Senior Pastor Mark Stafford

The Controlled Power of Meekness

Matthew 5:5, Psalm 37

 

We live in a world that is run by powerful people.  Secular society tends to trample people who do not appear strong.  Perhaps a misunderstanding of meekness is one reason why so many powerful people have little to do with Christianity.  They have heard about the Jesus who is meek and “gentle and lowly in heart,”

[1] and they want nothing to do with Him.

That’s understandable because in our culture, ‘meekness’ is usually used in a derogatory way.  When we call someone meek, we usually mean they are spineless and cowardly.  We often think of meek people as those who are unwilling to fight for anything or stand up for their convictions.  They are pacifists.  Meekness is often defined in our culture as a lack of courage or a deficiency of power.

In the Bible, however, meekness is not defined that way.  Biblical meekness is not timidity.  In fact, it says that timidity is a product of our flesh and not a fruit of the Spirit.  Remember that Paul instructed his young apprentice, Timothy, to reject timidity and to live boldly when he said, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”  (2 Timothy 1:7)

Biblical Meekness is power under control for God’s purposes.  Today I’ll show you that when the Bible talks about meekness, it is not referring to weakness, timidity, or cowardice.  Instead, it is referring to great power that submits itself to God’s control for the completion of His will.

Biblical Meekness is not Weakness: It is Power Under Control for God’s Purposes – Ephesians 4:26, Numbers 12:3, John 2:15-16

Sometimes meek people in the Bible got passionate and angry.  Yet in that anger, they remained sinless and controlled.  Their power and anger were under control for God’s purposes.  The Bible does not honor spineless people.  It never says not to get angry, but it does say in Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry and do not sin…”

There is a type of controlled anger that can be used powerfully for God’s purposes:

• Moses is one example. When he came down from Mount Sinai and saw God’s people worshipping idols, he was righteously angry.  In controlled anger, he rebuked God’s people and drove them back to the worship of one-true-God.  Do you know how the Bible describes Moses?  It says in Numbers 12:3, “the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”[2] Does that change your concept of meekness?
• Jesus is another example. When Jesus went into the temple and saw vendors ripping off the people and making huge profits, he was righteously angry.  The purpose of the Temple was for the worship of God.
  Jesus, meek and mild, the gentle shepherd, was no pacifist.  John 2:15a, “¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he [Jesus] drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen.”  Try to imagine this scene:  Jesus purposefully walked through the temple courts, whipping the vendors and knocking over tables because they were dishonoring God with their greed.
  John 2:15b-16 continues, “And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
  Jesus was passionate about the glory of God, He was consumed with a ‘zeal for God’s house.’  In meekness and in total control, He used His great power for the glory of God the Father.[3]

The Greek word translated as “meek” in Matthew 5:5 was a word that commonly described these three things in Jesus’ day: a soothing medicine, a gentle breeze and a broken colt. 

• Doctors might give a meek medicine to a patient with a high fever in order to help them sleep. The medicine relieved the situation and drove people back to health.
• A meek breeze would be like a refreshing gentle wind at the end of a long hard day working in the sun. It helped restore and refresh a tired body
• Every colt has to be broken and made meek before it can function on the farm. Someone has to break the colt and control its power so that that power can be used productively.

What do all three of those things have in common?  POWER!  They have GREAT POWER and are very useful when that power is under control!

• Medicine has power to calm nerves, kill germs, strengthen organs, and cure illness. However, an overdose of medicine can be deadly
• Wind has the power to drive huge wind turbines and move large vessels across the oceans. A light summer breeze is refreshing and a windy day in Phoenix might drive away the smog.  However, we know wind that’s out of control can be very destructive.  Monsoon storms can knock down trees.  Last year out in Camp Verde, a microburst of wind blew this mobile home upside down.
• A horse is a beautiful and powerful animal as long as their power is controlled. If you’ve been to a rodeo, you can appreciate the wildly destructive forces of a horse that’s out of control.

All these things have great power.  When that power is under control, it is called “meekness” in the Bible.  If meekness is defined as ‘power under control for God’s purposes,’ then the God we serve and represent is perfectly meek!  (He is always in control and acting in accordance to His own perfect will.) 

In meekness, we correctly represent our meek, controlled, and powerful Heavenly Father.  A great place to go in order to understand the concept of meekness is Psalm 37.  Let’s read the first 11 verses together:

37 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
² For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
⁹ For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰ In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

The last verse says, “the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”  Jesus is apparently restating this verse when he said in Matthew 5:5, “⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Backing up a few verses in the Psalm, we get a clear picture of a meek person.  Look at verse 5- 7

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

⁶ He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

I see four clear descriptions of meekness from this text.

