Upside Down Living: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
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This series explores the "upside down" kingdom values that Jesus laid out in His Beatitudes. This sermon focuses on the phrase "poor in spirit" and contrasts this with similar statements that Jesus made concerning the blessedness of the poor. We will ask hard questions such as, "Is poverty equivalent to spiritual blessing?" Or is poverty of spirit something broader? We will explore a variety of scriptures which equate humility and poverty of spirit.
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Upside Down Living: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
- 2. What are Beatitudes? Μακάριοι οἱ/ Makarioi hoi Blessed are the… Latin: “beatitudos”
- 3. Tony Campolo “If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over the airwaves of North America.”
- 4. Blessed are the… Poor In Spirit
- 5. Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 6. True Riches “I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion.Patrick Henry
- 7. True Riches If they had this, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich; but if they had not that, and I have given them all the world, they would be poor.” Patrick Henry
- 8. First Point Is Jesus teaching that all poor people are uniquely blessed?
- 9. Luke 6:20 Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
- 10. Thomas Adams “There are God's poor and the Devil's poor”
- 11. Proverbs 6 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
- 12. Proverbs 6 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
- 13. Proverbs 6 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
- 14. Second Point If not simply an expression of material poverty, what does it mean to be poor in spirit?
- 15. Numbers 12:2 “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?”
- 16. Numbers 12:3 (NIV 1984) Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.
- 17. Proverbs 29:23 Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.
- 18. Third Point How do we begin climbing the ladder of humility thereby becoming more “poor in spirit”?
- 19. Charles Spurgeon This beatitude is first, because this is where we start with God. “A ladder, if it is to be of any use, must have its first step near the ground, or feeble climbers will never be able to mount.
- 20. 1. Listen to others. Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
- 21. 2. Be teachable. Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
- 22. 3. Don’t blame others for your sins. Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
- 23. 4. Don’t be so sure that you’re right all the time. Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
- 24. 5. Take an interest in others. Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
- 25. 6. Ask for forgiveness; don’t just say I’m sorry.Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
- 26. 7. Ask for prayer for areas of weakness and temptation.Mark Altrogge How to Grow in Humility
Editor's Notes
- The Sermon on the Mount begins with 8 statements, all of which begin: Μακάριοι οἱ/ Makarioi hoi Blessed are the… Makarios in Greek includes the idea of “Happy”. However, when used by Jesus and his followers, it is used more in the sense of joy-filled, indicating that kind of optimism that doesn’t bow to every challenge or difficult circumstance. Since such an attitude comes from God himself, the beatitudes are kingdom attitudes and behaviors., So, when preachers get cutesy and call these the Be-Attitudes, it’s not far from the essence of this statement. These are the defining behaviors and character traits of Jesus’ true disciples, the signs of living the blessed life. I have called this described this “blessed life” as an example of Upside Down Living. That is because each of these character traits are easily identifiable as being an inversion of the culture at large. Jesus called His followers to live counter-culturally… not living as the “i-dotting” “t-crossing” Pharisees or the secular and profane Greeks and Romans. Every one of the beatitudes has this upside down twist to it. I came across an interesting quote from Tony Campolo. Let me go on record as saying that you need to be careful quoting Campolo. Sometimes he’s off… but when he’s on he’s so on. This is a hard-hitting quote, but it perfectly introduces our challenge in the 21st century:
- Tony said: “If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over the airwaves of North America.” Do you catch the implication of what Tony is saying. Jesus set out to capsize culture… to turn the values of the godless world upside down. However, in our generation, instead of living into these counter-cultural values of the kingdom, we have turned the gospel right-side up so that now the church looks and feels more like the world. Now, if the world had improved, perhaps this would be a good thing. But the unmistakable truth is that our 21st century post-Christian world is remarkably like the pre-Christian world of the first century. So, in creating a culturally relevant “with-it” form of Christianity, we have departed from the pathway that Jesus established, the pathway that leads to a blessed and happy life. Throughout this series it will be my goal to challenge us to regain our distinctiveness, living into the Upside-Down Living that puts us in sync with God’s purpose.
- The first of the beatitudes concerns the blessing that rests upon the poor in spirit. Look at Mt. 5:3:
- Matthew 5:3 Look with me at Matthew 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Clearly, the ultimate goal of the Christian life is to reach heaven safely and securely. Jesus hear identifies part of what a heaven-bound soul looks like… He or she is poor in spirit.
- “I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion.
- If they had this, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich; but if they had not that, and I have given them all the world, they would be poor.” These are bold words because they swim against the tide of our culture which esteems plenty and denigrates poverty. These words acknowledge that there is a spiritual dynamic to the issues of wealth and poverty. For the next several weeks, we are going to spend time looking at the Beatitudes, Jesus' counter-cultural instructions recorded at the beginning of the greatest sermon ever preached; the Sermon on the Mount. We begin this week by contemplating Matthew 5:3:
- First Point Is Jesus teaching that all poor people are uniquely blessed?
