SERMON SERIES: THE BEATITUDES
SERMON #2: THE 1ST BEATITUDE:
"BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT"
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE:
MATTHEW 5:3
"BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIR’S IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN."
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INTRODUCTION:
JESUS BEGAN HIS SERMON ON THE MOUNT BY REFERRING TO THE NEW LIFESTYLE OF THOSE WHO ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. IN THE ERA OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, PEOPLE LIVED UNDER THE RULES OF THE LAW AND IT WAS THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER OF THE LAW THAT LIVED WITHIN THEM. HOWEVER, UNDER THIS NEW WAY OF GRACE, JESUS COMES AND HE LIVES WITHIN THOSE WHO PLACE THEIR TRUST IN HIM. THIS SERMON BEGINS WITH "THE ATTITUDE OF JESUS" AND IT IS EXHIBITED IN HIS BELIEVERS. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ATTITUDE IT IS! YOU WILL DISCOVER AS YOU STUDY THESE BEATITUDES ONE BY ONE, THAT THEY ARE COMPLETELY CONTRARY TO THE ATTITUDE OF THE WORLD THEN AND TODAY. CHRISTIANS POSSESS AND EXHIBIT A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE! IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA AS YOU TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THESE SPIRITUAL ATTIUDES, TO ASK YOURSELF, "DOES THIS ATTITUDE LIVE WITHIN ME?" "IS THIS WHAT OTHERS SEE AND FEEL WHEN THEY ARE AROUND ME?" "IS JESUS SEEN IN ME?"
THE 1ST PRINCIPLE OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT IS THIS: THERE IS A BRAND NEW LIFESTYLE GIVEN TO THE BELIEVER, THAT GOD PROMISES WILL BRING ABOUT BLESSEDNESS AND TRUE HAPPINESS;AND IT IS PRESENT IN THIS LIFE AS WELL AS THROUGHOUT ALL ETERNITY. HOWEVER, THIS HAPPINESS CANNOT BE ATTAINED ON ITS OWN. FOR A MAN UNAIDED BY GOD, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO KNOW THE HAPPINESS ASSOCIATED WITH GOD’S DIVINE PRINCIPLES. NO MATTER HOW HARD AND HOW LONG A MAN MAY WORK, HE CANNOT EARN GRACE AND MERCY AND FORGIVENESS! IF JESUS DOES NOT OFFER IT THEN IT CANNOT BE ATTAINED. ONCE A PERSON TRULY LEARNS THIS GREAT TRUTH HE IS RICH. WHO DOESN’T WANT A BLESSED AND HAPPY LIFE? THERE IS NO FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, BUT THERE IS A FOUNTAIN OF TRUE HAPPINESS AND IT IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, ONCE A YEAR, MAN WOULD GO TO THE TEMPLE, BRINGING A SACRIFICE. THE PRIEST WOULD THEN OFFER IT UP BEFORE GOD AS A SIGN OF THE INDIVIDUAL’S SORROW AND REPENTANCE FOR HIS DISOBEDIENCE. THEY TRUSTED IN THEIR WORKS TO BRING UNTO THEM THE BLESSINGS OF GOD. BY LOOKING AT THE PHARISEES, WE CAN TELL HOW THEY TOOK GREAT PRIDE AND REJOICED IN THEIR OUTWARD WORKS OF KEEPING GOD’S LAWS. THEY WALKED ABOUT WITH GREAT PRIDE AND ARROGANCE. THEIR HEADS WERE LIFTED UP AND THEY HAD SCRIPTURES WRITTEN UPON FRONTLETS BEFORE THEIR EYES. THEY WERE WANTING PEOPLE TO SEE "THEIR WORKS" WHICH THEY LINKED TO BEING "CLOSE TO GOD." IT WAS AS IF THEIR WORKS EARNED THEIR SALVATION. THEY BOASTED ABOUT EACH AND EVERY CHARITABLE THING THEY DID. THEY WANTED OTHERS TO TAKE NOTICE TO THEIR GOOD DEEDS. GOD WAS NOT HONORED, THEY WERE! EVEN TODAY, WE CANNOT SHARE THE GLORY OF ANY GOOD DEEDS WE MAY HAVE DONE. GOD IS TO RECEIVE "ALL" THE GLORY; NOT "SHARED GLORY." THE ONLY WORKS THAT WE CAN TRULY REJOICE IN AND PLACE OUR TRUST IN, IS THE WORKS OF JESUS!
