Bankrupt Keys of the Kingdom: Godly Character for a Godless World Less is More Subseries New Life Assembly Matt 5:3; Luke 6:20 January 2, 2011 Main Sermon Idea: Poverty is a spiritual qualification for us to grow in God. Sermon Application: Being poor opens our hearts to need God s blessing, because we won t survive without Him in this life. When we learn to live in a state of needing God, we receive His blessing now and in the future. We must approach God with a desire to know Him instead of thinking we know Him. It is an attitude of the heart to be poor in spirit. Introduction We are starting a series today on what character trains we need to be part of God s kingdom, what things we must demonstrate to be in His kingdom. Now don t worry about trying to obtain these abilities, because God gives them as gifts. The real question is, Do we want the gifts He is giving? This whole series tracks through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and we will be looking at the keys of God s Kingdom and how to implement them in our own lives. Let s start in the Beatitudes! Throughout our lives, we often set goals for ourselves. Many of us set these goals because of competition or observation of someone else and their current state of affairs. For instance, who doesn t want to be the athletic star or the cheerleader who dates the captain of the football team? Who doesn t want to be wanted and loved by everyone? So we see how certain things get in the way of that happiness that we want for ourselves. And we seek to not act like that person or be like them so that we avoid their fate. We try so hard to be a certain kind of person. Well, today, Jesus is going to set us free from the rat race of being like everyone else. He s going to make us His people rather than the people we are making ourselves out to be. And He s going to do it using one of the tools that we have run from all our lives! One of the elements that will hold us back from being the people we want to be is poverty. We don t view poverty in the positive in our culture at all! Some of the poor are looked on as lazy. This may be true for some, by the way. But the American dream used to be about giving even the poor a chance to shine and be rich. The kingdom of God flies in the face of that principle. Let s read Matthew 5:3 this morning. I. Being poor means that we must rely upon God. A. We must learn what it means to be blessed. 1.Blessing is gauged in different ways. 1
a. In our culture, to be blessed means to have something, to have possessions or money or fame. We don t generally consider the bum on the street blessed. b. There s a lot of talk of blessing going around the church today, and most of Christian TV talks about how to get blessed. They focus on methods to get blessing. c. Why do we want to be blessed so much? I ll tell you why. Because it feels nice. It makes us think that we re okay with God when we feel blessed. We live a life that pleases our flesh. That s what we mean by blessed! d. But this is not what blessed means when Jesus uses it! This word for blessed has been used about 50 times throughout the New Testament. e. It has the key meaning of being fortunate and within God s favor. It actually speaks of a happiness in life, a deep satisfaction. And it does speak of being in God s favor. And that s why we seek it. f. Illustration: You know that feeling when everything s going your way in life, when you feel giddy to wake up each morning and wonder what wonderful thing is going to happen to you next? It s often felt, I m told, by people in romantic relationships for up to two years. It is a feeling of euphoria. It s that kind of feeling that all those show tunes are about. That feeling. That is the embodiment of what Jesus calls happy or blessed! This may be sad to some of you, but for me it comes when I get a new book I ve been looking forward to reading or when I do really well at a game and it doesn t feel like I m trying to do well. g. Application: But I fear that we seek blessing so that we can feel good. Blessing does make us feel good, but we should not seek it to feel good. We should seek it because when we are in God s favor, He is pleased with us. Why do we seek to be blessed? Is it to have more money than that guy or to feel better than this lady? Or is it because in a feeling of being blessed, we know that God is pleased, and that is our joy? 2.Blessing is not necessarily what we get, but what we become. a. When a person is blessed, it is not about their possessions or what vast resources. There are millionaires and billionaires that would give any sum of money to be blessed. b. Blessedness is not something you have or can get. It is a state of being. It is a way you are. It is part of your make-up as a person. It is a foundational element of what makes you who you are. 2
