“Blessed Are the Merciful”

THE BEATITUDES: How to Be Truly Blessed Sermon Series

“Blessed Are the Merciful”

(Part #6)

KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 5:7 (NASB)

Father God, we thank You again for a wonderful praise and worship experience , and [we] honor You for Your presence in this church. We pray that Your grace, mercy, and peace will inspire us to do Your will, serve you faithfully, and obey Your Words. In the name of Jesus, we commit the rest of the church service [into] the hands of living God. Amen. You may have your seat. And let us thank our amazing worship team [again] for ushering us into God’s presence. Thank you, worship team.

The Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion Exhortation)

We will begin our communion service. And, as we partake of the Lord’s Supper, I want to remind you that we are united as one body as we eat that one bread and drink that one cup together. When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, it is not a gathering of individuals who all happen to be having fellowship with Jesus at the same time in the same place [or in the same room – no! When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus unites us together into one body and builds us up together in unity in Him, as together – in fellowship with one another – we feed upon our Savior, Jesus Christ. We share in one bread and are being built into one body in Christ. We share in one cup and “have all been made to drink into one Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 12:13. We share in the same blood and rejoice in the same blood-bought salvation. May the Lord’s Supper unite us as Christ’s church and bring us together.

Let us pray. Father God, we thank You for this opportunity to break bread with You. I pray for the grape juice, and we lift it up to You. Cleanse it and wash it in Christ’s blood and make it holy, and that it would be His blood indeed. As we partake of this grape juice, we are partaking of Christ’s blood, and the power in the blood will affect and impact our lives. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

We will pass around the communion element as we continue with worship service.

TITHE and OFFERING

We are about to give our tithe and offering to the church. And the Bible says that we are called to give generously and with joy because we have the fruit of the Spirit within us. Believers’ regular giving to the church is rooted in three central theological themes in the gospel: the grace of God, the cross of Christ, and the unity of the Spirit. I encourage you to meditate on these three themes this week and trust God to speak to you through the Holy Spirit. Why am I asking you to meditate on these three themes? Because God holds all men and women responsible for giving, regardless of their measure of ability to give. [But] the test of generosity and faithfulness in giving is not the measure of our wealth, but rather our willingness to give what we have to God to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. May God bless you as you give to Christ’s church.

Ushers, please pass around the plates. The worship team will lead us as we collect our tithes and offerings.

Baptismal Certificates and Bible Presentation

Last Saturday, we baptized some of our church members at Lakeview Park in Lorain, Ohio, and I want to call on all those who were baptized to come forward so we can present the certificate of baptism and a Holy Bible.

WELCOME

Please stand up, greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship. We welcome you [all] again to our Sunday Worship Service and are glad to have you in God’s house. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online. Let’s clap for our online viewers.

ANNOUNCEMENT

· The New Member Class is this Saturday, October 12th, at 10:00 a.m. at the church. If you have any questions about joining the church, please contact Farai and Paula.

· The Marriage Checkup Workshop is on Friday, October 25th, at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 26th, at 9:00 a.m. I want to remind all married couples that the spots are filling up, so please register for the marriage workshop if you can.

· Wednesday Night Bible Study Connect is at 7:00 p.m. Please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD.

· We changed the church’s weekly prayer to the first Saturday of the month. We will continue to assemble on Saturday for those who want to meet and pray. Please let us know if you would like to come and pray at the church on Saturday morning.

· Please complete the sermon survey sheet and return it to the usher and media team.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let’s pray together as we begin our study today.

Father, we come to You this morning with a deep sense of need in our own lives. It only takes a cursory look at the verse we are about to study to know that we, in and of ourselves, can’t qualify. I am so grateful that Your people would [come to] church to be exposed to the truth of this word. Thank You for the kind of people who will bring their lives to the test of the Word of God. Who will come not to hear some fascination [attraction or appeal] discussed or some theme irrelevant [unrelated] to living? May this church conform to and mature to the image of Jesus Christ. And so Lord, may what I say not be man’s word, may I not speak in the power of my mind and my spirit, but may I be nothing but a mouthpiece through which the Spirit of God can speak. May we not listen for the cleverness of men, but may we listen for the voice of God. May we not apply things to others, but may we [apply] them only to ourselves? Please give us the honesty to do that. Help us not to think of another but only of us. And Father, we pray that when we are done with this sermon series, we will be better equipped to serve You and more committed to Your glory than ever before. With that anticipation, we thank You for what You will do in Christ’s name. Amen

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

We have been going through the “The Beatitudes, How to be Truly Blessed” sermon series. At the beginning of this series, we explained that the word blessing today is thrown around, often without its theological intended meaning. Because blessing has been reduced to stuff, I am blessed because I have more stuff: a house, a car, clothes, and money.

