Who likes to be in charge? Be honest, how many of you like to be in charge, you like to be in control? Most of us, even if we don’t like the responsibility, do like to be in control. It’s a natural thing.
That doesn’t mean it’s right, but it is natural.
WE
We like to have our way. We want what we want. All of us were that way when we were children and many of us haven’t changed at all. That’s why so many people complain or whine or gripe all the time. They are unhappy because they are not in control.
Our desire to be in control leads to anger, strife, discontentment, unhealthy competition. And it also leads to a lot of fear and a sense that if we don’t assert ourselves we’ll miss out on what we deserve.
Really, our desire or need for control is a misdirected attempt to find security. To find a place of stability and peace where we know we are safe. And as long as we attempt to find security by being in control, we are going to find ourselves frustrated and angry.
So, what did Jesus teach about being in control? What did he have to say about that build in need to have control, this natural human desire for security in our lives? How can we live at peace and find true security in a culture described as “the rat race?”
He gives us the answer in his upside down approach to life. The upside down way of God, as laid out in the beatitudes reveals to us where we can find real security…and it doesn’t lie in our being in control…
GOD
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
BLESSED:
Jesus’ pronouncement of blessedness is more than a just saying that we are “Happy.” It is an exclamation that happy, joyful, fulfilled are they because they are on the right path…they are experiencing the presence of God here and now. (WE’VE COVERED THIS THE PAST TWO WEEKS)
So this happiness…this blessedness…that Jesus talks about is a result of being on the right path…moving towards God.
So how does being meek move us towards God? To understand that, we have to first understand what Jesus means when he says blessed are the meek.
THE MEEK:
The word “meek” in English has come to have an entirely different meaning than what Jesus intended.
Here is a list of synonyms for meek that you find in contemporary thesauruses.
compliant,
docile,
lenient,
mild,
pablum,
passive,
spineless,
spiritless,
subdued,
timid,
weak,
wishy-washy
Needless to say, none of these are terribly positive. None of these are what people aspire to be known for. We like power. And to be meek…spineless, timid & wishy-washy, doesn’t speak of power or strength.
So is Jesus telling us to roll over and be the world’s doormat? Is he telling us that those who choose to follow him must be weak and spineless and timid?
NO….
Gentleness…not weakness
Control…not powerlessness
Willful surrender…not capitulation
Meekness is understanding your power…your strength and submitting it to the authority of God. It is taking your power and letting God have control of it. Meekness is not spinelessness or a lack of strength. Meekness is not a lack of power, rather meekness is POWER UNDER CONTROL
It means you aren’t overly impressed with yourself. You have an honest appraisal of who and what you are (poor in spirit) and you aren’t overly (nor underly) impressed with yourself.
It carries with it the idea of not having to be in control, but being surrendered to God and letting him be in control because you trust him. Meekness is a matter of being submissive to God.
The Greek word from which we get meek is a word that describes taming a wild animal. It describes POWER UNDER CONTROL. Those large Clydesdales down a grants farm are a beautiful illustration of meekness. Those are some very powerful animals. They can carry a heavy load…they were bread to be powerful. But they are meek. Their power is under control. They are tamed.
Meekness doesn’t insist on being in control or having it’s own way. It doesn’t need to assert itself or be obnoxious.
-CHRISTIAN PROTESTORS
Rather, true meekness recognizes that God is in control of the situation. Even if it isn’t going the way we want it to.
The whole concept of meekness that Jesus is teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is based on Psalm 37, which Jesus quotes when he issues this beatitude.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
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 great peace
Psalm 37:7-11 (NIV)
The Psalmist uses phrases such as “wait patiently” and “do not fret” and “refrain from anger” repeatedly throughout this Psalm. If we were to read the whole thing we would see that the idea here is that, while the wicked seem to prosper and evil seems to run rampant, we must not worry, or fret, or in our anger attempt to control things…rather we are to trust in God and in his plan. We are to trust that God is in control and therefore he will handle the situation. It is an understanding that when God is in control, I don’t have to be.
Meekness requires that we control ourselves…it requires that we submit to God and let him have control because he is God, we are not and his plans will prevail in the end.
Essentially, meekness is the understanding that when God is in control, I don’t have to be.
This starts with trust. When we truly trust God, we are able to be gentle, controlled, restrained, and surrendered to God because we understand that in spite of all that has happened and is happening…GOD IS IN CONTROL AND HIS PURPOSES WILL PREVAIL…ULTIMATELY FOR OUR GOOD!
When God is in control, I don’t have to be.
