Poor in Spirit? Life In The Kingdom of God | Trinity Talks Podcast

Hello, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode

of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla. I'm Melissa.

I'm Britten. And we are here to chat about the

Beatitudes, which is kind of a funny word, actually.

I don't really know what it means. I am going

to assume it's Latin, but maybe... Good question.

Maybe we should have looked that up, but we didn't.

Anyway, we're talking about the Beatitudes because

they start off... the Sermon on the Mount, which

is this really important teaching that Jesus

has in the middle of Matthew's gospel. And they

say some really cool things. I'm actually really

excited to sort of dive into this over the next

few weeks together. Yeah, so before we jump into

that, the Beatitudes, like I said, it's kind

of a funny word, but like, as a whole, it's this

sort of going through, you know, blessed are

the blank. because this sort of thing. That's

sort of the structure of them. But yeah, what

are your thoughts on the Beatitudes as a whole?

I've always sort of thought of them as, yeah,

this series of phrases that's really interesting,

but not... Like just like nice right and not

like as I've started diving into them now I've

been a little bit more like oh, this is actually

super like countercultural in some ways But yeah,

that's not always where I've sort of started.

I don't know about you folks Hmm. Yeah, I would

say for me like it's almost felt like the upside

down, but in a positive light. If you watch Stranger

Things, then upside down is a bad thing. But

it's like what you were saying. It's this reversal.

So if being rich or wealthy is a positive thing,

Jesus is saying, well, no, the poor. That's when,

if we look at a surface level, there's these

reversals in the order of our time. That's how

I've seen it, this flipping of tables. Yeah,

cool. What about you, Melissa? I completely agree.

When I was still a baby Christian, I'm still

a baby Christian, but I remember reading them

and just thinking they were so cool because it

was just really cool to see Jesus. really focus

on the compassionate part. And I think it's so

comforting for people who are going through really

difficult times, who are experiencing grief.

And I agree. It's definitely representative of

the upside down kingdom that Jesus is bringing.

Yeah. Yeah. And it's this moment where like Jesus

is sort of calling out the like, oh, you thought

this was important? No, actually, it's like this.

Yeah. Yeah, so this word blessed or blessed,

I don't know, depends on the sort of way that

you want to say that word. Which version are

we going to use? But so blessed shows up in all

of these verses, it sort of opens it up. So blessed

are the poor in spirit, for example, is the first

one. But so when you hear this word blessed,

like what comes to mind for you? I would say

that initially when you first, you know, hear

the word blessed, it's like, you know, blessed

are the poor, et cetera. You would think that,

oh, that means that I won't be for them. That

means that I won't be hurting. But in reality,

when I think over time I've learned that blessed

means that God is with you and even if in your

present situation you're still feeling that grief,

you're still feeling that pain, you are blessed

because God has deemed you blessed. Right. Yeah.

Yeah, and I would agree. I would totally agree.

I see blessed as like this covering. So, regardless

of what status, because some of the things that

we see within the Beatitudes are things that

we would consider completely negative. Right.

but you still see God or Jesus saying that there

is this blessing that is over them. So despite

of what they're going through, despite the opposition

that might come with being a child of God and

following the ways of Jesus, there is this covering,

there's this protection that's hovering over

you. feel the force of that cocoon or something

that you're in. Yeah, and it was interesting,

like, Melissa, you said, like, if we're talking

about, you know, blessed are the poor in spirit,

for example, one might think, oh, blessed are

the poor so that they will not become poor anymore,

right? But then that's not what Jesus is about

at all, right? Yeah, so it's like a completely

different, like, it's not like you can look at

someone and say, oh, they're blessed, like in

the same sense that Jesus is like talking about.

I would even say like there's this, because it's

like blessed are the poor in spirit. And what

is it? Is it they will inherit? Yeah, they will

inherit the kingdom of God. I think that's fascinating

because one like blessed like present tense,

you are blessed for being poor or because you're

poor or whatever, however we want to put it.

Yeah. But there's so you're protected in the

now, but you'll inherit something even greater.

So you might not have all that the world is offering

to you. But there is, while you have this protection,

this protection is going to keep you until you

can inherit what is to come. What is already

here, but what also is to come. So this like

this covering is beyond just like this present

tense protection. It's also like the pathway

to get to that greater thing, which is the kingdom.

