"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
(Matthew 5:3-6)
When Jesus was in wilderness, fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, the devil came to him…
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" `He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' "
Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
[Matthew 4:1-11]
Hey, do you get it…Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights and then the devil came to tempt him!!! We would think that if we have prayed and fasted, the devil would leave us alone, ya? We sometimes think that if the devil disturb us or tempt us we are not spiritual enough. Hey, I also used to think this, except the verses above tell me differently. The devil doesn’t come to us when we are bad…why would he? When we are bad, he already has us obeying him. No, he came to Jesus when Jesus was about to begin His ministry to destroy the devil’s work. Jesus mission was to destroy the devil’s work, as He tells us in John 10:10:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full..” So, the devil was out to destroy Jesus’ ministry, even before Jesus could start His ministry. For this purpose, the devil came to tell Jesus a pack of lies.
Now, we know that the devil told Jesus a pack of lies. But how was Jesus to know it was a pack of lies??? If you noticed, Jesus recognized every lie of Satan’s and countered him with SCRIPTURE!!! If not, Jesus might have been destroyed when he tried to throw himself down from the top of the temple!!! The devil would have destroyed him instead. Why would he want to destroy Jesus? It was because he knew Jesus had come to destroy his work!!!
JESUS KNEW THE SCRIPTURES SO HE COULD RECOGNIZE TRUTH FROM LIE!!!
How did the devil appear? Did the devil appear as an ugly apparition, or as an angel? We don’t know. But we know he tried to appear very kind. He told Jesus to turn the stone into bread because Jesus was very, very. very hungry. Hungry enough to turn stone into bread, maybe. It had been 40 days since he had eaten, remember! But Jesus knew God’s way and God’s Word. He recognized the lie. When we know the truth, we will recognize the lie.
On another occasion, Simon Peter was used by the devil to speak his lie to Jesus, and Jesus immediately recognized the devil’s lie and rebuked the enemy who was using one of his own disciples to speak his lie:
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
[Matthew 16:21-23]
Was Peter the devil suddenly? Just a short while ago, He had confessed that Jesus was "the Chrsit, the Son of the Living God!" (Matthew 16:16).
No, it is the same Peter. But Jesus recognize the lie, and Peter didn't. Peter spoke out the lie of the enemy when he did not know it was a lie. Just as earlier, the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and Peter had spoken it out and was commended by Jesus for having received that revelation; now it was the devilish revelation that Jesus should not die on the cross, and it was the same Peter speaking it out.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
[Matthew 16:13-23]
So the same Peter, who had not yet learnt to recognize truth from lie spoke out both the words of the Holy Spirit and of the devil. Jesus who knew the Word knew the source of the words Peter had spoken. Jesus could discern what was spoken by Peter.
Discernment is very important, and it comes only with much time spent immersing ourselves in God's Word and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. Jesus had such kind of intimacy with God. And by the time He started His ministry at the age of 30, He had undergone the years of preparation. In fact, at the age of 12, He was so learned, He could sit among the wisest teachers in the Israel to discourse with them. But His time was not up yet; He was too young to commence ministry at the age of 12, so He returned with His parents to continue His time of preparation. There is a timing of God, and Jesus knew this.
WHAT HAS ALL THIS TO DO WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS???
The truth is we cannot be truly righteous without the TRUTH. Whether we are righteous or not depends on whether we live and walk according to God’s Word. God’s Word is the gauge of our righteousness. So, to be righteous, we need to know the Scriptures thoroughly….not just the letter of the law that kills, but the Spirit and the Word that gives life and life abundantly.
In fact, if we do not know the Word of God thoroughly, we can be mislead by false teachers, as Paul warned the Corinthian Church about such false teachers:
…For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
[2Corinthians 11:13-15]
In fact, in Galatian Church, there were people teaching the Christians there lies that were leading them away from the simple faith in Jesus. Paul was frustrated when faced by such false teaching that was threatening to undo his work among the Galatians:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
[Galatians 1:6-9]
If then, there is the possibility that we may be taught the wrong things, what do we do? Do we just mistrust everyone? No. We should listen, and then search the scriptures ourselves like the Berean Christians did:
…the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
[Acts 17:10-11]
These Bereans were commended as NOBLE because they were not only teachable, but they were also wise and not at all gullible. They examined the scriptures and searched for the Truth.
So, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33,
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Hey, it pays to search the scriptures!!! Real treasure is found in God’s Word.
I love what Proverbs 2 which tells us:
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair--every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
In the same way, Psalm 1 commends the man who seeks out the Word of God:
Blessed is the man….
….[whose] delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
[Psalm 1:1-3]
TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS IS MEASURED BY OUR CONFORMITY THE TRUTH REVEALED TO US IN GOD’S WORD
So we cannot have righteousness apart from the Word of God.
And Christlikeness is also our measure of truth, because Jesus is the Word made flesh, He is the Word fleshed out for us to understand how the Word is to be lived out:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
[John 1:14]
To be truly righteous, therefore, we need to become more and more like Jesus each day. It is not by rules and religious practices, which was what the Pharisees were practicing. The Pharisees were religious teachers who paid great attention to every detail of the law, yet they missed out on the Truth of God’s Word. So, Jesus warns us about mere religiosity which is not at all righteousness:
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 5:20]
We are righteous through conformity to the Word of Truth. It is by our faith in His Word. And God’s grace works righteousness in us, through our faith in Him, as we conform to His Word. God both justifies and sanctifies us as we believe in His Word.
Therefore, before we can be used of God to do His work, we need first to be conformed into His likeness through obedience to His Word. There is, therefore, a time of preparation and transformation during which we attain unto the righteousness of God through the Word of Truth, so that we can more and more be the light and salt of the earht. And if we want to preach His Word, we have to first know His Word so that we do not preach heresy.
And if we study His Word and thirst after Righteousness, God gives us the promise that we will be filled. If we have a hunger for Righteousness according to His Word, we will be filled...satisfied. And we are blessed if we have this hunger.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Portraits of Meekness
Abraham
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
[Gen 18:2]
Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
[Gen 23:7]
Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
[Gen 23:12]
One of the pictures or portraits I have of Abraham as I read the book of Genesis years ago was of this simple man of faith bowing low before people he met, with utmost humility. Then, I wondered if it was for this simple, humble state of mind Abraham had that God chose him to walk the land alone, going to the land where God said He’d lead him into.
God had the plan all the while to take the land, and God would in time, grow Abraham’s descendents into a huge nation who would go in to take the land under the leadership of Joshua.
However, Abraham’s time was not the time to take the land.
It would be foolhardy of him to do so.
A wise man like Abraham knows the times and season. He also knew the nature of his calling.
Moses
Moses did not begin meek. He saw the Israelites under severe bondage. He wanted to help deliver them. But he tried to do this on his own strength, in his own wisdom, and in his own time. Moses was presumptuous:
“One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
The man said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘What I did must have become known.’
When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian…
[Exodus 2:11-15]
After this presumptuous move to deliver the people on his own strength, Moses had to flee for his life. And for 40 years, he remained in the university of the desert of Midian learning the virtue of meekness.
When God appears to him in Exodus chapter 3 to finally instruct him to be the deliverer he had wanted to be, 40 years ago, Moses was no longer interested. In his long conversation with God in Exodus chapters 3-4, we can see that Moses realized that the task was not as simple as he had earlier thought, when he rashly acted and bungled it. This time, he gave God many excuses why he felt unqualified, and why God should send someone else instead. After God had countered all his objections, Moses finally told God that he was just not interested:
‘…Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."’
[Ex 4:13]
Peter
Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
[Matt 26:33-35]
We know that all the apostles fled when Jesus was captured. And Peter who had been most presumptuous did exactly as Jesus said he would—betray Jesus three times.
Peter, like Moses, had underestimated his own ability. He wasn’t even aware of his own unpreparedness for the task he had set himself.
Peter was not ready when he thought he was, to be the witness he had wanted to be for Jesus. There had to be a work of God in his life first. This came in Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, including Peter, in the upper room. Then, he was ready to be the witness he had wanted to be.
Both Moses and Peter had presumed themselves to be ready to serve God, when they were actually merely undergoing the period of preparation. When the power came to move, both men knew the power of God. When the power to act comes, it is a reality, not a presumption.
Both men had to undergo a season of obedience and preparation.
Only God know how long a season of preparation we each need.
