Stop Fighting Every Hill And Start Being Happy

The word “meek” has a branding problem. Most of us hear it and think soft, quiet, weak, or easy to push around, and then we wonder how Jesus could possibly connect that to happiness. We slow down in Matthew 5:5 and reclaim what the Beatitudes actually mean: meekness is not cowardice, it is gentleness and humility with real strength behind it. Think power under control, not power denied. 

We also name the waters we’re swimming in. Our culture rewards the loudest voices, the most brash personalities, and the most outrage-inducing content, and that pressure can turn everyday life into a constant argument. We talk about why the need to be right, to respond, and to “win” leaves us tired and angry, and why the upside-down kingdom of God calls us to a different kind of strength. 

Then we look at Jesus as the clearest picture of meekness: calm before Pilate, authority over storms, restraint in the garden, and a willingness to fight only for what truly matters. Finally, we unpack the promise that the meek will inherit the earth, connecting it to our identity as children and heirs with Christ, and we close with a practical challenge you can start today. If this helps you, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s tired of fighting, and leave a review so more people can find the path to calm strength.

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Transcript

The Beatitudes Build On Each Other

Josh 0:00

So this morning, as we continue our journey into the Beatitudes, our big idea this week is this happy are the meek. Now I will tell you in the very beginning of this, we're gonna get into a little bit of vocabulary because that word meek in Greek and that word meek in the original language and in English don't really translate perfectly. There's a little bit of overlap in how we understand the word meek, but there's a few takeaways that are very important for us understanding this verse today. And as we go through, just a reminder, the we tend to treat scripture as a buffet, right? Like, and if you guys remember buffets before you know 2020, they were awesome and they just had like 20 feet of food, and you can kind of just pick and choose what it was you wanted to eat. The beatitudes don't really work like that. Remember, they're building off of each other. So we when we get to uh blessed are the meek this week, this is gonna be a rough one with all of the rhyming. As we get to that this week, remember it starts with blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn their sin. This is just a natural progression. But it's not like we can go, okay, I like this one. This one seems like one I would like, so I'm gonna I'm gonna pull this one and this one I'm not as into, so so I can just kind of leave that. So if you were in here this morning and you are anything like me, you are the person who looks at like what's a nice way to say this, debates, and you get excited, that's kind of what we're getting into this morning. So if you were someone who tends to be a little more argumentative, as Debbie has pointed out, I am, this one should hit home for us. All right. So I'm gonna pray and then we're gonna jump into it. Father, we just thank you for your word, and I ask and I pray as I go through it this morning that it is your word, God, that it is not my opinion and my thought, which are worthless, Father, but that they are your words, that you are teaching our hearts that we can look more like your son. Father, I ask and I pray that with your spirit we are just transformed from the inside out before we leave here. Father, we pray this in Jesus'