c. We measure blessedness by things, but it s actually how you respond in certain situations in life. It is the state of being when you are content despite horrible circumstances. d. That is how Jesus uses it here. You have a state of blessedness and a feeling of blessedness when you are in the states that are least desirable when you re part of God s kingdom. e. Illustration: This kind of blessedness is the joy and foundational trust in God no matter what reality tells you. When you re barely getting by with your finances, and you are able to pay every bill, it gives you a peace about the fact that you re not in the red. This blessedness is a gift in itself because it helps us to apply being content in every circumstance. When you see God do things you cannot in your life, that is blessedness. When we worry about something, that blessedness is gone! B. We must learn what it means to be poor. 1.Poor in Spirit speaks to our spiritual bankruptcy. a. The beatitudes are contained in Matthew and Luke. Luke does not have poor in spirit, but simply the word poor. He is referring to the poor, but Matthew is referring to a spiritual state. b. We will deal with both of these views, because they do have a principle in common. First, let us look at what it means to be poor in spirit. c. Commentators are quick to point out that this does not mean you have a poor spirit about you, that you re not the kind of person that makes everyone feel poor. And that is true! d. Poor defines the spiritual nature of a believer. It does not define the way we treat others at all. It connotates a sense of neediness, a sense of openness to God and a teachablility in spiritual matters. e. Illustration: We will use the Rich Young Ruler as an image of both of these lacked qualities in Matthew and Luke. First, let s talk about how he addresses Jesus. He is not open or teachable to spiritual things. He comes to Jesus and demands to know what he is missing. When Jesus says he should follow the Law, instead of evaluating himself, he simply passes it off as things he has kept from his youth. f. The person who is poor in spirit is spiritually bankrupt. They approach God with a hunger for His Word and they do everything it says because they are so poor in Spirit. They have such a need for God! 3
g. The poor in spirit come to God asking questions rather than demanding answers. They come to God seeking whatever He gives, not demanding this or that as a blessing. They have a need mentality instead of a want mentality. And they are more prone to ask for His privileges and mercy rather than demand their rights and guarantees. h. Application: How do you approach God? Do you demand things from Him? Or are you like a child who in your desire to know Him more find that He is blessing you? Do you seek the gift of the Giver? Do you seek the blessing or to please God? If we are to grow in our walk with God, we must approach Him as though we need every single thing that He speaks or does. We must be humble! 2.Being poor tends to be a theme of the Bible. a. Now let us deal with Luke s version. He has a verse in 6:20 and then a set of woes that correspond to the beatitudes in verse 24. Let us look at the economic side of this beatitude. b. Throughout the Bible we see that the poor are close to God s heart. Being poor economically means that you have to count on God to come through for your very survival. c. People with less money experience faith on a level that wealthy people cannot experience Him. What can God give to him who has everything? What can God teach to someone who thinks they have mastered this life and can prove it with their bank account? d. But people who are poor must trust in the Lord or they won t make it. The woe that Luke issues is to the rich because they already have what they will get. e. Illustration: Let s go back to the Rich Young Ruler. He could not be obedient to God because of his wealth, and he certainly did not wish to give it all away. Jesus was telling him that he had to start over and become poor so that he could experience God s blessed life. But his riches kept him from surrendering to God. The cost for him was too high. Jesus followed this with a statement that it s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God s kingdom. And then He said all things are possible with God! f. Just because you re rich does not mean that you can t enter God s kingdom or that you can t be poor in spirit. It just takes more for you to get there because you don t hang on every word and act of God. You don t reach the end of your resources so readily. 4
II. g. Application: Although it s not impossible for someone who is rich to enter God s kingdom and demonstrate being poor in spirit, it is harder for them. Being poor in spirit means that we need God, rely on Him, trust Him to provide, seek Him alone, and will not let go of Him. It means that we are destitute until we see Him. He is our world, because He can make all things possible. It is better to be poor in spirit than rich and full of understanding. It is better to be open to more of God than think you ve had your fill, and it is better to be teachable in the things of God than to have already made up your mind about Him. The blessedness is in the being poor in spirit, not in having more than enough because Jesus is more than enough, and we need Him more than anything. We receive His most valuable possession instead of our poverty. A. There is a reward for poverty. 