 

 

Four Biblical Descriptions of Meekness

#1 Meek People Commit Their Way to the Lord – Psalm 37:5

Verse 5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

The Word “Commit” in the original Hebrew means “to roll away.”  It is a word picture in the original language of rolling our efforts away from our plans and over to the Lord’s control.

It is like we have the ball and the Lord is saying to us “I’m open.”  Willingly we pass the ball, or our plans, over to the Lord, knowing that His ability is far greater than ours.  We could restate the verse this way:  If we roll our ways away from ourselves and give them over to the Lord’s control then our purposes and plans will be directed by Him in the right way.

Meek people trust God and they pursue His will.

#2 Meek People Trust in God – Psalm 37:5, Romans 8:34

Verse 5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

Meek people begin by trusting God.  Natural genius and strength can’t accomplish anything of lasting importance without total reliance on the power of God.  Biblical meekness is rooted in the Biblical truth and deep confidence that God is for us and not against us.[4]  He is in control and He’s always on time.

#3 Meek People Wait for God’s Timing – Psalm 37:7, Romans 8:28

Look at verse 7a, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…”

After a person “rolls” their way over to the Lord and trusts Him take the lead, they can patiently wait for God’s timing.  It’s not that they are lazy, but they are free from frenzy.  They don’t think they have to make everything happen themselves.  They trust that God hears their prayers and acts according to his perfect timing.  CJ  Mahaney says in his book Humility, “Waiting is not resignation: waiting is an active trust in God to provide fulfillment in his perfect timing.”[5]  

God’s power is both infinite and undiminishing.  He possesses the strength to make things happen.  Stephen Charnock, a 17th century theologian once said, “The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatever He pleases, whatever His infinite wisdom can direct, and whatever the infinite purity of His will may resolve.”[6]

Trusting God’s limitless power creates a steady calm in a person’s life.  They know that He has their affairs under control.  God is perfectly gracious and is working all things together for good[7].  Even the difficulties we face are purposeful.  Meek people have a quiet steadiness about their lives in the midst of upheaval.

#4 Meek People Don’t Fret – Psalm 37:7-8

Look at Psalm 37 verses 7-8:

“⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”

A meek person doesn’t get uptight if a wicked person enjoys a brief season of prosperity.  They trust God.  They know He’s in control.  They know that God is always for them.  Their work, family, and life are in God’s sovereign hands.  They wait patiently when there are difficulties and setbacks.

Meek people have the strength of a sheet metal not the delicacy of a bottle.  If you were to hit a bottle with a hammer, it would shatter upon impact.  Meek people aren’t like that.  They are strong enough to absorb the blows and be shaped by them.

Meek people are able to take blow after blow knowing that every hit it is shaping and changing and transforming their situation to the glory of God.  They have the power to absorb difficulty, adversity, and criticism without feeling like they have to lash out.

They know there is never a wasted blow when God is conforming a person to the image of Jesus.  Obstacles and opponents don’t produce bitterness and fretfulness in their hearts.  They know that God has a plan for every situation to magnify His infinite worth and bless His people.  Meekness means committing your cause to God and not feeling the need to be defensive all the time.

Meek people don’t have hair triggers.  They are not ready to go off at the slightest offense.  They are strong – their lives aren’t easily shattered.  They are ready to listen and learn.  They are slow to anger, ready to endure the hammer of persecution and sometimes they carefully act if needed.  The most perfect example of this power under control is that of Jesus Himself.

 

 

Jesus was (and is) the Greatest Example of Meekness – 1 Peter 2:23, John 18:4-6, Luke 22:49-51, Philippians 2:8

Peter gave this description of Jesus, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”[8]

The night that Jesus was betrayed, Judas lead an armed mob to arrest Him.  They carried swords and clubs knowing that Jesus was a man of great power.  In John’s account of the arrest, listen to how Jesus’ power was displayed.  John 18:4-6

“⁴ Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” ⁵ They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ⁶ When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.”

At that moment, Jesus was totally in control over the situation.  He could have walked away, but instead submitted His power to the Father’s will.  In meekness, Jesus put the Father’s will before His own.

Peter was not so inclined.  He tried to take things into his own hands.  Listen to Luke’s account of the exchange between Peter and the mob that night.  Luke 22:49 says:

“⁴⁹ And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And one of them [referring to Peter] struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.”

It took far more power for Jesus to hold back and submit to God’s will than it took Peter to pull out a sword and impulsively cut off that man’s ear.  Peter was acting in the natural, but Jesus was acting supernaturally.  Jesus demonstrated power under God’s control.  He could have destroyed them all and simply walked away, but He chose to follow God’s will instead… and He healed the ear of a man taking Him into captivity. 

