Blessed Are The Meek

Man, you may be seated. Children, you are dismissed to your King's Kids class, and if you all would open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. It's on page 962 of your Pew Bible.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And we've been working our way through the Sermon on the Mount. Let me read the eight Beatitudes.

This is Jesus.

Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him, just like we're coming 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.

May God bless the hearing of His word.

So this fall, we've been making our way through these Beatitudes,

one at a time.

And if you're not familiar with the Beatitudes,

it's basically a list of eight character traits of every Christian,

of every citizen of the kingdom of Jesus,

every citizen of heaven,

anyone who's been delivered out of the domain of darkness,

been transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son,

by God's great grace.

If you are that, these are to characterize each and one in every one of us.

So all eight of these Beatitudes are to mark our characters.

It's to distinguish us from everybody else,

especially in a contentious presidential election cycle.

Two weeks ago, we looked at 5-3 being poor in spirit.

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

And it is the declaration of spiritual bankruptcy.

It's like, I've got nothing.

I've got nothing.

In fact, I'm indebted.

And it's only by God's, the riches of His grace,

that He makes me, who is so poor, rich in His sight.

And then we looked at 5-4.

Last week, blessed are the mourned.

Those who mourn.

And that mourning is a grieving over what grieves God.

That we are grieving the sin in us.

And every one of us has a sinful nature.

Maybe you saw your sin this morning.

We grieve our sin.

And today, this morning, we're looking at the blessed meek.

Blessed are the meek.

Meek!

Meek!

I don't know about you, but when I hear meekness,

I start thinking of things like pushover,

subservient, doormat, compliant,

maybe a little sprinkling of cowardliness,

domesticated.

This word for meek was used in antiquity

to describe domesticated animals.

Sign me up!

For many people in our culture,

when we hear meekness,

we think weakness.

We think soft.

And that can be distasteful.

I'm not a listener of Joe Rogan,

but he has a massive following

on a podcast.

Comedian, MMA, aficionado.

And he was recently lamenting

the state of men in our culture.

And he picked up this quote.

Shared it.

This is what he said.

Soft times make for soft men.

Soft men make for hard times.

Hard times make for hard men.

Hard men make for soft times.

Soft times make for soft men.

And so he's putting his finger

on this cycle.

And what he's saying is this.

Don't be a soft man.

I wonder what Joe Rogan would think

of Jesus' words,

blessed are the meek.

Blessed are those who get walked on.

Blessed are the doormats.

Blessed are the pushovers.

Was Jesus a pushover?

Was Jesus a doormat?

Was he domesticated?

This beatitude has two parts.

And we're going to look at both parts

in the sermon.

The blessed meek.

Let's look at what biblical meekness

really is.

And then let's look at this promise

to the meek.

God's promised earth.

The hope for the meek.

Now if you've come into this building

and you're prone to holding grudges,

getting defensive,

you're critical of others,

you fear what other people

think about you.

You need to hear these words.

Blessed are the meek.

It's your rescue

from you.

So let's dive in.

We'll first look at

the blessed meek

and God's promised earth.

So the blessed meek.

Blessed are the meek.

The first thing you need

to realize is

that this meekness

that Jesus is talking about

is thoroughly unnatural.

This is an unnatural meekness.

This isn't the kind of meekness

that, you know,

you may have a friend

who is kind of just,

kind of has a naturally

mild temperament.

You provoke them

and you goad them

and they will not get hot.

They're just naturally mild.

That's not the meekness

Jesus is talking about.

Or maybe

someone who's just genuinely nice.

That's not the meekness

Jesus is speaking about.

Maybe we're just talking about

upper Midwestern hospitality.

It's not that.

This meekness is unnatural

because this meekness

is supernatural.

Martin Lloyd-Jones

talked about the Beatitudes

as a spiritual,

logical sequence,

a progression.

And it all starts

with poor in spirit.

It all starts

with bankruptcy.

Do you know

that the only way

that you can see

your own sinful depravity

is if the Spirit of God

convicts you of it?

What's being described

in these Beatitudes

is not something

that you can do to yourself.

These eight Beatitudes

actually is a profile

of a whole new nature

in Christ Jesus.

these are people

who have been

made new

by the Holy Spirit.

This meekness

is unnatural.

To be poor in spirit

means that the Holy Spirit

has convicted

a sinner

of their sin

against God.

I mean,

Jesus said

that's why the Holy Spirit

is coming

to convict the world

of sin,

righteousness,

and judgment.

