Beatitudes #1

HAVE YOU GOT A “POOR” ATTITUDE?

Have you got a “poor” attitude? I’m not talking about a bad attitude, but a poor attitude.

            A bad attitude is a negative attitude or a cynical attitude. Like the bad attitude I had going into Ethan’s grade 9 grad last week. Katy’s grade 9 grad had sub-par food and not enough of it and we were stuck in a dark gym. So, armed with my low expectations I was pleasantly surprised to have good food and great company in a really nice outdoor setting. See, my bad attitude served me well.

            But a “poor” attitude is not self-serving like a bad attitude. A “poor” attitude like the one Jesus commends in Matthew 5:3 is essential to being a disciple of Christ. Having a “poor” attitude means acknowledging that we come before God with nothing. It means admitting that we are spiritually bankrupt when faced with our true condition as human beings before Almighty God.

            Before we explore the heart of this attitude, we need to put it into context. We are starting a summer series on what is known as the Beatitudes. That’s a fancy Latin name for “Blessed.” We want to look at the nine “Blesseds” that begin the Sermon on the Mount.

1. Defining “Blessed”

There is so much that could be said about the Sermon on the Mount. The imagery, the setting, and the importance of what Jesus said and did are heavy with meaning. “Jesus saw the crowds,” or literally, He saw the people, He saw the nation of Israel. So Jesus goes up on a mountain and begins to teach – shades of Moses and the giving of the Law. That’s exactly what Jesus meant to do.

            But notice that those who come to Jesus on the mountainside are His disciples. Not just the general crowd; these are specifically those who came to follow Jesus as their Rabbi. These He begins to teach. To these He explains the Beatitudes. Let’s look at three aspects of the “Blesseds.”

a) The People – The people Jesus describes are not 8 separate people or kinds of disciples – some being meek and others being merciful. They are 8 qualities (8 because 8^th and 9^th are the same) of the same group who are all meek, merciful, etc. This is not an elite group of super-Christians; the Beatitudes are Christ’s expectations of all of us who are called Christian. Just as the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is one all-encompassing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace…), so also the 8 Beatitudes are singularly the character of a follower of the Lord Jesus.

b) The Attitudes – The attitudes Jesus commends are not literal. That is, we are not called to be poor, to live in poverty per se. Though Jesus does teach that money can stunt a Christian’s growth. But He does not expect us to be poor, or to go around hungry. Being poor and hungry does not make you more spiritual than those who have a full plate. What Jesus refers to here are spiritual attitudes: Those who are poor in spirit; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. These are the ones who are blessed.

c) The Blessings – Please understand that “Blessed” does not mean “happy” as some translations and speakers put it. Happiness is a subjective emotion and Jesus is making an objective evaluation of these people. He is not telling them what will make them feel happy, but what God thinks of them and what they are – blessed. If there is happiness involved it is an internal joy of being blessed by God. And the blessings comingle: It is not possible to inherit the kingdom of heaven without inheriting the earth, or to be comforted without being satisfied. These blessings belong together.

            One more thing bears mentioning. Jesus is not talking to unbelievers telling them how to be happy. The SOTM is for disciples. Go to the zoo and get to the lion’s cage and teach that lion millennial truth.  You teach that lion that he is going to lie down with a lamb and you get it clear in his mind.  Then you take him over and put him in with the lamb.  You know what will happen?  No lamb.  You know why?  That lion will not cooperate on the basis of the sermon.  The lion’s got to have a new nature.  You see?  You can’t preach the Sermon on the Mount to an unregenerate person and expect them to live it.  He’s got to have a new nature.  That all begins with poverty of spirit.

2. What does God want from you?

Have you ever wondered that? What does God want from me? There are standard answers we think of: faith, obedience, service. There must be something I have to do to be worthy of God’s love. Not according to Jesus’ first statement, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (3a). Jesus wants us to have a “poor” attitude.

            There are two words for poor in the NT. The first speaks of a person for whom life is a struggle but manages to get by. They eke out a living. The second speaks of absolute poverty, being destitute, bankrupt. This person has no choice but to be a beggar. This second word for “poor” is the one Jesus uses in the first beatitude.

            In the OT, “poor” meant to be literally poor in material things. But over time, because the poor and needy had no place to turn but to God, being poor came to have spiritual meaning; poor meant “humble dependence on God.”

            So to be poor in spirit means three things:

a) To have a broken and contrite heart. This is the attitude of a person who knows that they have nothing to offer God. We know we can try to bring our good works, our charity to others, our service in the church to God, and still be bankrupt before Him. Like the story Jesus told of the unmerciful servant who owed his master millions and could not pay. We cannot pay God what we owe Him and we know it. But knowing this, we still come before the Lord and beg for His mercy.

