Scripture: Matthew 5:3
Sermon Series: Vote King Jesus – The Beatitudes – Sermon 1
Hi! My name is Scott and I’m a sinner. Most of you recognize that phrase. In 1935 Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith (picture) developed a 12-step program for people addicted to alcohol called Alcoholics Anonymous or AA. The most famous and successful support group in history has been AA and virtually every other successful support group is based on AA.
The first step is: “We are powerless over our problems.” Where do you think that wisdom came from? From Jesus, from the Bible, the beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). That means my problems are beyond me. Jesus is saying that it doesn’t just work in this one small slice of your life, it works cosmically.
The reason we must start with this is that many people approach Christianity, perhaps even some in this room, like it’s a self-help thing. In other words, they come like this, “I’m running into a bad patch in my life. I’ll clean my life up. I’ll do some things. I’ll come to church, read my Bible and some books. I’ll stop this and that, then maybe I’ll have some of this power that people talk about…I’ll try it!”
Friend, you cannot try the God of the universe. You must have poverty of spirit. You can’t say, “I’ll clean my life up.” You have to say, “my problems are beyond me. I can’t fix it. I’m powerless.
We’re starting a new series, Vote! King Jesus and working through these eight statements called the beatitudes. They’re the first part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. The word beatitude comes from the Latin word for “Blessed.” The beatitudes tell us what it means to have Jesus as your King and to be a citizen of His Kingdom.
They describe the qualities of a true Christian. There are lots of answers to the question, “What is a Christian?” Most will tell you that it’s someone who tries to be good or moral. They go to church. They obey the Ten Commandments. That’s not what the Bible says. Jesus tells us that the first step to becoming a Christian is that you must be “poor in spirit.”
That’s the beginning for a Christian. A Christ-followers is someone who lives out the beatitudes. He is poor in spirit, he mourns over his sins, he’s meek, he hungers and thirsts for righteousness, he is merciful, he is pure in heart, he is a peacemaker, and he may be persecuted.
They’re not for super Christians. They’re for each person who is a Christ-follower. If you look long enough at a Christ-follower, you’ll see these eight qualities on display.
Unbelievers and even some who claim to be a Christian don’t like the message of the beatitudes. It’s not the message for a bestselling book. The message of the beatitudes doesn’t sell well. If a lost world wrote these they’d sound more like: Blessed are the healthy. Blessed are the wealthy. Blessed is the beautiful. Blessed are the always tanned. These beatitudes are the opposite of what our world believes.
Tony Campolo (picture) shares that when he was a kid, he and a friend had a brilliant plan to sneak into a store overnight and switch all the price tags. Can you imagine shopping the next morning and finding a pack of gum for $2,000 or a large screen TV for 50 cents? You’d say: “This is backwards. It doesn’t make sense.” From a human perspective, the beatitudes don’t make sense but from God’s perspective, they’re everything. They’re the only way to have God’s true life and eternal life.
The first three deal with our need. We are poor in spirit because we do not have what it takes to live as God commands. We mourn because we’re a hot mess. We become meek instead of self-willed because we don’t have the ability to direct our lives in a way that pleases God. The first three are the roots of the blessed life.
We must first deal with our heart problem. Only when the inside is right will the outside be right. The beatitudes describe the attitudes for a believer.
While we usually focus on the outward, God’s focus is always first on the inner. You can fake the outward. Proverbs tells us “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). It’s why the psalmist prayed: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). The first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus said that you’re blessed if you’re Spiritually Broke. What does that mean? If you’re taking notes…
1. What does it mean to be spiritually broke?
Have you ever been broke? How broke have you been? Hopefully, you weren’t as broke as this guy.
I’m so broke, I go to KFC and lick other people’s fingers. I’m so broke my girlfriend, and I got married for the rice. I’m so broke that I just went into McDonald’s and put a small fry on layaway. I’m so broke, the bank asked for their calendar back. I’m so broke that when someone saw me kicking a can down the street and asked what I was doing I said, “Moving.” I’m so broke that when a guy walked into my house and stepped on a cigarette, my wife yelled, “Who turned off the heat?”
