REVIEW
The ancient philosophers and founders of religion from 600-300 BC were seeking to define “true inner goodness” and “moral excellence.” The term used by Plato when referring to “true inner goodness” is the same term used in the Sermon on the Mount to refer to righteousness. Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount what ‘true inner goodness” looks like.
FLIP CHART: Christians are recipients of righteousness / true inner goodness / moral excellence through the imparted righteousness of God, inflowing righteousness due to our mystical union with Christ and learned righteousness due to spiritual formation as we obey God’s Word.
The Sermon on the Mount: “It is Jesus’ description of what he wanted his followers to be and to do” (John Stott, 15).
FLIP CHART: The Outline for the SOM – 1. Christian’s character (5:3-12); 2. A Christian’s influence (5:13-16); 3. A Christian’s righteousness (5:17-48); 4. A Christian’s piety (6:1-18); 5. A Christian’s ambition (6:19-34); 6. A Christian’s relationship (7:1-20); 7. A Christian’s commitment (7:21-27)
FLIP CHART: Spiritual Formation happens when we concentrate on a sin problem or character flaw; Make correct choices; Reflect on those choices; Confess failures and celebrate successes.
We must avoid being “paralyzed by grace” and start “weighing Christians” and not only counting them.
FLIP CHART: SOM’S KEY VERSE, GOAL, MOTTO
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness …. (Matthew 6:33a).
Motto: The law sends us to Christ for justification; Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification.
FLIP CHART: Show “window pane” of the 8 beatitudes.
It seems that Beatitudes 1-4 (poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger) deal with our relationship with God whereas 5-8 (mercy, purity, peacemaker, persecution) deal with our relationship with people.
“The Beatitudes do not come at the end, they come at the beginning of the Sermon, and I do not hesitate to say that unless we are perfectly clear about them we should go no further. We have no right to go further.” (MLJ, 23)
INTRODUCTION:
OUTLINE FOR THE DAY:
1. Defining the “Kingdom of God”
2. The Meaning of “Blessed”
3. Why “Poor is Spirit?”
THE DIFFICULTY OF GETTING INTO GOD’S KINGDOM
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Mt. 7:13-14).
He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because MANY, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24).
QUESTION: Why won’t ‘many’ be able to enter, why won’t they be able to get into the kingdom of God?
Jesus begins to answer that question in the first beatitude.
I. DEFINING “THE KINGDOM OF GOD”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God” (Mt. 5:3).
QUESTION: What do we mean when we say, “My house is my castle?” “I’m king of the hill.” He is “King for a day?”
QUESTION: How do we, how does the Bible define “the Kingdom of God?”
“God’s own ‘kingdom,’ or ‘rule’ is the range of his effective will, where what he wants done is done. The person of God himself and the action of his will are the organizing principles of his kingdom, but everything that obeys those principles, whether by nature or by choice, is within his kingdom.” (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, pg. 25)
QUESTION: When, based on the following verses, do we enter the Kingdom of God?
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:20).
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:3).
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” . . . . Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit (John 3:3, 5).
QUESTION: What do members of the kingdom look like?
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).
QUESTION: What are members of the kingdom doing?
Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me (Col. 4:11).
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom of priests . . . (Rev. 1:5b-6a).
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God …. (I Pt. 2:9).
QUESTION: Where can you find the kingdom?
“Nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within (among) you” (Luke 17:21).
QUESTION: What must you do to get into the kingdom?
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Colossians 1:13).
To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me’ (Acts 26:18).
II. THE MEANING OF “BLESSED”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God” (Mt. 5:3).
Three meanings of “blessed” in the English language:
(1) To set aside, to consecrate as when we ask God to bless the food we eat; (2) To speak well of as when we say, “She is a blessed woman; (3) To be happy or joyful from the word ‘bliss’ which has a similar spelling.
By using “blessed” here God is making an objective statement on what He thinks of these people who own these character traits. He is not talking about what these people feel like (happy) but what he thinks of them.
God is saying, “These are the fortunate, people I approve.”
“Blessedness indicates the smile of God or, as Max Lucado has so beautifully put it, The Applause of Heaven.” (Hughes, 18).
“Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: “Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it–that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.” (Luke 15:8-9, The Message).
ACTIVITY: Parade of Stars – Send all but 8 members of the class to the back of the room. Hand out 8 sheets of paper with the words: Poor in Spirit, Mourner, Meek, Hungry/Thirsty, Merciful, Pure Heart, Peacemaker, Persecuted. Have them walk across the front of the room carrying their sign. As each one walks have the rest of the class clap and shout.
QUESTION: What is wrong with this role play? God wants all of us to have all of these character qualities.
III. WHY “POOR IN SPIRIT”?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God” (Mt. 5:3).
Definition of “poor in spirit”
Ptochos (poor) is from a verb meaning “to shrink, cower, or cringe,” as beggars often did in that day. Classical Greek used the word to refer to a person reduced to total destitution, who crouched in a corner begging. As he held out one hand for alms he often hid his face with the other hand, because he was ashamed of being recognized. The term does not mean simply poor, but begging poor.” (MacArthur, Pg. 145).
