Joyful Are The Bankrupt
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Good morning Church! It is good to be in the house of God with each of you. We are starting another year in the Lord, and I truly believe it is going to be a glorious year, Amen! I am excited about what God is going to do not only in this church throughout 2025, but also in each of your individual lives as well.
Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:1-3
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
All of 2024, we followed along throughout the Gospels preaching through them in chronological order. We made it a little ways in, but not very far. We ended last year in Mark 2, but in praying to God about where He would have me start this year, I am convinced He wants me to start here in Matthew 5 with what is commonly referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount”.
This means we have skipped a couple of chapters in the chronological order of things. We may come back and cover them later, but I am not sure. If you want to go read and study those chapters on your own, you will need to cover all of John 5, the last half of Mark 2, and the first half of Mark 3. This will get you caught up to where we are today.
Now Luke also records much of this sermon as well, but Matthew gives the most detailed description of it, so Matthew is the one we will be following. The Sermon on the Mount extends from Matthew 5 all the way through Matthew 7. It is three full chapters and it is good stuff. It covers everything from the beatitudes, which is where we will start today, to fasting and prayer, to marriage and divorce, to loving your enemies, to the Golden rule, and so much more.
It is going to be very applicable to us as we go through it. In other words, God is going to give us many instructions that we are to follow as we go through this section of Scripture. They are going to challenge us deeply, but if we are willing to be obedient to what we see in these few chapters, I promise you that it will change your life.
Context
Context
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
Now to provide a little bit of context, Mark and Luke both record this particular event in more detail than Matthew does.
Jesus is being followed by many people, which is not uncommon for Him at this point. Jesus goes up on the mountain, and Mark and Luke describe how that it is at this time when Jesus announces His 12 disciples. He calls them by name and when they come, He gives them power to preach, the power to heal, and the power to cast out demons from people.
It is after this private moment with the 12 that Jesus looks down at all the people at the foot of the mountain and begins to preach.
His first words:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This section is known as the beatitudes. “Beatitude” is a Latin word used to describe the state of happiness or bliss. Adrian Rogers says that the attitudes are attitudes that ought to be.
In other words, as you look down through this list that starts in vs. 3 and ends in vs. 10, you see that Jesus is not speaking to what a man has, but to what a man is. This list is designed to challenge the character of an individual.
Note that reputation is what a person is perceived as externally, but character is what a man is internally. He is speaking beyond the facade of neatness that we like to portray to others and is speaking directly to who we are....the real us. Therefore, as we move throughout these beatitudes, our innermost self, our true character will be challenged. If we take the challenge seriously, then the words of Jesus Christ will impact us greatly. Otherwise, we will only attempt to portray these attributes to others externally and our hearts will remain the same.
We must also understand this term “Blessed”. The word in the original language is “makarios”. It’s literal definition means to be happy, fortunate, or blissful. Therefore, many will substitute the word “happy” here for blessed. Unfortunately, I do not think “happy” is the best translation of this word.
In its truest sense, the word “makarios” has to do with an inward contentedness that is not affected by circumstances, or other external forces. It speaks of one who is truly “happy” even when circumstances change for the worse. This in itself is in my opinion a contradiction of the word happy altogether.
Happiness is a state of mind that is based on the haps, or happenings, in one’s life. A hap is an occurence, a happening. So if one’s haps are in their favor, then they will experience the state of mind we call happiness, but if one’s haps are not in their favor, they they will experience the state of mind we call unhappiness. In this sense, the state of mind is completely based upon the events of one’s life.
This word here is not conveyed in that way. Just look at our verse for today. “Happy” are the poor is spirit.... just doesn’t fit to me. We will talk more about what being poor in spirit means in a minute, but whatever it is, it does not seem to be a good hap, right?
To me, the proper word to be used here is joyful, instead of happy, or blessed. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Joy is something that is tapped into the presence of God Himself. As we tap into the presence of God inside of us, aka the Holy Spirit, we now experience the fruit of that bond. It is based upon something that dwells within, not on something that happens without.
Jesus makes it clear at the very beginning of the Sermon on the Mount that He is speaking of a joy that can come only through a relationship with God. He is speaking of a joy that is only for believers. This joy is a deeply supernatural experience of contentedness based on the fact that one’s life is right with God.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes seem paradoxical. The conditions and their corresponding blessings do not seem to match. By normal human standards such things as humility, mourning, desire for righteousness, mercy, and persecution are not the stuff of which happiness is made.
