The Power Of Meekness

Back in the early 70s when I lived in Australia there was a period of time in Australia that particular time was so many strikes. There was such a ferment between the labor union and the employers companies and in the constant strikes, every single day is a strike and sometimes you get a national strike that cripples the whole country and the men who headed up the trade union movement of the time was a man by the name of Bob Hawke who later became the Australian prime minister. When things were coming to the boiling point, one of the reporters came to Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Hart.

Your father was a Congregational minister. Can't you just give in the little haven't you heard what the Bible said the Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. With this Russ talking Rhodes scholar without a moments hesitation, says the Bible is wrong, the meek will never inherit the earth. Legal never get anywhere. The world belongs to the aggressive and to the assertive into the strong not to Mr. Hawk and indeed to most people. Meekness is weakness. This is a common perception in our world. The moment the person mentioned the word meekness and they think of someone who is a doormat someone who is weak someone who is indecisive someone who is timid someone who is a loser. Someone who is fearful someone who's a spineless someone who is powered someone who is told what to do, where to go, to put it in the vernacular in case. These things did not make any sense to you a first-class wimp, but the true meaning of the word meek has nothing to do with all of these descriptions. In fact, I was reminded recently of a story of the teacher who asked her students to write a short essay about how meek the Quakers are and the little girl in the class brought this a short essay and she said the following Quakers are very meek people who never fight and never answer back. My father must be a Quaker, but my mother is not giving away family secrets Laura Bell and sedentary about little Tommy little Tommy was given a dog they decided to name this new dog uncle Joe when somebody asked him he said that Tommy why on earth would you call this dog without augmenting he said well because he's just like that uncle of mine. He growls at everything he eats and he wants to fight everyone he meets.

Meekness is neither weakness, not to meditate, nor being a doormat meekness as we going to see today means power under control right that were down power under control.

Not so long ago, a very prominent citizen of this nation called Christians losers probably and I'm speculating because he went to a Christian school, and maybe he was taught the song gentle Jesus meek in my and he probably concluded that if you follow this axiom that he will never be as successful as he is, but that is a distortion of the real meaning of the third beatitude in the Masters manifesto is author distortion.

Certainly no one would accuse Moses as being weak. No one would ever accuse Moses of being cowered. Yet the Bible said God describes Moses and the Scripture as the meekest man on the face of the earth. There are no more courageous man that ever walked in the face of this earth like the Lord Jesus Christ and yet he said of himself. I am meek and lowly in heart, and the fact the Bible tells us that there is such a thing as sin lists anger.

This type of thing as righteous anger. There is courageous type of anger. There is a God laid anger when Moses came down from the mountain carrying the commandments in his hands and then he watched the people for whom God has performed medical after miracle building a pool and worshiping him as Yahweh in anger broke those tablets in his hand that was a righteous anger when Jesus came in the temple and sword being desecrated by unbridled greed. He whipped him out of there and cleansed his father's house. Listen to me very carefully. Please there is a godly anger which builds up, but then there is godless anger that tears down there is a righteous anger that cleanses and purifies.

But then there is a selfish anger that the files there is a courageous anger that seeks to glorify God and God alone. But then there is a caloric anger that seeks self glory and the Bible makes a distinction between power out of control and power under control. Listen to some of the scriptural text here. Proverbs chapter 16 verse 32. It says that he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city that is power under control. Proverbs 25, 28 he who has no rule over his spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls.

That is power out of control. I have a plaque somewhere in my office that is written by one of the great Korean Christian saints Dr. Hunt could check and it says this when you lose your temper you lose everything and I want to tell you don't have to be a new percentage to discover or to know what the realized corpus of mindset that I am an expert on the subject. I know it well before I submitted my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I had such a foul temper had to cry to God in tears, to deliver me from such a temper. I said, Lord, if I'm going to serve you. If I'm going to be a minister of the gospel you have to deliver now to tell you and testify to you. God can deliver and he will deliver years ago God began to teach me this lesson which I have asked for.

Be careful what you pray for God will give it to you in abundance. God began to teach me this lesson this very important lesson in my life and the lesson is this, that anger is power. Just like fire has power.

