How To Face Life’s Challenges Part II
3/11/2001 New Life Psalm 46:1-11 Colossians 3:12-17
Our vision as a church includes bringing people into a right relationship with God and with each other by introducing them to Jesus Christ. Our goal is to bring new life into the lives of all people who enter this building. New life is given to us when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us in life’s challenging moments. The joy we seek in life comes through doing the right thing at the right time in the eyes of Jesus Christ.
Let’s imagine an impossible situation for a moment. You’ve been asking your child "is your homework done" and for six straight weeks, the child has been saying "yes." Then you get the progress report and it says, "student is in danger of failing due to lack of homework." How do you feel? You’ve been planning on going on this overnight retreat for months, but then the day before you forgot to do your chores again, and your parents have said "you cannot go." How do you feel? You know that a certain person has been talking about you behind your back, but now they really need your help. You have the power to help them or break them, what are you going to do?
Last week, we began our study on the sermon of the mount which Jesus gave while sitting on the hillside. Let’s go back to the scene in which Jesus is sitting on the mountain, and many of his disciples are sitting around him and others are standing. We pointed out last week, the sermon on the mount is not for the crowds, but for those who have made a decision to come and follow Christ. Jesus had begun his message with the Beattitudes, each one beginning with the word blessed. Blessed meant, happy, to be envied, well off and fortunate. This week we begin at the meek.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Often when we hear the word meek, we think of people who walk with their head down and just sort of goes along with everything. When you ask them "what do you want to do", they respond, with their heads down, "whatever you want to do is alright with me." That’s not meekness. That’s a lack of self confidence.
A good example of meekness in the bible is found when the issue of interracial marriage came up. The leader of God’s people, had chosen a woman he was very pleased to have in his life, but she was of a different race. His name was Moses and he had chosen to marry a black woman. His brother and sister became very upset with him over this issue. They even questioned whether or not God was only speaking through Moses. They were ready to challenge Moses’ leadership over this marriage, and ready to take his place.
Now Moses could have responded like some of us would have, "I’m a grown man, I’ll marry whomever I choose." He could have taken the super spiritual approach and said, "Look, I talk to God everyday. Touch not the Lord’s anointed." He could have called the people together and made accusations against his brother and sister for treason and betrayal, for questioning his leadership and relationship with God. But Moses did not do any of these things. The Scriptures tell us he was meek, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth. Moses simply turned the situation over to God, and God dealt with the situation on his behalf. Never again did this issue come up concerning his leadership or his right to have to marry someone from another race.
The word for meek is sometimes translated as gentle, humble, considerate, patient and courteous. The Greek word for meek, describes an animal which has been trained by its masters. A wild stallion may be a beautiful animal, but it’s not going to be very productive for its master until it has become trained and made meek. The key in us becoming meek is in our willingness to be teachable and open to learning alternative ways to face life’s challenges.
God is calling us to be gentle and considerate even when we have all the power on our side. Abraham was a person God had called and promised him that if he were faithful he would make him wealthy and give him a tremendous amount of land. Abraham went where God told him to go and took along his nephew Lot. God blessed Abraham greatly, and Lot was blessed too since he was with Abraham. They were so blessed, that the land could not take care of all their animals, so their servants started arguing over which animals would get to drink first and eat first.
Now Abraham wanted to end the disputes before things got of hand and he and his nephew ended up with bad feelings. He could have said, "Now Lot, you know you’ve been blessed because of me. God told me where to go and I went. Now it’s time for you to pack up your bags and go that way. I’m the boss and that’s the way its going to be. God already promised me this land."
Instead, Abraham said, "Lot, let’s not have any bad feelings between us. We need to go in different directions. If you want the land to the left, I’ll take the right, if you want it to the right, I’ll take the left." Now Lot looked at which side the land looked the best on, and he took the best for himself. Abraham did not say a word except goodbye, and took the poorer choice. Abraham was meek because he was open to God teaching him about faith. He did not argue with Lot over what should have been his. He trusted God. Lot ended up losing all he had, whereas Abraham gained for more than he ever thought possible. The meek had inherited the earth. Some of us may be in situations where it look like somebody really took advantage of us. Don’t let bitterness sink in. Take the high road of meekness and see what the Lord has for you to inherit.
