Introduction:
People all around the world are searching for blessings in their lives regardless of their religion. The source of all blessing is God. True blessings come from the True God. If you received the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, then you are eligible to receive the true blessings. Also, it is very important for every Christian to fully understand what it means to be truly blessed. Once you understand that, it will be easy for you to receive those blessings. If you don’t understand what it means to be blessed, you cannot receive the blessing. Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:3-12, preaches about the true meaning of being blessed. It is the perfect blessing a human being can ever receive from the One True Living God. This book is an explanation of those words of our Lord, attempting to make believers understand what it means to be truly blessed. I don’t promise you that you will get blessed by reading this book, but I can tell you that you can understand the meaning of true blessing so that you can pursue after it with your whole heart. May the Holy Spirit teach to your heart. God bless you.
Scripture portion: Matthew 5:3- “BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”
Introduction: These are beautiful words spoken by our Lord. Here, we were given the first step we should take in order to enter Heaven. Yes, we should be poor in spirit. To say in other words, we should become poor in spirit. So, naturally the question arises: What do you mean by becoming poor in spirit? We shall try to find an answer with the help of the Holy Spirit.
These words spoken by the Lord indicate that there are some undesirable riches in our spirit which we have to give up, in order to become poor in spirit. These riches may be very desirable to our human nature which has been corruptly influenced by satan. But, to our Holy God, these riches are undesirable. God cannot accept us if we are filled with these undesirable riches. In order to be accepted by God, we have to realize what undesirable riches we have within us. Then we have to reject all of them in order to become poor in spirit. If we do like that, we will be blessed indeed, because then will we be accepted by God and gain entrance to Heaven. Now, we will meditate on some undesirable riches.
1) Self-wisdom and Self-knowledge: “Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee (Isaiah 47:10)”. We as human beings love to be wise. We love to gather knowledge. Throughout human history, we can observe that there had been an intense search for wisdom. As generations passed by, wisdom increased. Modern technological achievements such as computers, rockets etc are a result of human wisdom. Scientists are trying to unveil the mysteries of this great universe in which we are living. But, as our wisdom increased, our distance from God also increased. People are striving hard to earn this worldly wisdom. Some of the wisest persons of this world even dare to say that there is no God. This is the destructive consequence of our wisdom. This will lead us away from the living God, and into hell. Therefore, we should be careful about the knowledge and wisdom which we have gained. Our wisdom cannot become a substitute to God. God is God. In Him, lies infinite wisdom. We have to recognize that our wisdom is unprofitable to us, concerning the eternal things. Our wisdom cannot take us to Heaven. God has no respect for worldly wisdom. Even those who are considered the most foolish can go to Heaven just by believing Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.
2) Belief in Money: “How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! (Mark 10:24)”. Money, Oh what a great power it has in this world! Even small children know it. Nobody hates money. For many, there is no meaning to life without money. Some people even worship money as God! We should not be delighting in money more than in God. Being rich may ensure a wonderful life in this world, but it cannot ensure an entrance to Heaven. That is not to say that rich people cannot enter Heaven. It is not a sin to work hard and earn a lot of money. But it is definitely a great sin to put our trust in money instead of God. Money shall not take the place of God. Money can satisfy our worldly needs and deceitful lusts. But it cannot give us salvation or eternal life. Only Jesus can give them. In our lives, if we do not exalt Jesus above money, we will not enter Heaven. It is important that we realize the difference between possessing lot of money and believing in money. Even poor people who do not have money cannot enter Heaven if their belief is in money. The desire of becoming rich, the belief that money is sufficient to live even if we do not worship God, will lead us to hell. The people who can say, “Whether I have any money or not, Jesus is sufficient for me. I can live without money, but I cannot live without Jesus”, are blessed indeed.
