Blessed Are - Part 1
by Kevin Allen
February 26, 2026 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Matthew 5, Matthew 5:1-12, Matthew 5:3, Hebrews 12:2, Luke 18:9-12, Luke 18:11, Luke 18:13, Luke 18:14

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--blessed-are-part-1
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Tonight going to kick off a new series. We're going to be going through Matthew chapter 5, the biatitudes. From the very beginning of Jesus's ministry, he began to define blessing in a way that defied culture. It just went against the grain. And we we've talked about that quite a bit over the last few years about his kingdom mindset that he had, how it was very counterculture in what he did. And often times as he was describing what the kingdom of heaven was like or what God was looking for, it was it was always the opposite of what seemed to be the the thought of the day, especially from culture. He never pointed to power or success or status or comfort. But instead, he talked about things that were a little different. He talked about humility and surrender and mercy and hunger for righteousness and faithfulness in the face of opposition. Now, what I love about this is if you studied out, Jesus was not trying to give a motivational speech. He was inviting you and I. He was inviting ordinary people into this upside down kingdom where hearts were being transformed where posture of the soul mattered more than the appearance of having strength in your life. So what I want to do in this series is we're going to start it and we're going to be going through about eight weeks of this because we unpack the biatitudes together.

We're going to discover that Jesus was revealing more than just a list of virtues. What he was talking about was the value that is placed inside of his kingdom and the kind of people that he desires for you and I to become. As you've heard me say many times, we are still in the process of being sanctified. You guys are quiet tonight. Is it because it's dreary outside? Yeah, I know. I'm still kind of sleepy myself. I've already had two naps. They were short though. Process of being sanctified. What I mean by that is, and you've heard me say this before, but for the folks who maybe you're new or watching online, never heard me say this. I'm not a big fan of the word when someone says, "I'm I'm saved." The ed that denotes something is finished. Now, what Jesus did at Calvary was finished. Like, he paid the price for our sins. But I'm still in the process of being saved. And I say that because I'm not in heaven yet. And every day I have to get up and determine that I'm going to live today for God. My default setting is to live for the kingdom of Kevin. I wake up that way. It's my default setting to be very mindful of me and my needs and my wants and my desires. So I have to purposely get up and say, God, this is the day that you have made.

I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it. You are my king. You are my lord. I submit my life to you today because if I don't, I will by default live for me. So what I want to talk about in the biatitudes was how Jesus was kicking off his ministry. This is the beginning of the greatest sermon that was ever preached. I know you guys have your favorite preacher and I have favorite favorite type folks who who who I always enjoy their ministry. But the best message that was ever preached we're going to talk about tonight. It started in Matthew chapter 5. It was preached by the greatest one who ever who ever lived. It was Jesus. So this was him him launching off his ministry. He starts off with this passage of scripture we're going to read in Matthew chapter 5 together in just a second. But a little bit more explanation. The biatitudes are called that because each one of them begins with the word blessed which comes from the the Latin word beatatus meaning divinely favored or spiritually fortunate. So, as we study these things out, as you and I kind of lean into the word of God, we're going to find that the world calls for for for a a a a strength. But Jesus is going to talk about how we need to empty ourselves out. Often what the world calls successful, Jesus looks at it as fragile.

And what the world looks is often something that they just pay no attention to or it's worthless. Jesus said it's blessed. So let's read these things together. Matthew chapter 5 verse number one. And seeing the multitudes, he which is Jesus went up onto a mountain. And when he was seated, his disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth and taught them saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are those peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when you they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Now has anybody heard any of these before? Probably probably you even have one or two of these you that you maybe have somewhat memorized in your mind and have quoted before.

