Meekness Biblical Character Curriculum by Institute in Basic Life Principles

Meekness in Scripture The Character of God

Key Concepts

• Learning from the meekness of Jesus gives rest to our souls. (See Matthew 11:29.)

Meekness begins when we truly trust God. As we grow in trusting God and His good will, we learn He is trustworthy. Seeing His faithfulness motivates us to yield our plans to Him, because we know His will is best. (See Psalm 37:5–11.)

• J esus had the authority to call thousands of angels at any moment. Instead of using this power to save His life, He yielded His life to save us for eternity. (See Matthew 26:52–54.) •M eekness is a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. (See Galatians 5:22–23.)

Meekness in My Life •C olossians 3:12—What attitudes does God desire believers to exhibit? •P roverbs 16:32—What is better than being strong physically and victorious in battle? •R omans 6:13—Am I quick to yield to God in all circumstances? • J ames 1:19–21—What must I lay aside and replace with meekness in order to receive God’s Word into my life? • James 3:13—What are two characteristics that should accompany our deeds? • I Peter 5:5—How does God reward those who humbly submit to each other? Numbers 12:3 says that Moses was the meekest man on the earth. Discuss how God used the events in Moses’ life to produce the quality of meekness in him. Here are some of those events: Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s household, spent forty years tending flocks in the desert, was called by God through the burning bush, saw the ten plagues, led the Israelites out of Egypt through the Red Sea, was blamed for problems in the wilderness, experienced Israel’s first battle, and received the Ten Commandments.

A meek person is more concerned about others than himself. The Greek word for meekness is praotes and means “gentleness,” implying humility. It is our love for God and others that gives us joy to gladly make sacrifices for them. This unselfishness keeps unity in the body of Christ. (See Ephesians 4:1–4.) Meekness is tested when others are rude to us. When we are under the control of the Holy Spirit, we will not be controlled by revenge, anger, and bitterness, but will instead return good for evil. (See I Peter 2:22–24.)

Pictures of Meekness A valuable gem: I Peter 3:4 describes meekness as an “ornament” of great price in God’s eyes. A meek and quiet spirit is a beautiful jewel. A horse: In Job 39:19, it is noted that God has given the horse great strength. Before training, a horse’s strength is uncontrolled, dangerous, and useless. But once a horse is brought under control and is yielding to direction, its energy can be channeled into amazing avenues of productivity, giving much profit and enjoyment to the rider. Do we respond to God with meekness—wholly and willingly yielding our strength to Him for His Kingdom?

• J esus came not to do His own will but the will of His Father Who sent Him. (See John 6:38.)

Meekness Memory Verse Psalm 62:5 “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” Memory Verse Game: Erase-A-Word Write the verse on a whiteboard and repeat the verse with the children several times. Each time before repeating the verse together have a child erase any two words in the verse on the whiteboard. Can they remember which words were erased and say them the next time through, even though the words are no longer visible? Repeat until every word is erased and the children have the verse memorized.

Have the children write about a time they were able to apply this verse in their lives. For example: “I love chocolate chip cookies, and one day Mom was making a batch. As soon as they came out of the oven, Mom said we could have one. The cookie on the edge was definitely the biggest one on the pan. I wanted it so much. When my sister grabbed it, I felt myself start to get angry at her. God reminded me of this verse and gave me peace to yield my expectation to Him and let my little sister have the big one. I wanted to have fellowship with God even more than I wanted the cookie. My sister enjoyed the cookie and I thanked God for giving me the strength to overcome selfishness.” ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

Doers of the Word

Meekness in the Life of Abram Read Genesis 13:1–18, as a family, and answer the following questions: 1. What problem was Abram facing? “And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together” (Genesis 13:6). How do you respond to irritating problems in your life?

3. Did Abram yield his rights to someone older or younger than himself? “And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered” (Genesis 12:5a). How does age affect your willingness to yield to others? 4. What did Lot notice about the land to the east? “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD” (Genesis 13:10). When was the last time you offered first choice to someone else?

5. What rights did Abram set aside in order to help Lot? “And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan” (Genesis 14:14). Whom could you unselfishly help? 6. Why did Abram yield his right to the plunder? “That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich” (Genesis 14:23). What expectations are you willing to release? 7. What later event in Abram’s life was a much greater test of his meekness? “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Hebrews 11:17). How do you respond when God asks you to yield to Him in decisions or difficult areas of your life?

2. Did Abram place more value on his right to good land or on having good family relationships? “And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right: or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left” (Genesis 13:8–9). What rights could you yield to show the value you place on your family?

Abram Gives Lot First Choice “If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left” (Genesis 13:9b).

Meekness is yielding my personal rights and expectations to God

Meekness Activity Maze

Find your way from the star in Abram’s face through the maze to the triangle in Lot’s face. For an extra challenge, older children can find the passageway from the top to the bottom of the maze picture.