Meek In Greek Versus Meek Today

Josh 2:20

name. Amen. So Matthew 5, 5 says this blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Now, to kick it off with the most glaring section, like I said, we're gonna get into a little bit of vocab here. This word that we see as meek, all right, it's it's this Greek word called praios, all right? And and it literally translates into gentle and humble. All right, so so Jesus is sitting here going, happy are the gentle and humble. In fact, Jesus throughout scripture is actually described as this numerous different times. As he is the gentle and good shepherd. We are told, like even in 1 Peter 3.15, which isn't gonna show up, that we are to always be prepared for a defense for the hope found in us, but to do so with gentleness. In Galatians 6.1, which isn't gonna show up either, Paul tells us that if any of you are caught in transgression, those who are spiritual should go restore them in a spirit of gentleness. And we we get told this a lot, this idea of gentleness. But how many of us in here, if like someone other than yourself was to describe you, would describe you as gentle and humble? Not most of us, right? But yet this is what Jesus is telling us through here. And the reason I say that there's a little bit of difference because if we were to use the word meek, right? If we were to talk about a meek person, what were some of the things that would come to mind? Not everybody at once. Soft spoken, but quiet. Quiet, weak, weak. Like that's the that's one of the first that usually comes to mind, right, when we're talking about a meek person. In fact, the dictionary would describe it as this quiet, gentle. All right, so we got the gentle and and and humble part, right? But then, especially in English, it goes on to say, and unwilling to argue or force opinions onto others. This is why most of us in this room would not be described as meek, right? Because within this room, we do have some people that are very strongly opinionated people. That genuinely, like they're going, no, you're gonna hear my point of view. All right? And Jesus is sitting here going, those aren't the happy ones, though. The happy ones are the ones that are gentle and kind. And most of us, when we think of this word meek, we think of it as being weak. And none of us in here want to be seen as weak. Why? Because all of us in here have pride. You don't want to be the one that gets picked on, you don't want to be the one at the bottom of the barrel, you don't want to be like the one that just gets walked all over. But let me ask you when we see Jesus throughout scripture, how is he? How is Jesus? And we're gonna get really deep into this because again, I we looked at last week some of the errors when we have mourning our sin in church. And one of them is this, right? Well, I'm not Jesus. In other words, don't hold me to this standard because I'm not Jesus. However, 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, be imitators of me as I imitate Christ. So my life should look more and more like Jesus the longer I do this. So if I'm not looking like Jesus, who am I looking like? And honestly, we remember it's the upside-down kingdom, right? There are two opposing kingdoms that exist at the same time. We have the kingdom of the world, and then we have Jesus' kingdom. And remember, how does Jesus start his ministry? He gets baptized, he immediately goes into the wilderness. This is Matthew 3, Matthew 4, and then he comes back preaching one singular message: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In other words, the kingdom is here. But when we look at the world, we don't see meekness as being a good quality. We see meekness as being one of the worst things that can happen. Because if we're meek, then that means the world gets to push everything on us. See, we look at things like reality shows, and I know no one in here is like all into the reality shows, right? We see things like social media. Here is what the algorithm is actually based on. The opposite of what Jesus is preaching in the Beatitudes. Who gets the most traction in our culture? Is it the meek people? Like, is it the people that like just do what they're supposed to do? No. When they build a reality show, who are they looking for? The biggest hot mess you could possibly see. Why? Because that's what's gonna get people to watch. I tell Debbie this all the time. I could put up a fishing video, right? Me just reeling in a 40-inch schnook. It'll get a couple thousands of views. But let me put up a video where I just go, hey, Jesus. And if I'm lucky, it'll get to double digits. Why is that? Well, because one, people want to see, the other one, people are like, mmm, no, I don't want any part of that. They want entertainment. In fact, social media algorithms are built on this. You ready? I want to make you as upset as I possibly can. Because when you're upset, you're gonna interact. When it's something that like makes you feel good, or it's something that makes you like look inside, you're not gonna interact with that. And their goals are to keep you where you are. So our culture is it rewards the loudest, most brash, most outraging, inducing voices. And the world tells us that if we're not loud and we're not forcing that on everybody else, then we are losing. Because what reward is there in being meek? What what like what do you get for being gentle and humble? We do get the earth, and we're gonna we're gonna get to that at the end.

unknown 9:22

Joy and happiness.

Josh 9:24

Joy and happiness. Ooh, what'd you say, Miss Kathy? Calmness. How many of you, you're like that person that people are like, I just like when you're around because you're such a calming person? Like, how many of you are like, like when people are like at their end, they're like, no, I want so-and-so around. See, Jesus doesn't build his kingdom by being the loudest, most aggressive messiah available. Like he's not all up in people's faces. Does he have those moments? Well, absolutely. Like when he clears the temple and he goes and fashions a whip and he starts whipping people. And so there is a time and a place. But that's not how he builds his kingdom. He builds his kingdom with face-to-face, deep conversation, with calmness, with meekness. But see, most of us, we don't see meek as that. We don't see meek as something that could lead to happy. We see meek as a weakness for those people who are unwilling to make sacrifices. See, meek, timid people, they get walked all over, right? You can push them around. And

When Loudness Becomes A Virtue

Josh 10:45

some of us, we're bullies. And we we like to be able to push people around. And none of us admit that for whatever reason. But we like being able to just, if I can just like, like this is a tactic in how we argue, right? If I can just get louder than you, then eventually you'll just back down. You know who else does that? Lions.

unknown 11:08

Right?

