Sermon preached by Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr.
September 7, 2008
Copyright © 2008, John A. Huffman, Jr.
All rights reserved.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:1-3)

Today, I'd like to share with you the story about the Straight family. It's titled, "Ted Straight: Man on the Way Up."

Ted Straight was a man who believed in action, organization, and a no-nonsense, let's-get-the-job-done approach to things. Most of all, Ted Straight believed in success. "Not many people will argue with success," Ted liked to say.

Mornings at the Straight house hummed with electric tooth brushes, scalp stimulators and circulatory invigorators. Along with their breakfast, the Straights digested morning news (TV), a short talk on timesaving techniques (Mrs. Straight), and an outline of the family's activities for the day (Ted). "Time put to good use is money in the bank," Ted would say. "Someone ought to write that down," his wife would say.

Now, in the modern world of business, Ted Straights are in great demand. Straight gets things done, high-salaried executives observed. Ted's promotions and raises came with increasing rapidity.

Nicky, Ted's beautiful and capable wife, saw to it that they maintained a standard of living commensurate with Ted's skyrocketing income. "Guess what, Ted," Nicky would begin, "Sid and Betty Budmann's new pool is two feet longer than ours, and they have brand-new entertainment centers with flat screen plasma TVs in every room." "Oh, they do," Ted would reply, and the moving vans would appear within the week.

No one was getting ahead of the Straights.

The only ill-fitting, nonproductive cog in the Straight machinery was the dog, Fuddles. The animal was unbelievably devoid of coordination, energy, obedience and all the other virtues Man has come to expect from his Faithful Companion. "Fuddles not only CAN'T," angrily cried Mr. Straight after an attempt to teach the dog discipline and useful skills, "Fuddles WON'T! This dog has no desire to improve," he said, staring severely at the embarrassed animal. Several days later, over the passionate objections of the children, Fuddles was given to a family which lives in the country where Fuddles will have lots of room to run and play. "Of course, we'll go and visit Fuddles. Stop crying."

Time passed, and the Straight's fortunes continued to rise. They graduated into the multi-resident concept. They went from two to three to four to five cars. The children's playthings were the very latest of everything. Ted and Nicky amused themselves with frequent jet hops to various hotels and restaurants around the world. "Work hard, play hard," Ted always said.

Life was good to the Straights. Maybe it was too good. "Haven't we dined here before?" Nicky asked Ted one evening, as they sipped sake in Tokyo. "Not another two-hundred-pound Teddy bear," Ted's daughter Lem pouted one Christmas morning.

A deadly sameness was creeping into their lives, and Ted began to notice it in his work. "Every thousand dollar bill has the same picture on it," he would say.

One night, the Straights sat at dinner, mechanically picking at the gourmet food. Suddenly, one of the children asked, "Does anybody remember Fuddles?"

"Fuddles. How could anyone forget Fuddles?" asked Mrs. Straight fondly. "That ridiculous dog had its own lifestyle," said Ted, more than a shade of admiration in his voice. Soon, everyone was happily recalling all the absurd things Fuddles used to do. "I love Fuddles," said Lem. "Couldn't we get Fuddles back?" begged Larry.

But it was just too late--they had gone too far. They all knew that happy, playful, foolish, lovable Fuddles could never ever fit into the world of the Straights. Fuddles was a loser!

Too many of us are out of touch with the life we're really looking for. In fact, our very quest for it precludes its possibility. We only come to discover that the money-oriented/fame-oriented life is a dead-end street.

Let me ask you a frank question. Is there part of your existence that parallels that of Ted Straight? I'm afraid my own autobiography, in a somewhat modified way, has parallels to his.

All too many of us are out of touch with true, authentic, meaningful living. This applies to those of us who call ourselves Christians, as well as those who are nonbelievers in Jesus Christ. Some of the most miserable people I know are Christians who have never captured the secret of happiness.

Jesus put his finger on how you and I can achieve this life we're looking for, this authentic living. He talked about it with precision in what we call his "Sermon on the Mount." He embodied the essence of it in what we call "The Beatitudes."

