Blessed Are the Meek: Why Surrender Wins

word. Are you ready to receive a word from the Lord? Get out your Bible. Then if you brought your Bible, uh all of us are going to receive a word from the Lord today. No matter where you are, God wants to speak to you. This book is active and alive. We just got to get in into it. So even if you didn't bring your Bible, I want all of us to participate. Even those online, on the count of three, just shout word. Here we go. ONE, TWO, THREE. WORD. WE'RE GETTING INTO GOD'S WORD. So God's word gets into us. We're in a series called A Blessed Life. a blessed life because deep down inside all of us want a blessed life. I think we're born with this that we're born with the ability to know that we want something good. We want a blessed life. And Jesus actually tells us you can have a blessed life. The first

sermon that's recorded in the book of Matthew, Jesus starts off giving us instructions for what a blessed life looks like. But it's not what you might expect. You find this sermon of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5, often described as the sermon on the mount because Jesus is teaching from the mountain side to the crowds. And he starts off with these blessings, but they're backwards from the world. They're countercultural. They're upside down in terms of what we naturally think. In fact, you'll see that just with the sermon title today. If you want to write this down, meek surrender wins. Meek surrender wins. Normally when we think of surrender, you've given up. You've lost. But with Jesus, when you surrender your all, you

actually get it all. When you surrender your life to the Lord, you actually get everything that you've been desiring, that you've been wanting, and God's going to give it to you, but it it's going to come at a cost, and that is a blessed life. So, we're going to see some power in that one word today, meek. H how many of you have ever driven through Warm Springs Reservation on the way out of Central Oregon and witnessed those wild mustangs? Have you ever seen those just by a show of hands? Those wild mustangs. Uh they're absolutely stunningly beautiful. I can't believe our state has so many of them. These are our wild horses. In fact, there are thousands of them. Let me just show you a picture that was taken from the Oregonian because our government actually has to try to control them. Uh these are real horses uh right here in

our state and they're not trained. They're not controlled by anyone. No one owns them. They're just these wild mustangs. I did some research on horses just trying to understand the context of our our our scripture today. And these mustangs weigh around 1,200 lb. They run about 40 miles per hour. These are strong creatures, but they're wild, so they're of no use to any one of us. When a horse is broken, it's the term for being trained. When a horse is broke, it means they've been trained by a trainer, the horse does not lose its strength. It actually just gets put under authority. I did a little research on what it means to be broken or to be

trained. And it's taking the power of that horse and it now responds to a trainer. The first thing that needs to happen is trust. Trust. Because the wild horse sees a human and there is no trust. So they don't know if that human's there to harm them or not. So the the the the wild beast just assumes that they're in harm. They just assume that they'd be better on their own. So the first thing that a trainer must do to break in a horse is to build trust. The second thing you see with a trainer and a broken horse is yielding. That is the horse instead of resisting its power is able to give into the pressure that the trainer is giving them. That the trainer is not there to harm them. So when the horse learns to

yield its power and no longer resist, the trainer is able to work with them. And then we see something spectacular. Something so small as a bit in the mouth, some reinss or or or some a bridal uh is able to signal the horse to turn this way or that to slow down or to stop. Something so small can actually stop a powerful creature. Next, you see the saddle. This creature that's been on its own for so long learns to be comfortable with the weight of a saddle and someone else on it. And then finally, there's obedience. Eventually, it leads to this place where the strength is not lost, but now it could be directed with purpose. So, I need you

to hear this clearly. Breaking a horse doesn't take away its power. It puts it under authority. An unbroken horse has power, but it's wild. It's harmful. But a surrendered horse has purpose, which is a beautiful picture of what Jesus is teaching us in the text today. It's what he desires for your life. He wants you to be under his authority so that you can fulfill God's purpose in your life. The text today is found in Matthew chapter 5 verse 5. Matthew chapter 5 verse 5. We're going to look at one verse in what's known as the Biatitudes. Biatitudes comes from the Latin word beatatus and biatitudes is

