A kind of death... and a few quotes

Much of what DJ mentioned in his message spoke to me but the moments he spoke about the illusion of a false sense of security and the first beatitude being a kind of death have continued to ring in my mind. The poor in spirit are blessed because the illusion of a false sense of security has been stripped away and as a result, they are aware of their true security-- Jesus. 

This point of one clinging to a false sense of security instead of Jesus was again emphasized when DJ later talked about the first beatitude as kind of death… “a death to self-sufficiency and a death to self saviorship”. This reminded me of how in dying to ourselves, in dying to our false senses of security, in dying to our idols we are made alive in Christ. 

Other things DJ mentioned that were pretty neat:

“All human beings are spiritually bankrupt… apart from Jesus Christ, we have nothing to bring before the living God” 

“It is those who are spiritually bankrupt, those who feel inadequate in the things of God who experience the coming of the Kingdom.”

“The qualities Jesus blesses in His beatitudes are not natural human qualities, rather they are the result of being grabbed by His gospel. Jesus did not come into the world looking for beatitude people He could call to His Kingdom, rather He came into the world, called people to Himself and as a result of the ongoing encounter with Him these qualities emerged in their lives. 

“When we encounter Jesus as He really is, beyond our understanding of Him, in all of His glory, grace, and truth we see ourselves as we really are… loved by Him but also falling short of the glory of God.”