Sermon Message for Monday April 2, 2012
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH!!
Precious saints of God, do let us study the Bible portrait of the humble man. And let us ask our brethren, and ask the world, whether they recognize in us the likeness to that which was exemplified in Jesus. Let us be content with nothing less than taking each lesson learned, as the promise of what God will work in us, as the revelation in words of what the Spirit of Jesus will give as a birth within us. And let each failure and shortcoming simply urge us to turn humbly and meekly to the meek and lowly Lamb of God, in the assurance that where He is enthroned in the heart, His humility and gentleness will be one of the streams of living water that flow from within us. Father God in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, even as I ask this of my fellow Christians friends, may Your will be done in each of us, to accomplish that which is intended, total humility, total surrender, love and unity, so the body of Christ will be edified and You Lord will receive the glory. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen!!!
Brethren, are you clothed with meekness, are you clothed in humility? Ask your daily life. Ask Jesus. Ask your friends. Ask the world. And begin to praise God that there is opened up to you in Jesus a heavenly humility of which you have hardly known, and through which a heavenly blessedness which you possibly have never yet tasted, can come in to you.
MEEKNESS IS A GREAT ORNAMENT TO A CHRISTIAN.
'The ornament of a meek spirit’ (1 Peter 3:3-4). This is the character of a true Christian. (Colossians 3:12)
What is the meaning of meek? It is not a person who is weak or shy. It does not mean a wimp, a person who is a coward, the chicken out type or even a person who will compromise. Meekness here means a person who will not get irritated or easily angered. A person who is long suffering, forbear, patient, self-control and not easily provoked. Meekness is also submission to God’s will in His word. This means the person who obeys God’s word, dies to the will of his or her flesh and does not so quickly follow his or her emotions.
It is in our relation to one another, in our treatment of one another, that the true lowliness of mind and the heart of humility are to be seen. Our meekness before God has no value, but as it prepares us to reveal the humility of Jesus to our fellow-men. Let us study meekness in daily life in.
The perspective of the world is that, people who are strong and powerful can conquer the world. However Jesus said just the opposite, where at the end it is the meek who will inherit the earth. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 15: 50)
This beautiful trait may have shocked the disciples and the Jews of that day as they were expecting for the Messiah to come and conquer the Roman Empire and lead them to victory, where Messiah will rule the world.
True meekness comes when, in the, light of God, we have seen ourselves to be nothing, have consented to part with and cast away self, to let God be all. The soul that has done this, no longer compares itself with others. It has given up forever every thought of self in God's presence; it meets its fellow-men as one who is nothing, and seeks nothing for itself; who is a servant of God, and for His sake a servant of all.
We must learn of Jesus, how He is meek and lowly of heart. He teaches us where true humility takes its rise and finds its strength in the knowledge, that it is God who worketh all in all, that our place is to yield to Him in perfect resignation and dependence, in full consent to be and to do nothing of ourselves. The greatest example of meekness is found in Jesus.
GENTLE JESUS, MEEK AND MILD.
Jesus is all powerful, He is God Almighty in flesh, yet when He was mocked at the cross, they blindfolded Him and hit Him, mocked Him and said, who hit You, prophesy to us and they laughed. They pulled His beard and spat on Him. Jesus had the power to wipe them away, destroy them with one angel, yet instead, placed His strength under control. He didn’t say a word. He forgave His enemies, and He demonstrated His compassion and love through gentleness. This is true meekness, which He was able to save souls. (Matthew 11:29; 2 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Peter 2: 23)
MOSES WAS A MAN OF UNPARALLELED MEEKNESS.
'Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth’ (Numbers 12: 3). How many times the children of Israel came against Moses, yet he put up with them? Even when the people of Israel murmured against him. 'Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children with thirst?’ (Exodus 17:3) Though they were in a storm, Moses was calm. They were grumbling with anger but Moses was praying….Amen!!
WE SEE THE MEEKNESS OF DAVID.
Saul was hunting David as Saul was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. Yet David, even though he had the opportunity to kill Saul, he did not. (1 Samuel 26: 7-11) Here was a mirror of meekness.
TESTIMONIALS OF MEEKNESS IN OUR DAILY LIVES.