I know what it is for the fire of anger to flareup when fire is under control. It becomes your servant when fire under control and you are able to harness it you can accomplish great things with it. But when the fire gets out of control. It becomes your master and it makes a devastating havoc not only to you but all those around you. So it is with anger it can be your servant, or it can be your master woman came to evangelist Billy Sunday back in the early part of the century to sit and she said Mr. Sunday after my temper flares up is all over with and evangelist looked at her and they said Mme. so is a shotgun blast but look at the damage that is left behind.

I have known Christians who have supposedly known the Lord and been believers for many years yet they have never learned this important further lesson from the beatitude in the Masters manifesto turn to Matthew 55 as we going through this Masters manifesto in order tell you at the outset the Jesus is Beatitudes a like a string of pearls that identify the Christian character. This so much talk about character in our society today, and yet even those who talk about that they do not understand it because if you want to know what a Christian character is look at Matthew chapter 5 and just as a fruit of the spirit. There are many in number, but they are in the singular, one fruit saw the beatitude they may be nine or eight depending on your account yet they are one cluster to be sure they're given to us in steps, one step follows the other. You can't miss one out and then skip one jump atop of the other. They are systematically given to us by the master himself. Who knows us and he knows how we live and how we ought to live.

They are systematically given to us so that we can develop Christian character in a world that is increasingly a world that is increasingly belittling the importance of character. Let's look at these previous steps.

The Scripture said those who are poor in spirit. Those who have come to the Lord Jesus Christ declaring spiritual bankruptcy of themselves. They have the kingdom of God. But beyond that, they will be the very people who are going to mourn over there soon then not gonna rationalize their sins are not going to explain it away.

They're not going to mourn over it, and repent of it. The poor in spirit who mourns over their sin.

Those who will have their power under control. Which brings me to this third point why because power under control will allow the believers to possess the Holy Spirit and those who mourn over their sin that describes our disposition toward God is between you and God alone. When you come declaring your spiritual bankruptcy when you come morning over sin, but for those who are meek, that's our disposition toward the rest of the community toward humanity. Those of you who have the right disposition toward God will have to have the right disposition toward one another. Those who are walking humbly before God will walk God's way before each other. Matthew 55 Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

I don't want to get technical here and I really work hard to avoid that giving your big words but the word meek in the Greek and the original was a word that is very familiar to the people who were listening to Jesus.

As soon as the word is mentioned. They knew exactly what he's talking about and it was used to describe the soothing effect of medicine. It was used to describe the effect of gentle breeze upon sailing. It was used to describe a wild animal who has been tamed and broken in these were three common usage of that word that the moment they heard the Lord Jesus Christ, saying, Blessed are the meek, they immediately visualize those three things of what the word intended to mean look at each of these closely the medicine the wind in the wild animal in this one thing that these three incompatible items have together. It is power, medicine, wind, and horses all have power and if there power is under control.

Wonderful things will happen if there power is out of control devastation could result medicine the right dosage of medicine is wonderful. It could help, but if you do like some person that I will not character rise who decided to take the whole bottle and drink it all at once in order to get well quickly. It will kill you.

That's a wrong use of medicine. A gentle breeze is delightful. In the summertime. A gentle breeze is delightful for the sailor but too much wind becomes hurricane and hurricane destroyed and devastated the wake of broken horse is a delight to his master, but an untamed horse is dangerous and when Jesus used the word meekness he was telling all of his hearers is telling us today about power power that is harnessed power that is tamed power that is under control power that is subdued power that is broken, you know, when Abraham shepherds and lots Shepherd got into an argument start fighting with each other what happened. Abraham had power under control lot.

His nephew was while he did not have his power under control. So what Abraham, who had power under control told Locklin his ship was just take what you want and leave me in peace.

No, Abraham could upset the lots are one of the following thing you have what you have because of what I've given you listen to me young man in this culture the elders get the best and you get the leftover listen to me you are a spoiled brat.

I don't know where I went wrong with you. You will get nothing get out of here.

He could've done that and he could've been within his right, but to the contrary, Abraham had power and his power was under control. The control of God, so he set them up in effect that what you want going will you choose, and I will take the leftover and all going the opposite direction. If you go to these don't go to the West. If you go to the North. I go to the South.

