In this sermon series we are considering how the beatitudes, or blessings, that Jesus pronounced in his famous sermon on the mount, apply to us as Christians today. In the first beatitude we saw how Jesus is speaking about an attitude of giving up our self-reliance and admitting that we are spiritually bankrupt and unable to save ourselves. Only those who admit their need will come to God for help, and therefore enter the Kingdom of Heaven by receiving His mercy and grace. Unless we feel the despair of those who realize the seriousness of their own sin, and weep for the tragedy of sin in the world, we will not even know that we need God's comfort, let alone ask for it. Now note that this comes between those who mourn over their sin and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Meekness is the expression of being poor in spirit and mourning over sin.
It flows from having a right view of yourself. If you mourn over sin, then you will not have an over-inflated view of yourself that leads you to lord it over others. Instead you will be meek, and you will also long for the righteousness that you don't have in yourself, and that only God can supply. Let me flesh out what it means by referring to other places in the New Testament that talk about meekness, or as it is sometimes translated, gentleness. First of all, meekness is something that starts within.