This episode centers on the first Beatitude, which proclaims, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In this examination, I delve into the profound implications of recognizing one's spiritual poverty as a prerequisite to entering the Kingdom of God. I articulate that this acknowledgment serves as the gateway to understanding the fullness of God's grace and mercy. Through this lens, we explore the contrast between self-sufficiency and the essential dependence upon God that characterizes true humility. As we navigate the depths of this teaching, we are invited to embrace our emptiness, thereby positioning ourselves to receive the abundant gifts that God offers to those who acknowledge their need for Him. In this captivating exploration of the Beatitudes, Kimberly Lockinour guides listeners through the intricate layers of the first Beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Takeaways:

1. The podcast emphasizes that the content shared is solely for spiritual encouragement and personal reflection, not professional advice.
2. Listeners are reminded that recognizing one's spiritual poverty is essential to accessing the Kingdom of Heaven, as highlighted in the Beatitudes.
3. The first Beatitude, stating that the poor in spirit are blessed, signifies the importance of acknowledging one's need for God's mercy.
4. Kimberly Lockinour discusses how spiritual poverty opens the door to receiving grace, mercy, and the fullness of life God desires for us.
5. The episode underscores that self-sufficiency hinders spiritual growth, while acknowledging our need for God is crucial for receiving His gifts.
6. Listeners are encouraged to approach each day with empty hands, recognizing their dependence on God's grace and mercy for every aspect of life.

The content shared on Living the Selah Life is for spiritual encouragement, personal reflection, and informational purposes only.

It is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace medical, psychological, or professional advice of any kind.

Please consult a licensed healthcare provider or qualified professional for any physical, mental, or emotional health concerns.

The views expressed are those of the host, Kimberly Lockanore, and are based on personal experience Biblical Insight welcome back to Living the Selah Life, a podcast that invites you to slow down, to breathe and reconnect with the presence of God.

I'm your host, Kim, and this space is for anyone longing to become more familiar with his presence.

Each episode is an intentional pause, a moment to reflect, realign, and remember that God meets us when we create space for Him.

So take a breath.

You are right on time.

Let's live the Selah life together.

Hey Hey y'.

All.

Welcome back to Living the Selah Life.

In our last episode, we introduced the Sermon on the Mount and explored how Jesus completely redefined blessing and what it means to be a Kingdom citizen.

Today we're looking at the first Beatitude.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And this is where Jesus begins His teaching about the blessed life.

And it's no accident that he starts here.

Poverty of Spirit is the gateway to everything else.

Without this quality, none of the other Beatitudes really make sense.

But with it, the entire Kingdom of God opens for us.

So I'm going to call this week's main teaching Poor in Spirit, blessed emptiness.

The first beatitude comes from Matthew, chapter 5, verses 3.

And again it says, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is where the kingdom begins, y'.

All.

Every other Beatitude, as I said before, flows from this one.

And notice that Jesus doesn't start with being strong or confident or like, capable.

He starts with poverty.

He begins by blessing those who recognize they have nothing to to offer God.

This statement would have, and most likely did shock his original audience.

The Jewish people expected the Messiah to bless the powerful, the righteous, the successful.

They thought God's kingdom would belong to those who had kept the law perfectly, who had accumulated religious merit, and who could present God with their impressive credentials.

But Jesus says the kingdom belongs to those who recognize that they're spiritually bankrupt.

And y' all know I like using some of the Greek words for the words that have been translated into English, because I'm gonna keep saying this.

Our English language does nothing for some of the meanings of words that they were originally written in.

The Greek word Jesus uses for poor is patohos.

Patohos.

I'm going to spell it.

It's P as in Paul T O C H O S. Potohos.

And this word doesn't describe someone who is just poor or who has limited resources.

Patohos describes someone who is completely destitute, like a beggar who has absolutely nothing and must depend entirely on others for survival.

In ancient Greek culture, there was another word for poor, and that was penase.

Penase P E N E S. I'm using these two words so you can see the why Jesus chose the word that he did.

Potohos, which is poor.

But the in Greek culture, for the kind of poor that we think of when we say poor.

That word is penase.

A penase person was someone who had to work for a living, who didn't have wealth, but could support themselves through their labor.

