The Blessed Life Begins When We Come to God Empty

I want you to join with me on the count of three and just shout word. Here we go. One, two, three, word. We're getting into God's word. So, God's word gets into us. Everyone wants a blessed life. I believe everybody wants a blessed life. We're starting a brand new series today called Blessed Life because I believe deep down inside all of us want a blessed life. We want a blessed family. We want blessed finances. We want blessed health. We want a blessed nation. God bless America. When you sneeze, God bless you. When you pray, God bless me. When you go on vacation, you let the world know. Hash blessed. I mean, we live in a world

where deep down inside every person wants to be blessed. And here's the truth. Jesus wants you to be blessed. In the greatest sermon that's ever been given, Jesus tells us how to have a blessed life, but he says it's not in the way that you might think. It may not be in the way that you want it because a blessed life comes when you're at the end of yourself. When you've got nothing to offer. The title of today's sermon is really simple. It actually comes from the text we're going to be looking at today. The blessing of being empty. The blessing of being empty. Would you say that with me?

The blessing of being empty. Jesus is teaching about a blessed life. And what Jesus is going to share with us in a blessed life is that a blessed life is not in wealth. A blessed life is not in health. A blessed life is not in the success of having life figured out. A blessed life is found in a complete dependence on God. And Jesus is actually going to say something so startling it would have been hard for the hearers in the first century. When Jesus first shared this 2,000 years ago, it was hard then. And I just want to warn you, it's really hard now because it's contrary to culture. It's contrary to the natural way that when you wake up, what you think a blessed life is, Jesus is going to share with us that his ways are

higher than our ways. God's ways are different than our ways, but they're always right and they're always true. We find ourselves in Matthew chapter 5. If you got a Bible, find Matthew chapter 5. Matthew's one of the 66 books in the Bible. It's the first book in the New Testament. The New Testament is everything after the birth of Jesus. So find the first book of the New Testament. Go to the fifth chapter. Matthew is writing about the life of Jesus. And we're going to look at the first three verses of Matthew chapter 5, verse one, two, and three. If you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's word? I'm going to read you these three verses. And then we're going to find three points about a blessed life today. Matthew 5:es 1, two, and three. Seeing the crowds. Seeing the crowds, he Jesus went up on the mountain. When he sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his

mouth and he taught them saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Can we read that last verse out loud together? Here we go. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. I want to set the stage for what's happening here so that you have a a better foundation of what Jesus is saying in Matthew chapter 5. If we go back to chapter 4, we better understand how and why Jesus is doing what he's doing. At the beginning of chapter 4, Jesus went on a fast for days in the desert. He was tempted by the devil in the same way that we're tempted, but he didn't give into the temptation. After

the 40 days of fasting, we're told that John the Baptist was arrested. John the Baptist was a man that prepared the way for Jesus. And when John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus didn't stop doing what he did. He actually started his ministry. He exposed who he is. He is Messiah. The word we say in our our English is Christ. That means the anointed one, the chosen one of God. Jesus steps onto the scene and in Matthew 4:1 17 from that time after John the Baptist was arrested from that time Jesus began to preach saying repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was the message of Jesus when he started off his ministry. Repent. That word means turn to God and leave your old life. Leave a life of sin and turn to the Lord. That's what repent means.

Jesus says the kingdom is not someday. It's not another day. The kingdom is here. Now Jesus didn't do life alone. He called disciples. That word disciple means disciplined. It means a student that follows a teacher becomes like the teacher. He calls these disciples and he is the rabbi, the teacher. They are his students that are disciplined to do what he does. Now what did Jesus do? If you go to the end of chapter 4, listen to what Jesus did. And he went throughout all Galilee. That's a region around the Sea of Galilee teaching in their synagogues. That's like a Jewish church where they would sing, where they would pray, they would have the scriptures, and Jesus was proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. What does gospel mean?

