Eight Steps to True Happiness

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Eight Steps toTrue Happiness

• Step 4 hunger and thirst for righteousness

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4. Those who Hunger and Thirst after
Righteousness
3. The Meek
2. Those who Mourn
Happy are
1. The Poor in Spirit
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Step 4 Introduction

• The first four attitudes suggest four upward
  steps in preparing the heart for Gods fullness
• Each of these inward works of grace involves
  Gods dealings with people
• They teach us to rely on God rather than
  ourselves

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Step 4 Introduction

• Step 1. Poor in spirit - I am absolutely empty
  and destitute without God
• Step 2. Mournfulness - I am utterly devastated
  by my sinful waywardness
• Step 3. Meekness - I want all my natural
  strengths tamed and harnessed
• Step 4. Hunger and thirst for righteousness - I
  am desperate for all that God has for me

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Eight Steps toTrue Happiness

• Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Matthew 56
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
  righteousness, for they will
  be filled. NIV

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Matthew 56
• Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do
  what God requires God will satisfy them fully!
  GNB

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• What is righteousness?
• From the old English word rightwiseness
• Holy and upright living, in accordance with God's
  standard
• A righteous person is one who, among other
  things, does right or is in the right

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• There are two aspects of righteousness
• 1. Being right
• Imputed righteousness
• 2. Doing right
• Living righteousness

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• 1. Being right - Imputed righteousness
• Perfect righteousness is found in God alone
• Gods works are perfect, and all his ways are
  just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright
  and just is he. Deut 324 NIV
• The LORD is righteous in all his ways Ps 14517
• a righteous God and a Saviour there is none but
  me. Isa 4521
• it is impossible for God to lie Heb 618

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Imputed righteousness means
• All my sin was imputed to Jesus (put into His
  account 2 Cor 521) so that He could take it
  away through the cross
• When I receive Him by faith as my Lord and
  Saviour, all His rightness is imputed to me
• He has paid the debt in full by His act of
  sacrifice, setting my balance sheet in credit
  with His goodness, virtue, perfection and
  righteousness

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Imputed righteousness means
• God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin
  for us, so that in him we might become the
  righteousness of God. 2 Cor 521 NIV
• For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the
  offering for our sin, so that we could be made
  right with God through Christ. 2 Cor 521 NLT

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• 2. Doing Right Living Righteously
• Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount specifically
  highlights areas of righteousness which the
  Christian must hunger and thirst after
• Moral Purity Matt 527-30
• Verbal Honesty Matt 533-37
• Covenantal Loyalty Matt 521-26 1815

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Moral Purity Matthew 527-30
• "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit
  adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks
  at a woman lustfully has already committed
  adultery with her in his heart. Matt 527-28
  NIV

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Moral Purity Matthew 527-30
• If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it
  out and throw it away. It is better for you to
  lose one part of your body than for your whole
  body to be thrown into hell.
• And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it
  off and throw it away. It is better for you to
  lose one part of your body than for your whole
  body to go into hell. Matt 529-30 NIV

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Verbal Honesty Matthew 533-37
• "Again, you have heard that it was said to the
  people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but
  keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' Matt
  533
• See also Col 38-9 Eph 422-25

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Verbal Honesty Matthew 533-37
• Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes', and your 'No',
  'No' anything beyond this comes from the evil
  one. Matt 537

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Covenantal Loyalty Matthew 521-261815-18
• "You have heard that the law of Moses says, 'Do
  not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject
  to judgment. But I say, if you are angry with
  someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call
  someone an idiot, you are in danger of being
  brought before the high council. And if you curse
  someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
  Matt 521-22

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Covenantal Loyalty Matthew 521-261815-18
• "So if you are standing before the altar in the
  Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you
  suddenly remember that someone has something
  against you, leave your sacrifice there beside
  the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person.
  Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. Matt
  523-24

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Covenantal Loyalty Matthew 521-261815-18
• 5 Steps of Conflict Resolution Matt 1815
• 1) "If another believer sin against you, go
  privately and point out the fault. If the other
  person listens and confesses it, you have won
  that person back.

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Covenantal Loyalty Matthew 521-261815-18
• 5 Steps of Conflict Resolution Matt 1816
• 2) But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two
  others with you and go back again, so that
  everything you say may be confirmed by two or
  three witnesses.