Yeah. I'm just thinking out loud. I'm just thinking

out loud. No, no, I love that. I love that. I

completely agree because I think sometimes just

like in this life that we live, we only really

think about right now. However, there is an eternity

that's waiting, right? And ultimately that's

what matters more. Like one day all of this will

disappear, will not matter at all. And so I think

the Beatitudes are really cool because they really

show the amazing things that are going to be

there once this world passes away. And I think

Jesus really puts our focus on that. And I think

it helps us to remember that as well. Yeah, totally.

Yeah, it's interesting. So I was. as we're thinking

about the Beatitudes, I was listening to the

other podcast by The Bible Project that talks

about the Beatitudes. And when they're talking

about the word blessed, in their very specific

translation that they've made, they don't say

blessed, they say the good life. So the good

life is for the poor in spirit. And the way that

they sort of describe it is like, if you were

like walking along the street and you see somebody

who's like, living the good life. You're like,

oh, they've got this nice car or like, oh, they're

like, they've got it all put together. They're

living the good life. And that's what Jesus is

talking about. Yeah. But looking at the poor

in spirit or the like those who mourn and say

like the upside down, that's the good life. Even

though we would look at that and be like, nah,

that's not the like when I imagine the good life

for myself, like that's not what it's about.

Right. Exactly. And something I just love about

the Beatitudes is because they focus on the marginalized,

the people that society back then and even now

cast aside. And I think it's really powerful

that Jesus did acknowledge that and didn't ignore

them. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, it's super interesting

that. Yeah, it's it's all of these people, all

of these things, like I said, that we. don't

think of as good, but Jesus sees something good

in it. And I guess then like, you would wanna

sort of make a distinction and say like, okay,

the poor in spirit, maybe we should talk. So

what does that mean? Like, are we talking about

a material poverty? Are we talking about? a spiritual

poverty, like in Rob's sermon that he just gave,

he talked about, you know, the poor in spirit

being like about humility, kind of, right? And

about this willingness to come to God and acknowledge

that like, we're not enough, we don't have enough.

And I think that's part of it. But yeah, I don't

know, what do you folks think? How does those

pieces play together? I think there can be a

tendency for, especially within our context,

there's this, there could be a tendency for us

to want to just stick with the poor in spirit

and talk about it from a spiritual angle and

not talk about it from a material angle. Because

it keeps, there's something comforting in knowing

that I can have all the worldly success and get

all the material things I want. And all I have

to do is be meek and mild and just my heart needs

to be good, God, not the other things around

me. But I think there is this bigger question

of Being poor is to not have certain things,

right? And what is God asking us to let go, to

be poor, to be spiritually poor? And when in

that spiritual poorness, what are the material

things I need to let go of so that I can hang

on to God and I can inherit that kingdom? So,

how do I dedicate my time? How do I dedicate

my resources? These are the kinds of questions

I think we should be asking ourselves when we

talk about Poor? Like, we're not talking about

a poverty of, like, in order for us to be Christian

or to follow Jesus in the way that He's outlined

in the Beatitudes, that we need to now, like,

go live in an encampment. I don't think that's

what God is necessarily talking about. Sure.

But that spiritual poverty, I think it does open

us up to realizing what matters in life and how

we can ... unlock that kingdom mindset within

our lives. And it does impact the things that

we have, the physical things, of course. It's

interesting because the first time I ever read

that Beatitude, the first thing I thought was

people who maybe just go are... Going through

depression people are who are going through a

really down and difficult time, you know They're

poor in spirit. And so it's kind of like, you

know what they're lacking is just a feeling of

joy appeal a feeling of of comfort. However,

that's why, you know, I love the Beatitudes because

what you're seeing is like, you know, those people,

they aren't cast aside. Those people, they aren't

being forgotten. Jesus is remembering the marginalized

people of society and saying that they do have

a place in his kingdom. I really love what you

said, Britt, too, as well about how really the

poor in spirit, you know, that can be just, yeah,

they, you may lack some of like the worldly things

like, you know, You are humble. You do not have

pride. You do not have those things. And maybe

that does mean you have to surrender so much

of yourself to God. However, it's worth it because

you will inherit the kingdom and yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I think it's like the poor in spirit is

this like big complex thing, but I think it sort

of encapsulates all of these pieces, right? There

is that sense of spiritual poverty, humility,

then, like, like you said, Britt, it does connect

then to, yeah, how we relate to the actual physical

stuff of the world. And I think you're also right,

like, there's a psychological and emotional component

to it as well, right? That like, you know, Was

Jesus thinking about mental illness and that

sort of thing? Maybe, maybe not, but I think

it fits. I think there's a very real sense that

folks who are struggling in that way can feel

a poverty of their spirit. Especially if we think

of spirit in a broad sense of your life. right?

