Blessed Are Those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Weekly Reading
Monday: Leviticus 12, Luke 12
Tuesday: Luke 13
Wednesday: Luke 14
Thursday: Leviticus 13
Friday: Luke 15
Saturday: Psalm 45-47
Sunday: 2 Kings 6-13
Tuesday: Luke 13
Wednesday: Luke 14
Thursday: Leviticus 13
Friday: Luke 15
Saturday: Psalm 45-47
Sunday: 2 Kings 6-13
Sermon Notes
Key Passage: Matthew 5:6
Philippians 3:4-12
Philippians 3:8 KJV
Deuteronomy 8:2-4
Matthew 14:32-38
"Think of a man who is suffering from some painful disease. Generally, the one desire of such a patient is to be relieved of his pain, and one can understand that very well. No one likes suffering pain. The one idea of this patient, therefore, is to do anything which will relieve him of it. Yes; but if the doctor who is attending this patient is also only concerned about relieving this man’s pain he is a very bad doctor. His primary duty is to discover the cause of the pain and to treat that. Pain is a wonderful symptom which is provided by nature to call attention to the disease and the ultimate treatment for pain is to treat the disease, not the pain. So if a doctor merely treats the pain without discovering the cause of the pain, he is not only acting contrary to nature, he is doing something that is extremely dangerous to the life of the patient. The patient may be out of pain, and seems to be well, but the cause of the trouble is still there. Now that is the folly of which the world is guilty. It says, ‘I want to get rid of my pain, so I will run to the [movies] or drink, or do anything to help me forget my pain.’ But the question is What is the cause of the pain and the unhappiness and the wretchedness? They are not happy who hunger and thirst after happiness and blessedness. No. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." - Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Philippians 3:4-12
Philippians 3:8 KJV
Deuteronomy 8:2-4
Matthew 14:32-38
"Think of a man who is suffering from some painful disease. Generally, the one desire of such a patient is to be relieved of his pain, and one can understand that very well. No one likes suffering pain. The one idea of this patient, therefore, is to do anything which will relieve him of it. Yes; but if the doctor who is attending this patient is also only concerned about relieving this man’s pain he is a very bad doctor. His primary duty is to discover the cause of the pain and to treat that. Pain is a wonderful symptom which is provided by nature to call attention to the disease and the ultimate treatment for pain is to treat the disease, not the pain. So if a doctor merely treats the pain without discovering the cause of the pain, he is not only acting contrary to nature, he is doing something that is extremely dangerous to the life of the patient. The patient may be out of pain, and seems to be well, but the cause of the trouble is still there. Now that is the folly of which the world is guilty. It says, ‘I want to get rid of my pain, so I will run to the [movies] or drink, or do anything to help me forget my pain.’ But the question is What is the cause of the pain and the unhappiness and the wretchedness? They are not happy who hunger and thirst after happiness and blessedness. No. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." - Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
Discussion Questions
3DQ - 3 discipleship questions to ask each other: What is God saying to you? What are you going to do about it? How can I help?
1. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in the passage or the sermon?
2. Re-read Deuteronomy 8:2-4. Consider how God led the people of Israel through the desert and allowed them to hunger and then fed them so that he would humble them. The growth in our lives is not a constant trajectory upward, it is a series of peaks and valleys.
a. How have you / are you experiencing the Lord’s humbling and feeding in your life?
b. How can recognizing both need and provision allow you to walk by faith?
3. Read through Matthew 6.
a. What is Jesus instructing people to do that would cultivate a spiritual appetite?
b. What are the habits in your life that are cultivating spiritual hunger and thirst?
c. What are the habits that are numbing or dulling them?
4. Jesus speaks to those who are “hungering & thirsting”:
a. Where else do we read about this in the New testament?
b. What does this look/feel like for you in everyday life?
5. Jesus speaks about the focus of our hunger and thirst being “rightousness”:
a. What does Jesus mean by this?
b. What other passages speak about this?
6. Jesus promises that we will be “filled/satisfied.” What does this mean?
1. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in the passage or the sermon?
2. Re-read Deuteronomy 8:2-4. Consider how God led the people of Israel through the desert and allowed them to hunger and then fed them so that he would humble them. The growth in our lives is not a constant trajectory upward, it is a series of peaks and valleys.
a. How have you / are you experiencing the Lord’s humbling and feeding in your life?
b. How can recognizing both need and provision allow you to walk by faith?
3. Read through Matthew 6.
a. What is Jesus instructing people to do that would cultivate a spiritual appetite?
b. What are the habits in your life that are cultivating spiritual hunger and thirst?
c. What are the habits that are numbing or dulling them?
4. Jesus speaks to those who are “hungering & thirsting”:
a. Where else do we read about this in the New testament?
b. What does this look/feel like for you in everyday life?
5. Jesus speaks about the focus of our hunger and thirst being “rightousness”:
a. What does Jesus mean by this?
b. What other passages speak about this?
6. Jesus promises that we will be “filled/satisfied.” What does this mean?
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