I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus 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 children 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.
-- Several years ago, Popular Mechanics published an
article called, “25 Skills Every Man Should Know”1 -- it was a list
of things that Popular Mechanics felt defined a real man -- a man who knew his
place in the world -- a man whose life and whose skill demonstrated that that
they were capable and able to fulfill their roles and responsibilities as
husbands and fathers in this world today -- the article made the case that if
men were not able to do these things, then they needed to learn how to do them
-- they needed to grow in these areas in order to be who they were called to be
-- the list was quite interesting, and I’m not going to
say how many of these I can or can’t do -- but let me read a few of the items from
that list this morning
1. Patch a Radiator
Hose
2. Rescue a Boater
Who has Capsized
3. Frame a Wall
4. Back up a
Trailer
5. Fix a Dead
Outlet
6. Build a
Campfire
7. Get a Car
Unstuck
8. Paint a Room
-- so, that’s just a few of the skills that Popular
Mechanics said were the measure of a man -- a real man, they said, should be
able to do all of those things
-- Jesus also gave us a list that He said are things that
all Christians should possess -- that all Christians should be striving to live
out in their daily lives -- the standard or measure by which someone could see
how they are progressing and maturing in the Kingdom of God
-- we call this list of eight things that Jesus gave us
here in Matthew Chapter 5, the Beatitudes -- now, the word “Beatitude” is not
in the Bible --it is derived from a Latin word “Beatus” which means “happy” or
“blessed” because each of these eight measures of our Christian life that Jesus
gave us begins with the words, “Blessed”
-- so, this morning, we’re going to begin a new sermon
series on the Beatitudes because this list of eight things that Jesus gives us
here are foundational to our faith -- they are things that we need to know and
that we need to live out in our lives if we are truly going to be the men and
women of faith that Christ has called us to be -- if we are truly going to be
His church in this world today
II. The Beatitudes
-- before we look at the first Beatitude in detail, let’s
spend a few moments talking about the Beatitudes in general, as a whole
-- these are the eight Beatitudes -- the eight measures
of a Christian -- that Jesus gives us in this passage:
-- Blessed are the poor in Spirit
-- Blessed are those who mourn
-- Blessed are the meek
-- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness
-- Blessed are the merciful
-- Blessed are the pure in heart
-- Blessed are the peacemakers
-- Blessed are those who are persecuted
-- some Bibles translate the word “Blessed” as “Happy” --
so, depending on your translation, you might see these in your Bible as “Happy
are the poor in Spirit” or “Happy are those who mourn”
-- I am not a big fan of this rendering of the Beatitudes
because I don’t believe the word, “Happy,” really portrays the true meaning of
what Jesus is trying to get across in this passage and I don’t believe it fits
with the original manuscripts -- I think it changes the focus and intent of
what Jesus is telling us here
-- let me explain what I’m talking about -- the focus of
the word “happy” is self -- happiness is an emotion based on
external things -- happiness come from outside you, so you don’t have a lot of
control over it -- when you’re happy, you have pleasure in your life -- it’s a
good feeling
-- that’s why people in this world today run around and
spend all their time and energy and money and resources seeking happiness --
going from one high to another just so that they will have pleasure in their
own personal lives
-- and when we do this, the overall focus is on self --
it’s all about our feelings and our emotions and no one else -- and when our
conditions change -- when things aren’t going good for us -- happiness flees
-- on the other hand, the focus of the word “blessed” is
God-oriented -- the word literally means, “favored by God” or “experiencing
spiritual prosperity” -- it is more closely related to the biblical concept of
“joy” which is not an emotion driven by eternal things, but the sense of
fulfillment and peace that comes from inside -- that comes from being in
complete and total fellowship with God -- you can be going through the worst
trials in the world, and still be joyful and still consider yourself blessed
because of the presence of God with you
-- in 2020, there were a lot of Christians that weren’t
happy -- the things going on around us were not good -- they did not add
pleasure to our lives -- but a lot of Christians were still joyful -- because
they knew, regardless of what was going on around them, that they were safe and
secure in the presence of God -- they were anchored to Him and nothing that
happened to them could change that -- and it gave them a sense of peace and
security in a world gone mad
-- that’s why the rendering, “Happy are those who mourn,”
makes no sense -- because there is no happiness in mourning -- by definition,
you are grieving a loss -- your happiness is gone -- but, yet, we see all the
time those men and women who, in times of mourning, still exhibit the character
of joy and blessedness in their lives because they know that God is with them
even in the midst of their sorrow and grief
-- so, I think we need to stick with the term “blessed”
in the Beatitudes rather than the term “happy” -- if you want to say “joyful,”
I’m good with that -- but let’s not try to substitute “happy” for blessed in
this passage
-- now, as I have said, the Beatitudes can be considered our
standard of conduct -- our standard of living -- in the Kingdom of God -- one
writer has said that these are the attitudes that Christians should be striving
for in our daily lives -- so, when you’re faced with issues in your life and
don’t know how to respond, you can look to the Beatitudes to see what your
attitude or your response should be
-- one way to think of the Beatitudes is that they are
like a ladder, leading to our ultimate goal of purity in heart -- each
Beatitude builds on the one before it -- and you must pass through each one on
your way to spiritual maturity and perfection
-- we start with poverty of spirit -- with humility and
humbleness of heart -- next, we mourn for our sins and for the sins of others
and the corruption of this world -- we strive to become meek, refusing to exalt
ourselves or compare ourselves with others
-- “we hunger and thirst for righteousness as if it were
bread and water, the righteousness of Christ that justifies us so that we may
act justly in the world.”
