WEBVTT 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:10.640 Good morning. 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:12.960 Good to see everyone. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:20.160 Of course to be here and to to worship and it's always a great blessing is what we're gonna be talking about. 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:21.679 A lot of blessings. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:29.760 We're gonna be looking at the first beatitude in this sermon new sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.039 We're gonna go through line by line, but this is the first one. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.600 First one's in chapter 5, verse 3. 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:42.479 It says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:45.840 This is the first beatitude that Jesus starts with. 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:52.000 And he starts every beatitude in the same way with this word blessed. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:55.759 This idea of these are blessed people. 00:00:56.159 --> 00:01:01.520 We kind of need to understand what this word means before we go on and we look at these other beatitudes. 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:06.159 And it can be kind of tricky, especially when you try to translate this into English. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:10.560 Some more modern translations will use the word happy instead of blessed. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:12.560 I can see what they're getting at here. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:14.000 I appreciate that, right? 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.079 Happy are the poor in spirit. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.239 But then you get to, right, happy are those who mourn. 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:23.519 And then it seems a bit more confusing. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:25.519 Well, what is the predicament here? 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:28.000 Let's kind of break it down for us. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:32.319 There are two main uh words for bless in the Bible. 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:34.079 We're gonna look at them in the Hebrew. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.000 And that is the first is brak. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.120 And that is simply that you're proclaiming blessings on someone. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.599 I'm going to pray over them. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:45.840 I'm gonna shower them with blessings. 00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:50.879 If you have like a baby shower or something, or a wedding shower, that is a form of brak there. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:52.640 We are blessing that person. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.920 I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna do something to bless them. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.200 We see some examples of this in the Old Testament, right? 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:06.159 The Levites would say when people come into the temple in Numbers 6, 24, the Lord bless you and keep you, right? 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:08.240 Pouring blessings on them. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.360 Psalm 103, verse 1, right? 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.759 And our praise and our service to God. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.800 We are bless the Lord, O my soul. 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:17.599 We bless. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:18.719 That is brought. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:25.520 Sometimes we can read the Beatitudes in this way, and we can think that's what Jesus is doing here. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.840 He is, but he's not doing it when he uses this word bless. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:35.599 And this is where we get to the second main word for bless that we see in the Bible, and that is ashre. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:40.080 Ashrei is the state of being blessed. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.080 It's as if I walk around, you can see the definition on the screen. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:49.840 I walk around and I see someone, and I think, oh wow, these people over here, they are well off. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.319 Like they are blessed. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:52.879 Right? 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.199 So I'm observing and I'm discerning who is blessed here. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.240 I'm realizing these people are in a state of blessedness. 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:01.360 They have blessings. 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:04.159 They're living the good life, you could say. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:06.159 Some examples of this. 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.400 Psalm 1, verse 1. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:13.520 Notice how similar this is in structure to what Jesus is doing in the Beatitudes, right? 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:17.199 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:23.680 So Jesus is following the same pattern, the same psalmist pattern, wisdom literature pattern here. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.080 Psalm 32, verse 1, right? 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:30.240 Ashre is the one whose transgression is forgiven. 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:31.439 And it's so true. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.599 Whose sin is covered. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.840 And that's what Jesus does for us, right? 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:37.680 He does Barak and Ashre. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.280 Psalm 112, verse 1. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:45.199 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:53.120 And really all the Beatitudes are people full of a kingdom, uh, in a kingdom that fear the Lord. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:57.680 Both blessings happen though when we look at Matthew chapter 5, verse 3. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:03:59.520 But the order is important. 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:01.840 Ashrei to the poor in spirit. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:08.000 Jesus is looking round, he's observing, he's saying that these people over here are living the blessed life. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:09.919 They're living the good life. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:12.479 And in this case, it's the poor in spirit. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.680 And then the Barak is mentioned there at the very end. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:20.399 It's the proclamation, even though it's not explicitly mentioned, it's the blessing, right? 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:23.360 For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:25.120 And Jesus blesses them. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:30.560 And so Jesus is saying, these are those who are blessed, and here is that blessing. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:36.480 I want you to see that pattern because we're going to look at all of these beatitudes really line by line. 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:42.879 When you look at Ashray, though, it's interesting when we try to think of who's living the good life. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:44.959 Like who's living the blessed life? 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.720 And we think about that and try to apply it to our world today. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:54.399 You know, if you're scrolling on your phone and you see someone who's just, they just have it all, right? 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:55.920 They have all the things you don't have. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:06.000 They have the looks and the youth and the wealth and the house and the family and the kids and and all the things, and you're just looking at that and you're scrolling, you're like, that is Ashray, right? 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:07.680 That is blessed. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:11.600 It's important that we see it that way. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.519 That's how they would have used this. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.120 I want you to feel, though, the weight when you see it that way. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:23.040 I want you to feel the weight of what Jesus is saying and just how counter-cultural what Jesus is saying here. 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:27.519 How crazy it is that he's saying, blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:33.360 It's good for us to then reflect and ask ourselves, who do we think is living the good life? 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:38.160 Like, who do we think when we look at them is we think, man, they are blessed. 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.000 We consider them, they're happy. 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:41.120 They have to be happy. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:42.160 They must be happy. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.240 They have all of this stuff, right? 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.079 They can buy a car on a whim, they can send their kids to college without any debt. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:49.279 They are ashred. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:53.040 Think about that, right? 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.360 I'm sure you can have some examples in your mind. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:58.160 I'm gonna give you some ancient examples. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:02.319 This is a list of Beatitudes from a rabbi 200 years ago. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:03.360 I'm gonna list them to you. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:07.759 I want you to compare them to what Jesus says and what you have in your mind. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.959 Now, this is from the Apocrypha for you nerds, but this is about 200 years before Jesus. 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.639 I'm not gonna have them on the screen, but I want you to listen to what he says. 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:22.240 This is a rabbi, right? 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:23.360 Ancient Hebrew. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:26.480 What does he consider the blessed and good life? 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:34.319 He says this blessed as Shre is the man who has not slipped with his mouth, right? 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:36.480 Okay, makes sense. 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:41.519 Who's not pricked with a multitude of sins, off to a great star. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:49.759 And then he goes, Blessed is the man who can who can rejoice in his children. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:52.480 Or how about this one? 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:58.639 Blessed, ashre is the man who sees the downfall of his enemies. 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:02.079 What does Jesus say about enemies? 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:03.439 Right? 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:07.680 What is he gonna say about those who are persecuted by their enemies? 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:08.720 Think about it. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.399 Or happy, blessed, Ashrey is the man who lives with a sensible life, he says. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:23.600 Or ashrey, blessed, is the one who doesn't have to plow with both an axe and a donkey, whose work and labor is easier. 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:24.240 Right? 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:29.759 Blessed, he says, is the one who does not have to serve an inferior. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:31.839 Think about that. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.920 And we can see this in the world today, can we not? 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:36.319 Right? 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:38.560 Blessed is the employer, not the employee. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:43.120 Blessed is the one who's in charge, the boss, not those down here, not the servants. 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:45.839 We say that today. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:50.240 He says, Blessed is the rich person who is found blameless. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:53.199 Not to give him credit, he says who doesn't go after gold. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:54.879 But bless is the rich. 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:02.319 I think it's easy to look at some of those and think, even in our modern context, some of that are very similar. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.040 And some that we might have in our own mind as well. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:05.600 Right? 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:08.319 Blessed are those who can grind and hustle, right? 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:09.680 For wealth is theirs. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:11.279 Blessed are the proud. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:12.959 Often do we say that? 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.399 Because they have some sort of purpose, and I want purpose. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:19.360 Blessed are the aggressive, they get their way. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:21.279 I wish I had my way. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:22.079 Right? 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.920 Blessed are those who do not grieve. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.279 You can see how I'm inverting some of these that we see from the Beatitudes of Jesus. 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:31.839 Right? 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.480 If you don't grieve, you must be happy. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:37.840 Blessed are the rich, for they have power and influence. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:45.759 Compare that what the world says, what this rabbi says, what the ancient world says, to what Jesus says. 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:48.960 Read along with me, Matthew chapter 5, verse 3. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:52.240 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.360 For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:58.720 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:03.200 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:09.200 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:10.240 Right? 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:11.120 The good life. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.639 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.240 Ashray to the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:23.840 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:29.360 Blessed are those who, right, who beat their enemies down and see the downfall of their foes. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:35.120 No, those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:42.080 And blessed are those who revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:49.360 When up a completely different story when you look at the words of Jesus here. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:54.399 And just think about how radical it is to those that are hearing his words. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:02.159 And what Jesus is doing here is he's pointing out these are the people who make up my kingdom. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:10.720 While the rest of the world sees them and ignores them and treats them as outcasts, I don't see them, I accept them. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.279 I love these are my people. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:23.519 He says, all of this right after in Matthew chapter 4, we're told he's going out and he's proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:27.840 The kingdom of heaven on earth is made up of these people. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:34.240 And so when we look at the beatitudes like, you know, blessed are the poor in spirit, you have two halves here, right? 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:39.759 Blessed, poor in spirit, and their blessing is in this case the kingdom of heaven. 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.240 And that's the flow of our lesson this morning. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.200 Look at this again. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.960 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs of the kingdom of heaven. 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:53.360 As we look at this idea of poor and spirit, poor and spirit is kind of a tricky phrase, at least at first glance. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:57.919 It's not as easily understood when you compare it to, well, the next few on the list, right? 00:10:58.080 --> 00:10:59.919 Those who mourn, the meek. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:02.399 Those are pretty self-explanatory, right? 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:04.159 Very plain with the reading. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:09.360 The real question, though, when you see porn spirit, is you want to ask yourself, am I porn spirit? 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.080 Like, what is porn spirit, and is that me? 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:17.679 And what Jesus is doing here is he's really telling a story with two words. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:23.840 He's taking this Torah and he's taking spirit, and he's putting it together to tell a story. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.480 And that story is the powerless. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:32.480 Like, we are nothing without God. 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.320 And that is how Jesus starts off his sermon. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:41.600 By reminding people that God's people are those that need him. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:44.320 They need him. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:48.159 And if you know that and you realize that, that is key. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:51.759 If you realize you are powerless, that is key. 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:57.840 The word there for poor isn't just someone with a low-income class, right? 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:02.480 It's not this idea that they make this much and this much, and they're just on the lower end of things. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:03.200 That's not it. 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:06.159 This is someone who is completely destitute. 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:08.799 Like they are in need. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:11.120 They have nothing. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:20.159 This is describing someone who is like a beggar and someone who's on the streets completely dependent, no food, no money, completely in need. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:23.120 It's a state of just constant need. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:26.799 That's the idea that Jesus is getting at when he says these. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.440 And the world doesn't often look at that and say, wow, look at that. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:32.879 Ashrei, great. 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:34.000 They're blessed. 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.039 And so it's remarkable when Jesus says, no, these are. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.159 But sadly, we as humans we don't see that. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.200 We care a lot more about what we have and how we're perceived. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.279 But Jesus sees right past that to the heart of the people. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:55.039 And that's when not only just takes this idea of poor, but he connects it with this idea of spirit. 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:59.759 This idea of our soul, our inner being, our life energy. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:00.159 Right? 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:03.840 This in Hebrew it's ruach or pneuma in the Greek. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:10.240 It's this idea that God, it's what God breathed into man, what many consider our conscience. 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:21.519 And so when you look at foreign spirit, needy spirit, a needy soul, and you think about what this means. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:24.559 Traditionally it's been interpreted different ways. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:31.039 Like what I heard growing up was this is someone who is downcast, depressed, someone who's just sad, right? 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:35.120 At the same time, I've also heard this is someone who's humble and pious. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:40.000 Someone who can who can realize, you know, okay, yeah, I need to be humble. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:48.480 I don't think either one is right or wrong per se, but look at what Luke says in his version of the Sermon on the Plains or the Sermon on the Mount. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:49.840 He doesn't even put spirit in there. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:54.240 He says, Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:56.240 Doesn't even include spirit. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:03.679 What we do see is that God cares about his people who are powerless. 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:10.480 Taking these definitions, I think that's a fair interpretation of what Jesus is saying here. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.840 Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the powerless. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:23.679 And realizing all of us are powerless when it comes to us trying to overcome our sin or wash ourselves clean for that matter. 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:33.679 But for them, for us who are powerless, the poor in spirit, Jesus is talking to, the power comes from God. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:36.240 And give you some Old Testament examples, right? 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:38.480 Look at Psalm 14, verse 6. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:45.279 You should shame the plans, you would shame the plans of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:50.159 You can see how God cares about the powerless, how God cares about the poor. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.679 He is his refuge. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:53.679 Psalm 40, verse 17. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:59.679 As for me, this is David speaking, a king, not someone who's necessarily physically poor, but what did he say? 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:01.600 I am poor and needy. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:03.360 I am poor in spirit. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:05.600 But the Lord takes thought of me. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:08.000 You are my help and my deliverer. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:09.120 Do not delay. 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:10.480 Oh my God. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.879 I love that idea that he says, God takes thought of me. 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:19.759 God takes thought of these people, these beatitudes. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.120 God takes thought of the poor in spirit and the poor. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:31.519 I think we make a mistake, though, when we take poor in spirit and we over-spiritualize, or we make it overly physical. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:38.080 Jesus is talking about not just those that are maybe physically poor, but also those that are spiritually poor. 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:48.240 And when you combine what Luke says, what Matthew says, when you look at the definitions of these words in the Greek and the Hebrew, I don't think it's mutually exclusive. 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:54.960 Especially when you consider who Jesus is talking to, who's on the side of this mountain. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:57.600 Probably people of extreme poverty. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:58.720 And what does he do? 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:06.159 He takes this time to give a sermon addressing and communicating to them spiritual truths. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:11.919 The people who are outcasts and rejected and poor and lame and sick. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:17.200 And they're probably not feeling too good. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:21.200 And they're probably not thinking, I have a great life and I'm blessed. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:27.600 And notice how their physical state is affecting their spiritual state as well. 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:34.080 And we see this if we look at Old Testament examples of maybe poor and spirit or something similar to that. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.960 You have Job in Job chapter 7, verse 11. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.039 He says, Look, my ruach, my spirit is distressed. 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:42.799 It's squeezed. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:47.519 So you have not just poor and spirit, you have a distressed spirit as well. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.000 You have bitterness. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:53.200 Or this is Genesis 26, verse 35. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:59.600 Isaac is seeing his son here, Esau, go out and marry Gentile wives, marry Canaanite wives. 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.159 And he says there that his life is bitter. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:04.880 Life there is ruch, spirit. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.480 His spirit is full of bitterness. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:13.119 Another example is Proverbs 15, verse 4. 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:14.240 I love this one. 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:18.880 A gentle tongue is it is a tree of life. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:20.799 It's wonderful. 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:26.960 But perverseness, perverseness in this breaks the spirit. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:35.279 So a soothing tongue is like a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue produces a crushing spirit. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:39.200 You see how our spirit can be affected? 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:49.119 Lies and deceit do damage, not just to someone else's spirit, someone else's soul, but even our inner vitality, our inner soul. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:52.319 Think about those examples. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:54.640 Think about Job and Isaac and their situation. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:59.599 Someone who's lost everything, someone who sees his son going and making foolish decisions. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:01.599 They are in those moments what? 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:03.759 Powerless. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:05.680 Actually, powerless. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.039 They have to rely on the mercy of God. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:18.480 And I think when we look at our own life, many of us have been there one degree or another. 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.319 We find ourselves in those powerless moments. 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.160 Physically, spiritually, they're often interconnected. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:36.160 But when you realize that your soul, especially, is needy, poor and needy, destitute, what you realize is that you need God. 00:18:38.799 --> 00:18:41.920 It's in those moments of realizing I need God. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.319 We are blessed. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.480 That we're living the good life. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:50.799 Because a life with God is a good life. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:53.359 And that's what he's doing here in this sermon. 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.440 He's offering an invitation. 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.640 Like you, you know you need God. 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.599 I'm offering you that invitation. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:06.640 The porn spirit are blessed, the powerless. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:07.839 They need God. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:18.319 Jesus wants us to know that the kingdom of heaven is for those who are reliant on God, not those who think that they are self-reliant, that they can rely on themselves. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.920 I don't need God, right? 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:22.160 I can rely on my money for happiness. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:25.279 I can kind of self-help my way through life. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.920 And we're fooling ourselves if we think we can do that. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.400 And Christians aren't excluded from this way of thinking. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:36.400 In fact, the church in Laodicea makes this very mistake. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.319 Notice their mindset. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:41.039 They think they can rely on their own wealth. 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:46.400 And Jesus points out that you know you are poor and needy, but you're not realizing it. 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:51.839 He says to them, You say, I am rich, I have prospered. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.759 I need nothing. 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:54.799 I need nothing. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:20:02.559 Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:05.359 Is the problem that they're rich? 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:05.920 No. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.799 But it's that they're relying on their wealth rather than God. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:13.519 They're self-reliant. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:15.839 And these are saved Christians. 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:22.319 It's not that when we're in Christ that we're somehow wretched. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:27.039 But Jesus is telling them not to forget who saved you. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.359 Who saved you from your blindness and your nakedness? 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:38.640 And they fail to, as Jesus says, realize this, to be self-aware of their poverty in spirit. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:41.920 That they are wretched and pitiable and poor. 00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:49.039 The lesson is for us to kind of look within and realize look, we are powerless. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:50.559 We are poor in spirit. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.799 We are powerless without God. 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.160 And as God's people, we are, we need him. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:57.680 We need him. 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:03.839 And having a life with him leads to a great life. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.480 I reminded the tax collector, right? 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:07.599 Luke 18. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.920 He can't even lift his eyes to heaven. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.200 And what does he pray? 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:14.160 He says, Be merciful, sinner that I am. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:15.359 And how does he walk away? 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:17.519 Do you remember how he walks away in Luke 18? 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.079 He walks away justified. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:25.440 Another one of my favorites, when I think about a poor in spirit, is Luke 7. 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:27.680 If you want to turn over there, Luke chapter 7. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:30.400 This is someone who is poor in spirit. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:36.559 This is one of the women who washes Jesus' feet with her hair and her tears. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:40.319 It's a great depiction of what poor in spirit looks like. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:44.319 And the whole time she is identified simply as a sinner. 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:49.440 And the Pharisees who are witnessing this judge both Jesus and this woman. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:53.519 But Jesus responds with a parable and wants you to listen to this parable. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:55.519 Luke 7, verse 40. 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:01.920 And Jesus answering said to him, Him, Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:03.920 And he answered, Say it, teacher. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.720 A certain money lender had two debtors. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:12.160 One owed 500 denari and the other 50. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:15.920 When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:18.799 Now, which of them will love him more? 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.079 Simon answered, The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:27.519 And he said to him, You have judged rightly. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:33.680 You look at our life, and there's a lot that we love, and there's a lot of blessings that we have that you have that we can, we just we just love it. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:34.640 It's great. 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:44.079 But the good life, the blessing of being poor in spirit, is loving God more. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:49.119 I'm poor because I realize actually I am in debt. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:53.839 I'm powerless in my ability to pay off that debt of sin. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.359 And I realize that. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:57.039 And Jesus pays that debt. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.319 He has paid that for. 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:03.119 And when I realize that and I serve him, I'm completely reliant on him. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.559 That is a good life. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:07.920 That is ashre. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:12.480 And it only goes to show the blessing that Jesus has given you. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:12.880 Right? 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:13.839 That barak. 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:18.240 The blessing that now theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:20.079 Matthew 5, verse 3. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:25.519 The blessing that comes with the poor in spirit is the kingdom of heaven. 00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.759 This is the second half of this verse here. 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:30.400 The promise, you might say. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:35.680 The poor in spirit have a good life because of the kingdom of heaven, their blessing. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:39.279 But I want you to look at the language tense here. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:42.000 But you see that in verse 3? 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:43.200 This beatitude? 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:48.720 The beatitudes are almost like, at least verse 3 and verse 10, those two beatitudes are almost like bookends. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.359 They both have the same present tense. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:54.799 Like theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:57.920 This means that the promise is for now. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:01.279 All the other blessings in between that are future tense. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:02.319 Do you see that? 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:09.039 But the kingdom of heaven is not just a future reality, it's also a reality now. 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:10.400 We need to see that. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:18.480 And so look at verse 4, for example, where he says, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall, or modern English, will be comforted. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:20.640 And Jesus repeats this throughout. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:21.039 Right? 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:26.160 They shall, they shall, they shall, they will, they will, they will, six times before he gets to verse 10. 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:34.559 And he tells us, like another bookend, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:36.240 Do you see that pattern? 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:43.759 So verse 3, verse 10 act as bookends to the whole section showing us this is who makes up the kingdom of heaven. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.359 These are the people, God's people, right here in this kingdom. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:48.880 This is who they are. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:50.720 This is how they act. 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:58.960 And how they act, Jesus lays out throughout the rest of this sermon, throughout the rest, in the middle of verses chapters 5, 6, and 7. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:05.519 These little details kind of help us understand some of the application. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:12.480 We're promised, yes, a future with Jesus, a new heavens and a new earth that will come. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:23.119 At the same time, Jesus is also giving us a place, a home for the poor in spirit, for the persecuted right now, a kingdom of heaven, his church. 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:32.880 And it's not some made-up kingdom, it's a real kingdom with a king, Jesus, made up of his people, citizens of heaven. 00:25:33.440 --> 00:25:35.519 And he says it's theirs now. 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:36.559 I love that. 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:41.599 For the brokenhearted, the powerless, the persecuted, they have a place of refuge. 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:45.839 It's the same God, the same character we saw in the Old Testament. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.440 And he takes thought of that when he gives this blessing. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.920 And so they find shelter in the church. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.400 They find shelter amongst God's people with Jesus God as their king. 00:25:57.200 --> 00:25:59.200 It's a good time to remember that. 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:01.440