Josh 11:08

When they're sizing each other up and they're just like, and and that's how some of us are. Because we're gonna stand up for what we believe, and we're not gonna let anyone walk all over us. Some of us, we look at meek and we go, those are easy targets. Colts, for instance. Not cults like the Baltimore cult C-U-L-T. Right? They're they're gonna look for people who who are meek because they're easy targets, right? They don't say a lot, they don't argue back. And I know none of us in here do stuff like this. But we look at this, and yet Jesus is sitting here going, no, no, no, what y'all don't understand is happy are the meek. Happy are those ones that have this value that is not valued in our culture. I mean, seriously, guys, look at what the elections turned into. For those of you that like were alive pre-2000, what were the elections like back then? I mean, they they actually talked about issues, right? They actually went, hey, here's the things I'm gonna do during my candidacy. Now I'm not saying that they were never dirty and they they never like ran scorched earth stuff, but it's not like what we see today. Like, and I'm not like we just celebrated our independence, so I'm not I'm not trying to like dog on it. But I absolutely hate watching anything political. I hate getting into a like I hate when people are like, hey, so what do you think of, and then they bring up something. Whether it's Christians or or non-Christians. Because I go, we get so over the top with things that ultimately you have no power and control over to begin with. Who elects our presidents? Is it us? No, it's the Electoral College. Let me ask you, does anybody in here know any members of the Electoral College? We don't. So we we we what? And we get so wrapped up in it. Because it's now a media circus. It's now sitting here going, hey, who can get the biggest headline? Because if you can get the biggest headline, you can get the most votes because you obviously are the loudest, most brash person. And that's how we get elected. Because that's what our culture values. And all of us, we want that power and control. Because if we have the power and control, who can pick on us? Who could beat us down? If we could just be the loudest. Eventually, people will do one or two things. They'll bend to what I'll say, or they'll just stop arguing back anyway because there's no point. And some of us, that is our tactic to win every argument. And here's the thing: that isn't what Jesus is showing. Jesus doesn't go, hey, the loudest is the one who gets ahead in life. Our culture sits here and goes, it's the loudest, most cut road uh cutthroat person that actually is going to win in everything. And then we try to rule everything in our life by force. How do I know this? Well, if you have multiple kids, you've seen it. The bigger one will always try to take from the littler one. And then like we we make ourselves feel better by going, but the little one like is cunning and they can figure out like ways around it. JT used to, like, on birthdays, JT used to take like pennies, literally pennies, and trade them for $20 bills that the girls got for their birthday because he went, these are metal and they're worth more than just plastic uh paper. And they would do it. In fact, like a couple of weeks ago, they were like, hey, you probably owe me a couple of thousands of dollars right now because of all of these times that you swindled me out of money. And then once JT realized how much bigger he is than them, I mean, you know how many times we're like, JT, stop pinching your sister. She's not gonna be able to fight back. Because no matter how many jujitsu classes Kayla goes and takes, JT is just physically way stronger than she is. So she has all of the best technique in the world, but I'm gonna tell you, it doesn't matter because she's never gonna be able to like even lift his arm up to begin with. And see, and so he uses that to try to force his will on his sisters. We never actually get out of that, do we? Those of us in here, you grew up like smaller, you're always trying to fight more because you're sitting here going, I have to make up for what I lose in stature. Those of us that grew up bigger, you're sitting here going, I just want to rule by force. Because I can. In fact, if we go all the way back to Genesis 3, right after God is cursing all of creation because of sin, in Genesis 3.16, what does he tell Eve about Adam? Your desire will be for your husband, but what will your husband do? Rule over you. What does that mean? I wish it was talking about headship. That would be great. But no, this isn't a headship verse. This is a because you guys have sin, now it's going to look a lot different. And men who know you're bigger and stronger, you're bigger and stronger to protect and provide, but we twist it to mean no, I'm bigger and stronger, and that means I can get my way. And I go, we've seen this since literally the dawn of time. With the first couple that ever existed. We've seen this opposite of meekness. In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites are coming to Samuel and they're like, we want a king just like everybody else. We want to look like every other nation. And so God, choosing to give them up to their own desires, goes, Fine, you want a king? Samuel, give him a king. But let them know this is what the king's going to do. He's going to take your sons and send them to war. He's going to take your daughters for himself. He's going to steal your livestock, and then he's going to enslave you. But hey, since you want this here, why would they do that? Because every single one of us in here, if you were a king or a queen who had ultimate control, you would wind up doing the same thing. And I get it, you're like, no, I'm not that kind of person. I would be a benevolent king. And like I would just make sure the whole kingdom prospers. Until the first time you go, hey, I get to collect money from everybody for nothing. And then you're going to be like, man, now I can have whatever boat I want. Now I can build my palace even bigger. Now I can feel important. Because when sin came into creation, we found out very quickly that the loud, cunning, brash person seems to move ahead. Any of you in here, have you ever looked at like society and went, hey, for those of us who try to do the right thing, it's like you always come up short. Because like you have to jump through all of these hoops. You know, you go to start your own business or whatever. And it's like you got to do this and you got to do this and you got to do this and you gotta do this. But then like you're driving down the street and you sell so you see someone selling

