SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/1/2020
10:11 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Know When We are Humble”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:3
Message of the
verse: “3 ‘Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
We begin what I hope will be our
last SD on this third verse of the fifth chapter of Matthew, something that certainly
has been very insightful, and something that certainly has stepped on my toes
and stretches my faith greatly. It is my
desire to finish the sub-section that we began yesterday by concluding things
that Thomas Watson wrote about as he gives us seven principles we may apply in
determining humility, by looking at the two principles, and then move onto “The
Result of Being Poor in Spirit” as this is the last sub-section in MacArthur’s
commentary which we have been following.
The sixth principle of know that we
are humble is that we will take Christ on His terms, and not on ours or anyone
else. This can mean that we will not try
to have Christ while keeping our pride, our pleasures, our covetousness, or our
immorality. We will not modify Christ’s
standards by some kind of ecclesiastical traditions, something like the
Pharisees did, and something like certain religions do today, and lastly not do
this by our own inclinations or persuasions.
Stick only to the Word of God as it is our standard. Watson said, “A castle that has long been
besieged and is ready to be taken will deliver up on any terms to save their
lives. He whose heart has been a
garrison for the devil, and has held out long in opposition against Christ,
when once God has brought him to poverty of spirit and he sees himself damned
without Christ.”
Last the seventh principle is that
when we are poor in spirit we will praise and thankGod for His grace. There is nothing more characterizes the
humble believer than abounding gratitude to his Lord and His Savior, as He knows that he has no
blessings and no happiness but that which the Father gives in His love and
grace. The believer knows that
God’s grace is as Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Tim. 1:14 “more than abundant,
with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.”
4/1/2020 10:32
AM 4/1/2020 12:21 PM
The Result of Being Poor in Spirit
Now we come to the end of this marvelous verse and
one of the things that we must remember from this verse is the meaning of “the
poor in spirit,” for in my mind that is the most important thing we can
remember as everyone is poor in spirit, but when you become a believer you have
realized this truth as for all those who come to the King in this humility will
inherit His kingdom “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Luke 12:32 states “’Do not be afraid, little
flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.’”
There
are some examples from the OT that help us better understand how this works,
being poor in spirit. The first comes from
Judges 6:15-16 which speaks of Gideon: “15
He [Gideon] said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in
Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house." 16 But the
LORD said to him, "Surely
I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.’”
The
next one is a bit more familiar as it comes from Isaiah 6:1-7 “1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the
Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling
the temple. 2 Seraphim stood
above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he
covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and
said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of
His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice
of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of
unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen
the King, the LORD of hosts." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a
burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He
touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your
lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven." The highlighted verses are the ones we want
to focus in on, and I also want to mention that Isaiah was a believer when all
of this happened.
MacArthur
concludes “Those who come to the Lord with broken hearts do not leave with
broken hearts. ‘For thus says the high
and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and
holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive
the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’ (Isa.
57:15). God wants us to recognize our
poverty so that He can make us rich. He
wants us to recognize our lowliness so that He can raise us up. ‘Humble yourselves in the presence of the
Lord,’ James says, ‘and He will exalt you’ (James 4:10).
“In giving up their own kingdom,
the poor in spirit inherit God’s.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Isaiah 57:15 is what I look at from this section
as I want to claim that promise.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue to learn, as I study God’s Word,
to be content, to be humble, and to continue to have joy as I study His Word.
4/1/2020
12:42 PM
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