Blessed Are The Merciful
Notes
Transcript
Text:
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Beati- Merciful
Happy, rich, fortunate, well-off are the merciful. Why are the merciful happy, why are they fortunate and well off?
In today’s society, even in today’s era why have an increased demand to see justice exacted.
In first thought, when we think about the word merciful, the root word for merciful is mercy.
Initially, when we seek to understand what mercy is, we find that most definitions tend to agree on the fact that mercy is: a compassionate, kind disposition, a forbearance towards an offender, an enemy, or other person’s in ones power; compassion, pity, benevolence.
Now we must understand that from man’s standpoint, this is the definition of what mercy is. Per contra, the standpoint of God’s word always transcend that of man’s word.
When we consider what God’s word says in regards to mercy and merciful, we notice that there are many shades and many levels to the term.
There is the Hebrew definition and there is the the greek definition of mercy/merciful according to the scriptures:
The Hebrew thought or idea of mercy is compassion, to love, to take pity upon, usually compassion leads to acts of compassion.
The Greek thought of merciful centers around several notable things: to spare, to console, to bring help to the wretched, to show favor and help the afflicted, granting to the unworthy favor, benefits, and blessings.
So now when the LORD says happy, well-off, are the merciful......those who have pity on others, those who are pushed to acts of compassion towards others, those who show favor and help the afflicted, those who grant favor, benefits and blessings on others even if they don’t deserve it.
Now again, it seems like an oxymoron when we consider in depth what Jesus is saying. Be kind to my enemy? This does not mean that you just give them a pass for their behavior. To the world’s standard, when we are kind to our enemies, when we love our enemies, to them it seems as if we are taking the low road, it seems that we are bowing ourselves to the enemy, but on the contrary, we are letting God fight our battle for us. When we obey the will of God for our lives you must be assured of this one thing, that God will fight for you! If God fights for you, He will make everything alright for you, and if he makes everything alright for you, then you will truly be able to lift your voice and say “I’m Blessed”!
They are blessed because what you reap you will sow! God is going to bless you, God is going to love you, God is going to bestow upon you undeserved favor, benefits, and blessings!
Jesus was teaching them a Godly principle that every religious sect of his time lacked. They lacked mercy, because if they had this trait and acted mercifully they wouldn’t have crucified an innocent man (Jesus).
How shall they obtain mercy? God is going to show them mercy. If you sow mercy, then you will reap mercy. Listen to the law of sowing and reaping according to the Apostle Paul:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
The Lord wants us to be merciful!
Forgiveness is intertwined within being merciful.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
The merciful (action) are those who show mercy, those who practice mercy.
It is a commandment from Jesus Christ himself that we should be merciful:
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
We show mercy because God was merciful to us:
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
We show mercy because as children of the Most High, we should exemplify mercy in our lives. If we truly have His Spirit (Holy Ghost) inside of us then we should emulate Our Father in Heaven who is a merciful God! The Spirit of God in the disciple of Christ (when actively working and when the disciple yields to it) produces mercy.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
Notice here David says “his mercy endureth for ever”. This same line is also translated “his steadfast love endures forever” (ESV) another translation says “His lovingkindness is everlasting. This means His love for you will never run out! Consider how many times Israel and Judah sinned against the LORD, how they commited idolatry. Yet the Lord continued to forgive and restore them. It doesn’t mean that the LORD didn’t hold them accountable for their sins, however the LORD never gave up on them, because “His steadfast love endures forever”.
How do we show mercy?
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
The challenge and the take home for us today is to make every effort to show mercy to others. The Lord wants us to show mercy and kindness to those who are poor, those who are struggling, those who are hurting. God wants us to be merciful to those who don’t deserve mercy, because He showed mercy to us when we didn’t deserve mercy, he gave us forgiveness when we didn’t deserve forgiveness and by putting these principles into practice, God will produce a state of blessedness within an individual that they will experience not just in the present but in the future-tense.
These 8 beatitudes that we are studying are templates for disciples. It shows us how and what we are to do as disciples. In this context, it shows us what blessedness lies ahead for those who heed these disciplines in obedience.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Again, God shows us mercy not because of anything we have done. Truth be known we don’t deserve the mercy of God. But the LORD God said through the prophet Moses “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”.
So then Romans 9:16
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.