Turn back in your Bibles to that
fifth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew. I call this message this morning, A Profile of the Blessed. You know, quite often lately
I've heard a number of people, when they're asked by someone
how they are, they respond with this one word,
blessed. Oh, I'm blessed. And most people think of being
blessed as being healthy. As a matter of fact, what our
Lord says to the great multitudes of people that have now begun
to follow Him, He says because they have just
seen a number of people healed of various diseases. I'm sure that they were just
like many today. They thought being healthy or
being healed is being blessed. Or being blessed as having a
good family, maybe even a good mother, or being blessed as having
a good feeling, or being blessed as having such
things as houses, cars, clothes, or being blessed as simply being
religious or involved in religion. But what is it to be blessed
in the Bible sense of that word. You see, in our text we have
a profile of the blessed. And we know this is true because
the profiler here is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Son of God Himself. It says, And seeing the multitudes,
he went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples
came unto him, and he opened his mouth and taught them. Now, most people in our day would
not really like the Lord Jesus Christ. for a pastor. Because everywhere you look,
you find him in that earthly ministry as a preacher of the
gospel of the kingdom. He taught them. And the reason being is that
God describes His people by this very teacher saying of them and
they shall be all taught of God." You see, the gospel is about
teaching. It isn't about singing. It isn't about gathering together,
having a good time. It's about teaching. And he said,
everyone that is taught of God, everyone that learns of the Father,
he says, they come to me. And he knows since he alone is
the blesser. He alone is the blesser, and
so he knows, and he alone, what it is to be blessed, and he alone
can tell us. And there are two words that
are used in the Bible, both in the Hebrew and in the Greek,
that have to do with this matter of being blessed. Some have to
do with blessing, and others have to do with inward blessing,
which is what the word means in our text. It actually means
something like this. Happy. Happy. And we would think that after
having watched, as most of us have, and experienced, as some
have, in having many things, that happiness is not truly to
be found, blessedness, in anything or feeling or any such thing
as that. We've already heard mentioned
in the prayer this morning what the Apostle Paul says concerning
this. He says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings, not just most of them, but He has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world." True blessing is rooted in and founded in the
choice of God, the act of God, the will and determination of
God toward a people that He chose in Christ before the world began. And you can go to Ephesians 1
and read it for yourself. And these that are blessed, they
are blessed by God because He has not charged their sins to
them. He has not imputed or laid on
them their sins, but He laid them on Christ who put them away
and who made an end of their sins by His death on the cross."
Now you hold your place here and turn over to Romans chapter
4. Romans chapter 4, wherein we
read in Romans 4, beginning in verse 6, where Paul says that
David was talking about the same thing that Abraham was and the
same thing that Abraham experienced. How was Abraham specifically
and significantly blessed? Or how was David so blessed? Well, in the same way that all
of God's elect are blessed, he says, even as David also describes
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness
without works. Imagine that. Could this really
be? that God gives to some people
righteousness without their works. Well, he says, blessed is the
one who does such, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven and whose sins are covered. That's who God says are blessed. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. What does that word impute mean? It means charge. In other words,
blessed is that man or that woman that the Lord will not charge
with sin. So how can a just God not charge
someone with their sins? Well, because He has laid on
Christ. He has charged to the account
of Jesus Christ their sins, and He has gone to the cross to pay
the debt of their sins. And what we have in this text
is the blessing that is received by the people of God, and Christ
here gives this blessing, or he speaks of this blessing that
they have in Christ by describing the character of the truly blessed. You see, the blessing in the
sense of being blessed by God in Jesus Christ, they are so
blessed by what God has done and what He has accomplished
in Jesus Christ outside of themselves. You see, the choice of God was
before we were ever born. And not only that, the death
of Christ was in Himself all accomplished before we were ever
born. So what our Lord describes in
this text on this occasion, what He teaches here is a profile
of the character of those who he describes as blessed. And what I'll say here also is
that these are not, as we find so often presented in religion
in our day, these are not the conditions of blessing. He's not saying here, you be
this or you do this and you'll be blessed. It's not the conditions
of blessing, but it is the condition of the blessed. There's a big
difference. You see, He's not giving the
