Beatitudes #1 - Blessed are the poor in spirit

Last Sunday evening (24th Jan) we started a look at the Beatitudes. Here is the first sermon in the series:

Reading: Matt 5:1-12

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley 1875 (26 yrs old)

Gordon Brown - after the attempt to replace him recently said this poem gave him great inspiration to continue - Mr Brown said: "It is about determination. It summarises my view."

Jesus’ view? Matt 5:3

Beatitude = pronouncement of blessing

Blessed =Happy!

These are hallmaks of people in the kingdom. Not new set of laws for the world but things that should mark our lives – the DNA of a Christian.

E.g’s:

1. King David

Ps 86:1- poor & needy! Yet king of a rich & prosperous nation!

We can read about the tons of gold & silver he contributed to the building of the temple.

2. Paul the Pharisee

Php 3:3-11 no confidence in flesh.

Yet look at his background - impeccable r.e religion!

3. Spiritual credit crunch

What is credit crunch? = when you haven't got enough to make ends meet!

Both David & Paul knew God, they had encountered God.

The thing they have in common with everyone who knows God is that they know they haven't got what it takes spiritually.

No matter what your:

• Intentions of heart may be towards God
• Position in society
• Rich or poor
• Religion- and how strictly you follow it

You ain't got what it takes!

You need to be poor in spirit!

Def

Used to describe a beggar.

= someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution.

The word doesn't just describe someone who has no money but someone who is entirely destitute and has become a beggar.

In Jewish thinking it pointed to a person who had become poor but was crying out to and depending on God to keep His covenant promises to the poor.

4. Laodicean Church

They thought they had got it all together - For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Compare how they saw themselves to how Jesus did.

Makes Jesus vomit!

5. Tax collector & Pharisee

Luke 18:9-14

Imagine you don't know the story - Jesus made an amazing statement - the tax collector went home justified! Shocking!

Why? He was poor in spirit!

Justified - def

Blessed - def = happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous-- with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions Amp

6. Opposite of the world

The attitude of the world = Invictus.

Assert yourself

Push yourself forward.

Jesus isn't telling you to put yourself down - but to recognise you ain't got what it takes!

See your debt!

Those who see their debt, their destitution & sheer poverty & bankruptcy before God - they get blessed, they get credited with all they will ever need to stand before God and all they need for life & godliness.

Pr 16:5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. ^ESV

This is the opposite of being poor in spirit - God hates it! Cursed!

The poor in spirit? Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven's doors are open to them and all the riches & blessings that Heaven can afford belong to those who are poor in spirit.

6.1 Not wrong to have riches!

Jesus isn't teaching that poverty in itself is good - it is wrong!

Neither are riches in themselves bad - love of money.

Where is your dependence? Security? Needs to be in God!

6.2 How are you going home tonight?

How you go home and how you will be this week depends on how you came in and how you see yourself?

• Pharisee or tax-collector?
• Right in your own eyes - or justified & right with God?
• Bankrupt & in a spiritual credit crunch - or blessed and to be envied?

R3 - introduction

Here is my sermon from 17th January:

R3 – #1 Intro

Back at the beginning of November last year I taught on the Year of Jubilee.

A while after that, in the Thursday night prayer meeting, I went back to part of that sermon and taught from Isa 61:4. As I did, the verse hit me in a very powerful way that I couldn't shake off. I shared it with the other leaders and I amazed when I found out that God had been speaking to Haydn (one of our elders) along the same lines.

What I want to do today is to share the vision and then we will come back to it several times this year.

R3

We see from Luke 4 that the person mentioned is Jesus. He is the one who is anointed by God to:

• bind up the brokenhearted,
• to proclaim liberty to the captives,
• Open the prison to those who are bound;
• to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour, and the day of vengeance of our God;
• to comfort all who mourn;

All of this is so that God may be glorified.

