The first three beatitudes.

Opening Prayer                                                                                                      Pg.1
God of our salvation, Just as we come into your presence in great humility, we also come in the joy of being in your service, of spending time in Your word, learning in fellowship among like followers of Your Son Jesus. We are thankful for your word in our study of the beatitudes as given to us by Jesus. We pray that our fellowship today will bless each one here and give each of us  joy and purpose that we may be useful vessels in your service.  Be with those of our group who cannot be here today, we pray you will share our blessing with them. Be with those of us who are suffering illness and those who care for them. Restore their health and bring them back into our midst. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen  
The Study
This is the continuation of our study of the beatitudes as given to us by Jesus in his sermon on the mount. The three beatitudes we are studying here are certainly qualities that we desire to have as Christians, and a higher goal cannot be desired than to be equal to the descriptions given in these qualities.

Poor in spirit, mourning our spiritual condition, and having a meekness of spirit, are requisite qualities necessary to obtain any of the other qualities listed by Jesus in the beatitudes. It is likely that these three were mentioned first in order to give us some insight as to how one must approach life in order to become blest by God in any case. Consider the opposite view to these qualities. One may have a high and mighty spirit, and mourn nothing of our spiritual condition, and be forceful and demanding, in our relationships. Doing thus in order to become successful and well respected in our business or profession, or among our social peers. But it might surprise one to find that only the opposite of these qualities will bring about the possibility of the promised blessings of Gods eternity.

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1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Poor in Spirit’ is a difficult phrase to understand. The word for ‘poor’ in Greek is ‘Ptochos’ which literally means having nothing, reduced to begging, like a beggar, totally broke.
While monetary poverty can also be inferred from these verses, what Jesus seems to be referring to  was spiritual poverty. One can be financially poor and yet be arrogant and prideful in spirit, or one can be financially rich and yet be poor in the spirit. ‘Spiritual poor/poverty’ is exactly what is implied. It is a state where one realizes that they have nothing of their own and need constant help from God.  "Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty, humble, and open to the Word of God.  Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. We have to be careful not to compare outward modesty with these characteristics. Being “poor in Spirit” is to have a humble and broken/contrite heart that constantly seeks help and forgiveness from God for their very existence. This image is in stark contrast to the self-contained, self-sufficient spirit which the world longs for and thrives in. But in the Kingdom of Heaven, It is Jesus, our Savior who humbles himself and is able to accept our frail nature, to repent, and to allow the grace of God to lead us. The “Kingdom of Heaven” is God’s gracious gift to “The poor in Spirit”

Q.1 How would one describe “poor in spirit” to a new follower of Jesus ?                                               Q.2 Poor in spirit and spiritual poverty are descriptive of what condition?                                                        
Q.3 Poor in spirit, and poverty stricken, can you explain the difference in meaning?                                                                                                                                                        
Q.4 How does one become ”poverty stricken”?
Q.5 How does one become “spiritually poverty striken”?                                  
Q.6 Can you describe the means by which you can provide for your own salvation?
Q.7 Can you describe the means by which you can receive salvation?
Q.8 What is meant by, “theirs is the  Kingdom of Heaven” referenced in this beatitude

The Kingdom of God (Heaven) is twofold:
It is Already Here: Luke 17:20-21: “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
It is Yet to Come: The Kingdom of Heaven will be fully realized and established when Christ comes back as the King and Ruler overall the earth. (Daniel 7: 13,14,27)
What a blessed hope and promise, Jesus offers to those who are poor in spirit! “The Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”
Paraphrase: "Blessed are those who humbly recognize their need for God, for they will enter into his kingdom."                                          
                                                                                                                                               







                                                                                                                                 Pg.3

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
How can one be happy, when they are mourning or sad?!  The loss of a loved one or a job or any other kind of personal loss or failure, personal sin, mistakes or failures can cause mourning.
People react differently during their time of mourning or suffering. They try to distract their mourning with worldly pleasures in order to ease their pain. And there are those, who turn to God to find rest and restoration in their time of suffering and pain. (Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”)The Bible talks about two kinds of sorrow. 2 Cor 7:10: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” We can understand these different types of sorrow from two famous events during the Crucifixion of Jesus.
Peter: When Peter denied Jesus three times, he “wept bitterly”. (Matthew 26:69-75). He was grieving for his failures, but this led him to repentance and towards Jesus.
Judas: The very next passage talks about Judas. His remorse may have been of a worldly nature therefore resulting in his death. His Mourning was a self centered personal failure and he felt sorry for himself, so he ended his misery with suicide.
There is a Godly Mourning to which this beatitude is speaking. Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right! Those who mourn, speaks of those who express deep sorrow over their own sin, or those who are repentant for their sins. The freedom found in the forgiveness of sins and the joy of eternal salvation is the "comfort" of those who repent. When one contemplates that we were made in the image and likeness of God and lived in Paradise, the Garden of Eden, and compare that to our present state after the Fall, one can only mourn our present condition. But the sentence continues that they shall be comforted, by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and hopefully one day in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Q.1 Does the fact that we cannot stop our sinful ways cause us grief, and so we mourn?
Q.2 How can one expect comfort when mourning ones sins and disobedience?
Q.3 From what condition did we descend so as now to be subject to being mournful?                                            
Q.4 Do we mourn because we sin against God or because we have failed ourselves?
Q.5 Do we mourn for Jesus in his death on the cross for us, or for our own desertion of Jesus?
Q.6 Consider what Judas did after betraying Jesus, was that the type of mourning we speak of ?
Q.7 In what sense does one who mourns attain blessedness?                                                                                                                                                
Q.8 How does mourning bring one to the state of being comforted?

