Beattitude 1

Beatitude Series # 1

Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ

Matt 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit

Original date April 11, 1999

Revised April 28, 2001

Intro. Light bulb Jokes

1. Calvinists None God has predestined when the light will be on

2. Roman Catholics None they use Candles

3. Baptists None Baptists do not Change light bulbs they simply Read the instructions and pray for the Light bulb to change itself

4. Methodists CHANGE????

5. Amish What’s a light bulb

6. Pentecostals 10 one to change the bulb and 9 to pray against the spirit of darkness

7. TV Evangelists 1 but for the message of Light to continue send in your donation today

8. Presbyterians 10 0ne to change the bulb and 9 to say how much they liked to old one.

9. Church of Christ 5 one to change the bulb and 4 to serve refreshments

10. Charismatic 3 one to cast it out and two to catch it when it falls

11. Worship leaders 1 but soon all those around can warm up to it’s glowing

As Christians we all serve the same Lord but as I look around Society today I witness the integration of Christians in a secular society. I can’t help but wonder, are we too much like them? In the early days of the New Testament church there was an obvious difference between Christians and the rest of the People in the world. It seems that we are not that different than our friends who don’t know Jesus personally yet.

What I am talking about have little to do with your car, house or clothing but the Principals and guidelines that you live by. There are some basic principals that 95 percent of the general population would agree to. And what I have found is that many of them still hold a very Biblical concept of Morality.

Most people will tell you that Stealing is wrong, extramarital infidelity is a sin, murder and mistreatment of another person is unacceptable.

But these are things that we all attest to, and they are things that we knew before we accepted Jesus. So My Question is this. What is the difference between you and your non-Christian friend?

How specifically has following Jesus Changed your life? How has your relationship with god set you apart from those who do not know the saving power of His Grace? What is it that makes you different?

If you will please turn to Matt 5:3 We are going to start Looking at the Beatitudes And Hopefully in the next 8 weeks we will answer some of these questions together.

Jesus is giving His sermon on the mountainside, and in this sermon He spells out 8 Life Changing Principals. They are 8 Principals that seem to be the Central Commands of Christian Living. They are not meant to be negotiated. Let me ask you a question? Do you want to experience radical Christianity?

Do you really want to be used by God to the fullest?

Do you want to see what God can do with people who are completely devoted to Him?

Do you want to see where God’s power will take us as a Church?

God said if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways. Then what.

I will heal their land

God gave us 2 central commands as Christians

1. Love God

2. Love your Neighbor

Every other command that He gives us can be traced back to one of these commands

Murder, Lies, Adultery, No idolatry, all come back to Love God or Love neighbor

In this case all eight of these principals help us either Love God more or Love our neighbor.

Matt 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Prayer

Blessedness simply means that you are in God’s favor it refers to an inner Joy

Some versions use the word Happy which seems like a contradiction when you get to verse 4 which would read Happy are those who mourn.

The word that is used here is meant to show spiritual fulfillment as well as to show that you or in God’s good grace

It is not meant to describe your conscious state of mind it is meant to describe the condition of your soul. Being blessed has little to do with my happiness but has everything to do with my spiritual condition.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit

Misconceptions: 1. Don’t we want as much spirituality as we can get?

Spiritual Poverty has nothing to do with Bible Knowledge

They are not related in this instance

2. I read a book this week that said that you in order to obtain Spiritual poverty you had to experience literal financial poverty. This is also incorrect. But before I tell you what spiritual poverty is: I feel like I should tell you what Spiritual poverty is not