Matthews records, "When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 'Blessed. . . .'" (Matthew 5:1-3).

We're not certain what mountain this was. It could have been Mount Tabor in that fertile valley south of Nazareth. It could have been the Horns of Hattin. Popular imagination would say that it was the gentle sloping hillside along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In fact, many scholars believe that the material embodied in the Sermon on the Mount is too exhaustive for one preaching occasion, that it is a compilation of many utterances given by Jesus over a significant time span in His public ministry.

He sat down. That very action on the part of a rabbi signifies that some important teaching is about to come forth. Jesus is saying, "Listen carefully. What I have to say is important. For your sake, please don't miss it!" His very physical gesture implies an exclamation mark.

Already His authority had become apparent. The Bible says He taught not as the Scribes and Pharisees, but as one with authority. Jesus meant business. He was speaking what some have called the "Magna Carta" of the Christian faith. The Beatitudes can almost be restated as "BE-attitudes." They describe the attitude whereby you and I are able to experience life to the very fullest, the life we're looking for.

This word "blessed" incorporates three basic meanings. One is that of consecration. The old Anglo-Saxon noun "blod" referred to something that was consecrated to God by a blood ritual. From this we get the term "the blessed sacrament." The second use of the word is from the Latin meaning to eulogize or to praise. The third meaning comes from another English word. This word is "bliss," which means authentic happiness or joyfulness. Combining all these elements together, the word "blessed" embodies all the elements of spiritual joy. When Jesus talked about the possibility of your being blessed, He was telling us that we can have authentic living, the life we're looking for in spite of the ups and downs of contemporary existence. Some would even love to translate the word to mean "happiness." However, I tend to be a bit suspicious of anyone who talks too much about their yearning to be "happy." Decoded, it could describe the superficial life quest of the Straight family for material possessions and exotic experiences.

The whole theme of this dynamic phrase, "blessed," embodies in itself the present tense. This is not a pious future hope. It is not something that will someday come to you. It is something that is right now available.

Too many of us live in the future. As a result, the life we're looking for is constantly postponed. We chase it. I'll be happy when I become a teenager. I'll be happy if I get into the right college. I'll be happy when I graduate from college. I'll be happy when I find the right marriage partner. I'll be happy when I have children. I'll be happy when the children get into the right schools and marry the right persons. I'll be happy when I get that big promotion for which I've worked so hard. I'll be happy when I'm able to go back to school. I'll be happy when I get that new home or that new car. I'll be happy when I have enough money. I'll be happy when I finally can retire and do the things I really want to do. The quest for happiness goes on and on.

This is where Jesus moved in so sensitively to deal with the realities of spiritual existence. My good friend Art Sueltz, for many years the pastor of the Point Loma Presbyterian Church, notes that Jesus ". . . did not say, 'Congratulations to those of you who once felt spiritually inadequate or emotionally inadequate and now have gotten over that.'" No, he said, "Congratulations to those of you who feel spiritually and emotionally inadequate." He assumed that we would never get over it. It would not go away. I will live with that all my life. And as long as I flirt with the idea that I will come to a place of spiritual adequacy or fulfillment, I will feel frustrated and guilty and unhappy, because I have not realized it.

Jesus does know our feelings of inadequacy. He knows that we know our own shortcomings. And He blesses us for it. He wants us to deal realistically with the limitations of our lives, so we are not like the proverbial donkey chasing after the carrot at the end of the stick, never getting to the life we're looking for. Instead, as believers in Jesus Christ, we're privileged to experience that true fulfillment right now.

The Greek word for blessed is makarios. This word describes the gods. To a Christian, there is a God-like quality of life, a divine joy, that is self-contained. The Greeks have always used this word in reference to the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. For many years, the political leader of the Greek part of that island was Archbishop Makarios. Cyprus is referred to as the "Happy Isle." The Greeks believed that Cyprus was so lovely, so rich, so fertile that no one would ever have to go beyond its coastline to find the perfectly happy life. Makarios describes a joy which has the secret within itself. You need not quest for some artificial happiness. The world cannot take it from you. That's what Paul was talking about when he described the many afflictions he faced but, with assurance, said, "Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have" (Philippians 4:11).

