Today I will be reading from Psalm thirty seven
and Matthew chapter five as we start a new series about the kind of people we
want to be as followers of Jesus Christ
in the sermon on the mount Jesus paints a picture of what his disciples should
look like
this means who we are
is more important than what we do
so will you please follow along with me as I read first from Matthew chapter
five verses one two and five and then Psalm thirty seven verses five to eleven
first from Matthew
now when he saw the crowds he went up on a mountainside and sat down
his disciples came to him
and he began to teach to them saying
blessed are the meek
For they will inherit the earth
and from Psalm thirty seven
commit your way to the Lord trust in him and he will do this
he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun
be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him
do not fret when men succeed in their ways
when they carry out their wicked schemes
refrain from anger and turn from wrath
do not fret
it leads only to evil
for evil men will be cut off
but those who hoped in the Lord will inherit the land
a little while
and the wicked will be no more
though you look for them
they will not be found
but the meek will inherit the land
And enjoy great peace
I am going to be sharing from
the sermon on the mount
it is the most famous sermon
of all time
it's probably the least
lived out sermon
of all time
is a sermon of Jesus
Jesus goes
the top of the mountain and he sits
as a rabbi would when he's teaching his disciples and the disciples probably sat
and listened
to Jesus' teaching
later on in the sermon and we get this idea that there is actually maybe some crowds
so most likely there are some people who are gathering around
and who are listening to what Jesus was saying to his disciples
but this was a teaching that Jesus gave specifically
to his followers
his disciples
and he was saying if you are a disciple
a follower of me
this is what you will look like
and he paints a picture for us
he's not concerned with what they will do
because what we do reflects
who we are
He is concerned with the core
of who they are their character
because character is the only thing
that we will take with us when we die
now why a sermon
why do we spend so much time
on Sunday morning
Listening to the sermon
the music is
so much more uplifting and fulfilling
we should do more songs
Especially when it sounds that good
Why do we have to listen to
his sermon
A sermon is God's word to his people
and you may forget everything I tell you this morning
that's what we give you an outline
So you can take it home with you
you may forget everything I tell you this morning
at the same time leave changed
be transformed
because when we hear the truth when we hear the gospel
it filters our soul
it changes us
It is important for the people of God
to hear
the word of God
now this specific sermon that Jesus gives
if you sat down it would only last about ten minutes
if you read all way through the sermon
some of your thinking, oh
is Tony only to do ten minutes (ha ha) nope
so most likely this is something that took place over time maybe even over
days
but it is the word
to God's people to his followers
now the beginning of the sermon
is what we call them the beatitudes and there's eight of them
I only have five weeks
so I'm going to cover five
and I was thinking well, maybe I should you know, start beginning and just
kind of walk-through because in reality they build on each other
and this isn't just something that we're supposed to do just
you to focus on one beatitude
but the reality is out all of them describe the character
of someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ
but as I was preparing I really felt that God was saying no you need to pick these
specific ones
as so today we are going to start with the meek which is actually the third one
blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth
and I chose this one first because it was my least favorite
if you just read through the beatitudes you know, they make sense to
me
blessed are the poor in spirit locating blessed are those who hunger thirst for
righteousness
Okay, okay blessed are the meek
and when I hear that word or when I used to hear that word I should say I would
think of
Meek like a mouse
I would think or picture someone who you can't defend themselves or maybe
someone who
is maybe a little weak
and I don't want to be meek
the word meekness or gentleness as sometimes is translated
has a lot of depth to it
that's why I can put together a whole sermon on it
we are going to discover some powerful things
about what it means
to be meek
and so let's dig in here if you want to follow along in your bulletins
I'm going to keep referring to our Psalm thirty seven passage
or if you have your own Bibles you can keep it open to that Psalm thirty seven passage
I'm going to keep referring back to that
Psalm thirty-seven verse eleven says
meek will inherit the land enjoy great peace
sounds a little bit similar to Matthew five-five says blessed are the meek