            David got this. He said, “This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps. 34:6). Later in this Psalm, David said, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (18). David knew he had no bargaining chips with God. He had nothing in his hands to convince God to act on his behalf. But David begged like a poor man. And God loves that attitude. Not that we should loathe ourselves, but admit what we are – spiritually poor.

b) To have a humble heart. It takes humility to admit that we are not all that we think we are and that we need help. Pride says, “Look at me. I’m a righteous dude. I’ve got it altogether,” like the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. Humility recognizes that any good there is in me comes from God – it is a gift and I can’t take credit. Pride compares myself to others – I’m not as bad as some people. Humility compares me with God and says, “Look at how far I’ve fallen short of God’s glory.” Humility makes me run to God.

c) To be dependent on God. I don’t often quote the Message but here goes: Peterson translates v. 3, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” A poor attitude is one where we stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God.

            You might be wondering, “Am I poor in spirit?” Do I have that attitude? If I don’t, how do I adopt this attitude?

1) Look to Jesus. Now consider the cross of Christ. There is righteousness. There is the fullness of love. There all your sins were dealt with. When you look at the cross of Christ you realize your own state in comparison with the Lord Jesus. We become like Isaiah when he was in the throne room of God, before the Holy One, and we can’t even stand. That’s a “poor” attitude.

2) Humble yourself. You’ve got to. Confess your pride-filled heart. Do it every day. Recognize again and again that it is only by the grace of God that you live and have what you have.

3) Acknowledge God’s love. Even though you have nothing to bring before the throne of God – you are a pauper in the throne room of God, wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Rev. 3:17) – God loves you like crazy. Let that wash over you. God loves us the way we are, as we are, with nothing to show Him. And the greatness of His love does the work in us that we can’t do – changes us into the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” (Ro 8:29).

            That’s a “poor” attitude. That’s what Jesus calls “blessed.”

3. What does God want to give you?

Only His kingdom!

            Heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. Because they don’t deserve it, God gives it to them as a gift.

            The truth is, God wants rejects for His family. He wants failures, sinners, losers, geeks, and nerds. He wants rejects who see their failure and run to Him for help. To these who see themselves as they really are, Jesus says, “Come right in. This place was made for you.”

            Sure, in the future, all will be made right. But that’s future stuff. No, actually, the kingdom of heaven entered this realm of life when Jesus was crowned King at his death. The kingdom is now! And we who have received the kingdom have begun to know the kingdom of heaven when a kindness is shown, when a stranger is welcomed, when an outcast finds a family of believers to belong to.

            The kingdom of heaven is the reign of Christ in your life. When a Pharisee asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:20-21).

            The kingdom of heaven reigns in you when you have that “poor” attitude that acknowledges Christ as King of your life. When you accept your status, Christ lives in you.

            Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, tells of passing a little house at a railroad crossing. Inside the house was the flagman for the railroad. As Dr. Chafer looked inside, he saw the man reading a family Bible. Although the door said, “No Admittance,” Dr. Chafer walked in. “I saw you reading the book and wanted to greet you,” he said.

            “Oh, I read that book a great deal.”

            “But are you saved?”

            “No, I’m not. I never could be good enough to be saved.”

            Dr. Chafer thought for a moment and then said, “Friend, if God would make an exception in your case, and give you heaven as a free gift, would you receive it?”

            “I’m no fool mister. Sure, I’d take an offer like that. Who wouldn’t?”

            Dr. Chafer said, “Take your Bible and read John 10:28 and Romans 6:23.” The man read the verses which speak of eternal life as the gift of God.

            “Stranger, I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but you’ve done more for me than any man.”

            “What have I done?” replied Dr. Chafer, “I’ve got you in a trap. You told me if it was a gift you’d accept it. Now what are you going to do about it?”

            “Well, I’ll accept it right now.” Dr. Chafer led the man to the Lord and went on his way. That’s the simplicity of salvation. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now what are you going to do about that?

            How about adopting a “poor” attitude?

                                                                       

                                                                        AMEN

Psalm 62

RESTING IN GOD ALONE

A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their mom with a houseplant. They had used their own money to buy it and she was thrilled. The older of them said with a sad face, "There was a bouquet at the flower shop that we wanted to give you. It was real pretty but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said ‘Rest in Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.

            Do you need a rest?

            Ask someone how their week went and they will likely answer “busy.” That has become the automatic response out of our mouths these days. We frantically rush about making our lives busy with work, school, our kids’ after-school events, and social demands. One would almost be ashamed to say that their life is not busy. To be busy is to be productive, to be useful, to be important. But to be “busy” is practically and fundamentally idolatrous.

