When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:1-3 NASB)
Jesus pronounced, declared the people in the multitude "happy".
Blessed = Happy, happiness. But not a happiness as the world knows. He speaks of the term of the "gods" which is a state where you're unaffected by the world of men, doesn't waiver with the rise and fall of your circumstances of life.
First exhortation was to repent - a change of mind, change of direction. Root word = mind, to think. An intellectual dimension of following Christ. Go beyond or go further than. To think beyond what you thought. Something about repentance that enables you to see beyond the right now to the not yet. You are where you are but you're not where you're going. You're not shackled. God has something down the road that will bring glory to Him.
He addresses where they are and directs them where they're going.
The key is in the "ed". Implies a passivity in the action. It's not you striving to get it, you have already received it. Blessed already. Being blessed. Not what's rising on your own but an action already upon you.
He's goes on to say... Blessed are the poor in spirit. He's not talking about people with a bad self image or low self esteem. He's not talking about a spirit of poverty.
The best thing you can do for poor people is not to be one of them. ~Steve Harvey. Meaning, you can't help anyone if you're in the same position as they are.
Poverty. One term. Working poor. Earning income. Barely having their needs met. Those who scrape everyday to make it a day at a time.
Another definition = to bow or to crouch, lives in a position if begging. Abject poverty. No resources. No sellable skills. Nothing marketable. Humility. Begging for a handout. Homeless. Those who have nothing. They only make it one day at a time if someone helps them. Survival only if someone gives them something, empty. Nothing on reserve. Needs an outside source to pour into their lives.
Jesus uses the word for abject poverty. Jesus doesn't say poor in finances, He says poor in Spirit, you are spiritually bankrupt. Faith is gone. Hope is gone. No vision. No resources to make it to fulfill what God has called you to be. Spiritually drained. Yet the journey has not ended because God has for you what you cannot handle in your life. You will never make it if God doesn't give it to you.
He's talking to those:
-Whose marriage is crumbling and you've run out of faith
-The Professional who has door after door after door slammed in your face.
-Praying, praying, and praying, and tired of praying. Tired of waiting. Tired of looking. Just tired.
-Told to walk in the spirit but can't even crawl in the spirit
God says... You are filled, happy. He's looking for those who can acknowledge that he's done, he's bankrupt, empty. One day after another faking it.
Hypocrisy because even in church there's no safe place to say I'm tired, I'm struggling...
It's in the kingdom where I learned:
-I can do all things through Christ
-They that wait on The Lord shall renew their strength
-No weapon formed against me shall block me
My storage is empty but I'm available.
Blessed is also related to the word "favor".
Prayer:
Lord, I'm available to you. My will I give to you. I'll do what you say do. Use me, Lord, to show someone the way and enable me to say, My storage is empty and I am available to you.
Lord, if you don't do this, I can't make it through.
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