Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 Through 7
Message One
The Blessedness of Being Poor in Spirit and Pure in Heart That We May Be under Christ’s Heavenly Ruling as Our New King and That We May See God to Express Him in His Life and Represent Him with His Authority
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Matt. 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
I. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 5:3: (Monday)
A. To be poor in spirit is not only to be humble but also to be completely emptied in our spirit, the deepest part of our being; it is not to hold on to the old things of the old age but to be unloaded of the old things that we may receive the new things of the kingdom of the heavens—Luke 6:20.
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B. All spiritual growth depends on our hunger and thirst; whenever we are empty within, we will be filled by the Lord; spiritual growth is a matter of being continually emptied and continually filled—2 Kings 4:1-6. (Tuesday)
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II. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God—Matt. 5:8: (Wednesday)
A. To have a pure heart means that our heart is single, seeking nothing other than the Lord Himself, so that Christ can grow in us without hindrance—Matt. 13:19-23.
B. If we seek God with a pure heart, our reward will be that we shall see God.
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III. We should desire to have an enlarged heart—Psa. 119:32: (Thursday)
A. Solomon was able to oversee God’s people because he had wisdom and a broad heart; these two things are two sides of one thing—1 Kings 3:59; 4:29.
B. We must be genuine New Testament deacons, who have an enlarged heart with an intimate concern for people in the supplying life; this is the fruit-bearing life—2 Cor. 7:23.
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IV. To keep our heart and spirit new, we need to have a fresh supply of the reviving life to be renewed day by day to be as new as the New Jerusalem—2 Cor. 4:16-18: (Friday)
A. Newness is God; believers should be renewed to be as new as the New Jerusalem—Rom. 6:4; 7:6.
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B. Our mingled Spirit needs to spread into our mind to subdue, take over, and possess our mind and become the spirit of our mind—Phil. 2:5; Eph. 4:23. (Saturday)
C. We should not live according to the vanity of the mind but according to the spirit of the mind; this is the key to the daily life of the one new man as a corporate person—Eph. 4:3-4, 17-18, 23.
V. The Lord’s recovery depends on our renewed and cleansed heart and our renewed and strengthened spirit—Col. 3:10-11:
A. This will ultimately consummate God’s intention to make the believers the new man of the new creation, which will be ultimately consummated in the New Jerusalem—Col. 3:10-11.
B. God’s goal is to obtain this one new man, and eventually this new man will be consummated in the New Jerusalem, which is the final consummation of this one new man.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens—Matt. 5:3.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God—Matt. 5:8.
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind—Eph. 4:23.
Word of Appetizer
What does it mean to be poor in spirit? What does it mean to be pure in heart?
To be poor in spirit is not only to be humble but also to be completely emptied in our spirit, the deepest part of our being; it is not to hold on to the old things of the old age but to be unloaded of the old things that we may receive the new things of the kingdom of the heavens; to be poor in spirit means that we are humble, acknowledging that we have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing, and are nothing.
We must be pure; our heart should not be occupied by anything other than God; to have a pure heart means that our heart is single, seeking nothing other than the Lord Himself, so that Christ can grow in us without hindrance; if we seek God with a pure heart, our reward will be that we shall see God.
Spiritual Burden
To keep our heart and spirit new, we need to have a fresh supply of the resurrection life to be renewed day by day to be as new as the New Jerusalem.
The Lord’s recovery depends on our renewed and cleansed heart and our renewed and strengthened spirit; when our heart is fully possessed by Christ and we are accustomed to exercising our spirit to contact the Lord, God will have a way, and this recovery will spread.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens; to be poor in spirit is not only to be humble but also to be completely emptied in our spirit, the deepest part of our being; it is not to hold on to the old things of the old age but to be unloaded of the old things that we may receive the new things of the kingdom of the heavens.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; to have a pure heart means that our heart is single, seeking nothing other than the Lord Himself, so that Christ can grow in us without hindrance; if we seek God with a pure heart, our reward will be that we shall see God.
The Experience of Life
All spiritual growth depends on our hunger and thirst; the starting point of our progress is when we have to cry out, “I have no way”; whenever we are empty within, we will be filled by the Lord; spiritual growth is a matter of being continually emptied and continually filled.
Seeing God causes us to be constituted with God; seeing God transforms us; seeing God equals gaining God, causing us to become God in life and nature (but not in the Godhead); the more we see God and love God, the more we will deny ourselves and abhor ourselves.
Practice and Application
We should desire to have an enlarged heart; we must be genuine New Testament deacons, who have an enlarged heart with an intimate concern for people in the supplying life; this is the fruit-bearing life.
When we love the Lord and daily exercise our spirit to pray and read the Scripture, it will change and renew our mind; we should not live according to the vanity of the mind but according to the spirit of the mind; this is the key to the daily life of the one new man as a corporate person and the secret to making the church life full of God’s characteristics, full of the fragrance of Christ, and full of the oneness of The Spirit.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (Matt. 5:3)
(Please illustrate that being poor in spirit is not to have a poor spirit; rather, being poor in spirit is to have an excellent spirit.)
T2 The Primary Condition of the Nine Blessings in Matthew 5 Is to Be Poor in Spirit (Matt. 5:3; Isa. 66:2)
(Please illustrate that our spirit may not be empty, so that more of the Lord’s things cannot be stored in us.)
Day 2
T1 All Spiritual Growth Depends on Our Hunger and Thirst (Luke 1:53)
(Please illustrate that God’s grace is prepared only for one kind of person—those who are hungry.)
T2 Spiritual Growth Is to Be Continually Emptied and Continually Filled (2 Kings 4:3-4)
(Please illustrate what spiritual principle is shown to us in 2 Kings 4.)
Day 3
T1 Being Pure in Heart Means Being Single in Purpose with Only One Goal: to Fulfill God’s Will to Glorify God (Matt. 5:8)
(Please illustrate that the reward for being pure in heart is seeing God.)
T2 We Can See God in Our Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18)
(Please illustrate that our beholding of God today is entirely a matter in the spirit.)
Day 4
T1 The More a Person Is in the Word of God, the More Simple He Becomes (Psa. 119:140)
(Please illustrate that the practical word of God sanctifies us from the mixed world and brings us into the simplicity of God.)
T2 Spiritual Growth Is the Increase of the Element of God within Us (Col. 2:19)
(Please illustrate that spiritual growth has both positive and negative aspects.)
Day 5
T1 God Wants to Transfer Us from the Realm of the Old Creation into the Realm of the New Creation (2 Cor. 4:16-17)
(Why is it that in God’s plan, we who have been chosen by Him must all go through hardship?)
T2 When We Are in Hardship, We Need to Be Renewed (2 Cor. 4:16-17)
(Please illustrate what best provisions God has to help us be renewed.)
Day 6
T1 We Need to Be Washed Daily by the Water in the Word (Eph. 5:26)
(Please illustrate from experience that when we come to the Lord’s word, regardless of the chapter, the Lord’s word will surely wash us.)
T2 Every Time We Come to the Lord’s Feast, We Need to Be Renewed (Matt. 26:29)
(Please illustrate from experience how we can exercise when we come to the Lord’s feast to enter more into the reality of being renewed day by day.)
