The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 1 

Matthew 5:1-3: “One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up  on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them. 3‘God blesses those who are poor and  realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.’” (NLT) 

Exhausted by the crowds, Jesus leads His disciples up to a mountainside to teach them about being a citizen in God’s kingdom. They were familiar  with the Roman kingdom but He wants them to understand they were now  citizens in a different kind of kingdom – one of Heaven and not of earth.  Jesus teaches how the kingdom of God belongs to people who follow Him. Following Jesus did change them, but they did not have it all together in  their life. Everything was new and different. They had a new heart for God!  Jesus in Matthew 5 explains how they can find happiness here on earth. He gives eight characteristics that will bring happiness to them as a disciple belonging to the kingdom of God calling them “beatitudes” or blessings. Pastor Tom Goodman writes, “Jesus said the pursuit of happiness starts by admitting emptiness. ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,’ he said in verse 3, ‘for  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ In this context, ‘poor’ is not a reference to  financial poverty and ‘poor in Spirit’ does not mean ‘poor-spirited.’ In other words, Jesus was not referring to the penniless and the depressed. Sometimes, it’s coming to the end of your rope that causes you to recognize how desperately you need God. Mother Teresa famously said, ‘You never  know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.’” (The Pursuit of  Happiness, Learning from the Beatitudes, Bible Portals, Book 1, p 2) 

Thomas Watson says that “being poor in spirit is the key to all the other  beatitudes.” (NIV Stewardship Study Bible, p1239) 

“Jesus pronounced blessings (‘beatitudes’) on the ‘humble’ – those who  realized that spiritually they were ‘poor’. In fact, all those mentioned in the  Beatitudes are ‘poor’ or ‘humble’ in one way or another. They will receive  what God has promised. His kingdom belongs to them. They have nothing in the world, but they can expect everything from God.” (Eerdmans’ Family  Encyclopedia of the Bible, The Beatitudes of Jesus, p 149) 

1. Matthew 5:1-3: Jesus led them “away” from the crowds. Jesus gives  the Beatitudes to those who come away with Him. One by one – the men  and women He chose, chose Him. This is essential in all discipleship – bringing individuals away from the crowds. Not “in mass” but one by one.  Jesus invites each one of us to come away from all the others to join Him,  to hear His voice and to respond individually. 
2. Jesus sets us aside to learn of Him. Jesus took time to spend with  them as their Master…teaching them from His heart. Matthew 11:28-30: “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach  you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for  your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is  light.” 

Dane Ortlund writes, “My Dad pointed out to me something that Charles  Spurgeon pointed out to him. In the four Gospel accounts given to us in  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – eighty-nine chapters of biblical text – there’s  only one place where Jesus tells us about his own heart. [Matthew 11:28- 30] . . . . Meek. Humble. Gentle. Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh,  reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the  universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.” (Gentle and Lowly, The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers, p 17,19) 

3. Jesus says the pursuit happiness starts by admitting our need and emptiness, our frustration that life holds no meaning or joy; by our  recognizing how desperate we need God. 

A.W. Tozer writes, “Before there can be fullness there must be emptiness.  Before God can fill us with himself, we must first be emptied of ourselves. It  is this emptying that brings the painful disappointment and despair of self of  which so many persons have complained just prior to their new and radiant  experience. There must come a total of self-devaluation, a death to all  things without us and within us, or there can never be real filling with the Holy Spirit. . . . Complete and ungrudging obedience to the will of God is absolutely indispensable to the reception of the Spirit’s anointing. (NIV  Classics Devotional Bible with Daily Readings from Men and Women Whose Faith  Influenced the World, p 1197) 

4. Jesus teaches that there will always be a cost to the one who  becomes a citizen in the kingdom of God – things that could cost your  life just as it cost Jesus and His disciples. When we allow the Lord to  change our heart [a spiritual heart transplant], we will be going against the very purposes of the kingdom of this world.  

In Daniel 3, there is a story of three young men who realize the challenges and costs of following God. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego reply to the challenges of king, Nebuchadnezzar: “. . .we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing  furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it and he will rescue us  from your hand. . .” Recognizing the cost they would pay, these young men  still chose God and were blessed. Allen Verhey speaks of the “Great Reversal” saying, “What the world sees  as sophisticated and being in the know is foolishness in God’s economy  (1 Corinthians 1:18-20). The people that the world sees as pitiable – poor in  spirit, the poor in possessions, those who mourn, those who are hungry  and thirsty and persecuted – are the “new” blessed. (NIV Stewardship Study  Bible, p 1239) 

1 Corinthians 1:18-20: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to  those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of  God. 19 For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the  intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’20 Where is the wise person?  Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has  not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (NIV)

The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 2 

Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” 

Scriptures record that Jesus wept twice – once over his friend, Lazarus’ death, and once over the lostness of the city of Jerusalem. Jesus teaches  that there is a blessing, a gift found in our mourning. His own mourning and  weeping came when He found the sisters and friends of Lazarus in grief, weeping after his death. He understood the pain they felt believing that  Lazarus was gone. They did not know He had a plan, a miracle, when He  brought forth Lazarus from his earthly tomb to live with them again. 