-- “We extend mercy to everyone for everything, not
judging anyone for anything and in so doing we feed the hungry and visit the
prisoner and give to the poor.”
-- “We extend mercy and hospitality to whoever is put
before us at any moment.”
-- And, as we follow these steps, we learn to overcome
conflict and persecution -- to be peacemakers and peacebringers -- men and
women who usher in the Kingdom of God and the presence of Christ wherever we are
2
III. Poor in Spirit
-- so, let’s look at the first Beatitude -- if you would,
look back at verse 1 and let’s start there
Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus 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.
-- to give you the context of this passage, this chapter
opens in the early days of Jesus’ ministry -- He has gone to the Jordan River,
where He was baptized by John the Baptist -- He spent 40 days and 40 nights in
the wilderness being tempted by Satan -- He came back to Galilee, and called
His 12 disciples to come and follow Him -- and for the past few weeks and
months, Jesus has been traveling throughout the regions of Judea and Galilee,
ministering to the people -- healing and preaching and teaching
-- Matthew tells us that one day in the midst of this
time of ministry, Jesus was being followed by a large crowd of people -- He
goes up on a mountainside and sits down facing them so that His voice would
carry throughout the crowd -- it was like a natural amphitheater -- and once
all the people get settled, Jesus begins to teach
-- this message that is recorded here is known as the
Sermon on the Mount -- it covers three
chapters here in Matthew -- and parts of it are recorded in each of the other
three gospels -- as Jesus begins this lengthy message, the very first thing He
shares are the eight Beatitudes that we have been discussing because, as we
have said, these are foundational -- these are things that all Christians
should have and should be striving for in their lives -- this is the path to maturity
in Christ
-- so, the first Beatitude Jesus gives is “Blessed are
the poor in spirit”
-- the first thing that we see here in this Beatitude is
the phrase, “blessed” -- now, we talked about that some earlier, but the
important thing to note here is that the use of this word implies the action of
God in our lives -- the Bible tells us that apart from God, we can do nothing
-- and by using the word “Blessed” here, Jesus is telling us that apart from
God, we cannot take up these Beatitudes and make them a part of us
-- this is an act of God in our lives -- an act of grace
-- God’s free gift that is given to us and that draws us to Him and makes us
into His likeness and image
-- when God moves in our lives -- when God pours out His
grace in our lives like this -- our call is to respond to Him -- to open
ourselves to Him -- to receive what He is giving and to act on it -- God’s
grace always demands a response on our part
-- Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” -- Luke simplifies
this in his gospel as “Blessed are the poor”
-- which obviously begs the question, “what does Jesus
mean by ‘poor?’
-- in Luke 18, we read the story of the time a rich young
ruler came to Jesus and asked Him what he must do to gain eternal life -- after
discussing what it meant to follow God and to live for Him, Jesus told the
young man "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to
the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
-- when Jesus tells us here in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are
the poor in spirit,” is He telling us to do the same thing that He told the
rich young ruler? -- to give away all that we become financially destitute?
-- no -- here in the Beatitudes, Jesus is focused on the
virtues of the heart -- on the character of a person -- the measure of who they
are spiritually
-- Jesus is calling for us to be poor -- not in worldly
terms -- not in financial terms -- but in spiritual terms -- poor in spirit
-- in this Beatitude, Jesus is calling for us to
acknowledge our spiritual condition before God and respond by turning to Him,
and Him alone, for salvation
-- before we can begin our journey with God -- before we can
grow in grace and start climbing the ladder to spiritual maturity and purity of
heart -- the first thing we have to do is put our foot on the bottom rung of
the ladder -- the rung of spiritual poverty
-- that means we have to get real before God -- to be
poor in spirit means that we’re acknowledging our condition before a holy and
righteous God -- that we realize who we truly are and how we fail to measure up
to God’s standards in our lives
-- to be poor in spirit means that we take that
realization and confess it to God -- and ask Him to save us and to forgive us
of our sins because we can’t save ourselves -- only He can
-- the Bible describes for us what we were like before
Christ -- in Romans 3:10-12 we read, “"There is no one righteous, not even
one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together
become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
-- and over in Romans 3:23 it says, “all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God”
-- the problem continues to be that we fool ourselves and
we don’t admit our true nature to ourselves or to God -- we go through life
thinking that we can get to heaven because we’re really not bad people -- we
may stumble here and there, but overall, we’re pretty good
-- the truth is that we are not aware of who we really are
-- that is, we are not aware of the depth of our sinfulness until the
prevenient grace of God puts a mirror before our spirit -- until God speaks to
our hearts and convicts of our sin and shows us our true nature
-- to be poor in spirit is to know who we are in the
depths of our heart -- to know our true state before a holy God -- to stand
before God and cry out as Isaiah did as he stood before God’s throne, “Woe unto
me, I am ruined”