What Jesus is talking about is much more serious than being financially broke. It’s being spiritually broke, spiritually bankrupt…having nothing.
According to the Forbes 2024 list, Elon Musk (picture), is the wealthiest man in America with a net worth of $244 billion. So, what do you or I have that he needs? What do we have that will impress him? But did you know that Elon Musk is a pauper when it comes to God’s standards?
Over 50 times the Bible says that “God is holy.” It says that God is perfect at least nine times. So, what do you or I have that God needs? What do we have that will impress God? Holey describes our socks not our lives. Think about that – God is perfect. You and I are on the absolute opposite end.
But talk to most people and they’ll tell you that they’re a “good” person. Compared to what? Hitler (picture)? Bernie Madoff (picture)? Sean “Diddy” Combs (picture)?
To Jesus’ listeners “Blessed are the poor” was as strange to their ears, as it is to ours. For ancient Jews wealth was regarded as a blessing and poverty was a curse. Wealth was thought to be evidence of God’s blessing. His audience would have expected Jesus to say, “Blessed are the rich.”
The word translated “poor” mean absolute poverty. It was used of the beggar, Lazarus, in Luke 16 who was totally dependent on others for the bare necessities of life, crumbs to survive. Jesus is saying “blessed are the spiritually dependent,” “blessed are the spiritual beggars.” It’s not poor. It’s a begging poor. It’s that homeless person on the streetcorner begging for money. That’s what we are before a perfect God, spiritually destitute.
What Jesus is saying is shocking! Yet becoming poor in spirit is the very first thing that must happen in the life of someone before they can enter God’s kingdom. If you think, you’re good, that’s spiritual pride. The doorway into the kingdom of heaven is low. You must crawl to get in.
Jesus is saying, “You can’t be filled until you’re empty. You can’t be worthwhile until you’re worthless.” Until we know that we’re poor in spirit, we can’t receive God’s grace. There will be no moral or good people in heaven, just spiritual disasters – sinners – poor in spirit. God identifies with those who beg. Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
Being poor in spirit is the hardest thing you’ll ever do. Pride and self-sufficiency die hard. If you’re honest and let this beatitude search you out, you’ll see yourself to be a greater sinner than you ever thought you were. When that happens, you must run to Jesus. You must run to His cross. You must run to His righteousness for salvation.
One of our biggest cultural lies is, “God helps those who help themselves.” It’s not in the Bible. Those who are poor in spirit see themselves as helpless, totally dependent on God’s grace. They’re dependent on God even for “life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25).
According to Jesus, most of those talking about heaven aren’t going there. Later in this Sermon Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Being “poor in spirit” is that narrow way. D.A. Carson (picture), “Poverty of spirit, then is the personal acknowledgement of spiritual bankruptcy.” It’s “Blessed are those who realize that they have nothing within themselves to commend them to God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Some think that believing and saying the right things will make you a Christian. Did you know that demons believe and say the right things? James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
Others think that doing the right things make you a Christian. Jesus said, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me’.” (Matthew 7:22-23). In other words, saying, “Lord, I was a pastor. I preached. I prayed for people. I helped people. I visited the sick.” That’s not what Jesus is looking for and it won’t get you into heaven.
This isn’t some false modesty. It’s not Patrick Mahomes (picture) saying, “I’m not that great of a quarterback.” It means you recognize your spiritual poverty before God. It’s an attitude toward yourself. You try to do the right things, but you don’t. You try to say the right things, but you don’t.
To be poor in spirit means you know you don’t have what God requires to be part of His kingdom and you never will. Being poor in spirit is making your sin personal. We worry more about owing $5000 much more than owing a trillion dollars. Being poor in spirit means knowing that figuratively we owe God a trillion dollars. It’s an unpayable debt and we’re bankrupt.
If I were to ask you what one sinful attitude is most responsible for keeping people from coming to Jesus Christ to be saved, what attitude would you name? It’s the attitude opposite to what’s called for in this beatitude. Pride. An illustration of the difference between pride and being poor in spirit is seen in Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
The Pharisee was the one who trusted in himself that he was righteous before God. He believed he was spiritually self-sufficient. He even thanked God he was better than others. He pointed out their sins and boasts that he isn’t like them. He boasted in what he did and exalted himself. He felt free to stand before God, because in his own eyes he was spiritually self-sufficient.
The poor tax collector was anything but. He’s so ashamed of his sin; he wouldn’t lift up his face toward God. He couldn’t appeal to any good deeds. Whatever good he may have performed had been overshadowed by the greatness of his sins. He had great sin to give account for. There was nothing that would make him worthy in God’s sight. All he could do, in the poverty of his soul, was cry out to God, “Be merciful to me a sinner!”
Which one though did Jesus say was justified? The poor, needy, pathetic tax collector – who had absolutely no sense of sufficiency but could only cry out to God out of the bankruptcy of his soul and beg for mercy. Jesus said that he went home righteous that day. I can’t think of a better story to illustrate “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Most people believe they can balance out their sins. The idea is if they could do one good act for every bad act, their account will balance out in the end. In his book, In the Grip of Grace, Max Lucado (picture) says many people think, “If I can counter my cussing with compliments, my lusts with loyalties, my complaints with contributions—my vices with victories, then won’t my account be justified?” There are big problems with such thinking.
First, we don’t know the cost of our sin.For example, the price of gas is easy to find. Every station puts it in clear view on a sign. It’s not so clear when it comes to our sins. What’s the charge for getting mad in traffic jams? If I get ticked off at some guy who cuts in front of me and yell a few choice words, what do I do to pay for my crime? Do I drive 55 in a 55mph zone for ten minutes to atone for my error? What’s the penalty? Who knows?
Second, we don’t always know the occasion of our sins. Even our perceptions have been negatively affected by our sinful state There are times when we sin and don’t even know it! Max Lucado writes, “I was 12 years old before I knew it was a sin to hate your enemy. My bike was stolen when I was 8. I hated the thief for four years. How do I pay for those sins? Do I get an exemption for ignorance? And what about the sins I’m committing now without realizing it? What if someone somewhere discovers it is a sin to play golf? Or what if God thinks the way I play golf is a sin? Oh boy, I’ll have some serious settling up to do.”
Third, what about our secret sins?What about times we sin by doing good deeds so others will admire us, things that look good but are in fact bad? What about sins of omission? Did you miss opportunities to do good? Did you neglect an open door to serve? Did you seize every chance to encourage your friends? If you blow it, how do you make up for those infractions?
That’s why each one of us needs Jesus. We’re all bankrupt before God. All of us have sinned! We’re spiritual cripples! Jesus said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). The only ones who will come to get what Jesus has to give are those who know they’re sick. They’re spiritually broke and know that they can’t fix it.
One night some years ago, an American sailor was standing on the edge of the deck of an aircraft carrier on the open sea when the ship suddenly lurched. The sailor was thrown overboard. As he watched the carrier steaming away into the moonlight, he said his first thought was, “I have to save myself!” Then he said the realization dawned on him: “I can’t save myself. I’m stuck out here in middle of the ocean, and there is not a single thing I can do to save myself. My only hope is that they’ll come and rescue me. If they don’t, I’ll die.” Thankfully they did come and rescue him!
That sailor was totally dependent on someone else for his salvation, and he knew it. There was nothing he could do to save himself. The same thing is true for our salvation. If you’re going to be saved, you have to realize you can’t save yourself. You must humble yourself and cry out to God, “God, please rescue me.” You’ve got to depend totally on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ to save you. You have to know you’re “poor in spirit.”
2. Why the order of the Beatitudes? Why is poor in spirit first?
The beatitudes are progressive. As the Master Teacher, Jesus did not just start anywhere in His explanation of God’s expectations. They’re like a ladder that must be climbed, one rung at a time. It’s not random that Jesus begins by saying that those who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy will be blessed: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” is the foundation of all that’s in the beatitudes. We must first become humble in order to have any chance of living out the other seven.
Jesus intentionally began with verse 3. Look at the progression. Being poor in spirit means having the right attitude toward sin and your spiritual helplessness. That leads us to mourn about our state as fallen beings. After we’ve seen our sin and grieved over it, we’re meek with the right sense of humility, which compels us to seek and hunger for righteousness. That manifests itself in our being merciful to other sinners and helps us to be pure of heart. That will give birth to a peace-making spirit. The outcome of being a peacemaker is that we’re persecuted. Why? This kind of lifestyle irritates a fallen culture. Yet, we can rejoice because the struggles of our culture won’t last forever. Someday we’ll be in eternity with Jesus. When that day dawns, we’ll see that great is our reward in Heaven.
When we live like this, when we embrace the beatitudes, we’ll be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (verses 13 & 14). But please note—we can’t be salt and light until we begin with being “poor in spirit.” You can’t skip verses 3-11 and go right to 13 and 14. It won’t work. It’d be like trying to build a skyscraper by beginning with the top floor. You can’t become a Christian unless you’re first poor in spirit. You might as well expect fruit to grow without trees if you think the graces of the Christian life grow without beginning with spiritual poverty. As Warren Wiersbe (picture) writes, “True poverty of spirit is the soil out of which the fruit of the Spirit can be cultivated.” It’s the first thing that must happen in the life of anyone who wants to enter God’s kingdom.
3. What does it mean to be “blessed”?
Jesus uses the word “blessed” nine times. “Blessed” doesn’t mean happy. Being happy is less than this because “happiness” is dependent on what happens.
Jesus is not making a statement about how people feel. It’s an objective statement about what God thinks of them. Blessed is a positive judgement by God on the individual that means “to be approved” or “to find approval.” Isn’t that wonderful? When God blesses us, He approves us.
Of course, blessing will often bring feelings of happiness. Blessed people are generally happy. One author says blessed indicates “the smile of God.”
The beatitudes are positive with more “do’s” than “don’ts.” They’re positive statements that guide us upward to the path of joy!
One family went to a state park to enjoy the great outdoors. But when they arrived, they saw a long row of signs that said, “No hunting! No fishing! No camping! No picnicking! No trespassing! No hiking! No photography!” A final sign in small print said, “This is your state park. Enjoy it.”
The beatitudes aren’t like that. This is a positive sermon! It is full of “dos.” It tells us how to enjoy the Christian life. Being blessed has to do with the weather inside our hearts. It doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside, if it’s controlled on the inside. The outcome of the beatitudes is soul contentment and that’s only found in a right relationship with God.
4. What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
“Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This pronouncement is fantastic. The pronoun theirs is emphatic. “Theirs alone” is the thrust. So, who does the kingdom of heaven belong to? The poor in spirit – theirs, mine, ours, yours, if you qualify. It’s our kingdom.
The reward of the kingdom is both now and future. It’s present because all who have eternal life are in the kingdom now. Though it’s hard for us to conceive, God is eternal, so we’re seated in heavenly places now. We’re overcomers now. We are free to be all that He would have us to be. We reign now and for all eternity. The kingdom is ours and ours alone.
But life in this world is a long way from heaven. The things that may come to your mind when you think of heaven are a long way from the realities of earth. Streets of gold? Haven’t seen it. Redeemed people made perfect. Not where I live. Every tear wiped away. Nations no longer waging war. None of this is ours yet. So, what taste of heaven can the poor in spirit have now?
They can taste the greatest blessing of heaven – the presence of God. God declared to Isaiah, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit” (Isaiah 57:15).
Do you see what’s being said? The sovereign Lord of the universe dwells in two places – He lives in heaven, yet He also lives with the person who has a contrite and lowly spirit. Heaven is to live with God. The poor in spirit get a taste of it now because God comes to live with them. Heaven comes to the humble before the humble ever get to heaven.
