Happy Are The Humble

If you have ever said “I just want to be happy” and then felt weirdly empty when you got what you wanted, this message is for you. We open the Sermon on the Mount and slow down at the first Beatitude, Matthew 5:3, where Jesus ties real happiness to something the world avoids: humility.

We dig into what “blessed” actually means and why Jesus is not talking about a temporary rush or a perfect set of circumstances. We contrast the world’s version of happiness with the kind of contentment Paul describes in Philippians 4, a joy that holds steady in need and in abundance. Along the way, we look at Solomon’s brutal honesty in Ecclesiastes and why external success cannot fill an internal void.

Then we tackle the phrase “poor in spirit.” This is not a lesson about finances, it is a picture of total spiritual dependence, the opposite of prideful self-sufficiency. We talk about why God gives grace to the humble, why pride blocks growth, and how the promise “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” can quiet fear and loosen our grip on control. We also give a practical weekly challenge to help you identify where pride is hiding in plain sight.

Subscribe for more teaching through Matthew, share this with a friend who feels stuck chasing happiness, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What is one area where you most need to trade control for trust?

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Transcript

Reading Challenge And Sermon Setup

Josh 0:02

Well, good morning. As we jump in this morning, just raise your hand, just a quick raise your hand. If you uh completed the challenge this week and like read through Matthew 5 at least five out of the past seven days. Like there's a lot in there. Like I know some of you were like, hey, is it the same to listen as it is to read? Absolutely, as long as you're getting that into us. And today we're we're gonna kick off into the Beatitudes, right? This is the sections that we get to that are blessed are, blessed are, blessed are, blessed are, right? So we're gonna start digging into that, but we have to remember what we looked at last week. Remember, Jesus is giving this sermon because he's sitting here going, a citizen of my kingdom, this is what they look like. In other words, he compares the two kingdoms we see. That's why we get this upside down kingdom theme. Because we have the kingdom of this world and then we have the kingdom of heaven. Matthew, exclusively of all of the gospel writers, uses the term kingdom of heaven. Does anybody in here know why he says of heaven instead of of God? This is just a fun tidbit of information. Did anyone in here notice that?

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Can you ask the question again?

Josh 1:22

Why does Matthew use the term kingdom of heaven in comparison to kingdom of God? Because all the other gospel writers say kingdom of God. Anyone?

unknown 1:32

Heaven is here?

Josh 1:33

This is why, well, heaven is here, but that's not why. Now, that being said, this is why context matters so much. Remember, Matthew is a Jew writing to a Jewish audience. It would have been almost blasphemous for them to use that word God. So he uses heaven instead of God, but he's talking about the same thing. But that way he doesn't take the Lord's name in vain and using God. That's like a lot of times, this is, like I said, just a fun little tidbit. I don't know if that's gonna come up this week in your conversations, but it might. Okay. Now, today we're gonna jump into this first be attitude, but we're gonna start with our big idea, which is this happy are the humble. This is gonna be a lot easier for you to remember than everything else we're gonna go through. But if you can just remember happy are the humble, this is gonna make a lot more sense to you. Because my goal today as we move through is that we understand first and foremost what happiness is, what humility is, and ultimately the joy we can have in Jesus because of both of these things. So I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna jump right in. Father, I just thank you so much for your word, and I ask and I pray, Father, that it is your word we hear today. I pray, God, that we are transformed from the inside out to look more like your son, to be happy in our humility. Father, I pray for each and every one of our hearts as we move through this today, and I pray, God, that you just work mightily and powerfully through me. Father, I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Matthew’s Kingdom Of Heaven Explained

Josh 3:15

Alright, so in Matthew 5, 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now we're gonna jump into this. I'm gonna tell you right now, we're gonna break this verse down into three different parts. And the first part we're gonna look at right now is that word blessed. Because this is another example of how the English language doesn't really convey what is being said in Scripture. Because we use this word blessed quite often, and it just became just this Christian word that we kind of throw around. In fact, like if you watch like an athlete or something after a game, right? Or they just got their first contract, you know, coming out of college, going into the pros. They're gonna say something along those lines, right? I'm so blessed. You get a promotion at work, it's I'm so blessed. Musicians accepting awards at like Grammys and whatnot, oh, we're so blessed. We say these kind of words a lot, but does anybody in here actually know what the word blessed means? Like, think about it. I'm sure at some point most of us in this room have said this, but what are you actually saying when you use this word blessed? Rewarded? Thanks for just stealing all the thunder right there. What did you say, man?

unknown 4:50

Given something we didn't deserve?