            Being “busy” has left no time for hospitality (a pastor colleague of mine shared a familiar observation – no one invites anyone over for Sunday dinner or visiting anymore). Being “busy” keeps us from being available to others or to God. Being “busy” has become a god in that we find our satisfaction and fulfillment in it.

            But being “busy” is exhausting. You need to rest.

            David wrote this Psalm (62) saying, “My soul finds rest in God alone…” The rest he speaks of could also be called security, comfort, peace of mind, or being at peace. David wrote this psalm, as he did all his psalms, out of personal experience. His sense of personal security was threatened and all that he depended on for peace had failed him. Once more, through trials and testing, David was reminded that true rest is found only in God. When life threatens your personal security, you will always find rest in God alone.

1. What threatens your security?

Applying Psalm 62 to our lives is difficult since few of us have ever been in the situation that David found himself in. Evil men were trying to kill him and take the throne; his own son, Absalom, tried to usurp the throne. The attacks on David’s rule and life seemed to be prolonged as David cried,

            “How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw down this leaning wall, this tottering fence?” (3). There were some serious threats to David’s security and well-being. One does not sleep in peace when all that you know and love is at risk of being taken away.

            David indicates that it would not take much to do him in: he calls himself a “tottering fence,” suggesting that he is wearied from all his troubles. His critics might imply that his troubles are the result of a lifetime of sins and bad choices. If he had lived a sinless life, David would know peace. Yeah, this is faulty theology. Look at Jesus, the sinless One, and the conflict and troubles he faced from others.

            No one is threatening your life, but perhaps that which you thought was secure and trustworthy is anything but.

            Young people often find comfort and security by having a sense of belonging, being part of the crowd, fitting in. They also gravitate to the newest thing because it’s cool and exciting (music, gadgets, etc.). But the new thing can quickly become old. Crowds and peers can often lead you in the wrong direction and leave you behind when you fall or fail to fit in with the current trend.

            People in midlife find their comfort and security in the lives they have built for themselves. The dream home, career, education, businesses – we put our stock in these things as status symbols and securities that we are successful or significant. But these things can disappoint too can’t they? Jobs can be lost; businesses succumb to financial downturns; homes foreclosed on.

            And if you survive the middle-ages, retire with your health and home and spouse, everything stable and secure with your RRSPs – that changes too. My dad has what a nurse called Alzheimer’s-like dementia. He’s on a loop that plays over and over. He says he has no wife, no house, no car, no money, and all his brothers and sisters are dead. He’s the only one left. As one senior told me, “these are not the golden years they promised me.”

            What threatens your security? Practically everything because everything is temporal. It lasts for a short time and then is gone.

2. In what do you find security?

I have mentioned a few things that we put our hopes in, or that we trust in for our futures. Obviously I can’t mention all of the securities that you depend upon for a peaceful life.

            David mentions two that failed him in his life. As king, David had the command of people as well as great wealth. When your subjects obey your commands and the coffers are full of gold, all is well. Or so it seems. David found out quickly that this was not enough:

            “Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance they are nothing; together they are only a breath,” (9).

            There are sayings that people go by: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” – work with your enemies and give them positions near you in the office so that you can keep an eye on them. Here’s another, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” (the friend of my enemy is my enemy?) – so if we hate or oppose the same person, we’re on the same side. That’s no way to live, but it does seem to be a philosophy of our age. We take sides and build walls with this attitude, an attitude that contradicts “loving your enemy.”

            What David found, however, is that his friends, both common and noble could not be counted on. Unfortunately, they will disappoint you. The apostle Paul discovered this too in ministry when he sadly wrote to Timothy, “…for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me…” (2 Ti. 4:10). We walk a fine line of trusting people but not depending on them wholly.

            Psalm 118:8 even says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.”

            David also found that money could not save him from his problems: “Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them,” (10).

            Again Paul echoes David when he exhorted Timothy, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment,” (1 Ti. 6:17).

            The more you have, the more you can potentially lose. The more you think about how much you can lose, the more you worry about it. The more you worry about it, the less security it gives. Ultimately there is no rest for the wealthy.

3. What security do we find in God?

So obviously the answer to finding rest or security is going to be God. God is the answer. But why is He the answer? What did David finally concede is the truth about resting in God?

            We turn to what I call the bulls-eye of the psalm, verses 5-8. Here we find a heavenly treasure chest of reasons to find our rest in God alone.

            The first important observation we want to make is the word “alone.” The root of this word is found in vv. 1,2,4,5,6 and 9. It can be translated as “truly,” “only,” or “surely.” Whatever word you use, the meaning is that God exclusively is the object of our trust. Nine times “God” is directly or indirectly mentioned as the object of David’s faith. “My soul finds rest in God alone,” is a declaration of exclusive trust.

