Alright, listen, my name's Gray part of the team here at the Hunt Club and wherever you're tuning in one of our campuses, man, we are, we are honored that you would, uh, that you would be here. And I would even say this, if you're a first time guest on any of our campuses, like that's such a big deal. Uh, like, I, I don't like being in new places and I'm kind of an introvert by heart. And, uh, and so I have so much respect, uh, for you guys showing up and, and being a part of something new and maybe even around some folks that, that you, you know, you've never seen before. And so, um, so kudos to you.

Well, let me tell you before we get any further, man, our KXP team watching that and, and being able to watch that firsthand, uh, particularly at the Hunt Club where, where I get to work, uh, and seeing the intentionality that that is, is behind our KXP leaders and our directors and just the, they're always dreaming. How can we create experiences where our children want to be there and, and then they wanna know and, and love and follow Jesus. And so, uh, just I want you to know that you've got a team of people that are passionate about partnering with you. Um, as parents, and I would even say this, if, if you, if you, uh, serve in KXP, man, thank you for that. Thank you for, for partnering, you know, with me as a parent and, uh, even though mine is out of that stage right now.

But, but I appreciate so much those of you that do that. And then let me just is while we're talking about the next generation, then, if we kind of fast forward in age and we get to movement, let me just tell you this number, alright, on all of our campuses, you, I'm, I'm, I am priming the pump. You, you should celebrate what's coming next. Okay? Alright.

So, no, like golf clap kind of thing. Slow clap. Alright. Last week we launched the movement on all of our campuses. We had over 500 students.

Now. Yes. Now here's, now as, as we, as we celebrate that, and I don't tell you that as a, as a, as a, you know, a place for you to, to bow your chest and be like, oh, my church, we have 500 students. Um, I say that so that we feel as a church on all of our campuses, the responsibility. That's right.

I mean, think about this. Like, if you've got a teenager, you know, the damage a teenager can do like in an hour, okay? Like it, I mean, it is just like they are, as my wife says, they can be destroyers of worlds. Um, and, uh, and, and so you know that, but what happens if we flip the script and we get 500 students? If God gets a hold of the hearts of 500 students in Mississippi, I mean, what kind of impact are we talking about?

It's huge. And so I say that number, it's not a responsibility that's just on the staff of venture. It's a responsibility of, of us as the church to come alongside those students and continue to, to lead them and nurture them in the right direction. Alright? So, hey, we are continuing our series on the Be Attitudes.

And if you've been with us past couple weeks, you've, um, you know that, and one of the things that I have picked up on that or really just sticks out to me, as, as we have, you know, unpacked these bee attitudes, these things that we are becoming as we, as we follow Christ, is that they are really, really counter-cultural. Like, I mean, like in the first century, the things that Jesus is saying, like blessed of the poor in spirit, like at first reading, nobody is jumping in that line. You know, last week Kyle was blessed of the morning. I mean, that, that's a really short line if you're just reading it at surface level. And, uh, but, but the thing that, that I have also picked up on is, is if they're counter-cultural, then like they are for sure even more so now, like, it, it, it is even more of, of a contrast and they even seem counterintuitive.

But, but what I love about God's word and what I love about Jesus and his teachings is that although they are counter-cultural and they seem counterintuitive, they're never counterproductive. We could say it this way, when we look at the Beatitudes, the beatitudes are creating a, a, a better way to live and love for us. Now, if we just added laugh in there, you know, this could be a sign at a Cracker Barrel, but the beatitudes are a better way to live and love for us. Like as we walk closer with Jesus, these things become to, uh, are becoming in us, and they create a better experience here on this planet with our interactions, with our, with our, our loved ones. And, and, and not only that 'cause it's not just for us, but for us and others.

And this is key, a couple weeks ago I got to teach and talk with you guys about when we say yes to the Lord, and we say yes to God and I, and we talked about how our yes never just impacts us. And this is so true with the Beatitudes. In fact, if you keep reading, you know, oftentimes in the scriptures we open up a Bible and there's these, these subheadings, you know, like for this one it would probably say in bold, the Beatitudes. Well, Jesus didn't say that. Like, you know, that we, we added that for organizational purposes, chapters and verses we added that so we can organize thought.