And you're just like, feeling alive, feeling

energized, feeling like, you know, ready to like

be part of the world. And if you're feeling poor

in that, then like, Jesus is like, no, you're,

you're okay. So then, if we're thinking about

that, and Jesus is saying, okay, all of this,

if you're feeling not okay, you're actually,

you're doing okay. Does that I think we need

to be careful to say that, like, that doesn't

mean that those things are inherently good. Yeah,

yeah, yeah, yeah. Right? Like, it's this, like,

fine line. Yeah, because people will look at

folks and see them in their, like... And because

there's two extremes, right? They have, like,

the prosperity gospel that pushes that you need

to be super wealthy. But then you have another

extreme where folks will say that you need to

be without everything. Right. And... I think

there is a balance, there's a wisdom that comes

in line, but really it's where we're talking

about the heart, right? And the heart, out of

the heart. There are things that come out of

that. But yeah, that extreme, I think that there's

lots of danger there. So be mindful of that because

there's this very dark world where folks will

abuse people and whatnot because they're trying

to get to this true poverty and this glorification

of poverty. Right. Which is really disheartening

and also disrespectful to folks that are experiencing

real poverty. Right. And don't want to live in

that because of the consequences that come with

that type of, with those types of circumstances.

Yeah. Yeah, no, for sure. And I would also say

that you're right, you know, those things, they

are not inherent. inherently good and it's important

to remember that you know whether you're coming

in because you are struggling with depression

you're just down you're going through grief really

painful um period in your life or you're coming

in with like humility and so many other things

a lot of that it's it's not like you chose that

you know it's not like you're coming in and being

like I am choosing to be poor in spirit so that

I inherit a kingdom. I think a lot of times it's

people who are coming from a place that they

didn't choose to be and they're really struggling

and they're suffering. I really believe that

Jesus is offering comfort in that and I agree

because with what you said, Britt, that there's

a middle and whether you're going from the prosperity

gospel or whether you're going from the nothing

at all gospel, The problem with those two is

because you're putting all the focus on yourself.

You're putting on the focus on like what you're

doing. And ultimately, no, it's always going

to be just Jesus, always going to be Jesus. So

I think people are going to be coming from a

place where they're not having, they don't have

full control and the pain and just what they're

going through. And Jesus is like saying, like,

I see you and I have a space for you in my kingdom.

And yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think here it becomes

really important to think about Like, yes, how

this plays out in our world, but also, like,

who was Jesus initially talking to, right? Because

he's out on this mount, in this sort of field,

out in the middle of nowhere, probably, right?

And the people who are coming to him are, like,

the shepherds. They are the people who are materially

poor, the people who are in need of physical

healing, the people who, like... feel disenfranchised

and fed up with this Roman empire that they are

living in. So there are all kinds of ways in

which those are the poor in spirit. Those are

the people who are powerless. Those are the people

who have nothing and would wish for a different

life. They didn't choose any of those things.

But Jesus is saying you get to be part of the

kingdom anyway, in the midst of all of that.

And I guess the part that we should like hang

on to, especially when we talk about the kingdom,

is that the kingdom is, it's like, it's past,

present, and future, right? So there's this insane

that you're inheriting the kingdom. There is

something that will change in your life now.

There is, you are going to experience the kingdom.

And I think that in the ways that we usher it

in as Christians, it comes through the things

that we advocate for, the way that we treat people

in the here and now, how we prioritize our resources,

how we allocate those. Those are the types of

things that usher in the kingdom, but also reveal

the kingdom to people. Because those folks that

were listening to that, yeah, they were definitely

downtrodden and they were stuck in a system that

was disenfranchising them. And what we see within

the church, the early church, is that The system

that they brought in, the way that they went

about living life, showed something so radically

different, that the kingdom was revealed to so

many people. I remember reading, I can't remember

which Roman leader it was. He was persecuting

Christians and he just couldn't, he was just

shook. He's like, I don't even know what to do.

I don't even know how to fulfill my orders because

these people are just essentially loving on other

people. They're like... sharing all their stuff,

like, why are they doing this? I think he got

to a point where he's writing a letter to his

superior and his superior can't, he's trying

to ask his superior, why are you giving me these

orders to persecute these people who are doing

something that we ourselves wouldn't do? Like

they are just caring for people in this. what

would be conceived as like a bizarre way of doing

it because they were they were literally like

selling all the things that they had giving all

the resources they had to make sure that everyone

in their community was protected and that is

something that We don't see too often in our

world, but it is Australian and of kingdom. So,

there's like that past, present, future, like

that's something I think we should, because many

times there are traditions that focus so much

on the future. They're like, they're waiting

for the world to just be exploded so that something

new can come. And God bless you, but the gospel

means nothing if it doesn't do anything now.

