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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ005113S
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00:23 "Clapping"
00:27 We can today at the thresh hold of a great event, 00:31 both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of 00:35 of mankind. This universal declaration of human rights 00:40 may well become the Inter- national Magna Carta of all men 00:46 everywhere. 00:50 On the 10th of December 1948, the 58 member countries of the 00:55 United Nations agreed to The Universal Declaration of 00:59 Human Rights drafted by the United Nations. 01:02 This was a milestone moment in the history of the world. 01:06 This document set out for the first time the Fundamental 01:11 Universal Rights that are to be universally protected. 01:15 Article 1, starts with the words: 01:25 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets out a vision 01:31 of a world of freedom and dignity for every person. 01:35 There never was nor has there been since a global agreement 01:40 as positive and far-reaching as this. 01:43 Since then it's been criticized for falling far short of its 01:48 ideals because of the corruption and hypocrisy of some of the 01:52 governments of this world. Yet it has still inspired 01:57 and paved the way for more than 70 human rights treaties 02:01 at both global and regional levels. 02:04 It has still protected countless millions of people around the 02:07 world and exposed crimes and abuses against the vulnerable 02:13 internationally. 02:14 What most people don't know is The Universal Declaration 02:19 of Human Rights was based on Christian principles, 02:23 that's because the chief architect of the Universal 02:27 Declaration of Human Rights was a deeply committed Christian. 02:31 Not only that, but she was a woman who in a man's world 02:36 wielded influence and power with grace and dignity 02:41 on the international stage. 02:43 Her name, Eleanor Roosevelt. 02:46 Join me as we follow a story and see how she illustrates 02:52 some of the most important teachings of Jesus. 03:20 On a hillside by the sea of Galilee, Jesus gave us the 03:25 Beatitudes, the center of Jesus' teachings about the kingdom 03:30 of God is the Sermon on the Mount and the very heart 03:34 of the Sermon on the Mount are the Beatitudes, 03:37 so if we really want to know what it means to be a follower 03:42 of Jesus and to live as a citizen in the Kingdom of God 03:45 then we must understand Christs' teaching in the Beatitudes. 03:50 But the Beatitudes aren't just the spiritual principles for 03:55 Christians, they're arguably the body of principles that has 03:59 been most influential in shaping western civilization 04:03 as we know it today. The word Beatitude might sound like its 04:08 an old-fashioned religious sounding word and one that 04:11 not many people will recognize today but it refers to being 04:16 blissfully happy. When Jesus calls people blessed in the 04:22 Beatitudes that's literally what He means, He means that if you 04:26 display these qualities, you will be blissfully happy. 04:30 This is a happiness that belongs only to God and that can come 04:34 only from God and among the Beatitudes He said in Matthew 5:3 04:41 What a strange way for Jesus to start the Beatitudes 04:51 in this first part of the Sermon on the Mount. 04:54 Most people associate happiness with being rich, but instead 04:59 Jesus says: that it is the poor in spirit who are blessed. 05:13 Many Americans look to the first ladies, the wives of 05:18 presidents as icons of style and grace. 05:21 Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady from 1933 to 1945 05:27 and she was so much more. 05:30 Eleanor's childhood was traumatic, she dramatically 05:35 survived a disaster at sea when a ship she was traveling on 05:39 sunk on out in the ocean. She lost both her parents 05:40 as a child, her mother and younger brother died from 05:46 Diphtheria in 1892, her father who was an alcoholic 05:51 died two years later after jumping from a window while 05:55 delirious. Before his death her father asked Eleanor 06:00 to care for her remaining younger brother, Paul 06:03 who also sadly also followed his father's drinking habits. 06:08 All of these things meant that Eleanor grew up amid loneliness 06:12 and loss and starved of love that's why she was left prone to 06:17 depression for the rest of her life. 06:19 And it didn't help the Eleanor was raised by a rather severe 06:24 grandmother. Although Eleanor abandoned the religion of her 06:28 grandmother, she kept her habits of regular prayer and 06:31 church attendance. She also retained from her upbringing 06:36 a stern sense of duty, the reality was that despite the 06:41 tragedy she experienced, Eleanor knew that she had been 06:45 born into a very privileged family. 06:48 Eleanor's own personal losses gave her a deep sense of empathy 06:53 for the suffering of others. 06:55 Her sense that much is expected of those whom much is given 06:59 as Jesus had told made her passionately committed to 07:04 helping the disadvantaged. From her youth, Eleanor developed 07:09 a deep knowledge of scripture in fact, she memorized a large 07:14 parts of the New Testament. 