WHEN THE MEEK TAKE OVER
One
of the benefits of having children is getting to watch cartoons without having
to explain yourself. Several years ago,
there was a television program called “Pinky and the Brain” featuring two mice. Pinky was a rather bizarre character who
would be complimented if described as not very bright. Brain was just as his name suggests, a
brilliant scientist who had only one consuming drive—to take over the
world. At the start of every episode,
Pinky would ask, “Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?” He would answer, “The same thing we do every
night, Pinky. Try to take over the
world!”
Most of us are not really interested in
taking over the whole world, just the portion we deal with the most! We want to be in control of our world, to
have the reins in our hands instead of being at the mercy of someone or
something else.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the
Beatitudes, Jesus makes a very interesting statement that most of us have a
hard time comprehending because it seems to be the exact opposite of what we
really believe. He said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).
THESIS: Meekness in
believers allows their lives to be governed by the power of God under the
control of the Holy Spirit so that in Him all things will one day belong to
them when they inherit the earth.
While others clamor and fight to get their
piece of the pie, the meek rest confidently and quietly in the promises of Christ.
I. A SELF-PROMOTING PERSON SEES NOTHING WRONG WITH PERSONAL AMBITION AND UNBRIDLED AGGRESSIVENESS.
--Apart from Christ,
each person seeks his/her own best interests and sees nothing wrong with being
either ambitious or aggressive if that is what it takes to get ahead.
--Self-promotion, we are told, is necessary for you to succeed in a world where everyone else is operating with that agenda.
People think nothing of pushing themselves to the front, stepping on people in order to get ahead, and acting more aggressively without concerning themselves about who they might hurt along the way.
Even Christians are counseled to do
the same thing—pushing one church ahead of another, promoting your own
ministry, putting your own picture on the cover of your books, finding agents
who can “get you name recognition” so that you can promote yourself in the
competitive world of Christian ministry.
May God protect us from ambition arising from self-promotion instead of
an ambition for the glory of Christ alone!
A. IN THE ABSENCE OF MEEKNESS, SEIZING THE HIGHEST PLACE POSSIBLE PROMISES TO BRING THE GREATEST SATISFACTION POSSIBLE.
--When meekness suggests weakness and inferiority, you cannot afford to allow that attitude to limit the heights to which you can soar.
--Meekness is viewed with disdain and those who come across as meek are pitied, mocked or run over!
--All the self-esteem teaching and assertiveness training currently flooding the marketplace of ideas promote the idea that you are master of your own future, the designer of your own dreams and you must allow nothing to get in the way of pushing your way to the top—whatever your field of interest.
--Only when you are on top, we are told, can you ever be satisfied, so never allow yourself to take a backseat, or be talked into professional suicide by acting with meekness!
B. IN THE ABSENCE OF HUMILITY, CLAIMING THE BROADEST RIGHTS POSSIBLE PROMISES TO INSURE THE WIDEST FREEDOMS POSSIBLE.
--Somewhere along the line, someone convinced us that life is filled with rights that we have a responsibility to claim—the more we can discover and claim for ourselves, the greater our advantage over others.
--Suggesting that my
rights have been restricted ranks up there with the highest forms of injustice
we can imagine because we actually have been taught to think that we deserve
whatever we want.
--Freedom, as understood in this context, means nothing more than my right to have things my way.
--If we are not
aggressive in protecting those rights, and assertive in fighting for more
rights, we end up losing out to those whose values do not include something as
limiting as humility!
--Boosting our ego and demanding our rights work well together—a proud heart and a meek heart do not work well together!
u How then do we understand Jesus when He tells us that the
meek shall inherit the earth?
--With the world
around us telling us that we have to assert ourselves to take what we want out
of life, Jesus tells us that if we intend to take over the world, we will do it
with meekness instead.
II. A SPIRIT-CONTROLLED PERSON SEES NOTHING LOST IN PERSONAL MEEKNESS AND UNEMBARRASSED YIELDEDNESS.
--When we think of
someone as meek, it is hardly a positive description because we have come to
associate it with the idea that they are weak, timid, lacking in courage—even
cowardly.
--In English, there is no good way to capture the essential character of this word, and so inferior substitutes have been used in its place for fear of giving the wrong impression with the connotations associated with the word “meek.”
Perhaps
an explanation about the meaning of “meekness” would help us overcome our
prejudice against what Christ so readily commends.
p – Translated into
Latin Vulgate as mansuetus, a word
which literally meant “used to the hand,” or “to bring something wild under
control, to submit to be managed.”
--The concept of
power under control is almost lost in the English understanding of “meek” but
as Christ used the word with reference to Himself, there was no way it could be
used to mean weakness, timidity or cowardice!
Matt.
11:29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle (meek)
and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.
--In the original
language it communicated what A. T. Robertson calls a “fine blend of spiritual
poise and strength…It is the gentleness of strength, not mere effeminacy.”
--Bringing all this together, we can then forge a definition for “meekness” that states its meaning like this…
--That godly quality
of deep spiritual power controlled by a quiet confidence and gentleness of
spirit…
…It does not come unhinged when life goes
haywire but remains totally submissive to the ways and will of God.
Matthew Henry -- “Next to the beauty of
holiness, which is the soul’s agreement with God, is the beauty of meekness,
which is the soul’s agreement with itself.
Behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is for the flowers of the
soul to dwell in unity, the reason knowing how to rule the affections, at the
same time, knowing how to obey.” (Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible)
--So you want to take
over your world in the right way?
