Title: Conquer The World By Being Meek
Key Text: Matthew 5:5
In the third Beatitude, Jesus said in Matthew 5:5 where Jesus said ‘Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.’
Meekness is a word that often seems strange today, but it is one that we must seek to understand. The great Moses was a very powerful leader who led a nation out of slavery and to the Promised Land, real physical territory. But one of the greatest things that distinguished the life of Moses was his meekness. Numbers 12:3 says ‘Moses was very meek, more than all men who were on the face of the earth’. Jesus himself was meek, even though he constantly challenged the religious authorities and faced death on a cross. He said in Matthew 11:29: ‘Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’
To be a meek person is not something you can achieve on your own. Of course, Jesus was meek because He was the pure and perfect son of God. But for everyone else including you and me, meekness is something that must be developed as a process of the development of our relationship with God.
Meekness means to be self-controlled
Meekness means to be teachable (James 1:19)
Meekness means to be gentle (Matthew 11:29)
Meekness means to be yielded to God (Deuteronomy 32:35
Apply
Meekness means to be self-controlled
In the Greek New Testament, the word for “meek” does not suggest weakness; rather, it denotes strength brought under control.
William Barclay points out that the Greek word for “meek” was the word which was often used to describe an animal which had been tamed to obey the command of its master. It might be a strong animal like a horse or ox, able to do a great deal of work. It was not “weak” but it was “meek”, always obedient to the will of its owner.
A tame horse contributes much more to life than a wild one. Energy out of control is dangerous; energy under control is powerful. Moses had great capabilities, but he needed 40 years in the desert as a shepherd to develop a meek attitude. He needed to be broken in by God, just like the disciples and the apostle Paul and so many effective Christian leaders throughout history.
Billy Graham said of this beatitude: ‘you have a temper. There is nothing unique about that. Most people have tempers, in varying degrees of course. God does not ask you to get rid of that temper. But He does say that if you are to be happy, it must be brought under control and rechannelled to proper use.
‘God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness…to tame us, to bring us under proper control so that we can do his will.’
You may have many strengths but has your strength being brought under God’s control? Are you like an unbroken horse? Do you just do what you want and say what you want? Do you easily rise up in anger if someone or something displeases you?
Or have you come to a point when you are aware that you are under God’s authority and you are now controlled by the Spirit of God? In other words, has God tamed your wild spirit?
Meekness means to be teachable
A meek person is not a know it all. A meek person is ‘quick to listen and slow to speak’ as James 1:19. A meek person is a learner.
Moses, as we can see in the example of his meeting with his father-in-law was not offended when he told him that the way he was leading was ‘not right.’ Instead he humbly and meekly listened to his advice about delegating to many other leaders and he acted on that advice.
Being teachable is a key part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. The disciples not only were taught by Jesus but they carefully listened to what he said. And then they obeyed him by going and making disciples of all nations, baptising them ‘in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ Being teachable means being:
Willing to listen
Willing to obey
Willing to be corrected
Willing to change
Meekness also involves developing a teachable spirit and recognising when we need help and advice from family, friends or colleagues and your pastors and spiritual mentors. Next we see that…
Meekness means to be gentle
Moses was very gentle even praying for the healing of his sister who had been so critical of him.
When Jesus invited people who were weary to come to him, he told people that they could easily learn from him ‘for I am meek and lowly in heart’ or as the NIV puts it ‘for I am gentle and humble in heart.’
A meek person is not strong with people, intimidating them and putting them down. A meek person is someone who is sensitive to the needs of people and treats them with kindness and respect even if they do not deserve it.
Are you gentle? Do you treat others with a sensitive approach? Are you kind to those who may not deserve kindness?
Meekness means to be yielded to God
The dictionary says that the word meek means: “quiet, submissive, and compliant”.
The Bible says Meekness is essentially an attitude or quality of heart whereby a person is willing to accept and submit without resistance to the will and desire of someone else. In the case of Christians, this is GOD.
Meekness means depending on God and trusting Him in all situations, even when we are wronged. God is the judge who judges justly and who says ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay.
Jesus was the great example of weakness in the Garden of Gethsemane. He laid down his own rights when he prayed “yet not my will be done but yours”. He could have called down legions of angels to fight his cause. But he remained meek and humble trusting everything to His Father in heaven.
Instead of retaliation as he hung on a cross, he prayed “Father forgivs them for they know not what they do”
Our Lord Jesus Christ allowed himself to be crucified for the sins of the world and now the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God. We too can inherit far greater blessings than we imagine when we constantly become meeker with the help of the Holy Spirit.