for they will inherit the earth in fact most scholars
say that's Jesus is most likely quoting
Psalm thirty seven when he's saying that and Jesus quotes from the Psalms all the
time
and so that we that would be too hard to believe there
he's quoting some thirty seven and what I like about that is that when we go to
Psalm thirty seven
and we look at
was being said it paints a wonderful picture of someone who was meek
and so that's what we're going to be looking at
first let's look at what it means to be blessed though if we're going to understand
that's those who have these kind of character attributes are blessed with
What does that mean that they are blessed
that word for blessed
is usually translated as happy
and some translations of the scriptures
use the word happy, happy are the meek
but I prefer the translations that use the word blessed because I think Jesus
is saying
more than just happy
happiness is based on our circumstances but those who are meek are meek
despite their circumstances
happiness is a subjective state
And I believe what Jesus is saying here is he's declaring an objective judgment he's
declaring not how they feel
he's declaring
what God thinks about these kinds of people
They are blessed
that means blessed means
I'm with you
when someone sneezes
we say
God bless you
we're saying God
be with you
when we
say God bless you and farewell or in greeting sometimes we're not actually
meaning anything we say it's
it just becomes kind of an introduction or a farewell
but if we mean it when we say we're saying God be with you
God bless you
when we pray for people we say God bless you we're saying God be with them
be for them
so Jesus is talking about something a little bit more powerful than just our
feelings now those who are blessed
tend experience more happiness
but I think it's more than that
so now let's look at what it means to be meek
in our Psalm there is four different things that stand out to me
that describe a meek person
the first one is that the
meek trust in God
in Psalm thirty seven the second half of that verse five
says trust in Him
and he will do these things
Trust in God
and he will do these things
those who are meek trust in God which means that they have the right
perspective
that everything else gets built on
when we have the right perspective of who God is
and who we are and we are not God
then we live out a reality
that is founded on truth
It is the way you view yourself
and it changes how we treat people in how we treat God
Proverbs three five says trusting the Lord with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding
Trust in the Lord
and not on your understanding
so we trust God and we trust ourselves little
because God knows more than we know God understands more than we
understand and God is more powerful than we are
God is infinite
we are not
God is God
and with that perspective in mind
we find out that God is trustworthy
we view reality differently
So meek people trust in God
the meek also commit their way to the Lord
the first part of that verse five
in Psalm thirty seven says commits your ways to the Lord
commit your way
Commit your way
so trust in the Lord lean not on your understanding
Proverbs three six says in all your ways acknowledge him
And He will make your paths straight
in all your ways acknowledge God he will make your path straight, commit
your ways
To the Lord
the Hebrew word for that word commits
literally means to role
so you are to role your ways
to the Lord
that means you roll your business
means you role your relationships
means you role your anxieties and your fears
It means you roll your finances
it means you role
all your ways onto with the Lord and you trust
the Lord with your ways you commit
your ways to God and then he makes your paths straight
the meek admit that they are insufficient to cope with the
complexities and pressures
of life
so they trust that God is able
and that God is willing
to sustain
and to protect
And to guide
It takes
self control
to commit your ways to God
we try to control things around us all the time
we would love to have control of our circumstances
and we spent a lot of energy and time trying to control the people in our
life as well
I'm convinced that one of the reasons why God has designed the family it so
that when you become a parent
you can truly experience that you are out of control
no matter how much I try to control the circumstances
of my home
that has a three year old now next month can you believe that? pretty wild
and an eight month old
I have no control over my circumstances we can guide and we can influence and we
can maneuver and we can try to
point in the right direction
but we can't control
our circumstances
and we can't control the people in our lives
we can't control what they say we can't control what they do we can guide and we
can influence
but we don't have any control over what they do
but one thing we have control over
is ourselves
we can control
what we say
and what we do
and it takes self control
