Christians! Y'all move to Las Vegas!


“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).


Amount of Space a Person Needs for His Entire Lifetime.

We are looking at the blessing of meekness for the third time. In our first glance we have found that “meekness” is not an innate gentleness or false humility but being able to control one’s own personality and emotion to manifest God’s justice and love. We have sought the meaning of “meekness”. Secondly we have examined the “method” of how we are to attain meekness and that this was possible only by realizing and being assured that our entire lives are under God’s eternal plan and control. Finally in this last time around we will seek to find the “blessing” that the meek receive. Our text claims that those who are meek will receive the earth as an inheritance.  

There is a story by Tolstoy. A king promised to his loyal servant that he will give as an inheritance all the land that the servant is able to walk on that day. So the servant went out to walk and to run all throughout the day to claim an immense piece of land for himself.

What do you think happened to the servant? He died that day. Being someone who regularly does not exercise, let alone run, he was so exhausted that his heart just gave up. This illustrates how humans can often be so captivated by greed for the short lived profit before them that they cannot see the danger ahead.

There is a similar story in the Bible. “The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you’” (Genesis 13:14-17).

Unlike the king in our story, God only asked that Abraham walk the breath and length of the land once. Not only that, He even promised to give unto Abraham all the land he could see. Moreover He promised to give all the land that Abraham walks on throughout his entire lifetime and not just land that Abraham could cover for that day.

Tolstoy ended his story with this saying, “the amount of land a person needs for his entire life time is only 3 feet wide and 6 feet long.” That’s all a man needed at the end of his life for burial space. This was to point out that the only piece of land we truly own in the end is our grave.
God’s promise to Abraham met a similar fate. “Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with His wife Sarah” (Genesis 25:8-10).

Does this mean that this was all there was to God’s great promise to Abraham to give the entire land of Canaan? Does this then make into a hoax Jesus’ promises to the meek to inherit the earth as well? God who is unchanging whether in the Old Testament or the New, if He allowed Abraham only a few square feet of land in the Old Testament, then there is no reason that He would increase the amount for the New Testament believers.

It is true. Both promises have a consistency and are similar in nature. Not consistent in the size of the land but in that God still promises land as an inheritance to the meek; in this His promise is consistent both in the Old and the New Testament. This means that Jesus would have considered Abraham to be a “meek” person and the inheritance Abraham received was not merely a few square feet of land in the cave of Machphelah but of something entirely different in nature.

Lot Did not Make the Wrong Choice

In order to understand the biblical significance of the “earth” we must first examine how the promise of God came about for Abraham regarding the land. After Abraham and his nephew Lot left the land of Chaldea and settled in the land of Canaan, their livestock and possessions grew so much that an argument broke out between the shepherds of Abraham and the shepherds of Lot. That is why “Abram said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers,’” then decided to part their ways. Lot who was given the freedom to choose decided upon the fertile yet morally wicked land of Sodom while Abraham stayed behind in the dry desolate land of Canaan. As the Bible records, “The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him,” it was only after this parting that God promised to give Abraham all the land that he saw.

Many people tend to misinterpret this passage as simply because Abraham was wise and discerning, not acting by the world’s standards, but obeying God’s will, as a result he received the blessings that he did later on in his life. This is not a wrong interpretation of this passage yet it is incomplete.

If such an interpretation is to be correct then Lot should have been recorded in the Scriptures as an example of a wicked person, someone who was blinded by the riches of the world and completely disregarded God’s will to pursue his own greed and plan. In contrast Abraham should have been recorded as a direct opposite, an example of a pious person who properly discerned God’s will while living by faith and not by sight and thus turning away from the world.

But the Bible testifies otherwise regarding Lot. As one of the only ones among Abraham’s relatives, Lot for whatever reason left his hometown full of idol worship and sin and desired to go with his uncle to the land God directed to go to. Not only so, he tried his best to save the messengers of God who had come to warn Lot of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. That is why the Apostle Peter described him as “a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men” (2 Peter 2:7).

There is no record of such in the text but let us imagine what would have happened. It is probably not the case that according to Ancient Near East customs, Lot as a nephew could have the audacity to choose first for himself the far better land even if his uncle offered him that chance. Perhaps it is more likely that Lot could have yielded that choice back to Abraham out of respect for his uncle. And finally because Abraham insisted on it or even reprimanded him for ignoring this generosity Lot gave up and chose for himself the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. If Lot was considered a wicked person, all the more so that Abraham cannot be praised as a trophy saint. Was he not a coward who lied not once but twice that his wife was his sister in order to save his own skin?