Please listen carefully to this. It is very important everyone of us. Abraham knew that is his inheritance is secure in God. Abraham believed that his sufficiency is in the Lord alone.

Abraham knew that God was the source of his blessings and God can never, never, never, never run out of resources.

Abraham knew that his greedy nephew could not rob him of anything that God has for him. Listen carefully. No one no one no one can rob you of what God has for you. If someone tries God is going to make it up to you with dividends on top. When you are meek before God when you have your power under control of God's Holy Spirit, God's blessings for you. I use along not anyone else's. It has your name written all over it and no one can take that away from you. God kept his promises to Abraham and he being meek and headed to dear Joseph, the epitome of meekness maligned and mistreated by his envious and jealous brothers yet when he came to power.

He kept his power under control. I don't have to tell you Joseph when he became the number two man in the most powerful nation in the world that he had power and he could've used it for himself to avenge himself from his brothers, but he didn't do it. Joseph had the power to destroy his mean and jealous and envious brothers, but he didn't do it. Why because Joseph was meek he had this power under control.

Listen to me very carefully and hear me right please I don't want you to misunderstand this, the meek will always win always win.

I will explain that meekness manifests itself greatly.

Meekness manifests itself mostly when you have power to hurt those who hurt you but you don't when you have the power to punish your enemies reputation.

You refuse when you have the power to destroy the one who hates you.

But you don't when you have the power to undermine confidence in those who betray you, but you don't when you refuse to do this that is meekness. According to Jesus Christ, amen. That is power under control. But if you're looking for a perfect example of meekness, look no further than the Lord Jesus himself. She being the creator of the world, through whom all things were made, for whom all things were made and yet the Bible said he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter in the sheep before his sheer to you every secretive every part and yet when he was reviled. He reviled not what he suffered, he threatened not, but he committed himself to him who judges justly how many of you would agree that it took more power for Jesus Christ to submit to the will of the father than for Peter to draw out his sword and chop the ear of the servant of the high priest what Peter did was natural. What Jesus did was supernatural and we are called to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ on ask you this question. How are you doing in your meekness department. How you doing. Do you have your power under control. When Jesus said blessed are the meek. He was courting from Psalm 37 because there it says the meek will inherit the earth know if you've ever read the Psalm Psalm 37 you cannot escape the fact that this writer was going through a tough time.

You cannot avoid that.

Even if you read it casually wicked people were trying to cut down dishonest people were slandering him and trying to ruin his reputation would be your attitude toward such people if they do that to you will be my attitude toward them. I tell you years ago a friend of mine. Some of you know this is to answer such a question by saying will punch him in the nose and pray for forgiveness later. And that's normal. That is a natural way. But you know what most people do when they get in the situation they fret and they fret and they fret and turmoil inside is like a volcano. That is why three times in the just the first 11 versus the begins in verse one. Fret not yourself but cease from anger and forsake wrath on how many of you know that anger can destroy can destroy completely in a Monastery and old Monastery near Bevin housing in Germany. You'll find a two pair of deer antlers there permanently interlocked the hanging there in the Monastery there were found in the position many years ago. Apparently the two animals had been fighting fiercely and their horns became entangled and they could not untangle. They could not get disengaged and as a result, both perished from hunger when you like to take those horns to every home to every institution into every church where people are determined to fight to the last ditch to have their way. When you like to do that, but the psalmist is saying to us, the meek will always trust in the Lord, the meek will always delight themselves in the Lord, the meek will always rest in the Lord. The vehicle always wait patiently for the Lord.

How do you develop this character of meekness well relationship. The five tells us that we cannot manufacture meekness you cannot manufacture it you try but you won't work is sound.

The next time I'm going to be careful and I'm not gonna say nothing will work and I'm not discouraging you. I'm just telling you the truth. Meekness is part of the fruit of the spirit and fruit are never manufactured fruit is cultivated when you become poor in spirit.

When you are able to mourn over your sin, the spirit of the Lord will help you develop the spirit of meekness, the spirit of the Lord will help you cultivate the fruit of meekness in your life but is a bad news to some of you who are impatient like me that cultivating the fruit of meekness takes time.

It does take time. Listen carefully when Moses was growing up in Egypt being pampered in Pharaoh's household. He was not a meek man.