Shout it out. Good news. Gospel means good news. Jesus was preaching good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. This is powerful. What is Jesus doing? He's preaching good news. He's healing the sick. He's setting people free. It's absolutely awesome. If you want to know who God is, he's a God that heals. He's a God that sets us free. And he's a God that gives good news. And Jesus just didn't stop in the synagogues, which is like a church. He would go out to the people. The last few verses of chapter 4 tells us, "So his fame spread." Of course, his fame spread. If people are being healed, if people are being set free, they would leave their towns, they would leave their cities, they would

leave their country homes to follow Jesus. The fame of Jesus spread throughout all Syria so that they brought him all. Somebody shout all. All the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures and paralytics. And he healed them. And great crowds, we're told in the last verse of chapter 4. Great crowds followed him from Galilee, this region up north by the lake and the dopolis which is 10 Greco Roman cities to the east and from Jerusalem in the south and Judea that's the region of the south and beyond the Jordan to the west.

Now why is that significant? I'll tell you why it's significant for us in central Oregon. If you go from Jerusalem, which in the south to Galilee, it's a 70 mile journey. If you just cut straight up through Samaria, 70 miles from Jerusalem to Galilee. This is where he was doing his ministry. But he also headed over to the east and then he also headed over to the west. Now, if that sounds similar to someone, it's central Oregon. If you go from Le Pine to Madress, it's 70 miles. When you head over to Prineville and you head over to Sisters, this region in Matthew chapter 4 and five was the exact same size of region as central Oregon.

And did you know that's as far as Jesus reached during his lifetime until the resurrection and the ascension when he ascended into heaven and he gave the world the Holy Spirit when you believe in him. It was the size of Central Oregon and fame was spreading. It didn't just stay in Jerusalem, which is the Jewish city. The Dicapus was a group of Greco Roman cities. These are Gentiles, which means they're non-Jews. They didn't go to synagogue. They didn't study the scriptures. Some of them grew up with nothing. Some of them grew up believing in false gods. And Jesus would go to where the people are. And fame spread and crowds were coming out to see Jesus, much like what we experienced last week with Church in the Park. And that's where you pick up in

Matthew 5 verse 1. Seeing the crowds. Seeing the crowds. Jesus didn't send them away and say, "I'm sick and tired of you guys following me." Jesus didn't call them out and say, "You guys need to be more religious and follow the rules." Seeing the crowds, Jesus decided to do what many people do in central Oregon. He went up on the mountain. You ever heard someone say, "The mountain is my church." Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain. He didn't ask people to come inside the four walls of a synagogue. He went up on the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. This is so significant because Jesus is more than a man. Yes, he is

fully man, but the Bible teaches us he is fully God. So, here you have God in the flesh on the mountain and he's about to say something. You see, this is not the first time God said something on the mountain. When Moses was leading the Israelites out of slavery because God wants to set people free, God met Moses on the mountain and he gave them his word. God wants to give his people a word. God doesn't want us left wondering who he is. He doesn't want us left wandering trying to figure out life on our own. God wants to give you a word. He has a word for you. Jesus is on the mountain side because he's about to say

something. And when he's about to say something, we ought to listen. So, Matthew tells us in chapter 5:2, "And he, Jesus, he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, the anticipation is thick. The excitement is here. The man who has been healing, the man who's been setting free, the man who's become famous, he he does what is culturally normal in his day. He sits down as a teacher with authority and he opens his mouth." God who is in the flesh opens his mouth. What is he going to say? You should want to know what God has to say. Jesus opens his mouth and the first thing he says is blessed.

