This study is on the Poor in Spirit (the first of the Beatitudes) and Those that Mourn. The entire Word file is attached at the end of this blog entry... look for the 'attachments' link if you need it.
Beatitudes Matthew 5:3
u Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit…
u What Does it Mean to be Poor in Spirit?
u Not Financially Based
u Not Materially Based
u Not False Humility
u Not a Poor Spirit
u Cannot Mean Poverty of the Holy Spirit
u How is the in the Term Used OT?
u God’s People Often Referred to as Poor due to Economic Conditions
u Words Meaning Poor Can Also Mean Lowly or Humble (Prov 16:19; Is 57:15; and Is 66:2)
u What Does Poor in Spirit Mean?
u It is Our Attitude Towards Ourselves
u Personal Acknowledgement of Spiritual Bankruptcy
u Confidence Only in God
u Not Spiritually Self-Sufficient
u Poverty of Spirit is Dependence and Submission
u Emptying Comes Before Filling
u Poverty of Spirit Does Not Make One Blessed, But God’s Approval Does
u How Will We Know When We are Poor in Spirit?
u Weaned From Ourselves (Ps 131:2)
u Lost in the Wonder of Christ (2 Cor 3:18 & Jn 14:8)
u Never Complain About Our Situation
u See Our Own Weaknesses and Only the Good in Others
u Spend Much Time in Prayer
u Take Christ on His Terms
u Praise and Thank God for His Grace
u What is the Result of Being Poor in Spirit?
u Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
u Theirs-Pronoun Meaning: Theirs Alone
u Is-Present Tense Verb of Possession
u Belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven Now, Full Enjoyment is Yet Future
Beatitudes Matthew 5:4
u Matt. 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted
u Our Attitude Toward Our Sin
u What Does It Mean to Mourn?
u Mourn-Express Grief for the Dead
u Three Kinds of Mourning:
u Normal & Proper Mourning
u General Sorrow
u The Feelings From the Pressures & Trials of Life
u The Psalmist Shed Tears of Loneliness
u Abraham Wept When His Wife Died
u Timothy Shed Tears of Discouragement
u Jeremiah Shed Tears of Disappointment
u Paul Shed Tears of Concern
u Woman of LK 7 Washed Jesus’ Feet With Tears of Devotion
u Jesus Wept for Lazarus Because He Loved Him
u Abnormal & Improper Mourning
u Perpetually Long-Faced & Weepy
u Self-Pity
u Can’t Satisfy Lust
u Extended Mourning
u Overdone Mourning Because of Guilt
u Biblical Mourning
u Godly Sorrow
u Only This Sorrow Brings Life & Leads to Repentance (2 Cor 7:10)
u Mourners are Happy Because They Are the Only Ones Forgiven
u Happiness Does Not Come From Mourning, It Comes From God’s Response to it
u The Pronoun autoi Before Mourn Means Continually
u How Will We Know When We Are Mourners?
u When We Hate Sin Like God Does
u When We Do Not Take Pleasure In Sin
u When We Do Not Think Too Highly of Ourselves
u When We Don’t Procrastinate in Confessing Sin
u When We Don’t Laugh At Sin With the World
u When We Mourn Not Only for Our Sins, But For the Sins of the World
u When We Have a Real Sense of God’s Forgiveness
u What is the Result of One Who Mourns?
u For they shall be comforted
u Comfort-Come into the Fort
u Comfort is the Greek Word Parakaleo or Paraclete
u Paraclete means One Called Alongside to Help
u This One is the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16)
u No Comfort Can Compare to God’s Comfort
u Comfort Daily in This Life
u More Fully in the Life to Come