We turn with me, please, to the passage we read earlier. Familiar passage, the Sermon on the Mount, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. We notice here from the opening verse that Jesus is speaking to disciples. At least this was initially the case, obviously. There were others who gathered there and it became very evangelistic we could say, but the context is him preaching to his disciples. And this is the sermon that continues through to chapter 7. Now he begins the sermon in verse 3 with a series of Beatitudes which indicate the blessednesses that are to be found in disciples. In verses 3 to 12, we have these beatitudes. And they provide the marks, we could say, of the truly blessed or happy soul, the person who is blessed of the Lord, the one who, trusting in Jesus, trusting in the Saviour, is blessed or happy. a happy man, a happy woman. Someone has called these Beatitudes a roadmap on how to live a pleasing life to God. It's a good sort of summary of it. Here are qualities to be found in the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they offer proof of the possession of the grace of God. the possession of these qualities that are brought out in the Beatitudes. Beatitudes could be described as a road map, but they could also be described as a hallmark as well. Here is a hallmark of the Christian. You know what a hallmark is, of course. A hallmark gives gives proof that precious metals are of a given quality and are genuine. It doesn't say that they are perfectly pure. Even where hallmarks are applied, the metal to which they're applied is somewhat mixed of necessity, whether it's gold or silver or platinum or whatever. But it gives proof. of a certain quality of genuineness. So in this life, these spiritual marks will not be perfectly experienced by the believer. There's also another aspect to it, and that is the contradiction, the apparent contradiction that there is, not least in the first two Beatitudes. Why does he start with poverty and with mourning? And there seems to be a contradiction. Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Blessed are those who are mourning. We don't automatically associate being poor in anything as blessed, nor as mourning as being blessed. But here it is. So the first two Beatitudes put in context what we are by nature, sinful. and how we are to be before our maker, poor in spirit and mourners over sin, essentially. It's not as though these first two Beatitudes or any of the others are a contradiction of true joy or happiness. Rather, they enter into the possession in this world of true happiness and real Christian character in the eyes of a holy God. Bear that in mind, what we're dealing with is what God sees, not just what others see us to be or think of us. So today, this morning, I'd like to consider the first beatitude this morning in verse three. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. At the outset, I would like to suggest various things which might clear away possible misunderstandings of what poverty in spirit is. So first of all, what I suggest, what is being poor in spirit not about? I would suggest several things. First of all, material poverty. If we've not experienced it in our own life, we have more than likely seen it depicted in the media. I mean poverty, grinding poverty. We see poor people in sub-Saharan area, or in Syria, or more recently in Gaza, or Ukraine for that matter, and our hearts bleed for them. But this is not what Jesus means by this beatitude. He does not mean a poor estate. For that is not a qualification for heaven, for such is the kingdom of heaven, remember. And this is not poor in flesh, it is poor in spirit. And secondly, we're perhaps aware, too, of an excessively humble character that is often manifested by people. Think of, for example, of Dickens' novel, David Copperfield, and a character called Uriah Heep, who constantly professes his humble estate. And in fact, it's a cover for driving ambition. And such false humility is not poverty in spirit in biblical terms. As one Puritan wrote, true religion, true religion makes no man a niggered. But then thirdly, there's self-denial. Now this is a good quality self-denial. We may say this is an element of poverty in spirit, But it's not poor in spirit that a person simply denies this or that pleasure or makes himself or herself poor. Merely glorying in having nothing is not this poverty that Jesus is speaking of. An example with George Orwell, the writer of the novel 1984, which was quite a sensational novel at the time and prophetic in some ways of what we're going through now, Well, George Orwell was a humanistic novelist. And he made himself down and out as he went to Paris to experience what it was to be down and out in Paris. That, however, was not poverty in spirit in terms of this beatitude, because he just returned to his fairly comfortable living afterwards. But then, obviously, too, it is not speaking of a poor spiritual state. this poverty and spirit, as if being in a low spiritual state somehow is poor in spirit in Jesus' terms. Being low in spirit, in a spiritual life, is not a good state. A backslidden condition is not poverty and spirit. So what does Jesus teach here? Let's consider what does being poor in spirit involve. This is brought home to us in a passage in Isaiah in chapter 66. Well-known chapter to you, well-known words to you. Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool, he says. This is what the Lord reveals about himself. Isaiah chapter 66 in verse two. So what of our relation to God? On this one will I look, he says, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. Now there we are getting to the heart of what poverty in spirit is. It tells us that poverty in spirit in our part must arise from our sense of the sovereignty and holiness of Almighty God. So who are poor in spirit in this sense? First of all, those who have a deep sense of their sin before God. You can't say that this is common, even in churches nowadays, a deep sense of sin. Perhaps I'm miscalculating, but you can't see it. It's bad enough to feel that you've done wrong to your fellow man. That's one thing. How are things between you and a holy God to whom all sin is an offence? The poor in spirit see their sin for what it is before a holy God. We have an illustration for this in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. See the Pharisee, he knows the law. He knows the law. He is pleased with himself because as he thinks, he has kept it. He's a humble man, not him. He stands separate from that ghastly tax collector over there. But see the tax collector, by contrast, his head is down. It's not lifted up. It's not raised up. His iniquities are before him. He has done wrong before God. See him beat his breast and hear him cry, God be merciful to me a sinner. There is poverty in spirit. As Calvin put it, John Calvin put it, they see no goodness in themselves but fly to mercy for sanctuary. Is this true of your life and mine? You've no goodness in yourself. No goodness, inherent goodness, as you are before God. Whatever other people think of you, but as before God, no goodness in you. Like Paul, you've come to see that what you thought was so good in your life is counted as loss and rubbish that you might gain Christ. You know the words from Philippians chapter three, the autobiographical sketch that he provides there of what he thought was so good in his life, but it was all just rubbish, dung. So they have a deep sense of their sin before God, those who are of poverty in spirit, but also this, very closely related to it, is those who are brought low before God, before the revealed holiness of God. Here is a characteristic of those who are poverty in spirit. Isaiah had a striking experience of the sovereign God in the temple in Isaiah chapter 6, the beginning of the early part of Isaiah's prophecy. And he says, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up. And the angelic beings reacted with, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. How did he react? He sighs. He sighs. Woe is me, for I am undone. Why? Get out of it, shall I say. Get out of it somehow. Lift yourself out of this. This is dismal, isn't it? Isn't it? Woe is me, for I am undone. Why? Well, he's conscious of sin, of course, as the tax collector was in the parable we've just mentioned. I'm a man of unclean lips, he says. In other words, he is brought low. He is brought to a sense of realism about his position before God. So the question is, for us or for any who will listen, the question is, has pride and self-reliance and our deep-rooted sin being acknowledged and repented in this life. And there's a daily thing, too, for the disciple of the Lord. This is poor in spirit. The gospel encourages sinners to bring themselves low before God, to see themselves as before a holy God, not just before the approval of men and women around them. This is a priority for anyone who would come aright to God, you yield and bring yourselves low before him. We have this illustrated in the letter of James and chapter four. Submit yourselves therefore to God, says James. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. There is poverty in spirit, you see. And this is the first thing. that Jesus brings out in the Sermon on the Mount. But this is the question, you see, why is this first among the Beatitudes? Because it is a matter of first concern in the relationship of a soul with God. This is how they must see themselves and must be as disciples, poor in spirit before him. Think of a tree bearing fruit. The question is, is it good fruit? Is it good fruit? We had an apple tree last year. It had plenty of fruit on it, lots of fruit on it, lots of fruit on it. But almost all of it was blighted in some way. A good tree bears good fruit. It comes from a healthy source. What is the basic health of the Christian life for which good fruit stems. Good life and good fruit stems. It is poverty and spirit. That's what it is. How is that? Well, because it speaks of a soul who really sees what they are before God and what he is in his perfections and in his holiness. This is basic to Christian discipleship. Why is the church so low today? Why doesn't there seem to be much power or life? Why is there so little