Blessed are the Meek May 26, 2008

This sermon started off as a teaching lesson on the Sermon on the Mount, when I realised how long that sermon is, 3 chapters, it then became the beatitudes. For about 2 weeks before I started writing this the loudest words I hears from God were blessed are the meek. So I thought, okay it is on

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

but when I was nearly finished writing it I realised I should have been listening to God better, he didn’t say blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth, he was saying blessed are the meek and only blessed are the meek. So I had to rewrite this introduction just before I was finished because I couldn’t finish it when the introduction was all wrong. So here goes.

What does blessed are the meek really mean? The first thing that comes to my mind is people who are weak, shy, and cowardly, such as meek as a mouse.

Does God really mean people who are weak, and shy are really going to inherit the earth? Are those that are fearful the ones who will triumph? To find out the answer for that, we need to look at the original Greek.

The original Greek word for that used in Matthew 5:5 is pronounced

‘Prah-ews’. It means mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness. The oxford dictionary says that meek means ’piously humble and submissive. So someone who is meek is not weak, but someone who does not claim great importance for themselves and obediently submits to authority.

Meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The humble person is not occupied with self at all.

Let’s look at some people who are not meek or humble.

Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar freed Babylon from Assyria and laid Nineveh to ruins, he captured and destroyed Jerusalem.

Kings 24:15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land.

Nebuchadnezzar created a huge sculpture that everyone had to bow down to. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t and for their troubles were thrown into the furnace where they walked with Christ.

This is found in Daniel 3. The statue that he built was 90’ high and 9’ across, totally of Gold, gold that he had plundered from other countries. He ordered all the important people of Babylon to come and be at the dedication service of the statue and to bow down and worship it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were at the service but would not bow down. These three men had been taken to Babylon as captives and had worked up to high positions within the court, so they were not only people who would not worship the statue, but were people of influence who would not worship the statue. Nebuchadnezzar spat it and ordered the furnace lit 7 times hotter. Let’s read what it says in Daniel 3 verses 19-23:

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

While they were in the furnace Nebuchadnezzar saw 4 men within the flames.

25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Although Nebuchadnezzar was still a proud man he knew a miracle when he saw one.

Meekness toward God is that disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting. In the OT, the meek are those wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. We see this in the character of Joseph, of the dream coat fame. He was a meek man, but he didn’t start out that way.

Joseph

Joseph is found in Genesis, but the part of his life that I want to look at begins in Genesis 37.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph’s life takes a turn then, his brothers kidnap him, they are going to kill him but Ruben convinces them to sell him into slavery and put animal blood onto his prized robe to convince their father he was dead. He then gets accused of rape, put in prison and promptly gets forgotten by the cupbearer whose dream he interprets. Then finally he gets his reward for all his suffering when he is able to interpret the dream of the pharaoh.

Puts my life into perspective! Through all this Joseph is having his rough edges, his pride and arrogance sanded back.

Joseph being in Egypt was all a part of God’s plan. He was in a position to keep his family alive during the 7 years of famine. This ultimately meant that his brother Judah survived and it is through this family line that not only Jesus was born into but also Kings David and Solomon.

When Joseph’s brothers turn up in Egypt looking for grain because they know that they have enough to spare because of the previous 7 years of plenty, they don’t recognise their brother. He is able to then tell them in Genesis 45 who he is and forgive them for what they did to him. Only a humble man would be able to do that. A man who was proud and arrogant would be plotting revenge and pain to equal if not even to surpass the pain that was inflicted on him.

Read the story of Joseph it is a wonderful story of faith.

Moses

Another man who was humble was Moses. Moses was the most humble of men is says in Numbers 12:3.

3 Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.

He did think little of himself as we see when God is telling him to talk to Pharaoh; he complains that he can’t speak well, what if this happens, and what if that happens. God had to try to convince him by having Moses’ staff become a snake, and then back to a staff and for his hand to briefly have leprosy. Even after these miracles he is still not convinced.

We can read part of Moses’ conversation with God in Exodus 4 verses 10-17

10 Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

13 But Moses said, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”

Moses went on to lead the exodus out of Egypt. He wrote the first five books of the bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy as well as the book of Job. His influence on the lives of so many is incalculable but it wouldn’t have been worth a jot or a tittle if he hadn’t submitted to God.