In other words, Jesus teaches here a message that is contrary to the natural way of thinking. He teaches that misery endured for the right reasons and in the right way is the key to true joy.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Beatitudes
The world says, “Happy are the rich, the noble, the successful, the macho, the glamorous, the popular, the famous, the aggressive.” But the message from the King does not fit the world’s standards, because His kingdom is not of this world but of heaven. His way to happiness, which is the only way to true happiness, is by a much different route.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Beatitudes
Solomon, the wisest and most magnificent of ancient kings, tried the world’s way to happiness for many years. He had the royal blood of his father, David, coursing through his veins. He had vast amounts of gold and jewels and “made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem” (1 Kings 10:27). He had fleets of ships and stables filled with thousands of the finest horses. He had hundreds of wives, gathered from the most beautiful women of many lands. He ate the most sumptuous of foods on the finest of tableware in the most elegant of palaces with the most distinguished people. He was acclaimed throughout the world for his wisdom, power, and wealth. Solomon should have been immeasurably happy. Yet that king, so great and blessed by earthly standards, concluded that his life was purposeless and empty. The theme of Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s personal testimony on the human situation, is “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?” (1:2–3).
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Beatitudes
When King Saul was distressed, his jewels and his army could give him no help.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Beatitudes
When King Belshazzar was having a great feast with his nobles, wives, and concubines, he suddenly saw a hand writing on the wall,
3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!
5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
We cannot expect to find true satisfaction or fulfillment or joy in the things of this world. It is like when the women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body and found an angel instead. Upon their arrival, the angel asked them:
5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
We will not find the things of God amongst the world for they are not there.
Paul tells us in Col 3.1-2
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
John tells us:
1 John 2:15 (NKJV)
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world......
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Beatitudes
True blessedness is on a higher level than anything in the world, and it is to that level that the Sermon on the Mount takes us. Here is a completely new way of life, based on a completely new way of thinking. It is in fact based on a new way of being. The standard of righteousness, and therefore the standard of happiness, is the standard of selflessness—a standard that is completely opposite to man’s fallen impulses and unregenerate nature.
Content
Content
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Poor In Spirit
Poor In Spirit
First, let’s talk about what this doesn’t mean.
Notice that it does not say “blessed are the poor”....period. It does not say, “blessed are the financially poor”. We are not dealing with finances here. This verse has nothing to do with the physical condition of an individual. As we have already established, joy does not come from physical things, it comes from within. It is a spiritual matter.
That is what this verse says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit”.
Now what does that mean, to be poor in spirit. It is not referring to a lack of spirituality. It is not saying that those who are weak in the spirit are blessed, for that would be contradictory to the teaching of the rest of Scripture.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
Adrian Rogers points out that it also does not mean to be poor-spirited, to walk around with your head hung low, constantly in a mindset of “Woe is me”. He says that’s not spiritual at all, but simply one who has bad posture.
So what does it mean? The word used here is ptochos. Its literal meaning is to beg, or to be a beggar. Its root word, ptosso, means to crouch, to cringe, or to cower. This word speaks of the shame one has as a beggar, lying at the gate begging others for alms as they entered and left the synagogue. It is when one crouches or cowers in shame, with their head hung low, knowing that they are completely destitute. They having nothing of their own and if they are going to survive, they are going to have to depend on the mercy and grace of others to provide it for them.
This phrase, “Poor in spirit”, is speaking of one being spiritually bankrupt. It is when one comes to the end of themselves. They have tried everything else in life to bring about this spiritual fulfillment that everyone seeks, but have come up short. They have realized that there is nothing they can do to save themselves from the penalty of sin. They have come to the end of themselves and now they hang their heads in shame as they approach the righteous God of creation, knowing that if they are to survive, it will be determined by His mercy and grace alone. They hang their heads low as they come near the Almighty and they hold out trembling hands, begging for mercy and grace while also knowing they deserve neither.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Poor in Spirit
To be poor is spirit is to recognize one’s spiritual poverty apart from God. It is to see oneself as one really is: lost, hopeless, helpless. Apart from Jesus Christ every person is spiritually destitute, no matter what his education, wealth, social status, accomplishments, or religious knowledge.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) The Meaning of Poor in Spirit
That is the point of the first beatitude. The poor in spirit are those who recognize their total spiritual destitution and their complete dependence on God. They perceive that there are no saving resources in themselves and that they can only beg for mercy and grace. They know they have no spiritual merit, and they know they can earn no spiritual reward. Their pride is gone, their self-assurance is gone, and they stand empty-handed before God.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
8 Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land!