Come on, slap your neighbor and say bless. God wants you to be blessed. The first word, the first word out of the mouth of Jesus is he wants you to be blessed. You know, so many people have a false view of God. They think of God as the angry guy in the sky. He's got a crooked finger and gray hair just looking at every bad thing that you're doing. But Jesus starts off by saying, "Here's what I want you to know before you know anything else. The first thing I want you to know is bless. He doesn't stop there. Are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Can

you imagine someone hearing this in the first century? Wait, wait, what did he say? Did he just say poor? So, amen. Did he just say blessed are the poor? Because this was countercultural to the days of Jesus. In fact, many people believe that those who had wealth were blessed by God. Because clearly God blessed them with wealth. And if he blessed them with wealth, then they must be blessed. And if I don't have wealth, then maybe I'm cursed. Maybe I'm overlooked by God. But Jesus comes onto the scene and he says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit with a promise, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus displays to us that his kingdom, if he's the king and he has a kingdom, it's completely unlike the kingdom of this world. Because this world says, as long as you have it figured out, as long as you're independent, as long as you're successful, you will be blessed. But Jesus steps onto the scene and says, that's not like my kingdom. The world says build your kingdom. Jesus says that yours is the kingdom when you give up your world. The world says that it's all about you. But Jesus says deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow me. The world says when you have stuff, you must be blessed. But Jesus says you can have nothing and still be blessed.

You see, you you've got to understand the seriousness of the first line of this sermon. This was serious in the days of Jesus. And I'm going to tell you today, it's serious as well. It's great to hear, but it's really hard to put into practice. This is not natural. When you wake up, you don't wake up saying, "God, I'm just going to empty myself today." But you've got to work on this. So, let me give you three points regarding the text today regarding a blessed life. Because a blessed life doesn't just happen. A blessed life according to Jesus is when your kingdom ends and his kingdom begins. Point number one today, blessed means more than happy. Blessed means more than happy. When we hear the word blessed, we often can attribute it to being happy.

In fact, some translations of the same text in some versions of the Bible use the word happy. And it could mean happy, but it's more than just happy because it's a deep happiness. The Greek word here is macarios. Macarios actually it means happy but it's a deeper definition. It's favored. It means you're flourishing. So why don't we use the word happy instead of blessed? Because happiness by its very term is based on what happens to you. Happiness is I have something so I'm happy. I go someplace and it's the happiest place on earth. It's based on the circumstances. It's based on the experience. It's based on what I have. Blessed is not based on what happens to you, but it's based on what's in you.

Therefore, I can be blessed even if I'm hurting. I can be blessed even if I'm grieving. I can be blessed even when I have all the pressure of the world and I'm uncertain about the future. Jesus says you can be blessed not based on anything you have, which by the way, nothing's wrong with having. Every good gift comes from God according to the book of James. So things aren't necessarily bad, but they become bad when you're blessing based on things. Jesus says you can be blessed based upon his kingdom. Everything else does not compare to Jesus.

In fact, nothing compares to Jesus. Even if I lose everything in this world, I have everything if I have Jesus. Paul said this in Philippians 3:8. He said, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I've suffered the loss of all things. I count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ. You got to understand this guy that says this, he seemed to have it all. He had success. He had education. He had religion. He even had influence. Something people die for in our day if I just had more followers. Paul seemed to have it all. And he says, "When I got

Jesus, I realize it's all garbage compared to Jesus. If I can choose anything in this world, I choose Jesus." This is a blessed life to say Jesus is enough. Come on, somebody. Jesus is enough. You see, Jesus plus anything is isn't a blessed life because it's based on the condition that I need something more than just Jesus. So, a blessed life, it means more than just happy. A blessed life means more than just happy. Blessed means more than happy because it's not what happens to me, it's what happens in me. Number two, the blessed life starts with poor in

spirit. Of all the things that Jesus could say a blessed life is, he starts with poor in spirit. The blessed life starts with poor in spirit. Let's go back to Matthew 5:3. Blessed are the poor in spirit. What does that mean? Well, we start by understanding it doesn't mean financially poor. If Jesus meant money, he would have said, "Blessed are those who are financially poor." That word poor is often associated to financial poverty, but it means as poor as can be. It's a poverty that means you have nothing. Therefore, you're forced to be a beggar. That's the word poor here. Just if we we were to compare it to financially poor, imagine you have no money, but you have bills to pay. You

