HAPPY ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." - Matthew 5.3 What does it mean to be poor? + Been reading "Happy, Happy, Happy" by Phil Robertson the past few weeks + You'll hear a lot about DD this week I guess + But the book is an account of PR life, 1st chapter is called "Low-Tech Man" + When he was young his family was dirt poor in the 1950s in W Louisiana + They didn't really know they were poor though + The grew their own food - gardens, chickens, cows + They lived in a three room "shotgun" house - shared a room w/three older brothers + They would pile up blankets in winter because there was no heat + Lots of sleepless nights due to the cold + For five dollars every few months they would buy sugar, flour, salt, pepper + Hardly had 5 dollars to spend, much less the gas to get to town + No internet, no cell phones, no PS3 or Xbox, no modern comforts + How did they survive??? + I got to see poor for my own eyes… + Our church sponsors a work in Colonet, Mexico (4 hrs south of San Deigo) + People a block from the church building were living in storage sheds + They had sheets for doors, and dirt floors + They crammed half a dozen people into a space smaller than your room + Children looked like they'd never bathed in their lives + THAT was poor + You want to talk about poor? + Spend a week in PR's shoes as a kid. Or in one of the Mexican's in Colonet. + Some of us understand what it is to be poor, but not most of us. + We live in the richest country in the world + The poorest person here has more than 85% of the rest of the world! + So what does it mean to be poor in spirit? + And why would Jesus say that the happy people are the ones who are poor in spirit? It may seem confusing, but we're going to look at that idea today. Open up your Bibles! I don't understand this, because it seems to me that we ought to strive to be rich in spirit, not poor. Or am I missing the point? Your confusion is understandable; after all, the Bible warns us about being just empty shells. Our spirit and worship should be authentic. Let's talk about that FIRST word briefly - blessed. Blessed means happy. That's what the word literally means. Last week, my wife and I were blessed enough to get a cool new van. That van made us very happy because it made our lives easier. Also it signified that we are officially OLD. 21 months ago, my wife and were blessed to have a baby boy. He is the cutest little boy on the planet, I don't care what anyone says. On July 4th last week as well I was blessed enough to see my family and get me a bellyful of my dad's homemade ribs. THAT definitely makes me happy. So when Jesus starts talking here in Matthew 5, he's not starting on a negative note. He's not blanking the Pharisees with a rebuke here saying "You brood of vipers" and so on. He's not even negative criticism of the scribes and Pharisees, even though they were mean and out to get him at every chance they got. He simply begins with a little section we call the Beatitudes. Have you ever wondered why they're called the Beatitudes? Because when Jesus says these things, we should try to BE like these ATTITUDES! See, the Pharisees had a different idea - they thought that praying, fasting, and worshipping - things that are done on the outside - were the keys to serving God. Jesus reversed that thought on them and said it's not what you do on the outside that matters - although it's important - it's what's on the inside, your heart - that really matters. In fact, when Jesus used this word "blessed", it may have even shocked the crowd. See, whereas you and I today say that we're blessed for this and that, this was not as common of a word used 2000 years ago. In fact, it wasn't even a word that was used for humans! It really meant "divine joy and perfect happiness," and it described the only kind of joy experienced by the gods or by the dead. So why would Jesus ask us to seek spiritual poverty? "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). What did He mean? Simply this: We must be humble in our spirits. If you put the word "humble" in place of the word "poor," you will understand what He meant. In other words, when we come to God, we must realize our own sin and our spiritual emptiness and poverty. This verse literally tells us the attitude we should have to view ourselves. We must not be self-satisfied or proud in our hearts, thinking we don't really need God. If we are, God cannot bless us. The Bible says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Pride can take all kinds of forms, but the worst is spiritual pride. Often the richer we are in things, the poorer we are in our hearts. We take advantage. Have you noticed that? + When we are poor in something, we appreciate that thing so much more + I love church camp, BUT… + You don't realize how good something is until it's gone + AC, running water, my BED… + So why is it that we only look to God when something is wrong? + Do you know what the single largest spike in church attendance in the last 50 years was? September 11. How crazy is that? + When things God wrong, people FLOCK to God + But when things are going ok, we seem to not have a need for Him + That's why it was hard for the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and follow Jesus, because he "had great possessions." Things were going ok for him, and he didn't want to sacrifice his STUFF for following Jesus. Which brings up a great mid-talk question here: What is something that is keeping you from serving God? Is it STUFF? Is it popularity? Is it sex or drugs? Is it apathy - maybe you just don't care? What is holding you back from serving God today? So let's rephrase our verse this morning: "Happy are the humble in spirit, for theirs in the Kingdom of God." + That word 'blessed' is translated 'happy' as well, you can use either/or + Then that word poor was replaced by 'humble': we should never be prideful or arrogant in our love for Christ + But then there's that last phrase, "for theirs is the Kingdom of God." + Know what this means to me? + "With less on me, there is more of God." + Jesus says that true happiness involves being humble here, and the more humble we are the less of us there is to get in the way of us serving God. + Think about that - who controls who you serve? Is it your teachers? Your parents? The youth group? JD? No? Who is it then? + It's YOU. YOU control your actions, what you say, who you hang out with - YOU. + And it is up to YOU to not let YOURSELF get in the way of serving God! + Because the decision resides with YOU - not your parents, your church, or your youth min + When this world is destroyed and everything is done and you stand in front of God at the gates of heaven, he will not hold your parents or anyone else responsible, it's YOU As we close this morning, and I hope I've given you a jump-off point for starting your week, we need to realize that we need to be honest with ourselves. That's the main idea that Jesus is trying to get through to us here - it's that we must be humble, but not miserable. We must realize that only being ourselves will make us true Christians. I was young once. Now I have a minivan and I'm not anymore. But I was young not so long ago, and I remember all the things I wanted to be. I remember wanting to be older, I wanted to have more muscles, I wanted to get my braces off, I wanted to be a chick magnet, I wanted to have my own car. Let me tell you a little secret: it doesn't get any easier when you get older. I want a lot of the same things for myself, I'm just older now. We must have our identity in God and Jesus, and not in the things of this world. We must look at ourselves and see that we should humble ourselves before our Creator and see his magnificence and know that we cannot live without Him. While the world tells us to do what we want, Jesus says something else. He says the reason we exist is to magnify God, our Creator, in everything that we do. You want to know the first step to happiness? Humble yourself before God. We will be happy because we are poor in spirit, and we will inherit the Kingdom of God.