HOW TO INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN? (PSL)

[Pursuing the Way to Happiness]
( Matthew 5:3 )
A Message by Rev. Dr. Stanley Lim on 9 & 10 December 2000

INTRODUCTION:

Continuing with the theme on Pursuing the way to happiness, if God were to say to choose any 8 things that will make you happy, what would you choose? Would you choose to be “poor in spirit?” Would you choose such things as mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst, being merciful, being pure in heart, being a peacemaker or experiencing persecution? Do you think that experiencing these 8 things would make you happy? Jesus seems to think so. Let us consider this particular Beatitude today of being poor in spirit.

When Jesus spoke of the ‘poor in spirit’ he was referring to our recognition of a lack in the inward man not in outward circumstances. Consequently, to be poor in spirit is to recognize one’s poverty spiritually before God. The person who is ‘poor in spirit’ is the person who does not boast of his attainments or talents since he knows what he has nothing that has not been given to him.

Hence, it is correct to say that the ‘poor in spirit’ is spiritually bankrupt before God. It is the mental state of the man who has recognized something of the righteousness and holiness of God. He has been seen into the sin and corruption of his own heart, and has acknowledged his inability to please God. It is to such a person, Jesus said, that the kingdom of heavens belongs.

I. Underlying this Beatitude is an important principle i.e. there must be an emptying in our lives before there can be filling. We must become poor in spirit before we can become rich in God’s spiritual blessings. The old wine must be poured out of the wineskins before the new wine can be poured in.

In the Dedication of baby Jesus, Simeon, a just and devout man prophesied in Luke 2:34, ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel.’ Notice the order: First the fall, then the rising again. In order words, the emptying comes before the filling, repentance before conversation, a recognition of worthiness in God’s sight before acceptance of His salvation.

Phil.2:5-8 - The passage often called the emptying of Christ, we see Jesus becoming bankrupt for our sakes.

ILLUSTRATION:
St. Augustine was held back from believing Jesus by the pride of his intellect and knowledge. It was only after he had emptied himself of his pride and his sense of being able to manage his own life that he found God’s perfect wisdom through Scripture. Martin Luther was no different from St. Augustine either. He entered monastery at a young age with the ambition of earning his own salvation through piety and good works. However, he experienced an acute sense of failure. It was only after he emptied himself of all the attempts to earn his salvation that God touched his heart and showed him the true meaning of salvation by grace through faith.

II. The second principle involves our confrontation with God’s love, holiness and justice which will produce in us a true poverty of spirit. Without the full revelation of God of who we really are, we will constantly look at others to assess our spirituality. Our true evaluation of ourselves or even of others depends on how God looks at us.

How then do we apply these two principles about being poor in spirit?

1. We all need to be honest with ourselves.

It is the admission that we are nothing without Christ. Such an admission will always be followed by the Lord flooding our lives with the riches of His mercy and grace.

2. We all need to commit our full potential to God.

William Barclays’ idea of “Blessed are the poor in spirit” means blessed are those who have placed their complete trust in the Lord. When we have done this we will become detached from things and will become attached to God. We will then commit our full potential to the will of God. The boy who came to hear Jesus preach in John 6 is an example of this. He took all he had and committed it to Jesus. Once we are willing to do this we will be absolutely astounded by what Jesus can do with us.

3. We will need to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.

For those of us who are already baptised in the Holy Spirit, we must remember that there is one baptism but many refillings. For those of us who are yet to be filled, you need God to baptise you today. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit will lead you to discover the Kingdom of Heaven in a marvellous way.