HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
HYMN 27: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE.
1. Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
*Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.
2. Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3. Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
MEMORISE:
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6
READ: John 4:31-34
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
MESSAGE
You can always identify someone who is hungry for righteousness because his/her disposition will reflect their area of interest- godliness. Joseph was a classic example of someone who was hungry and thirsty for righteousness. He loved and feared the Lord. Even when sexual immorality was presented to him on a platter with attendant benefits, he vehemently refused and said in Genesis 39:9 “……how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Daniel was another classic example of someone who was both hungry and thirsty for righteousness. The Bible reveals in Daniel 1:8 that, though under no obligation to live like a Rabbi, Daniel however felt no compulsion for self-indulgence like his Chaldean school mates. It was on account of his thirst for righteousness that he determined not to be defiled in a strange land. Some people live careless live when they are away from home. Some who had vowed never to touch alcohol start drinking in the name of cold weather. When some return from temperate regions, they move around virtually naked citing the hot weather as an excuse.
The problem with such people is not the environment; it is the fact that they do not consider God worthy of their sacrifice of holiness. Such people miss the rewards of righteousness, one of which is the spirit of excellence. The Bible says “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:9). This is excellence in action. Those who live righteously do not live in condemnation according to Romans 8:1 which says “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
God is ready to grant all of your heart desires if only you would first seek His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please put in my heart the hunger and thirst for righteousness.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ecclesiastes 7:12
