7 - Mercy Turning the Other Cheek
Well we have a new president elect… remember my challenge last week to pray for our president after the election… We as church need to pray for president elect Obama as the transition of power takes place and he chooses his cabinet…
Pray for his protection, pray for his family, pray that he will pick wise advisors, pray that he will listen to God.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Let’s actually stop and pray for him now….
This morning we are continuing our study on the commandments of Jesus our theme this year is abiding in Christ by obeying His commands…
John 15:10 (ESV)
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
We have talked about Jesus’ command to repent, to worship, to have faith, to forgive, and this morning we are talking about Christ commandment to have mercy…
(FIRST PPT SLIDE STARTS HERE)
Luke 6:36 (ESV)
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Matthew 5:7 (ESV)
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Luke 10:37 (ESV)
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Matthew 9:13 (ESV)
13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 12:7 (ESV)
7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
James 2:13(ESV)
13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.
So it’s pretty clear that we are to be a merciful people… but what exactly does that mean…
I want to start this morning by defining mercy
The Dictionary defines Mercy like this : to show compassion and concern for someone in difficulty, despite that person’s having committed a moral offense—‘to show mercy, to show compassion.’
Having mercy or showing compassion must involve some act of kindness or concern. That is difference between mercy and pity… mercy takes action while pity just says “I sure do feel sorry for him” and then goes on with life.
The Jewish understanding of mercy is; “to live in someone else’s skin…” To see the issue from their perspective… to see the world through their eyes… Mercy means that you try understand someone’s circumstance by walking in their shoes for a while…
Mercy begins with having empathy and trying to understand someone’s life…. I read this analogy recently about all the people gathered around the Judgment Seat of God and it really helps paint a picture of mercy.
Millions of people were gathered before the Throne of God. Some of the groups near the front talked heatedly and were belligerent. “How can God judge us, they asked?” God is in heaven where all is beauty and light, what does He know about suffering snapped a cynical woman.
As she stood she rolled back her sleeve revealing a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. We were tortured, humiliated, torn from loved ones, until only death gave release.
What about this said an angry black man, Lynched for no other reason other than being black. We were enslaved, beaten, wrenched from loved ones, only death gave us freedom.
Across the plain there were thousands who had similar complaints against God for the suffering they experienced on earth.
So they decided to form a committee, (sounds like church) each person was selected from their groups because they suffered the most. The committee met in the middle of the plain, they decided that before God could judge them he had to live on earth as a man.
They set certain safeguards so that in times of trouble He could not use his divine power to escape.
Each of the 10 got up to pronounce their portion of the sentence.
1. The first said, Let him be born a Jew
2. Let his birth be so questionable that no one would really know or beleive who his father is
3. Let him try to communicate something no one has ever seen or heard, let him try to communicate God
4. Let him champion a cause so great that people will call him mad or lunatic
5. Let him be betrayed by one of his closest friends, let him be abandoned at his greatest time of need by all he loved
6. Let him be condemned by the religious leaders
7. Let him be sentenced to die by a cowardly judge
8. Let him be humiliated and tortured
9. Let him die like a common criminal and buried in a borrowed grave
10. Let his name live on forever that in moments of rage men would use it as a common curse word.
As each pronounced their portion of the sentence loud murmurs of approval came from the crowd. When the last pronounced his sentence no one made a sound, no one dared to move. When the last pronounced his sentence they all knew, God had already served their sentence.
John 1:14 (ESV) says
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
JESUS HAS ALREADY SHOWN US MERCY…
Another way to understand the meaning of mercy is to see how it relates to grace:
- Mercy--not getting what you do deserve or withheld punishment
- Grace--getting what you don't deserve or unmerited favor
Mercy is like a judge finding you guilty, but then withholding any punishment.
Grace is getting something you could never have imagined. Like someone handing you a check for 10,000,000.00 no strings attached!
So Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Justice are theological terms that are connected to each other… and really cannot be separated
God’s mercy has spared us the punishment we all deserve… God’s Justice had to be satisfied so Jesus paid the price for our sin by becoming our sin sacrifice on the cross… Jesus’ blood offered the atonement for our sin… So that by God’s grace He offers us the free gift of eternal life, the forgiveness of our sins, and the power to live a holy life…
As followers of Jesus we are to demonstrate God’s mercy… Let’s look at our passage for this morning.
Luke 6:27-36 (ESV)
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
THAT PASSAGE DEFINES FOR US IN PRACTICAL TERMS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MERCIFUL… NOW I WOULD BE THE FIRST ONE TO ADMIT THIS IS AN AREA THAT I’M STILL WORKING ON…
I’m going to share with you eight practical ways we are to show mercy then we will go back and talk about each one.
1. Mercy means we love our enemies…
2. Mercy means that we do good things for those who hate us
3. Mercy means we say good things about those who curse us
4. Mercy means we pray for those who abuse us
5. Mercy means we allow insult without retaliation
6. Mercy means that you give generously to those who haven’t earned or deserve it, without any hope of repayment
7. Mercy means you treat other how you want to be treated… you live in their skin
8. Mercy means we respond like Jesus…
So let’s go back to #1
1. Mercy means we love our enemies…
VERSE 27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies…
A new minister was talking to the oldest member of his congregation.
