THE DOCTRINES OF JESUS CHRIST(Cont.)

BLESSED ARE THE MEEK

3) A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE GENUINE CHRISTIAN IS THAT HE IS MEEK

Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

The characteristics of a genuine Christian are such that they work in harmony with one another. The one who is poor in spirit will be so aware of his or her lack before God that he will mourn his own inability to walk in the righteousness of God. This understanding will cause him to be meek or humble before God. What does it mean to be meek?

Jesus, in His doctrine taught that the meek are blessed by God. His statement is a direct quotation from Psalm 37:11, which says:

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

I believe that the verses prior to verse 11 give a clear definition as to what it is to be meek:

Psa 37:1 A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

"Fret not" in the Hebrew means don't be furious or get all riled up over the fact that men can be so evil. Sometimes a Christian will get angry over an individual or a political situation that is absolutely against Christ. When we are furious concerning a thing, it is hard to let Christ's Love show.

Jesus assured us that iniquity would increase (Matt 24). There is no need to allow your peace to be taken away from you because of this. Jesus warned us two thousand years ago that it would happen.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we are not to be envious against those who are wicked. Christians have a tendency to get frustrated over the fact that although they are very careful to keep their minds stayed on the Lord, it seems that the careless sinners prosper and live better lives than they do. Verse 2 says that they will soon be cut down as the grass, and wither as the green herb. Jesus spoke of the self righteous religious leaders who liked to be seen in their feigned piety. He said they have their reward (Matt 6:1-8). Although they may prosper a little here in this life, there will be no reward for them in the Life to come.

The meek person is not furious over the work of the evildoers in the land. Nor is he envious of them. He just exhibits the Love of Jesus to them, knowing that if the wicked die without Jesus, even though they may have seemed to have prospered abundantly in this life, they will have lost their very soul (Matt 16:26).

THEY THAT ARE MEEK TRUST IN THE LORD, AND THEY DO GOOD, AND ARE CONTENT WITH THAT WHICH THE LORD PROVIDES.

Ps 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Those who are meek will understand that their TRUST is in the Lord. He is their Provider, and He will supply all their needs according to His Riches in Glory. The Hebrew word translated as "Trust" is indicative of a person relying on something or someone for their refuge and protection.

The meek Christian will have his affections set on those things that are above (Col 3:2) and will be content, regardless of what state he may be in (Phil 4:11-12).

1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Those who are meek have their priorities set. Their priority is that they seek first the Kingdom of God above all else. They Trust in the Lord for their provision.

Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The meek Christian is confident that as he walks in obedience to the Lord, he will be fed and taken care of by the God that he trusts.

THOSE WHO ARE MEEK ARE YIELDED TO THE WILL OF GOD IN THEIR LIVES.

Ps 37:4 Delight (be pliable) thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Their attitude is that of Jesus' in the garden as He prayed: "…O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." ( Mat 26:39)

The Hebrew word translated as "Delight" means to be pliable, soft, or delicate. Just as clay is in the hands of the Potter, the Christian who is meek will be pliable in the Hands of the Father. God upbraided His people several times in His Word as being stiffnecked (Ex 32:9, 33:3, 33:5, 34:9; Deu 9:6,13, 10:16; 2 Chron 30:8), which would be the opposite of being soft, and delicate and pliable. The meek Christian is yielded to the Work of the Father in his life.

Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

Jer 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

In order for clay to be of any use to the potter, the clay must be pliable. Many people rush to the altar call that invites them to come forth if they wish to be used of God. The minister who makes the invitation will say, "For those of you who have a sincere heart to follow the Lord, and who wish to truly surrender, and want to ask the Lord 'Whatever it takes for me to conform to Your Image, Lord, I invite You to have Your way' come up to the altar now, and surrender to Him."

People will flood the altar because they believe it's a good thing to do (and it is). They will pray "Not my Will, but Yours, oh Lord!" But when opportunities to share the gospel with others arise, worldly concerns will come in to hinder them from sharing the Grace of God with others. "I'd go, but I need to talk to my lawyer about this divorce I am going through". "Oh?", the one who invited him may say, "I thought you surrendered your will to God the other night. God hates divorce." "You don't understand. This marriage is irreconcilable. When I went to the altar the other night, I didn't mean I wasn't going to go through with the divorce!" How pliable is that?

Or, the Christian may go through many trials and hardships following that altar call, and it may seem to him that God isn't there, and he may shake his fist at God, yelling "But God, I have lived for You, and served You with all my heart, and now you allow this disaster to come on me?" He eventually turns away from God and goes back into sin. Or he may simply fall into sin of his own accord, saying, "God, I know this is wrong, but I want to do it anyway. You made me like this, and if You won't take it from me, well, it must be Your fault that I am like this!"

Any number of scenarios could be drawn out of how the professing Christian fails and refuses to yield to God because of the fact that he isn't pliable to the Lord. His heart has become hard, and is not delicate before the Lord, fit for His Use. Stephen addressed those leaders of Israel who were not pliable or meek:

Act 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

We have seen that the meek person:

1) does not get excited, frustrated or angry over the evil in the world
2) He does not envy the apparent successes of the wicked ones
3) He understands that God Alone is his refuge and his salvation
4) He is pliable or tender to the work that the Lord is doing in his life.

