For the next three weeks we are back to our in depth study and look at the Sermon on the Mount. If you have accepted the challenge to do some scripture memory as a part of this journey together, then you would be up to Matthew 5, verse 3. And depending on your translation, you will have memorized something like this (recite Matthew 5:1-3).
A quick recap of where we have been so far. There are five key tools to our study of this great sermon together. There is the sermon itself, straight from the Word of God. Helping us understand the text better are the “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount,” by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Anyone pick this one up yet? Our tradition as Wesleyan’s draws us to the “52 Standard Sermons,” by John Wesley. 13 of which deal directly with the Sermon on the Mount. There is also the book, “The Cost of Discipleship,” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. (Highlight DVD). And of course, studying the Word of God is almost fruitless if we don’t bring it down to some good ol’ fashioned 21st century application.
We have looked at a very general breakdown of this great sermon. Chapter five gives us what? The law of God. Chapter six guides us into living in the “presence” of God. And some day, maybe around 2020 when we arrive there, we will explore how chapter seven teaches us about the coming judgment of God.
But first, we have these 8 significant items to deal with known as the Beatitudes. I like how one preacher describes them as 8 beautiful flowers in the “garden of our heart” that God wants to fully blossom. Very Valentines Day-ey. These Beatitudes describe the lifestyle that is the core reality of God’s Kingdom. And I hope you will always remember that they are not about conduct. The Beatitudes are about character. That inner essence and being which drives our conduct. So these flowers must be carefully and continually cultivated within our heart garden.
And the very first character blossom that Christ speaks of. In fact, the very first words He gives in this famous message are, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Now, right off the bat there is an issue of interpretation that we have to tackle here today. And it comes from a parallel passage that we find in the book of Luke. Luke chapter 6, verse 20. Parallel passages are those places within the Bible, where you get a recording of the same event. We especially find these in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. And it appears that in Luke chapter 6, we are being given some pieces of the Sermon on the Mount.
But Luke records it a bit different, and this can raise a challenging issue for us today. Luke writes in chapter 6, verse 20 (read). “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Taken alone, what would that lead us to think that Jesus means by the poor? Any thoughts?
Sure. Many would regard this as some type of commendation for those that are poor. Many theologians interpret this from what they would define as a “social gospel” promise for those who are without in our society today. Kind of the great, eternal equalizer for the poor of the world. The homeless, the unemployed, the Haitians, the orphans in India. And pulled apart, taken by itself from these verses in Luke, one might make such an argument. But there are a couple of problems with that conclusion being made simply based on Luke’s wording. First. . .
1. The Bible does not teach that poverty guarantees spirituality.
Nowhere in the Bible will you find that simply because you live in poverty, you are good to go with the kingdom of Heaven. Entrance into the Kingdom of God does not change, and does not have multiple toll booths. As our Upward basketball players learned last week, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” No man. No other way. Jesus only. And definitely not by simply being poor. Secondly. . .we know that. . .
2. Many poor people rely upon riches just like rich people do.
The world is full of poor people walking around saying, “If only I had this. If only I had that.” They are consumed by jealousy, and are living anything but a blessed life.
Visit a country like Haiti where people look at you as rich, and figure since you have considerable more money than them, then it must all be good. What could possibly be wrong with his life? He’s got money. While reality shows that the rich struggle with happiness and joy just as much as the poor do. Just talk to a few lottery winners.
Third. . .if in this beatitude Jesus is referring to financial poverty. . .He falls into the trap where...
3. Physical poverty takes center stage from spiritual character.
Just think about it. We know throughout God’s Word that God does not judge the outer appearance of man, but searches the heart of man. That He is not impressed with the exterior of the building, He wants to know what’s going on inside. That it’s not about the window dressing. It’s about what fills our spirit.
So if that is the case, why would Jesus open this sermon by saying, “Hey, if you don’t have stuff. If you don’t own things. If you are poor. I’ve got good news for you. Forget about character. Your physical poverty brings you into the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven!”
So when Matthew records the opening lines of this sermon, he doesn’t want to leave any room for misinterpretation, and with a different purpose and emphasis to his Gospel record than Luke’s, he quotes Jesus as saying, “Blessed are the poor. . .in spirit.” And right out of the gate Jesus provides a clear indication that what He is about to teach draws the distinct, clear-cut division between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. From sentence one, He wants us to know that those who step towards Christ, step away from the things of this world.
