Let's pray. Father, as we approach Your Word this morning, I just pray that You would open up our hearts and minds to Your truth. I pray, Lord, that we would continue to surrender our will. That we would continue to deny self so that You would mold us and make us to be the children of God that You desire for us to be. In Jesus' name, Amen. We have been in the Beatitudes and the teachings of Christ at this point are the complete opposite of what the world tells us. In Matthew 5, he said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Normally, you do not think of poverty as an entry into the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. How can you be in comfort if you are mourning? And then we discovered the first half of the fifth verse last week, blessed are the meek and the promise there is, is for they shall inherit the earth. And as we've discovered, the teachings of Christ point out that through our depravity, Through the recognition of our total inadequacies do we realize that we need a Savior so we cry out. Those who are poor in spirit, there's nothing that we can do to be presentable in the eyes of God. We need a Savior. As we come into the kingdom, we genuinely mourn over our sins, and as I mentioned in previous sermons, this isn't written in the past tense. It's in the present tense, and it should be a common characteristic of us as we follow the Lord that we should continue to be grieved by our sin. And then verse five, blessed are the meek. When we are totally exhausted, when we're totally spent, It means that God can mold us and make us. That's what it means to be me is that we are pliable to the teachings and truths of God. Christ said that if you do that, that you will inherit the earth. This is actually a quote from Psalm 37, verse 11, it says, but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. When you think about the world system compared to the Christian system, the Christian system is completely opposite. Unfortunately, Some believers still try to achieve happiness and contentment through the false teachings of the world. Think about how many people strive to find happiness and contentment through monetary success, through pleasures. The world says if you just get a little bit more money, if you get a little bit more of the earth. We're all out competing for our slice of the pie, and you will find happiness through the acquisition of goods and money. But that's not what the Bible said. The Bible says the meek shall inherit the earth. Well, what does that mean? What's Christ teaching? Well, first of all, reference can be found spiritually. As we walk here on Earth, turn, if you will, to Philippians 4, verse 10, Philippians 4, 10. Paul is writing the church at Philippi and he's received a gift and he makes a comment, Philippians 4, verse 10, he says, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. That now at least your care for me has flourished again, though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regards to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Paul says, I've learned in whatever state I am to be content, in other words, as his focus was on the Lord, as the Lord molded him because he was me. he learned to be content, whether he had a lot or whether he had a little. That should be our characteristic as a believer. Think about how this is the exact opposite of what health and wealth teaches today. The false teachings of health and wealth teaches you that God wants you to have all these material blessings, and the reason why you do not have them is that you just haven't had enough faith. And then if you could just strengthen your faith a little bit more, riches in favor and unlimited health await you. But that's not what the gospel says. That's not Paul's experience. Paul's experience is that he has learned to be content in all things. It is the mark of a believer. Our contentment, our rest in God comes from resting, trusting that God is in control and that He is going to supply all of our needs. Later on in Psalm 37, in verse 23, I love what the psalmist says, because it is out of his experience. Paul spoke of his experience. He said, I've learned to be content. The psalmist is speaking in his experience, because in the twenty third verse, he said, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way, though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholds him with his hand. And here in verse 25, he speaks of his experience in his observation. He said, I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his descendants begging bread. He is merciful and lands in his descendants are blessed. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteousness forsaken. We need to rest and trust God that he is the provider of all things. And Sunday morning in Bible study, we've been talking about the providence of God. And in order for you to rest in the providence of God, you have to, one, believe that there is a God, believe that he is who he says he is, that his teachings are true, that he is a providential and caring God and he cares for his children. When you do that, when you have that mindset and you are walking in the teachings and truths of God and you are meek, You're being taught by the truths of God. It means that then you spiritually can rest in the fact that you have what the Lord wants you to have. You can have a sense of contentment and rest. Let's hop over on the world side. Have you ever met a lost rich person who is content? No. Remember the old quote from Rockefeller when they ask him, how much more? Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more. There's no contentment in the pursuit of worldly gain as an ends. Our contentment comes from resting in Christ, being taught by his word, applying that to our life, and we then are content. Because we're in His kingdom then. Just like the old hymn says, this world is not my home, I'm just passing through. You and I aren't of this world, we are in God's kingdom. We're pilgrims. And being in the kingdom, my mindset should be kingdom minded versus worldly minded. The challenge is, is that the church through health and wealth teaching has allowed a false teaching into the church. And it has pervaded most of Christianity to where we have forgotten that God is molding us and making us for his glory and not our own. So as a believer being molded and shaped by the power of God, We should be content with what God has given us as inheritors of the earth, which leads us to my second point. Not only does it point to a sense of being content spiritually. But there is also a literal meaning, and I think that this is just as important as we look at this verse this morning. that you inherit the earth. If you inherit something, more than likely you inherit something from your family, right? Mom and Dad passed. You inherit their earthly goods. They were owners of those goods. What happens is that you go down to the courthouse and you present the will and the judge says, here are who you say you are and the will is valid and go and distribute according to the will. And so as an executor, you distribute those goods according to a legal document. Well, in Revelation 5, if you'll turn with me to the book of Revelation, chapter 5, starting in verse 1, It says, And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or look at it. So I wept much. Because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. What's the scroll? It is the deed of the earth. It's the deed. No one was worthy to open the deed. No one had ownership of the deed but one, and that is Jesus Christ. And as a child of God, we are joint heirs with him, and as a joint heir with Jesus, we enjoy his inheritance. That's what the Bible says. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, starting in verse 18. 1 Corinthians 3, starting in the 18th verse. As Paul writes the church at Corinth, he says, let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, he catches the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise and they are futile. Therefore, let no one boast in man, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or present or things to come. All are yours and you are Christ and Christ is God's. We're in his kingdom. We are his servants and we are inheritors of the earth. Turn to Romans 8, verse 16. Romans 8, 16. Says the spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." Remember the song? Joint heirs with Jesus? It's traveling this side. You and I as children of God, we are joint heirs with Christ. It drives me crazy. when somebody speaks of the whole world in this context and says, well, we are all just children of God. We are not all God's children. Only believers are God's children. Only believers. Because through the blood of Christ, we have been brought into the kingdom and we are joint heirs with Christ. I've already read Revelation 5. that I wanted to point out later on in the chapter. In verse 8, it reads in Revelation 5, Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll. and to open its seals, for you were slain, and you have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on earth." We'll reign with Christ. Think about that. how that should affect our mindset as believers. That Jesus Christ has bought us, He has redeemed us, we have access to Him, and it says you'll inherit the earth. Not for anything that we've done. Not by our righteousness. Not by our works. In fact, when you think about it, did you do anything to get an inheritance? No. You were a child. I get an inheritance. It's because I am a child. It doesn't mean that I've worked or acquired it. Our sharing, our ability to take in the inheritance of the earth rest in the blood of Jesus Christ. And it's through this spiritual contentment. And through this knowledge that one day Jesus Christ is coming back. He is opening the title deed of the earth. It's through this teaching that we should have a remarkable and very different outlook from the rest of the world. But we have been striving against this since the beginning of time. Turn to Genesis 3. It's the fall. And you can see in Genesis three, as you look at the encounter between Satan and Eve. It says now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made, and he said to the woman, has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent. We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God had said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes and the tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave it to her husband with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Eve wanted to be like God. She wanted to be in control. She wanted to be in charge. That's always how sin works, isn't it? I've often said you can't spell sin without I. It's all about self. It's what you want. It's your desires. It's your motivation. You're determining the agenda. But when we truly give our life over to Jesus Christ, it's not our life anymore. The Bible says that we are slaves, slaves to righteousness. Now, let me ask you something this morning. Are you living a Christ centric focus in your life to where you can say it's not your life? But it's God's. Is God setting the agenda in your life or are you? You know, when you think about the world system and the Christian system, isn't it kind of funny? That the world says, go out and get all that you can get, and they don't even have the title deed for it. Who has the title deed of the earth? It's Jesus Christ. It's all his. Look at Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2, starting in verse one. And Paul points out that there should be a remarkable difference between the believer and the unbeliever. Because in Ephesians 2, verse 1, it says, And you he made alive, referring to Jesus Christ, he made us alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the year. The spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. And we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. So how would you describe someone who does not know Jesus Christ? They conducted themselves in the lust of their flesh and the desires of the flesh and of the mind." In other words, they sought out whatever they determined to be their priority. Isn't that true? That defines a lost person. I do not want to submit my life to God because I do not want to give up. blank and you can fill in that blank for whatever their heart's desire is. Christ means that we give up self. Jesus Christ said if we were to follow him, we have to pick up our cross, deny ourselves and follow him. The Christian life isn't about self, it's about self denial. And here Paul, in writing to the church at Ephesus, says you once were that way, but you're not that way any longer. You're different. So if you're not pursuing the lust of the flesh, if you're not fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, where should your desires be? You just can't operate on the don't part. You have to concentrate. Focus on living your life for Christ, on the teachings of Christ. You just can't go out and say, well, I'm not going to lust anymore. I'm not going to focus on my desires anymore. And you don't pick up your word and you don't read your word and you don't pray and you don't have a kingdom minded viewpoint. Because if you do that, if you just say, I'm going to deny myself, that's what God wants me to do. He wants me to deny myself. but then you don't focus on the truths of God, you're not going to be happy. When you think about the Beatitudes, it says blessed, which is happy. Happy are the poor in spirit. Happier are those who mourn. Happy are those that are meek. That's