Nothing is wrong with stuff in and of itself, but when God defines blessing, He goes much deeper than that. Let me help you out. Blessing has to do with the well-being of the soul. If stuff [was] the definition of blessing, then the devil would be the most blessed person in creation, for he owns this world order. But God defines blessing as internal well-being for His Kingdom people. People who confessed and believed with their hearts that Jesus is the Son of God. That He gives to His people, that expresses itself externally but starts internally, and that they use to transfer for the well-being of others.

The Beatitudes lay [out] the road to spiritual blessing, or how to be truly blessed. It starts with being “.… poor in spirit.” That is spiritually bankrupt, where you declare your lack of capacity to satisfy your own spiritual needs independently of God. Those people get to experience God on earth. Then, you move to mourning over your sin. When you recognize your spiritual bankruptcy, it leads to [the sorrow of the soul] because of the breaking of God’s standards. And God says, “When you go there, you have set yourself up to be comforted.”

Then it moves to “.… gentleness or meekness,”which is not weakness. It is power under control. When you submit to divine authority, you become a visual participant and an inheritor of the Kingdom of God. That is, you get what has been ordained for you to have in time and ultimately in eternity. That should produce more hunger and thirst in the life of a believer. That is a sense of spiritual hunger—a passion to be satisfied with that which pleases God – Righteousness. And God says He will satisfy starvation of the soul.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Today, Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7. You don’t want to miss this. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” An aging film star took a photograph, then she saw what the photographer had taken, and [she] was angry. She was furious. She said this picture does not do me justice. The photographer responded very kindly and said, a lady with a face like yours, you don’t need justice; you need mercy. And as insulting as that is, it is a true statement that we all need mercy.

And it is wonderful to meet a merciful person. Gamaliel, a notable Jewish teacher in the Book of Acts, said, “Whenever thou hast mercy, God will have mercy upon thee. And if thou hast not mercy, neither will God have mercy upon thee.” Gamaliel praised the virtue of mercy as a path to blessing.

That raises a question. What in the world is mercy? What does it mean to be merciful? Mercy is against the backdrop of presupposing problems, pain, misery, and distress. Circumstances that have been weighing you down, and you need something to lift them off you. And so, you need what is called mercy. Mercy may be defined as compassion for people in need. Mercy embraces both forgiveness [Watch This] for the guilty and compassion for the suffering and needy. Mercy is reducing, removing, or relieving someone’s distress. In one sense, mercy means withholding punishment from offenders who deserve it. In the broader sense, mercy means to help others in need who cannot help themselves.

God showed us mercy by sparing us from the judgment that our sins deserved and [by] demonstrating kindness to us through the saving work of Christ. We imitate God when we have compassion. And so, [Watch This], mercy is compassion in action. The Bible says in Titus 3:5, “God saves us because of His mercy.” Ephesians 2:4 says, “God is rich in mercy.”

In other words, God is rich in relieving people and removing or reducing the weight of distress, discouragement, brokenness, pain, and problems that come our way. Mercy is God’s reaction to our misery. Mercy is more than feeling sorry for somebody; you can feel sorry for somebody and not do anything. Feeling sad and [sorry] has its place, but mercy is what feeling sorry produces. It always involves an action to reduce, relieve, or remove the misery that has come.

SERMON EXPLANATION

Perhaps there are three words that we can look at. If we put these three words together, it will create a distinction. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. That is different from justice, which is getting what we do deserve, which is different from mercy, which is not getting what we do deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Justice is getting what we deserve. And mercy is not getting what we deserve.

Mercy deals with pain, misery, and distress. But grace deals with sin in a person’s life. Mercy deals with the symptoms, and grace deals with the problem. Mercy offers relief from punishment. Grace offers pardon for the crime. Don’t miss that. First comes grace; grace removes sin, and then mercy eliminates punishment.

In three of [his] letters, the Apostle Paul never does it in a letter to a church; he only does it in letters to individuals—1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. At the beginning of these three letters, Paul says something profound you don’t want to miss. He says, “Grace, mercy, and peace.” The addition of mercy frees believers from the misery [that accompanies the consequences of sin]. Mercy and grace are different. Mercy eliminates the pain, and grace grants a better condition.

When someone is found guilty of a crime in a court of law, they or their lawyer will throw themselves at the [mercy of the court]. They [are asking] the court not to give them the punishment they deserve or require. They [are asking] to be relieved or reduced punishment that the law or justice system [requires].

SERMON ILLUSTRATION

Let me give you an illustration. [In the] story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29, [it] says the priest [the preacher] passed by a man who was beaten and lying on the side of the road half dead. Perhaps the priest was reading his bible and praying to God on his way to church. The priest was too busy and engaged because he was after God’s business. And then, here comes the Levite, the lawyer.

It says the lawyer passed by. The priest (the preacher) and the Levite (the lawyer) passed by this man who has been beaten to the point of dying, and they don’t want to be involved and have anything to do with him. He says, but the Good Samaritan. That is a person of another race. That was a hated race by the Jewish people during the days of Jesus. He sees this poor Jew all beaten up, lying half dead on the side of the road, and he goes over, and he cares for him.

Jesus was telling this Jewish person. He says your neighbor is not the person who looks like you. Your neighbor is not the person who talks like you. Your neighbor is not just a person who raps like you. He says, “The neighbor is the person who addresses the needs.” Jesus says, “The Good Samaritan, number 1, stopped.” The first thing he did was stop. That means his schedule got interrupted. That means his schedule got suspended.

The second thing he did was get his hands dirty because he reached down, which is humility. The Bible says the man was bleeding all over, and he had to bandage his wound, so he had to get himself dirty to fix this problem. The third thing he did was inconvenience himself because he got off his donkey. He got out of his Mercedes Chariot to help this man.

Do you know what mercy does? Mercy relieves this man's pain. Mercy pours oil into his wombs, and mercy binds up his wounds. And mercy relieves the suffering. And you know what grace does? Grace rents him a room at the hotel. Mercy deals with the negative, and grace puts it in the positive. Mercy takes away the pain, and grace gives us better conditions. Mercy says no hell; grace says heaven. Mercy says I pity you. Grace says I pardon you. See, mercy is compassion in action. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are those who are inconvenienced because they help others who desperately need help.

If you want God to relieve your pain when you are going through your issues or bad situations, you better stop skipping opportunities that God provides you to show mercy to others. Because what goes around, comes around. You reap what you sow. When you call a company offering goods and services, you will hear something like this: “This call is being recorded for quality assurance. " Recording these calls allows companies to ensure their employees deliver the best customer service possible. That means somebody may be listening to see whether customer service is doing [a good job]. This call is being monitored. God is saying your mercy is being monitored and recorded for quality assurance.

So, when you need the same service, we will check how you provided it to others. That is mercy. If the truth is to be told, you can’t help everybody. You can’t relieve everybody. But God will give you plenty of opportunities to relieve somebody. To show somebody mercy. The one you come along to remove, reduce, or relieve at whatever level you can and whatever level you choose. That is mercy.

SERMON EXPLANATION

In “Lamentations 3:22 and 23, the Bible says, "His mercies are new every morning.”In other words, every day you wake up, you wake up to the mercy of God. If you look back over your life and see some of the things you did, the places you went, and the folks you hung out with back then, you shouldn’t be here today. You are here today because of the mercy of God. And you ought to give God some praise, glory, and honor because of His mercy. If only justice ruled. Somewhere down the line, the mercy of God intersected with justice. The Bible says, “It is of the Lord's mercies [Watch This] that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not.”

He says, “Blessed are the merciful.”That is those who bestow mercy on others. They help relieve, reduce, or remove the misery, distress, problem, and pain that has weighed on this individual. He pronounces a blessing as a state of wellness to [the merciful person]. Many of us today are enduring the suffering and pain of life because of sin in our lives. There has been a rebellion against God and disobedience to God, and now we are dealing with the consequences of those choices.

What you want mercy for is for God to limit, remove, relieve, or reduce the consequences that you have no control over and that are now weighing you down, beating you up, and holding you back. The Bible says that in “God’s mercy, He does not reward us according to our iniquities.” God does not give us strike for strike. God does not give us blow for blow. Why? Because He is the God of mercy. Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise [up] to show mercy to you.”

