THE DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER TRAITS OF GOD’S SERVANTS (Part 1)

By Samuel Matthews
​READ Matthew 5:1-4 (KJV).
Loved ones, in this post we will look at the beginning of the sermon on the mount. Jesus begins this sermon by teaching on what has been commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. As we study the first 4 verses of chapter 5, we hope to make some practical application of these words spoken by Jesus.
In our local newspapers we have a section of classified ads. Invariably these ads contain "Help Wanted" announcements. Here’s an example of one such ad from a bank: Cashier Wanted: Downtown area, full-time or PART time positions available, must be flexible and willing to work, polygraph required, apply in person... $15 per hour.
An ad like this indicates that an employer is searching for someone. There's a job to be done and a need for someone to do it. When it comes to spiritual matters, God Himself is searching for someone. The New Testament presents us with a sort of divine "Help Wanted" announcement that reads something like this: “Servants Wanted - must go throughout the world, ONLY full-time positions available, must be willing to develop certain character traits, apply in person at the throne of God… blessedness promised.”
Now when we say that a "Help Wanted" ad appears in the New Testament, we do not wish to be misunderstood. We are NOT suggesting that God is an employer, or that God is looking to hire someone. The New Testament does not teach that.
Yet, the New Testament does teach that God intends to do a work in this world (Matthew 28:18-20). He purposes to do all that He possibly can to save men from sin. To accomplish this task God needs a special kind of people—servants.
Even God's only begotten Son admitted this. Consider Jesus' own personal statement on why He came into this world: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Another sound Bible version says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.” Plain and simple, Jesus came to be a servant.
To secure man's salvation from sin, God needed a Son who would be a servant, willing to serve and give. Likewise, to continue God's saving work in this century, God needs a church consisting of both men and women, boys and girls. who are true servants.
The Lord seeks human beings who will bear the distinctive marks of true servanthood. With this divine search for servants in mind, we want to center this sermon on the passage of our TEXT: Matthew 5:3-4, those familiar words that we call… The Beatitudes.
After His 40-day fast and temptation in the wilderness by Satan, Jesus comes into Galilee and begins preaching, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Now in chapter five, He comes to this mount and begins teaching those who will enter into the kingdom how to prosper and be profitable as servants of God.
Someone may ask, “brother preacher, why study this passage to learn about servanthood?” ANSWER: Because in these well-known words, God's Perfect Servant (Jesus) reveals the Distinctive Character Traits of servanthood.
These distinctive qualities vividly portray the IMPACT of the Kingdom of God in the lives of men. When God is given His proper place in our lives, these Distinctive Character Traits will emerge. If we were to attempt to capture in a single sentence the idea that we wish to impress upon your mind from this study, it would be this: “Distinctive Character Traits mark the lives of God's true servants.”
The Beatitudes present us with eight-character traits associated with true servanthood. True servants are (1) poor in spirit, (2) those who mourn, (3) meek, (4) they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, (5) merciful, (6) pure in heart, (7) peacemakers, ( they which are persecuted for righteousness sake.
In this post we will only deal with the first two, but when all eight are mixed in your life, balance emerges. It is helpful to realize that this is not a "multiple choice" list where we are free to pick and choose our favorites. Our Savior has stated very clearly the qualities that together will lead to a DIFFERENT lifestyle from that of the world.
If your aim is to be a servant of God that pleases the Lord, you can't pick and choose when it comes to these servanthood traits. Every single one of them must be present in your life in order to be pleasing to God.
1. POOR IN SPIRIT
The pleasing lifestyle of a servant begins with being “poor in spirit.” The word "poor"(ptochos – Strongs 4434) comes from a verb meaning "to crouch like a beggar." It depicts extreme poverty.