They were poor by comparison to the wealthy, but they could meet their own basic needs through their efforts.

Patohost, the word that Jesus used for poor, is completely different.

A potohos has nothing.

They cannot work.

They cannot provide for themselves.

They own no property, they have no resources.

They must beg for everything they need.

They are utterly dependent on the generosity of others.

Without help from outside themselves, they will die.

The word comes from a root word that means to crouch or to cower.

It describes someone who is bent over, crouching low, cowering in their helplessness.

I mean, Jesus really, really went there with this word.

But I get it because we are.

The picture is of a beggar sitting beside the road, hand extended, completely dependent on the mercy of those passing by.

And this is the word Jesus uses.

He's not talking about people who are spiritually humble or who have a modest opinion of themselves.

He's talking about people who recognize they are spiritually destitute.

They have nothing to offer God.

They bring no righteousness, no merit, no goodness.

They're beggars before God, completely dependent on his mercy.

What does spiritual poverty mean?

Or to be poor in spirit?

To be poor in spirit means to recognize your true condition before God.

It means acknowledging that you have nothing.

God needs nothing.

He requires nothing that qualifies you for his kingdom.

Every claim to spiritual achievement falls away and every attempt to earn God's favor stops.

You come before God empty handed with nothing to offer except your desperate need.

This poverty of spirit is not natural to us as humans at all.

We want to believe that we do have something to contribute some goodness, to present some righteousness that makes us acceptable.

We want to stand before God with Our hands full of things, accomplishments, even our moral efforts before him.

Our religious activities, all the things spiritual poverty requires us to open our hands and let everything fall.

We stop pretending that we're good enough.

We stop comparing ourselves to others and feeling satisfied that we're better than some.

We stop tallying our religious activities as credits in our account with God.

We simply admit what is truth.

Apart from his mercy and his grace.

We have nothing, no thing apart from his work in us.

We cannot please him.

Isaiah chapter 64, verses 6 says, but we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousness are like filthy rags.

Even our best efforts at righteousness are completely inadequate before our Holy God.

Our good deeds don't earn his favor.

Although many, many people will teach you that they do.

And I won't even say many people for a long time.

I used to have an issue with works.

I didn't know that I did until the Holy Spirit pointed it out.

But he had to deliver me from the works.

Based doctrine that's taught in a lot of places.

Let me not say that it's taught.

We believe because the idea of receiving everything and giving nothing is so foreign.

We believe that the more that we do, we're doing it to earn something from God, or we're doing it to do miracle signs and wonders, or we're doing all these works so that God can do something and nothing could be further from the truth.

Our religious activities don't purchase his acceptance and our moral efforts don't qualify us for his kingdom.

When we recognize this, when we see ourselves as we truly are before God, we become poor in spirit.

And why do you think Jesus starts here?

Jesus begins the Beatitudes with poverty of spirit.

I think because this is the entry point to the kingdom.

Without this recognition of need, we cannot receive what God offers.

As long as we believe that we have something to contribute, we're not ready to receive everything as a gift.

Luke 18:9, 14 tells the story of two men who went to the temple to pray.

One was a Pharisee who stood and prayed about himself, thanking God that he wasn't like other men.

He wasn't a robber, an evildoer, an adulterer.

He listed his religious accomplishments.

He fasted twice a week and gave a tenth of all, all that he got.

And then there was another man who was a tax collector who stood at a distance.

He wouldn't even look up to heaven.

He beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

And Jesus said, the tax collector went home Justified before God, the Pharisee did not.

The tax collector was poor in spirit.

He recognized his desperate need for mercy.

The Pharisee was spiritually proud.

He believed that his righteousness qualified him before God.

God cannot fill hands that are already full.

He cannot give grace to those who believe they don't need it.

And he cannot save those who think they're already righteous.

Poverty of spirit creates the emptiness that God feels.

And I thank God for His feeling.

Recognition of need opens us up to receive what only God can give us.

This is why Jesus starts here.

Everything else in the Christian life depends on this foundation.

We cannot even mourn over sin until we recognize our spiritual poverty.

We cannot be meek until we stop defending our righteousness.

We cannot hunger for righteousness until we admit we don't even have none to hunger for.

We don't possess it.