And 2,000 years later, there is still no clearer indication of the contrast and difference between the two kingdoms than to say “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Because being poor in spirit is not only not admired by our world. It is actually despised by our world.
Think about this very practically. If you want to succeed in this world, the very thing that you need to do is give the impression that you are a success. In fact, you can give the impression that you are actually more of a success than you really are, and before you know it, people will be saying, “You the man!” It’s all about outward impressions.
Contrast that to one of Charles Wesley’s hymns where he wrote, “Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness; Vile and full of sin I am, Thou art full of truth and grace.” Can you imagine walking into a job interview and saying, “Hi, my name is Chip. Vile and full of sin I am. I am all unrighteousness.”
Paul wrote, “We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord.” When Paul went to Corinth, he writes that he went “in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” The people that came in contact with him said that “His appearance is weak and his speech contemptible.”
Forget the world, how do you think that will even sell in the church today? Seminarians, as you go out to interview for ministry positions, how do you think it will go for you if you sit before a church board “in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling?” Do you think you will get the job if the LBA looks at you and says, “His appearance is weak and his speech contemptible.”
Worked for Paul. But not in today’s world. Not in today’s church. So we prop ourselves up, and we put on appearances. And being “poor in spirit” becomes not only counter cultural, it becomes counter church.
Now, this is probably as good a time as any to talk about what it means to be poor in spirit. Or even what being poor in spirit is not. Because this is where the timid, or the humble, or the soft-spoken within the body of Christ might feel their chest swelling, and their spirit rising and saying, “Yea, being poor in spirit isn’t about being loud, or in the front, or taking charge. It’s about being like me.”
Well, maybe. But if you have those thoughts. . .probably not.
Because being poor in spirit does not mean. . .
A. BEING RESERVED, WEAK OR LACKING IN COURAGE.
If so, then Paul who was poor in spirit taught counter Christ in regards to being poor in spirit. He challenges us to not lose heart. To press towards the prize. If being weak or lacking in courage is what being poor in spirit is about, than Joshua is counter Christ. He repeatedly declared, “Be strong and courageous.”
Remember one of our checks for the beatitudes from a few weeks back – they don’t come naturally to us. We aren’t born like this. So if you say, “I’m kind of a timid person. I’m naturally unobtrusive. I like to stay in the background. Sometimes it even means I get pushed around. But that’s just how I am. That’s how I’m wired. I am naturally poor in spirit.”
That reflection alone would tell you that you are missing what Jesus means. Because none of us are just wired to live like the beatitudes. Just capable of being them on our own.
I like how Lloyd-Jones puts it, “There is the mountain that you have to scale, the heights you have to climb; and the first thing you must realize, as you look at that mountain which you are told you must ascend, is that you cannot do it, that you are utterly incapable in and of yourself, and that any attempt to do it in your own strength is proof positive that you have not understood it.”
So if we think we are naturally gifted, and set-up to fulfill this call to be poor in spirit, than we already know that we don’t understand the call. Because it does not mean simply being retiring, weak or lacking in courage as part of our natural personality. Nor does it mean. . .
B. GLORYING IN BEING POOR IN SPIRIT.
There was a preacher that was speaking as a guest at a church. And he traveled by train to the community he was to preach in. And a man met him at the station, and asked for the preacher’s bag, and then almost took it from him by force. And then the man began to talk to the preacher kind of like this, “I am a deacon in the church where you are preaching tomorrow. You know, I am a mere nobody, a very unimportant man, really. I do not count; I am not a great man in the church; I am just one of those men who carry the bag for the minister.”
He was so anxious for the preacher to know what a lowly, humble man he was. So desiring that the preacher know how “poor in spirit” that he was. That in the process, he denied the very thing he was trying to establish.
Glorying in being poor in spirit doesn’t make us poor in spirit. It just proves that we aren’t. Being poor in spirit is not that false humility that takes a compliment and says, “Oh, no. I’m really not very good. Some how God just uses my miserable little self to minister.”
And maybe as important as the other two. Being poor in spirit does not mean. . .
C. SUPPRESSING YOUR PERSONALITY.
Being poor in spirit does not mean that you change your name, or assume some other personality. It does not mean that you leave your family, and enter into a monastery. It does not mean that you make some great sacrifice, or somehow get out of this life in order to be “poor in spirit.”
Because the purpose of the beatitudes is not to call us to some form of life that can’t be lived in this life. It is a call to a life of character that is lived out in the real world. By being who God created us to be while transforming our spirit into the being who God is calling us to become.
