Poor in Spirit
The Beatitudes – Attitudes to Live By
Slide
Good Morning.
On a visit to the Beethoven museum in Bonn, a young American student became fascinated by the piano on which Beethoven had composed some of his greatest works. She asked the museum guard if she could play a few bars on it; she accompanied the request with a lavish tip, and the guard agreed. The girl went to the piano and tinkled out the opening of the Moonlight Sonata. As she was leaving she said to the guard, "I suppose all the great pianists who come here want to play on that piano."
The guard shook his head. "Padarewski [the famed Polish pianist] was here a few years ago and he said he wasn't worthy to touch it."
http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/h/humility.htm
Having an attitude of not being good enough to do something is probably not an attitude that is going to get you far in today’s business world. There, having confidence in yourself and your abilities is something that is often rewarded.
And while we don’t want arrogant people, we do want people who have a surety of themselves and are go getters and willing to keep striving to achieve.
But often times, because this attitude of self confidence is valued in our culture, a proper understanding of our abilities can often lead to an attitude of overconfidence in ourselves or, at a minimum, a misplaced confidence in our ability to accomplish something.
Series Transition
This morning, we are beginning a new series in the beatitudes called
Attitudes to Live By
Slide
Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with 8 paradoxical sayings that stressed the blessedness of those who lived with these attitudes or outlook on life.
They were completely counter to what the people of the day would have thought.
Many looked at outward circumstances, much as we do today, to determine if a person was blessed or not. And while there are some translations that will use the word happy in the place of blessed, and there is some sense in which that is true, but I believe that the word happy in our culture really describes more our outward feeling.
Jesus isn’t so much seeking to describe our outer feelings, but rather an inner attitude of how we live and He is saying that those who live with this attitude, this focus, are blessed. Not blessed meaning constantly happy, but blessed meaning that you have and can experience God’s approval.
If you have ever experienced the approval of someone you love and respect, you understand that joy that comes along with their approval.
I believe that is what Jesus is meaning by ‘blessed’ here.
So for example the first couple of beatitudes could be translated as this.
Having and experiencing God’s approval are those who are poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Having and experiencing God’s approval are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Over the course of this series we are going to examine each of these sayings of Jesus to seek to
better understand what He is saying and
look into our own heart and ask God to help us live with this inner attitude
so that we may have and experience the blessing of God’s approval and bring glory to Him.
Sermon Transition
This morning we are going to consider the first beatitude. We will first take a look at what it doesn’t mean and then see what it does mean and see if there are ways as we go through life that we can test ourselves and determine if we living with this attitude or outlook on life.
So let’s begin by reading Matthew 5:1-12
Slide
Matthew 5:1-12
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Pray
Ok, so these are the beatitudes that Jesus spoke as he began the Sermon on the Mount, which is called that because he preached from the mountainside.
Now we have already talked about the word blessed that will apply to each of the 8 beatitudes and what it appears that Jesus means when using that word.
Now we are going to focus on what He means by each of the descriptors of those He says are blessed.
In this first beatitude in Matthew 5:3, He says
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Slide
Now it would seem pretty important to be poor in spirit because it is the poor in spirit who will be in the kingdom of heaven.
It would also appear from this saying that those who are not ‘poor in spirit’ will not be in the kingdom of heaven.
So, What does it meant to be poor in spirit and am I poor in spirit?
As we seek to determine the meaning of what it means to be poor in spirit, I think it would be helpful to determine a few things that it doesn’t mean.
First,
Poor in spirit does not mean Spiritually Immature
Slide
Throughout the Bible, we are called to continue to grow and be mature.
Ephesians 4:11-13
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Paul says when we are mature, we are “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Paul tells the Colossians that Epaphras is “always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” (Colossians 4:12)
So we need to be maturing and growing in biblical knowledge so we know how it is that God wants us to live this life, so poor in spirit does not mean spiritually immature.
Secondly
Poor in spirit does not mean Self Loathing
Slide
To be poor in spirit does not mean that you hate yourself or that you constantly degrade yourself.
“I am just a piece of garbage”
“I am good for nothing”
This is not what being poor in spirit means.
We need to realize that as human beings, we have been created in the image of God. Let me remind you of how we are created and what God said about it.
Genesis 1:27, 31
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them…31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
We are God’s image bearers, so we should not loath ourselves just as we should not hate anyone else since they also bear the image of God.
It is not that God wants us to think poorly of ourselves,
but that he wants us to think properly of ourselves.
Slide
So what is a proper understanding of ourselves and what it means to be poor in spirit?
In the NT, there are 2 words are translated as ‘poor’ in the Bible
One is “penes” (pen ace)– means more like working poor, barely scrapping by.
The other is ptochos (toe kos) – means beggar, having nothing, destitute, absolute poverty.
It is this second word that is used in this beatitude.
So, considering that we might say that
Poor in Spirit does means Spiritually Bankrupt
Slide
It means that we recognize that we are in complete spiritual poverty, that we have nothing that we can
add to or
contribute of our own
toward obtaining the kingdom of heaven.
We need to recognize that we come before God empty handed in regards to having anything that is of value to God.
To be spiritually bankrupt would be to consider ourselves like a beggar on the street who has nothing that you would desire from him for you to give him some money.
You are going to give him or not give to him based solely on yourself and your mercy toward him.
It is not like he could bargain with you.
“Hey mister, I have these smelly socks with holes in them. You could have them if you give me a dollar.”
Before God, we are like a beggar who has nothing but filthy rags to offer God.
We are spiritually bankrupt.