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• Covenantal Loyalty Matthew 521-261815-18
• 5 Steps of Conflict Resolution Matt 1817
• 3) If that person still refuses to listen, take
  your case to the church.
• 4) If the church decides you are right, but the
  other person won't accept it, treat that person
  as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
• 5) Seek to restore the person into fellowship

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Step 4 Spiritual Appetite

• God wants us to hunger and thirst for
  righteousnessHe wants us to
• 1. Be righteous
• Imputed righteousness
• 2. Do righteous deeds
• Live righteously

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Eight Steps toTrue Happiness

• Step 4 Blessing
• Complete Satisfaction

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Complete Satisfaction

• Matthew 55
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
  righteousness
• for they will be filled. NIV

God will satisfy them fully! GNB
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Complete Satisfaction

• Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
  will enjoy the promise of complete satisfaction
• Spiritual satisfaction
• Natural satisfaction

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction
• Hunger and Thirst
• Hunger is satisfied by the bread of life
• Thirst is satisfied by the living water

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction The Bread of Life
• Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He
  who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who
  believes in me will never be thirsty. John 635
  NIV
• "I assure you, anyone who believes in me already
  has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life!
  John 647-48 NLT

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction The Living Water
• Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
• "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and
  drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
  has said, streams of living water will flow from
  within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom
  those who believed in him were later to receive.
  John 737-39 NIV

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction
• Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
  will receive what they desire
• Righteousness
• If we want to live righteous lives we need
• The bread of life Jesus the Word of God
• The living water the Holy Spirit

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction Righteousness
• The bread of life Jesus the Word of God
• Christ showed His love for the church. He gave
  up his life for her to make her holy and clean,
  washed by baptism and God's word. He did this to
  present her to himself as a glorious church
  without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.
  Instead, she will be holy and without fault. Eph
  525-28 NLT

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction Righteousness
• The living water the Holy Spirit
• So I advise you to live according to your new
  life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing
  what your sinful nature craves. Gal 516 NLT
• (See also Gal 5 especially v22-23 Romans 7 8)

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Complete Satisfaction

• Spiritual Satisfaction
• The Word and the Spirit help us
• To live righteous lives
• To know spiritual satisfaction

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Complete Satisfaction

• Natural Satisfaction
• Living a fulfilled life!
• Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd I have come
  that they may have life, and have it to the
  full. John 1010-11 NIV
• for he (God) satisfies the thirsty and fills
  the hungry with good things. Ps 1079 NIV

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Complete Satisfaction

• Gods provision is always abundant (more than we
  need)
• And my God will meet all your needs according to
  his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil 419
  NIV

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Complete Satisfaction

• Gods provision is always abundant (more than we
  need)
• Paul concerning a gift for the church at
  Jerusalem
• you have plenty and can help them 2
  Cor 813 NLT

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Complete Satisfaction

• It is an abundance of energy, time, finance,
  ability and resource that is sufficient for what
  I need and enough to give to others.
• It is essential to experience spiritual fullness
  before we can approach the next four attitudes.
• From here we will be able to minister to others
  out of what we have entered into and enjoyed in
  God.

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Eight Steps toTrue Happiness

• Step 4 The Challenge

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Step 4 The Challenge

• Have you lost your appetite for righteousness?
• Without a healthy appetite, mealtimes become a
  drudgery instead of a delight!
• With a loss of spiritual appetite the things
  of God, Bible study, church gatherings, prayer
  and intercession life become a chore!

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Step 4 The Challenge

• We must have the appetite like these in the video
  clip. A persistence for righteousness that does
  not give up.

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Step 4 The Challenge

• Five things guaranteed to ruin your spiritual
  appetite
• Malice when I want to hurt you
• Deceit twisting the truth
• Hypocrisy play acting two faced
• Envy jealousy of others
• Slander talking behind someones back

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Step 4 The Challenge

• How do we regain our spiritual appetite?
• Our series of attitudes so far will lead us to
  regain our spiritual appetite
• We need to return to the issue of spiritual
  poverty
• We must allow the Holy Spirit to sensitise us to
  those things that are wrong in our lives
• We must allow the dealings of God and people to
  work for good in our lives

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Step 4 The Challenge

• How do we regain our spiritual appetite?
• How is your hunger for the bread of life?
• The Word of God?
• How is your thirst for the living water?
• The infilling of the Holy Spirit?
• There is an abundant supply!

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Step 4 The Challenge

• Your actions will determine how hungry and
  thirsty you are!
• Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on
  him now while he is near. Let the people turn
  from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from
  their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let
  them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on
  them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will
  abundantly pardon. Isa 551-7 NLT

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Step 4 The Challenge

• Without being full and satisfied can we truly
  make are mark for God in the final 4 steps?
• Without his abundance flowing from us can we
  truly touch those around us as God wants us to?

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Step 4 The Challenge

• Matthew 56
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
  righteousness, for they will
  be filled. NIV

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