WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:02.920 We're beginning a new series together. 00:00:03.420 --> 00:00:08.900 And this is this is called the last series Nathaniel preaches before he has two kids. 00:00:08.940 --> 00:00:12.220 So this is a good series to look at. 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:13.620 It's called Bless the Home. 00:00:14.200 --> 00:00:21.240 And I got to say as a young person, this series is going to be, just it's going to hit all of us in a place and time in 00:00:21.240 --> 00:00:21.600 our life. 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:22.470 You don't have to be married. 00:00:22.560 --> 00:00:23.340 You don't have to have kids. 00:00:23.380 --> 00:00:28.140 You don't have to be in that stage of life to grab something from the series we're about to go through together over the next three weeks. 00:00:28.860 --> 00:00:34.180 But what's important to remember is that wherever we are, however we look at these lessons to learn, to engage our lives. 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:35.730 And there's something in this for everybody. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:45.240 When I was a young person, if I could have had some of the information that we're about to share this morning before I got into to marriage and before, uh, 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:46.500 I knew what life was all about. 00:00:46.540 --> 00:00:49.920 If I could have had this information poured into me, I think it would have been extremely important. 00:00:50.360 --> 00:00:53.960 So for young and old, I think this is going to be relevant for all of us today. 00:00:54.700 --> 00:00:58.100 When we talk about blessing the home, one of the great places we're going to look at. 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:00.480 If you brought a Bible this morning, I'm going to invite you to turn to that. 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:01.950 We're going to begin in Matthew chapter five. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.010 And we're going to talk about blessing the home through one particular subject, and that is the Beatitudes. 00:01:09.700 --> 00:01:16.860 And we're thinking as we hear the word Beatitudes, I've said that my entire life beatitude and I've heard it talked about in the Bible, 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:18.770 but what in the world does beatitude means? 00:01:18.820 --> 00:01:20.980 It does not mean be with attitude. 00:01:21.300 --> 00:01:21.440 Okay. 00:01:22.210 --> 00:01:24.900 Beatitude is a Latin word, and it comes. 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:29.480 The reason you have it in your Bible is because when the Bible was originally written, it was written in Greek. 00:01:29.940 --> 00:01:35.940 And then one of the first translations that was made of the Greek text was a Latin text by the by a man by the name of Jerome. 00:01:36.800 --> 00:01:43.900 And when he got to chapter five of the Book of Matthew, the term that was cleverly coined for the Beatitudes, or 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:46.300 the term that was coined for this was the Beatitudes. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:47.520 It's a Latin word. 00:01:48.720 --> 00:01:53.480 When you read chapter five, beginning the very beginning of the chapter, you'll note that Jesus is speaking. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:58.260 And when he introduces this message that he's sharing, he starts off with blessed. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:01.540 And that's exactly what the word beatitude means. 00:02:01.960 --> 00:02:04.780 It's the Latin word for blessed or to be happy. 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:12.920 And what Jesus is referring to here with individuals as he's sharing this message, is that he's saying to them that they can be excited in 00:02:12.920 --> 00:02:20.080 their relationship, they can be filled in their living in life, and the way that they are to do that is to listen to the message that he's about to 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:20.400 share. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.590 When you listen to this message, you are blessed. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:24.500 Your life is filled. 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:27.180 If you can adhere to what Jesus is saying. 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:32.260 And so we talk about blessing the home and being blessed in our lives. 00:02:32.640 --> 00:02:36.700 A great place to start is where Jesus says, this is how life is blessed. 00:02:38.220 --> 00:02:45.030 And so you can tell your kids this week, when you look at the Beatitudes, the only attitude you want is a beatitude right now. 00:02:45.880 --> 00:02:47.580 Okay, that was a total bomb. 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:50.040 All right. 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:50.940 Did it just go over our heads? 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:51.720 Are you with me this morning? 00:02:52.160 --> 00:02:53.050 I thought that was hilarious. 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:57.440 I was beatitude, I was cracking up with the attitude. 00:02:57.440 --> 00:02:57.620 I want to say that they're going to laugh. 00:02:57.620 --> 00:02:57.860 No one laughs. 00:02:58.760 --> 00:02:59.520 All right, that's fine. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:00.060 Laugh at me. 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:00.750 Not with me. 00:03:02.880 --> 00:03:05.720 But the Beatitudes are a significant point within Scripture. 00:03:07.260 --> 00:03:13.390 The Beatitudes, when you turn to the book of Matthew, is really the first sermon that Jesus shares with us. 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:18.060 Some have cleverly coined it as the most important sermon ever spoken within the Bible. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.500 He publicly begins to present his ministry to people. 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:26.140 It tells us in the beginning of Matthew five that he shares this to the disciples. 00:03:27.660 --> 00:03:31.440 And he's sharing to a society that's literally spiritually bankrupt. 00:03:33.020 --> 00:03:37.180 This nation of Israel were God's chosen people. 00:03:37.200 --> 00:03:37.920 They had been decimated. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:40.170 They had been carried into captivity. 