Blessed Are The Meek
Matthew 5:5
OKAY MGCC - welcome to week 10 in our series on Matthew’s Gospel “the King and His Kingdom.”
NOW WE - are currently at the beginning of Jesus’ sermon on the Mount, specifically the Beatitudes, the blessed are you…
who. (btw the word Beatitudes comes from the Latin word for blessed, ‘beatus’)
NOW – the Sermon on the Mount, is the longest sermon of Jesus’ that we have on record, and it is kind of like Jesus ‘manifesto’ as to what life in His kingdom is all about.
AND LISTEN – there is a huge crowd gathered to hear Jesus as He delivers this teaching alongside of the mountainside.
A crowd of people coming from different places and representing diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds.
I MEAN…
• THERE WERE - religious Jews from Judea with their devout commitment to Torah observance and keeping things kosher.
• THERE WERE - Galilean Jews for whom synagogue life, though important, was not the obsession it was for the Judeans.
• THERE WERE - nonobservant Jews who, having dropped out of religious life altogether, were dubbed “sinners.”
• THERE WERE - Greeks from the Decapolis region (the ten cities east of the Jordan) with their sophisticated love of art, philosophy, and athletics.
• And of course, THERE WERE - the Romans—the triumphant foreign occupiers from the dominant superpower.
AND MGCC - what Jesus has to say in the Beatitudes and in the Sermon on the Mount (about the path to real life, to a blessed life in His Kingdom) He addresses to all of these different people.
AND LISTEN – as we have said the last few weeks…
IT IS NOT - the path that (they or we) expected and it is certainly not a path that most people are on.
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down… and he began to teach them.
– Matthew 5:1,2
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Blessed are those who mourn
AND THIS MORNING – we are going to unpack Matthew 5:5 (the 3rd Beatitude) in Jesus’ upside down, counterintuitive, radical manifesto, about… what real life, what Kingdom life is all about.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
OKAY – so here is how I want us to attack this conversation, “Blessed are the meek.” By unpacking two statements…
• What Meekness Is
• How We Develop (learn) Meekness
Prayer
I. What Meekness Is…
Blessed, are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
YOU KNOW – I think that when it comes to meekness, it’s not something that many of us desire, OR – for that matter even think about all that much. I MEAN - we’ll pray…
for love, for joy, for peace, for faithfulness, for goodness, for patience and even for self-control.
BUT B/S – let me ask you, when is the last time that you prayed for meekness? Have you ever prayed for meekness?
QUESTION – why is that?
NOW - I really like what Brian Zahnd writes in his book, ‘Beauty Will Save The Earth…’
(I quoted from this book last week)
Perhaps the most counterintuitive of all the Beatitudes is the third blessing Jesus bestows. Jesus blesses the meek—the quiet, the gentle, the nonassertive, the nonaggressive—saying they will inherit the earth.
But I doubt we believe this. We would say something different. Something like: “Blessed are the meek, for even though he comes in last, he’ll be called a nice guy, receive a certificate of participation, and be named ‘Miss Congeniality.’”
That’s what we think about the gentle—but it’s not what Jesus says! Jesus says the gentle will inherit the earth.
Inherit the earth?! Really?
That is the question, isn’t it?
Who gets the earth?
Who gets to carve up the pie?
Who gets the biggest and best piece?
When the Roman soldiers stationed in Tiberius and standing on the edge of the crowd heard this pronouncement, they must have looked at each other with knowing smirks.
They knew better. They knew how the real world was run. Rome ruled the world—from Britain to India.
Caesar had conquered the world, and it was the Roman Empire that inherited the earth.
You can be sure Rome didn’t gain the world by being meek! Rome ruled the world because they were smart, bold, aggressive, and willing to make war to secure their superpower status.
YET - here is this poor Galilean rabbi announcing that the meek will inherit the earth. Crazy talk. I’m sure the Roman soldiers had a good laugh.
YET - Jesus says it. The meek will inherit the earth.
Jesus was saying… that there is an alternative way of viewing the world other than seeing it through the lens of a self-aggrandizing superpower where it’s dog-eat-dog, winner-take-all. Instead of grasping and clutching, there is the way of relaxing and trusting.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
AND B/S – do you know what?
Meekness as a pathway to real life and blessings.
The Meek inheriting the earth…
IS STILL - pretty much crazy talk in our day.
