Jesus chose the meek to inherit His eternal Kingdom upon the earth- not the proud or rebellious. He desired to entrust His greatest treasures to those who were strong enough by His grace to fully submit to His will for their lives. The ones who can say, “not mine, but thy will be done” will be made great forever upon the new earth and reign from the New Jerusalem with their King. And for those who say, “not your’s, but my will be done,” will receive exactly what they desire- an eternity totally void of God and His presence. Therefore, let us follow the blissful path of meekness and receive our most extravagant inheritance.

SERIES TEXT

Matthew 5:1-10, “1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

TERMS

  1. Disciples: Committed learners and students of Jesus Christ.
  2. Sermon on the Mount: The longest single portion of Jesus’ teaching found in Matthew 5-7. This sermon serve as the foundation of Christian morality and spiritual practice.
  3. Beatitudes: From the Latin word, “beatitudo,” means, “the blissful, happy, and blessed sayings of Jesus.”
  4. Blessed: From “beatus” in Latin, means “to be spiritually happy and successful because of God’s favor upon one’s life.” Also, the term “blessed” has to do with God’s divine approval of one’s life resulting in His favor.
  5. Kingdom of Heaven: The active rule and reign of Jesus in one’s life and upon the earth with kingdom blessings, v. 3 & v. 10. Notice that Jesus teaches the kingdom of heaven is currently given to the disciple, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” not, “for they will have the kingdom of heaven.”

SERMON TEXT

Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

THE MEEK

  1. Meekness means to be, “gentle, teachable, and humble.”
  2. I am choosing to focus on the aspect of humility in the definition of meekness because I feel it best represents the Old Testament version of the statement in Psalm 37:11, (NASB), “But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”
  3. Therefore, to be meek in God’s kingdom is to… (1) Believe who God says you are & (2) Do what He says to do.
  4. The opposite of meekness and humility is “pride and rebellion.”
  5. Pride generally shows itself in two different ways, (1) Self-Adornment: To think and act more highly than God says. Example: God says, “Don’t do that…” and you respond, “I can do that!” (2) Self-Abasement: To think and act more lowly than God says. Example: God says, “Do that…,” and you respond, “I can’t do that!”
  6. God’s correction to both forms of pride; (1) Self-Adornment: King Saul took it upon himself to do the work of a priest and got the kingdom taken from him, 1 Samuel 10:8 & 13:8-14. (2) Self-Abasement: Moses doubted God’s calling on his life and missed the chance of being a great speaker and instead had to work with Aaron- which later on caused him great trouble, Exodus 4:10-17, 32:1-4, & Number 12:1-2.
  7. View the chart below to see the different pitfalls of pride in our everyday lives.
  8. Notice in the chart that being free of pride places us at a “0” thus, whenever we do what God has not commanded we are in pride and need to humble ourselves and return to the place of meekness and humility, being free from pride and rebellion. So the “default” position of the believer is to be without pride.
  9. No matter what form we allow pride to take in our lives, the solution is always the same; (1) Repent: Daniel 4:27, (2) Humble Yourself: 1 Peter 5:5-7, & (3) Obey God in Humility: James 3:13-17.
  10. James 3:13-18, “13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace- loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Pitfalls3

INHERIT THE EARTH

  1. When Jesus comes back He will cleanse the earth and set up the New Jerusalem to be the eternal dwelling place for His meek followers.
  2. Revelation 21:1-4, “1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

James 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”