August 16, 2026 - Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:1–12 (KJV)

1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Sermon Summary

A Blessing Built on a Longing

With the pastor away, Evangelist Kinney stepped up to preach, trusting that she had been taught well and that God would do the rest. She settled the whole message on a single verse—Matthew 5:6—“Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” To hunger and thirst after righteousness, she explained, is simply to want to do what the Lord says: to pray, to obey, to live a life that pleases him. Jesus reached for a picture everyone understands—eating and drinking—to describe a desire that is entirely spiritual.

The Appetite of the Soul

God made the human heart so that it stays incomplete until he takes his rightful place in it. Fine homes, cars, and positions can pile up and still leave the soul empty, she said; there is a “little piece of God” in every person that yearns after its Creator, and nothing else will do. The inner man has real senses that must be fed—eyes that need to be opened, ears that need to hear his voice, a taste that discovers the Lord is good. Solomon put it plainly: God has set eternity in our hearts, a longing that reaches past this passing world.

Jesus, the Bread and the Living Water

The answer to that hunger is not a thing but a Person. Jesus called himself the bread of life—unlike the manna of old that left people needing more, whoever comes to him will never hunger again. At the well he offered a woman living water and promised that whoever drinks it will never thirst. As naturally as a deer pants after the water brook, Kinney reminded the congregation, the human soul was made to thirst after God.

Hungering for the Wrong Things

It is a sad thing, she warned, when people hunger for the wrong things. The prodigal son chased excitement in a far country, and it left him a slave; only when he came home and submitted to his father did he live like a king again. So many hollow out “broken cisterns that hold no water,” running after what they can never keep. She spoke of a funeral the day before, and how much of what people chase—greed, keeping up with the Joneses, being seen—simply does not matter in the end. Only what we do for Christ will last, so seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else will be added.

A Hunger That Sends You Out

A real appetite for God does not sit still; it drives you to serve. Just as physical hunger sends you looking for food, a hunger for righteousness makes you ask each morning, “Lord, what would you have me do today?”—whom to visit, whom to lift up off a long prayer list. Somebody once prayed for us, she reminded the church, and now the work is ours: to go out to a dying world and tell someone about Jesus. When a believer’s path crosses an unbeliever’s, that is a divine opportunity, because the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Living to See Him

Kinney’s heart turned toward the Lord’s return. The signs are all around us, she said; when we see these things, we are to look up, for our redemption draws near. She wants to run toward him on that day, not away—to see with her own eyes the One who bled and died and rose again. Until then the marching orders stand: go and teach all nations, and know that he is with us always, even to the end of the world.

Ask Him, Trust Him, Give Him the Glory

So much is missed, she said, simply because “we have not because we ask not.” Whatever you long for this morning—saving, comfort, even provision—call on him and trust him, leaning not on your own understanding but acknowledging him in all your ways. She recalled that even Elvis, crowned “the king,” pointed past himself: there is only one King, God Almighty, and he will not share his glory with another. “For God I live and for God I die,” she closed—blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Key Takeaways

•  Righteousness is a hunger—a real appetite of the soul that only God can satisfy. Material things never will.

•  Jesus is the bread of life and the fountain of living water; whoever comes to him will never hunger or thirst again.

•  Only what we do for Christ will last, so seek first the kingdom and loosen our grip on what we cannot take with us.

•  A true hunger for God turns outward—into prayer, into service, and into telling a dying world about Jesus.

•  We have not because we ask not. Call on him, trust him, and give him the glory that belongs to him alone.