It is in our suffering that we seek God earnestly. James 4:8 – “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” He comforts us and comes to our rescue. This Beatitude (blessedness) portrays a very different picture. God is calling us near, He is always ready to comfort us and all we need to do is to respond to Him. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Paraphrase: "Blessed are those who mourn and repent of their sins, for they shall receive life eternal." If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. This  produces mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so forgiving of us.
                                                                                                                   

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3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are the meek; A person with humble and gentle heart, is referred to as meek It describes a person who is kind and considerate to others, even to those who oppose him, who is easily approachable, not prideful or resentful, not temperamental or harsh. It is an outward expression of inward humility, strength and spiritual poise. While others may act aggressively, the Meek walk in godly peace, others may claim their rights, the Meek focus on their duties, while others may seek revenge, the Meek give way for the judgment of God. It does not imply a weak, sad, subdued person or false modesty. But it portrays a man of great strength of character and self control who willfully and joyfully considers his own life worth nothing, when compared to the greatness of God.  It is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22 – ‘gentleness’) It is the character, Jesus himself associated with. Matthew 11:29 – “For I am gentle and humble in heart…”It is the mark of a disciple of Jesus. Eph 4:2  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  And Christian leaders are to be meek. 2Ti 2:24  And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
St. Gregory of Nyssa taught that the Beatitudes build one upon another. A ladder of goodness, A humble person becomes meek, or becomes gentle and kind, and exhibits a docility of spirit, even in the face of adversity and hardship. A person that is meek is one that exhibits self-control. St. Augustine advises us to be meek in the face of the Lord, and not resist but be obedient to him.

Q.1 What are the qualities that the world recognizes as meekness?                                                                                                             Q.2 Are they the same qualities of meekness that Jesus is describing?
Q.3 What is the difference as to how Jesus sees meekness, compared with how society sees it?                                               Q.4 What is it about Christian meekness that  brings one peace in this world?
Q.5 Would you like to be known as a meek and lowly individual?                                                                                                          
Q.6 It would seem that meekness toward God is what Jesus is referring to, do you agree?
Q.7 What would you describe as meekness toward God?                                            
Q.8 What is the meaning of “for they will inherit the earth”?

Obedience and submission to the will of God are certainly not in vogue these days, but they will bring one peace in this world and in the next. Similar to "the poor," "the meek" are those who submit to God's authority, making him Lord. Revelation 21:7 says God's children will "inherit all things."
What an amazing promise and reward, God gives to those who are meek! – “They will inherit the earth.”Inheritance comes as a blessing for the meek, a gracious gift of God The meek will be the heirs and partakers of the Kingdom of God


Paraphrase: "Blessed are those who submit to God as Lord, for they will be heirs to everything God possesses."

           



                                                                 
Meditation:                                                                                                                  Pg.5
The Beatitudes:
The meaning of The first Beatitude, “Poor in Spirit” is slightly confusing to us because the words do not convey any thought to any of the desired necessities in life that make us blessed as we perceive blessed to be. The words give us a mental picture that we would normally associate with the word “loser”. That would be someone without any hope or reasonable expectation of success in any field of endeavor, and even spiritually we associate the same characterization. Thus it is confusing to learn that “Poor in Spirit” is one of the qualities we must have to achieve blessedness. It simply means that we are neither proud nor haughty about our spiritual life , and contrariwise, we are somewhat disheartened because we cannot live up to the spiritual standards to which one should aspire, Thus we are “Poor in Spirit” And as such we do not see it as a desirable condition.
To be among “Those Who Mourn” is also one of the negative aspects of The beatitudes that we associate with a sad and mournful countenance. It conveys to us the image of failure in some fashion, as the world sees it, or even death.  It then is confusing to read that if we are mournful, we will be blest. Those to whom the blessing is offered, are those who realize that their aspirations to have a Holy and Christian spiritual life are failing that which God would find pleasing to him. Thus we are mournful of our shortcomings at failing to please God with our life as we are living it.
The characterization of the “Meek” inheriting the earth is also somewhat confusing since those we know who are meek simply have no chance at success in this harsh and cruel world out there.
It is not conceivable to us to find that the “meek” will inherit anything, because there is always someone there to seize the day so to speak, and that person would certainly be anything but meek.
What we fail to see in this characterization is someone who is at peace with God and with this cruel world as well. Humble, not proud and haughty, and overcome with self interest. Actually someone who if there were a choice, God would prefer to choose the meek person over the aggressive soul. Just a Jesus reprimanded peter for his barbarous act of cutting the ear off a soldier. Violence breeds violence, the meek shall inherit the earth, We know that is true. Do we not?


Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, God of our salvation. There is so much about becoming a Christian and being a Christian that we do not know. We pray that through our study of Your word and through our interactions with our Christian Brothers and Sisters that we can become more Like Your Son Jesus in our Christian walk. We know that our wayward condition needs your constant attention so that we may Grow in our Christian faith.  We ask you blessings now on each of us, and our loved ones and those among us who are sick or disabled, that your Holy Spirit will be with us in all that we do  and give comfort to us in our times of distress.  Help us in our daily walk with thee. In the Name of Jesus we pray. AMEN