Resound Church
Leah Ramirez
OCTOBER 11, 2009
HOLY REVOLUTION: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
I. A UNIQUE DESCRIPTION OF HAPPINESS
Matthew 5
5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [1] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely
on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.
1. Of all the descriptions of happiness, none of the characteristics come to mind…and so I am left to
wonder if we have the faintest idea of what happiness really is? If blessing is mourning, then why do we
avoid taking a good, long look at our true state? If happiness is recognizing that we are indeed blind,
wretched and poor (Revelation 3:17), then why do we avoid acknowledging our condition? Why are we
avoiding happiness?
2. In His very first address, Jesus begins His public ministry by redefining happiness! The very thing we
long for is nearer to us than we could imagine. Happiness isn’t a boat, or even a vacation get-away…it’s
the recognition of something.
Matthew 4
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3. Happiness is the recognition that we NEED God. Happiness is the acknowledgement that we are fully
dependent on God. This is blessing. This is happiness: to embrace this reality as reality. We are living
on borrowed time and borrowed breath.
4. Happiness is nearer than you think. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Genesis 4
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You [1] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the
woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not
eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But
the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one
wise, [2] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together
and made themselves loincloths.
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Resound Church
Leah Ramirez
OCTOBER 11, 2009
HOLY REVOLUTION: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
5. The temptation was this…humanity wanted to break away from dependency on God. We wanted to be
like God. We wanted to decide for ourselves what was good and evil. This was the original temptation
and sin and this is still our temptation today.
6. We don’t want to NEED God. We want to want Him. But if we want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
then we will acknowledge our utter need for God. This is repentance. And this is the only door. We
can try to scale the walls…but there is only one door.
7. This is the first step to happiness. Coming to terms that there are no “self-made men.” We were all
formed in our mother’s womb. There is no such thing as self-reliance. We are utterly dependent on the
One who knows our thoughts and days before one of them came to be (Psalm 139).
1 Corinthians 4
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive
it?
8. Every talent was provided you. You can’t take credit for your IQ…your beauty, or lack of it.
Everything we have we received. Everything.
1 Corinthians 1
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many
were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the
wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the
world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in
the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in
the Lord.”
II. JESUS IS MEEK
Hebrews 1
8 But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You
have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of
gladness beyond your companions.”
A. Jesus is the happiest man that has ever lived! He is blessed. He is happy. He is meek. He is anointed
with gladness above every companion. He is HAPPY. To think of this.
B. This is almost as profound as meditating on Jesus as the suffering servant (Is. 53). This is almost as
weighty as considering the cross. To think upon and then know THIS Jesus…the One who is anointed
with gladness. This is profound. He is happy…and He wants us to be happy.
C. But He knows we don’t know how. We don’t know the way. We think we do…so He comes and
redefines happiness.
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Leah Ramirez
OCTOBER 11, 2009
HOLY REVOLUTION: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
Matthew 11
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and
learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.”
From Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
MEEK
1. Mild of temper; soft; gentle; not easily provoked or irritated; yielding; given to forbearance under injuries.
LOWLY
1. Having a low esteem of one's own worth; humble; meek; free from pride.
Philippians 2
3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let
each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among
yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality
with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is
above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
D. Jesus WAS in the form of God…but took on humanity once and for all. As a man He obeyed the Lord!
As a man He submitted to death so that the Word of the Lord would be accomplished. He made Himself
nothing!!! This is meekness. It’s not a humble sounding response…it’s becoming nothing.
Isaiah 55
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the
heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your
thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the
earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my
word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I
purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
E. Think of this…every Word will be fulfilled. Every Word will accomplish the purpose of the Lord’s
heart.
2 Corinthians 1
18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, whom we proclaimed among you … was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the
promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his
glory.
Genesis 2
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord
God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
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Leah Ramirez
OCTOBER 11, 2009
HOLY REVOLUTION: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
F. Every command will be fulfilled. The command was to man…and a man must fulfill it.
Philippians 2
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.
G. Although Jesus has complete access to heaven…He was/is God, and He bound Himself to His own
Word. He came into submission to His own Word. He accomplished it by submitting. He
accomplished it by meekness. He could have changed the rules. But instead He became nothing.
Instead He humbled Himself by becoming obedient. This is meekness.
H. Meekness has nothing to so with the volume of our voice. It has nothing to do with the magnitude of
our vision. It has nothing to do with our personality. It has to do with obedience. Meekness is
obedience. Meekness is dependence.
I. This is why every promise finds it’s yes in Christ…Because He said yes as a man. Again and again and
again. Every decision was yes. Even unto death.
1 Corinthians 15
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
J. “By a man”…. this is meekness. The Word could not return void. The command was to man. Man had
to accomplish it. So, God became a man. This is meekness. This is meekness.
III. THE MEEK INHERIT THE EARTH
Genesis 1
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created
them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and
subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living
thing that moves on the earth.”
A. Just like meekness is blessing…the reward of subduing the earth is blessed. Jesus redeems the Word of
command and inherits the promise of reward.
Psalm 82
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
B. Jesus’ has an inheritance…the earth. As a man, His command and reward is to subdue the earth. He is
currently fruitful and multiplying…and when He comes again He will subdue the nations. This is His
mandate!
1 Corinthians 15
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as
by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also
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Leah Ramirez
OCTOBER 11, 2009
HOLY REVOLUTION: BLESSED ARE THE MEEK
in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those
who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power.
C. AFTER destroying every rule and authority… This is His mandate. This was the command to
Adam…subdue the land. Jesus will accomplish this! This is His command and reward.
D. The point of Christianity isn’t to hopefully make it into Heaven. The mandate is to reign on the earth.
And the condition for this reward is meekness. This is the condition.
Revelation 5
5 behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and
its seven seals.”6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb
standing, as though it had been slain… 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who
was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you
ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made
them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
E. There is a terrifying passage where Jesus described those who have access to Heaven without
meekness…
Matthew 7
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I
declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
F. There are people who have learned how to access the realm of power..they have done mighty works.
They have prophesied… And yet, they are lawless. They are not meek. They are not submitted. They
have revelation from Heaven. They operate in signs and wonders from Heaven… and yet they weren’t
sent by Him. They were lawless.
depart from me, you workers of lawlessness…
G. This is the issue. Jesus is going to inherit the earth. This is His reward. The issue with reigning with
Him in the age to come is submission now. This is meekness. No more presumption. Meekness is
obedience. The reward is all about being with Him…He is coming again to subdue the earth. This is
the reward for meekness.
ANNOUNCENMENT:
Youth Conference- November 13-14. Check out Resound247.com for more details.
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