just simply the plural of beatatus. Beatatus means blessing. So biatitudes just means the blessings. We're on our third biatitude. Matthew chapter 5:5. If you would stand for the honor and the reading of God's word today, let me read you the text. Matthew chapter 5 verse 5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Would you read that out loud with me? Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Let's read it one more time. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Meekness is the character of a blessed life. It's

the virtue of the promise of Jesus that when you follow him, there's something that happens inside of you where where you metaphorically speaking surrender your reigns to God. It doesn't mean you lose anything. You still have your strength, your gifts, your talents. You still have your personality. You still have your story. But now you're saying, "Jesus, I'm giving you everything." We we live in such an independent world that says it's up to you. Don't let others take advantage of you. Uh you you need to fight for yourself. You you need to make sure that you get the final word in. Uh if if you're overlooked, you need to prove somebody. If you're insulted, you you should insult them. But Jesus stands on this hillside and he says something

so staggering as he continues this blessed life. He says, "Actually, if you want to be blessed, you will be meek." not aggressive, not self-promoting, not doineering, not the person that gets the last word. A blessed life is meek. And Jesus says there's such a great promise that everything you've been longing for your entire life is not found in you striving harder, working harder, trying to get more, to do more. What you're looking for is found in meekness. In other words, the people that actually give up everything get everything.

The people that realize that God's got a greater plan for their life than they have for themselves are the ones that actually get all that God has planned for them. In a world that often operates by force, we see that God's kingdom is entirely difference. This gift of everything is not found in force. In fact, you do not conquer by force. What we learn here is you inherit it through surrender. You inherit it through surrender. Here's the interesting thing about inheritance. You don't buy an inheritance. You don't earn an inheritance. It's just given to you. Haven't you ever just dreamed that maybe you have an inheritance you didn't know about? Jesus says he's he's a God of abundance

and he's not just going to give you a little. He's going to give you a lot and you don't have to force it. Because when you're life belongs to God, you actually need to give everything to God. We have a problem in our culture because in America, we think we can be Christians and we can come to church on Sundays or we can compartmentalize our lives. But really, the scriptures teach us something different. That when you believe in Jesus, you're meant to trust God with everything. You're to surrender everything. You are to give God everything. Psalm 37:5 and 6 tells us when you do commit your way to the Lord. Trust in him. He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day. It's not about you.

>> So many people in our world are exhausted. They're burnt out. They're done with life because they're trying so hard to make things happen. And today Jesus is inviting us into another way and that's the blessed way. That's the blessed way. This is the kingdom life as we learned in Matthew chapter 5:3. This is this is this is the way of the kingdom. Meekness is not exactly a word that we use often. So I want to just spend just a few minutes with you looking at the way of meekness. What is the way of meekness? Because the last thing I want you to do today is to learn about being meek and then leave here the same. That's information. The goal is that you would receive the implanted word of God in your heart. Put it into practice. And now that's called transformation. So let's look at the way

of meekness. Number one, weakness begins with surrender. You should write that down. Meekness begins with surrender. We see a progression in the biatitudes. Jesus knows exactly what he's doing. He starts off by saying in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." That word poor means complete poverty. It means you have nothing. And Jesus says it starts with the emptying of who you are so you could be filled with the fullness of who God is. Blessed are the poor in spirit. So there's a recognition. The first start in a blessed life is to recognize that I need God. That's the first start in a blessed life. The second beatitude is Matthew 5:4. Blessed are those who mourn. That's when I grieve my sin and brokenness. It

means I recognize the reality of what separated me from God. I recognize why there's pain and I don't oppress this grief. I I I don't turn away from this sorrow. I actually turn to God and I mourn. So I recognize that sin is a reality, a curse upon this world and it separates us from God. But the third biatitude we see is today in Matthew 5:5. Blessed are the meek. So when I'm poor in spirit, when I mourn my sin, now I surrender to God. Now I give my all. It's not just enough to acknowledge your need for God. Now you've got to follow God. So we could say it this way. Matthew uh 5:3. Verse three is I need

