We continue our series through the fruit of the Spirit, it's Lord's Day, and we come to the next fruit of the Spirit, that of meekness. Our text from Galatians 5, verses 22, now we add verse 23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness. And then I would have you to consider as well the third beatitude the Lord Jesus Christ found in Matthew chapter 5 verse 5. Blessed are the meek. for they shall inherit the earth. The stereotype that the world has of a meek person is that of a weak, passive, unassuming person who's afraid to stand and to take a stand for the truth. the world actually could not be more wrong in considering what a meek person is. Two principal characters found in the pages of scripture, who we will be considering in future sermons, clearly demonstrate for us all that such stereotypes that the world has of the fruit of meekness is completely untrue. of one who is truly meek. The first person is that of Moses. We'll be considering Moses in a future sermon. Where it is said in Numbers chapter 12 verse 3 concerning Moses, Now the man Moses was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. and the second person being the Lord Jesus himself. We read in Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 29 where Jesus says, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek. and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Moses may have had some reservations at the outset about being chosen to go forth as God's mouthpiece and to stand before Pharaoh, and to be God's mouthpiece to the entire people and nation of Israel. But Moses did go, and he went because he was sent by the Lord. He didn't go to make a name for himself. He didn't go to become rich. He didn't come to attain power. He was sent by the Lord, and he went. as God's mouthpiece. Moses stood courageously before the mightiest king in the world at that time and he led millions of God's people out of bondage in Egypt in one of the greatest feats of leadership that the world has ever seen. Moses was meek, but certainly Moses was not weak. Lord Jesus Christ was the Almighty come in human flesh, healing the deaf, the lame, the blind, raising the dead, multiplying fish and bread to feed literally thousands silencing the stormy wave and winds upon the sea, chasing merchants out of his holy temple who are desecrating it and making merchandise of the holy things of God. Jesus caused by simply His mere words, I am literally hundreds of Roman soldiers to fall backwards. Likewise, the Lord Jesus Christ was meek, but He certainly was not weak. Upon considering what Scripture reveals concerning these examples of meekness, let none of us entertain the idea that meekness means weakness. To the contrary, meekness is subduing one's passions, one's power, one's strength, not to destroy others, but rather using one's passion and one's power to glorify God and to serve others. We continue this Lord's Day to consider the fruit of the Spirit as it's found in Galatians 5 verses 22 through 23. And come now to the fruit of meekness. We'd like to, in the sermon, answer the following two questions. First of all, what is the fruit of meekness? And secondly, what is the reward of meekness? What is the fruit of meekness? Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 5, the first part of that verse, blessed are the meek. Now I've chosen to define and apply the fruit of meekness within the context of Christ's Sermon on the Mount wherein he lays out these these blessings pronounced upon His people in the form of these Beatitudes. This sermon of the Lord Jesus begins with blessings pronounced upon believers, upon believers who demonstrate their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, not by a mere outward show of righteousness as was characteristic of the scribes and the Pharisees, but rather who demonstrate their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by way of their inward spiritual graces and fruits. that are revealed then in their character and in their lives. These spiritual fruits of life in Jesus Christ are not given here by Christ as conditions to coming to Christ by faith, but rather they are listed as the fruit that is manifested in the life of those who have come to Christ by faith alone. Martin Luther stated in his exposition of the Sermon on the Mount the following, Christ is saying nothing in this sermon about how we become Christians, but only about the works and fruit that no one can do unless he already is a Christian. and in a state of grace. Like the fruit of the Spirit that's found in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 through 23, the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5 are the DNA, the very life of Jesus Christ that has been implanted in the heart of all who are regenerate by the power and grace of God You see, the Beatitudes, like the fruit of the Spirit, are our inheritance, the inheritance of every believer redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are not natural personality traits, but are supernatural character traits, freely given by the Spirit. to reveal to us our family identity, to reveal that we are the children of the living God. We are the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. We are related to him because we have the same family traits and characteristics. Therefore, as Christians, we do not seek to obtain these graces and fruits as if we did not possess them. But rather, as Christians, we desire, we pray for, that these fruits implanted within us would grow, would mature within us. They would not remain locked within us, but that they would be seen and evident in our speech that they would be seen and evident in our actions, in our behavior. What is more antithetical to the spirit of the world than these beatitudes, or the fruit of the spirit? The world, and unfortunately, sadly, the worldly spirit that has