ANOTHER ATTRIBUTE OF A PERSON WHO IS MEEK IS THAT THEY WILLINGLY SUBMIT TO THE DIRECTION THE LORD HAS THEM TO GO.

Ps 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

The Hebrew word translated as "Commit" is to roll, or to flow. The word "way" is the Hebrew "Derek" which means road or path. The Christian who is truly meek will not buck the direction that the Lord would have him to go. A ball does not roll on its own. It goes in the direction that it is sent by a sender. If you put a vessel in a stream, that vessel will follow the flow of the stream with no resistance of its own.

The genuine Christian will be meek, and one of his or her attributes is that he will not resist the direction the Lord would have him to go. It doesn't matter if the direction of the Lord will entail probable persecution, loss of a job, or even a life endangering situation, the one who is meek will say "here am I, Lord, send me". As the Christian willingly yields to the direction of the Lord for his or her life, the Lord says that HIS WILL shall be accomplished, and that his righteousness will be apparent to all.

God is looking for a yielded vessel. Twelve spies went out to spy out the land. Ten said it looked hopeless. They were not yielded to the Will of God. Two said "With the Lord all things are possible. Joshua and Caleb had committed their way to the Lord, knowing that God would cause His Promises to come to pass (Num 13:1 - 14:38). Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego refused to conform to the standards of the society around them, even though everyone else had. They refused to bow to the statue of the king. They were meek and went with the flow of where the Lord wanted them to go, even when facing death, and the Lord was Faithful to deliver them all (Dan 1:7- 3:30).

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways (Derek = road) acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Orach = well trodden road).

GENUINE MEEKNESS IN A CHILD OF GOD WILL RESULT IN A CHRISTIAN BEING SILENT BEFORE GOD IN COMPLETE SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL.

Ps 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

The Hebrew word translated as "Rest" here actually means to keep silent, to be dumb, to be still, or to wait. We always hear the testimonies of the Professing Christian who says "I was mad at God, and I gave Him a piece of my mind. I stood on His Promises and reminded Him what He had promised." And more often than not they will testify that God eventually blessed them. A lot of well known speakers in the "Christian entertainment industry" have this type of testimony. They will get their audience to agree that they are not content with the place they are in, and encourage them to flood the altar, demanding the Lord to give their petitions. They are the blind leading the blind.

A Genuine Christian is meek, and genuine meekness is Biblically defined as silently acquiescing to the Wisdom and Will of God for our lives.

TRUE FAITH IN GOD MANIFESTS ITSELF IN THE HUMBLE AND COMPLETE SURRENDER OF THE CHRISTIAN TO THE WILL OF GOD FOR HIS OR HER LIFE. THE COUNTENANCE OF THE ONE WHO IS MEEK WILL NOT REFLECT HOSTILITY OR ANGER TOWARD OTHERS, BECAUSE HE REFUSES TO ALLOW ANGER TO HAVE A HOLD ON HIM.

Ps 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

The word "anger" actually carries with it the idea of the countenance reflecting the anger of an individual. We have all heard the expression "If looks could kill…" Many times this word is translated as "face" or as "nostrils" as when a person huffs in anger. "Wrath" is the fulfillment of that angry countenance…the actions taken to get even with those who have insulted us or have done us wrong.

The meek person turns the other cheek when he is slapped. The meek person doesn't render railing for railing.
The meek person doesn't figure out ways to get even with those who do him wrong.
The meek person understands that "yet a little while", and the wicked will not be.

But as he walks with the Lord, pliable, submissive, and going with the flow of God's plan for his life without questioning God "WHY?", more people will look to him as a true picture of what God's children are like. They will see Jesus in him. People will be drawn to him for counsel and comfort. People will be saved. Lives will be changed, and the land will be taken for the Kingdom of God.

Psalms 149:4 mentions the meek.

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

A meek person will rejoice in the things of God, and God beautifies the meek with salvation. I remember a time when I was not saved, and I could identify a genuine Christian just by their countenance. Sin takes its toll. I have met 40 year old people who look like they are 70 years old because of the marks of sin on their faces. But the Lord beautifies His people with His salvation.

Those of us who are Born Again have been enlisted in the Army of the Lord. We are engaged in spiritual battle on a daily basis. Ephesians 6 speaks of the warfare the Christian is engaged in.

Ps 149 speaks of the authority the Lord allows His children to walk in.

Ps 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints.

Praise ye the LORD. The saints of the Most High God have the honor of engaging in the battle and seeing victory in those battles.

Jesus was the meekest of men, and yet when He fulfilled His Purpose, He was named the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Genuine Christianity is reflected in the servant of God who is meek. Great authority is entrusted to those who are meek. If the church in America would take on the character of Genuine Christianity, we would inherit the earth.

Ps 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

CHRISTIAN: ARE YOU PLIABLE TO THE WILL OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE?

DO YOU TRUST THE LORD YOUR GOD?

ARE YOU WILLING TO GO WHERE THE LORD WOULD SEND YOU?

ARE YOU WILLING TO DO WHAT THE LORD WOULD REQUIRE OF YOU?

ARE YOU SILENT BEFORE GOD?

HAVE YOU FORSAKEN AN ANGRY COUNTENANCE AND WRATH?

THE MEEK SHALL BE BEAUTIFIED WITH SALVATION!

 

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Mar 3:35)

Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

Joh 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Joh 7:16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Joh 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

1Jo 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. |
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

 

BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

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