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:42.200 They came back from the Babylonian captivity. 00:03:42.660 --> 00:03:46.480 God had been silent, not speaking to the prophets for hundreds of years. 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:54.160 They hadn't heard from the Lord, and they were empty inside, being led by a pharisaic tradition of religious living 00:03:54.160 --> 00:03:57.980 that was robbing them from the joy that God intended for their lives. 00:03:58.200 --> 00:03:59.760 And so he comes into this world. 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:02.840 He shares a message about his kingdom. 00:04:03.060 --> 00:04:06.760 And the idea that Jesus carries within this message is, I am a king. 00:04:06.920 --> 00:04:07.960 I carry a kingdom. 00:04:08.180 --> 00:04:14.390 I'm sharing a message with you that will bless your life if you listen to those who are spiritually bankrupt. 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:17.720 And Jesus dives into the Beatitudes. 00:04:19.260 --> 00:04:22.460 The Bible literally says this when they hear the end of the message. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:29.780 It says, when Jesus had finished saying saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:31.100 one who had authority. 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:38.200 And as you look at the beatitude, it's the whole portion of Jesus's message here. 00:04:38.200 --> 00:04:41.420 It begins with the beatitude, but it's referred to as the sermon on the Mount. 00:04:41.460 --> 00:04:45.180 At last, in Matthew chapter five, six and seven. 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:52.180 The remarks at the end of this message is that people are just floored at what Christ had to share in their lives as he spoke to them. 00:04:53.060 --> 00:05:00.220 Within the content of this message, you hear words like this Jesus says, the poor, those who mourn, those who are meek, those who hunger for 00:05:00.220 --> 00:05:05.860 righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are pure at heart, those who are peacemakers and persecutors. 00:05:07.400 --> 00:05:11.540 These will experience the blessings of his kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. 00:05:11.640 --> 00:05:13.000 They will experience comfort. 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:14.020 They will inherit the earth. 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:14.570 They'll be filled. 00:05:14.820 --> 00:05:15.490 They'll find mercy. 00:05:15.880 --> 00:05:17.200 They'll see God. 00:05:17.280 --> 00:05:19.140 They'll be called the sons of God. 00:05:19.140 --> 00:05:21.340 They'll inherit the kingdom of heaven. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.820 Jesus is a king. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:28.820 And he came to share a message about his kingdom. 00:05:30.700 --> 00:05:38.020 And any time you open the New Testament and you begin to read the words of God, unless you see the picture of Christ as King, you miss the message 00:05:38.020 --> 00:05:39.860 for which Jesus came to proclaim. 00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:46.000 The first time the Bible tells us Jesus came as a suffering servant serving to us his kingdom. 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:52.480 The second time Jesus comes, he'll come as a conquering king riding on the back of a horse. 00:05:54.040 --> 00:06:00.090 And I believe when you look at the sermon on the Mount, there's two great pictures that we can consider as we dive into this text together. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:05.070 And the first is, if it works for God's family, then it certainly should work for ours. 00:06:06.260 --> 00:06:13.480 If this is what God's kingdom is about, and this is what God says blesses our life and fills our life, if it works in God's family, 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:16.180 there's no reason it shouldn't work within ours. 00:06:18.030 --> 00:06:25.370 The second is this when we live the Beatitudes that Christ describes here, the world changes for the good. 00:06:25.380 --> 00:06:25.930 For the better. 00:06:27.900 --> 00:06:34.620 Jesus shares this message with a bankrupt society to help them to begin to understand what God has called them to in this world. 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:41.560 And so this morning, as we dive into the Beatitudes, we're only going to look at three Beatitudes together through this whole series. 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:43.820 How can God bless our home? 00:06:44.020 --> 00:06:44.240 Jesus. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:49.340 It tells us within, within the Beatitudes, some argue as to how many there exactly are within the context of this scripture. 00:06:49.640 --> 00:06:56.780 Some people see verses ten, 11, and 12 as one beatitude, but there's most suggests around eight Beatitudes that Jesus lists 00:06:57.020 --> 00:06:57.740 within this passage. 00:06:58.180 --> 00:06:59.600 And all we're looking at is three. 00:07:01.020 --> 00:07:01.820 Asking one question. 00:07:02.080 --> 00:07:04.620 Lord, how can you bless our home? 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.000 The promise that Jesus gives. 00:07:07.200 --> 00:07:10.280 And one of the beatitudes that we're looking at comes in chapter five and verse six. 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:14.940 It says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:20.850 Here's the prompt, the promise to us, for they shall be what? 00:07:22.020 --> 00:07:23.360 Satisfied. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.540 Some translations will render the word satisfaction this way that you will be filled. 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:31.630 That sounded real southern, didn't it? 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:32.320 Field. 00:07:33.060 --> 00:07:36.510 You'll be filled that God as you hunger for righteousness. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:40.560 The Lord will supply for your life, and you will be filled. 00:07:41.840 --> 00:07:48.940 What I remark as I look at a passage like this, when we consider the life of the home, is that many homes are searching and striving for things that would fill 00:07:48.940 --> 00:07:56.060 their lives, some with things that don't matter but the result, in which case, for all scenarios of those who seek filling 00:07:56.060 --> 00:08:00.410 apart from God is in the end, as we saw in Ecclesiastes, there's no satisfaction. 