The Blessing of Spiritual Poverty

0:00A cornerstone to living poor in spirit is living with an acknowledgement of our need for God. We must learn to tap into our weakness and lean on Jesus in all things if we want to experience the blessing of God's grace. The beauty of God's way is that it will always turn the ways of our world on its head. To be strong, you must become weak. To be rich, you must be poor. To find, you must lose. Welcome to the First 15 podcast. Our scripture for today comes from Isaiah 57 verse 15.

1:04Scripture says, In comparison, when we acknowledge our spiritual poverty before God, thereby contributing all that we do and are to His limitless grace, the weight of our spirituality is lifted off and placed squarely on the shoulders of Jesus where it belongs. To be spiritually poor is to be incredibly blessed. I've spent much of my Christian life seeking to do good. I've gone to church, Bible studies, small groups, accountability groups, and have played in worship bands.

2:04I've got on mission trips, fed the homeless, served at food pantries, given up sleep, spent nights out to invest in others, and even dedicated my career to God. But it seemed like with every good work I was doing, I had to continually look to the next. I couldn't take time to rest or enjoy God because the weight of my righteousness and the fruit of my life rested solely on my shoulders. I didn't know how to live by grace, so instead I filled every waking moment with a fight to do all I could on my own. Now, it's not that any of those works were inherently bad. In fact, I'm continuing to do most of those things today. The difference is found in John 15 verses 5 through 9, where Jesus says,

3:21If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you, abide in my love. When we live in acknowledgement of our immense need for God's help, we place ourselves on the path to abiding. Just as a sheep cannot find food, shelter, or water without abiding in the help of a shepherd, we are in immense need of our good shepherd. Problems arise when we see ourselves as more than helpless sheep and try to go our own way by living in our own strength. Pride covers up our true state of need.

4:22Being poor in spirit opens our eyes to see our true state of helplessness and helps us lean on the ever-ready, capable, and available help of our good and faithful Father. Isaiah 57, 15 says, For thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. May your day be blessed by abiding in a God who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, but is with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit. May your spiritual poverty lead you to a life filled with the glorious, incomprehensible presence, grace, and love of your good shepherd.

5:25And may you abide in the loving arms of your Heavenly Father as he holy enriches your life with his loving kindness. Take some time with the Lord today in guided prayer. As we begin, meditate on the blessing of being spiritually poor. Allow Scripture to fill you with courage to look at the state of your life and acknowledge your need of God. Second Corinthians 129 says, But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you.

6:27For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. And next, where have you been living life in your own strength? Where is your life not marked by the fruit of abiding in God's grace and presence? John 15 verses 5 through 9 says, I am the vine.

7:34You are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. And the branches are gathered thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me so have I loved you abide in my love.

8:57And last, take time to cast the weight of your spirituality on the shoulders of your good shepherd. Abide in the love of your Heavenly Father. Allow him to take the weight of all you've been working toward and replace it with the joy of simply knowing him. First, Peter 5 verses 6 through 7 says, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.

9:58It is a process to learn to bear fruit out of abiding in God. It's a place of trust to begin good works by simply enjoying the love of your Father. But Scripture is clear that it is only enresting in the grace and help of our shepherd that we will bear any form of good fruit. God has good works in store for you that will extend far past the reach of this life. He has an amazing plan to use you to bring his kingdom to earth all around you. But the blessing of making a deep and lasting impact all begins by continually enjoying the love of a good God who would come down to meet you even in your weakness, need, and sin. Rest in the love

11:03of your Father today and allow him to plant desires in you that he will come and fulfill by his grace. Thank you so much for listening to today's podcast. I'm Josh with First 15. Today we can all be thankful that we have everything we truly need in God already. That in our weakness, God has provided for us so richly and abundant life in him. Have a wonderful rest of your day and may God bless you as you seek him.