Fulfilling the Christian Calling

Early on in United, and this has been mentioned before, but not very often, that early in United, we identified a chronic, what we called a chronic problem in the church. And that was a problem that has been coming to the church not just in our time, but all the way down through the ages of the church, from its beginning on. And we boiled it down to this particular statement, and this was actually done by the Council of Elders at one of their meetings in 1996 in Birmingham, Alabama. And we boiled it down to this.

As members and ministers, we have not always conducted ourselves in a godly manner in our roles and relationships and responsibilities. At bears repeating, as members and ministers, we have not always conducted ourselves in a godly manner. In our roles, relationships, and responsibilities, that particular failing has dogged our tracks down through the ages, far too often. And one's spirituality or one's carnality is reflected in their roles and responsibilities and relationships. And you think about that. How spiritual we are, or how carnal we are, is obviously going to reflect itself in whatever our roles are, our responsibilities and our relationships.

And thus, in reality, we can boil it down to something that's much deeper, to a root source. And you know what the root source of that failure is? It's very simple. It's not complicated. The hard part is countering it by doing what we should. The problem is sourced in the failure to fulfill our Christian calling. It's just that simple. It's not complicated.

The failure to fulfill one's Christian calling. Because see, to the degree that a person fulfills their Christian calling, to that degree, one's life and the roles in their life, the responsibilities in their life, the relationships in their life are going to be enriched. There is in the Bible a prime section of Scripture that deals with a definition, that deals with a how-to on fulfilling our Christian calling. What I'm going to talk about today is part one of a series.

And as I go through time with the series, I may intersperse other sermons in between parts. But I'm going to go through a series over time of fulfilling, about fulfilling our Christian calling. And like I said, I may intersperse other sermons along the way, so it may not be each part in total sequence. But I will go through the series in time. And today is part one. And the subject and the title in the series is fulfilling our Christian calling. And again, today is part one.

But there is a section of Scripture that more than any other section of Scripture puts it in quite a nutshell and yet at the same time quite a thorough way what the Christian calling is. And you might be ahead of me on this. It's three chapters and they're found in the New Testament and they're specifically in Matthew and they're specifically chapters 5 and 6 and 7. And when you look at Matthew 5, 6 and 7, this is the first and the most concentrated step of specific teachings on being a Christian.

If you talk about the Christian calling, you'll find no other section of Bible with the same amount of concentrated material on what it means to be Christ-like, to be a true Christian. It deals specifically with being a Christian. It deals specifically with the Christian calling. So I'm going to turn over here to Matthew. This is what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. And if you see it displayed or pictured, depicted in movies, you'll see this massive crowd somewhere around the foot of a mountain or up the slope so far and Christ up above and He's teaching this massive number, I say massive number, a multitude.

He's teaching a multitude. That is the image. But that is not what the Bible presents. Notice, you pick it up in chapter 4 verses 23 through 25. Matthew 4 verses 23, And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sicknesses and all manner of disease among the people. And His fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all sick people that were taken with different diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with demons, and those which were lunatic, and those that had palsy, and He healed them. Now notice verse 25, And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.

And there's no chapter break in the flow. Now there is a chapter break put in here that was just somebody who was organizing the Bible into chapters and verses, which is fine and helps us, yes. But verse 25 flows right in to chapter 5. And seeking the multitudes, the multitudes we just read about in verse 25, And seeing the multitudes, He, Christ, went up into a mountain to get away from them, and when He was set His disciples, not the multitudes, His disciples came to Him.

He got up away from them for privacy, and when He got up away from them and He set, then His disciples came into Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, specifically His disciples' saying. So that's the setting. The multitudes were following Him in general, but to those who were following Him in heart, He personally taught them. And He opened His mouth and taught them. These are followers. These are disciples. This obviously included the Twelve, for instance.

So He taught them. What's the first thing that comes out of His mouth in teaching them that's recorded for us? Verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Why did He start off with blessed are the poor in spirit? This is where it starts.