God. Verse four, I repent before God. Verse five, now I continue and I submit to God. This is the journey of the kingdom. It's not a destination. It's not I believe in Jesus and now I've got my ticket into heaven. Now I go after God with everything. We've got to recognize and come to a place that so many in our culture who call themselves Christian recognize that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. Jesus is savior and he is savior but he's more. He's lord. He's lord over all. And until you make Jesus lord over everything, you've not surrendered everything. you're not experiencing the full blessed life. So, I've got to make Jesus Lord over my life, Lord over my marriage,

Lord over my finances, Lord even over my body, >> recognizing that my health is God. So, I'm going to give God everything, Lord over my desires, Lord, over my thoughts, Lord, over my words, that I can't just let Jesus forgive me of my sins and keep living the same way. I've got to surrender my life to Jesus. >> Romans 12:1, Paul says, "I I appeal to you, therefore, brothers." This is the writer. He's begging the the church, Christians, by the mercies of God, because of who God is, what he's done for you, he's forgiven you, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your

spiritual worship. Your worship is giving your whole life to God. Now, here's the problem. Paul says it's a living sacrifice. Normally, you slaughter an animal and you put it on the altar as a sacrifice, as an offering to God. Paul goes further and says, "You're still alive. So, what you're going to do is offer your whole life as a sacrifice to God on the altar of God. And if you are a living sacrifice, you can offer it to God on Sunday and you can crawl off the altar on Monday. And you could say, "I'll get back on the altar next Sunday, so I'll do what I want on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday. I might even have some regrets, but at least I get some new mercies on Sunday."

But but a living sacrifice is one that's holy and acceptable and says, "God, I want to give you everything >> every day of the week. God, I trust you every day of the week. God, I turn to you every day of the week. God, you're in control. I give you the reigns in everything. >> Not in some things, not sometimes. Even when I could take control, I choose to trust God. >> Two of my favorite verses in all of the Bible, some of the earlier scripture I memorized, and you should get to know this. It's it's my my favorite verses that you can not only memorize, but you can pray and you could put these into practice. Proverbs 3:5 and six. The the scriptures tell us trust in the Lord with all your heart. Someone say all. All your heart and do not lean on your

own understanding. Then verse six says in all. Somebody shout all. All your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Let me make sure that you understand this. How do you trust in the Lord? Here's how you trust in the Lord completely. Don't lean on your own understanding. So, so the key to meekness is my way is not the right way. God's way is. And I've got to be able to surrender that to him. So, once I've ex acknowledged my need, I'm poor in spirit. Once I've mourned my sin, now I've got to submit and surrender my all and actually trust God to be God. Not in some areas, but every area. And here's what begins to happen. That power that God put in you actually now has a purpose.

You can be bold and not be arrogant. You can have conviction without contempt. You can carry a fire in your life without burning all the people around you. Come on, somebody. God has given you everything you need. You have power. He designed you. He destined you. You are God's idea and he wants to use you for his purpose. In the book of John, John describes Jesus as the fullness in John chapter one. the fullness of grace and truth. Not 5050. He's not 50% grace and 50% truth. That means he's fully grace, which when I imagine grace, I imagine compassion, kindness, gentleness, giving something that somebody doesn't deserve. But he's also

the fullness of truth. He knows everything about you. And he's just, and he's judge. So think about this. He's the fullness of grace and truth. And if you believe in Jesus, the fullness of grace and truth is in you. To give you a metaphoric picture, the Bible says that Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. And he's the lamb that was slain. He's not sometimes the lion and sometimes the lamb. He is the lion and the lamb. So what's inside of you? The lion and the lamb. Grace and truth. >> So that God has given you everything you need. So meekness, number one. Number one, meekness begins with surrender. Meekness begins with surrender. Somebody shout, "I surrender all."

