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

            You are pushover!  Speak up for yourself!  You are such a mouse.  The meek?  Huh – they are disenfranchised.  Oppressed.    Timid.    When we read or hear this Beatitude, or the mere mention of the word meek, we cringe – whether only on the inside or actually on the outside.  And sometimes we say or think these words.

And so, we are often surprised to be reminded that meekness is not weakness.  Meekness is not cowardly or soft.  Meekness is not what we would describe as mild mannered or even being subservient.  As we will discover this morning, to be meek is to have power under control.  It is like a wild horse that has been broken.  The horse is still all horse.  Mighty.  Beautiful.  Powerful.  However, once broken, the horse is tamed of body.  The horse now has a controlled spirit, a gentleness.  It is still powerful – yet full of a different power; under a different control.  This powerful gentleness is the sort of meekness, not weakness, Jesus speaks of for us.

            There is a second surprise regarding meek.  It is one that I discovered back in January, when I was preparing my Adult Sunday School class material on the Sermon on the Mount.  As you know, Jesus uses the Beatitudes to introduce His sermon, as we read in Matthew’s Gospel.  The surprise is that Jesus’ words on meekness come straight from Psalm 37.  Most often we see passages in the New Testament bringing light and depth of explanation to passages in the Old Testament.  However, we hear Jesus giving us this one liner in the New Testament - Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  We gain its depth and foundation of heart in the Old Testament from Psalm 37.  Read Psalm 37:1-11

            This psalm is an encouragement to each of us as God’s people.  We are to  continue to trust in God despite the injustices in life.  The psalmist tells us the injustices come from those people who are non-believers…people who are ungodly – or those who act in ungodly ways.  And these are the ones who come off looking and having the best of things – often at our expense.  Today the psalmist could easily refer to “those people” who have in some way negatively affected the lives of many people here this morning:  you who have lost jobs, or had salaries cut; or you who work companies who report all-time profits while laying off people – some after 15 to 30 years with that same company; and still others of you have lost life savings.  I believe the psalmist would agree that another injustice is centered in cancers, Alzheimer’s and other diseases of our time.

            In spite of all this, God says very clearly, three times in these 11 verses, in verses 1, 7 and 8:  “Do not fret.”  What a great old word for a combination of anxiety and anger, fear and concern, resentment and irritation.  God tells us elsewhere in scripture that we are “not to get so angry that we will lose control and do something stupid.”  Now I am sure there is no one here this morning who has done something like this.  But isn’t it interesting that we are told not even to fret.  Pretty tall order.  We are not to be envious of those who do wrong, and do us wrong, obtain much – the wrong way, and brag about it all.  We are not to become anxious or fearful over poor health – our own or our loved one.  We are not to be anxious in other circumstances. 

The Apostle Paul say something similar in his letter to the Philippians (4:11-13):  “Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

            So, the Psalmist – and the Apostle Paul tell us we are not to fret.  What then is it we are to be doing?   How are we to “not fret” when we see and experience first hand the “wrong” people prospering?   What’s a person to do when the Nice People Finish…Last? – if they finish at all?   How are we not to be fearful and anxious at the bedside of our sick ones?  How are you and I to receive this character of meekness – that disciplined and controlled spirit.   And what, might you be asking, has any of this to do with meekness?

            Well, the short answer is:  Everything!  Everything, as we focus on Jesus.  When we are looking on Jesus’ face our focus is off the wrongs done to us and off the problems we have and even off ourselves.  As we focus our eyes and heart and mind on the right place, our spirit begins to be tamed.  We begin to respond to a different power – and with a different power.  We begin to function within the controlled power of God’s authority.  Kenneth Boa, one of my favorite authors of practical approaches to the Bible and things spiritual, says in his book, Conformed to His Image:  “Our complex and subtle inner life can become a morass of contradictory thoughts and urges unless it is centered on Christ.  Our hearts, our consciences, our minds, our emotions, and our wills become wayward and troublesome if they are not submitted to the rule and authority of Jesus.  Only in Him can we discover inner harmony and peace. (Conformed to His Image, pg225)”  