might have to beg to get money for those bills. You're going to have to figure out a way because you have no money, but you have a need to pay your bills. Jesus says that's what you need to be in your spirit. You need to recognize that you've sinned against God. You've trespassed. You've done wrong. And you have no means to cover your own sin. This is a poverty of spirit, meaning I have nothing to offer God. I can't earn my way to heaven. I don't I don't deserve heaven. I can't get there on my own. Jesus says you're blessed when you recognize that you have nothing to offer God. This is spiritual poverty. It's a recognition I desperately need God. Because if you're here today and you think, you know, I I've kind of got it figured out. I'll just add Jesus to my life. Jesus will be my homeboy and, you

know, I'll do it and he'll do it with me and things will work there. But that's not what Jesus is saying. He's not saying, well, I'm doing pretty well and I'm going to invite Jesus on this journey. No, he's saying if I don't have Jesus, I have nothing. I have nothing. It's the prayer of God. I need you. I can't do this on my own. You see, the biggest obstacle to the kingdom of heaven is not weakness. We don't celebrate weakness in our culture. We celebrate self-sufficiency. And the greatest obstacle to the kingdom is self-sufficiency. It's thinking you can do life without God. Sometimes we think that weakness disqualifies us. I'm broken. I've messed up. I've sinned. Someone has done something to me. I don't have this. I

don't have that. And we think that that's a problem. But that's actually the starting place with God. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul is praying and he's got this thing in his life and we know not what the thing is, but he says he prayed three times. He prayed for God to remove this. He prayed for God to remove this. He prayed for God to remove this. And Jesus answers him after the third prayer in 2 Corinthians 12:9. He says, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness." So here's what Jesus is saying. What you thought was something you need to get rid of is actually an opportunity for God to show up. So when you thought like God was absent and you're hurting, God says actually now it's a great opportunity for me to heal. When you thought you had no power,

actually it's an opportunity for God's power to show up. When you thought you didn't have something, it's an opportunity for God to be the provider in your life. What if your weakness is not the thing keeping you from God, but it's actually the starting place with God? It's the very place that if you fully recognize s seriously consider this for a moment the Bible teaches us that God is all knowing. He's omnisient which is a fancy word for saying he knows everything about you. Every bad thought you've ever thought, every bad deed you've ever done. And consider this. He loves you despite you.

And I'm not talking like he tries to love you. The Bible says God is love. So Jesus knows everything about you. So So what he's not asking for is the polished version of you to come before him. You could fake it with everyone. You just can't fake it with Jesus. In high school, there was a saying on my cross country team, you can't polish a turd. I just, you know, just c can you just [laughter] I don't know why all these vulgar things are coming out of my mouth, but c can you just cut the crap and realize that you got nothing to offer God? Religious pride might be the very thing keeping you from the power, the authority, the anointing, the greatness of God's grace.

There's a story. It's a really difficult story if you allow it to be honest. It's in Luke chapter 18. You could read it on your own. It's a parable, which it means it's a fictional story to tell the truth. And Jesus tells two about two people. One's a Pharisee, which means he's a religious leader. The other person's a tax collector, which means he's a liar and a cheat. And the the the Pharisee, he looks like he has his life together. He would be the one taking a selfie of himself going to church. I mean, he wears the church clothes. He looks good. He wears the Sunday best. And Jesus says when he shows up to the place of prayer, the Pharisee, he looks over at the tax collector and he's eloquent in his prayer and he says, "I thank you, God." I mean, everybody's listening to the Pharisee saying, "Man, this guy knows how to pray. I thank you, God, that I'm not like this guy, that guy, that guy, and especially that guy, the tax collector."

