Date: 11/3/02

Text: Matthew 5:5-6

Title: Blessed are the Meek and Hungry

Theme: A truly happy person is one who patterns his life according to God’s will.

Introduction:

Often we hear people say, “I like what I hear at church, it makes me feel good.” Certainly Christian faith has that welcoming tone, making us wanting to be a part of it. We are like a consumer, finding the store that meets our taste and expectations. However, as we study the Sermon on the Mount, a different picture starts to emerge. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he made it very clear to his followers what was expected of them. In essence, he told them that when they follow him, it is not a matter of what they could get out of him. Definitely when one follows Christ, many of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs will be met. Yet, what is even more important, is that we’ll have to make changes to adapt to his expectations. You see, as his followers, we are now citizens of his kingdom. Being citizens of his kingdom, it is only appropriate that we live by his kingdom’s norm.

Last week we began our study on the beatitudes. We learn what it means to be approved by God. In God's kingdom, he desires us to be poor in spirit, that is, a keen recognition of our spiritual poverty, moral bankruptcy before this holy God. Moreover, we are to mourn, to feel sorrow, to cry over our moral bankruptcy. This is certainly not something people like to listen. Who wants to see his/her spiritual poverty and mourn over it? We want a religion that can make us happy. It is indeed difficult to be poor in spirit and to be a mournful person.

As we continue to study this passage, we begin to realize how high the standards are for those who follow Jesus Christ. Humanly speaking, it is impossible for us to meet such expectations. This is how Jesus strips us of our self-reliance and self-confidence, thus helping us to see our unworthiness and moral corruption. This morning, we’ll take a closer look at the truth that true happiness, true blessing, belongs to those who are meek and hungry after righteousness.

I. Happy are the Meek.

Poor in spirit describes one’s relationship with God. Before this holy God, I am morally corrupt. Meekness goes one step further, it is between me and other men.

We want to first take a look and see what meekness is not. Meekness is not someone who is soft spoken. Marlon Brando in the Godfather is a very soft spoken person, right? A meek person is not wishy washy. We have plenty of those people around us. It is not indecisive and timid. Many thinkers are like that. It is not easily being pushed around and taken advantage of. Again, many of the relational people meet this criteria. It is not someone who is very courteous, for you can find many of them in an Etiquette school. Neither is it about someone who is nice and easy going. We can find many of our dogs and cats are quite easy going, right?

In the Bible, meekness is a controlled desire to seek other’s interest more than my own. It is a deliberate decision to put others first. I would like to give you two examples;

First, Abraham. You remember that Abraham and his nephew Lot traveled together in the land of Canaan. As their possessions continued to multiply, the land was not large enough to have both of them at the same location. This created much tension and conflict between the two households. What did Abraham do? He said to Lot, “the entire land is before you. If you go left, I’ll go right. If you go right, I’ll go left.” He let Lot pick the land of his choice. He had that desire to seek Lot’s interest more than his own. This is meekness.

Second, Moses. What do we associate Moses with? He could be a very impulsive person when he was young. His confrontation with King Pharoah. His parting of the Red Sea. Yet later on, the scriptures described him as the meekest man who ever lived (Numbers 12:3). Moses, the meekest man ever lived? Hard to imagine, right? Why? In Numbers 12 is an incident about Moses’ brother, Aaron and sister, Miriam’s criticism of him. They criticized that Moses’ wife was a Cushite, meaning a person with black skin. They were jealous that God spoke through Moses. What happens when your own siblings criticize you? If it is someone from outside our family, we may be patient and accommodating. But with siblings, it is quite different. With those closest to us, we tend to let our guard down, and fight back. Not so with Moses, he refused to defend himself to fight back. Later, when God punished Aaron and Miriam, Moses was the one who pleaded for them before God. When he was under attack, Moses had that controlled self-commitment to God. This is meekness

Then the ultimate example of meekness is Jesus Christ. In Matthew 11:28, “….Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble in heart,….” How was he being meek? 400 years before his birth, Isaiah said, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” He did not fight back when mistreated.

The scriptures pay much attention to this. Galatians 5:22, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,….” Col.3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

What does it mean to us? Instead of edifying others, putting other’s interests first, we like to justify ourselves, insisting that we are right,. We put our interests first. Looking at American Christianity, we are good at big organizations, large rallies and mega size churches. But are we known for meekness.

When we become meek, we are in direct conflict with the world. The world’s philosophy is that we each grab what we can. The strong man comes out first. We each see self as the center of the universe. We want others to cater to our needs. This is why sometimes it is so hard to relate to one another. It has often been said that each Chinese is like a dragon. But when you put 10 dragons together in a room, little can be accomplished. Why? We each think we are the most important; we are the center around which others should revolve.

However, a meek person is one who sees himself under God. That before this God, he is broken. Therefore, he would not see himself more than necessary. Consequently he is able to relate to others. This is not something one’s being born with. It is to be acquired. Jesus urges us to learn from him, to be meek and humble as he is. It does not come over night, but need to be reminded, to be developed.