In fact the first time he saw two people fighting together. He killed one just took sides right away but after 40 years in the wilderness, cutting his teeth on shepherding God was not only preparing him for his ministry he was cultivating and Moses the spirit of meekness.

Moses could never have done for God what God called him to do without the agony of those 14 years of cultivation in the world.

Prior to those 40 years in the wilderness.

Moses could not put up with the junk that the Israelites were giving him an all fainting fits that they were giving him out of the wilderness he would not want to learn that fly to the moon. Listen to me.

Please God might be taking you through a wilderness experience right now in order to cultivating you the fruit of meekness in order to develop and you power under control and I only know two ways that you can react to that. You can either submit to the hardship of cultivation or you can fret. You can either surrender to the process of cultivation of meekness or you can rebel and produce a hardness of your heart. Jesus said blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

How shall the meek inherit the earth. Psalm 37 gives you the answer to Intuit there in the Psalm you going to notice. You can't escape it.

That the psalmist is contrasting the wicked and the righteous. The wicked will do this in the righteous will do that the wicked will feel this way and the righteous will feel that way this is going to happen to the wicked, and this is what's going to happen to the righteous. In other words, is what the psalmist saying these are my words, not his words but I'm going explain it. It's a kind of use of translation.

Some are used to that the psalmist is saying you know from the outside it appears that the wicked is winning in the righteous is losing. But appearances can be deceiving. That's really what to say that he tells you the answer. He said when you delight yourself in the Lord, you will be able to have a different view of things when you are able to trust the Lord completely and fully when you are able to submit to the Lord totally. He will give you a sneak preview of what the real picture is all about him right as long as you are fretting you are seeing things from the outside, and as long as you see things from the outside you going to keep on fretting and as long as you keep on fretting you going to see things from the outside, and as long as you see things from the outside you going to keep on fretting and as long as you keep on fretting you going to see things from the outside. It's a vicious circle here. I am getting ready to close.

When you seek nothing for yourself.

God will give you everything God said to Jeremiah see great things for yourself. Seek them not. Jesus said that when you seek first the kingdom of God is going to give you all that is needful and that is why the apostle Paul could say with assurance, having nothing, and yet possessing all glory to God. It is one thing that you notice in the Gospels about Jesus not anywhere in the Gospels Neva find Jesus fretting about anything, even when things got real rough even when things got real appear to be at the worst, Jesus never fretted.

Not once. The disciples were fretting right there in the middle of the storm.

Jesus was sleeping in the middle of what all fretting about will get to do about food. Jesus was not fretting because he was sure of is that his provision. The meek shall inherit the earth. Your inheritance comes to you when someone dies in the view bequest in his or her will. But this is different. Listen carefully it doesn't work the same way here, in this case what Jesus is telling us is that your inheritance comes when you die when you die to self, you grow in meekness when you decide to control you will grow in meekness when you died to scheming you will grow in meekness when you direct manipulation and conniving and working things out your way. You will grow in weakness. When you grow in meekness will inherit all things in Christ Jesus. Joseph waited upon the Lord and would not take things in his own hands and one day he was exulted inherited the earth.

David waited upon the Lord and refused to kill the soul and inherited the land the meek don't have to fret.

They don't have to fight. They don't have to worry only submit because they know that that is in control. Listen to a Jameson for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, and lacking in nothing belong to be liberated from fretting you long to be liberated from anger. Do you long to be liberated. He is a good news. I give you the bad news, but is a good news God is longing to liberate you and I seldom testify unless I know that I'm going to bring glory to God. I know that God liberates in the God freeze and I know that he longs to do it if you're willing and if you're ready to say God, heavenly father, it is with utter humility and brokenness of heart that we stand before you. The God who loves us so the desire to give us all things in Christ Jesus that he has given us all things in Christ Jesus. Father, I pray that you will empower us and that you will liberate us, Lord, we know if we did not know this, we wouldn't even pray that you long to liberate us that you want to bring healing to us that you want to bring peace and joy into our lives and father we pray in the name of Jesus with daily reminders in order to hand back all of our friends and all of our DB men and women of joy and peace in Jesus name I pray.

Thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael. You sat recently featured on leading the way. If you'd like to know more about us, please visit LTW.org that LTW.Ward