And then not only

to convict

a sinner

of their sin

against God,

but that sinner

starts realizing

as part of that conviction

that they are under

God's just wrath.

That they are

spiritually bankrupt

and desperate.

And that their only hope

is in God's forgiveness

of them.

That's moving towards

this spirit rot,

poverty of spirit.

And then

what follows

is this

grieving your sin.

sin.

This is a supernatural

work as well.

Where you are

so concerned

and grieved

by what you have done

and the offense

that you have given God,

you feel the weight

and you mourn it.

It's a godly sorrow

that leads to repentance.

This is a working of God.

And as we go through

all eight of these,

you're going to see

more and more

that these are actually

a profile of Jesus,

just like the fruit

of the spirit,

and they are to mark

each one of us

and it's something

we can't do to ourselves.

We can't pull ourselves

up by our own bootstraps

and be more meek.

We lower ourselves.

So the first thing

that you need to know

about this blessed meekness

is it's unnatural

because it's supernatural.

It's a description

of someone

who has been born of God.

The second thing

I want you to know

about this blessed meekness

is what distinguishes meekness.

It's relational.

The first two beatitudes

were concerned primarily

with a right relating to God

that I am spiritually bankrupt

in his eyes

and grieving that.

That's called

that you're being penitent

over your sin.

What meekness is

is when someone

who is aware

of their spiritual bankruptcy

and grieving their sin

and they bring

that heart posture

towards God

into their relationships

with other people.

That's meekness.

That's a humble posture

of heart towards God

that results

in a humble posture

of heart

towards other people.

meekness

has everything to do

with the way

in which we relate

to other people.

Before you were converted,

before you became

a Christian,

you thought

you were the controlling

center of your own world.

and most likely

you lived out

your relationships

for yourself.

What you can get out of it.

What's in it for me.

After your conversion,

when Jesus becomes

the controlling center

of your life,

what happens

to your relationships

isn't that now

you live out

your relationships

for other people.

You live out

your relationships

for Jesus

with other people.

Because he's

the controlling center

of your life.

On January 1st

in 1900,

the Chicago River

had its flow reversed.

It had been flowing

out into Lake Michigan

and the problem

that resulted

from that

was people living

in Chicago

were getting sick

because they were

drinking their own sewage.

So they got the great idea,

you know what,

let's not drink

our own sewage,

let's let the people

of St. Louis

drink our sewage.

So let's reverse

the flow

and instead of

flowing into

Lake Michigan,

we're going to

flow it down

to St. Louis.

when Jesus

becomes the controlling

center of your life,

your relationships

flow differently.

They don't flow

to you anymore.

By God's grace,

now they flow

towards Jesus

for his glory,

for the good

of those people

in your life.

This is the radical change

that God brings

about when he

changes a sinner

into a saint.

And the resulting

meekness

has the effect

of gentleness.

That change

brings about

an approachability.

So let me

give you this

definition

for biblical

meekness.

Biblical

meekness

is a Christ-like

posture

towards others.

He's both

tender

and tough

and always

truthful.

Tender and tough

and always

truthful

and he majors

on tender.

We're to be

like Christ

in our

meekness.

Let me just

read this passage

to you.

This is Philippians.

This is one of

our favorite passages

as a church

because we need

to be reminded

of it so frequently.

Philippians

Philippians 2:3–11

chapter 2

verses 3

through 11.

Listen for

the meekness

of Jesus,

his humility,

humility,

and our

resultant

meekness,

our humility.

Do nothing

from selfish

ambition or

conceit,

but in humility

count others

more significant

than yourselves.

Let each of you

look not only

to his own

interests,

but also

to the interests

of others.

Have this mind

among yourselves,

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,

to be held on to,

but emptied himself.

How?

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

the name that is

above every name,

so that at the name

of Jesus,

every knee should bow,

in heaven and earth

and under the earth,

and every tongue

confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord to the glory

of God the Father.

Jesus is exalted

and exemplified

for his meekness.

Through his meekness,

we're saved.

But there's something else

I want to point you to.

John opened the service

with it.

He's going to close

the service with it.

It's what Jesus has to say

about himself.

Come to me.

All who labor

are heavy laden

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me,

for I am gentle.

It's the same word

translated meek

here in Matthew 5.5.

For I am meek

and lowly in heart,

and you will find rest

for your souls.

For my yoke is easy

and my burden is light.

The greatest biblical example

of meekness

is Jesus,

who is meek

and lowly

at heart.