1. What occasions did Jesus mourn? One, He mourned with sorrow over the beloved city of Jerusalem and one, the sorrow He felt over the grief of others. 

Dane Ortlund writes: “Twice in the Gospels we are told that Jesus broke  down and wept. And in neither case is it sorrow for himself or his own  pains. In both cases it is sorrow over another – in one case, Jerusalem  (Luke 19:41), in the other, his deceased friend, Lazarus, (John 11:35).  What was his deepest anguish? The anguish of others. What drew his  heart out to the point of tears? The tears of others. . . .The Puritan Richard  Sibbes put it this way: ‘When [Christ] saw the people in misery, his bowels  yearned within him; the works of grace and mercy in Christ, they come from  his bowels first. . . .The Jesus given to us in the Gospels is not simply one  who loves, but one who is love; merciful affections stream from his  innermost heart as rays from the sun.’” (Gentle and Lowly, the Heart of Christ for  Sinners and Sufferers, p 26-27) 

2. Jesus physically wept tears of grief over the lostness of the city of Jerusalem – a city so preoccupied with fervent religious activity but who had a deep stubborn denial that their promised Savior and King was  physically in their presence. He had come to them; they simply refuse to  accept Him. 

“In his book Revival Praying Leonard Ravenhill tells of one such person of  fervent prayer and focused evangelism – Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843): ‘His short but powerful ministry was spent at the church of St. Peter  in Dundee, Scotland. He was offered more prestigious positions but  graciously turned them down. He was contented with his lot because no  church could offer him more time for prayers. After this saintly pastor’s  death, a visitor went to see the great church. The sexton showed him  around. Some of McCheyne’s books were still there. ‘Sit down here,’ said  the canny sexton, leading the young visitor to the chair where McCheyne used to sit. ‘Now put your elbows on the table.’ The visitor obeyed. ‘Now  put your face in your hands.’ The visitor again obeyed. ‘Now let the tears  flow. That was the way Mr. McCheyne used to do it!’ A clear sign that the  church today is truly experiencing revival is an increase in the number of  tearful prayers about others coming to faith in Jesus Christ.” (The Bible for  Personal Revival, Practicing the Presence of Jesus, p 1189) 

Pastor Paul Powell said, “I have never met a lost person who was wept  over by another Christian that did not eventually come to Christ as their  Savior.” 

3. Grief comes when we personally begin looking within ourselves and see the great pain our sins have cost our Heavenly Father. The grief and mourning over our sins come when we acknowledge how often we have pridefully refused to repent and turn away from our sins. 

“We cannot experience God-blessed recovery without true humility. Pride  often stands in the way of our dealing with painful problems and destructive  dependencies. If we cannot admit our problems and sins, there can be no  real cure for us. When we humble ourselves before God, we mourn and  grieve over our mistakes and losses. As we do this, we will experience the  wonderful comfort that only God can offer (2 Cor. 1:3-5).” (The Life Recovery  Bible, Second Edition, p 1202) 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the  Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles,  so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from  God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort  abounds through Christ.”

Tony Evans in his book, Unleashed, writes: “When Christians fail to  understand and apply the truth of the Word of God in their lives, the chaos  produces a crumbling effect on their souls. Then when they try to carry out the work and will of God, they discover they lack the power to do so. It is  the truth itself that empowers you. The truth ‘performs its work in you.’ (1  Corinthians 2:13: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but  in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”) The  truth makes the crooked places straight (Isaiah 45:2: “I will go before you and will  level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.”) The truth smooths out the edges. The truth causes the gears to grind and  delivers the things you need to be nourished, refreshed, and strengthen.  Hearing the truth isn’t enough though. You need to embrace it. You must  receive it. You must operate by it.” (Unleashed, Releasing God’s Glorious  Kingdom In and Through You, p114) 

Pastor Tom Goodman writes: “We have broken vows, we have broken  relationships, and we have broken commandments. To avoid thinking about  that, we try to distract ourselves with busyness or entertainment. We try to  medicate the guilt and shame with substance abuse. Or we just tell each  other it’s best to put it all behind us and move on. According to Jesus, that  will never get us to true happiness. No. We must come face to face with all  this ugliness – and grieve. Jesus doesn’t want us stuck there, but we will  never find happiness unless we start there.” (The Pursuit of Happiness, Learning from the Beatitudes, Bible Portals, Book 1, p 5) 

4. When we have mourned deeply and been broken by our pain, it allows us to minister to others who are also broken. We discover that it is through our own brokenness that we can have a witness to others of  God’s redemptive love and grace within our lives. 

Oswald Chambers says from John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must  decrease. “Watch for all you are worth until you hear the Bridegroom’s  voice in the life of another. Never mind what havoc it brings, what upsets,  what crumblings of health, rejoice with divine hilarity when once His voice is  heard. You may often see Jesus Christ wreck a life before He saves it.” (My  Utmost for His Highest, March 24)

The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 3 

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

Jesus Christ models a meek, humble, and patient, forgiving and, at times,  weeping man’s man. We might imagine Him to be mild and docile; but He  was strong, decisive, and a model for His disciples. Jesus taught us that to  have a meek, humble spirit was not to be weak and unable to hold his own  with others for He was all-powerful. He was a perfect model of manhood. 

