We'll be looking at the first three verses.
And seeing the multitudes, he, that is our Lord, went up on a mountain, and when he was
seated his disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Let's pray. Father Lord, I
desperately desire, Lord, your help, Lord, for your Holy Spirit to be with me, Lord, for power,
for unction from on high, Lord, that as we read into your word, Lord God, that we would rightly
divide it, that it would be given to your people as food, manna from heaven, Lord, for it speaks
and testifies of your Son. Lord, who is the true bread from heaven, the one sent from heaven,
it is Christ. Lord, we desire to feed on him today, we desire to see him in the pages of Scripture,
and then to commune with him in the table of the Lord. God, would you help us this morning to do
that. Father Lord, I pray, God, that you would keep me from saying anything that would be unnecessary
or perhaps distracting. But Lord God, would you anoint me, Lord, I need you, Father. Help us this
morning, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Today we're going to begin our study, and in these
three chapters, Matthew 5, 6, and 7, we've been in Matthew for a couple months now, and will be
several months in these next three chapters. Matthew 5 through 7 is actually known as the
Sermon on the Mount. It is, without a doubt, the greatest sermon of all time, given by the greatest
preacher of all time. Now, much of what we're going to read this morning will sound very familiar,
because it is taken from the pages of the Old Testament. Yet, as familiar as it may be, it will
also be very fresh, for in it, our Lord is going to peel away centuries of tradition and reveal
God's true intention. In this message, we're going to encounter a clear vision for Christ's kingdom.
In it, we're going to see that heaven has broken in and has not yet fully come. We say the kingdom
has been inaugurated, has been established, it has begun, but it's not yet consummated, it's not
coming in full form. In it, we see the disciples of Christ are not of the world, they've been called
out of the world, yet they still live in the world. How shall they live? But having said all that,
the focus of this message is not ethical, it's not primarily moral, it is eschatological. Now,
let me explain what that means. Lawrence Farley wrote this, and I think this is really good.
The basic thought is that of the great reversal which will take place for Christ's followers in
the age to come. Here in this age, they are poor, despised, and hungry. The world is a veil of tears
for them and they live meekly as those who cannot answer back the proud. In all this, they refuse to
retaliate, but extend mercy to all, striving for reconciliation with those who hurt them, and they
are thought fools for it. They are persecuted and reproached and universally reviled, but how
fortunate, how blessed they are, for all will be theirs in the coming kingdom. What he's saying
when talking about eschatological is it's keeping your eyes on the kingdom to come in its fullness.
Right now, currently, the disciples of Christ throughout the world were regarded as simpletons,
I'm fools, and yet faithfulness to Christ will be vindicated when he returns. When the kingdom is
established, when it comes in its fullness, the sons of God, those who are true disciples,
will be revealed, and those who oppose them will be seen as the true fools, the true foolish ones.
So, as Farley said, a great reversal of fortune is coming. Right now, our expectation is that we
will be mistreated at times, maligned, persecuted, even treated contemptuously. But friends, all that
will be but a distant memory when the kingdom of Christ comes in its fullness. Now, before we begin,
there are several misconceptions about this section of scripture, about Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
Volumes have been written, large volumes have been written on this. So, let me give you three
errors, okay, before we actually get into the text. The first one is from the classical
dispensationalists. They believe that our Lord's teaching these chapters have no bearing on our
lives whatsoever. It's almost like you can take them out for right now. Why do they believe that?
Because they say this is Jesus coming to his people Israel. He offers them the kingdom to the
Jews and they reject it. Since the Jews rejected Christ, the kingdom was deferred, put on pause,
and must wait for the millennium to be fulfilled. They believe that these chapters refer to life
in the millennial kingdom, and thus they are not for present-day disciples of Christ.
Oh, there's some good things in them for sure, but it's not bearing upon your life.
Now, to this I would counter back. Regardless of review on the millennium, it is hard to believe
that being persecuted for righteousness sake and being struck on the cheek are part of it.
This is not simply a deferred installment. Second, another erroneous view, and this happens a lot in
conservative evangelical churches, they say this section, Matthew 5 through 7, is a heightened
exposition of the law of God meant only to drive us to Christ. They see it as a means by which we
simply see our own sinfulness, but to that I would counter that fails to take into account what our
Lord was actually saying. Those who hold this view see it as nothing but law. They have a tendency
to downplay obedience. Why did they do that? Because when no one can keep the law anyways,
I love what Martin Lloyd-Jones said about this. He was that great British theologian and pastor.
