The Beatitudes Lessons 2

Poor and Spirit and Mournful (5:3-4): The Blessed Attitudes Needed to Enter and Live in Christ’s Kingdom (pt. 1)

Q. What has Jesus taught you the kind of attitude to have in order to enter and live in his kingdom?

A. An attitude that understands I have nothing without Christ and that is sad over my sin.

Matthew 5:3–4 ESV

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Intro

Yesterday we talked about what it means to be blessed

To receive something that makes us happy

While it is a good thing to enjoy the things we can get from God’s creation (games and toys)

We need to see that the greatest blessing is what Jesus provides spiritually

Jesus died for sinners

So that they can come to him and be forgiven

And obey his word

Which will make them fruitful to Jesus and to those around him

So when we come to Jesus we join his kingdom and enjoy the blessings of fruitfulness that come with it

I. Attitude

And so the first thing we will talk about that we need in order to enter into Jesus’ kingdom and enjoy the blessings of it, is having a proper attitude

a. Attitude defined

Your attitude is the way you think or feel inside your heart that will cause you to act a certain way

*What’s your favorite subject in School?

What’s your least favorite subject in school?

Is it easier to pay attention and behave in your favorite class than your least?

That because your attitude, or how you feel about it, is better for your favorite class than your least favorite*

Jesus teaches us with his first four beatitudes (blessings), that are attitude needs to be a certain way if we are going to truly enter into his kingdom, and if we are going to enjoy the blessings in it

II. An Attitude of being poor in spirit

Matthew 5:3 ESV

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

a. Poor

To be poor is to have very little, or nothing of something

*Have you ever seen a homeless person on the side of the road?

It is sad because that means they are poor, or have little or no money to even be able to have shelter*

Jesus said it is a blessing to know that you are poor

He does not mean without money like the homeless person

But rather to be poor in spirit

b. Spirit

You are made up of both body and spirit

Your spirit is what’s inside your body

Your spirit is where your understanding, desires, emotions, and actions come from

c. Poor in spirit

To be poor in spirit is to have understanding, desires, emotions, that are not rich towards God

But rather that are poor towards God

And so your actions that you do are poor too, or they are disobedient to God

*How many of you have a brother or sister

When your brother or sister does something that you don’t like

Is it easier to be mad at them or love them?

It is easy to be mad at them and mistreat them because you are poor in spirit*

So an attitude of being poor in spirit is knowing that of yourself, you have poor, or bad understanding, desires, emotions and actions that do not result in happiness or blessing from God

d. What the world says versus what the Bible says

It’s important for you to know that the world will tell you something very different

1. What the World says

They will say things like:

1. That people are generally good

2. That you should never think negatively about yourself

3. Your heart (or spirit) should always be trusted and should always be followed

2. What the Bible says

1. The Bible is clear that you are born a sinner, or disobedient to God

Psalm 51:5 ESV

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

2. The Bible says that we should be sad at being sinners and poor in spirit

James 5:1 ESV

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

3. The Bible is clear that you cannot trust your heart or always follow its leading

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

e. Why understanding you are poor in spirit is vital to enter the kingdom

As the last verse says, do not follow your own understand, but see that you are poor and need Jesus’ teaching instead

If you think you are rich in spirit, and there is nothing wrong with your understanding, desires, emotions, and actions then you will not feel the need to go to someone to make you rich

*Think back to that homeless person, he begs for money from people who have it

You will never see a rich person beg money from someone who doesn’t have it*

So if you think you are rich in spirit, this will lead to bad things since you will not feel the need to go to Jesus who is actually rich in spirit

But if you come to understand that you are very poor in spirit, you will be blessed because then you will feel the need to go to Jesus and ask for forgiveness of yours sins (which is why you are poor in spirit) and rely upon him to make you rich in spirit.

f. Why understanding you are poor in spirit is vital to the blessings within the kingdom

Also, to be poor in spirit does not just mean as you come to Jesus to be rich in spirit once

But its how you live your whole life in the kingdom which brings blessing

You will live your whole life knowing that the only hope of wealth comes from continuing to learn and follow Jesus everyday

And so to be poor in spirit brings you in and keeps you in the kingdom of Jesus as you rely upon him to be rich in spirit

And when this happen Jesus says “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, or you will come and stay in the kingdom of Christ

III. An attitude of mourning

To mourn means to be sad, even to the point of crying tears

*Can you think of a time you mourned, or were sad over something?*

It is not a fun experience to be sad and so often times the world says its not good to feel sad

But sadness is the only proper response to when we truly understand just how poor in spirit we are

The Apostle James makes this clear when he wrote

James 4:8–9 ESV

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

But Jesus says that in our mourning over our sin we receive the blessing of being comforted (5:4)

IV. The example of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9–14 ESV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The pharisee thought he was rich in spirit which caused him to look down on others

The tax collector, realizing his sin was so poor in spirit he wouldn’t even life his eyes up to heaven

And he showed his mourning by beating his breast

Jesus says the humble tax collector left right before God

And the proud Pharisee did not

Conclusion

There is only one path into Jesus’ kingdom

This is a path that the world would tell you is not a good path

If we are to enter into the kingdom of Jesus and receive his blessings

We must realize that we are poor before God

We don’t understanding and desire God like we should because of our sin

And we must mourn over this sad state of our souls

This may not seem like very fun, but when we realize this makes us go to Jesus who is rich in these things we see that it is in this way we receive the blessing of Jesus

For theirs is the kingdom

For they shall be comforted (in that kingdom).