Pride, Control, And The Need To Win

Josh 19:10

hot dogs in their driveway, and you're like, they didn't have to do any of the things we had to do. And they're probably banking. Because they didn't have to get this license and buy that permit and pay all of this money to renovate a building and do all of this stuff. They just sat up in their driveway and just went, hey, we got these banners, put them out by the road. Now, personally, I would never stop at someone's house and buy a hot dog, but when we saw it, I mean they had a line. So, I mean, what can we argue with? Because we don't believe that the meek shall inherit the earth. And what Jesus is showing us is stop doing it that way. Because doing it this way is only going to lead to pain and frustration and anger and all of this. Because if you are that kind of person that doesn't believe that being meek is a strength, you're constantly trying to flex on others. And where does that leave you? Angry. Because when people don't do what you say, you're like, mm-hmm, and then we start stomping our feet. And then we start getting louder, and then we start getting madder. See, Jesus is showing us it's not the strong, loud, brash bully that is happy. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul is going to paint us a different picture of what we should look like. He starts with this for consider your calling, brothers. Here's what he's doing. He's starting by going, hey, think about where you should be as a Christian. Think about what your life should look like. Consider your calling. Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. That's a good thing to not be wise according to worldly standards. In other words, you're not following after the world, you're following after Christ. You're wise to Christ's standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. Paul is painting a picture of a meek person here. And here's why. In verse 27 it says, but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. Like I remember the first time JT said a cuss word. And I was like, where would he have picked up such Foul language. He watches like Nick Jr. all day. Yo, Gabba Gabba's not cussing. And then Debbie did something, and something flew out of my mouth, and I was like, that's where he did it. Because God uses the foolish to shame the wise. God uses what is weak in the world to shame the strong. See, some of us we want to be the strong ones. And yet God shows us that our strength is finite and limited in so many different ways. Like if you were someone in here who thrives on being the strong one, what happens when you're not strong enough? Well, now you can't break down, because then that would really just blow up the mental picture you have of yourself. So you just keep grinding and keep grinding and keep grinding, and instead of reaching out and going, hey, I need help, you just start drowning in your own pride. Am I the only one who's been in that position? Where you're sitting here going, hey, like, no, I have to. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring nothing. To bring to nothing things that are. And why does God do this? So that no human being might boast in the presence of God. In other words, God's sitting here going, unless you're me, you got some weakness. You got some things to work through. You got some things to grow into. And you know who will never grow? Someone who doesn't think they need to grow. Like, think about it, when you're at the top of the heap, what is there for you to work on? What is there for you to strive to? When you're that person that's like, eh, I'm good. Like everything in life just lines up. Well then how are you growing? How are you going deeper into Christ? Who do you become dependent on at that point? Yourself. And you sit here and go, I got it. That's the opposite of meekness. Because then I become loud and brash. And the Bible tells us over and over and over to not rely on our own strength. Because I don't care how strong you are, your strength will eventually run out. Your ability to just grind through and push through will eventually give up. And you will become a very miserable person. Because then you're going to start looking at everything in life like life is happening to you, and you have no control over it. And when you take someone who prides themselves on their ability to rule over, and then God uses what is low to bring down what is strong, you have a miserable person. In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul shows us this. He says that he despised of life itself because they were afflicted with so much. In other words, there was a mountain that God put in front of them that they could not climb. God purposely went, hey, I'm going to stop you in your tracks because you're going to depend on me, not on yourself. Because again, the hardest person to talk to about Jesus is the person who goes, I don't need Jesus. It's really, really easy for a crackhead to come to Christ. Because they know they need something. They know something is broken. They know things in their life are not going the right way. But that person that's blessed and highly favored, and you try to talk to them about Jesus, and they're like, no, no, no, I'm good. Because I have no need for a savior. And so Jesus, uh God in 2 Corinthians here goes, boom, here's this mountain. What about now, Paul? Do you need me now? See, some of us were walking through that season where we've been relying on our own strength. We've been relying on our own abilities to be able to push through and get through. And yet, here's what God is saying. Just like we saw in Matthew 4, when Jesus is in the wilderness, it shows us that in our weakness, his strength is made perfect. And we look at weakness as a bad thing. Because if I'm weak, that means other people can take control of me. Because if I'm weak, that means other people can walk all over me. Because if I'm weak, that means I don't enter into every single argument I could possibly get into. And you know what Jesus calls that? Not weak. Meek. Sitting here going, you want to be happy? Stop trying to do all of this. You're being extra. Jesus is sitting here going, literally, do you believe that I got this? Like, think about this would be like yesterday as we're smoking ribs and chicken and everything for the fourth. JT walking out of the house going, hey, you guys go ahead and sit down. I got this. And I can guarantee you, me and Joe would both have looked at him and been like, no, you ain't got this. First of all, you didn't even get out of bed until like 10:30. Food's been on for over two hours already. Then you come out, and the first thing out of your mouth is, now I have to go back inside and take a shower. You ain't got this. And Jesus sometimes is looking at us, going, hey, I know you think you got this, but you ain't got this. I got this. And the question we need to ask ourselves is, but do we believe that? Because I'm gonna go ahead and be honest. I know I'm not the only one in here who has struggled through a lot of their life going, I have to be controlled or I have to be in control. I have to be strong. I have to have every answer to every argument, and I have to be right. Like I know me and JT can't be the only ones that struggle with this. And I sit here and go, but that's the opposite of what Jesus is saying. And some of us, listen, you're exhausted and tired because why do you always have to be right? Why do you always have to win every single hill? Like, why do you have to