            Secondly, David makes this personal. Nine times he uses the personal possessive pronoun “my” to declare that the God he trusts in is “my God.” God is a personal God. He delights in relationship with His people, with those who acknowledge that He is God. He is not content to wind up creation and let it spin; God desires intimate relational connection with people. David recognizes that and claims God for his own. God is my God.

            David then uses several metaphors and expressions to tell his readers why God alone is the refuge of his soul.

God alone gives rest – This is the key theme of the Psalm: finding rest or security in life when everything crumbles at your feet. What does it mean to believe in God? It means having Someone greater than ourselves, mighty and powerful, caring and loving be our refuge and source when we are looking for good. To have a God is nothing less than to trust and believe Him with your own heart, and to say “My God,” to possess Him as He possesses me. This is the beginning of rest.

God alone gives hope – David said, “my hope comes from him.” Ravi Zacharias said, "Hope is that indispensable element that makes the present so important. Significantly, the absence of future hope has an amazing capacity to reach into the present and eat away at the structure of life, as termites would a giant foundation." I wonder if a person can say, “I hope…” and still profess not to believe in God? For what or in whom do they hope if not in someone greater than themselves? Hope is what keeps us alive. Without hope we have nothing to live for. Our hope comes from God alone who is overall and through all and in all things sovereign.

God alone is consistent – Twice David says God is his rock. A rock is something you build a fortress upon. A rock is steady and unchanging, consistent and steadfast in a storm. When floods and storms beat down, a rock is as safe a place as any. God is a rock: His love, His promises, His power, His character, and His grace are all unchanging. The writer of Hebrews declared that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever,” (Heb. 13:8). Jesus is the rock that doesn’t roll. You can count on Him to never lose power or grip of those He loves.

God alone saves – Three times, David says that God is his salvation. In our context we turn our gaze to the cross of Christ. I don’t think that eternity is what David had in mind, nor of this kind of salvation, though he believed God forgave his sins. I think David means “vindication” in the present tense. He believed that God would show that David was right to trust in Him by bringing about a positive result for David.

God alone is compassionate – What David discovered and told his people was to “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge,” (8). To whom else can you share all your fears and anxieties and not be ridiculed or told to grow up? God will not turn you away.

            A pastor went to see a lady in his church who seemed to always have troubles and difficulties. A new calamity had fallen upon her and she poured out her heart to the pastor crying, “What shall I do? What shall I do?” The pastor read scripture to her about God’s faithfulness and assurance that God cared. After he read Scripture to her he said, “You see, my dear sister, God wants to bear all these sorrows whether great or small.” “The best thing we can do is to take them to Jesus ... We must tell Jesus!” For a moment there was silence and then with a face aglow she exclaimed “Yes, Pastor, you are so right ... I must tell Jesus ... I must tell Jesus!”  For the rest of the day those words kept burning in the heart of Elisha Hoffman: “I must tell Jesus ... I must tell Jesus.” You know this song: I must tell Jesus all of my trials,

I cannot bear these burdens alone; In my distress He kindly will help me, He ever loves and cares for His own.

            God alone is compassionate. Peter wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” (1 Pe. 5:7).

            These are the securities that we find in God; this is why we find rest in His presence alone. But there is one thing more, and with this thought we close:

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” (Matt. 11: 28-30).

            I thought that this didn’t sound restful. Jesus wanted to put another yoke upon me and make me pull some extra weight. But no, that’s not right. Jesus wants to exchange our yokes, the yokes of slavery to legalism, to the rat race, to the greed for more, to the upward climb of prestige and reputation, for the yoke of true life.

            But there’s more to it than that even. One of our deacons with more animal husbandry experience enlightened me that her take on the yoke was different. When you put a new animal in a yoke it can be quite uncomfortable and unfamiliar. So you put an experienced animal together with the inexperienced animal in the same yoke. The new learns from the veteran animal how to pull.

            You see the picture? Jesus doesn’t just give us a new yoke; He gets into the yoke with us. He’s teaching us how to live by living alongside of us.

            As we learn what it means to rest in Christ’s work on the cross for our sakes, we learn a new way of living and resting. We rest in the fact that God calls us His own. We learn to know and do what pleases Him. We choose to correct our path and to be transformed by the Holy Spirit out of sheer joy and delight to serve the One who saved us. And then this happens…

            “…the fears and anxieties and insecurities that haunt us begin to dissipate. Success and failure in our work neither puffs us up nor devastates us. We are not driven by unhappiness over our looks, or our status – we are not deflated by criticism as we were before. Our self-image rests in a love that we can’t lose.”[i]

            Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you…”

                                                AMEN

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[i] Timothy Keller, Encounters with Jesus, p 118.