Blessed are the meek

Key Passage: Matthew 5:5
Date: June 7, 2024

And we have been covering the Beatitudes, Matthew 5. Last week we covered the second one: blessed are they that mourn. And then this morning, we are in chapter five, verse number five, Matthew 5, and verse number five of God’s word. If you are there, say amen. Matthew 5:5. Would you please stand as we read God’s word together? Matthew 5:5, just that one verse right there. And the Bible says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Let us go to the Lord in a word of prayer as we get started.

Father, Lord, I pray that you take the truth. First of all, Lord, would you help me to present it and explain it like you want? And then, Lord, would you drive it into the hearts and apply it to each individual as needed? Lord, do what only you can do. Father, Lord, forgive me if I have a desire to preach a good message; take that away. Lord, let my desire be that somebody gets helped. Lord, please. That is what this is all about. And we will thank you for what you do, Lord. And we ask this in the name of Jesus. We pray. Amen.

Years ago, I went to Cracker Barrel, one down on Murfreesboro on Franklin Road, near the 96 area. I walked in and just happened to be a group of preachers at a table. I knew the vast majority of them, a large number of preachers sitting at this table.

One of them was an older preacher who was here in the area, pastoring his church. For years and years, he has been known across the country as a man that walks with God. He pastored a very large church, and God had his hand in the ministry; they had thousands literally in their church. It was a solid, right kind of a church that God had blessed and used. They were known for the bus ministry, bringing in hundreds and hundreds of boys and girls, with lives getting saved and changed there—just a great ministry.

As I came in, I noticed this older man. He pastored well over six times the size of any other man at that table, yet he was not sitting at the head of the table. He was just kind of sitting in one of the side chairs. I stopped and fellowshiped with him for a moment. He was not the top dog at the table. He was very capable; God had used him greatly over the years. But he was not loud. He was not the guy who had to be the center of attention. Another preacher, a very loud kind of guy, was talking. The older doctor was sitting quietly on one side. It did not bother the older man. In fact, I think maybe he kind of liked it. He did not have to be the center of attention; he let somebody else lead. He was capable of taking over the conversation, but he did not. Somebody else wanted the limelight, and he let them have it.

That is meekness. The word meek is mentioned sixteen times in the Bible. What is meek? The Greek word translated meek here is praus. Sometimes that Greek word was used to describe soothing medicine. They say sometimes it was used by sailors to describe a gentle breeze. They say sometimes it was used to describe a horse, a colt that was broken.

Flat out, what does meek mean? Meekness is strength under control. Some will say it is humble; that is part of it. Some say it is gentle; sometimes God uses meek or meekness and gentle in the same little phrase, but they are a little different. Meekness is strength under control.

The first time the word meek is mentioned in the Bible is over in Numbers, chapter 12. It is amazing how the Bible helps us define the Bible. I am not against commentaries or concordances, but we are still using man to tell us what he thinks the Greek word means. If I can find something from God in His word about that word, that is coming from God. Let us look at the first time this word meek is used in Numbers 12.

Moses was the leader of Israel. God used Moses to lead them over the Red Sea, through forty years in the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. Moses’s older sister, Miriam, and Aaron, his brother, were talking about Moses. “Who does Moses think he is? God can speak to us; he is not the only person that can walk with God.” They were creating disunity among the brethren by speaking against Moses, saying he wanted to call all the shots. That is one thing if someone talks about you, but it is family—his oldest sister and brother. Sometimes family can hurt you more than anybody, especially when they do it in public like this.

Moses had authority; Moses had power. He could have told Miriam and Aaron to stop talking. He had the power to do that, but he did not. Look in Numbers 12:3, the first time the word is used: “Now the man, Moses, was very meek above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”

Moses did nothing about it; now the Lord did. The Lord stepped up and said, “Hey, Moses, Miriam, and Aaron, let’s talk about this.” God told Moses that while prophets deliver a message, God talks to Moses face to face. That is how God felt about Moses. It is interesting that God did not really address Aaron. My take is that Miriam, being the oldest, was probably leading the criticism. God said, “If your father had disciplined you, you would not be doing this today.” And Miriam, you are going to spend seven days outside the camp because you have leprosy. Leprosy is a disease of the skin that eats away at the body. In that day and time, there was no cure. Miriam spent seven days outside the camp, then Moses began to pray, “Lord, you have got to heal her, please.” God healed Miriam.

That is the first time the word meek is used in all the Bible. Did Moses have the strength to do something about them talking about him? Yes, he had strength. Was Moses under control? Yes, it takes a lot of control when people are turning others against you. Meekness is strength under control. Jesus is saying, “Blessed are the meek”—someone who has strength, but it is under control. Be careful; some will say meekness is weakness. No. In order to have meekness, you have to have strength.

If that pastor at the table was just fearful and incapable of taking charge in his rightful position, would that have been meekness? No. Meekness is strength under control. Did Moses have the power to crush his brother and sister? Yes, strength. God said Moses was the meekest man on earth at that time because he had strength, but it was under control.