So, if the person mentioned in v1-3 is Jesus, who are the they in v4? ⁴And they shall rebuild the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former desolations and renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. ^AMP

They are the people who have met with Jesus and Jesus has transformed them, changed them and given them a mandate, a mission to go and see others transformed!

Jesus' intention for people who get transformed by Him was never for them merely to come to church each week and sing songs to Him and listen to sermons! Jesus transforms us so that we can be instrumental in bringing change to individuals, families and the community in which we live.

I'm not just on about individual change here but being a church that ushers in change on a community-wide scale. To be the type of church that if we weren't here, things would be noticably different - for the worse!

How is this possible? Let's look again at the mandate we have been given:

1. Rebuild

If we rebuild something, what does that imply?

= something is broken, something is wrong, things aren't working as they should.

what needs fixing - Look at the lives of individuals and the community - what is broken, what needs fixing?

Marriage, family, parenting, relationships.

Yet part of our mandate is to rebuild!

Jesus takes broken people, fixes them and then uses them to fix other people!

A big implication of this is that those of us who belong to Jesus should be exemplary in our marriages, in the way we raise our children and run our families, in how we go about boyfriend/girlfriend relationships.

Being a Christian isn't just about having a ticket to Heaven when you die but about life transformation here and now.

We need to take what we learn and apply it to our lives. What you hear in church should affect your life! What you read in your Bible should make a difference in your marriage. Christians aren't supposed to carry out their relationships in the same way as the world around them!

2. Raise up

To raise up - what does this imply?

= People are bowed down, oppressed.

Lacking dignity - why do people lack dignity? Self image, shame, status.

People are bowed down under sin but the Gospel lifts up and gives dignity to people. To deal with shame & guilt and see people walk with their heads held high in God. Lev 26:13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. ^NIV

Think of various groupings in society who are often lacking in dignity -

• Elderly
• Disabled
• Refugee
• Immigrants

Yet as church we are to be part of the solution!

3. Renew

We are to be people who help usher in renewal! This speaks of the spiritual aspect:

John 3:3 - born again

2Cor 5:17

Social action is good - it is part of the implementation of the Kingdom of God but what our ultimate aim is to see people born again - changed from the inside out.

Don't be mercenary! Indiscriminate - same as God/Jesus. Sun to shine on righteous/unrighteous - Matt 5:43-48. Miracles to multitudes.

Mark 2:22 - New wine! To endeavour to be a new wineskin church - flexible & pliable so we can accommodate the now work of the Holy Spirit.

To experience the new wine of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our midst. Not to have other things - personalities, bands - to be the draw but the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to be the attraction.

4. How to get involved

4.1 Pray

As leaders we passionately believe that God has given us this mission - Rebuild, Raise-up, Renew. R3!

As I'll explain it is something for everyone in the church to get involved in and the most foundational way to get on board is to pray!

Saturate this church in prayer! Pray for transformation, pray for those who teach that we won't just teach for information but to bring transformation.

Pray for the Gospel to permeate this area with lives being touched, families being changed and relationships transformed.

4.2 Live prophetically!

I mentioned earlier that as Christians we need to be living lives that are different from our unsaved friends & neighbours. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and said that the way they were living, they were living like mere men - 1 Co 3:3 ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? ^NIV

If we live like this, if we simply be what we are we will be living prophetically. A prophet is a person who brings God's word & will to bear to a group of people. We need to live alternative lives so that people know there is an alternative to the way they live.

If all we profess is to go to Heaven when we die then all people will see is an alternative way to die - but if we live differently, living according to God's plan & purpose then they will also see there is an alternative way to live.

4.3 Witness

Witness! This is what we are called to do - to tell others about the mighty transforming power of Jesus.

So many times in the Gospels we see how transformation was brought about after people heard about Jesus - woman with internal bleeding, Canaanite woman with demonised daughter; Bartimaeus, Centurion with sick servant; villagers in Samaria - all heard of Jesus and then came to Him themselves.

4.4 Tools!

Some of these things are big but our prayers, our witnessing, our lifestyles can help usher in change.

