Setting: Contemporary Worship
Length: 26:27
Audio starts automatically. You can follow along with the notes.
Downloading options are found below.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Title: Blessed are the poor in spirit
Commentary: The function of Matthew 5:3 is similar to Psalm 1. Compare the two.
Main Scripture: Matthew 5:3
Main Topics: salvation, humility, poor in spirit
As you listen, select, copy, and paste the following outline:
-some of you might remember I preached out of Psalm 1…a 2 part mini-series
-and in that series, I talked about how Psalm 1 had the unique position of opening up the entire collection of Psalms
-that it was like a gatekeeper
-where is Jesus?
-Jesus is up here in Galilee
4:25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed
-happy and fortunate to be poor?
-that’s a new twist
-how is one poor and happy at the same time?
-how is one to feel fortunate while being in such a destitute state?
-this first beatitude appears like a riddle…
-to be poor…and be happy?
-to be poor….and have the riches of the kingdom of heaven?
-the original word for “poor” only intensifies the riddle because the word for “poor” in the original Greek is NOT the common word for poor
-illus.: remember the widow in Luke 21 who gave 2 small coins?
-my point is….this common word for poor is NOT used here in Matthew 5:3
-in the original Greek, the word “poor” literally means….
-so, the poor man here is a beggar
-he is more like the beggar named Lazarus in Luke 16
-in fact, we should acknowledge that images of beggars are very disturbing
-let’s begin to solve this riddle…
-consider first that this poor state is a reflection of your heart and not your material status
-that in your heart of hearts, you recognize that you are completely ruined
-that in the presence of a holy God, you can only cower and cringe
-the message here in Matthew 5:3 is that …
…when we come to God in this broken state, we see that God does not reject us
-illustrations abound in Scripture of how brokenness serves to highlight His mercy
-a striking example of this comes to us 7 chapters later in Matthew 12 where Matthew uses the prophecy of Isaiah (66) to describe the merciful ministry of Jesus
-Matthew quotes in v.20 of chapter 12 that….
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…
-this must have been a surprising illustration since it was common practice to break a bruised reed and snuff out a smoldering wick.
-a common practice of throwing away useless things is now used to highlight the mercy of God
-much like… a common perception of looking down on a beggar as having nothing…now highlights the very riches of the Kingdom of Heaven
-because when you come to God in this broken and bruised state, God mercifully receives you.
-this is what the tax collector experienced when he approached God
-in Luke 18:10ff "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "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.'
Jesus said…
"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."
-it’s about humbling yourself before a holy God….emptying yourself of pride and self-righteousness…
St. Augustine in his Confessions
-made it clear that PRIDE was his greatest barrier to receiving the
Gospel
-a heart of humility would break that barrier down
-a heart that recognizes its state of poverty and longs to have the riches of the kingdom
-and when you receive the riches…the spiritual riches of His kingdom, you recognize that what He gives is FAR MORE valuable than the things of this world
-we should be reminded of King Solomon as his vast wealth
-he had the finest things in life
-but in retrospect, he writes in Ecclesiastes 1:2 that it is all meaningless
-he realized that the things of world cannot satisfy the soul and therefore….cannot be bring true happiness
-that true happiness is found in things that are spiritual and eternal
-and these things are found through a relationship with the ONE who created all things, even our very souls
-and to have a relationship with this Creator, you must recognize that your initial spiritual state is in no condition to have a relationship
-and that recognition of your corrupt state is not bad news….it’s good news….because it leads to a regenerated spirit which opens the doors to His kingdom….and THAT…leads to happiness
-and so, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
-the riddle has been solved…
-that being poor in spirit IS a blessed state
-as I close this message, I am struck by how this one beatitude has taken us all over the place in the Bible
-the beggar Lazarus, the pharisee and the tax collector, Isaiah, Peter, reeds, wicks, Solomon…
-honestly, I had some difficulty containing the sermon because it led me to TOO many illustrations throughout the Bible
-it’s like this ONE verse was a voice calling out all the other verses to rally around its basic message
-a message so basic and profound that it literally represents what so many prophets, apostles, and the Savior Himself was teaching
-that there is only one way to enter the kingdom of heaven
-that this teaching must be embraced before the others
-that in a unique way, this first beatitude functioned as a gatekeeper
-much like Psalm 1 does…
-that it’s message had to be embraced before the others could be encountered
…a message about poverty, but finding great riches
...a message of losing oneself and finding God through His Son, Jesus
-and with that, let’s close with the definitive words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:7 where he declares that…
…whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (NIV)
Compare Matthew 5:3 with Psalm 1 (especially part 2). Click...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
To download
RIGHT click over the headphones and click "save target as"
Click back to sermons & presentations:
For more topics, click PT Writings:
For new releases, click the jukebox