Another thing we must ask ourselves is this: “Did Lot really make such a bad choice?” His choice was a practical one. Let’s say for instance there is a single mother who is a Christian living in Los Angeles with a monthly income of three to four thousand dollars; she also needs to pay for her children who are off to college; there are more and more expenses to go out. What if there was a job offer of 10,000 dollars per month working in Las Vegas? Should she just because she is a Christian refuse even to go anywhere near Las Vegas and rather choose to stay in Los Angeles? Is it wrong for a Christian to live in Las Vegas?

Living according to God’s will does not always equal a life of financial hardship, being socially down in the ladder, or being involved in what is called “religious” activity. Regardless of outward circumstances it is the Christian’s heart always directed towards God that is most important.
What was the criteria and motive for Lot in choosing which land to live in? It was mainly on how to better take care of the sheep. It was only natural then that he chose the land full of streams and grass. According to verse ten there is an expression that says Sodom and Gomorrah was “like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt,” because “This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.” This means simply that regardless of the sin breeding within its walls, these two cities were outwardly flourishing and prospering. Not only that because the LORD had not yet destroyed these cities, although it was still full of sin, its wickedness had not reached its limit yet. When Lot made his choice, Sodom and Gomorrah was not yet past the point of no return, ripe to receive the judgment of God. Abraham Did not Pursue God’s Will in His Choice

We must remember however that Abraham did not make the more “godly” choice by discerning God’s will and then deciding to stay in the land of Canaan. It is not because he had yielded the fertile land to his nephew and purposely chose the land of Canaan that he received God’s blessing. It was not as if he being such a “godly” and faithful man knew in advance what choice would please God.

What does the Bible record? “If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left” (V. 10). Did Abraham even make a choice? Abraham in actuality never made one. In other words he might have either forgotten or lacked the assurance that it was God’s will that he stay behind in the land of Canaan. If Lot had insisted to stay in Canaan, Abraham would have had no choice but to go to Sodom. He might have even been willing to go to Sodom. Abraham since the beginning gave up on choosing which path. Moreover although in reality it seems as if he had yielded his authority to choose over to Lot, in truth he had yielded that choice to God. His claim that if Lot turned to the left he would go to the right and vice versa expressed that he did not care which way he went. Whatever land that was left, whether there was much water and grass to be found, he was willing to live there.

This does not mean however that Abraham being a humble man was so beyond being affected by desire for material goods that he did not care at all for it. What was the reason why they were parting ways? It was because the wealth of their possessions had become so great that it was hard for both of them to live together. They no longer wanted to dispute over who owns what. Therefore that Abraham wanted to part ways with Lot may show that he still cared for his possessions and wanted in the least to maintain them without loss. This is all to say that Abraham did not choose Canaan over Sodom merely based on faith.

Christians we must not be fooled. Just because we are called to a holy living does not mean that we should distance ourselves from sin filled Sodom and Gomorrah. Rather we must go into them to be agents of transformation. If we lack the strength to change them, the least we can do is to show them how we are different. The biggest mistake of Lot was not so much that he chose to live in sin-filled Sodom but that he failed to change the land. He failed as a man of faith to be a witness of God’s presence through his life.

A Christian who lives in Las Vegas must live as a Christian. It may be that Los Angeles is more of a sin city than Vegas, unlike what its name suggests.  Any place where godless people come together in the world, there is sin nearby. There is no difference. The Christian must then merely obey whichever way God sends them and be the salt and light of the world. What did Jesus say? “Because I do what pleases God, God does not leave Me alone” (paraphrased).

Abraham yielded his privilege to choose completely to God. That was because he knew that with God the desert could turn to a fertile land and without God the fertile land to a desert. When there was a famine in the land of Canaan he forgot that God had promised him and directed him to this land and started to travel down south to find water and grass until he reached Egypt. There he could have really blown it, but instead through the mercy and grace of God he came out with greater possessions then when he had gone in. He experienced a similar deliverance twice. That is why no matter where Abraham would go to escape from God whether in the highest heights or the lowest depths God would not let him go; having experienced this he knew for a fact that though he walk through the “Valley of the shadow of death” God’s rod and staff would comfort him.

As a result, by the time when Lot and Abraham were about to separate, Abraham had become a meek enough person to yield his choice to God. He knew that even if man chose his path in accordance with his own wisdom, or even if he comes to his decision through many hours of prayer with full assurance that it is God’s will, the only one who is going to lead a person to his final destination would be God. Finally Abraham had realized that the task of deciding upon which way to go, left or the right was ultimately God’s job. “A man plans his course but the Lord directs his footsteps” (Proverbs 16:9)

What is Our Job?

Since God is ultimately the one who directs our paths, Christians need not decide upon choosing left or the right as Abraham did not. Does that mean then that the Christian is to give up all efforts to act and he merely needs to pray for his path to clear up? No, just like the rest, the Christian must be active and be faithful to all the tasks given him. This is the least anyone can do regardless of whether he is Christian or not.

