Adrian Rogers - The Mighty Meek (11/18/2025)
In today’s message from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that true blessedness (makarios) comes through meekness, not weakness, promising that the meek shall inherit the earth — a life of spiritual fullness and ultimate victory.
Introduction: The Meaning of Blessed
Take the Word of God and turn to Matthew chapter 5 as we continue our series of messages from the Sermon on the Mount under the general heading «Building on the Rock». For Jesus said, «Whosoever heareth these things of mine and does them will be like a wise man that built his house upon the rock».
I’ve traveled in the Middle East and been in the Mediterranean. It’s a beautiful island there that I have visited, and some of you have visited too — it’s the island of Crete. And that island is called in the Greek Makarios. And it’s the word that is translated blessed.
An Island Named Blessed
There’s an island named Blessed. The reason they named Crete Makarios is that they thought it had everything needed to sustain life; it was self-contained. There was enough vegetation, food, grain, and water to sustain life. Not only did they have enough for themselves, but they had enough to export. And so the Greeks named that island Makarios — blessed.
The Beatitudes and True Blessedness
Now we’re going to read some Beatitudes, and these Beatitudes begin with that same word, Makarios — blessed. That gives you some idea what the word blessing means. It means more than happy. Some translate it as happy, but it means far more than happy. It means having everything that you need spiritually. That is being blessed.
The Lord Jesus Christ gives us these Beatitudes — or attitudes that ought to be. They’re not platitudes; they are attitudes, and they really deal with Christian character. My dear friend, Christian character is what you are. Your reputation is what others think about you, but character is what God and your wife know about you.
This deals with character — not what blessed men have or do, but blessed are what men are. Because friend, all of us are going to die, and some sooner than we think. When you die, you’ll leave behind all that you have and all that you’ve done, and you’ll take with you all that you are. Isn’t that right? It’s character that is so important. That’s the reason it’s more important that you seek blessedness than happiness.
Happiness vs. Blessedness
Most people in the world are seeking happiness. They want to be happy. But do you know those who look for happiness the most find it the least? That’s a strange thing, but it is absolutely true. People who are on a search for happiness are generally the most unhappy people in the world.
Happiness is not something you find by looking for it. Happiness is something you stumble over when you’re seeking blessedness. Friend, you seek happiness and you’ll never find it. But if you get right with God, blessedness will find you. It’ll run you down. This is what Jesus Christ is talking about here in these Beatitudes — He’s talking about blessedness.
Reading the Text: Matthew 5:1–5
Listen to it — Matthew 5 verses 1 through 5: «And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them saying, 'Blessed, '» makarios, «'Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.'»
And then we come to our text for today: «'Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the Earth.'» «Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the Earth». Now, you talk about an inheritance. Friend, to inherit the Earth!
The Search for Missing Heirs
When I was a little boy, I used to listen to a program called «The Search for Missing Heirs». Did you ever listen to that? Somebody had died and left a lot of money, but nobody knew to whom it belonged. And so there was a search for the missing heirs.
It might be, dear friend, that today you’re that missing heir — the one who is to inherit the Earth — and yet you don’t even know it. So I hope today that you’ll hear your name called: «Blessed are the meek, blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the Earth».
The Mighty Meek — Our Subject Today
But what does that mean? What is this Beatitude? We’re going to talk today on this subject: The Mighty Meek. If there’s one thing that this world would not say is blessed, it is meekness. We don’t think that meekness is a blessing at all.
People of this world would say, «Blessed are the mighty men. Blessed are the muscle men. Blessed are the mental men. Blessed are the money men. Blessed are any kind of men except the meek men». Because we think of meekness as weakness. But the Bible says, «Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the Earth».
Meekness Is Not Weakness
Well, what is meekness? Let me tell you what it is not before I tell you what it is. It is not weakness. Put that down big and plain and straight: meekness is not weakness. And if you think that meekness is weakness, go a week trying to be meek. You’ll find out that meekness is not weakness.
