Jan.
14am, 2001 Blessed
are the Poor in Spirit
Mat. 5
By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville
Baptist Church
Remember who you are.
Who am I as a Christian? If you can remember who you are then
you will know what you are not. You
will remember what you have and what you have not.
You will remember who you Father is.
You will know where you came from and where you are going and what you
are supposed to be doing these years and days of your life. These be-attitudes
describe the characteristics of the person who has become born again into the
kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
These are the keys, principles, or laws of Christ’s new kingdom.
Where is the kingdom? The
kingdom is the domain of the king. If
He is King in your house then these principles apply.
The kingdom was inaugurated by Christ and will culminate at the end of
the age. These principles of the life of the Christian are for each one who
has allowed Him to rule in their life.
Are you have or a have not?
Are you rich or are you poor? The
world is divided into two classes of people.
Which are you? In Jesus’
day it was thought that if you were rich that you were also a spiritually
wealthy person. You were so
blessed by your God that you were physically and spiritually rich.
But Jesus gives another perspective on wealth. It is possible to have all the riches in the world and not
have anything in the spiritual sense.
The purpose of this message is to show why it is
good to be poor “in spirit.”
Scripture
Text: Matt 5:1 (KJS) 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.
4 Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed
[are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed [are] they which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7
Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed [are] the
pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for
they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed [are] they which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11
Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they
the prophets which were before you.
The
World’s Standards: Blessed are
the rich and famous, for they will be masters of their own domain.
1.
Poor little rich boy. It is
good to be poor “in spirit”:
An old man once told me that
“it isn’t bad to be poor, but it can be inconvenient at times.”
It is good to be poor in spirit. Are
you one of those poor little rich boys or are you one of those rich little
poor boys? Poor me?
It is better to be poor or rich. Jesus
said that if you were poor then you were rich.
If you are poor in spirit then you will have the kingdom of heaven.
2.
He became poor that we might become rich.
He knows what physical
poverty is, but Jesus was rich in spiritual goods.
2Cor 8:9 (KJS) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich.
The land of Persia was once ruled by a wise and beloved
Shah who cared greatly for his people and desired only what was best for them.
One day he disguised himself as a poor man and went to visit the public baths.
The water for the baths was heated by a furnace in the cellar, so the
Shah made his way to the dark place to sit with the man who tended the fire.
The two men shared the coarse food, and the Shah befriended him in his
loneliness. Day after day the ruler went to visit the man.
The worker became attached to this stranger because he "came where
he was". One day the Shah revealed his true identity, and he expected
the man to ask him for a gift. Instead,
he looked long into his leader's face and with love and wonder in his voice
said, "You left your palace and your glory to sit with me in this dark
place, to eat my coarse food, and to care about what happens to me. On others
you may bestow rich gifts, but to me you have given yourself!"
3. Who are the spiritually poor?
a.
Everyone is spiritually poor.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;
Romans
5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
b.
But everyone doesn’t realize their spiritual poverty.
Remember the rich fool.
Luke 12:19 And
I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take
thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be merry. 20
But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
c.
Hear God’s advice of the church at Laodecia.
Rev. 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased
with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
An old proverb says,
“A man is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot
loose.”
4. How can we be
spiritually rich? How
can we have the kingdom of God?
a.
We must realize our need of
God.
We must realize that we are all sinners.
We must realize the fact that we are spiritually poor.
We must realize that we need the Lord.
b.
We must come to God to find a remedy
for our poverty. What
is the answer for those who are poor? They
have to have some money. What is
the answer for those who are spiritually poor?
They have to have some spiritual money.
Romans 6:23 says, “For
the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
c.
We must receive God’s free gift of salvation.
God is rich.
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
He has all that you need to receive his kingdom.
To all those who believe in Him he gives the right to be his children
and as his children we are his heirs. We
receive his kingdom when we receive him.
The key to this transaction is the willingness on our behalf to realize
our need and come to him for the cure. Are
you poor? Will you become poor in
spirit so that you may become rich?