And so, so often we, we kind of put a break where there, there wasn't one. And so there's the beatitudes where Jesus is talking about this. And then he goes, and he gives us these two different analogies. And, and the first one is about being salt. But then the second one in Matthew chapter five, he says this, he says, you are the light of the world.

So this isn't a new thought, this is a, a continuation. Like you're becoming these things. And as you're becoming these things, you're the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. He goes on, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house, not just the one person. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds. That that's the the thing, live and love, making it better for us and glorify you. Mm-hmm. Glorify venture church.

Nope. Glorify your father in heaven. That as I live these out and as I follow Jesus, and these become more and more a part of my life, that I'm ultimately pointing people to Jesus, do they make living better? Not like in a prosperity Gospel kinda way, but are relationships better when these things are true in my life? Absolutely.

But as people look on and they go, man, what's different about him? And it begins to impact their life because they see and then glorify our father in heaven. And so that, I'm gonna come back to that at the end, that the, the the bee attitudes, uh, help us in, in life. They make our life, uh, better in, in how we live and how we love, uh, for us and for others. We'll come back to that.

But for right now, we're hit pause there and we're gonna go to our next beatitude. Okay? So it, it's Matthew chapter five, verse five. It's a one-liner. It's really simple.

Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Now, I don't know about you, but uh, this word right here, meek, that doesn't excite me. Now, I mean, just raise a hand. Raise your hands on all your campuses. If, if, if you don't work for venture church and you're not a house church pastor, okay?

Have you, if you've used this word this week, raise your hand. All right? Other campuses, we got nobody at Lincoln Road, okay? Like, this is not something that we, this word we don't use a lot. In fact, in fact, there's usually two trains of thought when we think about me.

One is we think about weakness. And, you know, and I, and I don't even mean that like from like a physically weak, when I think about it, I think about it from like a, a mental fortitude kind of place. And then, and then like the, the upside of neatness is gentle. Now, this is how I know that God has a sense of humor and that he created laughter is because I ended up on this week, it is not my week. We had some things change and it was like, Hey, gray, can you pick up meekness?

Sure. Like, there's nothing about me that, that that screams meekness. I none of it. Nobody's going, nobody's gonna say, man, have you met Gray man? Such a gentle guy.

Like, it's just not go going to ha I mean, I grew up with two other, two older brothers to be meek. What to be meat was like not to eat like you, you, you had to survive. You know, I grew up on a farm and you know, that has its own, you know, the, you saw the circle of life happen often and, uh, you know, so that, that, that doesn't fit even like I get, I get this statement made to me often is, is, um, gray, anybody ever told you, you look like Jason Statham. And and you may be thinking, well, that's pretty cool. No, it's not.

Number one, have you ever seen Jason Statham smile? He's a, he's a action hero, uh, movie star celebrity. The second thing, have you ever seen a Jason Statham movie? All he does is beat the snot outta people. Like, that doesn't work in my line of work.

Like, that's not what this phase needs to be conveying. You know, one of the things we do, I'm just, I just want you to, I want you to feel, or I want you to know that I feel what you're feeling, particularly if you're a man. One of the things that, that I get told, you know, we, we constructively critique our messages, uh, because we always wanna be getting better. And, and a couple things I've been told, uh, even recently is like, uh, gray, you should laugh at your own jokes. That, that, like, there's nothing gentle.

Like you can't even laugh at your own jokes. Uh, or, or this one I was told, Hey, you need to smile more. You know, I've told you guys before that my wife will tell me, Hey, fix your face and, but you need to smile more. Then I try to smile more. And you know what they tell me?

Mm, that kinda looks like a Wednesday. Adams smile Wednesday. Adams doesn't smile a lot, and when she does, it's forced. I'm like, you know, so I get, when you hear this word meek, you're like, man, I don't, I I don't know. In, in, in fact, if, I bet you guys can fill in the blank for this, what, what is this word that goes right here, meek?