Josh 4:52

Given something we didn't deserve? This word blessed in Greek is this word makrios. Okay? Yep, it's up there. And it literally translates into happy or fortunate. Think about this. When we read this verse, what Jesus is saying is happy are the poor in spirit. Now, since happiness is so many people's goal in life, what does it mean to be happy? Like, really, like this is what, honestly, this is probably one of the biggest idols most people will struggle with in life. I just want to be happy. Right? Even going back to JT and graduating, right? Most of us, your entire life, you've heard if you work a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life. I don't care what you do for a living, work is still going to be work from time to time, is it not? I could fish every single day. In fact, um, over this past year, Debbie and I had a conversation about me going and getting my captain's license so I could go fish and make money fishing. And the more we talked about it, the more I thought about it, the more I went, I'm gonna wind up looking at fishing the same way I would look at any other job. And I don't want that because this is my happy place. This is what we search for more than almost anything else in the world. I want to be happy. But what is happiness? Because Jesus, right here, when we get through these beatitudes, think about it. How many times does he say blessed are? He's saying happy is. He's saying, if you

What Blessed Really Means

Josh 6:45

want to be happy, this is what your life needs to look like. Like this isn't like recommendations. Jesus, the author of life, the one who spoke into the darkness and created all the light, our God is an awesome God, right? We just sang. What he's sitting here saying is if you want to do this right, you want to be happy, here's how I designed you, and here's how you can be happy. But too many of us, like we want to chase happiness in so many other ways. And remember, this is the upside down kingdom because Jesus is sitting here going, the world is gonna tell you one thing. The world is gonna go, here's how you become happy. The world's gonna show you all of these ways for your happiness, but I say to you, remember, seven times just in Matthew 5, Jesus is gonna say, You have heard it said, but I say to you. Because he's sitting here going, My kingdom, this kingdom I came to establish, it looks totally different than the kingdom of the world. Because when you think happiness, what are things that come to mind? None of y'all? Like no one in here thinks about happiness? Content? We're actually gonna get into that word in a second. Being with other people, a day out on the boat. Some of you it may be security. Security, financial stability, a good marriage, kids who actually listen.

unknown 8:34

That's never happening.

Josh 8:35

Like, but ultimately, when we think happiness, you do realize they are very circumstantial words that we are using. Take financial stability, for instance. Everybody in 2007 was pretty happy. You could have never even decided, hey, I don't even need this college thing. I'm just gonna go work. And you made money hand over fist, and jobs were plentiful. And then 2008 rolled around. And all of a sudden, everybody who was happy is no longer happy. Because circumstances changed. Right? Your marriage could be the thing that brings you the most joy in the world. I know mine is. But do you always look at your spouse the way you did when those church doors opened? Like am I the are we the only couple in here who have tended to look at our spouse and went, you know the time. Like, like right now, I'm looking at my spouse going, we have a slide before service that says please silence your mobile phones. Oh, I did it wrong. Because, see, happiness, the way we look at it, happiness, the way the world teaches it, is very, very, very, very situational. Which means you can be on the top of the world in one moment, and the very next moment, all of a sudden, all of your happiness is just gone

Why Worldly Happiness Never Lasts

Josh 10:30

and it's taken away, and you couldn't even fight for it. See, and for most of us, we're chasing, as Solomon would write, the wind. Think about this. You could be the fastest, you could be Usain Bolt. Can you catch the wind? No. Because as soon as you do this, the wind is already out of your hands. This is why Jesus would say in Mark 8.36, this, what does it gain a man to, or what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his own soul? See, it's very easy for all of us in this room to look at someone like Elon Musk and go, if I had what he has, I could be happy. Like if I'm sitting on half a trillion dollars worth of assets, there's nothing that I would keep myself from. I would be happy. It's impossible to have all of that money and not be happy. That is what most of us would wind up thinking. I remember when JT was like 10 and we're talking in the backyard as we looked through direction in life, and I went, JT, what is it that you want to do with your life? Here was his response: I want to be rich. Because most of us, we sit here and go, man, if I could just win the lotto, my life would be great if I just had money like that. If I just had a 42-foot contender and a 16-foot flats boat, and a pontoon boat. If I just had this armada. The other day I was watching this new YouTube channel I found, and it's a uh it's called the Captain's Coach, I think, and it's this guy who teaches other people how to captain their boats, and he was driving through Norfolk, Virginia. And if you know anything about Norfolk, Virgin uh Virginia, we have a huge Navy yard there. And he has like he's driving through this channel, and he's like, There's a submarine right there. Like, how cool would that be to be like just driving on your boat? And there's a submarine carrying, you know, all sorts of warheads that could just take my boat like that. And then there's an aircraft carrier, and I was like, you know what? I need an aircraft carrier. Why not? I just think that would be fun. Not that I think I could pilot myself, so some of us, I mean, you guys want to go on an aircraft carrier? Because I think it would be fun. But see, that's what happiness on the world standard looks like. And here's the problem. Those of us that chase happiness, those of us that chase that feeling, the world is always going to leave you feeling empty. This is why we have so many things that affect our lives. This is why spouses cheat. This is why kids lie. This is why adults lie, I guess for that matter, too, when we really stop and think about it. In fact, the book of James would say this: you desire and do not have, therefore you murder. Because we're chasing happiness. And the world says, here's what it looks like. We call it here in America what? The American dream. You know, you got your little house, your wife, your kids, your dog, your white picket fence, and that's what you chase. But let's see what the Bible really says about that happiness if we look at the entire book of Ecclesiastes, which I'm not gonna read through the whole book. It's only 12 chapters if you guys want some new reading this week. But it's written by this king named Solomon, who is the wisest, richest person to have lived. And the whole point of the book is Solomon sitting here going, There's gotta be something else. There's gotta be more. Some of us, that's where we fall in, right? We just look at life and we just go, This is it. Like, I gotta fill this void inside of me. There's just this longing inside of me. See, and and Solomon the king, he doubled David's kingdom. Think about this, like David, which is the great king that will return. Solomon went, yeah, I see what you did, dad, and I raise you. He doubles

