#Blessed beyond Measure #5

Northside Christian Church 11/22/2020

Blessed Beyond Measure #5 Jamey Mills

Northside, here we are… I hope you guys are doing well… I am thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with you and realize that it’s not ideal in some ways, but I really do hope you’ll stay connected, track along with us, and communicate with us too. It’s important.

I mentioned we’d let you all know… so here it is. Jonathan Powell and Bobby Hemmer were officially brought in as management team members at Northside Wednesday evening… they’ll do a great job and we are excited to have them on board for sure.

We are in the 5th week of our 8 week series we are calling #Blessed beyond measure… where we are looking at the very beginning of the best sermon ever preached… we know it as the sermon on the mount… where Jesus was teaching this amazing truth as to what it means… and where we find a life that is truly blessed by God.

And one of the questions we ask is… If there is such a thing as a life that is blessed by God… the creator of it all and the one who holds it all together… are you interested? Even if it doesn’t sound the way you think it should… are you interested?

That is what Jesus is telling us… and He uses these 8-9 simple and upside down sounding phrases that start like this… #blessed are those

The work blessed Jesus uses… Makarious… was typically reserved for the Greek gods… it has to do with these deep contentment that they thought was beyond the reach of mankind… because the gods didn’t deal with death, pandemics, voting, quarantine, stress, DMV…

Blessed means…

Jesus using that word got their attention… that this blessing that was once seen as beyond their grasp is here…. To be blessed by God is not little.

And all of these statements… don’t stand alone. Each one sort of builds off of the ones before it…

Jesus says that there is a unique blessing that comes for those who are…

Who see their need for God…who know we are lost without Him.

That mourn… over the offense our sin is to God… in a way that leads to real change.

That submit to the leadership of God in their lives… strength under control

That HUNGER and THIRST for righteousness… for more of God in our lives... both being right with God… and reflecting that which is consistent to the character of God in our lives…

And this idea of reflecting God’s nature… really helps us dive in today.

You have heard of Karma right? I think it's actually a buhdist or Hindu term… when we use the term, we usually mean it like this… “you had it coming” or “that’s what you get”.

And we often use it in a kind of spite filled way.

It’s like saying I am glad you got caught. I’m glad you got hurt, I’m glad that you got punched, I’m glad that you fell… why… because you deserved it. You earned it.

Here are a couple of fairly lame examples…

We used to play basketball pretty much everyday out front of my house… and one time my friend Jermey got so mad that he punched the ball as hard as he could and it came back and smashed him right in the face… and it made that jammed finger sound. Pretty bloody, pretty painful… pretty embarrassing… but he had it coming.

I also read a note that was left on a fridge in a break room… that went something like this…

To the person who stole and ate what I think you assumed was peanut butter ice cream bars… I feel the need to tell you that those were actually prescription laxatives for my great dane that had to be kept frozen. Enjoy the weekend lava Butt.

Sincerely, constipated dog owner

It's what you get right?

And we’ve been there… maybe not the dog laxative thing… but we have. Where even if we didn’t want to admit it… we actually deep down know that we deserved exactly what we got. A bad grade, a demotion, a friend lost…

Which leads me to our passage today…

Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Take a minute and think about that… What does it mean to be merciful?

This is another term, like meekness that the Romans saw as weakness… mercy was not for the warrior…

One author said “a society that despises mercy is a society that glorifies brutality” and that was 100% true of the Romans.

Mercy is not the feeling of pity or compassion, but the action it brings forward.

It's a tenderhearted response to brokenness, hurt, and pain regardless of what someone deserves.

It has this idea of meeting a need… or bringing relief to someone who is down and out… in need… hurting… lost… or alone.

Mercy is unmerited kindness.

Caring for others in ways they don’t deserve

In a lot of ways, it's the opposite of Karma.

It reminds me of a passage in

James 2:15–17 (NLT)

15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Mercy isn’t simply feeling or saying… hey, good luck with that. Mercy clothes. Mercy feeds. Mercy provides. Mercy actively cares.

People have asked what’s the difference between grace and mercy… they are similar in ways… but here is how I heard it and how it stuck with me…

Mercy is not getting what you deserve.

Grace is getting what you don't deserve.

Mercy is unmerited kindness

So… while Karma would say… you had it coming… JERK

Mercy would say… you had it coming, but I want better for you.

Last week we talked about this idea of hungering and thirsting for righteousness… a deep desire to be right with God and to reflect his nature…

Jesus says one of the ways we reflect God’s nature is in being merciful.

Mercy is a huge part of God’s character… In fact it’s one of the most commonly used words to describe His character.

God’s word is one of the primary ways we learn about who God is… and check this out.

7 times in the OT, we see some form of this phrase.

“God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love.”

Exodus 34:6, Nehemiah 9:31, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13, and Jonah 4:2

He repeats it because he wants you to know… and this statement was mostly spoken into the face of the hurting, the broken, the lost, and those in despair… in situations where they deserved far worse.

The mercy of God is clearly seen in the NT too…

So much of Jesus’ life can be summed up in the word merciful… in fact, it’s what the religious leaders of that day struggled so much with…

Jesus constantly sat with sinners, touched the untouchable, sat with their enemies, wept over those whose lives were unwittingly being torn apart by sin,

Jesus himself in Matthew 9 says that he didn’t come for those who already thought they were righteous… but he came for those that knew they were sinners... who are poor in spirit.

Jesus came for those who know their need for the mercy of God and not those who think they are beyond it.