Jesus is both tender

and tough.

He's always truthful.

And what we see

in the pages

of the New Testament

in the Gospels,

he's always tender

towards the penitent,

but he is tough

to the impenitent.

Just think of what he said

to the Pharisees,

you brood of vipers.

Just think of what he did

his clearing out

of the temple

when he expressed anger.

He was tough

to the impenitent.

Dane Ortlund,

in his book,

Gentle and Lowly,

brings this out

in a beautiful way.

If you don't have this book,

would you grab one

on your way out?

We've got stacks of it

sitting out

on the doorway.

Just grab one

on your way,

one per household.

You will be encouraged

by this,

and I think you will

grow in meekness

as a result

of reading it.

What I'm wanting

to help you to see

is meekness

is unnatural

because it's supernatural,

and it's relational.

It's how we relate

to one another,

and it's epitomized

in the person

of Jesus.

And it results

in supernatural relating.

Has anyone in the room

been sinned against?

You can raise your hand.

Yes.

You don't need

to raise your hand

on this next question.

How many in the room

who have been sinned against

tend to hold a grudge?

A grudge is a kind

of unforgiveness.

A grudge is even

a kind of

cool vengeance.

Do the meek

hold grudges?

No.

The meek don't hold grudges

because when the meek

are sinned against,

they go into

a mode of thinking

that says,

oh, oh,

you know what?

that stings,

but man,

have I sinned

so much worse,

so much more.

There's an awareness

of your own

spiritual bankruptcy

and grief

over your own sin.

Meek people

don't hold grudges.

Jesus doesn't hold

a grudge against you,

brother, sister.

How about

when it comes

to correction?

Has anybody

tried to correct you

recently?

It's one thing

to see sin

in your own life

and say,

you know what?

Man,

I saw this sin

in my own life.

I am so aghast

by it.

But when someone

else points out

a sin in your life,

boy,

that gets a little

different,

doesn't it?

Who are you

to think that?

Who are you

to say that?

You can be defensive,

even dismissive,

but you know

how the meek

handle correction?

They're like this.

Oh,

yeah,

you're probably right.

I'll think about it.

But you don't know

the half of it.

Brothers and sisters,

if you were in my head

this week

and you saw

what went through

my head

this week,

you would be shocked.

Here's how the meek

respond to correction.

It's Proverbs 9.8.

You correct a fool,

you'll get slapped.

You correct a wise man,

someone who fears

the Lord,

who is Jesus

as the controlling center

of his life

or her life,

they will love you.

They may even kiss you.

They may even say,

oh,

thank you so much

for caring for me

and for what matters most.

This is a supernatural

way of relating.

This isn't pull yourself

up by your bootstraps.

This meekness

comes from the living God.

Could you imagine

a church

who are growing

in meekness

more and more?

They're tender,

they're tough,

they're always truthful,

but they major

on tenderness

because they're all

so aware

of their need

for God's

ongoing grace.

We can go on.

How the meek

respond to sinful

comparisons,

how the meek

respond to

a temptation

to be critical

of others,

we can go on

and on.

But what I want you

to see is

meekness

makes a dramatic

difference

in our relating

to one another.

And at the heart

of it

is a humility

towards God.

There's a phrase

I've been

chewing on

all week.

I think it's

a freeing phrase,

but it can be

taken wrong.

If spoken

by a meek

person,

it makes sense.

We can also

hear a prideful

person saying

this,

but listen

to it.

It matters

little

what you

think about me

because it

matters much

what Christ

thinks about me.

It matters

little what you

think about me.

I will take it

in so far

as it serves

my pursuit

of Jesus

because

He's what

matters most

to me.

we

welcome

correction.

We

forgive

fully

and quickly

because it

matters little

what others

think about us

because what

matters most

to us

is what

Jesus thinks.

Biblical

meekness

is a

Christ-like

posture

towards

others.

you are

both

tender

and tough

always truthful

but you're

majoring on

tenderness.

Do you know

what the greatest

threat

to meekness

is?

Your pride.

God.

The opposite

of meekness

is arrogance.

It goes

like this.

You stop

tending to

your heart.

You start

forgetting about

your God.

You start

getting caught

up in the

things of

this world

day to day

just getting

by.

You start

losing sight

of the

holiness

and grandeur

and majesty

of God.

and you

start losing

sight of

the sinfulness

of your

sin and

your constant

need of

your Lord

Jesus.

