2. Suffering, Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the Poor in Spirit.

This message originally delivered on November 16, 1997 PM.

This is a short series of 6 topical messages that are collected together under the “Suffering Series” title.  The sub-title on a couple of the tapes is “Why God Allows Suffering & Pain in Our LIves” and “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit”.  Some of the scriptures used are Psalm 32, 51, Matthew 5:3, etc.

Transcript

Kimber Kauffman: 0:00

These in turn to Matthew chapter five. As you're turning there, I'd like to remind you that we talked this morning about impressing God. Hopefully you took from that, that it is possible to impress the Almighty God, when we seriously deal with our sin by telling God the truth and not hiding from him by showing that we are broken and contrite over our sin, and demonstrating the fact that we look at sin the way he does, and that we're on his side and we understand that that's what put Jesus on the cross. And maybe you didn't get all that out of it, but I'm just giving you some of the things that we talked about this morning. In Matthew, chapter five, we have the greatest sermon ever preached the Sermon on the Mount, given by Jesus Christ. This sermon is so wonderful. Allow me to read you two clips concerning this sermon, one from a believer and one from an unbeliever. Because we're going to look tonight today, tonight at what Jesus says more about impressing God can't use rites there is nothing quite like the beatitudes in all of Scripture. They are the opening lines of the greatest sermon ever preached. Their very position makes them seminal to life. They are indicators of genuine faith. They are absolutely crucial. The Lord gives them to us in Matthew as eight consecutive spiritual aid bombs, concentrated theological bombs that detonate with increasing effect. Each beatitude stands upon the preceding statements mounting a ruthless theological logic that assaults the soul with hammer like power. The result is a graced heroine of our souls, they expose the true state of our hearts and calls to even higher planes of holy living in demonstrating the postures of regeneration. an unbeliever Dr. JT Fisher's, a secular psychiatrist writes this, if you were to take the sum total of all the authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologist and psychiatrist on the subject of mental hygiene, if you were to combine them and refine them and clear out the excess verbiage, if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and incomplete summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably through comparison. Here rest the blueprint for successful human life with optimum mental health and contentment. I like that quite a statement, isn't it? Jesus sits down with his disciples opens his mouth and says, Bless it, or the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Why does he say that to start? Who is somebody that really impresses God? Somebody that really impresses God is someone who's poor in spirit. Let's find out what that means. First off, please let me explain to you that the word blessing is not synonymous with happy. And we have some translations happy as the person. But really, it's much more than happy. Happy is a subjective feeling. And Jesus is not talking here about how people feel. Jesus is talking and making an objective statement of how God thinks of people. God approves the life of one who is poor in spirit. In fact, you could say like Mexico, Cato does, he says, blessing means the applause of heaven. So you could say this, the applause of heaven goes to one who is poor in spirit. And of course, that is very well put to be approved. In other words, God loves to bless those he approves. And here's an attitude that God loves. God loves it when we're pouring spirit, in fact, of all the attitudes that you could possibly have the one that is mentioned first, the first thing out of our Saviors mouth, our Lord's mouth of significance is this, you're approved of God, you have the applause of heaven, when you're poor in spirit, and it's not about something we do. It's about an attitude that we have. You're pleased of God when you are, God has blessed is pleased with your wife. It's the first of the first it's the utmost of importance. Blessed are the poor in spirit. What is poor mean? How should we take this listen carefully. The Greek word is from the root of a Greek word, which means to cower, or to cringe like a beggar. Now, listen to this. It speaks of a poverty He's so deep, that a person must obtain their living by begging. It is of one who is fully dependent on the giving of others who cannot survive without help from the outside. That's the word poor. It is to be so poor, that is you must beg for food, you must beg just to live. This is the word Jesus uses. But he says, Blessed are the poor in spirit. Now listen to that blessing did or approved of God, or those who are so poor in their spiritual resources, that they realize they must have help from outside sources. Or you could say it like this altogether a personal acknowledgement of being spiritually bankrupt. Or an admission that we are utterly sinful without moral virtues without anything to commend us to God. John Wesley said of this way, he has a deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin, which he brought with him from his mother's womb, which over spreads his whole soul and totally corrupts every power and faculty thereof. You could write it like this, blessed are those who realize that they have nothing within themselves to commend them to God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Not very interesting. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. But please get this the word there's th e ir s, it's in the infatti position. And so you can say it like this. I guess we don't need the cookbooks up there, do it. We can say it like this. Listen, now blister the poor in spirit for theirs, and theirs alone is the kingdom of heaven. Barring all others who come to God with a different spirit than that of beggarly illness or that brokenness, only those who see themselves as spiritually bankrupt will enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's for them and them alone, the way our Lord speaks it here. Now, in other words, if you believe listen, if you believe deep down in your heart, that there is something about you, that will make God prefer you or accept you, such as your family, or your race, or your denomination, or your education, or your moral goodness, or your political views, or your good works or whatever. Let's know what can't use rights. Listen, the changeless truth is this, no one can come to Christ without poverty of spirit. This is not to say that one must have a perfect sense of one spiritual insufficiency to be saved very few would ever come if that were the case. It means the spiritually proud and self sufficient, those who actually think there is something within them that will make God accept them, these people are lost. That's what it means. It means we've got to understand the importance of being slain by the law in order for us to see our own wretched wickedness. I mean, let me show you more of this, um, excuse me of just learning how to use this. But you know, this song and I understand now we went to the smaller font we had bigger font, we're gearing over with a smaller font, and I heard that hardly anybody could read it in the service this morning. So want to go to some kind of compromised in case you can't see that she would totally the same here. Nothing in my hand, I bring simply to the cross, I cling. But notice this that's poor in spirit, and watch this, naked, come to the for dress, helpless, look to the for grace, foul eye to the fountain fly, wash me savior or I die. That's what it means to be poor in spirit. And this isn't just found in hymn books or poetry. This is all through the Scripture. Watch my friends. The Bible says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are crushed in spirit. And watch this. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you won't despise. This, this attitude is is not just recommended one place, all through the scriptures. In fact, look, look what else it says. It's better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud and Proverbs. Watch. Isaiah goes on to say, for this is what the high and lofty One says, He who lives forever, whose name is holy. I live in a high and holy place but also with him who was contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contract. God says it's all through the Scriptures, again in Isaiah has not my hand made all these things and so they came into being declares Lord, this is the one I esteem. This is the one who impresses me. Watch. He who is humble and contrite in spirit are the new trembles at my word. And how about this? He has shown you Oh, man, what is good? And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy to walk humbly with your God? If you can remember which the sermon from a couple of weeks ago, Matthew 23, what was it there was significant to love mercy, to love, righteousness, love justice, this is what's significant to God, this is what impresses him. This is what's bottom line stuff that you want to build your life on. You see, it's very important. The friends it is it is so important that we would know this. I want to just stop until you story. Listen to this to those who were righteous in themselves and looked down on everybody else. Jesus told this story. Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee. That's the top and the religious society of the conservatives that you could get. He went right up to the front end, he prayed like this. Oh, God, here I am. I thank you that I'm not like other men. I tithe, I fast twice a week. And I regularly give to the poor. I thank you that I'm not a woman. And I'm adding a little bit to this. But this is what they would have said something like this. I thank you that I'm not a woman. And see that guy right there. I'm so thankful I'm not like him. Okay. Now, another man went into the temple, Jesus says, And he stood at the back because he wouldn't dare go near the front. And he could not even look up. So he just bowed his head. And he was so humble. And he was so ashamed that he just beat his breast. And all he