He says, is it not true to say of many of us that in actual process our view of the doctrine of
grace is such that we scarcely ever take the plain teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ seriously?
We have so emphasized the teaching that all is of grace and that we ought not try to imitate his
example in order to make ourselves Christians. That's true. You don't get to be a Christian by
imitating Christ. That we are virtually in the position of ignoring his teaching altogether
and of saying that it has nothing to do with us because we are under grace. Now I wonder how
seriously we take the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The best way of concentrating on
the question is, I think, to face the sermon on the mount. Let me just say this and it needs to
be said loud. Obedience to Christ is not in conflict with the grace of Christ. In fact,
Christ commands, he calls, he commissions his disciples to obey him. If you love me, Jesus said,
keep my commandments. Why do you call me Lord and don't do the things I've commanded? You and I
as Christians under grace are to pursue righteous living. We are to pursue holiness without which
no man will see the Lord. Now not every mention of righteousness in the scriptures simply speaks of
imputed righteousness. In fact, in these chapters, the sermon on the mount, the Lord Jesus is not
speaking of the imputed righteousness we have in our union with Christ. He is speaking of a personal
Christ. He is speaking of a personal righteousness that comes from obedience. Not as a way, let me
say this clearly, not as a way to be justified before God. That would fail, but as a way of life
in his kingdom. Matthew chapter 5 verse 20, Jesus said this to those listening to him that day who
were his disciples. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Now you have to
understand the contrast of the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. Now you're saying, but Paul,
the apostle Paul, taught very clearly the doctrine of imputed righteousness. We receive Christ's
record when we express faith in him. So in heaven, our record is perfect. That's true. But this does
not in any way break with Paul or contradict his teaching of imputed righteousness. The apostle
Paul himself taught that personal righteousness must characterize the disciples of Christ who
enter the kingdom of God. Look at Galatians 5. Now the works of the flesh, these are evident, Paul says.
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness, those are all sexual sins. Idolatry, sorcery,
those are religious sins. Hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, reveries, and the like. Of which I tell you
beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit
the kingdom of God. That's the apostle Paul. You live this way, you don't enter the kingdom, Paul says.
And by the way, he's in complete harmony with the sermon on the mount. Now the gospel produces a
changed life and a changed life is evidence to a living faith in the risen Lord. Kevin DeYoung,
and I normally don't quote this much, but I want to take the time because we're starting the
introductory here. Kevin DeYoung, he says, a pastor in Charlotte, love his ministry,
the stakes could not be higher. If we are no more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees,
we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5.20. If we murder no hearts, we are liable to the
hell fire. 5.22. If we give ourselves over to lust, we will end up in hell. 5.29. If we do not do the
will of our father, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 7.21. We must not give up hope
of obeying Jesus commands, lest we give up the hope of heaven. You're saying, does he believe in a
works righteousness? No. Continue on. Too many Christians instinctively set aside the commands
of scripture as utterly impossible to obey on any level. Once we convince ourselves that failure is
the norm, that no one really obeys Jesus, no one really builds his house on the rock, no one really
is of pure heart, no one really enters the narrow gate, no one really bears good fruit. As soon as
we do that, we will not take seriously the many warnings given to us in the scriptures that people
who are unchanged by the gospel prove themselves to have never really been saved by the gospel.
By contrast, Jesus in this sermon on the mount urges us to choose the right way to live
and to stick with it. Now at this point you may be squirming and you may be saying, but pastor,
who amongst us never worries? That's Matthew 6. Who amongst us always loves his enemies?
Who amongst us never lust? Who amongst us never has hatred or anger in his heart?
Let me say to the disciples of Christ this morning, there is a difference between true obedience
and perfect obedience. You can truly obey God and yet your obedience be not perfect.
None of us have a perfect obedience. That's why in Galatians 5, Paul said those who practice
such things, of course we're going to fail. Which is why in this sermon our Lord taught us to pray,
Matthew 6, forgive us our trespasses. We're going to do it, but that's no excuse for ignoring
everything our Lord is saying and striving after obedience and a life of holiness.
This sermon here, it tells us how you and I may walk closely with Jesus. And once more, I'm quoting
to Young here. The law in the Sermon on the Mount reflects the heart of the lawgiver.
These commands of Jesus are not meant to crush us any more than Jesus means to crush us.
Jesus came to save us, to enlist us, to be with us until the end of the age.
To the unbelieving and unrepentant, Jesus will be a terror. But to all who know the Son, to those who
look for rest in the Son, to those who are eager to walk with the Son and learn from the Son,
the yoke he gives you is easy and the burden he asks you to carry is light.
The second erroneous way is to see this all's law meant to drive you to Christ.
The third error, this is the liberal view of the Scriptures. Liberals love theological liberals.
They love the Sermon on the Mount. They believe it's a moral roadmap leading to social progress.
They see it's a message or it's a social contract, if you will. If you want to make this life better,
this community better, then follow the Sermon on the Mount. Things like fighting for justice
and avoiding hypocrisy. Now listen, of course our Lord's teaching has social application.
It is meant to change. But that's not the primary purpose of our Lord's teaching.
He is speaking to his disciples right here. All these views fail to understand the central
point of the Sermon. There is a unifying theme in this whole chapter, Matthew 5 through 7,
that one thing centers around, and it's very obvious when we start to read it in its whole,
it's the Kingdom of God. I want you to notice all the times in the three chapters where you see the
word Kingdom. 5 3, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 10, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 19,
they shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Same thing, he shall be called great in
the Kingdom of Heaven. The next verse, 5 20, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Chapter 6 verse 10, pray, your kingdom come. 6 13, yours is the Kingdom. 6 33, seek first the
Kingdom of God. 7 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
What we have here, nine times, three chapters, the words Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God are
mentioned. Do you see the same theme here? This sermon is a contrast between the Kingdom of Man
and the Kingdom of God, and they operate very differently from one another. They're opposed
to one another. Let me just give you one example. In the Kingdom of Christ, he says it's the meek
who are favored by God. In the Kingdom of Man, it's the aggressively strong and powerful who are
blessed. They don't see things the same way. So the sermon really is a description of a character
of a disciple who's following Christ. It is a description of the Christian who glorifies God
and who will enter the Kingdom of God. Now in chapter four, which would be in the last few weeks,
we saw the Lord preaching and he was gathering crowds around them and he was preaching about
what? The Kingdom of God. Chapter four, verse 23, Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. Would you like to know what that gospel message
was? Well, you get to hear it right now. Chapters five, six, and seven. So this sermon is an
exposition of what a life of discipleship looks like in the Kingdom of God. Amen. So,
what does a life of discipleship looks like in the Kingdom of God? Once more, and I think I'm done
quoting here, Lawrence Farley. The Beatitudes, therefore, like the rest of the sermon, are not
moralistic maxims for the world at large, but are promises to Christ's disciples. I cannot emphasize
that more. This is not for you to go out and try to be blessed by being meek and try to be blessed
by being poor in spirit. They were never meant to be seized on by the world as bits of Christian
ism, as if they could be applied apart from saving faith in the Lord. This is the Kingdom
living. This is how a disciple lives. So, there is not Jesus issuing a new moral code. Why not?
Because the law of God that had already been given was perfect. The law that God gave there outside
my is a reflection of his own character. It can't be improved upon. By the way, there's nothing wrong
with the law of God. It's beautiful. It's perfect. The problem is with us. The problem is that we're
lawbreakers, and that's why we need a Savior. And when we see Jesus as the fulfillment of the law
and our only hope, we enter into the Kingdom. But what does a life of following him really look like?
Well, if you're a Pharisee or the religious leader of that day, they saw the disciples of
Christ as hapless fools, deceived. They saw it going after Christ. It's deluded and ignorant
people who will do that. They saw the disciples of people to be pitied. And our Lord begins this
great sermon. He says, those of you who are following me, regardless of what it looks like
right now, you are really indeed blessed. You are favored by God. Yes, you may be despised by the
world. You'll be hated by the world, just as our Lord was. But you are favored by God. Now,
it's the previous chapter. Matthew 4 ended. We see Jesus traveling throughout all northern Israel.
He's preaching. He's healing. He's casting out demons. Great crowds are following him.