There is the story where a doctor met a farmer in the country side and the doctor asked the farmer, what kind of weather shall we have tomorrow? Then the farmer replied doesn’t matter what kind of weather, but it will please us. The doctor asked what do you mean? God provides the weather and that pleases me. The spirit of meekness is to be contented, in other words satisfied with the situations. There are many rich who are utterly miserable, there are poor who are miserable in their condition, but a meek man is happy, thankful and content in his condition...Amen! (Philippians 4:11)
The meek do not grumble, he will not say when it comes to the table; it’s the same food again! But will bow his head in prayer and say, “we are thankful for the Lord providing this food”. It’s like the poor Christian when he went home very tired found two pieces of sardine with three potatoes for his dinner on the table, for which he prayed, ‘ Heavenly Father, we are thankful for you that you have ransacked both earth and sea to find us this food.’ He was content with enjoyment. Man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things he owns but the man who is meek will inherit the earth. Yes, we conquer the earth with the gentle and a quiet spirit.
There was this Christian man who had a servant, the servant one morning woke up and went fishing but he locked the house and the master inside, he came very late. But the Christian master said to the servant, next time when you go out please leave the key, anyway, it all worked out because, today I was able to study and pray while you were out. He did not get furious and mad at the servant but had a gentle spirit. (Ephesians 4:26-27) They do not quarrel with God when there are difficulties and hardships comes, they do not murmur, grumble, get angry, losing your temper or fight, but a graceful man as he is under control with strength. They are men, women and children of grace. This is the opposite of a revengeful spirit. Revenge is not from God but from Satan, it is the language of Satan, revenge brings nothing but problems. But meekness or gentleness brings healing, forgiveness and peace. (Roman 12:19; Psalm 94:1)
During the Puritan times there was a very godly minister by the name of Mr. Deering. One day while he was eating his dinner, an ungodly wicked man provoked him to anger by throwing a glass of beer in his face. The minister took his handkerchief wiped his face and continued eating. The wicked man provoked him again a second time, then the minister again wiped his face and continued eating. The ungodly man got so mad and did it again the third time with great insults and blasphemy, but the minister made no reply, wiped his face and continued eating. The man then came and fell at the minister’s feet, he was convicted of his wickedness when he saw the meekness of Mr. Deering and his pitying love for the wicked man. Here we see the power of God manifested in a true Christian minister where he was able to conquer the wicked man by his forbearance, long suffering, patience, kindness, humility and love. At the end of the day, meekness wins. Meekness is the best way to conquer and melt the heart of an enemy.
MEEKNESS, THE TRUE CHARACTER OF A CHRISTIAN.
The beauty in humility or meekness, shows the true character of a Christian. A person who is born again, realizes he is bankrupt towards God, he is poor in spirit, with a sinful condition. Knowing this, he will humbly repent, mourn of his sins, ask for forgiveness and sincerely forgive others. He will then be filled with power from on high and strength from God. In his meekness, he submits all to God, knowing God is in control.
Meek man inherits the earth, not with the power of money, politics and his strength but with the weapons of meekness, humility, long suffering, forbearance, kindness, forgiveness, keeping silent when someone is tempting you to get mad. The word inherit means the title. Like the title of the land. The title of the earth belongs to those who are meek; they will inherit thousands of acres. Yes, the meek will inherit the earth, one day the lost paradise, the Garden of Eden, which was lost due to sin, we will gain back, and we will conquer but only those who are meek in spirit. (Psalm 37:11).
HUMILITY IN THE LIFE OF JESUS.
"I am in the midst of you as he that serveth." Luke 22: 27
In the Gospel of John we have the inner life of our Lord laid open to us. Jesus speaks frequently of His relation to the Father, of the motives by which He is guided, of His consciousness of the power and spirit in which He acts. Though the word humble does not occur, we shall nowhere in Scripture see so clearly wherein His humility consisted. We have already said that this grace is in truth, nothing but that simple consent of the creature to let God be all, in virtue of which it surrenders itself to His working alone.
In Jesus we shall see how both as the Son of God in heaven, and as man upon earth, He took the place of entire subordination, and gave God the honor and the glory which is due to Him, and what He taught so often was made true to Himself: "He that humbleth him: shall be exalted." As it is written, "He humbled Himself, therefore God highly exalted Him."
Listen to the words in which our Lord speaks of His relation to the Father, and how unceasingly He uses the words not, and nothing, of Himself. The not I, in which Paul expresses his relation to Christ, is the very spirit of what Christ says of His relation the Father.
