What is meekness?

Welcome to the second week of this preaching series that we're calling the good life, where we're talking all about what is what is the good life.

Um, to to our friends in Saginaw and Monroe, thank you for joining us.

If you're watching online, I'm so glad you're here.

This idea for the topic of the good life comes directly from the Bible, from a portion of the Bible known as the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes are were a series of statements that are Jesus' way of describing the kingdom of heaven perspective on the good life.

And each of the Beatitudes begins with the line, blessed are the blank, and then it it could they conclude with the blessing that the whoever fills in the blank will receive.

And each of the blanks are filled in by Jesus with something unexpected.

Something that causes us to maybe just turn upside down our idea of who the good life belongs to.

Today we're going to focus on the third beatitude.

It says this blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Jesus said, the good life belongs to the meek.

Okay, who who okay, show of hands?

Who wants to be considered meek?

Okay, if you're watching online, there was only one hand in the room, okay?

No one wants to be meek.

No, I okay, I've I've I've seen some resumes in my day.

I've never once seen a resume where someone puts on it that they are meek.

Like no one, even if they are, no one advertises this.

Nobody wants the coach to say to them, hey, you know what?

You are the meekest player on the team.

Like, no, nobody does.

And I think it's because, I think it's because we've confused meekness a little bit.

Like uh meek, meek uh in our culture, at least, kind of people who are meek, we think of them as soft, we think of them as pushovers.

In a world that seems to value the kind of predator mindset, the meek are like the prey.

And I think I think the meek has gotten a bad rap, partly because we've confused the word meekness with weakness.

But Jesus didn't make that mistake.

Jesus says the meek are the blessed ones.

So we're gonna go on a journey today to kind of discover, to unpack.

What why does Jesus say that the meek ones are blessed?

And once we understand what Jesus meant when he said blessed are the meek, it will help us understand how their meekness is tied to them inheriting the earth.

So here's where we're gonna start.

What did Jesus actually mean when he said, Blessed are the meek?

Um, it's important to understand the Bible is translated from two primary languages.

The Old Testament was originally written in ancient Hebrew, the New Testament is written in Greek, and the Greek word that's in the book of Matthew that that is translated to meek is the word prouse.

P-R-A-U-S, kind of how we'd spell it.

Prouse.

Prouse is uh a word that's used to describe someone who's mild-mannered, who's got a sort of gentle disposition, so that kind of fits our understanding, our typical understanding of meekness.

But the word prouse is also used to describe like a wild horse that has been tamed.

That horse still has all its power, all its strength, but it has been submitted to or surrendered to its trainer.

So, so that word prouse, the the idea of meekness, it's not always associated with a lack of strength.

Like there, it's kind of there's a broader definition to it.

It's strength that is surrendered.

Sometimes that strength is physical strength.

But sometimes that strength is is like our influence or our reputation.

Sometimes that strength is is our education or our ability to control a situation or to win an argument or to manipulate things in our own favor.

In every instance, in every aspect of what this kind of our idea of strength is, the meek ones are the ones who say, I could or I want to control this situation, but I am going to choose restraint.

It's strength surrendered.

Um, uh one of my favorite examples of what this looks like comes from the Old Testament.

It's the story of David.

If you know his story, when when David was a young boy, he was anointed to become the next king of Israel.

God had given him this like calling on his life, this sort of authority that he was preparing him for.

Then later, David defeated Goliath in battle.

So he had some sort of like physical strength as well.

He had he had at least the bravery or the courage to stand up to him.

But he wasn't the king yet.

Saul was still the king.

And when Saul started hearing all these accolades and all these things being attributed to David, he threatened to take David's life.

And instead of David confronting Saul face to face and taking the throne from him, which he probably could have done, David withdrew to the wilderness.

And he waited for the Lord's timing.

And honestly, while while David was in hiding, actually, while he was in the wilderness, he was hiding in a cave one day, and Saul, not knowing that David was in the cave, entered that cave, and David was like gifted this opportunity to seize the throne from Saul.

And his friends who were in the cave with him were like, hey, David, like this is your job.

God has delivered him into your hands.

And what did David do?

He resisted.

David refused to take the throne of Israel by force.

That was his demonstration of meekness.

It was strength surrendered.

In that case, it was strength surrendered to God's timer.

So meekness is strength surrendered.

But that idea of what David showed isn't the only way that we're taught to think about weakness.

In the Old Testament, the word that's that's translated as meekness is the word anna.

And anna is sometimes translated as meek or humble, it's sometimes translated as afflicted.

It's used to describe people who are powerless.

It's used to describe people who are oppressed or overlooked or unimpressive or poor.