QUESTION – what images come into your mind when you think of a meek person?
ARE THEY – images of a passive, weak and wimpy person who gets walked on all of the time?
NOW – this week I read an article about a guy named J Upton Dickson, who wrote a pamphlet called ‘Cower Power’ and who wants to form a society called.
Dependent Order
Of Really Meek
and Timid Souls
Dependent Order
Of Really Meek
And Timid Souls
Their logo is going to a yellow caution light, because they are always yielding to others.
AND - their motto ‘The meek shall inherit the earth if it is okay with everybody else.’ Unfortunately for Upton, the society did not last for long after someone objected.
BUT LISTEN – that is how many in our world view the concept of meekness. LIKE - we rarely if ever use (the word) “meek” to describe ourselves.
IN FACT – I am not sure if I ever have.
AND – I (unless in the context of church) would not view it has a compliment if someone described me that way.
I MEAN - If you’re filling out a resume, and they ask you to list some of your strongest qualities, you don’t write “meek” on there. AND LISTEN – no company ever says, “Hey, I know what we need. We need a meek person to lead us into the future. NO - we don’t see that, do we?
INSTEAD – companies want someone who is… “motivated, ambitious, driven,” that type of thing, but they don’t send out a call for the meek to be interviewed.
If a politician is airing a commercial trying to tell you why you should vote for them, you will never hear them say,
“Vote for me, I’m meek”
NO - we don’t tend to vote for meek politicians.
LIKE - we do not want a meek person to be our leader.
INSTEAD - we want someone who is dynamic, someone who is powerful. AND - have you noticed that athletes don’t win the “Meekness Award” at the end of the season.
AND IF - you’re hiring an attorney, you don’t want a meek attorney, right? I mean, you don’t want some cute cuddly gentle kitten; NO - you want a roaring lion on your side.
That’s what you want, right? I mean, you want the heavy-hitter. You don’t want the meek. You want somebody who is going to do whatever it takes to win.
SO MEEKNESS - tends to not be something we look for or desire in our lives.
IN FACT – some research was done by George Barna, and he listed thirty attributes…thirty characteristics…from Scripture that describe a Christian. THEN - he asked Christians to prioritize those characteristics one to thirty.
HEY – does anyone to guess what was #31 Number thirty on the list? YEAH – you guessed it, Meekness.
QUESTION - why is that? Why isn’t Meekness something we desire more of in our lives? AGAIN - I think it’s because we tend to associate meekness with weakness. LIKE - when we hear “meek,” we think “weak.” I MEAN – they even rhyme.
SO WE - don’t usually equate meek with power and success.
YEAH - when we hear “meek,” and we think of a person who gets walked on, runover and taken advantage of all the time.
NO - Meek people…they don’t get the good parking places out in the parking lot, right? They just aren’t willing to do what it takes. So when we hear “meekness” it tends to be a word that we’re not very attracted to, or word we necessarily want to apply to us.
NOW THIS THURSDAY
I typed the word “meek” into thesaurus.com
AND HERE - are some of the words that came back at me…
docile, soft, tender, timid, subdued, mild, spineless, lowly, submissive, manageable, passive, unassuming, weak, plain,
wishy-washy, yielding, weak-kneed, nothing.
LIKE SERIOUSLY - who wants…who wants that, right?
BUT LISTEN MGCC – here’s the deal…
Meek is not weak in the Greek
OKAY MGCC – here’s the deal, what many of us need, is a better understanding of what Scripture is talking about when it talks about meekness.
NOW - the word meek is translated from the Greek word praos… AND – it’s primarily meaning is, power or strength that is under control…
AND UNDERSTAND - the Greeks used this word to describe…
a wild stallion, that has been tamed….
AGAIN - power and strength under control.
UNDERSTAND
• A wild stallion out of control, is dangerous. But a wild station under control, useful.
• Water out of control can be a devastating a flood. Water under control rushing throw a dam, can turn turbine creating electricity.
• A disease out of control is death. A disease under control can produce a vaccine that saves millions of lives.
OKAY – so that’s the picture that goes with praos.
So a good definition for this word Meek in our context would be…
Meek (‘praos’) – power and strength that is under the control of God to benefit others, for His glory.
UNDERSTAND B/S…
Our lives are either under God’s control or they are out of control, but we are never really in control.
