THE POOR IN SPIRIT | MATTHEW 5:1 | ANDY PITT

1. Point 1 Blessing- Greek ‘Makeiros’ meaning Highly favored, rich, satisfied or fortunate. It’s not an external bliss but an inner happiness. Scriptures:- Mary’s song- Luke 1: 48 James 1: 2… ‘pure joy’ John 20: 29- Jesus words to Thomas Consider the idea of ‘how fortunate are you’ together. 2. Point 2 Poor in spirit- Greek ‘Tokos’ meaning someone absolutely destitute, desperately poor, completely out of resource, at whit’s end & bankrupt. Being brought to ones knees by their poverty. Poor in spirit means we come to understand that we are so poor (spiritually bankrupt) that we put our whole trust in the Lord because we see we have nothing to offer Him. Scriptures:- Job 42: 1- 6 Isaiah 6: 5 Luke 5: 8 (Peter) Acts 9: 3- 9 (Saul) Luke 15: 13- 20 (the Prodigal son) Discuss being Poor in spirit together. 3. Point 3 Pride- Blessed are the popular, the powerful, the self-confident, the one who esteems self, the assertive, the arrogant. Values of the world oppose the Kingdom values. Scriptures- Proverbs 16: 18 Luke 18- Parable of the Pharisee & Tax Collector Revelation 3: 17- Church of Laodicea Discuss why God hates pride. Finally The Kingdom of Heaven is not of this world. Jesus interchanged it with Kingdom of God. Talk about what the Kingdom of Heaven means to you.