could utter was this God, be merciful to me, a sinner. It is that man who went home justified. This is so significant. This is so important. This poor in spirit should should be something that everywhere we go, everything we do. It's an attitude that just like like honey, the drips off of a beehive. So pouring spirit drips off of the believer everywhere they go and everything they do. Here's an illustration opposite of what Jesus said, a true story. Here's a significant evangelical church in England. And now listen, there was a time when all the church that this church had branches and they all got together once a year for a special communion service. And on one such occasion, the pastor saw a former thief kneeling beside a for mentioned a high court official, the judge of the High Court of England. Now listen. After his release, the thief had been converted and became a Christian worker. Yet as the judge and the former thief knelt together, neither seemed to be aware of the other. After the service, the judge happened to walk out with the pastor and said, did you notice who was kneeling beside me at the communion rail this morning? The pastor replied, Yes, but I didn't think that you did. The to walked along in silence for a few more moments when the judge declared What a miracle of grace. The pastor nodded in agreement. Yes, what a marvelous miracle of grace. Then the judge asked, but to whom do you refer? And the pastor responded, why did the conversion of that convict but I was not referring to him, said the judge. I was thinking of myself. Surprised the pastor replied, You were thinking of yourself. I don't understand. Yes, the judge went on. It was natural for the burglar to respond to God's grace when he came out of jail. His life was nothing but a desperate history of crime. And we saw the savior he knew there was salvation and hope for him. He understood how much help he needed. But I, I was taught from earliest infancy to be a gentleman, that My Word was by bond, that I was to say my prayers, go to church receive Communion, I went to Oxford, took my degrees, was called to the bar and eventually ascended to judge my friend. It was God's grace that drew me it was God's grace that opened my heart to receive Christ. I'm a greater miracle, this grace than that man. Listen again, to what Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There isn't theirs alone. Now look at this. What is an attitude that impresses God, an attitude of poor in spirit? What is an attitude that God hates? Look right here. There are six things the Lord hates. Seven that are detestable to him. What's the first thing that God hates? Hottie Ice Man tell you that the list of eight and Matthew in the list of seven year those start with the same thing except they're opposites. antonyms God hates haughty eyes. God approves of God applause poor and spirit, people that are truly spiritually bankrupt and and see their need in that great to know this is an attitude that that is important. Now, let me let me say to you in a different way. I'm Mickey Cohen some but some of us that are younger may not remember him as a famous gangster. But Mickey Cohen was a famous gangster. And at the height of his career, Cohen was persuaded to attend an evangelistic service at which he showed a surprising interest in Christianity. Hearing of this and realizing what a great influence a converted Mickey Cohen would have for the Lord, some prominent Christian leaders began visiting him in an effort to convince him to accept Christ. Late one night after repeatedly being encouraged to open the door his life, Cohen prayed. Hopes ran high among the believing acquaintances. But with the passage of time, no one could detect any change in Cohen's life. Finally, they confronted him with the reality that being a Christian meant he would have to give up his friends and his profession. And Cohen said, hey, there are Christian football players, Christian cowboys, Christian politicians, why not Christian gangsters? Now, this is the same Cohen when I read that this week, this is the same Cohen, who when approached, I believe it was by Billy Graham, when he said, smile, God loves you know, the wonderful plan for your life. Cohen says, Speak on, hear more, let me have it. And then he says, Well, first you got to frown because you're a sinner. And Cohen stopped him and said, Hold on. You can go back to my Cleveland Chicago days and ask anybody you knew me and they will tell you I never bumped anybody off unless it was absolutely necessary. You see, there would be no sense for a change life, if in fact, you are not a sinner. And so if Cohen isn't going to come to grips with the fact of his own sin, he's never going to want to come to Christ. But listen to what one man writes, the absurdity of what happened in Mickey Cohen dramatically underscores what is happening to untold numbers today. Though many of obsessively accepted Christ, they continue as they always have, there is no repentance. They remain self sufficient, even puffed up. Indeed, they are nowhere near the kingdom because they have not experienced the poverty of spirit that the first beatitude insist is the initial ground of