"Meek"

Thank you. That's very kind. It is good to be back. It is not good to be back in the heat.

So I might do this. I got glasses over sabbatical, I think. Maybe I had them right before.

So I'm working on the sabbatical sweat things, or the glasses sweat things. So we'll see how this

goes. If you feel yourself overwhelmed with heat, you can go downstairs. There's a live stream,

and it's air-conditioned. I'd love for you to stay here, because I like to see your faces.

But I'd rather you hear God's word than faint in the pews. So if you find yourself overwhelmed,

please take advantage of that. I did want to make a note, because maybe my hearing is bad,

but I think Pastor Nick misspoke and said that the healthcare professionals was in October.

It's in August. So August 17th. And maybe he said it right, and I misheard it. I just want to make

sure. August 17th, there's a healthcare professional event coming up. Okay.

With that, it's really good to be back. I missed you all. I didn't miss this humidity. The mountain

air for the last month was dry and beautiful, and I missed that. But I'm more glad to be back.

So thank you for your welcome. For those of you who don't know me, who are brand new, I'm Matt. I'm

the other pastor of the church besides Pastor Nick, who you've seen, and I've been on sabbatical

till today. So it's good to be back. My family has been watching The Chosen, and we just watched

The Chosen season four. And it is Jesus' life and ministry heading up to, and it ends right at the

beginning of the triumphal procession. And I want to make a caveat, The Chosen is not gospel truth.

It is not the teaching of the church on who Jesus was, but it's a beautiful picture. Think of it as like

going to a Bible study where you're studying the Gospels together. And people are talking about,

I wonder what this looked like, and I wonder how this worked played itself out. That's what they're

doing. So enjoy it. I feel like you should feel the freedom to enjoy it if you can in good conscience.

And I think it helps in some ways to pick up some truths that I think are really good.

In the last episode, there was this confrontation. Jesus was sitting with his disciples, and he had an

interaction with some people from the Sanhedrin, and there was this conflict. And if you remember the

story, anyway, Mary comes and anoints Jesus, and Judas gets all bent out of shape, and he says,

what is this about? What kind of kingdom are you bringing? I thought you were going to come and unite

Israel to rise up against the oppression of Rome and reestablish the glory of Israel.

Now look, we don't know if Judas ever said that in the Bible, but we do know that that was a common

perspective in the first century, that the Jews in Israel were looking for a Messiah, for someone who

would come and with political power rise up and overthrow the oppression of Rome and reestablish the

kingdom of Israel so that it might be a glorious place to display God's power in the world.

They expected someone to take control and reestablish Israel. And when Jesus came, many pinned these hopes

on him. And Jesus is aware of these things. And this brings us to our passage today.

If you want to look there, we're looking at the Gospel of Matthew. We're looking at the Beatitudes.

And that's page 759, Matthew chapter 5, is what we'll be looking at. And as you're turning there,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

I just want to give, again, a brief introduction of where we're at, because the Gospel of Matthew

portrays the life of Jesus. And in chapter 4, verse 23, it says that Jesus was going about

proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom. Right? And so when we get to chapter 5, which is the beginning

of the first big teaching section in Matthew, what Matthew is doing is saying, hey, here's the content

of Jesus' teaching about what kind of kingdom he would be bringing. Right? Pastor Nick has talked about

the Beatitudes as following in a pattern of Greek wisdom teaching, which virtue teaching, which I think

is true. And I want to layer over on top of that and add to that this kingdom lens. That what Jesus is

doing in the Sermon on the Mount is saying, this is the kind of kingdom that I'm going to bring.

This is what God's kingdom really looks like. And then the Beatitudes, it's the blessed things are the

character, the nature, the dynamics of when God is ruling rightly in our hearts, in our society,

and in the world. This is what the kingdom looks like. And Jesus' picture is very different from what

Judas was looking for, and the opinions that he expressed in the chosen.

The world seems to think, like Judas, that might makes right, and power is necessary for change.

Where personal agency and assertion, we've got to do it ourselves to get ahead in the world.

You've got to go and take it for yourself.

Where the forgiving, grace-filled, and merciful in our world are seen as weak and easily manipulated,

and where self-promotion is the only way to be seen and valued.

And Jesus says, my kingdom is not like that.

And even before we move on and read the passage and look at it,

I just wonder, how relevant is that to our world today?

