WEBVTT 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:12.320 This in the minimum was recorded at Faith Evangelical Features in Fort Cinema Decod. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:21.679 Well, good morning. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:26.640 What a wonderful lead up to being able to look at God's Word together. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:29.280 If you are visiting with us, we want to welcome you again. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:31.280 I'm Pastor Jason. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:34.640 Glad to have you with us this morning. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:38.799 We are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew. 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:44.799 We've just arrived recently at the Sermon on the Mount, beginning with the Beatitudes. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:50.320 Thank you, Webb, for leading us through reciting those together. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:54.000 Great way to get them into our hearts and minds. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:01:01.439 This morning I would like to direct our attention for a few moments to verses 5 and 6 of Matthew chapter 5. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:09.599 Told someone before the service this morning that they could stay awake this morning because I was going to preach a shorter amount of time. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:15.439 Maybe. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:21.359 At least take your Bible if you have it to Matthew chapter 5. 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:24.560 And if you don't have your own copy of God's Word, that's okay. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.840 There's one in the seat back in front of you. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:30.000 Again, that is Matthew chapter 5. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:31.200 We won't read the whole thing. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:36.879 We'll just focus on verses 5 and 6 since we read it together a few moments ago. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:38.719 Again, Matthew chapter 5. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:44.000 Verse 5 says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:51.040 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:52.079 Amen. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:57.280 This morning is one of those days when we have our older children's church kids with us. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:01:59.439 So, kids, we're glad to have you with us. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:01.439 I need your help this morning. 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.319 I need you to help me understand this passage of Scripture. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:07.840 So I want you to do me a favor. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:09.439 I want you to draw me a picture. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:11.199 If you don't have any paper, that's okay. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.520 You can just find some right at the back doors here. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:14.800 Some paper back there. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:22.080 I need you to draw me a picture this morning as you listen along of how we should please God. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.800 So I want you to think about how should I please God? 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:26.400 What can I do to please God? 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:27.759 What does God want me to do? 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.960 And I want you to draw me a picture of that and then show it to me afterwards. 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:32.960 Tell me about that, okay? 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:40.080 A Christianity Today article that was published just this week began with these words. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:49.840 The author wrote, Of all the beatitudes, I guess that blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth is the most misunderstood. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:51.759 Most misunderstood. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:56.879 He said, I believe it's the most mistrusted and the most neglected. 00:02:57.199 --> 00:02:58.479 He may be right. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:11.599 He went on to write, when I hear the word meek, it seems too insipid, too accommodating, too spineless to be a virtue. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.120 Yet, he argued, Jesus was not weak. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:17.680 He went into the temple and he flipped over tables. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:28.240 He faced death threats on a regular basis, and he stood firmly and strong before kings who could take his life. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:48.000 Now I think it's safe to say that in his message to the crowds and his disciples that day on the mountainside, Jesus' message was a shocking surprise to those who had, for their entire lives, been taught to be religiously proud and self-sufficient in their spiritual lives. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:54.000 Many in Jesus' day thought that they had their ticket to the kingdom of heaven punched. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:56.400 They were checked in all the way through. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.080 All the way through to glory. 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:09.919 So when Jesus began to speak to them on the hillside that day and said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, there would have been an automatic double take. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:10.639 Huh? 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:11.120 What? 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:12.479 What did you say? 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:14.800 The poor in spirit. 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:21.439 Common thought was the poor didn't get anything in life, much less an entrance into God's glory. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:27.040 The poor were the last ones in line, not the first ones into the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:30.800 Jesus turned their expectations upside down. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:38.959 In his message on the hillside that day, Jesus began with what it takes to enter his eternal kingdom. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:47.600 It's the poor in spirit, Jesus said, who are broken over recognition of their own sinfulness in the eyes of God. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:52.639 And that makes them recognize that when they stand before God, they are poor. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:57.040 They have nothing, and so they mourn in their sin. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.879 Blessed are those who mourn, for they're going to be comforted. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:08.639 As a result of that concentration on the holiness of God, the broken and mourning person becomes meek. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:14.399 And that meekness drives them to hunger for righteousness. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:21.040 Did you know that every single Christian is called to be meek? 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:27.920 If you call yourself a Christian, if you claim the name of Christ, you are called to be meek. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.680 For example, Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:39.519 The Apostle Paul says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called. 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:41.439 How are we to walk? 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:44.240 With all meekness. 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:49.199 With all meekness, with gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love. 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:53.439 Or consider Colossians chapter 3, verse 12. 00:05:53.680 --> 00:06:04.720 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:14.879 You would think that with all of the Christians that there are in this world, the characteristic of meekness would be plentiful. 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.079 That doesn't appear to be the case, though. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:26.879 In fact, one person said it's too bad that the meek haven't already inherited the earth because the unmeek are making a real mess of it. 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:30.959 What is meekness? 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:32.240 What is meekness? 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:33.839 It's a hard, hard question to answer. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:45.839 In fact, when I looked at the major translations that are available to us today, those translations use eight different English words to translate the Greek and Hebrew words for meekness. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:46.879 Eight. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:52.399 Seems like the translators have a difficult time determining the best English parallel. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:57.600 So let's try to work through this a little bit in a few moments to understand what meekness is. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.519 First, let's look at our context of our passage here in Matthew chapter 5. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:06.480 Beginning with the first Beatitude in verse 3, blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:11.519 That tells us from the very beginning that we're looking at a spiritual characteristic. 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:13.839 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:19.120 We're talking here not about physical stature or physical strength or weakness. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:23.680 We're talking about a spiritual characteristic of the heart. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:36.000 And in the progression of this message of Jesus, it follows the recognition of sin and mourning over that sin. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:55.279 So if we are first recognizing that we have nothing before God because we stand in sin before Him, and that recognition makes us poor and causes us to mourn over our sin, what would the next step be? 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.160 What might follow that? 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:03.759 What would perhaps be a response to recognizing our sinfulness? 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:11.600 Somehow this statement fits into the theme of Jesus' sermon in verse 20. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:22.959 That theme says, unless your righteousness surpasses, exceeds that of the Pharisees and the scribes, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:33.120 So meekness has something to do with God's evaluation of righteousness, of what is right, what is considered right in God's eyes. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:39.200 But I think we arrive at an even fuller comprehension of meekness by looking at some comparison. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:44.960 So let's look at perhaps Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 34. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:49.840 It says, Toward the scorners, God is scornful. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:55.759 But to the humble, it's actually the word meek, he gives favor. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:02.159 This is talking about the opposite of the meek. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:16.320 So those who are scornful are those who think they're okay, those who think they're in a good position in the world, good position in life, and they look down on other people and they scorn them because they don't have what I have. 00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:19.039 They're less than, they're poor. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.120 Maybe they don't have the same status that I do. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:28.000 So God says, if that's the way you're going to treat other people, then that's the way I'm going to treat you. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:33.759 So there's this idea of humility, of being on a maybe a lower status level. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.600 A little bit later in Proverbs chapter 16, verse 19. 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:48.240 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, again, actually the word meek, than to divide the spoil with the proud. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:58.799 In other words, it's better to be poor with those who are lowly in their spirits than to have wealth that you pass around. 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:01.759 It's the opposite, really, of being proud. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:12.399 And then, of course, there's the greatest example, and that is Matthew chapter 11, verse 29, where Jesus says, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:18.000 Most of our translations have the word gentle and lowly in heart. 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.600 And that's where you'll find rest for your souls. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:24.960 There's this idea of being a gentle person. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:30.000 There is a major misunderstanding about meekness. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:42.480 That major misunderstanding is that meekness somehow means or implies weakness or timidity, the lack of courage, the lack of boldness. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.440 That is a misunderstanding. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:47.600 Misunderstanding. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:52.639 Now to round out our understanding, we need to look at Psalm 37. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:58.159 Psalm 37, I was tempted to have Jeremy read that this morning instead of Psalm 90. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:00.000 I stuck with our plan. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:03.120 So I want you to look with me at Psalm 37. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.440 This is a passage of scripture about those who are meek. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:12.720 In fact, Jesus appears to quote from this Psalm. 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:25.519 Notice in Psalm 37, verse 11, it says, But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:27.759 The meek shall inherit the land. 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:29.840 Sounds just like what Jesus says, isn't it? 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:32.799 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:37.039 Seems like Jesus at least has this passage of Scripture in mind. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:47.039 And as we look around this passage in Psalm 37, we get a little bit of an insight into the word meek, into the characteristics of meek people. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:56.879 We look just a little bit before that, verse 8, kind of gives us the idea that these are people who hold back from being angry. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:01.039 They don't get full of wrath. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:03.200 They don't fret. 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:08.639 They understand the way the world works in verse 10. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:10.559 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more. 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:15.200 They understand that God is sovereign and that wickedness isn't going to last forever. 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:20.720 If we look back at verses 5 and 6, they're people who trust in the Lord. 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.480 They have a reliance on the Lord for their defense and their support. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:28.399 And as a result of that, they understand that God is the one who exacts vengeance. 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:29.759 I don't need to. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:42.559 If we look a little bit later in verses 12 and 13, we see that they are the opposite of wicked people who devise plots in their pride. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:49.120 Verse 16, better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of the many wicked. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:55.039 They're people who often have just enough materially. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.519 They don't have too much, they don't have too little. 00:12:57.840 --> 00:12:59.840 They're people who wait on the Lord. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.960 Verse 22, they are people who are blessed by the Lord. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:08.720 Notice there the parallel in verse 22, for blessed by the Lord, they shall inherit the land. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:14.559 Verse 29, the righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:20.480 Verse 34, wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:26.720 They are righteous people who keep the way of the Lord, and he honors them by exalting them. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:34.000 So the meek, then, are people who don't make their way in the world by exalting themselves. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:38.000 They wait on the Lord and they trust in him to exalt them himself. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:41.440 They're humble people. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:46.960 They're like Jesus in that they consider others before themselves. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.720 They're gentle, not harsh. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:56.080 Their strength is not in themselves, but in the Lord, their rock and their defense. 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.480 They don't seek vengeance, but they look to the Lord to take care of that for them. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:07.279 In the New Testament times, the word was often used outside of the Bible in interesting ways. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:12.159 It was used of a wild horse that had been broken for everyday use. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:23.759 So a wild horse still has strength, still has vitality, but it's strength that is brought under the control of another person for productive use rather than destructive use. 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:30.799 Someone has said that meekness is the taming of the lion, not the killing of it. 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:42.399 So meekness is not weakness, it is rather the choice of the Christian to submit their spirit and their strength to the master's use. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:53.840 To say, yes, I am strong, yes, I have purpose, yes, I have an intention in life, but I am submitting all of that to the Master so that he can use it for his glory. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:03.279 It speaks of one who's humble, not rejoicing in their own strength, their own power or ability, but instead in the power and the ability of the King. 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:12.639 They've been humbled to the point of recognizing their sin, and so they come before the Master and they say, All that I am is yours. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:15.679 And that's important. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:20.720 Obviously, we've already seen every Christian should be meek, but why is this important? 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:27.120 Well, Matthew tells us that Jesus taught there is a blessing in being meek. 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:29.039 Blessed are the meek. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:38.960 There's a happiness, a contentedness, a satisfaction, a true lasting joy in having this characteristic. 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:44.159 And that's found ultimately in inheriting the earth. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:51.360 As you know, at least most of you know, Allison and I just purchased a home in the area. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.919 So we have our own little lot. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:58.559 It's not inheriting the whole earth, but maybe a little bit of it. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:03.360 It's bigger than the postage stamp that we owned in Wisconsin. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:05.840 So we're getting more. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.080 One day, Jesus says the meek will inherit the earth. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:11.759 How is that so? 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.039 How can the meek inherit the earth? 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:21.600 They inherit it in the Lord Jesus when he will come and reign over the entire earth and we will reign with him. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.720 Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit, we are told in Galatians chapter 5. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:32.720 So if you are a Christian and you have God's Spirit living within you, meekness is something that should come out of you. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:37.279 Gentleness, the word in Galatians 5.23, is the word for meekness. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:43.759 In James chapter 1, we learn that meekness is part of discipleship learning. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:52.960 James says, therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:02.480 We should come to the word of God not with pride and arrogance, but with a receptivity that this is coming from the king, and I want all that I can get of it. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:15.200 That's why James goes on to say in chapter three, who is wise and understanding among you, let him by his good conduct show in his works the meekness of wisdom. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:20.319 Meekness is strength under control. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:28.000 You see, if we go back to verse three, we begin by being broken in spirit. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:38.720 And when we're broken in spirit, we move to acknowledging our sin and our mourning over it will move us to understand God's absolute holiness. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:55.599 When we understand our sin and God's absolute holiness, that puts us in a position of submitting all that we are and all that we have to Him, to defending His name, not ours, of giving up all that we have so that God might be glorified. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:01.839 We're a person who has been tamed by the grace of the King to be put into productive service for him. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:13.519 It's these people filled with the meekness of Christ who will inherit the earth because they are in Christ the King, who is the perfection of meekness. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:23.920 And then he says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:39.359 For they will be satisfied. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:50.480 Of course, that implies, doesn't it, that those who don't crave righteousness won't receive that blessing of satisfaction. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:19:02.079 If you do not crave the righteousness that comes from Jesus, a part of you will forever remain unsatisfied. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.759 Now I don't know about you, but I don't like to leave the table without being satisfied. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:09.519 That's frustrating. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:14.720 I don't want to enter eternity not being satisfied. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:21.359 Last time we noted the main point of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5, verse 20. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:28.640 Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:35.759 Did you know that Jesus acknowledged that the Pharisees and the scribes had a righteousness of their own? 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:40.559 They had a level, a standard of righteousness that could be identified. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:47.759 But it was a righteousness that did not succeed in gaining entrance into God's heaven. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:51.759 It didn't satisfy God or them. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:55.440 You need more, Jesus said. 00:19:55.839 --> 00:20:02.799 There are millions and perhaps billions of people on the planet right this very moment who are in that exact same position. 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:09.680 Who are seeking satisfaction in some way other than the way that really matters. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:21.839 Maybe it's in money, maybe it's in your family, maybe it's in job, maybe it's in drugs or alcohol, maybe it's even in religion, in what you're trying to do to please God. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:30.799 Pursuing the righteousness that comes from those things will never satisfy in meaningful ways. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:34.559 But the scribes and the Pharisees, oh, they were diligent. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:38.480 They worked and worked and worked to please God. 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:49.519 They wanted to follow God's law to the letter, and so they defined their rightness with God by outward obedience, by what people could see. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:54.400 But that kind of righteousness never goes more than skin deep. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:00.400 Have you ever tried to eat an apple that looked ripe and delicious? 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:03.039 Just all shiny and wonderful. 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:10.880 And yet when your teeth break through the skin, all they encounter is soft, mushy meat. 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:13.359 To me, that's disgusting. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:15.039 Sorry. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:20.000 But that's the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.079 Looks really good. 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:28.000 But underneath the surface, it's not. 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:32.480 Looked good from an outward perspective, but there was no inward righteousness with God. 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:35.680 They craved the rightness that could be seen by other people. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:40.480 They wanted you to look at them and say, Wow, look at how holy they are. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.680 But they did not crave the righteousness that came from Jesus. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:51.839 Their righteousness put them in good standing with other people, but not with God. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:55.599 And there are many, many similarities today. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.839 Where does your righteousness come from? 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:02.799 What are you resting in? 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:05.680 Does it give you satisfaction? 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:08.799 Perfect, complete, eternal satisfaction? 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:16.960 Do you crave the righteousness that satisfies, that exceeds that righteousness that the scribes and Pharisees had? 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:26.160 The scribes and Pharisees followed in a long line of those who did not crave the right righteousness. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:29.599 Well, what kind of righteousness are we talking about? 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:36.240 Well, Matthew refers to righteousness six times in his gospel. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:39.680 Two of those are connected to John the Baptist. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:44.480 The other four are in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:52.160 Two-thirds of the uses of righteousness in the Gospel of Matthew are in these three chapters, this one sermon by Jesus. 00:22:52.319 --> 00:22:53.759 That seems significant. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:58.319 Let's see if that helps us know what kind of righteousness Jesus wants us to crave. 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:02.480 So the first use is here in Matthew 5.6, just beatitude. 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:06.240 The next is in 5.20, that we've already referenced. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.240 The key verse for the whole sermon. 00:23:08.400 --> 00:23:12.000 There we find what righteousness we are not to crave. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:17.119 The kind that the leaders, the religious leaders of Jesus' day possessed. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:22.640 The kind that was bound up in an external web of do this and don't do that. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:28.160 The next time we see righteousness is chapter 6, verse 1. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:34.880 Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:40.799 So again, we aren't told what kind of righteousness to crave, but what not to crave. 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:51.440 Don't hunger and thirst for the kind of righteousness that drives you to perform in front of other people, to put up a good show. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:54.079 That doesn't get you anywhere with God. 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.640 The last time we see righteousness is chapter 6, verse 33. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:11.440 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:13.839 His righteousness. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.599 And all these things will be added to you. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.640 There it is. 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:21.839 There is the key to what Jesus is talking about in the Beatitudes. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:27.519 The kind of righteousness that we are to crave is the kind that's found in Christ's kingdom. 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:31.359 In fact, it's God's righteousness. 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:35.200 It's what He has, what He possesses. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:44.720 We're not to have a righteousness of our own that comes from what we do of going to church on Sunday morning, making sure we get to Sunday school, make sure we get the kids to church. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:51.519 Instead, we're to crave the kind of righteousness that God possesses. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.000 That's what we're to crave. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:25:01.599 And when we crave that kind of righteousness, our craving will be satisfied. 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:06.400 It's a kind of righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:09.119 Need to understand that. 00:25:20.319 --> 00:25:26.559 If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and what he's done for you, you will receive the righteousness that is from God. 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:33.759 When that happens, according to Philippians 3:9, we will be found in Him, in Christ. 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:43.359 Not having a righteousness of our own that comes through the law, through following God ritually, but that which comes through faith in Christ. 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:47.119 The righteousness from God that depends on faith. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:49.839 Theologians use a big word to describe that. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:54.000 They say that this righteousness is imputed to us. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:26:02.319 It's a fancy word that means to bestow or to give to someone, to place on someone. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:07.839 It belongs to someone else. 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:09.759 Belongs to Christ. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:15.680 And it's given, applied to you when you trust in Christ. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:17.119 That's what the scriptures say. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:19.039 2 Corinthians 5.21. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:34.160 For our sake, God made Christ to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:37.839 It's his righteousness that's given to us. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:43.279 Through faith in Jesus, the righteousness of his kingdom becomes ours. 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:51.119 And because his righteousness is ours, we now live out that righteousness in our daily lives. 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:54.480 That's what Peter tried to accomplish through his book. 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:59.599 He said in 1 Peter 2.24 that Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree. 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:00.480 Why? 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:05.440 So that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:06.559 What kind of righteousness? 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:08.160 His righteousness. 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:15.920 How blessed are the hungry. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.559 How blessed are the hungry. 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:20.799 Remember the progression. 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:39.359 We come to the king broken and begging poor, mourning over our sin, being humble before him in his holiness, earnestly desiring his righteousness. 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:42.319 Do you crave that? 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:45.519 I don't know if it's true or not. 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:55.279 There is a story told of a devoted follower of the ancient philosopher Socrates, who came to Socrates to ask him the best way to acquire knowledge. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:57.839 He said, I want to acquire knowledge. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:27:59.839 How can I do that in the best way? 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:09.359 Socrates responded by leading him to a river and grabbing him by his head and putting his head under the water and holding him there. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:16.000 The guy fought and fought, but Socrates held his head underwater and finally the man broke loose and came out of the water. 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:23.839 Socrates then asked him, When you thought that you were drowning, what was the one thing you wanted most of all? 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:29.599 Still gasping for breath, the man said, I wanted air. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:37.440 The philosopher then said, When you want knowledge as much as you want air, you will get it. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:46.960 Jesus would say, When you want my righteousness, and you crave it, you'll be satisfied. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:57.279 I want to point out some other parallel passages to you that fill out our understanding of this passage. 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:01.119 First is the Old Testament book of Micah. 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:10.240 Micah chapter 6, beginning in verse 13, God says, Therefore, I will strike you with a grievous blow. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:11.680 Sounds good, right? 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:14.880 Making you desolate because of your sins. 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:20.559 You shall eat but not be satisfied. 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.200 Sounds terrible. 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:25.839 There shall be hunger within you. 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:32.160 He goes on to say, you shall put away but not preserve. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:35.599 And what you preserve, I will give to the sword. 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:37.359 You will sow, but you won't reap. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:40.079 You will tread olives but not anoint yourselves with oil. 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.079 You will tread grapes but not drink wine. 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:43.359 Why do I bring that up? 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:48.000 Because God says that to not be satisfied is a part of his judgment. 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:59.680 If you refuse to crave the righteousness that comes from God, he will bring instead not satisfaction, but the lack of satisfaction through his judgment. 00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:12.960 Those who do not believe in Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise to save his people and make them right with him will never be fully satisfied as part of his judgment on their unbelief. 00:30:14.799 --> 00:30:21.200 Do you find your pursuit of eternity, of being right with God fruitless? 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.079 Do you long for something more? 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.400 If you do, then you've come to the right place. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:32.799 Because God tells you how to have satisfaction. 00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:44.240 In fact, Solomon, the wisest man, the scripture said in Proverbs 19, verse 23, the fear of Yahweh leads to life, and whoever finds it rests satisfied. 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:50.480 Come to Christ the King, and you will be satisfied. 00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:54.960 And what is it that we're hoping to have? 00:30:55.119 --> 00:31:03.039 Well, the psalmist tells us in Psalm 17, verse 15, that when life ends, he says, As for me, I shall behold your face. 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:03.920 How? 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:06.480 In righteousness. 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:10.960 We can't stand before God and behold him in our own righteousness. 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:12.640 So it's in his righteousness. 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:15.519 Standing before him, we shall behold his face. 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:19.680 And when we wake before him, we shall be satisfied. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:22.400 Satisfied. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:27.119 It's in him, it's in Jesus that we find that satisfaction. 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:35.279 Jesus says that that is a continually complete satisfaction. 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:39.920 It's a word that speaks of having enough, of being inwardly satisfied. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.799 And there's this sort of paradox. 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:54.319 We are continually desiring God's righteousness on our behalf, and at the same time, we are continually being filled and satisfied with the righteousness that He gives us. 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:01.359 There's a very sad illustration of this in Romans chapter 10. 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:30.799 The Apostle Paul speaks of his own people, the Jewish people, and he says of them in Romans chapter 10, beginning in verse 2, he says, I bear witness of them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, for being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:34.640 To what are you submitting? 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:44.799 We need to be hungering and thirsting, craving for the righteousness that comes from God, and stop seeking to establish our own rightness. 00:32:46.240 --> 00:32:51.680 So that when we come before the gates of heaven and God asks us, Why should I let you into my heaven? 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:55.440 Our answer should be You shouldn't. 00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:58.319 Except for Jesus. 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:06.559 Satisfaction only comes through Christ's righteousness being given to us. 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:17.440 Around 1875, a young woman composed the words to a hymn that became known by the title Satisfied. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:21.599 Some of you older saints might recognize that old, old hymn. 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:28.240 It's a hymn that speaks of our fruitless search for satisfaction apart from Jesus. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:32.400 That hymn has recently been updated and re-recorded. 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:36.079 I'd like you to just listen and consider. 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:44.160 Have I been satisfied with the righteousness of Jesus? 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:49.119 Let's pray. 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:58.160 Lord Jesus, we come and we bow before you, humbly confessing that too often we have chased our own cravings. 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:01.279 Things that do not satisfy. 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:12.559 May your spirit open our hearts and minds, our eyes and our ears to hear and to see what truly satisfies. 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:30.159 Do not let any of us leave today without having experienced the blessing that comes with having meek hearts before you and being filled with the righteousness that comes from Christ. 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:37.039 That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church. 00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:44.079 Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus. 00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:48.079 You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.