And then Jesus says, the tax collector goes to pray and he says he can't even raise his head to heaven. He's looking down. He takes his fists and you can actually hear the cry in his voice when he says, "Oh God, have mercy on me a sinner." Jesus contrasts two types of prayer. One is poor in spirit. The other one is full of pride. One brings his resume to God. Look how good I am. The other brings nothing. One is bragging. The other is begging. And Jesus says, "Do you want to know who's justified before God?

It's not the religious. It's not the proud." He says, "It's the humble that get exalted by God. It's the humble that recognize their need for God. God's not looking at your resume. What family were you born into? What church did you attend? How many rules did you follow? God's looking at your heart. Do you know you're desperate for him today? Do you know that you need God in your life? Do you want God? Because the Bible says in James 4:6, "But he gives more grace, but God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble." He gives grace to the humble. But but Hear this carefully. He opposes the proud. He opposes the proud. He opposes the proud.

If you want more of God, you've got to start by recognizing I have a need for God. You might be closer to a blessed life than you even know. If you came in here today hurting, if you came in here helpless. If you came in here today broken. If you came in here today uncertain of your future, I want you to know today you're the person God is going after. Before you get the kingdom, it first starts the first step in getting the kingdom of God, putting Jesus as the king of your heart is recognizing, I need you. That's actually one of the greatest prayers you could ever pray. We just sang it. I need you. You could say, "Father, I need you. Holy Spirit, I need you. Jesus, I need you.

Not I needed you to get saved. Not I needed you just to get into heaven. I need you today and I need you tomorrow and I need you the next day. Jesus, before he went to the cross gave a a beautiful illustration. He says, "I'm the vine and you're the branches. If you abide in me and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit." But he says something that's offensive to those that don't have a poverty of spirit. the those who have pride. He says, "Apart from me, you can do nothing." And you know the proud because the proud are the ones that say, "Are you kidding me, Jesus? I got here this far without you. I can go even further without you. I I've gotten all this without you." Because if you have pride, you actually miss that everything you have is from God.

Every breath that you breathe a gift from God. Every heartbeat you have, the Bible says, is a gift from God. In fact, every provision you have, the money you have or you don't have is from God. Because when you die, you take nothing with you. So if you're so proud you don't think you need Jesus, you don't even understand that you have everything in your life because of Jesus. So when I recognize that I have it, I recognize anything I have in my life is not me. It's God. Even your story. Some of you don't like your story, but I'll just say no one has your story but you. That's a gift from God. Sometimes we want someone else's story.

Oh, I wish I had a mom and a dad. Oh, I wish I had more money. Oh, I wish, you know, my story is boring. I I didn't do crack cocaine and end up in prison and get saved. I my my story is boring. I wish I had a better story. No, let me tell you, you have your story and it's a gift from God. God wants to use your life for his glory. Paul when he was speaking to the church in 1 Corinthians 4:7, he says, "What do you have that you did not receive? You have nothing that God didn't give you." And so the the the place or the posture of poor in spirit, it destroys pride. It says everything I have, your intelligence, your your your gifts, your talents, your relationships, your trials, your opportunities, they were all given by God so that we would trust him. Even your trials,

every trial you have is an opportunity to get closer to God. We often think that when we don't have something that God is like withholding something from us, but it's actually an opportunity. I love a story in 2 Kings chapter 4. There's a story of a widow. A widow in the days of old were vulnerable because when their husbands died, they lost their income and they were often uneducated and they were unwilling to work. And this widow had a debt and she had two sons and she was worried that her sons were going to become slaves. And here she is all alone. And a prophet named Elisha steps into her life. And the prophet Elisha just asked her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me what you have in the house. Let's just start with what do you have?" And this woman, she says,"I have nothing." I think so many of us start in that very

place like, "I've got nothing. I don't have enough money for this. I don't have enough this. I don't have this." And and then she says, "Well, I I have I have a jar of oil, but what good is that jar of oil?" Elisha tells her, "Listen, that God's going to use that jar of oil because what you lack is actually God's starting place. So, let's just start with what you have." And Elisha says, "I want you to go outside. I want you to go to every house and borrow every vessel that you can. And don't think too small here. Go get as many as you can. Now, the vessels in this story represent our lives. I want you to consider just a moment what God is able and willing to do. She goes and gets all of these empty vessels. And the only vessel she had had oil in it. And when she pours her oil into the empty vessel, it never runs out.