But we must be willing and ready to deal with the sin that causes the consequences. We want God’s mercy but don’t want to address the sin that created the need for it. If you are unwilling to deal with the sin, you cannot request the mercy of God. People are walking around all day saying Lord, have mercy.

You cannot ask God to give you new clothes if you are unwilling to [take a bath.] You must recognize and agree with God about the sin in your life. And you must agree with God’s solution to the sin. Then, you must agree to go toward that solution, [which is] repentance. That will free you up to request the mercy of God. [A lot of folks] will come to prayer meetings, saying, Lord have mercy—Lord have mercy. But they are not ready to change their lifestyle. They are not prepared to change what they are doing. They are not ready to make any changes in their lives, but Lord have mercy on me—Lord have mercy. And that is not how mercy works.

The Bible says two men went to church in Luke Chapter 18. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. It says the Pharisee came, and the Pharisee justified himself before God. He said, I am a good man; I am a righteous man. I attend church every week, pay my tithe and offering, serve in the local church, and do all this for God and the church. The trouble with this Pharisee was not arrogance, not pimples on the skin. The problem was in the bloodstream. He is standing in the temple—in the presence of God—and thinking that the differences [that matter] among men matter with the Almighty God. The problem with this Pharisee was pride.

It says that the tax collector stayed far off, and this man was ashamed and afraid to go close to the altar. He prayed a simple and honest prayer to God. This is what he said: I am a sinful man. I am an unrighteous man. He said I have broken Your rules and law; I shame and disgrace Your name, and I am not worthy.

Jesus said, “I say unto you that the Pharisee left, he left still with his sin hanging all over him.” Jesus said the Pharisee left the church unjustified, but the tax collector, who recognized his failure, found mercy with God. If you are unwilling to face the sin causing misery in your life, you are not looking for mercy. Mercy does not ignore what causes misery.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION and ALTAR CALL

What I want you to take away from this message is that “Mercy is a powerful thing.” Mercy is so powerful and rich because you are joining the heart of God in helping others – [Watch This], which frees God’s heart to help you. In this community, may we be known as a merciful Church [in a responsible way]? If sin is involved, you can’t help them until they are willing to deal with their sin. If circumstances are involved, then you help relieve them as much as you can of the circumstances.

God, remember me for good. You have to have that mindset. Lord, every opportunity that I can. You can’t do it for everybody. May we use every opportunity within our power to extend mercy because we need all of it to get our hands on it. I need it for my life today and for the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ later.

[Because] mercy will overcome judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will be judged for our words and deeds [in terms of] reward. Not in terms of your Salvation but in terms of reward. So, we will have all this slate of things we didn’t do, we did, we said, we shouldn’t have said. We shouldn’t have done counter-balanced by all the acts of mercy. Mercy overrules judgment.

So, you can reposition yourself for the Judgment Seat of Christ through your acts of mercy right now. By your acts of love for the well-being of others, you are overruling things that you will be ashamed of when you stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ because He said, “mercy overrules judgment.” So, some of us need to get busy with mercy right now as much as possible.

When you are against the wind, the wind holds you and pushes you back. When you reverse your direction, that same wind against you is now for you because you must change direction. To obtain God’s mercy, you have changed the direction of your life. I am sure there are folks here looking for God’s mercy because the weight of life is heavy on you. Anybody like that today? It is just heavy right now. You know what to do if it is based on sin. You have to confess and repent of the sin. Which qualifies you to request mercy? If it is the circumstance, you may not have any control over it, but you still need mercy. If that is you, please come forward so we can pray for you. And if you are here today, and you are not a Christian, and you have never accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, please come forward so we can pray with you.

Let’s stand on our feet, bow our heads, and honor this moment in worship.

BENEDICTION

Let us pray

Father, we acknowledge with gratitude from the heart Your mercy in Christ Jesus, and they are new every morning. We praise You for Your continued mercy. Your compassions never fail. Great is Your faithfulness. We are flooded today with God’s mercies, which motivate the dedication of presenting ourselves to You. I pray that You make us ever [to] be the merciful who have received [Your] mercy so that we might receive even greater mercies and praise You forever. Thank You for this great truth we have learned today through Your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.