That means that just like the timid and fearful do not get a free pass as poor in spirit, neither do the bold and aggressive get disqualified from being poor in spirit.
Because the beatitudes are not about God-given personality, they are about a cultivated character in the garden of our hearts.
So what does it mean to be poor in spirit? Here is the key. All of the above “not”s. All the trappings that come with thinking of this from a financial poverty standpoint. All of the manners in which we typically tend to measure whether we are poor in spirit personality wise. All the typical measurements regarding being poor in spirit or anything else in this world come from comparing man to man. You to me. Or me to my neighbor.
“Well, I know I’m more humble than he is.” “I know my personality is more sensitive to the voice of God than my neighbor’s is.” “I know there are a lot of people in the church who are not near as ‘poor in spirit’ as I am.” All man to man comparisons.
But to truly be poor in spirit comes from a man to God comparison. It comes from that complete absence of pride, that complete absence of self-assurance and of self-reliance. That complete absence of self-determination and ability that only comes when I see myself in terms of and in the presence of God. The tremendous awareness of my utter nothingness when I am face-to-face with God. That is truly being poor in spirit.
As John Wesley puts it, “He who is convinced that he is spiritually poor indeed. He who has a deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin. He who sees himself therefore utterly helpless with regard to atoning for his past sins, utterly unable to make any amends to God, to pay any ransom for his own soul. They who know themselves. Who are convinced of sin.” They are the poor in spirit.
And here is the incredibly great part. This is so simple. In fact, it is too simple. We don’t like simple solutions. We are Americans. We want to earn it with hard work, sweat and tears. But this is so simple.
How do we become poor in spirit? Are you ready for this? Look at God. Look at God.
Jesus says, “You want to be blessed? You want to inherit the kingdom of heaven?” Then become poor in spirit. And how do I do that. I look at God.
Because the more I look at Him, the more helpless I will feel about myself and my own abilities, and the more I will become poor in spirit. I can not truly look at God without feeling my absolute poverty and emptiness. Forget all the window dressing. Forget all the appearances I can attempt to put up. All the lines I can write on a resume. All the certificates I can post on my wall. When I quit comparing myself to man, and look at God, it will be done. I will become poor in spirit.
“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
Yea, all I need, in thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come.”
So here’s the problem. A few of us have gotten this for life. We have discovered day to day living as a truly poor in spirit follower of Christ. Our image in the mirror I always juxtaposed to the image of Christ, and this “poor in spirit” blossom is alive and well in our garden. But not for most of us. Most of us fit into two categories.
The first category are those who have never honestly evaluated, or placed themselves side-by-side with God rather than man, and experienced the natural consequence of helplessness. These people still look at themselves and try to figure out how to do it by themselves. They have yet to see themselves as spiritually poor. Yet to be humbled to the point of seeing their need for God’s salvation.
These are the, “No, I’m not the world’s greatest person. But I have done a lot of good things. In fact, on the scales of life, I think when I die God will agree that the good I contributed to this world outweighs the bad. Especially compared to the rest of this world. When push comes to shove, I think I’ll measure up just fine.” I still meet plenty of people who think this way.
And if you fit into that category today, you need to take this moment to close your eyes, and see nothing but God. Look at Him. In all His holiness, and majesty. In all His radiance and purity. Allow your spirit to be emptied and impoverished by recognizing your utter helplessness before Him. And then come. Come truly poor in spirit, and receive His grace. Receive that which you can not obtain on your own. That which is offered as an undeserved gift.
Then there is the rest of us. Most of us. In the same boat as me. Monthly, maybe weekly, maybe even daily, we allow our focus to shift from Christ to others, and truth be told...compared to the rest of the people walking this earth, we don’t look so bad. We got up from an altar once upon a time, and we were poor in spirit. We knew we were helpless, and we were blessed to have found the Helper.
But days go by, our focus shifts, we start comparing ourselves to those around us, and once again, the poverty of our spirit gets satisfied by the measure and standards of this world. I think about all the people that I know I am spiritually better than: Osama Bin Laden. Oprah Winfrey. Brittnie Spears. Ted Haggard. And before I know it, I don’t feel so poor in spirit, nor should I.
And what I need today. What you might need today. Is to once again look at God. To ask myself again, “How do I really feel about myself as I think of myself in terms of God, and in the presence of God?” And the honest answer will leave me feeling very poor in spirit. And Jesus says, it will also leave me blessed!
Read Quote from "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" – Page 41
(Altar Call – Just As I Am)
