AWARENESS: Blessed are the poor in Spirit

The First Beatitude – Favored (Blessed) are the poor in Spirit for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. . .

The Interpretation – The first step to righteousness by faith is recognizing our need for Christ. To be poor in spirit means recognizing that everything good in our nature comes from God. Anything worthy of praise in us comes from God and God alone. Part of needing Christ is knowing that there may be dire earthly consequences to the believer if one is faithful to God’s Word, for example regarding proper worship.

The relationship to Daniel and Revelation – Daniel (3:5-7) speaks of a time in the past where all people were told to “bow down and worship” the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar when the music played. If one did not, the punishment was death. 

Revelation (13:15) tells us of a time in the future, when all people will be told to “bow down and worship” the statue of the beast. If one does not, the punishment will be death.

The Teaching Point for Living the Grace Today – Although we are not yet in the moment described in Revelation 13, we must prepare ourselves for the final crisis: starting with recognizing that we need Christ, which is the essence of being poor in Spirit. 
But how gracious Jesus is! - if we recognize that we need Him, He will reward us by giving us the Kingdom when He comes!

Episode song – “Jesus is Coming Back!”   . . .Look (Behold), I come quickly . . . and my reward is with me! (Revelation 22:12)