You know what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 29? «Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart». Do you think of Jesus as weak? Jesus said, «I am meek». Do you think Jesus was weak?
If you think Jesus was weak, then read the Bible where He fasted forty days and forty nights alone in the wilderness with wild beasts. I’d like to see one of you macho men do that. Do you think Jesus was weak? Get a picture of Jesus making a whip and driving the money changers out of the temple.
Jesus, who said in Matthew chapter 8 verse 20, «The foxes have holes and the birds have nests, the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head». These pictures of Jesus that make Him look like He just stepped out of a beauty parlor make me sick. Jesus was a man. And He said, «I am meek and lowly of heart».
Moses — The Meekest Man
My dear friend, meekness is not weakness. Do you know who the Bible says was the meekest man in his day? This is back in the Old Testament — it was Moses. In Numbers 12 verse 3, the Bible says that «Moses was the meekest of all the men on the Earth». That’s before Jesus Christ got here. Do you think Moses was a wimp?
You study the life of Moses. I mean, he got in trouble sometimes because of his temper, but one thing he was not was a weak man. He was a general who led the children of Israel out of Egypt; he’s no wimp. Meekness is not weakness.
What Meekness Really Is
What is meekness? Dear friend, it is not cowardice. It is not a milk-toast type of character. It is not weakness. The word meek means yielded. It literally has the idea of strength under control.
There was a man, J. Wallace Hamilton, who wrote an incredible book that I’ve had in my library for a long time. The title of the book is «Ride the Wild Horses». He points out that when God made us, when God created us, when God put us together, God put into our nature certain drives, certain instincts, certain ambitions. And they’re not evil in themselves.
But these drives, these instincts, these ambitions need to be yielded. He pointed out that the word meekness has the idea of a wild stallion being broken.
Strength Under Control
As a matter of fact, in that day — and sometimes still in this day — when a steed, an animal, especially a horse, has been domesticated, it has been trained so a rider can sit upon its back or so it can pull a plow. The proper term for that was that the horse had been meeked. M-E-E-K-E-D. It had been meeked; it had been broken. Now it yields to the rider. Now it yields to the yoke. It is strength under control. That’s what meekness is. It is a compliant spirit.
The Order of the Beatitudes
You see, these Beatitudes come in order. First in step is this, Matthew 5:3, «Blessed are the poor in spirit». My dear friend, that shows our condition. We say, «In myself I am spiritually bankrupt».
Then verse 4, «Blessed are they that mourn». Because after our condition comes our contrition. We say, «Oh God, have mercy upon me, I see what I am, I weep over it. I truly repent of it».
And then in verse 5, after that condition and that contrition, comes that control. Where I take myself now, Lord, and I place myself under Your control. I am meek — not weak, meek. I have a new master.
A horse that has been meeked still has the same strength, the same fire, the same drive, the same instincts, but now there’s a bridle, a bit, a bridle, and a saddle.
Two Wrong Ways to Handle the 'Wild Horse'
J. Wallace Hamilton talked about different ways that you might deal with a wild horse. The first way is just to let him run wild — that’s what we have a generation doing today. No restraint, self-assertion. Just let the horse run. Whatever is natural is beautiful and whatever is beautiful must be right. So you just do your thing.
The chief apostle of this philosophy in yesterday’s time was a man named Nietzsche. And Nietzsche influenced the world far more than we may realize. As a matter of fact, a student of Nietzsche was Adolf Hitler. Listen to this quote from Hitler: «Get rid of your pious priests and their weak-livered Gospel of mercy. Purge out of your souls this disease, this devil of Christianity. Progress depends on the strong man and the strong people. Therefore, be strong. Assert yourself. Be a superman».
The result was the gas ovens, the Holocaust, the war that some of us went through. That’s one way to deal with the wild horse: just let him run. Assert yourself. Do your thing. And the devil will take the hindmost.