07:16 Eleanor's faith was grounded in two key passages, one of them 07:22 was the question asked by the Hebrew prophet Micah 07:25 in chapter 6:8. 07:37 The other key passage on which he based her life was the words 07:42 that Jesus found in Matthew chapter 25: 40, where Jesus says 07:55 It was this humble walk with God that was to characterize 08:00 Eleanor's life. It came naturally to her to recognize 08:04 in any circumstance who the least of these were, 08:09 those who needed to receive mercy and justice in their lives. 08:13 Eleanor especially loved The Sermon on the Mount 08:18 and in particular the Beatitudes, she internalized 08:22 them so that they naturally became the guiding principles 08:26 of her life. All of her life Eleanor Roosevelt used to carry 08:31 a quote in her purse which said too... 08:40 Her aim was to live out the Teachings of Jesus as fully 08:45 as possible. On the 17th of March 1905, Eleanor married 08:51 Franklin D. Roosevelt then ran for politics and became the 08:55 32nd and longest-serving President of the United States 08:59 of America. He's the only American president to serve 09:03 more than two terms. 09:05 Even in public life Eleanor never missed church 09:10 and was the spiritual rock of her family. She insisted on 09:14 taking her children to church even though their father 09:17 didn't go. Eleanor had a compassionate empathy for all 09:19 who were disadvantaged. Despite being First Lady 09:26 she would often be seen privately distributing food 09:30 and gifts in the alleys of the slums of Washington. 09:34 Although Eleanor was a deeply devout Christian, 09:37 people remember her for what she did for others rather than 09:42 for her, religion and that's how it should be, she lived what she 09:47 believed. She always said it was not a question of 09:51 what one believed, but how one lived out one's beliefs. 09:56 But it was indeed her public achievements that distinguished 10:02 her, Eleanor lived in a time when it was unusual for women 10:06 to be prominent in public life, this combined with her own 10:11 humility meant that she was self-effacing about her own 10:15 achievements. However Eleanor developed her own gentle but 10:20 powerful leadership style and she was highly respected 10:24 for a diplomacy and advocacy both in the United States, 10:28 and across the international community. 10:32 Long before Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt was a 10:37 leader for Civil Rights on behalf of whoever were depressed 10:41 whether African Americans or Jews or women. 10:45 The issues of immigrants and refugees today aren't new 10:50 to United States on these issues Eleanor took as her reference 10:55 point the story of Jesus, how He was born to poor parents 11:00 how he himself became an immigrant in peril for His life. 11:05 Not only did Eleanor go through The Great Depression and the 11:10 First World War but her husband Franklin contracted polio in the 11:15 prime of his life, yet Eleanor stood alongside of Franklin 11:20 and together they helped to guide America through the 11:23 dark days of World War II. 11:25 Through all of this Eleanor lived a life of happiness 11:30 and purpose for the sake of others. 11:32 But we still haven't mentioned was perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt's 11:38 greatest achievement which was that she led the drafting 11:42 of the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. 11:45 Which has brought incalculable good for those who suffer 11:50 in this world. As you might imagine, just after the second 11:54 World War, the launch of the United Nations was a difficult 11:58 and complicated process. There were simmering tensions between 12:03 the Americans, the Russians, and the Chinese. 12:05 So, it was only natural President Harry S. Truman 12:10 chose the greatest diplomatic heavy-weights he could find. 12:14 He also chose Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, when Eleanor 12:19 received the news, she was dumb-founded. 12:22 She initially reacted by saying that she had other things to do 12:27 and knew nothing at all about International law anyway. 12:31 However her secretary Melvina Thompson said to her, 12:36 Mrs. Roosevelt, I believe I would be hesitant to say no 12:41 to the President of The United States, fortunately, Eleanor 12:46 said yes to the appointment. And in January 1946 she 12:51 sailed to London. Of course the U.S. Diplomatic Delegation 12:56 comprised of government officials and they weren't 13:00 exactly thrilled to have a woman as part of their team. 13:03 So, they decided to get her out of the way by putting her 13:08 on a committee that would be insignificant and basically 13:12 irrelevant, that's why they put Eleanor on The Human Rights 13:16 Committee which was expected to achieve nothing. 13:20 But how wrong they were at the first meeting of the 13:25 committee despite strenuous Russian conditions Eleanor 13:30 was appointed Chair and set a goal of drafting a universal 13:34 Declaration of Human Rights. In a time when women weren't 13:40 often, ladies, Ellen had developed a very understated 13:44 near-defective leadership style. She would sit back and let 13:48 everyone have their say and then she would steer the discussion 13:52 towards her desired outcome. 