It has to free us from something now. There has

to be something that is bigger than just what

we're hoping for. We're hoping for something,

but we also can hold on to something that is

here with us in this moment. Yeah, I can go on

about that a lot. Yeah, no, that's so good. Yeah,

yeah. And I really like what you said, Britt,

about how, you know, it's not just about the

future, it's also about the past, it's also about

the present. Because when you look at the Beatitudes,

it says, you know, Poor in spirit for they will

inherit the kingdom or you know those who mourn

for they will be comforted. I believe that you

know For you know the second part of all the

Beatitudes ultimately what that is is you're

getting God You know like you can be with God

and have God and ultimately as Christians right

now You know we're not sitting here being like

okay one day We will see you know be with God

and inherit the kingdom ultimately God is within

us right now He gave us a Holy Spirit right we

can pray and talk to Jesus at any point and I

think that's y 'all are just focusing on the

present as well and i also wanted to say too

that ultimately the kingdom forgiveness, salvation,

all of that is a gift. And I think with the Beatitudes,

sometimes you might come in thinking, okay, so

I have to be in a really painful, sad part of

my life so that I can get good things. And it's

like, well, no, like Jesus isn't saying you have

to do that so that you can gain His grace or

forgiveness. It's already given to you. More

so it's just that. you know, coming to God and

surrendering to Him. And I do feel that if you

are someone who is poor in spirit, ultimately,

it's not a fun place to be in. No one wants to

be poor in spirit. At the same time, I do think

that puts your heart in a position where you

are more willing to rely on God and surrender

to God versus being rich in spirit. You might

just rely on yourself. You really have to rely

on God when you're poor in spirit. Yeah, yeah.

And I think, like, the example you were talking

about, you know, of the early church, there is,

like, you know, sharing of all of their material

resources, like is a way of being poor in spirit,

but it's happening not because they feel like,

oh, I need to be poor in spirit, therefore I

need to do x, y, z things. It's like, no, no.

As followers of Jesus, living in a community

of followers of Jesus, this is the stuff that

we do. Yeah, we care. We care. And by caring,

yes, it looks like being poor in spirit, and

yes, it looks like giving up some of my hold

on material things, but I'm not doing it to try

and accomplish a particular state. It's just

like, okay, maybe that's just a byproduct of

following Jesus, is that we become poor in spirit.

There's like this reconciliation part, right?

Because you have all these people, you have people

who are coming, like people coming from different

cultures, people coming from different regions

across the, I guess, the Middle East. And then

you also have folks that are coming from folks

that are wealthy and folks that are poor, folks

that are in the middle, folks that were soldiers,

folks that were XYZ, folks that were a part of

Judaism, folks that weren't, you've all these

people coming together. And there's, there's

also this, like this breaking down of the system,

breaking down of systems or of social class and

of order, like things that are things that would

people who wouldn't have sat down with other

people before sitting down with people and having

a meal. They're sharing maybe the wealth that

they acquired from God knows how, that might

have been from the backs of other people. Now

they're able to sit with those people and share

and do that reconciliation work of making things

right. That is, I don't know, I think to myself

all the time. How do I actually make that happen

in our world? How do I participate in that in

a real tangible way that reveals Christ to people?

Maybe they never hear the word. Maybe I never

mentioned Jesus, but they feel the presence of

the Spirit and they feel a different way. Yeah.

