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00:00:01 [Applause] [Music] today's reading passage is taken from the book of matthews chapter 5 verses 5 to 6 blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled this is the word of god good morning once again fbc and greetings in the name of our lord jesus and once again happy luna new year to all who celebrate the sermon today is a continuation of the beatitudes of jesus taken from matthew chapter five and i'll be covering verses five and six
00:00:52 which is the third and fourth be attitude and i have entitled it norms of the kingdom the meek and the hungry from emptiness to fullness as this is my first time preaching in fbc and many may not be familiar with me let me give a short introduction my name is alextan i'm an i.t manager in a telecommunications company together with my wife lisa we have two sons aaron who is turning seven in march and ryan who is three plus we became members of fbc late 2018 and we belong to the christians in action cia live group well we hope
00:01:34 you have read the fbc today newsletter two weeks ago featuring our live group we are a pretty diverse community although we started with parents with young children as you can see we have grown to include anyone who enjoy the company of active children if it's not an advertisement but i sincerely invite all of you who have yet to join a live group to be part of one to be blessed by joining one as much as i have today's sermon is the last part of the four part series of the eight beatitudes from what
00:02:08 is known as jesus sermon on the mount dr peter started the ball rolling with the first two beatitudes the poor in spirit and those who mourn sam covered the fifth and six beatitudes blessed merciful and appearing heart pastor george covered the last two the peacemakers and those who are persecuted because of righteousness um so slightly out of sequence but we are coming back today uh to cover the third and fourth be attitudes which interestingly closes the loop with the last four beatitudes and we will study why
00:02:41 uh it may be good a good idea to recap the entire beat attitudes as a whole so allow me to re-read the entire beatitudes blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled blessed are merciful for they will be shown mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they will see god blessed are the peacemakers
00:03:23 for they will be called children of god blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven if you break down if you arrange to be attitude you see that um there seems to be a bit of a structure and a symmetry to this beatitude that looks a bit like a like a sandwich it starts with verse 3 with the reward of the kingdom of heaven and ends with verse 10 with the same the first half is our duty to god that's the vertical relationship with god getting our
00:04:01 relationship right with god and the second half our duty to men the horizontal relationship it's very similar to the ten commandments how the ten commandments are broken down as well both parts of this duty to god and duty to man ends with right the word righteousness but as we have heard last week it comes with a cost but today we'll focus on verses five and six the third and the fourth be attitude blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
00:04:36 for they will be fulfilled let us pray and ask god to speak to us gracious god of heavenly father as we delve into christ's precious beatitudes that forms the foundations of your gospel and the framework of how we ought to live out our lives following christ we ask that you may open our ears open our eyes and most importantly open our hearts that we may hear and receive your word with meekness and in hearing be convicted and believe and in believing obey may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be
00:05:18 pleasing in your sight o lord my rock and my redeemer in jesus name amen so two verses blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled and we hope to be able to answer the questions of what is meekness what is what is not what can we learn from biblical portraits of meekness how does the meek inherit the earth and for the second verse what righteousness is and what is not what does jesus mean here what does it mean to
00:05:55 hunger and thirst for righteousness and finally what is promised to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness blessed are the meek this third be attitude flows logically from the the earlier two beatitudes right being poor in spirit means we uh spiritually bankrupt we acknowledge that we are spiritually bankrupt and leads to mourning as we become aware of our our sin and it leads to the spirit of meekness or in some other translation gentleness because there's nothing to be proud of and nothing to boast about given our dire
00:06:30 straits why this progression this is the turning point where we after examining ourselves begin to as we continue to examine ourselves be concerned about what other people be concerned about other people not looking beyond our own interest after a hard examination of our utter sinfulness and spiritual bankruptcy in our culture today this verse will make little sense a paradox at best and at worst a contradiction how would anyone who is meek receive anything let alone inherit the earth the world we live in now thinks in terms
00:07:11 of strength of power abilities talents self-assurance and even aggressiveness at times that is the world's idea of success and possession the more you assert and express yourself the more you organize and manifest your powers and abilities the more likely you are to succeed in life and hence attain fulfillment children as young as my son aaron who is hardly seven have show and tell classes which when he grows up is a very valuable skill in the corporate world these days in my line of work in it and i'm sure