invaded the Church of Jesus Christ as well, blesses the successful, blesses the powerful, blesses the wealthy, the educated, the gifted, the assertive, and the attractive person. However, in the Beatitudes, The Lord blesses the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness and truth. What then is the fruit of meekness that's found in Galatians 5.23? And who are the meek? that we find mentioned here by the Lord in Matthew 5.5. Well, the Hebrew word used in the Old Testament for meekness, anawa, has in its root meaning that of affliction or oppression, interestingly enough. Thus, one who is meek has that meekness forged upon the anvil of trials and afflictions, persecution and suffering in his life, in the life of his family, to some degree, to one degree or to another. You see, meekness is not the fruit of a pain-free, comfortable life. that is exempt from all hardship, but rather meekness grows out of that affliction and trial into which it is planted, as it were. It is firmly rooted like a tree in Christ, in the midst of the strong winds and the waves, the hurricanes, as it were, of life that would blow us away. Turn with me to Psalm 37, verse 11, where we find David referencing the meek. Psalm 37, verse 11. And he says, very simply, But the meek shall inherit the earth. But the meek shall inherit the earth. But I want you to see the context in which meekness lives and dwells even as the psalmist declares the meek shall inherit the earth. This is not again a context free of heartache and trial and persecution, and sinners who are seeking to ensnare, malign, lie about. David, this meekness is produced, is growing in the midst of these types of trials. Notice in Psalm 37, and I'm just going to look at a number of verses here very quickly, so you see that this is the context. The meek shall inherit the earth, in the context of various trials that come our way. Verse 1, fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. Verse 7, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the Lord they shall inherit the earth for yet a little while. 10 And the wicked shall not be, yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. And then finally, verse 14, though there are others that would say the same thing in this chapter. Verse 14, the wicked have drawn out the sword and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy and to slay such as be of upright conversation. So we see, dear ones, that the very lexical derivation of this word in the Old Testament demonstrates that this fruit of meekness is not weakness. It is grown out of heartache. It is grown out of pain. It is grown, as it were, in the fiery furnaces, heated seven times hotter for us. God takes those situations and out of them grows meekness. in our lives as we are conformed to the meekness of Jesus Christ. The Greek word used in the New Testament for meekness. Praates was actually used by the ancient Greeks to describe a wild beast or animal, like a wild horse, that was trained to harness that strength in order to submit to and to serve its master. Therefore, putting together both the Old Testament derivation and the New Testament derivation of meekness, we might describe meekness in this manner. Meekness is to be a bridled strength, a bridled strength in humble service to Christ and to others. grown and ripened by God-ordained hardships and afflictions in our lives. A bridal strength and humble service to Christ and to others, grown and ripened by God-ordained hardships and afflictions in our lives. Are you taking advantage of the hardships in your life to grow meekness? Or are you just upset and angry at the hardships? Well, you're not using, and I'm not using, the very reason and purpose God brings those hardships into our lives if we're simply angry, if we simply just hate what we go through, but are not producing meekness out of those situations. There are four basic characteristics of meekness. Now, there could be more. I've just chosen these four basic characteristics of meekness that will help us better understand this fruit of the Spirit and promote its growth in our lives. First of all, meekness is characterized by humility. That is, by lowliness of heart, lowliness of mind before God and before others. It's not characterized by pride. It's not characterized by self-centeredness that our conversations always seem to revolve around us. It's not characterized by boasting in ourselves, boasting in our accomplishments, our successes, but rather meekness is characterized by humility and seeking the glory of God, not our own glory. Dear ones, it is firmly etched into our very nature that we have inherited from a fallen Adam, to proudly resist the Lord, to proudly resist His authority, to proudly resist His will for our lives, and rather, to proudly assert ourselves. By nature, we are rebels who cherish and guard our own autonomy, our own independence. These have become, within sinful man, sacred idols within us by nature. But when the grace of God effectually works in our hearts, in our souls, and draws us unto the Lord Jesus Christ, opens our eyes, illuminates our minds, gives us a desire to serve Him, grants to us a faith to lay hold of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are then, dear ones, brought ever so low before the Lord, because we come face to face with who we are. Sinners, depraved, deserving nothing but the holy wrath and the awful anger of the Lord our God. But what we do receive is not what we deserve, but what we do not deserve. everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sin, adoption into the very family of God, eternal life with the Lord. And we behold at that time, not God as our judge, but God as our savior. we behold the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ when God humbles us at that time. We no longer wickedly understand ourselves then to be the Lord and Master