Blessed are the Poor in
Spirit
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
The verse above
is explained by Matthew 7:7-11 (below). For more on the outline of the Sermon on the
Mount, see the very first post of this blog, entitled The Key to the Sermon on the Mount and posted on
Sept. 26, 2014.
“Ask and it
will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened
to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of
you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a
fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew
7:7-11
In the verses above, we find a truth that we in the
American church fail to grasp over and over again: God likes to keep us asking,
seeking, and knocking. He likes us to be poor in spirit, and he doesn’t mind if
we have to be literally poor and without a penny to our name if that is what it
takes to make us poor in spirit. For being poor leads us into stronger
relationship with Him and even dependence upon Him. In fact, being poor keeps
us right where he wants us – close to Him!
And
yet, I can’t tell you the number of times (dozens? hundreds?) I have heard that
if things aren’t going well in your life or if you are not prospering
financially, then God is displeased with you somehow or you are lacking in
faith. Proponents of the so-called “prosperity gospel” completely ignore much
of what Jesus taught and modeled to us when he walked the earth in the flesh.
Please
don’t get me wrong or misunderstand me – I am not saying that we serve a
vindictive God who oppresses His people to keep them poor and impoverished.
What I am saying is that our financial prosperity is not nearly as important to
God as our relationship with Him. So yes, it is true in a sense that God wants
to prosper us, after all He does love us and wants what’s best for us. In fact,
He often does prosper us so that we can learn to bless others and give
generously and be good stewards over the resources He has given us.
But do
we really need to hear the “prosperity gospel” over and over again while hardly
ever mentioning that God calls us to forsake everything to follow him? Can we
really buy into a prosperity gospel when Jesus himself lived an impoverished
lifestyle and he very pointedly sent his disciples out without a moneybelt or
anything except the clothes on their backs? Can we really ignore what Jesus
said to the rich young ruler and what he said about rich people not entering
into the kingdom of heaven? When we stand before Him face-to-face will we have
the guts to tell him that he didn’t really mean it when he told us to give to
whoever asks and loan to whoever wants to borrow? We have ignored much of
Jesus’ teaching to our own detriment and even to our own peril if we’re not
careful.
Jesus
likes it when we ask, seek, and knock. He likes it when we give everything away
and are unencumbered by the cares of this world. He likes it when we come to an
end of ourselves, for that is when he shows himself strong. Have you ever
wondered why there are so many more miracles in impoverished nations than there
are in more wealthy nations? It is because they have no where else to turn
except to God! They are forced to keep asking, keep knocking, keep seeking
after God because they have no other options. And when they pursue relationship
with Him in this way, He comes through for them!
People
in wealthier circumstances, though, don’t even think to ask God about where
their next meal will come from. They don’t seek Him about shelter for the night
or healing for their bodies or clothes for their backs because they already
have it all covered with their bank accounts and health insurance. And they
don’t bother to knock on the door and ask the Lord about their future
opportunities as they already have it all mapped out without His help or input.
Besides, if they did ask Him about things like these He might challenge them to
give more money away or do more for the single mom next door or even go to
Africa or Asia or somewhere where they might not be able to live so
comfortably.
Many
of us are like the rich young ruler, whether we will admit it to ourselves or
not. Jesus is telling us to leave everything else behind and follow Him but we
love our stuff too much to do that. So we walk away, shaking our heads and
saying that He can’t be serious. We’ll just continue giving Him an hour or
maybe even two hours each Sunday morning so that we can alleviate our
consciences and dispel the fear of hellfire and brimstone. And by His grace He
will likely forgive us and we’ll make it into eternity with Him, but it will be
as one escaping through the flames. In terms of our earthly life we will have
traded in our abundant life in Him for an abundance of worldly riches and
creature comforts. We who live in prosperous nations have to be careful or we
will be like Esau, trading in our birthright as sons of daughters of God for a
bowl of soup.
So
whatever life circumstances you find yourself in, make sure you are pursuing
God – asking for His help, seeking after Him and His will in your life, and
knocking on the door of His heart so that you might be more like Him. If you
have a lot of worldly wealth, be open to giving to the poor and to worthy
churches and organizations so that you might be more dependent upon Him. If you
are currently without much worldly wealth, don’t despair or feel like God has
forgotten you. On the contrary, you are right where He wants you – dependent
upon Him and in a place where you will keep asking, seeking, and knocking. And
that will keep you closer to Him.
By
the way, the verb form that Jesus uses for “ask, seek, and knock” is one that
indicates ongoing action, not simply a one-time action that is done and over
with. It brings to mind the parable that Jesus taught about the widow that kept
coming before the judge day after day in hopes of getting a favorable outcome
(Luke 18:1-8). We are to be the same way – continually coming before God,
asking and seeking and knocking so that we stay close to Him.
I
know that this is a challenging message, and one that many of us, including me,
will wrestle with for days and months and even years to come. I wouldn’t even
write it, except I feel compelled to by the Spirit to do so and I know that
just as in many other areas of my life, the Lord will show Himself strong in my
weakness. Like the Apostle Paul, who had a thorn in his flesh that he had to
contend with (2 Cor. 12:7-10), many of the things I have written about in my
devotionals based on the Sermon on the Mount are like thorns in the flesh,
things I have to live with but cannot do so except by God’s grace and help.
So
please don’t ignore or reject outright what the Lord is speaking to you even
now. The teaching of Jesus is clear, even if it is challenging and sometimes
seemingly overwhelming or impossible. Rest assured that in your weakness He
will show Himself strong, moment by moment, decision by decision, day by day.
Just choose to follow Him and depend on Him again and again and again, even if
it costs you worldly wealth and creature comforts.
For
as you are in that position of asking over and over again, it will be given to
you. As you are seeking Him continually, you will find Him and His will for your
life. And as you knock, the door will be opened to you, and it will be more
glorious than you could possibly imagine.
So
go for it! Right now! Don’t waste another moment but begin talking to God about
how you are going to live the rest of your life. Consider living a simple
lifestyle so that you can give more away and be more in touch with the Lord.
Ask Him about it, and He will lead you, and you won’t be sorry.
Pray with me: Lord, you know
my heart, my personality, my strengths and weaknesses, my hidden fears. Help me
to lay those aside and courageously follow you into everything that you have
for me. Help me to give away what needs to be given, forsake those things I
need to leave behind, and put everything I have into following you. I know you
are worthy of it, and I will be better off, but I still have a hard time doing
it. Help me with these issues I bring before you now…continue praying as you
are led…
For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:
Luke
16:21 Jesus, looking at his disciples, said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God
Luke 12:15-21 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your
guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions."
And
he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a
good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my
crops.'
"Then
he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger
ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself,
"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy;
eat, drink and be merry." '
"But
God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from
you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This
is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich
toward God."
Luke 12:32-34 “Do
not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the
kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for
yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be
exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the
eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised
those who love him?
Matt. 19:21 Jesus said to the rich
young ruler, "If you want to be
perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Rev. 3:17 You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'
But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy Brockett
of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs , Colorado
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