STREAMS OF MERCY

INTRODUCTION:

OPENING STORY: IN HIS AWARD WINNING BOOK, THE SUNFLOWER, SIMON WIESENTHAL TELLS OF THE TIME IN WHICH HE WAS IN A NAZI CONCENTRATION CAMP WORKING IN THE YARD, HOPING TO STAY ALIVE, WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN HE WAS RANDOMLY PICKED OUT BY A NURSE AND BROUGHT UPSTAIRS TO THE BEDSIDE OF A DYING NAZI SOLDIER. KNOWING HE WAS MOMENTS AWAY FROM DEATH THE SOLDIER TOLD SIMON OF A HEARTBREAKING TALE. SOME MONTHS BEFORE HE AND SOME OF HIS COMRADES HAD FORCED A GROUP OF JEWS INTO A BUILDING, SET IT ON FIRE, AND STOOD OUTSIDE WITH THEIR MACHINE GUNS KILLING ALL OF THOSE WHO RAN OUT OF THE BUILDING FOR LIFE. PLAGUED BY THE GUILT AND SHAME OF IT ALL THE SOLDIER MADE A BOLD PLEA TO SIMON- PLEASE, ON BEHALF OF THE JEWS, SHOW HIM MERCY. AND JUST LIKE THAT THE STORY ENDS, WITH THE REST OF THE BOOK FILLED WITH COMMENTARY BY WELL KNOWN FAITH LEADERS ACROSS THE SPECTRUM CHIMING IN ON WHETHER OR NOT SIMON SHOULD BESTOW MERCY ON THIS DYING NAZI SOLDIER WHO COMMITTED THIS HORRENDOUS ACT.

POINT: AND WHAT WE ARE FORCED TO CONCLUDE IS THAT MERCY IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS IT SEEMS. IF EVER THERE WAS THE CASE STUDY FOR EASIER SAID THAN DONE, IT’S MERCY.

CREATING THE NEED: JAMES CONE AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND HOW THE GOSPEL, HE ARGUES IS JUST FOR THE OPPRESSED. BUT THIS IS NOT SO. HERE’S WHERE WE NEED TO REST IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH- THE GOSPEL IS NOT JUST FOR THOSE HAVE BEEN WRONGED, BUT FOR THOSE DOING THE WRONGING. THE GOSPEL IS NOT JUST FOR THE OPPRESSED BUT ALSO FOR THE OPPRESSOR. HOW WE KNOW THIS IS THAT THE GOSPEL IS PREDICATED ON MERCY.

EARTHY APPLICATIONS: IT’S EASY TO SAY THE GOSPEL IS FOR THE LYNCHED, BUT IT’S ALSO THE LYNCH MOB. THE GOSPEL IS NOT JUST FOR THE ABUSED, BUT FOR THE ABUSER TOO…NOT JUST FOR THE BETRAYED, BUT FOR THE BETRAYER. THE VERY NATURE OF NAVIGATING LIFE IN A FALLEN WORLD WELL MEAN MOMENTS WHERE WE ARE WRONGED AND LIFE TAKES OUR WIND AWAY. AND IF WE HAVE ANY HOPE OF MAKING IT WE MUST BE PEOPLE OF MERCY.

(BUT WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN TO SHOW MERCY, HOW DO WE STIR UP MERCY WHEN WE DON’T FEEL LIKE IT, AND WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF MERCY? JESUS ANSWERS ALL THESE THINGS IN OUR TEXT. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT, ‘STREAMS OF MERCY’)

SHOWING MERCY

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: WE RETURN NOW TO THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT…IMPOSSIBLY CHRISTIAN. THE BEATITUDES ARE NOT THINGS WE DO TO GET INTO HEAVEN- THAT’S WORKS SALVATION. NOR ARE THE BEATITUDES THINGS WE DO TO EARN GOD’S GOOD FAVOR. THAT’S MORALISM. INSTEAD, THE BEATITUDES ARE DISTINCTIVE OUTFITS KINGDOM OF HEAVEN PEOPLE WEAR IN THE MIDST OF THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD, CAUSING US TO STAND OUT. AND WHILE THE KINGDOM OF THE WORLD BEATITUDE SAYS BLESSED ARE THE VINDICTIVE, OR BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO TAKE VENGEANCE, JESUS SAYS IN CONTRADISTINCTION THAT BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SHOW MERCY?

