Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

A reminder to consider others Please: Turn off your cell phone or set to vibrate only Use the nursery or cry room if your child is fussy Get up during the preaching only if absolutely necessary (please sit in back if you must leave early)

Blessed are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness Matthew 5:6

Hunger for the World Because man is sinful by nature, he hungers for sin and can easily pervert what is legitimate to desire

Physical Pleasure God made man with five senses each of which can bring pleasure when pursued and fulfilled properly Smell - John 12:3 Taste - Proverbs 24:13 Sight - Psalm 34 Hearing - 1 Chron. 15:16, Prov. 25:25

Physical Pleasure Intimacy in marriage - Song of Solomon, Proverbs 5:18-19 Man perverts physical pleasure into the “lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16) - gluttony, immorality Confusing a physical relationship with love distorts both and trades a beautiful gift from God for a facade

Physical Pleasure Scripture warns the fornicator, adulterer and sexually perverse - Leviticus 18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 God tells us to flee youthful lust & immorality and instead pursue righteousness (1 Cor. 6:18; 2 Tim. 2:22)

Materialism Job, Abraham and David were all very godly men who were extremely wealthy in their time Proverbs 13:22 commends those who leave an inheritance to their grandchildren Love of money, not money itself, is the root of all sorts of evil - 1 Timothy 6:10

Materialism Life is not a game, your stuff will own you, and you leave your toys behind when you die It will all burn (2 Peter 3:10-12), so lay up your treasures in heaven instead of on earth (Matthew 6:20)

Power Parents (Prov. 19:18), government (Rom. 13:4) & church leaders 1 Pet. 5:2) each have a proper authority Pride motivates the quest for power and control so that life will be good and fulfilling People tend to rise to their level of incompetence & and at best positions are only held a short time

Power God resists the proud - Nebuchadnezzar - but gives grace to the humble When the world does not satisfy, many people turn to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain Proverbs 31 - alcohol and drugs pervert judgment, they are for those who have no hope

Caution Hebrews 12:1-2 We are to lay aside both sin and anything that encumbers us in the race of life & faith Ephesians 5:16 - redeem the time in making your short life count for the cause of Christ

The Pursuit of Happiness Happiness is like a rainbow - you can only enjoy it while it is there, & it moves farther away if you pursue it Ecclesiastes 1 & 2 - Solomon understood by experience the futility of pursuing pleasure Blessedness cannot be pursued for it is the by product of having particular character traits

Hunger for Righteousness Matthew 5:6 Righteousness is the motivation and objective of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ The righteousness cannot be attained by lineage, works or deeds - Isaiah 64:6 Righteousness is conformity with God’s moral law of being holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16)

Hunger for Righteousness Matthew 5:6 Jesus is the example of righteousness - John 14:9; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3 Hungering and thirsting with the intensity of one who is starving and dehydrated It is the logical response to being poor in spirit, mourning over sin and being meek

Five Marks of Hungering & Thirsting for Righteousness Dissatisfaction with self Freedom from dependence on external things for satisfaction A craving for the Word of God and to be in prayer

Five Marks of Hungering & Thirsting for Righteousness Finding pleasure in the things of God in all circumstances Unconditional desire for righteousness

Being Filled with Righteousness Hebrews 12:14 - without holiness, no man shall see the Lord Only God can make you holy, and that is what He does through Jesus Christ We confess and believe in Jesus (Rom. 10:9-10), and become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21)

Being Filled with Righteousness Salvation is by God’s grace through faith as a gift of God - but it only the humble will receive the gift It continues in sanctification throughout life in the desire ever more be like Jesus Its ultimate fulfillment will be at glorification when become like Christ (1 John 3:2)

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