Poor in Spirit

Sermon on the Mount – Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:3 ESV

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

1. Introduction – Today we come to the first Beatitude. And right off the bat – we see that this blessing lays the foundation for the whole sermon.

a. It’s called the Sermon on the Mount…but the journey of this sermon begins in a valley.

i. This beatitude reminds us that we can never accomplish any of this sermon’s content without first being poor in spirit.

1. Howe can you possibly be hungering and thirsting after righteousness if you first haven’t been brought low before God?

a. How can you truly love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you – if you haven’t first recognized that that’s not natural…and you need supernatural help for that?

b. This is the first beatitude…the first statement in the SM – but it’s a statement we have to keep coming back to.

i. The only way we’ll be meek and merciful and be peacemakers…the only way you’ll be able to love our enemies…the only way to won’t worry about the tomorrow is by recognizing our poverty of spirit.

1. Also, as we begin our journey through these Beatitudes….through the whole SM – it is blatantly obvious that the values of God’s kingdom and the values of this world stand in stark contrast to each other.

a. Even in the Christian world…we have a hard time wrapping our heads around this statement.

i. Even in Christian circles, we value bravado, self-confidence…self-reliance.

1. Even in Christians circles we have a hard time seeing our poverty of spirit is a blessing or how blessing can possibly come from that.

2. We tend to think that God blesses the rich and curses the poor.

a. We tend to think that God provides for those who are full of self-confidence…those who are self-made people. But that’s not what the Bible says.

c. God blesses…God approves of…not those who are full of themselves, but God blesses those who are empty.

i. Here’s why – if you are full of yourself…there’s no room for God.

1. But if you are empty of self-reliance and self-confidence…then you are in the perfect position to be filled by God.

d. So, here’s what we’re going to look at this morning.

i. We’re going to look at this concept of poverty of spirit.

1. We’ll define the term…first by defining it negatively…by looking at poor in spirit doesn’t mean.

a. We’ll then define it positively – what it does mean to be poor in spirit.

i. And then we’ll look at the promised reward.

2. What it’s NOT –

The verse says – Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

a. Well, what does this mean? Well…first of all, it doesn’t simply refer to economic poverty, though there are elements of that in this beatitude.

i. There is some confusion about this beatitude, especially since a parallel passage in Luke’s Gospel states this…Blessed are the poor…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

1. This verse form Luke’s gospel has been used by those interested in social justice issues to show the horrors of wealth over against the blessings of poverty.

a. But even in Luke’s gospel, he isn’t simply referring to economic poverty, there’s spiritual poverty there too.

ii. When interpreting these 2 verses, one in Matthew’s Gospel and one in Luke’s Gospel, what we can’t do is over-interpret either.

1. Luke…Blessed are the poor…Matthew, blessed are the poor in spirit.

a. Luke can be overinterpreted to say…how great it is to be miserable…poor, hungry and crying.

i. Matthew can be overinterpreted to say…rich people can be blessed too if they only act with a poverty of spirit.

iii. We need balance between the 2 interpretations. This idea of poverty of spirit…or God’s poor – started in the OT…God’s people were referred to as ‘the poor’ or ‘the poor of the Lord.”

1. And it referred to their economic state, but also their status before the Lord.

a. Does physical poverty play into the equation? Absolutely. But even in Luke’s gospel where Jesus simply blessed the poor…there are spiritual undertones to that statement.

i. We need balance…the poor in spirit…is a combination of both Matthew and Luke.

1. Those who have encountered unfortunate circumstances from an economic point of view…in tandem with those who are spiritually and emotionally oppressed and in need of God’s help.

b. Secondly – being poor in spirit doesn’t mean suppression of character.

i. It doesn’t mean we should be nervous or shy or week or lacking courage.