Our country cannot be a meek country unless we have some strength—we must have some military strength. If we have no control over our borders, people can just come in any time they want. Is there any strength there? No. Does that mean we are never supposed to let anybody in? No, but we want some strength under control. That is meekness. I cannot have meekness unless, first of all, I have some strength. Strength under control does not mean I never use the strength; it is simply under control.

Years ago, I was out with a teenager in Alabama teaching soul winning. I teach people not to argue. If people want to argue, just go down the street. The devil will get you arguing for an hour while someone down the street gets saved. Tell them the truth and move on. We went to someone in a trailer who said they were saved but wanted to argue, perhaps about eternal security. We dealt with the issue and told them the Bible says every man heard in his own language at Pentecost, or that no man shall pluck them out of my hand. They just wanted to argue. Usually, my flesh wants to argue back, but praise the Lord, that day was a good day. I told them not to argue, so I could not argue in front of them. They followed us out of the trailer, saying, “He’s just not going to argue with us.” For once in my life, I thought, “Praise the Lord, I did the right thing.” That is hard to do. I felt like I had some meekness about me that day. I know the Bible, and I can argue on those subjects.

Take it years later. The church was still in the daycare. A young couple came to church, perhaps both saved there. They had been missing a little, so I pulled up one Saturday to visit them. I noticed a nicer vehicle in the driveway and other well-dressed couples inside. The Jehovah’s Witnesses were there, talking to our young converts, denying the existence of hell. I thought, “We need to do something about this.” So I knocked on the door. The young couple invited us in; they were having a Bible study at the table. They said, “Pastor, won’t you join us for the Bible study?” I said, “I’d be glad to join you. Let’s just open the Bible and talk for a while.” Did I argue that day? You better believe I argued until they left. I thought, “You better just leave.” I am far from perfect many times, but I believe I was meek in both instances. It has to be under control, but it does not mean God never wants you to use that strength.

Blessed are the meek. They have strength that is under control. Look over in Psalms 25. Some in our day have the philosophy that one ought never to fight. I do not agree with that philosophy; sometimes you have to fight. I am not talking about teaching your kids to fight everybody on the block, but it might be good for a young man to defend his sister. Strength under control is what I am trying to get at. Psalm 25:9: “The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way.” Can you guide and teach someone who has no control? No. When someone has some control over their strength and yields to the Lord, God says, “I will guide them; I will teach them.” You must have strength under control for that to happen.

Let me give you a couple of examples of meekness in our day. The church shooting in Texas recently. The man came into church and began to shoot members. Very quickly, one of the men on the security team shot the murderer. I believe the man who shot the murderer had meekness. He had strength; he was prepared and ready, but he was under control. He did not shoot anybody else. In fact, that man killed two people before he shot him. Still, he had strength, and he was still under control.

I told my church security team—our church insurance put on a class about this. In a video, a man came into church and started yelling during the message, giving the pastor a hard time. The security team very quickly came to that man. They did not fire a shot; they did not fight. They just talked him down, calmed him down, and led him outside the auditorium. They were able to handle that without firing a shot or anyone getting hurt. That is meekness. Both instances showed meekness: strength under control. Now, that is what you prefer, but if this guy is killing people, you are going to have to use some strength.

Blessed are the meek. During Christ’s first coming, he was very meek. When he comes back, riding on the white horse, putting down the Antichrist with a sharp two-edged sword, and throwing the devil into the pit, is he still meek? Yes, but he has a whole lot of strength, and he has decided about God the Father’s will: “I am going to use it.” Meekness is strength under control.

That Bible truth: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Did God take care of Moses? Yes. If you are not fighting over these earthly things, trying to bring them under control to what God wants, God says, “I will take care of that for you.” The ultimate fulfillment will be during the Millennium reign, when Jesus sets up his throne on the earth, sitting on the throne of David. According to how we have served him and kept our strength under control under him, we will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. That will be the ultimate fulfillment of Matthew 5:5: “The meek shall inherit the earth.” Did you notice “inherit”? It does not mean you go over and fight for it. You submit to God and His leadership. God says, “It is the inheritance of those that follow me.”

Now, if something is just eating at you, and you never talk to your spouse about it in the proper way, that is weakness. Meekness is strength under control. That is why he said, “Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Anger is the initial reaction when somebody makes you mad. Wrath is that inner smoldering over days and months. If you do not take care of that, you have anger issues. Meek people have the strength to talk about it: “Honey, I am not trying to start a fight, but I need to talk to you about this.” That is strength. But if you have wrath and are not willing to talk about it, that is weakness. Meekness is strength; you are capable and able to talk about an issue when the Lord wants you to.

Let’s keep going. You are at lunch with a group of people and have a pretty good personality; you can be funny when you choose to be. If you think it is best not to do all that and just let somebody else have the center of attention, that is weakness. If you go to the same luncheon and say, “These people just need to laugh a little bit,” and you try to be funny, that is still meekness under control because you are doing what is best for them. If you have a sharp tongue and can cut right to the chase, that is strength. If you just go around cutting everybody all the time, that is not meekness. Meekness is strength under control. Blessed are the meek; they have control over that tongue.

