Matthew 5:1-12

And turn with me to Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And we began a series last week on the Beatitudes.

! I thought it would complement Romans and be different to Romans.

! And then I find I'm preaching pretty much exactly the same sermon this morning,

this evening as I was this morning.

So the Lord must be trying to tell you something.

Let's pray.

Guide us, O Lord, by your word and by your Holy Spirit,

that in your light we may see light,

that in your truth we might find freedom,

and in your will that we might discover peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

And so I want us to look tonight at really what does it mean to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we're looking at that in Jesus' own words.

Matthew 5 verse 3.

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Some of the culture is hostile to Christianity.

Most of the culture couldn't care less, let's be honest.

I don't know how you find that,

but most of the people that I talk to about Christianity,

they are apathetic.

Indifferent.

They couldn't care less.

Why bother?

For many people I know,

God is simply just not relevant.

And I think we have to face that.

For many people today,

in their mind,

God simply is not relevant.

They would say to us,

I don't need God.

If you need God,

well that's alright for you,

but I don't need God.

I've got no felt need for him.

I don't really feel the need of God.

One of the things that Jesus has come to tell us,

is whether you feel the need of God,

or not,

is irrelevant.

The fact is,

you have a need of God.

Whether you feel the need of God,

is irrelevant.

The fact is,

you have a need of God.

You're on your way home tonight,

there's a guy who's in the gutter,

drunk.

And he's in the drunk,

he's got a black eye,

he is bleeding.

But he doesn't feel the need of your assistance,

does he?

And when you go with him,

to check whether he's okay,

well,

what's the reaction you'll get?

You'll get an elbow,

or a punch maybe in the nose.

He doesn't feel any need of your help,

does he?

The drunk and the gutter.

But that's only an indication,

isn't it,

of how far gone he is,

in his drunkenness.

It's no indication of how things really are.

It's only an indication of how much trouble

that drunk is in.

And the fact is,

tonight,

you might have come to church,

and you sit in this building,

and you say,

well,

I don't really feel any need of God.

And that's only an indication,

of how out of touch with reality,

you really are.

Jesus says,

the fact is,

that you have a need of God,

and until you recognise that,

you'll never be,

truly happy in the way that,

the Beatitudes talk about.

Blessed are those who are poor in spirit,

he says,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Now what I want to do tonight,

is I just want to clear up some misunderstandings,

about what this verse is not about.

And then I want to kind of,

explain what it is about.

Karl Marx called,

Christianity,

the opium of the people.

Why?

Because it offered people,

it's a pie in the sky when you die,

and that hope of the future heaven,

well,

it kept them content,

in their present,

and that of course,

is a total misunderstanding,

and misrepresentation,

of what Christianity is.

Jesus does not say here,

Jesus does not say anywhere,

blessed are the poor,

full stop.

What he says here,

can you see it?

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

What does it mean,

to be poor in spirit?

It means to be impoverished,

not in your circumstances,

but in your relationship to God.

John Paul Getty,

he was one of the richest men,

in the 20th century,

and when he came to die,

he said this,

he's a very,

very wealthy man,

he said,

I've never known love,

I've never had a friend.

So was John Paul Getty,

a rich man?

Do you think he was a rich man?

A man who could say that,

surely he was a very poor man,

spiritually.

John D. Rockefeller,

said this,

the poorest man I know,

is the man who has nothing,

but money.

The poorest man I know,

is the man who has nothing,

but money.

And there's a man like that,

isn't there,

that Marsha read for us,

in Luke 12.

And God calls him a fool.

And why does God call that man,

in Luke 12,

a fool?

It's not because he was rich.

He's no fool,

because he made money.

God doesn't call him a fool,

because he's rich.

Why does God call that man,

a fool?

Jesus says,

that man was a fool,

because he was poor,

towards God.

And he was poor,

towards the things,

that really matter,

in his relationship,

with God,

and in his relationship,

with fellow human beings.

He was bankrupt.

Let me read to you,

from Luke 12,

he's a self-made man,

in verse 16.