1. Gene Wilkes says: “The training school for leaders in the body of Christ  is with towel and wash basin in hand, kneeling at the feet of others.” (Jesus on Leadership, Becoming a Servant Leader, p 30). Your greatest test of becoming  meek may be the washing of feet of those you know will soon betray you. 

In this discipleship encounter, Christ teaches three essentials of us serving  and leading as a Kingdom disciple. The first principle is: 

1. The Heart: to have a heart attitude that is loving and meek like Jesus’ – a  heart that is formidable and strong. God’s Spirit lives within us, loving and  empowering us when we confront the great enemy of our soul.  

Brennan Manning writes, “Human love, though it is the best image we  have, is still not an inadequate image of God’s love. Not because it  overdoes it, but because human desire with all of its emotions cannot  compare with the passionate yearning of Jesus Christ. That is why saints  can only studder and stammer about the reality; why Blaise Pascal on his  famous night of fire, November 21, 1654, could not speak a word; why  Bede Griffiths wrote: ‘The love of Jesus Christ is not a mild benevolence; it  is a consuming fire.’” (1John 4:8-10, NIV Ragamuffin Bible, Meditations for the  Bedraggled, Beat-up & Brokenhearted, p 1413) [Blaise Pascal later writes of a “God shaped vacuum” within each man] Jesus, both meek and humble, led these early disciples. He was not a  weak and timid, mild-mannered man, but a strong and powerful man, a  man whom the disciples would listen to and follow.

2. The Life: to understand the life that Jesus promises us does not only  teach us to have a meek and powerful heart like His, but to have a life that  is a witness and a ministry like He had while physically on earth. Jesus  speaks in John 14:12-14 saying: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in  me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater  things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do  whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the  Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” 

Jeff Wells on Acts 1:8:“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit  comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea  and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jeff writes: “You are not called  to be an evangelist. You are not called to be a preacher. You are not called  to be a glib speaker. No, you are called to be a witness – someone pointing  to Christ. You’re like a signpost pointing to Jesus. Just tell what you know.  Tell what you’ve seen. Tell what he means to you.”  

Jeff continues: “But you’re are not on our own, mind you. God will be with  you, in you, beside you. He will empower you with the Spirit. So lean on his  power, not yours.” (The Great Verses, 365 Verses to Learn, to Love, to Live, p 245),  

His life and ministry changed the world: “Jesus was wounded plenty but  knew that while it’s okay to be wounded, it’s not okay to stay wounded.  Christ refused to stay wounded, and He didn’t dwell on how He’d been mistreated (as we’re so prone to do). . . .You, too, can bring God glory on  earth by completing the work He gave you to do. You, too, can refuse to  stay wounded, fixing your gaze upon the Cross, the Word, and the  regenerative power of the Holy Spirit. You won’t change the whole world  like Jesus did, but you’ll surely change that smaller world around you and  the relationships that God has placed in your hands.” (Every Day for Every  Man, 365 Readings for Those Engaged in the Battle, May 21) 

3. Knowing that God’s promises can always be trusted. We can trust  God when we walk with the humility and meekness of Jesus and not to the  applause of people around us. Jesus promises us that His disciples will  inherit the world they live in.

“Jesus’ statement that the ‘meek’ would inherit the earth is justly famous  and memorable (Matt.5:5, praus in Greek). In our present-day world, the meek  generally don’t inherit wealth, prestige, money, or power. Assertive and  aggressive people usually achieve these things. But, based upon God’s  message to His servants, we know that the meek as a group will eventually  inherit the earth. The psalmist asserted essentially the same thing when he  declared that the ‘meek” would inherit the land – that was, in his day, the  land of Judah and Israel, (Ps.37:11). . . .Jesus was humble and meek in His  attitudes (Matt.11:9, tapeinos in Greek). . . .Humility should be the mark of all  believers. Believers should give God the credit for everything they do.” (Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words, p 124) 

Anne Graham Lotz writes, “Do you feel defeated because after a lifetime of  struggle, all you have to look forward to is death and a cold grave? Look  up! The Bible teaches us that God is preparing a heavenly home that ‘no  eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived . . . for those who  love him.’ Regardless of our circumstances or condition, we can look  forward with hope as we glimpse Heaven, My Father’s House, which is  being prepared as an eternal home for God’s people. For you and for me!” (The Answer, Authentic Faith for an Uncertain World, p 1129)

The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 4 

Matthew 5:6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  for they will be filled. 

Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of  righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

In Matthew 5:6 and 10, Christ teaches that the heart and mind of a  Kingdom disciple is one who hungers for what God the Father desires most in us – His righteousness [being and doing what is right]. Obeying God’s  Word and His will is essential in following Christ. In Matthew 5:13 and 14, Jesus uses the words “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” as  distinguishing characteristics of those who seek after God’s righteousness  and His blessings. Yet both “salt and light” are irritants that will inflame a  rotting and dark culture. Resentment and anger to “salt and light” lead to  resistance and persecution towards Christ followers. 

In v. 17, Christ refers to Exodus 20 [the Ten Commandments given to  Moses on Mount Sinai hundreds of years before]. He explains the  righteousness of God and connects all the commandments and His  teaching of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come  to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to  fulfill them.” 