This is where it begins, the Christian calling, fulfilling our Christian calling. What it means to be a true Christian, what it means to be Christ-like, this is where it starts, the poor in spirit. What do you have with someone who is poor in spirit? You have one who sees that He has need.

You have one who sees His lackings. You have one who sees there are some gaps, and there are some breaches that need filling. And what does one who's poor in spirit do who sees He has gaps? He has breaches. He has need. He goes about filling them. He goes about attending to them. He goes about doing something about them. You know, you don't truly try to fill something that you don't even recognize as empty, do you? A sad situation was someone that I knew very well, who came to the point where they said, I haven't done anything wrong.

I haven't done anything wrong.

They may as well have said too that I have no gaps. I have no breaches. There's nothing that I need.

The individual that I'm speaking of, I knew very well. But the poor in spirit was not there. See, poor in spirit is a recognition.

It's a recognition of need. And along with that, it is a humility to go about addressing that need. Christ looked and saw all these multitudes. He knew God's not going to call all of them in this age. The Father is only going to call the ones He selects to call.

Those multitudes are not being called right now to the Christian calling.

They're not going to be given the opportunity to fulfill the Christian calling. Not yet. In time, yes. But the ones that He's giving me, the disciples, they're the ones that are being called to it. So He goes up to a place of privacy and they're the ones that He gives this specific instruction to. Poor in spirit. Those who would have a true opportunity to recognize their needs and the humility to go about addressing those needs. That's why He's emphasizing it. And that's why God says, and you find this in Isaiah 66, verse 2. In Isaiah 66, verse 2, God says to this man, and let's just insert person in there. Because man is used generically in that sense for man or woman, but we'll just say person. It doesn't change the meaning, but it makes it very clear that the application is to all. To this man or this person, well, I look.

Now, you cannot, and I cannot fully wrap my mind, you cannot fully wrap your mind around the magnitude of God. All the energy that's done the Son came from God. All the energy of the universe came from God. All the energy for life comes from God and His laws of sustainment and maintenance and all of that. And that God, the Father and Jesus Christ, supreme in their might, I want Him to see me. I want Him to look at me. I want Him to guide me and direct me and strengthen me and carry me and someday give me life that can never be destroyed.

Well, then what? Is there anything that I can do to help that out? To this man, well, I look. I want to be one of the men, one of the persons that He looks at. To this man, well, I look. Even to Him that is poor and of a contrite spirit. That's Isaiah 66.2. I will look to the person who is poor and of a contrite spirit. This is where it starts. This is where it begins and that's why Christ leads off with this because it's with this person that something can be accomplished. It's with this person that God can truly take time. He can take time with that person and that time will produce something. It's with this person that God can get along. Think about that too. Can two walk together except to be agreed? Well, God's not going to change the way He walks because the way He walks is righteousness and light. So we get in step with Him and one of a poor and contrite spirit is going to get in step with God. With that person, God can get along. And it's with this person that God can start, He can have, and He can maintain a relationship. See, maintaining a relationship. You can add to that Scripture in Isaiah 66, add Isaiah 57 verse 15. Isaiah 57 verse 15 where God says, I dwell in the high and holy place with Him. That means a relationship. I dwell in the high and holy place with Him also. That is of a contrite and humble spirit. So those are the benefits and that is one of the supreme benefits of being of a poor and contrite spirit. Also, in John 14 and verse 23 along this line, John 14 and verse 23, poor and spirit, it's with such that God's words found in John 14, 23 can be fulfilled.

Jesus answered and said to Him, If a man loved Me, he will keep My words. My Father will love Him.

And we, plural, the Father and the Son, we will come to Him and make our abode, or that is our dwelling with Him. We will live with Him. And, of course, God actually lives within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Poor and spirit is with this person that God can accomplish something.

It's with this person God can start and finish a work. One of the things that you're granted in your learning through experience of living a long time with the truth and living a long time through a number of decades, as many of us have, is that we have seen many begin...I'm talking about among God's people, the Church of God. Many have begun poor in spirit. Many have begun with the recognition of need. We've seen that. But then we've also seen many who have lost their poor in spirit. And that's always sad and tragic. And we've seen many who have lost sight of their need. And consequently, many have failed. You lose the poor in spirit frame of mind. You lose sight that you have need. And you begin to fade.

And then eventually, just totally fail. And what's the real casualty? The Christian calling for that person is never finished. The Christian calling for that person is unfulfilled. And the effort to make one Christ-like comes to naught. These are sad realities. They're tragic realities. And I was just thinking to myself the other day, why does God put all of these warnings in His Word to His people when once we're baptized into Christ, we've got it made forever and can't lose out?

Well, I just kind of quoted a Protestant doctrine. The once saved, always saved. Those warnings are there not to take up space. Those warnings are there because what starts properly must be kept proper in order for the Christian calling to be fulfilled. Because when we were first called, there are certain things that are put into place. Yes, and I covered some of that with the sermon two weeks ago as far as, except you become as a little child. Certain things have to be in place.

But the person isn't Christ-like and having Christ truly formed in them.

It takes time for that to occur. But poor in spirit, because in true humility, a person sees their needs and what did they do? They commit their time and their energies and their attention to fulfilling that need. It generates something. It generates a yielded, obedient, repentant spirit. It's a framework in which the calling of God can take place and come to fruition.

Fulfilling your specific Christian calling. See, the Christian calling doesn't vary from person to person. The Christian calling that Matthew 5, 6, and 7 lays out. It's the same for each of us called of God.

Well, your Christian calling is different. No, it's not. Our Christian calling to become Christ-like is the same. God may have different roles and responsibilities for us. Yes, that's something different. But how we function in our roles and our responsibilities and our relationships. There's the set, standard way. And it's called being like Christ. Christ formed in us, having His mind in us. And this layout is given to us. But it's going to be our greatest challenge and our most pressing need because you know what? You have to stay on top of yourself every day.

How many times did we come to the end of the day and say, oh, I blew it, God.

Sorry. Tomorrow's another day. I'll do my best to do better. But I blew it. Man, I shouldn't have said what I did. Oh, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. Oh, I didn't handle that situation very well. I mean, if I was my father, I would be ashamed of me for what I did, what I said, or what I thought, or whatever. It's quite a challenge, but it's our most pressing need. And it's fulfilled through God doing His work in us as we respond responsibly to Him. And anything that blocks that response, blocks that work, and thereby blocks the fulfilling of that calling.

This is why pride is so detrimental.

It blinds one's eyes and it blocks God. It blinds one's eyes and it blocks God.

It prevents one from seeing or admitting one's true needs.

This is one of the reasons why pride is such a major wrecker of conversion, of growth, of development. I'm going to turn over to James 4.

James 4 and also simultaneously 1 Peter 5. James 4 and 1 Peter 5. And flip back and forth.

Pride is so detrimental because, well, for one thing it blinds one's eyes and it blocks God. And it prevents one from seeing or admitting one's true needs.

And therefore, God from being able to help fill them.

In James 4 and verse 6, James 4 and verse 6, it says, but He gives more grace, wherefore He says, God resists the proud. If you think you can win a battle against God, try it. If you go to war with God, if you get in a fight with God, you know, people talk about pick your battles. Well, don't pick a battle with God, because you will not win that battle. God resists the proud, and the proud do fight with God. They might not word it that way, but the proud do fight with God. They fight with His ways.

They fight God. They may not realize they're doing it, but nonetheless, the bottom line is, they do. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. And Peter says in 1 Peter 5, 5, and like I said, I'll flip back and forth. 1 Peter 5 and verse 5, Likewise, you, youngers, to make yourselves to the elder. Yes, all of you, be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. For God resists the proud. And if He resists you because of your pride, believe me, He can be successful in His resistance.

You're not going to win that battle. And He gives grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5 and verse 6, humility allows God to develop us. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

And then James 4.10, same thing. You kind of get the feeling that James and Peter were on the same page, right? Might have read each other's work, so to speak. Or could it just simply be that they were operating by the same Spirit, God's Spirit? Could it be that they both knew God's purposes, God's mind? Could it be that they both were being very successful at fulfilling the Christian calling? Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. He shall lift you up because He has been able to develop you, because you have seen and acknowledged and not lost sight of your need. But pride shuts all of that down.

