Those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness (2)
- For they will be filled
What kinds of blessings do those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness receive? It is said, “They will be filled.” Some people understand this verse in material way. They think the Lord will provide them with food and drinks so that they will not be hungry or thirsty any more.
Of course, having daily bread is a blessing and we should be thankful for this. During my 3-year refinement after I accepted the Lord, I had a lot of debt and it was difficult even to pay the interest. I only worked as a labor. But God never let me starve even a meal.
Except for when I offered fasting, God always provided food for me through various people in various ways. One of them became a senior deaconess of our church. At that time, she was not even a believer. She worshipped idols but God supplied things for me through her while I was in need right after accepting the Lord.
Then, after that period, I received abundant blessings, so we lacked nothing. But even though we have so much food and clothing, and even though eating and drinking is so important, being physically full cannot be as valuable as to be one of the Beatitudes that Jesus taught us. The Beatitudes that Jesus spoke about are all spiritual blessings, so we have to understand them spiritually.
Those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness will be filled, and this means they will be filled spiritually. Those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness long to learn God’s word and act righteously as they learn.
By the way, John 6:55 says, “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.” And John 6:53 says, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.’”
Jesus is the Word of God who came to this earth in flesh. Listening to, learning, and practicing the teaching of Jesus is to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man. What will happen if you diligently eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man? Your heart will be spirit itself. If your soul prospers by diligently acting by the Word, you will accomplish God’s Word itself in you.
You will have the Word itself which is the spirit itself in you. So, if you accomplish the whole spirit, you will have the word itself. You will resemble the Father, who is the Word. If you resemble the Father, He will give His authority to you to that extent. He will give you the power and authority.
Adam was also created in the image of God the Father. At that time, Adam had all authority to rule over and subdue. When he lost the Father’s image, the authority was handed over to the one whom Adam obeyed. He obeyed the devil, so he handed it over to devil. So, when you accomplish the whole spirit, you will be the Word itself to that extent, and God gives His power to His children, to the extent they resemble Him.
Within that limit, they can perform God’s power. The spiritual realm is endless. Even if you go into the whole spirit, that is not the end. From there, the power of creation which is endless awaits.
Now, it says, those who do not eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man have no life in them. Even though they may profess their faith in God, Jesus says they have no life, so it means they have no salvation, receiving answers, or any blessings.
But if you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man by listening to the word and practicing it, you have life, namely you will be saved and go to Heaven. As you continue your life in faith, if you hunger and thirst for the righteousness and keep the word in your heart, your spirit will grow.
John 6:35 says, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.’” Likewise, the word of the Lord is the bread that fills our spirit. Even physically, when a baby is born, he has to be nursed, and then eat soft food, then solid food to become a child, a youth, and a grown-up. In the same way, as we eat spiritual food to fill our spirit, our faith will grow.
1 John 2:13 says, “I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.” After a baby is just born, when he is 100 days, 1 year, or 2 years old, does he know his father and mother? He may know his parents’ faces.
They are happy when they see their mom and dad and cry when they cannot see them. They recognize their parents, right? But still, they don’t know what their parents’ names are, how they got married, and how their characters are. They just recognize their parents.
It is the same with new-believers. They know God, that there is heaven and that Jesus is the Savior. They know that much. So they are called infants in faith. It says, “I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning.” The fathers would know the one who is from the beginning.
When you become a father, you know the origin of your father. You would know your family line and who your ancestors are and so on. You know your parents’ hometown, how they met, loved each other, and gave birth to you and everything from the beginning. If you have the faith of the fathers, you would know about God who is from the beginning, and you know about God who is from before the beginning.
You know that God first existed as light and chiming sound. You heard my explanations. I could explain it since I knew it and you heard from me and you know it now in your knowledge. Again, it says, “I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong,” so if you have the faith of a young men, at the third level of faith, you will be strong and because God’s word abides in you, you will be able to discern whether or not something is sin or the will of God.
Then, you will overcome the evil one, namely the enemy devil and Satan. If you cannot overcome you don’t have the faith of a young man. I hope you will quickly have the faith of the fathers. If you have that faith, you will know the heart and will of the Father.
If you have the faith of the fathers, you will know the heart of God the Father, and if you act according to it, you will prosper. When you make the word of righteousness your spiritual food and practice it, you will grow from the faith of a child to a young man, and to a father. As your spiritual depth gets deeper, you will be able to rule over the enemy devil and Satan. As you go into more spiritual realm, you would know the deep heart of the Father God. Once you get into this level, you will communicate with God clearly and be prosperous by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The blessing of those who are filled is when God’s children long for righteousness and practice it so that they can communicate with God being full of the Holy Spirit. If you receive the Holy Spirit’s guidance, there is no need to worry about difficulties. Even if there is an obstacle, He will let you know the way out beforehand. He will lead you to the ways of blessings only. You will be filled with thanks and testimonies.
It is such a great spiritual blessing to be filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and communicate with God. You will be able to realize your sins and evil and also gain the strength to get rid of those sins and evil, so that you will be sanctified quickly.
In your life in faith, sometimes it is hard to find trivial and minute evil placed deep in your heart while you become sanctified. When the Holy Spirit shines on them clearly, you will realize what you have to improve so that you will be able to go up to higher levels of faith.
Also, even though you do not commit a sin, you are not able to distinguish which choice would please God more. Even at these times, you will be able to know which way would please God more by the work of the Holy Spirit so that you will go into spirit more quickly. If your soul prospers in this way, you will receive material blessings as well. All this is the spiritual blessing that those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness will receive.
Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” We should long for spiritual things rather than trying to take material things of this world that will perish soon.
I hope you will hunger and thirst for the righteousness and keep God’s word in your heart. I hope you will grow from a child to a young man, and to a father’s faith, the full measure of faith, so that you will completely recover the image of the Christ. You will also ask and receive spiritual authority and power, accomplish the kingdom of God greatly, and reach a glorious position in the kingdom of heaven.