NOW - I really like what Knofel Staton writes in his study on the beatitudes…
Meekness was commonly used to describe a wild animal that had been domesticated. A wild horse is aggressive, harsh and inconsiderate. He kicks when he wants to kick and bucks when he wants to buck. His spirit is out of control.
Sound familiar? Know anyone like that? Ever been like that?
But when a wild horse is ‘broken,’ he does not become useless and weak; he becomes useful and controlled. He surrenders himself to another; he allows a person to control him. He puts himself under the rule and reins of a master.
He becomes obedient to both bit and bridle. A gentle horse will allow the spurs to cut deeply into his sides without bucking. He will not fight back when things don’t go his way.
It is much the same with a meek person. He is not wild and uncontrolled, but mild – yet not easily dominated. He is calm, but not a coward. He is congenial, but not a compromiser. He is sweet, but not shy.
He is easy going but not a pushover. He is even tempered, but not timid. He is gentle, but not gullible. He keeps his composure even when he is criticized, coerced, contradicted, confined or conspired against.
Meekness is a mark of wisdom from above (James 3:17).
It is a characteristic and fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23). - Knofel Staton
UNDERSTAND MGCC…
Meek people are not weak people, they are submitted people.
LISTEN – the call to meekness, is not a call to be a doormat.
IT IS – a call to surrender our power to God.
BUT AGAIN – it is not a call to weakness and timidity.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. – 1 Timothy 1:7
QUESTION – do you know what 2 people in Scripture are the only two who are described as being meek?
Moses
Now Moses was a very meek man, more than anyone else on the face of the earth. – Number 12:3
Moses…
• who led the greatest slave revolt in human history
• would into the oval office in Egypt
AND – the 2nd person who is describe as being meek in Scripture is…. Jesus, uses to describe Himself in Matthew 11, when He said…
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 (meek) and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
– Matthew 11:28-30
I am Meek and humble in heart… – Matthew 11:29
AND – we find this word (praus) again in Matthew chapter 21 when Jesus is making His ‘Triumphal Entry’ into Jerusalem.
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle (meek) and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” - Matthew 21:5
NOW UNDERSTAND - when Pilate rode into Jerusalem to take up residence in the Antonia Fortress during the Passover, he rode on a warhorse surrounded by soldiers.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem at Passover, he rode on a donkey in a deliberate act of meekness and as a prophetic rejection of the militaristic means of empire. Of course by the time the week was over, Jesus had been crucified by Pilate.
But whom did God vindicate? Whose empire endures?
Whose empire now stretches from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth?
The empire of Rome, which maintained its security by its military, has been swept into the dustbin of history, while the kingdom of Christ endures! How can this be?
Because the meek inherit the earth.
So meekness is…
• Power and strength under the control of God for the benefit of others
• Turning the rule and reins of our power and strength over to the God
And Remember - Our lives are either under God’s control or they are out of control, but we are never really in control.
AND LISTEN – I think you would agree that both Jesus and Moses were anything, but (weak and timid) (doormats and pushovers)…
AMEN?!
OKAY – so that is what meekness is, but how do we (you/I) actually get there?
How We Develop Meekness…
NOW – this week in my studies for this conversation I listened a reading of a sermon that the Great English Preacher Charles Spurgeon give on ‘Blessed are the Meek’ on 12/11/1873.
AND – one of the things that Spurgeon said was that…
A man’s meekness is manifested in his dealings with other people.
LIKE – the first 2 beatitudes are something that happens inside of a person and this 3rd one is something expressed outside of a person.
He went on to say, that you would not speak of a hermit (who never saw another person) as being meek.
Because the only way that he could prove that he is actually meek is by putting him around those would try his temper.
UNDERSTAND – when it comes to producing meekness in us God will use at least six different types of people – to develop this ‘kingdom life’ characteristic in us…
AND LISTEN – each person, each situation presents us with an opportunity to grow in meekness… an opportunity to more fully keep our power and strength under God’s control…
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
Okay – let’s do this…
BUT – before we do, let’s take two…
When Someone
Serves You - Be Understanding Not Demanding
QUESTION - how do you treat the people who provide a service to you?
LIKE - how do you treat the waitress in the restaurant, store clerks, bank tellers, the person at the ticket counter when your flight is delayed, fast food cashiers, the workers at the DMV… or the people who work under you?
