Meek & Lowly
I.
Matthew 11:27-The two
things that Jesus wanted you to know about himself was that he was meek and
lowly/humble in spirit
A. We can look at him
through the scriptures and see certain characteristics about Him, but these two
characteristics came directly from his mouth
B. We’ve been commanded by
Him to learn these two things about Him
II.
Jesus said I am meek (Meek
does not mean timid, shy, bashful, or weak)
A. Meek
means mild of temper
1.
The
attitude of one who is friendly, warm, & kind-Mk10:17-Look
Of love, Jn20:11-Mary
a.
Gentle-Not hard, harsh, sharp,
and bitter
2.
The
attitude of one who is forbearing, patient, and slow to anger
a.
The
Lord described himself this way-Exodus
34:6-The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
b.
When
you see Jesus angry you know he didn’t get there quickly
c.
The
opposite of one who is angry, temperamental, given to outbursts of anger
d.
When
you see Jesus or the Father in their severity they are not acting that way b/c
of their emotions, but rather it has become necessary to help mankind
3.
Not easily provoked or irritated
4.
Not peevish-Grumpy, irritable, crabby, cranky, apt to complain-Isaiah 9:6-Prince
of Peace
a.
A
meek person doesn’t project the countenance of one who is peeved, offended,
upset, angry or reactive to unfavorable situations
B. Meek means self-controlled
1.
Meek
people are skilled at controlling themselves and their temperament; they know how
to control themselves and their emotions-Luke22:44
a.
Meek
people have opportunities to react in anger or to get upset but they choose to
be controlled, forgiving, gentle-(Matt14-When John was
beheaded, Jesus had an opportunity to react in anger, but he forgave instead)
1)
Rather
than fly into rage and throw a temper tantrum, the meek able to remain silent
and keep your emotions and temper under control
b.
Although
a unfavorable situation may normally produce a rash or angry outburst, a meek
person is controlled by kindness, gentleness, mildness, or even friendliness-(Matt11-John attacked Jesus, but Jesus was gentle with John)
2.
A
meek person is one who remains in control of himself in times of pressure-Matthew
26:53-Jesus had 12 legions of angels at the ready during his crucifixion
a.
A
meek person is controlled even in difficult circumstances
3.
You
can’t be weak and be meek; you have to be strong to be meek
a.
He’s
not weak he’s controlled
C. Meek means submitted or submissive to God’s will
1.
Meekness
pictures a person who has learned to submit his will to a higher authority
2.
A
meek person may have his own opinion, but has learned submission and knows how
to bring his will under control-John 8:28
3.
Meekness
is the opposite of SELF-assertiveness (Jesus didn’t assert Himself, he asserted
the Father)-John 5:19,30, 8:26,38
D. Meek
means yielding to God without
disputing or resisting
1.
The
meek man yields to the spirit’s leading in spite of his own feelings, thoughts
or opinions
III.
Jesus said he was humble
in spirit (Lowly means to be humble;
Meek also means humble)
A. Humility has to do with
truth and reality (2 Corinthians 12:6)
1.
People
who in pride are in deception because they have an untrue estimation of themselves
(Obadiah 3-The pride of your heart has deceived you)
a.
Pride
has to do with lifting yourself up and over estimating yourself, your
abilities; you believe something about yourself that is not true; you’re
deceived
b.
Prov 6:17-AMP-A proud look [the spirit that makes one
overestimate himself]
2.
Humility
centers on reality; Four “in-me” realities; not trying to be humble, just
reality
a.
In
yourself you are nothing-Galatians 6:3; In Him you are something
b.
In
yourself you know nothing-1 Cor 8:2; In Him you know
all things-1 John 2:20
c.
In
yourself you have nothing-1 Cori 4:7; In Him you have all things that -2 Peter
1:4
d.
In
yourself you can do nothing-John 15:5; In Him you can do all things-Phili 4:13
3.
Jesus
said I can of my own self do nothing; that’s not him trying to be humble,
that’s simply reality and it manifests as humility
a.
A
person who is “trying to be humble” is just deflecting credit in front of
people that when they are alone they really think they deserve
B. ***Humility requires God
in all that does, it sees the need for him in all that it does because it has a
revelation of reality and it’s this: I can do nothing of myself-Jn5:19,30,8:28***
1.
Jesus
walked in humility because he had a revelation of reality and he knew that he
could do nothing of himself and he was totally dependent on God
2.
Pride
doesn’t recognize it’s need for God; Pride believes it is self-sufficient
a.
Pride
acts without getting direction of what to do first, Pride prays, confesses,
declares etc. without seeking God for direction first because pride hasn’t got
the revelation “I can do nothing of myself.”
3.
Humility is when we rely on God and not
on own abilities
a.
Humility
keeps you looking inside because it knows “I can do nothing of myself” and
therefore it is forced to look inside
b.
Not
only had Jesus learned to yield to the Spirit, he knew how dependent He was
upon Him
4.
How
humble you are is not determined by how humble you say you are, but it’s
determined by how dependent you are on God and how much you look to Him
C. Learn the unforced
rhythms of grace
1.
To
be used more, to do more you need greater grace, more grace
a.
Moses
was the meekest man of his generation and he was the most used man of his generation-Numbers
12:3
b.
1
Peter 5:5-The proud get resisted, but the humble get the grace
2.
Your
grace/your anointing can’t be any greater than your humility
a.
Your
grace/your anointing will be capped by your humility
b.
The
cap on your grace/anointing is your humility
IV.
***Humility is I have to
see and hear first or I can do nothing, meekness is doing it and these
characteristics added and ease to his life; Jesus lived an unforced life***
A. He’s calling out to
people who are trying to work stuff up in their own effort and doing that will
make you tired b/c you’re trying to carry God’s responsibility and you can’t
1.
This
is the resting side of life; I see and I do---I hear and I say
2.
29-You’re
trying to work stuff up, but I’m not so learn of me and watch how I do it
B. Jesus simply heard and
spoke and saw and did and then the Father would work through and great things
would happen; these are the unforced rhythms of grace
1.
Does
this look like a man who’s working something up in his own effort-Jn11,Lk8,Mt14
2.
You
can see Jesus after each miracle thinking; that was easy
3.
He’s
never trying to work anything up or do anything in himself of his own power; he
is just seeing and doing and hearing and saying