1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,120 Father, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity you've given us 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,880 to spend some time in the word of the Lord. 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:08,880 We thank you, Father, for your faithfulness to us. 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,360 We thank you, Lord, that you allow us to gather together in 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,720 the middle of the week to be refreshed and to refocus our 6 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:18,760 hearts and minds on things above. 7 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,000 Tonight, Lord, as we open your word, we pray that you'd open 8 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:27,000 our hearts and minds and our souls to be able to see the 9 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,120 beauty of the Lord. Thank you Father, for this 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,120 opportunity. We are grateful and we pray that 11 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,360 Lord, the things we learned tonight would take us from this 12 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:41,800 place and you and move us to be used by You for the glory of 13 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,240 your great Kingdom in Jesus name, Amen. 14 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,040 If you have your Bible, turn with me to the first recorded 15 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:56,120 sermon by our Lord in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 5, 16 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,080 the very first recorded sermon by our Lord. 17 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,640 It's the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest 18 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,920 preacher, whoever lived. And it's interesting that the 19 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,280 sermon is outside and not inside. 20 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,200 It's on the northern slopes of the Sea of Galilee where our 21 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,600 Lord would preach this sermon rather than inside of a 22 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:27,920 synagogue. Also note that this sermon is 23 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:32,720 given sitting down and not standing up. 24 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:39,200 Also, you will note that this sermon is given in great 25 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:47,320 simplicity, but the same time incredible authority as opposed 26 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:52,440 to the formality of most Jewish traditions. 27 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,920 And the way the Lord our Lord opens up the sermon is rather 28 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,560 unique for the very first word he says is blessed. 29 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:08,520 In fact, he says it 9 different times. 30 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:16,520 In other words, our Lord begins the sermon by talking about how 31 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:24,160 it is people in His Kingdom can be truly blessed. 32 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:29,400 The word is macarios, which is a word that deals with inner joy, 33 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,840 inner contentment. It's a word that that is not 34 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:39,080 obstructed by anything outward. In other words, there is no 35 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:44,680 circumstance or situation that disrupts the joy that's on the 36 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:52,560 inside because it's a unique and and special joy given to God's 37 00:02:52,560 --> 00:03:00,240 people as a gift. So he begins with gladness, He 38 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:08,280 begins with joyfulness, He begins with happiness, He begins 39 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,480 with blessedness. And this would get everybody's 40 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:18,320 attention because everybody who is there on that day is 41 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,760 associated with or know someone or has seen the miracles that 42 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,600 our Lord has taken, has, has, has done over the last several, 43 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,200 several days. Because in chapter 4, it tells 44 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,920 us that there were many people that were paralytics and 45 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,640 epileptic, and those who were blind and those who were lame, 46 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,720 those who were diseased, and all of them were healed. 47 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:47,280 And so in their minds they they were happy, in their minds they 48 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:53,280 were blessed, in their minds they had experienced great joy 49 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,600 and their family and friends were, were joyful for them 50 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:03,160 because their condition had changed drastically. 51 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:10,920 And so our Lord is going to teach them what true blessing 52 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:18,079 really is, what true happiness really is, what gladness is 53 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:21,680 really all about. He's going to teach them about 54 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,960 His Kingdom. After all, he's the king, and 55 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,360 when the king comes, he presents the Kingdom. 56 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,960 And Romans 1417 says that the Kingdom of heaven is not eating 57 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:41,560 and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 58 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,760 Spirit. That's the Kingdom of heaven. 59 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,920 And so he's going to begin by telling them about blessing, how 60 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:56,440 their lives can be truly blessed. 61 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:04,280 Now if you go back to chapter 4 and you read verse #23 it says 62 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:08,760 that Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their 63 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:14,560 synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom. 64 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,680 So this is the message that Jesus is teaching. 65 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:26,000 It's all about the good news centered on the Kingdom of God. 66 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,520 As you recall when the Angel said to the shepherds in Luke 2, 67 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,720 do not be afraid, for I bring you good news. 68 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:44,560 I bring you good tidings, I bring you the gospel, good news 69 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:50,840 that brings great joy. For unto you this day in the 70 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:54,320 city of David has been born. To save you is Christ the Lord. 71 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:57,600 So I'm bringing to you good news. 72 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,520 And that good news is going to produce great joy. 73 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,240 Why? Because the king has come. 74 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:11,280 The king has been born. So now the king is preaching 75 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:15,120 about his Kingdom. He's preaching the gospel of the 76 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,920 Kingdom. He's preaching the good news 77 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,800 about the Kingdom. And the good news about the 78 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,680 Kingdom is that which brings great joy. 79 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,720 So he begins his sermon by saying blessed. 80 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,360 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of 81 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:37,960 heaven. He's going to teach them what it 82 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:44,120 means to enter the Kingdom of heaven and how to grow up in the 83 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,240 Kingdom of heaven. He's going to teach them about 84 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,760 what the Kingdom of heaven is all about and how you live as a 85 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:56,560 child of the king. That's what Matthews 5-6 and 86 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:02,280 seven is all about. But the Lord also knows Psalm 87 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:07,960 144 verse #15 Why? Because he's the author of the 88 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:13,600 Scriptures, and so he knows Psalm 144 verse #15 which reads 89 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:19,640 this way. Blessed are the people whose God 90 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:26,640 is Lord. So he knows that the Jews for 91 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:32,040 all practical purposes, would also know Psalm 144 verse #15 92 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:40,320 that blessing comes to those who recognize that the God of Israel 93 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:47,360 is the Lord of their life. In other words, happiness and 94 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:55,960 joy, gladness and blessedness only comes to those who 95 00:07:55,960 --> 00:08:03,080 recognize that Jesus is God, who is their Lord. 96 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,880 That's why the Angel said, we bring you good news of great 97 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:09,520 joy. Why? 98 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:18,400 Because the Messiah who is the Savior is the Lord, and he has 99 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,760 arrived. So now Jesus comes, He's 100 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,960 preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and now we get a 101 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:30,480 glimpse of what it is he's been saying all along, and how it is 102 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:36,559 he says it and why he says it. It is quite unique that our Lord 103 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,280 comes, and the very first recorded sermon that he gives is 104 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,960 1 all about blessing. What about joy? 105 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,360 What about happiness? If you really want to be happy, 106 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,480 it has nothing to do with your external circumstances. 