Volume 46, No. 5
Matthew 5:1-12 Txt Mt. 5:3
Sermon prepared by Rev. Robert Haven, London, Ont.
Proposed Order of Service
Please stand if you are able
Organist, Pianist or Pre-Service Hymns
God calls us to worship
Call to Worship Isa. 55:1 and 6
Silent Prayer
Leader: Congregation, in whose name is our help?
People: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made the heavens
and the earth. Amen.
Prayer for God's Presence: Sovereign Lord, we have gathered in
your presence to worship you this morning. We thank you for your
call,
and ask that you will accept the praises of our hearts and pour
out your blessings. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
we ask. Amen.
Opening Hymn #96
Service of confession
Confession and Assurance of Pardon
The Lord's Will for Our Lives
Hymn of Dedication #32
Service of the word
Children's Message and/or Hymn
Prayer of Illumination: Heavenly Father,
we pray that you will open the eyes of our hearts by the power
of
Your Spirit that we may discern your Word of Truth so freely given
to us.
Scripture reading: Matthew 5:1-12
Text: Matthew 5:3
Sermon: "Who wants to be poor?"
Hymn of Response #206
Congregational Prayer
Service of Gratitude
Offerings:
Offertory Prayer and/or Hymn Deacons
Conclusion of Worship
Benediction: Lord, we pray that we may leave this place
strengthened in our faith and filled with your blessings. Help
us
to go forth from this place, filled with your Spirit, eager to
share the news of your love so freely given in your Son. In his
name we
ask. Threefold Amen
Doxology #630
Moment of Meditation
Sermon
The Sermon on the Mount has inspired a mountain of books
and commentary.
Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist, wrote that if all people would
only practice the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount, society would
be transformed into a utopian kingdom. Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian
Hindu, agreed.
Others, such as Julian the Apostate, a fourth-century Roman emperor,
saw other opportunities: he reportedly said, "Let us then confiscate
all the properties of Christians, for the Bible says, "Blessed
are the poor; they will inherit the kingdom of God."
Within the evangelical church, a large segment of people known
as dispen- sationalists look upon the Sermon on the Mount as completely
irrelevant to the Christian church. They say all that's for later
when Jesus Christ comes again. Others interpret the Sermon on the
Mount as Jesus' revelation of the correct interpretation of the
Law given to Moses, which, of course, no one can keep. Therefore,
they would say, the Sermon on the Mount will drive a person to grace.
Our text for today is part of the first ten verses of Jesus' sermon
— the section known as the Beatitudes. Eight blessings pronounced
upon all believers. They stand like the overture at the beginning
of a symphony — a summary of the character of communion with
God.
Actually, I'd like you to think of them as rungs on a ladder —
a progression of steps connected to one another — that start
from the most basic and fundamental and work up step by step. They
progress from the point of greatest need (spiritual bankruptcy)
to the point of greatest identification with Christ (experiencing
rejection for his sake). For example, I cannot feel another's pain
to mourn with them unless I've first felt a poverty of spirit within
myself.
Maybe we've heard the beatitudes too often for them to have any
lasting impact on us. Beatitudes seem so perfectly suited to "Wall-Plaque
Theology", something to be placed in a prominent place in the
hallway, but otherwise ignored; soothing words for people for whom
they were not intended — relegated to home-deco kitsch.
For many others the reality seems closer to Mark Twain’s paraphrase:
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit; — for they shall be poor
in purse.
2. Blessed are they that mourn; for none shall come near to disturb
them.
3. Blessed are the meek; for everyone shall give them an opportunity
for the
display of their meekness.
4. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness;
for they shall never suffer loss of appetite.
5. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall be called greatest
of the grand army of the chicken-hearted.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall not be long in
getting cured of it.
7. Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall reap a plentiful
harvest of
broken heads.
8. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake;
for they shall have the satisfaction of knowing that they suffer
on false grounds.