>> Come on. It's got to be more than a song. It's got to be a way of life. I surrender all. So let's just clarify number two today. Meekness is not weakness. We've already touched on this, but I think it's important because we don't use that word often. So, so when we associate that word meek, it would be easy to conjure up in your own mind subconsciously timid, passive, maybe even afraid. Oh, that person's meek as a mouse or they're little. They run away. But that's not the biblical meekness. The biblical meekness clearly defined meek equals strength under control. You've got to understand this because Jesus says a blessed life is a meek and meek is strength under control. It's the power to surrender it to God instead of

coming back to your own understanding, saying what you want to say, doing what you want to do. Meekness is the power of restraint. It's saying, "I could do this, but instead I'm giving it to God." Meekness, by the way, makes no sense to the world. Because there are two kingdoms. There's the kingdom of heaven, which is the way of Jesus. He is king. It's his way. And there's the kingdom of this world. And meekness to the kingdom of this world makes no sense whatsoever. because it's all about you making sure that you get back, you get control. And by the way, I just want to make this clear because most of us are already doing this. You can live life on your own. You can try to do it on your own. You can strive. You can try. But in the

wise words of the philosopher and theologian Dr. Phil, how's that going for you? and I will save you years of counseling just by self-reflecting on that question. How's that going for you? Because Jesus isn't coming here to give you a greater burden by saying blessed are the meek. He's actually inviting you into his way of life. Matthew 11 28-30 Jesus is speaking and he says come to me. This is a great invitation for someone today. Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Jesus says, "I just want you to have rest." And when you come to Jesus, he says, "Take my yoke upon you." Like an

oxen has two uh two oxen have one yolk that connects the two. He says, "Let's be connected. Let's do life together. Take my yoke upon you and you and you learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart." That word gentle is actually the same word. It's the same connotation. It's the same description of the word meek. Jesus says, "When you connect to me, when you learn from me, you're going to discover I am meek. I am gentle. I I'm lowly in heart." And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, Jesus says, "And my burden is light." So if Jesus was

gentle, if Jesus was meek, does that mean that Jesus wasn't strong? >> Absolutely not. There was no one in history stronger than Jesus. There has never been and there never will be because according to the scriptures, he is the alpha and omega. Meaning, he is the beginning and the end. He is all powerful, but he doesn't abuse that power. He doesn't misuse that power. We know he's all powerful because he's God in the flesh and he silenced storms. He cast out demons. He healed the sick. He he he he rose the dead back to life. He even was willing to confront the religious of his day. He was strong. >> But he knew how to use that power and submit it fully to God.

When Jesus was arrested, he knew full well that he was giving his life over. He said, "No one takes my life from me. He lays down his life." He even prayed in the garden to his father, "Lord, if there's any way this cup can pass from me, but not my will, but yours be done." And Jesus fully surrendered to the will of the father, filled with the spirit. And when those came soldiers came to arrest him, uh uh the text tells us that Peter took out his sword and he swung it to protect Jesus. He swung it in his own strength and he he didn't get it through the guy's gut. He didn't chop off his head. The Bible tells us all he got was an ear. And Jesus didn't say, "Man, great job, Peter. That's what it's about. Just you

be you. It's all about you. Just try harder. Be stronger. Next time you'll get them. This is what Jesus said. Matthew 26:52. Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword." You could probably replace that word sword with something else. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? Jesus is using a description here that might even sound like a hyperbole, but I think he's being conservative. A legion is 6,000 Roman soldiers. So, he's saying, "Do you not think that I couldn't call upon 12* 6?" What's that number?

What is it? 72 million angels. Is that right? Is that the right math? 72,000 angel. A lot of angels. Do you not know Jesus is saying that you would not even be able to count the army of angels? Because the Bible describes one of the names for God, Lord of Hosts. That means Lord of armies. So he's telling Peter, listen, if I didn't want to be arrested right now, I could take care of this. I have the power. I have the authority. I could call upon every angel right now to fight for me. But that's not what meek does. Meek is power is available, but it's a surrendered power. >> Jesus could have destroyed his enemies,