And yeah, what a combo. I mean that there's nothing about that. That when Jesus says, blessed are the meek, I'm like, oh, sign me up for that. There, like, in my mind, there's nothing more counter-cultural counterintuitive. We live in a world where Mike is right, power is how you get things done.

And Jesus is saying like, you need to be meek. And then the English, like if you go to the dictionary, this is the definition you find deficient in spirit and courage. Now there's there, there are other definitions. I did Perry check this one because, or Perry, uh, I did cherry pick this one because it is, it is like the worst. But the best ones are like quiet and gentle.

But like, listen guys, deficient in spirit and courage, a KAA coward. And look, I'm, I'm five nine, I have been deficient in height my entire life. One of my favorite things I love about teaching at Lincoln Road is two things. Number one is I always treat myself to Shipley's Donuts when I, when I teach over here. And then number two is that when I get streamed to other campuses, I'm taller for 30 minutes.

Every several weeks I get to be six foot. Like nobody's signing up for meekness. But Jesus said, blessed are the meek. The good life belongs to the meek. So the good news is this, there's not a word to word translation from the word that Jesus used, which is this one right here.

PRAs. Everybody say that. You ready? 1, 2, 3. Yeah, you guys are great Greek scholars.

Now, um, there's not a word to word translation. I was supposed to laugh there. Ha, I'm, I'm working on this. There, there's not a, there's not a a word to word translation for this word. It's a, it's a complex word.

It is, it's multilayered. And so to really understand what Jesus is talking about, we've gotta understand all the different layers. And so I wanna do that. And I want you to see, because on the other side of meekness, there's something that, that you and I, man, we crave and we need. And it's what we were created for.

Okay? So understanding meekness, the, the, the first one is, is this right here, is that we are, it's used in, in the first century, actually a little before the, the first century, appropriate anger. So Aristotle would use that word, raus, when he was talking about how we can be so angry and, and like, you know, just, you know, be a destroyer of worlds kind of thing. But then over here we can be passive. And, and he's like, no, there's somewhere in the mid, in the middle where you're meek and you bring the appropriate anger to the situation.

It it has overtones of being self-controlled. And, and, and even from a biblical standpoint, we would call this righteous anger. You know, when we get angry about the right things, we get angry about the, the vulnerable that are taken, uh, advantage of. And, and so Aristotle said, Hey, it, it's an element of of controlling, you know, those strongest emotions in us. And there's, you know, things are emotionally, emotionally, there's things fewer, there's things not nearly as strong as, as anger is.

It's like one of the strongest emotions that we feel. And he says, so it's, it's to be meek is to be able to control that. And then after that it gets used When you're talking about training an animal. Now immediately my brain goes to a horse and, and, and a horse when it's, when it's broken, when it's, when it's trained, when it's tame, it still has all its power. It hasn't lost any power.

But, but now it's, I like to think of not only controlled, but it's focused. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded. So I told you I grew up on a farm. We had a, a bull named Big boy. Uh, I think we got a picture, big boy, uh, if you can see him, he is, it is not a great picture 'cause it's from like 1992.

Um, but uh, that's me. Um, look how meek I am. Um, big boy's, about 1400 pounds just as docile. You could lay on him and man. But you can imagine how strong a bull like that would be at any point if big boy decided he, it is, it is time for big boy to get out of town.

We couldn't stop him, but he was under control. He had all of that power, that muscle. It was focused in doing what we had trained him to do. But then there's a third way that that word is used, particularly in the first century. And it's chosen humility.

So big boy didn't have any choice in this. We trained big boy in this. This is about being self controlled and then chosen. Humility is, is when we begin to place ourselves under someone else's authority. So training an animal, big boy came under our authority.

Our anger comes under our authority. It's, it's self-control. But chosen humility is something very, very different. It's not being forced. It's something that we humbly say, alright, I'm going to submit.

