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[We studied:]

[·  The Spiritual Beggar - Matthew 5.3 – To be spiritually Bankrupt]

[·  Broken Sinners - Matthew 5.6 – To mourn for the cost of your sin.]

[·  Now we study The Mighty Meek - Matthew 5.5]

 [In the heart of the Mediterranean there is an Island called Matarios.  It is so named because it was thought to have all that it needed to sustain its inhabitants.  This is what is meant by the word blessed in this passage of Scripture, it means to have all that you need.]

[If you seek God, blessedness will find you.
If you seek happiness, you will never find it. - Adrian Rogers]

[The world and meekness.] 

[·  Meekness is weakness in the worlds mind.] 

[·  The worldly believe that only the strong are blessed.] 

[But through the sermon on the Mount our Lord Jesus Christ reveals a better way to contentment and satisfaction, that is starkly different from the world’s way.  Jesus said,]

[Matthew 5:5 ⁵ Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ]

[The World thinks this is utter foolishness.  They think it is ridiculous to think that a meek person could be fulfilled or victorious in life.  But, Almighty God says it is so.  So lets discover what God says about the Mighty Meek as the late Adrian Rogers called them.]

A.     The Definition of Meekness? 

1.      Meekness is not Weakness (Matt 11.29; Num 12.3) – Webester’s Collegate – Meek 1: enduring injury with patience and without resentment: MILD 2: deficient in spirit and courage: submissive 3: not violent  or strong: Moderate.[1]

a.       [Was Jesus weak because He was meek?] 

(1)   [40 day fast (Matt 4.2; Luke 4.2)] 

(2)   [Drove out the changers (John 2.15)] 

[Matthew 11:29 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. ] 

b.      [Was Moses weak because he was meek?] 

(1)   [He led Israel out of Egypt.] 

[Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) ] 

2.      Meekness is Yieldedness (Rom 6.19) [- Meekness means yielded or strength under control. It deals with surrender and stewardship.] 

a.       Webster’s 1828 – Meekness – 2: In an evangelical sense, humility: resignation; submission to the divine will, without murmuring or peevishness; oppose to pride. . . . Meekness is a grace which Jesus alone inculcated, and which no ancient philosopher seems to have understood or recommended. – Buckminster. [2] 

b.      [Meekness is strength under the authority of another.  Like the reins control a horse.] 

c.       [Dealing with wild horses:] 

(1)   [Let them run wild.] 

a)      [No restraint.] 

b)      [Do what ever you want.] 

c)      [The philosophy of Niche.] 

(2)   [Cripple the horse.] 

a)      [The horse has a mind of its own that is filled with its own ideas and desires.] 

b)      [Make it impossible for the horse to fulfill its desires.] 

c)      [This is the philosophy of Buddhism.] 

(3)   [Bridle the horse (Rom 6.19)] 

a)      [Teach the horse to control its desires.] 

b)      [God energizes us to use our strength and desires under His guidance.] 

c)      [Turn the reins over to Jesus.] 

[Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. ] 

d.      [Incredible Strength - It takes incredible spiritual strength and discipline to be meek in the Biblical sense.  To willingly place the reigns of your life into the hand of your Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ is not weak nor shameful, it is the demonstration of incredible strength.] 

B.     The Development of  Meekness [- Notice the appropriate order of the Be-Attitudes: [You must be broken before you can be meek.] 

·        [There is your Salvation – The poor in spirit.] 

·        [There is your Transformation - Mourning unto Repentance, this is to be broken over your sin.] 

·        [There is your Conformation – Becoming Meek – This is your surrender.  It is to willingly yield yourself to the Lordship of Christ.  It is power under another's authority.  Meekness is to take the reigns of your life and place them in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.] 

[Matthew 5:5 ⁵ Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ]

Three Steps to meekness: 

1.      Rest in Jesus (Matt 11.28-30). 

[Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. ] 

a.       [Jesus suggests here that your life is hard and your burden is heavy because you are laboring on your own or you may be pulling against the yoke.  A yoke is a device that is used to tie two beasts of burden together.  Its design is to make the burden lighter for each beast by dividing the work load between them both.  A well fit yoke is a comfortable yoke and a functional yoke.] 

b.      [An easy yoke is a yoke that fits right – Jesus is saying that he will give you a yoke that is comfortable and functional.  You will not be alone in your burdens, but with the Lord’s yoke you have the supernatural and almighty help of God helping you bear your burdens.] 

c.       [The way of the transgressor is hard]

[Proverbs 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard. ]

[Refuse the yoke of the Lord and you choose to carry the burden on your own or even worse you choose to pull against the yoke and make the labor extremely hard for everyone.] 

d.      [Come unto me and take my yoke – Hence, our Lord Jesus Christ says, come unto me willingly and yield yourself to my unfailing goodness and divine guidance and you will find rest, contentment, and happiness.  This is nothing less than meekness and it pours out of your willing surrender.] 

2.      Respond to God (James 1.21). 

[James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. ] 

a.       [Submit to the higher power.  But how do we know what the higher power is that we are to submit to.  It is . . . the engrafted word . . .  which is none other than the living Word of God in us.  You will hear God when you hear His Word, you will be conformed to the image of Christ when you meekly give yourself to the Word of God.]

[Many have held and heard the Word of God, but few have responded to the Word of God in a willing meekness.] 

b.      [Receive - Two Greek words.] 

(1)   [lambano (gk) - To take or grasp, the worlds view, I'll take the knowledge of God, no submission.] 

(2)   [dekomia (gk) - To welcome with humility - The Christian view, to be responsive to the presence of God.] 

c.       [We must learn to welcome God's guidance in our lives.] 

3.      Reside with the Holy Spirit (Gal 5.16,25) [- Be filled with the Holy Spirit.] 

a.       [The fruit of the spirit is meekness.] 

[Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ] 

[Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. ] 

C.     The Dynamic of Meekness [- Inherit the earth.] 

[Matthew 5:5 ⁵ Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. ]

1.      A Mortal Prohibition (Psalm 37.16; Psalm 147.6) [- No matter what you have, if you don't have blessedness (happiness) you have nothing.] 

[Psalm 37:16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. ] 

a.       [The world may see your meekness and surrender as weak and poor but what your Heavenly Father gives you through the Lord Jesus Christ the world can never touch.  The roaring lion can threaten, but cannot take.] 

b.      [The world under the deceptive guidance of Lucifer the devil may offer you prosperity and pleasure through his immoral rebelliousness but you will only find entrapment, despair and destruction through his gifts.  You will never find true blessedness, contentment and happiness apart for the Lord of Glory.  The Angel of light can offer but cannot truly give.] 

[Psalms 147:6  The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.] 

2.      An Eternal Promotion (1 Cor 3.21; 2 Cor 6.10; Psalm 22.26; 25.9; 37.11; 149.4) - [To have an inheritance.] 

a.       [Those who are willing to give themselves over to the guidance and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ are promise an eternal and mortal inheritance by God.  But a  man that cannot control himself and that will not allow himself to be led by anyone or anything else, will never be satisfied of blessed.  God says:] 

[Matthew 5:5 ⁵ Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.]

["In the sweet by and by, and in the nasty here and now
 we can inherit the earth."- Adrian Rogers] 

b.      [To those who will trust in Christ and glorify God through their lives, God says, All things are yours.] 

[1 Cor. 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; ] 

c.       [The apostle Paul lost his life completely in Christ.  Paul gave up everything for Jesus, yet he said,] 

[2 Cor. 6:10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. ] 

d.      [Almighty God promises great things to those who will learn to be meek and who will willingly place the reigns of their life in His benevolent hand.  God says,] 

 [Psalms 22:26  The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.] 

[Psalms 25:9  The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.] 

[Psalms 37:11  But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.]  

[Psalms 149:4  For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

CrossRoads Baptist Church, Nov 9, 2008