It could be on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. If someone posts something about your friend, sometimes you say, “I am going to leave it alone.” That is meekness. But maybe somebody attacks your friend, and you use your strength to stick up for them. That is strength under control; it is meekness. Our world needs meek people. America needs meek people: strength under control.

I am thinking right now of a missionary, perhaps the greatest missionary on the face of the earth in our day. He is in the Philippines, and God has used him greatly to start churches all across the islands through his Bible college. I heard him preach in a chapel one time. Afterward, he was done preaching, and he was not a loud, bombastic preacher, but you felt the Spirit of God grab hold of you. Me and a bunch of other people were standing in line to shake his hand and get my Bible signed. A man in front of me was irritated and fidgety. When he finally got up there, he started chewing that missionary out because the missionary had used an illustration that made him look bad. The man chewed him up one side and down the other. I watched the missionary. I think he was very capable and had the strength to stand up for himself, but I watched him humbly take it. He did not argue back; he apologized. I was amazed. Now that is meekness: strength under control.

There are so many examples of meekness in the Bible. Look over in 2 Samuel chapter 16. This is a good example of David. David had to leave the throne because his son, Absalom, was leading a rebellion trying to kill him. The rebellion was so strong that David was fleeing the capital. While he was running, this guy Shimei came out. Picture David with his military around him, leaving town, going through the woods. All of a sudden, Shimei comes out, cursing David, calling him a bloody man, and throwing rocks at him, saying, “Serves you right for what you did to Saul.” This was a lie; David had been good to Saul. One of David’s mighty men said, “Let me go get him; I won’t have to do it twice.”

Look at 2 Samuel 16:10. David was hurt; his son was rebelling, and he might lose the throne. This guy was cursing him and throwing rocks, accusing him of ridiculous things. David said to Abishai and all his servants, “What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the Lord hath bidden him.” David said, “Behold, my son which came forth from my body seeks my life, how much more may this Benjamite do it? Let him alone, let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him.” Here is the last part of the promise: Blessed are the meek. I have never seen strength under control like that. Verse 12: “It may be that the Lord will look upon mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.” David and his mighty men won the battle, and David went back to the throne. God took care of Shimei later on in His own way. Do not go fighting at family reunions trying to settle scores; let God take care of it.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus was the epitome of meekness. Remember in Matthew 11, Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Jesus was leaving the garden, knowing the hour of His crucifixion was near. Judas led the Roman soldiers over, and Judas came up and kissed Jesus—a kiss of betrayal, a signal to arrest Him. The first thing Jesus says is amazing: Jesus turns to Judas and calls him friend. That is a whole lot of control, folks.

A little while later, Peter pulled out his sword and tried to cut the man’s head off, but he only cut his ear off. Jesus reached out, put the ear back on, and said, “Peter, do you not know I could call twelve legions?” He could have called ten thousand angels—a whole lot more. One angel killed 70,000 people in one instance. Jesus said, “Peter, I have plenty of strength to take care of this thing, but put up your little sword.” All power was given to Him in heaven and earth. Jesus was under control. He said, “No, I am going to let them spit on me. I am going to let them pluck out my beard. I am going to let them take that crown of thorns and beat it down into my head. I am going to let them punch me and buffet me until I am black and blue and bleeding. I am going to let them take that cat o’ nine tails and whip me across the back thirty-nine times until my inner organs are hanging out.” Why did He do all that? So He could purchase your salvation. He was paying for your sins so I do not have to go to hell and burn forever. I can go to heaven and walk those streets of gold. Why? Because Jesus had strength under control. He said, “God has a plan for this thing: Not my will, but thine be done.”

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Most of us are not going to be in shootings. Most of us will not have to duke it out with a person. Let’s try to apply it in everyday life. If you are married very long, you have these sayings. We never call them fights. We just have emotional moments. If there is something you want to say—your side of the story, everything inside you—a meek person says, “You know, I do not think God wants me to say that.” That is meekness: strength under control. If something is eating at you and you never talk to your spouse about it in the proper way, that is weakness. Meekness is strength under control. That is why he said, “Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Anger is the initial reaction; wrath is the smoldering. Meek people have the strength to talk about it: “Honey, I am not trying to start a fight, but I need to talk to you about this.” That is strength. But if you have wrath and are not willing to talk about it, that is weakness. Meekness is strength; you are capable and able to talk about an issue when the Lord wants you to.

Maybe this deals more with words than anything else. Once words are set, they are out. You can only take so much back. Bring your tongue under control. Say, “Lord, I am going to give my tongue to you this morning; I will bring it under your control.” How many parents have said something to a child that hurt them for years? How many times has a child said something to a parent that hurt them? How many times a spouse? It is strength under control with all our words. Death and life are from the power of the tongue.

Original File: Blessed are the Meek - Pastor Paul Chisgar 2920

# Blessed are the meek

Blessed are the meek