And that's a word we all start flipping out about. I'm gonna submit myself to the, to the authority of something else. And so we could reframe that verse and say something like this, the good life belongs to those who humbly place themselves under not, not our authority. It is greater than just self-control, but under God's authority in order to live according to his plan and purpose. The good life belongs to those who humbly place themselves under God's authority in order to live according to his plan and purpose.

And Jesus says, blessed is the meek. This is what he's talking about. That we come to a place in our life and we go, Hey, I'm going to submit under not forced, not even just being self-controlled under our own authority, but I'm going to submit under God's authority and be God controlled. So that's what Jesus is talking about when he says Meek. Now I told you that we'd come back to this.

I said that, that that the be attitudes create in us a better way to, to live and love for us and others. And so what is the benefit of, of this? What is, what is the benefit of being meek? Like how, how does this impact me on, on a daily basis? And and in one word I would say, I would say freedom.

If you go back and, and read Matthew chapter five, verse five, this is what Jesus said. This is the the promise that he, he gave us. He said, blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. The first century listener, Jesus that day would've got super stoked about this. In fact, earth is better translated land.

See, at the time that they're hearing this, Israel is being occupied by Rome. Prior to that it was occupied by the Greeks. Prior to that it was occupied by the Persians and the Babylonians. So all of their history that, that all the way back in, in Genesis when, when God talked about the Promised land and Exodus with Moses, I'm, I'm taking you to the promised land. All of that, they're, they've been waiting to inherit the land.

And so when Jesus says, blessed of the meek that, that they're gonna inherit the land, they're like, finally, like, finally we're gonna be out from under Rome. Our, our ancestors were under Alexander the Great and the Greeks, and there was, you know, uh, the Persians and the Babylonians. Finally, this is gonna be our, our land. In other words, finally they're thinking, I'm going to get, we are going to get to experience freedom. We're going to get to experience freedom.

We're not gonna be under the control of anybody else. We're gonna get to live the life that that, that God has called us to, to experience the life that he's called us to. And, and so, so meekness, why does it matter? Why should you lean in when it comes to meekness? It's because meekness brings freedom in your life.

When we humbly submit to God's authority, we find freedom. Now doesn't that sound counterintuitive? That's submitting or authority brings freedom because we live in a world where it says, freedom is, is I can do whatever I want to, but I want to give you, I wanna give you some examples, okay? I'm not just making this up, okay? And you, you, as I go through these, uh, you can maybe place your own scenarios in there.

Think about what, what God's word says about forgiveness. You know, Jesus later on, he, he gives us the, the Lord's prayer. And, and in that he talks about, uh, you know, for, forgive us as, as we forgive those who have sinned against us. And it's a common theme throughout the New Testament that we forgive others because we've been forgiven. But then what, what does in those moments when we've been hurt and we've been offended, what do we want to do?

Uh, we want revenge. And, and we want, we want to hold a grudge and we want to get bitter and we want to be resentful. And we feel like we're gonna punish them by doing all those things. And if you've ever been there, if you're there now and someone has hurt you or offended you, and you haven't forgiven them because you're trying to hurt them in that you're only hurting yourself, you're imprisoning yourself, you've lost freedom. 'Cause you walk around bitter and you walk around angry.

Let let's go, let's go to the the 10 Commandments. Uh, just, just, just work through a few of these. I said, thou shalt not bear false witness lie. Tell me who has more freedom? The person that says, no, man, I, I I hear that, but I'm gonna do whatever I want to do.

I'll, I'll lie to get what I need. I'll lie to get out of trouble. I'll lie to do. Is that person more free because they're getting to do what they want to? Or is the person who submits to this and goes, you know what, I'm gonna, I'm going, my yeses are gonna be yeses and my nos are gonna be no, and I'm gonna be an an honest person.

This person over here, man, spends all their time moving all the pieces around, making sure they're following up and, and staying with each lie the way it was. You know, the way they told it and not getting caught in a lie. This is no, this person over here living in truth. They got nothing in their closet. They're having to worry about what they told the person yesterday.