Are you rude and demanding?
Are you indifferent and impersonal to them as if they were just part of the machinery?
(on your phone… unless you are walking someone through heart or brain surgery, probably not that important)
AGAIN – when people serve or work under you…
Do you even acknowledge their existence?
Do you ever think about what kind of day they have had or what struggles they might be going through in their lives?
UNDERSTAND - one way we can develop meekness is to work at being kind and understanding to the people who serve us.
YOU KNOW - one of the things that Christians are notorious for is being rude and demanding in restaurants. I don’t know why that is (maybe it is just who these people are?)
AND LISTEN – I have seen this rudeness and unmeekness firsthand (Perkins 4 1/2 years, Night Of Joy).
LIKE – what a ugly picture, to one minute be standing in a room like this praising God, clapping our hands, remembering the Lord’s sacrifice and the next be rude and demanding at a restaurant… AGAIN – one of the people God places in our lives to teach us meekness are the people who will serve us.
How do we respond to them? Do you show them the dignity, respect and understanding they deserve as people created in the image of God?
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
When someone
Sins, Be Restoring, Not Judging
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted... - Galatians 6:1
NOW - the word restore means, “to mend a net, or to set a broken bone.” AND - if you have ever had a broken bone set, you know how painful that is.
UNDERSTAND - the sinning believer is like a torn net or broken bone that needs to be restored gently.
AND LISTEN - there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with someone’s sin.
NOW - to understand what Paul was saying - in Gal 6:1; we need to understand a little bit of the background of this letter. The book of Galatians was written primarily to deal with the sin of legalism in the church.
It was penned to combat the spirit of Phariseeism and rule making.
Notice that Paul says, “watch yourself, or you may also be tempted..”
NOW I THINK - the temptation that Paul is referring to in this passage may be the temptation to be judgmental, to have a “holier than thou,” attitude.
To become full of pride, “I am so much better (more spiritual) than they are they’re a sinner. They’ve fallen.
But, Look at me”
UNDERSTAND - that was the attitude of many in Galatia…
SO - you can see why Paul needed to give this guidance, because instead of trying to restore the fallen brother, the legalist (who sees himself in a position of strength and power) will condemn him and use the sinner as means to make himself look good or feel better about themselves.
NOW - in John chapter 8 we see the right way and the wrong way to restore a sinner dramatically displayed..
I’m sure most of you remember the story - The Pharisees & the teachers of the law drag a woman before Jesus to be stoned - because of her sin.
BUT – it is obvious that these men didn’t care anything about restoring her - they only wanted to condemn her and to trap Jesus in a difficult situation.
THEY – treated her harshly, Jesus treated her gently.
HE defended her in front of other people and then after the crowd left.. He dealt privately with her sin - telling her to go and sin no more....
YOU SEE - Jesus was interested in restoring not simply judging and pointing out how she had fallen.
UNDERSTAND B/S - a sinning believer needs to know more than just the fact that their sin was wrong…
SURE – they must know that.
BUT THEY - also need to be reminded that after repentance there is both forgiveness and restoration…
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
When Someone
Disagrees With You, Be Tender Without Surrender
The Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- 2 Timothy 2:24-25
MGCC - It is a fact of life that you will meet a lot of people who seem to have made it their life mission to always disagree and argue with you…
I MEAN – like some people will try to contradict everything you say.
QUESTION - how should you respond to these people?
NOW – there are two wrong ways to respond
#1
We can retreat in fear
We can just throw up our hands and say, “Okay, whatever have it your way.”
YOU KNOW - it’s the peace at any price philosophy.
BUT we need to understand, that peace at any price usually carries many hidden costs, especially in our relationships.
#2
We can act in anger
BUT LISTEN - if we take the offensive and fight back every time someone opposes or disagrees with us… that will not work either…
OKAY SO – when someone disagrees with us – the wrongs ways to respond is to.. retreat in fear or we can react in anger…
UNDERSTAND - meekness is somewhere in the middle.
Meekness is having an opinion of what you believe is right, and holding that opinion, but allowing room and respect for other people to have an opinion as well.
LISTEN – what I am saying is we don't fight but we don't back down either.
Meekness requires being tender without surrendering our convictions that…
what we are saying, or what we doing, or what we are believing… is the right thing, is the truth.
Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."
