Upside Down Living #4 - Clarity in a Time of Indifference
Message Description
Director of Young Adult Ministry, Josiah Leuenberger, looks at what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness, the struggle between hunger for things of the world and God, and how the Gospel orients our hearts correctly.
Message Transcript
Well, hey there it is so great to be together to worship God this weekend. My name is Josiah. I serve at our Wexford campus with adult ministries. So, whether you're online at the Strip District, Butler County, it's great to gather and hear a word from God. And that's really what we're here for. We're not gathered just for entertainment purposes. We're not gathered simply to gain information. Really what this time is about is opening God's word. And in Orchard Hill we believe that anytime we do that, we put ourselves in a space where we can have an interaction with God that he would speak to us through His Holy Spirit in the words when we open it together. And so why don't I pray for us as we dig into what he would say to us in this time. So, Father, we thank you for the opportunity to hear a word from you. God, we don't take it for granted that anytime we gather as a community and we open up the pages of your book, the Bible, that you could speak to our minds and our hearts in a way that would be powerful to bring transformation to our lives. So that is our expectation, that you would be present in this time, wherever we are. And we ask this together, in Jesus name, Amen.
Well, we are in a series called Upside Down. And we're looking at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. And you've heard Kurt share some messages over the past several weeks about what this teaching looked like. So, we have Jesus early in his ministry, and he's beginning to gain a following. And the picture that is painted for us as we look at Matthew's Gospel is Jesus is with his disciples along the Sea of Galilee. And a crowd has gathered to hear him speak because people are hearing Jesus’ words. They're hearing these stories of miracles that are taking place, and they want their own experience with this one who's bringing about such intrigue. And so, a crowd has gathered and when Jesus sees these people, it's quite a contrast the way that he interacts from celebrities or popular cultural figures today. When Jesus sees this crowd gathered, he doesn't flock towards them to be the center of attention. He drifts on up the hill to a quiet place and he gathers around his inner circle to have this teaching time.
And then the crowd sees what's going on and they become people who are looking on to hear from this teaching, and so think about that. You find teachers this day and age, who are saying, hey, I'm doing this live stream, everybody tune in, get the word out. That's not Jesus approach. Jesus approach would have been, hey, I see there are way too many followers logging on to this live stream. Why don't we set up a zoom call with the inner circle? Peter, you hit record and we'll get this out on online later. That's Jesus heart and think about it. Jesus, he's the greatest teacher who ever lived. But that's the kind of humility that marked this man, the Son of God, fully God, fully man. And so we're looking at the Beatitudes in this part of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, this teaching time, and really these are counter intuitive statements about how anyone who follows God by faith can live, and what the world looks like, this new reality that has been brought on by Jesus coming.
As Kurt has shared these past few weeks, these aren't entry requirements for being in right relationship with God. They're not the standards that we need to meet in order to experience His grace, His goodness, but they're really explanations of how those who turned to God with their spiritual need and experience His grace, can then live in response. That's what these teachings are all about. And I think they have something powerful to say to each and every one of us wherever we are in our own journey of faith. In today's teaching, what Jesus focus is really seeking, is to draw our attention on heart orientation and what he wants each and every one of us to consider is what is it that we desire most? What is it that we desire most as evidenced by the way that we are living our lives? And his words, they do lead us to do some reflection on how our priorities line up with God's own.
And so, the first teaching we heard there in our reading a moment ago is, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. And this is a counter intuitive statement, not just in Jesus day, but in our own. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst. I mean, think about it. Isn't our natural human inclination when we find ourselves hungry or thirsty is to satisfy those longings as soon as we experience them?
You know, I grew up in the early 2000s, and something that was really popular back then were these 30- hour famines if you were in a youth group in a church setting. The 30-hour famine is where you raise awareness, or maybe funds to go towards third world hunger. And so, the way these worked was you wouldn't eat for 30 hours, and they were often paired with an overnight lock- in. I remember the first time I did one of these. I thought, what a terrible idea to pair these two things together. I found myself very hangry after a few hours. And boy, my wife can tell you when I get sleepy at night, I can be a real grump. Putting a bunch of teenagers together, asking them not to eat for 30 hours, and stay up all night. Man, that was a recipe for disaster because our human natural inclination when we experience hunger and thirst, we want to eliminate it.
