Blessed are the poor
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matt 5:3
Introduction
(1) How many of you are, or want to be HAPPY?
If Jesus were here today, He would find folks doing 1000 different things in search of happiness (parades, sports, money, books, etc)
Tragically, most are not succeeding—only a few are.
(2) After surveying our lives, He would tell us again exactly what He taught over 2000 years ago.
Matt 5:1-12
Found in these few verses are the keys to true blessedness and happiness.
How sad that for so many centuries men have searched for happiness elsewhere.
Lets not make the same mistake...lets look at, listen to, understand and live by the words of Jesus.
I. The Principle.
1. Each of the Beatitudes follows the same pattern: principle then promise.
· principle = quality meant to be present in the life of the Christian.
· promise of reward given to those who apply the principle to self.
2. The Principle: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”
3. We understand what it means to be blessed (happy)... What is “poor in spirit”?
4. The Greek word used literally portrayed the abjectly poor (beaten to knees)
· the widow, Mk 12:42-44
· Lazarus, Lk 16:20,21
· Jesus, 2 Cor 8:9
5. It is not the abject material poverty the Lord commends here.
· In fact, poverty can be evil
(a) laziness, Prov 19:15, 21:25
(b) Bitterness, resenting his poverty, thus blaming God.
(c) The poor can be as greedy as the rich—expecting handouts.
· Prosperity, too, can be evil
(a) if gained by fraud
(b) if it creates self-sustaining attitude.
(c) if it possesses you (the love of money)
(I Tim 6:10)
6. “Poor in Spirit” means: attitude of mind that causes him to beg God’s direction and help
· all haughtiness of spirit, mind and heart is gone because they know that man in and of himself is nothing (Jer 10:23)
· accepts “Apart from Me you can do nothing”, John
15:15
· Poor in spirit—total helplessness without God’s wisdom and will and grace and power—the Root Beatitude.
7. God can only bless those who are Humble
Prov 29:23
Isa 57:15
Jam 4:6-10
8. As humility is the basic virtue, pride is the basic sin.
(a) Humility receives God’s help. pride opposes it
(b) Pride: “the complete anti-God state of mind”
(c) There are many forms of pride: intellectual—social—racial—and the most deadly—spiritual.
(d) Pharisee and Publican (Lk 18:10-13)
II. The Promise
1. The reward for those who have poverty of spirit is a rich one: they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven! (Mt 5:3)
2. What is the kingdom of heaven?
· Rom 14:17 - righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Spirit.
· In this kingdom is to be found all the fullness of abundant life.
· It is where we have fellowship with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.
· In this kingdom is where we find God’s Power, Love, Grace, Forgiveness, Blessings, Salvation.
· This is not a kingdom for the bodies of men, but their spirits.
· Those in this kingdom are the ones for whom Jesus will return.
· Charles Allen: “It is not a place, it is an experience. It is not bounded by geographical lines, it is bounded only by our capacity to receive it.”
III. Where is happiness?
Not in unbelief—Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.”
Not in pleasure—Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”
Not in money—Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth”
Not in position and fame—Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”
Not in military glory—Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, because he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”
Where then is happiness found? The answer is simple, in Christ alone.
Conclusion
This beautiful kingdom is only for the poor—the poor in spirit.
It’s a shame so many will miss it because they are too proud.
It is also a shame that so many who have become Christians fail to admit that they, too, can be wrong.
We are all too proud—some are more proud than others.
But the kingdom of heaven is ONLY for those whose attitude is described as “poor in spirit” Is 6:5-8
Jam 4:6-10
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