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:10.440 When Jesus says in this passage to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:12.500 you will be filled. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:14.540 The question. 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.100 We pause as we consider just the words of Christ. 00:08:17.100 --> 00:08:22.740 You can imagine in these moments the King has come, the Messiah to this nation. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.360 He takes his people upon the mount. 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:32.600 He begins to orate to them the words of God that they may hear in their hearts, and understand what the Lord desires for them to 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:33.100 know. 00:08:33.640 --> 00:08:41.179 And he shares this verse with them, blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because you will 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:41.870 be filled. 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:50.100 I think as Jesus shares this passage of Scripture to us, he is sharing about his kingdom that we haven't seen completely fulfilled yet. 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:55.040 But it's a kingdom that we can come to know and grow in today as we trust in the Lord. 00:08:56.060 --> 00:09:00.370 And Jesus has promised us is that we will be filled. 00:09:01.560 --> 00:09:04.640 And as the people gathered upon this mountain, they're listening to Christ. 00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:11.260 The question that all of them could perceive within their mind is to ask simply, what is it I'm hungering for? 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:16.940 So those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:19.200 Those are the ones who are filled. 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:21.980 What is it within my life I'm hungry for? 00:09:22.560 --> 00:09:24.160 I know the churchy Sunday answer. 00:09:25.520 --> 00:09:26.540 God, right? 00:09:27.620 --> 00:09:29.880 If you want to have the right answer this morning, it's God. 00:09:30.140 --> 00:09:31.120 I mean, we say it Alpine Bible Church. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:32.820 Jesus is the answer to everything. 00:09:35.520 --> 00:09:37.420 If you were to ask that question to your kids. 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:40.210 What would they say? 00:09:41.660 --> 00:09:43.820 And maybe it would be a challenge this morning to leave today. 00:09:44.140 --> 00:09:49.020 If your kids are old enough to comprehend the question, what do you think is important to me? 00:09:50.460 --> 00:09:56.520 And if they don't get the answer right because you want them to say God, then maybe it's an opportunity for you to say, you know why we go to church on Sunday? 00:09:57.700 --> 00:09:59.340 Do you know what I'm after in my life? 00:09:59.400 --> 00:10:02.050 Do you know what's important to me? 00:10:03.060 --> 00:10:03.750 I want to be filled. 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:07.170 What are you hungry for? 00:10:08.540 --> 00:10:12.940 Without kids, you could take a step back and just say, what have I done the last seven days? 00:10:12.940 --> 00:10:14.040 What have my interests been in? 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:15.620 What are my passions been about? 00:10:15.800 --> 00:10:19.100 What have I sought God over and above before him? 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:21.650 What are you hungry for? 00:10:23.260 --> 00:10:25.120 Think what Jesus is after with the society. 00:10:27.060 --> 00:10:31.930 As he sees the spiritual, bankrupt nature that religion has pressed upon them. 00:10:32.920 --> 00:10:39.150 That's why Jesus said to the people as he proclaimed, come to me, my burden is light and my yoke is easy. 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:43.820 Jesus desires to change your appetite. 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:46.800 What is it you're hungry for? 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:48.120 What is it you're thirsty for? 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:50.720 Jesus desires to change your appetite. 00:10:52.420 --> 00:10:54.630 And this is the way I think we do it in our lives is very simplistic. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.620 Have you ever gotten to a place in your life where you decide, you know what? 00:10:58.040 --> 00:10:58.650 It's time to get healthy. 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:04.720 I gained £30 this past Christmas to Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving to Christmas, and it's time to see that stuff go bye bye. 00:11:05.040 --> 00:11:09.460 I want to put those pants back on, and all of a sudden you decide to start eating the healthy stuff, right? 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:13.420 The fish and the chicken and no more sugar drinks. 00:11:13.880 --> 00:11:15.200 Just water for me, right? 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:15.960 Or something hot. 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:17.340 No more sugar. 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:24.420 And then all of a sudden, you go through a couple months of doing that and you hit that weird stage where you think, you know what, I haven't had a Coke in a while. 00:11:25.060 --> 00:11:25.770 It's time to bring it back. 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:27.620 You crack it open. 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:34.320 You're thinking, this is going to be so good, and all of a sudden you start to drink it and you think, that is not as good as I used to remember? 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:37.860 That is just sugar that is thick and that is gross. 00:11:38.160 --> 00:11:41.760 Your body just developed this appetite for this new way of eating. 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:46.460 And all of a sudden this the foods that you used to like your body finds itself unhealthy. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.740 Have you ever done that with maybe pizza time in your life? 00:11:49.880 --> 00:11:56.960 You eat, eat healthy, and all of a sudden you go back to the traditional pizza and the wings after a great game, and then the next day you're like walking with concrete 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:57.880 in your feet, right? 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:00.920 It's the same way with Christ. 