Pete McKenzie 0:02
It’s great to be able to gather, it’s great to be able to come in worship and pray and fellowship. It’s great to have the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you guys, as we go through the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, just some reminders in that regard. When Jesus gave the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, that was his blue chip sermon. That really was what he was communicating what his kingdom was all about. This is the kind of lifestyle that he was introducing people to and it blew their minds, they just couldn’t believe it. It’s still blowing people’s minds today, when you really take a look at the Beatitudes. Listen to the poor in spirit, bless it to those who mourn, blessing. Today, we’ll talk about Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And then you get over into the Sermon on the Mount. And you hear the things like if you look at a woman and lust after her, you’ve committed adultery. You know, who could stand up to that, if someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other. They force you to go one mile volunteer to go to. And so you started raising the bar on what lifestyle is like to be holy and righteous and to be in the kingdom of God? You know, I started studying, knowing what the blessing of the meek is all about. And I just thought, boy, I’m not sure I measure up. I’m not sure that that’s the lifestyle that I knew I was getting myself into. And I came to know Christ. What did I get myself into? Because I found that I couldn’t do it. That’s when you find how can you do it. And Jesus had covered that in john 15. If you abide in me, in my word, about 10 years, you can do it. You’re very much, far apart from me, you can do nothing. So it’s really important when we look at the Sermon on the Mount, that he’s not teaching that sermon on the mount to my natural nature. He’s talking to Christ in me. That’s the hope of glory, the hope of glorifying him by living this kind of lifestyle, that he didn’t think Pete McKenzie can live this life. Because he can’t, I tried. But I feel wowee Sure. He’s speaking to the Spirit of God in the Spirit of God in me, I can live this kind of lifestyle, it can be done. But in my own power, and gifts and abilities and even desires never happened. It’s not a natural quality. No matter what your natural disposition is, all Christians are meant to live this way. Philippians two, and we talk about that a lot, because it explains so much and helps us understand so much about living this life and what Jesus came and model for us have this attitude in you, who was also in Christ Jesus. But you know, when he called us to himself, he wanted to transform us to be just like him. He wanted to alter our personality, our desires, our purpose in life, who we are our identity, changed everything. Nothing stayed the same. With any man’s in Christ. He’s not the old guy made new. He’s a new creature. He’s, he’s the guy that never existed before. I think Susan married me because I became a guy that never existed before. She wasn’t she didn’t like that old guy. Too much partying. Too much embarrassing her authorities. And I don’t blame her. And she came up to North Carolina. And when I was playing ball up there, and she had met, she came up to break up with. And so she comes out and starts telling me about our Monday. And I was disappointed, but I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t mad. I wasn’t. I wasn’t the old guy that she had been dating for four years. I was a totally new guy. I was disappointed. I was sad. That she began to tell me he’s coming up to spend the week with her this year. And we have two quarters left at that time. And then she was going down there to the Olympics in Mexico City The next summer and seeing him and that was disappointing stuff. But then is a two days that we were able to spend together went on and I was just a different guy and responding so differently than she expected. She changed from breaking up with me to saying I don’t want to go home. I just want to stay up here with you and sit down. With you can’t do that. She said why don’t we just get married? I gotta pray about that. Okay.
We got married five weeks later. Why? Because I became a new creature in Christ. I wasn’t the same old guy that she had dated. I’m sure she was praying every day I wouldn’t change back. Though that happens.