How much in our societal conversation, in our political conversation, in our interpersonal

relationships, do we value power to control so that we can get what we want? Or do we seem to take

hold of this self-assertion in order to make sure that we get what is ours in the world?

What does Jesus have to say to us about that?

So with that, Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

We're going to look at chapter, verse 5 of Matthew, as we're going through the Beatitudes,

one at a time.

But I'm going to read the whole thing just so.

And you know, this summer, if you want to memorize something, this would be a great thing to memorize.

The Beatitudes, we're going slowly enough.

You could actually do it.

So here we go.

So Matthew chapter 5, I'm going to read from 1 to 12, I think.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

So, seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain.

And when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

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 meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you, when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let's pray and ask for God's help as we look at his word today.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

Lord, what an incredible gift it is that you have, Lord, recorded these words for us.

And, Lord, given us your word so that we might know you.

And, Lord, I pray that these words would be life to us today.

Lord, help us to see the beauty in your kingdom.

Lord, I pray for your help that I might speak clearly as you would have me to do.

And that we together would sit under your word today.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

All right.

So, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

We're going to look at this in three parts.

We're going to break it down.

There's not a lot here in terms of complexity.

We're going to talk about what is the meaning of meekness.

We're going to look at the blessing of meekness.

And then we're going to look at the model and source of meekness.

So, that's where we're going to go today.

And if you're making your outline, that's where we are.

So, the first step, the meaning of meekness.

On our trips west, I've been listening to a podcast called the Prancing Pony Podcast,

which is all about the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.

And they actually do close readings of the text and discuss the themes.

It's beautiful.

It's a lovely thing.

If you don't know, I'm a Tolkien fan.

It's totally...

They're like 352-hour episodes.

So, it's a big commitment.

I'm only on episode 30, and we're still halfway through the Silmarillion.

So, it's a long way to go.

But one of the fun things they do is this section called Word Nerdery,

where they take a word and they say,

why did Tolkien use this word?

So, I want to say today,

why did Jesus use this word, meek, in this section?

And we have all sorts of problems with this.

First of all, meek is not used very often today.

And when it's used in the English language today,

people usually think meek means mousy, unbearably shy, or non-confrontational.

If you're old enough to have seen the original Back to the Future,

George McFly is your picture of meekness,

a doormat being walked over by others and easily manipulated.

Looking at one of the word books,

Vine's word book actually had some helpful common usages

that meekness really means weakness, timidity, or lack of courage.

That's the common use.

But that's not what the Greek word means.

And that's an overlay.

That's one of the, meek is one of those words

that used to mean something different

and now means it has shifted in its meaning to be almost negative.

Whereas, that's not what the word actually means.

In some places, this word in English translations

is also translated as gentle or humble.

But what does it mean?

Well, we're going to spend some time looking at Scripture

in other places to help us figure out what does it mean.

So, one of the places that we can look is in Psalm 37,

which Suzanne read earlier to us.

If you want to turn there,

we're going to look at this for a few minutes.

Psalm 37 is on page 435 in your Bible.

And the reason why we go to Psalm 37

is because in verse 11 it says,

the meek shall inherit the land.

That sounds almost like this beatitude.

And so, many people think Jesus was referring to this.

And in the context of it, it's helpful

because it fills out the idea of what meekness is.

This is a Psalm of David.

And he's speaking about evildoers and the wicked

and those who would stand against him

and against God and God's kingdom.

Right?

And so, this is the context.

As you read through the Psalm, it's very clear.

This is a context in which David is writing this song.

He's surrounded by enemies and opponents

who are threatening him.

And as Suzanne prayed, she pointed out,

there's a lot here about do not fret, do not worry.

Even though you're in a bad situation,

do not worry because of evil.

But do what instead?

Trust in God and do good.

Delight in the Lord and wait for him to provide for you.

Wait for the Lord's timing when it seems like he's slow

to rescue you or to save you or to put down the evildoers.

Forsake revenge.

Why?

Because God is going to do it.

Because you are in God's hands and God is going to take care of his people.

And he will cut off the evildoers in the end.

And they won't get the land.

And instead, you who trust, who in a God-centered way believe

and patiently wait for God to work,

believing that God will be this vindicator of David and of the nation of Israel,

this is the idea that it is those who wait on the Lord,

this is the meek that inherit the land.

So this is starting to give us a portrait.

I will just tell you, I don't have a quick definition of meek.

I'm going to paint a portrait for you.

I'm going to give you a couple of different pictures

so you can try to get a sense of what meekness is.

Because the reason why the English translations still use it

is they don't have anything better.

Humble isn't quite right.

Gentle isn't quite right.

Both of those are parts of it.

But neither is quite right.

So I'm going to keep painting this picture for you.

So Psalm 37 in the Old Testament is one way.

Then there are places where this use or its cognates,

different forms of it are used in the New Testament.

And I'm just going to read you a few passages from the epistles

that use this word.

It's almost always translated gentleness,

except for in Colossians when it's translated meekness.

But I'm just going to read four passages.

And I want you to think about, again,

the context of each of these things,

what is said around them that may help us shape the picture

of this idea of meekness.

I, therefore, a prisoner of God.

This is Ephesians 4, 1.

I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling

to which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness.

There it is.

With patience, bearing with one another,

eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit

and the bond of peace.

Or Colossians 3, verse 12.

Colossians 3:12

Put on, then, as God's chosen ones,

holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,

kindness, humility, meekness.

There it is again.

And patience, bearing with one another,

and if one has a complaint against another,

forgiving each other.

As the Lord has forgiven you,

so you also must forgive.

And above all these, put on love,

which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

2 Timothy, chapter 2, starting verse 22.

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Paul writes this to Timothy.

So flee youthful passions,

and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,

along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.

You know that they breed quarrels.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome,

but kind to everyone,

able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

correcting his opponents with gentleness.

And there it is, with meekness.

And God may perhaps grant them repentance,

leading to a knowledge of the truth.

And then in 1 Peter 3, verse 13.

1 Peter 3:13

Now, who is there to harm you

if you are zealous for what is good?

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake,

you will be blessed.

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.

But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy,

always being prepared to make a defense to anyone

who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you.

Yet do it with gentleness.

There it is again.

And respect.

Having a good conscience so that when you are slandered,

those who revile you,

your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

Do you see some of the common threads

of where we see this word being used, right?

It's often in a context of division or of reproach

or of conflict.

Meekness rises to the surface.

Showing patience with others.

Being kind and gentle to one another.

Not being self-assertive to make sure you are right

or being heard or being understood properly.

But humbly, carefully interacting with one another.

It is a God-word attitude

where we trust God and have confidence in God

and believe that He will vindicate us.

And it allows us to treat others with softness of tone,

even as we have firmness of conviction.

It doesn't mean that we're doormats.

It doesn't mean that we don't speak truth.

It doesn't mean that we don't confront

or have conflict with others.

But as we do that,

we carry this character of meekness,

which includes gentleness, humility,

and ultimately trusting God

in the middle of these things.

It is grounded in a security

of God's grace to us.

Now, I do want to make sure I say this at some point.

Meekness does not simply mean

submitting to unjust suffering or abuse

and never confronting evil.

Sometimes the church has said,

the meek means you must stay in an abusive home.

You don't need to stay in an abusive home.

If this is true for you,

come talk to the pastors.

We want to care for you.

This is not what...

But it does mean that

we continue to pursue the character of Christ

even in the worst of circumstances

and for our own heart to bear a proper response

even as we seek to address things properly.

Right?

A respectfulness even when reciprocated

as we interact with others.

This is a part of the picture then

of meekness

that I think the epistles point us to.

I still haven't given you a definition

and that's because I don't have one.

Sorry.

I'm hoping you can get a sense

of this picture and of this word

that's really going to capture it for you.

Before we go on,

I just want to say this though.

How much is this different from our own hearts?

I think we often fall into traps

that our world sets for us these days.

One of them is seeing all relationships

as power dynamics.

It's about winning and losing.

It's about who has the power

and who doesn't have the power

and how is that power held.

Meekness does not see relationships

as power dynamics.

Meekness sees relationships

as an opportunity to love and serve

God first

and the other person

in light of loving God.

We usually find ourselves

or often find ourselves

either feeling under the thumb

of someone else

and wanting to fight back

or we find ourselves

in the position of power

and tempted to take advantage of others

and use them.

Meekness would forsake both of these paths

for a different role.

The other trap that I see

in our culture today

is a profound me first attitude.

If you're going to be

who you want to be in this world,

you've got to go get it yourself.

It is up to you.

You have to be seen.

You have to be noticed.

You have to promote yourself

all the time.

You have to do all these things.