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
[Gen 18:2]
Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
[Gen 23:7]
Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
[Gen 23:12]
One of the pictures or portraits I have of Abraham as I read the book of Genesis years ago was of this simple man of faith bowing low before people he met, with utmost humility. Then, I wondered if it was for this simple, humble state of mind Abraham had that God chose him to walk the land alone, going to the land where God said He’d lead him into.
God had the plan all the while to take the land, and God would in time, grow Abraham’s descendents into a huge nation who would go in to take the land under the leadership of Joshua.
However, Abraham’s time was not the time to take the land.
It would be foolhardy of him to do so.
A wise man like Abraham knows the times and season. He also knew the nature of his calling.
Moses
Moses did not begin meek. He saw the Israelites under severe bondage. He wanted to help deliver them. But he tried to do this on his own strength, in his own wisdom, and in his own time. Moses was presumptuous:
“One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
The man said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘What I did must have become known.’
When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian…
[Exodus 2:11-15]
After this presumptuous move to deliver the people on his own strength, Moses had to flee for his life. And for 40 years, he remained in the university of the desert of Midian learning the virtue of meekness.
When God appears to him in Exodus chapter 3 to finally instruct him to be the deliverer he had wanted to be, 40 years ago, Moses was no longer interested. In his long conversation with God in Exodus chapters 3-4, we can see that Moses realized that the task was not as simple as he had earlier thought, when he rashly acted and bungled it. This time, he gave God many excuses why he felt unqualified, and why God should send someone else instead. After God had countered all his objections, Moses finally told God that he was just not interested:
‘…Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."’
[Ex 4:13]
Peter
Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."
But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.
[Matt 26:33-35]
We know that all the apostles fled when Jesus was captured. And Peter who had been most presumptuous did exactly as Jesus said he would—betray Jesus three times.
Peter, like Moses, had underestimated his own ability. He wasn’t even aware of his own unpreparedness for the task he had set himself.
Peter was not ready when he thought he was, to be the witness he had wanted to be for Jesus. There had to be a work of God in his life first. This came in Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, including Peter, in the upper room. Then, he was ready to be the witness he had wanted to be.
Both Moses and Peter had presumed themselves to be ready to serve God, when they were actually merely undergoing the period of preparation. When the power came to move, both men knew the power of God. When the power to act comes, it is a reality, not a presumption.
Both men had to undergo a season of obedience and preparation.
Only God know how long a season of preparation we each need.
Monday, April 6, 2009
WHY ARE THE MEEK BLESSED?
In the beatitudes (the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5:2-12), we are only told, “Blessed are the Meek…” But we are not told why the meek are so blessed.
However, God’s Word always line up to support each principle He teaches us. Some of the verses that jump into my mind right now are:
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
[Mark 9:35]
"People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." [Luke 13: 29-30]
For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe….For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
[1 Corinthians 1: 18-25]
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
[James 4:6]
Your beauty…should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
[1 Peter 3:3-4]
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
[1Peter 5:5-7]
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
[Proverbs 11:2]
Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.
[Proverbs 18:12]
All these verses above show us that meekness (which is translated as “humility” in some versions of the Bible) is the opposite of pride, haughtiness, or moving in our own worldly wisdom and strength. Meekness also has the same meaning as humility, having a teachable spirit, having an attitude of dependency on God and lowliness of mind among men.
If we look at the Bible, in many instances, we see that pride is associated with God’s wrath and judgment. God resists the proud, we are told.
So why is the meek blessed?
I think it is mainly because when we remain meek, we remain teachable. We do not become presumptuous towards God and judgmental towards our fellowmen.
Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful [presumptuous] sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
[Psalm 19:12-140
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!
[1 Corinthians 10:12]
Many times we are not aware of our hidden faults. And when we do not deliberately and carefully cultivate a meek, quiet, teachable or humble heart towards both God and men, we can fall into the danger of becoming proud, haughty and judgmental. Then, we will come under judgment ourselves.
In fact, the more we receive revelations from God, the more we have to be careful we do not develop a proud, haughty heart or a superior attitude. Even Paul, the Apostle said he had to be protected from such pride:
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
[2Corinthians 12:7-10]
Wow, God allowed the enemy to torment Paul so that he can remain humble. He is human after all, and the great revelations he receives can cause him to become conceited. So God allows him to undergo trials. The result of this discipline is that Paul begins to rejoice when he is weak…because that is when he sees God’s power at work in him.
