The Gentile

Intro

Matthew 5:5 NASB95

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

 In Guideposts, Ronald Pinkerton describes a near accident he had while hang gliding. He had launched his hang glider and been forcefully lifted 4,200 feet into the air. As he was descending, he was suddenly hit by a powerful new blast of air that sent his hang glider plummeting toward the ground.

I was falling at an alarming rate. Trapped in an airborne riptide, I was going to crash! Then I saw him—a red-tailed hawk. He was six feet off my right wingtip, fighting the same gust I was …

I looked down: 300 feet from the ground and still falling. The trees below seemed like menacing pikes.

I looked at the hawk again. Suddenly he banked and flew straight downwind. Downwind! If the right air is anywhere, it’s upwind! The hawk was committing suicide.

Two hundred feet. From nowhere the thought entered my mind: Follow the hawk. It went against everything I knew about flying. But now all my knowledge was useless. I was at the mercy of the wind. I followed the hawk.

One hundred feet. Suddenly the hawk gained altitude. For a split second I seemed to be suspended motionless in space. Then a warm surge of air started pushing the glider upward. I was stunned. Nothing I knew as a pilot could explain this phenomenon. But it was true: I was rising.

On occasion we all have similar “downdrafts” in our lives, reversals in our fortunes, humiliating experiences. We want to lift ourselves up, but God’s Word, like that red-tailed hawk, tells us to do just the opposite. God’s Word tells us to dive—to humble ourselves under the hand of God. If we humble ourselves, God will send a thermal wind that will lift us up.1

1 Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 254–255.

Humility is not weakness” heard this alot

not wrong, but must go further

more than recognizing that you can’t but recognizing who can

Beatitutes

poor in spirit

spiritual bankruptcy

mourning

recognize our sin and its cost

comfort

gentile/humble/meek

Meek and Humble

Defined as “the attitude of the soul towards another when that other is in a state of activity towards it.” it is the attitude of the disciple to the teacher when teaching; of the son to the father when exercising his paternal authority.

It is therefore essentially as applicable to the relation of man to God as to that of man to man.

recognize authority

man to man

boss, teacher, leader

dig hole for flag pole in gravel parking lot

Matthew 5:5 NASB95

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

 Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.… There never was in this world a life so unpretending, modest, and lowly in its outward form and condition, and yet producing such extraordinary effects upon all ages, nations, and classes of men.

Philip Schaff1

1 Elliot Ritzema and Elizabeth Vince, eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).

Man to God

context meaning

“that temper of spirit in which we accept his dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting.

recognize His authority

Abraham, Ninevites

every knew will bow and every tongue confess

Matthew 5:5 NASB95

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

 Humility is not a mere ornament of a Christian, but an essential part of the new creature. It is a contradiction to be a sanctified man, or a true Christian, and not humble.

Richard Baxter1

1 Elliot Ritzema, ed., 300 Quotations for Preachers (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

When we become low, Christ will become great to us!

then will we be strong

Matthew 5:5 NASB95

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

  The story is told of two brothers who grew up on a farm. One went away to college, earned a law degree, and became a partner in a prominent law firm in the state capital. The other brother stayed on the family farm. One day the lawyer came and visited his brother, the farmer. He asked, “Why don’t you go out and make a name for yourself and hold your head up high in the world like me.” The brother pointed and said, “See that field of wheat over there? Look closely. Only the empty heads stand up. Those that are well filled always bow low.”

Said differently, “The branch that bears the most fruit is bent the lowest to the ground.”1

1 Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively, Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989).

Circumstance does not regulate meekness

we must not only recognize His authority, but trust in it

Matthew 5:5 NASB95

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

The meek do not resent adversity because they accept everything as being the effect of God’s wise and loving purpose for them, so that they accept injuries from men also (as Moses above), knowing that these are permitted by God for their ultimate good (cf. 2 Sa. 16:11). 1

1 J. C. Connell, “Meekness,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 747.

when circumstance takes away our plans and ideas

anger, violence, malice are not the answer

our battle is not with flesh and blood but is a spiritual one!

“Humble are those who trust God an surrender to his authority even when they cannot make sense of their circumstances.”

Matthew 5:5 NASB95

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

“To be meek toward others implies freedom from malice and a vengeful spirit...We may acknowledge our own spiritual bankruptcy and mourn. But to respond with meekness when others tell us of our bankruptcy is far more difficult.”

“And the meek - not the strong, aggressive, harsh, tyrannical - will inherit the earth.”

quote from Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition)

Inherit the Earth

OT Jews even NT Jews

Palestine, promised land

old covenant

New Covenant

A promise of a new land

redeemed earth, re-created and made perfect

new heaven and new earth

This is the promise to the meek

Eternal reign with Christ

evil and sin purged from the earth

all one people, all in one accord

Why?

Because of Christ on the cross

we think we can do it all

we can do nothing without Christ

there is much more to life and our short lives here

more than just life before death

eternity

to inherit, “to receive something of considerable value with has not been earned.”

Grace!