EXPLANATION: MERCY SIMPLY MEANS AN ATTITUDE AND ACTION OF KINDNESS TOWARDS THE UNDESERVING. THAT’S ALL BUT THAT’S A LOT. NOTICE THE WORD FOR MERCY IS ALL ENCOMPASSING, CANVASSING OUR ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU AREN’T CONSIDERED MERCIFUL IF YOU ARE LIKE, YEH WHATEVER, I’M NOT TRIPPING, I’LL LET IT GO, BUT YOU BETTER BE GLAD I’M SAVED. MERCY IS NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT ROLLS OFF MY TONGUE, IT’S SOMETHING I FEEL. FOR EXAMPLE THE SAME GREEK WORD FOR MERCY WAS USED OF JESUS WHEN IT SAYS OF HIM IN THAT SEEING THE CROWDS HE FELT COMPASSION FOR THEM! SEEING HE FELT!!! NOW THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE IT POSITS MERCY AS NOT JUST AN ACT OR AN ATTITUDE, BUT IT LOCATES IT IN THE HEART. AND THIS JIVES WITH OUR TEXT, BECAUSE JESUS SAYS BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL- STATE OF BEING- HE’S MAKING REFERENCE TO THE HEART.

STRESS TEST ILLUSTRATION: FRIEND OF MINE WAS HAVING SOME HEART PROBLEMS RECENTLY, AND THE DOCTOR PERFORMED A STRESS TEST ON HIM PUSHING HIM TO THE LIMIT, AND HE SAID HE WAS TIRED. BUT THAT’S THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD REALLY SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH HIS HEART, PUT HIM IN SOME STRESSFUL, ADVERSE SITUATIONS.

POINT: SO THAT MERCY IS NOT- OKAY, I’LL LET IT GO. OKAY, WE’RE GOOD, FORGET ABOUT IT. GOSH! YEH I’M DOING THIS BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT GOD WANTS ME TO DO, BUT GIRL YOU BETTER THANK GOD I LOVE JESUS. THAT’S NOT MERCY. IT’S BOTH AN ACT AND AN ATTITUDE.

APPLICATION- AND SO IT IS WITH MERCY. USED TO PRAY THIS TEXT AND THEN IT HIT ME. YOU KNOW WHAT WE’RE PRAYING WHEN WE PRAY THIS- GOD BRING SOMEONE IN MY LIFE THAT IS GOING TO HURT ME, WRONG ME…STRESS TEST. AND THAT’S HOW WE KNOW IF MERCY IS REALLY IN US! HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE MERCIFUL? HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE PERSON WHO WRONGED YOU, SAID THE RACIALLY OFFENSIVE THING TO YOU…OTHER APPLICATIONS.

THE POWER OF MERCY: BUT IT’S IN LIFE’S PROVERBIAL STRESS TESTS THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WOW THE WORLD BY RESISTING THE TEMPTATION TO TAKE VENGEANCE, AND SHOWING MERCY. IN HIS BOOK, JUST MERCY, BRYAN STEVENSON TELLS OF THE TIME IN WHICH ONE OF HIS CLIENTS WAS FALSELY ACCUSED, PROSECUTED AND SENT TO PRISON FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT. ONCE OUT THIS PERSON NAMED WALTER PROFOUND MERCY. STEVENSON WRITES, “Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion. Walter genuinely forgave the people who unfairly accused him, the people who convicted him, and the people who had judged him unworthy of mercy. And in the end, it was just mercy towards others that allowed him to recover a life worth celebrating, a life that rediscovered the love and freedom that all humans desire, a life that overcame death and condemnation until it was time to die on God’s schedule”- Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy.

