Tuesday

Related Verses
Matt. 5:3-4
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Luke 6:21
21 Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are those who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Phil. 3:12-16 (12-14)
12 Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before,
14 I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.
15 Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you.
16 Nevertheless whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.

Related Reading
If we are poor in spirit, surely we will mourn. We will feel sad and sorrowful for the poor situation among God’s people and even for our own condition. The situation among God’s people today is really worthy of mourning…For the kingdom life we also need to mourn. We need to mourn concerning ourselves, our society, and today’s Christianity. When we look at Christ, we are happy and rejoicing, but when we look at ourselves and others around us, we have to mourn…If you look at the Lord and the church, it is really wonderful. But outside of the church, in formal Christianity, fundamental Christianity, Pentecostal Christianity, and even charismatic Christianity, it is a poor situation. So we have to mourn. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” pp. 276-277) 

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We have to admit that Christ is not lived out much even among us…Where can you see a group of Christians who are really living out Christ and really having the Body of Christ as the issue of their daily life?…The matter of mourning comes after the matter of being poor in our spirit [Matt. 5:3-4]. When we are poor in our spirit, we will surely see some vision concerning God’s economy. Will we then be joyful? The situation would not allow us to be joyful. If we have seen the vision concerning God’s economy, we would surely weep day and night. We would mourn day and night because the situation is too sad. (CWWL, 1980, vol. 1, “Perfecting Training,” pp. 141-142) 

The sequence of [Matthew 5:3-4] is very significant. First, we must be poor in spirit, and then we can mourn. If we are not poor in our spirit, we do not have the capacity for the King to come in to establish His kingdom within our being. If we do not have the heavenly kingdom established within us, we cannot realize how negative and pitiful the whole world is. However, when the Lord Jesus is able to set up His kingdom within us and when the full capacity of our whole being, even the depths of our being, our spirit, is available to Him, we will realize that the earth is dark, corrupt, and filled with sin. Spontaneously, we will mourn for this sad situation. For this reason the Lord Jesus did not speak first of mourning and then of being poor in spirit. He put the matter of being poor in our spirit first. Only when we are poor in spirit can we mourn. 

If we are poor in spirit and mourn for the pitiful situation of others, spontaneously, we will be meek [v. 5]. Even if your mother-in-law is in a pitiful condition, do not tell her so. Even the condition of your dear wife may not be very positive in the eyes of the Lord. If her heart and her interests are not for the Lord, and she does not care for the Lord’s kingdom, her situation is pitiful…You may be in the highest heaven, but she may be in the lowest hell. Furthermore, consider your children. You may love the Lord to the uttermost, but they may not love Him at all. Therefore, you must mourn for your mother-in-law, your wife, and your children. You must also mourn for your relatives, your colleagues, and your neighbors…Look at the deplorable condition of the world today, including that of Christianity. The merchants care only for money, the students care only for their education, and the working people care only for promotions and positions. When we are poor in spirit, we will surely mourn for the whole situation. 

Because we mourn for others, we would never fight against them. Instead of fighting them, spontaneously, we will be meek toward them…You will be meek toward others because you have a deep feeling within about their pitiful situation. Because you have been praying for them in the way of mourning, whenever you contact them, you will be meek. (Life-study of Matthew, pp. 178-179) 

Further Reading: Life-study of Matthew, msg. 14