ONE OF THE GREAT FAULTS OF THE PHARISEES WAS, THEY ADDED SO MANY MAN MADE LAWS TO THE PRESENT LAWS GOD HAD ALREADY GIVEN TO THEM. THEIR IDEA WAS;THE MORE LAWS THEY HAD, AND THE MORE LAWS THEY OBEYED, THEN THE HOLIER THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE. AND TO THEM, THESE "MAN MADE LAWS" HELD THE VERY SAME WEIGHT AND ESTEEM AS THOSE LAWS THAT GOD GAVE UNTO MOSES. THEY WERE SO MIXED UP AND CONFUSED! THEY DID NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE "TRUTH" WHEN HE STOOD BEFORE THEM.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF OUR PRESENT "MAN MADE LAWS" THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE PLACING THEIR ETERNAL TRUST IN: ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR TRUST IN ANY OF THESE THINGS TO GET YOU INTO HEAVEN?
1:) "THE ACT OF BAPTISM" --- BECOMING-- "THE ACT" --- THAT SAVES A PERSON FROM THEIR SINS. THE TRUTH IS: "IF" -- WE HAVE NOT REPENTED OF OUR SINS AND ASKED THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD "BEFORE" WE GO DOWN INTO THE WATER TO BE BAPTIZED, THEN THE ONLY DIFFERENCE THE WATER DOES TO US IS; WE COME UP WET. THAT’S ALL, WET! PLEASE DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME. I BELIEVE THAT BAPTISM IS IMPORTANT. I BELIEVE WE ARE TO FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS AS CLOSELY AS IS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER, WE ARE SAVED THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS AND HIS GREAT MERCY AND GRACE. NO ACT OF OURS COULD SAVE US. SALVATION IS NOT EARNED. BEING BAPTIZED DOES SHOW TO THE WORLD THAT THERE HAS BEEN A DIFFERENCE WITHIN US. IT IS THE ANSWERING OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE TOWARD GOD. YET, IT IS THE CROSS THAT SAVES US AND NOT THE WATER. JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDON RIVER BY JOHN THE BAPTIST, BUT JESUS DID NOT HAVE ANY SINS THAT NEEDED TO BE FORGIVEN. IF WATER ALONE COULD SAVE US THEN GOD WOULD HAVE SENT ANOTHER FLOOD AND JESUS COULD HAVE STAYED IN HEAVEN AND WOULD NOT HAVE TO COME TO EARTH AND SUFFER AND DIE FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS.
2:) WHAT ABOUT THE LORD’S SUPPER? YOU MAY REFER TO IT AS "COMMUNION". NEITHER DOES THIS ORDINANCE REMOVE OUR SINS. IT IS TO BE SHARED BY THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY SAVED! TO PARTAKE OF IT WHILE STILL LIVING A LIFE OF DAILY SIN, IS TO PARTAKE OF SOMETHING THAT WILL DO YOU "MORE HARM THAN GOOD." RATHER THAN IT STRENGTHENING YOU; IT WILL WEAKEN YOU.
THAT IS THE REASON WHY THE APOSTLE PAUL ASKED THAT BEFORE WE PARTAKE OF THE LORD’S BODY WE SHOULD ALWAYS CAREFULLY "EXAMINE OURSELVES."
3:) WHAT ABOUT CHURCH MEMBERSHIP? DOES THIS HAVE THE POWER TO SAVE YOU? YOU MAY BELONG TO EVERY DENOMINATION ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, BUT BELONGING TO A CHURCH WILL NOT SAVE YOU. THE CHURCH IS A HELP TO US BY GIVING US STRENGTH FROM BELONGING TO A FAMILY OF BROTHERS AND SISTER IN JESUS CHRIST. IT ALSO OFFERS US A PLACE WHERE WE CAN BE TAUGHT THE WORD OF GOD. IT ALSO OFFERS US PLACE WHERE WE CAN OFFER OUR PERSONAL TALENTS AS WORSHIP AND PRAISE BEFORE GOD. HOWEVER, THERE ARE MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR NAMES ON A CHURCH ROLL BOOK BUT BY EXAMING THEIR FRUITS YOU CAN TELL THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY DEAD!
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING YOUR NAME WRITTEN IN A CHURCH ROLL BOOK AND HAVING YOUR NAME WRITTEN DOWN IN "THE BOOK OF LIFE." IT IS FOOLISH TO TRUST IN A CHURCH TO SAVE YOU. IT’S NOT WHAT’S OVER THE DOOR OF THE CHURCH YOU ATTEND, THAT MAKES YOU A CHILD OF GOD, IT IS WHAT IS WRITTEN IN YOUR HEART!