STIRRING UP MERCY

EXPLANATION: I KNOW, I KNOW, EASIER SAID THAN DONE. BUT PASTOR IF YOU REALLY KNEW MY SITUATION. MY DAD ABANDONED ME. THAT IN LAW IS PERSISTENT AT NEEDLING ME AND GETTING BACK AT ME. THAT PERSON IS PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE AND ALWAYS IRKS ME. THAT SPOUSE KEEPS ON CHEATING ON ME. ARE YOU SAYING THAT I NEED TO RECONCILE WITH THE PERSON WHO ABUSED OR BETRAYED ME? NO. THIS MESSAGE ISN’T ABOUT RECONCILIATION, IT’S ABOUT MERCY. YOU CAN SHOW MERCY WITHOUT RESTORING THE RELATIONSHIP. BUT HOW DO WE SHOW MERCY, A KIND OF ROBUST MERCY THAT ENCOMPASSES MY ATTITUDE AND ACTIONS? HERE’S HOW- SEE PAST THEIR SIN AND INTO THEIR STORY. THERE’S AN OLD FRENCH PROVERB THAT SAYS, “TO KNOW ALL IS TO FORGIVE ALL.” WHEN YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND PEOPLE’S STORY AND NOT JUST WHAT THEY DO, BUT WHY THEY DO WHAT THEY DO YOU WILL BE BETTER POSITIONED TO DISPENSE MERCY ON THEM.

RODMAN ILLUSTRATION: HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE. THAT’S THE POINT. RODMAN’S DAD FATHERED 25 CHILDREN. RODMAN WALKED OUT ON HIS KIDS. SCENE IN THE DOCUMENTARY WHERE THE DAUGHTER IS CRYING BECAUSE HER DAD WASN’T THERE. AND THEN IT FLASHES TO DENNIS HOLDING HER CHILD, HIS GRANDCHILD. AND SHE, WITH GREAT COMPASSION, WITH GREAT MERCY SAID, SEE, HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO HOLD A BABY. AND THEN THIS: BUT I’M HOPING WE GET TO START OVER. MERCY. SHE’S NOT EXCUSING HIS BEHAVIOR, BUT SHE’S SEEING PAST THE SIN AND INTO THE STORY.

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION: JESUS AND THE WOMAN AT THE WELL. EVERYONE AVOIDS HER IN THE TOWN. SHE’S BEEN WITH SIX DIFFERENT MEN. NOT A STRETCH TO SAY SHE MAY HAVE BROKEN UP A FEW MARRIAGES. THE AROUND THE WAY GIRL. AND WHAT’S BEYOND EASY TO DO WITH HER IS TO PUT A LABEL ON HER AS A SINNER, A TRAMP, AND AVOID HER. JESUS DOESN’T DO IT. INSTEAD HE SITS DOWN WITH HER, STRIKES UP A CONVERSATION AND WHEN SHE TRIES TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT HE SAYS I KNOW YOUR STORY- YOU’VE HAD FIVE DIFFERENT MEN, AND THE ONE YOU’RE LIVING WITH NOW IS NOT YOUR HUSBAND. AND THEN HE DOES THE MOST MERCIFUL THING EVER AND GIVES HER THE GOSPEL AND HER LIFE IS CHANGED. BUT HOW DID IT ALL HAPPEN? HE SAW PAST HER SIN AND INTO HER STORY!

APPLICATION: WHOSE HURT YOU? WHO HAS WRONGED YOU AND YOU ARE STRUGGLING TO SHOW THEM MERCY BECAUSE YOU’VE JUST SEEN THE SIN AND HAVEN’T DONE THE WORK TO REALLY SIT IN THEIR STORY?

