Soldiers Of Christ

I can’t make it without you."

B. One who mourns, Joyful are those who mourn?, this also seems like a contradiction doesn’t it.

The mourning that is meant here is the mourning that one does when he is sorrowful and deeply concerned with his own sin. Perhaps even to the point of tears, where he comes and casts his burden upon the only one who can truly comfort him.

C. One who is Meek; again we see a characteristic that is really not that popular. Who wants to be thought of as meek. Today’s heroes are men who take action and take names, Rambo, Arnold Swarz. , Clint Eastwood, Steven Segall....etc. Not many heros today are meek are they?

But let me tell you that the greatest hero that ever lived was meek, Jesus Christ. We need to understand that Meek does not mean wimp. Rather, it means God controlled, God molded. It is strength under control. The word was used by the greeks to describe such things as a wild stallion that has been tamed, soothing ointment or a doctor tenderly treated a child. Someone who is meek let’s God call the shots. He lets’s God control him.

He submits his will to God.

Could there be a more vivid picture of strength under control then Jesus Christ on the cross. He had the power, he had the ability, to come down off the cross, and really take action and take names, yet He stayed on the cross.

A servant of Christ is meek, He may have the physical or intellectual strength to destroy another person, to cut them down to size, but His strength has been tamed by God and he allows himself to be controlled of God and is therefore meek.

D. One who hungers and thirsts after righteousness.

What’s your favorite food; pizza, ice cream, french fries, shrimp, lays potato chips. It’s pretty hard to eat just one slice, to have just one scoop, to partake of just one fry or shrimp or to eat just one Lays Potato Chip. When you really enjoy something, when it’s your favorite thing you just have to have more.

A servant of Christ is to hunger and thirst after righteousness (right relationship with God and man) much like a man in the desert hungers for food and drink.

A servant of Christ is one, who has done what the Psalmist said to do in Psalm 34, he has tasted of the Lord and has seen that he is good, so good that he must have more of Him. A servant of Christ hungers and thirsts more for more of Christ then for anything.

What would happen to someone if they never were hungry?

He wouldn’t eat, and he would die.

Do you the progression of thought in the first 4 characteristics: The first thing we must do is to recognize our need for God’s intervention into our lives. We must come to the point where we understand that we can’t do it on our own. We then need to mourn over our sin. And we need to be meek, to quit calling the shots in our lives and surrender control to God. And as we stand in His presence, we find that we are satisfied, and we hunger for more of Him.

The more time we spend with Him, the more like Him we become.

E. And we as servants of Christ show mercy.

The word for mercy describes compassion and pity that expresses itself in action, and not in mere thought only.