Solomon’s Warning About Empty Success

Josh 14:50

the kingdom. He's so rich that according to 1 Kings 10, 27, he makes silver like stones in Jerusalem. Like silver at that point was what they used to make all of their coins and things, and he's sitting here going, like, I have so many of it, it's just like rocks out here in the mountains. Money's not an object form. He has fleets of ships, he has thousands of horses. The dude has seven hundred wives, and they're not all from Jerusalem. He went, I'm gonna go throughout the world, and I'm gonna pick the finest women in the entire world. And anything my eyes saw, I did not keep myself from, is what he would say. I don't know about you, I don't know if the 700 wives is a good thing or a bad thing. I know one wife can be challenging from time to time. I can only imagine what 700 wives would do. Your to-do list would be eternal, right? But he has houses, he has gardens, he has vineyards, he's famous throughout the world because of his wisdom. Like Solomon would have everything that the world says you need to be happy. And yet, let's look at verse one of his book. Verse one of what he is writing. And these are the words of the preacher, the son of the king. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils for his work under the sun? What's he asking there? What's he saying? He's asking what we gain by working. But what's he getting at? He's going, it's all worthless. None of this matters. None of this brings me joy. None of this brings me happiness. None of this that comes from outside is going to fill the inside. Listen to me very carefully if you don't take anything else away from what I'm telling you this morning. Nothing external will fill the internal. A person isn't going to. If you're sitting in here going, if I could just find the right one, listen, there is no such thing as the right one. Because no one does good. Not even one. Your spouse isn't going to fill that hole. If you're like, man, if my kids, your kids aren't gonna fill that hole. I don't care what job you have, it's not gonna fill that hole. There is literally nothing on the outside that can fill the internal hole you have. And that's why Jesus comes along and he uses this word blessed, because he's sitting here going, the happiness I'm talking about isn't the same happiness of the world. Because the happiness of the world is temporary, this happiness is eternal. This is something you can hold on to. This is something that's not gonna go away. We saw with Solomon what external happiness will get us. Vanity of vanity. You will get to the point eventually where you're just tired of searching and go, this is there's just no point in any of this. The happiness that we see here in blessed is this happiness that we see in the book of Philippians. See

Contentment That Outlives Circumstances

Josh 18:40

in Philippians 4, Paul gives us this whole ramp up and he says this, starting in verse 11, not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. Listen to me very carefully, if we could learn that. And it starts by understanding that the external will never bring the internal happiness. That is the secret to being content. Is sitting here realizing and being honest with myself that no matter my degree, no matter my house, no matter my spouse, no matter my kids, no matter my paycheck, no matter my car, no matter any of this, here is the secret to being content. He goes, I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. What Paul is talking about there is there is an equal amount of danger in having plenty as there is in having nothing. Because when we have plenty, what becomes your God? Having things. And then you have a 2008 where all of a sudden all of your worldly things can be taken from you like that. Then what? We can always understand the danger of having low, right? Being brought low. Yeah, it sucks when you don't have food. You're not sitting here going, oh, let me talk about who Jesus is. That's why we do things like the sharing center, guys. Because the people that come in there, these are people that are sitting here going, hey, I need basic needs. They don't want to sit and talk about the big theological lofty ideas. They're sitting here going, hey, I'm hungry. That's why I need you guys to bring in those things. But he sits here and he goes, but in any and every circumstance. In the Greek, those words mean anything and everything. I have learned the secret. Isn't this what we all want? That secret knowledge. Amen. If we could just understand that one little thing, that let that secret. He's learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Is he talking about winning football games? No, he's not. Is he talking about, hey, I can fly? No, he's not. He's sitting here going, this contentness I have, this happiness I have, this joy I have, this isn't based on my circumstances. This isn't based on if I'm having a good day today or a bad day. And only because he's sitting in the front row and he caught my eye, this isn't based on is all my equipment running this week or am I broke down? Like he's sitting here going, My circumstance doesn't matter. Because I'm content, I'm happy. See, think about this. I hate, I hate with a passion, certain How do I word this? Y'all know them people, right? No matter when you text them, no matter when you call them, they are never just, I'm doing good. Right? Every time you text, it's like, ah, and it's like, dude, like, is anything in your life good? Like, at some point, you do gotta realize like you can't be miserable like this about everything and be in Christ. Because these two things can't coincide with each other. And what Jesus is saying is when you get this into your bones, happy are the poor of spirit. See, because unlike, I think I skipped something there. And what we have to realize is this Jesus doesn't tell us all of this to rob our joy. Like raise your hand if like you know deep within your bones that all those stupid rules your parents gave you growing