At the land of a rich man,

produced plentifully,

he's arrived.

This guy has made it,

he's had a great year.

But where is he,

where has he arrived,

and what he has made?

And then verse 17,

he thought to himself,

what shall I do?

What shall I do,

for I have nowhere to store my crops?

And he said to himself,

I will do this.

I will tear down my barns,

and build larger ones,

and there I will store all my grain,

and my goods.

And I will say to my soul,

soul,

you have ample goods,

laid up for many years.

Relax,

eat,

drink,

and be merry.

First sign of madness,

is talking to yourself,

they say,

don't they?

And it's quite interesting,

that here,

I think there is this contrast.

We don't see it so clearly.

I will say to my soul.

Now there's times as a Christian,

when it's good to talk to yourself.

But I think,

as we read this parable,

we often miss the force,

of what Jesus is saying.

The Easterner,

did his thinking in the crowd.

Slightly different to the Westerner.

The Easterner would normally,

decide what to do,

after hours of discussion,

with his friends.

But this man,

we're told,

he thinks within himself.

He doesn't sit at the gate,

he doesn't talk it over,

with the elders of the village,

according to normal practice.

He dialogues with himself.

Why?

Because there is no one else.

No one that he can talk things over with.

No one but himself.

No one that he can trust.

No one that he can talk to.

No one he can relate to.

He's got nothing but money.

That's the picture.

It's all he's got.

Plenty of money,

but that's all he's got.

He's a rich man,

but in the things that matter,

relationships with others,

and relationships to God,

he's bankrupt.

And God says to him,

you are a fool man.

That's God's verdict

on the world that we live in.

That's God's verdict on materialism.

Makes no difference

whether you're a capitalist

or a communist.

The Bible says,

if that's all you live for,

you're a fool.

The communist says,

that matter is all that there is.

And God says,

don't be such a fool.

And the capitalist says,

matter is all that matters.

And God says,

a plague on both your houses.

Don't be such a fool.

A man's life does not consist

in the things that he possesses.

That's not the essence of life.

What makes human beings

happy and fulfilled?

Man's life does not consist

in the things that he possesses.

There's something that matters

more than matter.

And that's your relationship

to God.

And unless you are

rich towards God,

unless you have a personal

relationship with God,

unless your relationship

with God is good and right,

whatever else you have,

you're utterly bankrupt.

Have you come to realise that?

Have you come to understand that?

And Jesus says,

if you have,

you are blessed.

Congratulations,

Jesus says.

Blessed are the poor in spirit

because they are the ones

who realise that this life

and all these things

are not all that there is.

Blessed are they

who realise their poverty,

not in the bank balance

or in a state.

But blessed are those

who realise their poverty

in the realm of the spirit.

Jim Elliot,

he resigned from the rat race

in North America

to become a missionary

and it famously

cost him his life.

But shortly before he died,

before he was killed,

he wrote these words

in his diary.

He was quoting Matthew Henry.

He is no fool

who gives up

what he cannot keep

to gain what he cannot lose.

He is no fool

who gives up

what he cannot keep

to gain what he cannot lose.

And that's what poverty

of spirit is all about.

It is to recognise

where your true riches lie,

like Jim Elliot did.

He recognised that true wealth

was to be found

where true riches

are to be found.

And that's poverty of spirit.

Jesus says,

congratulations if you're there.

So,

to be poor in spirit

is not

to be,

it's not blessed

to be poor full stop.

But to be poor in spirit,

but to be poor in spirit

is not to be spiritually poor.

Let me explain that.

To be poor in spirit

is not to be spiritually poor.

When Jesus says,

blessed are the poor in spirit,

he's not kind of pronouncing

a benediction

on spiritual poverty

and bankruptcy.

That's the state

we're all in by nature.

It's a wretched state

to be in.

It's not a happy state

to be in.

It's the reason

for our unhappiness,

our spiritual poverty.

And Jesus says

in Revelation

that people,

just like the folk

who come to this church,

people,

kind of people

who think they're

themselves Christians,

he says,

do you know

that you're wretched

and poor

and miserable

and blind

and naked?

