The Beatitudes

Introduction

Blessed Are The poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:1–3

1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Introduction

The poor In spirit have no trust In themselves, but have their ONLY trust In christ.

This alone Is their joy!

What we have before us is a portion of the Bible that is known as The Beatitudes. They are primarily seen from verse 3 to 12 in Matthew chapter 5, but also partly in Lukes gospel, chapter 6:20-23. 

Each verse is a declaration of “Blessing” that our Lord calls upon those whose characteristics are testified to, all eight impart either or both an eternal and temporal “Blessing”, a radical reversal of fortune for those who embody the characteristics demonstrated in the passage.

Many Christians lives testify to ALL of them. 

This morning we will be giving consideration to the first; 

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We find in this passage no less than four observations that I would like to expound from the text for your encouragement.

• The first is THE PRESENT JOYFULNESS OF THE SEALED. That those here described have great encouragement in their affliction because “theirs IS now the kingdom of heaven”
• The second is THE PERSISTENCE OF PRIDE REVEALED. That before one can claim to have “poverty in spirit”, a great humbling work must be done in the soul to remove from them the pride that deceives them into thinking any “wealth of spirit” or fullness within them but without Christ.
• The third is PERSONAL SOVEREIGNTY MUST YIELD to Christ, that is, a conscious decision must be effected in the heart of the believer to surrender completely their lives and wellbeing to the Lord who “bought them with a price” (1 Cor 6:20, 1 Cor 7:23).
• Lastly, that this POVERTY OF SPIRIT SHALL BE HEALED. That in time to come, in eternal bliss and joy, the soul will be satiated with perfect richness and wealth of Spirit, void of sin and corruption, just as our hunger and thirst after righteousness is filled (v6).

Present Joyfulness Sealed.

Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Both the state of the heart and the position of the soul is unidentified in this passage.

The state of the heart is “Blessed”.

The position of the soul is “sealed” for the kingdom of heaven.

We accept that the state of the heart is ONLY Blessed, ONLY happy, ONLY joyful BECAUSE the position of the soul is SEALED for the kingdom of heaven.

This is most vital to first understand, and then we will speak to that happy state, that joyful state of the heart.

My choosing of the word “Sealed” to describe our present joyfulness is not an accident, it is given to us in the scriptures. It relates to that which is given to us the moment we have been saved by the Spirit of God.

The moment we believed the gospel in our heart, was the very moment that same SPIRIT, which convicted our heart, saved our soul and came to indwell us and thereby SEAL us. A PROMISE from God to keep and preserve us until, what the Bible refers to as “the redemption of the purchased possession” in Eph 1:14.

You see, we were bought with a price we are told in 1 Cor 6 and 7, and God has given to us his Spirit as his infinitely secured claim upon our souls, that we now BELONG TO HIM; 

and nothing and no person, NOT EVEN MYSELF, through whatever emotional turmoil I experience in life, can be plucked out of his hand (Jn 10:25-30) until “the redemption of that purchased possession”.

Any belief that denies this, turns God into a liar and becomes itself a discouraging lie against the soul.

The desire Jesus has in the Beatitudes is to ENCOURAGE US, not discourage us with such confusion.

Saved By the Spirit

Paul wrote to Titus of the work of the Holy Ghost in our salvation;

Titus 3:4–7

4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So much is said ONLY in this passage.

• First we see that it was through the kindness and love of God our Saviour.
• Secondly, that our salvation was NOT by ANY works of righteousness which we have done, but by HIS Mercy he saved us. (You will note that this is in the past tense. The word “Saved” itself does not have a tense on it own, it requires a qualifier. Eg Has been saved, are saved, will be saved; past, present and future, all by qualification of context)
• Thirdly that the means is identified as by the HOLY GHOST.
• Fourth, which came through Jesus Christ our Saviour, just as he promised his disciples in John 16:7.
• Fifth, that those saved are presently JUSTIFIED by his grace and thereby retained as HEIRS.

Believed in the heart.

Seeing that it is the heart which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9), it is thereby the HEART that needs to repent and believe the gospel. 

Romans one testifies to us with clarity the sate of the heart of man which turns away from God. 

It is not the mind. The mind is merely deceived by the heart.

Beloved, I have witnessed so many very intelligent people speak like fools when it comes to matters of God and eternity. The mind bends and twists the most basic frames of logic to excuse a belief system that cannot be justified.

The heart is “deceitful above all things” wrote Jeremiah, it is the heart which deceives the mind, and from then on the mind does ALL it can to justify the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Therefore it is THE HEART which must repent, believe and be replaced. 

Yes, “REPLACED”. It was a promise of God,

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

When the Ethiopian asked the evangelist if there was any hinderance to him being baptised, Phillip answered simply;

… If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts 8:37.

Quite literally the most important verse in the passage, DELETED in ALL modern versions of what God said.

