"Spiritual Zeros" Enter God's Kingdom
Words From The Mountain
In 1972, a young Egyptian businessman named
Farahat lost an $11,000 watch. He was shocked when a garbage man dressed in
dirty rags found it and returned it to him. Farahat asked him why he didn't
just keep the watch. The garbage man said, "My Christ told me to be honest
until death." Farahat later told a reporter, "I didn't know Christ at
the time, but I told [the garbage man] that I saw Christ in him. I told [him],
'Because of what you have done and your great example, I will worship the
Christ you are worshiping.'"
Farahat studied the Bible and deepened his
faith. Two years later, he visited the village outside Cairo where the garbage
man lived, home to between 15,000 and 30,000 people living in poverty and
filth. There was no electricity or running water. Farahat found himself
reflecting on the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Soon afterward, Farahat and his wife began
ministering to people's spiritual and material needs. They preached the gospel
throughout Egypt, and thousands of people turned to Christ.
In 1978, Farahat was ordained by the Coptic
Orthodox Church and became known as Father Sama'an. Today, about 10,000
believers gather in a large cave outside the garbage village. It is the largest
Church of believers in the Middle East. In May 2005, a day of prayer was held
for Muslims to turn to Christ. Over 20,000 Arab Christians attended. The event
was also broadcast on a Christian satellite TV network, reaching
millions."[1]
All of this happened because one humble
garbage man chose to do the right thing: returning a watch that could have made
him the richest man in town. That act led Farahat to Christ, who was later
inspired by the Sermon on the Mount and guided many to follow Christ. We are
starting a new sermon series called "Words from the Mountain."
Let's explore how these powerful words of Jesus from the Mountain will
transform our lives. Matthew 4:23-5:1-4
I. Introduction to the Words From The
Mountain (Sermon On The Mount)
The words from the Mountain are the Words of
Jesus Christ from His very first Sermon, which is popularly known as "The
Sermon on the Mount, which is more than the Beatitudes.
"Sermon on the Mount, along with the Ten
Commandments, Psalm 23, the Lord's Prayer, and a few other Biblical passages,
are acknowledged by almost everyone to be among the highest expressions of
religious insight and moral inspiration."[2]
Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation of India, was inspired by it. For he
said: "Sermon on the Mount went straight to my heart. It left a deep
impression on my mind when I read it." What really impressed Gandhi in the
Sermon was Jesus' teaching: 'Resist not evil.' So he often quoted from Matt 5:39."[3]
Unfortunately, some Christians argue about these very
teachings of Christ, saying that they were only meant for the twelve disciples
and not for everyone. Some say they are outdated, ridiculous, and no longer
relevant, and yet others say they are too difficult to follow. Martyn Lloyd-Jones,
who wrote an entire book on the Sermon on the Mount, has this to say:
"Clearly our Lord was preaching to these men (the
twelve disciples), and telling them what they were to do in this world, not
only while He was here, but after He had gone. It was preached to people who
were meant to practice it at that time and ever afterward." There is
nothing, therefore, so dangerous as to say that the Sermon on the Mount has
nothing to do with modern Christians. Indeed, I will put it like this: It is
meant for all Christian people. It is a perfect picture of the life of the
Kingdom of God."[4]
This was what Lloyd Jones further envisioned: "If
only every Christian in the Church today were living the Sermon on the Mount,
the great revival for which we are praying and longing would already have
started. Amazing and astounding things would happen; the world would be
shocked, and men and women would be drawn and attracted to our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ."[5] Keeping
that in the background, let's explore the Eight Beautitudes that instruct us on
how to live our Christian faith in a highly secular and polarized world. Today,
we will look at the first Beatitude, "Blessed
are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
II. Spiritual Zeros Enter God's Kingdom.
After overcoming the temptations in the Galilean
wilderness, Jesus began preaching about the Kingdom of God throughout the
region. He demonstrated the Kingdom's power by healing people of all sicknesses
and pain, and delivering them from demonic oppression.
Great crowds that were touched by God's power followed Him, along with
His disciples.
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain to bring
his disciples and the people one step closer to following Him, so he delivered
this life-changing, counter-cultural message. Vs. 3, "Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." What does it mean to be
poor in spirit, and why does being poor in spirit qualify us for the Kingdom of
heaven?
Dallas Willard coined a contemporary term for the poor in
spirit: "spiritual zeros," people with no spiritual qualifications or
abilities at all. You would never call on them when "spiritual work"
is to be done. There is nothing about them to suggest that the breath of God
move through their lives. They have no charisma, no religious glitter or
clout."[6]
Being blessed in this verse doesn't amount to material
wealth or success. The word for "Blessed" in Greek means to be characterized
by the quality of God. Someone is blessed when he is indwelt or filled by God
and his nature. He is the one who has God's Kingdom within him.
With this very first Beatitude, Jesus set a standard for
anyone to enter into God's Kingdom: upon this blessedness, follow the rest of
the blessings. According to Lloyd Jones, being poor in spirit means emptying of
one's "self, ego, and pride." It is a complete absence of pride,
self-assurance, and self-reliance."[7]
Our Lord showed us how this emmptying of oneself would
look like in Ephesians 2: 5-7, "have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to
be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the
very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."
When we empty ourselves, we become spiritual zeroes,
receiving God's Kingdom and His dwelling in our hearts. It is like you can not
fill a glass that is already full; it has to be emptied first to be filled
again.
Similarly, God will not fill someone full of themselves
with his presence. We cannot enter God's Kingdom through our good works. When
we come to the end of ourselves and reach the point of emptiness in our
self-efforts, we become prime candidates for God's assuring presence and will
enter into God's eternal Kingdom. Poor in spirit are those who recognize that
there is nothing in them that saves them from their sin except Christ alone and
His grace alone.
When we confess
our sins and accept Jesus as our Savior, God fully empties our sinful hearts,
makes us a new creation, and treats us as if we had never sinned. At that very
moment, if we had died, we would have gone straight into his presence and to
live with Him in heaven forever. For most of us, that has not been the case; we
have continued living, so God also continues this process of emptying our
hearts until we are fully full of Him and look like Him.
Spiritual zeros are the primary recipients of God's
Kingdom. We see many of them in the scriptures, church history, in today’s
world, and even here at Hope Church. Jesus, during His earthly ministry, often
overlooked so-called spiritual heroes and spent time with spiritual zeros.
It was not often the scripturally learned Pharisees, Sadducees,
the teachers of the law, who responded to his call to repent, but the tax
collectors, the dejected, the prostitutes, the lepers etc repented and entered
into God's Kingdom. Jesus was called the friend of sinners (spiritual zeros).
Here is Jesus' verdict on those who hear the gospel, time and again, yet do not
repent.
Matt 21:31-32, Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and
the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For
John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not
believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even
after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." Are you a
so-called proud spiritual hero or a humble spiritual zero? Whatever you are, there
is Hope!
[1] Joel C. Rosenberg, Epicenter,
Tyndale House Publishers (2006), p. 206
[2] Dallas Willard, The Divine
Conspiracy, Page 98.
[4] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon On The
Mount, Pages: 10,11
[5] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in
the Sermon On The Mount, Page 23
[6] Dallas Willard, The Divine
Conspiracy, Pages 100-101
[7] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in
the Sermon On The Mount, Page 40