laws of the kingdom here. He's describing the citizens
of the kingdom. You don't do this to get into
the kingdom of God. You are such if you are in the
kingdom of God. And those profiled by Christ
here are this way because of a work of God's Spirit in them. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, A
man who thought he already had the favor of God, knew God, and
certainly had done many things to please God, he said, you must
be born from above. Except a man is born of the Spirit
of God, He cannot see, nor can he enter the kingdom of God. Because of Christ's work for
these people, the Holy Spirit comes to them in time and brings
them to this state and condition by His grace, and this is the character of the blessed. And you know, what is said of
these blessed ones is so contrary to our natural logic. It is so contrary to the thinking
and to the feelings of the natural man. But remember what God says. He says, my ways are not your
ways. Your thoughts are not my thoughts. And so far as the heavens are
above the earth, so are my thoughts and my ways above your thoughts
and your ways. And what takes place is, when
God works in the heart of His people, when He saves them or
brings them to a knowledge of Himself, He brings them into
thinking that is conformed to His thinking, and He brings them
from that way that seems right to them, which He says is the
way of death, He brings them to His way. and most especially as it is
in Jesus Christ. Paul said the things that we
speak, the things that we tell men about Christ, the things
that we tell them that he said, the things that we speak, they
are not in words which man's wisdom hears, but which the Holy
Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, but the
natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." The only way we ever
learn them, the only way we can ever believe The only way we
can ever have hope in them and find comfort in them is by a
work of God's Spirit. And Christ's words were not believed,
they were not thought true or logical by any except those that
He is so blessed. Because listen to what the profiler
gives as the first characteristic of those who are blessed. Look down in verse 3. He says, blessed are the poor
in spirit. Now, I know this. By nature,
there is not any of us who of ourselves would regard it as
a blessing to be poor. And that's why we look at the
things that are. We look at the healthy, the wealthy, and we say they're blessed. Why? Because we don't think it's a
blessing to be poor. And yet the very first characteristics
of the citizens of this kingdom of God, the very first thing
that he speaks in describing them is this. He says, blessed
are the poor. But you know that this book,
as we find it oftentimes, is a book that is written to the
poor? And if we're just reading it
with the natural mind, we read it thinking that he's talking
about those that are poor in their outward circumstances. But that's not the case. You
see, in this book, the people of God throughout the Scriptures,
they're referred to as poor, as needy, as afflicted, as oppressed,
as persecuted, as miserable. That's what we read all throughout
this book. But as I said, this is not necessarily
a reference to their outward circumstances, though they certainly
may be such in the outward circumstance. But if you notice here, he says,
blessed are they, the poor in spirit. The poor in spirit. This has to do with their frame
of mind. It has to do with the attitude
of their hearts. It has to do with this thing
that he describes oftentimes in the Scripture, such as he
did in Luke's Gospel, when it says that he lifted up his eyes
on his disciples and said, Bless be ye poor. For yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are they that hunger
now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now,
for ye shall laugh." He's not talking about these things naturally. He's talking about those who
have been brought by the Spirit of God in the knowledge of the
truth of this book to confess themselves before God as bankrupt. Bankrupt. Having nothing. Needing everything as beggars
before Him. In His sight. having nothing
whereby to save ourselves, nothing whereby to commend ourselves
to God, nothing to stand on as a foundation in ourselves, not
in what we are, not in what we say, not in what we do, not in
what we refrain from doing. There is nothing in us to cause
God to favor us and bless us. Because we've sinned and come
short of the glory of God. And my friend, in light of the
God that's preached in our day, men and women will never be brought
to such a state. They're told time and time again
how good they are, and how well they're doing, and how God needs
them, and how God loves them, and how God has a wonderful plan
for them. All these things do nothing but
exalt the flesh of man. But he says, I'll stain the pride
of man. God said that. That's exactly
right. And if He saves us, He'll have
to stain that pride that is natural to every one of us, and we will
never see who we are and what we are except in the light of
the truth of God. Isaiah was a man who had a very
important position. He took the things of the king
in his day, and he was a statesman who wrote all those things down
that King Uzziah did. But it says in Isaiah that one
day, One day, God revealed Himself to this man Isaiah. He said,
I saw the Lord high and lifted up. He wasn't that good a buddy of
God. He wasn't that God that's just your friend and who's like
a spare tire, who'll be there to help you if you need Him.