Here's where we come to the fantastic insight of the Beatitudes. Jesus Christ is talking directly to you and me about a joy which can be yours and mine through every contingency of life. It is the essence of authentic happiness. The Christian does not gear his or her life to the avoidance of pain, sorrow and loss. Instead, you and I know realistically that life will expose us to the good times and the bad times. We seek those special qualities that are timeless. These qualities enable us to live at the center of God's will.

Don't think that these Beatitudes go beyond your resources. Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones of London made four strong statements pertaining to the Beatitudes.

First, all Christians are to be like this. The Beatitudes present a description of what every Christian is meant to be and can be.

Second, all Christians are meant to manifest all these characteristics. These are not gifts that are given to some. Every single quality given mentioned here can be yours.

Third, none of these descriptions refer to what we may call as a natural tendency. Each one of these is a disposition produced by God's grace alone, the operation of the Holy Spirit in your life. There are non-Christians who may look like they have these qualities. Those are just natural temperamental bents. They are not true spiritual qualities. The glory of the Gospel is that it can take the proudest man or woman by nature and make that person someone who is poor in spirit. So, don't recoil at some of these Beatitudes, thinking that they are impossible for you because of the basic bent of your life. The Holy Spirit is capable of working in you that process of sanctification, which will move you increasingly toward the life you're looking for, the life you literally crave--that authentic happiness, that peace of God, that wholeness, that completeness, that Shalom, as the Holy Spirit works in your life.

Fourth, these descriptions indicate the utter difference between the Christian and the non-Christian. We're talking about a whole different lifestyle. It is a spiritual DNA change brought about by the Holy Spirit. If you are a believer, you are part of the kingdom of heaven. You are never to be judged by worldly standards. Unfortunately, most of us spend too much of our time adapting to our environment, adjusting ourselves to the world around us.

Now that we've shared some of these introductory thoughts, let's, in the time that remains, dig in on the first of the Beatitudes. It reads, "'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'" (Matthew 5:3).

This is the upside of down!

I'll never forget the puzzled look on her face as this young woman said to me, "I just don't understand it. I can't for the life of me figure out what Jesus meant when he said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' Shouldn't He have encouraged a richness of spirit instead of spiritual poverty?"

This first of the Beatitudes is puzzling. Just what did Jesus mean when He singled out the spiritually poor as those who are truly happy inheritors of the kingdom of heaven?

Bluntly stated, the Sermon on the Mount is a description of character. It's important that we understand this. It is not a code of ethics or morals. It represents a basic life attitude, which runs diametrically opposed to our contemporary, worldly consumer value system. You and I will become spiritually schizophrenic if we try to make an eclectic blend of the values of this world and the values of the Kingdom of God. They simply operate on two different tracks.

John Watson, in his book The Mind of the Master, has rewritten the Beatitudes to reflect the worldly value system. To quote him correctly, I must use his chauvinistic language. It obviously applies to both men and women. He writes,

Blessed is the man who is always right.
Blessed is the man who is satisfied with himself.
Blessed is the man who is strong.
Blessed is the man who rules.
Blessed is the man who is rich.
Blessed is the man who is popular.
Blessed is the man who enjoys life.

These are the Beatitudes that capture the value system of this present world. Perhaps it comes as a shock to your system, as it did to my friend when she discovered that not one of these top priority, worldly value concepts entered Jesus' mind when He taught about true blessedness. He was describing the upside of down. He was flipping value systems upside down, alerting us that if we really want the life we're looking for, it's going to be quite different than the value system we absorb from contemporary culture.

Jesus was radical in the first century. And Jesus is radical now. He has a way of disrupting the conventional wisdom of this world. Let's face it. You and I have bought into that conventional wisdom. It's about time we discover this fact!