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:06.260 Well, Jesus is saying, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:13.400 When you change your appetites and you, if you feed yourselves on the things of God, your body hungers for the things of God. 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:22.900 And sometimes I think within ourselves we find a sense of deadness because we're content with the circumstances through which we 00:12:22.900 --> 00:12:25.300 are leading apart from God. 00:12:26.380 --> 00:12:29.520 Bible calls it the difference between walking and light and walking in darkness. 00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:34.680 You ever walk into a movie theater when the lights are already off? 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:35.420 I know we do. 00:12:35.420 --> 00:12:35.700 We're in Utah. 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:36.380 We're late for everything. 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.100 But when you when you walk into the movie theater, the movie's already started. 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:44.000 You thought to yourself, I just missed the previews, but you're trying to get in to find your seat. 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:47.820 You're kicking people along the way because your eyes can't adjust to the darkness. 00:12:47.940 --> 00:12:49.380 But eventually, as you sit there. 00:12:51.060 --> 00:12:52.180 Your eyes become content. 00:12:53.260 --> 00:12:54.540 Because it's learned to adjust. 00:12:56.260 --> 00:13:03.390 And Jesus is speaking to a generation of people that have just become content with the religious life that they've had, as if it's some source of satisfaction. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:06.920 And he's saying to them, listen, this isn't the truth. 00:13:07.160 --> 00:13:11.190 Your eyes have just adjusted to the darkness and you've become content. 00:13:12.140 --> 00:13:19.080 Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because in that you shall be filled. 00:13:21.650 --> 00:13:22.770 And so what do you do? 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.780 You realize within your life you're content with a certain level of darkness. 00:13:30.780 --> 00:13:34.860 Or you're not hungering and thirsting the way that God has called you to. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.300 And therefore you're not finding your life satisfied and filled. 00:13:41.020 --> 00:13:47.700 I think the quick answer for all of us, and I'm going to define what I mean by this, is repent and confess. 00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:56.000 I use the word repentance very gently here, because when we talk about the word repentance, there's sometimes within culture a skewed idea 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:58.120 about what we mean to repent. 00:13:59.300 --> 00:14:06.340 And I got to tell you, when we talk about the word repentance, we're never saying that you owe back to God things you've done wrong, that you've got to pay 00:14:06.340 --> 00:14:10.870 a particular amount of penance before God accepts what it is that he wants from you. 00:14:11.560 --> 00:14:12.880 We talk about repentance. 00:14:13.040 --> 00:14:15.940 What we're recognizing is that you owe no repentance to God. 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:22.500 You can't pay any penance to God because God has already paid for every sin you've ever done by dying on the cross. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:26.900 And so when we talk about repentance, it's not about God. 00:14:26.900 --> 00:14:29.660 I'll do all this to make you feel better and then you'll accept me. 00:14:29.660 --> 00:14:34.620 It's about just coming to him because he's already paid for your presence before him anyway. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:43.520 And so when we talk about repenting and confessing, all we're saying before the Lord is, Lord, I recognize what this verse is saying. 00:14:43.760 --> 00:14:46.620 I recognize that my heart has wandered. 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:50.480 And so, Lord, by your mercy, I'm just coming before you. 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:56.740 And God, I know you've already paid for everything, and I know all I've done is just walk from your presence. 00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:02.330 Lord, help me to hunger and thirst for your righteousness. 00:15:04.280 --> 00:15:10.300 That's good with even in our lives, that when we acknowledge that before the Lord, to also confess it before our family. 00:15:11.640 --> 00:15:15.190 We're talking about blessing the home in these passages of Scripture. 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:23.420 And the idea is, parents, when you recognize what Jesus is saying within this passage to help a younger generation, to understand the importance of what it 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:27.020 means to hunger and thirst for righteousness in your own life. 00:15:27.180 --> 00:15:29.130 When you fail, just be honest with your kids. 00:15:31.060 --> 00:15:31.870 That's loud, huh? 00:15:34.020 --> 00:15:41.120 I'm glad our kids are singing about holiness, but just say to your kids, kids, I've 00:15:41.160 --> 00:15:44.330 lived this sort of satisfaction that hasn't satisfied. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:47.680 But Jesus is giving me this promise. 00:15:47.880 --> 00:15:49.740 And so this promise I'm going to live by. 00:15:50.040 --> 00:15:57.160 I'm going to hunger and thirst for him, and I'm just coming to you as kids and saying to you, what I've done and the way I've lived hasn't exactly been 00:15:57.160 --> 00:15:57.500 right. 00:15:57.580 --> 00:15:58.550 And so I'm telling you, I'm sorry. 00:16:01.020 --> 00:16:04.600 God's given me a place as your parent to direct your life to the one who does satisfy. 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:09.250 And I haven't always been the best at it. 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:10.940 But I'm going to continue to try. 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:15.040 I'm going to lay my life down for him. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:24.390 Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you shall be filled. 00:16:26.180 --> 00:16:29.000 So leaves me with just a couple of thoughts for us as we look at this passage. 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:36.760 By the way, this is this is the only main verse that we're looking at this morning, and that's if this is the goal that God 00:16:36.760 --> 00:16:40.010 has for my life, and this is the goal that God has for his kingdom. 