Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven — Stephen Kaung

The Beatitude of the Poor in Spirit

Matthew, chapter 5, verse 3. Matthew, chapter 5, verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Then Matthew, chapter 13, verse 11. Matthew 13, 11. And Jesus answering said to them, his disciples, because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given.

And finally, Matthew, chapter 24, 42. 24, verse 42. Watch, therefore, for you know not in what hour your Lord hath ordered a prayer. Dear Lord, as we continue to worship Thee, we want to praise and thank Thee, knowing that Thou who has come into this world and offer Thyself as the Lamb of God for the sin of the world, that Thou has risen from the dead, ascended up on high, and Thou are coming back again.

We worship Thee because Thou are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Even though the world does not know Thee, and yet, Lord, by Thy grace, we who are redeemed, we know that Thou art not only our Savior, Thou art our King.

Teach us how to serve Thee, how to manifest Thy kingship in our lives, that we may glorify Thee. We commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to guide us in our meditation. We ask in Thy precious name.

The Kingdom of the Heavens and the Necessity of Spiritual Violence

Last, last day, we meditated together on that verse of our Lord Jesus, who said, from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is to be taken by violence, and the violent sees on it.

The kingdom of the heavens is a very special term in the scripture. It is one section in the kingdom of God. For the kingdom of God is from eternity to eternity, and the kingdom of the heavens is that section in the kingdom of God that runs from the first coming of our Lord Jesus, the King of the heavens, into this earth.

And it ends with His second coming to set up His kingdom upon the earth. The kingdom of the heavens has special relationship with us believers, His disciples, the church. So, brothers and sisters, it is very, very important that we have a clear understanding of what the kingdom of the heavens is, and how much it means to each one of us.

It governs our daily life as Christians, and it determines our future destiny. So it has everything to do with us believers. I feel that we cannot move on to other things until we have a very clear understanding and appreciation of what the kingdom of the heavens is.

So this morning, I feel that we would like to do some more meditations together. Not in the sense that I'm preaching and you are listening. That's not the way. I want brothers and sisters to join with me together, meditating on what the kingdom of the heavens is to us.

I pick out three verses, but I do not know whether we can cover them all. But anyway, we know that the gospel according to John is the gospel of the kingdom. In Matthew, I mean Matthew, gospel of Matthew, is the gospel of the kingdoms.

In Matthew, you have a full scoop of what the kingdom of the heavens is. This is a special term used by Matthew. And in the book of Matthew, you find there are three peaks concerning the kingdom of the heavens.

In Matthew chapter 5 to chapter 7, you have the revelation of the nature, the reality, the eternal truth of the kingdom of the heavens. What the kingdom of heaven really is, that revelation is given in Matthew 5 to 7.

And then in Matthew chapter 13, you have the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens spoken by our Lord in parables. Why? Because it tells us of the development, the history of the kingdom of the heavens as in this world.

It is only understood by those who are the disciples of our Lord Jesus. It is not meant to be understood by the world. The world look at the kingdom of the heavens is a mystery. They couldn't understand it.

But we who are the Lord, we should understand how is it developed through history. And then you find in Matthew chapter 24 and 25, the so-called Olivet Discourse. It is a prophecy our Lord gives as to the coming of the kingdom of the heavens upon this earth, the public manifestation of that kingdom.

So you find in the Gospel of Matthew the whole scoop of the kingdom of the heavens. Now in Matthew chapter 5 to chapter 7, the so-called Sermon on the Mount. Remember that our Lord is not speaking to the multitudes.

The Bible says the multitudes come to him, but he speaks to his disciples. The multitudes overhear it, but it is the disciples whom our Lord address this so-called Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is not a new law.

Moses gave the law and people said our Lord Jesus gave a new law. Not at all. Because no one can keep such words. Our Lord does not expect anyone to be able to keep these words that he speaks in Matthew 5 to 7.

The more you try to keep these words, the more you realize it is humanly impossible. So what is the Sermon on the Mount? The Lord is telling us what the kingdom of the heavens really is. What his kingship really is.

