Live Free with Josh Howerton - Meek is Not Weak | Ep. 142 | Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Episode Date: August 22, 2023

Pastor Mike explores the richness of meekness, shattering the myth of it being synonymous with weakness. Discover the transformative power of surrendering control and how this step towards humility can lead to a life filled with God’s unfailing love. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up? Thanks for making the Daily Drive a part of your daily drive or whatever you're doing. We just call about a five-minute time out each day to learn some truth about God and ourselves, and we are currently unpacking a little section of the Bible called the Beatitudes.

It is part of a famous talk that Jesus gave on a hillside called the sermon on the Mount, and you can find his amazing words in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 in the New Testament section of the Bible. And as he begins that sermon, he talks about what so many people are doing, which is chase and happy. And he lays out some inside-out steps to truly becoming happy and fulfilled in life. And I say inside-out because happiness that is based on externals,

it's fleeting at best. Stuff that God does on the inside of us, man, that's eternal. So we've been talking about how it looks as if Jesus lays these steps out in a progressive nature, much like the rungs of a ladder. And a couple of episodes back,

we heard him say, the very first rung, the first step to happiness is found. and the acknowledgement of your spiritual poverty, that you admit that you are overdrawn, that you are bankrupt, busted, destitute, in spiritual terms, and you desperately need God. Blessed are the poor and spirit,

happy are the poor and spirit, fortunate are the poor and spirit for theirs, is the kingdom of God. Then last episode we heard him say, happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. So if these are progressive in nature, it would be happier those who mourn

over the fact that they just discovered that they are spiritually blessed. bankrupt. It's where we have this genuine sorrow over sin, this acknowledgement of deep need. It's where we move from just being miserable to being broken and ready to get well. So this leads us to the next rung on the ladder where he says, blessed, happy, are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Now meekness is an interesting term. We tend to think of meek, meaning weak, timid, even wimpy. But the term comes from the equestrian world and was used. in conjunction with bridling wild horses.

I grew up in thoroughbred country. Lexington, Kentucky is the horse capital of the world. There are green pastures, rolling hills, and wood plank fences everywhere. And it's amazing when you get up close to one of these beautiful creatures and you see how powerful, how strong, how big they really are. But once they're broken and trained and bridled, they're still amazing. But now they're just strength. under control. So the first three steps Jesus lays out say, you acknowledge your spiritual condition

and your need for God. Your heart breaks over it and you admit your brokenness. And then you humbly come to him and hand him the reins of your life. You say, I need help. I want you. I relinquish my control. I surrender to your wisdom, your love, and your power. So what comes to your mind? When you think of the word surrender. I used to always have negative images in my mind when I thought of that word, like it was kind of like a lack of courage or giving up too soon or succumbing to defeat. But I am learning that true surrender isn't a forced act. It's a conscious choice to let go and give leadership to someone else, someone who is stronger, more capable and more powerful than you and me. And it actually is good news. It's getting to a place of true brokenness where

you're not just miserable, but really broken, it gets us to a place. We're ready to take that next step, that key step of surrender, relinquishing control. Let me tell you why it took me so long to surrender. There's this thing in me, still in me, that I'm working on, that kept me relying on my own power. It's a little thing called ego.

You know, we said this before, but ego stands for edging God out. We can get so full of ourselves that there's just no room for God. We start thinking, I really am the center of the universe. And I think that's why the Bible says that God detests pride, because it keeps us from experiencing his love and his acceptance and his power, and his wisdom and his leadership, which he knows could change everything about our lives.

I mean, humility is really the key to life. We have to quit playing God and choose to surrender to his care and control. Surrender begins with a willingness to believe that there is a God who is stronger than you and better than you, a God who has the ability to rescue you and give you the power to live this life. And I'm learning that this simple willingness to believe, that's what changes the focus of your life. It begins to free you from the ever-tightling cycle of self-absorption

and points you to help beyond your own inadequate strength. I'm learning that if you're entirely ready to surrender your life relinquish control and your will to the loving care and control of Jesus Christ, then your sin, which is a really huge deal, it'll be forgiven, and you'll start the process of becoming a brand new person who can walk free in the power and unfailing love of God. I've got this written in the margin of a Bible headed in it for years, but it just simply says this, the greatness of a man, the greatness of a woman, is determined by the measure of their

surrender. It's determined by the measure of their surrender, because when you surrender, then God moves in, and you will finally have the right person in charge of life and the right kind of power it takes to change. I'm telling you, Mike Almighty had to come down off the throne of his life and give God the control. I had to quit edging God out. I had to stop my pride. I had to ask Jesus Christ to forgive my sin and really start leading my life. And man, how he's changed my life. So much so that it's my greatest joy to just to keep surrendering my life to him every day because he's a God who loves me. And I just want to be meek. These days I like to be meek. In fact, I know I hate. I hate it. I hate it. I

I hate it. I hate it when my ego rears its ugly head and wants to get back in control. I absolutely love having Jesus run my life these days. So, you want to be happy? It starts with the omission of God I'm spiritually busted. In fact, I'm broken. I'm deeply sorry. And I want to get well. And I'm ready to hand the reins of my life over to you and let you forgive me.

Let you lead me, transform me, let you use me. You can do that right now. So why don't you? When we say goodbye today and the music starts playing, why not just shut down your device, hit your knees, and just talk to God about this. I'm telling you, it really is the pathway to real happiness, real freedom, real life, eternal life. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our Church Online Live Weekend Services

on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11. AM Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint. church slash daily drive.