Pride prevents the fulfilling of our Christian calling. This is why, again, Christ deals with poor in spirit right up front at the beginning, because except that be there instead of pride, the work can't get off the ground. Fulfilling the Christian calling cannot get off the ground.

And when it's off the ground, poor in spirit must be maintained. Pride cannot come back in and start taking away poor in spirit and start shutting things down.

Our calling has been expressed in a number of ways, and one of the most accurate ways is to say Christ-like, to become Christ-like, to become like Christ, and say there's nothing Christ-like in pride. You know what it is like? It's devil-like. It's not Christ-like, it's devil-like.

1 Timothy 3.6 bears this out in certain words. 1 Timothy 3 and verse 6.

Now, in these instructions here from Paul to Timothy, which have to do with ordaining others or appointing them to an office of service, it is mentioned, not a novice, not one new to come to the faith, lest being what? Lifted up with pride.

He fall into what? The condemnation of the devil. In other words, pride is the condemnation of the devil. Pride is what the devil created, came up with. It drips off of him. It goes all the way to his core. He's filled with pride. That's the condemnation against the devil. And Paul is saying, not someone new to come to the faith, lest being lifted up with pride. He fall into the same problems that the devil had. He lifted up with pride. I will simply turn back and read Ezekiel 28, 17 for the sake of doing it. Ezekiel 28 and verse 17.

This little statement about Lucifer. Your heart was lifted up. And any time you see that phrase lifted up like that used in this kind of context, obviously, lifted up with pride. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness. It's pride, the condemnation of the devil. This is why God resists the proud.

And then if I use a rhetorical question and say, well, why does God resist the proud?

Because when God looks at pride, you know what he's looking at? He's looking at the face of the devil. We may not have seen it that way, but we don't always see things the way God sees it. When God looks at pride, he's looking at the face of the devil because that pride was never on any face.

When the Father and the Son look at each other, they don't see that face. They don't see the face of pride. When they look at the holy angels, the righteous angels, they don't see the face of pride.

But the one who came up with pride and who helped to infiltrate of his own doing, a third of angelic creation with it. It was the devil. And so God is looking at the face of the devil and the countenance of the devil registered no recognition of personal need. Think about it.

If Lucifer had felt, if he had registered or had any recognition of personal need whatsoever, let's just say, even in just use the word relationship, if he had seen any recognition in any sense of having personal need, like, I have a relationship with God, I need to keep that good relationship with God. If he had any, he lost it. He didn't really, truly need God. Think about that.

There came a point where there was nothing he had with God that he said to himself, I need that. I need to maintain that. That's important. That's valuable. I treasure that.

The time came, he didn't really, truly need God. He didn't need God in the role he had. He didn't need God in the responsibilities he had. He didn't need God in the relationship he had.

He didn't need the relationship. He could do just fine on his own without God. In fact, and again, I'm not making this up. It's in Scripture, and we know that. There are scriptures that support these statements. In fact, he could run the universe just as well and probably run it better.

Yeah, I'm sure he thought, I can do that, and I can do it as well or better. You tell me why he charged off to heaven to try to take God's throne from him and be God. In other words, be over everything. So the face that rose up before God at the head of a rebellious, angelic army to take the throne from God was a face that was filled with pride, for he was the originator of it. So when God sees carnal pride in any of us, He sees resemblance to the devil.

We don't like that thought because we know how easily our pride can get pricked, our ego, our vanity. We know how easy we can fall prey to pride and the thought that when God sees carnal pride in us, He sees resemblance to the devil. That's a little bit discomforting, isn't it? But it's a facial feature of the fallen archangel. This is why, when we find in Proverbs 6, verses 16 through 19, and God lists certain things that He hates.