Now the ultimate in humbleness is Jesus.

Jesus

He not only gave up over is life, but the time He spent on earth He could have been in heaven, with the Father. He chose to come down in the most humble of forms, as a baby and live on earth with sin around him, violence, greed and malice around him for one reason only, to die.

In Mark 8 Jesus predicts his own death. It says that

And he began to teach then that the Son of Man must suffer many, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.

He knew what was going to happen to him, he also knew why it was going to happen to him. He tells us this in Matthew 20 verses 25-28

25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus knew that he was going to die for the sins that we committed. He was going to pay our ransom for us; he was going to pay the ultimate price so we could be free.

Jesus died that we might live, that we might be in heaven with Jesus when we die, we will be spared eternity in hell, but be given eternity in heaven.

Jesus did this not for those who look the best, who are the most educated, or have the most money, but he did it for me, for you, for us all. Please don’t go home today without asking yourself, ‘can I honestly go through life without Jesus forgiveness? Can I go through life without his help, without his love or without the assurance of eternity in heaven? I know I couldn’t. My life is not perfect now that Jesus is my saviour, but I know that it is a darn sight better with him than it was without him. Won’t you allow him to be your saviour?

11th May 2008 – Prayer – It’s all about the views! May 13, 2008

Ex 34:6, Ps 23.6, Ps 31.19, Ps 33.5, Ps 52.1

It was very good to have my brother speak on trust in God last time; it fits in perfectly what I’m speaking on today. The last time I spoke I talked about prayer- the basics, what is it? How we do it? When, Where, answers and why we don’t do it! I felt led to do a follow up. Two themes I thought of were: How we hear God? And what about unanswered prayer? Three weeks ago, I got the answer to the theme; the Holy Spirit split the 2 down the middle. So I’m still talking on prayer, but where I come from is different. It’s something we all struggle with, no one immune. It’s an area that Satan loves to attack, and delights in when he sees the results. This talk isn’t based on just one or two scriptures. It’s based on many verses and themes. Our view of God, His view of us, and our perceptions of that and then prayer.

1. Gods Goodness.

How do you view God? What is your picture of Him? Do you see Him in the light of the Old Testament? Ready to toast us, wipe us out because we are bad, sinful! Is it our view of a judge ready to condemn us to hell? Or if we aren’t so bad, allow sickness or trouble or trials or problems to come our way. Maybe our view is like a headmaster. Maybe it’s like our own earthly dad; perhaps stern, strict, inflexible, lacking love.

But isn’t He a God of love! Wait a minute yes He is! He died for us didn’t He! He took our sins, saved us. We struggle to understand Him, we see old vs. New Testament God and wonder. We know about love- His love, however still there is fear, still questions and doubts. Isn’t that what happened in the garden, Satan sowed doubt, and they took it hook line and sinker.

What can be done to reconcile it all? Satan would have us question! Is God really a good God? Is He perfect as He says? I don’t understand why this and that happens if He’s good? How can I pray to God if I doubt His intentions, His ways His plans- His goodness! We’ll struggle to ask anything, perhaps out of fear. We’ll struggle to believe Him, we’ll wonder if he’ll answer us or even hear us. If we are praying and not getting an answer; the question might be- does He care? But of cause He does!

If we don’t believe the absolute truth that God is good, all He does (or doesn’t do) is good, even if it doesn’t make sense, even if we can’t fathom Him or work it out; then don’t try praying. It’s a waste of time; it won’t achieve anything, because doubt blocks prayer. Mark 11.23, Mat 21.22. So if we doubt Gods goodness we may not even pray, if we do we may not ask freely. We certainly will find it hard to approach Him. Heb 4.16. God is always right; can’t lie, can’t sin, always knows what’s best for us. Never changes, is perfect, is love, is Good. So if we learn to understand that God is good, what else is there when it comes to prayer?

1. Our View of Ourselves

1 Pet 2.9. If you are anything like me, your self-esteem is low. You find it hard to accept compliments. You may not look after yourself; hey you may even want to kill yourself at times. In worship you/we develop a hardness in our spirits. I’m no good, worthless, useless, can’t do anything right. If I try something I’ll fail; stupid, dumb etc. So why should I worship- how can I! Then the hardness stops the Holy Spirit from energizing our hearts and spirit in worship.