"The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5: 19)
"I can of My own self do nothing; My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will" (John 5:30)
"I receive not glory from men" (John 5: 41)
"I am come not to do Mine own will" (John 6:38)
"My teaching is not Mine" (John 7:16)
"I am not come of Myself" (John 7:28)
"I do nothing of Myself" (John 8:28)
"I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me" (John 8: 42).
"I seek not Mine own glory" (John 8:50)
"The words that I say, I speak not from Myself" (John 14: 10).
"The word which ye hear is not Mine" (John 14: 24).
These words open to us the deepest roots of Christ's life and work. They tell us how it was, that the Almighty God was able to work His mighty redemptive work through Him.
They show that Christ counted the state of heart which became Him as the Son of the Father. They teach us what the essential nature and life is of that redemption which Christ accomplished and now communicates. It is this: He was nothing, that God might be all.
He resigned Himself with His will and His powers entirely for the Father to work in Him. Of His own power, His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and His teaching, of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself to the Father to work; I am nothing, the Father is all.
This life of absolute submission and dependence upon the Father's will, Christ found to be one of perfect peace and joy. He lost nothing by giving all to God. God honored His trust, and did all for Him, and then exalted Him to His own right hand in glory. And because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all.
His humility was simply the surrender of Himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, whatever men around might say of Him, or do to Him. It is in this state of mind, in this spirit and disposition, that the redemption of Christ has its virtue.
It is to bring us to this disposition that we are made partakers of Christ. This is the true self-denial to which our Savior calls us, the acknowledgment that self has nothing good in it, except as an empty vessel which God must fill, and that its claim to be or do anything may not for a moment be allowed. It is in this, above and before everything, in which the conformity to Jesus consists, the being and doing nothing of ourselves, that God may be all.
Here we have the root and nature of true humility. It is because this is not understood or sought after, that our humility is so superficial and so feeble.
This is the life Christ came to reveal and to impart a life to God that came through death to sin and self. If we feel that this life is too high for us and beyond our reach, it must but the more urge us to seek it in Him; it is the indwelling Christ who will live in us this life, meek and lowly.
If we long for this, let us, meantime, above everything, seek the holy secret of the knowledge of the nature of God, as He every moment works all in all; the secret, of which all nature and every creature, and above all, every child of God, is to be the witness, that it is nothing but a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness.
The root of all virtue and grace, of all faith and acceptable worship, is that we know that we have nothing but what we receive, and bow in deepest humility to wait upon God for it.
It was because this humility was not only a temporary sentiment, wakened up and brought into exercise when He thought of God, but the very spirit of His whole life, that Jesus was just as humble in His interaction with men as with God.
He felt Himself the Servant of God for the men whom God made and loved; as a natural consequence, He counted Himself the Servant of men, that through Him God might do His work of love. He never for a moment thought of seeking His honor, or asserting His power to vindicate Himself. His whole spirit was that of a life yielded to God to work in.
It is not until Christians study the humility of Jesus as the very essence of His redemption, as the very blessedness of the life of the Son of God, as the only true relation to the Father, that the terribly lack of actual, heavenly, manifest humility will become a burden and a sorrow, and our ordinary religion will be set aside to secure this.
HUMILITY IN DAILY LIFE
"He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"--1 John 4:20.
What a solemn thought, that our love to God will be measured by our everyday contact with men and the love it displays; and that our love to God will be found to be a delusion, except as its truth is proved in standing the test of daily life with our fellow-men.
It is even so with our humility. It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God, humility towards men will be the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real; that humility has taken up its abode in us; and become our very nature; that we actually, like Christ, have made ourselves of no reputation.
To know the humble man, to know how the humble man behaves, you must follow him in the common course of daily life. Is not this what Jesus taught? It was when the disciples disputed who should be greatest; when He saw how the Pharisees loved the chief place at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues; when He had given them the example of washing their feet, that He taught His lessons of humility.
Humility before God is nothing if not proved in humility before men. It is even so in the teaching of Paul. To the Romans He writes: In honor preferring one another; "Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to those that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceit.
To the Corinthians:
"Love," and there is no love without humility as its root, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, seeketh not its own, is not provoked."
To the Galatians:
"Through love be servants one of another. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another."
To the Ephesians:
Immediately after the three wonderful chapters on the heavenly life: “Therefore, walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Giving thanks always, subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ."
