The Fruit of the Spirit - Meekness

As we continue our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we come to the fruit of Meekness. So far we’ve looked at love, joy ,peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness and faithfulness. All of the Fruit of the Spirit cannot humanly be developed without the help of God in our lives. That is the reason Jesus said that we, the Christians, would be known by our fruit. If the fruit of the Spirit is evident in us, it means that we have spent time with God. We have studied to show ourselves approved to Him and Him alone. It also means that we have spent time with God in prayer and have also fellowshipped constantly with other Christians of like mind. Getting back to the fruit we are looking at today, meekness, it does not equate with weakness. As we will find our, meekness actually equates with strength, not our strength, but God’s strength. So let’s get into today’s topic.

Numbers 12:1–16 The Message

1 Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses behind his back because of his Cushite wife (he had married a Cushite woman). 2 They said, “Is it only through Moses that God speaks? Doesn’t he also speak through us?” God overheard their talk. 3 Now the man Moses was a quietly humble man, more so than anyone living on Earth. 4 God broke in suddenly on Moses and Aaron and Miriam saying, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” The three went out. 5 God descended in a Pillar of Cloud and stood at the entrance to the Tent. He called Aaron and Miriam to him. When they stepped out, 6 he said, Listen carefully to what I’m telling you. If there is a prophet of God among you, I make myself known to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. 7 But I don’t do it that way with my servant Moses; he has the run of my entire house; 8 I speak to him intimately, in person, in plain talk without riddles: He ponders the very form of God. So why did you show no reverence or respect in speaking against my servant, against Moses? 9 The anger of God blazed out against them. And then he left. 10 When the Cloud moved off from the Tent, oh! Miriam had turned leprous, her skin like snow. Aaron took one look at Miriam—a leper! 11 He said to Moses, “Please, my master, please don’t come down so hard on us for this foolish and thoughtless sin. 12 Please don’t make her like a stillborn baby coming out of its mother’s womb with half its body decomposed.” 13 And Moses prayed to God: Please, God, heal her, please heal her. 14 God answered Moses, “If her father had spat in her face, wouldn’t she be ostracized for seven days? Quarantine her outside the camp for seven days. Then she can be readmitted to the camp.” 15 So Miriam was in quarantine outside the camp for seven days. The people didn’t march on until she was readmitted. 16 Only then did the people march from Hazeroth and set up camp in the Wilderness of Paran.

1. Meekness is relying on God’s strength!

Moses was being was being talk about unfavorably by his own siblings. They were talking against him behind his back. Now it doesn’t say who they were talking to, but I can imagine they were probably talking to ay least their closest friends. Maybe even with some of the other leaders because of the Cushite woman Moses had married. I can kind of image what they said. “You know I really don’t want to say anything bad about my brother, Moses, but what do you think about him marrying that Cushite woman?” “I don’t know about that, I would never marry someone from outside our people.” “Remember this is just between you and me.” Well even though they were hush, hush about it, God heard. It might be Moses heard too, but he didn’t do anything about it in retaliation. But God did something. And we see here what that was. But look at Moses after Miriam was struck with leprosy, instead of saying good for you that’ll teach you to speak against me, he prays to God for Him to heal her. That’s meekness. He didn’t take matters into his own hands, he refrained, and then he cries out to God to heal her when she is struck with leprosy. There is strength in meekness and when we develop that fruit in our lives, we will be strong too!

James 3:13 TPT

13 If you consider yourself to be wise and one who understands the ways of God, advertise it with a beautiful, fruitful life guided by wisdom’s gentleness. Never brag or boast about what you’ve done and you’ll prove that you’re truly wise.

2. Meekness proves we operate in God’s wisdom!

Meekness, which in this version is translated gentleness, is what advertises the fact that we have the wisdom of God. Have you ever met or come in contact with a “know-it-all”? Someone who is never meek or humble about what they know but broadcast their “Knowledge” every time and everywhere. After hearing so much about how great they are it’s only a matter of time before they will exaggerate their expertise and make more enemies than friends. This is not God’s wisdom and it definitely doesn’t come from the Holy Spirit. However, when we remain humble and rely on the wisdom of God, not our own wisdom, we are truly “advertising’ God’s wisdom. The Fruit of Meekness gives us the ability to show the world the wisdom of God!

1 Samuel 26:7–12 The Message

7 So David and Abishai entered the encampment by night, and there he was—Saul, stretched out asleep at the center of the camp, his spear stuck in the ground near his head, with Abner and the troops sound asleep on all sides. 8 Abishai said, “This is the moment! God has put your enemy in your grasp. Let me nail him to the ground with his spear. One hit will do it, believe me; I won’t need a second!” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t you dare hurt him! Who could lay a hand on God’s anointed and even think of getting away with it?” 10 He went on, “As God lives, either God will strike him, or his time will come and he’ll die in bed, or he’ll fall in battle, 11 but God forbid that I should lay a finger on God’s anointed. Now, grab the spear at his head and the water jug and let’s get out of here.” 12 David took the spear and water jug that were right beside Saul’s head, and they slipped away. Not a soul saw. Not a soul knew. No one woke up! They all slept through the whole thing. A blanket of deep sleep from God had fallen on them.

3. Meekness let’s God do it His way not ours!

Saul had been chasing David to kill him and God delivers Saul right into David’s hand. So what does David do? Nothing! David wouldn’t do anything to bring harm to God’s anointed. After all, Saul was God’s man until he disobeyed what Samuel told him God said to do. Well actually. Saul became king because the people of Israel wanted a king like everyone else. So Saul, being head and shoulders taller than anyone else in Israel, became the king. Saul relied on his own attributes so when Goliath, a giant much bigger than Saul showed up, Saul could not handle it. David, who relied on God, kills Goliath which causes Saul to become obsessed with killing David because of jealousy. So now, in this passage, Saul is at the mercy of David and doesn’t even know it because he’s asleep. But again because David had the meekness of God, so he did not take matters into his own hands. Even though Abishai urged him on, he refused. So meekness gives us the ability to trust God to take care of matters. God even caused a deep sleep on all of Saul’s men. I think it was a test to see what David would do. And David being a man after God’s own heart passes the test because He has the Fruit of Meekness, God’s meekness, operating in him.

Matthew 5:5 AMP

5 Blessed (happy, blithesome, joyous, spiritually prosperous—with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the meek (the mild, patient, long-suffering), for they shall inherit the earth!

4. Meekness is the the quality of those that inherit the earth!

Jesus said this in the beatitudes. He said that the meek are blessed because they inherit the earth. When we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, He lifts us up. So when we stop striving on our own and let God do His thing, we get lifted up and our inheritance is awesome. It’s the earth. Look at this passage in the Message Bible:

Matthew 5:5 (The Message)

5“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

I like this that when we are content with who we are, we become owners of everything that can’t be bought. Think about that for a moment. Everything that can’t be bought becomes ours when we are operating in meekness. Meekness is strength not weakness. To be able to live life not concerned or stressed out over being in control, but giving total control to God is liberating. The Fruit of Meekness causes us to live life in total reliance on God’s strength, wisdom and His plan for taking care of situations that arise in our lives. And the reward for meekness? We inherit the earth and become owners of everything that can’t be bought!!