fruit spiritually? Well, where are those who are truly low before God, who realize their undone-ness before the Lord? Without this, what little prospect there will be for a blessed people, and consequently, for a blessed church. But let's consider thirdly the importance of poverty and spirit. If a soul is to be what he or she should be before the Lord, then above all they need this poverty and spirit. This is evident from the fact that this is the opening part of the Sermon on the Mount. They need lowliness before the Lord and a sense of their own want or merit before him. Now, there are several practical points to be made. At least, I'm going to bring out three practical points at this point about the importance of the Holy Spirit. If you're not conscious of being a poor wretch before God in these beatitudes, if you don't come humbly before him, How will the other matters raised in the Beatitudes, how will they be found in us? Thomas Watson has one quaint saying here. He says, if your hand is full of pebbles, you cannot receive gold. In other words, while acknowledging our daily responsibilities, if we are so taken up with lesser things, If we are so preoccupied with the things of this world, and we have our duties and responsibilities, of course, there's no question of that, but we're so taken up with these things, how will we grow in the graces of the spiritual life? But then, secondly, if you're not humble before the Lord as you should be, can you really have a right attitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, the more you think of yourself, the less you will see your need of him. Being poor in spirit will drive a soul to what? Being poor in spirit will drive a soul to reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ as their saviour and as their friend and sin-bearer. And being driven to reliance upon Christ, you will be driven away thereby from self-reliance. This is an issue in the gospel, of course. The unbelieving man or woman sees no need for reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ. What did it take for them to come in reliance to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, they need to be changed in their heart, need to be regenerated, need to be quickened by the Holy Spirit. need to be born again, need to come to repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Driven from self-reliance to reliance utterly upon Christ, poverty and spirit. Thirdly, if you're not low in your own eyes before the Lord, you don't have a distinct mark of a heavenly citizen. There will be no heaven at last for you. What do I mean? Well, see the second part of this beatitude. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Notice that this is not a promise of heaven at last. There is a promise of heaven at last, of course, for those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior, for those who have come with humility and poverty in spirit to him and put their all in him. and trusted in him, come to believe upon him by grace. But this isn't just a promise for heaven at last. There will be heaven at last for the poor in spirit, certainly. However, this is a matter of status or citizenship. Such souls are part of the kingdom of heaven, even whilst here on earth. The kingdom of heaven is here on earth, as well as beyond. And of course, there are the promise of heavenly glory hereafter. One further point about poverty and spirit, fourthly, what are the marks of being poor in spirit? Not much of this has been suggested already, of course. This is practical. How do you know that you have the poverty of spirit mentioned by Jesus and preached on by Jesus here? Well, first of all, I would suggest you will be weaned from yourself. This is a statement of Thomas Watson. You'll be weaned from yourself. What does that mean? It means that you will deal with your feelings of self-importance, sinful pride, self-reliance. When we put it this way, supposing someone, a preacher, says that you are a wretched sinner, how do you react? Some people might react, who me? A wretched sinner? I'm no worse than anybody else and I go to church and after all I put my envelope in the plate every week. This is not being poor in spirit necessarily. Here it is. What do I deserve? What do I deserve from the Lord? What do you deserve from the Lord? Nothing. To be cast away. I'm an unprofitable servant. Such souls are poor in spirit. But it must be real, and it must be honest. And when it comes to having the marks of poverty of spirit, secondly, you will be cast upon the Lord. If you can have no confidence in yourself, on whom can you have confidence? Confidence for eternity, confidence in this life and for the life that is to come. Well, what does Paul say? Again, writing to the Philippians, chapter one and verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. for me to live as Christ. This is the attitude of poor in spirit. Christ is my all, all my desire and all my confidence. I place my confidence in him and in him alone. I die to my sin and I live for righteousness, for him. But then also you will bemoan your spiritual state. This is not to say you will