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This Sunday School lesson is the fourth one on the Beatitudes by Mr. Bill Miller. It is entitled, To marvel at His sacrifice for us there at the cross. of the Beatitudes that you would help us to understand what it means to be meek and to inherit the earth. Father, we thank you for your love. We thank you for the sacrifice that Christ has made for us that we might walk in his steps and learn to be meek and lowly of heart. Father, we ask you to help us as we look at your word this morning and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. You are too loud. I'm cutting in and out. Well. Okay. Well, as we continue our study of the Beatitudes there in Matthew chapter 5, we're going to look at the third Beatitude, which is verse 5, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And remember, this word blessed Our blessing is only found in the Lord, and it's not a mind over matter or some cuddly feeling that we get when we're blessed. But we're going to kind of use R.C. Sproul's definition. May you understand the depth of your soul, in the deepest chamber of your heart, the sweetness and the presence of God as you live before his face every moment. And when we do this, we will be happy. One of the definitions of that word blessed is to be happy. And so we want to keep that in mind. Blessed are the meek. So we're going to look at four things this morning. We're going to define the word, the meek, and also to inherit the earth. As a blessing, his joy and happiness is in the Lord. We'll look at some examples of the meek in the Old Testament that points us to the gospel and show how Jesus and the cross demonstrated this meekness and make some personal implications as we go. We're going to plan B. We love our new technology. Ready now? Okay. And so as we look at this particular beatitude, Jesus is quoting Psalm 37 verse 11. Is the mic on? Oh, yes. Yeah, the mic's on. It's just... Here, we'll keep playing with this until we get it right. Now, how am I now? Is that better? Is that better? OK. Well, I can't get much closer. Well, I guess I can hold the mic. Let's try that. Now I can do it that way. Is that better? Okay, well, all right. Let's try it this way, plan C. But anyway, Jesus is quoting Psalm 3711, which says, but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. As we look at the Beatitudes, we're looking at the character of the Christian. Now, this is the third of the flow from the first two. If you look at that chart there at the top of the study there, the first one, blessed are the poor in spirit. As we look at the cross, we see that we are bankrupt. of any righteousness in ourselves. We are completely empty with nothing to offer before the Lord and we are blessed because our emptiness is filled with the righteousness of Christ that was promised to us and also the promise of the kingdom of heaven. That second beatitude again flows from the first, blessed are those who mourn. As we look at the cross, we see that our sin nailed Jesus to the rugged cross. We are responsible for Jesus's death. And we grieve over our sin, past, present, and future, and we repent. We look at the cross, we see God's love, which causes us to hate our sin, and we are blessed because we are comforted. by the Holy Spirit with the assurance of our forgiveness. So as we look at this third beatitude, blessed are the meek, that word meek is that idea of humility. We find it in there, it's a mildness of disposition, the gentleness of spirit, the meekness toward God are the characteristics of the heart. We accept his dealings with us as good without disputing, resisting, or becoming angry. In the Old Testament, the meek are those who wholly rely on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. Thus meekness toward evil people means knowing God is permitting the injustices they inflict and that he is using them to purify his elect and that he will deliver his elect in his time. You know, I think of Joseph. Remember at the end of Genesis there in Genesis 50, his brothers were a bit afraid. The dad died and Joseph, you know, number two in Egypt. And they thought, man, we're toast. You know, we sold them into the slavery. And I mean, we were not very good brothers and they thought they were in trouble, but notice, Joseph's response to them. He says there in Genesis 50 verse 19, he says, do not be afraid for I am, for am I in the place of God, but as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. And so Joseph had a meek spirit. he recognized that God's hand was in this. I think of Romans 8 28, you know, for we know that all things work together for good to those who love God are called according to his purpose. A person with an attitude of meekness sees God's hand in all of life, and not afraid of accept it. Now meekness is not the same as being weak. Meek and weak, they rhyme, but they're not the same at all. Instead, it refers to exercising God's strength under his control. It describes power being used without harshness. Meekness is the opposite, sometimes this is helpful, it's the opposite of self-assertiveness, self-interest, or self-righteousness. It stems from the trust in God's goodness and control over the situation. The meek person is not occupied with self at all. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, that meekness of character. It's not from the human will. You know, Galatians 5, 24 through 26, it says that those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. As I was studying and doing some reading, one person had mentioned the best way to understand the word meek is to hyphenate it. Meek. That's pretty good. We don't think of ourselves. See, meekness is actually other-centered. It's not centered on me. Say that again. Humility to be encouraged. Okay, I like that. Yeah, and that's a part of meekness. You know, there is that humility behind that word and it's And it's not that prideful humility. I think we talked about last week, you know, it's just, oh, I'm so humble. You know, look at me, I'm humble. No, it's not about me at all. Yes, yes, Jesus is a perfect example of meekness and we're gonna expand on that too as we go along here. Yeah, now, One of the guys that I was reading is a James Montgomery Boyce and he noticed that meekness is between excessive anger and the inability to express anger at all. You know, meekness, we'll get into it, but anger is involved, the right kind of anger is involved with meekness. And then he quoted Barclay, it says, blessed is the man who is always anger, who's always angry at the right time and never at the wrong time. I mean, there is a place for anger. You know, we talk about righteous anger and we'll help define that here as we go. But Jesus had controlled righteous anger. Never be angry when you're insulted or injured. Selfish anger is always sinful. So as we think about anger, there's godly anger, righteous anger, and then there's sinful anger. Meekness has a subservient and trusting attitude before God. This person is bold before others, is a messenger of God, living out righteousness without a word. And the meek inherit the earth. When I was first thinking about this, I'm not sure if I really want it. You know, when we look around, it says, do I really want this? Is this what I want to inherit? But read, and I encourage you to do this maybe this afternoon, read Psalm 37. Because when Jesus was quoting verse 11 there, his hearers were Jewish, they knew the Psalms, and they probably recognized where that beatitude came from. are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." As we look at Psalm 37, I'm just going to kind of go through it real quick here and just read. You guys can read it and you can find out what verses those were coming from. But there's a running theme through Psalm 37 about inheriting the land or inheriting the earth. It says, dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Those who wait on the Lord shall inherit the earth, but the meek shall inherit the earth and their inheritance shall be forever. For those blessed by him shall inherit the earth. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The Lord shall exalt you to inherit the land. I mean, there's this running theme throughout the Psalm of inheriting. land, having a lot that has been cast so that you have your portion over here. And what are the meek doing? Well, again, looking at Psalm 37, they trust in the Lord and they do good. They delight themselves in the Lord. They rest in the Lord. They wait patiently for him. They do not fret. They shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. They shall not be ashamed. They shall be satisfied. The righteous shall show mercy and give. Steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down. The Lord upholds him. He is ever merciful and lends. He departs from evil and do good. For the Lord loves justice. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom. His tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide. Wait on the Lord and keep his way. He is their strength in the time of trouble. because they trust in Him. The meek isn't just standing around doing nothing. The meek trust and put their faith in the Lord. It's not passive. To be meek is very active in honoring God, honoring and glorifying God, and honoring and focusing on Him, focusing on that finished work of Christ there at the cross. and they shall inherit the earth. As I was studying, it's more of the already, not yet. Already there's an inheritance that we have and yet, not yet, we haven't got it all yet. There's a sense that we already possess the earth. they are satisfied as having nothing yet possessing all things. You're content with little or with a lot. Philippians 4.11 says, not that I speak in regard to need, and this is Paul speaking, he says, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. That's a part of this aspect of meekness. I'm content with what I have or what I don't have. I'm content. And this meekness is saying, I'm trusting the Lord. I'm not gonna go out and get it. the meek will inherit the earth. That's the same thing as the word enjoy in the catechism. Number one, enjoy. You grab it, you enjoy it, you possess it. And people, they repossess, they don't agree to enjoy it. And we enjoy what God gives to us. For some, a lot. We think, man, they get a lot. trials that we're currently under. That's what means there's a spirit. Yeah, that's holding on exactly. Yeah, and we need to learn to be content because the Lord says there in Hebrews 13, I will never leave you nor forsake you. You know, my contentment is the Lord and he takes care of us. You know, even I think we can even, even if I was a homeless person, I can be content. with what I have. It might be just the backpack on my back, but I can be content in the Lord. And so, as I was doing this already, not yet, I was thinking, this earth, this world is not the way it was when God created it. It got spoiled. You know, this earth got spoiled by rebellion against the Lord. But we can still be content in what God has given or has not given to us. But there's also a future aspect of this earth. There's going to be a new heaven. There's going to be a new earth. You know, what we see around us now There's one day, you know, Peter talks about it's all going to burn, and God's going to replace it with a new heaven and a new earth. You know, God's going to restore this earth to his original divine intention. Wars are going to cease, all of God's elect will dwell together in righteousness, in true justice, in peace, and God's kingdom will come to earth, and those who are the children of the Lord will inherit the new heavens and the new earth. You know, there in Matthew 25, where the separation of the