Don't be surprised if you find yourself arguing at the Sermon on the Mount. You probably will. The reason is that you and I live in a world that functions on such a different value system that, when we encounter the true teachings of Jesus, we cannot help but be initially startled by the sharp contrast. If you find yourself arguing with the Sermon on the Mount at any point, it means that either there's something wrong with your interpretation of it or there's something wrong with you. As for me, I'm prepared to discover both that there's something wrong with my interpretation and, even more painfully, there's something wrong with me. Will you join me in this creative odyssey?

Just what did Jesus mean when He says happy, blessed, congratulations to you who are poor in spirit for yours is the kingdom of heaven?

Let's first look at what he is not saying.

Jesus is not calling you to be lacking in spiritual resources. He wants you to be alive in Him, filled with His spiritual power. He wants you to be energized by His power.

Jesus was not talking about physical poverty. Some people claim that He was speaking in favor of economic destitution. They interpret this text to mean that there is a special grace in poverty. They would argue that somehow the person who does not have much of this world's goods is closer to God. Jesus did refer to the frequent spiritual barrenness of those with much money. He did chide the rich, young ruler who refused to sell everything he had to follow Him. He did mention the difficult time many rich people have getting into heaven.

I'm certain that a poor person does have less trappings cluttering his path to the Savior. Material possessions do have a tendency to obscure needs they cannot satisfy. One of the best ways for me to become anesthetized to my own spiritual need is for me to become preoccupied with my toys. Just keeping up your home or homes takes a lot of energy, doesn't it? If you have a boat, there's always something to fix. Elaborate vacations are exhausting. The business of ownership, the frenetic pace of capturing the wealth of opportunities available to us living here in the Harbor Area have a way of pushing true spiritual values into the ground.

But it's important to note that Jesus never placed a premium on physical poverty. If anything, he championed the cause of the poor. His life in ministry was devoted to helping them improve their lot. Jesus urges us, His followers, to carry a cup of cold water in His name. His followers are to minister to the total needs of humankind. Jesus did not create the ghetto; nor does He urge men and women to wallow in it. Material poverty is not a criteria for a "blessed" state of life.

Jesus is not saying that you and I should live lives of fake self-defacement. I know Christians who interpret this Beatitude to mean that we should be morbid, unhappy, drab people. Our dress should be old-fashioned. Our personalities should be colorless. We should swear off anything pleasant, interesting and fun.

During my days at a Christian college, I encountered a small group of students who approached life this way. One of my classmates was a deeply committed Christian who yearned for the greatest of spiritual reality. At the end of his freshman year, this handsome young fellow shaved his head so as to deface his attractive appearance. In that day, a totally shaved head was a oddity, not the fashion statement it is today. My friend also sold or gave away most of his clothes. He gave away all his money, and he dropped out of school. He was determined to throw away every vestige of affluence. He thought that God's call was to poverty. He answered this call. What was the unfortunate result? His education was cut short. His friendships were broken, and his effectiveness for Jesus Christ seemed to be minimized from what it had been before.

Granted, there are some men and women who mark the pages of Christian history who did give away everything and who, in the process, discovered true blessedness. If Jesus calls you to do this, do it. But this is not His normative call to everyone. Sometimes we put words into His mouth. Jesus did not attack the value of material possessions. He does not call us to a life of physical poverty.

One of my favorite speakers was a layman named Fred Smith. I heard him once at a Layman's Leadership Institute tell about an encounter he had with a young candidate for the ministry. This young man was considering cashing in his life insurance policy. Why? Because he wanted to live a life more dependent on Jesus Christ. Fred Smith queried him, "Do you ever prepare your lessons at seminary?" The young man was quick to respond in the affirmative. Smith followed through, "Why take the time to prepare? Why not just trust the Lord to do your studying for you?" The youth responded, "I tried that, and it didn't work!"

God expects you to use the resources He has entrusted to you. Jesus does not depreciate the value of money or the importance of material possessions. He is not saying, "Happy is the person who gets rid of all of his worldly property." Jesus acknowledges that we will always have the poor. They are not denied authentic happiness. Nor is the rich person assured real joy. Jesus was talking about something very different.