And these sorts of people, they they they're easily taken advantage of.

They're easily put under someone's authority.

And they don't have the resources, they don't have the social capital to change their circumstances.

These people are also considered meek, not necessarily because they they choose to hand over the strength they have, but because they don't have much strength and and it and it's kind of taken from them.

And that part of the definition of meekness is important for us to understand because of who Jesus is talking to when he says, blessed are the meek.

He's sitting on the side of a mountain and he's got a crowd around him of a bunch of people who they're pretty poor, they feel very powerless, they feel oppressed, they feel unable to change their situation.

And Jesus says to them, Blessed are the ones who surrender whatever strength they have to God.

And who do you think are the ones that are gonna be the most willing to surrender their strength to God?

Well, it's gonna be the ones with the humble disposition, with the gentle spirit.

It's gonna be the meek because the stronger you are, and the more impressive you are, and the more important you see yourself, the more difficult it is to surrender your strength to anyone, even God.

But the humbler you are, and the gentler you are, the more low-key you are, those are the people that are much more likely, more willing to surrender their strength.

And Jesus says, that's who the good life belongs to.

Blessed are the meek.

Because they've got a surprise coming to them.

They will inherit the earth.

So while the proud and the powerful seize and conquer and take the land, the meek, they know.

They know.

One day, one day a day is coming when the kingdom of heaven comes.

They trust that what Jesus said is true.

That all that land that's been taken by the powerful will be returned to God as its owner, and on that day he will redistribute the land, and he will give it to the meek as their inheritance.

The meek will get a land inheritance, which in that culture, like ours, is that's a big deal.

Because a land inheritance is, I mean, it's it's about a transfer of wealth.

I mean, that's it's important, especially if you're you're someone who feels like that you're kind of out of luck in that situation.

But it's not just about a transfer of wealth, because a land inheritance also means that the one who it's given to has the ability to have dominion over that land.

They get to choose what happens on that piece of land.

And Jesus says, Blessed are the meek, because those who've taken and conquered, what they've taken and conquered, they will have no more.

And the meek, they, they, they're just gonna get it.

They will be the rulers of the land when the kingdom of heaven comes.

So that's part of the blessing.

There's this promised land inheritance.

But but there's actually another layer to this promise.

Because when Jesus says, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth, he's directly quoting a psalm from the Old Testament, Psalm 37.

I'm gonna read you what it says starting in verse 7.

It says, Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes, refrain from anger and turn from wrath.

Do not fret, it leads only to evil.

For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will be no more.

Though you look for them, they will not be found.

But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

So be still and wait patiently for the Lord, for the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

This was the promise to the people of Israel hundreds of years before Jesus ever showed up on the scene.

The problem was they didn't wait for the Lord.

They fretted a lot, they did a lot of fretting.

And so what did Jesus, what did God do?

God allowed their oppressors to take the land from them.

And that's that's the situation there.

And now, Jesus literally, when he gives this message, the Sermon on the Mount, he's sitting on an actual literal piece of land that used to be given as an inheritance.

It was passed down generation to generation.

This piece of land that he was sitting on had been taken by an oppressor, and then over generations it had been bought and sold and bought and sold and taken and sold and bought and sold.

And that's just the way it was.

And so the people he's talking to, this is all they knew.

That the powerful they come and take it, and the meek they lose, and that's the way it is, and that's the way it's gonna be.

And there was this thought that, like, okay, well, but when our rescuer comes, when the rescuer of Israel comes, when the Messiah arrives, he's gonna get together an army of people, and we're gonna go and take back the land that's ours.

And so Jesus shows up on the scene as the Messiah, as the rescuer of Israel, and in his like revolutionary like message, his sermon, he reminds them how the people of Israel will obtain this land.

He's like, We're gonna do it.

Here's who's gonna get the land.

It's good those who are still and wait patiently for the Lord.

Jesus is intentionally quoting this psalm to remind the people that the blessed ones are those who wait on the Lord, for they will experience peace and prosperity when the kingdom of heaven arrives.

So, do not fret when even the evil succeed in their ways.

Don't fret when wealthy landowners keep acquiring more land.

You don't need to fret for those people who hope in the Lord.

A day is coming where all that land will be given to you.

Jesus is telling the people the good life belongs to the meek.

And he's starting a revolution.

But it is not a revolution of people who are power hungry or influence hungry, it's a revolution of people who will humble themselves and surrender whatever strength they have to God.

It's actually a revolution of people who will serve one another in the meantime because they love one another.

That's how the meek respond even to their oppressors.

And so Jesus goes on with the Sermon of Mind.