And look,

that doesn't mean

that you can't write a good resume.

It doesn't.

But what it means is

that in your spirit

you know

that ultimately

the person you most want

to be seen by

and noticed by

and vindicated by

is God.

And that God

will actually take care of you

and He will provide for you.

He will get you into

the grad school

so you don't have to spend

three years of your life

running around,

running over people

to be at the top

so that everyone

will notice you

and say,

look how great I am.

And if you're a mom

on the playground,

you don't have to

keep talking about

all the wonderful things

you're doing

to make sure everyone knows

that you're the best mom around.

You can think

and see others

and think,

how can I love them?

How can I serve them?

How can I come alongside of them?

This is, I believe,

the spirit of meekness.

And it's contrary

to our spirit,

to our culture today.

Jesus says,

blessed are the meek

because my kingdom

is not like the kingdom

of this world.

So that's what meekness is

as best as I can get you to.

I hope that helps.

The question then is,

what is the blessing

of meekness, right?

Jesus says,

blessed are the meek

for they shall inherit the earth.

Now what in the world

does that mean?

Does that mean

that we can take over

the empty lot

down the street

and like, you know,

build a parking garage

for ourselves

so that we don't have to

deal with someone else's

parking garage?

No.

It doesn't mean that at all.

Again, going back to Psalm 37

is really instructive.

David is writing this psalm

and David as the king,

whether he's the king apparent

or the king in,

it doesn't tell us.

We don't know when

this psalm was written,

but David knew

that these evildoers,

these wrongdoers

were seeking to destroy him

and in, by extension,

the nation of Israel,

the land that God had promised

to be the place

where he would display his glory

by creating a great nation,

a great kingdom, right?

So this is the,

in the Old Testament,

the promise of the Davidic kingdom

and the prospect of this

being the pinnacle

of God's great work

where he would display his glory

is really big.

And so in light of this then,

David is saying,

these things are threatened.

And it would be very easy

for David to say,

therefore,

what do I need to do?

I need to amass power to myself.

I need to get the biggest army

so that I can defeat

all my enemies.

I need to assert myself as king

and put all these other people

under my thumb

so that I can rule

the way God intended me to do it.

That would be such a temptation.

But as we've seen,

that's not David's response.

David says,

fret not because of these,

but God will give you

the land.

He will be the one

to cut off the evildoers

who think that by their power

they're going to get it.

He will cut them off

and instead you will receive

the land that God promised

and the promises of

his kingdom coming to earth.

Jesus says,

this is true in my kingdom too.

Not in the land of Palestine

between the Mediterranean Sea

and the River Jordan

or, you know,

the broader area

that was promised

in the Old Testament.

Because we see very clearly

a discontinuity

between the land

and the Old Testament

and in the New Testament

where the church

becomes the people of God

not in a national,

physical place

but becomes a transnational place

where the land,

the promises of the land

are fulfilled

as the gospel goes

to the ends of the earth

and then is fulfilled

ultimately

in the new heavens

and the new earth

where,

if you were here this spring,

we heard lots about

in the book of Revelation.

So what does this

inheritance look like?

I think it has

two different aspects

that I want to point out

this morning.

The first is

from 1 Peter chapter 1.

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

So 1 Peter chapter 1

1 Peter 1:3–5

verses 3 through 5.

says this,

according to His great mercy,

that is God's great mercy,

He has caused us

to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead

to an inheritance

that is imperishable,

undefiled,

and unfading,

kept in heaven for you

who by God's power

are being guarded

through faith

for salvation

ready to be revealed

in the last time.

Friends,

the greatest fulfillment

of these promises

is in the salvation

that God has worked

in Jesus Christ.

This is the riches

of our inheritance.

We have,

because He has saved us

from sin

and brought us

into His kingdom,

we are now citizens

and heirs

of the kingdom of God

that Jesus has won

by dying

and rising from the dead.

And so we have

every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly realms.

We have,

we know that we will be

in God's kingdom forever,

not because we are great,

but because of what Christ has done.

This is the beautiful thing of it.

And there is

a present reality for that.

In 1 Corinthians 4,

Paul is talking about

the Corinthian church

and he's saying,

already you are rich.

Already you've experienced

the riches of this salvation.

You've been given

the Holy Spirit

and were that you

actually lived

in this richness

rather than continuing

to strive

for more power

and influence

in your community

through spiritual gifts.

He says,

you have everything already.