but instead he died for them. Jesus did not defend himself because he was fulfilling exactly what God had planned. Isaiah the prophet would write about Messiah 700 years before Jesus. He said he, the Messiah, in in Isaiah 53:7, he was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that's before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth. So I want to make sure that today it is real clear. Even though Jesus didn't open his mouth, even though he was like a lamb that was led to the slaughter, that is not weakness. That was restraint. It wasn't Jesus full of fear what might happen here. It was it was complete restraint of power

saying he has all authority but he chose to give his life. You see meekness is not something you can manufacture. I want to be really clear too. Meekness is not a personality. An introverted person is not by nature meek. They're quiet but a quiet person may not be meek. An extrovert might be loud. And a loud person can be meek. You see, this is not temperament. This is not personality. You're not going to find this on the Inog or the MyersBriggs or the disc or or any working genius. This is what happens when you have the character of Christ himself. This is the transformation of a surrendered life, allowing the Holy Spirit to produce

something out of you that you can't produce on your own. Paul when he was talking to the Galatians, he he says there's a life of the flesh that leads to death, but then there's a life of the spirit that leads to fruit. And he says the fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22, the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Listen to what he says. Gentleness. This is what's produced when you let the Holy Spirit, God the person, do his work in you, through you. All of a sudden, it's in your home. It's in your car. It's in the work. It's at church. Meekness, gentleness, it comes out of you. Self-control. Against such things,

there is no law. You can never work so hard to be good enough to get into heaven. But by the power of Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit that's going to do the work in you >> when you get into the word of God. When you pray, when you allow God to do what God does. When you let the Holy Spirit fill you, all of a sudden something different comes out of you. You might have been born into a family that had generational patterns that that you put into practice now in your life. You you you might have a personality that has a tendency to go back to behaviors that are destructive. You might have the tendency to isolate yourself and separate yourself from true life. And Jesus says, "Actually, a blessed life is a life fully surrendered. And be not mistaken. It's not weakness. It actually is the power and the authority and the

purpose of what God has destined inside of you. Letting God rule in you. This is an identity change. This is the transformation of what God does. This is knowing that who I am in Christ is a beloved child of God. And if I am a beloved child of God, I'm going to act like a beloved child of God. When Jesus was baptized, Matthew tells us in chapter 3:1 17, he's baptized and at that moment, not only did the Holy Spirit descend as a dove, the voice of God audibly spoke, "This is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased." God the Father tells Jesus Christ, "I love Jesus not because he performed any

miracles, not because he walked on water, not because of how good his behavior is, but a God that is love loves." And in Christ, those words are yours. >> You do not have to earn God's love. >> He doesn't love a better version of you. He doesn't love a cleaned up version of you. He doesn't love you because, wow, you've been so good. You've been better than other people. Just compare yourself to murder and look at you. You didn't do this. Let me tell you, the life of a Christian is not comparison. It's actually embracing the life of Christ and realizing God loves you. This shapes and changes your identity and you no longer live like the world, which is about you. But instead, Jesus, moments

before the cross, wraps a towel around his waist. He gets down in the dirt and he washes his disciples feet. And what does he leave with us right before he goes to the cross? He says, "As I have done to you, now you go do this to others." Not because it's sexy to clean feet. Not because you'll ever get on the cover of a magazine. Not because people will like you and follow you because you clean somebody's feet. Because you're representing Jesus. And he says, "Here's a new commandment. It's not the way you've thought or you've been taught. The new commandment is you go love like Jesus as I have loved you. You go love others. And here's a principle. The lower you bow before God, the stronger you could stand before people because

you no longer need the approval of people. You no longer need to force the approval of people. You no longer need to make people respect and honor you because you know who you are before God. We see this throughout the scriptures, men and women. We even see it with children. I think of young Samuel who God's voice was speaking to him. Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel knew not that it was God. My friends, God is calling some of you and you know not that he's calling you. But when you're in a position of meekness and you open up your ears to hear, you receive from God. Hannah, who was Samuel's mom, she was so meek. All she wanted to do was be right with God. And when she went to the place of worship, the temple, she was weeping. And someone actually thought she was

