1. Grace Community Church
Blessed
Being Poor In Spirit
Matthew 5:3
January 16, 2005
Grace Community Church

2. Matthew 5:3-6 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.

3. Matthew 5:7-10 7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4. “The Boomer Bible” 4For I, Harry say to you,
5Cursed are the poor in spirit: for the only kingdom anyone ever promised them is in heaven, wherever that is, and everywhere else they’re dogmeat,
6 And you know it.
7 Cursed are they that mourn: for death is completely final, and mourning never brings back the dead,
8 Who are history,
9 As anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows.

5. “The Boomer Bible”
10 Cursed are the meek: for they shall inherit nothing,
11 Or were you planning on remembering them in your will?
12Cursed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall die of hunger and thirst,
13 Because absolutely everybody hates their guts,
14 And if I am lying about that, what is HE doing up there on that cross?

6. “The Boomer Bible”
15 Cursed are the merciful: for they will be bitten by the mouths they feed,
16 As which of you has not left his toothmarks on someone who was only trying to help?
17 Cursed are the pure in heart: for they were born to be everybody’s victim,
18 And why not yours too?

7. “The Boomer Bible”
19 Cursed are the peacemakers: for they are doomed to fail bigtime,
20 As they always have,
21 Because there’s nothing harder to do on this earth than stop a good Christian from starting a war with the latest godless barbarian neighbor to move in next door.

8. Personal Heart Check
Which list of collective wisdom resonates with your understanding of things?
Many Ask – How could someone write something that mocks Christ?
Should Ask – How is it that so many who follow Christ live as if Harry were their chief counsel?

9. Matthew 5:3 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
ptôchos (poor) - to shrink, to cower or cringe… Classic Greek uses the term to refer to a person reduced to destitution.

10. Poor in spirit: Are the wealthy excluded?
Luke 18: Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Colossians 3:5 5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

11. Meaning of Poor in spirit: Seeing yourself as you are before God… (Luke 18:9-14)
Pharisee saw himself before men…
Tax Collector saw himself before God… Romans 3:19 19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

12. Isaiah 57:15
15 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 is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.