He said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up and all the living
creatures around Him, they cried out before Him day and night,
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. We're not talking about a God
who's only love. We're talking about a God who
in this book says again and again that He is holy, that He is just,
that He is righteous, that He punishes sin, that He's angry
with the wicked every day. When Isaiah saw Him, you know
what the next thing he said was? He said, Woe is me. Woe is me,
for I'm a man of unclean lips. And all that represents is, you
know, the Bible says that out of the heart all our wickedness
comes. We don't have good hearts. The
problem is we've got wicked hearts and that's why the wickedness
comes out of our mouth in what we say and what we want and all
these things. He said, I'm a man of unclean
lips and I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips. When did he
see that? When did he find that out? When
he saw God. You remember Job? Job said, I
have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye
seeth thee. That was not with a natural eye. That was with an eye of God-given
faith. And if you and I ever see God,
it will be in the person of Jesus Christ as he is set forth in
this world. It won't be a picture. It won't
be in a funny story. It won't be in a song. It will be in his gospel. But he said, now mine eyes see
it. How do you feel now, Job? He said, Now mine eyes see it
thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. The psalmist said, I am poor
and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and
my deliverer. Make no tarrying, O my God. Isaiah says, when the poor and
needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue fails
for thirst, I the Lord will hear them. I the God of Israel will not
forsake them. When? When they are found poor. And they don't even have any
water. He's talking about nothing to satisfy the soul when they
don't have anything that will give them comfort, nothing that
will appease their conscience in the matter of their sin, nothing
that will give them hope of eternal life when they're brought to
the very end of themselves. He said, I'll give them water. But not till then. You may have everything. You
may be outwardly happy. You may be naturally happy. You may consider yourself blessed,
and I suppose there is a sense in which you might be, but not
this sense." He said, blessed are the poor in spirit. And true believers Those truly
blessed of God, they're a mystery and a riddle to this unbelieving
world, especially to this religious world. Paul describes them in
this way, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,
as poor, yet making many rich as having nothing, and yet possessing
all things." When our Lord in the Revelation speaks to one
of the churches there in the Revelation, He said, I know thy
works and tribulation and poverty. but thou art rich." How can a person be poor and
rich at the same time? Well, that's the description
of every one of God's people, every one He saved. He'll bring
them to the knowledge of what they are, and then He'll reveal
Christ who is everything. And God's people are not necessarily
and most often the wealthy and the prosperous and those found
in ease, because the psalmist said, the ungodly who prosper
in the world, they increase in riches, that is, the riches of
this world. But he said, what will it profit
a man if he gains the whole world? If he gains all the money in
the world, if he gains all the land in the world, if he gains
all the houses in the world, if he gains all the favor and
popularity of the world, if he gains all the happiness of this
world, and he loses his own soul, he is not blessed. My uncle and my dad used to raise
some Hogs for, I'll say it was a hobby,
I don't think they ever made any money off of it. But you just imagine, here are
all those hogs in the stalls and every morning they go in
there and they just pour out those buckets of feed. They take, if they were thinking
like us, they'd say, oh, I'm so blessed, look at me. And they
were headed for the slaughter. Why? Because we're blind to what
is true. We're blind to what is real.
