Sermon on the Mount – Poor In Spirit
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Blessed are the poor in spirit. Now, I think we all know what it means to be poor. Poor people are people who do not have
enough money and they know thye don’t have enough. They may not always admit it. They may not always live like it. But they
know it.
Poor in spirit means people who know they do not have enough righteousness to get them to heaven. I talk to many people
who say, “I am a good person. I will go to heaven.” But that is wrong. Good people don’t go to heaven, because no one is
good enough. Only those who trust in Christ go to heaven.
The best illustration of this is the story Jesus told of the two men in the temple praying. (I mentioned this story last week.) The
religious leader told the Lord in his prayer about how good he was. The other man cried about how bad he was.
The problem is, the man who thought he was good enough didn’t ask God for help because he didn’t think he needed it. The
other man knew he wasn’t good enough, and so, he asked God to help him.
Illus. There was a family who went to a large shopping mall. Their little girl, about 6 years old, got separated from the
parents. So the parents had an anouncement made, “Would the little girl who is lost please come to the ice cream shop to
meet her parents?” The little girl never came. Many hours later the parents found the at the toy store. They said, “Didn’t you
hear the anouncement for the lost girl to come to the ice cream shop?” She said, “Yes, but I didn’t know that was for me. I
didn’t know I was lost.”
What Jesus is saying here is, “Blessed are the people who know they are lost and look to God for salvation. The religious
people of Jesus’ day had grown proud. They thought could practice their religion without God’s help.
How ridiculous! Why would anyone want religion without God?
The poor in spirit are people who are not proud. Proud people are stubborn and self-sufficient. They want to do things their
own way – live life their own way – instead of depending on God.
Listen to what the Bible says about pride:
Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. (The Lord respects
the humble, but knows the proud from a distance.)
Proverbs 15:25 The LORD will destroy the proud man’s house ...
Proverbs 16:5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart...
Proverbs 21:4 ... a proud heart is sin!
But what does it say about the humble?
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite ones.
Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
The poor in spirit submit to God. They put their trust in God and not in themselves. They have a dependency on God. They
obey God because they know that God knows best. They rely on the mercy of God instead of the excellence of their religious
behavior.
Paul exemplifies this attitude of being poor in spirit.
Philippians 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death,
What Paul is saying here is, “Even though I practiced my religion perfectly, I realize that it is not enough. My righteousness is
not good enough. I need God’s righteousness, and I can only get that through Christ.”
This is what Jesus was trying to tell us. Blessedness, true happiness, fulfillment only comes through trusting in Christ – not
in our own goodness. Happy is the man who knows he needs God’s help. He will receive it!
A final illustration of this point from the Bible is found in the book of Revelation. Jesus rebukes the church of Laodicea in this:
Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
There is always a danger that as we grow comfortable and confident in our faith that we will grow independent and stop
depending on God.
Poor in spirit is an attitude of being conscious of your need before God. When you think of how great God is and how small
and frail we are, it makes you consious of your need.
Remember the Roman soldier we talked about. He said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come to my house.”
At one point, Peter “fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Isaiah had a vision of God and said, “Lord, I am a man of unclean lips.”
The point is that when we stand in the presence of absolute holiness, we realize how unholy we are. When we stand in his
presence on judgment day, there will be no pride. We will all realize that we have no right to be there. We are only there
because God had mercy on us and sent Jesus to make us right before him.
What is God looking for from us?
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
He wants us to trust him – to depend on him – to look to him for all of our needs. He wants to take care of us.
enough money and they know thye don’t have enough. They may not always admit it. They may not always live like it. But they
know it.
Poor in spirit means people who know they do not have enough righteousness to get them to heaven. I talk to many people
who say, “I am a good person. I will go to heaven.” But that is wrong. Good people don’t go to heaven, because no one is
good enough. Only those who trust in Christ go to heaven.
The best illustration of this is the story Jesus told of the two men in the temple praying. (I mentioned this story last week.) The
religious leader told the Lord in his prayer about how good he was. The other man cried about how bad he was.
The problem is, the man who thought he was good enough didn’t ask God for help because he didn’t think he needed it. The
other man knew he wasn’t good enough, and so, he asked God to help him.
Illus. There was a family who went to a large shopping mall. Their little girl, about 6 years old, got separated from the
parents. So the parents had an anouncement made, “Would the little girl who is lost please come to the ice cream shop to
meet her parents?” The little girl never came. Many hours later the parents found the at the toy store. They said, “Didn’t you
hear the anouncement for the lost girl to come to the ice cream shop?” She said, “Yes, but I didn’t know that was for me. I
didn’t know I was lost.”
What Jesus is saying here is, “Blessed are the people who know they are lost and look to God for salvation. The religious
people of Jesus’ day had grown proud. They thought could practice their religion without God’s help.
How ridiculous! Why would anyone want religion without God?
The poor in spirit are people who are not proud. Proud people are stubborn and self-sufficient. They want to do things their
own way – live life their own way – instead of depending on God.
Listen to what the Bible says about pride:
Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. (The Lord respects
the humble, but knows the proud from a distance.)
Proverbs 15:25 The LORD will destroy the proud man’s house ...
Proverbs 16:5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart...
Proverbs 21:4 ... a proud heart is sin!
But what does it say about the humble?
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite ones.
Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
The poor in spirit submit to God. They put their trust in God and not in themselves. They have a dependency on God. They
obey God because they know that God knows best. They rely on the mercy of God instead of the excellence of their religious
behavior.
Paul exemplifies this attitude of being poor in spirit.
Philippians 3:8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Philippians 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death,
What Paul is saying here is, “Even though I practiced my religion perfectly, I realize that it is not enough. My righteousness is
not good enough. I need God’s righteousness, and I can only get that through Christ.”
This is what Jesus was trying to tell us. Blessedness, true happiness, fulfillment only comes through trusting in Christ – not
in our own goodness. Happy is the man who knows he needs God’s help. He will receive it!
A final illustration of this point from the Bible is found in the book of Revelation. Jesus rebukes the church of Laodicea in this:
Revelation 3:17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are
wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
There is always a danger that as we grow comfortable and confident in our faith that we will grow independent and stop
depending on God.
Poor in spirit is an attitude of being conscious of your need before God. When you think of how great God is and how small
and frail we are, it makes you consious of your need.
Remember the Roman soldier we talked about. He said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come to my house.”
At one point, Peter “fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Isaiah had a vision of God and said, “Lord, I am a man of unclean lips.”
The point is that when we stand in the presence of absolute holiness, we realize how unholy we are. When we stand in his
presence on judgment day, there will be no pride. We will all realize that we have no right to be there. We are only there
because God had mercy on us and sent Jesus to make us right before him.
What is God looking for from us?
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
He wants us to trust him – to depend on him – to look to him for all of our needs. He wants to take care of us.