You know, worship is where I hear from God very frequently. It was where this talk originated. Worship is anything that pleases and blesses God/Jesus. Our lives can and should be one long worship to a God who’s absolutely good. Who is pleased with us anyway whoever we are, whatever we’ve done, wherever we’ve come from, and whatever or however we view ourselves.

How do you view yourself? Do you see yourself as beautiful, good, of worth-value? Or is it opposite? The view should be as a reflection of how our creator God/Jesus sees us. It’s not based in or on self, it’s based in the perfection of Jesus and the work of the cross. Prior to the cross, sin changed us, held us captive- slaves. However, now Jesus has dealt with that issue. He sees us perfect, washed, whole. Without fault or blame, without any accusations.

So why do we despise ourselves? Rejection- of God and others. It stops us getting close to God in prayer, in intimacy with Him. Fear rules the roost! It stops us with people, we want love and friendship, but fear comes in with rejection and we pull away (weather God or people), and in the process doing and saying silly things. Lastly, as we’ve mentioned, we reject ourselves- negative thoughts actions words which all wage war on our prayer life. I’m a worm, why pray to a holy God! Oh how much more we are to God than a worm. So so much more. Can we get a hold of this fact? – Our view determines answers.

In short- a God view of us will bring God results. David knew who he was in God, a king etc, and despite hold-ups, that knowledge kept his eyes on the prize. Never quitting, always strong and faithful, with Gods’ promise in mind, he made it. He was a man of prayer, read the Psalms- worship and prayer. Seeing Gods goodness to him, and knowing who he was, determined his future. Jer 29.11-13. We are kings and priests too – Rev 5.10, take on that view of yourself.

For our enemy Satan would have us in a state of continual confusion. Not seeing the truth, not seeing our position in Christ, knowing our identity in Christ. Constantly putting ourselves down, pouring scorn on Gods beautiful creation. Why? Why? We are sons and daughters of the most high God. So what about prayer?

3. Joining the two in effective prayer

Prayer is knowing who God is and knowing who we are in Him. Once we have this truth imprinted on our hearts, anything is possible. Prayer is just communication with God. As we learnt last time I spoke, there’s no set formula. It’s a faith thing; it’s a supernatural thing.

You know, in any relationship, if we don’t trust the person (a) say, there won’t be free communication. It’ll be tense, strained, limited, stifled, not open, and sometimes not honest etc. If also person (b) feels inferior, worthless, weak, useless, ugly and so on, there’s going to be even more problems. Relationships require all these of the above on the positive side to work. So as with God and prayer. He is a relational God- He created it in the first place. Prayer is a vital part of our relationship with Him; He wants it to be intimate, close, honest, open, bold, relaxed, free and face-to-face. If you’re face to face with someone, it’s hard to avoid talking etc. His desire is for it to be an out of this world experience- and it is. If it’s not, there’s something not quite right.

So with new sight seeing a loving, trustworthy good God, and viewing ourselves in a God reflection of us- the ultimate self-image of all time. What’s stopping us/you from having a dynamic prayer life? Do you/we see what can be accomplished by a man or woman who has none of this baggage? Let it sink in, don’t analyse it, or work it out, just accept it. There’s no condemnation here for those who struggle in prayer.

You can do great things in and for God with an unclouded view. With a trust in a God of goodness. Knowing your own standing in God. Satan doesn’t want Christians to realize this truth, it threatens him, makes him fear. That’s fine, let him, cause he’s going down. His lies of a bad God, lies of puny bad ugly worthless us; will no longer prosper.

Hold your head high; know the acceptance of your super soul mate, and super Jesus- supernatural God, pray to Him who loves like no other. Pray and expect to be heard and get answers. Pursue Him, storm heaven, embrace our God as our most faithful friend, trusted advisor, greatest ally and defender, on our side- not our enemy. Who is delighted in hearing and seeing us every time. Who is never bothered or annoyed at our coming to Him. Who saves our prayers like a lover with love letters; who collects our tears- weeping with us, rejoicing with us. Walking with us (even when we think He’s sick of us and left) through life. Never alone, never forsaken, always prepared, waiting to hear our voice.

What a God!