what we're really all after. When you think about what the world offers, the world says that if you acquire a certain amount of money, you'll be what? You'll be happy. It says that if you could experience pleasure, entertainment, power, all of those lead to happiness. And all of the world is out chasing those mindless pursuits. And have you ever witnessed where somebody achieves that and then they find out they didn't make them happy? There's no happiness or contentment in riches. There's no happiness or contentment and power. They find themselves empty and too often times, then what do they do? They just hop over to the next worldly pursuit or teaching. But the Bible says that we are happy if we focus on God. Another contrast in the world system is found in James four. James four verse one. And it's interesting when you look at James here in this particular verse, you know, the parable of the wheat and tares. The parable that says that tares will be sown among the wheat, in other words, lost people are in the church, so you have saved people and lost people in the church. And in James four, it talks about the strife. that happens among the saved and those who profess Christ, but they truly aren't Christians. They're professors, but they're not believers. And when you look at James 4, it says, where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from among your desire for pleasure that war in your members you lust and do not have? You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight in war, yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss. Why? That you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? In other words, there are people in churches today who profess Christ, but they wanted Christ simply for a ticket to heaven. They've never been convicted of their sin. They've never mourned over their sin. Preacher said, come on down, say a few words. And this is the problem with cheap grace. Say a few words, do a few things. You got your ticket to heaven. You can live however you want to live. There's people like that in church, right? There's no evidence that they are believers. And when you get those type of people, and this is why church discipline is so important, when you get those type of people and you mix them with believers, what happens? You have strife. Because they're not followers of Christ. And their prayer life is determined by selfishness. See, they're praying, they're asking a miss just because they want stuff. But as a believer, as a servant in his kingdom, you and I are to be kingdom minded in our walk in kingdom minded in our approaches. I mentioned this in Sunday school when Jesus Christ taught the disciples to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Thy will, not my will, not your will, his will. That's a Christian view. The last view in the view of the person who is a professor of Christ, but has never turned their life over to Christ is, well, I'm going to pray for these things because God's this celestial Santa Claus and he's going to give it to me. And in fact, if you think about how evil health and wealth prosperity teaching is, when that person doesn't experience hitting the heavenly lottery of life, What does health and wealth teachers tell them to do? Well, gee, you know, you're just not praying hard enough and you just don't have enough faith. You need to go and you have more faith and then God's going to give you that great big bank account and he's going to give you the health and he's going to give you everything that you're wanting. You're just not believing hard enough. How can you have Christian contentment with that mindset? It is a lie from the depths of hell. The Bible says that if we are meek and we are teachable, we will inherit the earth. It's resting in God. And in fact, if you want to look at the Christian worldview later on in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew six, verse thirty one, it says, therefore, do not worry, saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all these things the Gentiles seek? For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. For after all these things the Gentiles seek, in other words, there's no difference. Lost people focus on the things of the world. Safe people should focus on the things of God. That should be our challenge. How many times do we worship on Sunday and then Monday morning we get up and go, OK, now it's time for me to worry about these things. We all have our list, don't we? I'm going to worry about these things. What did Jesus Christ say? Seek ye first the kingdom of God. In other words, we should focus on Jesus Christ when we focus on Jesus Christ, we have that contentment we have, as Paul says, I have learned to be content. The world offers a false happiness, a false sense of contentment, it's not there. But Jesus Christ offers real contentment. Real happiness. That's why James 1.17, it says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variance, neither shadow of turning. So how do you get happiness? Every false teaching, every false religion, every cult out there is offering happiness, whether it's wrapped up in American materialism and the pursuit of power or whether it's wrapped up in a false religion, they all offer happiness and contentment. But Jesus Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, says, you're happy if you give your life to me. Will you please stand with me? With your head bowed and your eyes closed, I want you to think about this last week. Have you lived a Christ-centric life this last week? What was your focus? What was important to you? What did you worry about? Did you seek the kingdom of God or did you seek self? And if that's the case, I'm going to encourage you right now to give your life over to Jesus Christ. Is Christ the focus of your life this morning? And you may be here this morning and you may be a believer. But somehow you've gotten off track and you're not reading your Bible. You're not praying thy will. You're praying your will. If you're praying your will, I'm just going to encourage you right where you're at. Give it all over to Jesus. He said you would be happy. He is God and he is telling you that you would be happy if you focus and give your life to him. Our Father, we just praise You this morning. We thank You that You have given us Your truth in Your Word and it's reliable and it never changes and we can rest in it. And I just pray that as believers, that we might rest in Your truth and realize that happiness can only be found according to Your truth and Your teachings. I pray that we might live a life focused on You. I pray if there's someone here this morning that does not know you, that they come to know you, that they might be a child of God. In Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated.