Have Mercy: Blessed are the merciful...; Build your Life #7, the 5th Beatitude

Kid’s Minute… Tomorrow is a holiday. Do you know what holiday it is? That’s right- Memorial Day. Why do we have a Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is a holiday to remember U.S. military people who died while serving our country…. Many people have the day off, a lot of businesses are closed, & people usually do something fun… We enjoy the time off, but we forget why we have the time off. We often forget that the reason for the holiday is to remember.

Did you know that Jesus gave our church two ways to remember Him? Do you know what they are? the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. We’re going to have one of these memorials today- baptism. Baptism is a symbol of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. People get baptized because they have believed in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. By getting baptized, they are showing everyone else that they have decided to follow Jesus. We have 3 people being baptized today. Isn’t that cool? Let’s pray for them & for our service.

Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

INTRO: At one of my former churches, we had a men’s ministry that did an annual float trip. It was so much fun, hanging out with the guys, shooting guns, and studying God’s Word together. The first year I went on the men’s retreat, I was put in a canoe with Tim. Tim had a catch phrase- Have Mercy.

Whenever we would go around some rocks, Tim would yell have mercy. When we went through a shoot, Tim would yell have mercy. When we went over small falls, Tim would yell have mercy. All these years later, I can still hear Tim say Have Mercy.

When we leave this service today, I want the words “Have Mercy” to ring in our ears and take deep root in our hearts, so that it produces the fruit of mercy in the life of our church. Haven’t you ever had a relationship on the rocks? Or experienced a loved one’s failure? Or been shot through the heart by hurt? We all have. How should we respond?

We need to have mercy. Today we’ll talk about Why? What? How?

1. WHY? God DEMONSTRATES mercy to us.

Merciful- indicates a compassionate and merciful quality. This word appears in 2 places, here, & in Hebrews 2:17- where it depicts the greatest example and fullest extent of what it means to be merciful.

Hebrews 2:17, Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Three ways Christ demonstrates God’s mercy to us:

• His Incarnation- He had to be made like His brethren.

• His Intercession- that He might be a faithful High Priest

• His Atonement- to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Imagine the mercy you must have to be the eternal Son of God, the 2nd person of the Godhead, and choosing to disrobe yourself of your glory to become a man, so that you can represent sinners before God, be their substitute, and then die in their place as a sacrifice to pay for their sins to satisfy the wrath of God (i.e., propitiation).

ILL: Aslan- The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe; Edmund had defected to the dark side, to the witch, and she had him. The only way for him to be released was a substitute. Aslan volunteered to give his life to the witch and let her kill him so that Edmund could be free.

Philippians 2:6–8, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Rarely is having mercy going to cost us what it cost Jesus, yet we so often withhold it.We want people to pay the utmost because of what they’ve done to us, for however they have slighted us, for whatever they’ve done to hurt us. Thank God that Jesus did not do that to us!

We should have mercy on others because God has had mercy on us. Ephesians 2:4–5, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

We should have mercy because God demonstrated mercy to us.

2. God DESIRES mercy from us. WHAT?

On two different occasions, Matthew recorded Jesus teaching that God desires mercy from His people- 9:13; 12:7.

Matthew 9:10-13 records a time when Jesus & His disciples ate with a group of tax collectors and sinners, & the Pharisees asked the disciples why they did that. Jesus responded- Matthew 9:12–13, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Jesus was known for being a friend to sinners. Having mercy is showing attention to the outcasts, giving spiritual medicine to people on the margins.

Matthew 12 records a time when Jesus’ disciples were walking through a field, were hungry, and plucked some heads of grain to eat. The Pharisees charged Jesus that His disciples were breaking the Sabbath. His response was to tell a biblical story about King David & his men, when he was on the run from Saul- they went into the tabernacle of God and ate the shewbread that was reserved for priests.Jesus went on to say that the priests that serve in the temple on Sabbath were breaking the Sabbath but were blameless. Then He said- Matthew 12:6-7, Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. Jesus was known for breaking manmade traditions about the law, esp. the Sabbath, but He wasn’t guilty. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Mercy means withholding judgment when you don’t know the score. James 2:13, For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 1) More Attention to outsiders

2) Less Judgment as insiders

This phrase- I desire mercy and not sacrifice is from Hosea 6:6, For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. That passage is about Israel’s sin of injustice, and its failure to admit guilt, repent of sin, & seek God for help. Vs. 6 summarizes the central teaching of the prophets- God cares more about our care for others than He does our tithes and offerings. It’s not that we shouldn’t give money, it’s just that we should give mercy more.