But Jesus here, he says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst. And Jesus, he's not promoting the spiritual discipline of fasting here. What he's really trying to highlight is this spiritual emphasis, this spiritual emphasis with an image. And so, hunger and thirst, let's think about that image. These are physical indicators of a need that can only be satisfied from outside of ourselves. They're an internal gas gauge, so to speak, that we're creeping towards empty, and it's time to fuel up. And so, think about this, not every one of our physical needs is like that. There are some that we can satisfy internally, when we're tired, we can sleep. That's a need that can be satisfied internally, but hunger and thirst, these are physical needs that can only be satisfied from outside of ourselves. And so, to think about this point that Jesus is driving at here, he's really talking about heart orientation. When Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst, he's highlighting this drive that is hardwired within each and every person for something more. We're yearning for something more than what we already have. There's this ever-present deep desire. within the human heart for more than what we already have, a yearning to be satisfied.
And this image of hunger, it's something that's really popular in our culture. If you've ever been in a high school sports locker room, you've probably heard a coach say you've got to stay hungry. And you know, I saw a really funny tweet in preparing for this. It's a parody account of a college athlete and in this tweet, you can see it on the screen, this grandma asks, are you hungry, and the student athlete responds, I stay hungry, ready for battle, can't stop, won't stop, God first, team second, hungry for success. The grind never stops. And that hunger for success, it's about if I can perform, if I can achieve, then I will be satisfied. And this of course, it doesn't just carry itself out in sports. This can take place in any endeavor where we're seeking after excellence in music, school, or career. If I perform, if I accomplish, then I'll be satisfied in my hunger.
This can take place in looking to satisfy a desire for love, whether in romantic relationships or seeking harmony in our family or friendships. We can have a hunger for significance. If I can make this kind of impact in the world. If I could have this title that people would look at with respect, then I will be able to rest. We can have a hunger for comfort if I could just have the right schedule. If I could have the right standard of living this home in such a location, then I'd really know that my needs have been met in a way where I can be satisfied.
You know, author, Arthur Schopenhower, he writes this, "Gold is like seawater, the more one drinks of it, the thirstier one becomes." In that characteristic he describes in seeking to satisfy our appetites there of insatiability. That can really apply to any one of the categories I've named success, significance, relational harmony, or material resources. These are all good things when held in the right perspective, but they inevitably fail us when we place them as ultimate objects of desire in our lives.
And so interestingly, first and foremost, Jesus teaching here on heart orientation, it actually leads us into a classic argument for the existence of God. Would you believe that? Jesus teaching here gives us a classic argument for the existence of God, and this is the argument for desire. And listen to this, as explained by the author, philosopher Peter Kreeft. Here's how he lays it out. First, he says, "Every natural innate desire in us, corresponds to something that can satisfy that desire." And then second, he says, “But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature, can satisfy." And so, his conclusion, "Therefore, there must be something more than time, Earth, and creatures which can satisfy this desire. This something is what people call God, and life with God forever." So, the argument for desire, it lays out the human heart. There's a desire hardwired within every person for something more than anything this world will ever be able to satisfy. And the solution, in the words of St. Augustine, "You have made us for yourself God, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you." You see true satisfaction in life, it isn't found in the things of this world, but in hungering and thirsting for what is of ultimate and eternal value. And what Jesus says that is, is blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled, they will be satisfied.
And to really home in on what Jesus is teaching here, John Stott, the pastor commentator who's passed away, he says that righteousness in the Bible can be understood through at least three aspects. And I want to outline what he has to say about those three aspects. And the first category of righteousness is really in line with what we're talking about right now. That is legal righteousness, and legal righteousness is focused on right relationship with God. And the essential message of the Christian faith is that when it comes to right relationship with God living at rest in him, like St. Augustine talks about, that begins with recognizing that you and I, we can't get there on our own. Scripture teaches us that our sin, it separates us from the God who made us in sin. It's not just the wrong things we do, but it is our heart orientation that wants to live as the god over our own lives. And it is our sin that separates us from God, the one who is perfect in his own righteousness. But the good news of the Christian faith is, thank God, he hasn't left us alone in our sin. He has sent us His Son, Jesus Christ, perfect in his righteousness, to lay down his life on the cross, to lay it down, to take on the sin penalty that belongs to you and I so that we might share in His righteousness when we look to Him and faith. That is the good news of Christianity. That right relationship with God is available to each and every one of us. Perfect, righteousness. When we simply recognize that we don't deserve it, but we trust in Jesus work on our behalf. That righteousness, it can't be achieved through our own best efforts at morality or religion. It can only be received as a gift of grace. It can only be received as a gift of grace when we look to Jesus, His death and resurrection on our behalf.