THIS ENABLES US TO TAKE THE LONG VIEW…Ultimately God’s Purposes Will Win Out
Waiting…the issue of self-control…the idea of power under control…is to be done “patiently not allowing frustration to boil over into anger against God.”
Eventually the wicked will disappear but those who patiently trust in God (the meek) will inherit the earth and dwell there in safety and prosperity.
Our trust in God allows us to rest on his promises and blessings in the midst of a corrupt and depraved world where the bad guys seem to be winning. But it’s OK when the bad guys seem to be winning. It’s OK when society seems to be going down the toilet. (It’s not OK, or acceptable, that evil is taking place, but we can have rest in the midst of it because we know that when God is in control, I don’t have to be.) We don’t have to fight for our place in the sun. We don’t have to be (in fact we shouldn’t be) aggressive and proud and contentious.
Contrast this with the way the people of Jesus time lived their lives
JEWS…NATIONAL PRIDE AND REBELLIOUSNESS AGAINST ROME
ROME…PRIDE IN THEIR MILITARY POWER…AND NOT AFRAID TO USE IT
GREEK…PRIDE IN THEIR INTELLECTUAL POWER…AND NOT AFRAID TO USE IT
Understanding that God is in control and willingly submitting to that control is being meek. Allowing him to take our power and strength and control them…allowing God to tame us…is meekness. Realizing that when God is in control, I don’t have to be is what it means to be meek.
And Jesus says “blessed…joyfully on the right path…are the meek” because they will inherit the earth.
So when we let God have control, when we choose to submit to his will…when we let him tame us…we get land?
THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH:
What is Jesus talking about when he says that the meek will “Inherit the earth?”
This was an idea that was VERY old by the time Jesus shared this beatitude. In fact, Jesus was quoting from Psalm 37 when he said these words. These are words of comfort to a people who have waited for thousands of years to posses the land that God has promised them.
Think of what this idea would mean to a Jew in the day of Christ.
-Abraham promised the land…but never inherited it fully
-400 years of slavery in Egypt…led out by Moses
-40 years in the desert due to sin…entire generation dies and misses the promised land.
-Moses misses the promised land due to his sin.
-400 years of trying to inherit the land…the time of the judges
-Finally, under David, a stable – even expanding – kingdom is established…but still not
fully in the hands of the Israelites
-Israel split by civil war
-Conquered by Assyrians & Babylonians…resulting in 70 years of exile
-only partially returned under Ezra & Nehemiah
-trampled on by the Greeks
-trampled on by the Romans
This concept of inheriting the land carries a couple of significant ideas with it.
• A sense of permanence…no longer wandering the desert. No longer in exile. No longer squatters on their own land (as owned by Rome) but a sense of a permanent dwelling where the presence of God is real and the wicked have passed on.
• With that permanence comes the idea of security…there is a sense of peace and security.
• Both of these result from the fact that we are truly a child…an heir of God…for only the children of the master inherit what is his.
When we are meek…possessing power under control…we look like our Father. God is certainly the epitome of power under control…not weakness, but meekness.
So Jesus is saying “Blessed…joyfully on the right path…are those who recognize God is in control and as a result don’t feel the need to control things themselves…because they resemble their Father and they have the promise of living permanently in his presence.”
YOU
Are you angry all the time?
Do you have a need to be in control?
Do you feel that you have to assert your rights and defend your causes?
The you need to discover the joy of meekness.
It’s starts with TRUSTING him and it leads to SUBMITTING to him.
Letting him have control…of everything…is a blessing because when God is in control, I don’t have to be.
There is also another personal application that applies here. When you are meek, letting God be in control, you gain the ability to be gentle with those who fail and disappoint you. You can be gentle with them because you are aware of your own sinfulness (mourning from last week) and you recognize that it is only under the control of the Holy Spirit that we can lives that are pleasing to God.
WE
What does this meekness look like in a church? How do we, the body and bride of Christ, demonstrate this sense of meekness?
I’m not sure…but I think it will manifest itself in prayer. As long as we are in control and as long as we are calling the shots prayer isn’t a priority. But when we recognize that God is in control and when we are willing to submit to his will then we will begin to pray.
• We will pray to know his will
• We will pray for strength to submit to that will
• We will pray for him to guide our every step
• We will pray before we act rather than acting and then praying about what we have done.
• We will pray because we will know that we are totally dependent upon GOD and that we cannot depend upon ourselves
I think that true meekness shows up in how we pray. And when we relinquish control we have to pray because it’s hard to not be in control. But, when God is in control, I don’t have to be.
Let’s commit to letting him be in control. Let’s commit to being truly meek.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH!
Let’s Pray.