Every other quality Jesus blesses in the Beatitudes grows from the soil of this recognized need to be poor in spirit.

And Jesus doesn't just bless those who are poor in spirit.

He makes them a promise.

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Notice the verb there.

Jesus doesn't say theirs will be the kingdom.

He says, theirs is the kingdom, present tense.

The kingdom belongs to them right now.

Those who recognize their spiritual poverty possess what matters most, which is God's kingdom.

They have access to his presence, his power, his provision.

And they belong to Him.

They're citizens of his kingdom.

All that belongs to the King belongs to them.

Y' all see why this is kind of an upside down kingdom that Jesus is preaching here?

I love it, though.

Poverty of spirit opens the door to everything God wants to give.

It positions us to receive grace, mercy, forgiveness, righteousness, peace, joy, and eternal life.

Taboo, none of which we could earn.

All of which comes as gifts to those who recognize their need.

What does self sufficiency look like versus spiritual poverty?

Because they are polar opposites of each other.

The opposite of poverty, as I said, is spiritual self sufficiency.

And this is the condition of believing you're doing fine on your own, that you have what it takes to please God, and that your efforts are adequate.

The church at Laodicea displayed this self sufficiency.

Revelations chapter 3, verse 17 records Jesus words to them.

He says, because you say I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.

I know a reed when I hear a reed.

They believed they were spiritually rich.

Jesus said they were spiritually destitute.

They had wealth, status, and religious activity.

What they lacked was recognition of their need.

They thought they needed nothing from God because they had everything else.

Their self sufficiency blocked them from receiving what God could give them.

And this same self sufficiency appears in various forms today.

Sometimes people believe they're good enough for God because they're moral, kind and decent.

They compare themselves to others and conclude they're doing well.

They don't see their need for a Savior because they don't recognize their sin.

Sin is simply missing the mark.

You guys, I know that word is a dagger, but it just means to miss the mark.

And we miss the mark all the time.

All the time.

Even with Christ, we miss the mark.

So I thank God for his sacrifice.

Others are religious, but self sufficient.

They attend church, read the Bible, pray regularly and serve.

These are good things.

But when these activities become sources of pride rather than expressions of dependence to totally different motives, they create spiritual self sufficiency.

The person begins to believe their religious efforts make them acceptable to God rather than recognizing that only Christ's righteousness qualifies them.

And still others are spiritually confident because they've been Christian for years.

They know doctrine, they understand theology, and they can teach and lead.

But knowledge and experience can create a subtle self sufficiency that blocks continued growth.

The person stops recognizing their ongoing need for God's grace and mercy.

Poverty of spirit is the opposite of all these forms of self sufficiency.

It's the daily.

I said the daily recognition that we need God desperately and that we have nothing without him, that every breath depends on his grace.

Jesus perfectly embodied poverty of spirit.

Philippians chapter 2, verses 6 and 7 says he 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.

Jesus had every right to claim divine privilege.

He was God in the flesh.

Yet he made Himself nothing.

He emptied himself.

He took the form of a servant and he lived in complete dependence on the Father.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus repeatedly said he could do nothing on his own.

In John 5:19, he says most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself but what he sees the Father do.

Jesus lived in constant dependence on the Father.

He prayed continually.

He sought the Father's direction, and he submitted to the Father's will even when it led to the cross.

He demonstrated perfect poverty of Spirit, recognizing that everything came from the Father and that his life was about serving the Father's purposes.

Now how do you think we're able to to even recognize poverty of Spirit?

You Guessed it.

The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit produces this quality in us by revealing truth about God and truth about ourselves.

That's why I thought that doing the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes would be great after the fruit of the Spirit because of course, we need him here again.

We need him for everything.

But praise God, the Spirit shows us God's holiness.

And when we see how pure, how righteous, how perfect God is, we recognize how far we fall short.

And I think I've probably said this on a couple of episodes, but for me, the closer God comes to you or the closer you go to him because he's omnipresent.

He's everywhere.

But the closer you get to him and the more intimate you become with Him.

A natural byproduct is just seeing girl what Sarah I'm a borrow Sarah Jakes Roberts Word he knew we raggedy how raggedy we are.