You might say this is one of God's hate lists, things that He hates. When we understand this about pride, is there any wonder when He says in Proverbs 6, 16, these six things does the Lord hate? Yes, seven and abomination unto Him. In verse 17, the very first thing is listed as a proud look because that's the look of the devil. That resistance started with the issue of pride with the devil. I want to go back to 1 Peter 5.8. 1 Peter 5.

You can read the messages to the church. The seven in Revelation 2 and Revelation 3, the seven messages to the church. And you will find in those messages, there are some statements where God is bringing to attention that some of His people are not taking seriously their calling.

It's sprinkled in those messages. That they're not taking seriously their calling.

They're not taking seriously their responsibility and their opportunity. 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, Be sober. Be vigilant. Now, when I get on the highway after a while to go over to Gatsby, Alabama, first of all, I will be sober. I'm sober now. I live sober. But I'll be extra sober.

And I'll be extra vigilant because if I'm not, I may not get to Gatsby.

I may wind up in the funeral home or a hospital. The highways are dangerous places. With every past year, they're more dangerous because of drugs, sleep deprivation, stresses, rage, a whole bunch of things.

Now, I'll be vigilant. Well, how about on the spiritual highways of this life?

In the spiritual warfare that we have to fight so that our Christian calling can be fulfilled personally in us. Because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walks about, now notice this, seeking whom he may devour. Seeking whom he may devour. And in that devouring, to prevent the fulfilling, to prevent the fruition, to prevent the completion of your calling to become truly Christ-like. Because just like when God looks at pride, He sees the face of the devil. When Satan looks and sees whatever measure of Christ of the Word is in you, and whatever measure of the indwelling of God's Spirit, He sees God to some degree.

And He hates God with a passion like we can't believe.

When it says, devour, seeking whom he may devour, you would be hard put, and I'm not sure you could, but you'd be hard put to find a tool that He created, is that His disposal? It's more effective than pride for devouring. Think about it a moment. How many marriages have been devoured by pride?

I've seen it happen over and over and over. Marriage after marriage devoured by pride.

That's the work of the devil, the pride. How many relationships have been devoured by pride?

Only God knows the number. How many friendships have been devoured by pride? And how many people have been devoured by pride? It's the devils.

If you think of a lion, and you think of those fangs that they can rip, the fangs that they can rip and tear with, and you think about olden times before actual humans, per se, with saber-toothed cats.

The devils, I.T., his fangs for ripping and tearing and devouring, it's pride.

Pride rips and tears and devours.

And that's not a meaningless statement.

How many friendships, how many marriages, how many relationships have been devoured by pride?

And how many Christians, how many set initially on God's course through God's calling, have been devoured by it over the years? 1 Peter 5 and verse 9.

Whom, the one who's trying to devour you, and his prime teeth for ripping and tearing, his prime tool, the instrument, is pride, whom resists steadfast. Steadfast.

Not giving up, staying with it, being steadfast, whom resists steadfast, it's part of the daily stuff we have to do.

Who resists steadfast? Where? In the faith.

In the faith. Resist steadfast in the faith.

In the faith. In the body. In your calling. And where you've been placed, what you've been placed into. Into the truth. Into the body of Christ. In the faith. Not letting it be taken away from you. In your calling. From the midst of where you are and should be. That is, when I say in the midst, actively involved in the endeavors that comprise your Christian calling.

And actively resisting the things that don't belong there that tear it down. You sit here, we sit here, because God has called us into the Christian calling.

And He has hopes for us to fulfill that Christian calling. Obviously, we have efforts to make, yes. We're free moral agents, yes. And God wants us to do that which pleases Him and that He can bless. Our Christian calling, which started with and is maintained by humility, seeing our need and yielding to its fulfillment, is fulfilled through a framework that is expressed in the term, poor in spirit. And that's why a definition, or a how-to, of the Christian calling begins with, poor in spirit. That's how it begins.

That's how it's maintained. And when you have that truly in place, the destination, and if you look at what it says, when that is in place, what's the end result supposed to be or come to? The destination of the Kingdom will be arrived at. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. It's to those that are going to inherit glorious eternity in the family of God forever. That's where it's going to wind up. That's what it's going to come to, the completion of our Christian calling, poor in spirit.