What I want to do today is last week we talked about blessing to those who mourn those who are crushed because of this their sin, what it does to them what it did to God. And it caused God His son and his son his life. We get new life out of it. And we profile sin, we went down a list of what sin is, I want to do the same thing for what, what a meek man looks like? What’s his character traits as he respond? What is meekness? And I looked up about 20 something different translations to see what word was used for me. And then at novom, they use the word me and six out of them, they use the word General, and six others they use the word so you could interchange that. So what is the humbler I said at the humble for they shall inherit your lesson with a gentle and then that what Jesus, the only self description we have of Jesus, he says, I am gentle and humble apart, you’ll find rescue yourself. So that’s the kind of man He wants us to be that we have a lot of mistakes about what we think that means because meek is not a word you use. guy wants to be characterized that humble, okay, it’s not too bad. Gentle, I’m not sure. We don’t want to be calling me. So what is make me meek means that doesn’t mean I’ll tell you what it doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean you’re ineffective, or just nice or easy to get along with weakness and personality or character compromising or peace at any cost. timid, afraid. Doesn’t mean that Lisa doesn’t mean it can mean that I guess with guys, but that’s not what this make is done. Here’s what it meekness is compatible with great strength and authority, its power under control, Jesus had all power, all authority has been given to him. He said, I have all power, I can call 10,000 angels, I can raise the dead I can heal the sick, I can make the blind see. Leopard spots, I got all power. Its power was under control. He didn’t misuse it, and used it where it was necessary. And use it where mainly he’ll lift up and encourage you build up. And that’s power under control. And that’s what meekness is. And we’ve talked before and it’s need to remember this. This baddies Beatitudes are a progression, if you would admit the path to Jesus Christ, this is if you want to know me, these are the stepping stones to get to who I am and be transformed and conformed in the mind. And that has to start with poor and spirit. And that’s the gateway it’s a small gate. It’s a narrow way that it starts with blessing to the poor in spirit lesson to those that know they have nothing to offer God. Nothing that he needs. Nothing they have, he didn’t give them. You don’t have a salvation because you can pat yourself on the back and say I received Christ on our small. You can’t do that. You received Christ, that grace through faith in me gave me the grace and he gave me the faith. You didn’t deserve it. He couldn’t learn it. But he gave it to me. That’s called grace. So you start with that blesses the poor in spirit, then you then it naturally comes blessing to those who mourn over that sin. I realized I’m a sinner. I know I have nothing to offer. And it breaks my heart breaks my heart that I’m a sinner. There’s nothing I can do to help myself, cleanse myself with ever myself, redeem myself. And my last call apart from Christ, I can’t fix it. I can’t help it. I’m never going to heaven, except through him and by him and what he’s done.
Unknown Speaker 9:20
Because he’s forgiven
Pete McKenzie 9:20
sin, cloaking and white righteousness in his eyes. So when he sees me then see my sin. He sees the righteousness of Christ in the same as he does in you if you know Jesus Christ. So it’s a natural progression to go from poor and Spirit to those who mourn. The next step is blessed are the meek, humble. And here’s the profile of a meek man has rundown that he has an inward calmness and tranquility of
mind.
See, there’s a work that God does and we come to know him. It might be called The peace that surpasses all comprehension and tranquillity of quietness, being content and satisfied being knowing two things. No matter what God puts into my life, no matter what God takes out, my God is sovereign. He’s in control. He knows what’s happening. He didn’t take a vacation, and then I got sick. For I lost. I lost the job. I lost a friend, someone cheated me out of my hair, and all the things that happened to me in life. He’s not surprised it’s not biting his fingers up, they’re hoping that they’ll get well, but they’ll do. They won’t die. He knows exactly what’s happening. And he puts in and takes out according to His will, and according to what my needs, and what your need is. He has this inward calmness and tranquillity that’s rooted in the sovereignty of God and the goodness of God. Another thing it shows in him outward, and outward, affable, courteous, kind, and friendly behavior to other men. Read that list again. It’s your outward behavior. Half of a man it’s easy to get along. courteous means that you respect him and treat him friendly. That means they may not be your friend that you’re going to be their friend. This guy is slow to anger. And then maybe he doesn’t get he doesn’t have a quick temper. You know, one of the things I loved about my mom is she had a temper right now and I brought it out in like an expert. If you know what she would get over it. She didn’t carry reason. She didn’t remind me of it all the time. So that’s a blessing. He lets go of his anger as fast as he can. You know why he does that because it hurts him as much or more than it does a person is angry. That anger does something chemically to your body, to your heart, to your nervous system. It breaks it down. resentment, anger, bitterness, those kinds of things. They’re killers, their heart stop their disease. They bring anxiety and worry. So we let go of that as quick as he can. He will not settle into a fixed hatred and lasting resentment that he’s ready to receive anyone who wants to make Has anyone ever wounded you? And they came back and wonder forgive and you didn’t want to forgive them? They hurt you too bad. They’ve crossed the line that they think well this guy’s not like that. This guy’s open and it wouldn’t it