And I love the way the Apostle Paul shares about the difference this makes in his own life when he talks about his own story of faith, trusting in Jesus, rather than his religious efforts. He writes, whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own, that comes from the law but that which is through faith in Christ. That's the good news of our faith. That story, it can be our own when we look to Jesus for each and every one of us. And so, if you're here this morning, and that's news to you, I want you to know that story, it can be your own. Our world tells us stay thirsty, get more, be better, keep seeking. But Jesus, He tells us, I'm the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty again. My friends, if we want satisfaction that lasts, it is found in Jesus Christ. So maybe you find yourself agreeing for the first time with those words of St. Augustine, God, you've made me for yourself. My heart will be restless until I find my rest in you. I want you to know, you can find that, you can experience that reality now and forever through looking to Jesus in faith today.
You can pray along with this simple prayer. Father, I come to you, I know that I am a sinful person, I need your grace. But I thank you for Jesus Christ who laid down his life on my behalf that I can have right relationship with you. I trust you. Amen. If you prayed along with me those words, you can have the confidence that right relationship with God is yours, now and forever, if you truly have come to him in your own heart. If you've made a commitment to trust Jesus, I'd love to connect with you. You can reach out to a host through Church Online by clicking the prayer request button, or you can connect with us at orchardhillchurch.com.
And the second category of righteousness that we see in this passage, it really stems from the first as we progress along with John Stott, those three categories. And the second category, it is moral righteousness. And this is really about the way in which right belief leads to right living. And so, striving for moral righteousness, it's really a response to our legal righteousness. We strive to live in a way that reflects the new life that we have in Jesus when we've looked to him in faith. That's what more righteousness is all about. And so, where we see this in the passage is when Jesus says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Notice his language. He's speaking in a way that is active and ongoing. This is a word of encouragement to His disciples to continually hunger and thirst for what is ultimately good in the way that they live.
And so as we consider what this teaching would mean for you and I, I think it's critically important for us to recognize that seeking moral righteousness is not about sustaining God's favor in our lives if we found that through, trusting in Jesus. It's not showing that somehow, we deserve the grace that we received. Wait a second, isn't that something we only receive because we recognize we don't deserve it? We can't get those wires crossed. What moral righteousness is about, is reflecting the new life of God that is within us as we seek to obey His word, and continually look to Jesus for grace. And again, I love the way the Apostle Paul describes what it means to seek moral righteousness in our living. He had such a great vision for the way the gospel changes all of life. He says in Philippians, chapter 4:16, Only let us live up to what we have already attained." And so, what Paul is saying is that when we've looked at Jesus in faith, God sees us with the perfect righteousness of Christ. So, let's live our lives in a way that reflects who we already are by God's provision on our behalf.
And guys, think about the difference that perspective makes when it comes to seeking moral righteousness. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, think about the difference that perspective makes for when we live by self-righteousness. When we live by self-righteousness, when we get it right, we can become proud and arrogant. We look down on others, we lift ourselves up, and that creates division among us. That's what self-righteousness does. We'll become proud and arrogant when we get it right. And of course, I have much experience and self-righteousness. And I know that it leaves us to become discouraged and demoralized when we inevitably screw things up. Because with self-righteousness, we put our own standing with God on our own performance, and we base our efforts to live up to God's expectations on our own ability rather than looking to his finished work on our behalf and asking for the Holy Spirit inside of us to bring about that life, transformation by grace.
And so that is what God calls us to. And think about the resources He's given us as we seek moral righteousness by grace. God has given us His Word. He's graciously given us these words of truth that we could find the way to life. As we look to his own teaching, he's given us His Holy Spirit, which is the power of God within us to change. And I love Jesus words to his disciples, and some of their last moments together in a teaching time. He said to them, it's better that I go, that the helper would come. And think about that. It's more of an advantage to you and I that we would have the Holy Spirit inside of us as our helper to live out God's Word in our lives, then it wouldn't be if we had Jesus standing beside us. Man, sometimes to me, that feels too good to be true. But that's what Jesus says about the power of the Holy Spirit to help us live the life of faith if we are a follower of Jesus Christ by looking to him for grace.
And last, but certainly not least, we have been given Christian community that we can support one another in the journey of faith seeking to live faithful to God. And here at Orchard Hill, we believe that relationships are an essential part of what it means for us to seek after God because we recognize that he's not only saved us from our sin, but he saved us from isolation, and loneliness. And so, we are a people who want to do life together. You know, you hear us talk about classes and groups here at Orchard Hill. And what those are about is it's not just about building programs so we can say, man, look at what we are doing. Really, these programs are about connecting people, because God grows us in him, He grows us together in the context of community, and in relationships. It brings us so much joy. We find that our maturity in Christ and ability to live in a way that would be honoring to him, moral righteousness. It absolutely takes off when we live life together as one.
