"The Pivotal Beatitude" Matthew 5:6

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-zzymc-... Episode 68   Title: The Pivotal BeatitudeText: Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” – Matthew 5:6 Introduction:“Social change is a term used to describe variations in, or modifications of, any aspect of social processes, social patterns, social interaction or social organization” (Sociology discussion)Social change, in any time period, is important regardless which side a person takes. Some examples would include: Education, women rights, poverty, civil rights, pay gaps, etc. Some social changes happen over time, others happen immediately, depending on circumstances. One thing to keep in mind though, is that society is made up of individuals, and real change comes from within.“Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself” – Leo TolstoyWe now come to what is known as “the pivotal Beatitude”. Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” There is an old saying, “you are what you eat”, it implies that if you eat healthy you will lead a better life, and that bad food choices can have bad outcomes. This is also true in the spiritual sense.“How can we elevate our hunger for kingdom priorities, a longing for the good, the true, and the beautiful? In other words, a longing for God? How do we avoid the mental and emotional gluttony of this world—the malnourishment of soul that craves the next high, a spirituality du jour, a moral framework and lifestyle that makes sin appear normal and righteousness look strange?4 Such questions need careful attention.” - Castaldo, Chris. The Upside Down Kingdom: Wisdom for Life from the Beatitudes (pp. 56-57). A. Malnourishment from SinWhen we attempt to satisfy the hunger of the flesh, we will be left famished. If we consume a steady diet of greed, lust, and pride… those things will eventually become our identity. Those things will also prevent us from proper spiritual health and growth, and leave us spiritually malnourished.  “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.” – Hebrews 5:13“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” – Matthew 4:4B. Manna from the SaviorNotice, Jesus said those who hunger and thirst after righteousness… “they shall be filled”.John 6:35 – “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”Psalms 107:9 – “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”“Manna is the miraculous "bread of heaven" (Psalm 78:24) that God provided for the Israelites while he led them through the Red Sea on dry ground and into the Wilderness of Sin (Exod. 16).” (crosswalk)Spiritually speaking, we must truly understand that only manna (bread from heaven) will satisfy our hunger and shape our identity to be like Christ.Illustration of the difference between longing and liking an idea. Many people, like the idea of being like Christ, but they don’t yearn for it. When I was younger I used to always hear that one way you know a Christian is out of God’s will is because they are miserable. This is not always true. A Christian who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, but feeds on the world, is miserable. But a Christian who hungers after sin is not.C. Menu for the SaintsThe longer you stick to a diet, the more it will impact your health. The key to good health is exercise and diet, not just one or the other. There are some Christians who do neither, some who only pick one, but the key is to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and put our faith into practice. Think about physical exercise for a moment. There comes a time in any persons life when they realize that physical exercise does not work without a healthy diet. Some folks can eat anything they want and still look great, but it does not mean that they are healthy. Christians must put our faith into practice, but we must also be fed spiritually.Philippians 4:9: “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” Faith is best put into practice when hunger and thirst after righteousness. Going through the motions is not only empty, but it’s also exhausting and dangerous. Just because a person looks the part, doesn’t mean that