SPEAKER Pastor James Han (Redeemer Presbyterian Church)
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness? Matthew 5:6

Righteousness is NOT an option
- Have you ever been so hungry and/or thirsty that you would eat or drink anything because you are going to die? Hunger and thirst are the only two things that will satisfy our bodies in such a powerful way.
- Esau was so famished that he rejected God’s promise and blessing in his birthright for a bowl of soup. We are like this as well, throwing away God’s promise for the things of this world.
- Righteousness has become an option for many. People now say blessed are those that compromise, or accept all. We no longer focus on what is right, but on what is convenient!
- If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be satisfied because you will be filled with Christ, and there will be a natural outpouring of life.
- If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be persecuted. That persecution should bring you joy because of your understanding that we do not belong to this world.

NOT self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God
- There is an emptiness that rages in our hearts because we all have a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill, while we try to fill it with things already on our hearts. Isaiah 55:1-2
- Our hearts are restless, until it finds its rest in Him and Him alone.
- Do we long for that righteousness? Matthew 5:20
- Our righteousness is not based on our abilities, because they are like filthy rags Isaiah 64:6.
- Tim Keller describes two types of sinner: 1) Irreligious sinners are those that pursue the things of the world, 2) Religious sinners are those that pursue religion as an idol.
- Our righteousness needs to be based on Jesus Christ because we are too poor in spirit, too broken and sinful to stand righteous in front of anyone.
- If living a righteous life is a burden, then you are doing it on your own strength.

GOD’s righteousness
- Recognize the poverty of your spirit and your evident sin, recognize that you need Jesus in your life. Through Jesus, be renewed and refreshed.
- Live Christianity by changing from the inside out.
- Thirst and hunger after Christ everyday!
- Understand that God’s love and grace abounds. Romans 5:20
- We have tasted and seen God’s righteousness, but we have not experienced it fully. The full reality is that Jesus has not yet come and let us continue to long for that day.
- The day you were born was the day that you started to die, but the day you are reborn is the day that you may start to live.

START NOW
- One day we will be fully righteous, but why not start now to reveal that hunger and thirst for the righteousness we have in Christ?
- The more content we are in this world, the more content we are that we do not need Christ yet.
- We have God’s righteousness now, but the fullness will come later when Christ returns.
- Christians should want Heaven over Earth, not just Heaven over Hell.
- Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness?