Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Would you like for Jesus to come to you and just straight up tell you what it is He wants from you in your life? I have heard so many believers tell me they only wish they could know what God wanted them to do or what they should be. Why doesn’t God just come and talk to me like he talks to other people? They hear others say God told me to do this or that. That God talked to them personally. I have heard believers say they heard the audible voice of God speaking to them. That kind of statement leaves a lot of people broken. Why? Because why are you hearing God and I am not? You must have a blessing from God that I have not received.

Beware my friends of false prophets claiming to hear God’s audible voice commanding them to do things or say things to you. When you hear your own voice in your head and claim it to be God’s voice telling you to do something, some might call that schizophrenia. I know that at this point you are thinking what does any of this have to do with the Sermon on the Mount?

Well, Jesus has already spoken to us and told us what He wants and desires for us and from us. He has laid out a text of His words and those of his Disciples, Apostles, Prophets, and teachers to give us the truth in this world we live. You want to know what Jesus would say to you?

Read and Study your Bible!

There are truths that cannot be given in any way but through the inspired word of God given to us by the scriptures He left for us to study. We are about to embark on a study of the truth of God. A moment in our lives where we can see the message that Jesus has whispered into your heart through His Holy Spirit by validating the truth of His words in Scripture.

Let us take a look here in the Book of Matthew in the 5th chapter to see the beginning of the sermon on the mount and the first beatitude of the sermon. Matthew 5:3

Matthew 5:3 ESV

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

Now listen Jesus just spoke to you, he told you something very important for your life and mission.

He said there are people who are “Blessed”. We need to understand what blessed means if we are going to get very far with this message from the Lord. Today, many teachers claim that Blessed means happy, wealthy, healthy, and well fed. I am in complete disagreement with them. I do not believe that God would tell us the blessed are completely dependent upon the conditions of this world.

Blessed is not happy.

You must see that if you equate blessed with happy, the condition of being blessed is now placed on a subjective emotion.

Happy is when things are going your way and unhappy is when they are not.

We have so many happy moments in this life and so many unhappy. Why would Jesus tell us that we are blessed if it is so conditional on the status of our emotions or wealth or health? Does someone suffering from cancer have the right to say they are blessed if it blessing is conditionally based on our well being? This alone proves that blessing is not happy and wealthy and healthy. Blessing is so much more than that.

Blessed is an objective statement made by Jesus to us, saying that we are approved by God and we should be aware of that approval.

The awareness of the approval of God is the blessing. Joy originates in the awareness of this approval from God. As Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11–13

Philippians 4:11–13 ESV

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

You see that the joy of the Lord is present in good times and bad times, Blessed is always in the life of the believer, no matter the circumstances we are facing in this life. Blessed is not based on what you feel but what you know and if you know Jesus and what He teaches you you are Blessed with the joy of salvation in your life.

There are 8 beatitudes and we are on the first one here, Jesus is telling us who can know they are approved by God and live in the Joy of Salvation.

These are the 8 characteristics of the elect (those who have chosen to believe and therefore are chosen by God).

The first characteristic is “Poor in Spirit”.

Now this does not mean those who see no value in themselves. It doesn’t mean that those who think less of themselves. This is called depression and is a serious problem in our society. Poor in Spirit is linked to being blessed! How could it possibly be for those who see no value in their lives, see no hope or joy in their lives? That doesn’t make any kind of logical sense or have any wisdom in it at all. Paul again tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

It also doesn’t mean the overtly humble are blessed. Let me share a short story with you so that you understand. I had a member of a different church who always let me know how humble he was, he would tell me that he was a servant and he wanted to do things for people but never wanted credit for them. In fact he would tell me everything he did and for whom and what it cost him personally. Then proceed to tell me that if he wasn’t so humble for God that he would post it on the church sign what he does for the kingdom. Just a warning, if you have to tell people you are humble you are not humble. If you must let someone know what you have done to serve the Lord you are probably serving yourself and not the Lord. This is not Poor in Spirit.

Poor in spirit means -

that if you are so obviously aware of your failings towards God and your complete inability to keep His law and then your absolute knowledge of how inept you are to save yourself from the punishment you deserve for those failings and sins that you know there is only one who can help you. Jesus has told us that blessed are those who completely understand that they are dependent upon him for eternity. Not Jesus save me now and then I will take back over later cause you got me through the hard times. No! This is about a realization that you cannot live one minute more without Jesus, you cannot make it to heaven without Jesus. You must be spiritually bankrupt in yourself and rich in Jesus. Your value is only seen through the value that God has given you through Jesus Christ himself.

The world and all its teachings reject this beatitude completely. Modern society teaches all value is found in self and what you want to be or do. If you don’t like who you are just change into something different, change into something others will approve of and celebrate you for. You are special to the world and you can show it by getting surgeries and taking medications to become what you want to become.

All the world is missing is Jesus! They do not realize all this is a result of what Jesus has told us. If you don’t like who you are, let Jesus help you! Jesus just told us that blessed are the poor in spirit. Those who are accepted by God are those who stop trying to fix the hole in their heart with things the world offers and instead turn to Jesus and receive the joy that never ends in their life. Isaiah 61:1

Isaiah 61:1 ESV

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Jesus quoted this verse in Luke 4:18 to declare His ministry to the world.

Luke 4:18 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

Who’s is the Kingdom of Heaven?

Those who are willing to accept that Jesus is the only path to LIFE! Life here and life eternally.

How about you? Are you spiritually poor? Have you truly turned from yourself as the savior and turned to Jesus?

God is speaking to you today, He has a message for you, it is found right here in His Holy Word, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Give up on being your own savior, admit you need help, and get the joy of knowing that God has and will continue to accept you for eternity.