1. It doesn’t mean we have to suppress our unique personalities in order to be poor in spirit.

a. We can still be ourselves…while also being poor in spirit.

c. Third…poor is spirit doesn’t mean being spiritually poor.

i. One who is spiritually poor is someone who hasn’t accepted Jesus as their Saviour…the spiritually poor person is one who is NOT indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

1. Still…it is not poor-spiritedness. A deficiency in vitality.

a. And certainly, this expression doesn’t denote poverty of the Holy Spirit.

i. Poverty of spirit is not some form of ascetism – where we beat ourselves up in order to receive some kind of spiritual gain.

3. What it is

– So to be poor in spirit can’t simply be defined as economic poverty.

a. Being poor in spirit isn’t a lack of personality…its not being spiritually poor or poor spirited…so what does it mean to be poor in spirit?

i. Get your pen or pencil ready, cause here comes the definition – to be poor in spirit are those who are brought to a sense of their sins…and seeing no goodness in themselves, throw themselves wholly on God’s mercy.

1. To be poor in spirit is to recognize that we are helpless without God’s help.

a. Poverty of spirit is a full, honest, factual, conscious and conscientious recognition before God of personal moral unworthy.

i. And if combine all that I have just said…poverty of spirit is the deepest form of repentance.

ii. And what we are talking about here is not a human to human interaction. Poor in spirit has nothing to do with how you see other people or other people see you.

1. But this is a God to human interaction.

a. When we are confronted with the holiness of God – what human doesn’t feel woefully inadequate?

b. To be poor in spirit is a self-emptying. Where we rid ourselves of pride, self-confidence, self-reliance in order to be filled with.

i. It’s God’s way – something has to be emptied before it can be filled.

1. Think about eating…if you are constantly eating junk throughout the day, when dinner comes, you won’t be hungry for good, nutritious food because you belly will be fully already.

a. In order to receive proper nutrients in your body, you need to not be fully of junk so you can be filled with good food.

ii. The same is true from a spiritual sense. If you are filling your mind and filling your soul with junk, there’s no room for God there.

1. So before there can be a filling – there first has to be an emptying…people have to be brought low in front of God…recognizing their poverty of spirit, in order to be filled.

a. We have to come to a place where we recognize our unworthy before God – and we must empty ourselves of ourselves in order to be filled with God.

iii. Being poor in spirit is self-renunciation, a self-emptying – it is living in complete submission to God.

c. Right from the outset the SM tells us – there is a mountain you must climb…but you are utterly incapable of climbing it on your own.

i. You need to recognize your ineptness, your spiritual bankruptcy, and throw yourself on God’s mercy.

1. The way up is down, being poor in spirit.

a. There are 2 verses from Isaiah that perfectly describe what it means to be poor in Spirit.

i. Look at Isaiah 57:15….and look at Isaiah 66:2

Isaiah 66:2 ESV

2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Isaiah 57:15 ESV

15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

4. Biblical Examples

– So are there any biblical examples of people who were poor in spirit? Absolutely there are!

a. Scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments are examples of poverty of spirit.

i. Think of Moses – who felt deep unworthy for the task he was called to.

1. He was conscience of his own inadequacies and deficiencies…fully aware of his need for God’s help.

a. Think of Gideon – who didn’t think he was worthy to lead God’s army because of his humble family of origin.

i. Or think of David – when he said, “Who am I that you should come to me?

1. The very thought of God coming to him was incredible to him…it astonished him.

b. Think of Isaiah, from who’s book we just read…having seen the glory of God in his temple said, “Woe is me, I am a person of unclean lips.”

b. And if we make our way into the NT – we encounter Peter. Peter was naturally aggressive, self-assertive and self-confident.

i. But when he truly saw Jesus for who he is – Peter said, “Depart form me, for I am sinful man.”

1. Or look at the Apostle Paul – who was skilled and trained and educated. He was the best of the best.

a. But when it came to boasting, he boasted only in his weaknesses…we learned this when we studied 2 Corinthians last year.

i. He boasted in his weaknesses, so that the power of God would be on full display.

