Kingdom Influence Part 9

At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Influence,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.

Our series is called Kingdom Influence. As we have said, the Beatitudes are not a checklist. They are a portrait. They show us what life looks like when God’s kingdom shapes a person from the inside out.

Last week we looked at “blessed are those who mourn.” Mourning keeps our hearts tender. It keeps us awake to the brokenness in the world and in ourselves. It prevents us from becoming numb or hardened. But tender hearts still need strength. If all we do is feel deeply without being anchored in something solid, we become overwhelmed. Compassion without stability turns into exhaustion.

So Jesus moves from mourning to meekness. Not from weakness to weakness, but from tenderness to strength under control.

Matthew 5:5 (NIV)
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

That statement runs against the grain of our culture. We are told that the strong win, the aggressive advance, the self-promoting succeed. Power secures territory. Influence belongs to the loudest voice in the room. But Jesus says something entirely different. He echoes Psalm 37, where David paints a picture of quiet confidence in the Lord instead of anxious striving.

Psalm 37:3–7 (NIV)
3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37 tells us that instead of grasping, we are to trust. “Trust in the Lord and do good.” Meekness begins with confidence that God sees, God knows, and God acts. It is not passivity. It is settled reliance.

We are told to delight. “Take delight in the Lord.” Meekness flows from joy in God, not from insecurity. When our hearts are satisfied in Him, we do not have to claw for affirmation.

We are told to commit. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” Meekness hands over outcomes. It does what is right and leaves vindication to God.

And we are told to rest. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” Meekness is the refusal to fret when others seem to get ahead by questionable means. It is strength that refuses to be provoked.

The Psalmist says that those who live this way will “inherit the land” and enjoy great peace. To inherit the earth means we do not have to be afraid. We are not scrambling for control because we know who holds it. Meekness is not weakness. It is a heart anchored so deeply in God that it can remain steady, gentle, and unshaken in a restless world.

This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will discuss all this and more, so be sure to join us in person or online.

Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.