MATTHEW 5:5
MEEK, NOT WEAK
#4 - SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Turn please to Psalm 37. I would also suggest you take out a pen.
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
OUR DAILY BREAD - According to Bill Farmer’s newspaper column, J. Upton Dickson was a fun-loving fellow who said he was writing a book entitled Cower Power. He also founded a group of submissive people. It was called DOORMATS. That stands for “Dependent Organization of Really Meek And Timid Souls—if there are no objections.” Their motto was: “The meek shall inherit the earth—if that’s okay with everybody.” Their symbol was the yellow traffic light. M.R.D. II, Our Daily Bread, February 8 http://www.bible.org/illus/m/m-24.htm#TopOfPage
The trouble is, this is exactly what people who are not Christians and many Christians think it means to be meek. To them a meek person has no "backbone". To them a meek person let's everybody run roughshod over them and stands up for nothing.
That, my friends, IS NOT what Jesus was referring to when he said, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Jesus was meek, but certainly no pushover.
Matthew 11:28-30 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 21:5 - Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
The word meek means to be "gentle".
According to John MacArthur, "Meekness is a gentleness and a mildness, and a subdued character, but it is no weakness. It is power under control." John MacArthur, Kingdom Living Here and Now ( Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1980), p. 78
In Jesus' day the word "meek" was used to describe, a gentle breeze, a pleasant medicine or a colt that had been broken.
Warren Wiersbe, Live Like a King (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1976), p. 64-65
A gentle breeze was powerful wind under control.
A breeze out of control is a hurricane.
A pleasant medicine, was powerful medicine under control.
Medicine out of control can kill a person.
A broken colt, was a powerful animal under control.
A wild colt can not be controlled and is very dangerous.
A meek person can be very powerful, but very much in control.
A meek person is capable of anger.
Jesus got angry at the right things at the right times.
Jesus got angry with hypocrisy.
Jesus got angry with dishonest people who bought and sold in the temple.
Matthew 21:13 - And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
But when Jesus was betrayed in the garden, He did not get angry.
When Jesus was falsely accused at His trials, He did not get angry.
When Jesus was nailed to the cross, He did not get angry.
Instead Jesus prayed for those who persecuted Him.
Luke 23:34 - Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Isaiah 53:7 -He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
As you know, Jesus had the power to fight against his enemies.
He could have come down of the cross.
He could have resisted the mistreatment he had received.
He had the power, as God, but didn't use it.
That's power under control
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
So Jesus wants us to be meek.
He wants us to have power under control.
He doesn't want us fighting back when we are personally offended.
He doesn't want us defending our rights.
He wants us to be gentle, controlling our anger, even when our anger is justified.
This year we are learning to live righteously with help from The Sermon on the Mount. We have been studying the Beatitudes, or as someone has called them, the "Blessed Attitudes".
Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We said that to be poor in spirit is to see ourselves as we really are, poor lost sinners. It is the one who is poor in Spirit who looks at himself and sees nothing of value.
He first looks to Jesus for salvation, because he can't save himself. He then looks to Jesus for strength to live the Christian life.
Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
One who mourns is truly sorry for the sin that he has committed against Almighty God. He is sorry enough to want to quit.
Being poor in spirit and being meek are similar ideas.
According to John MacArthur, "Broken in spirit focuses on my sinfulness. Meekness focuses on God's holiness. In other words, I am poor in spirit because I am a sinner and meek because God is so holy in comparison. Broken in spirit is negative and results in mourning. Meekness is positive and results in seeking righteousness." John MacArthur, Kingdom Living Here and Now ( Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1980), p. 76
So how do we go about developing meekness in our lives?
First, we must realize that meekness is part of the Fruit of the Spirit. As we allow God's Holy Spirit to control us, we are allowing God to perfect the fruit of meekness.
Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
It would also be nice if there was a passage of Scripture that would give us an idea of how to develop meekness in our lives.
Good news! There is!
When the Lord Jesus talks about meekness, He is alluding to
Psalm 37:11 - But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Most of the Beatitudes were original.
However this beatitude was adapted from the verse that we just read. In the verses before Psalm 37:11, God shows us the qualities of a meek or gentle man or woman.
The verbs, the action words, are the key to developing a meek spirit. I suggest that you underline some of these as we speak.
I'll suggest which ones to underline.
FRET NOT - Vss. 1-2
Those words mean "don't get heated up". Don't get hot. Or as we may say, "be cool". James Montgomery Boice, Psalms, An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1994), p. 41
Getting agitated is what keeps us from being meek or gentle.
And evil people can get us agitated, especially when they do things against us or those we love.
According to vs. 2, wicked people will quickly meet their end.
But it's not only wicked people who get us worked up and out of sorts.
People who are not evil get us worked up and out of sorts, when we shouldn't allow them to do so.
Proverbs 3:30 - Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
Proverbs 20:3 - It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
The word meddling means literally to "burst out". It is a fool who loses it.
Other things that cause us to get agitated, or hot, both on the inside and the outside are fear and worry.