the kingdom of heaven. Evangelical Christian America needs exposure to the Beatitudes, because we're so far off from what they're about. But I got to ask this question then. At a hopefully this appropriate time. Is this first beatitude merely evangelistic? Is it only about initiation into the kingdom? It gets this point there's so many go wrong. Look, friends, watch this. This first beatitude is to be an attitude of grace, that chattels a true child of God everywhere they go and influences every relationship and all they do. In fact, I would tell you that to have this attitude in your life is going to be the opposite. You're going to be on a collision course with the world. It is important that you would know that. Listen. poverty of spirit is the antithesis of the proud selfishness and self sufficiency of today's world. The world has his own ideas of blessing, his blessing as the man who's always right, bless this man who's strong. Blessed is the man who rules blesses the man who satisfied with himself versus the man who was rich. Blessed is the man who was popular. No, no. And David Wells says this listen, he goes on to say that kind of self is the very reason why Christianity is almost redefined today. He goes on to say Christianity suffers a massive shrinkage. When we say this theology becomes therapy. The biblical interest in righteousness is replaced by a search for happiness, holiness, by wholeness truth by feelings, ethics by feelings of good about oneself, the past receives the church receives the world receives all the remains itself. And one day Listen, someday if history is allowed to continue, a perceptive artist may scope a statue of 20th century man with his arms draped about himself inflated in a loving embrace kissing his mirror image. Boy, that the truth, in fact, to even talk like this, and some of the illustrations I give, I bet some of you are going to struggle with it is Oh, that's a little bit too far. Can you go a little bit too far. But seeing yourself as a beggar apart from the grace of God is crucial to living a real and productive Christian life is absolutely crucial. In fact, my friends, watch. This is so important. Listen carefully. If you want to deal properly, with awful failures in your life, and sins that mark the lives of not only today's things but also the biblical saints, then you must be poor in spirit. I've used this illustration a couple of times. But listen to me one more time. I'll never forget going to the ERC scroll conference down in Orlando, Florida. And the speaker was Becky peppers. And I really wasn't too excited. I hadn't heard of her. I wasn't too excited about what she was going to say. But she got to speak to about 5000 people. And she told this story. And it was absolutely something that I still remember to this day. And this was back in 1990. And I still had a powerful impact on me. She told the story. She said that. She she got her PhD from Harvard. And she said when she was at Harvard, she studying she said she would go to Harvard, and they would have all of the problems. And then she would go to her evangelical bible church a few miles away. And they would she would be in groups there. And they had all the answers. And she said she was so frustrated. Why couldn't I get the people with the problems together with the people the answers? In other words, the Evangelicals acted as if they didn't have any problems. They had all the answers. And the last people they just had all the problems with no answers. But that wasn't what would change me so much. This is what changed me this story. She told the story, where she was speaking at a woman's conference and a woman came up to her and she was the pastor's wife of a mega church. Huge 5000 member evangelical conservative church. And this pastor's wife had four kids and she says, I've got to talk to you. She was weeping uncontrollably. They went back into the room. And the pastor's wife told the story and went like this. Six months before her and her husband were to be married. And he was a pastor then at a great big church, Evangelical Church of huge proportions. She said six months before we were to get married, I got pregnant. And it would have been the destruction of the entire church if people would have found out. So the only thing we decided to do was in the name of going to a woman's Christian conference, I flew to California and had an abortion. She was I came back and one of the sickest days of my married life was the day that I walked down the aisle. pretending as if I were this dress of white that everything was fine. And all these people were there giving us all these lavish gifts. And here I was having done such a terrible thing. And Becky Pippa now the speaker is telling and here's what she says. She said, I noticed something in her that day as she was talking to me, that I think is one of the greatest problems in evangelicals hearts. And she said it was this it was not so much. Look how awful I am. But it was more of a shame. How could someone as good as I have done something that bad? And so therefore, because I picked that up, Pippa said, I looked at the lady and I said this, why should you be surprised

Unknown: 22:41

that you're a murderer? You've already murdered

Kimber Kauffman: 22:44

someone else. And the lady took a step back. And she had been to all these counselors and all kinds of things and it wasn't getting any help. And she goes, You mean to tell me that I came to tell you an atrocious gross act of sin and cover up and you're telling me I'm guilty of something worse. And Pippa goes, That's right. Your sins are what put Jesus on the cross. You see, friends, there really is something that should mark our lives. And that is one of the reasons one of the reasons that we really don't come to know God is because we really don't come to him as we truly are. The poor in spirit person accepts the truth about themselves. This is the truth, I am spiritually bankrupt. And without Jesus Christ, I have nothing. Why do you think that the Lord allowed Peter to fail, and we read in Luke's gospel that Peter went off and wept in the way it is written in the Greek and it's been explained to me that every time Peter ever thought of denying the Lord, and the way the scene is laid out by Peter, by the way, Peter is out there going to blank a blank, I don't know the blankety blank and just then he turns around, and he sees the Lord coming from the upper room with spiddal probably running down his face, in his face all a mess from the terrible beating that he taken as he's getting ready to go to the cross. And Peter remembers the look that there his best friend, and I say that carefully. But you know, the hero of his life gave him and he realized what a failure he was. Why do you think God had Peter failed like that? Why do you think that every time Peter thought about the rest of his life, do you think that God gets off somehow on saying, hey, it's great to have people his beaten, and you think Blessed are the poor spirit mean? God just wants you weeping and walking around just moaning all the time? No. It is to make Peter fit vessel. I want you to see this quote, This quote is so important. I'm afraid jack of all seasons, we shrunk it down. I had it. It took four pages the way we did have it, but when we got it down, but I want you to see this quote, because this is so powerful, and it's significance to everything I'm going to say tonight. Watch this. Look at what JC Metcalf says. Let me take you through it. It is more than comforting to realize that it is those who Have plumbed the depth of failure, to whom invariably God gives the call to shepherd others. This is not a call given to the gifted, highly trained or the polished as such, without a bitter experience of their own inadequacy and poverty, they are quite unfitted to bear the burden of spiritual ministry. It takes a man who has discovered something of the measures of his own weakness, to be patient with the foldables of others. Such a man also has a first hand knowledge of the loving care of the chief shepherd, and his ability to heal one who has come humbly to trust in Him and Him alone. I don't know how much that means to you. But I'm gonna tell you something. My wife gave me this quote a few weeks ago, and I've gone over it and gone over it and gone over it. Because it is precious to me. On other words, I'm telling you, God allowed Peter to fail. So Peter could look back on his life, and and in sorrow say, Oh, I feel him once. I don't want to do that again. Remember what Paul writes, ye that are spiritual brothers, listen carefully, brothers. If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. What does that mean? Listen, why does Paul say the spiritual should go restore the person with the broken bone? It is because the spiritual are people that are thorough in their porn, spiritedness. And it is having that pouring Spirit in us that they know how to deal with someone else in sin. And they know how to gently lovingly set the broken bone and get them back in place. The Pharisees and Sadducees, who are self righteous, and quite the opposite of the poor in spirit, are extremely judgmental and quick to point out the sins and others do you remember that? Don't you there all the time going to Jesus were a property wouldn't let her touch him. And so I say to you that much more than just an attitude to think about that maybe it's initiation into the kingdom, I say things like this, that I've been saying to you for years, the way you treat others is directly affected by how poor in spirit you perceive yourself to be. When you see someone else fall, you have this attitude. I was worse than that. And God has been faithful to help me and get me through it and pass it. Or you say things like this? Are you effective principle number two, you can say this pouring spirit, people are constantly surprised by mercy and quite content with their position in life. And what I mean to say, is this. It's this person that that instead of going through life, what do I watch, I should have that in grabbing, you go through life. And you're surprised that God's goodness and mercy that you should have something like this. And you're so grateful. I can tell you illustration of one of our elders, that a couple of years ago when his name was came up, and I was my job to talk to him to ask him if he would consider being an elder. When I approached him, he seemed rather surprised and sort of concerned and, and actually, the initial impression that I got from him was that somehow he was going to tell me how busy he wasn't. He just didn't have time. Which has been one of the big excuses. And you know what I heard instead, I heard him say no, and he mumbled, sir, I said, what was that? And he said, Kim, I know who those elders are. And I'm just I'm not in that league. That's not where I am spiritually. I'm way behind them. Made some kind of comment like that. And I'll tell you what, that made me want that man to be on elder. Rich and Steve, I was, I was sick. A couple of years ago, when we had a famous book writer came to speak at our church at a pastors conference here during the day. And so instead of me getting to go to lunch with them, rich, and Steve went to lunch with them. And so of course, I pick their brain about the conversation, rich and Steve made this comment concerning this man has written 50 or 60 books that are well known and published throughout the world. You know, what? Rich and Steve said, Hey, what is your favorite book? And, and which one is if you get the most out of or whatever? And he says, boys, listen to me, Well, I'm gonna say this one time, they're all trash. Now, you may think that's false humility, but in that context, and that study tells me there's a man who's poor in spirit. See, so poor in spirit Christians understand this, and they're surprised by mercy watch this porn spirit. Christians, in one sense are never satisfied as long as they live in this world, because the Holy Spirit has put a desire for perfection in his children. There is one