Part I December 27, 2015
When Jesus preached he would sit in a chair and when he would speak word of life and truth. Its kinda of counter cultural to what we are use to but in Jesus’s day when you would preach or when you would speak with authority you didn’t do it standing.
We are so use to seeing people in authority standing, talking and speaking while everyone else is sitting down. When the president gives a speech he stands before congress and stands behind a podium, when preachers preach they usually stand behind a podium and the people sit that is our culture today, but in Jesus’s day that wasn’t the culture, the culture was that if a person was going to speak in authority would sit and the people around them would either stand or in some cases would sit down. It is sort of the mindset that we would think about with kings. When kings would address their people they would go and they would sit on their throne, and the people that would come in before them most likely standing or kneeling and on occasion sitting, it was a sign of authority. This is the culture that Jesus came from. In fact there is a wonderful story in the bible in which we are told clearly that is what Jesus did.
We are told that one day a large crowd of people followed Jesus and he sat down on a mountain side and then as they gathered around him Jesus said to them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,for they will 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.
and then he went on to fill what would be 3 chapters of Matthew’s Gospel giving his message, a message we call Sermon on the Mount. For the next few weeks we’re not going to look at the whole Sermon on the Mount, we’re just going to look at those beginning verses, the verses that we call the Beatitudes. The verses of blessing that Jesus spoke.
in fact it seems appropriate that we do this on the heels of Christmas, because to be
blessed is something we don’t fully understand. the word blessed comes from a latin term meaning divine joy and total happiness. People throughout the generations have believed that divine joy and total happiness can only come from God.
When we talk about being blessed what we are really talking about is something that God does for us and God does to us, and so as we move from Christmas it just seems right to me that we look at the beatitudes because, think about what we been saying and singing to people? Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
But the truth is, you can only have a real Happy New Year if it is a blessed new year, if it’s something that comes from God Because happiness without the blessings of God is not really happy, it’s short lived, usually found in some manufactured type of pleasure that just comes and goes and leaves us empty. But to be truly happy, to have divine joy that has to be something that God does, that God gives us.
This morning we will look at one of the first blessings that God declares to his people.
Matthew 5
5 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.
The Beatitudes He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
When you hear that you stop and think blessed are the poor in spirit? Who wants to be poor in spirit? Nobody desires to go through life depressed and hopeless and helpless and considers themselves blessed for that, what was Jesus talking about when he gathered all the people around him and he said to them and said “blessed are the poor in spirit” because most of the people gathered around him were poor. Just what they needed right? more poverty? We don’t look for poverty. We don’t say to people who just get married “hey good for you and I hope your marriage is as poor as ours” we also don’t say to people who venture into a new businesses “I hope you just end up poor by the end of the Year.” We don’t wish Poverty on people, so what was Jesus talking about?
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Doesn’t make any sense, and that is the thing. What makes sense to God doesn’t make sense to us. When you read the Bible and you listen to the words of Jesus you may feel like there is this foreign language that is being spoken, that our up is his down and our in is his out, and here it all and you think “what do you make of this?”
What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?
A Recognition Of Spiritual Poverty That Produces Humility And Dependency.
What exactly does this mean? Being poor in spirit is the recognition that you need something that you don’t have. How can you be happy while being poor in spirit? Imagine going through your life miserable, unhappy, just not able to make things come
together, and then somebody comes to you and they say to you, “I know what is making you unhappy”. Wouldn’t you want to hear that? Wouldn’t you want to know that?
Being poor in spirit means that your way doesn’t work, it’s acknowledging that there is something wrong with you. It’s acknowledging that there is a selfishness, pridefulness, a sinfulness, there is a meanness inside of us that we try to cover up and trying to do all that and convince ourselves that we have a plan thats going to work for the future, and yet we keep tripping and falling on our faces. Blessed are the poor in spirit for those who wake up and they recognize that there is something wrong with me and I am totally helpless. That there is an emptiness in me and it’s an emptiness of God.
