Blessed are the Meek

We are in week 3 of our series, “An Upside Down Kingdom”

We are talking about the “Beatitudes”.

The Beatitudes are an example of how things in the kingdom of God can seem to be upside down to how we look at things in this world.

This is the beginning of the greatest message Jesus ever gave called the Sermon on the Mount.

The Beatitudes start with a blessing over people who do something in particular or have a certain attitude or mindset.

It is then followed by a promise.

Week 1 we talked about Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Last week we talked about Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

We discussed that Jesus was most likely talking about mourning our sin which leads to repentance.

We then can be comforted in knowing that we will be forgiven of our sins.

We also talked about how as believers we need to be able to mourn when tragedy hits our lives.

Many believers think that they can’t mourn because they have to put on their Christian happy face because we think we have to be happy all the time.

We have to understand that God weeps with us and is there beside us to give us the strength to press forward through this difficult time.

We need to mourn but we can’t stay in that season of mourning.

That’s what can lead to depression and can derail us from God’s plan for our life.

If you missed either of those messages you can go back and watch on our Facebook page, App, website, or YouTube channel.

Today we are going to look at the third beatitude.

We are in Matthew chapter 5

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

Naturally when looking at this passage like most of the beatitudes we need to start by looking at the “meek”.

What does that word mean?

Because we might have similar but different definitions of that word when we hear it.

Meek to some people might be timid?

Laid back?

Calm?

Some people might think of someone that’s meek as a pushover.

We think meekness is weakness.

The actual definition of meek in the greek is “meek” or “gentle”.

There’s a few different applications when it comes to this word.

One definition of meek is, “willingness to submit to authority. Willingness to disregard one’s own “rights” and privileges.”

Think of this definition when it comes to a horse.

When you first encounter a wild horse you need to do what to it?

Break it.

If a horse isn’t broken you won’t be able to ride on it.

So a horse goes through a breaking process that then causes them to submit to the authority of the rider.

He’s chosen to give up his rights of what he can do at any time and submit to this person.

Think about that when it comes to us and our relationship with God.

Some of us need to go through a breaking process that will cause us to submit to God’s authority and give up our rights and privileges to live the way God calls us to.

Another way to find out what meek means is to look and see if there are other scriptures that use this word and see how it’s applied.

And we can find this word in Psalm 37 and many people believe Jesus was referencing this scripture.

This is a psalm written by David.

Psalm 37:11 NIV “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”

Now if we start at the beginning of this chapter we can get a better understanding of what David’s interpretation of meek is.

Psalm 37:1-11 “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 3 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 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 do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”

David is telling not to fret about the things around us.

Whether we’re going through a difficult time or we are seeing good things happen to bad people.

Don’t fret but keep your eyes on Jesus.

That’s why he kept saying, “Trust in the Lord, Take delight in the Lord, Commit your ways to the Lord.”

Because when we do that we won’t be distracted by the things around us.

Going back to the example of horses.

Have you ever seen a horse and buggy?

When you see these buggy’s being pulled by horses you’ll notice something that the horses wear.

They have blinders on.

They put blinders on the horses so they can focus on the road in front of them and not get distracted by the chaos around them.

That’s what a meek person does.

He puts up spiritual blinders to where they are focused on God and His will for them.

Because they’ve submitted to His authority and His Lordship.

And they don’t fret about what’s going on around them.

Because we understand who God is and what He is capable of.

So when I read this passage and I see it mention a few times about how we shouldn’t fret and become angry and then says the “meek” will inherit the land I have to believe that meekness is probably the opposite of fret or anger.

Which would make sense when you realize that one of the definitions of meek is gentle.

Someone who frets or is angry is most likely not gentle.

They don’t handle matters in a gentle way.

Unfortunately, I see a lot of believers today who DO NOT show a lot of meekness or gentleness when dealing with people.

You see meekness is a quiet confidence.

It’s not that you are a pushover and can’t ever stand up for anything.

But when you do, it’s in a gentle manner that’s not full of anger.

I’ve heard stories of people who worked under Pastors who would bring their staff into his office when they made a mistake and ream them out.

They said the secretary would have music in the main part of the offices playing and when he would call someone to his office and start yelling she would have to turn the music up so everyone didn’t hear the conversation.

That’s messed up to me.

That’s the opposite of being meek.

That’s being controlled by your anger.

You can be a strong leader and correct people in a gentle way where they get exactly what you’re saying.

Many times our anger just makes matters worse.

I think of all the Christians who try to preach to their friends about Jesus.

But instead of being meek and loving they come across as angry and hateful.

All they do is condemn people and tell them how evil they are.

Instead of gently sharing the truth and the love of Christ.

You’ve heard me say this multiple times but we HAVE to stand up for truth.

But you can stand up for truth and not be a jerk.

We need to have meekness

A quiet confidence that doesn’t back down but loves and is gentle.

Meek people don’t care what people think about them because they know who they are in Christ.

This is huge for everyone but especially young people.

It’s so easy to get caught in the trap of wanting to be accepted and liked by certain people.

So we change who we are and how we dress just to fit in.

We’re afraid if we are our true selves that people won’t like us or say certain things about us.

A meek person says, “say all you want, this is who I am and who God created me to be.”

It’s knowing that you’re not perfect but you are God’s masterpiece and you don’t need to try to impress anyone other than Him.

We live in a world with social media that everyone’s trying to out impress everyone by showing their grand highlights of their lives.

And it’s actually causing people to be more and more depressed.

A meek person doesn’t care who they impress.

They don’t care what people think

They care about who God created them to be and they care about pleasing him.

Galatians 1:10 NLT “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

When you’re meek your goal is to please God and God alone.

Living a life of trying to please people will cause you to go insane.

Because I learned a long time ago you CAN’T please everyone.

No matter what you do you will have people that support what you’re doing and people that will hate it!

So just don’t worry about it and do what GOD wants you to do.

A meek person does that!

So a meek person is someone who is completely submitted to God’s authority.

We’ve surrendered our rights to Him and are diligently seeking Him and following His leading in our lives.

We keep our eyes and focus on Him.

And then in turn we don’t fret about this life and we stand up for truth by being gentle and loving to those around us.

And then the promise is that we will inherit the earth.

What’s important to look at in this verse is the word “WILL”.

Most people believe he’s talking about the future of the New Heavens and New Earth which is talked about in Isaiah 65 and Revelation 21.

This is where all believers will spend eternity after the Millennial reign of Christ.

So who’s this earth going to be for.

It’s for those who have put their trust in God and submit to His authority.

Who don’t have to overpower people with anger and hostility.

But allow God to fight their battles and treat people with love.

I believe that if the church as a whole was consistent with showing meekness in their lives and with people we would have a great impact on the world for Jesus.

Submit to God and His authority.

Be gentle and loving.

And just watch the impact you will have on those around you!

Altar Call (Lead into Baptism)