God’s Rules As Protection And Joy

Josh 23:10

up were just meant to keep you from having fun. Right? Like curfew. Here's why I had to be home by like 10 or midnight or whatever, whatever my curfew was. Because all of the fun things happen after 10 o'clock. And then you get older and you're like, oh, nothing good happens after 2 a.m. Then you become a cop and you're like, actually, after 8:30, you really should just be in the house. See, we look at all those rules. And we go, you're just trying to keep me from the fun things. We tend to look at Jesus the same way. And we go, you're just telling me this because you don't want me to enjoy the pleasures of this world. You're just trying to keep me from the fun stuff, Jesus. And Jesus is sitting here going, no, no, no, no, I'm trying to like keep you safe and happy. You know how many times I've looked at JT in his short little life so far and been like, man, if you would have just listened? Like I wasn't telling you that stuff because I didn't want you to enjoy. I was telling you that stuff because I wanted you to be able to enjoy it to the fullest. And Matthew 7-11, which is, I mean, I read 7-Eleven earlier. There's churches that are named after Bible verses, and I was like, how did we not go with like a 7-Eleven from one of the books? But anyway, in Matthew 7.11, Jesus says this, if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, and I will tell you right now, he wrote this for my mom. My mom is probably the best gift giver you will ever meet in your life.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

True story.

unknown 24:55

Does that make me evil?

Josh 24:57

It does. And he's sitting here going, hey, you guys that are evil, but you still know how to get good gifts. How much more will your father who is in heaven give those good gifts to those who ask? The problem is, is we don't know what's good. Right? The famous theologian Garth Brooks has a song that says this sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Think through your life and all those prayers that you've prayed. You guys in here who are sitting next to someone different than you prayed for back in like ninth grade. Think about it. You remember her? And now you're sitting here going, oh, thank God she was crazy. Like she turned, especially with social media now, right? Because we know how crazy your ex turned in. And some of you are like, I've been with mine since like, and that's great, awesome. God answered your prayer. But see, think about this. We don't even know what to ask for. Because you don't know what you don't know. So sometimes we ask for things thinking, hey, this is gonna make me happy, and God is sitting here going, you do not understand how destructive that thing you are asking me for is. Like, how many of you, your kid, comes up to you and they're like, hey, we eat mushrooms when we have stir fry. This kid at school is like, hey, you should try these mushrooms, and you're like, you know what? You should. It'll help you see the spiritual realm in a way you haven't thought about. None of us? No, you're gonna be like, no, you're not eating that. Because that's not good for you. And see how many of us, that's how we look at Jesus and we go, He's giving us this law not to hurt us, not to harm us, but to sit here and go, I came so that you may have life and have life abundantly. He's just sitting here going, stop chasing the world's happiness and understand the happiness I'm trying to pour into you. And now we're gonna move from that word blessed to that phrase poor in spirit.

Poor In Spirit Is Not Poverty

Josh 27:05

Here's the first thing I want you to understand. The Bible does not say, blessed are the poor. The Bible is not sitting here talking about your bank account. You can have a swole bank account and still find contentness in Jesus. You can be broke as a joke and still find contentness in Jesus. The Bible, I and everybody goes to, yeah, but doesn't Jesus say, you know, that it's easier for a camel to fit through the eye of the needle than a rich man to enter heaven? Yes, he does. And that's only because when we can sustain ourselves, we stop looking for a savior, which is what he's about to get into in the poor in spirit. But he's not talking about your financial stability. He's not talking about our bank account. He's talking about how we see ourselves. That's why it's poor in spirit, not just poor. Because especially when you go back to like the Middle Ages, there were a lot of people that believed that the Bible was sitting here going, you had to be poor. And so what they would do is purposely live destitute lives. Now, is there wisdom in some of that? Yeah. Do you think they were sitting here going, hey, I have to have the very latest Xbox or PlayStation to be happy? No. John Piper, one of the greatest theological minds of our time, doesn't even own a TV. And we talked about this at our house, like we're just gonna get rid of all of our TVs because they suck up so much time. And then I was like, let's try, you know, just going for a day without watching TV. And honestly, I was like, we're not getting rid of the TV. Like, that is just an amazing gift of God. But he's not talking about your financial standing. Remember, last week we looked at these different crowds, right? You have the religious people, you have the disciples, then you have the seekers. And we know that in the church today there are plenty of people who think they're bringing something to the table. Like it would be very easy for me to stand up here and go, like, I'm a pastor. God, I've devoted my life to teaching people your word. And it would be very easy for me to start thinking that Jesus needs me. When in fact, I probably cause more harm to the kingdom than I do good. Because, just like with my kids, Kayla was asking me something last week about, I don't even know what I did, but I did something, and she's like, wow, you did that a lot faster than you normally do. And I was like, Kayla, understand, when I ask you guys to help me do things, it's not because I need your help. It's because I'm trying to teach you how to do these things so that when you don't live with me anymore, you can do these things. It is much faster for me to just do it than it is for me to have you help me do this. And I'm sure God looks at me the same way and goes, yeah, Josh, good job, bud. But understand, I would get people's hearts faster if you weren't involved in this. Because sometimes you get sidetracked. Sometimes you go down these rabbit holes that have nothing to do with the words that I've given you to preach this week. And it would just be faster if you would just let me grab a hold of everyone's heart. See, and this poor in spirit is realizing who I am. That word poor in the Greek is this word tochos. And it's not poor the way that we think of poor, especially if you're poor here in America. Because let's say you're homeless here in America. What can you still have? Money? Housing? What else? Food? I'll tell you right now. One of the last traffic stops I did as a cop, the lady I pulled over, it was like two in the morning, she didn't have any lights on in the back of her car. So I pull her over because hey, you have no lights, and that's unsafe. And as we're sitting there talking, I found out that being a stay-at-home mom, she made more