107 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:54,560 But see, we don't think that way. 108 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,240 We think that when I get something new or I I'm better 109 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,000 physically that that everything is going to be great and I can 110 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,280 be happy and joyous. But Jesus knows that that's not 111 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:08,520 where joy really lies. Joy comes because you are 112 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:12,120 blessed because God is your Lord. 113 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:14,960 So he preaches the gospel of the Kingdom. 114 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:21,880 And so we get an opportunity to examine all that Jesus says in 115 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:27,280 these three chapters. And it begins by saying blessed 116 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,360 are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 117 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,560 You see, the, the, the sermon that Jesus gives is very 118 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:41,280 pointed. It's very, it's very perplexing. 119 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:47,840 In fact, it's paradoxical because it goes against 120 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,400 everything we believe about blessing. 121 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,120 It goes against everything we understand about true happiness. 122 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:00,960 We have a different idea about what brings US joy than what 123 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:05,440 Jesus does. But Jesus is the author of joy 124 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:12,520 because he embodies the good news that brings great joy. 125 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:22,240 I love what JB Phillips says. Well he says this is the way we 126 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,800 think about life as opposed to the way Jesus talks to us about 127 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,360 life. We say happy are the pushers for 128 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:35,040 they get on in the world. Happy are the hard boiled, for 129 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:40,600 they never let life hurt them. Happy are they who complain, for 130 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:42,840 they get their own way in the end. 131 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,560 Happy are the blase, for they never worry over their sins. 132 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,640 Happy are the slave drivers, for they get results. 133 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:56,480 Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world, for they know 134 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:59,800 their way around. And happy are the troublemakers, 135 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:03,240 for they make people take notice of them. 136 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,160 In all reality, that's the way we think. 137 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:12,200 That's the way the world thinks. Be it Jesus comes along and says 138 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:17,200 something totally contrary to what even the Jewish people 139 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:21,960 believed, because He wants people to understand His Kingdom 140 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,160 and He wants people to enter His Kingdom. 141 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:31,920 After all, He's the king. He presents to them the Kingdom. 142 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,360 So tonight I'm going to cover with you 4 points. 143 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,720 They're on your notes. If you have your notes with you, 144 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,280 it's basically very simple. We're going to define for you 145 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:50,080 the condition of poor in spirit. We're going to describe to you 146 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:55,600 the consequences of poor in spirit, detail for you the 147 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:00,960 characteristics of those who are poor in spirit, and then 148 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:07,560 determine the course for those who seek to be poor in spirit. 149 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:13,560 OK, so Matthew 5 verse #4 we covered verses one and two. 150 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,000 Last week we introduced the sermon to you. 151 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:21,960 This week we cover verse number #3 Blessed are the poor in 152 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,840 spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 153 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,960 What does that mean? Well, first of all, to know what 154 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,240 it means, you must know what it doesn't mean. 155 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,000 He's not talking about financial poverty. 156 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,760 He's not talking about material poverty, economic poverty. 157 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:47,240 He's not talking about that. If that was the case, if you had 158 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,360 no money, you'd be the most joyous people around. 159 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:54,320 But you know that's not the case. 160 00:12:55,440 --> 00:13:00,040 And if you did have money and you wanted to be happy, you 161 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,000 would give it away. But if you gave it away to 162 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,920 somebody, you'd rob them of true joy because they would no longer 163 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,560 be impoverished. They would have your money. 164 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,560 So he's not talking about material poverty. 165 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:20,920 He's talking about being poor in spirit. 166 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,800 Now there's a word for normal poverty in the Greek it's Panace 167 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:30,800 and it And it deals with those who, who barely make a living 168 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,600 that they, they get paid, they, they get enough money to put 169 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:35,640 food on the table and then they're out of money. 170 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,040 They have no stockpile. They have no savings account. 171 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,560 They have no IRA, they have no retirement fund because they 172 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,840 can't afford that. They just live from paycheck to 173 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:50,320 paycheck, from paycheck to paycheck, just enough to put 174 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,480 food on their table. But that's not the word that 175 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,200 Jesus uses. He uses a completely different 176 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:00,840 word. And the word he uses is tokos. 177 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:07,200 It's from the verb toso, which means to to beg it. 178 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,720 It means in, in classical Greek, these words. 179 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:17,960 It means to cower like a beggar for someone who crouches about 180 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:24,120 wretchedly begging, covering their faiths because they are so 181 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:29,360 ashamed to be seen. That's the word that Jesus uses. 182 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,680 Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the beggarly, 183 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,200 blessed are those who have no resources there there there's no 184 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,120 most people that are poor can can scrape the bottom of the 185 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,600 barrel to just get enough to survive. 