As long as there is the hidden sin of pride and presumption in our hearts, God, our Master Porter, will to continue to mould and shape us. We are disciplined for our own protection because the evil one’s downfall was pride.
Being human, we may fall prey to pride and presumption, but if we consistently judge ourselves rather than others, we can protect ourselves from this danger.
God wants us to be teachable, to continually examine our own lives to make sure we are living in accordance to His Word and Holy Spirit’s leading. We should not move into a critical and judgmental attitude that find fault in others.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 7: 1-2, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged….”
Now we know that God's judgment…is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
[RO 2:2-4]
So, in meekness, let’s focus on this exhortation of Paul’s in Philippians2:12-13:
“ Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
Let us continue to rejoice in meekness, humility and dependency on God. We are blessed when we do.
However, God’s Word always line up to support each principle He teaches us. Some of the verses that jump into my mind right now are:
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
[Mark 9:35]
"People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." [Luke 13: 29-30]
For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe….For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
[1 Corinthians 1: 18-25]
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
[James 4:6]
Your beauty…should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
[1 Peter 3:3-4]
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
[1Peter 5:5-7]
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
[Proverbs 11:2]
Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.
[Proverbs 18:12]
All these verses above show us that meekness (which is translated as “humility” in some versions of the Bible) is the opposite of pride, haughtiness, or moving in our own worldly wisdom and strength. Meekness also has the same meaning as humility, having a teachable spirit, having an attitude of dependency on God and lowliness of mind among men.
If we look at the Bible, in many instances, we see that pride is associated with God’s wrath and judgment. God resists the proud, we are told.
So why is the meek blessed?
I think it is mainly because when we remain meek, we remain teachable. We do not become presumptuous towards God and judgmental towards our fellowmen.
Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful [presumptuous] sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
[Psalm 19:12-140
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!
[1 Corinthians 10:12]
Many times we are not aware of our hidden faults. And when we do not deliberately and carefully cultivate a meek, quiet, teachable or humble heart towards both God and men, we can fall into the danger of becoming proud, haughty and judgmental. Then, we will come under judgment ourselves.
In fact, the more we receive revelations from God, the more we have to be careful we do not develop a proud, haughty heart or a superior attitude. Even Paul, the Apostle said he had to be protected from such pride:
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
[2Corinthians 12:7-10]
Wow, God allowed the enemy to torment Paul so that he can remain humble. He is human after all, and the great revelations he receives can cause him to become conceited. So God allows him to undergo trials. The result of this discipline is that Paul begins to rejoice when he is weak…because that is when he sees God’s power at work in him.
As long as there is the hidden sin of pride and presumption in our hearts, God, our Master Porter, will to continue to mould and shape us. We are disciplined for our own protection because the evil one’s downfall was pride.
Being human, we may fall prey to pride and presumption, but if we consistently judge ourselves rather than others, we can protect ourselves from this danger.
God wants us to be teachable, to continually examine our own lives to make sure we are living in accordance to His Word and Holy Spirit’s leading. We should not move into a critical and judgmental attitude that find fault in others.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 7: 1-2, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged….”
Now we know that God's judgment…is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
[RO 2:2-4]
So, in meekness, let’s focus on this exhortation of Paul’s in Philippians2:12-13:
“ Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
Let us continue to rejoice in meekness, humility and dependency on God. We are blessed when we do.
Friday, April 3, 2009
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.”
Matthew 5:3-5
How do you respond to this injunction of our Lord’s—to be meek?
Do you respond with the thoughts: “I am already a very meek person?”
Or, do your find yourself saying, “Meekness? No, thanks! I don’t want to be a doormat.”
Or, maybe you say, “Ah meekness….not so easy!”
As for me, meekness was a nigh impossible virtue to cultivate. It took many years after I had received the gift of salvation before the Holy Spirit even began prompting me about valuing this virtue. But by this time, the Lord had done much stretching and shaping in my life.
I don’t know about you, but before I was saved my favourite song might have been Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way,” had I known the song then. I believed very much in my accomplishments, and relished in getting obstacles out of my way to worldly success. I believed so much more in self-assertion than in dependency on God or others.
I think anyone stands in a better stead of cultivating this virtue than me.