How people who are disciples to him take upon themselves the character of the king of the heavens. That is what it is. In other words, it is grace. It is not law. It is grace. No one can do it, but grace is well able to transform us into the likeness of our king.

And in being that, we be the kingdom of the heavens. That is Matthew 5 to 7. Matthew chapter 5 shows us the product of his grace. What his grace has done in a people. Matthew 6 tells us the process. How does it work?

How does it come about that people like we are can be transformed and turned into like what he is? The process of it. And Matthew chapter 7 tells us how to possess it. In other words, what is our response, our responsibility to the grace of God.

Meditating on the Word With the Heart

Now we are not able to deal in details. So out of these three chapters, we take out only one verse. And that's the verse we want to meditate together. Now are you ready for it? You know, I look up at the word meditate.

The word meditate in Greece, in Greek, surprises me. I always think of meditate as a matter of the mind. We use our mind to meditate. But it surprises me. Why? Because the word meditate in Greek, first of all means to set your heart on it.

Practice it. It is more than a matter of the mind. It is a matter of the heart. That's the reason why you find in song, it is said, May the word of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to thee.

Meditation is more than using your mind. It is using your heart. Set your heart upon it. And then you ponder over it. Not with your natural mind, with your renewed mind. And that is meditation. Our Lord Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Who does the kingdom of the heavens belong to? Who are the kingdom of the heavens? The kingdom of the heavenly king. What is it? Who are they? Is it blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

The so-called beatitude actually is a picture of what the king of the heavens is. These beatitudes tell us the character of the king. And that character is to characterize those who are in his kingdom, or the poor in spirit.

When you hear of the kingdom of the heavens, probably it impresses upon you that it is not a great tidings at all. It seems to be hard, difficult, demands a lot, full of conditions. You have to struggle for it, the violent.

It doesn't sound like a gospel, a great tidings. But brothers and sisters, it is a great tidings. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. You know, blessed, that word, means happy.

Happy are those poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Now when you hear the message, you may say, well, there's not much happiness in it. It takes away as if your happiness. It is so difficult.

But dear brothers and sisters, this is true happiness. You do not know true joy, true happiness, until you are poor in spirit. And it is a blessed position that we are to be put in. Naturally, we are all proud people.

Do not think that you are humble. When people say, look how humble I am, you know, that's the expression of extraordinary pride. How does sin come? That archangel, Lucifer, began to think of himself. He was created by God in such beauty, so talented, put in the highest place, as a cherub on the throne of God.

He was supposed to lead the angels, the angelic host, to worship God, to sing praises unto God. He was given great power and authority. But instead of being conscious only of God, his creator, he began to look upon himself.

How beautiful, how talented, how powerful, what position, what authority. And he began to be self-conscious. The more he was conscious of himself, the prouder he became. The more ambitious he became, he wanted to be equal.

That's how sin came into the world. And the same thing happened to mankind. There you'll find God created Adam and Eve, in his image, according to his likeness, for the glory of God, to obey God, to honor God, to keep his commandment.

And yet, man began to think of himself. I want to be, I'm over all the creatures, but that's not enough. I want to be God. Pride, self-conscious, self-importance, self-glory, that is the root of all sins.

The spirit of the world, of the kingdom of this world, they respect, they even worship those who are proud, arrogant, with charisma, able to project themselves above other people, ambitious, seeking for themselves.

These are the people respected by the world. This is the spirit of the kingdom of this world. This is how we are. We are born with this. We think of ourselves more than anything else. If you think you are humble, wait until someone says something that you think you don't deserve.

Why do you think you don't deserve such criticism? Because you're much better than that. Isn't that pride? Why is it we are hurt when people criticize us? It's pride in our very constitution. We cannot help it, but the kingdom of the heavens is entirely different.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Not haughty spirit, not like the Laodiceans. We are rich, lacking nothing. We have everything. Such trait is not earthly. You cannot find it on earth. It comes from heaven.