You don't need

anything more

than these riches.

And so we live

in this today time

with the spiritual riches

that come from

our salvation in Christ.

The certainty

of our salvation,

the reality

of spiritual new life

in our hearts,

the giving of the Holy Spirit

to empower us

to know and love

and serve God.

The riches

of the community of faith

where we get to live out

our love for one another.

The power of the gospel

that brings us

to salvation

and that we proclaim

to others

that they may come

to salvation.

These are the riches

of the gospel

that we have.

And yet there's more

to come

because what we saw

in Revelation

is that one day

when God creates

a new heaven

and a new earth,

it will be all

of his kingdom

completely and fully.

What Jesus did

was come to be

the inbreaking

of his kingdom.

The kingdom of God

is at hand.

But we know now

that it's not fully there,

don't we?

We look around

in our fallen world

and we think

this can't be God's kingdom.

We even look at the church

and we think,

man, we got a long way

to go, don't we?

But instead,

we have a promise.

Remember

what we heard

in Revelation chapter 5

Revelation 5 · chapter mention

as the elders

worship Jesus

around the throne

in the heavenly realms?

It says,

they sang a new song.

This is verse 9.

And they sang a new song

saying,

worthy are you,

that is Jesus,

to take the scroll

and to open its seals

for you were slain

and by your blood

you ransomed people

for God

from every tribe

and language

and people

and nation

and you have made them

a kingdom

and priests

to our God

and they shall reign

on the earth.

And when you get

to chapter 20

and Jesus finally

defeats all of the enemies

of his kingdom

when final judgment

comes upon the earth

and there is a renewal

that comes with his reign

and a new heavens

and a new earth

come down,

it says over and over again

and the saints,

God's people,

will reign with him

in that world.

When we are connected

by faith to Jesus,

we will inherit

the earth

for eternity.

And it's an upside down

promise,

isn't it?

Because our world

tells us

the only way

we'll get ahead

is through power

and self-assertion.

And Jesus says,

no,

the meek

shall inherit

the earth.

Friends,

do you know

what great promise,

what great freedom

there is

in this picture?

We have the freedom

to be meek.

It means we don't

have to be afraid

of being run over

or cut off

or left out.

It means we don't

have to be afraid

of being insignificant

or our lives

being meaningless.

It means that

we don't have to

enter each social situation

posturing

and navigating

our insecurity.

It means that

we're free

from the rat race

of believing

that you have

to impose your will

and get ahead

and use other people

to get what you want.

Do you see

how being meek

frees us

from all of those things?

Because we know

that God

has loved us

in Christ.

God has given us

every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly realm

in Christ Jesus.

That God

has delivered us

from darkness

into the kingdom

of his beloved son.

That God

has given us

all that we need.

And when we know Christ

we can be meek

before other people

because we know

that the meek

will inherit

the earth.

And why do we

lean into Jesus?

Because

as we come

to our last point

Jesus is the model

and the source

of meekness

for our lives.

It's helpful

that Matthew

uses the word

meek

from 5-5

and two other places

to refer

to Jesus.

The first

is in Matthew

18

I'm sorry

Matthew 11

28-30

where he says

Jesus says

come to me

all who labor

and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke

upon you

and learn from me

for I am gentle

and lowly of heart.

Gentle

that's the word meek.

Gentle

and lowly of heart

and you will find rest

for your souls

for my yoke is easy

and my burden

is light.

You know

it's remarkable

Gavin Ortlin

pointed out

in the book

Gentle

and Lowly

which if you haven't read it

is a great book

on the person of Jesus.

He points out

that this is the only place

where Jesus talks about

his own heart.

He says this

I am gentle

or meek

and lowly

of heart.

And this is in the context

of the burdens

that his people carry

the burdens of legalism

that the Pharisees

in the context

of the passage

are putting on the people.

And he says

come to me

come to me

and release the burdens

the burdens

of religious

work

that

that

cause you to have to

over and over again

try to approve

to

achieve

or earn

God's approval.

Jesus says

come to me

and I will lift

the burden

of the sin

that you bear

and the life

that you lived

in a fallen world.

Come to me

for forgiveness

and rest

and for comfort.

And my meekness

Jesus says

my meekness

and loneliness

means

you can approach

without fear

for I am with you.

I am here

for your forgiveness

for your good

for your rest.

And so we see

Jesus himself

lives out

this picture

of meekness.