He's like, okay, if someone comes to you and they take your jacket, here's what you do: you give them your shirt to.

Hey, maybe you're gonna need this as well.

And when they strike you on one cheek, you turn to them the other also.

See, see, here's here's what happens in my kingdom.

He's like, here's who the blessed ones are.

They're the ones who love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.

The good life belongs to the meek, for they do not fret when even the evil have their way.

They do not take justice into their own hands.

They are still before the Lord and wait patiently on their inheritance.

No.

I read that and I'm like, okay, blessed are the meek, for they inherit the earth.

That okay, when I when you just take the phrase like that and you kind of explain it like that, okay.

I can see what Jesus is doing here.

It's actually kind of brilliant.

He's got a bunch of poor and and and people who think lowly of themselves in front of him.

He's saying, hey, I know I'm starting this movement and I need you.

And everything you ever want is gonna be given to you.

You just gotta wait.

Just wait a little bit longer.

This is the oh man, if you want to get a startup, just go to a bunch of people who feel like they don't have anything, tell them you'll give them everything as long as they wait.

But what's so powerful to me about Jesus making this statement is it's not just something he threw out there to kind of rally a crowd, it's something that he chose to embody with his own life.

I mean, this is Jesus.

All authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him.

He had power over all of creation.

What did he do with it?

He surrendered it to the will of his father in heaven.

Three years after Jesus sat on that mountainside and explained what it meant that the kingdom of heaven had come near.

He found himself in the palace of the top Roman official in Judea, a guy named Pontius Pilate.

He stood before Pilate, bruised, beaten, bloodied, had the crown of thorns on his head, he'd already been scourged.

He stood before Pilate, who had been given all this political and judicial authority.

And Pilate said to him, Where do you come from?

Who do you think you are?

But Jesus gave him no answer.

Well, that didn't sit well with a guy who's been given all this authority.

So Pilate said, Do you refuse to speak to me?

Don't you realize I have power to either free you or to crucify you?

This is the anthem of the oppressor, the anti-meek.

I have power and I'm gonna leverage it to put you in your place.

I'm gonna leverage it to get you to do what I want.

I have power and you are weak, so do my bidding.

But meekness is not weakness.

And so Jesus did not back down.

Instead, he answered, You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.

Jesus could have called down angels.

Come rescue him from the situation.

He could have performed some miracle in the moment that would have put everyone in their place, put him back in control.

I mean, I mean, honestly, every Pilate him, if there were some guards in the room, everyone in that room, the breath they were taking, they were able to take it because Jesus allowed them to take it.

And with all that power and with all that authority, Jesus chose not to defend himself.

Instead, when he did speak up, he spoke up to remind or to inform Pilate and anyone else within earshot that everything was that was about to happen was only going to happen because God had willed it.

Jesus before Pilate was the ultimate expression of strength surrendered to God's will.

This is Jesus displaying the sort of meekness that he says is blessed.

The apostle Paul then explained or described that sort of meekness to first century Christians like this.

He says, In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset, have the same posture as Christ Jesus.

And then here's the posture who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.

Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place.

And here's the blessing, here's the beatitude, and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Because Jesus refused to seize the glory and the kingdom.

It was given to him by God for eternity.

He inherited it.

And here's good news for us Jesus then turns and invites us all to put our trust in him.

And he says, Anyone, anyone who will surrender their strength, who will become like me in meekness, you get to be co inheritors in the kingdom of heaven.

The only requirement is to.

Be meek.

To be still before the Lord and wait patiently on him.

To surrender whatever ability you have to take or to conquer or to cease.

Maybe today you realize you've spent your whole life trying to take hold of what's rightly yours or what you have the ability to.

Maybe you've spent your whole life trying to trying to prevent anyone from ever considering you as meek.

The invitation of the gospel is to surrender.

And that is not easy.

If you want the easy route in our culture, it is much, much, much, much easier to grasp for control.

This is what we're trained.

We're taught to be like little kings and queens of our own little worlds and empires that we create, to exalt our ourselves above others, even at the expense of their life.

You gotta make your life better.

He didn't even seize a square foot of the land.

He humbled himself all the way to the cross.

And he died.

He died to rescue us from our own sin nature that caused us to want to seize and take.

Like in that way, Jesus' meekness is the pathway to us experiencing eternal life.

Like this is the gospel.

And the inheritance that was given to him.

Again, He offers to us.

The question is, will you receive it?

Will you receive it?

When you have the ability, when you have the power, when you have the strength to take hold of what's rightly yours, how do you respond?

How do you respond?

Maybe today you realize, you know what, I've actually been controlling everything I can in this life.