We also want to put tools in your hands - organisations, information, resources which you can share with others or invite people - to sow seeds of change.

4.5 What makes you tick?

Lastly, I want to ask - what makes you tick? What do you like doing? This is something for you!

Do you enjoy cooking? Do you like texting? Writing letters? Decorating? Gardening? God wants you to take these down to earth, mundane talents, gifts & hobbies and offer them to Him for His glory & service.

I want each one of you to actively pray & seek God and ask Him what you can do, how you can get involved.

Ac 4:33-37 ³³And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. ^ESV

What have you got to give? God wants you to offer it to the leadership of the church for the common good.

Ps 67:1-3 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! ESV

Think on that! Let your imagination begin to run riot with thinking what your life would be like of God showed you His unmerited favour, if He blessed you and was smiling upon you. Stop imagining - He is!

See also the reason for this request - so that others may see and trust in and treasure God!

Jesus our Bethel

Here is the sermon from last Sunday (3rd Jan 2010). My first sermon of the year and our first meeting in St John's, Cwmcarn. Have a blessed 2010!!

Jesus our Bethel

Reading - Gen 28:10-22

Jacob - born about 4000 years ago.

1. Jacob's dream

Dream of a ladder - angels ascending & descending to & from Heaven.

Called the place Bethel - House of God!

One of the hallmarks of the O.T - people encountering God at places - Bethel, Peniel, the Tabernacle, the Temple.

Even before God called Israel the nation out of Egypt to be His people we see here God's eternal intent - to live on earth with man!

2. Jesus & Nathanael

Jesus is speaking to a man called Nathanael Son of Talmai (Bartholomew). He has just met Jesus for the first time and confesses Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel. Jn 1:51 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” ^ESV

Jesus is saying that He is Bethel! He is Jacob's ladder!

Jesus is the fulfilment of all the feasts, symbols and ceremonies of the O.T.

Jesus is saying here that whereas Jacob had a dream of the angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder to heaven, Jesus himself is that ladder, Jesus Himself is the house of God.

2.1 Go to Jesus!

The first big point is that if we want to encounter God, if we want to know a real, personal encounter with God - where do we go? We go to Jesus!

Eph 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. ^ESV

Because of Jesus we have an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear! You can approach God with confidence! Why? Because of Jesus!

What happened when Jesus died on the cross? The curtain of the temple was torn in two! God broke out! Since that time, God never has, nor never will, dwell in a man-made temple again!

Having an encounter with God isn't about places - that is old covenant way of thinking. You can meet with God wherever you are! This takes relationship with God away from holy places and in fact turns each place into a holy place!

2.2 Resources

What did Jacob see on the ladder? Angels ascending & descending - angels going up and down.

Heb 1:14 tells us that God has sent angels to serve us!

I do believe angels are watching over us - but I want to go a bit deeper than that - the whole point of Hebrews is that Jesus is greater than Angels, Moses, High Priests etc. The point of this is that in Jesus we have all the resources of Heaven at our disposal to do the will of God on the earth!

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ^ESV

God's will for you this year is that because you are living in and with Jesus, our Bethel & our access to Heaven, we know a flow of all the resources we need in our daily lives.

2.3 Open Heaven

What was at the top of Jacob's ladder? God! There was an open heaven between Jacob & God!

Is 64:1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence…. ^ESV

- An O.T prayer that we have to look at in the light of the N.T.

God has come down! That is the wonder of the Christmas story! God came down to earth! We serve a down-to earth-God!

See also Act 2:1-4 ¹When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The actual phrase Jesus used means, you will see Heaven standing open…. Heaven is open! Just imagine this year how it would be if Heaven was open to you!

F Prayers going up to God

F Windows of Heaven opened over you and blessing poured out

F Access to God 24/7

It is true! Jesus says to each one of us today, Jn 1:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven standing open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Further reading:

Visit Lex Loizides' Blog - http://lexloiz.wordpress.com/

Revival information - http://www.revival-library.org/