00:16:40.800 --> 00:16:44.200 And I desire that for my life, and I desire it for my family's life. 00:16:45.020 --> 00:16:46.000 Why don't I see it? 00:16:47.540 --> 00:16:49.420 And why isn't it working for us? 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.820 It's a couple of thoughts as to why we struggle with that. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:17:01.440 And I want to say when I share this is going to be in a general sense, this may not nail down just the struggles we have in every family, but it's a general 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:04.579 thoughts of where we struggle with hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:05.540 And most families. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.339 The first thing that's going to rob you when you understand that blessed are you to hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:15.369 When we take this verse, we try to live it out loud in our lives. 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:19.980 The way that we tend to rob ourselves of this is that we live a legalistic Christianity. 00:17:21.700 --> 00:17:25.500 Meaning we make living this verse out about a list of do's and don'ts. 00:17:27.020 --> 00:17:31.780 Legalism makes hungering for righteousness about behavior modification. 00:17:33.060 --> 00:17:34.380 And not about heart transformation. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:38.880 And Jesus even gets to the crook of this. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:45.480 And in Matthew chapter five and verse 20, when he looks at the Pharisees, he looks at the bankrupt religious system that the people are leading. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:52.620 And he says, unless you live a life more righteous than the most religious people in your society, you cannot earn the kingdom of 00:17:52.620 --> 00:17:52.860 God. 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:56.480 Meaning it's not done by what you do. 00:17:56.920 --> 00:17:59.800 God comes into your life and he transforms your heart. 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:01.640 Jesus has already done it all. 00:18:04.760 --> 00:18:09.200 Legalism has the tendency to look at this verse and say, okay, God wants us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:18:09.760 --> 00:18:13.760 So let's, let's do, let's do and let's not do let's not, let's not do this. 00:18:13.840 --> 00:18:18.450 We say things to our kids, don't drink and don't chew and don't hang with kids that do right. 00:18:19.820 --> 00:18:21.900 It's all about do's and don'ts within the home. 00:18:24.040 --> 00:18:27.510 I tell you, the quickest way to rob the joy from your home is to make your home about do's and don'ts. 00:18:29.300 --> 00:18:30.240 And this is why. 00:18:31.360 --> 00:18:38.520 Maybe you could think about this as families this week, whether you're going to start one one day or you have one now, or you're speaking to your younger generations 00:18:38.520 --> 00:18:39.320 of kids. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.760 Rules without relationship. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:45.680 Lead to rebellion. 00:18:48.320 --> 00:18:52.980 Rules without relationship leads to rebellion. 00:18:55.420 --> 00:19:01.680 The idea is this parents, what God's most interested in you is not behavior modification of your children. 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:06.660 It's not every time your kid does something wrong to come in and tell them what to do or what not to do. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:10.550 What God's interested in the life of your child is his behavior. 00:19:10.820 --> 00:19:13.680 But more importantly than that, he's interested in the heart of your kid. 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:20.200 You don't have to tell your kid to be good all the time when you're leading them to the one who is good. 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:24.300 It's not about what your kid's not doing. 00:19:24.340 --> 00:19:25.020 It's about who they're pursuing. 00:19:26.260 --> 00:19:26.620 Does that make sense? 00:19:28.300 --> 00:19:35.620 And so when you can take them before the one who transforms their very heart, and when you as a parent don't make it just about do's 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:42.740 and don'ts within the home, but you take time to take your child out and speak into the heart and say to your daughter or to your son, son, 00:19:42.760 --> 00:19:46.120 this is the man that you are called to be by God. 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.940 This is the heart that he desires for you to reflect. 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:54.560 Notice within this verse when Jesus says this, calling us to a life of righteousness, he never says, do this and don't do this. 00:19:54.840 --> 00:19:56.140 He just says, pursue it. 00:19:56.140 --> 00:20:00.450 And if we're going to pursue it, we know as people it starts with the heart. 00:20:01.300 --> 00:20:04.300 You got to get your heart right before God. 00:20:04.300 --> 00:20:06.260 That's where the problem comes with repentance. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:13.580 When we make repentance about penance, rather than just coming before the Lord and emptying ourselves and allowing our heart to reach out to his and his heart 00:20:13.580 --> 00:20:20.880 to minister to us, we make it about do's and don'ts in the religious system becomes bankrupt and there is no joy in that. 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:24.940 Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:20:25.020 --> 00:20:28.150 But it's not about do's and don'ts, it's about the heart. 00:20:29.860 --> 00:20:31.360 And so when you think about your kids parents. 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:36.180 Until you consider some things to develop within them. 00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:38.800 A parent that seeks after their heart. 00:20:40.020 --> 00:20:41.600 Become a parent in their lives that they know. 00:20:42.280 --> 00:20:46.950 It's not only interested in watching their behavior, but is interested in the desires of their heart. 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:52.450 I mean, if you have to do it, make daddy daughter date night or you should do it honestly. 00:20:54.180 --> 00:20:54.320 Father. 