of our own lives. We cast such tokens of idolatry as our own autonomy, our own lordship over our lives, We cast it down at the feet of the Lord, and though throughout our Christian life we take it back, and in various ways we set ourselves upon the throne of our lives, God ever so faithfully comes to us, convicts us, uses the trial in our life to show us that He is Lord. He is Master. and we are his servants. That's the evidence, dear ones, that's the evidence of meekness in the life of a Christian, humility, bowing before the Lord. There's nothing over which he is not Lord, whether it's our family, whether it's our job, whether it's our education, our possessions, whether it's our accomplishments, whether it's our dreams, our goals in life, whether it's our fears, whether it's our worries, whether it's idols that we bow down before and serve at times, even before serving the Lord, loving them more than we love the Lord. There's nothing over which he's not Lord and Master. Meekness is humbly bowing before Him who created us, who continues to provide for us and uphold all of His creation by the word of His power and has saved us by His amazing grace. Apostle Paul makes this point very clear. In 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19-20, when he writes, What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price, Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. There we see, again, we have no claim. We have no claim to our gifts, abilities, dreams, whatever it may be. We have no claim to them. We, in humbling ourselves before God, call upon His claim over our life, for Him to work through us His good purposes. Sure, He uses means. Sure, He uses those gifts and abilities that He gives to us, those desires within us. Sure, He opens doors by way of His providence and closes doors, yes. But He is the one who has claim over our lives. not we, ourselves. There is no meekness, dear ones, in the heart of one who has no desire to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, who only wants to be saved but does not want to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Meekness does not dwell there. Meekness dwells in the hearts and lives of those over whom Jesus Christ is Lord and who acknowledge that Lordship and seek by God's grace to live out that Lordship in their lives. Regardless of the struggles that we might have in warring against the idols in our lives, those idols that would usurp Christ's rightful place as Lord of our lives, The struggle and the battle. in not surrendering and throwing up our hands, giving up to these idols. Though we fall, though we fail, though we repent and rise again, the struggle and the battle is yet evidence, I submit to you, is yet evidence of our submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The fact that we are warring and battling against those idols within our hearts even though we fall and fail. You see, it's the person who gives up. It's the person who simply says, I surrender. I surrender to the idols in my life. It's that person over whom Jesus Christ is not exercising His Lordship. It's that person that is not acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus Christ over his life. It's not the lack. Hear me very carefully. It's not the lack of total victory in our lives over the idols in our lives that disproves Christ's Lordship. But rather, it is the lack of any fighting. these idols, warring against these idols in the power of Christ's death and resurrection that disproves Christ's lordship over our lives. The words of Samuel Rutherford, I think, are very much to the same effect in his letters where he writes the following, but the thing that we mistake is the want That is the lack of victory. We hold that to be the mark of one that hath no grace. In other words, Rutherford is saying, many people hold the fact that there is a lack of victory in their lives to indicate there is no grace in a person's life. Rutherford continues, nay, say I, the want or lack of fighting were a mark of no grace, but I shall not say the want, that is the lack of victory, is such a mark of no grace. Beloved, it is our pride and self-centeredness that continues the battle to please ourselves, to glorify ourselves, to boast of our own accomplishments and our own successes before God and before man. That idol of pride in our lives must be cut down daily. It's not a matter of cutting down this idol or the idols in our lives once and thinking that it's going to stay there. No, that's not the nature of sin that yet remains within us. Sin is continually reconstituting, reconstructing those idols in our hearts and our lives. It is a question of cutting down those idols daily in our lives. Daily. Just as Gideon laid the axe to that idol of Baal within his father's household. So we must lay the axe daily to those idols in our own lives. Lord Jesus Christ, in Luke 9, 23, says this is what is true of all Christians. Not some, but true of all Christians. He said to them all, if any man will come after me, to come after Christ means to believe in him. It means to trust Him. So, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. That's humility before God and man. Denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, putting those idols of self, of ambition, even things that God gives to us that are good and that we're to use for His glory. We make idols out of. That's the nature of our sin within us. We make idols out of everything. But it's taking those idols and taking ourselves and putting them on the cross. Dying daily, as the Apostle Paul says. Dying daily. Apostle Paul then also tells us in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 through 2. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. Place it on the altar, a different figure of speech, rather than upon the cross on the altar. Now, whether it's on the cross or whether it's on the altar, neither place is going to feel good. God doesn't tell us to crucify ourselves or to offer ourselves as living sacrifices upon his altar to make us feel good, as if it's pleasurable, as if it's pain-free. Crucifixion, dear ones, was one of the most heinous, one of the most cruel ways of death in the ancient world. Being burned alive is one of the most cruel ways to die. But we are called not to take the easy path. We are called to offer ourselves upon the cross, upon the altar. present ourselves. That's how seriously the Lord calls us, no matter how often we fail. We get back up, we take ourselves to the cross, we take ourselves to the altar and offer ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the apostle says in verse two, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Don't be conformed to this world, be conformed to Jesus Christ. Taking ourselves to the cross is not a futile effort, because it is anchored in the fact that we are united with Jesus Christ, that when he died, we Covenantally, legally, we died with Him. When He was raised from the dead, we covenantally and legally were in Jesus Christ and we were raised with Him. There's the power. This is not a figment of our imagination. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it's difficult. It's anguish. We must exercise ourselves to godliness, but we don't quit. That is humility. That's the humility of meekness, dear ones. It does not give up. There is no meekness where there is no humility. There is no humility where there is no submission to Jesus Christ. And dear ones, there is no submission to Jesus Christ where there is no warring against the flesh. the desires, the lusts of our hearts, in crucifying self, in offering ourselves upon the altar. We all have these idols in our lives. None of us are exempt. We all have them to varying degrees. What a joy the foretaste of heaven is. the sight of heaven is by faith, by hope, where those idols will be forever gone. There will never again need to be the cutting down of those idols in our lives. Once and for all, we will be free. Entirely free. Forever free. That's what makes heaven heaven. that we have these idols in our lives, are we seeking to conform ourselves to these idols, or are we seeking to conform ourselves unto the Lord Jesus Christ? The fruit of meekness is first of all characterized by humility. Second, meekness is characterized by gentleness. that is by tenderness, not by harshness, not by severity, not by abuse. Meekness is not characterized by loving and pursuing power and control so as to rule over others. That's not meekness. When our hearts are humbled before the Lord, And when we are taking ourselves to the cross and to the altar to put the idols which we cherish and love more than Christ to death, the Lord also begins to take away from us those ever so rough edges in our lives, in our speech, in our conduct. Those ever so rough edges of harshness and rudeness and anger and vindictiveness by replacing these with a gentleness and tenderness toward others. Instead of viewing others as a means to our ends and to our own satisfaction to please ourselves, we begin to see ourselves as the servants. to love and to help one another. Where the gentleness of meekness is absent, the idol in one's life will be power and control over others. Many pursue, sadly, the ministry in order to have power and control or to have a comfortable lifestyle in a large congregation and church where one does not make waves and does what one can to bring in the people, to entertain the people so they keep coming back, so they continue to give to the support of that very cushy lifestyle. The Bible refers to Simon the magician as one who sought the power of God, the Holy Spirit. He sought the gift that the Lord gives by way of His grace and mercy as something to be purchased, as something to be purchased. And that has come to be called simony. Someone pursuing the ministry in order to obtain riches, wealth, comfort, power not in order to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and His people. Where the gentleness of meekness, dear ones, is absent, the idol in one's life, as we said, will be power and control over others. And if they do not serve, that is if others do not serve us as we think they should serve us, Well, we'll show them then our harsh side. We'll show them our angry side if they don't serve us, if they do not please us. We'll show them our abusive side. Christians are neither called to serve themselves nor to view others as if others existed simply to serve them. but rather we are called as Christians to serve and lay down our lives for the Lord Jesus Christ and for one another as the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life in order to serve us. To grow in meekness, dear ones, through gentleness and tenderness, is realized through our service to one another. Gentleness is evident in our lives by our teachableness, willing to learn, by our being easily entreated. Someone wants to talk to us, someone wants to even correct us in some way or another. Are we easily entreated? Or do we push them away? Are we defensive? Do we put up walls, impregnable walls around ourselves to protect ourselves? Or are we willing to be taught and to learn? That's an aspect of gentleness on our parts as well. Not only in receiving, but also in the way we teach, in the way we instruct, in the way that we reprove. In Galatians chapter 6 verse 1, one of the characteristics of those who are spiritual in going to restore those who have fallen into any sin is that of meekness." We read there, "...brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Not going with pride, considering your own, my own sin, my own need of Christ, your own need of Christ. Not saying I could never or thinking I could never fall into this sin for which I'm reproving someone else. But beating our chest, God have mercy upon me. And if God had not been merciful unto you, you would be in that same position. restoring one in the spirit of meekness. And so the fruit of meekness, secondly, is characterized by gentleness. Thirdly, meekness is characterized by contentment, satisfaction in the Lord, not by covetousness, not by self-centered ambitions, not by worldliness, but rather meekness is characterized by being content in the Lord, not by loving or pursuing riches, wealth. It is not because everything is going our way that we as Christians have contentment. But rather because we know that our Heavenly Father slumbers not, nor takes His eye off of us at any time. He is with us He will never leave us, nor forsake us, as He has said in Hebrews 13, 5. Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have, for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. There's the source of our contentment. Not in the world. Not in ourselves, not in our gifts, abilities, successes, ambitions. Our contentment is in the fact that we have a Father who loves us with an everlasting love, has saved us, redeemed us, given us a hope that cannot pass away, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. There is contentment in Christ because everything in our life, dear ones, everything in our life has meaning and purpose. For our Lord sovereignly works all things out for His glory and for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, according to Romans 8.28. There may certainly be those who intend our harm. There may be those who hate us, despise us, malign us, lie against us. There may be, and no doubt will be, afflictions and trials, temptations, heartaches, hardships in our lives that again come as strong as a tornado or a hurricane ripping us out of our path. But dear ones, our contentment does not depend or rest upon how we are treated by others or what we experience in this life, but rather our contentment depends upon and rests upon the Lord who withheld not His only begotten Son, but gave His Son up for us. And having given His Son up for us, shall He withhold any good thing from us? Having given up that which was most precious to Him, His only begotten Son, having poured out His wrath and His condemnation that we deserved upon His Son, shall He withhold anything good from us? to think so, is to think that which is blasphemous. You see, dear ones, the enemy of contentment in your life and mine is the idol of covetousness, in craving what we do not have, and like the children of Israel in the wilderness, complaining how good others have it, how good The children of Israel complained how good they had it previously, but not how good they had it now, by way of God's provision for them. But we, like the children of Israel, look to others, look how good they have it, or look how good I had it in years past, while you go without the desires of your own heart. Instead of our hearts being led to such discontentment, A meek heart, a meek heart rejoices in the gifts and in the graces that God bestows upon others. A meek heart learns to rejoice in what God gives to others that has been withheld from you. That's a meek heart. A meek heart likewise rejoices in every, every blessing. that God has given to us, even if we are lacking some of the things that we have either prayed for or desire. It's rejoicing in what God has given unto us, because we don't deserve any of them. We don't deserve any of these blessings from the Lord, of a spiritual or of an earthly nature. What we deserve is God's wrath and condemnation. Every breath that God gives to us is a blessing. Every beat of the heart upon this earth is a blessing. Every second we spend with our family is a blessing. The fact that we are not out in the streets begging for food is a blessing. And yet we make so much of these idols. We make so much of these idols that we cannot live without them, that we cannot be happy without them, that we cannot be content without them. A meek heart is a thankful heart for all that Christ has given to us. The enemy of contentment also in your life and mine is the idol of worldliness. In looking to the world for our contentment, rather than looking to Christ. Everything, dear ones, in this world that sparkles and glows is fading away, and the older that one gets, the more one realizes that very truth. But don't wait. simply because you're young. Don't wait to begin to reflect upon that truth. It's all fading away. It's all vanishing. It's passing away, the world is passing away, and the lusts, the desires of the world are passing away. Being conformed to this world, being conformed to this world's standards, to this world's fashions, to this world's pleasures, to this world's promises of fun and excitement, to this world's lusts of sex, can never satisfy. Can never satisfy because they are temporary and many of them are immoral. The tighter you cling to these things that are in the world, the tighter you cling and try and hold on and grip it and grasp it, the more they slip through your fingers. Like sand, dry sand in your hand that you grasp tightly. And the more tightly you grasp, the more sand escapes from your hand. The tighter you squeeze this world, the more you will fear. losing this world, losing what is in this world, losing what has become, in such a case, your reason and your purpose for living the world. Only Christ can never be taken away. Philippians 121, the Apostle Paul says, For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. When Christ is our reason and our purpose for living, when our contentment and joy flows from Christ, when it is a joy in the Lord that we have, the world cannot take that away. And even in death it cannot take it away because in death we go to meet. the One who is our joy, the Lord Jesus Christ. We go to be with Him who is our contentment, the Lord Jesus Christ. Dear ones, the