“The concept many have of the Lord’s commands is a negative one. They are seen as a burden on the people, forbidding anything that may hint of fun. Sadly, this perspective could not be further from the truth. We must understand the commandments as the loving instruction of a father to his children. The Lord’s desire was to bless His people and keep them from trouble. In giving the commandments, the Lord provided Israel with a set of  boundaries, which, when followed, brought the promise of a long life (Deut. 17:20), prosperity (Deut. 30:9), and blessing (Deut. 17:27). To flaunt  the commandments was to ignore the wisdom of God and bring the  opposite to bear on one’s life.” (Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words, 200 Greek &  200 Hebrew Words Defined & Explained, p 35)

Jesus comments on several commandments – anger and murder, adultery and other issues. These sins, mentioned in the Ten Commandments, start in the heart and mind of a man. If we do not hear and obey what God says is right, we will be led by the heart and mind of evil. In choosing to obey  God, our lives become salt and light to those around us. Christ addresses two things that cause great harm in a human’s life – anger and adultery – teaching that an unrighteous life begins with an unhealthy mind and heart. In all eight Beatitudes, each man must seek to know godly  truth and live a life that is salt and light in our world. 

Matthew 5:21,22: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago,  ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to  judgment.’22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister,  ‘Raca’, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be  in danger of the fire of hell.” 

Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit  adultery.’28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has  already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 

We are reminded in Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who  is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has  been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” 

Jesus was tempted like us in every way but did not sin. Jesus was human like us with desires, needs, and passions. But Jesus lived a righteous life, and so can we. People watch us like they watched Jesus. What are you hungry and thirsty for? Is it the righteousness found in Jesus or the rottenness and stench of the world’s dark heart? We can become the salt that preserves and a light that casts out darkness or we will become a part of the very darkness and lostness of this world. 

Paul and James both write that we are to flee [run away from] all  temptations of sin: 

∙ 2 Timothy 2:22: “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.” 

∙ 1 Corinthians 6:18: “Flee from sexual immorality.” 

∙ 1 Thessalonians 5:22: “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” ∙ James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 

“Even if God does miraculously free you in a moment of time, if you don’t  learn to flee, you can fall right back into your addiction. Your eyes, like a  broken sewage pipe, will continue to carry in sewage and leak it into your  life. That is why we not only need to fight on the spiritual front by praying,  but we also have to fight on the physical front with our will by fleeing.  What does fleeing look like in practice? Simple: It is cutting off those  sensual images that create that mental pop! Bouncing the eyes is one form  of fleeing. Starving the mind of new images and taking lustful thoughts  captive are two others. Fleeing into a deeper relationship with God through  regularly reading the Bible is a fourth.” (Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, &  Kenny Luck, Everyday for Every Man, 365 Readings for Those Engaged in the Battle,  June 2) 

Paul writes in Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in  view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and  pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” 

“The trouble with living sacrifices is that they just keep getting off the altar.  Dead sacrifices are easier to handle; they don’t move. But Paul tells us to  be ‘a living sacrifice’ (v.1) – a reminder that God doesn’t force us to be  anything or do anything; we’re free to get off the altar at any moment. But  he invites us to offer ourselves to him – not just the spiritual bits of life, but  our very bodies; every aspect of who we are and what we do. This doesn’t  come naturally, so Paul urges us to ‘let God transform you into a new  person by changing the way you think’ (v.2), for it’s in our thinking that  change begins. Just like a computer sometimes needs reprograming, so  when we come to Christ our thinking needs reprograming too – and it  needs to happen constantly. Don’t get off the altar. Get constantly reprogramed and be a living sacrifice.” (On Romans 12:1-2, Everyday Devotional  Bible for Men, July 29, p 989) 

Adrian Rogers writes, “The brilliant author Ernest Hemingway died of  suicide because despite his wealth and celebrity he considered life to be  ‘just a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.’. . . To  Hemingway, life didn’t make sense. It was a joke, and a bad joke at that.  Think about the man who doesn’t know God. He gets everything he wants,  and there’s still a hole in his soul. All he can look forward to is a hole in the  ground, a place to rot and decay. There is no answer. There is no  meaning.” (A Perfect 10 for Homes that Win, Ten Secrets for a Successful Family,  p168.) 

Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,  and all these things shall be added to you.”

The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 5 

Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” 

Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you  and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and  be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they  persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 

This heart attitude models what Christ taught us and lived during His life on  earth. Christ mentions three ways people can hurt us. Mercy is the heart  response our Lord wants from us. Mercy is not a normal human reaction  but comes supernaturally from the Holy Spirit living in us. We are to give  this same kind, tender mercy to each other that our Savior gives us.  

Matthew 5:11a: “When people insult you!” It’s important to remember  that it’s not hard to give mercy to those who show us mercy but it’s almost  impossible to love those who persecute us without the Lord’s help. 