13:54 Eleanor recalled one conversation during the drafting 13:58 of the Charter of Human Rights of which she wrote that 14:02 the conversation became so philosophical and so lofty 14:07 that as she told it, she couldn't even follow along. 14:11 She later said, I simply filled the teacups again and sat back 14:16 to be entertained by the talk of these learned gentlemen. 14:20 But no one there would have taken this modest account 14:24 at face value, they were already 14:27 familiar with Eleanor's style of chairmanship 14:30 and they had the greatest respect for her leadership. 14:33 She knew what she wanted and she made sure that she got it 14:38 she was absolutely no pushover. 14:42 But Eleanor's own accounts of these meetings hugely 14:46 understated her own fundamental contribution, she down-played 14:50 her own achievements, that was just her modest way. 14:55 It has taken more recent histories to recognize that 14:59 she was indeed the driving force of the whole project, 15:03 her role was critical in creating what had been deemed 15:08 impossible, the creation of a Universal Charter of Human Rights. 15:15 There are a few American women who have been so universally 15:19 admired as Eleanor Roosevelt there are few who have 15:23 left behind such an illustrious record of service to others. 15:27 When she died in 1962, she was described by the New York Times 15:34 as... 15:47 At her funeral President Truman honored Eleanor Roosevelt 15:51 by calling her the "First Lady of the World." 16:01 When Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit, 16:04 He wasn't talking about financial poverty. 16:07 There have been some Christians throughout the centuries 16:10 who have thought that Jesus was encouraging His followers 16:14 to be poor. Now it's true that the word poor in their original 16:19 languages means to be utterly destitute. 16:22 Being materially poor, starving and living with endemic diseases 16:27 in slums is a very difficult situation, in fact, the Christian 16:32 message pulls us to help people out of these situations 16:36 but Jesus was talking about poverty in a different sense. 16:41 Neither was Jesus saying that those who think poorly 16:45 of themselves are blessed because thinking that you are 16:49 of no value, of no worth, cripples you in every aspect 16:53 of your life. In fact in the Sermon on the Mount 16:57 Jesus goes on to talk about how infinitely valuable 17:01 every person is to God. 17:04 So, what did Jesus mean when He said? 17:11 Well, to understand this we must look at it opposite. 17:15 In the Bible, poverty of spirit is contrasted with being 17:22 haughty in spirit. A good passage to look at is 17:26 Proverbs 16:18,19 which says... 17:45 Now notice here, that those with a haughty spirit take from 17:50 others and exploit them. Also notice a very important 17:54 thing about those who are lowly in spirit which is the same 17:59 as being poor in spirit. Instead of oppressing others, 18:03 they sit with the oppressed, they have the spirit of empathy 18:07 and compassion for others, particularly for those who are 18:12 downtrodden and who suffer. 18:13 This is the key to understanding what it means to be poor in 18:18 spirit. Those with a haughty spirit are so full of their own 18:23 self-importance that they have no time for God and as a result 18:28 they will also have no time for others, they will knowingly 18:33 or unknowingly hurt others and oppress them. 18:36 The Poor in Spirit refers to those who recognize that without 18:42 God, they are helpless and so they put their full trust in 18:47 God alone. The result of this kind of inner humility before 18:52 God will be manifested in a life of external care and 18:56 concern for others and for their suffering, 18:59 to look for ways to right what is wrong in the world around us. 19:04 There is a very good reason why this is the first of the 19:09 Beatitudes, it's because poverty of spirit is the 19:13 foundation of everything else in the kingdom of God. 19:17 Without poverty of spirit, you'll never experience the 19:22 blessedness of the other Beatitudes in your life. 19:26 None of the other blessings in the Beatitudes 19:29 can be achieved in your own strength, we have to be reliant 19:34 on God. That's what poverty of spirit means, 19:38 poverty of spirit is the foundation of everything 19:42 because God must be first. 19:45 When you are truly poor in spirit things, material 19:50 possessions will mean nothing to you and God will mean 19:55 everything. The spiritual takes precedent over the material 20:00 in our lives. 20:02 The difference between those with the haughty spirit 20:05 and those who are poor in spirit is powerfully illustrated by 20:10 Jesus parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector that He 20:14 told in Luke in Chapter 18. Let's read it together... 20:18 Jesus told this parable... 