But let's be honest, it seems to go a little against the grain of how we view life. Like, who is happy about being persecuted? Anybody? No. If we're honest, none of us are happy about that. But he says, "Rejoice." Well, how do you do that when I don't want to do that? I don't want to be persecuted. So, so in order for us to glean and grab from this scripture what we need, we have to unpack it. We have to ask questions. I like to do investigative study. Anybody like to do that? When you run through scriptures and you're like, "This is interesting." You know, I could just dismiss it or I could stop for a minute and maybe ask, "God, can you help me unpack it?" So then when I read it, my flesh may resist, but my mind knows there's a deeper richness to this verse that I need to process and apply to my life. That's that's how you need to approach coming into the biatitudes. For example, have you ever met someone who is so deliciously happy about being poor? Now, some of you like, well, Pastor Kevin, I'm poor. Well, I'll promise you. I promise you compared to the world, every one of us in this room is rich. You may not be as rich as the person beside you, or you may not have as much financial means as you want in your life, but we live a good life.

We are abundantly blessed in this nation, but most of the time, you never run into somebody who's in their right mind who is deliriously happy about being poor. You just don't. two things that don't don't that don't really seem to go together and that's poverty and joy. If we were going to put things together in a little word search, we we probably would not couple those things together unless we were purposely reading this verse of scripture. The reason I say that is is why would Jesus put things together that doesn't seem logically like they should go together? Being poor and being happy about it. What Jesus was meaning when he stated, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Why was it that was there? Poverty or being poor can can mean a lot of things. It can mean emptiness or depression or unhappiness or starvation or struggles or disease etc etc etc. So when someone is disadvantaged he or she is in a position of what could appear like they don't have any power or influence or authority. And it's not just a loss of things. It's often a loss of the power and significance according to the natural world. But he was not talking about a kingdom of the world. He was talking about the kingdom of heaven. He was talking about things that were to come. He was talking about stuff that we had not yet experienced.

Jesus was using the picture of poverty to explain one of the greatest joys that one can have in their life by being poor in spirit. So I feel like it's to our advantage to unpack what does it mean to be poor in spirit? How can this happen in our life? The Bible teaches us that unless we're willing to accept our spiritual poverty, everybody say spiritual poverty. >> Unless we're willing to accept it and recognize this, then we are going to be completely empty. We cannot be filled with God's richest blessings until we understand what it means to be spiritually poor. But for those who come empty, there's a promise that you'll leave filled and you'll be full of joy, not happiness. We're not chasing happy. That's a fool's errand. We're talking about being joyful in the Lord. That's a different thing that is there. So it says this Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." So there's some power here. This power of poverty. It's not a material poverty that Jesus is talking about, but again, a poverty of the spirit. Those who realize that they don't have the ability to save themselves. Isn't that a handy piece of information to have? Did you know that? Did you know you can't save Randy? Did you know you can't save yourself? You can't. I can't either. But man, sometimes we sure act like we can.

Anybody guilty of that? I got my hands in the air. You should have your hand up, too. Yeah. Anybody been guilty of that? But sometimes it's like the default setting, right? The factory reset. As I said before, unless we are purposely determining in our heart, in our mind every day that I'm going to let him be Lord of my life, I wake up by trying to do it myself. So Jesus is addressing this issue and saying that if you're going to come in and really going to experience the joy that only comes from the Lord, you have to empty yourself out and understand that without him, I'm nothing. Did you catch that? That kind of goes against us a little bit. It kind of rubs us the wrong way because I want to feel like I'm something, Sister Sue. I mean, I think sometimes I'm something, but the reality is without him, I'm nothing. I'm pitiful. Gosh, y'all. I'm pitiful. I really am pitiful. just ask my wife. But with him, with him, it's a different story. With his power and his ability, with him filling me with his spirit. And then I take that spirit that he filled me with, and I allow it to then penetrate into the talents and abilities and giftings that he placed inside of me, not for fleshly desires, but being led by the spirit. Then I become something with him for his kingdom.

And I know you guys are like, "Well, here he goes. He's going to talk about her kingdom purpose again." You're right. I am. It's like a jack in a box. It's in every one of my messages because guess what? You have a kingdom purpose. And the true joy of life is discovering it and living it out. So when we realize that our own righteousness is nothing, as the Bible says, is just filthy rags, which is an interesting study. I'll let you do that on your own time. This recognition of this abject poverty can bring us to Jesus in the right way. This word that's being translated here, the the Greek word to toas is is talking about in the original language, it means destitute. Not just a little short, not just struggling, but managing to get by. It describes someone who has absolutely nothing to offer. The best way I know I could describe it that maybe we could get our heads around this is to understand that I am spiritually bankrupt without him. I got nothing. If he's not working with me, my attempts are going to fail always. Oh, I may pull it off for a day or two. I may I may fool you, but eventually I'll run to a limit of my ability. Has anybody experienced that? Yeah, the limit of what I can do. But with him, as the Bible says, all things are possible.