In Luke 10:30-37 Jesus tells a well-known parable of mercy: “. . .A man  was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by  robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving  him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and  when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite,  when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side [Levites and priests were men who were set apart in Israel’s religious life for their role in  the priesthood and sacred temple service]. 33 But a Samaritan [Samaritans were  religiously and politically hostile with the Jews], as he traveled, came where the  man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and  bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his  own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he  took out two denarii [2 denarii would have been equivalent to about 2 days’ wages  for a common laborer in Jesus’ time] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after  him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense  you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the  man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ 37 The expert in the law replied,  ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

“Ronald E. Vallet says that ‘the parable of the Samaritan is not simply a  story about giving first aid to someone in distress. That simply treats  symptoms. The parable is a story about taking risks.’ The road in question  was known to be dangerous, which is part of the reason the Levite and  priest avoided the injured man. Helping the Jewish man – a concrete  demonstration of obeying the command ‘love your neighbor’ – placed the  Samaritan at physical risk, required time, demanded that he take a  significant social risk (it was cross-cultural, socially unlikely interaction that  gave the Samaritan no guarantee that the man would appreciate what he  did!) and cost him significant financial resources.’ But the Samaritan kindly  responds with compassion and mercy toward the injured Jewish man.” 

Vallet continues: “Jesus’ parable shows the boundless love that followers of  Christ will have for others because of the boundless love that God has  shown us in Jesus. . . . True love is more than emotion. It is caring action,  extended to any person in need, without regard to the personal feelings of  the helper.” (The Stewardship Bible, p 107) 

Matthew 5:11b: “When people persecute you!” Jesus also commanded  us to show mercy and forgiveness to those who are hurting us both now  and in the past. But without the Lord’s help, it is difficult to show mercy and  forgiveness to those who hurt us; what we want to show is revenge! God’s  nature must trump over our human nature and show mercy for His sake. 

On September 22, 2025, Erika Kirk, the grieving widow of the Christian  activist Charlie Kirk, forgives her husband’s killer. “That man, that  young man … I forgive him,” . . .”I forgive him because it was what  Christ did and is what Charlie would do,” she said. “The answer to hate  is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always  love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.” (9/22/25, www.foxnews.com/media) Jeff Wells writes, “Jesus loved people. How he loved people. He cared. He  wept. He healed. He touched. He taught. He rebuked. He forgave. He died.  No one has ever loved people the way Jesus loved people.” (The Great  Verses, 365 Verses to Learn, to Love, to Live, p 188) This is to be our only model  and example of how we love and give mercy,

Luke 23:34: Hanging on the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they  do not know what they are doing.” Jesus forgave each and every person  who desired and participated in His death. He was mocked, tortured,  beaten and tried unjustly but He loved and forgave each of them anyway.  He chose to die; He chose to lay down His life as a sacrifice to pay for our  sins. What amazing love and mercy! Jesus forgives us; we are not held  guilty for His death. The truth is He didn’t die because they willed it; He died  because He allowed His death. 

Matthew 5:11c: When people falsely say all kinds of evil against you  because of me!” When people intentionally lie about us and slander our  name, our family, our friends, our reputation because of our love for Christ,  we discover that words can hurt a lot more sometimes than physical  injuries or beatings. It is a great challenge in our lives to be get past our  human reactions and deal with those who have offended us. 

Jim Ramos writes, “I’ve served God in full-time ministry since 1990, and  quite honestly, at times, people annoy me. At times, I annoy myself! I can  be overly critical of the life choices of others. When I am like this, my spirit  leads me to dark places. We all should take to heart what a good friend  reminded me: ‘people are not the enemy. They are held captive by him.’ They need a gently hand of redirection.” (Dialed in, Reaching Your Full Capacity  as a Man of God, p 335) 

Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the  transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry  forever but delight to show mercy.” 

“The Lord is not merely merciful, but relishes the opportunity to grant His  mercy. This seminal [the seed of or the beginning of] characteristic of God, as  Micah shrewdly notes, also distinguished Him from the myriads of pagan gods that had captured the fancy of many Israelites. At best the pagan  gods could be describes as fickle. Their goodness was contingent upon the  whim of the moment as much as any inherent benevolence. Indeed, if an  action could even be termed mercy, it would surely not extend to those  least worthy of it.”

Micah 6:8 once again reminds us. “The Lord has already told you what is  good, and this is what He requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to  walk humbly with your God.” (Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words, p 125)  As Kingdom Disciples, these are the ways and teachings of our Lord Jesus  Christ, our Savior. We know His will and now we must choose to obey. Tom Goodman writes, “Being merciful is not the same as being an enabler.  In counseling or with an Al-Anon group, some discover they have certain  codependent tendencies. By covering for someone’s behavior or by always  cleaning up their messes, they’ve created an environment where the addict  never has to deal with his or her choices. This isn’t the same as being  merciful.  Psalm 85:10 (NKJV) says: ‘Mercy and truth have met together.’ Sometimes  the most merciful thing we can do is confront someone with the truth. To  that end, compassion may require ‘tough love,’ where we let someone face  the consequences of their actions instead of bailing them out.  But Jesus must have known that for most of us the problem isn’t being  truthful but being kind. So he didn’t say, ‘Blessed are the ruthlessly blunt.’  No. He said, ‘Blessed are the merciful.’ ” (The Pursuit of Happiness, Learning  from the Beatitudes, Bible Portals, Book 1, p 19)

The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 6 

Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” 