Power Under Control Explained

Josh 29:05

enter into every single fight just because it's in front of you? That's the opposite of meek, which is why you're exhausted and tired. See, meek, again, going back to that word prayos, where we see it the most, and the reason we know what it means, is because in in the first century they had a different understanding of this word. It actually was used to describe a tame war horse. Now, what's a war horse? Yeah, it's a horse that goes into the wars. It's the horses that like the archers and and people that are going to go fight, it's the horses they would ride. You know how tame, like, has anyone in here like really been into like horseback riding? Just just just you guys? Been into horseback riding. Horses are a terrible animal. They're very nervous. They don't like, like, if you, you know, like when when Kayled started her lessons, one of the first things that the trainer was telling her was like, hey, when you approach a horse, especially from the rear, like, don't stand directly behind it, because that's where the you know they can kick, and then put your hand on it so the horse knows you're here. Because if you just walk up and all of a sudden it catches you in the peripherals, it's gonna freak out because it doesn't know what you are. Like, horses are very nervous animals. And yet, this horse is going into battle, getting shot with like bows and arrows and clubs and rocks and all of that, and yet still knows what it's doing. Still remains controlled, still remains tamed. That word praeos that we get for meek was used to describe that. And we call it this power under control. And if we get that, we understand what meekness actually means. It's power under control. It doesn't mean that you are weak, it just means you have control over your own power. And the best illustration, and I racked my brain all week trying to come up with this. And for some of you, it'll automatically click. For some of you, I get it's not a perfect illustration. But in order to understand power under control, think of things like martial arts. So in martial arts, if you don't know, there's all of these different belts, right? And when you first start, you're you're a white belt. All right, you're coming in and they go, here, here's a white belt. And this is to signify to everybody else that's that's with you, hey, they're a beginner. And then you work through all of the belts, and then normally in in most martial arts, you get to a level called a black belt. Right? And a black belt is this person that has learned all there is to learn and can teach someone else. They have that level of mastery over it, okay? So we're good on the white and the black belt, right? Does a white belt necessarily have less power than a black belt? No, not at all. In fact, sometimes a white belt could have more power, just more brute strength, than a black belt can. However, when you go and you start, especially like something like jujitsu, a white belt is going to hurt you far more and worse than a black belt. Because a white belt's coming in and they have something to prove. Like they're trying to show how big and bad they are, and they're very wild and erratic, and they don't really understand how the moves actually work. And because you don't really understand it, you try to muscle and force everything. And so what winds up happening is a white belt injures a lot more people than a black belt does. Because by the time you start rolling with a black belt, here's what happens. You're on the ground and they're literally telling you, okay, now take this arm and come across here. All right, now what you need to do is grab this wrist and rotate like this. Take this leg, and they're literally trying to teach you, hey, here's how you choke me out. And you're like getting it. You're like, oh man, like I'm about to choke out a black belt. This is gonna be like the most amazing thing I have ever done. Like this person that is like way up here, I'm about to overcome them. And the next thing you know, all of a sudden, everything around you goes completely dark. And you realize there have been seconds of your life that are now gone forever because you were unconscious. And that black belt did not use power to do that, did not use just brute force to do that. They remained calm regardless of what was going on around them. They have power under control and can from at any moment just move into a choke. And that's what power under control is. Is it sitting here going, when we look at Jesus, he is the perfect picture of power under control. What sin did Jesus um commit? None. But yet when he stands in front of Pilate, does he make an argument for himself? Why not? It would have been very easy for him to go, hold up, hold up, stop. What are you accusing me of? And give me evidence for how I've done that. It would have been very easy for him to just like confuse Pilate's mind. I mean, you have literally the author of language. You think he could have just very easily been like, well, brother, and then Pilate had no idea what was going on anymore? Yes. But he doesn't do that. In fact, like, just so we can understand how much power Jesus actually has, in Mark 4, we see this like event. They're going out in the boat. And as they're in the boat, a great storm comes upon them. And it's so bad that these seasoned fishermen are terrified. Now, I get it. If I were to take, let's say, Tom out fishing, and our afternoon thunderstorm kicks off, Tom may be like nervous because that's not something he does a lot. Where me, I'm just gonna go in the dry box, grab the emergency poncho, and go, okay, let's let's get it. Fish still bite in the rain. Like, we're good. What are they gonna get wet? Like, let's go. However, JT and I have been out at times where the wind kicked up and then the waves kicked up, and we're literally watching the waves coming over the side of the boat. And if you don't know, water in boat is very bad. And I'm not gonna lie, there have been a couple of times where we had to pull into a sandbar or something because I was like, I'm not trying to sink the boat. But these seasoned fishermen are there. They're sitting here going, it's time to pull into the sandbar, Jesus. Like we gotta do something, Jesus. This boat's about to go down. And when you drop down to verse 41, they've woke up, Jesus. They went, Jesus, you gotta do something because we're gonna die. And Jesus literally just stands up and goes, Peace be still. The wind and the wave, stop. And here's his disciples' reaction. Who then is this that even the wind and sea obey him? How many of us look at Jesus like that and go, the wind and the sea obey him? Like think about this when nature has to do what you tell it to do. I mean, again, if if if you were out yesterday, right, it's the 4th of July, battle light off fireworks, and we all know fire and water don't mix. And yet all of a sudden here you hear lightning, you hear thunder, you hear, well, you don't hear lightning, you see lightning, you hear thunder, and it rained for like, I don't know where you guys were, but like an hour and a half, two hours, and then it was just this steady drizzle. And not once, no matter how much the kids went, can we please go back in the pool, did it stop raining? Because apparently we don't have the power to control nature like that, but Jesus does. So if you can tell the wind and the waves what to do, what is beyond your scope of power? Nothing, right? Like if the wind and the waves have to listen to you, there is nothing beyond your power. Because these are inanimate objects. These aren't even like you got your kid to eat vegetables. And yet Jesus, having that power, does not fight back against Pilate. Like Isaiah 53 would show us, like a lamb to the slaughter, he opens his mouth not. In other words, he goes, you gotta do what you gotta do,

