The Charter of God s Kingdom. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Transcription

1 The Charter of God s Kingdom Matthew 5:4 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

2 Context Jesus teaching a counter-culture for His spiritual Kingdom for disciples Beatitudes can mean happy or blessed but happiness is subjective feeling and being blessed is objective condition - how God views us The Christian life and walk is to do with possessing dual citizenship of our country of origin and heaven 8:3 Poverty in spirit is to do with awareness of sin and a humble turning to God 8:4 Mourning for sin comes from this poverty in spirit and is the start of the spiritual walk

3 The Bible Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Psalm 37:1-12 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

4 Analysis The descent of spiritual formation Meekness is not weakness The reward of the meek

5 The descent of spiritual formation (1) Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. What human beings can be, they must be. They must be true to their own nature. This need we may call self-actualisation It refers to man s desire for self-fulfilment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything one is capable of becoming. Abraham Harold Maslow April 1, 1908 June 8, 1970

6 The descent of spiritual formation (2) Meekness is essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others. The man who is truly meek is the one who is truly amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do. Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones

7 The descent of spiritual formation (3) Three bible people described as meek: Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3 A leader, but opposed by Miriam and Aaron (Jesus) Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 1 Peter 2:23 When He was reviled He did not revile in return I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ 2 Paul s Christlikeness Corinthians 10:1

8 Meekness is not weakness (1) D.O.O.R.M.A.T.S. Dependent Organization Of Really Meek And Timid Souls if there are no objections The motto was, The meek shall inherit the earth if that s okay with everybody. The society didn t last very long because the group gave up the plan when someone objected! J. Upton Dickson

9 Meekness is not weakness (2) Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. by submitting to Christ we have been meeked - it is strength under control It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting W E Vine

10 Meekness is not weakness (3) Greek is praeis It is having the right or the power to do something but refraining for the benefit of someone else Ephesians 4:1, 2 live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Just because you can doesn t mean you should

11 The rest he offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend. It will take some courage at first, but the needed grace will come as we learn that we are sharing this new and easy yoke with the strong Son of God himself. He calls it "My yoke," and he walks at one end while we walk at the other. A W Tozer

12 Meekness is not weakness (4) Psalm 37:1, 7, 8 Fret not yourself means putting off irritation, envy and anger Psalm 37:3a Trust in the Lord Psalm 37:3b Do good Psalm 37:4 Be delighted in the Lord Psalm 37:7, 9 Wait patiently Psalm 37:11 Be humble

13 The reward of the meek (1) Now 1 Corinthians 3:18 23 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise So let no one boast of men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God s. 2 Corinthians 6:10 We are treated as having nothing, yet possessing everything. only the genuinely meek man will be content; his ego is not so inflated that he thinks he must always have more. In Christ he sees himself as already possessing everything.

14 The reward of the meek (2) Future Isaiah 57:13 But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain. one day he will come into the fulness of his inheritance when he will find the beatitude fulfilled most literally. 1 Peter 1:4 look for an inheritance that is reserved for us in heaven.

15 Summary Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The descent of spiritual formation Meekness is not weakness The reward of the meek