Even with Christ, you begin to lose all forms of self righteousness because you see that there is nothing that you can do to be good enough and that you, you thank him for providing Himself and a way out of your human condition.

Because in his light, we see light.

But you see how your need for him is so great.

The Spirit also convicts us of sin.

John chapter 16, verses 8 said the Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.

When the Spirit shows us our sin, not just our actions, but our motives and thoughts, our selfish desires, we recognize our need for mercy.

And the Spirit humbles us by showing us that we cannot change ourselves.

We try to overcome sin through willpower and we utterly fail.

We attempt to manufacture righteousness through effort and fall short as we walk with God.

Over time, the Spirit continues producing poverty of Spirit by showing us more of our need.

We don't graduate from spiritual poverty, we grow deeper into it.

The more we mature spiritually, the more we recognize our ongoing dependence on grace.

Thank you Lord Jesus for your grace also.

Poverty of Spirit is not a one time recognition that happens at conversion.

It's a daily posture, a continual attitude.

It's a way of life.

Every morning we wake up spiritually bankrupt, depending on God's mercy for another day.

Every decision requires his wisdom and every relationship needs his grace.

Living from spiritual poverty means you approach every day acknowledging your need.

The daily poverty of Spirit keeps us connected to God.

It makes prayer necessary rather than optional.

And it makes His Word essential rather than supplemental.

And this gets really good for the Child of God.

Those who recognize that they have nothing possess everything.

Those who admit their spiritual poverty receive the kingdom of heaven.

And this is something that is not understood by the world.

It wasn't understood by the people that Jesus was talking to.

Because you know, our world values self sufficiency, self confidence and self promotion.

Get ahead, believe in yourself, trust in your abilities and promote your strength, which all that is good.

Because God values those things as well in him.

But Jesus says receive, that to receive the kingdom you must recognize your bankruptcy, acknowledging your helplessness and throwing yourself on God's mercy.

And not only that, that this is blessed, that this is the good life.

Not because poverty itself is pleasant, but because poverty of spirit positions us to receive everything God wants to give.

When our hands are empty, he can fill them.

And when we recognize our need, he can meet it.

When we admit our spiritual bankruptcy, he can credit our account with Christ's righteousness.

The blessed life doesn't begin with what we have.

It begins with recognizing what we lack.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

We will move on to our Scripture Spotlight.

It comes from Second Corinthians, chapter 8, verses 9.

It says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty, might become rich.

This verse is remarkable because Paul uses the same Greek word for poor that Jesus used in Matthew, chapter 5, verses 3.

The tohos completely destitute, utterly dependent, having nothing.

Paul says that Jesus became poor, completely destitute, utterly dependent, having nothing.

Though he was rich beyond measure, possessing all glory and authority of heaven, he made himself spiritually and materially destitute.

For our sake, Jesus left the riches of heaven to enter human poverty.

He was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn.

He was laid in a feeding trough because his parents had no proper cradle.

He grew up in Nazareth, a town so insignificant that people asked, can anything good come from Nazareth?

Jesus emptied himself of divine privilege.

He laid aside his glory.

He submitted himself to human limitations, hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain.

And he experienced temptation, rejection, betrayal and suffering.

And on the cross, Jesus became poor in the most complete sense.

He was literally stripped of his clothing, his dignity, his comfort.

He bore our sins and experienced separation from the Father.

He gave up his life having nothing left to give.

This was the poverty Jesus chose.

He became utterly destitute, completely dependent, having nothing for our sake that we can say a lot right there.

Stop and think about it.

This verse shows us that spiritual poverty is the pathway to spiritual wealth.

Every time we recognize our need for God's mercy, we're positioning ourselves to receive what Jesus purchased through his poverty.

Jesus became poor so that we could be rich.

This is grace.

This is the gospel.

This is why poverty of spirit is blessed.

We will move on to this week's Pause prompts and remember Paul's prompts are just meant to take inventory of where we are.

They are not meant for you to condemn yourself or any of the sorts.

We do not do that over here.

Let's go.

Pause Prompt number one where in your life do you struggle with spiritual self sufficiency?

What areas do you approach with confidence, maybe in your own abilities rather than dependence on God?

Can you identify ways that pride has crept into your spiritual life and where do you compare yourselves to others and feel satisfied with your performance?

