THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Lesson # 5 BLESSED ARE THE MEEK…

Introduction: Let me say it again. I want you to keep in mind that these Beatitudes are NOT prerequisites or steps in obtaining salvation. Neither are they character traits that you can muster up or generate on your own. Rather, they are the work of God in you. If you have trusted Christ by faith and been born again, then God, the Holy Spirit, is doing the work of transforming you into the image of Christ. Phil. 1:6 is true.

Some of you may say that you think you are lacking these attributes.

You don’t feel poor in spirit, or one who mourns over his sins. That’s great! That means you are being honest with yourself. Every one of us needs to realize that we’ve not yet attained the perfection, the right -eousness, demanded by God’s moral law. We still have sins to confess and forsake.

So what should we do about it? If you’ve been paying attention the last four weeks, you’ve already taken the first step. You realize your need. Today we want to understand meekness. It is a fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:22,23 Next time I hope to help us all begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

A. Here are four facts about the third Beatitude.

Mt. 5:5 Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.

1. What the Lord counts as the basis for blessing, the world utterly despises. The world equates meekness with an effeminate man, a weakling, a pushover, a coward. Evidently God’s definition of meekness is different than the world’s.

2.According to Webster and Vine’s, meekness is NOT outward behavior, mere natural disposition, relationships. It is the opposite of self, self-assertive, self interest. Meekness is a work of grace, a temper of spirit in submission to God, It is patient and mild, not inclined to anger or resentment. A synonym for meekness is humility. The meek man is not proud of himself, nor is he concerned about his own interests, but rather with the needs of others. Philippians 2:3-5.

3. There is a logical progression of these Beatitudes. Being poor in spirit (aware of our sinfulness ) leads to our mourning ( sorrow over our sin) and that leads to meekness (submission to the will of god and dependence upon God, having no confidence in self).

4. “…they shall inherit the earth.” That multitude of Jews who heard this sermon expected the King to immediately throw off the might of the Roman empire and set up an earthly kingdom and reign 1000 years on earth. They expected his kingdom to be a worldwide empire, not just the land of Israel. Yes, that prophecy will yet be fulfilled, but in the Sermon on the Mount Christ is teaching about a spiritual kingdom not an earthly. Yes, Christians will inherit the earth.

I Cor. 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?

Rev. 5:10, 20:6

B. Examples of men who were meek

1. Abraham: Gen. 13:5ff Remember Abe’s behavior with Lot? He allowed the younger man to assert himself and take first choice of the land and did it without a murmur or complaint. That is meekness.

2. Moses : Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) Moses was no weakling. He strode right into the throne room of Pharaoh and commanded him , the ruler of the whole known world, to “let my people go!” How did he respond when he came down from Mt. Sinai and found the people dancing naked around the golden calf? Ex. 32:19-25

He was not a coward!

3. Christ: Look at his disposition. Mt. 11:29, 21:5, IICor. 10:1

I Peter 2:21-23

4. Paul: I Cor. 4:21

C. Admonitions for us to obey

1. Gal. 6:1

2. Eph. 4:1,2

3. Col. 3:12,13

4. II Tim. 2:24,25

5. Titus 3:2

6. James 1:19-21

7. I Peter 3:4, 15

Conclusion: We shall never make ourselves meek. Only the Holy Spirit can make us poor in spirit, and make us mourn because of our sinfulness, and produce in us this meekness, this submission to His will and dependence on His strength. It is character that is produced in us by His Spirit. What can we do? Be empty of self. Be filled with the H.S.

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Lesson # 4 Blessed are they that mourn

Review questions;

1. What is God’s Ultimate Purpose in creating mankind?

Answer; for his pleasure; to make a people with whom He can fellowship. They must be holy as He is holy.

Rev. 4:11, Heb. 12:14, Matt. 5:48, Rom. 8:4

2. How or why is Blessedness different than Happiness?

Answer; Happiness is based on circumstances, but Blessedness is based upon God’s personal involvement in working all things together for our good.

3. What is being poor in spirit?

Answer; utter humility, dying to self, coming face to face with Christ and seeing our sinfulness in light of his Glory.

Here are twelve observations of truth about the second Beatitude

Mt 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

1. To mourn is the automatic result of being poor in spirit. The law of cause and effect. The two character traits fit together like Abbot and Costello, pie and ice cream, or two peas in a pod. Where you find one, you’ll find the other.

2. Both traits begin at a point in time and become a lifestyle, an attitude that lasts and grows as we mature spiritually.

3. Mourning is not moaning, whining, or complaining about circumstances. It is spiritual, an attribute of knowing and hating our own sinful self. Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Only Christians!

4. One of the marks of great Christians is that they preached and practiced self-examination. Jonathan Edwards said it this way. “Resolved; to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherin I could possibly in any respect have done better. Jan. 11, 1723”

5. The difference between lost and saved is very clear. Lost people sin without fear, even brag about their sin, never even feel guilty. The Christian still sins, but always feels guilty…and is grieved like God is.

` 6. Paradox: God’s Word tells us that mourning, sorrow, grieving about our sin is an attribute of the real Christian. It also admonishes us to rejoice in the Lord. Phil. 4:4,5 How is that possible? How can we experience sorrow and joy at the same time? By knowing the whole truth. Yes, we sin against the holiness of God and he is grieved, but He also has paid the penalty for our sins and forgiven. In fact, He will not impute our sin to us. Romans 4:6-8 Talk about being blessed!

7. Moderation needed. Phil. 4:5 History of the church, we see religious movements swinging back and forth between two extremes.

At times men practiced extreme asceticism, wearing plain clothes, or even rags, fasting constantly, putting sad expression on their faces, etc.

We would call them extreme Puritans. Today we see the feel good movement. Put on a happy face. Pretend great joy. Ignore or deny the doctrine of sin. Go to church and get that spiritual high.

8. Let me tell you the reason that mourners are blessed. Until you face up to your sin, be honest with yourself, and see your self in God’s light, you won’t repent. Repentance, turning from sin unto God, is the way to real joy and real spiritual growth. James 4:6-10

9. They that mourn not only grieve over their own sin; the closer they become to Christ, the more they sorrow over the sins of society, the world. Phil. 3:10 About 7 weeks from now, when we get to Mt. 5:13 we’re going to learn what we can do about the sins of this world,

10. “…They shall be comforted.” “To comfort” means to walk beside. Jesus said in John 14:16 that he would send “another comforter.” Jesus, himself, had walked beside the disciples, teaching and guiding for three and a half years. Now we have the Holy Spirit to teach and guide.

11. There are two ways to know comfort. First is present tense. Just knowing our sins are forgiven is a comfort. And knowing we’ve been set free from the power of sin is a comfort. The second is future. Not only will I cast off this old sin nature, but we’ll be set free from the very presence of sin. What a day that will be! When Joni Erichson was asked what she looked forward to most about going to heaven; her answer wasn’t, “I’ll be able to walk” It was, “ I’ll finally be rid of this wicked old sin nature I’ve been carrying around all these years.” Amen!

12. Lastly, on purpose, when you reach this plateau of spiritual maturity you no longer see your neighbor’s sin from a position of self-righteousness. Seeing sin from God’s viewpoint you are grieved but respond with loving kindness and forgiveness instead of judging .