And all the time

you think to yourself,

well, we're rich,

we're increased with goods,

we've need of nothing.

And so to be poor in spirit

is to recognise

the truth about yourself,

to recognise

that you are spiritually poor,

not to be spiritually poor.

There's no blessedness in that.

That's a wretched state

to be in.

But Jesus says,

congratulations if you realise

that.

Happy is the man

who's come to see

that his greatest need

is to be rich towards God.

Now when we use the word poor,

we use it relatively.

How many poor are there

in this country?

You know all the stats.

We use it to describe

people who are not

very well off.

There's a poverty scale,

isn't there?

But the word that Jesus

uses here

is for people

who are totally destitute.

It's a particular word

that he uses for poverty.

It describes those

who have no property,

no place,

no job,

no source of income,

nothing to eat.

They're up to their years

in debt

and so if they were

given any money,

it would immediately

be lost to their creditors.

According to Jesus,

you and I are poor

like that spiritually

in our relationship

with God.

We're bankrupt.

We cannot give God

what he's got a right

to expect from us.

We are spiritually

bankrupt

and that is nothing

to congratulate

ourselves on.

To be bankrupt,

doesn't it,

maybe some of you

experienced it,

it's a desperately

unhappy situation

to be in.

The person who is

bankrupt is

desperately unhappy.

They're under an

obligation to pay

and yet they're

unable to do so.

They're really caught.

It's a terrible state.

She ought to pay

her debts

but she cannot

pay her debts.

that's exactly

where you and I

are.

Before God,

that's what the

Bible says.

God has made us.

We are his

creatures.

We are under

certain obligations.

We are under

an obligation to

love the Lord our

God with all our

heart and mind

and soul and

strength.

we owe that to

him.

But none of us

in honesty

tonight can say

that we've done

that.

None of us have

lived that way.

We're spiritually

bankrupt.

And yet we are

accountable to God.

That comes out so

clearly, doesn't it,

in Luke 12.

Do you remember

what God said to

that rich fool?

He said,

tonight your soul

will be required

of you.

And that word

is a technical

word.

It's the returning

of a loan.

Tonight your life

will be required

of you.

The man's so busy

with his accounts,

that's the picture,

he's so busy with

his accounts that

he'd forgotten he

was accountable

himself.

Accountable to the

God who had

given him the

life that he had

lived.

And so tonight

are you aware

that you are

accountable to

God for the

life that you've

lived.

That your life

will be required

of you.

And so what

does Jesus mean?

What does he mean

when he says

blessed are the

poor in spirit?

He doesn't mean

blessed are the

poor full stop.

He doesn't mean

blessed are the

spiritually poor,

for that's a

wretched state to

be in.

What does he mean

when he says

blessed are the

poor in spirit?

I think I've

told you the

story before

is that the

actress,

she's an

aging actress

and she goes

to the west

end for a

head shot,

you know,

to get her

photograph done.

And she says

to the young

photographer,

she says,

young man,

I hope you're

going to do

me justice.

And the

photographer

looks at her

and says,

it's not

justice that you

need,

madam,

it's mercy.

It's mercy.

And that's

what you and

I require

from God.

It's what you

and I stand

in need of

before God,

not justice.

If you think

that you're

going to be

able to pull

yourself up to

your full height

on the day

of judgment

and say,

God,

well,

here I am,

you must be

delighted to have

someone like me

in your kingdom.

The Pharisee

in the parable

in Luke 18

went into the

temple and he

said,

well,

I thank you

that I'm

not like

other men.

I do this

and I do

that and I

don't do

this and I

don't do

that.

I go to

church,

I give to

charity,

I do

loads of

good,

I'm a

really decent

man,

I'm an

upright

member of

society.

And you

want to be

pretty pleased

to have

me in your

kingdom,

God,

and Jesus

says,

that is not

the man

who went

home that

night right

with God.

No,

he says it

was the

other man,

which man?