Tochos: Desperate Dependence On Another

Josh 31:35

money than I did as a cop working 50 plus hours a week. Because poor here in America doesn't mean you're poor. There are a lot of programs, and if you're someone in here who needs like help, come talk to me after service because there's a lot of programs that are made available for that. So I'm not knocking that. What I want us to understand though is this kind of poor, this tochos, this is like without somebody, I'm going to die. This is that kind of poor. This is sitting here realizing how completely dependent I am on someone else. These would be the people in their towns that couldn't even walk to the gates. You needed someone to stop by your house in the morning, literally pick you up and carry you to the gate where you could beg for money. That's this kind of poor. And when they would beg, they were so ashamed of their station in life that they would literally cover their face with one hand and hold out their other hand because they went, there is no way I can do for myself. That kind of poor. And that's why I wanted to draw that distinction. Because some of us have a misunderstanding of the word poor. Just because I can't have everything I want doesn't make me poor. This kind of poor we're talking about is I am literally going to die without someone else. And see, when talking about true happiness, that's where Jesus starts. Understand, Jesus doesn't just haphazardly say things. These beatitudes are in a certain order for a certain reason. There's a reason why Jesus starts with, blessed are the poor in spirit. Because he's sitting here going, nothing else matters unless you can understand this. He's sitting here going, you are never going to be able to grow in the kingdom of heaven if you do not understand that you are a recipient of grace and mercy, and without those, you are destitute. Without those, you will never be able to do for yourself. This is why Jesus will later on say, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Because what he was trying to get them to understand is this word that we have in English called humility. Blessed or a poor in spirit is the ultimate humility. And you want to know why the Bible preaches so much against pride? Is because when you're prideful, you're sitting here going, there's nowhere else I can go. I don't need help. I don't need to grow. I'm good where I am. And some of us, listen to me. Your pride is the reason you won't grow.

