The Blessings Of The Kingdom

by Pastor Mark
March 17, 2022

 

The blessings of being poor

The blessings of the kingdom of God are different from the physical blessings of life. There is nothing wrong with being blessed with a promising career or attaining wealth in life. But the blessings of the kingdom are spiritual. They are given to us when we follow the ways of the kingdom, such as the Beatitudes.

One such quality is about being poor. The Lord Jesus taught, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and “Blessed are you poor”. (Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20) It does seem contrary that we are blessed when we learn to be poor, both internally (in spirit) and externally (physically). How may we understand the blessings of being poor?

A divine plan

  1. The author, James, revealed in his epistle the divine plan of God.
  2. He wrote that God chose the poor of the world to become rich in faith (James 2:5).
  3. Whether we are poor or choose to become poorer, we can be rich spiritually.
  4. All of us can be rich in faith even though we may not be physically rich.
  5. The Lord’s disciples gave up their professions, such as being fishermen or a tax collector.
  6. They became poor by following the Lord but were enriched as His disciples (Luke 6).

Let us understand that God’s divine plan is for us to be poor or poorer so that we may be spiritually rich.

The example of the Lord Jesus being poor

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

  1. The Apostle Paul wrote about the Lord Jesus setting an excellent example for the Corinthian church to become poor by learning to give.
  2. The Lord was rich in heaven…being in the great glory of heaven, having angels to wait on Him and so much more.
  3. But the Lord gave up all the rich privileges of heaven to become poor as a man.
  4. He came to give His life so that we may gain salvation that is rich and full.

Let us be inspired by the Lord’s example to be poor as we learn to sacrifice what we have.

An enriching promise

  1. The Lord promised that we would be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom (James 2:5).
  2. What are these riches?
  3. Our faith in the Lord Jesus makes us rich.
  4. We have an enriching relationship with God our Father.
  5. We are heirs of the kingdom of God, a kingdom of great riches.
  6. We have treasures in heaven that will last forever. We are indeed rich.
  7. If we follow the Lord’s plan of being poor, He will fulfil His promise of blessing our lives richly.

Encouraged to personalise this plan

  1. God’s plan and promise are meant for those who love God (James 2:5).
  2. We must personalise this plan by loving God rather than the riches of this world.
  3. We must love the Lord by doing His Word and following His ways.
  4. We must dig deep into His Word and lay a good strong foundation (Luke 6:46–48).
  5. Through the storms of life, our faith would stand solid. This is the richness of our faith.

Let us be challenged to not be afraid if we are “poor” physically in order to become rich spiritually.

Back to Article Listing

More Articles

View more