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:54.620 Son. 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:56.040 Time. 00:20:56.040 --> 00:20:56.340 Mother. 00:20:56.340 --> 00:20:56.440 Daughter. 00:20:56.760 --> 00:20:58.760 Time. 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:06.030 Demonstrate your desire to lead them to what is good because you're interested in their heart. 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:11.620 Mark Driscoll wrote a passage or a paper this past week on seven Ways Fathers Provoke Their Children. 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:13.860 It comes from Ephesians chapter six. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:19.060 It says it like this do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 00:21:19.820 --> 00:21:26.680 I used to this verse always used to frustrate me when I would study the Bible, because it never really explains what it means to provoke your kid to anger. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.240 It just says, don't do it. 00:21:28.780 --> 00:21:30.920 And so it's kind of up to interpretation for us to consider. 00:21:31.360 --> 00:21:33.300 How is it that I provoke my kid to anger in this life? 00:21:33.820 --> 00:21:36.450 And he wrote four, seven ways that we did. 00:21:36.840 --> 00:21:37.750 I just wrote down four of them here. 00:21:37.840 --> 00:21:41.560 He says, make more withdrawals than deposits will frustrate your kids. 00:21:41.560 --> 00:21:46.540 Meaning you come in to their life and you tell them all these things they need to do and you drain them about it rather than depositing into their hearts. 00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:48.320 You're emotionally absent. 00:21:49.260 --> 00:21:53.240 You publicly humiliate and criticize them, and you're just no fun. 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:56.760 Who? 00:21:56.760 --> 00:21:58.600 Parents. 00:21:58.680 --> 00:22:01.940 If you want the Lord to bless your life as a family. 00:22:02.340 --> 00:22:03.700 I mean, first it starts this way. 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:05.750 Hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:10.080 But for that to infiltrate all of your family. 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:13.040 They've got to know you're interested in your heart. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:14.000 In their heart. 00:22:14.320 --> 00:22:15.280 Excuse me. 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:16.740 You've all heard the slogan before. 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:18.580 No one cares what you know until they know how much you care. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:24.920 And Jesus is saying within this passage, hunger and thirst for righteousness, and you are filled. 00:22:25.040 --> 00:22:25.220 You are. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:25.940 You are blessed. 00:22:26.360 --> 00:22:31.640 You are happy in the way that you influence others in that way is that you begin to speak to their hearts. 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:37.240 And the other is this why else, why wouldn't we see that passage in Matthew five fitting within our lives? 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:37.980 And that is. 00:22:39.080 --> 00:22:40.720 The disease of lukewarm Christianity. 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:44.100 Says, I know your deeds. 00:22:45.140 --> 00:22:48.340 Revelation three that you are neither cold nor hot. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:49.920 I wish that you were cold or hot. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:55.320 So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 00:22:56.120 --> 00:22:57.300 It's like this coffee's great on ice. 00:22:57.860 --> 00:22:59.100 Coffee's good in the coffee pot. 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:01.570 Coffee is horrible when it's lukewarm. 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:01.840 Right? 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:05.580 The idea is the passage John is writing about. 00:23:05.580 --> 00:23:06.100 The Laodicean. 00:23:06.360 --> 00:23:06.840 Laodicean? 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:09.780 Live near this pool of water that gets warm. 00:23:10.100 --> 00:23:11.920 You've been up to the lava hot springs in Utah. 00:23:12.120 --> 00:23:14.440 Sure, you know about them at some point in your life, you've heard. 00:23:15.080 --> 00:23:20.800 And in Laodicea there's a similar place, and the people who live around Laodicea learn something about the water. 00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:24.280 When the water's lukewarm, it's gross. 00:23:24.800 --> 00:23:27.860 And when the water is lukewarm, it carries the most disease. 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.940 It's sickening. 00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:32.210 There's no use for. 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.900 Jesus is saying this in revelation. 00:23:37.880 --> 00:23:41.880 He's speaking to the hearts of people through an illustration, and he's saying to one another. 00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:48.470 Mediocrity in Christianity is gross. 00:23:49.580 --> 00:23:53.120 I got to tell you, the worst place to be as a Christian is this place. 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.200 It is the most unhappy place you can be. 00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:01.010 One foot before the Lord and one foot before the world. 00:24:02.760 --> 00:24:07.330 Jesus says, blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because that's when you're filled. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.160 Not in half heartedness. 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:11.010 God wants your whole heart. 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:14.420 Bible also says sin is fun for a season. 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:19.670 The Bible gives no indication that when you give half your heart to Jesus and half the heart, the world, that you will ever be satisfied. 00:24:20.040 --> 00:24:25.760 As a matter of fact, it talks about being the most content, unsatisfied, unhappy person to live on the earth. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:27.180 No one wants to be around you. 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:27.940 You are a bitter bucket. 00:24:28.780 --> 00:24:30.590 That is cheesy, but you are. 