Humility Versus Pride In Real Life

Josh 34:56

Your pride is the reason the spirit isn't going to break you down. Nebuchadnezzar was prideful. How'd that work out for him? He started eating grass like an ox. Some of you, that's where your pride's getting you. Pride is a terrible thing. In fact, in James 4, it in James 4, 7, don't put it up yet, but it tells us that God opposes the proud. So you keep on being pride, uh prideful. Understand the Bible tells you that God not only doesn't like that, but actively opposes you. Because our pride says, I don't need anything. Humility, poor in spirit, is when I look to Christ and I go, there's nothing I'm bringing to the table. This was all a gift. This was all grace and mercy and nothing I got. In fact, we have this guy in the New Testament named Paul. And I'm sure most of you are familiar with Paul, but really stop and think of who Paul is. Like Paul has planted more churches than any all of us in this room combined. Paul is the guy that gave us 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament. He literally wrote half the New Testament by himself. Paul is this guy that is like preaching and someone falls asleep and falls out the window and dies, and he walks over, looks at him, and he's like, nah, he's alright, he'll be back up in a second. Like, I preach, you fall asleep and you just stay sleeping. But that's who Paul is. Paul literally walks into Athens. And if you don't know anything about like history and all of that, Athens was the like philosophical capital of the world. This is where all the greatest minds gathered together and argued and went, here's how the world came to be. So all of us that are doing that today understand we're just copying what the Greeks have already done. Paul walks into Athens in Acts 17 and shuts them all up. Like, how awesome is that? And yet, let's see how Paul views himself. Because anyone in here, your accomplishes, your accomplishments are like Paul's? Anyone in here, you wrote a book in the Bible? Anyone in here healed someone? Anyone in here raised the dead? Anyone in here have an answer for every argument? So no? Alright, but let's see how Paul views himself. In Romans 7.18, Paul would say this: nothing good. How many things that are good? Nothing. Nothing good dwells in me. In 1 Timothy 1.15, Paul would say this about himself, that I am the chief among sinners. In other words, I am the worst of the worst. Do you think Paul understood how wicked he was? Do you think Paul understood how wretched and blackhearted he was? Do you think Paul remembered who he was before he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus? Yeah, right? Because he's sitting here going, I'm the chief of sinners. I understand this grace thing. And then in Philippians 3 8, Paul would say this, that he counts all things. Every accomplishment he's ever had, he counts them as rubbish. That word in the Greek is a cuss word, so I'm not going to repeat it right now. Because that is how Paul looks at every single accomplishment throughout his life. This is why when you walk into my office or you come into my classroom, do you see my degrees hanging up on the wall? No. You know why? Because I count them all as rubbish. Not saying I don't use them, not saying like college is a bad thing. But if that's where I'm staking my pride, then how am I following after what the Bible says? If I'm sitting here going, I'm better than you because my degree is more advanced than yours, then how am I following what the Bible says? See, Paul is sitting here going, I know who I am. Isaiah in Isaiah 64, 6 would say this, that the greatest things you will ever do. Not the good things, the best of the best. Your highlight reel of life is a filthy garment. Now, does anybody in the here know what that means in the Hebrew? It's a used menstrual pad. That is what that is. The best of the best compared to God is a filthy garment. What do I have to brag about? What do I have to boast about? Like, at what point did I forget that everything good in me, according to Galatians, is Christ? At what point did I forget that I wasn't just like walking around one day and went, you know what? I'm tired of being a crappy person. I'm gonna change and I'm gonna pick myself up by my bootstraps. Because I was dead in my sins and trespasses. But God, being rich in mercy, with the great love for which he loved me, made me alive together with Christ. For by grace we have been saved, and yet we have the audacity to sit here and think, we're bringing a covered dish to the party? Like that wedding feast of the lamb ain't stuff, like it ain't a potluck. It is literally God going, No, here I'm taking care of. That's what being poor in spirit means. It's when I stop looking at myself like my gifts, my talents, my things are bringing something to the kingdom of heaven. It's when I look like Isaiah in chapter six, where he is given a vision of the throne room of God and goes, Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips. It's seeing me for who I am. It's knowing that there's nothing inside of me that is inherently righteous. And when I get to that point, I can look like David in Psalm 51, who says, Create in me, O God, a new heart. Restore the joy of my salvation. Because then I stop looking at me and I stop looking at what I can do and I start going, Jesus, I am utterly dependent upon you. That's why he uses that word. So if I want to be happy, I have to understand first and foremost my utter dependence on Christ, not me. This is why Jesus will say it is easier for a rich or a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Because when I can depend on me, I'm going to. But seriously, stop and look through your own life. Every time you depended on you, what happened? Like every time you needed to come through, what happened? Well, I mean, we're sitting in this room for a reason, right? See, being poor in spirit allows me to see myself for who I am. And listen to me very carefully. I'm not saying beat yourself down. That's not what being poor in spirit means. It means being honest. One of the first things I will tell anyone when I am counseling is if we are not honest with ourselves, this is not gonna do any good. Listen to me. The fake you that has no problems and has it all together is just fine. But for some of us in this room, nothing I've said so far is news. You're like, I've heard this many times, but especially if you've been here a while. At one point, I would have people come up to me after service and go, are you ever gonna preach about like good things, or is it always just we're wretched, black-hearted sinners? I'm gonna preach what the Bible says, so as we work through the Bible, you'll hear different things, right? But for some of you, you're sitting in here going, I know who I am. I am honest with who I am. How does this help me? How does this produce happiness? Because this is how I've been living for a while, and I'm not happy. And that's a good question, that's a fair question. And it's also one that the Bible doesn't shy away from. Again, I told you earlier in James 4, we see this. But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Grace For The Humble And Submission

Josh 43:55

Submit. Uh oh, that's a bad word in our language, right? We hate that. Word submit, especially as Americans, right? We're about to celebrate 250 years of us not submitting, right? But the Bible tells us to submit yourselves, therefore, to God, resist the devil, and he will flee. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. See, Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now listen to me very carefully. Whose is the kingdom of heaven? Like whose kingdom is that? The Bible literally just said it. This isn't a trick question. The poor in spirit. It's your kingdom. The hardest thing you're ever gonna have to do, the absolute hardest thing you're ever gonna have to do is believe that. Is to make the 18-inch trek from your brain to your heart. And sometimes that 18 inches is the furthest you're ever going to have to travel. Because the Bible is sitting here telling you and promising you this. That's why that word faith is more than I believe these facts are true. It's sitting here going, because I believe that these things are true. I'm not gonna lean on my own understanding. I'm gonna go with what Jesus has already told me. Listen, Isaiah says this no weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against me in judgment, thou shalt condemn. Why? Because I don't have to fight the fight. See, we we look at this like it's a close fight. This isn't Thanos versus the Avengers. Jesus just shows up and the fight's done. That's it. And he's saying that kingdom that I'm bringing, it's your kingdom. The poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God of heaven. It's just sitting here looking at it, going, I don't have to prop myself up. I don't have to work off of my accomplishments. Jesus promised me the kingdom, and his promises are good, and I'm gonna believe that. It means no matter how bad it gets here, as Paul would say in Philippians 1.21, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. It's to understand that the worst possible thing in my life, the worst thing that can happen is what? How is that the worst thing? The Bible literally just said, if I die, I gain. Because you know what I don't have to do when I'm gonna die? I don't have to pay taxes, that's true. I don't have to make my student loan payments. I don't have to wash dishes, I don't have to have a nagging wife, I don't have to have like a job. What am I losing? And yet some of us we just walk around in fear. And that is what controls and rules our life. Because, uh-oh, what what if? Listen to me. You own your own business. What if it goes under? Start another one? Michael Scott Paper