Well,

it's the guy

at the back

of the

temple who

couldn't lift

up his

eyes and

look God

in the

face,

the man

who was

so conscious

of his

poverty and

of his

bankruptcy

that all

he could

do was

beat on

his breast

and cry

out to

God,

be merciful

to me,

be merciful

to me,

I'm a

sinner.

And Jesus

says it

was that

man who

went home

right with

God,

that is

the man.

And in

the next

breath,

Jesus says

everyone who

exalts

himself,

everyone who

puffs himself

up will be

humbled,

and everyone

who humbles

himself will

be lifted

up.

Everyone who

humbles

himself,

everyone who

recognises

they've got

nothing to

offer to

God,

nothing to

commend

themselves to

God,

that is the

person who

will be

exalted in

the kingdom.

And that's

what it means

to be poor

in spirit.

The hymn

writer says,

isn't it,

just as I

am,

poor,

wretched,

blind,

sight,

riches,

healing of

the mind,

yea,

all I need,

in thee I

find,

O Lamb of

God,

I come,

I come.

Is that how

you've come to

the Lord Jesus

Christ?

If you

haven't come

in that

way,

you haven't

come at

all,

conscious of

your needs,

not for

justice,

but for

mercy.

And that's

the first

step to

putting you,

putting right

your broken

relationship with

God.

It's difficult,

isn't it?

It's so

humbling.

there's

nothing that

you can do

to put it

right.

It's

humbling to

admit that

you've got

nothing to

offer God

except the

sin for

which you

desperately

need is

forgiveness.

And that

is poverty

of spirit,

and Jesus

says that

is blessed.

why is it

blessed?

Why is that

attitude of

mine blessed?

Well,

because it

drives us to

Christ,

doesn't it?

the man

who's seen

and the

woman who's

seen their

absolute

spiritual

bankruptcy,

that person

who understands

Romans 3,

who realises

that what he

needs is

mercy alone,

and realises

that there's

nowhere else

to go

except to

Christ.

Thomas

Watson,

the

puriter,

wrote this,

he that is

poor in

spirit,

is a

Christ

admirer.

He has

high thoughts

of Christ.

He sets a

high value

and appreciation

on Christ.

He hides

himself in

Christ's

wounds.

He bathes

himself in

his blood.

He wraps

himself in

his robe.

He sees a

spiritual dearth

and famine

at home,

but he looks

out to

Christ,

and he

cries,

show me

thyself,

and this

sufficeth.

There's one

word that

sums it up,

isn't it?

All that

Jesus is

saying here,

and it

is the

word

grace.

Do you

remember,

children,

the hand

of grace?

God's

riches

at

Christ's

expense.

That's

how Paul

defines

grace,

isn't it?

2 Corinthians

8 and

verse 9,

for you

know the

grace of

our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

that though

he was

rich,

yet for

your sake

he became

poor,

so that

you,

by his

poverty,

might become

rich.

how do

you know

the grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ?

Where do

you see

it?

What does

it look

like?

What is

this

grace?

You know

the grace

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ,

that though

he was

rich,

yet for

your sake,

for your

sake,

he became

poor,

so that

through his

poverty,

you might

become rich.

That is

grace.

He was

rich,

wasn't he?

he was

adored by

the angels

of heaven,

he was

the king

of the

angels.

He enjoyed

an unbroken

relationship

with his

father in

heaven,

unbroken

fellowship,

and communion

in the

Godhead,

he was

rich in

the truest

sense of

the word.

And what

did he do?

He came

here,

he left

it all,

he left

his father's

presence.

The king

of the

angels

got off

his throne

and became

a little

lower than

the angels.

He

impoverished

himself.

He did

not consider

equality with

God something

to be grasped,

but made

himself

nothing.

To in the

very nature

of a servant

that through

his poverty,

you and I

might go to

where he

was.

That you

and I

might have

God's

riches at

Christ's

expense.

You see,

what does a

bankrupt man

need?

A

bankrupt man

needs a

benefactor.

He's

somebody who

is rich,

somebody who

is prepared

to come

with his

riches and

step in and

assume the

liabilities.