drunk. You see, when you get real with God, you'll be misunderstood. But Hannah was so meek, God heard her prayers, and she had this son Samuel. It was a promised child. A great example of meekness here, standing before people because you bow before God, is Moses. Moses was a man that made many mistakes. He was a man that worked for his father-in-law. Uh that that's when you realize that come on, somebody uh that that this isn't the pinnacle of what you dreamed in your childhood. He he was a shepherd. He was out in the desert, but God met him there. And the Lord said, "I'm going to use you, Moses." And Moses like, "You got the wrong guy." But when you put yourself in a posture before God, Moses

was able to go before Pharaoh on behalf of the Lord and say, "Let my people go." And it wasn't because he was so talented. It wasn't because he was so smart. He was the one that said, "I I stutter. How can I do this?" It's because he knew his purpose and his value before God. He had a meekness. He didn't go before Pharaoh and force Pharaoh to let the people go. He submitted himself to God. >> And so, listen to what's written about Moses in Numbers 12:3. This is so remarkable. Listen to this. Now, the man Moses was very meek. Everyone say very meek. Very meek. more than all the people who were on the face of the earth. You know what's remarkable about that verse is Moses wrote that verse.

I don't believe Moses is actually embellishing anything because if you actually read that whole chapter, which you should read the Bible, don't just hear the few verses I share with you on Sundays. you should get into the word of God because if you get into the word of God, you're later going to see that his own family, Miriam and Aaron, speak ill against him. They come against him and they try to take his role, his leadership. So Moses could say this about himself because he knew full well that he did not need to defend himself before Miriam and Aaron. It was God that did it. Don't you ever mess with God's anointed ones. And when you're in a position of bowing down under the authority of God, you don't need to defend yourself. I I've learned this so well, especially over

the last six years. Like Moses, I've had people say things about me, people try to take my power. I've had people literally lie, blatant li, gossip, and slander me, say outlandish things that I'm stealing money from the church or having sex with staff. And and when you hear those things, there's something inside of you that just wants to scream from the rooftops. I I you know how many times I've wanted to get on this platform and call out the people that have said that and they're lying. But God gave my wife and I a verse four years ago on sabbatical. Exodus 14:14. It means so much. It's a prayer I have prayed over and over and you could write this down yourself. EXODUS 14:14. THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR you

when you surrender your life to God. You no longer have to worry about it. You have only to be silent. >> Somebody needs that today. >> You don't need to convince anyone what somebody else has done. >> You don't need to convince anyone about your character. You don't need to convince anyone of what you've been saved from or how God's redeemed you or what God's doing through you or what God's going to do through you. I've shared with you even my insecurities speaking so much about revival in our region. When I share with other pastors sometimes that in our own city, they look at me like deer in the headlights. But I'm not gonna stop preaching it because I believe for every bible believing church in central Oregon that we're going to experience revival.

It's not about the name journey church. I don't want this to be our name because in eternity there's no such thing as the name of a local church. There's one church and I want the body of Christ to be be thriving. I want Central Oregon to be saved, set free. >> And we've got to recognize that when when people come against us, what what will we do? Well, meekness changes everything. How you respond to people >> and you can tell a lot about where a person is in their faith and how they respond to others. What happens when somebody lies about you? What happens when you're criticized? What happens when you're overlooked? What happens when you're disrespected? The Bible's not silent on these areas. James 19 and 20. Know this, my beloved

brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Anger is like a leak in a dam. And if you let that anger go, eventually the dam breaks. And it is really hard to repair a dam once it's broken. It's crazy what you'll say in your anger. It's crazy what you'll do in your anger. A lot of people get divorced in their anger. And the Bible says just be careful. Be be meek. If you put yourself in the proper position, you can actually repair that dam before there's so much damage. You can actually let God do the work. And I I've seen this so many times even in the church. Friends, we need to pray for the bride of Christ.

