Ron Dunn Podcast - Birthmark Of Meekness

Episode Date: February 3, 2021

Ron Dunn continues his sermon series from Birthmarks Of A Believer

Verse 5 of Matthew 5, Jesus says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Now to see meekness in action, let's read verses 38 through 48. This will give us a good picture of what it means to be meek. Jesus said, You have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat let him have thy cloak also whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away ye have heard that it hath been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemy, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, in order that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you,

what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect. If we ever really become a planet

of the eight, and there's all possibility that we may, and one day the eight sitting around say, I wonder what it was like to be a human. I wonder what human nature was really like. All they would have to do to discover what human nature was like in the 20th century would be to read the Beatitudes and reverse them. And in doing so, they would have a perfect picture of 20th century man. Because the truth of the matter is, everything that Jesus says here is a blessedness human nature recoils from. Let's reverse them for a minute. The world says blessed are the poor in spirit.

Brother, that's what Jesus says. The world says blessed are those who are proud in spirit. Jesus said blessed are those that mourn. The world says blessed are those happy or those that mock at sin. Instead of blessed are the meek, the world would say blessed are those who are determined to get ahead, no matter what cost. The world would say the happiest people are those who don't have much of an appetite for righteousness. And on and on you could go. If you want to know what human nature is really like, all you have to do is reverse the Beatitudes,

turn them inside out, and there you have a pretty good picture of fallen human nature. And nowhere do the words of Jesus cut across the drain of human philosophy as in this Beatitude that's before us this morning. Jesus says, Blessed are the meek. Now doesn't a rush of excitement course through you every time you hear about the possibility of becoming meek? When I was a kid, I used to read these comic books and on the back it would have a picture of Charles Atlas and have a little cartoon

strip of the 97-pound weakling, you know, sitting there on the beach with his girlfriend. Big old bully comes along and kicks fan in his face, and the little fella can't do anything about it. So 90 days you can become a bully yourself. And Charles Atlas made a fortune because everybody wants to be able to bully. I wonder how much money he would have made

if on the back of that comic book he'd say, Listen, in 90 days you can become a meek person. Are you tired of pushing people around? Are you tired of kicking fans in the face of 97-pound weaklings? Are you tired of being a big bully? Just write me. In 90 days, you can become a meek person. He wouldn't have had enough money to pay for the advertisement.

Because the truth of the matter is, most of us think that meekness is weakness, and we don't want any part of it. And yet the opposite is true. The book of Numbers says that Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth, and I doubt seriously anybody who really knows Moses would call him a weak man. I found a very interesting verse over in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 16, 32. Listen to what God says.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty. And he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. Now, the world would reverse that. They would say the man to receive a hero's welcome is he who is able single-handedly to take a city. You talk about a man being awarded

the Congressional Medal of Honor and everything else that the president could pin on him. If one man single-handedly were to take a city, we would give him a hero's welcome and exalt him and praise a man who is able by himself to take a whole city. And yet God says he that is able to rule his own spirit is more powerful than he that is able single-handedly to take a city. That's God's estimate of things.

And you know the truth of the matter is it's easier to take a city all by yourself than it is to control your spirit. Are you ruling your spirit this morning? Are you slow to anger? Do you have that ability to rule your own spirit? It takes more power for a person to be meek than it does to do anything else in the Christian life. Now, I wonder if when I read that beatitude and then read the illustration or demonstration of meekness in verses 38 and 48, I wonder how you reacted to it. You know, the thing about these beatitudes is

that my reaction to them proclaims exactly what I am. Jesus says, this is what it means to be one of my disciples. This is what it means to be a follower of mine. This is what it means to be born again, to be a Christian. Blessed are those that are meek. How did you react to that? Your reaction proclaims exactly what you are. What does it mean to be meek? Well, first of all, let's look at the meaning of

that word, meek. It's a very interesting Greek word that Jesus uses here. it is a word that was used to describe a wild animal that had been domesticated. For instance, here is a stallion. No man has ever ridden. Bridal and bit have never been put upon him. He's wild. Filled with energy and strength and spirit. You take that horse and you break him. You domesticate him. He becomes meek. You can put a saddle on him, a bit in his mouth, the reins over his neck, and his master in riding.