Again, it expresses a framework of mind. It also expresses a perspective and an approach that is essential for beginning it, maintaining it all along the way, and completing it. And that's why, you know, you think about it, Christ could have chosen, I guess, whatever He wanted to start off with in that arrangement, but He chose that one. And He chose that one because it leads off the specifics of being a Christian. It's really Christ's life.

Let's go back there. Matthew 5.

Right on the heels of that, in verse 4, "...blessed are they that mourn, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Blessed are they that mourn. This goes beyond just the limited meaning of the word. It's a lot more encompassing than that. The idea of mourning in this simple sense of what Webster says about feel, feel or express sorrow, regret the loss of or deplore, that's only part of it.

It goes much beyond that. The meaning in this verse is all-encompassing. It's very expansive.

Now, if you want to do your own word study in Strong's, you would find that this word here for mourn is 3996. 3996. Pentheo, P-E-N-T-H-E-O, you could look that up. It means to grieve, or mourn, or wail, be well.

It will show you in Strong's that it's taken from the one right after it, 3997. Pentheos, P-E-N-T-H-O-S, which then also connects back. And again, you just go to Strong's and you can put it together for yourself, but which connects back with 3958. Pasho, P-A-S-T-H-O, including the forms patho and pentheo. Now, it seems to be getting complicated. It's not really. You just go to Strong's, you look up the word for mourn, and then it gives you the connections. It says, yeah, this goes back to this, and this also incorporates this, incorporates this. And basically, when you put it all together, to experience a sensation or an impression, usually painful. Now, that's interesting. To experience a sensation. Blessed are those who mourn.

To experience a sensation or impression, usually painful. To feel, passion, suffer, vex, V-E-X, vex.

Vines' expository dictionary of New Testament words for pentheo says this, to mourn for, to lament, is used of mourning in general, of sorrow for sin, or for condoning it.

So, it's pretty encompassing. It says, blessed are they that mourn. That's pretty encompassing when it says to mourn for or to lament. It's used of mourning in general, but also sorrow for sin and for condoning it. See, the idea of feeling for others is entailed.

The idea of sorrowing with them and for them is definitely there. And in the words of Christ, I'll just read what He said in Matthew 23, verses 37 and 34.

In Matthew 23, verses 37 and 38, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and He knew every one of them with personal relationship, didn't He? And some of them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not. Behold, your house has left unto you desolate. The idea of identifying with others in their suffering is definitely part of it, but it goes beyond that also. It's a vexing. It's a vexing, or that is a frustration.

It's a hurting. It's a mourning because things are not the way they should be.

And it's a yearning for them to be what they should be. This is what underlies Ezekiel 9, 4.

Go through the city. Mark those who sigh and cry. Mark those, take note of those who mourn, who are bothered, who are grieved, who are vexed, who are frustrated, for all the abominations they see around them. It's a vexing or frustration, hurting, mourning, because things are not the way they should be.

And it's a yearning for things to be the way they should be, and can be, and will be someday. I don't have to turn or need to turn to 2 Peter 2.8, but in 2 Peter 2.8, speaking of Lot, it said, vexed his righteous soul from day to day, daily, with their unlawful deeds.

He mourned. He was frustrated. He hurt. He sorrowed.

When you look at that word, mourn, and what it has to do with, the ones who are really bothered by the sufferings and the hurts and the injustices that are all around us, and who yearn and mourn and are bothered by the conditions of Satan and sin and society, what humans have done to humans. What humans are currently doing to humans. There are some things that I would not lay out in words to you from this position.

And I'd even be hesitant, in some cases, to even lay out certain words, even in private, of some of the conditions of what humans do to humans, and what humans are doing to humans. Those who mourn, those who yearn to see it change, who mourn with and for mankind, who yearn for the better day coming, who are truly learning to hate evil and the pain it produces.

I grew up in the church. Nobody grows up exclusively in the church in this age.