To the Philippians:
"Doing nothing through faction or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, each counting other better than himself. Have the mind in you which was also inChrist Jesus, who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbled Himself."
And to the Colossians:
"Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, even as the Lord forgave you."
The humble man seeks at all times to act up to the rule. In honor preferring one another, servants one of another, each counting others better than himself, and subjecting yourselves one to another.
The question is often asked, how can we count others better than ourselves, when we see that they are far below us in wisdom and in holiness, in natural gifts, or in grace received? The question in itself, proves at once how very little we understand what real lowliness of mind is.
A faithful servant may be wiser than the master, and yet retain the true spirit and posture of the servant. The humble man looks upon, the feeblest and unworthiest, child of God, and honors him and prefers him in honor as the son of a King.
The spirit of Him who washed the disciples’ feet, makes it a joy to us to be indeed the least, to be servants one of another.
The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed before him.
He can bear to hear others praised and himself forgotten, because in God's presence he has learnt to say with Paul, "I am nothing." He has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and sought not His own honor, as the spirit of his life.
Amid what are considered the temptations to impatience and touchiness, to hard thoughts and sharp words, which come from the failings and sins of fellow Christians, the humble man carries injunction in his heart, and shows it in his life,
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave you." He has learnt that in putting on the Lord Jesus he has put on the heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and long-suffering.
Jesus has taken the place of self, and it is not an impossibility to forgive as Jesus forgave. His humility does not consist merely in thoughts or words of self-depreciation, but, as Paul puts it, in a heart of humility, encompassed by compassion and kindness, meekness and longsuffering, the sweet and lowly gentleness recognized as the mark of the Lamb of God.
In striving after the higher experiences of the Christian life, the believer is often in danger of aiming at and rejoicing in what one might call the more human, the manly, virtues, such as boldness, joy, contempt of the world, zeal and self- sacrifice.
The deeper and gentler, the diviner and more heavenly graces, those which Jesus first taught upon earth, because He brought them from heaven; those which are more distinctly connected with His cross and the death of self, poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, lowliness, are scarcely thought of or valued.
“I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul: but I found something in me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus to do something for me, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart, and took out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind, all that would not be patient, and then He shut the door." (George Foxe)
I feel deeply that we have very little conception of what the Church suffers from the lack of divine humility, the nothingness that makes room for God to prove His power. It is not long since a Christian, of a humble, loving spirit, acquainted with various societies, expressed his deep sorrow that in some cases the spirit of love and forbearance was sadly lacking….Amen!
Men and women, could easily choose their own circle of friends, brought close together with others of uncongenial minds. But they find it hard to bear, and to love, and to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And those who should have been fellow helpers of each other's joy, could instead, easily become a hindrance and a weariness. And all for the one reason, the lack of the humility which counts itself nothing, which rejoices in becoming and being counted the least, and only seeks, like Jesus, to be the servant, the helper and comforter of others, even the lowest and unworthiest.
And whence comes it that men who have joyfully given up themselves for Christ, find it so hard to give up themselves for their brethren? Is not the blame with the Church? It has so little taught its sons that the humility of Christ is the first of the virtues, the best of all the graces and powers of the Spirit. It has so little proved that a Christlike humility is what it, like Christ, places and preaches first, as what is indeed needed, and possible too. Let us not be discouraged.
Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us, as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that, as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love.
I conclude with this: When in the presence of God, lowliness of heart becomes, not a posture in which we pray to Him, but the very spirit of our life. It will manifest itself in all our bearing towards our brethren. The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us, and carry out in our ordinary conduct and everyday life. The insignificance of daily living are the importance and the tests of eternity, because they prove what really is the spirit that possesses us. It is in our most unguarded moments that we really show and see what we are.
Therefore, let us put on a hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; and let us prove our Christlikeness, not only in our zeal for saving the lost, but before all in our interactions with the brethren, forbearing and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave us.
Pray earnestly that God will give you a spirit of meekness, for mercy comes in at the door of prayer. Our faith puts prayer to work and our prayer puts God to work.
Precious saints, may the Lord bless each and everyone of you abundantly… much love, sis San!! ;)
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH!!