The Opposite Extreme: Self-Restraint That Cripples
Then there’s the opposite — not self-release, but self-restraint. While some want to let the horse run wild, others want to cripple the horse so he can’t run at all. That’s Buddhism. Have you ever seen a fat Buddha sitting there with that placid look upon his face?
The philosophy is this: the thing that causes you difficulty is that you have certain desires, and then you get frustrated because these desires are not met. So what you need to do is negate these desires, dampen that spirit until you come to the place where you don’t desire anything, and therefore you’re never disappointed. In their mind you have come to a state called Nirvana.
Friend, that’s not Bible Christianity. That’s no more Bible Christianity than letting the horse run wild. You don’t let the horse run wild, and you don’t cripple the horse. What Jesus is saying is, «Blessed are the meek».
Yielding to Righteousness
Let me give you a verse for your margin. It’s Romans chapter 6 and verse 19: «For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity» — that is, as you used to be yielded to Satan — «Even so now yield your members servants unto righteousness unto holiness». That’s it. You yield. That’s what the word meek means: strength under control.
The same members, the same eyes, the same ears, the same tongue. But now rather than using my tongue to blaspheme, I use my tongue to praise. I still have ambition, but now my ambition is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I’m still a fighter, but now I’m fighting the devil.
God does not hobble the horse; He energizes it. But He puts the bit on, He puts the bridle on, He puts the saddle on. He says, «Blessed are those who have yielded». Have you ever yielded? That’s the one thing we don’t want to do, and yet it’s the one thing we need to do more than anything else.
A Personal Story of Yielding
I may have told you about an experience I had driving down the road. I saw a drunk staggering along in disgrace. By the way, a drunk is not funny, not to be laughed at; he’s to be wept over.
I looked at him, I thought I recognized him; I did. I stopped the car and said, «Son, get in». He got in. I said, «Can I take you home»? He said, «Yes, Pastor». I drove up to the house with that drunken boy and brought him into the house. His dad and his mother were there, and they were embarrassed that the Pastor would bring their drunken son home.
They took him in and got him to bed. I started to leave; the dad stopped me. He said, «Pastor, can I talk to you»? I said, «Yes». He said, «Pastor, I’m embarrassed that you brought my son home drunk». But he said, «He’s not the only drunk in the family. I’m a drunk too».
He said, «I don’t know what to say to this boy. I’d be such a hypocrite to tell him not to drink, because I’m a drunkard». I said, «Why don’t you quit drinking»? He said, «Pastor, you probably won’t believe what I’m about to tell you, but I really hate liquor». And he used a curse word. He said, «I hate the blank stuff». But he said, «I can’t stop».
My heart broke for him. I said, «Fred, have you ever driven a team of horses»? He was an old fellow. He said, «I sure have». I said, «Fred, if you were driving a team of wild horses and they were getting away from you and you were afraid for your life, and you couldn’t make them stop and you couldn’t rein them in, and sitting next to you there in the wagon was someone that you knew could control them, what would you do»?
He said, «Pastor, that’s easy. I’d just turn the reins over to him». And I said, «Fred, that’s the only thing I know for you to do — to just simply say, 'Lord Jesus, I can’t. I can’t.' And quit trying and start trusting and just simply turn the reins over to Him». Because those horses are wild horses, and there is only one who can contain them.
How to Develop Meekness
Now I want you to look with me not only at the definition of meekness, but how do you have meekness? How do you develop meekness? Jesus said, «Blessed are the meek» — well, where do you get it?
Remember there’s a sequence. First of all, you see yourself as poor in spirit — absolutely bankrupt. Secondly, you are brokenhearted over it. Dear friend, if you’ve never been broken, you’re never going to be meek. A meeked horse is a horse that has been broken.
We sit in our churches heady, high-minded, unbent, unbroken. Somehow getting the idea that we’ve done God a wild favor because we’ve come here. But we walk out never seeing our bankrupt condition, never mourning over our sin, and therefore we never yield our lives to Jesus Christ.
Three Steps to Meekness
But if you’re ready to yield your life to Jesus Christ this morning, let me give you three steps to develop this meekness.
