080 And it says this, and you'll be able to follow on the screen. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:03:01.759 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:09.680 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan followed him. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:16.800 In another spot, in another book, in Luke chapter 6, verse 19, we get another clue of what this crowd was like. 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:24.800 And it says, And the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:27.840 So people were coming from all over the region. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.719 And we can see these people were desperate. 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:31.759 They were needy. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:33.280 They were powerless. 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:38.080 They came because Jesus was powerful to act and to aid and to help. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:39.919 They just wanted to touch him. 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:43.280 And I can imagine they ached for relief. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:49.120 I like to pose questions when I teach to help you, the listener, engage with the text. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.879 And I also believe that God wants to dialogue with each one of us through scripture. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:04:01.039 So my first question for us is this do you see yourself as a person with needs who needs God's power? 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:02.960 Is that how you see yourself? 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.960 This message today is for those who have needs. 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.520 It's not for the ones who think they have it all together. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:15.599 The people gathered around Jesus were not the ones with the perfect job, the perfect health, with all the right answers. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.519 You can sit in the audience as a person with needs. 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:26.480 Jesus sees and knows you have them, and you're welcome here, and you're welcome with Jesus. 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:31.040 He actually has you in mind, us in mind, as desperate needy people. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.519 And as you will see, the kingdom of God is actually yours. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.399 A couple more points as a way of setup before we get to our specific verse. 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:43.279 I want to look at the word blessed in general again. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.800 And the reason is because it gets repeated over and over by Jesus. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:50.079 So we've been digging into it a little bit each week. 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:53.519 Nassim used the word congratulations to capture it. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:57.759 Chris explained how it's like getting a pat on the back because of the condition you're in. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:03.600 Poor in spirit, meek, mourning, and today hunger and thirsting for righteousness. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:07.360 He said it's like God is saying you're going in the right direction. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:13.839 Roland reiterated the idea that Jesus describes these people as fortunate. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:17.040 I want to add to that picture a little bit. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:22.160 Through this word, I hear Jesus saying to us, This is who you are. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.600 Come home to who you really are. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.959 It's your identity as a part of the family of God. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.199 You and I might get out of touch with it, but it is who we are. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:40.240 Kenneth Bailey in his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, explains the Hebrew word and the Greek word for blessed when he says this. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:50.079 Blessed refers to a spiritual condition of divinely gifted joy already present, not a requirement to be filled in order to receive a reward. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:51.439 It's already present. 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:52.959 It's simply true. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.600 It's here for you and I to live in. 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:58.000 It's kind of like your family or your last name. 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:03.360 You're part of a family with certain attributes, which you may or may not like about your family. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.920 For our family, we are, let's call us New Jersey Loud. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.040 We originally grew up in New Jersey. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:15.040 We like movies, we like music, we like Disney, we like the beach. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:18.240 There's certain things about our family that are just true. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:22.399 So the first thing is about this blessedness is that it's true. 00:06:22.560 --> 00:06:23.519 It already exists. 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.079 We don't do anything to make it happen. 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:30.639 We get to discover its existence as a part of the kingdom of God. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:36.959 The keyword study Bible, which I use a lot, use the word blissful even in the definition for blessed. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:42.399 Glenn Pacquiaum wrote a book about this whole section of scripture, and he entitled the book Lucky. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:54.560 Not lucky in terms of randomly receiving a gift, but being fortunate, being overwhelmed with receiving such an outpouring of goodness and wholeness, almost despite our circumstances. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:07:05.839 He says, the Beatitudes, this whole section here, are chiefly an announcement, a proclamation that now, because of Jesus, everything will be different. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:10.879 Our condition of need and longing and lack, Jesus calls blessed. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:14.319 Like Chris said, Jesus blesses the void. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:19.279 Jesus invites us to discover this countercultural kind of happiness and joy. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:21.519 So let's pause for a question. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:26.800 And I'm gonna ask them both personally and communally, and we'll get a little more into that later. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:32.399 But when was the last time you experienced this kind of joy in God? 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:42.480 And as a community, when was the last time we as a community, as a whole group, as a body, experienced this kind of joy in God? 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.399 So now we're gonna read all the verses together from our series. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:50.319 And I want you to keep in mind what we've been learning about this word blessed. 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:55.920 It's in Matthew chapter 5, and it's all the verses that we're going over in the series, verses 3 through 10. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:00.560 Jesus is speaking to the crowds, and now Jesus is speaking to us today. 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:06.319 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:10.000 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:13.279 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.480 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.240 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.680 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:30.879 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons and daughters of God. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:37.679 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:41.840 This is an announcement of very good news. 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:48.320 If it's old hat to you for some reason, if you've heard it so many times, pray for fresh eyes and fresh ears. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.919 If it's new to you, listen with curiosity and joy. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:56.399 As has been said in previous weeks, this is not a list of virtues. 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.080 It's not a to-do list. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:00.399 Rather, it's a state of being. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:04.320 It's not meant to be read and applied, like if I do this, then I'm gonna get this. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:06.799 Although it's tempting to read it that way. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:12.000 But to live in the kingdom of God, it's not a matter of following the checklist. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.440 It's a matter of complete reorientation. 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:23.840 I kept thinking and praying as I studied and looked into this, and it's like if it's if we're not supposed to just like do this and get this, then what is it, God? 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:24.879 What's our posture? 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.080 You know, what's our action to get home, to experience this? 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:37.279 I was looking in the previous verses and the following verses, and then I came to to uh Matthew chapter 4, verse 17, and it was like a light bulb. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:43.919 This is what it says From that time on, Jesus began to preach, repent, for the kingdom of God is near. 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:47.840 I know that verse has been misused a lot in our society. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:54.639 But he kept saying this, like from that time on, he kept saying this, leading up to the Sermon on the Mount. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:57.039 He's like, reorientate yourself. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:58.559 Something is arriving. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:09:59.840 Get ready. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.679 Simply put, turn. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:06.080 Repent essentially means to turn, to change your mind. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:14.879 A change of position is needed to receive this kingdom, to come back home with Jesus as King. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:26.000 So, with all of this in mind, how we're needy and desperate people, how we can have joy, we can experience this joy, and how we need to reorientate ourselves. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:32.399 Now we can zoom in to our verse for today, which is in chapter 5, verse 6, and I'll read it again. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:38.480 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:40.000 I don't know about you. 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:44.080 When I first read that, it just kind of sounds like religious mumbo jumbo. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.399 It's not something that I immediately get. 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:48.159 It kind of sounds abstract. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:51.919 So let's unpack it a little bit together and flesh it out. 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:57.919 So first we need to talk about how, in order to come home to Jesus, that we're gonna ache. 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:00.559 Like when we live at home with Jesus, we are gonna ache. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:01.679 There is a longing. 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:09.759 Jesus uses the words hunger and thirst, these very physical words, to paint this picture for longing for righteousness. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:20.080 In first century Palestine, Kenneth Bailey reminds us, many in Jesus' world would have personally known both unrelenting hunger and life-threatening thirst. 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:24.159 It's hard for many of us to imagine this, probably. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:29.440 There might be some who have experienced this, um, and maybe even presently. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:37.039 But I would say for most of us, it's isn't it more like, what am I in the mood to eat or what am I in the mood to drink? 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.440 We don't, it's hard for us to kind of grasp this all-consuming desire. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.960 Jesus paints a strong picture here of desire. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.799 And remember, the audience for Jesus at the time here was Jewish. 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.519 So communally, they were under the rule of Rome. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:56.960 They longed for God to re-establish his rule and his reign, for God's kingdom to return. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:06.720 They were mistreated, they were taken advantage of, they heard about God's actions of mercy and justice in the past, and they were waiting for God to act again. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:11.840 The ache for things to be made right was very real for them. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:18.240 So, my question for you, for us here, is what do we long for these days? 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.559 What are we consumed with? 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:33.039 What do we as a community, as a church body, as even maybe our communities out there, whatever part, whatever neighborhood you're part of, what do we long for these days? 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:35.679 Let's look at the verse again. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:41.759 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.519 Jesus says, the ones in my kingdom are consumed with righteousness. 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:51.600 When we live from our true identity, we discover this longing inside for things to be right and good. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:13:05.120 I had the opportunity to travel to Israel-Palestine in 2016 with our church at the time and an organization called Tell Us, who is pro-Israeli, pro-pro-Palestinian, and pro-peace. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:06.960 Not easy to be. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:10.480 We got to listen to people on both sides of the conflict. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.559 We heard different perspectives. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:21.759 It was the first time I really understood the concept of a dual narrative when two different groups of people experienced the same event so differently. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:30.000 There was a time toward the middle of the trip while walking the streets when my friend and I were just overcome with an ache for the people that we heard. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:35.679 We were overcome for a longing for things to be made right for the people of the Holy Land. 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:37.519 We saw injustice. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:39.519 We heard misunderstandings. 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:41.039 We saw suffering. 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:44.480 We felt the tension of the issues. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:46.559 We saw a power differential. 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:54.000 One particular day we visited a woman who was helping a 20-something woman apply for college so she could become a nurse. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:56.639 We heard her story on speakerphone. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:05.200 But because of the limitations for Gazans, this young woman also had to get permission to be able to leave Gaza and come into Israel for school. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:08.240 This older woman, she's chosen a different path. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:14.879 This older woman lived right at the border of Gaza, where when tensions flare, she's right in the middle of the crossfire. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:20.960 But she drives to the checkpoint and she drives people to medical appointments or other important things. 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:23.360 And she was helping this particular woman. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:25.919 Talk about ache. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:29.039 Talk about things needing to be made right. 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:33.200 This young woman just wanted to go to school to become a nurse. 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.679 And there were all these hoops and all these things that she had to jump through in order to do this. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:47.039 When we see things and hear things and experience things that are not right, we are the ones Jesus calls blessed. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:48.960 Fortunate somehow. 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.480 So let's read our verse again as we keep working our way through. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:58.240 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.279 Let's pick apart the word righteousness a little bit. 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:07.120 Righteousness is one of those things that we're supposed to care about, that we will care about in the kingdom of God. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.799 But of course, it's kind of a churchy, you know, stuffy word a little bit. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:17.440 So right here, the word in Greek means, well, it means righteousness, but it also means justice. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:34.559 Ryan Post in his book, Jesus People, Communities Formed by the Beatitudes, so he says that the Greek word here for righteousness in a broad sense means the state of being things, the state of things being right, or things as they should be. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:41.840 And both Post and Kenneth Bailey in his book explain how this word denotes relationship. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.600 And the Hebrew word for righteousness also points to relationships. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.320 It's not just an ethical moral list. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:56.399 So a little story about a time that I maybe cared about justice a little too much. 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:58.960 I tend to have a strong justice meter. 00:15:59.120 --> 00:16:03.120 I tend to live out in the world noticing maybe things right or wrong. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.240 And if I see something, I might want to act or do something about it. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.759 Like if I were caught on the show, What Would You Do with John Quinones? 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:13.600 I probably would be the one in there doing something in some way. 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:17.759 I might not be doing exactly right, but I usually want to get involved. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:22.639 Well, my sons were playing Little League Baseball back in Florida a couple years ago. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.240 And baseball, right, where we need like justice, right? 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:32.799 I noticed the pitcher on the other team did not have the same uniform as the rest of the players. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.320 And he pitched the whole game and he torched us. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:41.519 Like he was way beyond the ability of everybody else, both on his team and our team. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.399 So I was like, something does not seem right here. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:45.440 What is going on? 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:55.039 So I noticed some people in the stands who I thought maybe were his parents, and I just kind of casually said, So does he normally play on this team or is he normally playing a different team? 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:58.000 To which they said, no, he normally plays on a different team. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.240 And I was like, I knew it. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:04.960 So I had this sense of, you know, my justice is just not right. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:07.119 I didn't leave it there. 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:11.839 I proceeded after the game was over, I proceeded to find the umpire just to check. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:12.960 Like, is this right? 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:14.400 Can someone come from another league? 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:15.279 What's the deal? 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.880 And actually, the umpire said he actually knew that it was wrong. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:24.720 He knew that this kid was from a different league, but he as the umpire is not allowed to say anything. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:29.119 It has to be the coaches have to like put a protest or a challenge in. 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:34.160 And so I found out it was wrong and he shouldn't have been pitching. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:35.759 But and did I leave it there? 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:36.319 No. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:45.440 I I ended up finding another one of the coaches just because basically I sense like someone needs to know this is not right, and they need to know it's not right. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:57.279 So let's just say that it ended up with me on the other side of the field behind their dugout, approaching with all of these mom, mostly moms, being like, What's wrong? 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:58.559 What are you saying? 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:04.400 Um, because the assistant coach came over and said, This woman here wants to ruin our victory. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:05.759 I was like, oh my gosh. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:11.440 And so I basically just wanted to find the head coach and just say, this was not right. 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:21.599 Um, so meanwhile, while all that was happening, I think my husband was hiding behind a tree somewhere, not really wanting to know anybody to know I was with him. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:30.799 Um, so maybe it's debatable whether that is a circumstance that I should have acted and done something and said something. 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:33.759 But for sure, we are called to care. 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:38.720 We are called to be consumed in hunger after things being made right. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:44.079 And the thing to remember about this righteousness is it's all about relationships. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:50.000 Later in his public discourse, Jesus makes it clear how important relationships are. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:57.119 When a Pharisee comes and tries to test him with this question, and he says, Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:04.000 To which Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:06.559 This is the first and greatest commandment. 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.480 And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:16.000 All the law and the prophets in the Old Testament hang on these two commandments. 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:21.279 The hunger and the thirst, this longing is about relationships. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:25.519 It's our relationship with God and it's our relationship with others. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.240 God deeply cares about both being good and right. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:39.599 And of course, it doesn't take a minute, whether it's on the baseball field or other parts of our lives, for us to see how our relationships are not right. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:49.680 Look around at our communities, look at social media, look at our families, look in our own hearts and look at our own behavior. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.000 That's where this hunger starts. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:59.279 When we see what's missing, what we don't have, how things are not right, we need to admit that first. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:04.160 And Jesus says to us, yes, notice this, pay attention. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:07.440 This is a longing you can actually indulge in. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:13.359 This longing for goodness and righteousness and wholeness in your relationships. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:22.079 So a question is when was the last time that you admitted your own lack of personal righteousness? 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:28.960 When was the last time we as a community admitted our lack of righteousness? 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:39.200 When have we noticed and grieved and longed for things to be right in our community, in our church, but in our community at large? 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:49.119 So now we're gonna just look a little bit deeper into how this longing for righteousness is both personal and communal. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.000 One Bible scholar says it like this. 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.319 He says, and he's talking particularly about this righteousness in this verse. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:03.599 It is better to take this righteousness as simultaneously personal righteousness and justice in the broadest sense. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:15.039 These people hunger and thirst, not only that they may be righteous, for example, that they may wholly do God's will from the heart, but that justice might be done everywhere. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:28.160 All unrighteousness grieves them and makes them homesick for the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness, like Peter says, satisfied with neither personal righteousness alone nor social justice alone. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:30.240 They cry for both. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.920 In short, they long for the advent of the messianic kingdom. 00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.480 We long for goodness and wholeness in our own hearts. 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:44.319 And we long for goodness and wholeness in our communities, for things to be set right. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:48.720 This is part of who we are as Christ followers. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:58.160 So this righteousness is both personal and communal, and we can experience satisfaction from God as we long for this righteousness. 00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.599 Personally, communally. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.920 Now and in the future. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:04.559 So let's bring in the last piece, the last word. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:10.720 Thanks for hanging with me as we work bit by bit through this verse, because there's so much good stuff in here. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.279 The last word is filled. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.279 So let's read the verse another time. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:20.400 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:23.279 The word filled could be translated satisfied. 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.480 It means to fill, to feed, or to satisfy. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:30.319 And it literally can mean talk about food and our stomachs. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:34.799 It's the same word that is used when Jesus feeds 4,000 people. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:38.799 When the disciples say, Where can we get enough food to fill all these people? 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:40.880 And then they walk away filled. 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:41.920 Same word. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:46.240 But here it means to be filled and satisfied with spiritual blessing. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:55.119 And because it's the divine passive, according to Kenneth Bailey, it's God who is the one who satisfies, who fills us. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:59.279 Like food fills our stomach, God fills us and satisfies us. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:05.039 And Jesus says, so he says, okay, so we hunger, we thirst for righteousness, we're gonna be filled. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:07.039 So it begs the question, when? 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:09.839 When can we expect to be filled? 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:17.119 And looking at the whole of Scripture and the whole story of God in us, I believe it's both now and in the future. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:20.000 Broadly, God has done work that is finished. 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:21.839 Our salvation has been won. 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:24.559 Jesus said it is finished on the cross. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:28.559 There are things that we can experience now because of what God has done. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:31.200 We have the Holy Spirit within us when we believe. 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:36.480 We have communion with God, yet we know that our transformation is not complete. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:40.480 We know that in society the transformation is not complete. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:44.079 We are still in the process of being refashioned by God. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:46.960 I believe it's the same with satisfaction. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:52.640 That we can, as we seek after righteousness, we can experience satisfaction. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:57.920 And then also there is this ultimate satisfaction in a promised future. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:02.960 I want to share a little bit of my story just to drive this point home. 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:09.440 I used to live with a dark cloud of shame, which basically followed me wherever I went. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:13.599 Most people wouldn't have seen it or known it, but I sure did. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:16.079 I believed in Jesus as a young girl. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:20.160 I believed that Jesus came, died for me, I believed that he was God. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:33.279 But for those who might have a similar story of coming to faith early, it takes a lot longer to grasp really what Jesus did on that cross and really what he did when he walked out of that empty tomb. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:40.880 During my high school years, I made some bad choices myself, and some bad things happened to me as well at the hands of another person. 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:47.039 Although I believe that God never left, it affected my view of God and it affected my relationships as well. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:51.920 I really didn't know the fuller satisfaction of God until my early 30s. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:25:00.319 But through time, relationships, Bible study, prayer, finally I awakened to the truth that set me free from this dark cloud. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:05.359 Not that I never have any darkness, but just this one that just never left me. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:12.160 And satisfied is really not a strong enough word to describe what I experienced with God. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:18.559 I was overflowing with love and happiness as I learned the truth about what he did and what it meant for me. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:21.279 Personally, I longed for righteousness. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:28.240 And God revealed himself to me and gave me an understanding of what he did with my past and what he is doing in my present. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:30.559 God lifted that darkness. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:36.240 So for you, do you long for righteousness in you and over you? 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:44.880 Or is it possible that you're plagued with something that keeps you from being completely satisfied with God? 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:48.319 One of the places God used to awaken me was Romans. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:51.599 I love the book of Romans, even though I don't understand all of it. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:26:03.279 But in chapter three, quoting the Old Testament, Paul says this there is no one righteous, not even one, no one understand, no one who understands God, no one who seeks God. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:04.720 All have turned away. 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:06.880 They together have become worthless. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:09.920 There is no one who does good, not even one. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:13.039 We are all in the same boat. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:14.079 It goes on. 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:17.920 Ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:20.559 There is no fear of God in their eyes. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:25.839 Part of my thing was I would compare and contrast somebody else being up here, me being down. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:30.799 And it was relief and freeing to know we are all in the same boat. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.799 We can freely admit that we don't have it with God personally. 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:40.640 We can change our mind from thinking we have it in ourselves, that we are righteous enough, good enough. 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:48.480 Or also we can stop thinking, well, we can eventually get there on our own, and we can say to God, I don't have it. 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:51.839 I just can't be good enough, at least sustained. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.839 I can't do it on my own. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:55.920 But God, I want it. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:00.319 Back to Romans chapter 3, verses 21 and 22 for the rest. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:10.880 And there's so much more in there, but it says, But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:16.160 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:32.079 And further in Romans chapter 8, 3 and 4, it goes on, Paul says, For what the law was powerless to do, in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:43.039 And so he condemned sin in sinful man in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature, but according to the Spirit. 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:47.359 God does for us what we cannot do on our own. 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:49.359 And it's the same for each of us. 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:56.559 The moment you believe Jesus is God, and Jesus fulfilled all the good and all the righteousness that you never could, you're covered. 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.000 It's fulfilled for you. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:00.160 Condemnation and shame are gone. 