In the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) Jesus teaches about the values that will make the people blessed, or in this context, experience a Godly happiness. These are things that should be present in the life of a believer. Over time the beatitudes has become something that many people know on face value, but if we go deeper, we see that this sermon has so much to teach us about what God expects and what it means to be a true representative of the Lord.
We will use the next few weeks to look at each of and we should ask ourselves whether we see any of these virtues in our selves
The Poor In Spirit (Matthew 5:3)
The Original Greek word for poor was ptochos which means to be reduced to begging. It means you are destitute and lacking in everything. The poor in spirit are those who after hearing the word, come to the realisation that they are in desperate need of God. They are lacking spiritually, nothing in their life reflects him, they have no connection or relationship with him whatsoever.
An example of this can be found in Luke 5:8, we see the soon to be disciples have been out fishing, but have caught nothing. Jesus instructs Simon to go out again and they catch more fish than they can carry. Upon seeing this, Simon Peter recognised that Jesus was not like any other man. This led him to feel uncomfortable in Jesus' presence. Not because he was afraid of Him, but because he recognised that he was unworthy. Standing before Christ, revealed to him who he truly was inside.
Nowadays, being independent and self sufficient is celebrated, but God wants us to see that we need him. He knows what we need, and being poor in spirit means accepting that we can’t do life on our own and need the one who gave us that life in the first place.
Have you noticed that when you don't spend time in the word or in fellowship with God, each day feels so different compared to those periods when you're knee deep in scripture, praying because you want to and not just so you can say you've prayed.
The Blessing
When we recognise that we have sinned and need Jesus, we have a promise of salvation Romans 6:23, this is the blessing promised to those who are poor in spirit. There is joy because heaven is theirs, the gates are open and they can freely enter. However, they don't have to wait to experience it, Romans 14:17. They can experience the kingdom inwardly as they give all that they are over to God.
Next post in this series: Those Who Mourne
Comments
Post a Comment