HAPPY ARE THE MEEK

1. Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, 2. for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. 3. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. 4. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6. He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. 7. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. 8. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret--it leads only to evil. 9. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 10. Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.11. But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes

1. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This morning we are going to look at the third of the eight Beatitudes. Jesus gives this wonderful sermon on the Beatitudes but does not take time to explain His teaching.

What I find fascinating is that Jesus quotes verse eleven of Psalm 37 in the Beatitudes when He says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Some thousand years before Jesus stands and gives His “Sermon on the Mount,” King David pens the words to Psalm 37. King David probably wrote this Psalm later in his life; looking back over his life and reflecting on the ways of the wicked and the ways of the righteous. This is one of those acrostic Psalms, with each of its stanzas of double verses begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It was a teaching Psalm. This Psalm is a wonderful exposition of the third Beatitude. The whole Psalm unfolds the character of the meek and trusting person.

King David said, “But the meek shall inherit the land, and enjoy great peace.”

Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

This morning I would like for us to reflect on the meaning of meekness, the manifestation of meekness, and the ministry of meekness.

THE MEANING OF MEEKNESS

The Greek word for “meek” is “praos,” which basically means “mild, soft or gentle.” Meekness does not mean weakness. Meekness means power under control. Meekness is not cowardice. It is not a lack of conviction, not mere human niceness. Meekness is courage, it is conviction. This courage and conviction comes from trusting in God, not from trusting in ourselves. The spirit of meekness comes from Jesus. Paul writes in Philippians these powerful words:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:3-11)

Do you hear the meaning of meekness? Can you put this picture in your mind when you hear the word? Paul said, “don’t be conceited or selfish --- consider others better than yourselves.”

Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped but humbled Himself and took on the form of a slave. Jesus humbled himself so much that He became obedient even unto death.” This is a powerful word-picture for meek!

How do you respond when people treat you like a servant or a slave? The Scriptures teach us that we are to be slaves of Christ and servants of all, but it’s easy to resent being treated that way. Listen to some of these statistics.

Nearly 1 million high school seniors were asked: How would you rate your overall leadership abilities?

V 70 percent said they were above average.

V 25 percent said they were in the top 1 percent.

V 60 percent said they were in the top 10 percent.

When asked: How well do you get along with others? 0 in 829,000 responded, “below average.”

Lest you think only teenagers are so confused about this issue, college faculty were asked: How would you rate your competency in comparison to an average colleague? 84 percent answered: “Better.”[i]

It is truly fascinating that Jesus, who is the only one that truly could answer that he’s the greatest, instead took the form of a servant.

Point #1: Meekness is not weakness! Meekness is power under control Meekness is courage, it is conviction. This courage and conviction comes from trusting in God, not from trusting in ourselves. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

THE MANIESTATION OF MEEKNESS

The Bible is full of wonderful stories of meekness. Just think for a moment of some of the meek people of the Bible. There is Abraham in the story told in Genesis 13 when he allows Lot to choose whatever land he wanted. Abraham gave up the right to have the best land, the most productive land, the best view in the country, the best seat in the house--for the sake of harmony between households. Abraham had the right and the power to do as he pleased, but in meekness he gladly waived his rights and set aside his power.

How about the story of Joseph when he is sold into slavery by his own brothers, put in prison by Pharaoh’s wife and eventually comes to the place of being second in command of Pharaoh’s land? Joseph’s brothers visit Egypt because there is a famine in the land and they need food. Whom do they ask for help? They don’t know it but it’s Joseph! When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt asking for grain for their starving families, Joseph could have easily refused and put them into a more severe form of slavery than what they had put Joseph in. Yet Joseph carried forgiveness and love for them. This is a powerful scene for us to put into our memory. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, “he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it.” (Genesis 45:2) Joseph tells them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” (Genesis 50:19-20) In meekness Joseph understood that it was God who was in control and it would be God who would be the judge. Joseph forgives and helps --- meekness-- power under control!

Do you know who the meekest man in the bible was? “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3) Moses is the one who killed the Egyptian, stood before Pharaoh, and got angry at the Israelites as they wandered in the desert for 40 years. Remember Moses breaking the stone tablets that God have given him when he saw the golden calf being worshiped? In the book of Numbers, chapter 12, we are told that Moses is the meekest man who ever lived. The context of the story is that Miriam and Aaron were busy slandering Moses because he has taken a Cushite for a wife after his first wife dies. A Cushite woman would have been from Africa. Miriam and Aaron start a rebellion over the prejudices they hold. Moses did not fight back or defend himself. Moses allowed God to defend him; meekness: power under control. God then turned the skin of Miriam into a white, leprous color. She was shunned and put outside of the camp. Meek Moses prays for her to be healed. It is quite a fascinating story of the manifestation of meekness. I encourage you the read the story in Numbers 12 this week.