Isaiah 41:10 - Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Matthew 6:25 - Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
You can't change the past but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worry about the future. (Decision Magazine)
Worry is the traitor in our camp that dampens our powder and weakens our aim. (William Jordon) Both Quotes: Lloyd Cory (compiler), Quotable Quotations (Wheaton, Illinois, Victor Books, 1985), p. 446
FRET NOT
TRUST AND DO - Vs. 3
We fret because we do not trust the right person.
The one we should trust is the Lord!
It begins with salvation. Eternal life is a result of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.
Romans 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And if we can trust the Lord Jesus with our very lives, can't we also trust him with the things that cause us to fret?
One day Tim Hanzel and his son Zac were out in the country and climbing on some cliffs. Hanzel heard a voice from above yell, "Hey Dad! Catch me!" Hanzel turned around to see Zac "joyfully jumping off a rock" straight at him. He had jumped before he had yelled. Of course, Hanzel made a quick and valiant effort to catch him and did, and they both fell to the ground.
When Hanzel finally caught his breath he asked in an exasperated way, 'Zac! Can you give me one good reason why you did that?'
"He responded with remarkable calmness: 'Sure…because you're my Dad.'" Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel, 1987, Word Books Publisher, pp. 46-47, http://www.bible.org/illus/t/t-83.htm#TopOfPage
Zac perceived his father as trustworthy.
Isn't your Heavenly Father even more trustworthy?
Deuteronomy 33:27 says in part The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
Not only are we to trust, according to verse 3, but we are to do good
Because I trust Him to take care of me, I can do what is good, and therefore do what is right.
One good thing that I should do is not fret.
I don't have to fret because I can trust that the Lord is taking care of things.
Sometimes we fail to do what is good because we are afraid of criticism. We are afraid of getting lambasted for doing what is right.
When we trust the Lord for the strength and the help, we can do what's right no matter what the consequences.
1 Peter 3:13-14 - And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? [14] But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
FRET NOT
TRUST AND DO
DELIGHT - Vs. 4
We had another good Sportsmen's Dinner last night.
Do you know something about many of the hunters I've met?
They delight in hunting.
They think about hunting.
They talk about hunting.
They study hunting.
They spend money on hunting.
They take time to hunt and to participate in hunting related activities.
We Christians are told to delight in the Lord.
We should delight in the Lord because He is creator.
We should delight in the Lord because He is our God.
We should delight in the Lord because He is our Savior.
We should delight in the Lord because we are His children.
We should delight in the Lord because we are citizens of Heaven.
We Christians should learn something from hunters.
They think about hunting, we should think about the Lord.
They talk about hunting, we should talk about the Lord and to the Lord.
They study hunting, we should study God's Word.
They spend money on hunting. We should spend money on the Lord's work.
They take time to hunt and to participate in hunting related activities. We should take time with the Lord and in activities, such as church and Bible studies, that are related to the Lord.
According to this verse, when we delight in the Lord, we will receive the desires of our heart. When we have the desires of our heart, we will have every reason to be meek. We won't have anything to get hot about.
Now for some truth in advertising. If you delight yourself in the Lord, the desires of your heart will change. The things that you want will please God. And because the things that you want will please God, He will give them to you.
FRET NOT
TRUST AND DO
DELIGHT
COMMIT - Vs. 5
Instead of fretting we should be praying.
Instead of getting bent out of shape, we should be discussing the problem with God.
We tend to get upset and then pray.
Instead we should pray, and we will more unlikely to get upset.
And there is another word here, which we've already discussed.
The word is "trust". We are to give the Lord our problem, and trust him for the solution.
All too often we give God the problem and then take it back and worry about it some more.
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: [15] And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Last Tuesday I snapped at Dottie.
Was I angry at Dottie? No.
I was over tired, and I was reacting to some bad news I received about a friend of mine who has cancer. I was also reacting to a meeting that I attended on Monday that didn't please me.
The solution to the problem was two-fold. One solution was to get some rest. The other solution was to give the problems to the Lord, and to let Him handle them.
FRET NOT
TRUST AND DO
DELIGHT
COMMIT
REST AND WAIT - Vs. 7
Rest here does not mean to stop working. It is to "be still".
To me it means to simply relax in the understanding that God is in control and taking care of the problem.
I am not agitated.
I am not upset.
I am not hot.
I am not ready to bite someone's head off.
I am simply at mental ease, gentle, waiting on God to work in His good time.
And there are two last words to underline.
CEASE AND FORSAKE - Vs. 8
Anger is to be avoided.
Any wrath is to be forsaken.
You know what happens when an open bottle tips over.
When an open bottle tips over, out comes the contents.
When you are tipped over by circumstances or problems, what's inside you will come out as well.
What will come out?
A hotheaded response?
Anger?
Bitterness?
Or gentleness or meekness?
Meekness is NOT weakness. It is power under control.
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 37:11 - But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The meek inherit the earth. They will rule with Jesus during the Millennium if they have been meek enough to receive Jesus as their Savior.
The Millennium will be a time of great peace, and we'll inherit it.
But right now we can have "abundance of peace".
That's our inheritance as we:
FRET NOT
TRUST AND DO
DELIGHT
COMMIT
REST AND WAIT - Vs. 7
CEASE AND FORSAKE