And so… part of being poor in spirit is open handedly understanding our need for God’s mercy… for his unmerited kindness… in such away that helps us realize the offense of our sin to God in a way that leads to real heart change… to us submitting to His leadership and a deep desire to be right with Him and reflect His nature… which is merciful.

And I think

The only way we will ever reflect the mercy of God in our lives is to be incredibly in touch with the need for the mercy of God in our lives

… experiencing the deep, life changing mercy of God over yourself.

Where would you be without the unmerited kindness of God?

Romans 2:4 (NLT)

4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness (mercy) is intended to turn you from your sin?

It’s in seeing… and experiencing God’s outrageous kindness and mercy in our lives that turns us from sin…that turns us toward reflecting the mercy of God from the inside out.

How much do you need the mercy of God?

The answer to that question is incredibly telling about your view of God, your need for Him, the offense of your sin, your view of the importance of being right with God… and this idea is incredibly overlooked. You want to turn your life around... see the world in a new way… You want to become a grateful human… then take some time on a regular basis to get real with the life changing, dumbfounding mercy of God over you.

Allow yourself to get incredibly uncomfortable with what it is you truly deserve… but where God’s mercy now stands.

Many of you have heard this from me… but if every moment of your life was captured and every thought captioned… every act seen and every secret told… and then made into a mini series... NONE of us could find a whole deep enough to hide in. No one would see you or I the same.

It is the truth… that the truth about us isn’t flattering. That we are sinners… and the wages of sin is death and separation from God...

But God wants to make sure you get this truth down… it’s why He said it so much…

HE is… gracious. He is merciful. He is slow to anger. He is abounding in love… for you.

NO ONE stands before God and says… “go ahead, give me what I deserve”.

And if they do, do not stand by that man.

In Matthew 18… Jesus says it like this… there was a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date… and in the process one of his servants who owed him millions… a debt he could never pay no matter how hard he worked… was brought before him. The king ordered him to be sold into slavery along with his wife and kids… and everything he owned… but the man fell down and begged… be patient… I will pay it. It says the king had mercy on him and not only released him but forgave the debt.

Could you imagine that… forget about what you own… but watching your family being sold into slavery… because of your choices. You knew you were guilty. But then… the king not only gave you more time… but mercy…

Jesus went on to say… that he left the king a free man. But it reminded him of something. He found another servant who owed him a couple thousand dollars… and he grabbed him by the throat… and demanded payment. He begged for more time… but found none. He was thrown in jail until he could pay the debt in full.

The king found out… and brought the man back in… asking why it is he couldn't show mercy… even less mercy...than the great mercy he had been given.

So we stand in the shoes of the man who was forgiven a debt we could never pay… and the question is whether or not we’ll reflect the mercy we have been shown.

Mercy is one of the ways we go from playing the part to actually being the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that needs His mercy.

Mercy feeds the hungry, comforts the hurting, loves the rejected, forgives the offender, befriends the lonely, walks beside the fatherless, and cares well for those who need it.

Who is willing to be uncomfortable… to sacrifice… for the sake of the gospel… and in light of God’s great mercy.

Mercy is not weak, spineless, unjust, blind or silent… Mercy is not arrogant or ignorant…It’s unmerited kindness toward God’s best for others.

What is mercy not?

Rom. 2:4 in the message sounds like this…

Romans 2:4 (The Message)

Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

God’s mercy is not aimless. It is not blind eyes or deaf years. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t consequences. Sometimes the most merciful thing you can do… is lovingly… honestly… graciously… gently… wisely… speak truth. Mercy is compassion in action that desires God’s best.

Mercy changes lives… staring with ours… but mercy does not stop there.

Jesus says the unique blessing for the merciful is… mercy.

I think what it means is that the natural result of benign merciful is a greater and more tangible understanding of the flattery… and of the depth of God’s mercy over you.

In showing mercy… we see His mercy.

Jesus told the story of a Jewish man… who was traveling and as he went he was jumped… they took everything including his clothes and beat him… and left him for dead. A fellow countrymen and religious leader saw him… and crossed to the other side of the road. A church staff member saw him… also went to the other side.

But then his most hated enemy… saw him… stopped… bandaged his wounds… put him up and paid for it. Jesus asked who treated the man right… Jesus’ Advisories said the one that showed him mercy… and Jesus said… see you do get it. Now, go and do the same.

I think

Mercy means getting involved.

… I think mercy pays attention. I think mercy sees people. I think mercy asks questions. I think mercy takes chances. I think mercy prays often. I think mercy sacrifices. I think mercy changes you… and I think mercy changes the world.

Start at your house. Check in on a neighbor. Make a call to a single parent. Listen to your co-workers. Look people in the eye.

Take a meal, help with a project, listen well, believe the best, don’t gossip, forgive, love honestly, desire God’s best,

Mercy is not compassion… it's the action that compassion brings forward.

Where would you be with the unmerited kindness of God? Now… go and do that same.

Invite Matt

Communion

The greatest display of mercy the world has ever seen is aimed at you… and it’s Jesus. Who took that video of your life… it’s captions and its secrets to the cross… so that we might not face what it is we deserve… but find His mercy in its place… and it's a mercy so great… that it changes the way we see hurt, pain, sin of others… and their need for mercy. His mercy in us… cry’s out for His mercy for others.

Jesus gathered His disciples… and said as often as you gather… take the bread and the cup… and do this remembering the mercy of God over you. And so over the next couple songs… we want to invite you to do that on your own or with those around you.