Precious saints of God, do let us study the Bible portrait of the humble man. And let us ask our brethren, and ask the world, whether they recognize in us the likeness to that which was exemplified in Jesus. Let us be content with nothing less than taking each lesson learned, as the promise of what God will work in us, as the revelation in words of what the Spirit of Jesus will give as a birth within us. And let each failure and shortcoming simply urge us to turn humbly and meekly to the meek and lowly Lamb of God, in the assurance that where He is enthroned in the heart, His humility and gentleness will be one of the streams of living water that flow from within us. Father God in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, even as I ask this of my fellow Christians friends, may Your will be done in each of us, to accomplish that which is intended, total humility, total surrender, love and unity, so the body of Christ will be edified and You Lord will receive the glory. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen!!!
Brethren, are you clothed with meekness, are you clothed in humility? Ask your daily life. Ask Jesus. Ask your friends. Ask the world. And begin to praise God that there is opened up to you in Jesus a heavenly humility of which you have hardly known, and through which a heavenly blessedness which you possibly have never yet tasted, can come in to you.
MEEKNESS IS A GREAT ORNAMENT TO A CHRISTIAN.
'The ornament of a meek spirit’ (1 Peter 3:3-4). This is the character of a true Christian. (Colossians 3:12)
What is the meaning of meek? It is not a person who is weak or shy. It does not mean a wimp, a person who is a coward, the chicken out type or even a person who will compromise. Meekness here means a person who will not get irritated or easily angered. A person who is long suffering, forbear, patient, self-control and not easily provoked. Meekness is also submission to God’s will in His word. This means the person who obeys God’s word, dies to the will of his or her flesh and does not so quickly follow his or her emotions.
It is in our relation to one another, in our treatment of one another, that the true lowliness of mind and the heart of humility are to be seen. Our meekness before God has no value, but as it prepares us to reveal the humility of Jesus to our fellow-men. Let us study meekness in daily life in.
The perspective of the world is that, people who are strong and powerful can conquer the world. However Jesus said just the opposite, where at the end it is the meek who will inherit the earth. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 15: 50)
This beautiful trait may have shocked the disciples and the Jews of that day as they were expecting for the Messiah to come and conquer the Roman Empire and lead them to victory, where Messiah will rule the world.
True meekness comes when, in the, light of God, we have seen ourselves to be nothing, have consented to part with and cast away self, to let God be all. The soul that has done this, no longer compares itself with others. It has given up forever every thought of self in God's presence; it meets its fellow-men as one who is nothing, and seeks nothing for itself; who is a servant of God, and for His sake a servant of all.
We must learn of Jesus, how He is meek and lowly of heart. He teaches us where true humility takes its rise and finds its strength in the knowledge, that it is God who worketh all in all, that our place is to yield to Him in perfect resignation and dependence, in full consent to be and to do nothing of ourselves. The greatest example of meekness is found in Jesus.
GENTLE JESUS, MEEK AND MILD.
Jesus is all powerful, He is God Almighty in flesh, yet when He was mocked at the cross, they blindfolded Him and hit Him, mocked Him and said, who hit You, prophesy to us and they laughed. They pulled His beard and spat on Him. Jesus had the power to wipe them away, destroy them with one angel, yet instead, placed His strength under control. He didn’t say a word. He forgave His enemies, and He demonstrated His compassion and love through gentleness. This is true meekness, which He was able to save souls. (Matthew 11:29; 2 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Peter 2: 23)
MOSES WAS A MAN OF UNPARALLELED MEEKNESS.
'Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth’ (Numbers 12: 3). How many times the children of Israel came against Moses, yet he put up with them? Even when the people of Israel murmured against him. 'Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children with thirst?’ (Exodus 17:3) Though they were in a storm, Moses was calm. They were grumbling with anger but Moses was praying….Amen!!
WE SEE THE MEEKNESS OF DAVID.
Saul was hunting David as Saul was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. Yet David, even though he had the opportunity to kill Saul, he did not. (1 Samuel 26: 7-11) Here was a mirror of meekness.
TESTIMONIALS OF MEEKNESS IN OUR DAILY LIVES.