A pure heart is the spiritual foundation for living and satisfying and obedient life with our Father God resulting in a pleasing relationship with our Lord. Tom Goodman writes, “Who are the ‘pure in heart?’ When we think of  purity, we usually think of what we shouldn’t do. So, we think that if we just  don’t lust, we’re pure. And if we don’t swear, we’re pure. . . . .all this is true,  of course. But when we just focus on what not to do, there is an underlying  issue we can miss. . . .symptoms of an underlying problem that has to be  dealt with. . . . To be pure in heart means to have an undivided heart. God  said through the prophet Ezekiel (11:19), ‘I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them.’ So, we need to ask God to do that for  us. We need to lift up the prayer of David in Psalm 86:11, ‘Give me an  undivided heart, that I may fear your name.’ That’s what it means to be  pure in heart. It means your loyalties are not divided; it means your vision  isn’t split among a variety of goals. There’s one thing you are aiming for,  and that’s to see God’s smile of approval.” (The Pursuit of Happiness, Learning  from the Beatitudes, p 21-22) 

“Purity is a desirable quality or condition of a good person or thing, without  alloy, mixture, or pollution.”(Biblegateway.com) Purity is another word for  having an honest openness in our lives and hearts before God. It is not just  trying to look like a perfect disciple of Christ but it is living a genuinely real  and authentic life with Jesus. 

Ross Campbell writes, “Integrity is a part of our character and is best  known by three behaviors: Telling the truth; Keeping one’s promises;  Taking responsibility for one’s behavior.” (Parenting Your Adult Child,1999,  Barbour’s Encyclopedia of Great Christian Quotes, p 239) 

1. Telling the truth: Christ speaks to them in John 14:5-6: “Thomas said to  him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the  way?”6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one  comes to the Father except through me.” Thomas wanted to know the real 

facts, the actual truth! And Jesus answers him saying, “I am the only way, the only truth, and the only life that you can know and have a relationship  with God the Father.” The truth comes only through Jesus! 

In our world of “half-truths” and “convenient lies,” we must assess our lives  by following the One who is the complete truth, life and way. Then we can  speak the truth because that is who we are when Christ is in us because  that is who Christ is! When our hearts are pure, we will have a heart like  Jesus’. Our simple “telling the truth” comes out of a heart that is pure! 

2. Keeping one’s promises: this second truth is “Don’t make any promises you won’t keep!” Jesus kept His promises in Luke 9:22-23: “And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by  the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be  killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ 23 Then he said to them all:  ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their  cross daily and follow me.’” 

Christ told His disciples He would suffer and die and be raised from the  tomb three days later. He kept all His promises to us as He become our  Savior through His death and resurrection. A man with a pure heart keeps his promise. A movement in the early 1990’s, “Promise Keepers”, was started by a man, Bill McCartney, who  wrote: “We Christians begin…by committing our lives to Jesus Christ and  becoming a new creation. Then we make the kinds of commitments to  growth embodied in the seven promises…we make them to other men who  will hold us accountable and give us the benefit of their experience and  wisdom. As we do this, our thoughts, words, decisions, and actions will  change over time. And our families, friends, coworkers, churches, and  communities will receive the blessing of God’s work in us.”  In these seven promises, men are encouraged to be pure by: “Honoring  Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to His Word; Pursuing  vital relationships with a few other men for spiritual growth; Practicing  spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity; Building strong marriages and  families through love, protection, and biblical values; Supporting the mission of the church by honoring and praying for my pastor and by  actively giving my time and resources; Reaching beyond any racial and  denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity; and  Influencing my world, being obedient to the Great Commandment and the  Great Commission.” (promisekeepers.org) These great promises are truly  difficult to keep in our fallen world. 

3. Taking responsibility for one’s behavior: James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes in James 1:21-27: “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the  evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which  can save you.22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive  yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not  do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and,  after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks  like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,  and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they  will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and  their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure  and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and  to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

Joseph Stowell writes, “God measures us at the heart level. Externals are  only symptomatic, superficial, and cosmetic. Externally we can fool all the  people most of the time. But God? Never!” (Barbour’s Encyclopedia of Great  Christian Quotes, p 239) 

The world is looking for real, authentic people – people living and walking  the way they say they will do. The most difficult examiners of our lives are  our families and friends who know us best. But when we desire to live a  pure life, not perfect but flawed in many ways, we will become more and  more like Jesus. We will see God, relate to God, and enjoy His presence as  we live a life that is pure and authentic and real.

 The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 7 

Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children  of God.” 

Jesus models “being a peacemaker” in the most difficult situations with the  most difficult people. The New Testament accounts many examples of  Jesus handling situations with godly truth and peace restoring broken relationships. As God develops His peace within us as His disciples, we will  begin to respond with His peace and forgiveness towards those who  persecute or hurt us. 

Peacemaking does not mean being passive. Jesus often took unpopular  stands. An example was His standing against the noisy moneychangers in  His Father’s temple when they were defiling the temple and cheating the  people in the name of God. He calmly and purposefully drove them out.  Often the only thing we can do with others is to stand up for truth and not  be passive. Making peace does not mean compromising but telling the  truth in love. 

