The Beatitudes

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Is Poverty a Blessing?

Very few would agree poverty is a blessing.

Most speak of poverty as a curse rather than a blessing.

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Greek word for poor - Ptochos

This adjective
describes not just
simply poor but
completely destitute
(bankrupt).
This word is always
used in a bad sense.

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Ptochos is to be absolutely poor

A man who has no

power.
Has no prestige.
Has no influence to
defend himself against
the insults and
assaults of the world.
People can walk all
over you and theres
nothing you can do
about it.
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What is the poverty of the Spirit

Not poverty of the

Holy Spirit
A personal
acknowledgment of
spiritual bankruptcy
Conscious confession
of unworth before God

Deepest form of
repentance
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Prayer of the publican

Luke 18:10-14

God have mercy on me, a sinner

No attempt to justify self or to
excuse ones sin
Totally emptied of pride and
completely self abased
Compare that with the selfrighteous prayer of the Pharisee who
did not see his total unworth before
God.
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Three Truths from this Beatitude

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Truth no. 1

The way to power lies

through the
realization of ones
helplessness
The way to victory lies
in the admission of
ones defeat
The way to goodness
lies through the
confession and
acknowledgement of
ones sin
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How the sick can get well

The first necessity of

a sick man if he is to
be well is to admit he
is not well and that he
should seek a cure.
Unless he realizes that
he is sick and
acknowledges that by
seeing a doctor, he will
never be well but only
gets worse.
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Truth no. 2

This Beatitude makes a

complete revaluation of what
constitutes wealth.
True wealth can never consist
in the possession of things.
The man who has nothing but
money to meet life is truly a
poverty stricken man.
The rich man is not the one
who has the most but who
needs the least.
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Truth no. 3

The way to true

independence lies
through dependence in
God
The way to true
freedom comes
through complete
surrender to God

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John Wesley & the Moravian Christians

John Wesley was on a

voyage to another country
when his ship met with a
terrible storm.
People were screaming and
scrambling for life jackets
or floats.
Like everyone else, he too
was caught up with running
back and forth for dear
life, trying to balance the
ship to keep it from
capsizing
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John Wesley & the Moravian Christians

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In the midst of all this

commotion and terror, he
suddenly saw a group of people
kneeling quietly in deep earnest
prayer with folded hands.

John was deeply impressed by

the faith of these Moravian
Christians for fear was not
reflected on their faces but
perfect peace.

He decided right there and then

that he would learn to develop
that same kind of faith in him.
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We cannot be filled unless we are

empty of selfish pride

When we realized our lack

of righteousness
When we are emptied of our
pride
When we realized how much
our need is
Then we are ready to be
filled by Gods spirit and
only then can we truly be of
service to Him
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Kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor

The kingdom of God

belongs to the poor of
spirit because only they
ask to be in

Only they realize how

spiritually bankrupt they
are

Only they go in search

of righteousness
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Those who are contented are

disqualified from heaven

Those who are contented

are complacent
They do nothing about their
spiritual condition because
they see no need.
Consequently they are
disqualified from heaven

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Paraphrased Beatitude No 1

O the happiness of
the man who has
realized his own utter
helplessness and his
own utter inadequacy
and who has learnt to
put his whole trust in
God; for then he will
humbly accept the will
of God and in so doing
becomes a citizen of
the kingdom of God
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