We are called to be meek in our relationship with God. The Lord is going to test our faith in little everyday circumstances. That progress report that I mentioned, is not only a revealing of the sin in your child’s life, it is also a test of how teachable you are to the spirit of God. Our natural reaction is going to be to yell, to scream, and to get upset. We may lose perspective and tell our third grader, this is going to keep you from being able to go to college on a scholarship.
But if we have decided that Jesus is right about being meek, then we will be open to the Lord’s leading, guidance and direction. Oh we will still come up with an appropriate plan and discipline for the child, but it will be within the boundaries God has set for us. Our blood pressure will not sky rocket nor will words come out of our mouths which we will greatly regret. Nor will we ask stupid questions, like "Boy how in the world did you lie to me."
Those who are meek, allow God to keep them under control. We say Lord I do not know why this trial has come, but I thank you for the opportunity to get a little closer to you. In so doing, we take the wild animal of our temper, and begin to tame it just like the wild stallion is tamed so that it becomes useful to the master.
What situation are you facing in which God is calling you to be just a little more meek? If Jesus walked in here right now, what would he point to in our lives? You know there is a meek way to pay a cashier. There is a meek way to drive a car. There is a meek way to be a great athlete. There is a meek way to be an outstanding usher. There is a meek way to be a father or mother. There is a meek way to be a sister or brother. There is a meek way to be a supervisor on a job. There is a meek way to tell somebody off when he or she is wrong. Jesus says, blessed are we when we find these ways and put them into practice. For we will inherit the earth.
We need to recognize that God does not weigh in all the balances at the end of the day. All the accounts are not settled up. But our meekness is going to pay off in the future. Both in this life and in the life to come. Meekness is not something we can make ourselves become. It is something which happens in us by giving our lives to Christ, and then choosing to say yes to the will of God for the situations which come up in our lives.
Are we going to blow it at times. Of course we will. You do not simply jump up on a wild stallion and expect it to do what you want it to do. But you know through patience and consistency you will win out. Keep in mind, its no longer simply you trying to do the right thing, it is Christ living inside of you that makes the victory possible.
Jesus then gives us another attitude if we’re looking for joy in life. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Everyday, people are paid millions of dollars to get us to thirst and hunger for things we do not need with the promise of when you get it then oh what a feeling. No one can truly feel really good about a car, unless it includes all the latest gadgets and accessories. No one can truly be happy unless they get at least 200 stations on their tv. No one can feel complete unless they have clothes with this designer label. After years of having my clothes washed to keep them looking clean, I was shocked to find now people buy jeans that look like they are dirty. It’s a brown dust look that will not come off. Our thirst for things, have led us to a greater thirst for money in order to get the things so that we will finally be happy and filled.
No one in search of things will ever know the joy of contentment in life. The person will always be a slave to the next item which comes out. God’s strongest competitor will always be the love of money, for it is a master that will demand that we take away from God to satisfy its lust. We could do more for the work of Christ, it we would opt out of trying to be happy with the latest whatever and concentrated on being righteous. The joy in our home will not be dependant upon how many large screen TV’s, VCR’s, number of bathrooms, number of bedrooms, or size of the family room, and Jacuzzi we have. It will be dependent upon how well do we as a family hunger and thirst for righteousness in our relationships to each other.
It is impossible to live with each other and not have come kind of conflicts. Misunderstandings are going to happen, and in some cases both parties will be right and both parties will be wrong. The key is in asking God, to help us understand the other person’s view point that we might do the righteous thing in the situation. When we hunger and we thirst, we go in search of something to eat and drink.
Now the Greek language allows different meanings of a verb depending on what case it is in. There is a case in which the words hunger and thirst, means to have a desire for a little of something to eat like a cookie or two or a glass of juice. But the case of the verbs here means to want the whole thing. You want the full meal, not just an appetizer. Jesus’ point is that it is not enough to just want a little righteousness here and there to make it respectable. If we try to choose areas in which we will live for God, but keep God out of other areas, there will not be any sense of fulfillment in serving the Lord.
When Christ comes into our lives, its as though he enters a house with all kinds of rooms. He goes through, opening door after door to clean out areas which need to be cleansed. Sometimes, we have keys to certain doors and we are very slow to relinquish those areas. Christ says, I see there’s some smoke coming out from under that door. We better put that out before it becomes a fire. But we do not want him to see what we have in that room, so we say it’s nothing, and encourage him to move on because that room is not open for inspection.
Which rooms are we closing Christ out of today in our lives? Is it the bedroom in which we are involved in relationships that have crossed the boundaries established in God’s word. God is saying I love you, and you belong to me. Do not settle for that. Is it the computer room or the closet, where we are slowly allowing ourselves to become addicted to the world of pornography? God is saying I came to set you free. Do not allow sin to put its hook in you. It will rip and tear you before you can get it out again.
Is it the living room in which we have so adorned it to impress others, that we cannot afford to pay our tithes or make sacrifices for the kingdom of God? God is saying, " I can give you things, beautiful things, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Is it the den in which our values have been changed because of the tv programs and cable movies we have absorbed? God is saying, "You are special to me. Whatsoever things are good, lovely, pure, of a good report, think on these things.
Is it the recreation room which calls us to things that keep us from having time to make it to church or bible study? God says, "your days are numbered and there is a time and a season for everything under the sun. There is a time to play, and time to seek after Me." Is it the work room, in which we hide ourselves to keep from dealing with relationship issues? God says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you." No job will come to your funeral."
Is it the bathroom where we can lock the door and do things in secret? God says, because I love you, I’m always looking at you. Behold my eyes in every place, looking at both the good and the evil. Or is it just a small little closet we have filled with plans we might use, if we do not want to trust God for a situation. God says, "I do have a good plan for you. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will direct your path."
We know that in sports, to just want to do a little can be as detrimental and deceptive as not doing much at all. If you just did a few jumping jacks, or ran a few laps, or did a couple of sit ups, you might think you were in shape. But once the game starts or the race begins, and you start huffing and puffing, you realize I did not go far enough to prepare me for this challenge. In our desire to be filled, we have to go the distance in opening every area of our lives to the Lord if we want to be filled.
One of the worse places to be in life is to try to live for God one day a week and live like you please the other six. A thirst for God on Sundays only will not make us feel filled in our lives. Righteousness is not something we can put in a can and take it home with us and think we will always have it. Again being righteous is like being in shape. The hardest part about being in shape is getting started. That first two weeks can be murder on the body. That’s why most of us never make it. But if we can past those first few weeks, there’s a reward. The pain subsides and we get healthier. Pity the soul who says, I have arrived at being in shape. I can take it easy now and just relax. Without knowing exactly when it took place, the person slides back out of being in shape once again.
When we decide, I’m going to make a change. Those first few weeks are going to be the most difficult. Letting go of bad habits, and certain people can be painful. But the more we stick to the plan, the more grace and strength we receive from God until we reach the point of victory. But rather than simply thinking, I’ve got that area conquered what’s next. We continue to practice what got us to the point of discovering God’s righteousness for our lives.
How much righteousness are you seek after for your life today? Now I’m not asking for anybody to compare themselves with anybody else? Nor am I talking about a false sense of holiness because you wear a long dress or you don’t play cards or the like. Righteousness is seeking to be like Christ in a given situation. It has a whole lot to do with our attitude. When our attitude is what is God wants it to be, Christ can work miracles in the way we face challenges which come into our lives.
This week, each morning let’s start our day by praying, "Lord I want new life. Show me where I am to be meek today. Show me where I can do a better job of thirsting and hungering for righteousness."