In May 1942, a German U-boat sank a British vessel off the coast of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Four bodies of British sailors washed ashore on Ocracoke Island and were buried there. After the war, the piece of land they were buried on was deeded to Britain so they could be considered buried on English soil. The poor in spirit live on earth but are citizens of another kingdom. God wants us to bring the kingdom of heaven to our world.
Conclusion
Hi! My name is Scott and I’m a sinner. AA is synonymous with recovery around the globe. It can change your life. AA works because it makes sin personal. But AA can’t change your heart, and it can’t change your destination for eternity. It won’t fix the bankruptcy of your soul.
Haddon Robinson (picture) is one of my favorite preachers. At one time he was president of Denver Seminary. Robinson shares this true story. He writes: My mother died when I was a boy, and my dad raised me. He really gave his life for me. One time in college I asked him why he didn’t get married again, and my father said, “Well, I wasn’t sure that I could marry someone that would care for you as a mother, and I just didn’t want to take that chance.” When I got older, he came to live with us. He became senile and began to lose track of time. He’d walk around the house at night and knock on the bedroom doors. He was a child, and I became a parent to him.
One day we were home, and he wanted to go outside. I got him ready, but it was a cold day, and he quickly came back inside. Then he went out and came back in again. After about the third time out and in, I became very irritated. And I said, “Look, either go out or stay in!”
He wanted to go out again, but he had no sooner gotten out than he knocked on the door. I was furious. He looked at me a bit confused. He stood there in the door and didn’t go either way, so I hauled off and swatted him. I could’ve punched him in the mouth, knocked him to the ground. When I hit him, he gave me that quizzical look that old people have. At that moment, I could’ve killed him. It was a horrible memory because of the ugliness inside of me that day.
With a glimpse like that, I realize the bankruptcy and depravity in my life. I wish he were still here, but I couldn’t honestly tell him that I didn’t mean it. I meant it that day.
We can excuse my behavior and say, “Old people get that way; they can be irritating. The truth is I had a flash, the flash of a murderer.”
What happens when we really see ourselves, our evil hearts? A common conversation for me is to share with folk that I know what a terrible sinner I am. They look at me with a quizzical look. But I know, like Haddon Robinson, how ugly I am inside. I know that I’m spiritually bankrupt.
Many of you know that my mother was killed in a car wreck when I was 10. Two weeks before I got so mad at her that I told her that I hated her. The night that she was killed, it haunted me that I’d said that. I’d have given anything to have those words back. But it was too late.
When you and are honest and look at a holy, perfect God – we know how ugly we are from the inside out. It’s why we must admit that we’re spiritually broke. We need to be rescued. We need a Savior because we’re such a mess.
We see how spiritually bankrupt we are. Our only hope is Jesus’ cross. Christ offers forgiveness for sins and the gift of eternal life. It begins by acknowledging our sinful mess and then crying out for His mercy that He paid for when He died on the cross.
Have you done that? Have you come to Jesus and admitted you’re poor in spirit and need to be rescued? If you haven’t done that, please do it today.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy 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.
Is that your heart’s cry? Acknowledging our spiritual bankruptcy is the prerequisite for salvation. I also need to say that it’s a prerequisite for the Christian life. Spiritual poverty is essential for God’s continual spiritual blessing. It’s our bankruptcy that’s the opening for His blessings on us.
My friend, have you come to Jesus and admitted that you’re spiritually broke? He can’t save you and give you His limitless riches of grace and forgiveness until you do.
You could pray right now and tell the Lord that your spiritually broke and be forgiven and saved. Just pray this prayer and mean in your heart.
Lord Jesus, I’m spiritually broke. I confess that I am a sinner headed for an eternity separate from You. I repent of my sins and by faith I gratefully receive Your gift of salvation. Thank you for Your love, for Your grace, and for Your mercy. With all my heart I believe You are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank You for paying for my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe and now I receive You, so that I can be born again and become Your child. Help me live out the beatitudes by your grace and give You the glory You deserve. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.