Meekness Craft God’s Pineapples Introduction: Read to the children: “This month we are asking the Lord to develop meekness in our lives. What a privilege to respond to the work He is doing to change us into the image of His Son! Otto Koning traveled to the jungles of Dutch New Guinea and lived among the natives as a missionary. He paid one of the natives to plant 100 pineapple plants for him. However, it would be three years before the plants would produce any fruit—three long years of waiting and imagining the sweet taste of the juicy pineapples. Finally, Mr. Koning saw the long-anticipated fruit growing on the plants. However, after all the waiting, he did not get to enjoy a single pineapple! The natives stole the pineapples before they were even ripe. Mr. Koning was angry. He closed the clinic to punish them, but the natives got sick and needed medicine. He couldn’t let them die, so he reopened the clinic. He tried shutting down the trade store, but the natives moved away, so he reopened the store. He tried having a guard dog, but then no natives would come to talk to him, so he got rid of the dog. During the time the natives were gone, Mr. Koning and his family ate the wonderful pineapples. But they realized they could not minister to the people and at the same time have their pineapples. What would he do? The Lord spoke to Mr. Koning while he was on furlough, prompting him to yield his rights to his pineapples. Mr. Koning didn’t understand and wondered what God would do. When Mr. Koning returned to the jungle and didn’t get angry over stolen pineapples, the natives asked him what had happened. He told them the pineapples were now God’s pineapples because he had given the garden to God. The natives knew that God could see in the dark, and they stopped stealing pineapples. They saw the change in the missionary’s attitude and started to listen as he explained the Gospel message. Mr. Koning’s mission work became much more effective, and many natives decided to follow Jesus. As we allow God to build meekness into our lives and yield to Him, He will replace irritations with His joy and peace.”

Supplies: 8 1/2 " x 11 " card stock; and green, yellow, and black or brown finger paint. Give each child a piece of paper. Instruct the children to dip the tips of their fingers into the yellow paint and make rows of fingerprint-shaped yellow spots which will become their pineapples. For younger ones, draw a pineapple outline on the children’s papers first and let the children fill it in with their yellow fingertips. Once the pineapple is all yellow, have them wash their hands. Then they can dip their fingers in green paint to draw the leaves. They may add specks of black for additional detail. After the “pineapples” are dry, have the children write on their pineapples: “God’s.” Help the children display their pineapples where they will remind them to yield their rights to the Lord and give their possessions to Him.

God'

Craft Instructions:

Hymn History of

“I Surrender All”

“I surrender all-I surrender all-All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all!” These moving words, sung for decades by hundreds of thousands of people around the world, came from the full heart of a Godly man who knew the meaning of joyous surrender to God. What was he like, the man who penned a hymn of such radiant consecration? To begin with, it is hard not to notice the commanding resolve on the face of the square-jawed Judson Van DeVenter. The masterful look in his eyes portrays a man of decision and passion. How could a man such as this write the hymn that has encouraged so many to give up their selfcenteredness and follow Christ? Only after passing through the furnace of testing with Christ's help could he humbly write these verses.

But as the years went by, Judson found himself more and more doing spiritual counseling and evangelism. Seeing his obvious ability in these areas, his friends urged him to pursue counseling and evangelism full time. Judson even worked with evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman (author of the hymns “Our Great Savior” and “One Day”) and his team in the United States and England. The call to art is a noble call, if that is how the Lord is so directing; however, in Judson’s case, God was calling him away from this ambition. However, Judson clung to his art, unwilling to lay it on the altar. For five years, this inner tug-of-war continued, between the holding to the art Judson loved and the pulling to give his all to Christ in full-time ministry. The inner battle climaxed finally during a prayer meeting. Judson wrote:

Judson Van DeVenter

“At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing songs I had never sung before.”

For years, Judson pursued his passion which was not music, but art. Even after college, drawing and painting were his pursuit, and he taught school to finance his continuing art education. Eventually, he reached what some might consider a pinnacle—he became Supervisor of Art in the Sharon, Pennsylvania public schools. Art was a huge part of his life— what he would have called his life’s “passion and work.”

Hymn History of “I Surrender All”

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Judson had surrendered all to the Lord. Meekness is “yielding my personal rights and expectations to God.” Judson did just that. He yielded up his right to choose his own career, choosing instead to follow God's leading. Before his decision to surrender fully to God’s call, Judson had been in the Lord’s work. But after his total yielding to God’s will for him, Judson’s power and influence were multiplied. In the years that followed, Judson Van DeVenter won thousands of souls to the Lord and inspired thousands more to follow their Savior more closely. Years after that night of total surrender, Judson wrote a hymn recalling his struggle and the joy when he finally yielded to God—the hymn we now know as “I Surrender All.” It took great inner strength, faith, and trust for Judson to let go of his own desires—his own pursuits in life—and, instead, submit to the Lord. It is a challenge to lay down our own desires, plans, and goals and submit to God’s purposes and plans. But, like Judson, we will never regret laying all on the altar. We will find true joy and fulfillment not by following our own heart, but by seeking Jesus’ will and embracing His plan for our lives. We should never be afraid to give full control of our lives and our future, our work and our pleasures, to God. He loves us with a love that is deeper and stronger than we can ever grasp. He knows what is truly best for us. Whatever path He takes us on, we can be sure that it will be a happier and more fruitful life than the one we would have planned for ourselves. Let’s sing with Judson Van DeVenter:

Bibliography: • Shiver, Emmett W., 104 of My Favorite Hymn Stories, Springmaid Press, Biscoe, NC, 2008. • Barrows, Cliff, Crusade Hymn Stories, Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL, 1967.

“All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.”