Let's, let's look at another one in the, in the 10 commandments, uh, students, oh, I hate to do this to you students, uh, honor your mother and father who has more freedom. The student who says, y'all gonna do whatever I wanna do, I don't care about what they say and then suffers consequences. Students, or, or, or the student that goes, Hey, alright, may not be a fan of it, but I'm gonna, I'm gonna honor you. I'm gonna listen. Who has more freedom?

The one that's grounded, the one that gets stuff taken away, or the one that's gaining trust with his parents? Let, let's keep going. Oh, this is a good one. Uh, the way, the way X is 20 reads is covet your neighbors. And I I just say anything, house, wife, anything.

And say it another way. Comparing who, who has more freedom? Adults. Those of you that are constantly comparing your life, your spouse, your kids, your house, your car, your bank account to everybody else. That doesn't sound like freedom to me or the person over here that is content and doesn't covet someone else has and doesn't compare.

One more just for kicks and giggles. Sabbath, I don't need the Sabbath. I, I I don't need, I I don't, I can do whatever I want. I I don't have to slow down. I don't have to stop.

I don't have to create margin. Who has more freedom? The person that's burnout in life who is on edge all the time because they're beyond themselves, or the person who practices rest for them and their family. See, it sounds counterintuitive, but what we get to inherit is freedom. Meekness, placing ourselves under God's authority brings freedom in our life.

So it's not just about being gentle, but it's about submitting our will to gods. We haven't lost any power. Big boy didn't lose any power. Like what, what would it look like if of every relationship, of every decision, of every circumstance? If you submitted that under God's authority and started there, James, Jesus's half brother says this, but whoever looks intently into the perfect law, God's word that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they have heard but doing it, they will be blessed and what they do.

Again, this isn't prosperity. This is just a reality that God's God knows best how we should live our lives. And I dare say that because I, it is true for me that all of my greatest regrets in life have to do with me going my own way and me being my own authority. I don't have any regrets when I've submitted whatever situation, circumstance, decision under God's authority. We think freedom.

We think freedom is about the absence of authority. It's actually humbly submitting to the right authority. So Jesus said, blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who take their, their will and their power and submit it to their heavenly Father. Can I tell you, can I tell you who did this the best way possible?

It's Jesus. Luke chapter 22 says this, Jesus is in the garden and he's, he's, he's praying he's about to be arrested and, and everything's about to go down. He says, father, if you are willing to take this cut from me, yet not my will, But yours be done. He's like, Hey, I, I mean, if there's another way that doesn't have me being nailed to the cross, I'm, I'm down. But then he goes, Hey, look, I submit to your authority.

Jesus is never gonna take us, lead us tell us to do anything he hasn't done before. Just, just you. Fast forward just a little bit. We find Jesus on the cross in Matthew chapter 27. He says, those who pass by, he's on the cross.

He's hanging on the cross. Those who pass by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and say, you who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. Come down from the cross. If you are the Son of God, let me just tell you if I'm Jesus at that point, I'm going full on Jason Statham, not Jesus. He's got the power.

But he submitted him in the same way, the chief priest, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him. He saved others. They said, but he cannot save himself. He's the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him.

And Jesus submitted his will to the fathers so that you and I could experience freedom. That's what meekness looks like. That's what Jesus is calling us to. So this morning, where do you need to be Meek? Where have you decided to go your own way, submitted to your own authority?

And where do you need to bring that under the leadership of your heavenly Father, under the authority of your Heavenly Father, your relationships, your Friday nights. I know we got a lot of college students that are back in town. Your Saturday nights, your finances, and the goal is that we have our entire lives submitted under God's authority. The team's gonna come. And I'll just challenge you.

Maybe it's to sit and pray. You say, God revealed to me. Show me where I am going my own way. Give me a spirit of meekness so I can experience the freedom that you gave your son for. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you. We thank you for your son Jesus. God, I thank you that, that he never asked us to do anything he hasn't done before that. In every single request, every single command has been modeled. Father, I pray for, for all of us in, in, in this room and on our other campuses, that you will give us A spirit of meekness, of humility, of placing ourselves under your authority.

Father, we love you, oh God. And we thank you that, that Jesus was willing to do that. And we pray these thingss in His name. Amen.