9. Blessed are ye when people shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely; for then
you
shall be able to recover damages in a suit for libel.
Mark Twain's reality is that anyone who comes near to having the
qualities of poor in spirit, gentleness, purity, or mercy ends up
getting it in the ear. Isn't that the way of the world today?
"Blessed are the poor in spirit." It
flies in the face of all the benedictions the world pronounces.
Blessed are the powerful.
Blessed are the wealthy.
Blessed are the rich.
Blessed are the blond.
Blessed are the bold
Blessed are the beautiful.
Blessed are the tall.
Blessed are the politicians.
Blessed are the well-born.
And yet Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
We aren't used to hearing the word "blessed."
We live in an achievement oriented culture and are much more comfortable
saying "Deserving are the rich for they have worked hard."
Even the slogan "You deserve a break today" implies you've
earned it.
"Bless you" — we seldom say it except when we
hear someone sneeze. But blessings are nothing to sneeze at. The
first thing we need to notice is that the blessings Jesus is talking
about aren't blessings conferred on us by ourselves or by our culture
— no, they're blessings given by God. If you've read the Bible
even a little, you know it is in God's character to bless: Right
at the beginning when he created the world he blessed it:
He blessed the fish and the birds: "Be fruitful and increase
in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase
on the earth."
He blessed the man and the woman, "Be fruitful and increase
in number; fill the earth...
He blessed the Sabbath day — And God blessed the seventh
day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work
of creating that he had done.
Even after he purged the world with a flood he blessed it. We read,
"Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be
fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth."
God blesses Abraham as he chooses him and his descendants as His
means of blessing the world. "In you all the peoples of the
world will be blessed."
God blesses Israel. And He blesses us. "Blessed are they whose
transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. (Romans 4:7).
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
In the Greek there are two words for poor. Penes
means "one who is a laborer." At the end of the day such
a person has nothing left over. He earns just enough to exist each
day. But the Word used in this passage is ptochos, which
means one who has nothing and is completely empty, a beggar. And
we ask, "What's so blessed about being poor — in spirit
or otherwise?" We think poor is bad, rich is good. Poor is
weak, rich is strong. Poor is helpless — rich can do what
it wants.
And there is only one thing that could be worse than being materially
poor and that would be to be poor in spirit. We live in a culture
of self-esteem We need to think well of ourselves or — we
aren't well. Then we're depressed. We need to medicate or be medicated
if we're poor in spirit. Get some treatment. The last thing we want
is to feel ptochos — empty. How often haven't you
heard someone say, "I've still got my pride" "I have
some dignity left."
And yet Jesus says, "Blessed are those without anything —
dignity included — for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
In the English text we read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," but in the Greek
it says, "... theirs and theirs alone is the kingdom
of God." It reminds you of Jesus’ words: "It's easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God."
In other words, only those who are poor in spirit are blessed.
Search as hard as you like but you won't find Jesus saying,
"Blessed are the rich,
Blessed are the arrogant,
Blessed are the pushy,
Blessed are the self-confident,
Blessed are the educated,
Blessed are those who have something to offer.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. They and they
alone belong to the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God belongs
to them.
As a matter of fact, in a parallel passage in the gospel of Luke,
Jesus says
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received
your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their fathers
treated the false prophets" (Luke 6:24-26).
Only certain ones are blessed — those who are poor in spirit.
To be poor in spirit means that we see our total spiritual
poverty before God and our utter dependence upon Him. Poverty of
spirit must be our attitude toward ourselves. I can do nothing to
commend myself to God. Apart from Christ I am spiritually destitute.
I may have the finest education money can buy, but be spiritually
ignorant.
I may be financially secure, but spiritually bankrupt.
I may run my own business, but be spiritually unemployed.
To be poor in spirit is to recognize that without Christ
I can do nothing. It is to recognize that without Christ I have
nothing. To accept that before him I am nothing.