00:07:48 it's it's the same for most of you it's not about how much you know or how smart you are but how much you're able to present yourselves sell your ideas get buy-ins so that you are visible to the senior management or the sea levels in our resumes and cvs in order to look impressive we may sometimes jazz it up or inflated trust me i've got firsthand experiences in interviewing so many candidates whose cvs are way bloated up but come interview day doesn't measure up in a modern society you gotta be a
00:08:28 go-getter right even in trying to be humble you need to look good you know see how humble i am it's like a dog trying to catch his tail proud that you're humble even to the jews to whom the sermon on the mount was addressing they were expecting a a different messianic kingdom one that is materialistic military and that the messiah would lead them in our church today there's a tendency to think in terms of fighting the world sin things that are opposed to christ by means of great organizations making an impact
00:09:09 which if you're not careful leads to a much divided christian church so what is meekness and humility well i'm i'm sure you've met many humble people who may or may not be christians right a psychology today's uh article uh entitled the paradoxical power of humility attempts to define humility as such it says it is a psychosocial orientation characterized by two things one a sense of emotional autonomy and two the freedom from the control of what is called a competitive reflex what is a competitive reflex it is
00:09:54 the pre-conscious visceral impulse to oppose or outdo others or to or to react against perceived threats to one's established sense of self so humility is is being able to control our emotions to be free from the control of competitive reflex and the article goes on to define what humility is not so he says immunity is not letting others push you around it is not being a doormat a sucker or letting people walk all over you it is not constantly sacrificing your interest to those of others and then feeling like
00:10:35 a victim or a martyr it is not avoiding conflict or confrontation for the sake of being nice it's not hiding your feelings or suppressing your views to avoid to avoid alienating others and i think the author is spot on meekness or humility is sometimes wrongly perceived as that and we can all agree that that's really not humility but but that's not the controversial part here right the controversial part comes with what the article suggests is humility and it offers three qualities it says humility is about emotional
00:11:15 neutrality it involves an experience of growth in which you no longer need to put yourself above others but you don't put yourself below them either everyone is your peer from the most important person to the least you are just as valuable as every other human being on the planet no more no less it's about behaving and reacting from purposes not emotions you learn to simply disconnect or de-program the competitive reflex in situations where it's not productive so it is it is that i am i and you are
00:11:52 you i'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you are not in this world to live up to mine and it goes on to define what humility is right humility is less of a matter of self restraint and more of a matter of self esteem the greater your sense of word self worth the easier it is to appreciate others to praise them and to encourage them your talents and abilities will speak for themselves what we're dealing with here is a matter of social intelligence which involves inviting people to move with you
00:12:25 and toward you instead of away and against you and that's the paradox that the article was saying what do you think i mean sounds like an interesting proposition right but is that really meekness and all humility as the bible teaches us if it's all self-driven efforts and mindfulness and control where is god in the picture let's look at some biblical examples or what what i call portraits of meekness uh and to understand what jesus meant by the the verse the mig inheriting the earth we have to go back to psalms
00:13:08 37 verse 11 where jesus may have quoted or alluded to blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth that's found in matthew chapter five verse 5 and islam 37 looks very similar in peril but the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity the word land in both greek and hebrew means the earth so it's it's it looks really similar right so now to appreciate what the psalmist is saying we need to trace back few verses of the psalm this is the the sum of david right allow me to just
00:13:46 read that for us because it has it does carry some important truth so starting from verse 3 trust in the lord and do good dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture take delight in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart commit your way to the lord trust in him and he will do this he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn your vindication like the noonday sun 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
00:14:20 schemes refrain from anger and turn from wrath do not fret it leads only to evil for those who are evil will be destroyed but those who hope in the lord will inherit the land a little while and the wicked will be no more though you look for them they will not be found but the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity this is the psalm written by david as he was overwhelmed with his problems and and enemies all around him and the wicked seemingly succeeding in their ways and you can see
00:15:00 the first portrait of jesus saying what what meekness means trusting in the lord and do good taking delight in the lord committing your way to the lord being still before him and waiting patiently for him refraining from anger to not fretting but hoping in the lord and so here in psalms 37 we begin to see the first biblical portrait of meekness a mig person turns trusts and hopes in god not men he delights in doing what is good and right before god even if others are opposed to it he trusted god
