The Kingdom Of Heaven And The Poor In Spirit
The way to deeper knowledge of God is through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things. The blessed ones who possess the kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are the "poor in spirit." They have reached an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets of Jerusalem. That is what the word poor as Christ used it actually means. These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering.
The Pursuit Of God — A. W. Tozer
I believe that is how we see Heaven on Earth. The Kingdom of God was brought to Earth by the mediator of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
We are, therefore, ambassadors to this great Kingdom. We represent this Kingdom by becoming poor in the Spirit.
Matthew 5:3 ESV
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Complete surrender to Christ makes us vulnerable to the teaching and instructing of Christ. We let the master shape the servant. We do as the master says and only repeat the Words of our master. We watch as He works, and we become Christ-like.
This is how we bring Heaven to Earth.
Heaven is where God resides in full glory, and in all holiness, there is no trace of evil. The positive attributes in life are only enjoyed due to God’s intervention in the world. God’s very nature is love, so it is true that God is loving, but it is also true that God can not help but love as it is in His very essence. Qualities like love, justice, peace, kindness, joy, etc., are experienced in life because God has not abandoned His creation. If God were to remove himself altogether, there would be only evil and, in the plainest terms, Hell on Earth.
So to bring Heaven to Earth, we must grow close to God so that the fruit of the Spirit and positive qualities of God manifest through us. In doing so, it changes us from within. Giving everyone around us a glimpse of Heaven. A glimpse of who Jesus is. And a feeling of hope for what is to come.
This is achieved by becoming poor in the spirit or such a state of humility that we realize by our efforts alone we are never good enough. Jesus calls for total surrender, just as we saw Jesus call the disciples. They dropped everything and followed Him.
Are we willing to right now lay at the cross any sins, addictions, pains, regrets, or fears and give Jesus our full undivided attention? Are we ready to live as if this is our lifeline as a float tethered to a boat is to the one drowning? I know from personal experience that total surrender is when you will see mountains fall and seas part ways. Where we may not see a way, God will make a way through.
Everything else in life is secondary to Jesus. We must give Him our all and not look back. In doing so, we not only bring Heaven to Earth as an ambassador of the Kingdom, but we become better sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, and all else in between.
If you apply this message today, I guarantee you; you will see life transformation. If this message is resonating in you, then please respond to the call of the Spirit.
If you do not know where to begin, start in prayer and then make a real effort to seek discipleship but not as time permits, no!
As if your life depended on it. It is a daily walk, and discipleship can be done in a group or one-on-one, for example, male to male, female to female, or male and female couple to another.
This provides you with the reinforcements that any soldier in Christ needs daily to fight back in spiritual warfare.