be awful in therapy crossed the line that Jesus would you the only forgivable sin in the line you cross in that regard, this offer of salvation in Christ. And we reject that. That’s the unforgivable sin. Otherwise, I don’t care what you’ve done and what you’ve said and what you back or what law you broke. Do you have news you can leave if you were broken up. If you have knowledge of seeing poor in spirit, you can have that you can be forgiven. God has forgiveness means ready to receive anyone who wants to make peace. We’ll talk about that when we get the blessing of peace. meekness is always joined with humility, resignation, contentment, moderation, peaceable patient. These are all fruits of God’s Spirit. And that’s what he does in you and your body. Not because you go and say I got to work on a piece of paper that I got to work on being unkind. Can’t be said I gotta work on stopping doing this has to do with sending in that direction. He never beat sin by focusing on sand. beach sand, focusing on Jesus Christ, Christ in new Christ is in you the fruit that the bears takes care of the saying you lose the appetite. It’s not fun anymore. It’s not enjoyable and it gives you guilt and shame, you know like that. So agreeing to the point of asking forgiveness, mourning. He is so good and so obedient to the government that he will live quietly and peaceably under
if he can. And I think that’s the challenge for us today. We see the government Seeing the major political side so many things. Not everything that they’re politicizing is a bad thing. But because a politicized city becomes you know, living under the government, nothing in a peacemaker, being contented, being satisfied and living a quiet life, you obey the government every chance you get everything you can. You know, civil disobedience is something you have to choose very carefully. You have to choose your battles carefully. That doesn’t mean that there’s not a time to do that. But there are times when I think, because we’re Americans who have to be Christian to civil obedience or disobedience that do. Go to it, maybe Jesus wouldn’t go to, you know, I never can remember a scripture and all of the scripture where Jesus ever joined yourselves to run alone. He never did. back, he paid no attention at all to the Romans until they asked him what they should do until that Roman centurion came up to him and said, I have a servant who said, Jesus and immediately said, you don’t have to officer to go to come. All you have to do is say the word up here. And Jesus was amazed. And that’s the only guy in the whole Bible and the whole New Testament, the whole Gospel, Jesus was ever amazing. We will pretty much done amazing. When he was amazed at his center, why was he amazed? He said, I’ve never seen such great faith in any Israelite, who supposedly knows God is this Roman centurion. He didn’t join the zealots to run them out. The Pharisees taught that the Messiah is going to come and he’s going to run these Romans out of here and move it out chosen people places in the desert. Because no attention. That’s not why. If they tried to recruit him to be a zealot, they’d say, aren’t you, you call yourself the Messiah. That was fun. The Romans out he said, I got bigger fish to fry. I got something more important than running the Romans. Do you think this is a big deal? To every Jewish person who was forced to go one carrying the Roman Jesus and within volunteer to go to that didn’t sit? Well. They were civil disobedience. They weren’t gonna do anything for the Romans. They didn’t have Romans tax them. They didn’t they hated the fact that the Jews tax them too. So they were getting them from both sides. That fact one time in Matthew 17. Guys, it took up the temple taxes to drag. This said the theater, and then you Peter was on the team. And they said, Did your master paper company? Anyone go back to the team and said, We need a template. Jesus said, Who pays taxes? strangers are members of the club. He said strangely, he says, Yeah, that’s true. We shouldn’t have to pay that because we don’t want to offend. You go down to the lake, and you pull out a fish and there’ll be money in its mouth, and you go pay for both of that. So he didn’t want to offend and so evade the government. He didn’t deserve to have to pay the tax. He didn’t know the tax, that he paid it anyway, to make peace. It wasn’t a hill he wanted to die on. It wasn’t the hill worth dying on the hill worth dying on the cross and salvation, forgiving sin. That’s why you came in. And that’s a bigger deal than any governmental government issue that you could possibly come up with. A man being forgiven is hell in heaven are true. And we believe that hell is a bad place to go and everybody that doesn’t know Jesus is going to hell, and they’re going to spend eternity burning alive. And that’s a big deal in running the Romans out. That’s a bigger deal than disobeying the government. If we can have a live those quiet, peaceable lives, then there may come a time when they say you take the mark of the beast, or similar thing. We can’t do that. We’re not going to obey that. We’re going to stand on the gospel of Christ and the truth of the Scriptures will say, I can’t take that. And there’ll be consequences to pay for that. But you got to choose carefully what you’re going to pay for and what you’re willing to suffer for. This man is likely to have greater peace in his home and families and other angry ill condition. Now you may blame the lack of peace in your home on your wife. And there may be some truth to that. But God’s not looking at your wife when he looks at you as
he’s looking at how you and I respond to our wives. We love Have them anyway, Susan would never stand she’s not standing before God now answering for the because she’s answering for the wife that she was. I’ll never stand before God and answered the citizen, I wish I could get her record. But I’ll be standing on my own record. And I remembered the guy that said his mentor one day got in the door. And
a week later, he was standing by his mentors, wife with the grace. And she leaned over to him. She said, you know, he courted me every day of my life.