The Kingdom Promise That Kills Fear

Josh 47:40

Company? That's one of them. We barbecue. You get fired from your job. Go find another one. Right? You get no car accident. Hopefully you have insurance, and guess what happens? You get another car. I mean, that is one of those things that people actually plan and do, right? It's called insurance fraud. I don't recommend it. But why are we looking at life so contingent on everything? Why do we sit here and hold on to the happiness that the world promises? Why do we sit here and go, this all depends on me? Listen, you ain't in control of it to begin with. Raise your hand if you can turn right now. If you can turn one of your hairs white or gray. Right now. Pay attention. No one? But yet you're gonna control your life? You're gonna control everything around you? Listen, I can't even fill in this bald spot right here. And I've been trying with rosemary and prayer and all the other things, and you know what? Isn't it growing? You guys in here with these amazing beards. This is all I got. And every day I spend at least five minutes with my eyes closed, trying to push the follicles out of the skin. And then it ain't happening. Which actually is a good thing because I would have to shave my mustache every time I go diving, so that would be bad. But yet, what? I'm gonna control my wife? Have y'all ever met Debbie? That's a wild must thing right there. You can't control stuff like that. But yet, this is what we do, and then we wonder why we're not happy. Because we're looking at life in the wrong ways. Because instead of being blessed and poor in spirit, instead of being happy and going, Jesus has got me, we're gonna sit here and go, This all depends on me. This all depends on how hard. And listen, the Bible does say, let he who not work not eat. I'm not saying don't work hard. Ecclesiastes even tells you, whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might. But if you want to be happy, this is found in James 1.17. Every good gift and every perfect gift. Does it say some of? Does it say most of? You want to know where brisket came from? Uncle Joe's barbecue, but ultimately that cow that bravely gave its life so that we can eat its chest muscle after it has been smoked to perfection came from above. See, without Jesus creating that cow, there is no porter house steak. There is no brisket. There is no short ribs and braised beef tortellini. And I don't know if you can tell this by looking at me, but I enjoy all of those things. And those things at least make my belly go, hmm, I'm happy. At least for a small period of time. And actually, I was watching a steak fajita video yesterday and a new marinade that I'm gonna try at some point this week. And I went, that's gonna make me happy too. And then it dawned on me, thank you, Jesus, for going, hey, I'm gonna make this thing called a cap. Because if you didn't do that, my life would be completely miserable. And when I'm out on the boat, you know what? Every fish I catch, I go, Jesus, thank you for like thinking up this animal. You didn't have to. I don't need them for food. Listen, fish meat's practically a vegetable. But thank you, Jesus, because you just filled a hole in my heart.

Gratitude For Every Good Gift

Josh 52:10

And most days I look at Debbie and I go, thank you, Jesus, because you just filled a hole in my heart. You gave me a woman who will actually listen to all of the craziness, because you guys only hear a fraction of it. I have to filter it through Debbie before I get up here on Sunday. And I look at my kids and I go, thank you, Jesus. Caleb made some cookies last night. And listen, anytime you take two cookies and put buttercream frosting in the middle and then dip those things into chocolate, I was like, thank you, Jesus, for giving me a daughter who could bake under a severe threat while we were at the store. If we get home and there's something we don't have, I'm gonna be very upset because now my mind is made up on these cookies. Can't just go out and get them, right? See, listen to me. In Luke 12, 32, Jesus says this fear not, little flock. Who's he talking to? Who's the little flock? Us, right? Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom, followed up with it is the father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Those of you that are building things for your kids, don't you like get excited when you think about what you're gonna be able to pass off to them? Your father in heaven looks at you the same way. He goes, I built this whole kingdom for you, for your pleasure. My glory, not mine, but God's glory, but your pleasure. And listen, it doesn't say I'm gonna sell you the kingdom. Did it? Did it say I'm gonna give you like a super friends and family discount? Did it say it's your father's pleasure that you earn the kingdom? No. It literally went. So as we close this morning, are you poor in spirit? Be honest with yourself. Are you seeking happiness from the temporary? Are you chasing promises of the world? Or are you sitting here going, everything good? All of the good things in your life, from the food you eat to the job you work, to the spouse you are married to, to the kids you've had, to the house you live in, to the car you drive, all of those gifts came from above. Answer this question honestly, are the things in your life the result of you so that you may be proud of them? Or did the Father give you them? See, as we move through this week, we need to remember, Jesus gives us this, Jesus gives us this to challenge ourselves. Jesus sits here and goes, This is what my citizens look like. So if we don't look like that, are we his citizens? Or are we trying to do this like, hey Jesus, I want to be kind of like in your world a little bit, like I want all the good things and the promises. But on the same hand, I kind of want to cling to this world thing because like there's some things out here that make me happy too. See, our challenge this week, I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you, it's probably the hardest challenge I've ever came up with.