What have you done to that horse? Have you taken away any of that horse's strength? None at all. Have you taken away any of that horse's energy or spirit? None at all. The only difference between that wild stallion and the domesticated saddle horse is not in spirit, not in strength, not in energy. The difference is the domesticated horse, all of his energy and life force has now been controlled by another power and is being channeled into useful purposes. Now, the wild stallion is controlled by himself, his wants, his desires, his emotions, his passions. The domesticated horse is controlled by its master

and has learned to obey the master's touch on the reins. Jesus says, blessed are those that are meek. He's not saying blessed is the man that has no spirit and has no strength and has no energy. He's not saying blessed is that man who is a milquetoast type of creature and has absolutely no strength. He's saying blessed is that man who has all of his strength and all of his energy, but he has allowed someone else to master him and control him. He is no longer at the mercy of his emotions, his passions. He is no longer self-controlled. He is now controlled by another. That's what it means

to be meek. God wants to domesticate every person. You know, it's interesting how the Bible uses different illustrations and different pictures to describe what man is. He that rules his own spirit greater than he that takes the city. And the implication, of course, is this, that the spirit of man, the energy of man, that part of man which controls him is so wild and so powerful, it has to be ruled. It has to be ruled. It must

be mastered. And some of you have never even thought that your spirit needs to be mastered and to be ruled. You let it run its course. You let it do anything it wants to do. It has to be ruled. It will run you if you don't rule it. You have an automobile. There may be a 460 engine in that automobile. That automobile will run just as good, will run just as well down the middle of a highway

as it will towards a brick wall. That engine knows no difference in heading towards a brick wall and heading down a four-lane highway. It'll run the same, get about the same mileage, perform the same way. It doesn't know any difference. That's why they put a steering wheel in that thing, because there is someone there that does know the difference between a brick wall and a highway. And your spirit and your appetite and your God-given drives

and your God-given energy is going to run just as well towards a brick wall as it will down the right highway. And if you say it doesn't have to be controlled, it doesn't have to be ruled, do what comes naturally,

just let the chips fall where they may, don't bother about it, you're going to run into a brick wall sooner or later. It must be ruled. It must be controlled. And so Jesus says one of the primary characteristics of someone who follows me is that he is a person who is meek.

He is a person who has learned to be controlled by someone else. Now, there are three things that ought to control us, and this is what Jesus is referring to in these verses. Number one, a meek person is God-controlled. First of all, he is God-controlled. First of all, he is God-controlled. Now, I want you to notice something in verses 38 and 39 and verses 43 and 44. Here's what Jesus says. Verse 38, ye have heard that it hath been said, Jesus says, this is what you've always been taught. You've been brought up to believe an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Now, you don't have to go to the Bible to learn that verse of Scripture. All you have to do is watch television. And every time it seems that there is any type of religious man in one of the stories, somebody shoots his son or steals his cattle, and he goes seeking revenge, he always posts that verse, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Well, that's the way we've been brought up. That's human nature. Jesus said you've always heard it this way.

You've been brought up to believe that this is the way to act and to react. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Now notice what he says in verse 39. But I say unto you, but I say unto you, Jesus is saying, I don't care what you've been taught. I don't care how you've been brought up. I don't care what you've always felt is the right way to react. I say unto you, do this and do that. Again, he has the same idea in verse 43 and 44. You have heard that it hath been said,

thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. Now that's just about the most logical thing that a person could ever say. Love your enemy, love your neighbor, hate your enemy. That's human nature. It's so easy to do that. Takes no effort at all. It's easy to love that person who loves me, and it's easy to hate my enemy. That's the way we've been brought up. That's our human nature. And some of us are controlled by that. But Jesus says in verse 44, but I say unto you, love your enemies and so forth. You see what Jesus is saying? He's contrasting human nature, human teaching with what he wants us to be. He says we are to be God-controlled, God-controlled.

Something interesting here, I noticed it this morning and I made a little note of it in the margin of my Bible. I wrote one word and I put an exclamation point after it. Reaction. Have you noticed that everything Jesus is talking about here has to do with how you react? How you react? That's interesting to me and significant. Most of us evaluate our Christianity by how we act.

God never has that as the final and ultimate clincher in evaluation. It's not how you act. It's how you react that shows whether or not you're following Jesus. All of these things have to do with reaction. You see, it's easy to act right. Man, it's tough to react right. How's your reaction coming along? How do you react when somebody injures you?

How do you react? Listen, your Christianity isn't illustrated by how you act. It's how you react. That's what Jesus is talking about. He says your reactions are to be God-controlled. I don't care what you've been taught. I don't care what your human nature is. He says, but I say unto you,

this is the thing to do, God-controlled, God-controlled. When God's Word cuts across every grain of my human nature, still obey God. And the first step in becoming a disciple of Jesus is allowing his word and his will to control me regardless of how I feel or anything else. That's what it means to be meek. And I'll tell you, it takes a lot more power to do that than it does to react the wrong way. God's control, not self-control.