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:39.720 And so he's saying in this passage of Scripture, he's calling this hunger and thirsting within you and saying, listen, Jesus gives this promise. 00:24:39.720 --> 00:24:41.080 It will fill your life. 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:43.240 It will satisfy your in your life. 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.760 And all he's interested in is just your heart. 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:53.320 And the reason that we don't see it working within our families is because our hearts are diseased. 00:24:54.860 --> 00:24:55.140 There are lukewarm. 00:24:58.490 --> 00:25:00.470 God has called you to so much more. 00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:04.480 How do you know your lukewarm Christianity? 00:25:07.520 --> 00:25:12.930 If you can't tell or you can't recall the last time you prayed together as a family. 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:18.510 I would say it's a struggle for him. 00:25:19.840 --> 00:25:25.460 If you can't recall the last time you opened up the Word of God within your home and just shared something. 00:25:27.520 --> 00:25:28.300 I'd say you're struggling. 00:25:30.280 --> 00:25:37.180 If you can't think of the last thing that you did in honor of the Lord, of giving yourself away to bless someone else. 00:25:39.360 --> 00:25:39.730 I would question. 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:42.940 Does Jesus really have your heart? 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:48.200 Blessed are you when you hunger and thirst. 00:25:48.620 --> 00:25:50.890 Those who hunger and thirst do those things. 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:55.340 They can't stay away from the Word of God because they've come to enjoy it. 00:25:57.140 --> 00:26:01.100 They can't stop sharing what God is teaching them because they've come to appreciate it. 00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:09.720 They love to take their prayers before the Lord first, rather than complain to someone else because they trust in what God's going to do 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:12.630 far more than someone else who might just bend their ear about some complaint. 00:26:16.060 --> 00:26:19.760 What would it mean to your children if you demonstrate this within their lives? 00:26:20.060 --> 00:26:26.680 When you say, my desire is to see them pursue the one who is good, so I, as a parent, will have to follow them all the time. 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:27.640 Tell them to be good. 00:26:29.120 --> 00:26:30.080 What would it mean for them? 00:26:30.300 --> 00:26:37.440 If you've got a struggle in your life or you know there's something important going on in your life and you just come to your kids and say, hey, this has been on my heart, would 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:38.660 you just pray for that? 00:26:42.600 --> 00:26:46.900 Helping your kids hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:26:49.320 --> 00:26:50.520 The Bible says this. 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:54.820 In Psalm 63 you, God, are my God. 00:26:54.820 --> 00:26:55.800 Earnestly I seek you. 00:26:55.800 --> 00:26:56.680 I thirst for you. 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:02.660 My whole being longs for you in a dry and parched land where there is no God. 00:27:04.780 --> 00:27:07.900 David's writing this psalm and he's just crying out from his heart. 00:27:08.280 --> 00:27:08.840 He's just taking. 00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:10.300 I love the way the Psalms have written. 00:27:10.340 --> 00:27:13.860 If you want to know how to take a heart and put it before God, turn to David. 00:27:15.540 --> 00:27:20.700 He just lets all his emotional energy, all of his mental energy, all of his strength. 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:23.000 He just comes before God. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.960 He writes these Psalms and he lays it all down. 00:27:27.620 --> 00:27:30.950 You think you consider this verse what it would look like for your family? 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:32.310 I want to say this isn't a biblical translation. 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:35.280 This is an insert of Nathaniel translation here. 00:27:37.020 --> 00:27:38.400 What if it would turn like this for your family? 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:39.820 Talking about blessing you? 00:27:41.280 --> 00:27:41.600 You. 00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:42.920 God are our God. 00:27:44.740 --> 00:27:46.260 Earnestly we seek you. 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:48.100 We thirst for you. 00:27:48.100 --> 00:27:52.840 Our whole family longs for you. 00:27:54.340 --> 00:27:55.980 Am I going to tell you as parents this morning? 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:03.080 If your kids are growing up and they're coming to you and they're saying, Mom and dad. 00:28:04.260 --> 00:28:05.320 We pray for me. 00:28:07.120 --> 00:28:07.520 You're winning. 00:28:10.320 --> 00:28:13.580 Rather than having to tell your kids what to do. 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:20.260 If you're taking the time to pour into their hearts and show them the individual that they are to become from the heart. 00:28:21.760 --> 00:28:23.060 You're winning. 00:28:25.040 --> 00:28:31.660 Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you will be filled. 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:40.340 I got to tell you, as parents as well, if your kids are just messing up in their lives, if you're taking the time to be gracious with 00:28:40.560 --> 00:28:47.600 them and loving upon them and seeking not just in their behavior, but driving towards the heart, you're 00:28:47.600 --> 00:28:49.380 winning. 00:28:50.490 --> 00:28:53.270 Help your kids think through those things in the Lord. 00:28:54.540 --> 00:28:56.560 Rather than just dictate to them what they're to do. 00:28:58.340 --> 00:29:00.200 Just take some time and stop and just say. 00:29:01.080 --> 00:29:02.050 What do you think the Lord would do? 00:29:03.820 --> 00:29:05.480 What do you think God would want in your life? 00:29:07.800 --> 00:29:12.080 Rather than make it about do's and don'ts, direct them to the one who's good. 00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:16.830 If your family hungers for God, you will be blessed. 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:20.760 So let me give you these last three thoughts three ways to Create a Hunger within Your Family. 