Yeah. There has to be a different way. And we

have to be able to, we can't just talk about

it. We have to show that to people. Yeah. I really,

that's like, I think something that Christians

sometimes can forget and I often forget too is

that you know it's great to kind of sit and think

like I want to do this I want to be this kind

of person this kind of Christian but talk is

talk and if you can't actually show that through

actions then What was the point of, you know,

that talking? And perhaps that's how people inherit

the kingdom right now, because ultimately, you

know, there isn't like just one temple or church,

like there was, you know, back, oh, there is

one church, we are the church. There wasn't like

one temple where that's the only way that people

would be able to be in the presence of God. Like

we are like moving dynamic. Temples of God because

this is how people can Experience crisis through

us. We are the light. We are the light on the

hill. I yeah, okay and Perhaps yeah, like we

as Christians we can go to the poor in spirit

and we can be those ambassadors for Christ and

we can show them the kingdom just here on earth

and I think I like what you said, Britt, about

how do we show them Christ? Ultimately, you can

preach the gospel every single day, and people,

what they'll remember is you preaching at them,

but they'll never forget how you made them feel,

right? So if you're coming at them with love

and compassion, they'll remember that, they'll

keep on to that, and they'll be like, this is

Jesus, and now I want to know who Jesus is. I

think the other important thing to sort of add

on to this conversation as we talk about, you

know, the kingdom of God and how we participate

in that is that, yes, we participate in it, but

we don't actually make it happen. Right? Like,

yes, we do the things that Jesus calls us to

do, but ultimately, it still does depend. It

is God's kingdom. God does the stuff. We're just

like the vessels through which that happens,

right? There's this passage. I don't remember

the name of the passage, but it's Who is it?

Paul talking to one of our camera who it is,

but he says it is. It's not like there was this

obsession with with Paul at the time and folks

were trying to get to. Oh, right. Yeah. I follow

Paul. Yeah. I follow people like that. So this

analogy of like growing, right? Yeah. It's like

you could water. You do this. You do that. But

it's God who makes it grow. We all have a role

to play and there's this participation in the

kingdom, but it's all God. It's all God. Like.

Even if we don't cry out or we don't do what

we need to do, God will find a way. The rocks,

the trees, the nature will cry out for God if

we won't do it. It's all God. It's all God. So

it's an honor, it's a privilege to be able to

be aware of what God is doing and then to participate

in that action. Yeah, exactly. That's really

beautifully put that ultimately it's all God.

even though as Christians, you know, we can plant

the seed, we can go out and, you know, share

the word and be kind and loving to other people,

but ultimately it's all God and His will will

always prevail. Yeah, yeah. So good. Yeah, I

guess I just think about all of these things,

like if we bring it all together, like blessed

are the poor in spirit, but they will like inherit

the kingdom of God. And I think what we've sort

of said is like the poor in spirit is all kinds

of folks, right? Like whether it is a material

poverty, like psychological, emotional poverty,

poverty of spirit, whatever that looks like for

you, it's all of us, right? And we don't have

to go seeking that. It just happens because life

happens. And so I think we all find ourselves

there at some point. And even if it's not like,

Like, even for folks who, like, sit in a seat

of relative privilege, like, I think following

the way of Jesus will ultimately lead you into

poverty of spirit, whether you, like, find yourself

naturally there or not. You might have all of

that money, but you're still suffering inside.

Some people have so much and they're suffering,

they're suffering. So, yeah, like, that poverty

is so wide and so vast. Yeah. It's... Yeah. But...

Jesus meets us there and says this is good. This

is okay. You know, this is actually the way of

Jesus in the midst of that And through that in

the present and into the future we receive the

kingdom of God Which is mind -blowing actually.

It's pretty cool stuff yeah so when you think

about like receiving the kingdom of God we sort

of talked about this like it is this thing that

we sort of do in the present but like what does

that look like for the pouring spirit if you

were yeah what does it look like right now to

receive the kingdom of God and also then to like

wait for it because it is this like now and not

yet mm -hmm right I think there is at least part

of it goes back to I think part of what you said

before was like this like gathering around a

table together yeah and some of that like yeah

like reparations and reconciliation that happens

at that table I I think something that you know

maybe another way we can also look at the poor

in spirit as well is people who may feel a lot

of shame and guilt and feel downtrodden by their

sin and by the things that they've done and now

they're holding on to that and they're carrying

that and perhaps when they give their life to

Jesus and surrender to Jesus and Jesus says you

know has forgiven you of your sins perhaps that's

a way that people do inherit the kingdom because

they are feeling that freedom, you know, they're

being broken from the chains of their sin, the

chains of their guilt and their shame. So perhaps

that's one way to look at it. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

no, for sure. This whole conversation is reminding

me of my last year of undergrad. My phone broke

on the screen. It was like, I think it was Lent.

And our campus pastor had told us to like, you

know, for Lent, give up something outside of

just like food and sugar. Give up something.

And I had said I wanted to reduce my time for

like social media and Netflix and all that stuff.