Weekly Challenge: Write Down Your Pride

Josh 56:31

And I'm gonna explain it. Because yeah, I get it. Some of you it's gonna make you uncomfortable. And that's the point. Because at some point we have to lean in. Listen, if you keep doing the same thing, you are gonna keep getting the same thing. So if nothing is changing in your life, you need to do something different. If you're still having the same fights with your spouse, you need to do something different. If you're still struggling with the same things in your heart, you need to do something different. That is the whole point of these weekly challenges. It's so that you force yourself to rise to the challenge and do something different. Because that's where change comes from. But our challenge this week is gonna require a pen, a pencil, a writing utensil of some kind, and paper. Because sometime over the next seven days, I want you to sit down and I want you to write down the three things in your life that you are most proud of. It could be things like your job, your kids, your bank account, your sobriety, your marriage, whatever it is, those three things in your life that you look at and go, these are the things I am proud of. And then I want you to really sit down and go, are these the result of me or are these gifts from my Father? Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate how you didn't achieve any one of those on your own. I'm not saying that you didn't work, I'm not saying that you didn't do things. But understand you didn't do it all by yourself either. It might have been a direct result of the Father. It may have been Jesus going, you know what, I'm gonna move people into your life. Because they're gonna help. Because they're gonna push you a little bit down the road. But if we want to be poor in spirit, we have to crush the illusion that we built our own kingdom. Because listen. I know 4th of July is coming up. Yep, I'm a veteran, like military and all that. Listen to me very carefully. We live, yes, in the greatest country on the face of the planet right now. It's not gonna last forever. As we can tell from Egypt and Rome and Greece and all of the great empires that came before us. But right now it is the greatest country on the face of the planet. And you get to benefit from that simply because you were born here. Right? Raise your hand if you chose to be born here, though. None of us. So none of us were sitting in the ethereal universe before and went, hey, I'm gonna go ahead and impregnate this woman and this is where I'm gonna be born at. Okay. That is a gift from the Father. My wife, whom I love so much and has been such a blessing in my life. I will tell you right now, I would not be where I am right now if God didn't move Debbie into my life. Y'all want to hear the greatest love story ever? Here's how we met. I was 17 and I needed money. So I went to my mom's job at the state attorney's office. Because that's what a 17-year-old would think. You're gonna pick up your future wife, right? With all of the criminals going in and out of the building.

unknown 1:00:26

That was not.

Josh 1:00:32

And I walked in, and I'm asking my mom for money through the window. And I looked over and I went, ooh, she's pretty. That's how we met. So how can I not say that that wasn't a gift of God? Blessed are the poor, right? And I was poor. Thank you, Nana. See, when we stop and we look at it, you didn't get to where you are by accident. And when we stop and we think through it, God had a hand in it from the time we started till now. And so what we're going to do is we're gonna write down those three things that we are most proud of. And then we are gonna sit here and go, was this a result of me or was this the father? And then there's a second part, and this is where it's gonna get challenging for us. And then next week, bring it in with you. Because listen, I'm taking down all the places you'll go. I don't even know why that's up. We we are in high school right here. Okay, I'm gonna tell you guys right now, the high schoolers did not read Dr. Seuss. Yeah, when they were in elementary school. And we're gonna hang up. Every time Israel does anything throughout scriptures, what is the first commandment the Father gives them? Build an altar. Why? To remember. Listen to me very carefully. We are, we looked at this two weeks ago. You were gonna remember about 4% of what you heard today. For those of you that wrote something down, that four percent goes up to about 60%. For those of you that heard it, wrote it down, and then responded at any point, that goes up to about 80%. The reason God went, hey, I brought you across the Jordan, make an altar. The reason God went, hey, I put you in Canaan, make an altar. I freed you from slavery, make an altar. The reason God does this over and over and over is because he's sitting here going, I want you to remember. So not only are we gonna write those things down, but then next week we're gonna bring them in. And someone who is more artistic than me can figure out where and how those things are gonna make it onto a wall. You don't have to sign your name to it. This isn't to call us out. This is so that every time you walk in here, you can look and you can go, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And I trust that my God will deliver on his

Prayer, Anointing Oil, And Closing

Josh 1:03:20

promise. So, as always, if you need to talk or you need to pray, make sure you see me before you leave. And listen, if I'm talking with someone else and you need to talk or you need to pray, come interrupt me. Let me know. Because a lot of times, if I'm talking, especially to Steven, we may not be talking about something spiritual at that point. We had a whole conversation about the best way to preserve meat before you guys got here this morning. Come interrupt. Come go, hey, can I just get a second? That's what we're here for. And I'll tell you right now, if Miss Kathy isn't in here, I was so excited to say this in front of her. But she did kids today. If you look on the windowsill over here, you see a mason jar. And that mason jar is half full of oil. Because we came in Wednesday and we prayed, and we anointed, and we put hands on, and we did all of those things. So if you're sitting in here today and you're like, hey, the Spirit's telling me, you said a couple of weeks ago that go to the elders and let them anoint you and pray. We have the oil to do it now, and it's right there. So if that's you, take that step. Because blessed, happy are the poor in spirit. So, Father, I ask and I pray that as we move from this moment, that Father, we we just empty ourselves. That even in this moment, God, that it just be you. That we stop trying to think we built, and that we go, Father, thank you for what you have given. Thank you, God, for all those good gifts in my life. Thank you, Father, for everything that I look at and I take for granted. Father, I ask and I pray that we humble ourselves. Father, we empty ourselves. That Father, we show we are poor in spirit so that we can see you for who you are. So, Father, that we can be blessed too. Father, I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.