1.Jesus promises the kingdom of God to the poor. a. Matthew refers to the kingdom of God as the kingdom of heaven. It is a more Jewish phrase than kingdom of God, but essentially spoke of the same thing. b. Scholars are at odds as to the nature of the kingdom of God. Some believe it is external, like the kingdoms of this world, a ruling by God our King. c. Others would say that it is internal, starting in the hearts of people and expanding from the rule of your heart to the rule of the world. They are also at odds to when it began and when it exists and how it exists. d. The kingdom of God is the reign and rule of God upon this earth. However, I believe the very best of positions taken by opposing scholars helps us to understand how God s kingdom works. e. I believe that the kingdom begins internally in the hearts of people. I believe that God s kingdom is spread through the Gospel and that people become part of the kingdom, and as more and more become part of God s kingdom, he wins the rule of the world through people! f. Application: The important thing to remember about God s kingdom is that it starts inside of each of us, in the way that we obey God s rule over our hearts. It spreads through us to the world, and one day, Jesus will physically rule the world in human history. The way to bring about the kingdom of God is through obedience to Him and witnessing. What are you doing for God s Kingdom? 2.Some of this is fulfillment now and its completion is at the end of time. 5
a. There is a kingdom in which Christ will rule and reign here in our history and time, in the end times. It s called the Millennial Reign. So the kingdom will literally come to earth. But it is not something we can bring about. It is something God brings about in us! b. The Gospels say different things when it comes to when the Kingdom started. Some say it was with Christ s birth. Others that it began with His ministry. Still others that it begins with His death, and finally others that say it began with the church or has not yet begun. c. The poor in spirit are promised the Kingdom of God because they need it. In their need, they are given the kingdom in their hearts. The interesting thing about our first beatitude is that it is in the present verbal form. d. Most of the beatitudes are in the future form, but this and the one in verse 10 are in the present, which means that we experience them now. The Kingdom is now, but it is unlike any kingdom that any person could build or comprehend! e. It is God s most precious gift because through the Kingdom, God changes us into His children and brings us into His family. Through the Kingdom, God receives the praise He is worthy of and we live with Him every day until eternity and beyond! f. Application: No matter what happens in our lives, when we commit to being poor in spirit and being desperate for God, we get exactly what we ask for. We get His kingdom here and now. And the things of this world fade away in the light of His kingdom both now in our hearts and forever in eternity. B. The reward is what we have sought through poverty. 1.We learn to be poor in order to be blessed. a. A wealthy person has no need of things. They re terrible to get Christmas gifts for! The reason that the poor or the poor in spirit receive such a valuable gift is that they don t already possess whatever they want. b. The blessing comes through the means of being poor in spirit. When we come to God open to His will and ways and we come to Him in an attitude of submission and need, that is when He grants us the gift of His kingdom. c. There is a certain posture about the things of God, a certain humility that we must have to receive from the Lord. Isaiah 66:2 tells us that the Lord looks upon those who are humble and contrite in spirit. 6
d. These are people who seek God out of a desperation and out of poverty. They need Him, and He is willing to come to them. When we don t need God or rely on our own resources, we cannot receive from Him. 2.We learn to be people who know they need God. a. The Kingdom of God is truly a wonderful place and the Lord Jesus reigns there! If you want that for yourself, it starts with being blessed because you are poor in spirit. b. Do you need God today? Are you okay on your own? Do you think you ve got it all down pat? We must seriously ask that question, because it may be that we can mentally say we need God, but in our hearts, we don t feel like we need Him. c. Even in the good times, we forget that He s the reason we re having a good time. We must become so desperate for God and so needy for Him that we cannot live without Him. d. It is my hope and prayer for you that you learn how to get poor in spirit quick! All of us have seen those get rich quick schemes, but the Lord asks the opposite of us this morning. e. Application: The attitude of being poor in spirit is not a matter of our bank account or the things we have or don t have. It s not a matter of the way we treat others, but a matter of how we approach God. Let us come before His throne of grace with an open heart and a humble attitude and let us seek Him because we are at the end of our rope and there is no one else. Without Him, we re spiritually bankrupt. Conclusion Let us take some moments this morning to gage our spiritual walk. Do we know what it means to be spiritually bankrupt, to rely upon the Lord for our very next breath? Do we seek Him in all things because we are destitute without Him and cannot survive? If you can survive without Jesus, you need to learn how to not survive without Him. The only way you will see the blessing of God and walk in blessedness and in happiness despite the storms about your life is to become a person who is poor in spirit and who cannot live without the Living God. 7