Beatitudes Sermon Series: “It’s okay if I Say It!” (4 of 9)
Matt 5.5
July 12, 2015 CFBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
A Over the last several weeks the Beatitudes have challenged us to develop the attitude that Jesus demands for His disciples to posses.
1 The Beatitudes are the gateway to the Sermon on the Mount.
a "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ”- Matthew 5:3-6NASB)
aa “poor in spirit” is acknowledging that we are poor beggars who cannot bring or do anything to take care of our own spiritual brokeness: at which point Jesus receives us and makes us apart of His Kingdom.
bb “those who mourn” are those who have been redeemed by Jesus, but realize that sin is still sin and it is still heartbreaking. We feel bad/mourn that we still do things that angers God, God brings us comfort when we mourn/grieve over our sin.
b “Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth.”
aa “meek”, KJV; “humble”, NLT
bb This beatitude comes between “mourning over sin” and “hunger & thirst for righteousness.”
cc I think the sequence that Jesus put the beatitudes in is significant. (We can’t move to the next the one unless we’ve got a good handle on the one previous to it. Like a video game in this way.)
c Being poor of spirit focuses on our sin, being gentle in spirit focuses on God’s holiness.
aa I’m poor in spirit because I’m a sinner, & meek because God is so holy by comparison.
bb Being poor in spirit is negative and results in mourning; meekness is positive and results in seeking righteousness.
2 Meekness is a hard nut to crack because we tend to think that being a bully is the opposite of being meek, and nobody wants to bullied. (No one wants to be bullies so why do want to be meek?)
a Dr. Loyd-Jones, “This meekness denotes a humble & gentle attitude to others which is determined by a true estimate of ourselves.”
aa It’s easy, albeit uncomfortable, to be honest about ourselves in the eyes of God but it’s hard to allow other people to say things about us, to us, that we’ve already confessed to God that we are.
bb IL. We sing “Amazing Grace, How Sweet Thou Sound” and call ourselves a wretch (detestable or contemptible person, very unhappy, very bad, very unpleasant person), lost, blind . . . but when someone else says, “you’re detestable/contemptible/lost/blind” we want to hit him/her in the snoot.
cc In other words, we’re not prepared to allow other people to think/speak of us what we just acknowledged before God that we are. (There is a hypocrisy there & there always is when meekness is absent.)
b This is the fulcrum that meekness hinges upon, It’s the trigger that brings meekness in the game.
aa IL. Bicycle to mid-sized sedan
bb We’ll learn what lies at the heart of being gentle.
B A meek person knows who they really are. (Broken, poor, wretch, wreck, prone to wandering: this is not low self-esteem, it’s having no esteem of self at all.)
1 We truly are poor in spirit, mourn we get that we are already dead to self.
a You can hit, slap, kick, punch a dead person 100 times in a row and the corpse will block zero punches.
aa "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” -Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
bb A dead person doesn’t: defend his/her self, worries about their injuries, never gets angry about what is done to them.
cc A dead person does not run around trying to get their due. (They’re already broken in sin, mourning/weeping over the consequences of it, in humility the dead person stands before a holy God and has nothing to commend themselves on.)
b Choosing not defend yourself is not cowardice, wishy washing lack of conviction, not being nice/polite.
aa Meekness says, “In myself, nothing is possible, but in God everything is possible.”
bb For me, I offer no defense. For God, I’ll give my life.
2 Meekness is NOT about never getting angry, it’s about never getting angry about what is done against us!
a Jesus never did anything wrong, what He was accused of was false; Whatever anybody punished Him for was wrong; when they abused Him they were out of line; any slander done to Him was not factual, when they mocked Him, it was a lie.
aa 1 Peter 2:21-23 (NASB) 21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
bb That’s meekness! Jesus never defended Himself.
b Matthew 21:12-13 (HCSB) 12 Jesus went into the temple complex and drove out all those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer. But you are making it a den of thieves!”
