In the physical realm few cravings are as powerful as hunger and thirst. The average human being can go approximately 50 days without food and about six days without water before death occurs. In Matthew chapter five Jesus is speaking about those who would choose to follow in His spiritual footsteps as a result of the ministry of His apostles. In the Sermon on the Mount He is speaking to His disciples (followers) who would soon be apostles (sent ones) who would share His teachings with others in foreign lands. In verse six He speaks about a subject that even a child can understand–being in need of nourishment. Placed in the midst of nine other similar statements, that I call the “Blessed Rs,” number four, if not specifically highlighted, would seem to be no more important than the other seven. However, such is not the case.

The serious Bible student will realize that, unless verse six reigns supreme in the life of the salvation seeker, nothing else matters. One can manifest the other seven “Blessed Rs” to the fullest extent and still fail to receive eternal life upon the return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age. Because this Truth is seemingly hidden within a larger context, Satan has succeeded in “hiding” it from salvation seekers for thousands of years by having his servants proclaim that what Jesus is demanding in verse six is impossible to achieve through personal effort. Jesus, his ministers proclaim, has already provided the necessary amount of righteousness for us, and that to receive it we only need to believe that we have it. Grace, we are assured, guarantees its manifestation to the fullest in our lives without any effort on our part. According to the church’s hirelings, righteousness is awarded immediately and automatically. The theology surrounding the receipt of righteousness is to simply “believe it and receive it,” “name it and claim it.” Now there are two false prophets who repeated show up on television during newscasts. Their pitch is that one need only repeat after them and, some ten seconds later, one is saved, born again, sanctified and work has begun on their heavenly mansions. I am sure such religious garbage brings a smile to Satan’s face. You can imagine what happens when I show people what God actually said.

Let us wipe that smug grin off of the devil’s face by moving over into God’s world of Scriptural reality. Let us escape the clutches of church doctrine and take a Truth-discovering, life-producing walk with the Lord which is possible only on one condition as expressed in Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together unless they are in agreement?” Let us study God’s Word, learn His Word, believe His Word, obey His Word and, as did Jesus of Nazareth, walk (live) His Word. If we are going to call ourselves by Christ’s name (“Christian”) we must “walk as He walked” (1 Jn. 2:6). Jesus walked in agreement with His Father. He was “the Word (of God) made flesh” (Jn. 1:1-4,14,16). Let us also be the Word of God made flesh. Let us live as Jesus lived so that, like Him, when others see us, they see the Father (Jn. 12:45). Warning: Very few who saw Jesus realized that they were seeing the Father. In fact, all but about 120 of them rejected Him. In fact, the vast majority of those He healed, delivered and fed were complicit in having Him nailed to a cross. To summarize: If you want to be accepted by the religious elite, do not “walk as Jesus walked.”

In Matthew 5:6 we are told that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be “filled.” When a glass of water is filled, there is no room for anything else. The same is true in the spiritual realm. When God says “filled” He means “filled.” To be God-filled with righteousness means there is no room for sin. There is no margin for error, no “wiggle room,” no hiding place where sin can be comfortable.

On a personal note, I realize that what I write and speak is unlike what anyone is proclaiming. As a result, I routinely ask the Lord to correct me if my belief system is in any way wrong. As I wrote in “The Gun ….” (key word–Gun), I recently asked the Lord to give me an unmistakable sign that what I believe, speak and write is His Truth. He wasted no time in answering my prayer, loud and clear. He has used me to perform many miracles, but He has never “spoken” to me in such “language” as He did in that miracle. I am ever so careful when presenting God’s Word. I must know beyond a doubt that I am speaking and writing His Truth. But you must not take my word for that, which is why I provide Scriptural references for what I say and write about His Words. God’s Word is Truth (Jn. 17:17). Those who ignore His Truth show that they despise both the Father and the Son (Lk. 10:16). Therefore, I am extremely careful in what I write. I have been wrong in the past. I trust that those days are over. I trust Him to correct me BEFORE I speak or write anything that is not of Him.

To be filled with righteousness is the end result of four acts: 1) hungering and thirsting for His Word, 2) consuming His Word, 3) believing His Word and 4) obeying His Word. The completion of those four moves proves that one is filled with His Word, WHICH MAKES ONE RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY. In First John 3:9 the apostle proclaims this using the word “seed” in place of God’s Word. More on this later. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 5:21 and 6:22 that the END RESULT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS/HOLINESS (GODLINESS) IS ETERNAL LIFE. Relative to qualifying for eternal life, there is no substitute for Godliness. Those who rise in the first resurrection will have “… endured to the end” (of their lives in Godliness) and “… will be saved” (upon Christ’s return).

