Happiness in Helplessness-Matthew 5:1-4
Matthew 5:1-4
Key Verse: 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
1) The Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5-7 contains the Sermon on the Mount (1), which is the outline/skeleton of Jesus’ sermon that was likely delivered over several days to a week. What is the purpose of this most beloved sermon? This sermon addresses the attitude & the lifestyle of those who know Jesus, who have tasted heaven, & who have a right relationship with God. In brief, this Sermon teaches us who the saved are & how a Christian feels & lives in this world.
2) The Beautitudes: This sermon begins with “the Beautitudes” or 8 blessings (5:3-12), which explains who the truly blessed people are. The word “blessed” (makarios) [Gk] means “happy.” Let’s learn from Jesus how we can be the most blessed & happy people in the world, even during terribly hard times, such as unbearable gut-wrenching loneliness, or feeling betrayed, or during the present tough economic depression.
3) The Humble: Read the 1st beautitude in verse 3. What does “poor in spirit” mean? The Amplified Bible says that the poor in spirit are “the humble who rate themselves insignificant.” What? In this world, everyone is crying out & clamoring for & demanding significance. Nobody ever wants to feel insignificant. Rod Blogojevich, our unfortunate governor of Illinois, wanted significance so badly that it clouded his judgment, destroyed his once promising career, & brought shame to his family. When 1 girl felt insignificant she became bitter & depressed. But Jesus said that “the humble who rate themselves insignificant” are truly blessed and happy people. How can this be?
4) The Helpless: The Message translation says, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope.” What? When we’re at the end of our rope, we may feel like doing the following: choke someone, punch someone, eat like a pig, or watch bad stuff. In the movie “The Nutty Professor,” when Eddie Murphy felt rejected by the girl he liked, he cried all night while eating a whole carton of ice-cream soaked with his tears. But Jesus said, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope.” In other words, Jesus is saying that we are truly blessed & happy when we truly deeply feel completely helpless, powerless, vulnerable. That’s why I titled this mini-message: “Happiness in Helplessness.”
5) The kingdom of heaven: Verse 3b says, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Here Jesus is saying that when one feels utterly helpless & insignificant, that is, “poor in spirit,” it is only then that heaven descends on him. In this world, we should strive hard to live up to & earn our success & achievements. So we might secretly envy or admire the “Bill Gates” of the world and the “Obamas” of the world, for they literally went from nobodies to “the kings of the world” in a short time. But Jesus says that heaven belongs only to those who truly realize their utter helplessness, powerlessness, inadequacy, unworthiness, depravity. In brief, heaven belongs only to those who know how sinful they truly are before God.
6) YBH? (Ya but how?) How do we get to the state of being “poor in spirit”? God must work in our hearts & convict us. Then we must respond. How? We must see ourselves for who we truly are. This should be easy, yet it might be the hardest thing in the world for any man to do. Soren Kierkegaard, the Scandinavian Christian existentialist, said, “Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.” In light of this, many people don’t change, because they don’t want to truly face who they are. So they put up or put on a façade to try to create a good impression of themselves, which is not truly who they are. But Jesus gives us a most wonderful promise, that when we face ourselves for who we truly are, no matter how “bad” we may be, then the kingdom of heaven begins to dawn brighter & brighter in our souls.
7) Is Christianity a crutch? A complaint against Christianity is “it’s a crutch for weaklings.” They say this because the world thinks that the way to success is the way of “self sufficiency.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American poet & philosopher wrote a famous essay called “Self-Reliance,” which has become the unspoken creed of America. So, when such people meet a personal crisis or are at a crossroad of life, they boost their self-esteem, become more self sufficient & self-reliant, & say to themselves, “I’m going to overcome this & show others that I can do it.” Such people may become successful people, but they’ll never be truly blessed or happy people. It’s because they are not man enough to truly face themselves for who they truly are on the inside.
8) Jesus is “poor in spirit”: We should be “poor in spirit” because of our sins. But though Jesus was sinless, he made himself totally helpless & dependent on the Father. Why? It was for our sins. Praise Jesus who became “poor in spirit” for us!
9) Finally, be real & authentic: We began 2008 with our West Loop church mantra: Have fun serving God (1 Th 5:16). As we close out 2008, I pray that West Loop members may be those who are truly blessed & happy people. How can we be happy people? We must be real & authentic. We must be honest with ourselves. We mustn’t be afraid to face ourselves for who we truly are. When we do we cannot but deeply realize how helpless & incapable we are because of our sins. Then and only then do we become truly “poor in spirit.” Then Jesus says to you, “for (yours) is the kingdom of heaven.” Let’s read verse 3 again.
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) delivered The First Beautitude (Mt 5:3) in 1873. Here are a few excerpts.No man ever mourns before God until he is poor in spirit, neither does he, become meek towards others till he has humble views of himself; hungering & thirsting after righteousness are not possible to those who have high views of their own excellence, & mercy to those who offend is a grace too difficult for those who are unconscious of their own spiritual need. Till we are emptied of self we can’t be filled with God; stripping must be wrought upon us before we can be clothed with the righteousness which is from heaven. Christ is never precious till we are poor in spirit, we must see our own wants before we can perceive his wealth; pride blinds the eyes, & sincere humility must open them, or the beauties of Jesus will be for ever hidden from us.
This first blessing is given to those whose chief characteristic is that he confesses his own sad deficiencies. Grace is given not to those who think themselves worthy, but to those who cry out, “We are not worthy to be called children of God.” God wants nothing of us except our wants, & these furnish him with room to display his bounty when he supplies them freely. It is from the worse & not from the better side of fallen man that the Lord wins glory for himself. Not what I have, but what I have not, is the 1st point of contact between my soul & God. When the poor in spirit come to him with their utter destitution & distress he accepts them at once; yes, he bows the heavens to bless them. The Lord’s eye of favor rests only, upon hearts broken & spirits humbled before him.
As the weakest & poorest man is nobler than the strongest of all the beasts of the field, so is the meanest spiritual man more precious in the sight of the Lord than the most eminent of the self-sufficient children of men. The smallest of diamond is worth more than the largest pebble, the lowest of degree of grace excels the loftiest attainment of nature.
To be spiritually poor is the condition of all men; to be poor in spirit, or to know our spiritual poverty, is an attainment specially granted to the called & chosen. Our imaginary goodness is harder to conquer than our actual sin. Human weakness is a small obstacle to salvation compared with human strength; there lies the work & the difficulty. Hence it is a sign of grace to know one’s need of grace. He has some light in his soul who knows & feels that he is in darkness.
For my own part, my constant prayer is that I may know of the worst of my case, whatever the knowledge may cost me. I know that an accurate estimate of my own heart can never be otherwise than lowering to my self-esteem; but God forbid that I should be spared the humiliation which springs from the truth! The sweet apples of self-esteem are deadly poison. The bitter fruits of self-knowledge are always healthful, especially if washed down with the waters of repentance.
A Few Final Words Let’s be real and authentic; let’s honestly see our own sins and helplessness so that God can help and bless us. (Let’s not see others’ sins & our own goodness)Thank God for being with us throughout the years.Pray to be so poor in spirit until God enables us to make 1,000 friends.