which tells me there's enough oil for everyone. Now, if you're new to the Bible, oil is always this beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give you oil. It's just it's an imagery. It's a picture that that God does not do friction that God actually wants to bless you. It's a picture of abundance that if you are an empty vessel, God wants to fill you up. You just have to make yourself available. which is why we believe at central uh that's why we believe at journey the central Oregon shall be saved. We want to always make room for more. We want to believe God's best over everyone. That if I need Jesus, then you need Jesus. And if God did it for me, then he can do it for you. I'm so grateful for a God that

fills us up. But we've got to be careful when it comes to poor in spirit because if we forget our need for God, Jesus will find himself in a place where he's not in his proper place. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, Jesus is speaking to the church. In chapter 2 and three, he gives some warnings to the church of Leadyia. It's a very harsh warning. He says, "You're neither hot nor are you cold. You're lukewarm. I just want to spit you out." He says, "Here's why. You think you're rich. I mean, you get up and you put on your clothes. You you go about your business and you have forgotten a dependence [clears throat] on God. You don't go to me for more. You you actually think you can do it without me.

And then he he says this in Revelation 3:20. You'll find this on the bottom of an In-N-Out cup. Revelation 3:20. He says, "Here I stand at the door and knock." How did Jesus end up on the outside of the church? He says, "I I'm not going to break down the door, but I'm here if you want me, and if you just open up the door, Jesus says, I'll come in and dine with you." How good is it to eat with Jesus, to live with Jesus, to to do life with Jesus? He says, "All you got to do is be poor in spirit. Recognize your need for him. Open up the door of your heart, and he will come in and change your life."

Before we move to our last point, I just want to make sure that it's really clear. Poor in spirit does not mean a a poor view of yourself. It does not mean you're not worthy or you're hated. It does not mean that you you are worthless. In fact, it's the exact opposite. The Bible says you're made in God's image. So, being poor in spirit is allowing the God that made you to fill you. Poor in spirit is acknowledging that you've sinned and he who was without sin, Jesus, took your sin on the cross. That's how much he loves you. so that you wouldn't live in your sin, but you would be forgiven. That you would be set free. Poor in spirit is not a poor view of yourself. It's an accurate view of who God is. It means my value is not in what I say I do. It's not in what I do for a living. My value is in God. And if you're not careful, you will find your value in other people.

You'll find your value in what you do for a living. You'll find your value in your relationships. But when you get divorced, when your bank account is empty, when you get fired from that job, you'll think that's who you are. That's not who you are. You are who God says you are. And Jesus says in the first line of this great sermon, you're blessed. Blessed. You are blessed. So let's recap this. Number one, blessed means more than happy. Number two, the blessed life starts with poor in spirit. And finally, we get to the promise today. Number three, the blessed life is found in his kingdom. The blessed life is found in his kingdom. Remember what's happening in the story. People are coming from everywhere. From Greek cities, from Jewish cities. I love that we have a God that's for everyone. There is hope for everyone. And as Jesus opens up his

mouth, he says, "You can be blessed and you can be blessed and you can be blessed if you're poor in spirit." And we have a God not of scarcity that says, "Well, you're going to stay poor in spirit." Nope. We have a God of abundance. He says, "Now yours is the kingdom." Remember what he was preaching earlier in Matthew 4:23. He went through all Galilee proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. This is what he was preaching. And now he says, "What I was preaching is yours. Not someday, not another day. This is yours. This is what the kingdom looks like. It is yours." Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This is a present tense promise, not a someday or another day. Not get your life right first and then you get the kingdom. This is yours.

