John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station on the island, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. They resolved within themselves that, after they prayed, they would have peace and go on to sleep, and let God protect them in the night. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them that particular night. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present; it was just he and his wife--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station. When you resolve that your strength resides within, you need not worry about the power of the enemies from without.
In teaching, it is taught that a good teacher never begins on the negative but rather on the positive. Being a Master Teacher, our Lord did not begin this important sermonic discourse with a negative criticism of the religious scribes and pharisaic leaders. However, He begins with a positive emphasis on righteous character and the blessings that it brings to the life of the believer. Take note that the Pharisees in that day had taught that true righteousness was based upon that which is external, something that needed to begin and end with what one could see on the outside; a matter of obeying rules and regulations. Out of their legality they began to teach that righteousness could be measured by public praying, systematic giving, impressive fasting, attending Sunday School, playing the part, and many of the other external markings of religious upbringing and tradition. But it is in this opening section of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount that He reveals clearly and succinctly that true righteousness and Christian character is that which flows from God the Father through God the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit and flows into the heart of the Christian believer, from the inside out. Essentially, Christ lets us know that true righteousness is an inside job.
Can you imagine, for a moment, how the crowd’s attention was riveted on Jesus when He uttered His first word: “Blessed.” The Latin word for blessed is beatus, and from this comes the word beatitude. This was a powerful word to those who heard Jesus in that day; for to them it meant “divine joy and perfect happiness.” This statement, no doubt, shocks His Jewish audience. To be sure, the first two Beatitudes regarding spiritual bankruptcy and mourning were also shocking. It is in the nature of Jesus, just like His Daddy, to call for a standard of living that’s foreign to those who hear. After all, they know how to be spiritually proud, pompous and self-sufficient. They are good at following their external forms of religion and ritual; and they are foolish enough to believe (like many of us) that they can survive and find fulfillment in life by their own strength, ingenuity, intelligence, influence, wisdom, connections, money and resources. In fact, they actually were foolish enough to believe that when the Messiah arrived, He would come with a sterling silver, diamond engrained trophy and say, “I’m here to commend you for your wonderful spirituality. God is very pleased with you. I am here to usher you into the Kingdom.” But Jesus gives to them a rude awakening, and He essentially says to them: “The Kingdom doesn’t belong to you. The Kingdom is not designed to enthrone self-righteous people who focus on form but have no faith; the Kingdom inheritor is not those who are spiritually pious and pompous but they who have a sense of their own spiritual destitution; and them who mourn over the fact that they’ve attempted to attain external righteousness without a righteous God.”
Essentially Jesus describes a ‘blessedness’ and ‘happiness’ from God’s perspective. The word ‘blessed’ here implies an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that doesn’t depend on outward circumstances for happiness. Bear in mind that these eight beatitudes fall into four categories. The first beatitude, in verse 3, reveals the attitude one has with SELF. That is when we realize that we are spiritually poor and have need of God. Verses 4 thru 6, which are mourning, meekness and hunger, reveals the attitude one has with SIN. Verses 7 thru 9 reveal one’s attitude with the SOVEREIGN LORD. And verses 10 thru 16 describe the attitude one has toward SOCIETY. And it is in this third beatitude that we find how one who is righteous sees life, others and God in light of their SIN: they are MEEK.
Meekness is different from being broken in spirit, although the root word is the same.
I. THE POSITION OF THE MEEK
Often we can define what something is by showing what it is not. That is what I seek to do in describing the position of those who are meek,
First, mark it down: Meekness is not weakness. Dore Schary has said that true weakness is seen in a person who calls himself frank and candid but in reality they are tactless and cruel. It is the one who prides himself on being insightful who, when they are weak, can find himself becoming evasive and deceitful. Weakness explains how a person with firm convictions can become pigheaded. How a person who is inclined to be temperate and judicious can turn into someone with weak convictions. Dore Schary goes on to say that when weakness prevails, loyalty can lead to fanaticism. Caution can become timidity. Freedom can become license. Confidence can become arrogance. Humility can become servility. And, brothers and sisters, this is not what Jesus describes here. Romans 12:2 states that we are to ‘…be not conformed to this world but ye transformed by the renewing of our minds.’ And, therefore, we think differently from the word things about weakness and meekness. The thesaurus lists some synonyms that aren’t very flattering: docile, mild, tame, soft, passive and spineless. But that’s what the world says. But how many of your know that the WORLD and the WORD are two different things? It’s no wonder we don’t want to be called meek, if that’s what the word means. But since this characteristic is part of the definition of a disciple, we need to understand what Jesus meant when He said it.
