Through this sermon series that my church just started, I have already learned a lot more about the Sermon on the Mount than I initially picked up on in my first read-through.
Like I originally thought, the Beatitudes are a section of verses that tells us who is the most blessed in the eyes of God. But what I didn't see was that they are progressive--that is, each blessing builds on the last. So, first we must be "poor in spirit."
I was a little unclear on what this means, but after researching it a bit and hearing it in church, "poor in spirit" means that we must firstly acknowledge that we are spiritually bankrupt. We are not rich...if our goal is to please God and get to heaven, we cannot afford it and the check would eventually bounce. We must look into our spiritual "bank account" and see that there's not much there because of our brokenness. That is the first step to inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven.
Then, it says that those who mourn will be comforted. And, being that the Beatitudes build on one another, this verse is implying that those who are "poor in spirit" must be the ones mourning. They mourn not only for sad things in their lives, but also for the state of the world. We need to be in mourning for our brokenness, for our broken societies, for the lost people. We need to be sad that there are people who never ever look into their spiritual "bank account." We need to be utterly heartbroken about our own sin and that of others.
Like I originally thought, the Beatitudes are a section of verses that tells us who is the most blessed in the eyes of God. But what I didn't see was that they are progressive--that is, each blessing builds on the last. So, first we must be "poor in spirit."
I was a little unclear on what this means, but after researching it a bit and hearing it in church, "poor in spirit" means that we must firstly acknowledge that we are spiritually bankrupt. We are not rich...if our goal is to please God and get to heaven, we cannot afford it and the check would eventually bounce. We must look into our spiritual "bank account" and see that there's not much there because of our brokenness. That is the first step to inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Thinking/praying point: I pray that I can look inwardly and see that I am spiritually broken, or "broke"--I am poor. This is a big sin issue for me, because I have a tendency to look inward and try to find the good things about me or be satisfied with who I am. I think I am spiritually rich, and this verse speaks directly against that.
Then, it says that those who mourn will be comforted. And, being that the Beatitudes build on one another, this verse is implying that those who are "poor in spirit" must be the ones mourning. They mourn not only for sad things in their lives, but also for the state of the world. We need to be in mourning for our brokenness, for our broken societies, for the lost people. We need to be sad that there are people who never ever look into their spiritual "bank account." We need to be utterly heartbroken about our own sin and that of others.
- Thinking/praying point: I need to look at the biggest sin issue in my life. What is the thing that I am going to quench my thirst or my hunger? Am I writing that issue off with shrugged shoulders by saying, "It's just because I'm broken"? This sin should break my heart, I should mourn that it is part of my life and that it takes glory away from God. When I can mourn this issue, I can rest knowing that someday this mourning will be comforted.
Then, those who are "poor in spirit" mourn, and as a result they become "meek." Meekness means that we are humble, we know that we are powerless without a savior, we know that we are sinners, we are teachable and moldable. This verse says that the meek will inherit the earth, which is pretty much the opposite of what our culture teaches us. Our culture says that "Nice guys finish last." The next verse says that those who thirst and hunger for righteousness are the next to be blessed. Therefore, we must be like Jesus in Matthew 4--our hunger must not be satisfied by "bread alone." We must show a desire for righteousness and use righteous things to slake our spiritual thirst rather than running to worldly things to fill a spiritual need.
The thing we need to remember is that Jesus was the first and only person to embody these characteristics fully and without flaw. He was the at the pinnacle of being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. We could not be any of these things without help, so he embodied them perfectly, and now we can take these characteristics on.
- Thinking/praying point: We learn in the Beatitudes what a "blessed" person looks like, and we also learn about God's promises to that kind of person. I want to remember those promises. Those who embody these guidelines are promised the Kingdom of Heaven, comfort from mourning, earth, satisfaction of spiritual hunger and thirst, mercy, a family under God, the very visage of God. These things should be encouraging to me that God gave me a way to have them through Jesus.
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