Poor in Spirit: Receiving the Kingdom Now

I can't pray without you. I can't be an usher today without you. I don't know how to serve without you. I don't know how to be a good father or a good mother without you. I don't know how to be a good spouse without you. Yes. I've got degrees and yes, I've gone to my small group and yes, I attend bible study and yes, I have been diligent in my studies. I pray each and every morning, each and every noon day, each and every evening, and the closer I get to you, the more I realize I need you. I am helpless without you like a little baby dependent on its parent in order to have sustenance. God, I need you. [00:14:08] (44 seconds)  #DependentOnGod

The beatitudes as it's called is Jesus telling us what our attitudes as disciples should be because ain't nothing worse than a Christian with a bad attitude. Because discipleship is not about what's on the outside. Discipleship is about what's happening inside. Discipleship is not about what you do, it is about who you are. Because what I do will shift from day to day but who I am is rooted in Christ. I'll have good days and I'll have bad But I am not my bad day and I'm not my good day. I am a child of God who can do all things through Christ. [00:03:24] (65 seconds)  #InsideOutDiscipleship

We can invest a lot of time and energy in fixing up the exterior while we're dying on the inside. That toupee will look real good in the casket. You'll be calling deacon Wilder to come and make you look real good with no life on the inside. It takes longer. Work out and switch my diet and cut out certain things. It takes longer. It's a struggle. Yeah. Because what I want isn't good for me. [00:07:22] (52 seconds)  #SoulOverStyle

You mean to tell me the image that I have been taught is failure, spiritual panhandling, being dependent on somebody else, not being able to stand up on my own two feet and pull myself up by my bootstraps. You you you mean to tell me that in order to get access to the right now blessing of the kingdom, I have to humble myself and say, god, I don't have anything. God, I don't know which way to go. [00:23:55] (39 seconds)  #HumbleToReceive

These beatitudes aren't really addressing behavior, they are addressing our being. Our reason for doing not just what we do. Because you can do the right thing for the wrong reasons. And the work that Christ does is an inside out work. Our culture wants to look better instead of being better. Oh, can I drive down your street a little bit? And inside work means that I'm working out what's happening in the spaces you can't see before you'll see the benefits before your eyes. [00:05:03] (53 seconds)  #BeNotAppear

But Jesus says, you're blessed. Blessings declare God's favor on these specific conditions and situations. This sermon is declaring that God's favor is not with those who have power and status and wealth, but with the powerless who are dependent on God. Jesus is declaring the reversal of their situation. Jesus is promising victory through him to overcome every circumstance and even the Roman empire who are ruling. [00:08:58] (36 seconds)  #FavorWithTheHumble

This is the problem. We have too many Christians and not enough disciples. Arrogance says the only way I can lose is if someone cheats. The world glamorizes being rich, but Jesus said, are the poor. Not to the people who are braggadocious, talk about how big and powerful they are, put their names on products, boast about how big our military is and how we can beat up folk. That's not Jesus. This isn't a political message, this is a discipleship message. [00:18:42] (53 seconds)  #MakeDisciplesNotFans

And I've gotta pray God to give me strength so I won't be my own worst enemy. Yes, sir. It's harder because it's easier to fool men and women's eyes. But you can't fool God. And so on the inside, I really know that I'm perpetrating and fronting. But I'm just trying to believe like you believe what you see. And here it is in this text. Because if you look everything on the left side is nothing that the world aspires to be meek, poor of spirit, grieving. [00:08:13] (45 seconds)  #AuthenticInnerHonesty