What is the reward for a meek person? “he shall inherit the earth.” Psalm 37:11, “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” A meek person is one who is content. He does not have an inflated ego that need to have more. And besides, in Christ, he recognized that God has given him all those heavenly blessings.

How do I know I am a meek person? There are several questions we need to ask of ourselves. Do I have self control? Do I easily get angry, react to others because my ego is hurt? Do I respond to others humbly? Do I give instructions with patience and meekness or it is more like orders and commands? How do I serve in the church? Is it out of strength, or do I lead from a position of weakness? That I still need to learn, that apart from God, I can do nothing?

II. Happy are the hungry and thirty.

What is hungry like? Not too many of us have experienced prolonged period of no food. Take for example, you had a bowl of salad for lunch. By 6pm, you are ready to eat anything in sight. This is hungry.

What are we hungry for? I’ll try to name a few. We are hungry for spiritual maturity. We hunger after real happiness. We feel that even after we have acquired all that we have set out to do, we are still not happy. We are hungry after a happy marriage. On Sunday mornings, if we have a choice of two classes: Road to godly living, and Road to a happy marriage, which do you think will have the most students? Some are hungry after spiritual power. Some seek supernatural spiritual experiences. We may not know what it is, but we are just hungry for more in depth spiritual experiences. Others are hungry and thirsty after more effective evangelism skills. We want to know how we can share the gospel more effectively. These are certainly good and noble aspirations. But what is Jesus saying here? Happy are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

A follower of Jesus Christ is one who sees his spiritual poverty. He grieves over his and the world’s sins. This will lead to his approaching God and men with meekness. Now he is also characterized by righteousness. It is important to him just as food and water.

What is righteousness? This is not the righteousness that God puts on us when we trust in Jesus Christ. It is about a pattern of life in conformity to God's will. It is a way of living that reflects God's principles. A life that adheres to the kingdom norm.

Very often individuals would ask me about the purpose in life. They feel they are drifting in the ocean of life. They don’t know what their purpose is. We feel that if we be more involved in the church ministry, then we’ll be fulfilled. Others feel that if I would do more short term mission work, then I would have direction in life. There is nothing wrong these aspirations. However, if my understanding of the Bible is correct, Jesus seems to be telling us something different. He is not saying that if we pursue more ministry, or be a missionary, than we’ll feel fulfilled. Instead he says that we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. We should have that strong desire to live a life that patterns after God's will. How so?

It is in his word, the Bible, that God reveals to us his will. From this Bible, we know it is his will for us to love those who are unlovable. From this Bible, we know we are to stay away from sin and all that is contrary to his character. From this Bible, we learn that instead of resentment and bitterness towards those who have wronged us, we are to forgive. From this Bible we know we are to be kind and gentle to others. His words tell us that we are all made in God's image, and therefore we are to treat each other with dignity and respect. His words tell us not to worry about life but to trust him. His words teach us to be the salt and light, and sharing the gospel message with others. So if I am to be hungry and thirsty after his will, then I have to read the scriptures regularly. Not only reading it, but also have to obey what I read. When I obey his word, then I am conforming to him, beginning to live a life that patterns after God.

A truly happy person, a person who is blessed, is one who takes righteousness seriously. To live a life that patterns after God's will is as important as food and water.

What is his reward? He will be filled. The more I thirst after righteousness, the more I will be satisfied. This means that the more I conform myself to God's will, the more I’ll find this life-style satisfying, and the more I want it.

It’s like eating that watermelon seeds or pistachio nuts. Have you ever tried to stop after eating one? Its hard, right? You just keep on going at it. The same with righteousness. The more I learn to pattern my life after God's will, the more I want to do it.

Conclusion:

At the beginning of our study of the beatitudes, we hinted that these beatitudes are really a portrait of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the person with perfect meekness. Only he can tell us to learn from him; learn his meekness and humility. He is the one who can truly take righteousness seriously. To him, it is his bread and water. In John 4: 34, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work….” What is Jesus' food? To do God's will. To conform to God's will.

This is certainly no easy task. Who am I that I can be like Jesus? How can I be meek like him? Everyday, I spend time justifying my behaviors. I put my interest ahead of others. At this time in my life, I may be hungry and thirsty after job stability, may be not after wealth, but at lease a stable financial situation. I may even be hungry for certain vague spiritual reality or deep experiences like so and so is. But, hungry and thirsty after living a life that patterns after God's will? That I will take his word seriously and obey what I have read? Its not that easy, is it?

To this, I say, “Great.” You see the more I see my inadequacy, the more I begin to see my spiritual poverty, and feel sad about it. This is how Jesus strips away our self-reliance and self-confidence.

But there is more to this. As we follow him, Jesus also promised us that the Holy Spirit will work in our lives to help and strengthen us so we can be obedient to God. We don’t do it alone. His spirit is with us, helping us to be meek, to put others’ interest ahead of us. His spirit is with us, helping us to pattern our lives after his will as revealed in the scriptures.