fruit of meekness is characterized thirdly by contentment. Fourthly, meekness is characterized by courage. Meekness, dear ones, fears God. Meekness fears God, holds God in the highest esteem, looks upon God with great awe and wonder. Meekness sees oneself as very, very small. and God is being infinitely great. Meekness takes God seriously. That's to fear God, to take God seriously. In His promises to us, we take Him seriously. In His warnings to us, we take Him seriously. Meekness is not characterized by cowardliness. It's not characterized by passivity. It's not characterized by weakness. Meekness is not characterized by loving or pursuing the easy way out or the compromised way out. The fruit of meekness, dear ones, is not characterized by fearing to take a stand for or to defend the truth and righteousness of Jesus Christ when called to do so before others. Solomon has written in Proverbs 28, 1, the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Why? Because they fear God. They see God as great. How big is your God? And answered that question, one can basically determine what type of courage one will have. How big is your God? If your God is very small, I don't expect there to be much biblical courage. and standing for the cause of Jesus Christ. If your God is great, if your God is infinite, if your God is wonderful, if your God is full of awe and wonder, then your courage will be correspondingly there to match that fear of the Lord. The courage of biblical meekness, dear ones, I want to make clear, is not the absence of all fear. The courage of biblical meekness is not the absence of all fear, but is rather fearing God more than you fear anyone or anything. It is a biblical fear of God, wherein the Christian sees God as so mighty, and people is so small, or events so small, or circumstances so small. It is that view of the greatness of God that overcomes the fear that we have in this world. It's not that we don't have fear, but it's that our fear of God is greater than any fear we have. Scientists estimate that the observable universe is approximately 93 billion light years in diameter. 93 billion light years. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. A light year is 186,000 miles per second for an entire year, one light year. Scientists estimate the diameter of the observable universe is 90 billion of those light years. 90 billion. Unfathomable. That's how great our God is. We are but a drop in the bucket. The person who would persecute us is but a drop in the bucket. God has created this and far more. And what is especially astonishing unto us, dear ones, is that as we talk about the greatness of this universe that God has created by the Word, the spoken Word of His power and by which He sustains everything in this universe, moment by moment by the Word of His power, this universe cannot contain Him. He is everywhere in the universe. Every particular space, there is no space in this universe wherein God is not as great as it is. But God is so great that this universe cannot even contain him. He continues in his being to go infinitely, without stop, infinitely beyond the boundaries of this universe. That's how great our God is. In 1 Kings 8.27, Solomon prays, but will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. That is, the universe cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have built. That is the temple. There's an inscription in Westminster Abbey for a certain Lord Lawrence with these words. He feared man so little because he feared God so much. He feared man so little because he feared God so much. That's the essence of the courage of meekness. Whether it's in the workplace, whether it is in the classroom, whether it is in the home or whether it's in the church, whether it is in the courthouse or whether it's on the battlefield, the fear of the Lord is that which drives the meek to stand courageously. Nothing can harm the meek until it is the time determined by His Sovereign Father who has set his love upon him from all eternity, redeemed and saved him in time, and shall call the meek unto himself to that heavenly home, not a second too soon and not a second too late. It is because we have forgotten the fear of the one true living God, of the Bible, that the fear of man, that the fear of circumstances, that the fear of events overwhelms us. Hebrews 13, 6 says, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. The Lord is our helper. We have no reason to fear what man shall do unto us. The fruit of meekness, then, is characterized, fourthly, by courage. The second main point, which will be very brief, what is the reward of meekness? for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5, 5b, that is the second part of that verse. They shall inherit the earth. They're blessed because they shall inherit the earth. The Lord Jesus, having pronounced his benediction of blessing upon the meek, he now promises them a gracious and free reward. For they shall inherit the earth is their reward. Now this is very similar to the promise of reward, earthly reward, that Paul issues by the Holy Spirit in 1 Timothy 4.8, where Paul says, for bodily exercise profiteth little. Not that we shouldn't exercise, but it profiteth little in comparison to the way other things profit, and particularly Godliness, for bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is on this earth, promise of godliness. Godliness has promise in the present life that we are living here upon the earth, and of that which is to come. The reward promised to us as Christians who are growing in the fruit of meekness is not simply heavenly blessings, but is as well earthly blessings, though earthly blessings should always, always point us to the greater and more blessed reward of those heavenly blessings. Here the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul join together to remind us of the