What then is this spiritual poverty of which Jesus talked?

There are two words for poverty in the Greek language.

One refers to a working person who has no savings and independent wealth. You know people like this. Perhaps you're one of them. You live from paycheck to paycheck. Your standard of living is below the average of those around you. You are never able to get ahead in life. If you should lose your job, there would be real trouble. You have no wealthy father or mother to bail you out. This is poverty defined as the lack of excess. You have just enough to survive. This is not the word for poverty which Jesus used.

The other refers to a total abject poverty. This condition is absolute. This person is destitute. This person has been beaten to his very knees by his circumstances. He does not know where to look for his next meal. It is this kind of person of which Jesus spoke. But He spoke not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual.

Jesus defined true happiness as the state of being spiritually bankrupt. According to His definition, the truly fulfilled person is the individual who faces the fact that he/she does not have the spiritual resources sufficient to meet one's obligations. This person's life is ready to go into receivership. And when all the assets are appraised, this person's spiritual equity will fall short of his/her obligations.

Another way of stating this is that the spiritually poor person is perceptive enough to admit his/her own inability to meet God's standards.

We have yet to discover why this person is really fulfilled.

How do we cope with the fact that you and I are spiritually impoverished. How can this be anything but a terrifying discovery?

This is what we're referring to as the upside of down.

Your life and mine will become revolutionized at the point that we realize that the only hopeless people in this world are the self-satisfied people who do not think they need anything. And some of the most self-satisfied people in this world are religious people.

Unfortunately, most religion today only increases the spiritual plight of its followers by giving them a false sense of security. I know many religious people who think that their good deeds in the community, their attendance and financial support of the church and their overall attempt to be pleasant is a sufficient payment to lift them above the level of spiritual poverty. Jesus hammers away at this nail, pointing out the total fallacy of this approach.

Christianity is not based on religious observance. It is not brought about by your determined effort to keep the law of God and follow the Sermon on the Mount. God's Law and Christ's Sermon are designed to show you and me who we are. God's standard is so high that you and I can't possibly satisfy it by our own works. You can't handle your life alone. Jesus is emphasizing the fact that the only hopeless person in the world is the self-satisfied person whose life is built on a glass foundation, which will shatter when the seismic tremors register at a particular level on the spiritual Richter Scale.

The essence of the Christian faith boils down to this simple assertion: Real happiness is admitting your helplessness and putting your full trust in Jesus Christ. He is a Person. He is alive today. He can meet the spiritual poverty of your life. You cannot do this on your own power. And you will never be able to sustain yourself spiritually. I suggest you declare spiritual bankruptcy. Go into receivership, the receivership of Jesus Christ. It's like merging a destitute little company with a giant firm which takes over and capitalizes and puts the little company on its feet with this substantial backing.

You and I have to come to the point that we admit our spiritual poverty. You and I must live in that awareness on a daily basis. Our sufficiency is not in our self. Instead, it is in Jesus Christ and what He has done for you and me.

It isn't easy to live in a daily awareness of your spiritual poverty.

This whole approach destroys our concept of the self-made man or woman. Perhaps we can allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and our own helplessness long enough to repent of sin and be converted. Then we go right back to our scheme of salvation by works. Spiritual poverty is a quality necessary for salvation. Not only that, it is a quality that is essential for a vital Christian life. We have to be emptied of self to be aware of our daily dependence on Jesus Christ.

Here we are, working so hard to be self-reliant. Our American way of life has put a premium on self-sufficiency. We pride ourselves on being better than those around us. You aren't so certain about what I'm saying? Then I ask you, in what are you putting your confidence? Are you trusting in Jesus Christ on a daily basis? Are you living in humble reliance upon Him? Or are you trusting your work to keep you going? You work hard to be the professional person you are. In your work, you find your identity. God wants you to do your very best. Yet, if you're trusting in your career, you're not admitting your spiritual poverty.

