Blessed are the Meek

The point: Do not hope for God's blessing or pray for it without an earnest desire and spiritual pursuit of being conformed to the characters of faith found in the Beatitudes.

Martin uses the analogy of a hypodermic pill of blessing to describe the common, but mistaken, desire for God's blessing without personal conformity to Christ's character, highlighting that true blessing requires spiritual pursuit.

We were having a discussion last night after a good season of prayer at our men's prayer meeting, in fact it went on until about 11, and it wasn't just feeding the breeze, as we say, we were coming to grips with basic issues. How can we know and experience the blessing of God? And we came again as we studied the Scriptures and sought out life from God and His Word, that blessing comes in the way of conformity to the Redeemer. It is the blessing of God that we will enjoy, it would be so comfortable if somehow we could just go to sleep or have a praying marathon and God would have taken a hypode...

1:13 - 1:54 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin illustrates how the world views meekness as weakness, lack of intelligence, or an undesirable trait, contrasting this with Christ's pronouncement of blessing upon the meek.

He illustrates the world's negative perception of meekness by describing how people might speak of a 'meek guy' as someone weak, unintelligent, or not chosen as a best companion, contrasting this with Christ's blessedness.

Yeah, he's got, he's kind of a meek guy. What we mean by that is, well, we're pollinating, but he's not much like, not much of a, he's sort of a meek guy. It's sort of like some of his IQ isn't quite up to par, and we wouldn't disassociate ourselves with him. We wouldn't throw stones at him, but neither would we choose him to be our best companion.

4:14 - 4:20 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin clarifies that meekness is not weakness, spinelessness, or a character easily swayed by others. He uses Moses' and Jesus' lives to demonstrate their strength of conviction…

Martin describes a young person with a 'meek character' as someone who easily conforms to either good or bad peer groups, illustrating that true meekness is not moral weakness or indecision.

And yet as we trace the history of the life of Moses and the history of the life of our Lord, we find no trace of meekness but abundant evidences of meekness. It is not meekness of character. Now, meekness of character is a description of the person who's easily swayed into any course of moral action. Young people, listen to me now.

10:02 - 10:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Meekness is not merely outward refinement or the suppression of negative emotions by culture. It is a condition of the heart, as illustrated by the story of the 'kind as the…

The story of a cultured lady seeking God's blessing but being told by Dr. Kozer that she was 'as kind as the devil himself' illustrates that outward refinement is not true meekness, which is a condition of the heart.

Well, it's not weakness. It's also not the suppression by culture of some of what we call the grosser forms of meanness. Like the woman who turned to Dr. Kozer.

19:21 - 19:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine if you are nursing a grudge against God because your plans were thwarted or hopes shattered, as this indicates a lack of meekness and hinders blessing.

The account of Joseph Alleine, a Puritan preacher, enduring intense suffering and rebuking those who pitied him, demonstrates true meekness as a joyful submission to God's dealings, not stoical resignation.

When Joseph I. Lewin, the godly young Puritan preacher who died at the age of 34, and who's book, The Alarm to the Unconverted, has been the instrument in leading countless souls to Christ, and helping and instructing pastors like myself, when he was lying there dying at construction as a young man, and his wife had to carry him just about from room to room, and he lay there in intense suffering and agony day by day. People would come and try to give him pity and say, isn't this a shame? And he would immediately answer and say, oh, don't talk this way.

30:07 - 30:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not take your rightful pedestal or lord it over people in any area where you feel you have a right, but instead manifest lowliness.

The analogy of servicemen being annoyed by someone 'throwing his rank around' illustrates how human nature desires to lord it over others, contrasting with the lowliness that accompanies meekness.

So meekness in our relationship to other men will always be manifested as far as our position before them we're willing to step down. We don't force our rank. Some of you have been in the service, and I've been around servicemen enough to know there's nothing that gripes a serviceman more than a guy who's trying to throw his rank around. It gripes.

31:55 - 32:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not take your rightful pedestal or lord it over people in any area where you feel you have a right, but instead manifest lowliness.

Moses, the great leader, humbly accepting advice from his father-in-law Jethro on how to govern Israel, serves as an example of meekness manifesting in lowliness and willingness to step down.

How do I know this is so? Well, again, I look at Moses, who's the great leader of Israel, and lo and behold, he could come along and try to tell him how to run the nation, but his father-in-law. Now, if you want to get in trouble, if you're a father-in-law or mother-in-law, you just try to tell somebody what to do. Or say your daughter-in-law or son-in-law.

33:02 - 33:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the root of most church conflicts is the opposite of meekness and lowliness, and pursue these virtues for unity.

Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, including Judas, is presented as the ultimate example of lowliness and service, demonstrating meekness in action toward fellow man.

But he was a leech. And then, two, three, think of our Lord Jesus. Are you thinking of the instant I am? John 15.

34:19 - 34:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the root of most church conflicts is the opposite of meekness and lowliness, and pursue these virtues for unity.

Martin identifies the 'root of most church fuzzies' as the opposite of meekness and lowliness – the insistence on one's own opinion – highlighting the importance of these virtues for church unity.

If there were any church fuzzies, what's the root of most church fuzzies? Come on now, what's the root? You know the root. It's the opposite of this.

35:28 - 35:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate a teachable spirit, welcoming anyone who can help you learn how to walk with God.

A story of a lady questioning if Jesus would raise his voice like the preacher illustrates a misconception of meekness as a bloodless, passive Christianity, which Martin refutes with biblical examples of Christ's passion.

This is what the mystery of the 17th century especially people who mixed up in religion in our day and I say Christianity excuse me but religion. Anyone who would stand out from here this morning I'm sure some people have been I know I shouldn't say I just think but I know when I was in the itinerant I had a lady come one night storming up not storming up but she came up with a good firm step to close the disturbance and she said to me something about do you believe the Lord Jesus would raise you voice like you did tonight?

41:16 - 41:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate a teachable spirit, welcoming anyone who can help you learn how to walk with God.

The metaphor of a 'jellyfish' Christianity, which lacks convictions and conforms to any shape, is used to warn against a false understanding of meekness that is inconsistent with firm biblical truth.

Jesus stood and cried saying if any man says and he didn't say he just said he said he cried saying and because he lifted up his voice and I said I'm sure there are times when our Lord says he wanted to hurl out the wolves in the house he wasn't to have that but I'm sure some people can't reconcile it because their whole concept is that Christianity ought to make you a person with no convictions no definite course of moral action no set of things which you believe and other things that don't believe and won't believe and which are not true this concept of a Christianity that's bloodless and im...

41:59 - 42:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate a teachable spirit, welcoming anyone who can help you learn how to walk with God.

The observation that children and animals flee from ungentle people is used as a simple, practical test for the presence of gentleness, a characteristic of meekness.

an oval it becomes oval beloved by the grace of God may we not be jellyfish in the hands of religious men and movement this is not inconsistent with mission but in the midst of a firm conviction there'll be the lowliness the gentleness the tenderness and these two aren't incompatible for our Lord is the glorious picture of these two things joined together he who holds woes upon parity and cold and wise is found with little children sitting on his knees some instead of kids and dogs like me aren't you bad well that's a good test you see children always flee from a

42:44 - 43:29 Read in full sermon