Christ’s Self-Emptying and the Character of the Kingdom

When the king of the heavens visited this earth, he brought that character to this world. You remember Philippians chapter 2, 5 to 8? He being equal with God, and that is not something to be grasped at.

In other words, that is right, and yet he emptied himself of all the glory and honor and worship that are his by right. He cannot empty his deity, because that's what he is. He is God forever, but he put aside everything connected with deity.

He took up the form of a born slave. That is inward feeling. Poor in spirit. And being in the fashion of a man, he was obedient to the Father, even until death, and that's the death of the cross in spirit.

You can only find it in Christ Jesus, the king of the heavens. You will think of a king as riding on a horse, commanding, demanding, served, but the Lord said, in the kingdom of the heavens it is different.

He came to serve, not to be served, and to give his life a ransom. Poor in spirit. That is where you can find it, brothers and sisters. Why is it that poor in spirit is placed first in the beatitude? Of course, when you think of God, probably you will put love in the very first, because God is love.

But here you'll find in the beatitude, it is the poor in spirit that is the first blessing. Why? It is because it concerns us. So far as we are concerned, this is where it must be. All the other qualities of Christ, that to be impressed and be ours, come after this one poor in spirit.

Only when you are poor in spirit, then all the rest of the blessings will follow. And that's the reason why it is put as the first poor in spirit. How can we do it? We who are naturally proud, even though we have almost nothing, brothers and sisters, this is beyond us.

We cannot do it. It is the work, the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, when he works this character of our King into our lives, he works two ways. Positively, he will reveal the glory, the beauty of the King.

You do not know how poor you are until you really see the wealthy. You do not know how ugly you are until you meet the real beauty. Brothers and sisters, we often compare ourselves with other people that we consider as inferior to us.

Why? Why do we compare with superior people? Because of pride. The revelation of the beauty of the Lord reduces our beauty to ashes. You remember Daniel? Daniel is like a perfect person. Who can compare with Daniel?

He was the Prime Minister of the greatest empire at that time in the world. He managed so many things, and yet his enemy could not find any fault to accuse him. And yet, in Daniel chapter 5, chapter 10, when he saw the glory of the Lord, he said, my beauty turned into corruption.

You know, the reason why we are not poor in spirit, the reason why we are proud, haughty in spirit, is because we have not seen the Lord. We always compare ourselves with other brothers and sisters, but once the Spirit of God reveals Christ to you, then your beauty turns into corruption.

You will no longer boast of your strength, of your beauty. You will fall down before Him as if dead. Our problem is we see ourselves. We see others, but we do not see Christ. That's our problem. Who is willing to let go, willing to acknowledge that He is nobody unless you see the One who is?

So, brothers and sisters, what we need is to have a revelation, a vision of our Lord Jesus. That's what we need. Because only that can humble us. But then, when the Holy Spirit gets to work, it is more than just revealing to us the beauty of our Lord.

It also works in us the work of emptying. He begins to empty us, empty us of all that we boast of. We consider as our beauty our strength. He began to apply the cross into our life. It's a painful process, but it's a necessary one because it makes room to be filled with Christ.

So, dear brothers and sisters, the working of the cross in our lives is necessary to make room. We are so full of ourselves. We are so full of our opinions. We are so full of our self-seeking, and all these have to go.

We have to be reduced in order to increase, but what is increased is no longer ourselves. It is Christ. So, we say it is the work of the Holy Spirit, but it needs our cooperation. We need to be willing.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, and if we are willing, He will do it. Now, some people may say, if I'm reduced, I become nobody. Isn't that very pessimistic, very negative? Where is my personality?

If you try to reduce yourself and make yourself like poor in spirit, that's what will happen. You will despise yourself, no self-esteem, no self-respect anymore. I'm nobody. I'm nothing. I'm finished.

If you do it yourself, that's what will happen. But if it is the work of the Holy Spirit, there's a difference. Why? Because, on the one hand, it is true. It brings you to know yourself in a real way, and when you know yourself in the real way, you despise it.