I've had people tell me things that are are wrong theologically or things that are wrong that that need to be made right in the church and they've been so angry and they've been so mean. And you could be right and do something in the wrong way. And so it is true in parenting. So it is true in marriage. So it is true in your workplace. Listen, just because you're right does not give you the right to be a whatever you want to call it. uh Romans 12 verse 17 and 19. Paul Paul was a guy, if you're not familiar with this story, he hated Christians. He put Christians in prison. He was there at the first killing of a Christian. Stephen Paul was and then he became a Christian. He got saved. Some people thought that he was lying and just

trying to trick them and they were afraid of him. But yet he gave his life to the cause of Jesus. He surrendered his all to Jesus. He started churches. He wrote letters to churches. And when he's writing the Romans, he says this, "Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all." This is a guy that's gone through some stuff. This is a guy that's learned to be meek. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceibly with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, "Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord." When you're meek, you put God in his proper place and say, "God, you are judge. You are just.

You're you're actually not just the judge and and and you're not just the jury. You're the executioner. It it's not up to me." And this is so counterultural because most action movies that you watch are all about revenge. You killed somebody in my family, the next two hours I'm killing everybody in your family. It's like the same plot every single time. And Jesus steps onto the scene and says, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I need you to do what I did. Pray for your enemies. Love your enemies. No, this is not natural. You can't just wheel this inside of you. You need the surrender and the filling of the Holy Spirit here to see that what you receive from God,

now you're going to give it to others." You know what the Bible actually says in Galatians 6:1? Here's a spiritual person. If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, here's what real spiritual life looks like, should restore him in a spirit of what? Gentleness. >> You don't need to be mean telling somebody they're in sin. You know what kind of sinner you are that you've been saved >> from? You need to let other people know that they can have the same access to grace. I got to go quickly. Here's the third point today. Number one, we learn begins with surrender. Number two, we learn weakness is not weakness. Rather, it's strength under control. Three is your great inheritance. And I'm going to go quickly here because it's really clear. God has a great inheritance for you. You have a great inheritance. Too

many times we think small of God. We think that where we are is where we're going to go. No, no, no. My friends, this is just the beginning of greater things. Remember the promise, blessed are the meek. Matthew 5:5, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. I don't know how big your bank account is, but this is really big. Jesus is quoting the language of Psalm 37. In fact, you got to study the whole psalm to truly understand what Jesus is saying. Sometimes it looks like the evil are winning when they have more than what you have. And you're like, "What the heck? They get more than what we have." That's not the end of the story. This is a journey. This is not the destination. And Jesus says, "When you are meek, oh, don't don't you just believe for a second that this is the end of the story." Psalm 37:11, "But this the meek shall inherit the land and

delight themselves in abundant peace." Throughout this whole chapter, God is promising, "It's yours. It's yours. It's yours. It's coming." Which means the whole phrase, "The best is yet to come," is not cliche. It's not a Hobby Lobby sign. It's the reality of a blessed life. >> It's yours. Peter, who messed up miserably. He said things he shouldn't say. He did things he shouldn't do. He finally got it. That's how you learn meekness. And he said this, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so the proper time he might exalt you." Some of you might be saying, "Well, why hasn't God given me some of the stuff I need right now?" Well, I'll tell you, it's found in this verse. You may not be ready yet.

That if God gave you everything you're asking for, you might not be meek. But blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. That when you put yourself in the proper posture of God, and you're empty, and you mourn, and you submit to God, blessed are the meek. Matthew 5:5. I say it again, for they shall inherit the earth. Some of you are thinking too small of God. God is able to do so much more than you can imagine. Let's go over the three points once again today about the way of meekness. Meekness begins with surrender. Remember, surrender wins. Meekness is not weakness. And finally, your great inheritance. So, I want to challenge you with this, and I don't often do this

type of application, but I want to ask you this. What would this look like this week? What would this look like this week? I feel like the Lord's put that on my heart because you can hear that now and then leave and not be changed. And I'm dead serious. What would this look like putting this into practice this week? What would you being meek this week look like? And I'm going to give you some examples. What if you stopped playing over and over in your mind what someone did to you? Release it. What if you got on the phone and let somebody know that they're forgiven? What if you need to ask somebody and apologize and ask for forgiveness? What if you go first? What would it look like for you to release control of your kids or control over your spouse? What would it look