3. HOW? God DEVELOPS mercy within us. God does it.

Mercy demands mercy. Because God has demonstrated His mercy towards us, He desires that we show mercy to others. This kind of mercy is not natural. If God doesn’t do a spiritual work within, it won’t be done.

ILL: The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)- A lawyer tested Jesus by asking what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law says, & he answered with the 1st & 2nd Great commandments- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said- you’re right, do that.

But the man, wanted to justify himself asked- And who is my neighbor? That’s when Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan- a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by thieves who stripped him and beat him and left him for dead. A priest came by & saw him but passed by on the other side of the road. Also, a Levite came by and looked, but passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan (mixed Jewish descent, hated by pure-blood Jews) saw the man, had compassion on him, dressed his wounds, gave him a ride, put him up for the night at an inn, and paid the manager to take care of him.

Jesus asked- which of these three was neighbor to the injured man? The lawyer said- “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” This is a hard thing; we may not even know…

The word Jesus used for neighbor is not countrymen (geiton); and it is not the one who lives in your neighborhood (perioikos), the Samaritan was neither… he was (plesion) the one nearest you at any given time.

How many of us have been near someone that we knew was in distress, but we failed to show them pity? Or saw them in difficult circumstances, but passed right on by? We looked, but left them alone in their misery?

How does that change? How does God develop mercy within us?

· When we have the LOVE of God.

· When we LOOK at Others, and really see them.

· When we have that CAN’T LEAVE feeling, then we HAVE MERCY.

Matthew 9:36, But when He (Jesus) saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

E.g., last week, I left Lubbock early on Monday to travel back to Waxahachie for a 1 pm funeral.I knew I would be hard pressed for time, so I arranged to stop at my son’s house on the way to change my clothes. When I was near his house, I stopped at McDonalds to grab a quick bite. Cameron was loitering by the door. I looked at him.

He asked me for some money to get himself something to eat. I didn’t have any money, but I told him if he’d come in, I’d buy him something. While we waited for food, I asked Cameron about his life- he’s bipolar & schizophrenic, trying to get on disability, works odd jobs in the area, and lives with his grandmother to take care of her. I asked Cameron if he knew the Lord & he said he did. We got our food, I prayed with him, & went on my way.| Cameron was easy to have mercy on.

E.g., Eagles Fan on Friday was much harder. I worked late at the office, much later past dinner than I’m used to. I couldn’t decide what I wanted, but needed to stop at Walmart first, then get gas, then get some food. It was close to 8 when I left Walmart & they must have had a run-on gas because every pump was full, & what wasn’t was yellow bagged. I made my way around the pumps, avoided getting hit 2 or 3 times, & decided to get gas elsewhere. As I left, I noticed him, sitting at the edge of the parking lot, with all his belongings, & he looked rough.

When I saw him, I tried to ignore him. I was tired, hungry, still needed gas, & just wanted to go home. But I couldn’t leave. As I came around the corner, I looked at him; he was a mess, but he also had a hungry sign. So I went through Whataburger, got him a meal w/ a tea, took it to him, he said God bless you, I said God bless you, & I left. He was wearing an Eagles shirt, so I doubt he was an angel unawares.

James 3:17, the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Mercy is a sign from heaven that you have been saved. Giving mercy is a sure sign that you have received it.

To have mercy means you will receive mercy. Are you a merciful person? Do you want people to pay, or do you pity them? Are you judgmental or compassionate? These are tell-tale signs of being a believer. God has demonstrated mercy to us, He desires mercy from us, and He develops mercy within us. Who do you need to Have Mercy on?