And so it is that Jesus wants us, today, to learn the depth of that inner harmony and peace and, in that process, to receive His meekness.  So He gives us the depth of His one-liner from the foundation of Psalm 37 for us.  I have to share with you that when preparing for this sermon and I re-read these verses in Psalm 37 out of my old favorite New Revised Standard Bible, I noticed I had some phrases highlighted in yellow and others highlighted in pink.  It’s a girl thing.  What can I say?  In at least three previous readings (noted because of the dates I wrote in the margin), I even put in a code.  The pink highlights what we are to do.  The yellow highlights God’s promises.   God tells us when we do certain things, we focus on and become more like His Son, Jesus.  These actions are ours to do in the process of receiving meekness.  Through it all we also receive God’s promises for our lives.

And so, We are to Trust in the Lord. Trust is faith.  This is one of the best places to begin in a relationship with God.  We are to continue to trust in Jesus on our daily walk – not fretting about the circumstances that life hands us.  As we begin to approach God in faith, we begin the process of receiving His meekness.   In the process we are to go  deeper.   We are no longer in a passive relationship but a very active one with God.  The faith we have when we place it in Jesus requires action.  We are given more faith and out of that more faith we are to act.  So it is not only relating to God but also relating to others.  The phrase “and do good” is the action phrase that takes us from trusting God in a personal experience of God’s life and God’s power in my life to the expression of this new life by doing good to and for others….starting with ourselves.  Ways we do this include, growing a deep personal spiritual walk with Jesus.  We present behavior that bears fruit of generosity and simplicity.  We diffuse conflict – not cause it.  We diffuse conflict.  For those of us who are married, we faithfully romance our spouses.  All of us are to treat everyone with respect and Christ’ love.  All this is what the Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians (2:8-10) that although we are not saved by works but rather we are saved by the grace of God through faith – faith will inevitably express itself in the right conduct….our right action.   Awe, and the promise?  The promise is that when we do this we have security.  Security in God.  Security in God extends to all circumstances as we trust in Him.

We are also to “Delight in the Lord”.  For you and I to delight in someone, we must get to know them intimately.  We take them seriously.  We don’t play with their emotions.  We trust that person.  In turn, the one in whom we delight is a source of delight.  It is this way, and far more, with God.  God is holy.  He is sovereign, exalted and awesome.  And thank goodness, He has a wonderful sense of humor.  Go figure!  It is this significant God with whom we are now in relationship.  We take Him seriously.  We don’t want to mess around with this relationship.  We trust God.  He is the grace, compassion, mercy, kindness, patience and love that we seek.  The better we get to know Him, the more we long and desire to be with Him.  This is inevitable, the more we  delight in Him.  And He will delight in us.   Did you know, one huge reason many apparent Christians do not delight in God is that they do not know Him very well.  The reason they do not know Him very well is that they do not spend time with Him.  So to delight in the Lord and Him to delight in us, we must spend time – quality time - with Him…alone, with one another, and/or with several people in a small groups, in His Word, in prayer, in conversation…in time.   

And the promise here?  The promise is that God will give us the desires of our hearts.  No, this does not mean the foolish things we think we want or think we deserve.   If we are delighting in God and longing for God – God will give us...Himself.  God knows He is the desire of our heart – of our soul.  He wants us to know that!  He wants us to experience Him.

            Psalm 37:5 says we are also to “Commit our way to the Lord”.  This takes us even deeper.  When we commit our ways to the Lord, we allow God to show us what it means to live with the very One whom we trust and in whom we delight.   The phrase really means “to roll our way onto God”.  To do this we must dislodge the burden we carry and lay it on God.   The Apostle Peter says in I Peter 5:7:  Cast all your anxiety (cast your burden) on Him, because He cares for you.”   Both the psalmist and Peter mean that we do not need to worry about things, because God cares for us.  God will manage anything and everything that can possibly come into our lives.  He is quite up to the task of all circumstances.  That is this promise – God will act! … God does act! … When we commit to Him.