2. Or think of the publican in the temple – who couldn’t even lift his head to the heavens.

a. But beating his chest he cried out – have mercy on me…a sinner.

i. And Jesus said that this man went away forgiven.

ii. And the best biblical example of poverty of spirit is Jesus.

1. Who came to earth – even though he is God – came to earth and lived as a man.

a. He left behind the glories in order to come to earth and be the atoning sacrifice for our sin.

c. Poor in spirit is a recognition of our nothingness in the presence of God.

i. It is a complete absence of pride, self-assurance and self-reliance.

1. Being poor in spirit is nothing we can produce in ourselves, nothing we can do in ourselves.

a. They way to poverty of spirit is to not look at yourself, but look at God.

i. Read his book, study his book, worship him in the splendor of his holiness.

1. Look at what he expects from his people. Contemplate standing before him…and recognize your unworthy and poverty.

2. Look at Jesus. See him as he is portrayed in the Gospels.

a. Look at him, and the more you look at him, the more hopeless we should feel in and of ourselves.

i. But in doing this we become poor in spirit.

1. You cannot truly look to God, truly look at Jesus, without feeling your absolute poverty.

a. And we throw ourselves at his mercy and maybe we repeat the lings of this hymn…

i. Nothing in my head I bring, simply to the cross I cling.

5. Promised Reward

– Finally today – let’s look at the promised reward.

a. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven or theirs is the kingdom of God. The Gospels use the terms interchangeable.

i. Again – we see the backwardness of this. The poor in spirit – those who recognize their poverty – their spiritual bankruptcy, their nothingness before God – inherit a kingdom.

1. One would expect the rich to get a kingdom – or those who are self-confident to go out and take a kingdom on their own.

a. The poor in spirit are blessed because their reward is far greater than anything the world has to offer.

i. Their reward is a kingdom far greater than any earthly reward.

ii. But what does the kingdom of heaven consist of?

1. To answer that question let’s look at a verse from Romans. 14:17.

Romans 14:17 ESV

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

a. This is an incredible description. Not a matter of eating or drinking.

i. Not like earthly kingdoms where dinner parties are a top priority.

2. But the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

a. Let’s quickly look at those 3 terms.

b. The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of righteousness.

i. When God’s Spirit truly rules in our hearts, then there is righteousness.

1. There is forgiveness of sin, there is justification.

a. The way to enter into the kingdom of heaven is to be poor in spirit – recognize your sinfulness and your need for a Saviour.

i. And when we do that we are made righteous…we are put into a right relationship with God.

ii. Secondly – in the kingdom of heaven there is peace.

1. It’s not a place of fear and turmoil or confusion. But the kingdom of heaven is a place of peace.

a. The poor in spirit receive a kingdom of peace as their reward.

i. God peace is a peace that passes all human understanding.

1. It is peace in the midst of hardships. It’s not the absence of trials and difficulties, but God’s comforting presence through those hardships.

iii. And look at the third characteristic – there is joy in the Holy Spirit.

1. Joy and peace kind of go hand in hand.

a. The kingdom of God is not a place of despair, but a place of joy. And when we are poor in spirit, when we enter into the kingdom of heaven, we enter in through righteousness…into a place of peace and joy.

c. And as I said before…this reward can be experienced now.

i. Here and now we can enter into righteousness. We can be brought into a right relationship with God by having our sins forgiven in Jesus’ name.

1. And when we do that we become citizens in God’s kingdom…now.

a. Here and now, we can know God’s peace…now, we can have joy in the Holy Spirit.

d. But this reward also looks into the future to when God brings his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

i. It is only the righteous, it is only those who have had their sins forgiven in Jesus name who will live in God’s kingdom.

1. In the future we will know righteousness fully and finally.

a. God’s future kingdom will be a place of eternal peace…a place where joy will never cease.

e. But the only way to experience the benefits of God’s kingdom in the future is to recognize your poverty of spirit now…

i. Recognize that we are nothing before God…and wholly and completely throw yourself on God’s mercy.