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Lesson 6 Matthew 2020
Word | Matthew 5:16
the other day | Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Today's talk is about the eight blessings. We all want to be blessed. God called us the source of blessings. In the world, it is a blessing to have a harmonious family, have children, raise them in peace, live a healthy long life, and become rich. However, Jesus says that the blessed are the poor in spirit, are those who mourn, and who are meek. We want to think about the blessings we should have through Jesus.
We may think that these blessings that Jesus has given us are so high that they have nothing to do with us. But this blessing is possible because Jesus lives in us. I pray that we can experience the heaven within us every day through the work of Holy Spirit. Jesus says that we, who seek spiritual blessings, are the salt and the light of the world. I pray that we can live as a salt giving taste to the world and a light clearing the darkness.

I. Person who is Blessed (1-12)

First, blessed are the poor in spirit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Sermon on the Mount is not a moral and ethical statement that applies to everyone in the world. It is a verse given to the disciples of Jesus, who became people of heaven. Therefore, the Sermon on the Mount is called the Charter of Heavenly Citizens. How should the heavenly people, which kingdom of God took place in their hearts, live in this land? The verse teaches them what kinds of blessings are given to them. Spirit (in Korean: Shimryong) means mind and soul in hieroglyphs. The spirit is the rational soul of human beings, the source of such consequences as power, affection, emotion, and want. You can say that your heart is poor when you find yourself arrogant in front of God and are lowered. 'Poor' refers to a state in which you have no property to rely on. In other words, it means a state of distress due to lack or deficiency. The Book of Luke said that the blessed are just the poor. But Matthew says poor in spirit. He once owned a lot of money as a tax collector. He was not happy by the big money. So, he reifies that the blessed are 'the poor in spirit'. In other words, he is well aware of his inadequacy. The poor in spirit are those who realize that God and others' help is absolutely necessary by realizing his/her incompetence. He is a servant of God, a shepherd who suffers from a lack of self. He is a man who sincerely relies on God because he knows that he cannot live without God's grace, and that he cannot do anything without God’s help. The poor in spirit is the one who kneels and prays crying out for God's help. God gives grace to those who seek by calling for spiritual hunger.

On the contrary, what is the state of a person who is rich in spirit? When you have a righteous heart, you do not seek God or seek His grace. The Pharisees or Sadducees considered themselves righteous and did not come out to Jesus. The Laodicea Church in Chapter 3 of the Revelation they were rich. They thought there was nothing to lack because they were rich. They earned money through dyeing factory. The Lord told to Laodicea church: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”(Revelations 3:18) We have to look back to see if we are in the same state as the Laodicea church today.

One shepherd reads the Bible with his wife for an hour every day. This is because they are poor in spirit. God is the only one to hold on to because of the trials in the world. When David was chased by Saul and living in the wilderness, he seek God as  a thirsty deer which is desperate to find a stream. God blessed him with a kind of grace, and he wrote a jewel-like poem in his sufferings. Another shepherd went through a terrible ordeal at work last year and became poor in spirit. Every day, he meditated deeply on the word of God and meditated on the Psalms, and testified to the emotions and abundant grace as if God seemed to speak to him directly. Because of Covid 19, we became very poor in spirit. We look only at God through physical difficulties. God let us experience heaven by making us to approach closer and pray to God, because we have nothing that we can do. St. Francis has prayed for a long time, and his prayer request was, "God Father, who am I? Who are you, God?" He found God with a desperate heart. He was the son of a big merchant, but he gave up all of it and lived as a friar. He made the Francisco Monastery with his disciples, who were following him, and the community was poor but full of joy.

Second, blessed are those who mourn. Look at verse 4. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Mourning is to be in sorrow. "Mourn" in Greek is "Panteo” which means "Crying as in a heart-breaking state." It means that much of sadness. As a matter of person’s sin problem and problems of his sheep and children he cries out desperately. He is crying out by tearing up his spirit with the problem of this era behind. It is precious for us to listen to the word and feel guilty and sad with tears in our eyes. When you're mentally sensitive, when you're awake, you have a keen sense of sin. Otherwise, you should grieve when you see your dry and evil heart. If you are emotionless on verses and do not repent, you must pray to God to give you mournful heart. There is God's consolation in this heart.

