LCM - CH5 and CH6: Re Meekness, and Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness ~ GCC Women's Bible Study

Submitted by Leah Page on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 5:53pm LCM010 Sermon on the Mount

CH. 5 ~ Meekness: Is it Weakness or Strength

See Ps. 37:1-11
"...Trust is a facet of meekness because meekness trusts in the Lord, delighting in Him....Because of its steady trust, meekness can commit its way to the Lord....Meekness rests in Him, waiting patiently for whatever is God's pleasure. It does not fret and stew over the apparent prosperity of the wicked but focuses all its energies into waiting upon the Lord....Meekness knows that no matter how desperate the situation may appear, in the long run it will gain a glorious inheritance in the Lord. To put it in a single phrase, meekness is humble submission to the will of the Father." (LCM p. 109-110)

Jesus modeled meekness (see Matthew 11:28-30): While meekness is complete dependence on the Father, it is NOT weak - in fact often the opposite, because it takes great strength to hold oneself in submission. Strenght which in ourselves we do not naturally possess! We see Jesus' STRENGTH in submission modeled in the Garden as he faced not only his death, but taking on the very wrath of God for all our sin in the moment of his crucifixion. Yet he prayed 3x, "Not as I will, but as YOU will, Father." (see Matthew 26:37-44)

We talked about the practical outworking of this, particularly as it refers to confronting sin in others - which must first mean we have confronted it in ourselves. (see Galatians 6:1, and 2 Timothy 2:24-26) ~ [This would come up again later when we discussed MERCY, also.] Meekness is, therefore, a preservation for us - it protects us by keeping us aware of our OWN vulnerability to temptation, and helps keep us from presumption. It is teachable, gentle, kind. (see also the singular, "nine-fold fruit" of Galatians 5:22-23)

Meekness is forgiving - it cries out for mercy on behalf of another; it gives up it's own "right" (or perceived right) to retribution.


CH. 6 ~ Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness

Longing - Appetite - Craving - Satisfaction

"...Righteousness is an attribute of God. It is the very essence of God's being. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to have a deep, inner longing to please God. It is a longing that God Himself plants within our hearts to cause us to seek after Him. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to desire with all our being to live and walk the way God says to live and walk. It is to crave God. It is to crave holiness...." (LCM p. 138-139)

We discussed how many commentators, Kay Arthur (LCM author) included, suggested that if someone does NOT possess this hungering, this thirsting, this LONGING for God and rightouesness, that it very well may mean that someone is not truly regenerated, and they need to do some serious business with the Lord.

"...This is not a hunger that stands at the open door of a full refrigerator, trying to decide if anything looks appealing. This is not a hunger that debates whether it can handle a third helping. This is a hunger that has to have food or it dies!" (LCM p. 141)

This is a call to examine ourselves - see if we indeed hunger and thirst with this kind of longing! If not - we must beg God....

"It is a craving that must be satisfied if life is to be sustained....What do you absolutely HAVE to have?" (LCM p. 144) ... "Ours is to be an ever-increasing hunger and thirst. The more we get, the more we want; the more we want, the more we get." (LCM p. 148) ...

And even the WANTING is its own kind of satisfying, because JESUS is so deeply satisfying!!

God, increase our thirst!