In the New Testament it bears something of this idea because it denotes a poverty so deep that the person must obtain his living by begging. He is fully dependent on the giving of others. He cannot survive without help from the outside. Thus an excellent translation is “beggarly poor.” (Hughes, 19).
Karl Barth said, “empty before God.” James Boice translates it “spiritually bankrupt.”
“Poor in spirit” means a complete absence of pride, a complete absence of self-assurance and of self-reliance. It means a consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God . . . It is an awareness of our utter nothingness as we come before God” (MLJ, Pg. 50).
“This is deeper than realizing I fail, it is realizing I do not have the capacity within myself to do anything else! As Paul wrote, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature’ (Rom. 7:18) (Price, pg. 57).
We could translate the first beatitude, “God applauds the shrinking, cowering, beggarly poor in spirit, the spiritual zeroes who realize they are empty before God, spiritually bankrupt for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
ILL: At his gate was laid a beggar (ptochos) named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores (Lk. 16:20-22).
QUESTION: How would you describe Lazarus based on these verses?
Crippled, great hunger and malnourished, inadequate supply from his family, infected sores, totally dependent on others for sustenance (no mercy, no hope).
1One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he ….. 12 said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor (potchos), the crippled, the lame, the blind ….
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor (potchos), the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22” ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ “(Luke 14:1-24)
Why so few get through the gate / enter the kingdom.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Mt. 7:13-14).
He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because MANY, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24).
QUESTION: Why won’t ‘many’ be able to enter, why won’t they be able to get into the kingdom of God?
Only a few find the gate because it is small and narrow.
TABLE ACTIVITY: What creature in the Bible is used to describe our nothingness, our spiritual poverty?
It appears that some that find the gate try to enter but can’t get in.
The ones that do find it can’t get in because they are not small enough or “empty” enough. The key to getting through is being a worm. This is why “worm theology” is so important.
If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, how much less man, who is but a maggot—a son of man, who is only a worm!” (Job 25:5-6).
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 41:14).
ACTIVITY – SING SOME OF THESE SONGS
At the Cross
Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
At the cross, at the cross
Where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
To the tune “Amazing Grace”
Great God, how infinite art Thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.
Jesus, Love of My Soul
Just and holy is Thy name,
I am all unrighteousness;
Vile and full of sin I am,
Thou are full of truth and grace.
Rock of Ages
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.
Those who try to squeeze in with their own righteousness will never make it.
He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because MANY, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24).
We try to clean ourselves up, make ourselves better, be self-reliant, pay our way into the kingdom with good works. We really believe in ourselves and like Nike suggests, “Just do it.”
ILL: Someday, if history is allowed to continue, a perceptive artist may sculpt a statue of twentieth-century man with his arms wrapped around himself in a loving embrace, kissing his image in a mirror.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away (Isaiah 64:6).
No matter what kind of rags you put on a worm, you still have a worm.
Many good, moral Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Muslims, Christians will not get in because they are not yet “beggarly poor” and are trying to get on their own merits.
FLIP CHART: Have Dick draw a picture of a cross with a small gate in its base and a worm squeezing through.
The way into the kingdom is through a very small and narrow gate that has the shape of a cross.
ACTIVITY: Have someone walk across the front of the room holding up the “poor in spirit” sign and have the rest of the class applaud!
CONCLUSION:
A “Christian” who uses all of the evangelical language, has had an evangelical baptism, sings all the evangelical songs but has never come through the narrow, small gate as one of the beggarly poor is nothing more than an “unregenerate evangelical.”
Jesus is always a Savior before He is a teacher. In the first Beatitude he assures us that worms can squeeze through the narrow, small gate into the kingdom.
“I would say that there is no more perfect statement of the doctrine of justification by faith only than this Beatitude; ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs (and theirs only) is the kingdom of heaven.’ (MLJ, pg. 42).
Jesus in SOM gives us four high demand verses, then in the very first verse says these high demand verses are for the “Poor in spirit.” .
“We never outgrow the first Beatitude, even though it is the basis by which we ascend to the others. In fact, if we outgrow it, we have outgrown our Christianity – we are post-Christian” (Hughes, 21).
ILL: We need to look back every once in a while and see ourselves as that worm squeezing through the gate and realize that even now, without Christ we are just a zillion zeroes. Of course put 1 in front of the zillion zeroes and you have something.
SO WHAT????
1. You are not a member of God’s kingdom if you have not entered as a spiritual poverty-stricken beggar.
2. The Sermon on the Mount is for poverty-stricken beggars who, by grace alone, have wormed their way into the kingdom.
3. God applauds and calls fortunate all who live in awareness of their spiritual poverty.
4. The door into the kingdom and into the Sermon on the Mount is a very low and a very narrow door. Today, to enter all you have to do is say sincerely from your heart:
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.