That's what

God's

son has

done.

He was

rich and

he came,

why did

he come,

why did

he step

into this

world?

He came

in order

to assume

your

liabilities

and mine,

to live

that life

that you

and I

should have

lived,

that we

haven't.

To die

that death

that you

and I

deserve,

to die

is the

punishment

for our

sin,

that death

with hell

mixed into

it.

He died

that death

upon the

cross,

that is

how poor

he became.

He

emptied

himself.

He

lost

what he'd

always

known.

He cries

on the

cross,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me,

the cry

of dereliction?

We can't

fully understand

it.

God's

love.

And through

that you

and I

are brought

to God.

The

wonderful

thing about

the gospel

is it's

not just

negative,

but it's

a positive

thing.

It isn't

just that

our debts

and our

sins have

been liquidated,

that's part

of it.

The gospel

isn't just

great news

because the

slate has

been wiped

clean,

that's

great,

but it's

not all,

is it?

We've

been made

rich.

And so

the gospel

isn't back

to square

one again

and off

you go.

But we've

been made

rich through

his poverty.

And so

Jesus says

blessed are

the poor

in spirit

for theirs

is a

fresh brand

new start.

No,

he doesn't

say that.

Blessed are

the poor

in spirit

for the

slate is

wiped

clean,

the debts

are cancelled,

they can

start over

again,

that's not

what he

says,

is it?

Look at what

he says,

he says,

blessed are

the poor

in spirit

for theirs

is the

kingdom

of heaven.

And not

only are

their debts

paid,

but they

are rich.

You are

rich tonight

in Christ.

Theirs is

the kingdom

of heaven.

What is

the kingdom

of heaven?

Do you know

what Paul says

in Romans,

he says,

the kingdom

of heaven

is not

meat and

drink.

It's

righteousness

and peace

and joy

in the

Holy Spirit.

That's

the kingdom

of heaven.

And that's

what distinguishes

the kingdom

of heaven

from all

other

kingdoms.

Look at

who's

growing up

there.

Lots of

people,

they would

never go

abroad.

They would

never go

abroad

because the

reason they

wouldn't go

abroad is

they wouldn't

like the

food.

They're

afraid of

eating the

food.

Foreign

food

doesn't

agree with

me,

they'd

say.

He doesn't

agree with

me.

Jesus says

the kingdom

of heaven,

you don't

have to

worry about

the food.

The kingdom

of heaven

has got

nothing to

do with

food.

It's nothing

to do with

those external

things.

To be in the

kingdom of

heaven,

it doesn't

matter if you

eat pork

or not,

people ask me

that.

To be in the

kingdom of

heaven is a

matter of

righteousness and

joy and

peace.

It is to be

really rich.

It is to be

rich with those

things in your

heart that you

really need.

to be in

the kingdom

of heaven.

How do you

get into the

kingdom of

heaven when

it's all a

matter of

grace?

Jesus says

this.

Jesus says

to you

tonight,

fear not

little flock,

it's your

father's good

pleasure to

give you the

kingdom.

That's an

amazing statement

isn't it?

What are you?

A little

flock of

silly wandering

sheep.

That is all

we are.

We are not

tonight a

great important

group of

people that

God can't

do without.

And he

really must

have you in

his kingdom.

No.

We are a

silly flock of

sheep, that's

all.

And we've

gone into our

own way.

We're like

sheep we've

wandered off,

says the

prophet Isaiah.

And that's

what we are,

a flock of

silly wandering

sheep.

And God

does not need

you to

enhance his

kingdom.

The glory

of the

gospel is

that he

wants you

to enjoy

it.

Fear not

little flock.

Fear not

silly wandering

sheep.

Fear not

little flock.

It is your

father's good

pleasure to

give you the

kingdom.

It's all of

his grace.

And there's

nothing you can

do to merit

it.

There's nothing

you can do

to commend

yourself to

God.

You are

nothing.

You have

nothing.

You can do

nothing to

make yourself

fit for the

kingdom.

God

matter of

our

father's

God.

is a