Great things are always revealed to God’s chosen people on the mountaintop. There are many examples of this throughout the Bible. We haven’t the time to look at all of these, but we can continue to look at what Jesus spoke on the Sermon on the Mount.
Again, what we should notice is the fact that only those closest to Christ want to make the steep climb up the mountaintop to hear (perhaps) his most important teachings. It seemed as though there were always a crowd following Jesus and the disciples. The Bible reports there was a “Great multitude of people”…
Let us be careful if we find ourselves caught up in what the “Great multitudes of people” are doing. In our day and time, many large crowds of people can be found caught up in the middle of the excitement of a large church (where thousands of people go on Sundays.) And yet, will miss the important teachings of Christ. Unfortunately, some of these “Great multitudes of people” will gather each week, but will dismiss the deeper truths of the teachings of Christ.
I am not opposed to large churches…if the Lord tarries, we will grow to become a spiritual church, and a large church. But often people go from one church to another just looking for another miracle service.
A sort of spiritual entertainment…
As a growing church, let us always cherish the deeper teachings of Christ. The meat of God’s Word.
Inviting people to come to our church oftentimes does not work very well. But if we become more of a church that understands and practices these teachings, we will naturally become a much larger church.
Text: Matthew 5:2 – 5 (Emphasis on verse 5)
The teachings of the Sermon on the Mount tells us –
· We are to think and act differently than the rest of the world.
· We are to be genuine in our walk with Christ.
· To practice what we preach to everyone we know.
· Not how to get to heaven, but how to experience heaven in the here and now.
Review - The word “blessed” is defined (in the Greek) as being happy. But not the kind of “happy” we are accustomed to. Our emotions can cause us to be happy temporarily. Man’s idea of happiness is based completely on the given moment or the given situation.
“Blessed are the meek…” Think about that. If we want genuine happiness in this life, we must be “meek”.
We don’t see much meekness in this world, but it was a meek and lowly life that Christ modeled for us. When we watch a movie depicting the life of Christ, we often see a soft spoken and gentle man. Perhaps that is the picture we have of meekness. Only a certain way Jesus walked and talked. But there is more to being meek than just that.
Consider where and how Jesus was born into this world. Bethlehem was just a humble little town out in the middle of nowhere…a very meek setting
In that part of the world the primary means of making a living was herding sheep. Most people in Bethlehem probably smelled like sheep. Perhaps it was just an ordinary night in that ordinary town. Nothing special about a lowly manger filled with smelly animals that night. And then suddenly the night lit up with the Glory of the Lord. Nothing was ordinary in Bethlehem that night.
In our culture, we know that millions of dollars are spent each year to celebrate Christmas. But there is nothing Macys or Sax Fifth Avenue could ever do to compare with the splendor of the Glory of the Lord as it filled that (humble and meek) little town of Bethlehem.
When we think about it, God delights in taking most anything that is nothing and make it something truly wonderful. How about the time God sent a little shepherd boy named David to rise up and destroy the giant Philistine named Goliath. God took pretty much nothing and made something that amazed the entire Army of the Lord.
How about the story of the blind man that was healed by Jesus? Everybody was watching that day and probably expected Jesus to heal the blind man with a bolt of lightning, or a thunderous shout from heaven.
No, not meek and lowly Jesus, the son of Joseph the carpenter. No not this time. This time Jesus would lean over and spit on the ground, and make a muddy mess to use on this poor blind man’s eyes. If the man had been able to see what was going on, he might have been insulted. But the fact was he could not see, and that is exactly why he didn’t care what Jesus was going to do. Just as long as he would get his eyes opened that day. Nothing else mattered to the blind man!
Question:
Don’t you think Jesus should be able to use anything He chooses to perform His miracles?
He might use frankincense and myrrh, or mud and spit.
Max Lucado says this, “Once again the mundane became mighty, the dull became divine, the ho-hum of life became the holy.”
It sure doesn’t take a lot for God to do something special. “Blessed are the meek…”
The Lord didn’t feel that He ever had to impress the elite and powerful people in this life.
Jesus was meek and He said He only came because
Luke 4:18 (KJV)
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
When Jesus first came to this world, He came to the Shepherds. The lowliest people on the face of the earth. The forgotten ones who live in obscurity and poverty.
Application:
In our culture, many associate the word “meek” with the word, “weak”. There was nothing weak about Jesus. He was meek, but He was not weak.
We live in a very proud society that puts up a good front so that others won’t think of us as vulnerable to our bullies. Tough guys want to impress everyone. There are many today that have this “Don’t mess with Texas” kind of attitude. If you look tough, you must be tough.
You may know how meek you are by how you drive your car in heavy traffic. (This is sometimes my problem I have to deal with.) Or (maybe) by how you push your shopping cart through Wal-Mart on a busy Saturday.
There are those who consider themselves independent and confident of their standing with everyone. A proud heart will often prevent someone from being meek like Christ was. Many are too proud to let anyone know they have problems, or a need in their life.
Question:
Do you put others ahead of yourself?
Being “Meek” will require from us God’s Grace and forgiveness. When you know someone is wrong, you might be tempted to think of the many snide remarks that could be made. Being “meek” means knowing what forgiveness is…
“Meek” may mean (to some people) that you are shy and timid. That is really the meaning of insecurity. Being “meek” should mean that you are not vengeful or spiteful when you have been wronged by someone. To be “meek” means that you have self-control, even when you are around those who are rude and obnoxious.
If you are “meek”, then chances are you are full of God’s Grace and forgiveness. If you have unforgiveness in your heart, you will find it very difficult to be “meek” with those who need forgiveness.
Christ gives to us all the character needed to be a witness with others.
Without the meekness taught to us by Christ, we will become greedy for everything we can get.
An atheist philosopher - Friedrich Nietzsche said,
"Assert yourself. Care for nothing except for yourself. The only vice is weakness, and the only virtue is strength. Be strong, be a superman. The world is yours if you can get it."
What if someone close to you were to walk up and say, “You are the meekest person I know.”
Would that come as a complement that you are living like Christ did?
It has been said by great theologians that meekness involves a person with great strength being brought under control.
Illustration:
Imagine a powerful stallion. When you look at this horse you see the powerful muscles from it’s nose to it’s tail. There can be no denying it. That stallion is strong and can run faster than any other horse.
All of that power has to be brought under control by a small lightweight jockey and a horse bridle. That powerful stallion at some point had to surrender itself to the training and the expertise of the rider. It was then that this powerful animal became meek & controllable.
God has given to us the opportunity to experience His might power and authority. Power and authority over sickness, disease, death and the devil himself.
God is careful not to let us get out of hand with all of that power and authority. He will always make sure that He is the One Who is controlling all of us. Our emotions and our behaviors. God will make us meek.
Just like His Son, Jesus Christ.
And when this happens – we shall inherit the earth…