Tom Goodman writes, “Jesus blesses the peacemakers and the  persecuted. One is an action [peacemaking] that you accomplish; the other  is an action [persecuted] that you endure. . . . When you undertake the  work of making peace, and when you undergo abuse for Christ’s sake,  Jesus says you’re on the road to real happiness.” (Pursuit of Happiness, p 28) 

Goodman continues, “I love the ancient “Peace Prayer” by Francis of  Assisi. It’s a worthwhile prayer for anyone trying to solve conflict – their own  or somebody else’s: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where  there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light;  where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much  seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to  be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that  we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” (Pursuit  of Happiness, p 31)

The Apostle Paul is a living example of God’s changing one of the most  troublemaking persons in that religious culture to one who writes his  testimony in Galatians 2 and ending with 2:20: “I have been crucified with  Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the  body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for  me.” Later in Galatians 5:22-23, Paul shares the changes that can  happened in the heart of a disciple of Jesus Christ’s, the Prince of Peace:  

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,  goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things  there is no law.”  

When the Prince of Peace puts His Spirit within us, we become peacemakers instead of troublemakers. But before there can be  peacemaking in our lives, there has to be a “peacemaker in” our lives that  makes us a new person. Theologian and writer, J. I. Packer says that “the  peace of God must first come from our peace with God.” 

Charles Spurgeon comments, “No tongue can tell the depth of that calm  which comes over the soul which has received the peace of God which  passeth all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which  transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in  Christ Jesus.”) (Barbour’s Encyclopedia of Great Christian Quotes, p 336) 

Paul developed these fruits of the Spirit after meeting Jesus face to  face:  

Love: Even for the most unlovely. Paul did not have love for others until he finally understood he was loved and given a peace from his Heavenly  Father that passed all human understanding. 

Joy: Paul did not have the deep joy of being in a right relationship with his  Father God. He was estranged and moved in a different direction (like the  prodigal son) until meeting Jesus changed all of that! 

Peace: He did not have the peace God wanted him to have. He was at war against the Father God he wanted to serve and blindly created problems  and pain in the lives he touched rather than serving those God loved. But  Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and Paul was forever changed.

Patience: Paul had a quick temper attacking those who disagreed with  him; he had no patience for any purposes other than his own – believing he  knew what God was directing him to do. But Jesus came and met him  personally where he was and loved him. 

Kindness: He did not show any kindnesses toward others but used words  and actions that spewed his anger and antagonism. Jesus was kind to him. 

“An effective steward will be patient and kind – to family, to friends, to the  clerk in the store and the person in the street. An effective steward will be  moved with compassion for those who need assistance and do whatever  he or she can to help, while preserving the dignity and self-respect of  others.” (NIV Stewardship Study Bible, on Character, p 308) 

Goodness: Paul did not have God’s goodness – but felt he was doing  good for God. Believing in his own self-righteousness, he was driven to  persecute Christians until he saw Jesus’ righteousness and His goodness.  Jesus came to him and Paul was forever changed! 

Faithfulness: Paul was not faithful to others but had a self-centered  concern for his time, his possessions, and his priorities. But he became  reliable, dependable and trustworthy for the good of others after he met  Jesus.  

Gentleness: Paul was touchy, temperamental and ill-tempered and then  he met Jesus. He changed and became a new gentle man, a man who  walked with God. 

Jim Ramos writes, “. . . but Jesus counts those who do not count. That is  what a gentle man does. He leverages his strength on behalf of another’s  weakness. . . . Can you sense the full emotion of Jesus’ gentleness (yes,  gentleness) one Sabbath in the temple? ‘[Jesus] After looking around at  them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man,  “Stretch out your hand!” And he stretched it out, and his hand was  restored.’ (Mark 3:5). Jesus made those with broken halos feel at home in  His presence. About Jesus’ gentleness, Jerry Bridges wrote, ‘Christ’s whole  demeanor was such that people were often restful in his presence. This  effect is another outworking of the grace of gentleness. People are at rest, or ease, around the Christian who is truly gentle.’” (Dialed In, Reaching your  Full Capacity as a Man of God, p 233) 

Self-control: Paul did not have self-control but was addicted to his anger  and selfishness until Jesus changed his life. The old Saul became the Apostle Paul. 

“The effective steward instead gets satisfaction in loving God, giving, and  engaging in healthy relationships and in living an authentic, contented,  disciplined life.” (Stewardship Study Bible, p 308) 

All of these fruits come when we have a personal relationship with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. He takes us from being a troublemaker to a  peacemaker when we discover the peace that comes from being in a right  relationship with God through a personal faith in Christ Jesus. 

When we turn our other cheek; go the second mile; love our enemies and  not just our friends; and forgive the ones who don’t deserve our  forgiveness; we discover what happens when we truly find peace within our  hearts through Jesus. 

