- Watch Video Here: Session 04 – Meekness
Matthew 5:5 – Meekness is receptivity toward God and the things of God. Meekness is acceptance of God’s will without being argumentative and without stubborn resistance. It is a willing cessation of our own thoughts, opinions, and ideas for God’s. Meekness, simply stated, is the willingness to listen, hear, and do God’s will. Since God is the Creator and the Provider, to be meek to Him is very logical.
Matthew 7:7-11 – We should run to God with open hearts and ears to receive guidance in everything we do.
Psalm 145:14-21 – When we seek God with meekness, He will fulfill our desires. (When the word
“LORD” is in all caps, it indicates the proper name of God − YHWH, English Yahweh.)
Human nature is egocentric and, as such, prideful – hardhearted toward God. Rather than relying on God, man tries to figure out life on his own which is why he basically lives in utter depravity.
Psalm 22:26 (KJV) – The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD [Yahweh] that seek him: your heart shall live forever.
Psalm 25:9(KJV) – The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.
Psalm 147:6(KJV) – The LORD [Yahweh] lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground.
Psalm 149:4(KJV) – For the LORD [Yahweh] taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.
Humility Precedes Meekness
Numbers 12:3 – Moses was very meek because he was humble.
Exodus 3:11; 4:1, 10
Humility precedes meekness. When a spiritually-minded person is truly humble, he or she will be meek to receive from God. Humility prepares us to listen to God because we realize our need for His help. Moses was so meek because he was genuinely humble.
Psalm 103:7 – He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.
God was not only able to show His acts to Moses (as He did to Israel), but much deeper His ways, because Moses was meek.
Matthew 11:29-30 – Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Meek to Know
For God to teach and guide us, we must be open to hear — to be meek. When Jesus Christ told what his public ministry was to be, he quoted from Isaiah.
Isiah 61:1 – The Spirit of the Lord GOD [Yahweh] is upon me; because the LORD [Yahweh] hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.
Matthew 13:11-18 – Jesus did not teach everyone. He taught the meek. To others he spoke in parables.
Jesus was not sent to Israel, rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). He sent the apostles to the lost sheep (Matthew 10:6). Jesus told Peter three times to go to the sheep (John 21). Sheep are humble and meek.
Roadblocks
Acts 17:11 – The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they heard was the truth.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 – The Thessalonians received the Word of God as the word of truth.
James 1:21 and 22 – Receive with meekness the engrafted word.
Mark 7:1-13 – Tradition can be a major roadblock to a correct meek attitude.
Traditionalism causes many to be stubbornly resistant to God’s Word and to be fossilized in their limited knowledge. The religious people in the Bible had a hard time being meek because of their traditions. “This is the way it has always been. This is the way it should always be!”
We also hinder growth by limiting God to our meager framework of understanding. When we consider the great magnitude of God’s knowledge contained in His Word, we see how foolish and prideful we are to limit ourselves to our minuscule understanding. The infinite, eternal God can never be fully contained within our small, finite knowledge or understanding of Him. However greatly we may mature, we will never know all and can still learn more. Ever notice how God continually refers to us as children and not adults? How could anyone ever think his knowledge is complete and refuse to learn more? Yet, this is a common deception to which many fall prey.
Often an honest, sincere desire to believe, think, and speak accurately about God moves to a presumptuous conviction that our beliefs contain the whole truth about God. This has the practical effect of confining God to our understanding. Everyone is convinced that what he believes is the truth. That is why he believes it! None of us would say our beliefs in any way limit God. However, quite often the unintentional consequence is that our concept of God is limited to the rigid structure we have built in our own minds. The honest, sincere desire to be right slips into narrow mindedness or close mindedness. We become deceived into not considering anything other than what we believe to be true. In doing so, we think we are taking a stand for God! From this posture of mind, it is a very small step to criticize, condemn, and fear all those who believe differently than we do. “Surely they must be wrong because they do not believe what I believe.” Too often, we perceive other sincere, committed Christians as a threat because their beliefs are different from ours. Therefore, we think we must avoid them.
Gentleness
“Meekness” is often translated “gentleness” in other versions.
1 Corinthians 4:21 – Paul asked the Corinthians if they wanted him to come with the spirit of gentleness or with a rod.
Galatians 6:1-10 – When helping others, we must do so with gentleness, not with arrogance or harshness, but with humility.
2 Timothy 2:25 and 26 – We all need help at times, but it is hard to receive if the person helping is not gentle.
2 Peter 3:15 – Gentleness, not judgment or condemnation, wins people.
Inherit the Earth
Psalm 37:1-3; 9, 11, 22, 27, 29, 34 – When Jesus Christ returns, part of our inheritance is to dwell in the land. The promise was originally given to Abraham and is extended to all who have faith.
God repeatedly told Abraham that he would inherit the land (Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:17 and 18; Romans 4). He also told him that his seed would inherit the land as an everlasting possession. According to the Old Testament prophets, when the Messiah returns, the earth will be changed in a most beautiful way. Eventually, it will return to paradise (Isaiah 35:7; 40:4; 41:18 and 19; 43:19).
God originally made man to be earth dwellers (Genesis 1 and 2). Adam and Eve lived in paradise on earth, not heaven. Jesus told the malefactor that he would be with him in paradise, not heaven (Luke 23:43). Paul was given a vision about the future and shown paradise (1 Corinthians 12:4). The Apostle John was given revelation about the future age again showing paradise (Revelation 2:7).
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