“Ptochos” describes a beggar who is totally dependent on the help of another for his basic necessities. Lazarus was such a person. In Luke 16:20, the Lord calls him “ptochos,” because his utter poverty forced him to beg. Lazarus was a deeply impoverished man. He was helpless and powerless to provide for his own physical needs.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus applies this sense of deep poverty to spiritual matters. "Blessed are the poor in spirit. . ." The Lord is saying, "Blessed are those who freely admit their spiritual poverty, spiritual inadequacy, and spiritual destitution because of sin. Blessed are those who see themselves for what they are—spiritually bankrupt."
Jesus is saying, servanthood means open acknowledgment that YOU and "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23), "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6), and remember, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
A true servant sees his own sad condition in these words. He acknowledges that he is spiritually undone, inadequate, desperate. He feels helpless, powerless impotent. He realizes that his only hope is to cast himself totally on God's mercy. A true servant is willing to humble himself before God and cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).
In this world you may be climbing the ladder of success. You make more money than you ever dreamed; you live in a fine house; two cars are in the garage; a boat is out back. Your closet may be filled with the finest clothes; your children do not fret over money for their college education. But don't let material success hide the reality of your spiritual poverty!
Whether you're a chairman of the board, an assembly line worker, or a homemaker; whether you're a banker, a nurse, a secretary, or a preacher; you need to come face to face with, and daily admit, your spiritual dependency on God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
2. THOSE WHO MOURN
Another distinctive character trait of a true servant is seen in Jesus' words: "Blessed are they that mourn... " The word "mourn" is a form of the Greek word pentheo (Stro. 3996). “Pentheo” describes mourning for the dead (Mark 16:9-10). It is bereavement, the utter grief and sorrow which accompanies the loss of someone dear.
“Pentheo” means to grieve with a grief which so takes possession of the whole being that it cannot be hid. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this word is used to express the overwhelming grief of Jacob when he believed the false report of Joseph's death (Genesis 37:34). There is no stronger word for mourning in the Greek language than pentheo. Even today, the modern Greeks use this same word to indicate bereavement.
One other matter should be noticed! The mourning described in this passage is not a one-time matter. Nor is it an every once in a while kind of grief. It is continuous! Literally, the passage reads, "Blessed are the ones who keep on mourning. . . " Jesus commends an ongoing experience of passionate sorrow, a condition of the heart.
Now, let's put this all together. God's Perfect Servant (Jesus) reveals still another distinctive mark of true servanthood. It is an inner quality of the heart, a deeply felt sorrow that abides at all times within the servant.
But to what kind of sorrow does this refer? What kind of sorrow must the servant of God feel every day of his life? In context, it's not the sorrow associated with the loss of a loved one, but the sorrow resulting from sin. This is a distinctive trait of a true servant.
It is one thing to be spiritually bankrupt and admit it; it is another to be grieved by it. Jesus would have you to realize that you cannot serve God without being intensely sorry for your own personal sins. You cannot be God's servant until you sense the destructive nature of sin.
Almost two thousand years ago, the only perfect man who ever lived was taken and brutally killed on a hill near Jerusalem. Because of sins which were NOT His own, Roman soldiers executed our Lord. Because of my trespasses and yours, cruel man nailed the loveliest person in all the world to a wooden cross.
Like the prophet said about seven hundred years before that dark day: “5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).
Because of our sin, a lonely, desperate cry was heard from the cross: "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). Sin crucified Jesus. Sin made it happen.
A day should never pass that you and I don't fall down on our knees and, before God, grieve because of the price which had to be paid because of our sins. If we did that, it would cause us to think twice about giving in to the next temptation to sin (to show undue anger, to use cursing language, to show unconcern for the lost).
If we grieved over our sin, we would quit minimizing sin, wouldn't we? We wouldn't joke about it. We would hate it for what it is—the only thing in this world that would make it necessary for the Son of God to be nailed to a cross. “Blessed are they that keep on mourning: for they shall be comforted.” To be continued in Part 2 - Blessed are the meek…
To the God of heaven be the Glory as His Will is done (1 Corinthians 10:31). Please pray for wisdom, for me and my wife, Cynthia, and for the Liberty NW church of Christ meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. We are praying for you, and we love you all so much. Samuel.