And so, if you want to connect in community here at Orchard Hill, it would be such a privilege for our Adult Ministries team to help you in that, or student ministries, if you're in that category. You can go to orchardhillchurch.com, click on the Get Connected form there on our main web page, we would just love to help you connect in community so you can grow in faith here at Orchard Hill Church. Because community it makes all the difference, as we root ourselves in God's word as we remember his grace, and rely on the Holy Spirit that God would make us to be people whose conduct actions resemble who we already are in him.
And then when it comes to this third category of righteousness, social righteousness, I think many of us would say we absolutely agree. God cares about those who are oppressed and marginalized. God desires justice, I am with him in that. But I think if right now, I was to say, let me conclude with three specific ways you can seek social righteousness in our culture today, some of us listening would say let's go, it's about time! Then others of us would probably say, you better be careful junior. Watch where you go. And so, applying God's Word in our lives in a relevant way, this is something that is critically important to us at Orchard Hill Church. And I want to say I believe the big picture of this passage; it is crystal clear. God desires his followers to invest themselves in the well-being of all people, particularly those who are most in need.
But the question followers of Jesus need to grapple with is how we do that most wisely in our world today. And my friends, that's not an easy one to answer. And so please hear me when I say this, it is vitally important that conversations take place among followers of Jesus, about how we can most wisely pursue God's heart for social righteousness. It is critically important for those conversations to take place, full stop.
That said, we have got to interact with one another according to what is of ultimate importance, of what is centrally important when those conversations are taking place. And this is where Jesus second teaching statement that we heard earlier comes into play. In Matthew5:8, Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. And Bible scholars, they say another way you could read this passage is, blessed are those who are undivided in their orientation towards God. And so again here, Jesus is emphasizing that the life of faith, it's not primarily about head knowledge. It's not about living with the right mechanical actions, but about allowing God's Word to seep into us, and transform who we are from the inside out. Jesus saying, blessed are those who are so captivated by my grace that it colors, everything you see.
And so my friends, as we think about how this word applies to us, I want to say that we are living in a time where the primary concern of so many is to spell out for others, anyone who will listen, who's right and who's wrong when it comes to what the world needs in regard to pursuing social righteousness. And for followers of Jesus, it's easy for us to get caught up in those conversations and become distracted from what matters most. But again, we do well to bring passion to the table and having these conversations about how to best reflect God's heart and values. But what a mistake it would be for any one of us who is a follower of Jesus to drift in our perspective from keeping him at the center of our attention.
My friends, we live in a moment where controversy over race relations and public health is it a boiling point. And I believe this is a moment of unprecedented opportunity, unprecedented opportunity for followers of Jesus to show the world the magnitude of the gospel, the all surpassing nature of God's grace in Jesus in the way that we interact with one another. And not because we all agree on exactly how things should be done, but because we are so undivided in our orientation towards God, that even as we bring that passion to the table, and passionately disagree, we are so unified around God's grace and our love for one another in response to Jesus, that the watching world, others will be drawn to consider God's grace in response to the way that we live together as a community. And that is my hope. That is my prayer for Orchard Hill Church, that we will always be a community of people who are rooted in God's word. A community of people comprised of a wide variety of backgrounds, from a wide variety of perspectives, who all come together around God's Word from different stages of our journey of faith for one singular purpose, to help people find and follow Jesus. That's what we are all about as a community at Orchard Hill Church.
And so, let's stay thirsty, my friends, let's stay thirsty for what matters most. The righteousness of God. Let's set our hearts on Jesus and bring passion to the table on how we can most wisely put God's word into action. And even as we disagree, let's be so clearly unified in our heart orientation towards God, that others will see our love for one another, our love for the world, people made in God's own image, and consider God's love for them in response.
Would you join me in prayer? Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the way that it instructs us. God, any one of us who will turn to you with our spiritual need can be made right with you. We thank you for the righteousness of God that belongs to any one of us who would turn to you with our need and look to Jesus in faith. And we thank you God that you meet us right where we are, but you don't leave us as we are. As we look to your word, as we together in community rely on your Holy Spirit, you can work inside of us that we might resemble in our words and actions, who you already see us to be in Jesus Christ. Thank God, we thank you for that. And Father, we pray that you would orient our hearts around your great love in such a way that we would be people who are your ambassadors in the world who reach out to love others in response to your great love for us. And Father with that great love, typify our community so we would we be singular in our purpose of helping people find and follow Jesus, that even as we disagree, the way that we interact with one another, as we seek to best apply your word and loving others, even as we disagree, God, would that be a testimony to the magnitude of your all surpassing grace to save and change lives. And we ask this together, in Jesus name, amen. It has been so great to study God's word together. Thank you for joining us in community here at Orchard Hill Church. Have a great day!