--Begin by submitting your will to Jesus Christ so that He can empower you to yield willingly, graciously and humbly before God and man, and in the way you “take in hand” the attitudes of your own soul.
A. MEEKNESS IN THE WAY YOU REIN IN YOUR SOUL.
--Your own soul tends to run wild without the restraining power of God’s hand at work in you through Jesus Christ.
--Meekness through
Christ takes over and gives you the power to rein in your own tendency to get
out of control.
1. Rule Your Own Spirit
Prov. 16:32 He who is slow to anger is
better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a
city.
--If you do not rule
your own spirit, you will find yourself in trouble because of your poor
judgment and bad decisions made out of anger or anxiety or ignorance…choose to
rein in your impetuous side and let meekness determine your next steps.
Nehemiah learned that his Jewish brothers were gouging others in Jerusalem by charging exorbitant rates of interest on borrowed funds.
“Then I was very angry when I had
heard their outcry and these words. And
I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers…” (Neh
5:6-7). Literally, he said “my heart
consulted in me” so that he had long enough to rein in his anger and act with
meekness and self-control…even though he still had to confront the sin and
contend with the culprits responsible.
When you are angry with your children,
upset with your spouse, frustrated with your co-workers, meekness through
Christ will rein in your emotions and passions and allow you to rule your own
spirit and so honor Him. Not out of
anger, but out of meekness, strength under control, can you fashion a plan of
action!
2. Ruled by His Peace
Col. 3:15 And let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be
thankful.
--Meekness preserves
the tranquility of mind and spirit when the peace of Christ rules over me.
--The word translated
“peace” literally refers to the role of an umpire rendering a decision by which
the players must abide—in this case, the peace of Christ casts the deciding
vote in all circumstances and situations in life so that I happily yield to
whatever He declares.
--When I become meek through Christ, the way I rein in my soul matches the way He controlled His own soul for the glory of His Father.
B. MEEKNESS IN THE WAY YOU RELATE TO PEOPLE.
--When meekness governs my heart, the way I relate to people changes drastically so that I relate to them the way Jesus does.
1. The Power of Silence
Psa.
38:13-15 I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot
open his mouth; 14 I have
become like a man who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. 15 I wait for you, O LORD; you
will answer, O Lord my God.
--It was not that
David could not hear, not that he could not speak, but in meekness of spirit,
he chose to keep silent and let the Lord hear and answer.
Matthew Henry – “It is better by silence to yield to our brother, who is and has been or may be our friend, than by angry speaking to yield to the devil, who has been, and is and ever will be, our sworn enemy.”
2. The Peace-making of Soft Words
Prov.
25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue
can break a bone.
Prov.
15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up
anger.
--Even when we are
provoked, we can make for peace if we allow their provocations to fall on meek
hearts, absorbing the weight of their words or deeds to land on ground plowed
up by the transforming work of Christ.
Toss a heavy brick on a stack of soft towels and neither the towels are damaged, nor the brick noisy, nor the ground underneath injured. So the meek can respond to harsh and hurtful things with soft words and remove the damage before any can be done.
3. The Persuasiveness of Yieldedness
--A word of
criticism, or a confrontational disagreement can generate more heat than light
if there is no meekness.
--Yet if we can act
as Christ did, with meekness, we can receive even the most deliberate attacks
and still remain yielded to the Father’s purposes at work to shape our
character.
Psa.
141:5 Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke
me — it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever
against the deeds of evildoers;
--Meekness toward
others allows a potential source of anger to become a welcome word of kind
correction.
--Many will be
persuaded not by our carefully crafted arguments and cleverly designed answers,
but by the sweet spirit of yieldedness that comes when meekness governs our
hearts.
C. MEEKNESS IN THE WAY YOU RESPOND TO GOD.
--Meekness writes a
hymn and sings it day by day, moment by moment:
“Have Thine own way, Lord, have
Thine own way. Thou art the Potter, I am the clay; mold me and make me after
Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.”
1. Meekness Softens the Heart to Receive the Impression of God’s Seal
--Soft hearts are
like melted wax ready to take the impression of the seal of the Holy Spirit as
He puts the stamp of Jesus Christ upon us.
--We welcome the
fires that soften the wax when meekness governs our response to all that the
Lord brings our way.
2. Meekness Surrenders the Will to Relinquish Control to God’s Sovereignty
--While others put
together their complaints and order their arguments, the meek surrender
complete control to the Lord, quietly and confidently resigning themselves to
the reality that He does indeed know more and better than I ever can.
Job
11:7-9 “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of
the Almighty? 8 They are higher than the
heavens — what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave — what
can you know? 9 Their measure is longer
than the earth and wider than the sea.
Meekness…”does
not imply an attitude dependent solely on the human will. It is a sign of
salvation: of “calling” (Eph. 4:2), election (Col. 3:12), and the work of the
Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:23). It is not a virtue …but a possibility of life and
action given by God. It is not an aspect of human temperament. It comes about
when men are linked with Christ and are conformed to his image.”
Meekness is about a commitment to allow
something, Someone, other than ourselves to rule our world. God’s word makes it clear that those who
follow Jesus Christ will be meek just as He is.
Matt.
11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
We laugh at the foolishness of two cartoon laboratory mice, Pinky and the Brain, conspiring to take over the world. Let’s face it, their attempts are no more foolish than ours to take over our world.
Jesus tells us that the meek will inherit
the earth. No one else can because no
one else has received the power under the control of Christ that His followers
have. It is the power to trust Him and
leave the take-over of all things in His hands.
June 26, 2005
Providence Baptist Church
©
David Horner 2005
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