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
Both Peter and Isaiah knew full well where they stood with God when they were able to see Him for who He was, the Kings of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, that which was, that which is, and that which is to come, the Almighty!!!
For Theirs Is The Kingdom of Heaven
For Theirs Is The Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus puts this beatitude first because humbleness is the foundation of becoming a Christian. Pride has no place in the Kingdom of God, and until one is ready, willing, and able to surrender the pride of themselves they will never come into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) Why Humility Is First
The door into His kingdom is low, and no one who stands tall will ever go through it.
When we come into the knowledge of how helpless, hopeless, and worthless we are without Him, then, and only then, can we see Him as He is. It is when we have come to the end of ourselves that we are able to see how mighty, worthy, and glorious Christ is. Until one sees the reality of their own condemnation, they will never see the ability of Christ to redeem them from it.
5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
Being poor in spirit is the first beatitude because humility must precede everything else. No one can receive the kingdom until they first realize that they are unworthy of the kingdom.
Matthew, vols. 1-4 (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary) Why Humility Is First
Where self is exalted, Christ cannot be. Where self is king, Christ cannot be. Until the proud in spirit become poor in spirit, they cannot receive the King or inherit His kingdom.
But when we surrender the throne of our lives to God, we receive the greatest reward of all:
For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. That is the ultimate goal. That is what we are striving for.
Commitment
Commitment
How do we accomplish this? How does one become a humble person?
First let me tell you that this is not something achieved over night. It takes time and effort. Furthermore, this is something that will consistently grow over the course of your entire life. Even those whom we consider to be the most humble of all are still learning to be more humble, but what can we do to put us on the right track?
Stop looking unto ourselves for answers and to turn to God.
Even in this endeavor to become humble, we must look to God. Becoming humble is not something we can simply muster up within ourselves, but rather is a work of God within us. It is something that comes as a natural result of seeing more of who God is. As we become more aware of who He is, we become more aware of who we are. As this takes place, we naturally become more reliant on Him and less reliant on ourselves. We must seek the perfection of God, which in turn will reveal the sinfulness of ourselves.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
As we seek God, He will reward us for the effort we put forth. We are to read our Bibles so that we might know Him more. We are to pray consistently, communicating with our very creator to know His will.
We must be aware of those things that stir up a prideful spirit within us and refrain from them as much as possible.
Each of us move and operate differently. Something that may stir up pride in you may not necessarily stir up pride in me. We are to know ourselves and know what things in this life push us into a prideful disposition. If we know these things about us, then we can begin to guard our hearts from this. We can proceed with caution, knowing that these “triggers” are not healthy for us and that we need to avoid them at all costs, as much as it is possible.
2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Surround ourselves with humble people.
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
We are to watch how the more mature Christians act and then mimic that in our lives. They walked with God longer than we have, which usually means that they have learned some things along the way that we have yet to learn. We are to spend time with them, learn from them, and allow their Godliness to teach us how to walk with the Lord.
Do not be so prideful to think that people from other generations don’t understand what you are going through. Yes, the culture has changed. No, sin has not changed at all. The temptations you face are no different from the ones they faced and we can glean from their testimonies. We can learn from their mistakes. We can avoid the pitfalls of life if we are willing to listen and learn from them.
We must ask God to help us become more humble.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Humbleness is like any other good thing in this life, it is unnatural to the natural-born sinner. It is a thing of God, so it seems contrary to our very nature. As we come into a relationship with Christ, we begin to learn what it looks like to live for Him, and not the world. We slowly begin to change and become a different person. We need His help to continue in this walk.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
God wants good for us. He is willing to save us if we are willing to admit we need Him to do so and come to Him for help. He is willing to help us, if we will but ask for it.