aa John the Revelator gives a little more detail, John 2:13-16 (HCSB) 13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple complex He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and ⌊He also found⌋ the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
bb Jesus never defended Himself but when they desecrated His Father’s House, He defended the Father. (He stayed made at the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essences, Zealots)
cc Meekness is “power under control”; getting angry at the wrong things, or getting too angry is sinful; but getting rightfully angry, angry at the right things to an appropriate degree is not.
c John Chrysostom, “He that is angry without cause shall be in danger, but he that is angry with cause shall not.”
aa He also said, “He who is not angry when he cause to be, sins. For unreasonable patience is the hot bed of many vices.”
bb The modern phrase that equivocates Chrysostom is: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
cc You should be angry at the SOCUTUS decision for mocking marriage, not because you homosexuals, but because the Word says marriage is a holy institute between one man/one woman; Abortion doctor; drug dealer, etc.
d God is love and when He anger is manifested even His anger comes out of His love. (Always holy, just, right.)
aa If we love God, we love the things He loves (people) and we hate the thing He hates (sin.)
bb IL. Dr. Walls hates cancer, but when a patient comes to his office he doesn’t hate the patient because they have cancer. (He’ll aggressively try to remove the disease, sometimes it hurts/unpleasant, but loves the patient even though they have cancer. It’s not the patient the doctor hates, it’s the disease that the doctor hates.
cc God loves the adulterer, homosexual, drunk, gossiper, murderer . . . absolutely hates and is angry at the sin of adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness, gossip, murder.
dd We say, “Love the person, hate the sin” and this is exactly what that phrase means.
3 We tend to angry at people, or when people hurt us we have to defend ourselves . . . no we don’t! But we will defend our God until our dying breath. “Power under control.”
a From the first century view; an unbroken colt can destroy your stable, a broken colt can build your farm/ a gentle breeze can cool you off, a hurricane kills. (Power under control)
aa The meek person can take an injustice done unto him/her, his/her possessions knowing that they possess something that can’t be taken away: Hebrews 10:34 (NASB) “For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.”
bb Meekness doesn’t defend itself, because they are dead and this world is not their home.
b The image I have of meekness is a medieval knight.
aa Skilled, smart, tough, combat ready, armor, sword, helmet, shield and were ready at a moments notice to go to battle.
bb If they weren’t in battle, they were the meekest, kindest, most courteous, most gentile, polite and chivalrous people in the kingdom . . . insult them, hit them, spit on them . . . never raise a sword.
cc The moment someone went against their King, the wishes of their King . . . they would fight for their Sovereign until their dying breath defending their King. (Power under control)
c Christian, we should never defend ourselves, exchange evil for evil. . . .but we will defend our Sovereign King until our dying breath. And that is meekness.
C What do we get? “. . . shall inherit the earth.” v.5b
1 What ever bully, knuckle head, mean spirited person has tried to throw their weight around, robbed you unfairly/unjustly of possessions, reputation on this earth . . . what they sought to take isn’t lasting anyway.
a There is a day coming when this earth will pass away,
aa Revelation 21:1-4 (HCSB) 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.
bb That is the earth the meek shall inherit.
b Eden from top to bottom! (The mean, cruel bullies can have this one, we’ve got our eyes on the end game found in Rev. 21!)
2 The strong, loud, powerful, rich, famous, smart don’t get it . . . “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth!”
a What if how much of that new earth you inherit is based upon how meek you are?
aa A half-lot or 55,000 acres?
bb 1 Peter 3:4 (KJV) 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
cc God receives glory when we have a meek spirit, we receive an inheritance on a new earth.
b How do you know if you are meek? (Examine your heart)
aa Do you exhibit self-control with your anger?
bb Do you get angry, react, retaliate only when God is dishonored?
cc Do you always respond humbly & obediently to the Word?
dd Do you always make peace? (Meekness forgives & restores; Eph. 4.2,3 (NASB) 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. )
ee Do you receive criticism well and love the people who give it?
ff Do you give instruction with meekness?
c Meekness means to finished with “me” for good. So long self.
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