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:01.359 And you can live that way. 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:08.000 And because of this, we can be in God's presence confidently, boldly, honestly. 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:11.599 God does not shun us, even though we're still in process. 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.400 We find our way back home to God. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:16.079 He provides the way. 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:18.720 God freely makes it happen for us. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:25.200 Personally, we're declared righteous simply because we believe Jesus, who he is, what he's done. 00:28:25.759 --> 00:28:26.640 Believe, that's it. 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:28.960 Our relationship with God is put right. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:34.799 God does not treat us as we deserve, God is kind and compassionate. 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:38.240 In this, God satisfies us now. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.200 And then this longing and this satisfaction happens communally as well. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.119 I'm gonna tell you a story to illustrate this a little bit. 00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:54.720 Years ago, I had the honor of meeting a young woman while we lived in the suburbs of Chicago. 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:58.079 I won't use her real name out of sensitivity and protection. 00:28:58.240 --> 00:28:59.839 Let's call her Isabella. 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:05.599 Isabella and I, along with another friend, got to meet for dinner one night. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:08.400 Isabella had just made a huge decision. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:17.920 She decided to get on the train and leave her situation of being trafficked and used like a disposable object by men who paid for fleeting evil pleasure. 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:22.079 She was nervous, brave, and beautiful. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:24.400 Her courage astounded me. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:29.440 Months before that meal, I had become aware that sex trafficking still exists today. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:39.039 And there was a group of women at a particular church, a partner church, and then there was a woman at our church who decided to do something about this injustice and problem in our society. 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:47.759 And I had the honor to learn from them and work with them on the front lines, trying to reach out and love and support women who are being trafficked. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:53.440 One night, I wasn't there for the initial call, our team reached Isabella on the phone. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:59.839 Our normal practice was we would gather on a regular weeknight and make cold turkey phone calls. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:03.279 We had a script, we had a plan, we offered support. 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:06.880 We always asked if they were safe, at least for the moment, in that moment. 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:15.519 And then if they started to respond positively to us, if they started to kind of lean into the conversation, we usually would ask if they want to meet. 00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:25.200 And we could bring them something, something they needed, whether it be clothing or toiletry items, or if they had children, maybe diapers or something like that. 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:28.720 We wanted them to know how loved that they were. 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:36.000 We wanted to offer them a chance to get out, an opportunity to get long-term housing and care for a new start so they could live freely. 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:42.400 Before that initial phone call with us, Isabella longed for things to be made right in her life. 00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:47.599 Inside, there was an ache for goodness and freedom and flourishing. 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:52.799 But due to a variety of circumstances, she found herself trafficked in the sex industry. 00:30:53.200 --> 00:31:04.480 And we, sort of regular women who over the course of our lives discovered Jesus' love, we, the ones in the process of being healed and transformed by God, we just wanted to partner with God. 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:09.759 Because God seeks for every person to be loved and to be cherished. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:12.960 God wants goodness and justice for everyone. 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:14.880 And we had that longing too. 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:30.799 So despite the challenging work of making intimidating phone calls, and despite how difficult it was for Isabella to get on that train, we found happiness and satisfaction from God in the midst of that injustice and brokenness. 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:37.440 So who's ready to be working on the front lines toward justice communally? 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:41.599 I know there's probably some who already are in different ways. 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:45.200 There's so many different avenues that this can happen. 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:46.960 So let's recap. 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:49.759 Isn't it crazy how all this stems from one verse? 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:52.160 Jesus really packs a punch with this one. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:56.559 Jesus invites us back home to his kingdom to wholeness. 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:01.359 While we're still here on this earth, we will experience longing and happiness. 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:07.279 We get to seek after righteousness, goodness, and justice in ourselves and in our world. 00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:10.960 Along the way, God will satisfy us and fill us. 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:21.440 And ultimately, we'll be filled completely and forever, like Revelation, the last book of the Bible, gives us this picture of where there's no more crying, no more suffering, no more pain. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:28.400 When God will create a new heaven and a new earth, everything will be made right in every way. 00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:40.400 And Peter points us to that day in 2 Peter 3.13 when he says this, but in keeping with his promise, God's promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:43.039 Until then, though, what about us now? 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:49.519 What does it mean for us that Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:57.279 And like I said, there's lots of different ways that this verse can apply and give us meaning in our lives, but I have four groups in mind to end. 00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:00.720 I want you to think about which one might fit you. 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:06.160 To the first group, you're sitting here today and you never have turned toward Jesus. 