Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven — Matthew 5:3
In this first beatitude Jesus is talking about spiritual poverty. A person who is poor in spirit is someone who acknowledges in his heart that he is spiritually bankrupt before God (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2). He has a strong sense that he has nothing to offer God but rather is utterly dependent on God for everything.
Man comes into this world rich in spirit — he is self-centered and self-sufficient. He believes that he can manage his own life. He doesn’t need God. Or, he might believe that, “God helps those who can help themselves.” By God’s grace, we were humbled when we were made aware of our sin and that we deserved to suffer God’s wrath. God enabled us to understand that we had nothing to offer Him to make us commendable for salvation — nothing to buy the favor of heaven.
As Christians and Christian leaders we must maintain poverty of spirit. Not only are we wholly dependent on God for salvation from the penalty of sin but we are dependent on God for salvation from the power of sin (sanctification) Romans 7:24-25. We are dependent on God for everything in life. Luke says in Acts 17:28 that, “In Him we live and move, and exist.” It is not easy for us to maintain poverty of spirit. We still have the sinful tendencies of self-sufficiency, pride, and self-righteousness.
In what ways do you struggle with maintaining poverty of spirit in your role as father, husband or at work?
For example, suppose you have an idea for a family outing for this coming Saturday, where you would all drive up to the mountains for the day. Your wife says she would rather drive down to Charleston for the day. Are you hurt or defensive or angry that your wife didn’t like your idea? Is your plan the only way the family could enjoy a day together? Is your first consideration to serve your wife or yourself? Does your attitude demonstrate being poor in spirit? Think of some personal examples to discuss.
What can we do as men to grow in our poverty of spirit?
One way to grow in this area would be to examine how many of your personal discouragements have to do with being disappointed in others and the way they treat you. If this is a pattern, discuss how you could replace it by focusing on how you can bring encouragement and joy to these same folks.
Christ says that the poor in spirit are blessed (that is, privileged and favored by God) because theirs is the kingdom of heaven! We live under God’s glorious rule; the power of the kingdom is at work within us producing in us righteousness, peace, and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit. And what’s more, when the kingdom God comes in all its fullness, you will experience infinite pleasures forevermore in the presence of God.
4 comments:
What a contrast to what the world expects! Happiness is to be found in wealth, fame, and other folly. Christ is preparing his disciples and us to find contentment is serving Him and in the hope of the eternal riches we will have in heaven. I am not saying that we should take a vow of poverty, that would misconstrue the passage. Rather I think it means that we are poor spiritually before an awesome God - that we bring nothing to the relationship; and that all that we are and have is from His good graces. Our ultimate attitude, again, should come out of gratitude in knowing that God has granted us eternal life and membership into His holy Kingdom
The Spartanburg Evening group had our first meeting last night, Thursday, Oct. 11. Terry Johnson, Paul Wood, Raymond Curry, Evan Wheeler and Jay Younts met at Evan’s home. We had a great discussion about being poor in spirit. Each of us talked about the how this week’s blog topic impacted our lives at home and work. We closed with a time of prayer about the things we discussed. Some bullet points from our discussion:
> Focus on being poor in spirit helps to maintain a more even perspective during the typical up and down periods of life. In other words seeking God when things are not going well and tending to lose dependence on God when things appear to go well.
> The importance of being able to verbalize these issues with others just so that we don’t drift.
> Being poor in spirit will help us recognize the importance of prayer.
> Being poor in spirit will cause us to be more conscious of reaching out to others with the gospel.
> That we as husbands and fathers are responsible for taking the lead in demonstrating being poor in spirit in our homes.
Our group is encouraged about the opportunity for fellowship around these weekly meetings. We’ll be back next week with a new comment post about the next blog posting.
The Stax's MFG met this morning (7:00am)for the first time. We had six men in attendance. Our discussion centering around our blog verse and reference was a blessing. We had many guys sharing situations where being "poor in spirit" would have been the God honoring action. Our discussion brought in humility, a contrite heart, and lowliness of heart. We also spent time discussing the wealth of the world compared to the treasures of God's word in our lives. We then discussed the responsibilities that those truths direct us to as husbands, fathers, and representatives of Christ in everyday life. We are all looking forward to this weeks blog and next weeks fellowship.
The Wooduff group met Wed morning at a local restaurant, yes, in Woodruff. All were present - Clay, Larry, Cary, and Bill. We are getting to know each other. We discussed the implications of being poor in spirit. We are looking forward to next week.
Post a Comment