And he begins to prove that he is who he says he is. He's the Messiah. How did he do that? Well,
he's healing everyone who comes to him, and he's casting out demons. The strong man had come
to bind Satan. But apart from this, he wasn't just healing and casting out demons. He was teaching
and preaching about what? The kingdom. But his idea of the kingdom was at odds with the Jewish
expectation of the kingdom at that time. You know this. They thought when the Messiah comes on the
scene, he would do mighty miracles, but ultimately he would rid them of their political subservience
to Rome. Rome had occupied Israel. They wanted Rome out of there, and they thought certainly when the
Messiah comes, he will kick Rome out and establish a prosperous Jewish kingdom. And then Jesus is
doing the miracles that only the Messiah can do, but he's saying that the work of the king and the
kingdom is primarily internal. It's a work done in the heart, because the heart of the matter is the
heart. So now let's get into the sermon. My introduction was longer than the sermon, if you're
starting to worry. Verse one, seeing the multitudes, he went up on a mountain. When he was seated, his
disciples came to him. See, I've said he goes up on a hill. Remember, he's figured like Moses. Where
did Moses go to get the law? He goes up on a mountain. Okay, we have this new deliverer coming.
He goes up into a mountain. Multitudes are following him. Why? Because he had compassion on them.
Verse 24 of chapter four, his fame went throughout Syria. That's not Israel. They brought to him all
sick people who were afflicted with diseases and torments and demon possessed and epileptics and
paralytics. He healed them. Great multitudes following him from Galilee. That's Jews. From the
Decapolis. That's Gentiles, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. I don't know what's happening
to our lights about every week in the middle of the night. There you go. So what he's saying here,
following Christ is going to be very different than what these crowds were expecting. What are
they expecting? Get rid of Rome. He's our hero, our military hero, and Jesus is going to quail
those expectations and talk about what his kingdom really looked like. Now who's the speaker?
We have Jesus. It is the son of God. It's the Messiah. The one sent from heaven. Now what was
so unique about our Lord is that he, unlike other rabbis, did not quote other rabbis.
Instead he spoke as one who had authority in himself. Chapter seven, verse 28. When Jesus
ended these sayings, the people were astonished. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.
For he taught them as one having authority and not as the other scribes. Just in the sermon today,
I have quoted Kevin DeYoung and Martin Lloyd-Jones and Lawrence Farley.
Lord Jesus never quoted anyone. He didn't have to. He had no need to quote anyone because there was
no one who could possibly add to the authority he alone possessed. What he said was authoritative.
That's very interesting because that's not how rabbis worked at that time. There is no other name
that would add any weight or credibility to what Jesus was saying. Now what's the message? Verse
two and three. He opens his mouth and he taught them saying, blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. His message begins with our Lord pronouncing a blessing.
The Old Testament ends with the threat of a curse. Jesus comes on and he's giving a benediction,
pronouncing a blessing on his people. Verses three through 11 are known as the Beatitudes.
Now what is so interesting, and friends don't look over this, is who the blessed people are.
They are not the ones you would normally think in terms of being blessed.
Christ says in my kingdom, the poor in spirit, those who are mourning, those who are meek,
those who are hungering and thirsting, they are the ones favored by God. Friends, that doesn't
sound like a blessing at all, does it? But if we look at it, look at that first one, blessed are
the poor in spirit. The word blessed is the Greek word, makarios. It can mean happy. That's a good
translation. That's not what it means here. Rather a good translation would be having the favor of
God. Because the way we normally think of happy is not what is meant in these Beatitudes. So the
word blessed, and I think the best way we'll think about this for the rest of the world, is that
best way we'll think about this for the next several weeks, is to think to have God's favor.
Now if you and I today were to discern, if we were to look around and try to discern
who is it to have God's favor, here's why in our own natural mind we would think.
Well the attractive, they've been blessed. The wealthy, those enjoying good health, the strong,
the powerful, those who hold prestigious positions, man those people have God's blessing upon them.
And Jesus, our Lord, he comes on the scene and he upends conventional wisdom.
He looks around and says, you want to know in my kingdom? It's the poor in spirit, and the mourning,
and the meek, and those who are being pummeled, persecuted, have God's favor resting upon them.
If you look at the first three attitudes, they are an acknowledgement of need.
So what I want to say clearly guys, God's kingdom operates by a different set of principles than
man's kingdom. In God's kingdom it's shocking to see the people that are blessed with divine favor.
The poor in spirit. First of all, notice it is not the poor in wallet. He's not talking, now it does
have a financial aspect, we're not going to get into that today, but our Lord is not speaking of
physical poverty, but rather spiritual poverty. And the word poor,
and it literally is straight in Greek, it's ptochos, and it means to be reduced to begging.
You're a beggar, you're asking alms. It means to be literally destitute of wealth, influence,
position, or honor. It is to be helpless, powerless. Here's a word picture, you have a man who is so
poor, he would crouch in a corner, keep one hand over his face to cover his head, and he would
keep one hand over his face to cover his shame, and reach out with the other hand to receive any
alms from people who might have compassion on him. We all know the story of the widow with her two
mites, right? The widow who had the two mites, she put it in the offering, she was poor, panikros.
You're saying that she's poor, but it's a different word. Panikros means you have meager
resources. But at least you have something. She had two little mites, she's panikros. This word,
don't miss the point of our Lord. He uses the word ptochos, completely destitute. You have no
means whatsoever. So what our Lord is talking about is the one who has complete and utter spiritual
bankruptcy. How could that person be blessed? Because they have nothing and they know they now
must rely on God. They have no resources, they have nothing to bring to God. They understand they are
spiritual beggars and they are at the mercy of God. They can't save themselves, so what do they do?
They beg God for mercy and grace. This is true humility and without it no one is saved. The
scriptures tells us there is a man who will be opposed and resisted by God. You say God doesn't
resist anyone. Yes he does. There is someone who God will not receive. God resists the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble. The kingdom of man, they admire self-reliance and self-confidence
and bravado. That's antithetical to the kingdom of God. Our Lord says, you're one who is blessed,
you're a beggar spiritually. You can't have any confidence in yourself. Now let me just say this
is not about personality, some people who are quiet and reticent by nature. No, this is about posture.
Posture before God. To be poor in spirit means you know you have no worthiness to claim God's
blessing. You don't have anything that compel God to bless you. There's nothing in your life that
says God you must do this because I'm so good. We're reduced to begging before God, but God
but Jesus is saying friends that's a blessing because our God fills empty hands. Now there's
a perfect illustration of this in Luke chapter 18. Jesus gave a parable about those who trusted
in themselves that they were righteous and they despised others. Listen to the parable.
Two men went up the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God I thank you they're not like other men,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes
of all that I possess. What a wonderful man I am. And the tax collector standing afar off would not
so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but he beat upon his breast saying, God be merciful to me a
sinner. I tell you Jesus said this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbled himself will be exalted.
The tax collector knew of his spiritual bankruptcy before God. The Pharisee was confident of his own
righteous position before God. So to be in poor spirit means you're like that tax collector.
You beat upon your breast, you don't lift your eyes to heaven, and you simply say, God be merciful
to me a sinner. Notice this is the first. The poor in spirit is the first in the list of the
attitudes because it's the grace of humility from which all these others will flow. Without
humility and the grace of humility, you can't be saved. I want you to compare this with the
religious leaders of the day. Arrogant, self-assured, presumptuous, assuming they would be the first
to enter the kingdom. And Jesus later on will say, well the first winter lasts. The last
winter first. He actually looked at those religious leaders and said, hey guys just so you know,
prostitutes and tax collectors winter before you guys ever get in. They're proud in heart,
abominable to God. The truly blessed man or woman, you must understand your own bankrupt
position before our Lord. And it's not until you see yourself as you are that you are poor in spirit,
you have no righteousness, that you will ever return to Christ for mercy.
Do you own up to your helplessness? That's a work of God. The pride and hubris of the religious elite
actually barred them, banned them from God's kingdom. You and I will never be made righteous
until we see our unrighteousness. We won't be made worthy to enter until we see our own unworthiness.
We will never be made acceptable to God until we truly see how unacceptable on our own we really
are. As we see Christ, the perfect man, we see and get a better glimpse of what you and I really are.
Do you have anything to boast before God? No. Quickly, I want you to notice the grammar. Some
of you all probably roll your eyes so I mention grammar, but it's so good here. What's the mood
of the verb? If you know some of you English professors, you know what moods? Is this imperative
or indicative? Your English is not good. You're not good. You're not good. You're not good. You're
like, I don't know. It doesn't really matter. It does. Here's why. It's not in the imperative mood.
It's in the indicative mood. What that means is blessed are the poor in spirit. This is not a
command. This is not something you do. Jesus is not telling you to become poor in spirit.