But you've got to step off the throne of your heart and put Jesus the king on the throne of your heart. Because as long as you're there, you don't have the kingdom. But the moment you humble yourself and you say, "Jesus, I need you." All of a sudden, the kingdom is yours. All of a sudden, you start praying differently. Matthew 6:10, Jesus said, "You can pray this. Your kingdom come. Your will be done right here on earth as it is in heaven." God can do it, and he will do it. But we've just got to ask. We've got to let Jesus be the king of our lives. See, if Jesus wanted education to change us, the world would be changed. We would have universities everywhere and Jesus would have sent the right teacher and we'd be saved because education is the answer. But he didn't send an educator.

If money was the answer, God would have sent a great businessman and we'd all live in a socialistic world and everybody would be happy because you know what? We're all just going to share everything. But he didn't send a socialistic businessman. If politics could save us, God would have sent a politician. But I think we all know that politicians won't save us. Our hope needs to be in a savior. And Jesus is a great savior. Praise God. And here's the truth as we wrap this up. All of us need Jesus.

Romans 3:23 says, "All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." There there's no one that lives a perfect life. No one's born into the right family and just has it figured out. The Bible says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You go a few chapters later in Romans chapter 6 23, for the wages of sin is death. That if you don't have Jesus, you have a debt to pay with God and you will be eternally separated from God. Apart from Jesus, you are separated from him. But the Bible says the free gift of God, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Do you get this? It's free. When you wake up, you could say, "God, I need you again today. God, fill me again today. God, I need your help again today." It's free. God's grace is free.

But you've got to want it. Matthew 18:3 Jesus says, "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven." You can't get the kingdom if you think you don't need God. What do children do? They're dependent. That's what the government calls them. That they they need their parents. Children receive. Children trust that their parents are going to provide for them. I don't know about you, but when when my kids were little, none of them said, "Mom, dad, how do I pay you back for this dinner tonight?" Even when we did great things like go to the ice cream store once a day, [snorts] they never they never said, "Dad, how am I going to pay you back for blessing me

so much?" They never said that. They're just children. They're just like, they expect it. I just I [music] expect this because you're my dad. I'm the child. And Jesus says, if you want the kingdom, you've got to go to God like a father and say, I I need you. I want you. Thank you for all the good gifts you've given me. And Jesus says, you've got a good father. Luke 12:32, it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God loves you so much. He gives you pleasure in a blessed life. So we remember, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs [music] is the kingdom of heaven. I wonder if this can just be our prayer as we start this blessed life series.

And if I was you, I wouldn't miss a single week. Nine weeks we're going to learn about a blessed life. I wonder if we can just say, "Lord, I need you." And if you're so willing to pray that prayer, you got to realize you got to get rid You got to be empty. I want to warn you this. You got to get rid of anger. You got to get rid of bitterness. You got to get rid of unforgiveness. You got to get rid of lust. You got to get rid of greed. You got to get rid of jealousy. You got to get rid of comparison. Come on, somebody. You got to empty yourself to get filled. Get rid of that which is not of God. And you know what? The Holy Spirit's going to give you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness. Oh, God's going to fill you with his kingdom, righteousness, peace, joy. It's yours. But it's only yours if

you empty yourself today. Paul says in Ephesians 5:18, "Be filled with the spirit." That word filled means continually. [music] Some of you believed in Jesus long ago, but you need to daily have a dependence on the Holy Spirit. God, fill me today. Fill me today because I got to warn you, yesterday's oil is not today's oil. Don't depend on what God did yesterday. Just today trust in God. The blessed life starts at the end of yourself saying God I start with you. I need you. So let's go through this one more time. Blessed means more than happy. The blessed life starts with poor in spirit. And the blessed life is found [music] in his kingdom.