            And so God leads us right into the next action He wants from us.  He says He wants us to: “Be still before Him”.   For a moment let’s return to our broken and tamed horse.  For those of you who have been around horses – or even seen them on television, know their powerful bodies quiver with anticipation when the good master approaches.  They have grown to love, respect and know each other.  The powerful giant of an animal stands quaking with a stillness in anticipation of what is to come.  So it is with us.  We are to now wait patiently – in anticipation for Jesus.  This goes way beyond a mere physical stillness.  This is a stillness of the heart, mind and soul.  This is a patience for God.  It is like when Peter witnessed the miracle of the transfiguration of Jesus on the holy mountain, the awe-struck Disciple Peter inappropriately broke into speech with his own plans and agenda.  He was silenced by the voice from the cloud that said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; LISTEN TO HIM!  (Matt 17:4-5)”   

You and I, like Peter, are to humbly focus on Jesus.  And yes, it is often best for us to stop talking.  He wants and deserves that we “listen to Him and listen for Him” in simple and loving anticipatory attentiveness.  As we do this I believe we must remove our sandals, combat boots, high heels or the running shoes of our ideas, inclinations, plans  and agendas.  Then we can quietly listen for the voice of God.  During these times God’s presence and speech certainly can and will be at a deeper level than what we otherwise might feel or understand.  By focusing on and meeting Jesus in that peaceful place we learn to “rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him”… for His leading; for His guidance; for His actions; for His answer.   The promise here is spoken in a very different way:  God’s justice will prevail – but in God’s timing.  

This whole process began with us not fretting.  We now move to a different level,

to: Refrain from anger.  Now, Jesus models for us in at least three situations in the New Testament that it is alright, even healthy and appropriate, to express the God-given emotion of anger.  It is what we do with that anger – how we present and express that anger that is the determining factor.  Whether our anger is against God or against others – perhaps for the same reasons - God says it is the humble one before God who is able to maintain a calm frame of mind and a settled, focused heart.   And the promise here for us is that God will deal with those who have acted unjustly, toward us or our loved ones.  That’s God’s job.  He will express His anger on our behalf!  Oh, I think I need to say that again:  God will express His anger on our behalf!

Yes, the world still says:  Speak up for your rights.  Make your voice heard.  Exert your authority.  Be first in line.  God helps those who help themselves.  However, Jesus tells us what we are to do is quite different than what the world teaches:  We want to be strong in body and mind.  But the most important strength is learning to let God control us. Living God’s way will not always make us the most popular person.  But it is the only way to be inwardly happy.  The Lord Jesus is our example; and so we need to allow His Spirit to fill us.  

            The story is told of two brothers who grew up together on a farm.  One went away to college, earned a law degree, and became a partner in a prominent law firm in the state capital.  The other brother stayed on the family farm to work it.  One day the lawyer brother came and visited his brother, the farmer.  The lawyer brother asked the farmer brother, “Why don’t you go out and make a name for yourself and hold your head up high in the world – like me?”  The farmer brother pointed out to all the fields surrounding the farm house, and said, “See that field of wheat over there?  Look closely.  Only the empty heads stand up.  Those that are well filled always bow low.”

As you and grow in understanding our true condition before God, we have nothing to boast about.  Instead, we walk in the humility of radical dependence upon God for all things.  It is in this that we bow low before God.  In this, we are not to think less of ourselves, but we are to think about ourselves less.   We approach God humbly because we know that our life has been touched by God, well-filled by Him, so we may be bold in Jesus.  

Meekness is in fact impossible!  Impossible…yes, on our own.  We cannot work on it, attain it and then say:  “I did it!  YES!  I am now meek – and I am proud of it!”   thank goodness, Jesus knows that we cannot achieve His meekness on our own.  He knows we need His help, and guidance.  He knows our focus needs to be on Him….so that we can be well-filled by Him. As we give over our wills, our desires, our ways, our out of control hearts and wild and untamed spirits to God, to God’s control and power and authority, we are filled and able to bow low.   In other words, Happy are those who submit their strength, their control to God’s control.