But today, I rejoice with the Lord, and agree. Yes, Lord, ‘Blessed indeed are the meek!!!’
On the road to cultivating meekness, I have realized one thing. Some people are temperamentally meek. Their secure home background, and obedience to loving parents have prepared them to have a seemingly meek demeanour.
Others have tried to convince me that they are very meek and obliging people, always very accommodating.
To a certain extent, the two groups of people above are right, but I can tell you that I have encountered the stiffest resistance from them when I bring forward some spiritual truths to them that are counter to their own personal belief. They can be resistant in the coolest, but most polite way.
On the other hand, there are people who would be resisting authority and offending people most of the time. However, when confronted with spiritual truths, they can be most accepting and easily convicted.
So in my search for this seemingly illusive virtue, I went to the bible. There are two people the bible clearly describe as “meek.” Moses in the Old Testament, and Jesus in the New Testament.
When I had wanted to learn faith, I studied the man of faith, Abraham. I found to my greatest amazement that Abraham had failed so many times, in quite disastrous ways…and yet, God had counted faith to his account. Then, I realized Abraham was a man God had cultivated faith in. He has walked with God and had learnt how to trust in a faithful God…that was faith.
So when I wanted to study meekness, I went to look at the life of Moses. And I found this statement made about him—it was an aside, or a ‘by-the-way’ kind of remark, made about Moses:
(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) Numbers 12:3
On studying Moses, I realized there are two Moses…the Moses before the desert experience…the one who murdered an Egyptian official; and the Moses who met God at the Burning Bush and was forever changed.
"When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. [Acts 7:23-24]
Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh. [Ex 7:7]
The Moses who was the Prince of Egypt was a self-assured, self-assertive young man. In my old mindset, a man like him, like Obama, would have been my hero. Then Moses fled into the desert, and the real shaping of the man started. It took 40 years before Moses emerged as the “meek man,” ready to be used by God. Even then, he got temperamental at an important time—in Numbers Chapter 20—and this unfortunate show of temperament had cost him entry into the Promised Land!
How much God demands from us when we want to be used by God!
Another character who impresses me is Joseph. Joseph was a man well-bred, and loved above all his brothers. He had dreams of greatness:
“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." [Genesis 37:5-9]
What is most interesting is that Joseph next ends up in a pit. After that, he got into an even bigger pit….a prison. For what? For doing the right thing…resisting Potiphar’s wife’s adulterous advances. How did Joseph behave in prison? Was he bitter against God? Was he perplexed? We don’t really know the emotional process he went through between the time he landed in prison and the time when God gave him an opportunity to interpret a dream to get him out of this prison. But what we know is this…Joseph’s character was tested. The Joseph just before God took him out of prison was the picture of meekness.
After God had proven him, then he was raised to the highest office of the land of Egypt during his time. From being a slave and a prisoner to being Governor of Egypt… and we applaud him. God had tested him, and he had been shaped so that he had the character to contain real greatness.
But the Joseph who had the dream might not have been ready for such greatness…
And so, I learnt this: there is a temperamental kind of meekness that help us in life. But real meekness develops only after our character goes through fire…after God, our Master Potter, has shaped us into the vessel fit for His use.
The Bibles says in Psalms 24: 1-2,
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters…
Before He leads us into inheriting this earth, He has to shape us. So Peter tells us:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into…an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade… In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
[1Peter 1:3-7]
God will shape us, and He will help us to become overcomers…. If we will remain meek and humble before the Master Potter who allows all the circumstances in our life to shape us… like He did Moses… like He did Joseph. It may take 40 years…. But He can only used us when the character and meekness of Jesus can be revealed through us.
The only person who is truly meek is Jesus:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Mathew 11:28-30)
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
`See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "
Matthew 21:5
So I have to keep studying Jesus to know what true meekness is…. I have to, if I want to have Him revealed in my life.
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.”
Matthew 5:3-5
How do you respond to this injunction of our Lord’s—to be meek?
Do you respond with the thoughts: “I am already a very meek person?”
Or, do your find yourself saying, “Meekness? No, thanks! I don’t want to be a doormat.”
Or, maybe you say, “Ah meekness….not so easy!”
As for me, meekness was a nigh impossible virtue to cultivate. It took many years after I had received the gift of salvation before the Holy Spirit even began prompting me about valuing this virtue. But by this time, the Lord had done much stretching and shaping in my life.