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:09.119 Maybe you've been hardened for some reason. 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:12.720 Maybe you've just been simply exploring who Jesus is. 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:18.079 Today could be the day that you decide to believe Jesus' love for you and his sacrifice for you. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:21.920 You are longing for righteousness in your heart and your life. 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:23.519 You know you don't have it. 00:33:23.759 --> 00:33:27.839 You hear Jesus' invitation to come home and be filled with his righteousness. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:32.160 I say to you, believe, be free, and celebrate. 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:44.240 And to the second group, you've been a Christian for years, maybe, and for whatever reason, you haven't fully grasped Jesus' righteousness covering you and filling you and freeing you. 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:49.759 As you've longed for righteousness, you still don't feel confident when you're in God's presence. 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:57.759 You don't realize the kind of intimacy that you can have with Jesus because there might be a dark cloud still following you somehow. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:03.279 You hear Jesus' invitation to come home and be free from the shame of the past. 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:10.159 You're ready to be filled with overflowing because of how God sees you and accepts you because of Jesus. 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:13.920 You don't need to hide or play games anymore. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:23.840 And to the third group, the Holy Spirit might be nudging you to join God in his justice mission work here in San Jose or maybe another part of the world. 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.880 God has awakened something in you. 00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:31.599 You're more aware of your longing for righteousness and justice communally. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:36.880 You hear Jesus' invitation to come home and join the work that he cares about. 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:42.079 It will require you probably to give something up in your life to make some room. 00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:44.079 But God will show you how. 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:45.840 Trust the process. 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:48.320 And then the final group. 00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:05.280 Whether it's local, whether it's global, you might be tired. 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.760 It might feel like the winds are against you. 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:10.480 It's gray and cloudy in your work. 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:16.000 And even though you're tired, you hear Jesus' invitation to you to stay home. 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:17.599 Do not give up. 00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:22.559 Take respite, take rest, be refreshed, but don't give up. 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:24.320 You will be filled again. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.239 God will satisfy you. 00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:31.920 Your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday, like Isaiah says. 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:35.199 There will be a day when all will be made right. 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:40.639 Until then, continue to carry the tension of hungering and being satisfied. 00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:41.920 It's worth it. 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:45.360 Let me pray. 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:53.840 God, thank you for your word. 00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:57.440 God, thank you that you came. 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:02.559 Jesus, you came here to earth as a human for us. 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:05.280 You spoke. 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:08.960 You ruffled feather, you ruffled feathers. 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:11.119 You made people ask questions. 00:36:11.280 --> 00:36:12.800 You made people challenge you. 00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:15.599 You came to bring us righteousness. 00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:17.440 You came to set things right. 00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:21.360 We thank you, God, that personally we can have that. 00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:28.559 I pray for anyone here who is just on that decision and they're tinkering on the edge. 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:36.559 I pray that you would give them the faith to believe that Jesus, you are God, and you've done everything that they can't do. 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:45.840 And I pray for those who, for whatever reason, have had this dark cloud of shame that just kind of hangs over them. 00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:52.480 And I pray that they would grasp to the full extent that they can that your righteousness is over them. 00:36:52.639 --> 00:36:57.760 And because of that, God sees them in a whole different light. 00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:02.480 Jesus, because of you, and because of what you did. 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:15.760 And I pray for those who are kind of something's awakening in them and they see an issue, they see a people group, they see something in society that's just not right and they want to get involved. 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:21.760 I pray that you would lead them by your spirit, guide them, show them how, show them where. 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:29.039 And I pray for the ones who have been working and working and working, and they might be tired. 00:37:29.199 --> 00:37:30.639 I pray that you would encourage them. 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:33.360 I pray that they would get the rest that they need. 00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:46.880 I pray that you would surround them with other people, with like minds, of wanting just people to know how good you are and to know that you want to bring justice and righteousness to the earth now, your kingdom here. 00:37:47.360 --> 00:37:48.480 Show us what it looks like. 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:52.480 Show us what it looks like as individuals and also as a church. 00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:53.360 We love you. 00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:59.920 We thank you that you are real and that you speak to us and that you change us. 00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:02.559 We pray all of this in Jesus' name. 00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:03.440 Amen. 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:06.639 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:11.199 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:38:11.360 --> 00:38:13.519 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:19.440 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.