Now the fact is that we are all spiritually bankrupt.
To be poor in Spirit would be better defined as to realize our spiritual bankruptcy.
Because there are people, while spiritually bankrupt, who think their smelly socks are valuable, and they do not have the attitude of being ‘poor in spirit’
A great example of this in Scripture is the story that Jesus told about the Publican and Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14
Slide
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
Slide
13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Slide – return to spiritually bankrupt slide
Now here are 2 men who are church goers. They are going up to the temple to pray.
The Pharisee
The Pharisee has it all together. He has the outward appearance of holiness. He tithes, he fasts, he is a leader in his local church.
The other man is a tax collector. Tax collectors were hated people because they were often thieves and extorted money from the people. This man has not been generous, but has lived selfishly.
Now the Pharisee prays about himself.
Thank God I am not like other men. I am a good person. Look at all I do.
This man believes that his filthy rags, his dirty socks, merits him to receive the kingdom of heaven. He probably believes he is humble as well. He is the kind of guy who would probably write a book called “Humility and How I attained it.”
The Publican – Tax Collector
The tax collector, however, realizes his spiritual bankruptcy.
He stands at a distance and would not even lift his head because he recognized how unworthy he was, bringing nothing to the table but coming before God in spiritual poverty – 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
He doesn’t have eloquent prayers. He doesn’t pray long. But it is this man that Jesus says who went home justified, not because he was better, but because he recognized his spiritual poverty.
He comes before God ‘poor in spirit’ recognizing his spiritual bankruptcy.
Are you poor in spirit?
How do you know?
I want to talk about some characteristics of those who are poor in spirit so we might be able to examine ourselves in this matter and come before God recognizing our spiritual bankruptcy.
One Characteristic of the poor in spirit is a
… Broken and Contrite Heart
Slide
David, a man described as a man after God’s own heart could be said to be poor in spirit.
He tells us in Psalm 51:17, “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
We need to have a broken heart over our sin and recognize that we are spiritually bankrupt.
We need to know that we have nothing but filthy rags to offer God, we have nothing.
Does your heart break over your sin, or are you just upset that you were found out or that you face consequences of your actions?
A person who is poor in spirit has a broken heart over their sin.
Another characteristic of the poor in spirit is a
…Humble Heart
Slide
James 4:6, 10 - God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble…10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Humility recognizes that anything we have or can do, or gift we have received or talent that we have is from God.
Pride says look at me and what I can do.
Humility says look at God and how good He is.
Pride causes us to compare ourselves with others, like the Pharisee did.
Humility causes us to compare ourselves with God and to recognize how far short we fall.
Do you look at others and think how better you are than them?
Humble yourselves before the Lord so that he will lift you up.
The poor in spirit will have a heart of humility.
The poor in spirit also have a
…Dependant heart
Slide
David depended on the Lord. Listen to what he writes in
Psalm 62:5-8
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
We need to depend on God for everything.
For our salvation
For our daily provision
For our growth
For our next breath
Too often we are relying on ourselves and our own righteousness to live this life.
This is where many Christians stumble in their walk with the Lord.
They receive and depend on God’s grace for their salvation, but after they are saved, they begin to depend on themselves and their own righteousness for the rest of living their life. That is when we find ourselves back in bondage to sin.
This was the problem with the Galatian church. They received Christ by faith, but then they tried to depend on themselves and their actions, specifically circumcision, to live righteously, instead of on God’s grace.
Galatians 5:1-5
5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all…4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.
When we stop depending on God, we are depending on ourselves and we are planting the seeds of spiritual pride and bringing ourselves back into bondage to sin.
We need to depend on God daily for living.
Paul goes on to say in that Galatians passage
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)
The poor in spirit depend on God and keep in step with the Spirit on a daily basis.
How do we do that?
We need continual reminders.
This is why we need to be in church, worship the Lord in song, so we can continually be reminded or our need to depend on Him.
Conclusion
To be poor in spirit requires that we keep our eyes fixed upon the Lord.
It is only then that we will be able to get a proper view of ourselves and help us humble ourselves before God with a broken heart over our sin and enable us to continually depend on God to live this life.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
If you have recognized this morning that have been trying to live by your own righteousness;
If you see that you have not had a broken heart over your sin, but maybe just over the consequences of it;
If you have been comparing yourself to others and thinking you are doing pretty well instead of coming before the Lord, and seeing that you are spiritually bankrupt, humble yourself before the Lord recognizing that you are spiritually bankrupt and falling at the feet of God seeking His mercy.
A broken and contrite heart he will not despise.
Maybe this morning is the first time you have recognized your need for the Lord. You have been trying to live your life being a good person only to find that you can’t do it perfectly. You find yourself always falling short.
Come before the Lord poor in spirit and seek His mercy and receive the gift of salvation through believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord.
Maybe you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord, but have been relying on yourself to live life in your strength. Repent and humble yourself before God and let Him lift you up. Keep in step with the Spirit.
If you have recognized that in some way you have not been ‘poor in spirit’ pray with me now and seek God’s mercy as we come before Him.
Pray.
We are going to close with Amazing Grace – My Chains are gone.
Worship Him who sets us free by His grace alone.
Resources
David Owens. “Blessed are the poor in Spirit” accessed 2/4/2010 at http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=75955
Bob Deffinbbaugh – “Blessed are the poor in Spirit” http://bible.org/seriespage/“blessed-are-poor-spirit”-matthew-51-13 accessed on 2/3/2010
R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom (Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books, 2001), p. 16.
