Westway Christian Church
Sunday, Sept 8, 2024 - Message Notes
Part 4- Be Hungry
Locations & Times
Westway Christian Church, 6 Kilburn Place, Etobicoke, ON, M9R 2X5, Canada (Online Service Only)
6 Kilburn Pl, Etobicoke, ON M9R 2X5, Canada
Friday 10:30 AM
How to give to your church
Friends, giving financially is both an act of worship and a vital ministry. The best way to give to your church is through online giving. Whether via email transfer or Canada Helps. The instruction and link (in the case of Canada Helps) are on our church website. Alternatively, you can also mail checks to the church address: 6 Kilburn Place, Etobicoke, ON, M9R 2X5.
Your giving funds our local ministry including a food bank that feeds over 170 families in Etobicoke, support programs for the hurting (Divorce Care, Griefshare and more), mission partnerships in Europe, Southeast Asia, India and in Canada.
http://westwaychristianchurch.ca/give/Your giving funds our local ministry including a food bank that feeds over 170 families in Etobicoke, support programs for the hurting (Divorce Care, Griefshare and more), mission partnerships in Europe, Southeast Asia, India and in Canada.
Intro:
The Sermon on the Mount has a favourite word- blessed!
μακάριοι οἱ… blessed are
Our current definition of the word goes as follows:
Blessed- divinely or happily favored; fortunate to have, do, or experience something: often used in a lighthearted way or to avoid sounding boastful:
We’ve been blessed with excellent health.
You’re blessed to have such a supportive family.
Look at the great handbag I found online for next to nothing—I’m so blessed!
When we think of blessings today, more often than not, we think of material things or immediate things.
Jesus is refocusing us to the things that endure, that will last.
The Sermon on the Mount has a favourite word- blessed!
μακάριοι οἱ… blessed are
Our current definition of the word goes as follows:
Blessed- divinely or happily favored; fortunate to have, do, or experience something: often used in a lighthearted way or to avoid sounding boastful:
We’ve been blessed with excellent health.
You’re blessed to have such a supportive family.
Look at the great handbag I found online for next to nothing—I’m so blessed!
When we think of blessings today, more often than not, we think of material things or immediate things.
Jesus is refocusing us to the things that endure, that will last.
We also said we need to follow certain guidelines to understand the beatitudes better:
It calls to the church- provides a way for the citizens of heaven to relate with the citizens of world
It points to heaven- the guidelines are hard, strive to live it. Know that God’s work in us is ongoing and will not be completed till Jesus comes again.
It pierces the soul- it penetrates the heart
It cries for calvary- there is a tension for what is and what ought to be
It requires reality- hyperbolic, shocking, points to Jesus’ expectation on how we should live
It reflects Jesus- the whole sermon is a portrait of Jesus, to live it is to live like Jesus.
It calls to the church- provides a way for the citizens of heaven to relate with the citizens of world
It points to heaven- the guidelines are hard, strive to live it. Know that God’s work in us is ongoing and will not be completed till Jesus comes again.
It pierces the soul- it penetrates the heart
It cries for calvary- there is a tension for what is and what ought to be
It requires reality- hyperbolic, shocking, points to Jesus’ expectation on how we should live
It reflects Jesus- the whole sermon is a portrait of Jesus, to live it is to live like Jesus.
We focus today on the fourth blessing:
μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Here Christ is referring to something else- our moral behavior and our motives.
Moral behavior (vv. 10-20)
Right motives (vv.21-48)
In the Old Testament, righteousness is paired with justice at least half of the time.
a. It refers to the proper function of government
Moral behavior (vv. 10-20)
Right motives (vv.21-48)
In the Old Testament, righteousness is paired with justice at least half of the time.
a. It refers to the proper function of government
b. It matches God’s own character.
c. It calls to God’s citizens
The hunger and thirst for righteousness comes from the awareness of our spiritual poverty.
It also comes from the knowledge of deep sinfulness in one’s personal life and the life of the community.
This is of course a pre-requisite for the grief over our sins that lead us to mourning and repentance.
This is the kind of hunger and thirst that leads to action.
It also comes from the knowledge of deep sinfulness in one’s personal life and the life of the community.
This is of course a pre-requisite for the grief over our sins that lead us to mourning and repentance.
This is the kind of hunger and thirst that leads to action.
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to seek it and strive for it.