sheep and the goats, Jesus the King says to those in his right hand, come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. We're gonna inherit, and if you think this is it, man, There's more, and God's gonna give it to us. We will inherit, you know, yeah, Jesus is building a mansion for me, but you know, that's just a little part of it. He's creating a new heaven and a new earth for us. and a new body. Yeah, we're not going to get stuck with this. It'll be... Abraham had to buy a cave. Yeah, yeah. But God knows and he's going to give us an inheritance that is far beyond our imagination. You know, when we think of some Old Testament illustrations, you know, the first one I thought of was Moses, and he's a picture of Christ. Very specifically, there are Romans, or Numbers, Numbers 12, verse 3. Aaron and Miriam were complaining, well, how come Moses keeps getting blessed all the time? We're just as important. And so God says, Come on out. I wanna talk with the three of you. And then there's this little parenthesis there in verse three, it says, now the man, Moses, was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. I think that King James says he was meek. He was the meekest man of all the earth. And God had some words to Aaron and Miriam. Moses was very meek. He actively resisted Pharaoh's oppression of God's people because he was inspired by God. Moses was able to stand up to Pharaoh, the power of meekness, and as a result Moses was totally yielded to the Lord in his meekness. We find some things about Moses. Exodus 33, 11 says, and so the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. You know, when Moses went into the tabernacle there, he, if you will, sat down with God as a friend. and they would converse as a face-to-face, as a friend. God told Miriam and Aaron there in Numbers 12, verse six, he says, hear now my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream, but not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings. And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then are you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" Moses is an example of a meek man. And this morning, you'd brought up Job. Another example of a meek man who trusted in the Lord. You know, Moses, in his humility, or Moses, Job, in his humility, God had blessed him, and then it was all taken away. And his response, the Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. You know, I think of Noah, another example of someone who humbly submitted to the Lord and built an ark. Abraham and Lot. Abraham gave Lot first choice of the lands. And Lot said, oh, I like this land over here. Look how pretty and lush it is, you know, right next to that great metropolis of Sodom and Gomorrah, that's the land I want. And God showed Abraham the promised land that he had set for him. David, another example of meekness in his relationship to Saul, Saul wanted to kill David. And yet David in a spirit of meekness would not lift his hand up against Saul. you know, because he saw that Saul is the Lord's anointed. And in due time, God did raise up David, who had already been anointed to be the next king. Gideon, another example of meekness. Oh, we got to go after those Midianites. You can do it with 300 men. and Gideon accepted God's plan. In meekness, he humbled himself to do things. And there's many heroes in the Old Testament. You know, as we look at those who submitted themselves to the Lord and doing things His way. Now, there might've been some times when they didn't do things God's way, but there was a point to where they finally said, not my will, your will, Lord. When we think of Jesus, we know that Jesus was the meekest one who's ever been here on the face of the earth. And Jesus exemplifies that meekness, his humble submission to the Father. Godly meekness is again between excessive anger and the inability to express anger. Remember when Jesus got angry? He cleared the temple. He was angry. Huh? That is an example of righteous anger. And why was Jesus angry? Was it because of all the bad things those Pharisees were saying about him? And Jesus says, I'm upset now. I am going to just tell those guys. No. He cleared, he was angry because, not because he was being attacked, but it was for the Father's glory. You know, he says in Matthew 21, 13, he says, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. You know, he was concerned about the father's glory, not himself. He was angry that his dad was being mocked, that this is a place where we worship. And you guys have turned it into a den of thieves. It's a marketplace in here. You've got money changers changing money because, oh, you've got to use our money system when you're in the temple. We'll take your money and give you back the temple money. You know, it was a ripoff, but that was the rules. And they had turned and made a mockery of God's glory. It's interesting that the clearing of the temple is mentioned in all four Gospels. Now, in the gospel of John, it's at the beginning of Jesus's ministry. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it's at the end of his ministry. So Jesus has been there twice doing this because he got so angry of how they were disrespecting the Father, irregardless of what they were saying to him. When Jesus was mocked, when he was tortured, when he was falsely accused, we don't see any anger. We see quietness. We see meekness in action. There on the cross, You know, if there was any place to get angry. But he says, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. Let's think about some personal application here. Do you ever get angry? What are the circumstances? when you get angry? Watching the news. Okay. Seeing the leaders of the country. Okay. Messing up. Yeah? We get angry at that? The leaders kind of, kind of stuck down our throat. The bottom says, don't. Yeah? That gets us angry? Are there other times you ever get angry? Of course, maybe you don't want to tell us other times. When you don't get my way, yes, yes. If your anger is brought about by your feelings getting hurt, things are not going your way, what does that say about your meekness? There's a lot of different reasons. I thought, I'm going to Google that. What are some reasons people get angry? And there was a whole bunch of lists of why people get angry. And so I wrote out 14 common reasons we get angry and their solutions. None of the solutions were biblical, by the way. But listen to the reasons people get angry. Number one, rudeness, being disrespected and not valued. People get angry because I'm not being respected. I get angry. Jesus was disrespected. He didn't get angry. Injustices, that's not fair. I mean, not just in the media present, you know, that's not fair. But how about on our own level? He got a bigger piece of pie. That's not fair. Huh? And I thought, you know what happened to Jesus was not fair. Being teased or bullied, treated unkindly, people get angry. Jesus was teased and bullied and treated unkindly. He didn't get angry. Stress. Stress gets people angry. Doing too much because of unrealistic demands. You know, Jesus had stresses there in the garden with those unrealistic demands, humanly speaking. He didn't get angry. He yielded to the Father. Not my will, but yours be done. How about disappointments? Disappointments get us angry. Broken promises, unmet expectations. I expected you to do that. That makes me angry. I told you what you needed to do. I'm angry that you didn't get it done. Jesus, he had many disappointments. you know, from his family, from his disciples. I mean, how many times did Peter disappoint Jesus? But Jesus didn't get angry. How about failure? Failure to meet someone's or self-expectations. You know, people have certain, I've got some expectation. You didn't meet my expectations. I'm angry at you. You know, Jesus had many disappointments as well, but he didn't get angry. Failure, oh yeah, I'm skipping here. Jesus did not meet the expectations of what was expected from the Messiah. People had some expectations as to what the Messiah is supposed to be doing. And Jesus didn't meet their expectations. How about family issues? We expect a lot more from our families, don't we, than we do from those other people. And we get angry at times, like, you're doing what? Jesus' brothers and sisters did not believe him. You'd think if anybody was gonna believe who Jesus was, his family would have. I mean, they'd been with him for all those years. But Jesus didn't get angry with him. Or how about financial issues? Unable to acquire what we want or we're in debt, we get angry. You bought what? And we get angry. You know, Jesus became poor that we might become rich. Feeling coerced, you know, people get angry because they feel like others are trying to make them do things that you don't want to do. You know, think of the temptation. The devil was trying to coerce Jesus into doing certain things. Or Peter trying to stop Jesus. You can't go to Jerusalem to get killed. Jesus didn't get angry. To Satan he says, but it is written. And to Peter he said, Satan, get behind me. But he wasn't angry. Sometimes feeling unsafe, people get angry, fear of the unknown. You know, Jesus was confident that the Father was present and the promise of the resurrection. If anybody was unsafe, I would think hanging from a cross, you would feel unsafe. And yet there's no anger. There's a humble, meek spirit of yielding to the Father, knowing that the resurrection is coming. Sometimes we get tired or hungry. Our basic needs are unmet and we get angry. And Jesus knows what it was to be tired and be hungry. We have an illustration of it there in John 4, the woman at the well. Jesus was tired. And he was probably hungry too, because all the disciples went into town to get groceries. But Jesus never got angry. In fact, when the disciples came back, he told them, oh, I've got food you don't know about, as he had been sharing with the woman at the well. And I think, you know, Jesus, was able to take care of the 5,000. Probably why the disciple says, Jesus, I'm hungry. They're probably hungry. Why don't you send them off? Because you might get a little angry at these guys are interfering with my lunch. Jesus says, no, you take care of them. Pain can also cause one to be angry, emotional and physical pain. And we focus on my pain, it hurts me, I get angry that I'm hurting. Jesus suffered pain without complaining. His whole life he suffered. Or being humiliated or embarrassed, that's a cause for anger. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, They were mocking him, blaspheming him, humiliating him. Well, if you're God, come on down. We'll believe you. No anger, just a humble submission to the Father. And grief. Grief can also cause anger. You know, the loss of maybe a parent or a child or a marriage, whatever. We can get angry. Jesus grieved over us while he was there on the cross. Jesus dealt with these 14 reasons to get angry. Jesus dealt with each one of these without sin. And Jesus did not get angry when any of these things happened. Instead, in his meekness, he found his comfort and joy in the Father and submitting to his will. Jean had mentioned the first question in the Shorter Catechism, what is man's chief end? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. It's a part of meekness, enjoying. So when you think about when you get angry, there is righteous anger. And we can be angry when somebody else is being mistreated and say, that's not right. And I think it is appropriate to be angry You know, it's appropriate to be angry concerning abortion. That's not right. We get angry because those little babies are helpless and people are killing. That's not right. We ought to get angry. But when I get angry because I got hurt because I'm not getting my way when my anger is coming from me because of my own self-centeredness. I have to figure out, well, how can I learn to be meek like Jesus? How can I learn his meekness? That's one of the Beatitudes, blessed are the meek. How can I learn to be meek? Jesus has an answer. There in Matthew 11, 28, he says, come to me. All you 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 the King James says, meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. You want to learn weakness? Yoke up with Jesus. You don't need to go to Google and find out 14 reasons what causes me to get angry and how to deal with it. Because all of the solutions they gave did not point me to Christ at all. They pointed me back to myself. And that's where the problem is. My meekness. is learned from Christ as I walk with him. You know, when I make the cross my focus and my thinking when I sin, I'm humbled when I look at the cross and I remind myself the blood has cleansed me. When I look at the cross, I can say I can walk with Christ. I can be yoked up with him by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through me. And as long as I'm in this fleshly body, I'm going to be warring against my sinfulness. But again, as I focus on the cross, I say, ah, There's my hope. Not only is that my salvation, but that's my sanctification as well. You know, John wrote in his little epistle in 1 John, he talks about this fellowship with Christ. And starting in verse six of chapter one, he says, if we say that we have fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. And I would insert one of those darknesses is my anger, my lack of meekness. If I get angry, have you guys ever met angry Christians? Not angry in the right way, but just, they're angry all the time, you know? You say, wait a minute, you're walking in darkness, buddy. You're not practicing the truth. But verse seven, But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Ah, there's the key. If we have fellowship with him, as we walk in the light with him, we have fellowship with one another. And I think we can have fellowship with one another this way, but we can have fellowship with one another this way as well. As you're walking with Jesus and I'm walking with Jesus, hey, we're walking together because the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. We're a sinful people. But as we learn to go to the cross and say, there, is my salvation. There, the blood has cleansed me. There, I walk with Christ. I yoke up with him and I learn from him. And how do we learn from him? Well, we spend time with him in his word. We spend time with him in prayer. The more you do it, meeker you become so if you spend one day a week between 9 30 and noon on sunday and that's your time of word and prayer your meekness is probably not very big but as we walk daily spending time in god's word praying learning from Him. your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. This is God's work, not ours. We have nothing to do with it. And finally in verse 6 it says, He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the new day. Isn't that what Christ did on that cross? He wasn't sitting there looking at all the circumstances of people there to do. And that's the picture we should have as well. That's what gets us through all of this. Yes, yes. And that's why I encourage you to read Psalm 37 today. And don't just read it. All right, I read it. Check that one off. No, read it. Talk to the Lord about each verse. You want to delight yourself in the Lord and He'll give you the desires of your heart? Lord, what does that mean? If you're delighting yourself in the Lord, what are your heart's desires? It's not you. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, our heart's desires will be the Lord's. Not what I want, but what He wants for us. There's one verse in there in Luke 7 that I love. It says, we walk with Him, we will not fall headlong because He holds our feet. And I always think of the toddler. That's one of the advantages of being yoked up. That yoke is around our neck. as we learn to walk in step with Him, even if I stumble a little, that yoke will catch me. But another picture of Him just holding our hand, walking with Him. And we do it by being in the Word of God. We do it by praying to God. If you don't have a daily time with the Lord, reevaluate What are you doing? You know, I try to go to bed early so I can get up early. Because the dogs are asleep, Diane's asleep, the parrot's asleep, it's quiet. And I can read, and I can pray, and I do my mentoring. early in the morning with my students. That's my time with the Lord. Just to walk with Him and to think with Him. It needs to be a daily time. Our meekness needs to be evident as we walk with Him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. Oh, Father, as we look at meekness and the humility and we get in the way, we get angry, we get upset, we think about ourselves first. And Lord, that it doesn't at all reflect Christ in us. Lord, I pray that you will help each one of us to grow in our walk with you. That as we come and spend time in your word, that we would see no matter where we are in the scriptures, that we would see and be pointed back to Christ and him crucified and to be reminded that we are loved by you. that though I am poor in spirit, I have nothing to offer. You've offered yourself. Lord, help us. Help us to love you. Help us to mourn over our sins, that we repent. And Father, that as we learn to yoke up as we take up the cross and follow you, that you would get all the honor and the glory. And we thank you in Jesus name. Amen.
Beatitudes (04): The Meek
Serie Beatitudes
ID del sermone | 68221923553886 |
Durata | 54:32 |
Data | |
Categoria | Scuola domenicale |
Testo della Bibbia | Matthew 5:1-12; Matthew 5:5 |
Lingua | inglese |
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