NOW THAT VERSE – is so true…
I MEAN – I have found that whenever I respond with gentleness when someone disagrees with me things go so much better/smoother… Most of the time.
HOWEVER – when I respond harshly or in anger – it’s can get really ugly...fast….
I really like this quote from General George Patton…
Never fight a battle when you won’t gain anything by winning.
QUESTION - do you ever fight those kinds of battles, where even if you win the battle you really don’t gain anything, and instead, probably lose a lot.…
Meekness is the ability to disagree - agreeably. You can walk hand in hand without always seeing eye to eye.
NOW – I have been an active member of the church for 42 years (attend, serve, tithe) and my observation has been over all of those years is that…
One of the things Jesus-followers need to grow in is in our ability to disagree with one another without being disagreeable, without outbursts of anger..
YES - the essentials we must agree on but there are so many minor issues that we will encounter.
AND USUALLY – these are the ones that people tend to get all bend out of shape over...
UNDERSTAND - we need to allow room for disagreement in the body of Christ and still love and respect each other. We cannot allow disagreements over non-essential matters to cause division… and get us off mission.
AND B/S – the ability to do this is one of the marks of a meekness, of our strength being under God’s control.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
When Someone
Corrects You, Be Teachable, Not Unreachable
Let's look at what the Bible says,
Whoever who ignores correction lead’s others astray
- Proverbs 10:17
He who hates correction is stupid - Proverbs 12:1 .
Whoever heeds correction is honored - Proverbs 13:18
OKAY MGCC… Let’s just admit it… no one really likes to be corrected - it’s humbling.
QUESTION - how do you respond when somebody corrects you? Are you honest and admit it?
Or do you immediately go into your defense attorney mode and justify what happened and explain how what you did, was not really wrong?
And let me say something here, meekness, like a lot of other areas in my Christian walk is an area that I am still working on… But I am learning.
AND LISTEN - here is one of the things that I have learned in regards to handling correction the right way?
It is so much easier to receive correction if we are a person who wants to learn and grow in life.
AND LISTEN – if we ever come to the place in life where we think we know it all and have nothing more to learn it will be very difficult for us to receive correction.
QUESTION - from whom are you willing to learn?
Can you learn from your spouse? Or does that threaten you? Can you learn from your kids, your parents, co-workers, other believers? Your enemies? Your pastors? Your leaders?
Nobody has all the answers. I don’t. You don’t. No one does.
So we must keep on learning.
Meekness involves being willing to learn from others and being able to admit when you are wrong.
QUESTION - how long has it been since you admitted to your spouse or someone else, “I was wrong. It was my fault?”
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.– Matthew 5:5
When someone
Hurts you, be an actor, not a reactor.
NOW - when I say the word actor, I don't mean be a hypocrite or be a pretender.
I MEAN – be one who initiates action.
MGCC - when you are hurt, don't just respond out of that hurt. INSTEAD - do the right thing, act in the right way.
NOW - the Apostle Peter in his first letter, recalled how Jesus acted at his trial before Pilate;
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. - 1 Peter 2:23
Jesus had His strength under the control of the Father’s will.
UNDERSTAND - while Pilate was questioning him, Jesus could have commanded all the angels in heaven to come down and rescue Him in an instant.
Matthew 26:53… put away your sword, 12 legions
12 x 6000 = 72,000
BUT - Jesus endured and submitted to this trial in silence.
Let me ask you, who was really in control of that situation,
Pilate or Jesus?
NOW - the psychological dynamics of that confrontation are fascinating. Pilate was threatened by the simple fact that Jesus wouldn’t speak up and defend himself.
It made Plate nervous.
“Don’t you know that I have the power to release you or crucify you” “You have no power… unless it was given to you from above”
YOU SEE – Jesus rather than reacting to Pilate, assumed control of the situation by choosing to remain silent. Jesus didn’t react to Pilate’s insults because he knew exactly who he was - the Son of God.
And all through the beatings, mocking’s…
Jesus was meek He kept his strength under the control of the Father, for His glory and the benefit of others.
QUESTION - When someone hurts you, be an actor not a reactor. UNDERSTAND – real Strength is found in meekness,
And gentleness is the ability to handle hurt without striking back in anger or revenge.
Jesus called it - “turning the other cheek..”
You say, “that’s not easy to do..”
No, it’s not, it’s almost impossible.
“To respond that way is not natural,” You say.
