CHARACTERISTICS OF A SERVANT PART 1
Text- Matthew 5:1-6
Introduction
How many of you were ever asked when you were a child, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The answers given to this question are as many as the amount of times it has been asked.
Some may have said that they wanted to be:
a. A policeman.
b. A doctor.
c. A nurse.
d. A fireman.
e. A lawyer.
f. A movie star.
g. Or a singer.
Let's imagine for a moment we were asked this same question by Jesus Christ. What if Jesus asked you, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" What would your answer be then?
As many times as I have heard this question asked I have never heard anyone say that they would like to be a servant of Jesus Christ when they grew up. Nonetheless, I am certain that this is exactly what Jesus would want us to be.
During the month of June I will be preaching a series of sermons on the subject of "Being A Servant".
What do you think of when you think of a servant? Do you form a mental image of an African slave named Kunta Kinte from the story of Roots? Or is your concept of a servant more along the lines of a migrant worker? Many people think of a servant as one who lacks dignity, self-esteem, and ambition.
A noncommissioned officer was directing the repairs of a military building during the American Revolution. He was barking orders to the soldiers under his command, trying to get them to raise a heavy wooden beam.
As the men struggled in vain to lift the beam into place, a man who was passing by stopped to ask the one in charge why he wasn't helping the men. With all the pomp of an emperor, the soldier responded, "Sir, I am a corporal!"
"You are, are you?" replied the passerby, "I was not aware of that." Then, taking off his hat and bowing, he said, "I ask your pardon, Corporal." Then the stranger walked over and strained with the soldiers to lift the heavy beam. After the job was finished, he turned and said, "Mr. Corporal, when you have another such job, and have not enough men, send for your Commander in Chief, and I will come and help you a second time." The corporal was thunderstruck. The person speaking to him was General Washington!
God measures greatness by service. The Lord Jesus has set an example.
Matthew 20:28 Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many. (LB)
To be great in God's sight, we must serve! True greatness is not attained by giving orders, but by serving.
Our text for the next two weeks is found in Matthew 5:1-12 and the title of my message is, "The Characteristics Of A Servant".
This passage of scripture is commonly referred to as "The Sermon On The Mount" or the "Beatitudes" which literally means, "blessings or happiness".
In verses 1,2 of our text we find Jesus speaking to his disciples on a mountain with
multitudes of people present. As He taught them He did three things:
a. First, notice how that Jesus begins verses 3-11 with the word "blessed". This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus repeated the same word nine consecutive times. The word "blessed" literally means "happy". If you truly want to be blessed and happy as a Christian you need to serve God because happiness depends on what you are, not on what you have.
b. Second, notice how Jesus then gives a quality or characteristic. If these characteristics are found in our lives then we will be happy.
c. Third, notice that after each of these characteristics is found a corresponding promise.
Everyone is looking for happiness, and people follow many avenues trying to find it. They look for it in money, parties, self-improvement programs, fancy cars, luxurious homes, or promoting a cause.
That's the wrong list. The right one is found in Matthew 5. Jesus taught us that deep and lasting happiness comes from being right with God. He said we are blessed, or happy, when we serve.
Let's look now at our text and see what Jesus says the first four characteristics of a servant are.