He's pronouncing a blessing upon those who are. He's not commanding you to do anything. The reason
why is because to see yourself as spiritually bankrupt is not anything you can do. This is the
work that God must do in you. He must show you your bankruptcy. He must remove the veil from your
heart. The spirit of God through the law of God begins to show you and I and work in us to show
us what we are. Lawbreakers, rebels, helpless ones who need to be rescued and saved. And he shows us
the Savior. Humility is simply a recognition of what we already are. Lowly ones who can do nothing.
No resources. No hope. And we cast ourself upon the mercy of God in total reliance of his ability
to save us. Blessed are you. God's favor rests upon you. I close with this. Thomas Watson,
great Puritan, he wrote, he said, how can we tell if we're humble? So I just said this is interesting.
I want to give you some principles to try and if we're humble. Again, think true obedience,
not perfect obedience. Number one, the humble will be weaned from themselves.
What's that mean? We lose self-preoccupation. Repudiate self, desire to live for another,
that is for Christ. A humble soul thinks better of others than of himself. God help us. He values
others at a higher rate than himself and the reason is because he knows his own heart better
than anyone else's. A humble man is always giving bills of indictment against himself.
You meet a hypocrite, they'll tell you how good they are. The humble soul will be ever
forever telling you how bad he is and how merciful God is. A humble soul magnifies Christ.
All glory is actions to Christ and the free grace given to us in Christ, right?
A humble saint will take the crown of honor from his own head and set it upon the head of Christ.
A humble soul is willing to take reproof for sin. You're willing to be corrected. But a very
arrogant man, a wicked man, he's too high to stoop to be rebuked. But the humble Christian,
he can bear both the reproach of an enemy and the reproof of a friend.
Number six, a humble man is willing to have his names and gifts eclipsed so that God's
glory may be increased. He is content to be outshone by others in gifts and esteem.
Why? So that the crown of Christ might shine all the brighter. The humble man's motto is what John
the Baptist said, he must increase and I must decrease. A humble saint is content with what
condition which God sees is best for him. A proud man will complain that he doesn't have more and a
humble man wonders how he has so much. A Christian who looks at his own sins will simply wonder
how are things not worse for me seeing how great of a sinner I am. A Christian who is humble will
know that the mercies of God are greater than anything he could possibly deserve. He knows that
the worst piece which God carves for him is better than he deserves. The worst piece that God carves
out for him is better than he deserves. So he can take it thankfully upon his knees.
A humble Christian will stoop to the meanest person in the lowest office. What does that mean? It
means he will visit the poorest member of Christ. There's no one beneath him and he'll spend much
time in prayer. Why? Because we recognize we are needy and we know we need God's help.
And lastly, the humble man will praise and thank God for his grace. Gratitude
characterizes the life of the poor in spirit. They know what they deserved. They're bankrupt
spiritually, poverty-stricken, and they're grateful and they wonder at the mercy and grace of God.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, but don't fail to notice the promise the Lord gave,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. No greater words than that. It is God's delight to give
the heavenly kingdom to those who come to him empty-handed. The kingdom of God belongs to those
who understand they have nothing to offer God. As you understand that, blessed are you, favored by
you, favored by God. This is the ironic thing. Here's the blessing, to have nothing and at the
very same time have everything. We have nothing in and of ourselves to offer and at the very same
time in Christ we have everything. What a blessing. Come to Christ empty-handed and humble,
and he gives you a place in his kingdom. How blessed you are. I close with this. You all
probably are familiar with the name William Carey. He's the great missionary to India,
very eloquent man. He translated the Bible into six languages and portions of the Bible in 29
other languages. Here's what he wanted. When he died, he actually said, this is what I want.
This is the epitaph I want in my tombstone. This is it, what it was. He was born August 17th, 1761.
He died June 9th, 1834, and here's what he wanted, his words that he had to be written.
A wretched, poor, and helpless worm. On thy kind arms I fall. I love that. Here's Carey,
who did amazing things. He said, I am poor, helpless, and a despicable man,
but I've cast myself upon the kind arms of God. He knew the promise of Jesus,
of God. He knew the promise of Jesus. It had been revealed to him. And church, listen,
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What a wonderful,
wonderful blessing our Lord has given in this first beatitude. Let us now, in a posture of
humility before the Lord, prepare our hearts to commune with the one who's worthy, the one
who's exalted and lifted up. Let us humble ourselves and prepare to come to the table
as unworthy recipients of incredible divine favor and mercy. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your wonderful blessing.