There is the story where a doctor met a farmer in the country side and the doctor asked the farmer, what kind of weather shall we have tomorrow? Then the farmer replied doesn’t matter what kind of weather, but it will please us. The doctor asked what do you mean? God provides the weather and that pleases me. The spirit of meekness is to be contented, in other words satisfied with the situations. There are many rich who are utterly miserable, there are poor who are miserable in their condition, but a meek man is happy, thankful and content in his condition...Amen! (Philippians 4:11)
The meek do not grumble, he will not say when it comes to the table; it’s the same food again! But will bow his head in prayer and say, “we are thankful for the Lord providing this food”. It’s like the poor Christian when he went home very tired found two pieces of sardine with three potatoes for his dinner on the table, for which he prayed, ‘ Heavenly Father, we are thankful for you that you have ransacked both earth and sea to find us this food.’ He was content with enjoyment. Man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things he owns but the man who is meek will inherit the earth. Yes, we conquer the earth with the gentle and a quiet spirit.
There was this Christian man who had a servant, the servant one morning woke up and went fishing but he locked the house and the master inside, he came very late. But the Christian master said to the servant, next time when you go out please leave the key, anyway, it all worked out because, today I was able to study and pray while you were out. He did not get furious and mad at the servant but had a gentle spirit. (Ephesians 4:26-27) They do not quarrel with God when there are difficulties and hardships comes, they do not murmur, grumble, get angry, losing your temper or fight, but a graceful man as he is under control with strength. They are men, women and children of grace. This is the opposite of a revengeful spirit. Revenge is not from God but from Satan, it is the language of Satan, revenge brings nothing but problems. But meekness or gentleness brings healing, forgiveness and peace. (Roman 12:19; Psalm 94:1)
During the Puritan times there was a very godly minister by the name of Mr. Deering. One day while he was eating his dinner, an ungodly wicked man provoked him to anger by throwing a glass of beer in his face. The minister took his handkerchief wiped his face and continued eating. The wicked man provoked him again a second time, then the minister again wiped his face and continued eating. The ungodly man got so mad and did it again the third time with great insults and blasphemy, but the minister made no reply, wiped his face and continued eating. The man then came and fell at the minister’s feet, he was convicted of his wickedness when he saw the meekness of Mr. Deering and his pitying love for the wicked man. Here we see the power of God manifested in a true Christian minister where he was able to conquer the wicked man by his forbearance, long suffering, patience, kindness, humility and love. At the end of the day, meekness wins. Meekness is the best way to conquer and melt the heart of an enemy.
MEEKNESS, THE TRUE CHARACTER OF A CHRISTIAN.
The beauty in humility or meekness, shows the true character of a Christian. A person who is born again, realizes he is bankrupt towards God, he is poor in spirit, with a sinful condition. Knowing this, he will humbly repent, mourn of his sins, ask for forgiveness and sincerely forgive others. He will then be filled with power from on high and strength from God. In his meekness, he submits all to God, knowing God is in control.
Meek man inherits the earth, not with the power of money, politics and his strength but with the weapons of meekness, humility, long suffering, forbearance, kindness, forgiveness, keeping silent when someone is tempting you to get mad. The word inherit means the title. Like the title of the land. The title of the earth belongs to those who are meek; they will inherit thousands of acres. Yes, the meek will inherit the earth, one day the lost paradise, the Garden of Eden, which was lost due to sin, we will gain back, and we will conquer but only those who are meek in spirit. (Psalm 37:11).
HUMILITY IN THE LIFE OF JESUS.
"I am in the midst of you as he that serveth." Luke 22: 27
In the Gospel of John we have the inner life of our Lord laid open to us. Jesus speaks frequently of His relation to the Father, of the motives by which He is guided, of His consciousness of the power and spirit in which He acts. Though the word humble does not occur, we shall nowhere in Scripture see so clearly wherein His humility consisted. We have already said that this grace is in truth, nothing but that simple consent of the creature to let God be all, in virtue of which it surrenders itself to His working alone.
In Jesus we shall see how both as the Son of God in heaven, and as man upon earth, He took the place of entire subordination, and gave God the honor and the glory which is due to Him, and what He taught so often was made true to Himself: "He that humbleth him: shall be exalted." As it is written, "He humbled Himself, therefore God highly exalted Him."
Listen to the words in which our Lord speaks of His relation to the Father, and how unceasingly He uses the words not, and nothing, of Himself. The not I, in which Paul expresses his relation to Christ, is the very spirit of what Christ says of His relation the Father.
"The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5: 19)
"I can of My own self do nothing; My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will" (John 5:30)
"I receive not glory from men" (John 5: 41)
"I am come not to do Mine own will" (John 6:38)
"My teaching is not Mine" (John 7:16)
"I am not come of Myself" (John 7:28)
"I do nothing of Myself" (John 8:28)
"I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me" (John 8: 42).