Being poor in spirit is when I recognize that I am going in this direction when God has built me and made me and saved me to go in this direction, and I just keep heading down the road of doom and helplessness and hell.
It’s when the lights go on and we recognize God has something I need and deep in my heart and soul I hunger for it, I want it, I can not live without it. That is what it means to blessed in our spirits.
Poor in spirit is when you have your Ebenezer Scrooge awakening, where you recognize “I’m not as wonderful as I think” “I’m not as large and in charge as everyone would believe” When you recognize that you are not even holding on by a thread and you are quickly going down the drain and you cry out to God begging him to give you his spirit, to save your life. Jesus said Blessed are the poor in spirit because they are the only ones who can come to God.
Every Beatitude is built on the one before it. It starts with the poor in spirit. Why? What got us into the trouble we got ourselves into? Pride. Wasn’t that the deal with Adam and Eve? They decided they had a better plan. That they were going to do it a different way. They were going to be their own gods unto themselves. Their pride ruined them. Since then we have all walked around listening to a different drummer. Going in a different direction being enchanted by the lies of this world that tell us it is about pleasure, power, position, possessions, popularity, and we are just like Pinocchio, being enticed to go to the circus and end up being in one of the cages on exhibit.
Jesus says blessed are those who wake up, blessed are those who respond to the pulling of their hearts by God and the enlightening of their minds. Blessed are those who say “I get it and I want it and I’ll do anything to have it” Because it’s only internal change from God can bring external change to my life.
Only Internal Change From God Can Bring External Change To My Life
Only internal change that God can work can bring the external change that would our lives joyful and happy, the world can’t give you that, not enough money can give it to you, not enough power, not enough pleasure. To be blessed that is something only God can give you. Does God want people to be poor? No. Does God want people to be rich? No. Does God want people to be blessed? Yes.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, the people who think much of God and little of themselves and yet find wholeness in it.
You can be blessed no matter what your condition, as long as in your condition your recognize that my spiritual poverty is the key to living in humility and walking in dependency in God and is the key to being blessed because that is what God wants.
Is there anything we can do? Do we just sit back and pray that God will change us? Yes. But as he changes us, he always challenges us. What does that mean?
Be Honest:
Asking yourself, do I really see all of my poverty, do I understand that I’m not as big a deal as I think I am. That I am not as self sufficient as I like to believe. Do I really believe my money will save me? We don’t come to Christ until we make that first step where we recognize that my way doesn’t work.
Be Heartsick:
Have you ever had glimpses of your own ugliness? Darkness? You want to get from drugs and alcohol be honest and look at where it leads and be heartsick for the devastation.
Be Helpless:
Just put yourself before God and say “I need you God, I can’t do it myself” as long as you hold on to one fiber of your own strength to save yourself you are lost. You have to be totally helpless and surrender to God.
Be Holy:
Be holy before God, not that you are going to live perfect, the deal is that we are not going to leave this life perfect because we are not going to. The deal is that we leave this life on the road to perfection.
Be Happy:
Be happy with all that you have and all that God has given you.
Be Humble and Helpful:
If you recognize your poverty in spirit you will not judge anyone else, what are you going to say? their worst is worst than my worst? their bad is badder than my bad? No you won’t, you will look at them and say “I get it” you just remind me of me, and I want for you what God has given me. Reach out and help people knowing that not many are going to help you back. Many of them might not even notice it or care about it, But you do it because you get it.
How are you in your poverty? Do you know you are poor? And do you rejoice in it? Because that is right where God meets us. It’s right where we find salvation in Christ. It’s only in the poverty of spirit that we realize that we need God and beg him everyday, don’t let me get far away from you.
Notes taken by: Lorelllawrence@comcast.net The notes is for you to have for review in the series, also to reflect on during the week.
God Bless,
Sermon by: Pastor Frederick Williams