And the sooner you embrace that fact with him, the more joy that comes in. Because by myself, I'm limited. But with God, I'm unlimited, but only if I'm being led by his spirit. So I don't want to be spiritually bankrupt. To be spo to be poor in spirit is to stand before God and say, "I bring nothing into this relationship." Did you catch that? He He's really getting a bad deal. I'll speak for me. Maybe you think you're a good deal, but for me, he got a bad deal. I'm not worth what he paid at all. I'm not I'm there's I have never in my on my best of best days, I was still a bad bargain. But yet, he purchased me anyway. But I need to come into the relationship understanding this. I bring nothing. God, you bring everything. I'm just thankful you let me be a part. And it's that kind of attitude. It's walking with that humility in that God, if anything happens good between you and I, it's going to be because of you and not because of me. It's going to be what you do through me, what you do through my life. And understand that that that is what I bring in is I bring nothing. What is Jesus's point? How can someone of abject poverty be be joyful? Jesus knows that this kind of poverty takes everything away from man, everything that we would trust and lean on.

So that my only option is him, which is where he has always wanted us to be. This is what I experience when I travel to other countries. I've been blessed in my life to have been on many missions trips and had opportunity to go to some countries where, you know, they're third world countries. They don't have stuff. But yet it is amazing to me how those people who are living for God have nothing. They have nothing, Sister Clark. They have nothing. They have one change of clothes. They have nothing. But yet there's such a radiant joy in their life because they're not being sustained by stuff. See, here's the fight that we have in North America is we have a lot of stuff. And as long as we're not having a major life crisis, we often times find oursel being relying and depending on us because, hey, I've got access to medicine. I've got some money in the bank. I have the ability to drive down the street to the local grocery store to get the milk and the bread and the other things we I'm not having to go out and forge for anything. I'm not having to plant a crop and wait for months before it comes up for me to harvest. I'm not having And because of that, we become very self-reliant. And Jesus is saying, "Blessed is the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." They have access to things that often times you and I struggle with because of all of the abundance in our life.

But joy comes in when we have emptied oursel. And I'm not saying you got to go in and those of you who subscribe to minimalist views are like, "Here he goes. Yeah, we got to get rid of stuff, pastor. Get on that. Get on that." No, no, no. Even you minimalist in the room, you still have an abundance. Yeah. Sometimes you got a little pride with how little you have, too. That'll be coming up in a few weeks. We'll get to you, too. We got to be careful of where it is we're putting our trust. What Jesus is trying to do is he's trying to draw our attention to the right place to understand that God, even with the things that I do have, you gave them to me. Oh, I may have worked, but God, you gave me the ability to work. You gave me the health. You gave me the mental fortitude. You gave me the intellect. You gave me the the ability. You you gave me the time. You gave me the opportunity. It's it's a mindset that often times we struggle with because again we wake up by default. Well, if I don't it won't be very careful about that. I'm not saying you sit around saying, "Well, I'm just going to sit here because if God wants it done, it'll happen." No, no, no. He they got a lot of Bible for you for that.

You need to be involved. You need to work. But understand who gives you the ability to do those things. When we are full of ourselves, we have no room for God. When we are full of ourselves, some of you are full of it. Some of you want to say that to your neighbor right now, don't you? Go ahead, just tell them. Say you're full of it. Somebody's like, "No, I'm not going to say that." Got to be careful. We got to be very, very careful. Poverty is recognizing a great need that I without him cannot do it. I have to have God in my life. We are spiritually poor. when we are stripped of our own power then and then and only then can we experience the power of God when I'm like I know I can't Lord so if it's going to happen it's only going to be because of you not because of me I'll be open to you so what's the payoff right because we like to do that we like to think all right well if I'm going to do this I'm going to empty myself out if I'm going to give all if I'm going to give all this up then well God what's the payoff for me what's coming back to me because here we got we're going to be we're going to self-focused, right? The kingdom of God comes to those who are poor in spirit because they are powerless and poor.