Yeah, I grew up in the church. I grew up in the truth. I've been involved with the truth all of my life. Does that mean that, oh boy, I was in a bubble. I was sheltered. I didn't know what was going on around me. I didn't see things that shouldn't be seen. I wasn't aware of things that were happening around. Nobody grows up exclusively in the church in terms of being isolated from all that's going on around them. I know what alcoholism does. I know what adultery does. I know what all these things do to people. I've seen many relationships devoured. Marriage is devoured. Health devoured. I guess it was part of my training to be doing what I've been doing for over 50 years now. That's one reason why when I spoke at the feast and I said, what does the Kingdom of God on earth, how does it translate to you personally and its beauty, its grandeur, the peace and the happiness of mankind? There are people that I look forward that I'm blood related to in the last great day where I have the opportunity.

I mourned with them in this life and I'll comfort them in that life. You and I, in fulfilling the Christian calling, mourning who truly learn to hate evil and the pain it produces. See, that's why I hate it because I see the pain it produces. It's not just say, well that's evil so I'm going to hate it because it's called evil. I hate it because, yes, it's evil, but because of the pain that it produces, the suffering. And those who mourn truly learn to fear God because what does Proverbs 8.13 say but with a definition? It says, the fear of the Lord is the hate evil. The fear of the Lord is the hate evil.

And what is it going to say in that verse? Such will be comforted. Those who mourn, because they're going to be part of a world where they're going to see the wrongs removed, where they're going to see the hurts healed, they're going to see the sadness turned to joy, and they're going to see nothing get off the ground and become a way of life that's going to destroy people's lives and happiness. And they're going to be comforted because they're going to be given a direct hand in such. And then verse 5, "...blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." I like this earth. I don't like what's being done by so many people who want it. I mean, what they're doing, but this earth kind of feels homey to me. I like it. I look forward to inheriting the earth.

"...blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." And that's going to be a direct hands-on opportunity, yes. See, those who learn to feel deeply and fully to identify with the pain and the sufferings of mankind and why, who see and feel for the need of all mankind, those who yearn and ache for a better day, they're not only going to be comforted by seeing that better day come, also by having a direct hand in it. I look forward to taking my two hands, which will be spirit hands at that time, but which can be manifest as human hands with touch and feel and be seen and being involved and bringing about, under Christ's guidance and direction, a new world. See, our pain from mourning is going to be turned to comfort in time. If we grow in the capacity to feel for others, if we grow in the capacity to hate wrongdoing and to yearn and mourn for what's missing. You know, one of the things about returning to Chattanooga, because it's a return for me. Now, out of about 100 people on the books up there, about 20 of them were in the congregation when I was here years ago. I left there in 2005.

So, most of the congregation is new to me and me new to them. Just 20% is, you know, we had a previous relationship in that sense. But one of the nice things is to take a little baby, girl, or boy for the blessing of little children with the parents standing there with me.

And they were parents that I knew when they were young. And they did things right.

And they kept God in their life. And they grew up in the truth. And they married. And they have a happy marriage. And they have a happy family. And they have the benefits and the blessings of God's way. And someday to provide that for everyone. Because not everyone has it now. And we know that. Most don't. And again, to yearn and mourn for what's missing and look forward to becoming Christlike, coming to completion. Because without spirit and mourning, we can't become Christlike. But look at verse 5 here. Blessed are the meek, yes, for they shall inherit the earth. They are the ones who are going to be put in charge with Christ. Now, think about that. Christ is going to inherit the earth. He's coming back. We're going to inherit the earth because we're going to be co-heirs with Christ.

And we're going to be put in charge with Christ. We know the scriptures, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5.10, we know this. And we know scriptures like Revelation 2.26, to him will I give power over the nations. But think of it this way. The opportunity of power and rulership is given to the meek. This opportunity and inheritance to serve and affect the whole earth is given to the meek. This is the opportunity to rule in the lives and minds of the nations for a thousand years, the last great day, and of course, beyond into the eternal kingdom of God. It's given to the meek. So what is connected here? Meekness here is used in connection with power.