Second, please note that meekness is power under control. We can look at meekness from several different angles in order to determine is overall position as power under control.
First, let’s look at ‘meekness’ from the angle of SUBMISSION. The word for meek, by its Greek definition, is praeis, and has the idea of taming or domesticating a wild animal. The wild stallion on the range, for example, is a picture of raw power and fierce independence. This stallion must be caught, corralled, and corrected. He must learn to accept control by his master and learn to properly behave. If this is not done, the stallion can become his own worst enemy. Thus, praeis means to become tamed, humbled, and properly behaved. In like manner, Psalm 51 tells us that we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. In a real sense, we were born as ‘sinners gone wild’. Don’t look around; look at you! You were born into this world a cute, cuddly bundle of joy – but you were untamed, arrogant, full of raw power and fierce independence. The scripture goes so far as to suggest that your flesh was at ‘enmity with God’. But it is only when you come to grips with your own spiritual destitution, that you realize that all of your human power is puny in light of a big God – that, like the stallion, you must be caught by His love, corralled by His chastening and corrected by His Word. Meekness is submission.
Then there is the angle of meekness as SELF-CONTROL. Meekness represents an inward virtue exercised towards others. When wronged, mistreated or abused, the meek don’t have to get even. Those who are meek do not threaten, retaliate or avenge themselves. We see this in the life of Moses. Those who read the Bible would be amazed and astonished at how many times Moses was attacked during the exodus. Rebellions, murmurings, complaints, you name it – Moses had it. Those ungrateful Israelites took out their bitterness toward God on Moses. What did Moses do? Well, once Moses blew it. But on every other occasion, Moses walked out of the camp, talked it over with God, and returned to lead with wisdom. He learned how to take his eye off of people and place His eye on God. What about you? Are you focusing more on how you can control other people than you are concerned about how God is working on you? This is a matter of self-control. I’ve discovered that people are people; that’s why they aren’t God! And Jesus says that there is a blessing in learning how to control yourself, even when the world around you is out of control. During his term as President of the U.S., Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: "You can't run the country if you can't run yourself." Respecting Mrs. Johnson's wise observation, the President lost 23 pounds.
Submission and Self-Control form the main description of meekness as strength under control, but a third angle is that of SATISFACTION. This position of a meek spirit enables one to recognize and accept one’s shortcomings. One is free from pride and filled with humility. Using the words of Philippians 4:11, this is one who has learned that whatever state they are in, they will be content. The meek person is satisfied. Something is to be said and shunned of the person who’s never satisfied. Their continued anthem in life (amid things, relationships and possessions) is ‘I can’t get no satisfaction.’ Tragically, the graves are filled with people who were never satisfied. Psalm 22:26 tells us that ‘..the meek shall eat and be satisfied in the land.’
Let’s remember that meekness is not weakness; meekness is power under control; but also let us note that meekness is rooted in an inner confidence that God is in control. There are many examples of those in scripture who possessed a meekness, an inner confidence in knowing that God was in control to the extent that they conducted themselves with an inner resolved to trust God, believing that God was in charge. Abraham exemplified this in Genesis 13 when he and his nephew Lot got into an argument and Abraham knew that it was time for them to part ways. Abraham could have become arrogant and even honest to admit that he possessed the covenant of land flowing with the promise of God; but Abraham armed with confidence in his God says to Lot, ‘…go out and take whatever land you want; and I will take whatever is left.’ Abraham knew that God was in control! Then we see it also exemplified in the life of Joseph who was hated by his brothers because he was favored by his father and had the ability to dream and interpret dreams. By the time Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, rises to prime minister and in charge of the grain his brother’s sought; their life was in the hands of Joseph. However, Joseph in his meekness says to his brothers in the 37th chapter of Genesis, ‘…you meant this for evil; but God turned it around for my good.’ Rather than retaliating with vengeance and venom, but looks at his brothers with love and gives them everything that they need.
Question: Will you trust God enough to have confidence that He is in control?
