April 21, 2002

Service Theme – "Our God is Humble"

Matthew 5:5

Nice Guys Finish First!

1. Introduction

1. Illustration – D. H. Lawrence wrote, Whoever wants life must go softly toward life, softly as one would go toward a deer and a fawn that were nestling under a tree. One gesture of violence, one violent assertion of self-will, and life is gone .... But with quietness, with an abandon of self-assertion and a fullness of the deep, true self, one can approach another human being and know the delicate best of life, the touch.
2. Context – There’s a lot of truth in what Lawrence wrote. But Jesus had a better way of putting this strange truth, which we find in Matthew 5:5.

1. Scripture Passage

1. Matthew 5:5 – Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

1. You’ve got to be Kidding!

1. Once again we’ve got a contradiction to deal with. I mean, how can meek people be blessed? Aren’t those the ones who get stepped on in our society? Don’t they get their rights crushed? Don’t they take the fall for everything wrong that happens, even when it isn’t their fault? Can’t you recognize them by the footprints all over their backs? To help us deal with this problem, we’ve got to remember what true blessedness is.
2. True blessedness as Jesus talks about is based in relationship with God. When we love God with all that we have and are, circumstances don’t matter. Yes, I know it’s a lot easier for me to feel blessed when things are going well. And yes, I know I handle things better when they are going better. But there is often a huge difference between our feelings and reality. No matter how we feel, when we have a close, personal relationship with God, we’re blessed. That is fact.
3. But what about this whole meekness issue? How can we get around that? Unfortunately (at least in our minds), there is no way around meekness. I studied and searched for some deep, hidden meaning that could help us out, or at least give us an out. You know what words I found to define the Greek for this? Try these: "gentle," "meekness based on humility," "submission," "mild," "kind," "the humble and gentle attitude which expresses itself in a patient submissiveness to offense, free from malice and desire for revenge." OUCH! I don’t know about you, but I don’t like that at all! When I play, I play to win at all cost! What Jesus is saying is totally contrary to everything I want to do. But I know He’s right, because what He’s really saying is that the blessing of relationship with Him is made clear, or manifested, to everyone through my meekness, my gentleness. When I play to win at all cost, I play without God. That’s the bind we all find ourselves in. If we play the way we’ve been taught by our world, we don’t get God. But if we play the way God is telling us here, we don’t win in our world. That’s our predicament. But Jesus doesn’t leave us hanging – He gives us the solution to our problem.
4. You see, Jesus doesn’t just leave us out in the cold; you know, do this and you’ll get stepped on and nothing good will become of it. To every blessing that costs, Jesus offers a reward. He doesn’t just say, "Blessed are the meek." He says, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Wait a minute! Didn’t we just learn that if we follow the blessing of relationship with Him our world will stomp us on? How can we inherit the thing that’s stomping on us? And who would want it anyway – I mean, look at the crime, corruption, wars, hatred, pollution – our world’s a mess. But Jesus didn’t say if our relationship with God would drive us to meekness we would inherit the world, He said we will inherit the earth. Let me explain the difference.
5. Our world, even our earth, consists only of what we see and know right now. Because it’s driven by disobedience to God, it’s always going to have crime, corruption, wars, hatred, pollution, and the like. But Jesus isn’t talking about just passing the mess along to those who love Him. He’s talking about something entirely different. The apostle John wrote what those who love God and follow Him will inherit in Revelation 21:1-4: 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, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live 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." It gets better. John talks about the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, in verses 22-27: I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Powerful stuff, isn’t it? Continuing in chapter 22: Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.
6. That is the inheritance for those who allow their loving relationship with God drive them to be meek. It’s a lot better than the world we live in now. God is calling us to have an eternal perspective – to look at things from His point of view instead of our own. I know how easy it is for me to only think in the here and now, to play the competitive game, to seek to win at all cost in everything I do. I know how easy it is for all of us to be that way. But, folks, if we want to inherit the eternal earth, the brand new one God has waiting, we’ve got to start doing things His way. We’ve got to start being meek, humble, gentle, submissive, mild, kind, very difficult to offend – everything that demands that we submit our rights to God and allow Him to take care of us. I’m not talking about submitting to any form of physical, relational, or spiritual abuse. I’m talking about allowing ourselves to be hurt rather than doing anything that will hinder someone’s salvation or spiritual growth. Yes, it will hurt when we’re stomped on. Yes, it will hurt when we don’t win. Yes, it will hurt when people take advantage of us and our generosity. The only way to make it through these times is in relationship with God through Jesus Christ His Son. Yes, we have the right to stand up to believers against them stepping on us. But if we are truly meek, those who don’t know Jesus will see Him in us. We’ve got to take an eternal perspective toward meekness!
7. Eugene Peterson puts Matthew 5:5 in a little bit different way – "You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought." When we become satisfied with who God is creating us to be, then and only then can we be blessed. The new and eternal earth can’t be bought. It can only be experienced by accepting Jesus’ loving gift of Himself as the sacrifice for our disobedience, and following and serving Him. If you haven’t received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can’t be blessed by relationship with God, and you can’t inherit the earth. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the only way you can be blessed by God and inherit the earth is by allowing Him to transform you into the meek, gentle, humble child of God He wants you to be. We’ve got to stop acting like everyone else!
8. Let me close by sharing the words Paul wrote about Jesus in Philippians 2. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴ Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1. Conclusion

1. Please bow your heads and close your eyes. I struggle with this whole meekness thing. I know that we all have times when we struggle with it. But God has been trying to get our attention this morning. So let’s spend some time listening, sensing what He is communicating to our hearts. And then responding to Him by telling Him what we’re going to do about it.
2. Let’s pray together.