186 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:50,520 But those who are tocos there, there is no bottom of the barrel 187 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,560 to scrape. There's nothing there. 188 00:14:54,040 --> 00:15:02,760 They are unable to make it. And so the Lord is using a word 189 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:08,720 that says that you're so poor, you are bigger poor. 190 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:13,000 For instance, Luke 16 uses this word to describe Lazarus. 191 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,200 He was a beggar. He had nothing. 192 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,160 He had no skill. He had no talent. 193 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,720 He had no opportunity. He had nothing. 194 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:28,000 He was completely and totally barren. 195 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:35,880 He experienced true poverty. So the question comes, why? 196 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:41,480 Why does Jesus begin here? Why does he start out this way? 197 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:48,480 It's because this is absolutely foundational to everything that 198 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,720 Jesus says. It's pivotal to understand 199 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:56,400 exactly what Jesus is trying to communicate. 200 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,680 You need to understand this. He is speaking to a Jewish 201 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:06,440 audience, a Jewish audience by their own right, who believed 202 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:11,560 they were very self confident. They were very self assured. 203 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,520 Why? Because they really believed in 204 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:18,040 their ceremonial system. They believed in their 205 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,720 religiosity. They believed that they, as the 206 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:27,040 people of God, had certain rights and responsibilities. 207 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,920 They were the circumcised, they were different than the people 208 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,640 of the world, they saw themselves as better than 209 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:40,400 everyone else. And Jesus comes along and begins 210 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:45,360 by talking about blessing and gladness and happiness, but it 211 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:51,240 only comes to those who are truly poor in their spirit, in 212 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,720 their inner man, Not poor in their body, but poor in their 213 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,560 spirit. In fact, the Bible says this in 214 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,960 the book of Isaiah chapter 66 verse #2 You know these verses. 215 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:09,000 To this man would I look to him who is broken and of a contrite 216 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,000 heart, and who trembles at my word. 217 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,400 God says, I look at the man who was crushed in spirit, I look at 218 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,920 the man who was broken on the inside. 219 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:26,079 That's the man I look to. How about this Psalm 3418? 220 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:33,920 The Lord is near unto those who are of a broken heart, and saves 221 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:38,480 those who are of a contrite spirit. 222 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:47,040 How about Psalm 51 verse #17 King David said The sacrifices 223 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:51,720 of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. 224 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:57,680 O God, thou will not despise. And then Isaiah 5715. 225 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,800 Thus saith the high and lofty one, who inhabits eternity, 226 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:06,960 whose name is holy. I would dwell in the high and 227 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:14,040 the holy place with him also, who is of a contrite and humble 228 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:20,800 spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the 229 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:27,720 heart of the contrite ones. So here comes the king, and he 230 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,080 begins at the very outside by saying, blessed. 231 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,800 And you can imagine what people were thinking. 232 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:38,000 Psalm 14415 Blessed are those whose God is the Lord. 233 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:43,000 He says blessed, and then he says blessed are those who are 234 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:48,680 poor in spirit. Blessed are the destitute, 235 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:54,480 blessed are the unworthy, blessed are those who have 236 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:59,960 nothing to claim for themselves. Blessed are those who are 237 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:09,400 absolutely beggarly in spirit, have nothing to account for. 238 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,280 Why? Because God hates pride. 239 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:14,560 There are 6 things the Lord hates. 240 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,720 Seven, our abomination to him, the very first one is a proud 241 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,840 look. Proverbs 16, Five, the Lord says 242 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,560 cursed are those who are prideful. 243 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:30,840 The Lord is concerned. He's concerned that the people 244 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,520 in the stand, he's, he's beginning to pave the way for 245 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,600 what he's going to say in Matthew Chapter 7, when he says 246 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,840 these words, He says enter through the narrow gate. 247 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,040 For the gate is wide and the way is broad. 248 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,360 That leads to destruction. And there are many who enter 249 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,520 through it. For the gate is small and the 250 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,800 way is narrow. That leads to life and there are 251 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,360 few find it. That's his invitation at the 252 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,760 end, but he's working his way there. 253 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:00,200 He's beginning to set the tone for the narrow way. 254 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,400 He's beginning to help them say that the gate is very narrow, 255 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:08,600 the way is very small, that leads to the Kingdom of God and 256 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,800 very few people will ever find it. 257 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,000 Why? Because they're so arrogant, 258 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,920 they're so prideful. They would they believe that 259 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,560 they can earn their way to heaven, that there's something 260 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,960 that they can do that's good enough to get them into glory. 261 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,280 And the Lord begins by saying, Nope, that's not the way it is. 262 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,880 There is nothing you can do to get you into the Kingdom of 263 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,480 heaven. Everything about the Kingdom of 264 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,080 heaven is a gift. It's a gift by the grace of 265 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:42,400 Almighty God. If you got your Bible, turn with 266 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:49,200 me over to Luke. Luke chapter 16. 267 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,000 Excuse me, Luke chapter 18 and as you're turning there, I I 268 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,360 want you to remember the what Jesus said in the synagogue of 269 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:00,000 Nazareth in Luke chapter 4. Remember what he said he was 270 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,280 quoting from Isaiah 61 when he said these words. 271 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,440 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he ignored me to 272 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,000 preach the gospel to who the poor? 273 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:15,280 What those who had no money is that who you're preaching to no 274 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,240 preach the gospel to the poor. Luke 620 says blessed are the 275 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,760 poor, but but Matthew 53 defines it for us, those who are poor in 276 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:25,760 spirit. He goes on to say this in Luke 277 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,560 chapter 4. He says he has sent me to 278 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,400 proclaim release to the captives. 279 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,720 Well who who has them captive? Satan does. 280 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:39,120 He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives in 281 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:43,480 recovery of sight to the blind. Well who's blind? 282 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,800 All the unbelievers are blinded. Who they blinded by Satan 283 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,360 himself. Second Corinthians 44 to set 284 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:54,880 free all those who are oppressed. 285 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:58,240 So our Lord quotes from Isaiah 61. 286 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:00,280 This is where the sermon must begin. 287 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,200 This is how he must preach the gospel of the Kingdom, because 288 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,000 he's the Messiah, the Spirit of the Lord. 289 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,600 Is it upon him? He came to preach the gospel to 290 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:12,000 those who are poor in spirit, to those who are unworthy, to those 291 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,360 who recognize they had nothing to give to God, to those who 292 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:19,600 recognize that they were absolutely destitute and they 293 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:24,080 have to cry out for mercy. Remember in Luke chapter 18 294 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,280 verse #9 it says, and he also told this parable to some people 295 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,040 who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. 296 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,120 Who's that? That's most people. 297 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,000 They trust in themselves that they are righteous. 298 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,640 In this case, that happens to be a Pharisee, one of the religious 299 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:46,200 elites in Israel. And remember, Jesus would say 300 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,120 these words. Unless your righteousness 301 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:52,960 exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you'll never enter 302 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,480 the Kingdom of heaven. You see, the Lord is narrowing 303 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:03,480 the way into glory. He's given the gate a very small 304 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:05,600 entryway. Why? 305 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:10,000 Because very few people will ever find it. 306 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,920 Because very many people what nothing to do with it. 307 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:20,520 And so he gives this parable about those who trust in 308 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:25,520 themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with 309 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,680 contempt. And that was the Pharisees. 2 310 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,880 men went up to the temple to pray. 1A Pharisee and the other 311 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,040 a tax collector. Now remember the tax collectors 312 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:40,160 were the most despised, despicable people in Israel. 313 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,800 Why? Because they sided with Rome, 314 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:48,200 they had purchased their, their, they've become part and parcel 315 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:51,920 to all that Rome was doing to, to gather taxes from the nation 316 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:56,200 of Israel and Israel, the Jews, they hated tax gatherers. 317 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,520 So you had this Pharisee who's among the religious elite who 318 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:02,360 claims to be righteous in his own eyes. 319 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,840 And then you have this tax collector knows what it says 320 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,360 next. The Pharisee stood and was 321 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:15,320 praying thus to himself. Do you know how most people pray 322 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,000 only to themselves? They don't really pray to God. 323 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,120 They don't know God. The Pharisees praying to 324 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:28,080 himself. The Pharisee said prayers, but 325 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:33,080 the tax gatherer prayed. Big difference between saying 326 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:38,360 prayers and praying. And so he says, God, I thank you 327 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:43,000 that I am not like other people, swindlers, unjust adulterers or 328 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,760 even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. 329 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,600 I pay ties of all that I get. But the tax collector standing 330 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:53,640 some distance away was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to 331 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:58,320 heaven, but was beating his breast saying, God be merciful 332 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:02,840 to me, the Sinner. I tell you, this man went to his 333 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,520 house justified rather than the other. 334 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,640 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who 335 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,920 humbles himself will be exalted. That that's a classic 336 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:22,000 illustration of those who who in their pride saw themselves as 337 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,200 very self-righteous that they really got. 338 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:33,680 God was really, really great to have them on their side. 339 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,800 God was blessed to have the Pharisees a part of what they 340 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:47,000 believed His Kingdom was. But the tax collector, no, he 341 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,760 was broken in spirit. He wouldn't even had lift his 342 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:55,120 eyes to heaven, for he was completely and totally ashamed 343 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,800 of his condition. So what's he do? 344 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:04,440 He cries out for mercy. He pleads for God to be merciful 345 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,200 to him, and the Lord says, Which one do you think was justified? 346 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,880 The Pharisee who prayed to himself, the Pharisee who who 347 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,720 believed that he was righteous and good enough in his own eyes, 348 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:22,560 or the man who recognized he had nothing and therefore had 349 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:28,680 nothing to offer to the Lord? The first principle of the 350 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:35,080 sermon is this. You can't do anything to enter 351 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:40,600 the Kingdom of heaven. You can't make it on your own. 352 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:50,640 It requires total dependency. It requires you to recognize 353 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:56,440 your complete inadequacy. You have nothing to offer God, 354 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,480 nothing that will merit his favor. 355 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:05,600 You have nothing but a broken and contrite spirit. 356 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:10,600 Why? Because you're a Sinner and your 357 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,840 sin has separated you from your God. 358 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,280 Remember, the Lord is offering His Kingdom. 359 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:20,560 He's offering to the multitude how they can get into the 360 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,440 Kingdom. And this is foundational to all 361 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,640 of Christ's teaching. It's pivotal to understand this 362 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:33,760 because most people would just say, hey, you know, you, you 363 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,040 want to, you want to go to heaven, just say a prayer. 364 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,760 Just believe in Jesus. That's all you got to do. 365 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,080 But Jesus never said that. See, Jesus presented the truth 366 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:50,360 of the gospel and so many people today think they're on the way 367 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,440 to heaven because they walked an aisle, they signed a card, they 368 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,880 they said a prayer or somebody guaranteed then that Oh yeah, 369 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,560 because you, you believe in Jesus, you're on your way to 370 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,800 heaven. But they never recognized their 371 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,360 unworthiness. They never saw themselves as 372 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:14,960 separated from God in a sinful condition and begged for mercy 373 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,840 because they had nothing to offer God. 374 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:24,680 That's the condition #2 what are the consequences? 