You’re right again.
It’s supernatural, that is why it is part of the fruit of the spirit.
We need God’s power to live God’s way....
SO - when someone stabs you in the back, hurts you – what do you do? Do you pull out your big guns and react?
IF – you do you are letting that person control your emotions.
UNDERSTAND - no one can take control from you, but you give it away the moment you start reacting….
Maybe right now someone has hurt you…
IF SO UNDERSTAND – that you will and you are, making the choice to be either an actor or a reactor.
AND LISTEN – if God is not in control of our choices, He is not in control of our lives
Romans 12:17, 21 says, "Do not repay evil for evil...do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good...."
IN – other words don’t react – act…
To retaliate is to react.
To forgive is to act.
It’s saying, I am choosing the way I respond to this hurt, to this evil.”
I heard a story of a man and his friend who were walking down the street. Everyday this man stopped at a newsstand to pick up a newspaper. He greeted the salesman there with graciousness and kindness, courtesy, etc. But the salesman was disrespectful, gruff. He just kind of shoved the newspaper in his hand. He basically was rude to this man.
The man and his friend left the newsstand. The friend asked the man, "Are you always that nice to that salesman?" The man said, "Yes". His friend said, "Well, does he always respond in that kind of rude way?"
The man said, "Well, unfortunately, yes, he does." The friend asked him, "Well, why do you treat him with such kindness? Such courtesy?"
The man responded, "Because I don't want him to decide how I am going to act!"
UNDERSTAND – every day you and I, get to decide how we are going to act when people hurt us.
Meekness is choosing to keep your strength under God’s control in the way that you respond to others, it’s doing the right thing regardless of what others have done to you.
IT’S – putting your strength under God’s control for His glory and the benefit of others.
AND YES… there may be times, when we will need to
• LIKE MOSES – led a slave revolt or make demands in Egypt’s Oval Office, or
• LIKE JESUS – fashion a whip, and start cracking it and overturning tables
BUT HEAR ME…
Those actions are never about us or for us.
They are for God’s glory and the benefit of others.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
When someone
Doesn't share your beliefs, be respectful not disrespectful and condescending
1 Peter 3:15,16 says,
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
OKAY MGCC – here’s the deal…
Often when we find ourselves in a conversation with someone who does not share our beliefs we can fall into the trap of doing so with a sense of superiority… acting disrespectful and condescending towards them…
AND – believe me, when I tell you social media has put this tendency of ours on steroids.
OKAY – so here is the bottom-line, when you encounter someone who does not share your beliefs..
Be respectful not disrespectful
Be approachable not condescending
Be accepting not condemning.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to approve of their lifestyle, or accept their beliefs as your truth.
UNDERSTAND - there’s a difference between acceptance and approval. I can accept you as a person of worth without approving of everything you do.
UNDERSTAND - the manner in which you and I share our beliefs with those who differ from us, often determines how willing a person is hear what we are saying.
IN FACT - our attitude usually speaks more powerfully than the words of our message.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
Meek is not weak in the Greek
Meekness is power and strength that is under the control of God to benefit others, for His glory.
Our lives are either under God’s control or they are out of control, but we are never really in control.
A man’s meekness is manifested in his dealings with other people.
MGCC – this week someone may…
Serve you, correct you, hurt you, disagree with you
Or perhaps you may encounter someone who does not share your beliefs or is caught up in some sin.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
– Matthew 5:5
AND UNDERSTAND – the way to inherit the earth is to have your power under the control of God. AND – in Matthew 11 (in a passage that we read earlier, I think Jesus gives us a picture of what this inheritance can look like in our everyday life)
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 (meek) and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
– Matthew 11:28-30
Inheriting the earth = finding rest for our souls
UNDERSTAND – to truly inherit the earth and find rest for our souls is to place ourselves under God’s control (praus)
It is to submit… our minds, our will, our emotions, our mouths to God. AND – when we do that we will find freedom and rest.
• We won’t have to worry and fight for control
• We won’t have to prove to everybody that we are right
• We won’t have to make everything work out for us or be fair
We can lay all of that down and truly rest
We can trust that we don’t have to be in control because God is in control (praus)
Jesus says allow your power to be under my control
if you want to know about meekness, look at me, learn from me
Blessed are those who not in control but under God’s control, for the will find rest for their souls and inherit the earth.