Do you ever despise yourself? If you have never despised yourself, you don't know yourself. Indeed, under the light of heaven, you despise yourself. You don't want to know Him, and that's what deny means.

Deny yourself. Why do you deny? Because you don't want to know Him. It's a shame. It is not negative at all, because His life, His character begins to build up for the glory of God, not for you, and when you are brought into that state, you are really happy.

You know why you are not happy? Because you have too much of yourself. When you are free from yourself, and Christ, when Christ fills your heart, you are in a blessed position, in a happy, the kingdom of the heavens is yours.

So, brothers and sisters, let us meditate on it, meditate more on it, until the Lord's work is done in our life. That's the Sermon on the Mount. And then you know, our Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 13, He moves on.

The Parables of Matthew 13 and the Historical Development of the Kingdom

After the Pharisees and the scribes, they blasphemed the Holy Spirit, in chapter 12 of Matthew. Then in chapter 13, our Lord, when He addressed the multitudes, He no longer spoke openly. He used parables.

You know, parable is alongside a familiar scene to illustrate something deeper and spiritual sense, meaning. That's a parable. So, our Lord Jesus began to speak in parables. And when He did that, His disciples came to Him and said, why?

Why do you speak in parables and not in plain words? Our Lord said, because the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens is for you to understand, not, brothers and sisters, the kingdom of the heavens, so far as the world is concerned, is a mystery, is something hidden, is a secret, unknown, unless it is explained.

But to us, to the disciples of our Lord Jesus, He explains to us. He opens our understanding, because such mysteries are supposed to be known to us. Now, do you know these parables? These parables are very important, because it tells us of the historical development of the kingdom of the heavens upon this earth.

But, this is hidden from the world. And yet, our Lord opens it up to us, so that we can understand how does it develop. Since the coming of our Lord Jesus, the kingdom of the heavens has been brought down from heaven to earth.

And He is gradually building up that kingdom. And the process is shown us in Matthew 13. These seven parables, or eight, is continuous. It has a continuous character in it. The first parable is the parable of the sower.

The Sower and the Reception of the Word

The sower is none other than our Lord Jesus Himself. He came into this world to sow the word of the kingdom. That's the seed. The fields are the heart of man. And when the word of the kingdom of the heavens is sown to the heart, unfortunately, only one of the four is a prepared ground to receive the word.

And with patience began to bear fruit. That's the beginning of the history of the kingdom of the heavens on earth. And then you have the second parables, the wheat and the dono. In this parable, you'll find there's a progression there.

The wheat, the seed that the sower has sown, has become the sons of the kingdom of the heavens. In other words, the word of the kingdom of heaven has been received. It began to change these people to become sons of the kingdom of the heavens.

And they are sown in this world. That's the field. Everywhere you have the sons of the kingdom. And yet, the enemy, without the knowledge of the servants, but of course, the master knew it. In other words, our Lord knew all the law.

But his people do not know it. The enemy came and sowed in the same field that is in the world, dono, sons of the wicked one. And they grew together. But when they grew up, the servants began to realize it.

So they came to the Lord and said, who did it? What should we do with it? Should we pull them all out? Leave them alone. Because if you pull out the dono, you will pull out the wheat too, because their root began to intertwine.

Wait until the harvest time. Now brothers and sisters, what is this? This is the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens on this earth today. It is a picture of Christianity. It is a picture of Christendom.

Wherever the gospel is preached, wherever the influence of the gospel goes, whether it is a hospital, it is a school, or it is something else, you find Christianity began to spread. And in Christianity, you have mixture.

People profess to be Christians, but false. You cannot pull them out. If you do, you pull everything out. You have to wait until the harvest time. That is the end of the world. And it is not the work of man, it is the work of the angels.

Our Lord will send his angels to sort them out, burn the donos, and bring the wheat into the garden. That is the second parable. You see the development here? And then you have the third and fourth, and fifth and sixth.

