Westside Care Center Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Prayer Principle 3A: Submission Meekness Mr. C. Pat Lanyon

Introduction:(3A. Submission)

Last week we studied the fact that doing God’s will often requires patience, and endurance while exercising the patience. This was taught in Hebrews 10.36. Hebrews 11 provided excellent examples of people doing God’s will in difficult and some, impossible, situations. Yet all received a promise given to them that has been given to us. That promise is the full inheritance we are going to receive as people of His kingdom. Another character quality we need is meekness, and praying for it will bring it into our lives.

We first look at a definition of meek – mild, modest (humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness ALSO, overtly submissive or compliant, anxious to suit his opinions to those of others" The noun, meekness, means "the feeling of patient submissive humbleness" or "a disposition to be patient and longsuffering" – Beiks.com Dictionary

Two verses in the Bible teach directly that meekness is associated with God and His will:

Ps 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

Ps 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

We also see throughout the New Testament a Biblical godly value for meekness, especially in Jesus life, Who is our supreme Example!

MT 11.29; JA 1.21; RO 6.13; 1PE 5.5-7; JA 4.6

3D. MEEKNESS to have Your attitude of yieldedness.

Submit to God and He Will Give the Grace To Do His Will:

A Lesson on Meekness from Matthew 9:9ff.

Mat 9:9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. 10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 "But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

The quote on mercy and sacrifice are taken directly from Hosea 6:6 which is a prophet who lived during the times of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahax, Hezekiak, in Judah and Jereboam in Israel (Hosea 1:1) – all described for us in 2 Chronicles 27.

Hos 6:4 "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth. 6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 7 "But like men they transgressed the covenant; There they dealt treacherously with Me.

Jesus, thus, like God Himself, when He found great sin, used meekness to confront it and expected it in his disciples. So when we find a stubborn resistance to do God’s will should pray for meekness in our life and then show it in the lives of those with whom we minister. We will find that it is a powerful tool in accomplishing the will of God. He used a meek man to give His law to Israel (read NU 12:3)

• I will identify 2 major areas in my life that I have not been submitting to God’s will and this week I will pray specifically for a meek spirit about these areas every day. I will write my thoughts/ prayers down each day
• I will think of someone I know who struggles with similar resistance and will pray specifically for them.