Perhaps you're trusting in your education. This is the vocational hazard of we pastors. The first question we ask each other when we are introduced is "Where did you go to seminary?" Immediately upon hearing the reply, we evaluate and slot that person into his/her place. We protect ourselves by trusting our education and the prestige of our alma mater. You and I should have a healthy pride in our profession, education, family, associations and standards of life. But this pride must be subordinate to a constant awareness of our dependence of Jesus Christ.

See, this is the upside of down.

Jesus is trying to get you and me to relax in our humanity. He wants us to be able to look deep into ourselves and see our own inadequacy, so that we can find that congruence of inner self that is able to cry out, "God help me!" Jesus so pitied the Pharisees, the most religious people of His day. How careful they were to live close to perfect lives. In the process, they had created a religious success value system that denied the very essence of the faith. They were the first century illustration of Carl Sandburg's alarming observation that, "The earth is strewn with the exploded bladders of the puffed up."

J. B. Phillips translates this Beatitude, "How happy are the humble-minded, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs!"

Lloyd Ogilvie states that the essence of this Beatitude for him is, "O how very happy are those of you who know your need for God, ask Him to help you, and are willing to receive His blessings." He goes on to say, "Unhappiness is always caused by self-sufficiency which arrogantly demands our making it on our own strength."

That's right, the opposite of humility is pride. Do you catch "the upside of down" nature of what we're saying?

Charles Haddon Spurgeon warned us not to be proud of race, face, or place. None of these can make you anything more than temporarily happy.

C. S. Lewis said, "Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind. Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense."

Phillips Brooks stated this so succinctly when he wrote, "The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is."

Again, do you see "the upside of down"? Being poor in spirit is the opposite of being rich in pride! The truly humble person is not the individual who walks around with the gloomy "I'm no good" expression on his/her face. He/she is the individual who knows who he/she is, that Christ has dealt with his/her insufficiencies and that, through Jesus Christ, he/she can have victory in daily living.

No one can be happy who is constantly grabbing for more, whether it's the religious leader who has to be the best, the most well known; the business person who has to be the most successful; the scholar who has to be the brightest and most published; the athlete who has to hold the records, who makes the most money; or the politician who is determined to have his name big in the history books. Jesus says there's a better way--the way of humility.

As much as at times I fight this, this teaching of Jesus Christ is the only approach that makes sense.

Moses experienced this spiritual poverty. Equipped with the natural resources of intelligence, education and position, he felt inadequate enough to be the leader of God's people. The only self-destructive problems he ever faced came when he momentarily lost his humbleness of spiritual poverty and started to run the show on his own terms.

Gideon felt insufficient for the task when encountered by the call of God. In the final analysis, he and his minority of 300 routed the enemy. Gideon's only self-destructive problems came when he tried to be his own God.

David felt insufficiency for the monarchy. Yet, he was Israel's most powerful king, except when he took his eyes off his God. The results of this pride were devastating. The happiness and blessings of his humble spiritual poverty were enormous.

Peter, in his own strength, could not walk on water. Destruction was near. Peter, with his eyes fixed on Jesus, was saved from drowning in an event that symbolizes the ups and downs of his spiritual life.

You see, the Kingdom of God is yours now in the present tense, when you're set free from pride to live in humble moment-by-moment dependence on the Lord. You prop yourself up on all your artificial supports, and you're cruising for a fall. Look full into the face of the righteous God, and you'll see your own perfections so clearly. But wait. Listen. That all-powerful God is speaking to you. He is telling you that He loves you. He is assuring you of the firm strength of a loving father and the pure sensitivity of a compassionate mother. You are His. There is nothing this life can throw at you that can destroy you if you live with the values of His kingdom. No physical, emotional, financial or spiritual problem can get the better of you. And no success can destroy you, when you stand humbly before Him.

Expose yourself to the joy of spiritual poverty. Know who you are, where you come from, and where you are going. Nothing but direct, continual confrontation with God can produce spiritual poverty. Put your trust in Jesus Christ and discover the upside of down!