We're blind to this real blessedness and happiness, and we'll never
experience it apart from God's grace. And the Spirit of God
teaches those who Christ died for their utter helplessness
and poverty before God. That's not the way the religious
man or woman is. Hold your place here and turn
back over to Luke's Gospel. Luke's Gospel. Here are two people,
two men that stood before God. Luke chapter 18 and verse 9. Christ said, as He spoke this
parable, unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were
righteous. Now, let me tell you this right
now. If you're trusting anything about yourself, that in some
way it commends you as righteous before God, you're holding on to nothing. Nothing. He spake these words to those
who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised
others. And that's what you'll do. Two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee who was a very religious and outwardly
moral person, and the other a publican, probably
one of those despised base tax collectors. Now listen to this,
the Pharisee stood and prayed thus, with himself. His prayer
was not born out of God's Spirit. This was the thoughts of his
own heart. God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are. They're extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, even as this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess." That's what he had to say. And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but
smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
As a matter of fact, in the original language there, it comes out
more like this, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. He's saying there isn't a greater
sinner than me. I'm the worst of the sinners.
I'm the poorest of the poor. I have the least to commend myself
to you. I have nothing to give. I have
nothing. And all I can ask for is mercy. What is mercy? Mercy is kind
treatment for one who presents himself as your enemy. Mercy
is for miserable people. And what he's saying there is,
be propitiated, as that mercy seat in the Old Testament is
the propitiatory. And picture the sacrifice of
Christ, which is a propitiatory sacrifice, one that turns away
disfavor and brings favor. He said, be propitiated. toward
me, the very chief of sinners in Christ." You see, the Scripture says,
it says that that man, that publican who smote himself on his breast,
he went down to his house justified. That means he went down to his
house, God declaring him righteous in Christ. You know, how many times do you hear people talk about
grace? Oh, we believe in salvation by
grace. Do you really? Do you really? Well, grace has
to come from the God of grace. And so grace, the grace of God,
and the gospel, by the way, is called the gospel of the grace
of God, and there is no other gospel. Grace can only be given to those
who have nothing. That's why sin is described as
wages. The wages of sin is death. Grace
can only be received by those who have nothing. And men sing,
they sing this song that has become like a religious anthem
or theme, Amazing Grace. Who wrote that song? A man by
the name of John Newton. who was the most vile man, a
wretched slave-trading sea captain. But when the Lord showed mercy
to him, he said, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. You know what a wretch is? Well,
a wretch was the skeletal remains of a ship that had run aground
and been destroyed. That's all that was left. You
know, just like the beams of the ship that was sticking up
there, monument to failure. He said, amazing grace saved
a wretch like me. Stuck there, worth nothing, could
do nothing. And if left there, I'd just perish
in my sin. Is that what you are? Oh yeah,
I'm a wretch. I mean really, is that what you,
in your heart of hearts, feel like you are? I'll tell you there's one thing,
by God's grace, I can preach to everybody and I can't preach
down on anybody. I feel like I'm in the lowest
hole. I'm the most penniless sinner
as far as righteousness is concerned. I have to preach up to everybody. What did the hymn writer say
in another place? Nothing in my hand I bring, simply
to thy cross I cling. How's anybody brought to that
by the Spirit of God when they're told every Sunday how good they
are, and how God can use them, and how God needs their money,
and how God needs their hands, and their head, and their feet,
and all this kind of stuff? You need to do something for
God. You and I couldn't do anything
for God on our best day. Man, he says, at his best state. That means on our best day, when
we feel like we've done the very least amount of sin, when we
think we've done the very best amount of good, man at his best
state is altogether vanity. You know what vanity is? Zero. Nothing. He said all our righteousnesses,
They are as filthy rags. And these who are described here
as poor in spirit, they're blessed, because though they confess that
they have no righteousness of their own, God has imputed to
them the righteousness of another, Jesus Christ. Paul says, writing to the Corinthians,
you know, I love the book of Corinthians. Because in Corinth, in the city
of Corinth, that was the basest, most vile place that you could
imagine. The debauchery and everything
that went on there, the idolatry. The religions that were carried
on, as it were in many places, by the prostitutes and such as
that. And yet to a group of people
there in Corinth, Paul wrote this letter and he said, but
of him. You know, any time he puts a
but in there, it means that you were just the opposite. But. of Him that is of God, you're
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. How? By Him coming into this
world and uniting Himself with our humanity and going to that
cross as our substitute to die for us. Again, Paul says,
for He, that is God, hath made Him to be sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. When Christ came into this world,
He wasn't coming just to make something available, or to offer
you something, or me something, or everybody something. He was
coming to actually accomplish the salvation of a people. Who are they? The foreign spirit. And we have nothing that God
would accept But we are to the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." That's a common
phrase in religion in our day. Won't you come accept Jesus Christ?