Jesus Shows Strength Without Flexing

Josh 38:55

man. That's power under control. Another example we see is during his arrest. Right? Peter being Peter, they come, they they slap the chains on Jesus, and Peter pulls out a sword. Now, first of all, you're not a trained soldier. You're not like ex-military, ex-law enforcement. You ain't got tactics like that. You're a fisherman. And he pulls out his sword and he goes to like kill someone and just barely hits their ear. What's Jesus' response to Peter? Like, get him, Peter! Get me out of the chains! Is that what Jesus does? No. Jesus actually rebukes Peter. He goes, Hey, if you want to live by the sword, you will die by the sword. Picks up the dude's ear and puts it back on as he's chained up. And then Jesus looks at Peter and he goes, Do you not know? In Matthew 26, 53, he looks at him and goes, Do you not know? Do you not know that if I asked, my father would send me 12 legions of angels? Does anybody in here know how much a legion of angels is? No, not a thousand. About six thousand. Jesus right here is talking about 72,000 angels. More, and it says more than. Do you know what you could do with 72,000 angels? Well, in first, or uh I'm sorry, 2 Kings 19, 35, we see what one angel did. You ready? In one night, one angel kills a hundred and eighty five thousand Assyrians. That's one angel. What would 72,000 be capable of? And what Jesus is trying to show Peter is, Peter, this isn't a power issue. This isn't a strength issue. This isn't a, oh gosh, they got the drop on me issue. Jesus is sitting here going, this is what being meek actually is, Peter. It's being able to win the fight, but not having to fight. In Matthew 28, 18, right before Jesus gives the Great Commission, he says this all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. That's power. And yet Jesus does not use this power for his own purposes. Jesus goes, This is the will of he who sent me, so this is what I'm going to do. That is power under control. Because let's be honest, all of us in this room, if we had the power of God like that, would look way more like Bruce Almighty than we would the Lord Almighty. We would sit here and we would go, hey, I'm gonna pull the moon closer. Hey, I'm gonna use this for my own ability. Hey, my bank account is gonna look swole. And how do I know this? Because all of us in here abuse even the little bit of power that we actually have. Or have at some point. I'm not saying some of us haven't moved past this. But see, this is what Jesus is showing us that those who are bigger who seem to rule and run the world, those who are loudest seem to win every argument, and the meek, we just get what's left over. Jesus is about to flip that on its head. Because Jesus is sitting here going, meekness doesn't mean not fighting back. It just means picking what I'm gonna fight for. Like I'll be honest, I'm not very like quick to argue as I used to be. Because I go, what's the point? If everything in your life is a hill for you to die on, you are gonna spend your life doing nothing but arguing. And I don't I don't know, maybe you are someone in here who's like, I I just I love to argue. Go be a lawyer. Do it professionally. Because you're making yourself miserable doing it on your own. See, Jesus never not fought back. I'm not sure if that's proper English, but Jesus had times where he fought back. Think about it. When the Pharisees would say something, what would Jesus do? Correct their misunderstandings. When they filled the temple with money changers and robbers, what did Jesus do? Fashioned a whip and ran them out of the temple twice. When when something was sinned, did Jesus ever shy away from going that sin?

