John K. Jenkins Sr - The Be Attitudes - Part 2

I don't have to go far, and I don't have to follow you long to find out what you're craving. As a matter of fact, your checkbook will reveal what it is that you're longing for-where you spend your money, when you spend your cash, where you invest your energy, and the people that you hang out with-your friends, the people you like being around. This is a reflection of what you're hungry and thirsting for. Your lifestyle will show what it is that you long for, what your human nature , your insides , are yearning for. But Jesus recognizes this; He said, "Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsting for righteousness." Now, I like that He says, "Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty to be in right standing with God." That 's what "righteous" means; it means to be in right standing with God, to be in a position where you are pleasing God .

Now, here's the drama and the problem : some of you are hungry and thirsty, but it's not for right standing with God. Some of you want to be in right standing with people, and the problem is that the people you try to hang out with are not those who will benefit you or make your life better . As a matter of fact, there is no human being who can help give you what you say you're longing for-no human being! Go on and preach, Pastor! I'm longing to be in the right standing with God , to be in a position where I'm pleasing to Him-where my choices , my behavior, my decisions, how I spend my money, and what I think about in my mind and heart, and how I invest my energies align with being in right standing with God.

As a matter of fact, the text says that with every one of these Beatitudes, not only is the attitude given, but there's a promise associated with each one! Isn't it wonderful that God gives you a principle accompanied by a promise ? He says if you hunger and thirst for righteousness, here's the promise: you'll be filled! That word "filled" is important because it means that God will give you an abundance . Ooh, I feel the shout! I felt something right there! God says, "I will give you until you are satisfied ; I will provide you with an abundance until you're satisfied." In other words, here's what He says: if you have the right hunger and thirst for the things of God-being in right standing with God, pleasing to God-God says He'll satisfy you with that which will fulfill your deepest longings deep down inside .

Now, I don't know if y'all have ever eaten anything like I have; I like Chinese food . I enjoy Kung Pao chicken , shrimp fried rice , sesame seed chicken , and egg foo young. So don't act like y'all don't need any Chinese food. Y'all are funny , acting like you don't eat it, but I know y'all do! I love Chinese food, but the problem with traditional Chinese food is that after you eat it, in a couple of hours, you're going to be hungry again. And that's what's happening in the world. The world has sold us a bill of goods; there's a generation of young people who have grown up being told that if you get money, fame , a car , a house , an education , a career-you have everything you need and you'll be happy .

We have a generation of people who have grown up doing what the world said to do , achieving those things , and reaching the plateau that the world says you're supposed to reach, and when they got there, they found out that it didn't satisfy them. I wish I had a friend here who could tell how they discovered that fame wouldn't do it, that money wouldn't do it , that sex wouldn't do it , that drugs wouldn't do it , and that alcohol wouldn't do it . They discovered that having it all doesn 't fulfill you , that it doesn 't satisfy you deep inside. Ooh, I'm preaching better than y'all are saying "Amen!" It 'll wet your lips; it'll give you a momentary thrill; it'll make you feel good for a minute! Sixty seconds in, and it doesn 't last! Whatever- I don't know how Willie Jolly says that thing, but anyway , here's how it goes : what the world has to offer you will only give you a momentary thrill; it cannot provide long-lasting fulfillment .

Jesus said, if you hunger and thirst for right standing with God, you'll be filled; you'll be satisfied in ways that nothing in the world can satisfy. And I'm here to tell you that what Jesus said is absolutely true! I've learned that being in right standing with God and doing what's pleasing and acceptable to Him satisfies my deepest inner longings . Is anybody here who knows that He has the ability to satisfy you deep down inside? Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsting to be in the right place with God, for they shall be filled. Some of you today are not in the right standing with God. Being in right standing is not about joining a church; it's not about...