Point #2: The Bible is full of the stories of meekness: Abraham and Lot, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and his sister are just a few. Meekness: Courage and conviction from trusting God—not ourselves. When we are meek, we are promised to inherit the earth! One of the definitions of “inherit” is: to come into possession of what belonged to someone else.

THE MINISTRY OF MEEKNESS

The ministry of meekness begins in the heart. King David in Psalm 37 gives us powerful words to live by --- “Trust in the Lord --- Delight yourself in the Lord --- Commit your way to the Lord --- Be still before the Lord.” The psalmist tells us that if we trust, delight, commit, and be still we will be given the desires of our hearts. What is the desire of your heart? Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse -- who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) I was reading the Sermon on the Mount, chapters five through seven in the Gospel of Matthew. I was stopped in my tracks when I read Matthew 6:21. I know you have heard it many times, Jesus tells us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Seriously, your “so what” is this: What is my treasure? Because that is where my heart is. On all of the grace weekends that I help with, the very first talk is about this. The questions they have you think about are these: Where do I spend my money? Where do I spend my time? What do I talk about the most? Therein lies your treasure.

King David tells us in Psalm 37 to trust, commit, delight and be still—and we will be given the desires of our heart. We’ve learned the definition of meekness this morning: power under control. We’ve been given some excellent examples of meekness from the word of God: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, King David and Jesus. The word of God tells us and shows us how to develop the ministry of meekness within our lives. Do we desire to be gentle? Do we want to be able to display power under control? Do we want to be more like Abraham—giving others first choice instead of grabbing it for ourselves? Can we be more like Joseph—forgiving our brothers and sisters for their treatment of us? Can we learn how to pray for those who’ve spoken against us-- like Moses did regarding Miriam? King David has put his wisdom for living into psalms; psalms for us to read and live by: trust God, commit our life to God, delight in God, be still before God—and we will be given the desires of our heart. The life of Christ teaches us how to develop the ministry of meekness: regard others as better than yourselves. The Scriptures can teach us how to develop meekness in our lives. Power under control.

Point #3: What is my treasure? Do I regard others as well as I regard myself?

SO WHAT

Do we have to be first in order to be happy? When the credits are passed out, how concerned are we that our contribution is acknowledged? How do we handle the success of others? All of these are meekness testers.

Thomas à Kempis said, “Take delight in being unknown and unregarded. A true understanding and humble estimate of oneself is the highest and most valuable of all lessons. To take no account of oneself, but always to think well and highly of others, is the highest wisdom... We are all frail; consider none more frail than yourself.”

It’s interesting to note that according to Harper’s, 61 percent of Americans earning less than $30,000 per year believe that “the meek shall inherit the earth,” while only 36 percent of Americans earning more than $60,000 believe “the meek will inherit the earth.”[ii]

This morning we have learned the meaning of meekness. Meekness is not weakness, it is power under control. Jesus humbled Himself to the point of becoming a slave! The King of kings became our slave. He took the form of a servant, carried our cross, and died for our sins--on the way from earth to His throne in Heaven. Power under control. Meekness.

Abraham set aside his rights and privileges—he let Lot choose first and was happy with his portion, Joseph forgave and trusted God to make things right with his brothers, and Moses was silent when his sister spoke against his wife. He was meek enough to trust God.

How do we take these ancient words from long ago and make them apply to our lives today?

It’s been a rough couple of months for your pastor. God has been taking Pastor Dave’s MEEKNESS temperature. The human side of my life wants to defend myself. The Jesus side of me says Psalm 37: “Trust in the Lord --- Delight yourself in the Lord --- Commit your way to the Lord --- Be still before the Lord.” Yesterday I received this bulletin in the mail. It’s our friend’s memorial service bulletin. His wife sent it to us. Jim was one of meekest men I’ve ever known. I want to read a few verses from the back of the bulletin: He never looked for praises, He was never one to boast. He just went on quietly working, for the ones he loved the most. He was there…a firm foundation, through all our storms of life. A sturdy hand to hold on to, in times of stress and strife. Jim knew the value of power under control.

One question: how’s your meekness temperature? Author Ginny Moore says it well: The best THINGS in life…aren’t things. Let’s leave today’s message with these verses:

But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Psalm 37:11

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

The Seed Christian Fellowship

Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701

www.theseedchriistianfellowship.com

August 5, 2018

Pastor Dave Peters

[i] Greg Lafferty & JoHannah Rearden, Christian Bible Studies, Christianity Today: 2005