Several years ago I read the testimony of a Hollywood celebrity who had struggled for years with drinking. But they kept denying that they really had a problem. They said the breakthrough came when they got to their lowest point, and finally dropped their pride, and uttered what they said were “the three most important words I ever said: ‘I NEED HELP’.”
“I need help.” Those may indeed be the single most important words anyone can say. They are what every child learns to say: “Mom, I need your help.” “Dad, I need your help.” Our little grand daughter Abigail was over the other day, and she would occasionally look at Cheryl or me and say “hep?” A child knows they need our help, and they aren’t afraid to ask for it. Jesus said that if we want to enter the Kingdom of God, then we need to become like little children — and this is exactly what He meant. If we are going to get into the kingdom, and advance and grow in the Kingdom, then we must be willing to say to God: “I need Your help!”
Last Sunday we introduced our study of Matthew 5:3-12, a passage often referred to as “The Beatitudes.” But we saw that these Beatitudes are not merely 8 random character qualities which God has decided to bless, but rather these are 8 qualities which picture for us the character of Jesus Christ which it is God’s goal to work into our lives. In fact, when Romans 8:28 says that God causes all things to work together for good — Romans 8:29 immediately follows that up by saying that He is causing everything to work together to conform us to the image of His Son. We don’t have to wonder what the “good” is that God is working things together for. He is working things together to make us like Jesus in our character. And Matthew 5:3-12 is where God has strategically placed the description of that character: in the first words of the first sermon of Jesus in the first book of the New Testament. In this prominent place, He has put His goal for every one of our lives: He wants to build these qualities into our character.
This morning, we are going to look at the first character quality, found in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This is THE most important quality that can be built into you life, because it is foundational for all the rest of them, and all of the others build on this one. What it teaches us is the importance of “spiritual dependence” — depending on God and asking Him for help. Continue reading →
shawnethomas 