THE WORDS OF A SONG COME TO MIND:
IT’S NOT WHAT’S OVER THE DOOR OF THE CHURCH THAT YOU ATTEND, THAT MAKES YOU A CHILD OF GOD OR A HEAVENLY CITIZEN, AS THE LORD LOOKS DOWN ON YOUR HEART’S DOOR, THERE’S JUST ONE THING HE’S LOOKING FOR, WHATS WRITTEN DOWN INSIDE YOUR HEART AND NOT WHAT’S OVER THE DOOR.
I ONCE LIVED NEXT DOOR TO A MAN WHO HAD BEEN A DEACON IN HIS LOCAL CHURCH FOR MANY YEARS AND HE LED THE CONGREGATIONAL SINGING EACH SUNDAY MORNING. HOWEVER, ALMOST EVERY THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY HE STAYED DRUNK! HE TOLD ME ONCE, HE HAD NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE ----- HIS SISTER KEPT THE CHURCH BOOKS AND SHE ASSURED HIM, HIS NAME WOULD NEVER BE REMOVED AS LONG AS SHE WAS ALIVE. SHE WAS QUITE A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN HE WAS AND SO I JOKINGLY TOLD HIM HE WOULD BE IN GREAT TROUBLE "IF" HIS SISTER DIED BEFORE HIM. HE SORT OF LAUGHED AND WENT ON HIS MERRY ---(AND I DO MEAN "MERRY") WAY ----- NEVER REALIZING THE SERIOUSNESS OF HIS PLIGHT. HOW DECEIVED SO MANY PEOPLE ARE. OUR ETERNAL SALVATION IS NOT PLACED IN THE POWER OR THE ABILITIES OF PEOPLE; IT IS PLACED IN THE LOVING MERCY AND GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST WHO GAVE HIS LIFE THAT WE MIGHT BE SAVED.
4:) THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO TRUST IN THEIR FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR CHURCH, TO SAVE THEM. THEY GIVE IN OFFERINGS AND THEY PAY THEIR 10% TITHES EACH WEEK INTO THE CHURCH TREASURY AND BY DOING SO THEY FEEL FREE TO LIVE HOWEVER AND GOD WILL ACCEPT THEM. PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HOLD ON TO THEIR MONEY AND WHO GIVE IT TO THE WORK AND THE MINISTRY OF GOD ARE TO BE COMMENDED. WE ALL SHOULD BE FAITHFUL TITHERS AND GIVERS, HOWEVER NO ONE, REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MAY GIVE, CAN "BUY" ETERNAL SALVATION. JESUS’ PRECIOUS BLOOD BUYS IT FOR US! HIS BLOOD PROVIDED THE "COVERING FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS."
I REMEMBER GOING TO A BIG --"STATE WIDE CHURCH CONVENTION", WHEN I WAS A YOUNG TEENAGER. IT WAS ON A SUNDAY MORNING AND THE THEME OF THE MORNING’S SERVICE WAS CENTERED UPON "MISSIONS." A SWEET MISSIONARY SPIRIT SETTLED DOWN OVER THE CONGREGATION AND PEOPLE STARTED MAKING THEIR WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE AUDITORIUM AND BRING AN OFFERING TO HELP MISSIONARIES SERVING OVERSEAS. THERE WAS A MINISTER WHO HAD RECENTLY JOINED OUR DENOMINATION AFTER SERVING IN ANOTHER DENOMINATION FOR MANY YEARS, HE WAS A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE AND HE LIKED TO FLASH HIS MONEY AROUND SO THAT OTHERS WOULD NOTICE HIS WEALTH. SO WHILE EVERYONE ELSE WAS PLACING THEIR OFFERING IN A BASKET, HE WALKS UP TO THE MINISTER THAT WAS PREACHING THE MORNING MESSAGE, AND HANDS HIM A "THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL."