They then can be filled with God's riches of grace and find joy that cannot be found with the world's things. That's where you have lived long. Every everyone who's in this room from the youngest that's in this room to the oldest, every one of us for the most part, unless there's a little one in here I'm not aware of, but everybody that I can see has lived enough life to know stuff won't make you happy. It won't. It may give you a moment, a moment, but it does not sustain. There's always something else to buy. There's always another thing to strive for. Once you get the thing, the car, the boat, the whatever, the purse, the shoes, the hunting lease, I could go on I could get on everybody's toes and if he let me there enough time, I'll go around the room. Whatever it is, eventually it loses its pop and then you got to find the next thing. But not so with God. If you put him where he's supposed to be, it truly is a sustaining, joyful life that we can live. The payoff is this. It is called the joy of salvation, not being so captivated with all the conveniences that we have in our world. And I'm thankful for them. I love my conveniences. I like things. I like to push button and stuff happens. Makes me happy. doesn't bring me joy, but it can make me happy for a moment.

But there's a joy. Anybody know what I'm talking about? That joy, the joy of the Holy Ghost. Come on, apostolics. Am I Is this still an apostolic church? You know what I'm talking about? That joy of the Holy Ghost to get up in the mornings and and call his name and feel his presence near and close. Even on the days when I'm not feeling good. Even on the days when bad things are going on, there's still a joy that resides inside of me that the world, they didn't give it to me and it can't take it away from me. It is something that only my God gives me. >> And and then that's what he's talking about. The poor in spirit have emptied themselves out of all the other things that are only temporary. They they won't they won't sustain you. They won't last. They will they will disappoint you and leave you lacking and wanting. But not the joy of the Holy Ghost. He's never left me lacking or wanting. He has always met me and filled me and sustained me and kept me. What a God. What a God. The joy of salvation. It's better than happiness. It's better than a man who has things. There's a special that comes just from those who know him and know how to walk with him. To simplify what I'm saying, ladies and gentlemen, this has a lot to do with our posture before God.

So, let's be clear about a couple things that that being poor in spirit is not. Okay? It is not low self-esteem. That's not what he's talking about when he says poor in spirit. He's not talking about low self-esteem. He's not talking about a self-hatred. That is that is absolutely not what he's referring to. He's not talking about you being timid or passive or having a lack of confidence or being emotionally broke down all the time. It's not a blessing of insecurity. That's not what this is about. is a blessing of honesty that I am honest before God that you you're honest before God that I am nothing without you God and if it's if it if it happens it's only because you allowed it to happen that whatever good comes into my life comes from you it's not about thinking less of yourself it's about thinking accurately about yourself before God accurately ly about yourself before God. So, how do we do this? You know, we we have to we have to be mindful that there is greater things in life than me me having things. Now, again, I I don't want you to feel like you got to live without some things that could bring you some happiness. So, you know, these two guys like to deer hunt. So, I'm not saying you got to get rid of the tree stands or the the deer rifles.

I'm not saying that. All right. So, you guys all right with me? You happy now? All right, good. You are smiling. You're a little nervous. Oh, you know, it's keeping a proper perspective. As I've said before, do you have possessions or do your possessions have you? And the only way you can determine whether or not they have you is if it gets taken away from you, if it gets lost. Are you okay? I'm not saying you wouldn't be like, "Oh man, I wish that wouldn't have happened." But if you completely fall apart because that thing, whatever that thing is, whatever your thing is, whatever your valuable thing is, and we all have something that's valuable, whatever your thing is, imagine for a minute that it was taken away from you or somebody trashed it or wrecked it or it broke or how are you? How are you in that moment? >> >> And if you find yourself with a little bit of a little bit of a tug there that makes you feel uncomfortable, then you may need to check that. It may have too firm a grip on you because there's something more valuable in life than the things. It's understanding really, and this is where we're going to try to get to in just a minute, understand the importance of our relationships that we have with each other. What is the most valuable thing in the kingdom of God?