I've been trying to control my image, I've been trying to control my future, I've been trying to control people, I've been trying to control the outcome of every circumstance.

Perhaps today your next step is to surrender to Jesus.

Maybe for the first time.

Maybe you've never done that before.

Maybe today your next step is to accept that what Jesus did on the cross, He did it for you.

He died so that you could receive life.

He gave up everything so that you could inherit everything.

Maybe today is the day you say yes to Jesus and receive his grace.

So surrender to Jesus.

If that's you.

Now, for those of you who have surrendered to Jesus, who have put your trust in him, meekness is not a one-time decision.

Like this week, every one of us, y'all watching online, me too, like we're gonna we're gonna have dozens of opportunities to either be meek or not.

When you okay, if you got a spouse, you have a conversation, they misunderstand you, what do you do?

You got a teenager, they roll their eyes at you, what do you do?

Some people know.

Someone cuts you off in traffic.

Your coworker gets credit for something you did.

Someone puts a comment online that is critical of you.

What do you do in those moments?

These are the everyday moments where we get to either practice or just meekness or not, this is where it's tested, where it's proved.

Anytime we have the opportunity to take control, to put someone in their place, every time we have a chance to get back, that's an opportunity.

Demonstrate meekness.

And here, if you've chosen to follow Jesus, here's the step I want you to take in those moments that happened this week.

Be still before the Lord.

Hit pause.

And and here, okay, heads up.

Hit pause before you send the text.

Like hit pause before you say, before you flip them off, okay?

Hit pause before you respond.

And pause long enough to pray.

And pray, prayer.

I'll throw one on the screen.

You can take a shot a screenshot of this.

Pray, God, I want to take control of this situation.

I want to fight this battle.

But I trust you.

But I trust you.

Help me respond in your way, not mine.

This is the posture of the meek.

Blessed are the meek, for theirs is, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are the meek.

In a world that's gonna tell you to seize whatever you can.

The good life belongs to those who wait on the Lord.

Next week we're gonna talk about another blessing.

There's plenty more of these upside-down blessings, but this week, every time you feel that need to control, remember Jesus' example.

Surrender your strength to God.

Let's pray.

God, you are so good.

And even as I've been prepping this message, God, I can think of all these opportunities, all these times I gave in to the temptation to take control and win the argument.

God, I pray for everyone who's chosen to follow you.

God, that that as we wrestle with what does it mean to be still and wait patiently on the Lord, to to take on the heart and the and the mindset of the meek.

God, may you give us the courage to do it.

May you give us the patience to do it.

May you grant us the opportunities to do it.

And God, when we do, when we surrender our strength to you, may you be honored and glorified.

And God, for everyone who is who is wrestling with that, that do I do I actually surrender to Jesus for the first time?

God, I pray that you soften their hearts.

I pray that you you open their minds to the promise that lives on the other side.

God, open us to receive from you your grace that in this case, when we're meek, looks like that we inherit the earth.

God, you are so good.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Alright, so what's your next step with God?

This is a question.

If you're new to us, we ask this question at the end of every service.

In light of what we we just unpacked in Scripture, what's God calling you to do?

I mean, maybe you're like, yeah, okay, I'm ready to surrender to Jesus for the first time.

If that's you, we got a prayer team around the room.

They've got the illuminated lanyards.

If you'll just talk to one on the hey, I think I'm ready to say yes to Jesus.

We'd love to start a conversation with you around baptism.

Maybe during, maybe, maybe uh after service, kind of something stirs, you can talk to someone in the next steps area too.

Maybe, maybe something's come to the surface in your life that you just have, you're like, I know I need to release control of this.

I've just, I struggle to do it.

I've been trying to my whole life.

I've been trying to just give enough willpower.

Maybe if I hear another sermon, then I'll be able to.

Maybe today's the day.

You're like, you know what?

I need help with that.

Again, if that's you, talk to someone.

This is what our prayer team does.

We would love to help you take that step with God.

To surrender whatever it is.

To help you wait patiently on the Lord.

Every week we offer communion during this time.

We got some tables around the room.

When we take communion, we do it in response to what Jesus taught his disciples.

The day before he, in his meekness, went to the cross.

Jesus took some bread.

He said, This is my body broken for you.

He passed it around the table.

They said, This cup is my blood that poured out for the forgiveness of your sins.

He passed it around the table.

He said, Do this in remembrance of me.

Every week we come empty-handed to this table.

We come meek in spirit to this table to say that it's only by your blood that we have any opportunity to have a relationship with God or hope of anything, you know, let alone the inheritance of the earth.

So maybe during this time you'd like to take communion.

But pause for a moment here and talk with God, and wherever He leads you, that's where you should go.