The Beatitudes (Sermon Series) – July 11, 2010

Matthew 5:3 - “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happiness is…Being Poor in Spirit

Happiness is…How would you finish that sentence? Happiness is financial security? Happiness is never having to go to work? Happiness is always being able to do what you want? Isn’t it true that the quest for happiness, whether for ourselves or for others, fuels much of our earthly existence?

God wants us to be happy! And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us what happiness is. He does so with some unexpected answers. The first of which is the basis of our devotion this morning. “Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is probably the most famous sermon that has ever been preached. It covers 3 chapters in the book of Matthew and totals 107 verses. But unfortunately, it is also a sermon that is often misunderstood, and these statements of blessings with which he begins his sermon are no different. When we first read these statements, our reaction might be to think that Jesus is setting down a prescription for getting right with God and for earning a place in his kingdom. But that is not the case! And that it isn’t the case is evident when we stop to consider the audience to whom Jesus is addressing this sermon. In verses one and two of this chapter we read, “His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.” Jesus is speaking to his disciples; to believers who by faith were already right with God. Therefore, Jesus isn’t telling them how to be saved, or how to become blessed, or even giving them a summary of the Christian faith. Instead, Jesus is describing the blessedness that belongs to all believers in Christ and is giving them a better understanding of how the saved will live.

So, as we dive into these statements of blessings for the next eight weeks, think of the word blessed as meaning “made happy by God.” You see, God does want us to be happy. And once we are in a relationship of faith and trust with our Savior, he continually blesses our lives. At the foot of the cross, he gives us the greatest gift of all gifts – the forgiveness of sins and salvation. Now, Jesus reminds us of what it truly means to be blessed.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” In the New Testament, three different words expressing poverty are found. Two of them are used only once, and they speak of being poor in the sense of having to live sparingly due to the lack most of the essential needs. It could be likened to an individual who is able to eat only after he gets a paycheck. On the other hand, the third word used for poor, and it is the one used here in our lesson, carries with it a far more extreme situation. It describes one whose poverty is so severe that they are only able to obtain their living by begging. It conveys the idea of utter destitution. It is the word used when describing Lazarus begging outside the gate of the rich man.

However, let us not think that Jesus is telling us that we need to go out and sell our cars, give away our TV’s or start living on the streets. Notice that Jesus says, “poor in spirit.” By adding those words, in spirit, Jesus takes our attention away from the economic and material world and directs it to the spiritual world. Therefore, what Jesus is saying is, blessed, happy are those who recognize their spiritual poverty before God. And not just a poverty that says, “Well, I know I’m not perfect, but who is. Yeah, I make mistakes. I’ve got my faults, but at least it’s not as bad as others.” No! Understanding the word Jesus uses here for poor, he is saying, happy are those who recognize their utter, total, complete spiritual poverty before God.

Obviously Jesus judges differently from the world. The world says, “Happy are they who believe they can do anything. Happy are those who are carefree. Happy are those who are confident and secure in this life.” But with Jesus, he says true happiness is recognizing our need for God. It’s seeing ourselves as we really are: lost, hopeless and helpless – and crying out each day “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

The poor in spirit are simply those who know how “poor” they are in God’s eyes. They recognize their utter sinfulness. They acknowledge that they are deserving of nothing but hell. And they admit that there is no help for them in themselves or the things or ways of the world. The poor in spirit are those who realize they need God’s help, and who trust in his forgiveness and salvation. They are those who know that without God they will fail in their fight against the temptations that confront them. They are those who know that without God they cannot accomplish the tasks they are called upon to do. In short, the poor in spirit are those who admit that they desperately need Jesus as their Savior.

So, is that you? Is this how we think of ourselves? Or do we have to confess that we aren’t always so ready to admit our utter sinfulness, like Paul, and say “I am the chief of sinners?” Yes, arrogance gets in the way and we flatter ourselves by saying, “I’m a better Christian than they are! They are hypocrites! They sit in church on Sunday and then go out and do that! Why, compared to them, I’m not that sinful at all!”

The poor in spirit realize that their own works are nothing but filthy rags and they desperately need Jesus as Savior. Is that you? Is this our attitude when it comes to standing before God? Or do we have to confess that we aren’t always so ready to count all our efforts as worthless ashes, like Paul, and say, “The best I can do is rubbish?” Yes, sinful pride has a way of rearing its ugly head and getting us to think that somehow we should be rewarded for our so-called “good deeds.”

As we examine ourselves, we must admit that sometimes we forfeit the happiness of being poor in spirit, and find ourselves adopting the world’s attitudes of self-praise and self-righteousness, thinking “I don’t need anyone!” Or, “God owes me something!” Or “What I’ve done has got to count for something!” But God doesn’t owe us anything. We do not deserve anything from God. What we do counts for nothing before God when it comes to our salvation.

So, where does that leave us? Well, although we need to approach the Lord with poor spirits, we do not leave our Lord crushed and broken. You see, in our poverty we find the richness of God’s love in our Savior Jesus Christ. In this Savior we find one who lived the perfect life – and who gives us his perfect life through faith. In this Savior we find one who gave his life for us on the cross – and who gives us forgiveness, made certain by the shedding of his precious blood.

People who are poor in spirit are people who are in need. Our souls need to be fed by the Word of God, because we are sinners who need to be clothed by God. And God in love does clothe us, in the gleaming garments of Christ’s righteousness. The poor in spirit know that they are rich before God through faith in Christ Jesus. His perfect obedience to all of God’s commandments and his death on the cross for all our sins accomplished what we could never manage by our own efforts. And God gives us the credit for Jesus’ perfect righteousness. So the poor become rich.

“Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We hold in faith’s hand citizenship papers for heaven. God counts us in his heavenly census. We enjoy all the riches of God’s kingdom – pardon for sins, peace with God, promise of eternal life. We are rich in the knowledge of our real situation.

Happy is the poor in spirit! How true it is! It seems to contradict itself! It sounds so strange! But really it is so clear! We were nothing, but our God in his grace through the Savior has made us rich - “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). In the eyes of the world it might not look like much. But we are the most blessed after all. That’s why we are happy. So we pray: Lord, help us to always recognize our absolute dependence on you and continue to grant us the happiness that only believers in Jesus can have. Amen.