- Poverty of spirit refers to realizing one's spiritual bankruptcy and utter dependence on God. It means humbling oneself before God with a broken and contrite heart, emptying oneself of spiritual pride. - One who is poor in spirit has a broken and contrite heart, is humble without spiritual pride, and is fully dependent on God. It is the foundation for the other beatitudes and leads to salvation and spiritual maturity. - To become poor in spirit requires listening to God, beholding and drawing near to Him through studying Scripture and seeking Him daily, in order to truly face God and feel one's poverty of spirit in His presence.

2. Introduction:
• Jesus teaches, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
• Jesus put these beatitudes in a logical
sequence.
– By necessity this one must come first. No one
can enter the kingdom of heaven without first
being poor in spirit.
– Poverty of spirit is the fundamental
characteristic of the Christian and all others
proceed from this one.

3. What Poverty Of Spirit Is Not!
• Physical/Financial poverty…
Prov. 30:7-9; Mt. 6:19-21
– One could be without wealth and still not be
poor in spirit.
• Thinking poorly of yourself… Mt. 6:26;
16:26
– God wants us to think properly of ourselves,
and not to despise ourselves.

4. What Poverty Of Spirit Is:
• Two words used to describe poverty.
– Greek “Penes”. Speaks of the person whose
life is a struggle.
– Ptocos. Reduced to beggary. Speaks of
absolute poverty. Mt. 5:3
• It means to realize that we are spiritually
bankrupt, that we cannot save ourselves.
– It confesses one’s unworthiness before God
and utter dependence on Him.
– Example: Luke 18:9-14

5. Attributes Of One “Poor In Spirit”:
• They have a broken and contrite heart.
Isaiah 57:15
• They are humble. Absence of spiritual
pride. 1 Peter 5:5; Mt. 23:12
• They are dependent on God. Gen. 15:14;
Ex. 3:21; 12:35-36; Lk. 9:23

6. How Can I Become Poor In Spirit?
• Can’t do it all by yourself. Phil. 4:13
• Listen to God. Romans 10:17
• Behold and draw near to Him! James 4:8
– Cleanse hands
– Cleanse heart
• As you study God’s word and seek Him each
day… If you do not feel poverty of spirit in
God’s presence it means that you haven’t
really faced him. Luke 17:10; Isa. 6:5; Lk. 5:8

7. If We Are Poor In Spirit…
• We humble ourselves before God and
express a broken and contrite heart.
• We empty ourselves of all spiritual pride
and express our dependence on Christ for
salvation and transformation. Rom. 12:1-2
• We truly desire to be in God’s kingdom.
• Our poverty leads us to salvation by grace
through faith that God offers and becomes
the foundation for the other beatitudes that
lead us to spiritual maturity. 2 Cor. 7:10

8. Poor In Spirit, Our Wake-Up Call!
• God loves us just the way we are, but He
loves us to much to leave us that way.
Mt. 1:21; Acts 26:18
• God wants us to become like Jesus!
Romans 8:29
• This attribute is just the beginning and the
right place to start! James 4:9-10
• Will you die to self and come to Jesus with
brokenness of spirit, humility and
dependence on God?