And the second place

that Matthew

uses this word

is in

chapter 21

verses 4 and 5.

Jesus is instructing

his disciples

to go get a donkey

to prepare him

to enter Jerusalem

in what's called

the triumphal entry

and Jesus

entered his

Jerusalem

on the way

to the cross.

Matthew 21

4 says this

this took place

to fulfill

what was spoken

by the prophet

saying

say to the

daughter of Zion

behold

your king

is coming to you

humble

and mounted

on a donkey

on a colt

full

of a beast

of

the foal

of a beast

of burden

humble

and mounted

on donkey

there's that word

again

meek

the prophet

Zechariah

spoke those

words

in chapter 9

verse 9

of his prophecy

a prophecy

regarding the

Davidic king

that would come

one day

but not on a

white horse

in triumphal entry

having defeated

his foes

militarily

and reestablished

the national

kingdom

but this new

king would come

humble

on a lesser

beast of burden

Jesus

came

not to

impose

himself

but to

give

himself

and think

of all

the ways

in which

we see

Jesus

living out

meekness

he confronted

the false

teachers

but he

welcomed

sinners

he turned

the tables

in the temple

but then

he was

silent

before his

accusers

he resisted

the fame

that he could

have had

while still

knowing who

he was

his strategy

was not

power

but love

not self

importance

but self

sacrifice

he had

all the

authority

and he

used it

to lay

it down

his own

life

for others

he had

all power

and he

used to

heal

to give

life

to give

hope

to others

he came

in humility

not to

be served

but to

serve

and give

himself

a ransom

for many

and in

this

in the

meekness

of Jesus

he gained

a kingdom

friends

we know

this

this is

the message

of the

gospel

that we

have

believed

as Christians

from the

beginning

the pattern

of Jesus

victory

was

humility

humiliation

suffering

death

then glory

and this

is the

model

of meekness

for us

and the

source

as well

because

Jesus

didn't just

give us

an example

he gave

us himself

to atone

for our

selfish

pride

and an

arrogant

ambition

to gain

for us

forgiveness

in his

act

of meekness

he gained

us

and rescued

us

and brought

us

to be

his own

he loved

us

his enemies

and made

us

his people

and this

is the good

news of the

gospel

that Jesus

comes in

meekness

to rescue

people

and so

we not

only

can see

that as

a model

to follow

but by

the very

knowledge

of who

he is

as we

come to

know him

more

as we

behold

Jesus

in the

glory

of his

meekness

we too

will be

like him

be transformed

with him

and he will

teach us

and enable

us

to lay

down

ourselves

and embrace

meekness

I want

to close

by reading

what Paul

wrote

to the

Philippian

church

in chapter

2

starting

in verse

5

have

this

mind

among

you

which

is

yours

in

Christ

Jesus

who

though

he

was

in

the

form

of

God

did

not

count

equality

with

God

a

thing

to

be

grasped

but

emptied

himself

by

taking

the

form

of

a

servant

being

born

in

the

likeness

of

men

and

being

found

in

human

form

he

humbled

himself

by

becoming

obedient

to

the

point

of

death

even

death

on

a

cross

therefore

God

has

highly

exalted

him

and

bestowed

on

him

a

name

that

is

above

every

name

so

that

at

the

name

of

Jesus

every

knee

should

bow

in

heaven

and

on

earth

and

under

the

earth

and

every

tongue

confess

that

Jesus

Christ

is

Lord

to

the

glory

of

God

the

Father

friends

this

is

the

meekness

of

Christ

this

is

the

meekness

of

the

gospel

this

is

the

meekness

for

those

who

will

inherit

the

earth

Lord

we

confess

how

much

we

resist

the

path

of

meekness

Lord

it

reveals

how

little

we

know

of

you

and

of

your

grace

and

of

the

power

that

you

have

shown

us

shows

how

little

our

faith

is

oh

Lord

fill

us

with

confidence

that

you

are

the

vindicator

of

the

lowly

that

you

are

the

champion

of

those

who

humble

themselves

before

you

and

serve

others

Lord

help

us

to

see

that

in

the

very

salvation

that

we

know

Lord

that

we

can

and

are

called

to

embrace

a

life

of

meekness

Lord

with

a

great

promise

that

as

we

do

that

Lord

we

will

know

and

inherit

your

kingdom

be

with

us

Lord

we

pray

in

Jesus

name

amen