Instead, it was like a night. He said, I knew if this is my, my wife couldn’t say, when I heard him say that I’d like a knife to my heart. But Susan said, he never got a chance, one way or the other. But could she say that is that the kind of peace in my home family without do everything I could to make for peace. He has many friends. And few and his friends are generally of the best. And his enemies are the worst, sort of. We don’t hang around with the wrong crowd. He draws guys, attention of men, to be friends who are worthy. And for instance, you know, you got yourself in most trouble when you were growing up by being with the wrong guy. And a lot of your friends got in trouble code review. And I get an amen from the congregation.
Such a man who has been good and kind to all should happen to suffer crosses and losses in the world, he will be sure to find more pity and caring and relief in his adversity than other men do. And all that is saying is if you’re helping people and generous to people and blessing people and serving people, it’s going to come back to you someday. You’re suffering crosses and losses. There’ll be people wanting to help, because you’re a helper, and they’ll help you in your time of need. And that’s the way it works. So this neat man who’s serving and humble, to find others treating him the same way. He doesn’t need to always talk about himself. He likes to be unknown. He’s not always caught up in his own self interest. He’s not always on the defensive, doesn’t have to explain himself indicating exonerating he’s willing to own his stuff and fix the stuff whenever he needs to. The greatest curse in life, the cause of the fall is this insidious preoccupation with himself. He avoids it at all costs. The man of God is finished with that. He’s no longer a slave to how people treat him or what they think that he no longer has to protect himself, pity himself with indicators that explain and feel sorry for himself. Watch out for his own self interest. He’s done with self. That’s what it means to die and be crucified with Christ. You’re done with yourself, your needs, your rights, your right to yourself. And that’s what Jesus called us to do. He called us to repent, repent of all this stuff. So serve me another god others said to me, me nicknames not the thing little of yourself but the you don’t think of yourself at all, and how in the world you ever get there? Well, you start with poor in spirit. And then you’re mourning and broken over. And then you get to the point where you’re this kind of guy who’s given up his rights and knows he deserves nothing. He has come to know that no one can harm him that he then allowed. All burns Runyan said he that is down here no call. He’s amazing man. And God could think well of him at all. He must of necessity, the mild, meaning gentle in nature of behave, not sharp, not spicy. Good are not putting others down the building. Jesus said, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. We said a minute ago. If you’re going to be conformed to the image of Christ, you’re going to find yourself being gentle, humble. And that’s the kind of direction you’re headed. And if you’re not interested in that direction, you better go back to square one. You’re not interested in being this kind of man having this kind of character, you go back to square one. That’s cool. And then you better go to square two and check that out. If you’re gonna live this kind of lifestyle, that’s what you got to do. He must of necessity be the most approachable person in the world, the world has ever seen was Jesus Christ. He’s whoever will make, he took all calm. Everybody who would have never turned to turn one away. The complete absence of the spirit of retaliation, hurting them the way they hurt. You get to a point when you’re following Christ and the Holy Spirit’s having to come up, they stole from the family. That’s normal. Simply. If you’re not there anymore, that’s not what drives you. That’s not what you want to do. It’s not how you respond. First, Peter, he was talking to service servants be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only for those who are good in general, but also those who are unreasonable you ever had an unreasonable Master? Here have been the army, the Navy, the Air Force, and Marines, some teachers, some coaches, some parents, some bosses, they’ve been unreasonable. simpliciter You not only be submissive, not only for the good in general and reasonable for this science favor.