unknown 43:59

No.

Josh 44:00

Jesus fought back. And just because you're meek doesn't mean you can't ever fight. It just means you know when to fight over what. You should have hills in your life that you go, these these right here, I'm gonna die on. These are worth it. But listen, that number probably shouldn't exceed like four or five. If you're that person that like every hill is the hill to die on, you're not being meek. If you're that person that just argues for the sake of arguing, you're not being meek. And what Jesus is sitting here saying is if you want to be happy, pick hills that you're willing to die on. And then leave all of the other ones going, you can have them. They don't matter. For Jesus, the only hill that was worthy to die on was Galgotha. For Jesus, the only time he ever fought back was when it was his father's name and glory. Did Jesus care what people said about him? Did Jesus care, hey, listen, what his family thought about him? No. Because our mantra usually is like faith, family, freedom, right? Something along those lines. Jesus' family wanted him locked up. Do you think he cared? No. He was like, I'm gonna go do the will of him who sent me. You guys can come along, and James and Jude eventually do. Mary eventually does. Why? Because Jesus went, no, this is the hill to die on. Not all of this. Jesus is sitting here going, if it's not about my father, I don't care. Because that's the only thing that is eternal in our life. Think about it. As much as I love Debbie, is my marriage eternal? No, right? Till death, do us part. Which means we die and we part. Will there be marriage in heaven? No, Jesus tells us that. They will never, they will neither be given in marriage nor will they marry. So this has an expiration date. It's not eternal. Those of you in here who have already hit retirement, does there come a day in your life where you worked your last day? Where you get to go in and you got your little cake and they go, hey, congratulations. Now that you are no longer worth it to us, go do the fun things in life. Listen, there will come a day where I'll cast my last cast. Not looking forward to that one. Like there's a YouTuber I watch. He has something wrong with his elbow, and he's like, I can't fish. And I was like, oh God, that would suck. I would despise of life itself at that point. Like, God, just take me now. Because none of this stuff is eternal. But listen, one day you will stand before Jesus and He will go, What did you do with the gifts and the talents that I gave you to do? How did you bring me glory? How did you make much of me? How did you bring one more to know me? Because those are hills worth dying on. Those are things that Jesus Himself would fight about. Because, see, the meek person realizes it's not about me and my kingdom. It's about Jesus and his kingdom. So, what am I going to sit here and get sucked into argument after argument after argument about? Because one day Jesus will return. And he will set his kingdom and he will rule over his kingdom. And Revelation tells us this: that I will be their God and they will be my people. And that will last foreverlasting. Jesus says, I'm the beginning and the end. I'm the Alpha and the Omega. In John 1.12, it shows us how that the meek will inherit the earth. It says this, and to those who believed, to those who did receive him, who believed

Inheriting The Earth And Practicing Meekness

Josh 48:35

in his name, he gave the right to become what? Children of God. And when we fast forward to Romans 8:17, look what Paul writes about children. And if children, who are the children he's talking about there? Those who did believe, those who trusted in his name, those who went, I'm gonna follow Jesus, those who went, yes, I'm gonna be meek. And if children, then heirs, and fellow heirs with Christ. Remember going all the way back to Matthew 28, 18, what did Jesus say? All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. In other words, I own everything. It's all mine. And yet Romans 8.17 shows us that if we are a child of God, like we sang earlier, that means it is all whose? Ours. Understand, creation was given so that you may have life and have life abundantly. Jesus wants you to enjoy all of his creation. The same way, like when you're a parent, you build a play set in the backyard for your kid. You want your kid to enjoy it. But enjoying it brings in meek. Because it says the meek will inherit the earth because the meek understand it's not my kingdom. The meek understand I don't have to spend my life fighting and arguing. The meek understand that it's not about my power and ability. The meek understand I could be the strongest person in the room and yet still choose to lay down all I am. The meek understand that it's about others, not me. This is why the Bible would say, count others as more than yourself. This is why the most miserable people you know in your life are the most selfish people you've ever met. Because a selfish person goes, it all exists for me. A happy person goes, it's all for everybody else. One of the biggest joys you have if you ever get into like smoking barbecue, isn't actually eating the stuff you cooked. It's watching someone else take that bite. It's seeing that smile that they get. This is why Jesus would say, it's better to give than receive. This is why meek will inherit the earth because they realize it's not about me. I can have power under control. I could win every fight, but that doesn't mean I have to fight them. Because understand, Jesus went, the only hill worth dying on was Galgotha. And in meekness, he grabbed that cross and he carried it out there. In meekness, he laid down his life. Jesus even tells Pilate, no one takes my life from me. I lay it down because I have the power to pick it back up. Jesus is sitting here going, I have all of the power in the world, but yet this is what I choose to do. That's meekness. Meekness isn't sitting here going, I'm weak. It's sitting here going, I don't constantly have to fight. I don't constantly have to be angry. I don't constantly have to be on a cause. And those people in your life that you know that just are the calmest people you've ever met, how happy are they? How often do they get rattled? How often as the world is burning around them, do they just sit down in that chair and go, you know what? I'm gonna turn the TV on. They're just gonna hang out. It just doesn't matter. Is at the end? I'm never gonna make it out of this life alive anyway. What difference does it make? The most miserable people are the people who choose not to be meek. Because right after Jesus was buried, three days later he did what? Rose again. And only one person in here was excited to even say it. Everyone else was like, oh crap, that's right. And when he walked out the tomb, he went, you can have a different life too. That is what salvation is. It's a new nature imparted onto us. It's going, I don't have to be the same as I was. Like I don't have to continue doing the things I used to do. I'm a new creation. And what Jesus is sitting here going is if you want to be happy, enough with the petty arguments in your life that don't matter. You're miserable because you choose to be miserable, because you choose to focus on all of this. But happy are the meek who shall inherit the earth. So as we close this week, our challenge is super simple. And this one I even chose to rhyme on purpose. Be meek for a week. Take this next week and go. Every time I feel my blood pressure rise, every time I want to snap back at my spouse, every time I want to post a comment because I'm so angry, that is the Holy Spirit holding a mirror up to you, going, are you really looking like Jesus right now? Is that what Jesus chose to do? Is that what Jesus, who was all powerful and could have done anything in the world, chose to do? Or did Jesus choose to be meek? Did Jesus choose to sit here and go, yeah, I can win the fight, but I'm not even gonna try it? And then this Saturday coming up, take a couple of minutes and write down three times this week you actively fought against your flesh and chose meekness. And tell me how bad it was. Write it down and bring it in and let's put it on the amazing grace wall. Because happy are the meek. Happy are the ones who don't have to fight. So if you need to talk, if you need to pray, I am always here for you. But Father, I just ask and I pray that as we move from this moment, that God, if we are someone who struggles with that tenacity, that God, you give us meekness. That you give us maturity to stop and go, yes, I can win this fight, but the question is, do I even need to fight? God, I ask and I pray that for those of us in here who struggle with this, that you just break our hearts for it. Because God, happy are the meek. Happy are the ones who don't get tied up in this, happy are the ones who don't have to be the loudest, who don't have to fight the hardest. Happy are the ones that can just trust in you. Happy are the ones who will inherit everything you have given. Happy are the ones that will be able to have the possessions you have earned. So, Father, I just ask and I pray that as we move through today, that God, you create in us meekness. You create in us peacefulness, comfort, and knowing that you've already won the fight and there's nothing left for us to fight over. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.