375 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,040 Well, blessed are the poor and spirit, for, for there's the 376 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:33,000 Kingdom of heaven. What are the consequences? 377 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:40,760 Well, immediately you are truly blessed and ultimately you will 378 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:45,120 be totally blessed. But immediately you are truly 379 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:51,400 blessed because he says, blessed are those the blessing comes to, 380 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:56,360 those who enter the Kingdom on my terms, those who come to me 381 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:01,360 my way. True blessing comes in fact, it 382 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,080 says over in the book of Ephesians. 383 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,680 These words, Ephesians one verse #3 blessed be the God and Father 384 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:11,520 of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual 385 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,840 blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 386 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:21,320 In other words, you are blessed with all the heavenly blessings 387 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,600 because you're in Christ. Think about it. 388 00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:31,880 Your righteousness you have, because He is righteous, His 389 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:36,040 power becomes your power. His position becomes your 390 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,360 position. God is love. 391 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:41,560 Romans 55 says the love of God has shed it. 392 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:46,320 Broaden your hearts. God is peace in Christ as my 393 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:51,040 peace I give unto you. God himself is joy. 394 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,400 He says, I've spoken to these things unto you, that your joy 395 00:29:55,400 --> 00:30:02,800 may be made full. God is strong and therefore we 396 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,960 are able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can 397 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,920 ever ask or think by the power of God that works within us. 398 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,720 In other words, we, we are, we are blessed immediately. 399 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:16,960 Why? Because the Kingdom of heaven is 400 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,640 righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 401 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,640 So the joy automatically comes the moment you recognize that 402 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:27,240 you have nothing to offer God, that there is absolutely no way 403 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,680 you can earn favor with God. You can merit your way into 404 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,120 glory. You can't give Him anything 405 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,640 because he's all sufficient. He needs nothing from you except 406 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:42,360 a broken and contrite spirit that's totally depended upon 407 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:47,000 someone else to bring them into the Kingdom. 408 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,520 And that's exactly what Christ does. 409 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,280 So immediately you're truly blessed, but ultimately you'll 410 00:30:56,280 --> 00:31:02,680 be fully and eternally blessed over and the book of Ephesians 411 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:06,520 again, chapter 2 verse #5 look what it says. 412 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:10,200 It says these words, even when we were dead in our 413 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,560 transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by grace, 414 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:18,520 who had been saved, and raised us up with Him and seated us 415 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,520 with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the 416 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:29,200 ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace 417 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:34,240 and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 418 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:39,200 So in the ages to come, what the Lord's going to do is complete 419 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:43,080 the salvation that you have when you give your life to Christ 420 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:47,720 with a totally glorified body, and you will be in the presence 421 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:49,040 of Almighty God. Think about it. 422 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,320 We when we enter the Kingdom, the Bible says that we are a 423 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:57,440 Kingdom of priests. We, we the priesthood of the 424 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:01,120 believer is part of the joy and part of the the gladness and 425 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,840 part of the happiness that's ours because we are a truly 426 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,480 blessed people because of what God has done. 427 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:12,320 We are blessed because we escape the eternal fires of hell. 428 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,920 We are blessed because Christ dwells in US. 429 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:21,640 We are blessed because all that Christ is and has, we have. 430 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:26,360 We are heirs with God, joint heirs with Christ, and Christ 431 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,400 inherits the entire earth and so do we. 432 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:31,720 Why? Because we are children of the 433 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,960 King. Whatever the king has, his 434 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:40,320 children have, and therefore we experience the true blessing of 435 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:45,080 God. Point #3 What are the 436 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:49,800 characteristics of those who are poor in spirit 1 is this. 437 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:56,640 They focus on God and forget themselves. 438 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:04,480 Those who are poor in spirit focus on God and they forget 439 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,360 themselves. Why? 440 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:15,360 Because they recognize that their life is nothing without 441 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:19,160 Christ. So they completely focused on 442 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,680 the Lord at the rite of Hebrews fix your eyes on Jesus, the 443 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,680 author and finisher of our faith, like Paul would say in 444 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,640 Colossians chapter 3, set your affection on things above. 445 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:34,080 Set your mind heavenward. You're focused on the Lord. 446 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:39,200 You see when when when you are poor in spirit because you're 447 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:43,080 you're a you're a beggar. The only thing you want to look 448 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:48,000 to is, is the one who saves you. So that's your focus. 449 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:55,960 And you focus on the Lord so much so that you truly forget 450 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,760 yourself. You get lost in the wonder of 451 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:03,160 Christ. You get lost in the beauty of 452 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:05,880 Christ. See that? 453 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,600 That's why that's why people don't want to give their life to 454 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:10,920 Christ because they want to focus on themselves. 455 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:16,639 They they love themselves so much, but to give themselves 456 00:34:16,639 --> 00:34:22,000 away and to focus on the Christ and to forget about themselves 457 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:26,120 that that's a characteristic of those who are are poor in 458 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:28,080 spirit. What are you on the Baptist say 459 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:33,000 he must increase and I must decrease. 460 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:40,520 I am not even worthy to untie his sandals. 461 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:46,080 He must increase, I must decrease. 462 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,320 But in our vernacular it's different. 463 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,560 We have to increase, we have to be seen. 464 00:34:55,719 --> 00:35:02,600 But those who are poor in spirit, no, they focus on God 465 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:08,360 and forget themselves. Number 2, they forfeit their 466 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,880 agenda in order to fulfill God's agenda. 