- First, you must be submitted to the Son of God.
- Second, you must be responsive to the Word of God.
- Third, you must be filled with the Spirit of God.
Step 1: Submitted to the Son of God
Put these verses in your margin — Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 through 30. Jesus Christ is saying to you today, «Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light».
Here’s the picture of two oxen pulling together. The yoke is on one and the yoke is on the other. Jesus Christ is saying, «I want you to take My yoke upon you». It is no longer only you, but you and Jesus. In this case, Jesus is the lead ox. He says, «Follow Me. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for My yoke is easy».
When He says My yoke is easy, it means it fits right. Friend, Christianity is not something that you have to do; it’s something you get to do. The Bible says, «The way of the transgressor is hard». Jesus said, «My yoke is easy»! It doesn’t mean there’s no work to do — there’s plenty of work to do. But Jesus will not force Himself upon any man, woman, boy, or girl.
Step 2: Responsive to the Word of God
If you would be meek today, you must be responsive to the Word of God. Turn with me to James chapter 1 verse 21: «Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls».
There are two Greek words translated receive. One is lambano — sort of a self-prompted taking, grasping, snatching. Some people try to learn the Bible that way. They get a Bible, a dictionary, a concordance, commentaries, and they say, «I am going to learn the Bible».
I feel sorry for you. You might learn some facts about the Bible, but you’re not going to learn God’s Word until you receive it with meekness — ready to be taught.
The word used here is dechomai — it means to welcome with humility. To welcome, not to take, but to welcome. Have you ever welcomed the Word? Have you ever sat down to study the Bible absolutely prepared to do everything it says?
The Bible is not meant to be interesting; it’s meant to be disturbing. Oh dear friend, if you let go of this world with both hands and reach out to Jesus Christ with both hands, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, God will put a bridle and a bit on you.
Step 3: Filled with the Spirit of God
And a third thing: be filled with the Spirit of God. Read in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23: «The fruit of the Spirit is… meekness». Meekness is the fruit of the Spirit. You don’t produce that fruit; you bear that fruit. He produces that fruit in you. When you walk in the Spirit, there’ll be that meekness in your heart and in your life.
The Dynamic of Meekness: Inheriting the Earth
«Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth». Have you ever daydreamed about having an inheritance? You’ll never have your full inheritance without meekness. A man who cannot control himself or be controlled by the Spirit of God is never satisfied.
First Corinthians 3:21–23: «Let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours. And ye are Christ’s. And Christ is God’s».
And in 2 Corinthians 6:10: «As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things».
Friend, if you don’t have blessedness, you can’t enjoy what you have. And if you have blessedness, you have everything — even if you have nothing. What can the devil do to a person like this? He can’t terrify you by threatening to take things away, because you have nothing. He can’t entice you by promising more, because you already possess all things.
The Future Inheritance
But not only in this life, but in the world to come. There’s coming a time when «the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ». Jesus shall reign from shore to shore. He didn’t make this earth for the devil’s crowd; He made it for His people.
«Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth». I want to line up on this side. I want to see myself as bankrupt, broken, and destitute. I want to weep over it, then say, «Lord Jesus, as best I know how, I yield myself to You. I take Your yoke. I believe Your Word. I’m led by Your Spirit». And I’ll inherit the Earth.
Closing Invitation and Prayer
Bow your heads in prayer. Do you know Jesus? I’m not asking if you’re a Baptist or Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim. Do you know Jesus?
Would you today consciously say, «Lord Jesus, I trust You. I commit my life to You. You died to save me. You promised to save me if I would trust You. I take Your yoke right now. I submit my life to You».
You might pray it like this in your heart if you want to be saved: «Lord Jesus, come into my heart today. Forgive my sin. Save me, Lord Jesus». Pray it and mean it.
Did you ask Him? Then say, «Lord Jesus, thank You for doing it. And give me the courage today to make it public, not to be ashamed of You».
Father, I pray that many today will come and say yes to Christ. In His wonderful name, Amen.