Abnormal Institutional Growth and Doctrinal Corruption

These two pairs are contrast. The third and fourth tells us the abnormal growth of the outward appearance of the kingdom of the heavens. Because a mustard seed is a small seed, a living. Our Lord said if you have faith like a mustard seed, you can remove the mountain.

Why? Because it is living. But still you find mustard is a vegetable, and yet this mustard seed has grown to be a tree. Big, huge tree. Abnormal growth. And because of this, all the birds came and roosted in it.

Now in the first parable, remember, the birds represent the devil. So in this parable, it is the same. In other words, you find Christianity has outgrown its nature. It became an abnormal growth, a big institution in this world.

And in the big institution, all kinds of evil find its rest. That's the outward. And the inward is the fourth parable. The woman put leaven into three meals of wheat. Three meals of wheat are supposed to be a meal offering to God.

But it shouldn't be leavened. But here, leaven is put in. It blows up. Corrupt heresies. All kinds of teachings. Corrupted. That you'll find what the outward appearance of the so-called kingdom of the heavens is in this world.

The Hidden Reality and the Future Triumph of the Kingdom

But thank God, they are the fifth and sixth parables. These represent that even in this confusion, they are still the real thing there. The hidden ones. Hidden to the world, but known. And for that, he gave all.

Brothers and sisters, speaks of the truth. Paul speaks of the experience. And that is the reality within. In spite of the abnormal growth, the corruption within, God still has his hidden ones. And then finally, everything will be separated.

Dear brothers and sisters, that's the history of the kingdom of the heavens upon this earth. And our Lord wants us to know it. But to the world, it is still a mystery. They don't know it. And then finally, in Matthew chapter 24, 25, our Lord prophesies how the kingdom of the heavens will eventually be established upon this earth.

When the kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ. Oh brothers and sisters, do not think that our Lord is not working. Do not think that the kingdom of the heavens will never be publicly established upon this earth.

Though he is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. But he is not sleeping. He is working. The Bible tells us he is working. He is opening the seals. He is working to bring his kingdom in. To make the kingdom of this world the kingdom of God and of his Christ.

He is working. We can be assured of that. There will be lots of tribulations, lots of conflicts, because the enemy does not want to give up. But he has no chance. His end is coming. All the signs given show us, nearer than you think.

Brothers and sisters, our Lord can come at any moment. All the prophecies before the coming of the Lord have all been fulfilled. There are prophecies that need to be fulfilled. But these prophecies will be fulfilled at the coming of the Lord, during the coming of the Lord, and after the coming of the Lord.

But so far as before the coming of the Lord, all prophecies have been fulfilled. It can happen at any moment, but we do not know the time. So, what is the word of the Lord to us? Watch. Do not go to sleep.

Do not be complacent. Do not allow the world to take away your heart. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness to yourself, that you may seize on it. Be poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

Be prepared for it, and if you are ready at any time, when he is sent to me, you will be with him. Brothers and sisters, see how important is the kingdom of the heavens. If we do not live in the kingdom of the heavens today, when the kingdom of the heavens is openly, publicly, universally established upon this earth, where will you be?

You will be cast into outer darkness. That is to say, no part in the kingdom of the heavens. You cannot reign with Christ for a thousand years. You cannot enter into the joy of the Lord, gnashing your teeth, regretting for the love of a moment.

You sacrifice the glory of a thousand. That does not mean you are not saved. You are saved. In eternity, you will be in the heavenly Jerusalem, but no part in the kingdom of the heavens during that thousand years.

So, brothers and sisters, let's meditate on it. Set your heart upon it. Ponder over it. Do not allow this to just. It has everything to do with you today. And, so may the Lord have mercy upon us, knowing that his grace is sufficient.

Shall we pray? Dear Lord, we want to thank thee because thy heart is for our happiness. Thou dost desire to bless, O to remove from us everything that stands in the way of thy blessing. Bring us into the position that thou can really bless us with thy blessing.

And we want to bless thee in thy precious name.