Now, you know the answer to this question. Just look around the room right now for just a minute. Just I want you to look around. Just look around. Everybody looking around? Now, I'm going to ask you this question. What's the most valuable thing in the kingdom of God? You know the answer. What does it say? It >> people. It's not gold, right? They paved the streets with that. That's just asphalt up there. The most valuable thing are people. So I'm going to ask you if you know this now, you know what's the most valuable to him. How are we working on what's most valuable to him? How are we working on it? And like, wow, Pastor Kevin, we were talking about poor in spirit. Then you got to step on my toes. I know I'm good like that. There's a story about a village in Japan on the seashore about a 100 years ago that there's an earthquake that was known to be prone for earthquakes and little village had one man who had managed to do better than everybody else in the village and he owned a pretty significant little piece of farmland. was kind of up on up on the hill and had always had an abundance of crops and he wasn't very wellliked by the village. Everybody thought he was the rich guy up on the hill and they had a pretty massive earthquake and it rattled the little village but again they're used to earthquakes going on so this was not something that was completely uncommon for them.

But the man went out on his front porch, the guy that lived up on the hill went up on his front porch and he noticed out looking out on the water, he could see a dark ring out there far coming in and realized what was coming in. There was a tsunami coming in. He's trying to figure out what do I do at this point because it's going to take the rest of the village out that's below me. So he didn't have enough time to saddle up his horse and ride down to the village. So he looked around and pulled a log out of his fire in his house and ran it outside and he set his field on fire. He set his wealth on fire. And the village looked up and they could see the v burning and they all started running up there to try to see where the fire was and try to help out was going on. And in the process, the majority of the village was saved when the tsunami hit. By the time they got there and they were trying to help put out the fire, he stopped them all and said, "Look, look what's coming." and the waves came in and most of the village was saved. And in the day, the man realized what was more valuable than his crops was the people. Now, I'm not saying that you got to go home and set your garage on fire so your neighbors will come out and say, "Hey, now that you're here, don't worry about putting out the fire.

Let me tell you about Jesus." That's a pretty extreme story, right? But I am saying I do feel like it's important that we need to be mindful about the people and the value of everyone we see. You've never laid eyes on someone that God doesn't love just as much as he loves you. You may not love them. You may not like them, but he does. So where are we at? The Bible states that Jesus became poor to make us rich. Did you know that? Hebrews 12:2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was said before him endured the cross, despising the shame, he sat down the right hand of the throne of God. He knew the price of poverty would bring in a new kind of wealth to those who also knew that they were poor in spirit. Are you thankful that he counted it joy? I know I am. When I look at that, I don't think I would be thinking joy, but for the joy that was set before him endured the cross because he knew he had to do something that we couldn't. He was willing to pay a price that we couldn't pay. And if we measure our righteousness against Jesus Christ's righteousness, then and by doing that, we should see the poverty that we have. We should see the what we're like.

And if we measure our righteousness by our own standards, we won't see or experience them. That's why the Bible says that we're not to compare ourselves among ourselves. We're not wise. And that's what happens. That's what I'm afraid of that we can sometimes be guilty of. Those of us who've been born and raised in the church, who've been around us, we we know enough of the Bible to be dangerous. We can be educated idiots. Don't point fingers. I know some people, man, they quote Bible and they just quote it wrong. not necessarily that the words were wrong, but why they're quoting it and how they're trying to use it is just wrong. And then we get in this comparison that, you know, I know I'm not perfect, but at least I'm not as bad as Kathy, then we feel good about ourselves, don't we, Scott? because we're not as bad as Kathy. And instead of addressing the issue that we know we really have inside our inside oursel, instead of owning up to the poverty that we that we have inside oursel, we we justify that we're okay because I'm at least not that bad. Don't act like you haven't thought that. No, you let me out here by myself. Got to be careful. We got to be very, very careful about how our mind thinks through these things. So, it doesn't do us any good for me to compare myself about, well, you know, if I look at Wesley, I'm I'm I'm an edge above him, so I'm doing okay.