"I seek not Mine own glory" (John 8:50)
"The words that I say, I speak not from Myself" (John 14: 10).
"The word which ye hear is not Mine" (John 14: 24).
These words open to us the deepest roots of Christ's life and work. They tell us how it was, that the Almighty God was able to work His mighty redemptive work through Him.
They show that Christ counted the state of heart which became Him as the Son of the Father. They teach us what the essential nature and life is of that redemption which Christ accomplished and now communicates. It is this: He was nothing, that God might be all.
He resigned Himself with His will and His powers entirely for the Father to work in Him. Of His own power, His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and His teaching, of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given Myself to the Father to work; I am nothing, the Father is all.
This life of absolute submission and dependence upon the Father's will, Christ found to be one of perfect peace and joy. He lost nothing by giving all to God. God honored His trust, and did all for Him, and then exalted Him to His own right hand in glory. And because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all.
His humility was simply the surrender of Himself to God, to allow Him to do in Him what He pleased, whatever men around might say of Him, or do to Him. It is in this state of mind, in this spirit and disposition, that the redemption of Christ has its virtue.
It is to bring us to this disposition that we are made partakers of Christ. This is the true self-denial to which our Savior calls us, the acknowledgment that self has nothing good in it, except as an empty vessel which God must fill, and that its claim to be or do anything may not for a moment be allowed. It is in this, above and before everything, in which the conformity to Jesus consists, the being and doing nothing of ourselves, that God may be all.
Here we have the root and nature of true humility. It is because this is not understood or sought after, that our humility is so superficial and so feeble.
This is the life Christ came to reveal and to impart a life to God that came through death to sin and self. If we feel that this life is too high for us and beyond our reach, it must but the more urge us to seek it in Him; it is the indwelling Christ who will live in us this life, meek and lowly.
If we long for this, let us, meantime, above everything, seek the holy secret of the knowledge of the nature of God, as He every moment works all in all; the secret, of which all nature and every creature, and above all, every child of God, is to be the witness, that it is nothing but a vessel, a channel, through which the living God can manifest the riches of His wisdom, power, and goodness.
The root of all virtue and grace, of all faith and acceptable worship, is that we know that we have nothing but what we receive, and bow in deepest humility to wait upon God for it.
It was because this humility was not only a temporary sentiment, wakened up and brought into exercise when He thought of God, but the very spirit of His whole life, that Jesus was just as humble in His interaction with men as with God.
He felt Himself the Servant of God for the men whom God made and loved; as a natural consequence, He counted Himself the Servant of men, that through Him God might do His work of love. He never for a moment thought of seeking His honor, or asserting His power to vindicate Himself. His whole spirit was that of a life yielded to God to work in.
It is not until Christians study the humility of Jesus as the very essence of His redemption, as the very blessedness of the life of the Son of God, as the only true relation to the Father, that the terribly lack of actual, heavenly, manifest humility will become a burden and a sorrow, and our ordinary religion will be set aside to secure this.
HUMILITY IN DAILY LIFE
"He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"--1 John 4:20.
What a solemn thought, that our love to God will be measured by our everyday contact with men and the love it displays; and that our love to God will be found to be a delusion, except as its truth is proved in standing the test of daily life with our fellow-men.
It is even so with our humility. It is easy to think we humble ourselves before God, humility towards men will be the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real; that humility has taken up its abode in us; and become our very nature; that we actually, like Christ, have made ourselves of no reputation.
To know the humble man, to know how the humble man behaves, you must follow him in the common course of daily life. Is not this what Jesus taught? It was when the disciples disputed who should be greatest; when He saw how the Pharisees loved the chief place at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues; when He had given them the example of washing their feet, that He taught His lessons of humility.
Humility before God is nothing if not proved in humility before men. It is even so in the teaching of Paul. To the Romans He writes: In honor preferring one another; "Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to those that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceit.
To the Corinthians:
"Love," and there is no love without humility as its root, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, seeketh not its own, is not provoked."
To the Galatians:
"Through love be servants one of another. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another."
To the Ephesians:
Immediately after the three wonderful chapters on the heavenly life: “Therefore, walk with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Giving thanks always, subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ."
To the Philippians:
"Doing nothing through faction or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, each counting other better than himself. Have the mind in you which was also inChrist Jesus, who emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbled Himself."
