In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, He begins by sharing what is called the “beatitudes.” These are characteristics that should be a part of a Christian’s character. In Matthew 5:5, Jesus says that the Meek are blessed and that they shall inherit the earth. What did Jesus mean when He shared this simple sentence?
The word “meek” is a word that is so often misunderstood. It doesn’t mean to be weak or a coward. It doesn’t mean to be a “doormat” and allow people to walk all over you. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus said that He was meek. The Bible also says that Moses was the meekest man in all the world (look at Numbers 12:3). The word “meek” really means “yielded.” The word has the idea of a person with his/her strength under control. A Christian must yield his will to what God’s Word commands. So how does a person “yield” his spirit?
You must first yield to the Son of God!
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says:
Come unto me, all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
When you break these verses down into their three parts, you will discover how to develop meekness. Let us explore this concept together.
1. You Must Yield to Jesus!
In the illustration that Jesus gives us, we see a picture of two oxen, and they are pulling together. The yoke is pon one, and the yoke is on the other, and these two oxen side by side are pulling. Jesus is saying, “I want you to take my yoke upon you.” It is no longer only you, but it is you and Jesus. The other day, I had an addict talk to me about wanting to give up his addiction to drugs but he didn’t think that he had the strength to do so. I talked with him about “giving his heart to Jesus.” He told me that he had to get his life straight before he could give it to Jesus. He didn’t understand the gospel. All of us are evil, wicked people at the very core of our being. There is no way that even our goodness — at its best — is good enough for us to give our lives to Jesus. I used this illustration that Jesus used in Matthew 11. It is no longer just you, but it is you and Jesus. As a “city boy” I learned from an old farmer this principle that will also apply to this situation: Whenever the yoke is on two oxen, one ox is the lead ox. And in the illustration that Jesus gives, Jesus is offering to be the lead ox. As a matter of fact, unless Jesus is the lead ox (Lord of your life), your team — in this case, your life — will never be successful. Jesus says, “you follow me. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for my yoke is easy.” Have you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus? Have you come to Jesus?
2. You Must Yield to the Word of God!
I want to share with you an awesome verse of Scripture. It is James 1:21. James writes: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” The key phrase is “receive with meekness.” If you desire to inherit the earth as promised by Jesus, you must yield to the authority of God’s Word (the Bible) in your life. It is not enough to know certain facts and information about the Bible. A lot of folks have a limited understanding of the Bible, but they have never yielded to the authority of the Bible in their lives. The word that James uses for “receive,” is a word that means to “welcome into your home.” In this case, to welcome the Word of God into your life (home). Have you yielded to the Word of God in your life? James uses the word “engrafted.” When I was pastoring a church in Lousiana, I had a member who had a pecan orchard. I don’t know how many trees he had, but it was a bunch. I would notice that he had a few stumps with aluminum foil on top of them. As I looked closer, I would see what looked like a twig coming through the foil. I just had to ask what that was about. He told me that sometimes when he planted a pecan tree, the pecans were just not quite right. Because it took so long for a tree to grow to maturity, he would cut the unwanted tree down at its trunk. He would then give the little sapling a head start by grafting it in the way I was seeing. When the Word of God is grafted into our lives, our whole tree (life) will have a head start. You must yield to the authority of God’s Word in your life.
3. You Must Yield to the Holy Spirit!
Galatians 5:21-22 is another awesome verse that talks about “meekness.” The Apostle Paul wrote: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” One of the great truths of the Bible is that when you yield your life to Jesus and to the word of God, you are inviting the Holy Spirit into your life to work on your life. The Holy Spirit is who produces meekness in you. With surrender comes meekness. You don’t produce fruit, you bear fruit. When you walk in the Spirit, good things will follow!
Then Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, you will inherit the earth. What does that mean? It means that you have everything you need to be successful. This world can offer you nothing that you don’t already have. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23:
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
The Apostle also writes in 2 Corinthians 6:10: “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”
According to the Word of God, as a child of the King, you already have everything you need to be successful in this life. But Success is the Biblical definition and not the worlds.
The Bible also talks about a “New Heaven and a New Earth.” In Revelation 11:15 we find these words:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
I just want to ask you a personal question: Are you ready to inherit what Jesus wants to give to you. You must first learn meekness (Yielding) and then you will be on your way. The very first thing you must do is to surrender your life to Jesus Christ. You must realize your own evil, pathetic life and yield to Him. He will make a difference in your life. I have experienced this first hand. I pray that you have as well. If you haven’t give me a call. You will be able to reach out to us by using the contact tab on this website. I am praying for you. God loves you and want so much for you.