3) Self Righteousness: “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)”. Many people followed the way of self-righteousness. We know that we are sinners and that God is angry with us. So, in order to make peace with Him, we do many good works. We think that, seeing our good works God will be pleased and take us to Heaven. This is what many people had thought and followed with their whole heart, all their lives. Some people are arrogant and even say that God must take them to Heaven because they are more righteous than many others. But, all the people who believe in self-righteousness should realize that the real sin which is being committed is to not believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High. There is no use in doing good works without faith in Jesus. Good works are not the real price for our sins. The Blood of Jesus had been paid for all the sins we commit. And, all of those who say that they are righteous and are not sinners should come out of their self-deception. God Himself testifies that we are sinners. Come to the Cross. Jesus shed His Blood for you. He rose from the dead. He is living for ever.
4) Self Confidence: “I can do all things in Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:13)”. Paul had said these wonderful words. He did not say, “I can do all things by myself”, but he said, “I can do all things in Christ”. Many people are self-confident. For them self-confidence is more important than dependence on God. Some people are so high on self-confidence that they do not see any reason to depend upon God. These people make God grieve, because they are rejecting Him. If we ask any psychologist or any wise person of this world, they will tell that we have to believe in ourselves to be successful in life. For some people, belief in God is only a part in achieving success, and for some others there is no place for belief in God in achieving success. The Bible demands us to cast away all our self-confidence and keep our trust in God and depend completely on Him. Gaining strength from the belief in self-ability is a sin before God, while, gaining strength from trust and dependence on God, pleases Him. Such people can do wonders for the Lord.
5) Worldly Pleasures: “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him (I John 2:15)”. Love of God should be filled in us. But, we are filled with love for this world. We are rich in ourselves with all the pleasures of this world. Those who are enjoying all the worldly pleasures are considered blessed by this world. But Jesus is calling every one of us to empty and clean ourselves from the pleasures of this world and become poor in spirit. For, then will we be filled with the glorious, everlasting, overflowing, joyous, and holy love of God the Father. Any person who tastes that love at least once will realize that all the pleasures of this world combined together, cannot be compared with it. Such is the greatness of God’s love. People are seeking for sinful pleasures. Even those who are born again are backsliding and going after the pleasures of this world. How can God’s love be with us if we love this world? Without the love of God in us we cannot go to Heaven. Many Christians must become poor in spirit in this matter. Otherwise the doors of Heaven will be closed for them.
6) Fearlessness: “For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them (I Thessolonians 5:3)”. Now-a-days, not fearing God is rapidly becoming a fashion. Those who are living in fear of God are being considered foolish. People are happy to show that they do not fear God and are taking pride in doing so. But let us not be like that. Let every one consider us to be inferior. Yes, by fearing God, let us become poor in spirit. For, the fear of God is life eternal. Do not forget that Jesus is coming again. He will judge every one according to their works. Let the fear of God fill our hearts and bring us unto eternal salvation. Fearlessness is gripping every one including the born-again Christians. But that will lead to their destruction. Let us willingly submit ourselves to the fear of God, even if every one mocks at us. Jesus will richly reward us for that.
7) Pride: “God resisteth the proud and giveth grace unto the humble (James 4:6)”. Salvation is by the grace of God. But grace will be given to those who are humble and not to those who are proud. Without God’s grace we will never enter the Kingdom of God. That is why it is very important for us to cast away all our pride. Lucifer became devil because of pride. He lost the grace of God forever because of his pride. Now he is destined to hell. The experience of Lucifer is a warning for us. We should never think of ourselves to be superior to any one for any reason. All are equal in the sight of God. God desperately desires to show you grace and save you from hell. But the pride within you is stopping God from showing you His grace. Give up pride. Become poor in spirit. Receive God’s grace. Gain entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. Be blessed for ever.
Conclusion: Dear child of God, I have put before you some of the undesirable riches. Do you contain any of them? If so, give up all these things and become poor in your spirit. Then you will become a blessed person. The Kingdom of Heaven will be yours. Indeed, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven! May God’s grace be with you. Amen.