APPLICATION: ONE MORE THING BEFORE I MOVE ON. REMEMBER, HURT PEOPLE, HURT PEOPLE. WHY SHOULD I SHOW MERCY? BECAUSE IF I DON’T THE HURT WILL SIT THERE, IT WILL LINGER AND I WILL END UP HURTING OTHERS BECAUSE HURT PEOPLE, HURT PEOPLE. BUT IF I WANT TO STOP THE CYCLE I MUST BEGIN BY ADDRESSING THE HURT IN MY LIFE, AND THAT HAPPENS WHEN I USE THE VACCINATION OF MERCY!

THE SOURCE OF MERCY

EXPLANATION: BUT NONE OF THIS WORKS- I AM COMPLETELY UNABLE TO SHOW THIS KIND OF MERCY OF ACTIONS AND ATTITUDE, A MERCY OF THE HEART, WITHOUT GOD FIRST GETTING TO MY HEART. WE SEE THIS HERE. JESUS SAYS, BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL FOR THEY SHALL RECEIVE MERCY. NOW THIS IS CRAZY. HE’S NOT SAYING SHOW MERCY IN ORDER TO GET MERCY, IN FACT IT’S THE OPPOSITE. THE ONLY WAY ONE BECOMES MERCY-FULL IS WHEN THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE MERCY OF GOD. IN OTHER WORDS A TEST OF MY TRUE LEGITIMATE CHRISTIANITY IS THAT I PASS ONTO OTHERS WHAT I HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD. I CANNOT GIVE WHAT I DO NOT HAVE!

OXYGEN MASK ILLUSTRATION. NO WAY I CAN ASSIST MY CHILD IF I’M NOT BEING ASSISTED MYSELF! GET THE OXYGEN FIRST AND THEN YOU CAN HELP OTHERS! THAT’S THE IDEA HERE.

THE GOSPEL IS THE OXYGEN MASK OF MERCY. THE GOSPEL SAYS THAT WE WERE SINNERS, AND THAT OUR SINS HAD BETRAYED, HURT AND VIOLATED GOD. NOT ONLY THAT OUR SINS WERE PUTTING US ON A COLLISION COURSE TO HELL! THEN GOD STEPPED IN AND SAVED US BY HIS MERCY- . AND NOT ONLY DOES MERCY SAVE US, IT SUSTAINS US. WHEN WE SIN WE CAN COME BOLDLY TO THE THRONE OF GRACE AND FIND MERCY- . OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IS MERCY, AND HE PUMPS IT IN.

STREAMS OF MERCY ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT ROBINSON HAD JUST BEEN SENT TO LONDON TO APPRENTICE AS A BARBER, BUT WHILE THERE HE MADE SOME HORRIBLE CHOICES. HE JOINED A GANG AND ENTERED INTO A LIFE OF GROSS IMMORALITY AND STEALING. AND THEN IT HAPPENED. IN 1755 HE ENCOUNTERED A PREACHER WHO WAS DECLARING THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL, AND GOD’S MERCY INVADED HIS LIFE. ROBERT RECEIVED THE GOSPEL AND HIS LIFE WAS CHANGED. HE WOULD END UP BECOMING A PASTOR, AND WOULD PEN A SONG CALLED COME THOU FOUNTAIN WHICH MOST BELIEVE WAS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. IN THIS SONG HE WROTE, ‘COME THOU FOUND OF EVERY BLESSING, TUNE MY HEART TO SING THY PRAISE, STREAMS OF MERCY NEVER CEASING, CALL FOR SONGS OF LOUDEST PRAISE.” HE WROTE ONE OF THE MOST PROFOUND SONGS ON THE MERCY OF GOD BECAUSE HE HAD RECEIVED THE MERCY OF GOD. THOSE WHO ARE MERCY-FULL HAVE RECEIVED THE MERCY OF GOD.