reward of earthly blessings promised to the meek. It is important that we understand that both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant promised spiritual blessings And both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant promised material earthly blessings as well. What is the earthly reward that Jesus here promises to the meek? Well, I want to just mention a couple things. First of all, the meek presently, in this world, the meek enjoy the earthly blessings that they have as coming from the Lord. Presently, whatever blessings you have, that you enjoy, they are a reward given to you from the Lord Jesus Christ, from God, our Father, whether great or small. But someone would say, but the blessings I enjoy here upon the earth are not the whole earth. I only enjoy a portion of the blessings here upon the earth. Well, that may be true, but it's far more than you deserve. But I want you to know your Heavenly Father owns it all. And you are the heir of God and the joint heir with Jesus Christ. God has given to Jesus Christ this world, this universe. And because we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ, we are heirs of this earth. 1 Corinthians 3 verses 21-23 states the same thing. The Apostle Paul says, For all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours. And ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. All things are yours, because You are heirs of God through adoption into God's family. He has bequeathed to you this inheritance of all things, and you are joint heirs with Christ. Whatever Christ has inherited, you have inherited. Amazing, amazing. That's our inheritance. But we also see that the meek shall inherit the earth during the millennium. when Jesus reigns from heaven over this earth in righteousness and truth and peace, when Satan is bound so that he cannot deceive the nations any longer, and when the Gentile nations of this world will come into the visible church and his ancient people Israel are restored unto him and come into the visible church. At that time, the Lord Jesus Christ will set up a kingdom here upon the earth in which the meek will rule. over this world, in the nations of this world, to the glory of Jesus Christ, by the power, not by our military might, not by our financial might, but by the power, the gospel, the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. And finally, the promise of an earthly inheritance, whether it's an earthly inheritance to Abraham, whether it's an earthly inheritance to Israel, whether it's an earthly inheritance to the meek. Ultimately, all our earthly inheritance, regardless to whom that reward is promised. all of our earthly inheritance only ultimately points us to the new heavens and to the new earth and inheritance that shall not pass away. In Hebrews chapter 11, verses 13 through 16, it says, speaking of those fathers of the faith in the Old Testament, they all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare blindly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, and heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city that will not pass away, a city in the new heaven, new earth. I close by considering, dear ones, the word that Jesus chose to use in order to convey the idea of the reward that would be given to the meek. The Lord did not promise, for they shall conquer, the meek shall conquer the earth. He did not promise for the meek shall earn the earth. He did not promise for the meek shall win the earth. But what he promised was that they shall inherit the earth. Inherit the earth. The reason this word inherit is used is to make ever so clearly that the reward to the meek is all of grace. It is not based upon our righteousness, our obedience. It is not based upon our power, our gifts, the amount of money we have. It is based upon an inheritance which Jesus Christ has secured for us. And he ratified that inheritance with his own blood. This is the last will and testament of the Lord Jesus Christ to us, that we would inherit all things. That we would inherit all things. And he ratified to say, this is secure. This inheritance is of grace. It is not of works. It is not of your righteousness. It is of my righteousness. And it is yours because I have ratified this last will and testament before I die. And as I die, with my own blood. It must, it must be passed on to the heirs, ratified in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the reward, dear ones, that is ours is through inheritance, that we are the adopted children of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. That is grace. That's grace. It's not our worthiness, it's Christ's worthiness. Let us therefore, dear ones, cast all, all the crowns of our inheritance in Jesus Christ at his throne before him. Let us join with the saints, the voices of the saints in heaven, who declare in Revelation 5.12, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Amen. Let us stand together in prayer. Our Lord and our God, grow us in the grace of biblical meekness, in humility, gentleness, contentment, and courage. We pray our Father, cause us to fear Thee above all gods, so-called gods of this world, before all Goliaths, Cause us to see, O Lord, Thou art worthy, and that, Lord, we shall inherit the earth because Jesus Christ has ratified that covenant with us in His own blood. It is safe and secure. We praise Thee, our God, for we are taught again of the amazing grace that has been so freely bestowed upon us And we cast, Lord, our crowns before Thee, even now, thanking Thee and praising Thee, in the name of Christ our Savior. Amen. Stillwater's Revival Books is now located at PuritanDownloads.com. It's your worldwide online Reformation home for the very best in free and discounted classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, MP3s, and videos. 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