In contrast however, the Christian must surrender asking which way to go, what profession to take on before God and must first decide upon what kind of person he is to be. Whether he goes to the left or to the right, he must first be transformed as one worthy to be called a man of God. That is, because he is assured of God’s presence with him, he should become a true man of meekness, not worrying about which way to go. The process and the final destination of the Christian’s path is really only up to God, therefore the Christian must seek only to be transformed into His likeness. We should not think too hard of becoming a man of God. We like Abraham must merely surrender our paths and decisions to God then wait on His guidance.

But it is here when the Christian is to wait upon God’s direction that many make mistakes. They believe that we must surely find out God’s preference before we act. A lot of times our faith life seems to go around in circles and circles. It’s like asking whether the egg or the chicken came first. We have decided to surrender everything to God. Then, why do we need to find out God’s precise direction ahead? Isn't it enough that we trust fully in Him?

Trusting our path unto God does not mean that we first find out where God is going and then seek to follow His lead. It comes without question that the more important thing is for us to be completely surrendered to God in order to follow Him regardless of whether He goes to the left or the right. That is what God desires first and foremost from the believer. In other words when such a trust and surrender occurs, then the person is worthy to be called a man of God. Rather than trying to do things for God, we must discern just what kind of person God wants us to be and seek to change our character, personality, habits, attitudes, and view on life so that our entire being and life dives into the overflowing joy of God.

Therefore standing upon the rock of complete trust in God, we must carry out justice and integrity, while serving those around us in love and mercy. Because we experience at all times God’s goodness and holiness, as those created in the awesome image of God, we must do our best to transform the community we are part of to become holy. We must mourn for the things God mourns for, be angered by the things He is angered by, and be sympathetic for the things He has sympathy for. We must think like Him, talk like Him, and act as He acts. Simply put if we just constantly kill our sinful nature into being obedient to God, so that we may be those after God’s own heart, whether we go here or there, or do this or that, God will guide us to the right path and the right people.

What did God proclaim to His people through Ezekiel the Prophet? “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD” (Ezekiel 22:30-31). God sought out a mediator who would stand on behalf of Him over this desolate land and its broken walls but found none.

To put it in today’s terms it would be that there is no one in Las Vegas to proclaim the Gospel of the cross and call people to repentance. Another way to put it would be that if a Christian moved there and he only thought he was committing some great sin, so that all he sought to do was to hide from God, although God’s will was for the Christian to move there and stand at the gaps. If it is true according to many Christians’ view that Las Vegas is a “Sin city” and there are broken walls within it, if we do not do something about it to stand in the gaps its walls will continue to collapse until one day God’s righteous anger comes upon it. Then ultimately what we have done by remaining silent is to either be on the sidelines waiting for God’s judgment to fall, or like Jonah before Nineveh are asking God to pour down His wrath over Las Vegas.  

But we must never forget that God’s judgment comes not only to the nonbeliever but also the believer.  “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood” (Ezekiel 33:6).

A Christian is someone who has been called as a watchman before the world. It is not simply preaching with our words but our entire beings be offered up as holy living sacrifices to Him. We need not go to Africa or the South American jungles to do mission work. We merely have to find the closest place where the wall is broken and stand in the gap.

Is your marriage suffering from too much ego so that love has grown cold and is now replaced by frustration and strife? Are you in any way hurting your children by your words and leaving them with a sense of worthlessness, an inferiority complex? Is there no end to the arguments among brothers because of money issues, giving rise to envy and jealousy? Are you unable to treat your co-workers, superiors, subordinates with love, respect, and humility? Are you by chance still fighting to hold onto what little pride you have and this among brothers and sisters at the church? Are you sure of God’s calling in your life and working to bring it to pass? Do you sincerely desire to be used by God in whatever way or form if that means expanding His Kingdom?

There are countless places where the Christian must rebuild the broken walls and bring revival, starting now with ourselves then onto the one nearest to us, from a small simple matter to the serious and great feat. But the funny thing is until we realize that we are called to stand in the gap and are ready to willingly give ourselves for this task, we cannot see these broken places, even if the wall has completely been torn down with spider’s webs and moss growing upon them, and even if the enemy has claimed a stake at several outposts. This means that as the Christian decides to stand in the gap in the wall that is when they are freed from the burden of choice to go either left or to the right. That is when he becomes a meek person and is able to experience God’s abundant grace.

God Surely Gives Us All the Land that We Walk on

The promise of God to give unto Abraham all the land that he walked on is still valid to us Christians as Abraham’s descendants of faith.  The land that God promises us we must take it by force. This does not mean that we are to seek worldly prosperity or success, especially without the presence of God being with us.