00:15:41 not man will vindicate him being confident that god is for him not against him because god is trustworthy he commits his ways to the lord be it business work problems family issues relationships health fears from frustrations or being ill-treated or being victim of injustices admitting his inadequacies to cope with the complexities obstacles and pressures of life he trusts in god who is there to guide and protect because he has committed his ways to the lord he can be still before god and waits
00:16:23 patiently for him to act in accordance to his will in his time it does not mean being negligent or resting on our laurels but he's composed knowing that god is sovereign he's omnipotent he trusts that in all things god works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose romans 8 28 as a result he does not fret he does not need to fret or resort to anger especially over the wicked or evil duels because his life his family his work his ministry in church etc are in god's sovereign hands
00:17:06 in these turbulent times and uncertain times all our capacities to be meek and patient are tested and stretched i can think of many occasions where my own tempers fled whether at home or at work and and the ego takes center stage some of us may have lost jobs and businesses taken a pay cut and stress and anxiety levels are all time high because of being cooped up at home and like a pressure cooker that just that doesn't release pressure the lid eventually pops and relationships breaks down as and familiarity breeds contempt
00:17:52 divorce and breakup rates have skyrocketed skyrocketed not just locally globally the beatitude reminds us to commit our ways to him humbly trusting that in all things god works for the good of those who love him we have a second portrait it's taken from numbers chapter 12 3 it is about moses it says it says now moses was a very humble man more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth how about that in your cv the most humble man on earth this is the occasion where his siblings aaron and miriam criticized
00:18:33 moses severely because of the cruciate woman whom he had married claiming that god has spoken to them what happens in the following verses is that the lord rebukes his siblings miriam and aaron and vindicates his servant moses moses did not retaliate the bible didn't record him saying a word he must have committed his cause to god instead of being defensive and as a result god came to his defense and vindicated him that's what the bible says since time immemorial movies and tv shows have been saturated with
00:19:12 themes of of retaliation and revenge i remember as a kid um watching all these hong kong tv shows we call we call them takao shows you know fighting shows where the plot is always the same right for for various reasons like jealousy or whatever or envy the villain kills the hero's family one by one until the only one left to take revenge uh uh and it's back and forth huh um uh you know retaliation there's no balls bigger each time until finally the only one left to take revenge is the hero himself who single-handedly
00:19:53 wipes the entire army of the villain's village like rambo saving whoever is left in his family and the audience is ecstatic exclaiming serve him right as the as the villain goes down in chinese what he's saying literally you deserve death human nature is promotes an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth but jesus is advocating a counter culture here of turning the other cheek that requires meekness in relationships whether friendships colleagues at work and especially in our marriages what starts as as an honest feedback
00:20:39 constructive criticism from a spouse can spark off arguments because the other is defensive and takes offence yet the bible urges us to be meek and refrain from retaliation and defensiveness of course there are countless of other old testament characters who exemplify meekness the likes of abraham jeremiah the prophet but in the interest of time we'll fast forward to the new testament and we learn a few more portraits of meekness from there james chapter 1 verses 19 to 21 says everyone should be quick to listen
00:21:14 slow to speak and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that god desires therefore get rid of all moral fails and the evil that's so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you and james continue in chapter three who is wise and and understanding among you let them show it by their good life by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom but the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure then peace loving considerate
00:21:50 gentle submissive and open to reason full of mercy and good fruit impartial and sincere philippians 2 says do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit rather in humility value others above yourselves not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others being meek requires us to have a teachable spirit being considerate to others and open to reason let me be honest that in in preparing for this sermon i have learned so much um after spending a substantial amount of time
00:22:33 reading researching doing exegesis of the word i um and and when i ran through this with dr peter he said why don't you um get some honest feedback some you know and advice from from from your wife lisa um since she's a writer and she has relevant past experiences women tend to have better judgment than men at times after all right so which i did i had to eat humble pie and i must say that thanks to my wife lisa although i had to burn more midnight oils i made significant improvement to the flow
00:23:13 and the storyboarding of the sermon a finer portrait of meekness is an important one as much as the spirit of meekness requires us to be slow to speak and slow to become angry amidst conflicts or confrontations it cares so passionately and for truth that he does not compromise but speaks the truth in love however he is unassuming he is fully aware of his own fallibility and sin galatians 6 chapter 1 says brothers and sisters if someone is caught in a sin you who live by the spirit should restore the person gently