No, no, no. I have to compare where I live and my righteousness against his. It's the only accurate comparison is because when I do that every time, I know I'm poor. I'm poor. On my best day, I'm poor. It keeps me focused on the fact that I have to have him. I have to be led by his spirit every day of my life. Otherwise, I get myself in trouble. We can never find Jesus's salvation or joy without realizing how poor we really are in our own spirit. How much I need him. We We got to be careful. I feel like as as I'm kind of shifting here towards circling the runway. Luke chapter 18, I was trying to think about a story that maybe would tie this together. And and if I'm being honest, I don't know that I've ever preached this before or taught this out this verse that I I was looking through my notes and I I couldn't find where I had dug down in this before, but I feel like it really fits good for where we are tonight talking about the poor and spirit. Luke chapter 18, we're going to talk about some pathology of pride. Verse number nine of Luke 18. Also he, this is Jesus, spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. So, did you catch that? I'm going to read that verse again because it's setting up who he's talking to.

He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Boy, I hope that'll never get said about me. Verse number 10, the parable starts. Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself. Everybody say thus with himself. God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers. Even as this tax collector, I fast twice a week. I give tithe of all that I possess. Interesting. Interesting language here that I feel like going to be fun to unpack. Y'all want to unpack it? Let's unpack it. Jesus explains in his principle of the poverty in this story two men. One comes as a wonderful example of spiritual discipline but has this pride and is full of himself. The other is a wicked man who realizes his own poverty and finds God's forgiveness and joy. So if we look at the Pharisee, this is the kind of man on the surface that every church would be proud of. He'd probably be on the board of deacons. He'd be the guy that people are like, "Well, you know, good old brother so and so." You know, he's he's he's always there. He's always on time. I mean, he he's the guy that always sets the rule. He sets the standard. He's he's the golden boy that is there.

He went to the temple faithfully to pray. He's a prayer warrior. He came to the altar to see God's face. He's doing what he needs to do to maintain a right relationship. He's avoiding sinful practices in his life. Notice that he states he has never stole anything. He's never hurt anybody. even though I don't know how that's possible since he pointed out the tax collector that was there. I got a little issue with that. He's never committed adultery. Not only has he avoided doing negative, but he has practiced the positive. He's fasted twice a week, right? I mean, he's like, "Hey, I've done this." He's tithed from everything, not just done the minimum. He would have appeared to be every pastor's dream parishioner. Like, this guy's got it together. probably would be like when I'm thinking about ministry leadership, this would be a guy's whose name would probably be at the top of the list right there. That's what this guy is. He would appear to be right, but he's a man of disaster because of the pride of his own spirituality. If you'll notice there, I had you say that he prayed about himself. I want to read you from a translation that I've never I've never used before, but I feel like today it very interesting the wording. And I'm going read from the voice translation that same verse. I want you to look at this.

Luke 18:11 from the voice says, "Once inside the temple, the Pharisees stands up and prays this prayer in honor of himself." Oo, that's tough, isn't it? But let me let me let me just let me just get down to where we all live. Has there ever been a time that maybe we've prayed a prayer in honor of oursel and no one wants to admit that, right? No one's got their hand up. Got to be careful about our mind and what we're thinking when we're praying to God. I don't think this man intentionally went in there to let his pride rule the day. But it was his pride, ladies and gentlemen, that was in control of the prayer. He did not pray to God, but to himself and to those who were close enough to be standing by to hear him pray. This man was full of himself. And it showed even though he did all that was right outwardly, it's also clear that he was comparing himself to the others that were in the room. Like when he mentions the tax collector, see, he was doing what I said we shouldn't do a few minutes ago about comparing ourselves among ourselves. Because by doing that, he felt really good about where he was at. because of I'm I'm paying my tithe. I'm fasting. I'm I've never stole anything. I've never hurt anybody. I'm good. At least I'm not like this person, right?