A true, Scripture-based craving for Godliness is much more intense and all-consuming than a craving for physical food. Having fasted 34 days while consuming nothing but water, I can assure you of that fact. After losing 40 pounds (over a pound per day) I know about physical cravings. I also know about spiritual craving. Having that most important of needs satisfied is far greater than anything else a human can experience in this life. So, come, let us crave Godliness and satisfy that craving together. Let us dine at the Master’s table. Let Him fill us with His spiritual food. Let us consume His Truth and become like a “tree planted by the water”–able to thrive when life’s droughts come upon the land (Jer. 17:8). Let us drink of the living water that only Christ can provide. Let us drink deeply from His life-giving Spring–His Holy Word. Honestly, tears fill my eyes as I write these words. I want so much for you to know the joy that only true oneness with the Master can bring. Read The True Trinity. Key word–True.

The honest seeker of Godliness knows that such a precious commodity does not come automatically. As Jesus tells us, one must “seek the Lord” now, for a time is coming when men will “run to and fro in search of His Word and will not find it” (Amos 5:6; 8:12). We must search until we “find” His “strait gate” (church) and, upon entering, then “walk” His “narrow path” leading to eternal life (Mat. 7:13,14). As a physically starving man is not filled simply by knowing who has physical food available, the spiritually starving man is not filled simply by believing in the One Who offers spiritual food. This Truth is brought out in an episode recorded in John 21 where we learn that the disciples have returned to fishing following the death of Jesus. After a night of failure, they see a lone figure on the shore Whom they do not recognize. The man calls out to them, asking if they have caught any fish. They had not. He then tells them to throw their net into the water. You know the story. But note what Jesus said to them after they had counted their haul of fish. Before Him was a fire where fish and bread had been prepared. Note that He did not take the food to them, but rather told them to “come and dine” (vs 12). What they were needing was available, but they had to come to where it awaited. We go to HIs table by going to His Word–AND OBEYING IT. DO NOT LET SATAN’S AGENTS TELL YOU TO “ONLY BELIEVE AND REPEAT AFTER ME.”

The same is true in the spiritual sense. Jesus was telling them that they had to put forth effort in order to receive what He offered. This lesson is taught in Isaiah 60:3 where the Lord tells His people, whom He calls his “light to the Gentiles” that their light will shine forth from them, and that some of the Gentiles will see their light (from a distance) and come to their light. Note that His light (saints) they would “give light unto all who are IN THE (light bearer’s) HOUSE” (Mat. 5:14-16). The Gentiles would see their light and COME TO IT.

Jesus said that He would fill with righteousness those who do what He commands them to do, who are His “friends,” His spiritual “brethren.” Read the two series whose key words are Friends and Brethren respectively. Religionists contend that righteousness is automatically bestowed upon the believer. If this is true, why hunger and thirst for it? Why are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness “blessed” by Jesus for doing so if they already have righteousness bestowed upon them? Righteousness is the absence of sin; sin is the absence of righteousness. The two do not mix–ever. The Apostle Paul, who received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ, (Gal. 1:12) addresses so-called “sinners saved by grace” who supposedly mix righteousness with sin. He asks them the following questions: What relationship do believers have with unbelievers? What union does light have with darkness? Christ with Satan? believers with infidels? the body (God’s temple) with idols? The answer is “none.” That established, he commands them to “come out from among them (sinning church people) and be separated from them. Do not touch that unclean thing.” Only then will God be our God and we will be His people (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). Notice the wording: “Let US CLEANSE OURSELVES and PERFECT HOLINESS in the fear of God” (7:1). Note that PAUL WAS WRITING TO THE “SAINTS IN THE CHURCH” AT CORINTH (1:1), TELLING THEM THAT IF THE SINNERS (THE MAJORITY) DID NOT GET THEIR SPIRITUAL LIVES TOGETHER, THEY (THE SAINTS) WERE TO “COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM.” Paul was referring to the fact that the church was allowing a fornicator to remain within her. (1 Cor. 5:1). Things were so bad that the apostle had turned the guilty one over to Satan “for the destruction of his flesh” (5:5). I have done this, not to the point of death, but to the point of severe physical infirmity. A man had cheated me financially. I gave him every opportunity to do the right thing, but he would not. Finally, I turned him over to Satan for punishment. The next time I heard about Him he was in the hospital. He was so sick he missed a court date. He still has not learned his lesson so I am going to “twist the knife” once more. I am not cruel; I simply believe God Who said to His true saints: “No weapon raised against you will prosper” (Isa. 54:17). Satan’s people will raise their weapons against God’s saints, but they will not succeed. L.J.