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:24.540 Versus involve God in your daily conversations. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:30.800 Parents, let let young kids see you reading the Bible. 00:29:30.800 --> 00:29:32.660 Let your kids see you praying. 00:29:32.760 --> 00:29:35.540 Take time to share prayer requests with your kids. 00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:41.680 Take time to pray with your kids when you're on the road in your car, buy a Christian CD, pop it in and play. 00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:48.920 I got to tell you last night, sitting on the couch with my son and dad's studying the sermon and he pulls 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:49.680 out his iPad. 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:52.810 And he starts that song. 00:29:53.900 --> 00:29:55.560 He just. 00:29:55.560 --> 00:29:55.600 I don't know how he even knows how to work it. 00:29:55.600 --> 00:29:58.500 I pet it too, but he turns to iTunes and he hits his face. 00:29:58.580 --> 00:30:00.080 He turns it to his favorite song and he plays it. 00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:03.000 He sings it all the time, and it starts off just a cappella. 00:30:03.520 --> 00:30:04.580 You guys know it, right? 00:30:04.840 --> 00:30:05.760 It starts this way. 00:30:06.020 --> 00:30:07.820 Your love never fails. 00:30:07.820 --> 00:30:09.080 It never gives up. 00:30:09.300 --> 00:30:11.760 Never runs out on me. 00:30:12.040 --> 00:30:13.240 Your love never fails. 00:30:13.800 --> 00:30:15.190 It never gives up. 00:30:15.280 --> 00:30:17.580 Never runs out on me. 00:30:18.540 --> 00:30:19.780 I'm sitting here writing a sermon. 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:23.380 Thinking about sharing about my kid. 00:30:25.320 --> 00:30:29.500 And as I'm writing these words and closing it off, ending the day about to put him to bed. 00:30:30.360 --> 00:30:31.320 He's praising the Lord. 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.040 That's a win. 00:30:38.060 --> 00:30:43.440 Blessed are you as you hunger and thirst for righteousness. 00:30:45.700 --> 00:30:46.600 Or you will be filled. 00:30:48.060 --> 00:30:49.150 I should have closed with that. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:52.840 Make church a weekly staple. 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:53.460 That's to. 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:58.100 Share with your kids the importance of seeking God's face in a community. 00:30:59.740 --> 00:31:03.220 I got to tell you, in a society today, we're at a place where church just isn't all that important. 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:08.750 And no one really sees a need for it until all of a sudden there's an emergency in their life. 00:31:08.840 --> 00:31:15.900 But how important it is that you gather together as a community, and it's not just about yourself, it's about pouring into the life of each other. 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:24.380 I mean, the bigger we grow as a church, the more opportunities and ministries we can offer, the more ways we can reach into people's lives 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:29.160 and to minister to them as people continue to come and they just want to be a part and they want to serve. 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:33.440 Show the importance of making church a weekly staple. 00:31:33.620 --> 00:31:34.640 It's God's community. 00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:35.600 It's God's bride. 00:31:35.600 --> 00:31:36.520 It's what's important to Jesus. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:41.640 And if we hunger and thirst, we should hunger and thirst to be a part of that community and encourage it. 00:31:43.100 --> 00:31:46.390 Last is this show how seeing and serving God can be fun. 00:31:48.320 --> 00:31:49.580 When we talk about prayer. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:57.080 I feel like sometimes as adults, we've learned to make prayer about pulling teeth, or we make it this huge formal thing where everyone's got to pay attention to you and you better not 00:31:57.080 --> 00:31:57.520 mess up. 00:31:57.620 --> 00:31:58.380 You got to say fancy words. 00:31:58.760 --> 00:32:01.560 You know, we just we overemphasize just the situation. 00:32:02.140 --> 00:32:04.290 Just come before God and share your heart. 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:08.240 I'll listen to a pastor this week talk about how he does it with his family. 00:32:08.420 --> 00:32:09.040 Makes prayer time fun. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:10.450 They have popcorn. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.600 They call it popcorn night. 00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:12.680 They gather together as a family. 00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:14.140 They share their needs. 00:32:14.140 --> 00:32:16.920 Before you say a prayer, you have to take a handful of popcorn. 00:32:17.420 --> 00:32:23.320 You say your prayer while you're eating popcorn, and then you have to take another handful of prayer after you're done eating popcorn. 00:32:23.340 --> 00:32:27.180 I have no idea why that's fun, but they say it's fun, so when they pray, popcorn is going everywhere, I guess. 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:27.820 But they're enjoying. 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:29.660 He's teaching the kids just to have fun with prayer. 00:32:30.980 --> 00:32:32.140 I'm not saying everyone needs to do that. 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:33.650 It's just something crazy that they did. 00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:35.860 But it's important for the family. 00:32:37.080 --> 00:32:40.700 Not to just call yourself a Christian family, but to be a Christ centered family. 00:32:42.660 --> 00:32:44.680 When it talks about hungering and thirsting for righteousness. 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:46.430 My joy is this with Jesus. 00:32:46.520 --> 00:32:48.340 He didn't tell us exactly how to do it. 00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:53.440 He gives her the freedom God puts within you a heart to seek after him. 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:58.240 You pursue that in whatever way benefits you in your life and you and your family's life. 00:32:58.560 --> 00:33:00.220 And in that you are filled.