I'm not like him. I'm not cheating the system like that guy. What was God thinking in this moment? I wonder how God was receiving this prayer. The fruit of pride is to draw attention to self rather than God. When you and I both know this Bible says no flesh will glory in his presence. So if you want the glory of God to come down, your flesh has to be submitted. And if your flesh is rising up, I promise you, your prayer is hindered. The so-called wealth of this man's spirituality led him to be bankrupt before God. Pride is a sin and consumes our lives. It's interesting to me that this Pharisee was considered at the top of the ladder spiritually and the tax collector was at the bottom. They were the outcasts. Nobody liked the tax collector. Nobody liked the IRS, right? The tax collector, however, stands at a distance away. Perhaps too ashamed to even be near. probably feels unworthy to even be there in this moment. What a difference in attitude from the proud Pharisee. The Pharisees self-righteousness had grown to the place where he saw no longer someone else's need. He only saw his own importance and stature. He had no way of seeing there was somebody who was broken there that he could have went over and prayed with that he could have had compassion. And as I asked you a while ago, what's the most important thing in the kingdom of God?

He couldn't see that. Why? Why couldn't he see it? He was blinded by his own pride. He was not poor in spirit. He was wrapped up into themselves. And when he did so, he made himself a very small package. The Pharisee, by all accounts, would appear to have been ministry material. But his heart gives way to pride. The Pharisee was a man who shouted to those in the temple of all that he was. But what we see the tax collector is we go to back to the verse number 13 standing a far off would not so much as even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner. Again Jesus is telling this remember to people who thought too much about themselves. Remember that's what he he was addressing the crowd of people who were like the Pharisee. And then Jesus says this in verse 14. I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So we see the contrast. The tax collector, the most hated of all that were there, has come before God broken and poor and pleading. He didn't run from his own reality. Instead, he embraced it and said, "Have mercy on me." There's something about being open and broken before God that God is just drawn to.

He can't help himself. So why why, ladies and gentlemen, would we ever be less than truthful before God who knows all anyway? Who do we think we are to ever go in with any type of righteousness before a righteous God? I'm nothing. I am nothing. Oh God, the fact that you would even that you would even consider me. That you would even allow me that you would even that you would even bless me to feel your presence. Who am I? Who am I that you would even love me that much? Much less give me an audience. Do you consider that in your time of daily prayer that God would give you an audience that you have access to a private meeting with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Should that not humble you? How then can you go before him in an arrogant way? I don't know how that's possible. I don't know how if you really embrace and be and be be poor in spirit. I don't know how it's possible that you have any pride before him. There's just no way. Cuz I know me. Maybe this is just me. Maybe this whole lesson was just for me. I'm not that good. I'm not. And almost every morning when I kneel down before him in my place of prayer, I thank him, God, that you even give me the opportunity to talk to you.

Sometimes I'm just quiet and I don't say a word until I feel him. And often times I'm so broken in that moment that I can't believe he showed up again for me. For me, why God? Why would you even consider me anything? But he does. And then he just lingers. He's never in a hurry. I'm always in a hurry. He's never in a hurry. Oh. Oh, what what treasure it is that you and I have that so many times we take for granted that our God is patient and kind and loving and merciful and in spite of us, he still will come and meet us. But I'm going to tell you, it makes a whole different way when you come in when you're poor in spirit. It truly is a blessed opportunity. We see this contrast. The tax collector does not pretend to be close to God. He doesn't want the center of attention. He makes no excuses for where he is. He just cries out in desperation and says, "Have mercy on me." He makes no difference between him and anybody else. He's not even recognizing that there's anybody else there. He's just tuned in to God. He realizes his own emptiness and is total. And when he cries for mercy from God, grace is getting what you don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. He doesn't pretend that he should even get it.

He'll be satisfied with mercy, not getting what he really deserves. And this brokenness and this poverty of the soul, God hears immediately. He hears a man with nothing because the man simply just wants God. Did you catch that? He just wanted God. In his mind, if I got God, I got all I need. Oh, that that would be our mindset if I just have you. And what here here's the reality that happens so many times to us and we're all guilty. me just as guilty as you. Is it sadly takes some type of a life crisis to rock us back to that moment of really understanding that the things that I got myself so worked up really matter for not that God as long as I have you I really have everything. Why? Why do we get ourselves in that position? Why do we do that to ourselves? Why do we get so focused on all the things that are really temporary and they really matter for not? They really do and we miss the most important thing which is that he is here. He is here. This is the reality of every time that you and I walk through those doors into this sanctuary. He is here. Why would we not throw our hands up and worship? Why would we be upset if something's not the way we want it when he is here?