be content to bemoan your spiritual state, but you will have the conviction I need more of Christ. I need more of grace. I need more of the work of the Holy Spirit in my soul. I need more of devotion to him, to the Lord Jesus Christ. More consistency in my life, more heart in my praying, more desire for the salvation of souls. But you'll see yourself also indebted to the Lord. Here's a mark of poverty spirit, indebtedness to the Lord. Think of a sailing ship. It may be thought to get nearer its destination by the strength of the wind rather than by the quality of its sails. So the believer makes progress in Christian things more by the wind of the spirit than the sail of his own efforts. But effort is necessary. You have to make your calling and your election, sure. But we depend upon the wind of the Holy Spirit in it. So you see yourself indebted to the Lord. You see yourself also much in prayer. That is a mark of poverty in spirit. Because after all, what is an attitude? What is prayer? Prayer is an attitude of submissiveness to God. Prayer is an attitude of submission, is it not? Mark the poor in spirit, hear the sighs, see the tears. Finally, you will rejoice in the free grace of God. A wonderful thing, the free grace of God. We are in what is called a Calvinistic church. We hold to the sovereignty of divine grace. Will this make us feel superior? Will it make us feel superior? No, it won't. Rather, it should humble us before him because it is an acknowledgement of the weakness of man and the strength of God, the weakness of man and the sovereignty of God. This is acknowledged. It tells us of this. It encourages us, in other words, to be poor in spirit. So how humbled are we before the Lord? This is a big question. This is what the disciples should be. This is, he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, his disciples came to him, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We should be humble before the Lord. And it is the best disposition to have as you pass through the wilderness of this world. This is how it must be if you are to enjoy heavenly rest beyond. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is not just beyond, as we've said. The believer is living within the kingdom of heaven here below. So let us have this mark of it. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, bringing ourselves low before him. This is necessary, of course, for all or any here who are still not saved. It is a necessity that you come into the kingdom of God. Jesus came preaching that all men should repent of their sins. The gospel is a gospel of repentance. It is an invitation to men and women to come to Christ, to come into the kingdom of God, that kingdom of which he is the king, and to have consequently a hope of heaven. But if that is to be so, you must be born again. Being poor in spirit is something the believer must constantly be exercised over, because this is an attitude which is an antidote to pride, which can destroy a church. Those who raise themselves up will be brought low. Those who bring themselves low will be raised up. If you want to spend this life in a blessed, useful state, and spend eternity in a blessed, glorious state, then this is the first disposition to have. Blessed are the poor in spirit. May the Lord bless these thoughts upon his holy word. Let us pray. Our loving Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word and pray that the Spirit would bless it to our hearts and souls. We pray that we would manifest the marks of having poverty in spirit and thereby a hope of heaven. Gracious Lord, give Thy blessing upon us as we sit under Thy Word, that it would resonate in our minds and hearts and produce in us fruit unto holiness, the end everlasting life. and so Lord that we will be hearers and doers of thy word forgive us every way in which we fall and fail and falter and Lord forgive us and receive us graciously bless thy word we pray in Jesus name amen Let us sing in conclusion Psalm 34. Psalm 34. Verses 18 to 22. 18 to the end. Here is a psalm of encouragement of poverty and spirit. The Lord is ever nigh to them that be of broken spirit. to them that he safely doth afford that are in heart contrite. The troubles that afflict the just in number many be, but yet at length out of them all the Lord hath set him free. He carefully his bones doth keep, whatever can befall that not so much as one of them can broken be at all. Ill shall the wicked slay, laid waste shall be who hate the just. The Lord redeems his servants' souls, none perish that him trusts. These verses from verse 18 to 22 of Psalm 34. The Lord is ever nigh to them that be of broken spirit. The Lord is ever nigh to them that be of broken spirit. To them be safe, King of the Fort, The town in high contrite. The troubles that afflict the just, in number many be. But yet, out there, out of them all, the Lord God set him free. He carefully his bones doth teach Whatever can befall That known so much as one of them can broken be at all. Help shall the weakest slain, laid waste, shall be he who hateth the just. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you