And I was struggling with it. And then my phone

just like conked. The screen went... The Holy

Spirit intervened. Yeah. I was like, I know you're

not going to do it. So the phone just like, yeah,

it went black. And I was in Alberta, central

Alberta, the closest spot for us to go to get

our phone. Like I was like... I could see cows

from my campus. So like, the closest spot to

get like to get my phone like repaired or to

get a new one was like an hour drive where I

didn't have a car. I had to wait for someone

else to drive me. And I spent this like, I guess

a couple of days without a phone. And I saw well

why no one could call me. I couldn't get onto

social media like I was struggling. I couldn't

like message people except I'm going onto my

laptop and browser work is just ugly. So I wasn't

doing it. And I found I had this like something

opened up in my time. Something opened up in

like in prayer and in just being like being aware

of myself, but also being aware of God's presence

around me. And I thank God for breaking up that

phone. Like, because if I didn't have that opportunity,

I wouldn't have been aware of what I needed to

be aware of, what God was calling me to pay attention

to. And it set me up for something that was,

I guess it set me up for the rest of my life,

because it really did center me in a way that

I didn't know I needed to be. um and so I guess

what I'm saying is like sometimes in the decrease

of, or even maybe the distress or the challenge

that we're going through, there can be an opportunity.

And I say this with the caveat of God was in

the mix. God has to be in the mix. Some people

go through really dark things and God is not

in the mix, or they are not aware of the presence

of God. And that just leads even further down

into distress. Because at one point I was like,

oh my gosh, I don't have my phone. I don't have

my phone. What am I gonna do with my life? And

then I was like, wait, I don't have my phone.

I don't have my phone. Okay, I can pray. I can

do that Bible study. I've said I was supposed

to, I always say I'm gonna do and then I never

do. Or I could just take this time to just surrender.

Like, I don't know what God, what you're holding

me back from, but I accept it. And yeah, like,

so I think there's like also these moments where

if we are tapped, if we are tapped in, then.

when things do go however way they go, wherever

the wind blows, we're not leaning onto the things

or to the energy of other people, but we're leaning

onto God. And that, I think, can get us through

the storm and get us through whatever, but it

also just connects us closer to the kingdom.

Yeah. Yeah, totally. Yeah. And while you were

kind of talking about... You know, sometimes

like those unfortunate situations are ways where

God comes in and God's grace is coming in. And

sometimes I also think, too, you know, if we're

talking about how can Christians kind of, you

know, have action in this world today, perhaps

that's ... you know, going to the poor in spirit

right now in our community anywhere. Again, they're

not choosing that. Unfortunately, like you said,

life happens and we will often find ourselves

in a poor in spirit season. However, maybe inheriting

the kingdom could be us praying and us being

like, God, how can we be a light in this world

and be representatives of who you are in your

church? And I think maybe that's a way that those

poor in spirit could inherit the kingdom and

also just, yeah, like going through really, really

hard times. Ultimately, when you surrender yourself

to God, right, you see such amazing things that

you're right, but that if you're broken your

phone or anyone's going through a hard time and

you don't have God, like it's just going to be

even harder. But if you do have God, then that's

a way that you can see his light and his work

and his grace in a different way. And it can

change your life and bring you closer to it.

Yeah, totally. Yeah. That's I mean, that's so

helpful. I think especially that phrase that

you said, like when when God is in the mix, then

like good things happen. Right. Like whether

we are going out to serve and to care for the

poor in spirit or whether we find ourselves poor

in spirit, if God is in the mix, it's OK. Like

that song, with Jesus in the vessel, you could

smile at the storm. There's a dance move with

it. Regardless of what you're going through,

even in the good times or the bad times, if Jesus

is in the vessel, if Jesus is in that boat with

you, you could rest assured. Not to say that...

It's going to snap. Jesus is with me. The genie

in the bottle. Okay, great. Everything's going

to be turned around. But I know because there

is this kingdom presence around me that regardless

of what happens today, I'm confident of my tomorrow.

I'm confident of what God will do and has done

and will continue to do in my life. And that

doesn't mean that things will change. You probably

will still be in the storm. Um, it's very likely

that it will continue to rage but but god is

with you. Yeah. Yeah Amen. Yeah Yeah, well, thank

you so much folks. This has been a really I think

fun conversation, but also just like really um,

yeah thought provoking like bring us into like

What is this actually mean right now? And what

is jesus actually about? And I'm really looking

forward to the next, like, seven or eight weeks

as we keep going through this verse by verse

and figure out who's part of this kingdom and,

like, how do we get to make it happen. Yeah.

This is great. Thank you. Thank you very much.

And thank you for tuning into this week's episode

of Trinity Talks. I hope that you have been inspired,

whether you find yourself poor in spirit or whether

you see that in the people around you. Trust

that God is in that. Trust that the Kingdom of

God is coming here and now and into the future.

And we'll see you again next week.