Won't you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Let
me tell you something. This book never portrays the
Lord Jesus Christ up for acceptance by anybody. You will not find
that phrase or that word used in that sense in this book. But He said all His people. will
be to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved." You see, it's not our accepting
God, it's Him accepting us. And He'll never accept us in
ourselves. But He'll always accept everyone
who comes to Him in Christ. They're described as poor as
to this world, but made rich through God-given faith. James
says, Harken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor
of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which
He hath promised to them that love him. As a matter of fact,
we're described as nothing but clay pots. I know we think we're fine china,
but he describes us as clay pots. And of his people, though they
are nothing but old common clay pots, empty. Empty. They say, yet we have this treasure
in earthen vessels that all the glory should be to God. Christ is our riches. We're poor
in that sense, but He's our riches. We've been given a treasure.
We're not heirs to the fortunes of this world, but heirs of God. How could we ever be an heir
of God who are so poor? Because God made us a joint heir
with Jesus Christ. He's the heir of all things. You don't have Christ, you don't
have nothing but your sin. And I'll tell you what, if you
don't find it out before, there'll come an hour when you do. When you find out all that you
thought was worth so much, all that you thought that you were
and that you'd done, I'll tell you what, it's a pitiful bunch
of trifles to try to go out and meet God in eternity. And to be disguised in the garb
of a Pharisee. Oh, I go to church, I'm a member
of the church, I've been baptized, I do all these things. All you're
doing is like that Pharisee. As a matter of fact, if you for
one instance have to try to find any hope in anything that you
are or have done or have experienced, if you have to go back and look
at anything Other than that one hope that's in Christ, you're
in trouble. Because in Him, He says, are
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All the gifts
and promises of God are in Christ, because Christ is all. There isn't anything outside
of Christ. And though we're nothing, Paul
said that he takes, as we are natural men who don't know anything
and who think far too much of ourselves, if we think anything
of ourselves before God, he brings us to an end of that and he gives
us his Spirit who takes the Word and shows us how that even though
we're nothing but poor and wretched sinners, God has freely given
us all things. Everything. Everything I need to live in
this world. Everything I need to meet God. Everything I need for eternity. He's freely given us all things
in Christ, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins through the riches of His grace. And when the Spirit
of God shows us our poverty, He reveals to us the filthy rags
of our imagined righteousness. When that happens, He brings
us to look to Christ. And we're sort of like somebody
who sits back and we've heard that a notable person
is coming our way. So, we'll just take our little
and a little piece of wood, and we'll carve him out something
nice. You know, we'll sand it really nice, and we'll paint
it up, and it'll shine. We might even put a few sparkles
on it. We're so proud of it. Then one day that notable person
comes, and they are so awesome, so powerful, so rich, that we look at what we've done.
How could you offer that to such a person as this? And you're
going to meet God in your own righteousness? There are some who are going
to try it. Christ describes them in Matthew 7. He said, they'll stand before
me in that day and they'll say, We've preached in your name. We've cast out devils in your
name. We've done many wonderful works
in your name." And you know what he said he'd say to them in that
hour? He said, I'll say to them, depart from me, you that work
iniquity. Now, if I were going to define
inequity, it would be this, inequity. In other words, that which is
not equal to what I require. You go down tomorrow morning
to the bank. $100,000 and you just reach in your pocket
and bring out a dollar bill and hand it to them and say, well,
this is all I got and this is the best I got. I'm expecting
you to take this and be happy. Now, under current financial
gimmicks being tried right now, a judge somewhere might make
them take it, but not legally. He said, I'll say to them, depart
from me ye that were iniquity. You mean it's not going to count
for anything what I did? It's going to count for sin,
because a sinner did it. He said, I never knew you. I never loved you. In that redeeming
love in Jesus Christ. He shows us our poverty, and
He shows us, as Christ said, all things that the Father hath
are mine. Therefore, said I, He shall take
of mine and show it to you." What is he talking about there?