Some of us are emotion-controlled. Some of us are ambition-controlled. To be meek simply means to be God-controlled. All right? Not only does it mean to be God-controlled, it also means to be love-controlled. He says in verse 44, But I say unto you,

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. There are four things there. Jesus said we ought to do four strikes and you're out. But I say unto you, I don't care how you've been brought up to react. This is the way to react. I say unto you, love your enemy.

Somebody says, I can't do that. I've tried to love them. I can't do that. You don't understand what the word love means. And we've said this before, but let me just repeat it.

Love does not mean emotion or sentiment. I'm not talking about falling in love with a sweetheart. This is agape love. This is the kind of love God has for us. You know what love really means? All right. Jesus always wants to make it clear and simple to us. And so in the very next verse, verse 45, he explains what it means to love your enemies. In order that you may be like, you may be seen to be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For he makes his, notice it's his son, he can do anything he wants to with it.

For he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good. And sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Now that's what love is. Let me illustrate, let me explain it just a little bit more. Now, if you were God, and I were God, and it was my son and my reign, and there were two farmers living down here,

and one was a good farmer and one was an evil farmer, one trusted me and one didn't, one had received my son and one didn't, you know what I'd say? Okay, I'm going to let the sun shine on this good farmer and I'm going to let

the rain fall on this good farmer and just not going to let the sun shine on this fellow. I'm not going to share any of the rain with him. He can just starve to death. He's my enemy.

And he is. The Bible says that man is the enemy of God. That's where you and I would react to that man's action. We would withhold the rain from him. We would withhold the sun from him because it's ours. Notice, God says he causes his rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He maketh his sun to shine on the just and the unjust.

I'll tell you what love is. Love is treating your enemy as though he were your friend. That's what love is. That's what Jesus is saying. Jesus treats them both the same, even though one is evil and unjust and his enemy. Yet God treats them just the same. Do you know what love is?

Love is to treat people the way God treats people. How does God treat people? You know, it is amazing. You walk down the street, and the sun shines on everybody, and the rain falls on everybody, and everybody has air to breathe. You don't see God saying, all right, everybody out there who's lost, no air to breathe, no sun. God treats everybody

as though they were his friends. And for me to love people is to love them and treat them as God treated them. And the best way to love your enemies is just treat them like you would if they were your friends. And you can do that. I don't care how emotionally uninvolved or how unattached you are to them as far as emotion or sentiment is concerned. That has absolutely not a thing to do with it. God says love them.

That's a command. Treat them the way I treat them. Treat them as you would treat them if they were your friend. Love your enemy. Then he moves on and says, bless them that curse you. Bless them that curse you. Again, reaction is what he's talking about. Did you know it is possible for you to bless a person?

This means more than just saying, God bless you, brother. But you can, by your word and by your life, you can actually be a benediction to people. You can bless them. Those that curse you, those that try to harm you, you bless them. Then notice he says, do good to them which hate you. Reaction again. Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. To be loved, controlled. Now I can tell

you this morning how to test yourself to see if whether or injured you deliberately, they have wronged you, they hate you, they're cursing you, they're wanting to destroy you, and you had them in your power and you could do anything you wanted to to them, what would you do? How would you react?

You say, well, that's never happened. Oh, yes, it has, because you could have cursed them. How have you reacted this past week to people who have been your enemies and people who have hated you and people who have used you wrong and people who have hated you and people who have used you wrongly and taken advantage of you how have you reacted to be loved control then there's one last thing were to be eternity control jesus said blessed are the meat for they shall inherit the earth and somebody says that's the only way they'll get it, is to inherit it. That's right. They will inherit the earth. They will inherit the earth. Well,

I thought it was going to inherit heaven. That's right, but it won't inherit the earth too. You know, it's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Now, the person who is self-controlled and ambition-controlled and emotion-controlled will scratch and fight and struggle to get every ounce of dirt he can in this life. And he's a fool because the Bible says the world is already in the process of being passed away. The other day the scientists have discovered that in the past several years the Atlantic seacoast is sinking, I believe, a foot every 30 years. It'll take a long time for it to sink. Interesting, though, how God keeps giving us these little reminders

that the only thing eternal is God. Have you noticed how God keeps tapping us on the shoulder and saying, Hey, the world is passing away, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. The will of God is, blessed are the meek. They shall inherit the earth. Everything is eventually coming to God's control. Eternity controlled.

Thank you. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification, Eternity controlled. visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore and search Ron Dunn. For more Ron Dunn materials, including sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from a study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.