If the Christian stands in the gap in the broken fortress walls of his own community, lets the holy light of God shine, and fulfills his role as salt to preserve his surrounding, then that community will naturally become the possession that the Christian gives everything for in order to serve it. When through the Christian the community experiences God’s mercy and power, and as a result comes kneeling before the cross of Jesus to be transformed, then that community will obviously be spared from punishment and destruction. It is within such a community that the Christian can walk the breadth and the length of the land to claim his inheritance, and it is within such a community that wherever he goes he invites blessings of God’s counsel and invasion that will last.

When God said to Abraham that God would give unto him all the land that Abraham saw, it does not mean that God would give him thousands of acres of land as a reward for his faith. Rather God is asking Abraham whether he is looking to God, walking with Him hand in hand wherever he goes. Moreover whenever, wherever, and whatever circumstance Abraham is under or whomever he is with, God desires for Abraham that he would see the things that God would want him to see, hear what God would want him to hear, and go where God would want him to go.

If the Christian walks on such a foundation of faith whether he goes to the left or to the right, whatever he undertakes that very place that he stands on becomes holy ground where God’s presence is. The greatest mistake for Lot was not that he chose to go to Sodom but that he did not have such an assurance of God’s presence. He lacked the awareness that the land that the faithful treads on, wherever it may be in the world is God’s land. Instead Lot merely wanted to choose for himself the land and become its sole owner.

Look at the instance where Moses was called. It was probably some desert land at the foot of Mount Sinai. It was a rocky hill in the midst of a desert with the only plants it had being thorn bushes. Yet God spoke to Moses to take off his shoes for the land he stood on was holy land because of God’s presence. It did not mean that Moses would contaminate the land with his shoes. The meaning of taking off one’s shoe in this case was to kneel before the One who stood there.

After having encountered the glory of God he must have approached every matter with fear and trembling as if unto God. That is why God allowed him to take possession of the land wherever he went. God’s power and favor never left him, and whatever he would undertake God’s will and plan will surely come to being. Moses truly experienced how God’s goodness and love followed him all the days of his life; he was blessed going in and blessed going out, although he might have been buried in some nameless valley in Moab overlooking Canaan with less than few square feet of land for his grave and no one knowing where it is.  

Treating God as a Psychic Fortuneteller

Where does the Christian who has firmly decided he is going to follow God put his focus? He is so concerned with finding out the specific direction from God, to the left or to the right: “May I pursue this task? In what way and when?” Stop praying to God asking Him of direction, time, and method. We may have the same wrong motives in asking for specific direction as we do when we go visit a psychic.

No doubt that Christians must seek God’s specific direction at times. But that only comes after we are ready to obey Him whether He leads us to the left or to the right. He may even speak to us in His still small voice. But our attitude that demands that we first find out His will and only then obey if it is to our liking is kind of like seeking a psychic. In that case God may never show us His true will.

Often times Christians ask for prayer from pastors or elders trying to find out God’s will over a particular situation. But there is no need. Everything regarding what the Christian is to do and how he is to live is already in the Bible. Moreover regarding choosing and deciding upon specific matters as did Abraham we may even lay such decisions down before God’s sovereignty. As a result, did not God promise Abraham to give unto him the entire land as far as he could see?

The Christian no longer needs to ask God about the specifics of “What should I do and how?” but only be attentive to where He is leading us. This means that if the Christian is focused solely on living lives worthy of their identity as children of God, then they no longer need to worry or be anxious about whether this way is going to have more fodder or that way is going to have more springs.

But what must we truly pray and mourn about? We must pray and repent that there is still fear and anxiety in us, that our faith is still shaken and our hearts downcast by outward circumstances. We must mourn over the fact that even after 10 to 20 years of having come to faith in Jesus we have yet to know and experience this third blessing of meekness.

In the past we sought out only those “fertile”,” well watered” places in the world and have often felt empty and disappointed afterwards. We must repent of our stupidity to have thought that we could find that peace if we just continue searching outside of Christ. We must mourn the time we have wasted in looking for other things while we have had the true spring of Living Water right next to us all along. We must bow before the Lord and ask for His forgiveness for wanting to still go back to the world even though we have experienced again and again how strangely the spring we find out there is constantly leaking and easily dries up. That is why whether we go to the left or to the right, we must trust everything to God and be decided once again to stand in the gap in the wall, the broken places around us.

Jesus claimed that the meek will “inherit” the earth. To inherit something, means that whatever is received is a gift from God, and points to the fact that the source of all good things is God. In other words, all that belongs to the Christian and happens to the Christian is God’s possession and His issue. It is only obvious that God can grant to us all the land that we see and walk on for it is already His.

Do you have the assurance that what you are going through, the people you meet, and the circumstances you are in right now is all from God? If so you have already become meek and have received all things as your inheritance. God will surely strengthen you to be victorious with Him wherever you go and let others see this favor so that they may give glory to God.

11/5/2011