You start

to think

about these

things less

and they

become less

and less

important and

in the place

of that

importance

vacuum you

step into

that.

You start

thinking more

highly of

yourself than

you ought.

You start

thinking

insisting on

your own

way.

You start

minimizing

your sins.

That's how

that works.

Your

arrogance,

your pride,

it's

deceptive,

sneaky,

and it's

the greatest

threat to

meekness

because when

that kind

of attitude,

prideful

attitude,

shows up

in the

people of

God,

it's

rot.

It's

cancerous.

It's the

opposite of

love.

It doesn't

build up,

it tears

down.

At this

point, I just

want to ask

you,

is there a

particular

relationship

that God has

been bringing

to your

mind,

God's

in which you

need to

circle back

to,

and you

need to

kind of

re-engage

that for

the glory

of Jesus,

where you

need to

say,

I've been

arrogant,

I've been

prideful,

I have not

been meek,

I've been

insisting on

my own

ways,

will you

forgive me?

is there

someone you

need to

confess your

sin to?

Blessed are

the meek.

Meekness is

cultivated by

taking big,

long,

deep looks

at Jesus.

Seeing Him

as He is

the controlling

center of

your life.

You'll be

reminded of

your spiritual

depravity,

you will be

grieving your

sin,

and that is

the tender

spot in

which we

live out

our

relationships

with one

another.

Meekness

is a

claim of

forfeiture

on your

reputation

for Jesus.

You

forfeit

your reputation

in the

eyes of

man.

because it

matters

little

to you

what others

think about

you

because it

matters much

to you

of what

Christ

thinks about

you.

This is the

way of the

kingdom.

This is a

mark of a

kingdom

citizen.

And you know

what?

if I made

it sound like

not holding a

grudge is

easy,

forgive me

because it's

hard.

If I made

it sound like

stopping being

defensive is

easy,

forgive me.

You've got to

die to

yourself.

Dying to

yourself is

not easy.

but when

you see

Jesus,

oh,

maybe you're

sitting in

your pew

right now

and you're

like,

okay,

Salvati,

move on.

Got it.

Well,

before I move

on to the

promise,

I just

want to

stoke

something in

you.

if you're

going to be

meek as

Jesus is

meek,

you're

going to

catch

heat for

it.

People are

going to

call you

soft.

People are

going to

think that

you're

soft on

sin.

People

think that

you're

just a

softy

pushover.

They're

going to

interpret

it,

not as

Jesus

speaks it,

but as

they think

it is.

Is it

worth it?

And the

answer is

yes,

it's

worth it.

And when

we can

see that

it's

worth it

because of

where Jesus

goes next,

blessed

are the

meek,

for they

shall inherit

the earth.

So let's

move from

the blessed

meek to

God's

promised

earth,

and let

me get

some

sweetness

into your

soul.

There's a

few things I

want you to

see about

this promise.

This

promise

of an

earth.

First

thing I want

you to

know is

that Jesus

is actually

quoting

Psalm 37

and in

Psalm 37

it's a

Psalm of

David.

David is

speaking to

the righteous

and he's

saying do

not fret

when the

wicked

prosper.

And four

times in

that Psalm

he says

someone will

inherit the

earth.

Four times.

The first

is those

who wait

on the

Lord,

then the

meek,

then the

blessed

of the

Lord,

and then

the

righteous.

When

we're

living on

this earth

among

people who

don't know

Jesus and

we're

trying to

be like

Jesus,

we're

going to

catch

heat for

it and

we might

start fretting

over that.

Brother,

sister,

there's

something

coming.

Brother,

sister,

brother,

sister,

hear me.

You got

acreage

waiting for

you.

You got

a plot

in the

new

earth.

You got

acreage.

church.

When

things get

tough and

we start

asking the

question,

is this

worth it?

Oh,

yeah,

it's worth

it because

I'm not

living for

this world.

I'm living

for the

next,

my heavenly

homeland.

That's the

earth that

Jesus is

referring to.

Not the

present

earth in

its sin

riddled

state.

No,

it's the

new earth.

We will

inherit it.

It's a

double promise.

He's saying

there is a

new earth

coming.

I promise.

And then

He promises

and you've

got a

stake in

it.

You've

got acreage

there.

You've

got a

plot of

land

in the

new

earth.

Blessed are

the meek

for they've

got acreage

in the

new

earth.

This

world

is not

it.

brothers

and

sisters.

Here's

what we

know about

the new

earth.