After David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, he had made atonement before God. His heart is well expressed in Psalm 51. "3 For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. " In verse 17, he sings, " My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart    you, God, will not despise. " When we hear bitter words from our loved ones, we repent with sorrow, and we are consoled by God with remission of sin. Blessed are those who shed tears and mourn for their sins. When you listen to God's words and write your thoughts deeply, you experience God's comfort when you repent. Jeremiah was the prophet of tears. He called for repentance because he knew that the people would be destroyed by arrogance, disobedience, and idol worship. But the Israel kept going the other way. Jeremiah sings of his sorrow like this. "If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly,    overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive. (Jeremiah 13:17)." Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, is called the Mother of Tears. Augustine was distracted and indulged in debauchery and castration until he was 30. But Monica went to God and prayed for her son's remorse with endless tears. God accepted the prayer of Mother Monica's tears and worked at Augustine. Augustine knelt before God and repented and became a great scholar. He saved Christianity from great chaos. When we grieve because of sin and weaknesses, because of the sheep's problems, we will experience God's comfort.

Third, blessed are the meek. Look at verse 5. "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." The original Greek word of ‘meek’ is “Fraus”. It is used in the process of taming wild horses, which are very fierce at first, but when they are trained here and there, they are tamed by their owners and become gentle. They are now in the control of their owners, and now they move as the owners turn the reins off. When wild horses obey their owners' orders and obey, they feel good and used the word "Fraus" when they say "well done”. Therefore, “meek” refers to a trained personality that can control all instincts and emotions. It is the ability to control emotions without rushing to anger even when you have to. We can say that a truly meek person is a person who has the ‘overflowing ability and yet does not use by his or her will, but uses it when it is necessary’.

Jesus is the representative person who has this meek character. Jesus is the king of all kings, but when people tested and ridiculed Him, the Lord has never been angry for His own sake or for His own good. However, when He saw that the temple of God became like a den of robbery and the house of prayer became a business place for merchants, He did not stand still. “Meek” is the ability to know how to be angry when you really have to be angry and not be angry when you don't. Therefore, we must learn the Lord's meekness.

Moses cannot be left out of “meek” man. In Numbersi 12:3, it says, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." Moses was very energetic when he lived as a prince of Egypt. But he was branded a murderer and had to live 40 years as a fugitive in the Midian wilderness. He lived a shepherd's life looking after his father-in-law's sheep. Then when he was called by God, he said, "Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue. Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else." he was humble.

God meekly cared and led the Israelites, who were complaining and resenting endlessly when they were saved by God from Egypt and were living in the wilderness. He was honored as a savior of Israel.
'Meek' comes not from a natural character, but from a trained personality. Also, when you believe in God's promise and blessings, you can be gentle without anger among oppression. Those who possess this meekness inherit the kingdom of God. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 that " 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." We must learn His gentleness and humility as disciples of Jesus. Jesus' disciples are those who live in this land and believe in God's promises and blessings. Since they believe in God's promise and blessings, they can treat people mildly without fighting.

Fourth, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Here 'righteousness' refers to God's righteousness, not to the righteousness of the world or to the righteousness of the people. God's righteousness is to have a proper relationship with God, and it is the principle of heaven's rule. Righteousness is the property of God and the standard of God. Hunger and thirst for righteousness is a desire of having a proper relationship with God. It is a thirst of wanting to resemble God's character. What do people hunger and thirst for? They thirst for human compassion and love; one hungers for money; one thirsts for pleasure. One thirsts for information on the Internet or on smartphone, and one hungers for games. But only God's "righteousness" can fill our souls who are hungry and thirsty (John 6:35, Revelation 7:16,17). Ultimately, when the kingdom of God is completed, the disciples no longer need to thirsty or hunger for God's righteousness. You will experience complete fullness. The true hope of God's sons is that God's rule is fully realized on this land. The Lord reigns and gives us full control by Second Coming.

