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Jan 20, 2019

The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Passage: Matthew 5:5

Speaker: Ben Seneker

Series: The Highest Good

What does it mean to be ‘meek’? While many of us could probably come up with some sort of an explanation, it is unlikely that the word strength would be included in our definition. But as we study this third Beatitude, we will see that there is indeed a blessing that comes with meekness, and central to our understanding of meekness is the realization that the strength to be meek must originate from outside of ourselves. In fact, it must come from God himself.

Artwork by Stacey Chacon

Order of Worship

Pre-Service Text: Matthew 11:28-29
Call To Worship: Psalm 95:1-7
Old Testament Reading: Numbers 12:1-9
Sermon Title: The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth (as well as the Basketball)
Central Text: Matthew 5:5
Response: Communion!
Benediction: Romans 8:31-32
Post-Service Text: James 3:3

01.20.19 Sermon Notes

Readings & Scripture

Call To Worship: Psalm 95:1-7
LEADER: 1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

ALL: 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

LEADER: 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

ALL: 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 12:1-9
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

Central Text: Matthew 5:5
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Related Scriptures:

  • Numbers 12:1-4
  • Psalm 37:5-11
  • Isaiah 40:28-31
  • Matthew 11:28-29
  • Galatians 6:1-2
  • James 1:19-20, 3:13-18
  • 1 Peter 5:6-7

Discussion Questions & Applications:

  1. What comes to mind when you hear the term “meek”? Is this a characteristic you consider to be positive, or negative? Weak, or strong? What might be the opposite of meek?
  2. Have you ever received an inheritance? Were you aware of that inheritance before you actually received it? And if so, how did that promise of an inheritance impact your demeanor, mood, outlook, etc in the time between the promise and the time of actually receiving the inheritance? Read Ephesians 1:13-14 and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. What is Paul’s purpose in making these statements? How do these future promises impact the present?
  3. Notice the order of these first three Beatitudes (“those who are poor in spirit … those who mourn … those who are meek”). How is Jesus building upon each Beatitude? Why is the order so important?
  4. The gospel promises a future inheritance of eternal life in Christ. How is this promised future beginning to manifest itself in your present life? What role does the Holy Spirit play in this? How might the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) be an important warning against treasuring the inheritance more than a relationship with the Father? What are some practical ways to guard against this temptation?

Quotes:

  • "Mind you, there are thousands of clever men who would give anything for the chance to come in and take over from me, but I don't want that sort of person. I don't want a grown-up person at all. A grown-up won't listen to me; he won't learn. He will try to do things his own way and not mine. So I have to have a child. I want a good sensible loving child, one to whom I can tell all my most precious sweet-making secrets – while I am still alive." ~Willy Wonka, from Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • “I like thinking of the Christian hope - with this Beatitude - as a hope embracing a renewed heaven and earth rather than just (as we usually hear) ‘heaven’.” ~ Frederick Bruner
  • “You can’t buy meekness. You can’t work it up. You can’t just decide to be meek. The order of the beatitudes instructs us that the meek are, first, poor in spirit. They see themselves as poor sinners who have nothing, can do nothing, and are nothing. That sense of spiritual poverty produces mourning over sin, and that mourning produces meekness.” ~David Murray

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