Do you remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler who wanted to
follow Jesus? Jesus said to him: "Go and sell all that you
have and give the money to the poor, then come and follow me."
Notice that he didn't say, "Good to have men like you on board
— you'll really be an asset with all of your resources."
No, first get rid of all that excess baggage — all of those
things that seem so important to you being who you are. Then you'll
be blessed.
God loves me because...
Not because I've got something to offer
Not because I could do him some good
Not because I could be of assistance
But he blesses me in my poverty of spirit. And that's the only
way we can enter into the kingdom of God. It is to come before God
with empty hands, humble in heart, seeking only to receive from
Him.
Have you seen your own poverty of spirit before God? Have you come
to the place in your life where you are tired of trying to do it
on your own? It is possible to try and follow God in your own strength,
you know. Like that Rich Young Ruler we say "I've played by
the rules, but it just doesn't seem to he enough." It won't
work — you'll become angry and resentful — because you'll
find out that good is never good enough. You'll wear yourself out
trying to impress God — trying to get his attention. Because
God doesn't pay attention to those who think they can do things
on their own.
Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but
the sick...I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
You'll become exhausted because our strength is not sufficient.
Your knowledge is never enough. In your attempt to figure God out,
you'll put Him in a little box, because that is the only kind of
God who can be figured out. You'll reduce God to your limited understanding.
And while you might feel safe that way, you’ll have a limited
God. And you'll never enter His kingdom — because you'll have
one of your own.
If duty and responsibility drive our attempt to follow Jesus, we'll
burn out. We become exhausted. This is where we arrive by trying
to follow Christ in our own strength. Is that where you are?
If you are there, that may not be a bad thing. Poverty of spirit
begins at the point where we see our insufficiency to do it on our
own. When we are willing to acknowledge that God must fill us or
we will forever remain empty, then we are in a place where God can
meet us. Then we are in a place where we can begin to receive from
God. You see, without true poverty of spirit we can never enter
the kingdom.
How do you become "poor in spirit"? I really don't know.
It's not something anyone can make you do — even God. God
can humble you. But he can't make you humble. And yet at the same
time I know it's not something I can do. It's something that is
revealed and something we accept — I am empty before God.
In that wonderful parable Jesus told about the arrogant son who
considered his father as being dead and went off on his own to live
the life he wanted. Who squandered what God had given him.; who
finally hit bottom morally — financially — emotionally.
Who truly became "poor in spirit." Standing there envying
the pigs who were more fulfilled than him. Jesus says he "came
to his senses"-- decided to come home and throw himself on
the mercy of his father.
And when we do there is the Father waiting — no — he's
running toward us throwing his arms around us. Welcoming us home.
Restoring our inheritance. "What is mine now belongs to you,"
he gushes. Kill the fattened calf! Put my robe on his shoulders!
My ring on his finger! You are my child — lost and now found.
That's the point at which we experience the blessing of the kingdom
of God.
And the other thing I can tell you is this: It's at the point of
our "poverty in spirit" that we become truly capable of
sharing the Good News of the Kingdom. For only then do we realize
that it isn't ours to give away — but it's God's. And blessings
are to be shared.
For isn't that the greatest obstacle to our sharing? The fear that
if we give something up we won't have enough left over for ourselves?
Receiving the Kingdom of God as a blessing and blessing alone means
that the Kingdom can never be bought or sold, only given and shared.
Blessed are the poor in spirit — for theirs is the kingdom
of God. The greatest blessing we ever get from God is to know that
we are destitute spiritually. [Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)]
And isn't that exactly what Christ did? Taking the form of a slave
(one who possesses nothing). ( Philip. 2:6-11)
"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality
with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking
the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death — even death on a cross!"
Blessed are the poor in Spirit... "Therefore God exalted him
to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
"For to them belongs the Kingdom of Heaven."
Amazing Grace is what it is — and it sounds pretty sweet
to me.
Amen.