00:23:55 or the spirit of gentleness but watch yourselves or you may also be tempted looking at these biblical portraits of meekness there are really no signs of weakness quite the contrary it requires strength wisdom in balancing between our trust in god and our self-restraint and yet the uncompromising um speaking the truth in love always looking out for the interests of others d.a carson who is the uh the emeritus professor of new testament at the trinity evangelical divinity school he's also the co-founder of the gospel
00:24:48 coalition a prominent evangelical scholar and author summarizes it well he says meekness is a controlled desire to see the others interests advanced ahead of one's own meekness is a controlled desire to see the others interests advance ahead of one's own the late john stott a renowned theologian writer and speaker puts the test of meekness in another way he says meekness is our willingness for others to say to us what we are before god meekness is our willingness for others to say to us what we are before god most of us
00:25:28 will be just give an example most of us will be quite willing to admit that we are a miserable sinner before god but when another person calls me a miserable sinner i might feel like punching his face right so that's that that's not meekness right that's a certain amount of hypocrisy right but a supreme portrait of meekness that and that is that embodies the whole essence of meekness is none other than christ himself the whole of his life his reaction to people the way he suffered persecution scorn
00:26:11 and shame his attitude towards his enemies his submission to his father overflows with meekness and gentleness when peter impulsively drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest servant jesus held him back the ultimate test was when jesus was standing before pilate the chief priests and elders hurling false accusations on him the crowds shouting crucify him and even as he was being crucified the soldiers and passes by mocking him yet christ did not retaliate nor gave an answer to defend himself
00:26:57 but we also see the other side of jesus the same jesus who was self-controlled tolerates no corruption and evil practices in mark chapter 5 mark chapter 3 verses verse 5 the same jesus became angry and grieved at the heart-heartedness of the pharisees and in matthew 21 he drove the merchants out of the temple and turned over the tape at their tables this is what we sometimes refer to as righteous anger but it goes against all the grains of our human nature to be made before god but jesus always offers us a way out
00:27:37 he says come to me all you who are weary and burdened and i will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for i am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls so now we got an idea of what biblical meekness entails how how does meek how does the make inherit the earth the greek word for for inherit is clarinomial in almost all the references in the new testament it is used either as inheriting eternal life or the kingdom of god which essentially is salvation if that
00:28:14 is the definition then meekness is the condition and prerequisite of entering into the kingdom of god and inheriting eternal life and eternal life as we know starts the moment we accept christ as our personal lord and savior and extends to eternity when we finally meet the lord face to face the kingdom of god as we have learned has a now and a not yet perspective for now even if we mean inheriting the earth in the in the physical sense of having material wellness a man who is truly meek is a man who is always content see for
00:28:53 example philippians chapter four and paul says i know what it is to be need and i know what it is to have plenty i have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry whether living in plenty or in want i can do all things to to christ who strengthens me and in second corinthians chapter six paul says he is sorrowful yet always rejoicing poor yet making many rich having nothing and yet possessing everything and he continues in first corinthians 3 it says all things are yours so then no
00:29:28 more boasting about human leaders whether paul or apollos or cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all are yours and you are of christ and christ is of god that that we continue to be in christ is what matters and furthermore the meek are the children of god and this is looking forward to the futures in is what romans 8 17 says before with our children then we are heirs heirs of god and co-heirs with christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory nevertheless
00:30:04 the fullness of this inheritance is promised in the most literal sense when we finally meet the lord in the new heaven and new earth to those who are victorious we'll inherit this all this and i will be their god and they will be my children this is the inheritance that awaits us we move from examining ourselves poor in spirit mourning for our sinful state putting on the attitudes of meekness and humility and with this dispositions we are now looking actively for solution are we still considered blessed since we
00:30:43 have nothing in our humble and poor state not inheriting the earth in the earthly sense if anything we are left destitute and searching still in pursuit of happiness and blessedness what do we hunger and thirst for these days what is the first thing that we crave for when we wake up in the morning for many of us myself included it is not always opening up my bible for my quiet time but for me it is my morning dose of fragrant coffee instant coffee though it is and sometimes the the health of my financial
00:31:21 investments and portfolios for others especially during the mco period due to the covet pandemic it's really about making ends meet keeping our jobs paying our rent our mortgage and just being able to bring good food on the table for the family one great lesson that kovit has taught us is really about going back to the essentials as long as we have food and water including toilet rolls roof over our heads we will survive even then most of us haven't come close to experiencing real hunger and thirst to the point of
00:31:56 starvation i have not even even with mco we are never short of food and drink there's always grab food there's always food panda there is happy fresh and many other food and groceries deliveries at our fingertips but that's something more fundamental than even food and drink here right you know paul says in romans for the kingdom of god it's not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness of peace and joy in the holy spirit and that's what jesus is referring to here when when jesus says blessed are those who
00:32:35 hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled so like the previous verse we need to dissect this verse in order to understand his context what is what righteousness is and what is not secondly what does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness finally what is promised to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness in matthew the word righteousness appears seven times and five out of that seven times appears within the sermon on the mount twice in fact in the same beatitude
00:33:11 so certainly we got we can learn something about what righteousness is and what is not so um we and we will come to that right you know matthew 5 20 says well i tell you unless your righteousness succeeds that of the scribes and the pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven matthew 6 chapter 2 chapter 6 verse 1 be careful not to practice righteousness in front of others to be seen by them if you do you will have no reward from your father in heaven john piper proposed a definition of
00:33:43 righteousness just by looking at the structure of the beatitude itself the first half is is hungering for righteousness because we were empty right and and the second half is being persecuted for righteousness precisely because we were filled namely because we were merciful pure in heart and peacemaking in verses 7-9 in other words righteousness must produce the fruit of righteousness as in philippians 1 11 righteousness bears the fruit of being merciful being pure in heart being peacemakers the sermon on the mount and the rest of
00:34:28 the gospels also tells us what righteousness is not it's the pharisaic kind of righteousness that jesus always condemns calling them brood of vipers so first firstly jesus says in righteousness is not self-righteousness it is not i am righteous because i have fulfilled the law i give my tithes i read the bible cover the cover once every year i lead bible study i'm never late for sunday service i attend all zoom prayer meetings i fulfilled my christian duty i'm not like the others who skips life group
00:35:06 who are always late for alpha classes self-righteousness is not what righteousness that jesus preached here and secondly righteousness is not hypocritical matthew 23 verse 26 27 beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of bones of the dead and everything unclean righteousness is not unbelieving and unrepentant in matthew 21 verses 2 32 for john came to you to show show you the way of righteousness and you did not believe him but the text collectors and the prostitutes did and even after you saw this you did not
00:35:45 repent and believe him and finally righteousness does not seek the praise of men as we read earlier in matthew 6 1 be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them if you do you will have no reward on your father in heaven my friends we brothers and sisters we must pray and keep watch last before pray into these disguises of righteousness and risk becoming worse wolves in sheep's clothings in other words righteousness is not religiosity or even spirituality that we
00:36:24 are after but one that is deeply rooted in christ secondly what does it mean to to hunger and thirst for righteousness the greek words are nao and dipsau respectively right but the tense used here uh for for hungering and interesting is the present active participle which indicates a continuous and repeating repeated action so the more accurate translation should have been those hungering or thirsting or the hungering and thirsting ones the hungering and thirsting doesn't stop the moment he is filled
00:37:03 but the more he is feel the more he hungers and thirst in a never-ending perpetual cycle and the reason why we continue to hunger and thirst is because this is part of god's sanctification process it is a continuous desire and longing to be free from the pollution of sin in all its forms and manifestations because sin separates us from god it is a desire to get right with god to restore the right relationship with him it is a longing to be holy to bear the fruit of the spirit in every thought word and deed
00:37:46 it is a it is remembering that we are a new creation in christ 2nd corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 to continually put off my own self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires and to be made new in the attitude of my mind and to put on my new self created to be like god in true righteousness and holiness ephesians 4 22 it is a desire to know god to be in fellowship with him philippians 3 8 what is more i consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing christ jesus my lord
00:38:19 for who's sick i have lost all things i consider them garbage that i may gain christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which is through faith in christ the righteousness that comes from god on the basis of faith ultimately our desire is to be like the lord jesus christ himself our desire is to turn our eyes upon him taking up the cross daily denying ourselves and following him many commentators wants of a subtle kind of danger here that we
00:38:58 should be mindful of in our pursuit of righteousness even amongst professing christians are you and i many seek a kind of spirituality like the spirit's power effective witnessing skills musical skills etc others chase after preachers to preachers attending conferences to conferences for spiritual experiences and i must admit that i have fallen prey to many of these and i still do and there's really nothing wrong in itself but when that replaces the centrality and the power of christ in transforming our lives
00:39:35 it may be at best a distraction or at worst will lead to what we call consumer christianity consume it and finally what is promised to those who are hungry and thirst for righteousness the bible is clear that we will be satisfied and be filled with righteousness the righteousness of christ is imputed on us so that god looks at us through the lands of christ jesus says i'm the bread of life whoever comes to me will never go hungry whoever believes in me will never thirst john chapter 4 verse 14 whoever drinks
00:40:14 the water i give them will never thirst indeed the water i gave them will become in them a spring of water rolling up to eternal life and just like the kingdom of god is there's the noun and not yet in revelation 22 verse 17 the spirit and the bride say come and let the one who here say come let the one who is thirsty come let the one who wishes to take the free gift of the water of life come just like in chapter in verse 5 where inheriting the earth has a noun and a future perspective so does the feeling of righteousness to those
00:40:53 hungering and thirsting in this life our hunger will never be fully satisfied nor our thirst fully quenched our hunger is satisfied only to break out again even the promise of jesus that we will never thirst again requires us to keep drinking from it and this is the paradox of always being satisfied but yet not satisfied at the same time in first corinthians 13 we're reminded for now we see only a reflection in the mirror then we shall see the lord face to face now i know in part then i shall know fully even as i'm
00:41:28 fully known there is a now and not yet there is being filled but not being filled experience as we continue to hungering and thirst for righteousness if jesus hung on the cross in his final breath having been severely persecuted for righteousness sake not refusing the cup of suffering because he decided to obey the will of the father and knowing his mission has been accomplished and to fulfill scripture he cried i am thirsty as surely as the physical thirst which he knew he no longer needed is his spiritual thirst to return to his
00:42:08 father in glory where he no longer says i thirst but i quench and so we return to revelations 21 in a new heaven and a new earth jesus says to the thirsty i will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life those who are victorious and those who are meek will inherit all this i will be their god and they will be my children friends in closing um i can think of a man who to me was one of the meekest and most gentle person i've ever met one who has shown us what it means to hunger and thirst
00:42:58 for that kind of righteousness that jesus preached in the beatitudes merciful pure in heart peacemaking considerate always valuing others above himself as evident from his pastoral care the many social concerns and outreach ministries he was involved in caring for the poor and needy pastor rama who went home to be with the lord on the 17th of february has indeed fought the good fight he has finished the race he has kept the faith and he he has now inherited the crown of righteousness which the lord the
00:43:38 righteous judge has awarded him he is in the most blessed place that anyone could desire for i believe many of us are recipients of pastor rama's daily whatsapp devotionals which i i am i do receive i will cherish these for the rest of my life his last devotional that came on feb on uh that came on the second of february is a little bit small here uh i will read it to you right it it really aptly con concludes today's sermon allow me to read it to you he says good morning the verse is ephesians 4 11 12.
00:44:14 it was he who gave some to be apostles some to be prophets some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare god's people for works of service so that the body of christ may be built up we are called to be a disciple a close and intimate follower of jesus christ we are each given different gifts and many and different ministry opportunities but the focus of a disciple is always to serve as we build up the body of christ and love him with all our heart we help others because we help others
00:44:46 become his disciple as we teach them to follow jesus and provide the necessary tools which prepare them to serve we have been blessed in so many ways by his grace we have been granted the forgiveness of all sin and given a place to worship him for all eternity as we better grasp this wonderful truth we will be filled with an unshakable contentment and peace while we walk in the presence of god but this blessing must never be selfishly held it must be shared freely you have received freely give matthew 10 8
00:45:23 i pray that every day brings us closer in our relationship with god through the forgiveness and love of his son jesus i pray we minister in our church our work our family and among the friends god places in our past with love and uncompromising truth and i pray that each of us looks for ways to build up the body of christ by preparing god's people to serve blessed tuesday and so we conclude blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for
00:46:01 they will be filled and satisfied may we be found faithful in imitating pastor rama as he imitated christ let us close in prayer lord this is our prayer that our love may abound more and more in the knowledge and depth of insight so that we may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through jesus christ to the glory and praise of god amen
