Rejoice
Notes
Transcript
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed Are The Meek...
Meek: (Martin Lloyd-Jones - Studies on the Sermon on the Mount) What, then, is meekness? I think we can sum it up in this way. Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others. It is there fore two things. It is my attitude towards myself; and it is an expression of that in my relationship to others.
True View of Self:
True View of Self:
Meekness in Relation
Meekness in Relation
How we perceive ourselves, and express that perception to others, matters. It is the godly outworking of the second great commandment - Love your neighbor as yourself. What does that look like?
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Kind… Tenderhearted… Forgiving. All responses to what Christ showed and gave us first.
Do we have reason to be unkind? Jesus has much more, by that logic. And we gave much more offense to God than others gave to us.
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
The meek person is concerned about others. They don’t find a value in themselves that they deny to others. You feel victory when you succeed? Celebrate the success of others. You sacrifice for your future? Look out for another’s future too.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
A meek person seeks peace with others. They don’t stir strife. They don’t allow the pride of their perspective break relationship with others. Do that mean we agree with everyone? NO! Does that mean we think their logic is sound, their motives are pure, their effort is up to standard? Not necessarily. But, none of that gives us reason to not live peaceably with them.
When those attitudes cause division, it comes from a place of pride, not meekness. If it is comfortable, live peaceably? If it is convenient, live peaceably? If it is easy, live peaceably? NO! It wont be any of those things!
Meekness is not easy. But to live meekly means that we live out with integrity the salvations God has already given us in Christ.
Meekness of the Saved
Meekness of the Saved
Sinner Redeemed - Humble
All we bring to God is our need for forgiveness. He came to us in our greatest need.
Rom. 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We have a right view of ourselves in relation to God when we approach Him in humility
Forgiven and Cleaned - Grateful
We are forgiven and redeemed. That sin we brought is washed clean when we trust Him as our saviour.
Hebrews 10 reminds us that there was a time that a yearly offering was required to cover and cleanse from sin. That offering was insufficient as it was required year after year. But Jesus was the one sacrifice sufficient for all!
Gratitude is the appropriate response. Our sins are covered, cleaned, and taken away. Forgotten about and not counted against us by the blood of Jesus when we acknowledge Him as our savior and accept His forgiveness.
But the meek Christian cannot allow that gratitude to turn into pride. If we are at all acceptable before God, it is because of His continual and costly covering of our sin. Sin we still struggle with, sin we still commit. Sin that still needs covering and cleansing.
… They Shall Inherit The Earth.
… They Shall Inherit The Earth.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
This is likely seen in the context of the Promised Land.
Israel was promised a land of blessing and provision. A place to belong - a place to honor and worship God.
But it was not there for the taking. They weren’t commanded to be bigger, badder, stronger than the inhabitants. It wasn’t their prize, if they could claim it.
They were promised it, then asked to depend on God for it’s deliverance. Sometimes that meant fighting. Sometimes it meant walking around a wall. Sometimes it meant bringing instruments of worship to the battle field.
An Inheritance on God’s Terms.
An Inheritance on God’s Terms.
The method of inheriting changed almost every encounter. But the means never changed. What was required was seeking God’s guidance, and following His direction. When they prayed for direction and followed, they were successful in inheriting another piece of their promise. When they took it upon themselves for their success - failure and defeat was certain.
God declared in no uncertain terms your inheritance is from Him. By it’s very nature, an inheritance is given, not taken. It is not earned - other than by selfless loyalty.
An Inheritance Received.
An Inheritance Received.
The meek Christian understands the nature of the inheritance they have recieved.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
What an inheritance this is!
The inheritance of the Promised Land God gave to Israel we but an image of the Promised Land given to those who receive the gift of forgiveness in Jesus.
What is in view for Jesus as He promises and inheritance of the earth for the meek? We have already established the spiritual nature and focus of the beatitudes. And we have discussed how they are a progressive description of the life with God. These first three express the person coming to and becoming committed to Jesus - the person being saved.
Salvation requires a poorness of spirit to understand we have sinned. And having understood how unacceptable that is to a holy and righteous God, we must come to a state of mourning for our broken relationship to our creator.
Meekness completes the status of the believer. That sin and mourning must take us to a position of lowly heart. Gratitude at the deepest level and humility undergird all other things. Things in our relationship with God, and with other people.
An Inherited Land.
An Inherited Land.
“Earth” here does not mean primarily the workings of human enterprise of this planet. It is a phrase set opposite to the Kingdom of Heaven in verse 3. It, therefore, means that the relationship we have entered with God - that we are aligned with His authority and definition of right and wrong - must then be expressed in the world around us.
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
This being in the world and not of the world is the earth implied. The Kingdom of Heaven in present in the lives of believers. As His kingdom grows, so does the that inheritance of the earth.
God desires that all people are saved, that they all hear the good news of salvation in Jesus. When that salvation comes - that person becomes a new creation. And there is a new promised land prepared for them in eternity!
So our promised reward for living the meek life before God and others is found today and tomorrow in each interaction we have, and it is fulfilled in eternity with a Land Flowing with the wonder and glory of God.
Wont you joining me there?
Pray