Haddon Robinson tells a story of Monroe Parker who, years ago, was traveling through South Alabama on one of those hot, sultry Alabama days. He stopped at a watermelon stand, picked out a watermelon, and asked the proprietor how much it cost. "It's $1.10," he replied. Parker dug into his pocket, found only a bill and said, "All I have is a dollar." "That's ok," the proprietor said, "I'll trust you for it." "Well, that's mighty nice of you," Parker responded, and picking up the watermelon, started to leave. "Hey, where are you going?" the man behind the counter demanded. "I'm going outside to eat my watermelon." "But you forgot to give me the dollar!" "You said you would trust me for it," Parker called back. "Yeah, but I meant I would trust you for the dime!" "Mack," Parker replied, "You were't going to trust me at all. You were just going to take a ten-cent gamble on my integrity!" What about you? Jesus is saying here, if you aren’t meek, then you really aren’t trusting in me at all; you’re just willing to take a 10-cent spiritual gamble on his integrity. But God says, in a real sense, ‘I don’t want some of it, I want it all. Don’t tell me I can make a way on Sunday, if you’re not going to trust me all week long. Don’t sing you won’t complain when all of your good days outweigh your bad days, I want you to keep singing when you bad days outweigh your good days. Don’t just say you trust me in your triumph, I want your tragedy. I want it all!’
If I had I would tell you how the meek person displays his confidence in knowing that God is in control:
1. Study under the Son of God. Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” In the King James Version, we read, “For I am meek and lowly in heart…” 2. Welcome the Word of God. James 1:21 challenges us to “…lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” 3. Submit to the Spirit of God. Galatians 5:21-22 mentions meekness, or gentleness, as a fruit of the Spirit, which can only come from the Holy Spirit. Fruit is not something we do; it’s what we display. Our responsibility is clear from Galatians 5:25: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” The key is not to work harder, but to worship more fully; not to try more, but to trust more. 4. Put up with the people of God. Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” 5. Mobilize for the mission of God. 1 Peter 3:15 challenges us to be ready to let people know why we have so much hope, but we’re to do so with “meekness and fear.”
II. THE PROMISE OF THE MEEK
The promise and benefit of the meek is that, ‘…they shall inherit the earth.’ “Inherit” means to receive as a possession. The Beatitude, as some of you know, is a direct quote from Psalm 37:11—“But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ Mark it down: Jesus is promising that those with the heart position of meekness will conduct their lives as God intended them to be. You ask, ‘…who on earth are the delighted people?’ Not the people who are grasping, greedy or grumpy. Jesus says that it is those who have the satisfaction of contentment are the meek; to them who know how to control themselves and know that God is in control. Life, for the meek, is put into its proper perspective.
It is the promise of a peace that surpasses all human understanding. This peace, I saw recently in the words I read from an unknown confederate soldier who said….
I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
III. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE MEEK
In Revelation 1:14-17 there is a fearsome picture of Christ: ‘eyes as a flame of fire…feet like unto fine brass. Voice as the sound of many waters…out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. And his countenance as the sun shineth in his strength.” John goes on to say that he fell as a ‘dead man’ at the feet of Jesus.
This is Jesus Christ, the one who says come to me, for ‘I am meek and lowly’. The One who Paul describes in Philippians 1, encouraging us to take upon ourselves the character of Christ and ‘…let this mind be in you which was also in Christ…who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus wants us to enroll in His school and to receive instruction from Him. We may be accustomed to haughty and harsh teachers, but Jesus assures us that He is gentle, humble, and patient as our Teacher.
We need meekness for REGENERATION. For we must come as ‘little children’ and receive new life. You won’t receive Him today if you don’t come as vulnerable as a little child. We need meekness RECEPTION. For James 1:21 tells us we must receive the ‘engrafted word’ with meekness. You must receive His word today as fertile soil receives good seed in the ground. And we need meekness for REACHING. For 1st Peter 3 says that we should be ready to answer the world concerning our living hope in a way that shows meekness and fear.
One of my favorite reads is a book entitled ‘Valley of Vision’. It is a book filled with the prayers and devotions of the puritans. In fact, it is my custom to read it daily, one or two prayers each day.
My favorite of the prayers in this treasure chest is, in fact, titled, "The Valley of Vision." In this very prayer there is a cry for the gift of meekness. In his prayer he says:
Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine; Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley.