THE MINISTER STOPPED HIS PREACHING AND HE FELL FOR THE BAIT OF THE GIVER. HE HELD THE THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL UP HIGH AND HE SPEND AT LEAST 10 MINUTES HOLDING IT UP AND BRAGGING ON THE MAN THAT GAVE IT AND HOW GLAD WE WERE TO HAVE HIM CROSS OVER INTO OUR DENOMINATION. NO DOUBT THERE WERE MANY OTHERS WHO HAD COME BY AND PLACED THEIR OFFERING IN THE PLATE, WHO HAD IN ALL REALITY GIVEN MORE OF THEIR MEANS THAN THIS MINISTER HAD. YET, HE WAS SINGLED OUT AND GLORIFIED. AS I SAID, I WAS JUST A TEENAGER, BUT EVEN AT THAT EARLY AND IMMATURE AGE, I FELT SOMETHING WRONG FROM BOTH PREACHERS, THE GIVER OF THE OFFERING AND THE ONE THAT SPENT THE TEN MINUTES BRAGGING UPON THE OFFERING. GOD’S RECORD OF WHAT WE DO IS ENOUGH!
NOT VERY LONG AFTER THAT, THE RICH PREACHER LEFT HIS WIFE AND MARRIED ANOTHER WOMAN. TODAY, HE HAS LEFT THIS WALK OF LIFE AND HAS PASSED OVER TO ETERNITY. I HAVE NO IDEA OF THE CONDITION OF HIS HEART AND SOUL WHEN HE DIED, BUT WHATEVER IT WAS, IT WAS NOT BECAUSE OF HIS GIVING OF MONEY!
MANY WHO PROFESSED TO BE THE TRUE AND LOYAL FOLLOWERS OF GOD FOUND HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO BE TOO MUCH TO LIVE BY AND THEY MADE UP THEIR OWN LAWS AND INSTRUCTIONS AND TAUGHT THEM, RATHER THAN THE LAWS OF GOD. THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES HAD CHANGED THE LAWS OF GOD SO MUCH IT BECAME EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS AND POWERLESS. THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR SET BACKS IN CHANGING THE WORD OF GOD, IT IS THEN MADE POWERLESS IN PEOPLE’S HEARTS. JESUS TAUGHT US THAT OUR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS MUST "EXCEED" THAT OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES. GOD IS LOOKING FOR THE REAL THING TO COME FORTH FROM US.
NO ONE IS TRULY A CHILD OF GOD UNTIL HE HAS COME TO JESUS CHRIST IN HUMILITY AND ASKS FOR HIS FORGIVENESS OF THEIR PAST SINS AND THEN ASKS FOR A CLEANSING AND A SPIRITUAL RENEWING WITHIN. UNTIL HE RECEIVES THE VERY NATURE OF JESUS CHRIST THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN LIVE BY THE GOSPEL OF JESUS. AFTER HE IS SAVED AND TAKES ON THIS BRAND NEW NATURE OF JESUS LIVNG WITHIN HIM, HE CAN THEN BEGIN TO LIVE BY JESUS’ TEACHINGS AND EXPERIENCE THE JOY THAT ACCOMPANIES BLESSED OBEDIENCE. THEN HE CAN HAVE SWEET FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD. YOU JUST CANNOT DECIDE ONE DAY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE. THE POWER OF THAT DECISION MAY LAST FOR A FEW HOURS OR A FEW DAYS BUT SOON YOU WILL DISCOVER THAT HIS GOSPEL NEEDS A MIGHTIER POWER THAN WHAT YOU CAN MUSTER UP WITHIN YOU. YOU NEED JESUS! SO BEING BROKEN IN YOUR SPIRIT, HUMBLE AND SUBMISSIVE, YOU APPROACH HIM IN HUMBLENESS AND THEN AFTER HE RECEIVES YOU AND FORGIVES YOU AND SANTIFIES YOU, THEN YOU MUST KEEP THAT SAME HUMBLE SPIRIT SO THAT HE WILL CONTINUE TO LEAD YOU AND TRANSFORM YOU INTO HIS GLORIOUS IMAGE.
THE WORDS OF AN OLD HYMN COME TO MIND:
"YOU ASK ME HOW I KNOW HE LIVES
HE LIVES WITHIN MY HEART."
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1:)
"WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE: ’POOR IN SPIRIT?"
A:) THE GREEK WORD FOR POOR IS "P T- O KOS"
AND THAT MEANS "TO COWER AND TO CRINGE LIKE
A BEGGAR."
THE PICTURE IS THAT A BEGGAR DOES NOT WISH TO BE SEEN, HE DOES NOT DESIRE FOR PEOPLE TO LOOK UPON HIM. WHEN HE TAKES A LOOK AT HIMSELF, EVEN HE REGRETS WHAT HE SEES AND IS ASHAMED. FOR HE IS FILLED WITH SHAME AND REMORSE OVER HIS SINFUL CONDITION. BY NO MEANS IS HE FILLED WITH PRIDE OVER WHAT HIS LIFE HAS BECOME. HE IS ASHAMED! HE CAN EVEN FEEL THE FILTH OF SIN AND CAN SMELL SIN’S STINCH!