If you first say if he’s for sake of conscience toward God, that person bears up under sorrows and suffering on test. That’s what he pairs up under sorrows, suffering on justice. And you have been and will be suffering, suffering, just you didn’t do it, you don’t deserve it. You weren’t guilty. You’re going to be a key star to your ego good is going to be evil spoken. So it says here that, for what credit is there when you sin in our hearts that treating the patient? But if when you do what is right and suffer far too patiently? And during this time to speak to what God looks at how we respond and suffering, I’m just not submissive to these unjust masters. Not being obedient to unreasonable guys, this is not fair. This is not right. This is not how you’re going to respond. Well, we’ll cover that some more when we get to Plessy. What are you gonna have to do to make peace in this situation? What is God required to somebody who has a teachable spirit, and you’re teachable, you learn from your mistakes, you can even learn from others mistakes. I used to do that with my brother sometime I did and then I learned what to do not watch the news, I did watch. Finally, where to leave everything, ourselves, our rights. Teacher, leave it in the hands of God. And especially so if you feel that you’re suffering unjustly. Policy must be Vengeance is mine. I will repay says the LORD, not me. need not repay we need just leave things in God’s hands with the quietness and spirit. The gentle, humble, you shall inherit the earth is what he’s talking about. That’s what this kind of man does. He inherits here. He enjoys the good things in life that other men can enjoy. And this is a great reward for bearing the fruit of this. Man is always satisfying. You might say, Well, I’m not always satisfied. Well, that doesn’t mean you’re not supposed to be. You feel justified sometimes to feel justified not being satisfied. I feel justified in not being because of that person. Why would I be content with that kind of attitude that kind of treating me that way that you can have peace and you don’t have to go within you know I have to go with you. And we do but we don’t have heavy nothing but possessing all things. I know how to found Paul said, and I know how to be a face. And I can do all things through him Brian’s to strength. So then let no man boasting for all things belong to you with a call or policy or secrets, or the world or life. Things present, become, all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ. Christ belongs to God. So there’s a very serious matter here, who claim to be Christian, there’s no excuse for not being me. Now, I want to close reading you something that said, the real what real victory is and I think it means the same as what real meekness. He goes like this. When you’re forgotten or neglected, of purpose and senate and you smile inward. Glory, command self oversight, that’s, that’s when you’re good as evil spoken. wishes are across your tastes within your advice, disregard your opinion, ridicule. And you take it all in patient loving silence, that is victory. This sounds on attainable. Talk about that. I have to remind myself of this all the time. This is unattainable apart from Christ, if you’re content with any food, any clothing, any climate, any society, any solicitude interruption. That is the mean. And you can bear with any discord and noise in the irregularity, and punctuality of which you’re not to call me
when you can stand face to face with falling, strapping, spiritual and sensibility, contradiction of sinners. persecution, and endure at all is Jesus. And that’s, that’s. And you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or record your good work, or seek after commendation. You can truly love to be unknown. You might want to bow your head and repent, right? You might want to say God, I hadn’t done a meeting. That’s what meekness is, that’s not who I that’s okay, if you can admit that. But you might say following that, and this is a good thing to say, but I want to be, I want to be this kind of, I want to have this kind of character, these kind of responses. I want to be contented, satisfied. I want to turn the other cheek and go to the glory of God. I can’t do it. And I usually do things for my glory for to live this life to the glory of God says honor to reputation is at stake in your life, your responses, your attitude, toward you say, things you do. And so let’s take a minute, when you talk to God, like maybe during this same something film, your heart, stopped doing that. Start whatever it is, we all have things in our life. And it’s a bigger thing than you and your rights. It’s a big, it’s a great commission. It’s people coming to Christ, it’s changing the world. And this lifestyle is what does. Is it going to cost me Yeah, but is it going to cost you not to do it
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much more.
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So let’s just take a few moments.
ordered, we’re taking a few moments to do this. And that’s all it takes for us to ask you to help us give a stream to give us all this going on. Thanks for being that kind of guy who calls us to yourself and you give us everything you need to do what you called us to do. We want to do that even today. We want a new fresh start. Thank you for being a god bridgestones thank you for being the guy who forgives and picks us up and gets us off and say let’s go get and that’s what we want to do even today in Jesus name And all God’s men say Get out there and get them Heaven guys.
JOHN, God bless you, man.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai