Monday 4 February 2013

Extraordinary Life Week 4 - Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness




Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6

1. Has anyone in the group ever participated in the 30 Hour Famine or another similar fasting event? How well did you do at going without food? What activities did you do to keep your mind off of food?

2. Pastor Bill said, “It is an extraordinary life when the deepest longings of the heart are met.” What are the longings people have today? How well are these longings met?

3. Think of a time in your life when you felt significant hunger pains or when you were so thirsty you would have gulped down muddy water if it were available. How does the body react when it is facing extreme hunger or thirst? How does the mind react? [I would like people to recognize that in these times nothing else in the world seems to matter compared to our hunger or thirst.]

4. What is the difference between hungering and thirsting for food and drink and hungering and thirsting for righteousness? What are the similarities? What evidences are there in the life of one hungering and thirsting for righteousness (what would such a life look like)?

5. In Christianity we speak of justification (God forgiving us/declaring us to be righteous/accepting us, eg. Romans 3:28)(Pastor Bill spoke about a hunger to be accepted by God), sanctification (God leading us into obedience, eg. Romans 8:12-14 and Philippians 2:13)(Pastor Bill spoke about the desire to be free from the power of sin and from the desire to sin) and glorification (us receiving glorified bodies and living with God, eg. 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 and Revelation 21:1-4). We can also speak about personal holiness (me personally living for God) and societal righteousness (a society doing what is right and just). Discuss how hungering and thirsting for righteousness might be experienced under these categories. Be sure to interact with Isaiah 58 and Matthew 7:21-23.

6. Where do you go for righteousness? Pastor Bill said that God is the source of righteousness, always. In pairs, share what is getting in the way of your desire for righteousness [is there a sin you are struggling with, is a relationship getting in the way of your commitment to God, is entertainment more important that holiness, etc.? Remember that honesty before God and not self-sufficiency, pride or dignity leads to righteousness]. Pray that God would give you a hunger and a thirst for righteousness that exceeds your love of the world.

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