And to the Colossians:
"Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, even as the Lord forgave you."
The humble man seeks at all times to act up to the rule. In honor preferring one another, servants one of another, each counting others better than himself, and subjecting yourselves one to another.
The question is often asked, how can we count others better than ourselves, when we see that they are far below us in wisdom and in holiness, in natural gifts, or in grace received? The question in itself, proves at once how very little we understand what real lowliness of mind is.
A faithful servant may be wiser than the master, and yet retain the true spirit and posture of the servant. The humble man looks upon, the feeblest and unworthiest, child of God, and honors him and prefers him in honor as the son of a King.
The spirit of Him who washed the disciples’ feet, makes it a joy to us to be indeed the least, to be servants one of another.
The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed before him.
He can bear to hear others praised and himself forgotten, because in God's presence he has learnt to say with Paul, "I am nothing." He has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and sought not His own honor, as the spirit of his life.
Amid what are considered the temptations to impatience and touchiness, to hard thoughts and sharp words, which come from the failings and sins of fellow Christians, the humble man carries injunction in his heart, and shows it in his life,
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave you." He has learnt that in putting on the Lord Jesus he has put on the heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and long-suffering.
Jesus has taken the place of self, and it is not an impossibility to forgive as Jesus forgave. His humility does not consist merely in thoughts or words of self-depreciation, but, as Paul puts it, in a heart of humility, encompassed by compassion and kindness, meekness and longsuffering, the sweet and lowly gentleness recognized as the mark of the Lamb of God.
In striving after the higher experiences of the Christian life, the believer is often in danger of aiming at and rejoicing in what one might call the more human, the manly, virtues, such as boldness, joy, contempt of the world, zeal and self- sacrifice.
The deeper and gentler, the diviner and more heavenly graces, those which Jesus first taught upon earth, because He brought them from heaven; those which are more distinctly connected with His cross and the death of self, poverty of spirit, meekness, humility, lowliness, are scarcely thought of or valued.
“I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul: but I found something in me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus to do something for me, and when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart, and took out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind, all that would not be patient, and then He shut the door." (George Foxe)
I feel deeply that we have very little conception of what the Church suffers from the lack of divine humility, the nothingness that makes room for God to prove His power. It is not long since a Christian, of a humble, loving spirit, acquainted with various societies, expressed his deep sorrow that in some cases the spirit of love and forbearance was sadly lacking….Amen!
Men and women, could easily choose their own circle of friends, brought close together with others of uncongenial minds. But they find it hard to bear, and to love, and to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And those who should have been fellow helpers of each other's joy, could instead, easily become a hindrance and a weariness. And all for the one reason, the lack of the humility which counts itself nothing, which rejoices in becoming and being counted the least, and only seeks, like Jesus, to be the servant, the helper and comforter of others, even the lowest and unworthiest.
And whence comes it that men who have joyfully given up themselves for Christ, find it so hard to give up themselves for their brethren? Is not the blame with the Church? It has so little taught its sons that the humility of Christ is the first of the virtues, the best of all the graces and powers of the Spirit. It has so little proved that a Christlike humility is what it, like Christ, places and preaches first, as what is indeed needed, and possible too. Let us not be discouraged.
Let the discovery of the lack of this grace stir us to larger expectation from God. Let us look upon every brother who tries or vexes us, as God's means of grace, God's instrument for our purification, for our exercise of the humility Jesus our Life breathes within us. And let us have such faith in the All of God, and the nothing of self, that, as nothing in our own eyes, we may, in God's power, only seek to serve one another in love.
I conclude with this: When in the presence of God, lowliness of heart becomes, not a posture in which we pray to Him, but the very spirit of our life. It will manifest itself in all our bearing towards our brethren. The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us, and carry out in our ordinary conduct and everyday life. The insignificance of daily living are the importance and the tests of eternity, because they prove what really is the spirit that possesses us. It is in our most unguarded moments that we really show and see what we are.
Therefore, let us put on a hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; and let us prove our Christlikeness, not only in our zeal for saving the lost, but before all in our interactions with the brethren, forbearing and forgiving one another, even as the Lord forgave us.
Pray earnestly that God will give you a spirit of meekness, for mercy comes in at the door of prayer. Our faith puts prayer to work and our prayer puts God to work.
Precious saints, may the Lord bless each and everyone of you abundantly… much love, sis San!! ;)
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