The Spirit of God. The Spirit of God doesn't just
give you a funny feeling or something like that. He teaches us. what God has given to poverty-stricken,
poor sinners. And these are the humble before
God, realizing in their heart of hearts their entire need of
everything. What do you need? I need everything. I need God Himself who is the
only truth, the only life, the only way. I need Christ. One old preacher said, this self-emptying
conviction that before God we are void of everything lies at
the foundation of all spiritual excellence according to the teaching
of Scripture. And without it, we are inaccessible
to the riches of Christ. With it, we are in the fitting
state for receiving all spiritual supplies." You know how you get everything
from God? By having nothing yourself. The old hymn writer said, Do
not of fitness fondly dream. The thing that he requires is
that you see your need of him. Christ is the heir of all things,
and by his rich sacrifice he satisfied the justice of God. By His rich blood, He paid our
debt and accomplished the ransom of our souls. He redeemed us
to God like Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. He's able. We're not. And He's the worthy
Lamb. What are they singing in heaven
according to what John says? worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
and He redeemed us to God by His blood from among men." But what did Christ say to the
professing church in this age? He said, you say, I am rich and increased with goods
and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched
and miserable and poor and blind and naked. He said, that's what you say
and you say it because you don't know that you have nothing. I counsel thee to buy of me." What is God's currency? He says, Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come and buy milk and everything you need without price. The price is already paid by
another. That thou comest by me, gold
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with thy salve, that thou
mayest see. Then notice the last part of
that profile in that first verse. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Not one day it's going to be. He said blessed are the poor
in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Not just future, but now. And the very knowledge of their
poverty is the beginning of riches. He said, The kingdom of heaven
is like unto a treasure hid in a field, the which, when a man
hath found it, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and sell
all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a merchantman seeking goodly pearl, who, when
he hath found the one pearl of great price, he went and sold
all that he had and bought it. You see, the kingdom of heaven
isn't a mansion somewhere in heaven. He said the kingdom of
God is not meat or drink, but righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Ghost. The kingdom of God is the King
himself. He is that one righteousness,
the very gift of righteousness. And it's through that righteousness
that God gives peace. He made peace by the blood of
His cross. And righteousness and peace bring
forth what? Joy. True, lasting joy. Happiness. Blessings. Job said he looked upon men,
and if any say, I have sinned, and it perverted that which was
right, and it profited me nothing. He will deliver his soul from
going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Christ said one day He will divide The sheep on the right hand,
the goats on the left. His believing people, these poor
in spirit on the one hand, those who are rich on themselves on
the other hand. And he'll say to them on the
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom. prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. That's the only people who will
be in heaven, the blessed. And they won't be simply those
who said, somebody asked them how they were, I'm blessed. Oh,
how are you doing? The Lord has blessed me. How?
Just tell me how. You don't know Christ. If you don't know Him who's the
blessing Himself, you're not blessed. May God reveal Himself to us. Our Father, this day we give
You thanks and praise for Your goodness and mercy and
grace which You give to Your people in Jesus Christ. Lord, empty us that you might
fill us. Show us our poverty that we might
behold the riches of your grace in Christ. Show us the filthiness of our
self-righteous rags that you might clothe us with the garment
of Christ's imputed righteousness. Lord, save us. Bring us to an end of ourselves. Stain our pride that we might receive at your
hand all things that inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled that you have reserved in heaven for your people. May
we be found among them, looking to Christ, poor in spirit but
rich in Him. For we pray and ask all things
in His name. Amen.