Think about that for a moment. Generally, we tend to connect meekness with humility, which is appropriate to a degree. There's no disconnect when you connect meekness with humility, yes.

But see, there can be different shades of things and with various connections, and this is one of those.

Humility and meekness are much the same, but meekness has a meaning that makes it particularly important and attractive and necessary in connection with power. The word here for meek is in the Strongs, it's 4239 PRAUS, 4239, it means mild. That is humble-meek. And then again, it connects you with another word that is involved in the meaning, which is 4235, PRAUS, which means gentle, that is humble-meek. So when you take those two and you put them together for meek, you have gentle and mild, or mild and gentle. Christ uses it of his own disposition when he talks about his joke is easy and all of that in Matthew 11.29. But what it is presenting is a soothing disposition.

Blessed are the mild, blessed are the gentle, blessed are those of a soothing disposition, gentle and mild. Into these hands God will place the earth, into these hands will such power be entrusted. Into these hands only will such power be saved. Remember James and John, before they were converted, before they fulfilled the Christian calling when they were yet so carnal, with that little town of the Samaritans as they were headed towards Jerusalem. And the little town did not want to receive Christ there. And James and John, sons of Thunders, wanted to call down fire out of heaven and just burn them out.

And Christ said, you don't know what spirit you're of. Could you imagine?

Say they launched their cool, they launched their head. What if they had had such power at that time to call down fire? The little city wouldn't exist. It would just have been a smoking ruin.

But let's just say no change with them. Leave them like they are, but give them power later.

And James is checking in with Christ and he's been given 10 cities and Christ says, how are you doing? He says, well, I think I'm doing pretty good. I've still got five cities left.

What happened to the other five? Well, I burned them out. Let me check with John and see if John's having any better luck than you are. You know, we don't transfer it that way or transport it that way or project it that way, but God is making sure it doesn't get projected that way. This is our training ground we're learning now because the world to come, obviously, is going to be laid in mild the power given to deal with that world to come. It's going to be laid in mild gentle hands of a soothing nature of self-control, of temperance. It's going to be hands of healing.

Hands of healing. Hands that walk hand in hand with Christ and the teamwork of Christ-like meekness and those hands the earth will be safe and at peace and productive. And as far as gentleness is concerned, David made the statement one time. It's in 2 Samuel 22. I'm not going to turn back there, but 2 Samuel 22 in verse 36 for reference, but your gentleness has made me great.

Again, the earth will be safe in those hands, that it be at peace and to be productive.

And our Christian calling entails developing that type disposition. It has to become part of us.

Because see, with that disposition, guess what? Others are safe with you. Others are safe with you.

And any power placed in your hands will be safe. And the power you'll hold will never be a threat or a detriment to anyone. The earth will be safe with you. And guess what? Going out in the ultimate, as far as our rulership, the universe will be safe with us also because we will be Christ-like.

That disposition came to be James and John's before they died. James was the first martyr, a very deeply converted individual. And, of course, John was the longest living of those original disciples, apostles, and he became known as the Apostle of Love.

And you know what? We'll never have to worry about how much power God gives to James and John at the resurrection because whatever measure it is, it'll be in mild, gentle hands of temperance and self-control, and it will be for the good of people. Seeing our need, personal needs, seeing the world's need, yearning for its fulfillment, and growing in the disposition that God can entrust power to. Think about that. Click 1, 2, 3. Pour in spirit, mourn, meek.

Seeing our need, personal need, pour in spirit, seeing the world's need, yearning for the fulfillment, mourning, and growing in the disposition that God can entrust power to because we're growing in His righteousness. Brethren, that's why I will give this as a series, because it's only scratching the surface. It's only scratching the surface of Matthew 5, 6, and 7, but it does illustrate the value of Matthew 5, 6, and 7 about fulfilling the Christian calling. And, frankly, I pray that we're each stimulated to become very familiar with these three chapters, because our spiritual growth, knowingly or unknowingly, has to fulfill this criteria.