sense in which the person who is pouring spirits so is so loving God, so thankful for salvation and so much wants to please God because they are like the widow. I mean, the woman taken in sin and poured out the expensive perfume and anointed Jesus and kissing him and won't stop because they are so grateful. But there's also a sense in their heart that as long as they're in this world Something wrong because we never will be perfect in this life. And a result they're, they're hungry for more. And they something that they'll never attain, and it shocks them. We have got on this table, at least we had it here this morning, we've got an eye over here, I'll put them on the table for you to get a list of that we had a prayer and fasting conference this week. And it's apparent how fast in conference they handed these out as you came in, and what what they are, as I'm about to read to you, it's the proud and humble hearts and it's two columns. And we couldn't get them made with the font being as big as we thought they had to be on this column. But also it says over here is the proud and the unbroken people and then on this column is the broken people or you could say the non poor in spirit and the poor in spirit. Now listen to this, the non poor in spirit, they focus on the failures of others, the poor in spirit, they are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need. And watch this the non porn spirit self righteous have a critical faultfinding spirit. Look at your own faults and faults through a telescope but others with a microscope and watch this compassionate forgiving look for the best and others. The non porn spirit look down on others esteem all others better than self independent and self sufficient dependent spirit recognising the need for others maintains control it must be their way over here surrenders control. This goes on and on. I can't keep going through the whole thing. It'll just keep going but listen to when confessing sin deal in generalities when confessing sin deal and specifics. Watch this remorseful over their sin, how they got caught and found out over here repenting over sin and forsaking it. And that's the difference. In other words, does this have any impact upon our daily life? Yes, it has everything to do with our daily life. Now I'd like to ask this question. We're almost finished. But I want to say this. How do you become poor in spirit? Well, let me go over this quickly. Number one, humble yourself before God read the Bible. You say thanks a lot, Kim. How do you do that? Do it Humble yourself before God? Why do you do one way you can do it bodily, you can get on your knees, you can lay out flat prostate, prostate, you can do that. That's humbling yourself. You can do it other ways. For instance, in social situations, take the back of the room seat rather than the front of the room seat. You can do it mentally. You can do it physically. You can do it socially. You can do it in prayer, you can ask God and you can also prefer others above yourself. You and I don't mean just to run past that. But when the Bible says Humble yourselves before the Lord, it means do that. Now watch. Secondly, use the law of God properly. The Pharisees took the law of God and made themselves out to be righteous. So many Christians, they take Christian rules and they make themselves to be righteous. The law was not given. So anyone would be righteous. The law was given. So you'd see the ugliness of your own sinful condition. That's when the law is done is right work. So use the wall properly. Paul said I did not know what sin was until I read, Thou shalt not covet. He can go through the first night and go done that did that Been there, done that. But he when he got to that shall not covet it wasn't something you can do was an attitude. And he was smitten. So use the law of God properly. We tell you when you're using the law of God properly, and you're sitting there reading the law of God and you're going, oh, oh, then you read it properly. All right, and you read it properly. Alright? And watch this. Thirdly, have a growing understanding of God contemplate his greatest, especially his holiness. You compare yourself with other people, with other people in your profession, with other people in your neighborhood, you're always going to come out on the wrong end, you're going to lose no matter how you do it. But if you compare yourself to God and contemplate his greatness, you'll come out on the right end, especially his holiness, and induced to do so doing as your understanding of God's holiness enlivened, and raise your understanding of being torn spirit will grow in depth. Fourth, evaluate yourself biblically, not by standards of a certain church or society. Make sure that you're evaluating yourself according to the Scriptures. And not by according to some church, even this church. You see, now listen carefully and I'll be finished. And I got a personal note I'm and this on. It is the poor in spirit, the delight the heart of God. Can you impress God? Yes, let me important spirit. Now listen, but it is the poor in spirit who really truly do right in the God of their salvation. So get this as a two way street. The poor in spirit bring delight to the heart of God, but the people that are poor in spirit delight in God we bring to light to the heart of God we are pouring spirit same time No Listen, no heart leaps for joy more than the totally bankrupt, empty, helpless heart that truly sees where they are without him and then see who they are in him. No joy is deeper or so enlivened than this joy. How huge Christ becomes to this blessing person, how the redeemed poor in spirit heart longs to serve, obey, worship, and give back to their hero, Jesus Christ. You remember the illustration. This was supposed to be my Sunday morning sermon. I've changed at the last second. But you remember the illustration that I've used before? About if I went out to dinner with you, after church, and I said, Could you please pass the salt? And you pass the salt and I stand up on the chair and sing the Hallelujah chorus. It's a little bit of an overstatement for passing the salt. You see an appropriate response to pass the salt is what Thank you. But what's the appropriate response for a poor in spirit

Unknown: 36:05

heart that's been redeemed by Jesus, the Hallelujah chorus? See, that's the appropriate response. Our father would you strengthen our lives, giving us faith? Faith that perseveres faith that endures. faith that pleases you. Without faith, it's impossible to please you but faith, especially in the midst of trials, that does please you. Could you specially help people here today that are in sorrow? Married marital problems, they're in financial problems that are in health problems. Please don't let Satan rule over our hearts to get us to curse you. And we pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.