467 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:22,880 They forfeit their agenda in order to fulfill God's agenda. 468 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:29,200 We all have an agenda. We all have plans, and rightly 469 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:30,480 so. You should make plans. 470 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,120 There's nothing wrong with that. You should be organized. 471 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:38,120 You should be disciplined, but but but the the true essence of 472 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:45,160 those who are are poor in spirit is that they they don't override 473 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:50,560 God's agenda with theirs. They forfeit and they're willing 474 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:57,440 to forgo their agenda to do what God wants for them to do. 475 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,800 Thomas Watson, who's written a book on the Beatitudes, one of 476 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:05,040 those great Puritan reformers, said this. 477 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:09,960 He said a castle has long been besieged and is ready to be 478 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:15,200 taken, will deliver up on any terms to save their lives. 479 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:20,680 He whose heart has been a Garrison for the devil, and has 480 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:26,080 held out long in opposition against Christ, when once God 481 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:30,520 has brought into poverty of spirit, he sees himself damned 482 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:35,640 without Christ. Let God propound what articles 483 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:39,680 He will, and he will readily subscribe to them. 484 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:44,360 Lord, what will thou have me to do? 485 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:51,360 In other words, when you realize who the king is, the only 486 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:55,080 question is, or the only answer to the Lord is, is yes. 487 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,120 To every question, to every command that God gives, the 488 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:03,000 answer is yes, because my agenda is irrelevant. 489 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,360 I'm a child of the King. I want to fulfill the King's 490 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:11,800 agenda. My agenda takes a back seat to 491 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:23,320 God's agenda #3 those who are poor in spirit find good in 492 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:33,520 others and not false in others. Think of the of the Pharisee. 493 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:38,360 I thank you that I am not like the adulterer, I'm not like the 494 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,240 swindler. I thank you that I am so much 495 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:45,760 better than they are. That's what his prayer was all 496 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:53,000 about as he prayed to himself. But the one who is poor in 497 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:59,440 spirit, as the Bible says in Philippians 23, he esteems 498 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:06,280 others better than himself. Those who are poor in spirit 499 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:14,800 always find themselves looking up to everyone else and never 500 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:20,800 looking down on anyone. That's those who are poor in 501 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,480 spirit. And #4 another characteristic of 502 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:29,400 those who are poor in spirit, they they fear God alone and 503 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:33,560 fall down before him in humble Thanksgiving. 504 00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:40,520 That they fear God alone and fall down before him in humble 505 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:45,960 Thanksgiving. That they want to give thanks to 506 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:47,720 God. Thanks being to God for his 507 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:52,080 indescribable gift. Beggars are extremely thankful 508 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:56,840 because they have nothing, and when they get something, when 509 00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:00,000 they, when they get the grace, when they, when they receive the 510 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,760 mercy, they are nothing but thankful to God for what He has 511 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,880 done for them. They can't help but be overjoyed 512 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:11,400 with praise and Thanksgiving because they live in the fear of 513 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,200 God all day long. There is No Fear of God before 514 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,240 the eye of the unbeliever. Romans 3 tells us that only the 515 00:39:18,240 --> 00:39:22,640 believer truly fears the one true and living God. 516 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:29,400 That's why the psalmist said, blessed are the people whose God 517 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:35,640 is their Lord. So what is the course? 518 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:41,520 What's the course of action? Let me give you several 519 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:56,600 principles that will help you #1 you need to see clearly your own 520 00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:02,400 condition. You just see clearly what the 521 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:08,360 Lord is saying. You didn't see clearly your own 522 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:13,440 depravity. There's been a misunderstanding 523 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,080 in the evangelicalism as to what depravity is. 524 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:21,400 People think that depravity is you being as bad as you possibly 525 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:25,640 can be as a Sinner. That's not what depravity is. 526 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:33,640 Depravity simply is defined by the inability to do anything. 527 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:39,040 That's depravity. Because you're a Sinner and 528 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:43,920 you're separated from God, you are unable to do anything. 529 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,040 You're dead. Your mind is dead. 530 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:53,360 Your will is dead. Your heart is dead, your life is 531 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:55,800 dead, you're dead and your trespasses and sin. 532 00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:03,560 So a person who is depraved is unable to do anything but 533 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:05,760 respond to the call of God in his life. 534 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,240 And the only way he responds to the call of God in his life is 535 00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:13,120 because God draws him. God calls him, God compels him 536 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:19,200 to come and you need to see clearly what, what, what poverty 537 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,240 of spirit really is. That's the condition of of the 538 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:26,080 lost soul. That's why Christ begins here. 539 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,520 He has to begin here. He came to preach the gospel to 540 00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:34,040 those who are poor in spirit, to those who are have been blinded 541 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:38,280 by Satan, to those who are are captive by Satan, to those who 542 00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,400 are pressed under the bondage of sin. 543 00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:46,480 He's going to preach to them that they might be set free and 544 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,480 believe the truth of the gospel. You need to be able to see 545 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:58,720 clearly your condition. Depravity is simply defined as 546 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:05,440 nobody qualifies. Nobody qualifies for heaven, 547 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:08,320 Nobody. That's depravity. 548 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:14,760 And once you begin to recognize that, once you see clearly your 549 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:22,160 condition #2 then you surrender fully to the Lord. 550 00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:28,480 You surrender fully to the Lord. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 551 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:34,360 9 says the exact same thing says here, except different words. 