like for you to be meek in your workplace? What would it look like for you to surrender? Someone needs to know today that you've been taking out your sword just like Peter trying so hard. And it's easy to read this story later and be like, "Oh, Peter, you sure look like a fool in that moment." I got to imagine in heaven so many of us are looking like fools. We're chopping off ears in our homes, chopping off ears at the workplace. I I want to just say that Jesus wants you to put down your sword. This could be on social media. Maybe you don't need to let anybody know in the entire world what's happening in your life. Just surrender it to God.

Maybe you don't need to comment on that comment of that complete idiot. Maybe just be slow, slow to anger, slow to your keyboard. I don't know what that looks like for you, but I know that God can speak to each and every one of us regarding this. The most important thing I can invite you into today is a living relationship with Jesus because he wants you to be blessed. Some of you walked in here today, not sure if you're a Christian, not sure if you're going to go to heaven, not sure what it means to be forgiven. I'll tell you today, Jesus died on the cross for your sins once and for all. You might make a mistake, but that doesn't change God's love. Doesn't change the fact that when you believe in Jesus, you're saved and you're forgiven. You're righteous, the Bible says. But

you first need to believe in Jesus and confess him. Not just as savior, but Lord. And if you want to do that today, you can do it right now. It's only going to take a really quick moment, but you've got to mean it from your heart. And from this day forward, the Bible says you're a new creation. You're a new person. You're born again. You have new life, new purpose from this day forward. The Bible says that you are who God says you are, a beloved child of God. You're adopted into his family. And we just learned this today. You get a great inheritance. It's a great inheritance. Everything you see on the earth, it's it's not the devil's. Everything on the earth and the fullness thereof is the Lord's. And when you're in him, it's yours. It's yours. Just

with every eye closed, I want to know today who's making that decision. I'm having you close your eyes because I want you to take this serious. And if this is you, we're going to give you a little booklet on the best decision you've ever made. If you want to begin a relationship with Jesus, if you want to be born again, if you want to be saved of your sins, if you want the gift of eternal life, would you just put your hand high in the air and say, "Yes, that's me today. Yes, I I want to receive this grace." Don't be ashamed of this. Don't be embarrassed of this. You do it because you want the blessed life God has for you. Just raise your hand high. I want to see who you are today. I want to know that you made this decision from this day forward to be forgiven, to be loved. I don't want you to miss this opportunity of God's grace that from

this day [music] forward, you're forever changed. Praise God. I see that hand. Amen. Oh, God's just been waiting for the surrender. He's just been waiting. So grateful you raised your hand today. Is there anyone else today just right where you are? Oh yes. Praise God. Amen. You know, God has always seen you. He's always loved you. He's got good plans for you. Is there anyone else today? Praise God. He was waiting for you to say yes. Amen. Amen. I tell you, God loves you more than you know. If I could just speak on behalf of your heavenly father. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. and nothing can separate me from loving

you. That's what your father says to you today. Praise God. Is there anyone else? You see, it does take courage to follow Jesus because you're not going to live like the world from this day forward, but you will be blessed. I want to encourage you to pray with me out loud this prayer. Prayer is talking to God. So, let me encourage you. You can pray anywhere, anytime. We need a praying church, my friends. pray all the time out loud in your heart. Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray. You don't need to have eloquent words. You just need to get real with God. So, I'll just say a short prayer and you just repeat after me if you believe this today. For all those who have believed in Jesus, let's pray together. Lord Jesus, >> Lord Jesus, >> save me from my sins.

>> You died on the cross. >> You rose from the grave. >> I receive the Holy Spirit. >> I am blessed. >> I am blessed. I am a child of God. I have a great inheritance >> in Jesus name. Amen. And amen and amen and amen. Praise be to God. Amen.