How do you respond when you fail or sin?

Do you try to fix yourself through greater effort or do you acknowledge your need for God's mercy and grace?

What spiritual achievements or religious activities do you sometimes rely on to feel acceptable to God?

How would it change your relationship with him if you came empty handed each day?

Remember Poverty of Spirit Is the Holy Spirit showing you your needs so you can receive everything God wants to give?

Now let's move on to our Selah moment and prayer, my favorite part of the podcast.

This is our opportunity to acknowledge our spiritual poverty and receive the riches that Jesus offers.

Positioning yourself to receive Begin by sitting comfortably and taking several slow deep breaths.

And just for a minute, picture yourself as a beggar, hands empty, completely dependent, having nothing to offer.

This is our spiritual condition.

Before God, confess to God that you have nothing to offer apart from Him.

Release any claims to spiritual change, achievement or righteousness.

Open your hands and let go of anything you've been holding as a credential.

Before God.

Admit your complete dependence on his mercy.

Reflect on how Jesus became poor.

For you, he left heaven's riches.

He emptied himself.

He suffered and died.

He had no nothing.

So you could have absolutely everything.

Let gratitude for his sacrifice fill your heart.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you receive what Jesus purchased through his poverty, forgiveness, righteousness, adoption, eternal life, access to the Father.

These come as gifts and are not rewards.

Receive them with empty hands.

Let us pray.

Father, we come before you today poor in spirit, recognizing that we have nothing to offer you, no righteousness of our own.

We don't have impressive achievements, no goodness that qualifies us for your kingdom.

Apart from your mercy, we are lost.

Apart from your grace, we have nothing.

Holy Spirit, produce poverty of Spirit in us.

Show us our true condition before God and reveal our ongoing dependence on his mercy.

Keep us from all pride that believes we have something to contribute to our salvation or our sanctification.

Forgive us for the times that we we've approached you with confidence in our own righteousness.

Forgive us for comparing ourselves to others and feeling satisfied with our performance.

Forgive us for trying to earn your favor through our religious activities rather than receiving your grace as a gift.

Thank you Lord Jesus for becoming poor for our sake.

We thank you that though you you were rich beyond measure that you emptied yourself out and became utterly destitute so that we could receive the kingdom.

Help us understand that poverty of spirit is the gateway to the Kingdom.

We cannot receive your riches while our hands are full of our own achievements and we cannot inherit your kingdom while believing we deserve it.

Empty our hands of everything we're clinging to so you can fill them with what you want to give.

Make us like Jesus, Holy Spirit, who lived in complete dependence on the Father.

Help us say with Him, I can of myself do nothing.

Teach us to live from spiritual poverty, acknowledging our need every day, day, in every situation, with every challenge.

Help us extend the same grace to others that we've received from you because we're constantly receiving mercy.

Make us merciful because we need forgiveness daily.

Help us freely forgive.

Keep us in the place of spiritual poverty.

Holy Spirit, don't let success, spiritual maturity or years of walking with you create self sufficiency in our hearts.

Keep us aware of our ongoing dependence.

Make us people who live each day from emptiness rather than fullness.

Let our lives display the blessing of having nothing except you and discovering that you are everything.

It is in Jesus name that we pray.

Amen.

Let's lean into our Salah moment, Sam.

That is it everyone.

Thank you so much for listening to Living the Selah life.

If this moment stirred something in your spirit, please share it with someone who needs to be reminded to pause and to listen.

You can connect with me on Instagram, my Facebook group, or YouTube @Living the Selah Life or email me your story to livingtheselahliferoton Me.

That's livingtheselah Life all one word at P R O T O N Me.

Until next time.

Remember that God is speaking.

He wants to guide you and direct you and give you his wisdom for your life.

Create space to listen.

Come before him with empty hands and discover that he fills them with riches beyond measure.

May you go from this place rested, carrying the awareness that his presence is always near.

May you be rooted in the unshakable word of God, the Logos that ground you, and the rhema that guides you.

May you keep rising into the life he designed for you, into purpose, into peace, into the fullness of his calling.

May your life become a living.

Selah.

An intentional pause that reveals his presence.

In Jesus name we pray.

And it is so, Selah.