We know

that the

new

earth,

it is a

place of

perfect

peace.

There are

no more

tears,

there are

no more

mourning,

there's no

more pain,

there's no

more war,

there's no

more contentious

presidential

election cycles,

and they're

all gone

because sin

is gone.

It's

completely

eradicated.

Now,

let me

read for

you a

rather

graphic

depiction

of this

coming of

the new

earth.

This is

2 Peter

2 Peter 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

2 Peter

says,

For the

day of

the Lord

will come

like a

thief,

when Jesus

returns,

and the

heavens will

pass away

with a

roar,

and the

heavenly

bodies will

be burned

up and

dissolved,

and the

earth and

the works

that are

done on it

will be

exposed.

Since all

these things

are thus to

be dissolved,

what sort of

people ought

you to be

in light of

holiness and

godliness,

waiting for

and hastening

the coming of

the day of

God,

because of

which the

heavens will

be set on

fire and

dissolved,

and the

heavenly bodies

will melt away as they burn.

But according to His promise,

we are waiting for new heavens

and a new earth

in which righteousness dwells.

There it is.

Your house that you live in

is not your forever house.

God, Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you.

There's new earth acreage, brother, sister.

There's a new earth house, brother, sister.

You're not going to be disappointed.

It's pristine.

No sin.

But that's not the best part of it.

Do you know what the best part of the new earth is?

It's who's there waiting for you.

It's Jesus.

Revelation 21.

It's God dwelling with man,

wiping away our tears.

It's Him with us.

It's who's there waiting for you.

This is a little speculation.

What kind of parcel is waiting for you?

I don't know.

I'm thinking my parcel,

maybe for the first 10,000 years,

is maybe it's kind of mountainous

and with a bunch of mountain bike trails off the back.

Could you imagine this?

Jesus walking up the front walk of your parcel,

tapping on your screen door,

walking in saying,

how do you like the place?

I prepared it just for you.

And then He says,

let's go for a walk on the property.

That's what makes meekness worth it.

To be like Him

and to be with the meek one

in glory.

Are you banking on this promise?

Are you remembering it?

And are you setting your heart on it?

This promise gets a couple things done.

This promise of a new earth,

it stirs our longing.

It loosens our grip.

We start reading.

We start seeing things

that are light and momentary.

And we let it go.

I'm not living for my car

because it's light and momentary

and it's going to get burned up.

I'm not living for a vacation or promotion

because it's light and momentary.

It's going to get burned up.

It loosens your grip.

It tightens your grip

on what matters most.

It's like smelling salts to the soul.

It helps you to say,

okay, hey,

if all this stuff's going to get burned up

on this present earth,

what's not?

And what's not is God's glory,

the souls of men and women,

and God's word.

And so when you start realizing

the values of that,

that starts aligning you

to what matters most.

So this all translates

into perseverance.

Pressing on.

Pressing on into meekness.

Rather being wronged

than having to be right.

Meekness.

Jesus.

You've got acreage

in the new earth waiting for you.

Let's live for Him now.

Being meek

as He is meek.

We've seen the blessed meek,

the humble at heart

as Jesus is meek at heart.

It's tender and tough,

always truthful,

yet majoring on tenderness.

Who are the meek?

They are the blood-bought,

grace objects of Jesus

who are becoming more and more like Him.

The penitent

who bring in their spiritual poverty

and spiritual mourning

into their relationships

with others.

Do you need to own

some of your prideful ways

that grieve your God?

Are you ignoring your arrogance?

The meek don't ignore their sin.

Do you need

to take to heart

your inheritance

that awaits you,

brother or sister?

Have you neglected that?

Set your heart

on Revelation 21 and 22.

This is the blessed meekness.

A Christ-like posture

of heart towards others.

And what you're going to realize,

it matters little

what others think about you

because it matters most

what Christ thinks about you.

Blessed are the meek.

Let's pray.

It doesn't matter, Lord,

if people think we're soft or hard.

It doesn't matter.

What matters most is what you think.

Father, would you pour out

your Spirit afresh upon us

that we would be meek

as Jesus is meek to one another.

That we would be humble.

That we would walk in the ways

of our meek King.

Lord, would you create in our midst

in greater and greater measure

a Spirit-filled people

who are living out the meekness

of the kingdom.

Lord, we look to you.

We ask this of you.

And we praise you.

We wouldn't want it any other way.

You are worthy.

O you meek one, Lord Jesus.

Make us meek.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.