“If your world is a little crazy, perhaps it’s time to consult the man or woman  you see in the mirror. With God’s help, you can discover a peace that  passes understanding . . . . And if you genuinely work to bring peace into  your own life (and into the lives of your loved ones) you will be rewarded.” (God’s Survival Guide, A Handbook for Crisis Times in Your Life, p 101) 

“This gift of peace with God, made available through Christ, means that  Christians in the community of faith need to live in peace with each other  (Romans 12:16, Romans 14:19, Hebrews 12:14). This concept of peace alters the  meaning of the common greeting “Go in peace!” to “Go, and live in peace!” (Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words, on Peace, p 358)

The Characteristics of a Kingdom Disciple – Part 8 

Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of  righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you  when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil  

against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your  reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who  were before you.”  “A martyr is someone who suffers or dies for a cause, belief, or principle.” Persecution that comes from being an authentic disciple of Christ is a tough  part of our calling. When Jesus’ disciples began to live out their faith, Christ  challenged them not to expect a soft, easy existence but to be ready for  spiritual warfare.  Paul W. Powell writes, “When a child of God really knows who he is and  where he’s going, Satan can never defeat him. Satan can torment, torture,  and even kill him – but defeat him? Never! . . .Jesus said the gates of hell  will not prevail against His church (Matt.16:18). We sometimes think of hell  as being on the attack, but gates are defensive, not offensive. What the  Lord is saying is that the gates of hell could not stop us.” (When the Hurt Won’t  Go Away, p 132) 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Germany  who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 at age 39 for his role in a  resistance against Hitler. He writes, “The cross is laid on every Christian.  The first Christ suffering which every man must experience is the call to  abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which  is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship,  we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death – we give over our  lives to death. Thus, it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an  otherwise god fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our  communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and  die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home  and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave  the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every  time – death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call.” (Dietrich  Bonhoeffer, From The Cost of Discipleship (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.,  1937), 99.)

Jeff Wells writes from Luke 9:23: “And he said to all: “If anyone would come  after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”  ‘Jesus did not call us to a life of comfort and ease. He did not call us to  accumulation and then retirement. He did not call us to self-indulgence and  self-aggrandizement. He did not call us to the American Dream. No. Jesus called us to come and die. Dietrich Bonhoeffer penned that verse as his  last words, and later, by order of Adolf Hitler, he was executed because of  his faith in Christ. His words were fulfilled literally by his own life.” (The Great  Verses, 365 Verses to Learn, to Love, to Live, p 204) Jim Elliot’s story is told in his biography, In the Shadow of the Almighty, by  his wife, Elizabeth Elliot. She writes: “Jim Elliot was not well known during  his life. He grew up in a Plymouth Brethren church and attended Wheaton  College before following God’s call to reach Quechua Indians of Ecuador.  The thing he is most well-known for in his life is the incredible passion he had for those without Christ, which he ultimately led to his martyrdom and  the martyrdom of his four missionary friends Ed McCully, Roger Youderian,  Pete Fleming, and Nate Saint at the hands of the very people they were  trying to reach, the Huaorani Indians of Ecuador. ‘On January 8, 1956, 28- year-old American missionary Jim Elliot was martyred, along with four  missionary partners and friends. He was survived by his wife, Elisabeth,  and their 10-month-old daughter Valerie.’ . . . On October 28, 1949, Jim  wrote in his journal the words, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot  keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” October 28, 1949 marks a  special day in Christian history. Not because any revolutionary nailed a  paradigm-shifting document to a door, not because a famous evangelist  was birthed, but rather because a young man with a deep affection for God  scribbled some simple words that are now some of the most often quoted  Christian words not found in the Holy Scriptures.” (TGC, The Gospel Coalition,  Blog of Justin Taylor, January 8, 2016) 

Three times in the Beatitudes the word “persecution” comes with a  blessing: 

1. Matthew 5:10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of  righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When we live in  obedience and in right relationship with Christ and His Word, there may be  radical opposition to our presence in the world we live in but often subtle  persecution comes from peer pressure, lack of crowd applause and being  spoken of with derision and ill will.

Henry and Mel Blackaby in What’s So Spiritual About Your Gifts? write,  “The formula to living the Spirit-filled live is simple: Obedience. We have no  need of the Holy Spirit if we aren’t willing to do what God has asked of us. The power of the Spirit will be seen at our first step of obedience.” (Barbour’s  Encyclopedia of Great Christian Quotes, p 320) 

2. Matthew 5:11: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you  and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” When we are  persecuted and rejected by others it often creates estrangement from the  relationships within the world we live in. 

J.B. Fowler, Jr. writes, “John Bunyan suffered miserably in England. For  twelve years he languished in Bedford, England’s jail for preaching the  gospel. But in those twelve years he gave to the world one of the noblest  pieces of literature: Pilgrim’s Progress.” (Illustrating Great Words of the New  Testament, p 175) 

3. Matthew 5:12: “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in  heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before  you.” The greater the persecution, the greater the rejoicing. Hebrews 11  lists examples of God’s men and women who paid the price of total trusting  and obeying their Living God. 

One example in Hebrews 11 is the ancient Noah speaking, “It would have  been easy to have given in to doubts. To have listened to the voices inside  my head and the voices coming from the voices of my friends and  community. . . My choices weren’t based on my feelings. They were based  on confidence in the God who had revealed himself to me. God spoke and I  obeyed, one day at a time, one blow of the hammer at a time.” (NIV  Stewardship Study Bible, p 391) 

T.S. Eliot writes, “The true martyr is he who has become the instrument of  God, who has lost his will in the will of God, not lost it but found it, for he  has found freedom in submission to God. The martyr no longer desires  anything for himself; not even the glory of martyrdom.” (Murder in the  Cathedral, Extreme Devotion, p 84.)

Ron Wells, www.centrepoint.cc