21:14 In this parable, Jesus is talking about a person's view 21:19 of their own spiritual asset, He isn't talking about money 21:24 but about the heart. The Pharisee considered himself 21:29 spiritually superior and so he stood apart from others 21:33 and focused on the good things that he did. 21:36 However, the tax collector whom everybody despised acknowledged 21:42 his spiritual bankruptcy before God and he was the one said 21:47 Jesus who went home justified before God, not the Pharisee. 21:52 The Pharisee puts himself first however the tax collector 21:58 puts God first, Jesus says that the tax collector went home 22:04 justified. In this way the promise of the Beatitude 22:08 is fulfilled... 22:13 When we are poor in spirit so that we have space in our 22:17 hearts for God, only those who are poor in spirit can have 22:21 the heart of Jesus. And when you have the heart of Jesus 22:25 His priorities become your priorities, self will mean less 22:31 and others will mean more to us. Jesus came to live among us 22:37 to seek and to save the lost. When you are poor in spirit 22:42 you'll naturally identify with the downtrodden, the abused 22:46 and the suffering in the world. You will want circumstances 22:51 for the situation on this earth to be as it is in the kingdom 22:55 of heaven, that's why you'll be be able to wholeheartedly pray 22:59 to God... 23:06 But you won't only pray it, you will dedicate your life 23:11 to the cause of the kingdom, that's what Eleanor Roosevelt 23:15 did and that's why she changed our world for the good. 23:19 This is the first of the Beatitudes and its possibly 23:23 the most challenging because it confronts us in the most 23:27 radical way possible. 23:33 All of us are naturally so full of our own self-importance 23:36 that we have little or no space in our lives for God 23:41 and because of that, we have little or no space in our lives 23:45 for the suffering of others and therefore for writing the 23:49 wrongs in our society. 23:51 If you want to do a quick check on how you stand with regards to 23:55 this, then simply ask yourself how am I spending the hours 24:00 that God has given me every day? 24:03 That'll probably give you a rough idea of where your 24:07 priorities are right now. You see if you have a humble 24:11 attitude before God, you'll have humble heart before others 24:16 you will always, always have a compassionate, merciful, 24:22 and empathetic heart towards those who are oppressed 24:26 downtrodden, abused and suffering in this world. 24:30 This Beatitude is challenging, none of blessings the other 24:36 Beatitudes which follow will be ours if we don't possess 24:41 poverty of spirit. 24:43 It's a tragedy that for so many that the pursuit of material 24:49 can choose them and crowd out the spiritual. 24:53 Just a little later in the Sermon on the Mount, 24:56 Jesus was talking about our material needs when He said 25:15 Nothing captures the imagination quite like a story and this is 25:19 true of the enthralling stories Jesus told in the gospels 25:23 known as parables. 25:25 If you would like to find out more about these parables, 25:28 and understand their deeper meaning, if you would like to 25:31 the reason Jesus used parables, and how they can apply to 25:36 our lives, then I'd like to recommend the amazing free gift 25:40 we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 25:44 It's the devotional book Christ's Object Lessons 25:49 This classic book explains the teachings of Jesus like you've 25:53 not seen or read before, it explores the depths of best 25:58 loved teachings of Jesus in the parables by explaining 26:02 the story itself and then sharing its spiritual 26:05 significance. This book will inspire and encourage you 26:10 as you find meaning and purpose in your life. 26:13 This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free 26:19 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:23 So, make the most of this wonderful opportunity to receive 26:27 the free offer we have for you today. 26:31 Phone or text 0423.333.555 in Australia or 020.422.2042 26:39 2042 in New Zealand, or visit our website at TiJ.tv or 26:46 simply scan the QR Code on your screen and we'll send you 26:49 today's Free offer, totally free of charge and with no 26:53 obligation. Wright to us at GPO Box 274, Sydney NSW 26:59 2001 Australia or PO Box 76673 Manukau Auckland 2241 27:07 New Zealand, don't delay, call or text us now. 27:11 If you've enjoyed our journey with Eleanor Roosevelt, 27:19 and the Declaration of Human Rights and our reflections 27:23 on the meaning of the First Beatitude, 27:25 then be sure to join us again next week when we will share 27:29 another of life's journeys together 27:32 Until then, let's pray and ask God to guide us and help us 27:38 to get our priorities right. 27:40 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you that we are 27:45 created equal in your eyes, that you love each one of us. 27:50 Help us to see the world around us with eyes of dignity 27:54 compassion and mercy. And Father, may we always 27:59 remember to make you first and foremost in our lives. 28:03 In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. |
Revised 2022-11-17