NOW THE LORD IS NOT REFERRING TO ONE’S FINANCIAL STATE, SUCH AS BEING IN THE STATE OF POVERTY. HE IS SPEAKING OF THE EMOTIONAL FEELINGS WITHIN HIM OF HAVING TO BEG FOR HIS DAILY SURVIVAL. IT DIFFERS FROM THE NORMAL WORD FOR "BEGGAR" WHICH IS "PEN-ES."
B:) THE WORD "HAPPINESS" (BLESSED) MEANS:
THOSE WHO ARE SO DESTITUTE IN THEIR INWARD SPIRIT, THEY ARE ASHAMED AND COWER DOWN BEFORE JESUS FOR FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SINS. BY THEIR HUMBLE APPROACH TO JESUS, THEIR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, THEIR HEARTS AND THEIR MINDS ARE CLEANSED AND FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIFE, THEY HAVE FOUND THE PEACE OF GOD THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING AND COMPREHENSION OF MAN.
THE WORLD SAYS: "HAPPY ARE THE RICH, THE FAMOUS, AND THE SELF SUFFICIENT." BUT JESUS SAYS "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE BEGGING ON THE INSIDE"--- BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT UPON THE POWER OF JESUS CHRIST AND NONE OF THEIR OWN.
A MAN’S SPIRIT IS HIS "INWARD BEING" WHILE HIS BODY IS HIS "OUTWARD BEING." PSALM 51:17 " THE SACRIFICES OF GOD ARE A BROKEN SPIRIT, A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART, O GOD, THOU WILT NOT DESPISE." GOD RECEIVES THOSE WHO APPROACH HIM WITH A BROKEN INWARD SPIRIT, THAT WHICH THE PHARISEES LACKED!
JAMES 4:10 " HUMBLE YOURSELF IN THE SIGHT OF GOD, AND HE WILL LIFT YOU UP."
THIS IS NOT THE "MOST POPULAR WAY" TODAY BUT IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO RECEIVE THE LIFE CHANGING BLESSINGS OF GOD. SALVATION IS "A GIFT" AND CHRIST DOES NOT SAY THAT YOU HAVE TO BEG AND BEG FOR HIS FORGIVENESS. THAT IS NOT THE POINT. THE POINT IS, WE FEEL SO UNWORTHY TO COME BEFORE THE SPOTLESS LAMB OF GOD, IT IS OUR DESIRE TO RESPECTFULLY APPROACH HIM AND IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES, WE WOULD CRAWL TO HIM AND BEG FOR HIS FORGIVENESS. OF COURSE WE DO NOT HAVE TO BEG, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS "CONFESS" OUR SINS AND CONFESS JESUS CHRIST AS THE LORD OF OUR LIVES. THE ACT OF CONFESSING JESUS IMPLIES THE WILLINGNESS TO LIVE BY HIS TEACHINGS, HIS GOSPEL.
2:)
"WHAT IS THE RESULTS OF BEING POOR IN SPIRIT?"
1ST JESUS PROCLAIMED, THEY WILL GO TO HEAVEN!
THAT WITHIN ITSELF IS ENOUGH TO MAKE US SHOUT FOR A WHILE. THINK OF HEAVEN AND THEN THINK OF WHY YOU ARE GOING THERE ONE DAY REAL SOON. IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF GOD’S AMAZING GRACE. WHY BECOME "HUMBLE IN SPIRIT?" BECAUSE WITH THIS ATTITUDE, YOU WILL SEEK GOD! YOU WILL BE DESTITUTE OF PRIDE, SELF WORTH AND ARROGANCE. YOU WILL BE ENTIRELY DEPENDENT UPON JESUS CHRIST, REALIZING YOU ARE NOTHING AND CAN GO NOWHERE WITHOUT HIM. YOU HAVE A DESIRE WITHIN YOU TO PLEASE GOD IN ALL YOU DO. TO DO THAT, JESUS HAS TO LIVE WITHIN YOU AND LEADING YOU AND ENPOWERING YOU. NO MAN CAN DO IT ON HIS OWN FOR HE WILL STUMBLE AND FALL EACH TIME HE TRIES. YOU VOW TO MAKE JESUS YOUR 1ST PRIORITY!