Paul said in Philippians 2:8 that Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

 

 

Application: Are You Meek?

Do you demonstrate the controlled power of meekness in your life?  We all have physical, mental, and emotional power.  Are we keeping these under control?  Let me offer four ways to identify meekness in your life.

#1 Meekness Responds Humbly to Trials – Psalm 37:1, 8

A meek person never says, “I don’t deserve this, God!!!!”  Instead, they say to the Lord, “I can’t wait to see your power on display in this impossible situation.”

Psalm 37:25 indicates that David was old when he wrote this psalm[9] and he had had seen a great deal of trouble in his life.

• Evil people were trying to cut him down.
• There was trouble in his own family.
• There were men slandering him and attempting to ruin his reputation.
• There were plots against his life.

Perhaps you and I have never been received a death threat, but everyone in this room that I have talked to has experienced some type of difficult situation in their life.  Lara often says to her students, “your response is your responsibility.”  So what is your response to impossible circumstances?  Does it demonstrate power under control?

Too many people respond to difficult situations by fretting.  The very first line of Psalm 37 says simply, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!”  Then down in verse 8 it says, “Refrain from anger [be slow to anger], and forsake wrath [don’t just react…be controlled]!     Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”

The natural thing to do when someone attacks you is to get angry and to fight back (maybe cut off their ear), but that is not power under control.  Meek people submit their enemies to the Lord and don’t try to take things into their own hands.  They act as the Lord directs but their motivation is never for revenge.  They always act to further God’s purposes… not their own

#2 Meekness Respects and Receives God’s Word – James 1:19, 21

It says in James 1:19, “…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”  Verse 21 says, “…put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

The church today is in crisis because too many people, claiming to be Christians, don’t believe the principles in God’s Word are written for today.  Ironically, James was writing this letter to a group of believers who were at odds with one another for the same reason.  The New Testament’s original audience was debating if it was really applicable to them.  Instead of receiving what the Apostle wrote with submission and meekness, they were arguing about it.

God’s Word is countercultural to absolutely every people group it’s been introduced to.  The meek Christian trusts God and receives His Word with gladness – especially when it’s counter-intuitive.  However, there will be disagreements among people in the church.  Often good and godly people disagree.

#3 Meekness Listens Carefully and is Reasonable in Times of Disagreement – 2 Timothy 2:24-25

Paul instructs Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:24-25, “…the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵ correcting his opponents with gentleness [another word for meekness]. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth…”

There is a correlation between meekness and reasonableness.  A meek person is willing to listen to and consider another person’s point of view and then measures it carefully against the scriptures.  They are slow to anger, quick to listen, and careful in response.

A meek person is also able to give a reasonable argument for the positions they hold.  If I put my opinion out there without any Biblical support, is that meekness?  No matter how soft-spoken I might be about it, acting as my own authority without Biblical support is nothing less than pride.

There is quite a bit of confusion about meekness when it comes to disagreements within the church.  Meekness is not a temperament.  It’s not speaking quietly.  It is power under control.

Two people could be having a passionate or heated discussion as they are making reasonable arguments and listening to each other.  This exchange could still be marked by meekness if both sides are pointing to the Word of God as their standard of truth, themselves as servants of the truth and they are able to reconcile based on the study of the truth.

However, a meek person has an entirely different type of interaction with those who are not saved.  The unsaved don’t have a standard of truth and our job is to help them see Jesus, not to argue with them over theological issues.

#4 Meekness is Gentle and Respectful with the Unsaved – 1 Peter 3:15

It says in 1 Peter 3:15, “…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”

Peter is calling us to be witnesses for Christ, not prosecuting attorneys judging the sin of the unsaved.  Arguing theology with the unsaved is power out of control.

Jesus could have crushed the women of Samaria or overpowered Nicodemus, but He restrained himself.  Jesus had total control over His power and patiently led them to the truths written in the Word of God.

The Result: The Meek Inherit the Earth – Matthew 5:5, 12

When Jesus said in Matthew 5, “⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” He is making us a promise so that we have the strength to continue in our meekness.  It is the same promise as what we find in verse 12 of the same chapter where it says, “¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In other words, the promise of great reward gives His disciples strength to endure persecution with Joy.  The promise that ‘the meek inherit the earth’ encourages us to run to meekness every time we face difficult situations that would naturally lead us to run to defensiveness or fretting instead.

[1] Matt 11:29

[2] Numbers 12:3

[3] Psalm 69:6, John 2:17

[4] Romans 8:34

[5] Mahaney, CJ “Humility” page 145

[6] Charnock, Stephen in The Existence and Attributes of God

[7] Romans 8:28

[8] 1 Peter 2:23

[9] Psalm 37:25