Fifth, blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Mercy means to yearn at those who are in pain and pity and sharing together their pain and pity. When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth, he called and accepted Matthew as his disciple. As a tax collector, Matthew lived and was despised by the people, but Jesus' gave mercy on himself and called him as his disciple, which was a great honor and grace to Mathew. So he invited Jesus to his house. At that time, there were many tax collectors and sinners with them. When the Pharisees saw this, they blamed Jesus and his disciples. Jesus said that It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. And go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners. We are sinners who need to repay ten thousand talents, but the debt was canceled by the merciful Lord. Therefore, we also need to have mercy on and forgive sinners. God gives mercy and blesses those who are merciful.
Sixth, blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. In the verse Jeremiah 17: 9 it is written that "The heart is deceitful above all things." The sinner's heart is deceitful that if a person's heart is revealed outward, he will not be able to live because of shamefulness. That's how sick, ugly, and dirty a man’s heart is. However, we neglect to wash and care for our hearts. Instead, we use a lot of time, material, and energy to clean and decorate our appearance. However, we should not only focus on the appearance and trying to look neat, but we must also strive to pure and beautify our heart. This is why those who are pure-hearted are blessed by meeting God.
So how can we pure our hearts? The only way is to believe Jesus, who died for our sins, and repent for our sins. I pray that we humbly admit that our dirty heart, and go to the cross of Jesus every day to be washed. At that moment we will be blessed by God. We will become happy person having intimacy with God and enjoying his love.
Seventh, blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Peacemakers are those who make peace. Jesus came to this world to make peace by between God and those who were in discord. Because of sin, we became a slave of sin. Humans became a servant of the devil, and Jesus pitied those who lived in the pain of hell, so He sacrificed His life to reconcile humans with God. He was crucified. We became reconciled to God and possessed Heaven by the sacrificial love of Jesus. We are also called to be little shepherds in this world as shepherds who make peace between those who are in discord and God. I pray that we will be able to live the life of a blessed shepherd who is in peace in Hongdae and on each campus and at home. I also pray to be peacemakers in our communities. Self-sacrifice follows to create peace in a world of contention and conflict. Peacemakers try to think and understand other people’s circumstances. Even if we say some words, we try to say virtuous words, praising words, and try to prevent conflict and achieve peace anyway. This kind of person is said to be the Son of God.
Eighth, Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. Those who live according to the principles of Heaven and those who live according to the principles of the world usually collide. The disciples of Jesus, whose heaven is in their hearts, are hated and persecuted by people around the world. This is because they belong in different area. Because of faith suffering from a great loss and getting hatred and persecution is evidence that we are living as the disciple of Jesus. If we are being persecuted for righteousness, we already belonged to heaven and the kingdom of heaven is in our heart. He told us to rejoice and be glad even if we are insulted and have difficulties while preaching Jesus. This is because God will provide great rewards such people.

Ⅱ. Light and salt of the world (13-16)

What are the blessed people in the world who have possessed the kingdom of heaven? See verses 13, 14. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Salt gives the flavor for the food. Salt prevents food from spoiling. Likewise, the disciples who got eight blessings give flavor to the world and prevent the corruption. The personality of those who possess Jesus gives the world a taste. When we live as disciples of Jesus at home, on campus, and at work, the people around us are affected. People, like the disciples, want to live a good life.
But what if salt loses its saltiness? People throw away tasteless salt on the street. As such, if a believer loses his or her saltiness as a disciple, it is of no use, but trampled underfoot by people. As a believer, if we lose our holiness and live like the people of the world, we become abandoned by God and dishonored by the people of the world. As we learn the Bible and live by obedience and teach it, we grow into a vital group.
Also, the disciples are the light of the world. Just as the town built on a hill cannot be hidden, the disciples' lives are revealed. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, but instead they put it on its stand that gives light to everyone in the house. The Lord says “in the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” People see our faith and do not glorify God. We glorify God for the good we do. In order for us to act as salt and light in this world, we need a commitment to melt and burn ourselves like salt. It gives us pain, but then we will be blessed with the spiritual blessings of heaven. I pray that we will deny ourselves and give ourselves to Jesus who is in us, and live in obedience to his guidance. I pray that we will enjoy the eight blessings from the earth to heaven and live in heaven with the Lord.