-- to be poor in spirit is to come before God with
nothing -- with empty hands -- not depending on works -- not depending on
tradition or heritage or anything else -- not depending on our perceived
goodness or self-righteousness -- but coming as we truly are -- naked before
Him in our spirits -- revealing all to Him and trusting Him to make us rich in
Christ
-- Jesus says that the poor in spirit are blessed,
because they have recognized their spiritual state and have come to the only
source that can bring restoration and healing and value to their lives
-- they are also blessed because of what they receive --
“blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” -- in
other words, once you are poor in spirit and turn to God for salvation, you
enter into the kingdom of heaven and receive eternal life with the Father
-- to be poor in spirit, then, means that you have
acknowledged your sin -- that you have confessed to God who you are -- and that
you have asked Him to forgive you of all that you have done
-- it means that you have repented of your sins -- you’ve
done a u-turn and are now following God rather than the path you used to be on
-- and that you are now living in faith in the kingdom of heaven -- trusting
and believing in the atoning death of Jesus Christ for your salvation
-- blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of God -- this is the first step on the journey of faith with Christ
IV. Closing
-- let me close today by leaving you with a story that
really demonstrates the poverty of spirit that Jesus is calling us to in this
first Beatitude
-- it’s the story of a girl named Jenny -- Jenny was 13
and she was wild -- Everyone agreed that she got wilder and more out of control
with each passing day -- she was taller and more physically mature than many of
her friends, and she found it was easy to attract older guys by merely tossing
back her long, strawberry blonde hair and giving a faint smile -- Before she
was 14 years old, she was experienced in all the vices the world could dangle
before her -- Jenny got caught up in an endless cycle of sex, drugs, and
alcohol abuse, and appeared to be heading down a long, dark road with no way
out.
-- If you asked Jenny, she would tell you she was happy
-- she was having a good time -- but, in her heart, she was lying -- she knew
her lifestyle wasn't right -- she knew her life wasn’t what it should be
-- Maybe that's why she agreed to go with a friend to an
event put on by a local church -- Even
though Jenny didn't return in the following weeks, something in the youth
pastor's short message found its way into her heart -- He told the story from
the Bible about a prostitute who was so sorry about the way she was living that
she cried at the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet dry with her hair.
-- Several years passed, and Jenny
grew more out of control, "raging" night after night -- One night, as
a very stoned Jenny and a group of her friends roamed around town after yet
another party, God began to break through to Jenny -- His voice filled her ears
-- His grace reached out to her
-- Suddenly, the guilt, self-loathing, and despair that Jenny
had tried to cover up with sex, drugs, and alcohol for so long, exploded in her
mind. She was sick of her life, sick of
her behavior, and sick of who she was.
For the first time in her life, Jenny desperately wanted to be clean and
to feel love -- true love.
-- Remembering the youth pastor's
message from so long ago, Jenny thought, "Maybe God can help," and
she tried to find a church -- she left her friends in the streets and made her
way to the nearest church -- She opened the gate to the garden leading to the
back of the church, and then she saw him -- It was Jesus -- He was standing on
top of a concrete pad in the middle of the garden. His arms were out-stretched like He was
waiting for her.
-- Jenny went to him.
She dropped on her knees in front of this life-sized statue of Jesus and
began to weep -- And just like the prostitute in the story heard so many years
ago, Jenny's tears fell on the feet of the statue of Jesus and she dried the
feet of the statue with her hair.
-- While Jenny was there at the feet of the statue, the
grace of the living God poured out on her, wiping away all the years of sex and
drugs and alcohol and gently removing the obstacles that had been built up
between her and the one person who could truly love her and fulfill the
longings in her soul -- Jesus
-- that is what Jesus is talking about when He says,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”
-- this is the first step for all of us -- the first rung
on the ladder of spiritual maturity -- before anything else, we have to come to
Him in poverty of spirit -- acknowledging who we are on the inside -- how far
we have fallen from His standard -- and seeking His grace and mercy for
forgiveness and healing and restoration
-- and even as we mature in our faith, we need to
continually revisit this step -- to look at our hearts and our actions and our
behavior -- to get real before God and repent of our sins and ask Him to
cleanse us from our unrighteousness
-- you can do that here -- this morning -- right there in
your heart -- no matter where you are -- just admit to God where you have
failed -- where you have fallen -- and repent of your sin -- turn away from it
-- and turn to Him -- and ask for His grace and healing in your life
-- if you do that, Jesus tells you that you will be
blessed
-- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of God
-- let us pray
1 25 Skills
Every Man Should Know, Popular Mechanics, http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/skills/4223337?page=1&all
2 The Pure in
Heart Shall See God, Eric Simpson, Associate Editor, "In Communion: The
Journal of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-simpson/the-pure-in-heart-shall-s_b_854738.html
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