552 00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:41,280 If any man come after me, let deny himself, take up his cross 553 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:46,960 and follow me if you want to, If you want to come after me, you, 554 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:50,720 you've got to recognize that you have to surrender fully to me. 555 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:55,480 You got to deny yourself you. You got to say no to your 556 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:59,880 aspirations and no to your dreams and and no to all your 557 00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:02,520 desires and hopes. Say no to all that. 558 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:08,400 Deny yourself and follow me that that's Kingdom living, that's 559 00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:13,160 Kingdom entry. That's the person who recognizes 560 00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:15,080 that he has nothing to offer God. 561 00:43:16,240 --> 00:43:19,080 And when you recognize that, it's easy to deny yourself 562 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,400 because you have nothing to offer the Lord. 563 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:25,680 And so you come after him because you, you have 564 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:32,440 surrendered fully to him. Once you see clearly you have 565 00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:37,120 nothing to offer, you beg for mercy, and you surrender fully 566 00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:43,080 to Him. And like the the tax collector 567 00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:47,520 in Luke 18, O Lord, be merciful unto me, a Sinner. 568 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:52,880 I don't deserve mercy, I don't deserve grace. 569 00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:55,440 I don't deserve the gift of salvation. 570 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:57,400 I deserve nothing. I deserve hell. 571 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:01,360 That's what I deserve. But because of God's grace and 572 00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:06,760 God's mercy, I am granted heaven, and that's the one who 573 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:11,640 was poor in spirit. So you, you see to see clearly 574 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:18,440 your condition so that you can surrender fully to the Lord. 575 00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:25,240 After you surrender fully, you submit daily. 576 00:44:27,360 --> 00:44:32,080 If any man came after me LED deny himself, die himself and 577 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:39,920 take up his cross daily and follow me after you surrendered 578 00:44:39,920 --> 00:44:46,040 fully, you submit daily. You submit immediately, You 579 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:48,800 submit continually. Why? 580 00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:51,240 Because you're a child of the king. 581 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:56,040 He's the king. So whatever the king commands, 582 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:59,520 you do your servants in his Kingdom. 583 00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:06,600 So you follow the king like those in Revelation 14 to 584 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:12,000 144,000 Jewish evangelists who have been marked by God in 585 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:16,200 Revelation 7. And then when you come to 586 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:19,960 Revelation 14, they're standing on Mount Zion at the end of the 587 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:23,400 tribulation. All 144,000 of them. 588 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:26,240 Not one of them was lost throughout the seven-year 589 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:27,680 tribulation. Why? 590 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:32,800 Because they follow the Lamb wherever He went, they submitted 591 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:37,360 continually to the Lamb, They submitted daily to the Lamb, 592 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,480 They took up the cross daily and followed Him. 593 00:45:41,720 --> 00:45:45,120 That's what it means to understand the course of action 594 00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:51,480 to those who are poor in spirit. They see clearly their 595 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:58,640 condition, they surrender fully to their King, and they submit 596 00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:06,320 daily to His commands. Remember Philippians 3 verse #3 597 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:11,200 the definition of a Christian. We are the marked ones. 598 00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:17,640 We worship God in spirit, we glory only in Christ Jesus and 599 00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:24,920 we put no confidence in the flesh that that's the person who 600 00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:29,440 recognizes poverty of spirit. There is no confidence. 601 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:33,040 There's no self assurance. There's no self-confidence in 602 00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:34,760 themselves. That's why Christ said without 603 00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:38,920 me ye can do nothing. John 15 verse #5 You can't. 604 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,480 You can't get saved without Christ. 605 00:46:42,720 --> 00:46:46,000 You can't walk and live the Christian life without Christ. 606 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:49,480 You can't live as a child of the King without Christ. 607 00:46:50,440 --> 00:46:54,720 Without me you can do nothing. You must walk in the Spirit, you 608 00:46:54,720 --> 00:46:59,240 must submit daily because you've surrendered fully, simply, 609 00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:08,040 because you've seen clearly what He has said, and then #4 seek 610 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:14,520 earnestly the Kingdom of God. Matthew 633. 611 00:47:15,160 --> 00:47:21,280 We'll get to this in a few few months when Christ said, Seek ye 612 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:27,720 first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these 613 00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:32,480 things shall be added unto you, but you must seek first his 614 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:36,960 Kingdom. There's this seeking. 615 00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:42,400 It's it's, it's basically what he says later on in the Sermon 616 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:46,360 on the Mount when he says keep asking, keep seeking, keep 617 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:48,040 knocking. Why? 618 00:47:48,240 --> 00:47:50,600 Because beggars are always asking. 619 00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:54,880 Beggars are always seeking, That's what beggars do. 620 00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:59,360 And so there's an earnestness behind my seeking after God, 621 00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:02,200 wanting to be like my God. It's constant. 622 00:48:02,320 --> 00:48:08,040 It's over and over again because I am beggarly poor and I need my 623 00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:13,280 God. So I seek earnestly His Kingdom, 624 00:48:14,240 --> 00:48:23,720 because he's the king of that Kingdom #5 You study fervently 625 00:48:25,400 --> 00:48:27,920 the Scriptures. Why? 626 00:48:28,560 --> 00:48:30,480 Because you want to get to know the King. 627 00:48:31,760 --> 00:48:36,400 You want to get to know Him more and more because the more you 628 00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:43,640 see His Holiness, the more you sense your unworthiness and your 629 00:48:43,720 --> 00:48:47,760 sinfulness. And so you want to seek Him, You 630 00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:50,560 want to search the scriptures, You want to know more and more 631 00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:52,960 about Him. And so you study fervently the 632 00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:56,760 scriptures. Listen, if you are a beggar, if 633 00:48:56,760 --> 00:49:01,320 you are poor in spirit, you can't help but go to the only 634 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:05,800 place that feeds you. It's the bread of life. 635 00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:10,720 And Christ says man shall not live by bread alone, but by 636 00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:14,240 every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 637 00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:20,760 And beggars want to be fed. They will go wherever food is 638 00:49:20,760 --> 00:49:24,720 given. They will be wherever food is 639 00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:28,520 dished out. And they know it comes only from 640 00:49:28,520 --> 00:49:31,440 the Scriptures. So they will study it fervently 641 00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:36,320 because they want to be fed on the bread of life that sustains 642 00:49:36,320 --> 00:49:44,760 them from day-to-day. Number six, if you're counting, 643 00:49:46,600 --> 00:49:48,480 if you're not counting, it's still number six. 644 00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:54,120 And that is this. Serve faithfully. 645 00:49:55,840 --> 00:49:59,920 Those who are in the Kingdom serve the King. 646 00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:04,320 That's what they do. They can't help but serve them. 647 00:50:05,080 --> 00:50:09,360 I mean, think about it, when you get to eternal glory, the Bible 648 00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:11,360 says that we will serve him day and night. 649 00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:15,440 Doing what? I have no idea, but he's the 650 00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:18,880 king. And it's, it's, it's a joy to 651 00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:22,640 serve the king. And so you serve faithfully and 652 00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:29,880 in the service of the king. You need no recognition from 653 00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:32,960 anyone else because you're serving the king. 654 00:50:34,240 --> 00:50:37,440 That's so important. Those who, who are poor in 655 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:40,360 spirit, they, they, they, they want to serve the king because 656 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:45,000 of what the king has done, and they don't care whether or not 657 00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:49,920 anyone else notices or not. They serve faithfully the king 658 00:50:50,720 --> 00:50:53,800 because they love him. So. 659 00:50:55,200 --> 00:51:03,600 Here's another one #7 You will sing joyously. 660 00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:11,800 You will sing joyously. Listen to Psalm 149. 661 00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:19,400 Let the godly ones exulting glory, let them sing for joy on 662 00:51:19,400 --> 00:51:26,840 their beds, let the high praise of God be in their mouth. 663 00:51:28,160 --> 00:51:36,960 And then over in Psalm 132 verse #16 her godly ones will sing 664 00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:43,800 aloud for joy. You see when when you receive 665 00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:51,040 mercy and grace amidst all your unworthiness and knowing that 666 00:51:51,040 --> 00:51:57,560 you do not deserve anything, you break out in song and you sing 667 00:51:57,800 --> 00:51:59,680 what the Bible calls the new song. 668 00:52:00,280 --> 00:52:06,600 The new song simply is the song of the redeemed soul made new. 669 00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:12,360 That's the new song is and you sing for the glory and honor of 670 00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:15,480 the King. But let me give you another one. 671 00:52:15,480 --> 00:52:18,280 As I was thinking today, I'm going to give you another one, 672 00:52:18,560 --> 00:52:26,680 and that's this. Stand courageously, stand 673 00:52:26,680 --> 00:52:29,360 courageously. This is so good. 674 00:52:29,440 --> 00:52:31,440 What? You're a child of the King, 675 00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:35,320 right? You, you, you, you have the 676 00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:39,920 robes of righteousness, the garments of God that clothe you. 677 00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:44,600 You're equipped with the with the armor of God in Ephesians 678 00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:50,840 chapter chapter 6, right? You're a priest in the Kingdom 679 00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:54,480 of God. Why would you not stand 680 00:52:54,480 --> 00:52:58,760 courageously against all those outside the Kingdom? 681 00:53:00,440 --> 00:53:06,240 You're a child of the king. You stand for something great. 682 00:53:07,160 --> 00:53:11,320 You stand for the King, you stand for the Lord and his 683 00:53:11,320 --> 00:53:14,760 glory. You stand courageously. 684 00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:24,880 And one more Speak boldly, speak boldly. 685 00:53:26,480 --> 00:53:30,120 Speak boldly about the good news that brings great joy. 686 00:53:32,320 --> 00:53:36,040 Speak truthfully about the good news that brings great joy. 687 00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:42,640 Don't water down the gospel. Remember the rich, rich ruler 688 00:53:42,640 --> 00:53:48,560 who came to Christ when he said, good teacher, what must I do to 689 00:53:49,240 --> 00:53:54,960 inherit the Kingdom of God? Christ could say, hey, say this 690 00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:58,960 prayer and you're in. He never did that. 691 00:54:00,760 --> 00:54:06,480 Raise your hand, you're in. No, never said that. 692 00:54:08,240 --> 00:54:10,920 He told him keep the commandments. 693 00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:13,680 Keep the commandments. Why? 694 00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:15,800 Because you see, if you can keep the commandments, you can get 695 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:18,680 in. You can, but nobody can. 696 00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:22,240 Nobody will be justified by the deeds of the law. 697 00:54:22,240 --> 00:54:26,520 Romans 319 But the standard is perfection, right? 698 00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:29,880 Matthew 548 Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. 699 00:54:31,320 --> 00:54:34,840 So keep them all without reservation, without sinning, 700 00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:37,720 ever. Keep the commands. 701 00:54:39,240 --> 00:54:41,640 What are the commands? You says on your father and 702 00:54:41,640 --> 00:54:46,000 mother, don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't cheat, don't do 703 00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:48,600 that. I I've done all that. 704 00:54:49,280 --> 00:54:53,040 See, he was self-righteous. And that's why Jesus goes on to 705 00:54:53,040 --> 00:54:57,040 say, you have heard that it was said, you're not to commit 706 00:54:57,040 --> 00:55:00,800 adultery. And they would all say Amen, 707 00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:03,840 Amen. And he says, But I say unto you, 708 00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:06,040 But I say unto you, What do you mean? 709 00:55:06,040 --> 00:55:11,520 But but I see into you. If you look after a woman and 710 00:55:11,520 --> 00:55:14,240 lust for her in your heart, you've already committed 711 00:55:14,240 --> 00:55:20,640 adultery in your heart. See, he, he breaks down the law 712 00:55:20,640 --> 00:55:25,200 to its most intimate details. You've heard that I've said 713 00:55:25,200 --> 00:55:28,360 don't murder. Of course not. 714 00:55:28,720 --> 00:55:32,640 I'm not going to murder anybody that'll get me into heaven. 715 00:55:33,480 --> 00:55:37,040 But if you hate your brother, you've committed murder in your 716 00:55:37,040 --> 00:55:42,920 heart. See that no one can keep the law 717 00:55:42,920 --> 00:55:44,360 perfectly, but that's the standard. 718 00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:48,240 Christ embodied the law. He fulfilled the law, right? 719 00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:50,720 Because he, but he was a perfect God. 720 00:55:50,720 --> 00:55:52,480 He, he could keep the perfect standard. 721 00:55:54,320 --> 00:55:57,920 And so you have to you have to realize that that when you when 722 00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:00,960 you, when you look at the rich young ruler, Christ says to him, 723 00:56:02,240 --> 00:56:06,320 when, after he says, I've done all that Christ says, so all you 724 00:56:06,320 --> 00:56:09,440 had give to the poor and follow me. 725 00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:13,480 But he couldn't do that. Why? 726 00:56:13,480 --> 00:56:17,920 Because his riches were as God. He was an idolater in his heart 727 00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:23,000 and he went away. And the Bible says the Mark's 728 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:25,480 Gospel that Christ felt sadness for him. 729 00:56:27,920 --> 00:56:32,560 Think about that. Our Lord was saddened over the 730 00:56:32,560 --> 00:56:39,240 fact that somebody had another God other than him, because 731 00:56:39,240 --> 00:56:42,160 there is no other God, there's only one. 732 00:56:42,160 --> 00:56:44,960 But in his own mind he was an idolater. 733 00:56:46,880 --> 00:56:51,160 But Christ didn't make it easy for him to get to heaven, made 734 00:56:51,160 --> 00:56:52,840 it very difficult for him to get there. 735 00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:58,560 Not because He doesn't want people in heaven, but He wants 736 00:56:58,560 --> 00:57:01,600 them to understand that entry into My Kingdom. 737 00:57:03,760 --> 00:57:06,200 It's only available to those who recognize they have nothing to 738 00:57:06,200 --> 00:57:09,640 offer me. They have nothing to give. 739 00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:16,840 You are complete spiritually destitute. 740 00:57:18,640 --> 00:57:22,600 You are begging poor. You have nothing. 741 00:57:24,520 --> 00:57:28,320 But when you come to that place, you are truly the blessed 742 00:57:28,320 --> 00:57:30,680 person. Why? 743 00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:32,120 Because yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. 744 00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:36,360 This is how you get in. This is how you grow up in the 745 00:57:36,360 --> 00:57:39,440 Kingdom. And these are things that Christ 746 00:57:39,440 --> 00:57:41,200 has said all throughout his ministry. 747 00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:44,360 As we go through the the Beatitudes, we'll show you how 748 00:57:44,360 --> 00:57:48,200 Christ has has said these things in different ways all throughout 749 00:57:48,200 --> 00:57:52,360 his ministry because this is the gospel of the Kingdom. 750 00:57:55,080 --> 00:58:03,160 So when the psalmist said blessed are the people whose God 751 00:58:03,440 --> 00:58:12,840 is the Lord, the only question left for you is this is the Lord 752 00:58:12,840 --> 00:58:21,800 Jesus Christ your King, Because if he is, you are truly blessed. 753 00:58:22,320 --> 00:58:24,720 Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord for 754 00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:28,120 tonight, the opportunity you give us to look into your word. 755 00:58:28,760 --> 00:58:30,560 Truly, Lord, you are a great God. 756 00:58:31,320 --> 00:58:34,120 Truly Lord, you have allowed us to be able to understand the 757 00:58:34,120 --> 00:58:38,640 truth of the gospel and that there's so much that you say in 758 00:58:38,640 --> 00:58:44,000 this, this very short sermon that that is so impactful for 759 00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:47,480 every one of us. Our prayer, Father, is that we 760 00:58:47,480 --> 00:58:53,560 would take the heart what Your Word truly says, and we would 761 00:58:54,080 --> 00:58:59,840 not just seem joyously, but we'd speak boldly and stand 762 00:58:59,840 --> 00:59:03,120 courageously on the truth of Your Word. 763 00:59:04,120 --> 00:59:08,480 And that Lord, we would truly see clearly our condition that 764 00:59:08,480 --> 00:59:15,000 we might surrender fully to You, submitting daily to the commands 765 00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:21,720 of our God, searching diligently the Word of the Lord, knowing 766 00:59:21,720 --> 00:59:27,160 that as beggars we need to be fed, and it only comes from the 767 00:59:27,160 --> 00:59:30,560 bread of life. For that we are thankful. 768 00:59:31,040 --> 00:59:32,800 In Jesus name, Amen.