He is here. Blessed are the poor in spirit. The outcome of these two examples, the Pharisee leaves the temple no better off than when he came in. In fact, in my mind, I feel like he's probably a little worse. The spiritually arrogant have no inner satisfaction. They are always seeking it but trying to convince others of how spiritual they are. If you got to tell somebody how spiritual you are, you're not spiritual. You're not spiritual. The tax collector, however, goes home justified according to Jesus as though he had never sinned. Free at last. Whom do you think experienced the real treasure of God's love? the Pharisee or the tax collector? The Pharisee only had the satisfaction that he might have fooled some people into thinking he was really better than what he was. See, to to really bear the fruit of humility, it never lifts you. My u my father-in-law, Perry, I don't think he's here tonight. Perry, Perry in the room? I see barely back there. They lived out on on Ridgefield in the yellow house when I was dating Chastity. They had a pear tree in the backyard and man, when the pears came in, it would be full and the limbs would go down. You see, if you're really bearing the fruit you're supposed to bear, it's not a it's not a position that brings you up. It's a position that pulls you down.

If you if you really are bearing the fruit that you're supposed to be bearing, it will pull you down before God. You will not be lifted up. You will not be full of pride. That's not what happens. The tax collector had his satisfaction with the joy of knowing that people heard him and how righteous he was. I mean, excuse me, the Pharisee, but the tax collector had the joy of knowing that he was one who received mercy. And I don't know about you, but I love you and all, but if you don't think I'm holy, it's okay as long as he has mercy on me. That's what's most important in my life. There's a type of poverty that will make a man wealthy and happy, full of joy. But it's only when we realize that we are in abject poverty in the sense of saving ourselves that we can do it. And the only way I find that joy of salvation is by allowing him to fill me the empty void. But I have to empty myself out. I have to. You have to. We We have that responsibility. Blessed is the poor in spirit. Only when we are empty can God fill us. And then we will truly experience a joy unspeakable. How do you explain that? Right? I'm bringing this to a close. How do how do you how do you adequately explain to somebody the Holy Ghost?

Like how it makes you feel. You kind of sound silly, don't you? You're just like, it's just the best. Like it's the best of the best. It's better than the best. It's the bestest. you you run out of adjectives to describe it because there's we are limited in our human language especially in English in my opinion to be able to tell someone how good it is to be filled with his spirit I don't know how all I can tell you is you got to have it you just got to have it you just have to you like my I will fall short I don't have the ability to so I'm just telling you if you can get if you can have it one time I promise you'll know what I'm talking about and you'll look at me and go yep you're right I don't have words. Do you have words? I don't have words. My words fall short. I can't I can't adequately do it. That's the joy unspeakable to be filled with his spirit to come in. So blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What is it? It's coming in. The simplest way I know to say this is you come in and say, "God, I bring nothing to this relationship. But you bring everything. I'm going to empty myself out so that you can fill me up and then I will have the joy that only comes from knowing you." Will you stand with me tonight?

God, you're so good to us, giving us truth in your word that we can study out and find the treasures that are hidden in. Lord, I pray that we would always be mindful of where we are spiritually before you. Let us never come in, God, built up full of pride and self-righteousness, God, who are we? Who are we to stand before a holy God and claim anything? We are nothing. I pray Lord we learn how to be spiritually poor so that you could fill us and bring joy into our life. Lord I pray that if someone doesn't know you as Lord of all, I pray God as your drawing convicting power would continue to work on them. Give them a hunger and a desire to know you deeper and richer and fuller in their life every day. Meet us God. Meet us. Change us. Guide us. Direct us each and every day. Be with us as we leave this place tonight. be with us this weekend for our missions conference. Let there be a powerful move this weekend as we hear stories about what you're doing around this world. Help us be a part in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Love you guys. Let's go.