The Beatitudes – Chapter Four
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Printables
- Poor in Spirit half-size coloring page to print and color and keep in your mini-binder. Use the back of the page to write out some favorite quotes from the chapter.
Assignment for next week
- Read chapter five in the book
- Complete chapter five in the workbook
- After the pages are completed, click on Week 5, Chapter 5 on the Workshop homepage
- AND add a comment on this page to share what you’ve learned and leave a comment replying to someone else if you can!
I went through this chapter and the previous chapter initially by reading the book online. I was then able to find a copy that, with shipping, was half-price. I’m so glad I took the leap and bought the book. It was good for me to read through the chapters again up to this point and to note the answers I had giving, finding things I wanted to add.
I like the way the Doctor contrasts the Christian with the non-christian, especially in this area of poor in spirit where the world is all about self-reliance and self-confidence. I think we can even have too great a confidence in self, but disguising it as confident because of grace. It is not a matter of claiming grace intellectually and then living in self-confidence, but realizing I am nothing and have nothing to give. Only in emptying self am I able to receive what the Holy Spirit has to give.
I have been studying the book of Philippians and so I liked this quote from the book,”He said, ‘I can do nothing of myself.’ He said also, ‘The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works, (Jon. 15:10) I can do nothing, I am utterly dependent upon Him.” That’s what emptying looks like.
So, some of the answers to my questions on pg. 11: How does Jesus expect me to live in light of this? NO PRIDE! NO SELF-RELIANCE OR CONFIDENCE! Don’t trust self and don’t look for a better system. Look at Christ. Rely on Him. Let go of self-preservation in hurts. Let go of wanting others to know my thinking and to justify me. See my trials as part of the emptying. Do my daily responsibilities without complaint as unto the Lord and accept what He sends each day trusting that He knows best.
The worldliness aspect totally stood out to me too. I’ve been reading a lot of recommended “self-help” books this year and the doctor is absolutely right. I have to remind myself to look at what those authors are saying with a Christian worldview, realizing the values and principles they espouse don’t always line up with the Bible’s teaching.
God is giving me practical application for this beatitude this week. I believe that due to our pride, which we are all born with, we need to be broken before we can be emptied. You see illustrations of this in Scripture in the oil used from the alabaster jar to anoint Jesus in Mark 14:31 and in the breaking of bread both in the Last Supper and in the feeding of the multitudes. I am in a situation this week where I need to go out of my comfort zone to talk with someone about false teachers.
God spoke to me this morning out of Phil. 2:30 speaking of Epaphroditus, “for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” This situation will not lead to physical death, but a death to myself and it is due to someone else not being discerning so they are lacking in their service to younger believers. This may not make sense to all of you, but it jumped off the page of my Bible this morning. And in the context of Jesus, “making Himself of no reputation,” which is what Phil. 2:5 says in the King James Version, I need to leg go of self-preservation and my own comfort for the interest of others which is what Philippians talks about.
I need a quiet heart that God is indeed leading me to this. I pray that it will be used for His glory.
I love this! This is exactly what I needed to read after I finished this week’s workbook.
OK, first of all thank you so much for the video, I really needed to watch that (and re-watch it) after reading this chapter to help me walk this out. I understand now why (I think it was the first week) when you mentioned that someone in your study called this the dying page. In general, I need to look to God and His Word not to myself or my system or goals or lists, my relationship with God – this is what it means by ‘abide in Me’ – this sense of I am empty, He is my source, I need to come to Him to fill me up. When you showed the cup analogy I thought of my morning coffee and how I often get distracted and let 1/2 a cup of coffee get too cold and yucky – and so I will dump it out, rinse out the cup, and pop in a fresh k-cup. I would NEVER think of just adding a fresh cup of coffee unless I emptied and rinsed the cup first. How much more that applies to my walk with God! Habits – I asked myself how I could put His Word before me more than I do my phone, the news…Hurts – instead of rehearsing the hurts rehearse what God says about the hurts, Responsibilities + Family – it is not about me – if God has placed me here, then He is my source and He gets the glory. And the neighborhood, friendships, and family – Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones’ quote on page 38 – the man who is truly poor in spirit need not worry so much about his personal appearance…
My prayer – empty me out, fill me up, and hold me close. This is (for me) a scary prayer to pray, the emptying hurts.
That’s a great analogy of rinsing the cup, Sunshine. Your whole post is what I needed to hear today. Thank you.
Hurts was the question that made me really examine myself. I realize I’ve let too much of the world’s perceptions of what constitutes a hurt affect me. It really just comes down to a pride issue. I have to get back to iron sharpening iron and not take so much of other peoples behavior as hurts, but realize we’re all different, we communicate and handle things differently, and even if they did mean whatever word or action to hurt me, I don’t have to take it that way–I can respond in grace instead, BUT only with the help of the Holy Spirit! I NEED Him to accomplish that.
What stood out for me is that I can’t do anything on my own and it’s only through HIM am I capable of anything. Kari I love how you said it’s not the next Bible study or the way I pray that will fill me it’s HIM. I have to remember to go directly to the source.
Silky, Thanks so much that is exactly what I have to remember to go directly to the source even though I love Bible Study it means nothing if I am not seeking to know GOD personally and not to just know things about GOD.
I had to read through this chapter twice before I finally understood what Dr. MLJ was trying to explain when he spoke about the mountain that we have to scale , the heights we have to climb and then looking at that mountain and realizing that we can’t climb that mountain on our own. But to get GOD’s grace I need to seek after Him continually and He is the one who works through me when I let go of my grip and control on all the different mountains in my life and doing it my way which is so exhausting and which I see is pride about me, myself and I . Even the hurts and frustrations are pride and I need to see/hear how others are feeling and learn to really listen and not be thinking of my answer while they are trying to talk to me. They don’t always want someone to solve their problems but sometimes they just need to talk things out. I loved your video with the cup and seeing that we have to be empty so that we can be filled with GODs grace and then we can reflect His glory to those around us.
I am again struck by the realization that I am nothing and I have nothing – BUT – where I went wrong is that I failed to look to God. I failed to remember that yes I am empty, but He desires and is capable of filling me with Himself. As I read the chapter, the lyrics to the hymn ‘Just As I Am’ kept running through my heart, I remember hearing it just about every single Sunday morning and evening growing up. I googled the song because I remembered only the first stanza. But as I found the hymn, what struck me was the story behind it. https://www.godtube.com/popular-hymns/just-as-i-am/ This is exactly what Dr. Lloyd-Jones was talking about.