We are going to hear excerpts from three pastors as to the definition of the first beatitude: poverty of spirit.
Below these three excerpts the entire sermon of each will be posted in case someone wants to hear it. In all cases, I would recommend hearing the entire sermon because it provides background and much that helps one better understand the context and value of Christ’s words about these states of blessedness.
Hopefully, you will find one of these pastors interesting and be moved to hear his entire sermon. If you should want to hear a pastor’s entire series, they are available on sermonaudio.com (or you could hear them one at a time as I post them all in this series).
Each pastor states that Christ was describing the true citizens of His kingdom when He uttered these beatitudes. Therefore, it is important for anyone who professes to be a Christian that these characterizations of Christ describe him also. That is, during self-examination, do you see evidence that these things are being worked into your life by God’s Spirit? (In closing, I will say a few words about that.)
The first excerpt is preached by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson. It is about 19 minutes in length. His sermon is on the first 3 beatitudes and is 71 minutes long.
The next sermon excerpt, 5 minutes long, on poverty of spirit is by pastor Timothy Bixby:
The next sermon excerpt is 19 minutes long, by Dr. Nelson Kloosterman:
Below is the entire 71 minute sermon on beatitudes 1-3 by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson:
The following 40 minute sermon is by pastor Timothy Bixby. Prior to this sermon, he preached two sermons, one introducing the beatitudes and one introducing the biblical concept of poverty:
The following 42 minute sermon is by Dr. Nelson Kloosterman:
So, how can you tell if poverty of spirit is being worked into your spiritual life by God’s Spirit?
Are your relationships suffering? For example, I use to be a great people pleaser. I bent over backwards to create harmony in my relationships, and I was also striving to create and image of myself as that of “a nice guy.” And possibly more that I have not yet realized?
God did not permit me to continue those manipulative ways of interacting. A couple of my relationships were blown apart because the dam of stuffed feelings welled up inside me to overflowing, breaking through the dam and spewing out on those people. Those relationships were damaged so severely that I knew that only God could heal them. They have been on the mend for a half-dozen years or more, presently.
And they will never be like they were, as I cannot go back to interacting in such emotionally dishonest ways. I have to force myself to be real with my feelings in my interactions. To draw clear boundary lines for others to see, and if they violate them then I have to address the situation honestly…with truth and love.
One person who represents one of these problems, was extremely important to me; such that they were an idol. That is no longer the case.
I learned numerous other things over a 2-3 year period journaling about these problems; praying about them; seeking answers from God…but those discoveries are too personal to blog about.
But I have to say that the entire experience was agonizingly painful. I guess that I could compare the experience to a boil being lanced, the lancing was painful, the discharge of pent up emotions was painful; the damage to the relationships was painful — much uncertainty; the wrecking of my prideful image….
If you are a Child of God, then your pride will be crushed. We are to work at humbling ourselves, but we could never do it as effectively and in a sanctifying way, like God does.