- Bible critics accept Luke's version as the reliable quote of Jesus and accuse Matthew of spiritualizing Jesus' teaching concerning the materially poor. I am consistently amazed at the inability of these critics to understand the nature of itinerant ministry. All teachers reuse good material when speaking to a different audience. Wise teachers, however, do not simply reuse material. They modify it, applying it to the specifics of that new audience. This is how I understand the similarities and differences in the gospel accounts. We do not have to ask whether Matthew's version is authentic, or Luke's. Rather, I suspect that Jesus spoke these same words in different settings, with different emphases. In Luke, Jesus is probably addressing a wealthy crowd whom He wishes to shake up, reminding them that God regards material wealth and poverty in a different way; that He showers His blessings upon the poor who seek Him. On the occasion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus qualifies this teaching. He points out that it is not all poor who are blessed, but the poor in spirit. This qualification is stated by preacher Thomas Adams who once said,
- “There are God's poor and the Devil's poor” I am not entirely sure what Adams meant to say, but I suspect that he is simply acknowledging that there are many paths to poverty and many responses to poverty. Consider the prodigal son. Through greed, lust and debauchery he went from riches to rags. Yet, I would hardly hold him up as a model of blessedness. Solomon points out that poverty can be the consequence of laziness:
- 9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
- 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
- 11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Jesus resists the popular teaching of Job's friends; the teaching that wealth is a definite indication of divine blessing and poverty a sure proof of divine disapproval. He teaches that wealth is a dangerous distraction in that it removes our sense of dependence upon God and produces an unhealthy self-reliance. Jesus also teaches that poverty is more often a spiritual advantage in that it can and often does produce a sense of need for divine assistance.
- Second Point If not simply an expression of material poverty, what does it mean to be poor in spirit? The more I considered this verse, one word kept coming to the foreground. It is not explicitly in the text, but I am certain that it is the very essence of spiritual poverty, humility. The Bible is filled with examples of both the proud and the humble. One person who came to mind was Moses. We do not typically think of Moses as a humble man, because we constantly see him doing the spectacular, or exercising leadership as the political and spiritual leader of the re-emerging Hebrew nation. Yet, there is a very interesting event in Moses' life which we often forget. Moses married a black woman, an Ethiopian, and Moses' brother Aaron and his sister Miriam did not approve. Yet, instead of dealing with the issue directly, they began to swipe at Moses' authority over Israel.
- In Numbers 12:2, they question: “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” Verse 2 goes on to say that the LORD heard the comment. In verse 4, God addresses the criticism of His prophet. He summons Aaron and Miriam before Him, affirms Moses' authority and curses Miriam with leprosy. After Moses' petitions on her behalf, the LORD heals Miriam, but compels her to remain outside the camp in total isolation for 7 days until she is ritually clean. Yet, in between verse 2 and verses 4-16 there is a parenthetical break. Words written by Moses but entirely the product of divine dictation.
- Verse 3 reads: Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. Why did God choose Moses as the deliverer? We often assume it is because of his unique background, having been educated in the Egyptian court as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. However, after reflecting on Numbers 12:3 I suspect that Moses' background was a lesser factor. God chose a stutterer to be His spokesperson. He chose a bashful man to be His ambassador. He chose a man whose fall from greatness purged him of pride. God chose the most humble man on the face of the earth to manifest the power of heaven on earth. And even Moses, in all his humility succumbed to the sin of pride. Although he repented and was forgiven, his lapse into pride resulted in his being barred from entering the Promised Land himself. Imagine what would have happened if God had chosen a proud man and imbued Him with such miracle working power. There is a tremendous lesson for us here. God cannot and will not entrust His power to prideful men and women. Consider Jesus’ selection of apostles. Fishermen, a tax collector, uneducated commoners; an assortment of nobodies. Jesus chose the poor in spirit, humble men to do the miraculous work of the apostolic ministry. Do you desire to be used by God in a mighty way? Do you hunger for a genuine encounter with the power of God's Holy Spirit working in and through you? The lesson of Jesus' first beatitude is that the pathway to God's kingdom is poverty of spirit. As long as your heart is filled with pride, there is insufficient room for God to work. The kingdom of heaven is the blessed promise which belongs to the humble.
- Proverbs 29:23 Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.
- Third Point How do we begin climbing the ladder of humility thereby becoming more “poor in spirit”?
- This beatitude is first, because this is where we start with God. “A ladder, if it is to be of any use, must have its first step near the ground, or feeble climbers will never be able to mount.
- How to Grow in Humility 1. Listen to others.
- 2. Be teachable.
- 3. Don’t blame others for your sins.
- 4. Don’t be so sure that you’re right all the time.
- 5. Take an interest in others.
- Ask for forgiveness; don’t just say I’m sorry.
- Ask for prayer for areas of weakness and temptation.