to surrender control
to commit our ways to the Lord means that we need to surrender control and
that takes self control
the Proverbs
twenty-five verse twenty-eight says
like a city whose walls are broken down is a
man who lacks self control
what to the walls of the city do you they provide protection
they provide boundaries
they provide structure
it provides defenses against the elements in against the enemy
when our walls are destroyed
when our self control is gone
We're influenced by everything, we have no structure, we have no boundaries
in our lives are influenced by everything around us
So meek people are grounded on the foundation
of self control the stronger the self control the more someone can exhibit
meekness
so the meek trust in God
they role they commit their ways the Lord
and then we see in Psalm thirty seven the first part of verse seven
The meek wait upon God
be still before the Lord
and wait patiently
for him
this is hard for us to do in our culture
it's kind of easy for me
to be still and be patient when I'm sitting on my couch
being entertained
watching sports watching a movie
but we aren't being called to be lazy and let life just happen to us
it takes self control to be still
see patience
being patient means that we are
long-suffering
means you were able to have a good attitude
as you wait upon God
and as you wait upon the other people
as you wait through
difficult circumstances
see someone who is
someone who is self controlled someone who is a meek
is someone who is
patient
they don't get caught up
in the frenzy
they don't get caught up in the frenzy of life
they have this steady calm
about them
knowing that God is in control that God has all
Our mess
in his control
meek people have a quite steadiness about their lives even through the
difficult times
and so
Paul says in Romans chapter five verses three through five
we rejoice in our sufferings
because we know that suffering produces perseverance
and perseverance produces character
and that's what Jesus cares about
he cares about character
and when we have our character being developed it produces hope and hope does
not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the
power of the Holy Spirit
we rejoice
even in the mess
because God is working on our character
the only thing we take with us when we die
so meek people
wait upon the Lord
also we see that the meek don't fret the wicked
We don't use those words too often anymore
I wish we used the word fret
and everyday language ah don't fret
but we don't
don't fret the wicked
we see in Psalm thirty seven the second half of verse seven and the rest of verse
eight
do not fret when
men succeed in their ways
when they carry out their wicked schemes
restrain from anger and turn from wrath
Do not fret for it lead only to evil
a term I came across in my research was
the unbitter
oppressed
people have always be oppressed
people are being oppressed around the world right now
and people will be oppressed
to be oppressed means that people are beating you up either physically
spiritually or emotionally they're tearing you down
They're hurting you
and our first response
when we are hurt
is we want revenge
they are hurting
me
I want them to hurt too
I want them to experience what I'm experiencing
this is bitterness
and when we let bitterness into our character
it destroys us it means that we let other people and their words and actions
destroy who we are
the un-bitter
oppressed
meekness is the power to absorb adversity and criticism
without lashing
Back, this is power
this is power
people who've become un-bitter even in their oppression and I'll tell you what I'm
not there yet
The Lord is still working on me
but they're becoming humble
they're becoming humble
and being humble doesn't mean that you think less of yourself or you put
yourself down or you think of yourself as being the worst of the worst
being humble means that you lift others umore p above yourself
you think about others
highly than yourself
you don't put yourself down you lift others up
that's why we see in Romans chapter twelve verse three
this is Paul speaking he says for by the grace given to me I say to everyone of
you the followers of Jesus Christ do not think of yourself more highly than you
ought
but rather think of yourself with sober judgments in accordance with the measure
of faith that God is giving you
he is saying
think of yourself
with the right perspective
God is God you're not
do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to
noticed he doesn't say think of yourself less
or go ahead and put yourself down
That's a false sense of humbleness
he saying
lift others up
it is why we are able to lay our lives down for our friends the greatest act of
love
because we are lifting them above ourselves
that's what it means to be humble
this is very different than the way the world views
how we're supposed to be
our world
tells us that meekness is weakness
and meek people go nowhere in life
and that's how I felt
about that word
because gentle, meek
uh...
patience
that those people just get walked on
They're door mats they get walked on all over I don't want to be that person
I want to be able to defend myself, stand up for myself
and that's not
what Jesus is getting at
I want to share example of Jesus because I do believe that Jesus is the perfect
example
of all the attitudes all the beatitudes
it is his character that we are trying to imitate
and the story I want to share with you is from John chapter eight
it is one of my favorite stories
and I think it depicts a wonderful picture
Of what it means to be meek
the circumstance is that Jesus as being surrounded by people
They are probably trying to listen to him
and figure out you know, what is Jesus is all about him
and in this big group of people some Jewish authorities
They want to trick Jesus, they want to discredit him
they want to beat him down they want to oppress him, they want to change the
influence that he has on the people
and so they bring this woman that they caught in audultery
they bring
her before Jesus
They say well Jesus according to the law of Moses
she is supposed to be killed she needs to be stoned
what do you think Jesus
I want you to listen
To what Jesus does
because this is very powerful
just picture this Jesus surrounded by the crowd surrounded by his enemies
this woman before him
who is feeling guilty and shamed
Jesus bent down
started to write on the ground
with his finger
when they kept on questioning him
he straightened up
and he said to them
if anyone of you is without sin
you made throw the first stone
and then again
he stooped down
and wrote on the ground
at this those who heard began to go away
one-at-a-time
the older ones first
little bit more wise
and so only Jesus was left with the woman still standing there
Jesus straighten up
and asked her, woman
where are they?
has no one condemned you?
no one sir she said
then neither do I condemn you
Jesus declared go now
and leave your life of sin
You see, Jesus showed self control
I don't know about you but if I'm surrounded by my enemies and they're
trying to discredit me
they're trying to put me down
I'm going to let him know how I feel about that
Jesus
was self controlled
starts writing on the ground
now lots of theologians try to speculate what Jesus was writing in the ground
we don't know
I think if John wanted us to know he would have told us
I think what matters is how Jesus responses
he's in control of himself
Jesus
is patient
He's patient with God the father
he knows the God, the father, has a plan and he's always just alright Lord
you know your timing not mine
he's patient
even with his enemies
Jesus is humble
He goes to the woman who is
guilty
feeling full of shame
he lifts her up
he lifts her up
And He sets her free
he empowers her to change her life
this is not weakness
this is quiet strength
those
who are meek receive a blessing
and Psalm thirty seven verses nine through eleven says for evil men will
be cut off
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land
a little while the wicked will be no more though you look for them they will not
be found
But meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace Matthew five-five they will inherit the earth
the earth is our inheritance
it was given as an inheritance to Adam and Eve
Got said here's the earth it is yours it is your responsibility to take care of
it
and then they sinned
relations with broken
they were cast out of the garden
they lost their inheritance
this is the good news
Jesus
died on the cross rose again from the dead to restore that relationship that
which was broken
so that now we are children of God
that we are brothers and sisters with Christ
and we now receive our inheritance
Jesus says the
meek will keep it cold
they will get it all
this is the other part of a blessing
I'm not a very meek person
I get it sometimes I think I maybe stumble onto now and again
but I'm not a meek person
again it's not what we do
it's who we are becoming
we are becoming
people of God we are becoming more and more like Jesus we are being matured
we're becoming more complete as we become
the people we were meant to be
we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us from
the inside out
to be
the people of God
we're not done yet
God is not done with us yet
we are becoming
we are becoming
people of character
It's the only thing we take with us when we die
this is the way
to be strong
Let me pray for us
God, we thank you so much that you're not done with us yet
God as we learn more and more who you are and how you work
and the truth of your scriptures and it just blows our minds
you are so good
and Jesus we thank you for these words
from the sermon on the mount
the people that you are calling us to be
we thank you that you're not done with us yet we thank you that we are being
transformed
that is we hear from your word we leave cured belittled the change a little bit
more like Jesus
that we're being conformed into the image of Christ
God thank you
thank you so much
we love you
Lord, I pray for each person in this building
Lord, I ask you would continue to make us
into the people of God
Lord give us the character
that honors you
and that impacts this world for good
help us to be
who you've call us to be
we cannot do this on our own Holy Spirit please come
Enter us, fill us, transform us
from the inside out
we need you
again we thank you God
for loving on us, saving us
transforming us
being patient with us
we say this in Jesus name
Amen
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