To the Romans, Paul wrote;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.Romans 10:9

SEALED By the Spirit

Ephesians 1:13–14

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

The short verse spoken by our Lord confesses the present tense possession of them who are testified to as being those “Blessed”, saying;

Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It is THIS present tense possession of the KINGDOM of HEAVEN that becomes the very source of our joy…..

It is KNOWING that we have eternal life NOW that lifts us out of the sorrows of heart when life takes its toll and emotions twist our soul.

It is being SEALED by God, KEPT by God, PRESERVED through the blood of Christ, that we rejoice in the realisation of his infinite love for us.

Lastly; It is that PRESENT possession of the KINGDOM OF GOD, knowing that nothing shall separate us from the love of God, that brings the humility of heart that defines those who are “poor in spirit”.

It is here, that our PRESENT JOYFULNESS IS SEALED!

Persistence of Pride Revealed

Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In Matthew 11:25, Jesus prayed to the father saying;

25 … I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

In 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, Paul wrote to the church saying;

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

 James had written to his Church saying;

5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? James 2:5

In fact, continually throughout the scriptures we read passages such as 

Proverbs 29:23

23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

And thereby the chastisement of the Lord, saying in James;

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.James 4:9–10

Again and again we come to see the vanity of pride and the blessedness of the humble.

Consider God speaking through Isaiah;

15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.  Isaiah 57:15

Those identified as “Poor in spirit” are they who are humble before the Lord in all their ways. 

They think nothing of themselves and everything of God. 

ALL OF US however, must be humbled by God even before we can come to him.

Jesus himself testified as to the level of humility we mush have that would identify us as “poor in spirit”. Turn to Matthew 8

Matthew 18:1–3

1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Our hearts need to match the humility of a Child before we can come before the God of heaven and earth. The proud can NEVER enter in.

Those who might boast themselves of having any value to God at all, have nothing to hope for but fiery condemnation.

Isaiah wrote that their own righteousness is nothing but filthy rags unto God (Isa 64:6). And so God must do a work in us to humble our hearts BEFORE we will even seek after him. 

And after he has humbled us and we have bent our knee to our Saviour and have gained to us the greatest and most wonderful JOY in the KNOWLEDGE that we are SEALED to life eternal, GOD begins again to work in us to prepare us unto every good work.

BROKEN TO SAVE

Psalm 34:18

18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

I am sure that your story and my story have similar undertones of our humility being broken upon the vanity of life’s pursuits. 

Most of you fully aware that for the better part of 20 years I pursued after mammon. This deceitful god of money was my God, and the true God worked in me to break this idol and draw me to him.

Others have their own stories, they are many and varied, but all of them testify that it is not the proud but the “poor in spirit” that possess the Kingdom of heaven.

Manasseh was a King of Israel and God dealt with his evil to save him.

2 Chronicles 33:11–12

11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

He was one of the most evil kings of Judah, he shed more blood of his own people than any king before him, and yet God saved him when he humbled himself, not in show of vain humility; unlike man God is not mocked, God cannot be deceived, he knows our hearts, but genuine and true contrition.

There simply is no crime you can commit that God is not able to save you, IF, and ONLY if, you will break your heart, that it may be one of contrition before the Lord, and he will save you.

Job heard the testimony of his friends and lifted up his heart before God. In his defence of his own righteousness he slipped into condemning God for that by which he was afflicted. 

In Job 38 it was God himself who “answered Job out of the wirlwind” (Jb 38:1). 

Several chapters later we see Job humbled before God;

Job 42:1–6

1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Beloved, we know the end of his story. He was “blessed” with twice that which he lost and lived to a good old age. What became of his freinds, we know not.

This humbling work must occur in our lives the older we get. 

As a child, it is easy to come to the Lord, for they are the measure of faith!

CHRISTIAN: ON THIS NOTE, if you ever are willing to take on the ministry of the Gospel to small Children, you have the most blessed work of all.

I once charged a man to revert to teaching the children at Sunday school, to evangelise them. His stubborn pride thought it to be a “demotion” rather than a great opportunity. 

These are the very ONES Salvation itself is measured by!

For our hearts must reach the humility of a Child before we can be saved.

Jesus does not turn away Children, but brings them near and measures our faith by their faith.

There is a Persistence of Pride in us that must be Revealed, and God deals with it to bring us to himself.

But the work in us does not stop when we are saved. Indeed, this is where the real work begins.

Personal Sovereignty To Yield

Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We have now seen our PRESENT JOYFULNESS SEALED.

The PERSISTENCE OF PRIDE REVEALED. 

And now we come to understand that the blessedness and joy that comes through knowing ourselves “poor in spirit” culminates when our PERSONAL SOVEREIGNTY WE YIELD.

To the first people of God we turn as a testimony to God’s work in us.

Turn to

Deuteronomy 8:2

2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

The single greatest blessing that you will find AFTER you are saved is when you GIVE UP ON YOU and GIVE ALL TO HIM.

When you are willing to cead your personal sovereignty and control of your own life, and trust in God completely for EVERYTHING.

Jesus put it this way;

Matthew 16:24–26

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The people of God, from the time of the Exodus to this very day in the life of those who are truly born again, are encouraged to trust in HIM alone for their lives.

They are told that they no longer even walk by sight, but by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

The ONLY thing that stands in the way of a truly blessed, joyful and happy life in us is our personal sovereignty over our own lives.

I must have read almost every self help book on the market in my early years as an adult. I believed for far too long that “if it is to be its up to me”.

That, I was to take control of my life, to set goals, ten year, five year and annual goals of life, then break them down to the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (Stephen R. Covey).

I needed to learn how I could first “Win friends and Influence people” (Dale Carnegie), and even to do so through “The Power of Positive Thinking” (Norman Vincent Peale), that I could also “Think and Grow Rich” (Napoleon Hill), but before doing so I needed to “Awaken The Giant Within” (Anthony Robbins).

In order for me to become “The Richest Man in Babylon” (George S Clayson), I needed to become “The Greatest Salesman in the World” (by Og Mandino).

To live with “No Excuses” (Brian Tracy).

But before all of this I need to understand “Mans Search For Meaning” (Viktor Frankl).

Matthew 10:39

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

These, and dozens of other books filled my Library, all of which motivated personal sovereignty, all of which worked to find my life, to live my life MY WAY.

Frank Sinatras Song was MY SONG, I wanted to live MY LIFE MY WAY, and it near killed me.

Sure, its not everyones expereince. There are many who have gained the riches of this world, but what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

To God, I was profitable for nothing. 

While Personal Sovereignty was what I thought I wanted, WOOD HAY AND STUBBLE was all I gathered.

Psalm 51:17

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

This is not YOUR story.

Your story is not MY Story, but both stories begin the same and I pray end the same.

The spirit of man MUST be first broken to gain in him the OPPORTUNITY FOR THE Spirit of God to work.

We are created for HIM, and NOT him for us.

We exist for HIS purpose, and not HE for OUR purpose.

The SOONER we come to trust this as true, the sooner will we live BLESSED LIVES.

Turn to

Psalm 84:12

12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Psalm 146:5

5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:

Psalm 119:1–2

1 ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

Psalm 1:1–2

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

YIELD YOUR SOVEREIGNTY to the Lord, and watch and see what wonder he will do in you, through you and for you!

Poverty of Spirit Healed

Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

With your PRESENT JOYFULNESS SEALED.

Your PERSISTENCE OF PRIDE REVEALED.

Your PERSONAL SOVEREIGNTY NOW YIELDED

There will soon come a time when your POVERTY OF SPIRIT IS HEALED.

Something happens to a man and woman when they relinquish their personal sovereignty, when they STOP trusting in themselves and completely hand over EVERYTHING to the Lord, and I mean EVERYTHING, (yes, including your health, wealth and wellbeing), when you truly have placed your trust in the one who died to save your eternal soul, you trust him for your temporal life all the more.

You may be “poor in spirit” today, but in that blessed eternal state such poverty of Sprit will be healed.

If you KNOW he KEEPS you until that day you are in his presence, you live this life trusting that he will KEEP you through its temporary trials.

You are RELEIVED of having to “do things your way”, knowing that when you do things HIS way HE is responsible for the outcome!

Isaiah 66:2

2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

What do you think God can do through a man or woman who is wholly resting in him and dedicated to him?

When we surrender our lives so completely to the Lord in this temporally life, WE ARE also RELIEVED OF THE RESPONSIBILITY of our lives, AND REST completely in the one who said, I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5).

Hebrews 13:5

⁵ Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Happiness, JOY, peace, comfort and trust begins to givern each and every day. It is not to say we dont go through hard times, but it is to say that the poverty of our spirit is blessed in the KNOWLEDGE that OURS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

But this is not the ONLY way the poverty of the Spirit will be relieved, we obtain a hint of it related to “righteousness” in verse 6;

Matthew 5:6

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Just as we starve for righteousness of our own in this life, we are poor in spirit. So too will it be in that final stage that will last for eternity, WE SHALL BE FILLED, both in Righteousness AND in Spirit.

Poverty “RELIEVED”, Hunger “SATISFIED”

Are you SAVED?

Have you yet given up your life that you might find it?

Have you yet STOPPED thinking you can do it YOUR way? Or are you still trying to live “Your Best Life Now” (Joel Osteen)

It sounds contrary, I know, BUT YOUR LIFE BEGINS when it ends. Jesus words… Matthew 10:39

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

It is only when we die to ourselves that we find LIFE in Jesus Christ, new life, the best life of all, even ETERNAL LIFE.

Matthew 5:3

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The poor In spirit have no trust In themselves, but have their ONLY trust In christ.

This alone Is their joy!