I don’t know about you, but before I was saved my favourite song might have been Frank Sinatra’s “I did it my way,” had I known the song then. I believed very much in my accomplishments, and relished in getting obstacles out of my way to worldly success. I believed so much more in self-assertion than in dependency on God or others.
I think anyone stands in a better stead of cultivating this virtue than me.
But today, I rejoice with the Lord, and agree. Yes, Lord, ‘Blessed indeed are the meek!!!’
On the road to cultivating meekness, I have realized one thing. Some people are temperamentally meek. Their secure home background, and obedience to loving parents have prepared them to have a seemingly meek demeanour.
Others have tried to convince me that they are very meek and obliging people, always very accommodating.
To a certain extent, the two groups of people above are right, but I can tell you that I have encountered the stiffest resistance from them when I bring forward some spiritual truths to them that are counter to their own personal belief. They can be resistant in the coolest, but most polite way.
On the other hand, there are people who would be resisting authority and offending people most of the time. However, when confronted with spiritual truths, they can be most accepting and easily convicted.
So in my search for this seemingly illusive virtue, I went to the bible. There are two people the bible clearly describe as “meek.” Moses in the Old Testament, and Jesus in the New Testament.
When I had wanted to learn faith, I studied the man of faith, Abraham. I found to my greatest amazement that Abraham had failed so many times, in quite disastrous ways…and yet, God had counted faith to his account. Then, I realized Abraham was a man God had cultivated faith in. He has walked with God and had learnt how to trust in a faithful God…that was faith.
So when I wanted to study meekness, I went to look at the life of Moses. And I found this statement made about him—it was an aside, or a ‘by-the-way’ kind of remark, made about Moses:
(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.) Numbers 12:3
On studying Moses, I realized there are two Moses…the Moses before the desert experience…the one who murdered an Egyptian official; and the Moses who met God at the Burning Bush and was forever changed.
"When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. [Acts 7:23-24]
Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh. [Ex 7:7]
The Moses who was the Prince of Egypt was a self-assured, self-assertive young man. In my old mindset, a man like him, like Obama, would have been my hero. Then Moses fled into the desert, and the real shaping of the man started. It took 40 years before Moses emerged as the “meek man,” ready to be used by God. Even then, he got temperamental at an important time—in Numbers Chapter 20—and this unfortunate show of temperament had cost him entry into the Promised Land!
How much God demands from us when we want to be used by God!
Another character who impresses me is Joseph. Joseph was a man well-bred, and loved above all his brothers. He had dreams of greatness:
“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." [Genesis 37:5-9]
What is most interesting is that Joseph next ends up in a pit. After that, he got into an even bigger pit….a prison. For what? For doing the right thing…resisting Potiphar’s wife’s adulterous advances. How did Joseph behave in prison? Was he bitter against God? Was he perplexed? We don’t really know the emotional process he went through between the time he landed in prison and the time when God gave him an opportunity to interpret a dream to get him out of this prison. But what we know is this…Joseph’s character was tested. The Joseph just before God took him out of prison was the picture of meekness.
After God had proven him, then he was raised to the highest office of the land of Egypt during his time. From being a slave and a prisoner to being Governor of Egypt… and we applaud him. God had tested him, and he had been shaped so that he had the character to contain real greatness.
But the Joseph who had the dream might not have been ready for such greatness…
And so, I learnt this: there is a temperamental kind of meekness that help us in life. But real meekness develops only after our character goes through fire…after God, our Master Potter, has shaped us into the vessel fit for His use.
The Bibles says in Psalms 24: 1-2,
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters…
Before He leads us into inheriting this earth, He has to shape us. So Peter tells us:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into…an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade… In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
[1Peter 1:3-7]
God will shape us, and He will help us to become overcomers…. If we will remain meek and humble before the Master Potter who allows all the circumstances in our life to shape us… like He did Moses… like He did Joseph. It may take 40 years…. But He can only used us when the character and meekness of Jesus can be revealed through us.
The only person who is truly meek is Jesus:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
(Mathew 11:28-30)
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
`See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "
Matthew 21:5
So I have to keep studying Jesus to know what true meekness is…. I have to, if I want to have Him revealed in my life.
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