#3)
HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE TRULY POOR IN SPIRIT.
1ST, YOU WILL DENY SELF WILL! YOU WILL SUBMIT TO JESUS’ WILL FOR YOUR LIFE. YOU WILL NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES OR YOUR LIFE AS GOD HAS GIVEN IT TO YOU. THERE WILL BE A SONG OF PRAISE WITHIN YOU. YOU WILL REALIZE WHERE EACH AND EVERY BLESSING AND PROVISION OF LIFE HAS COME FROM. YOU WILL DO ALL YOU CAN TO WORK FOR GOD. NOT AS AN ATTEMPT TO REPAY GOD FOR HIS SAVING GRACE, BUT TO SHOW GOD HOW THANKFUL YOU ARE SINCE HE CAME WITHIN YOU. YOU WILL OFFER TRUE AND SINCERE THANKS FOR THINGS BEING AS WELL AS THEY ARE IN YOUR LIFE.
NEXT, YOU WILL LOOK AND FIND THE GOOD THAT IS IN OTHERS AND NOT THE BAD. YOU CENTER IN ON THEIR POSITIVE AND NOT THEIR NEGATIVE. YOU WILL ALSO PRAY. THE BEGGAR KNOWS HIS NEXT MEAL IS COMING FROM GOD’S GRACIOUS HAND. SO THE MAN THAT IS POOR IN SPIRIT REALIZES JUST HOW DEPENDENT HE IS UPON GOD. HE WILL NOT WANDER AWAY FROM THE SHEEP FOLD. IN THE SHEEP FOLD IS SAFETY AND SECURITY.
THE PROUD AND ARROGANT SINNER WILL WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN ON "HIS OWN TERMS." BUT THE "POOR IN SPIRIT" WILL ACCEPT THE WAY OF JESUS AND WILL HONOR IT AS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN AND TO ETERNAL LIFE.
"WHOSOEVER WILL MAY COME AND DRINK FROM THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY." WHY NOT COME NOW, JUST AS YOU ARE AND HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE JESUS AND ALLOW HIM TO CHANGE YOU FROM WITHIN. REMEMBER IT IS NOT BY OUTWARD DEEDS BUT BY AN INNER CLEANSING. ONE THAT ONLY JESUS CAN PERFORM!
WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER I WENT TO CHURCH WITH A YOUNG MAN ABOUT A YEAR OLDER THAN MYSELF. WHEN HE CAME TO CHURCH EVERY HAIR WAS SPRAYED DOWN IN PLACE AND HIS PANTS WERE CREASED AND HIS SHOES WERE SHINED.HE WOULD COME TO THE ALTAR ALMOST EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT WHEN THE PASTOR GAVE THE INVITATION. HOWEVER,HE HAD TROUBLE RECEIVING TOTAL DELIVERANCE OVER SOME ISSUES IN HIS LIFE. HE HAD SO MUCH PRIDE IN HIS OUTWARD APPEARANCE THAT HE REFUSED TO KNEEL AT THE ALTAR. HE WOULD SORT OF "SQUAT" TO KEEP HIS PANTS FROM WRINKLING. NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WOULD GET NOWHERE WITH GOD AND HE WOULD GO BACK TO HIS SEAT DEFEATED. JUST AS SATAN WANTED.
DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO A STATE OF DEPRESSION HE SANK. HE THOUGHT JESUS HAD TOTALLY REJECTED HIM. HE COULD NOT SENSE THAT ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS GET RID OF HIS PRIDE AND HUMBLY APPRAOCH THE SON OF GOD. SATAN WAS REJOICING IN WHAT HE SAW. THIS YOUNG MAN MARRIED AND HE BEGAN TO HAVE MANY MARITIAL PROBLEMS. HE BECAME WEAK AND UNABLE TO COPE AND ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN DECEMBER, JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE COMMITTED SUICIDE. A LIFE RUINED BECAUSE HE WOULD NOT COME TO JESUS "POOR IN SPIRIT!"
HOWEVER, BLESSED --- HAPPY --- ARE THOSE WHO WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES BEFORE GOD --- THEY WILL RECEIVE ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND WILL BE BLESSED AND HAPPY WITHIN IT. WHEN WE ARE POOR IN SPIRIT WE BECOME RICH IN GOD’S GRACE!
If this sermon has blessed you in any way, I’d like to hear from you. If you have aprayer request I would feel it an honor to pray for you. You may e mail me at: vlccogop@blomand.net
MAY GOD BLESS YOU TODAY!
