Rhythm of Life | Beats 1/2

Introduction

What sets the baseline for your life?

What sets the beat that you keep coming back to?

We can start a new year off with resolutions or a new semester with some goals, but inevitably there is something we keep coming back to find the beat of our lives. That’s why resolutions and goals so often fail, because we aspire for new things, but we never change the baseline of our life.

What is the beat that you build your life off of?

What if you really set your life to Jesus' teachings?

As we begin our Beats series for the next two weeks, we find ourselves considering two of the most fundamental teachings from Jesus. At these words from Jesus, we notice a baseline rhythm or beat of life that’s revolutionary. It’s revolutionary, because the tempo or rhythm of our lives at the moment are most likely the choppiest they’ve ever been. One moment were happy, the next were sad. One moment were confident, the next were insecure. One moment we are compassionate towards others, the next were self-centered.

Here are the words of Jesus,

Gospel Transformation Bible: English Standard Version Study Notes for Matthew

it describes how God wants those to live who have already been transformed by his grace because they have understood their weakness and need for his mercy.

Matthew 5:1–3 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to 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.

Blessed - favor from God

Poor in spirit - aware of their weakness

The term "poor" doesn't have a great connotation—nobody wants to be poor in anything, right? Think about how much of our lives is driven by an unspoken desire to not end up poor. But what does "poor in spirit" mean?

Gospel Transformation Bible: English Standard Version Study Notes for Matthew

The Sermon is not an instruction manual for winning God’s favor. Rather, it describes how God wants those to live who have already been transformed by his grace because they have understood their weakness and need for his mercy. The “poor in spirit” (v. 3) are those who know that they, as sinners, do not have the spiritual resources necessary to carry out God’s demands.

It describes how God wants those to live who have already been transformed by his grace because they have understood their weakness and need for his mercy. The “poor in spirit” are those who know that they, as sinners, do not have the spiritual resources necessary to do anything of spiritual value.

This is so contradictory of our normal rhythm of life. I don’t know about you, but the world tells me to tighten my belt and be the best I can be at everything. Right?

it describes how God wants those to live who have already been transformed by his grace because they have understood their weakness and need for his mercy. The “poor in spirit” (v. 3) are those who know that they, as sinners, do not have the spiritual resources necessary to carry out God’s demands.

Frank Thielman, “Matthew,” in Gospel Transformation Bible: English Standard Version, ed. Bryan Chapell and Dane Ortlund (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 1275.