"I am 90 years old, sir, and I haven’t an enemy in the world,"
"That is a great," said the new pastor .
"Yes sir," "I’m thankful to say that I’ve outlived ’em all."
Now this term enemy is usually thought of in as a military term in the sense that our enemy is someone who wants to destroy us, kill us, and defeat us…
While that is a definition of an enemy in a personal sense an enemy is anyone who wishes you: ill will, is antagonistic toward you, dislikes you or hates you… and in general terms, the feelings would be mutual…
So most people will say that they have no enemies but when you define enemy as anyone who dislikes you or is antagonistic toward you… I would say that most of us have enemies… and Mercy says that we are to love our enemies…
2. Mercy means that we do good things for those who hate us
Verse 27 …do good to those who hate you,
How many times have you heard the expression “I have to love him but I don’t have to like him…” and when we say that what we really mean is that we are not going to love or like that person…
Mercy means that we go out the way to do good things for our enemies or those who hate us…
Maybe its that one co worker who is always trying to sabotage you at work…
Maybe its that one girl at school who is always starting rumors about you…
Maybe its that one church member who is always causing you grief at church…
Mercy means that we go out of our way to do good things for those who cause us grief and mean us harm…
3. Mercy means we say good things about those who curse us
verse 28 bless those who curse you…
This is a tough one…I tend to like justice for my enemies and grace and mercy for me…
So when someone is out talking about me or my family in a negative way… my tendency is to defend myself and not to try to live in their skin and to see things from their perspective… Now I have gotten better at this but it is still hard…
When Abraham Lincoln was running for the presidency of the United States, a man named Stanton went around publicly criticizing him and putting him down. Yet when Lincoln was elected and needed someone to serve as his War Secretary, he immediately chose Stanton. The President’s advisers thought he was mad to pick someone who had acted in such a way, but Lincoln insisted on appointing him because he was the best person for the job. As a result, the two men became close friends and Stanton became one of Lincoln’s greatest supporters.
Mercy demands that we bless those who cures us….
4. Mercy means we pray for those who abuse us.
VERSE 28 … pray for those who abuse you.
This term abuse means to ravish, defile, cause harm to, or make a mockery of… It really covers physical, emotional, and sexual abuse…
Now we could do a whole sermon series on how to deal with abuse… so I’m not trying to over simplify things here… answers to issues like abuse a very rarely black and white type answers… I also want you to know that I might be reading in a little more into the text then what is actually here… but I do think God has given me an insight here…
There is a change in the pattern of action when it comes to abuse… in all the other things Jesus mentions in this passage… Jesus recommends some action that requires contact with your enemy… but in the case of abuse he says to pray for that person…
Here’s the thing… if someone is truly abusing you … physically, emotionally, or sexually… mercy still applies but so does common sense… God doesn’t want you to be abused… And there may need to be a physical separation… and in cases where real abuse has taken place… Meaningful relationship can only be restored when there is repentance which is proven by a change of action…
So if you have been abused you need pray for that person, you need to forgive that person, you need to extend mercy… but you should not put yourself back into a situation where the abuse can continue…. God is not giving a license to abuse or be abused…
5. Mercy means we allow insult without retaliation
VERSE 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also,
In Jesus day to slap someone in the face was insult… Jesus is not saying that we should stay in an abusive situation or allow someone to cause us bodily harm without defending our self…
Notice there is a big difference here between abuse or assault and what Jesus is referring to a slap in the face… Jesus still considers the one who insults you by slapping you in the face an enemy but your response is different… In situations where we are being insulted we are accept the insult without any form of retaliation… and we are to be willing to put ourselves back into the situation even if it means we are insulted again… Mercy means I’m not going to trade insult for insult…
6. Mercy means that you give generously to those who haven’t earned or deserve it, without any hope of repayment
VERSE 29 … and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
A lawyer received a phone call from a united way fundraising representative
the telemarketer said "You know, in this small town, everybody contributes to the United Way except you. May I ask why don’t you want to share in the ’Help Each Other’ spirit?"
The man replied:
"Well, there are certain problems in my personal life, of which you may not be aware,"
"Oh, I didn’t know that."
"Like my mother. Her Social Security is being cut off, and she’s going to be evicted soon."
"Oh, I didn’t know that," the telemarketer replied.
"And my kid sister has some nasty disease; she needs a boatload of cash for doctors and surgery."
"Oh, I didn’t know that," the telemarketer replied with a tear in his eye.
So the Lawyer said "So, if I didn’t give any money to them, what makes you think I’m going to give any to you?"
The way we view material things says a lot about us… Generous people tend to be merciful people and stingy people tend to be judgmental people… God wants us to be generous people… God is no condoning theft here… but if someone is desperate enough to steal your coat he is probably cold and you should have mercy on him and help meet his needs…
Merciful people are generous people… They are looking for eternal wealth and beyond the balance of their own checkbook. Merciful people try to help those in need…
7. Mercy means you treat others how you want to be treated… you live in their skin
VERSE 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
The Golden Rule… we are pretty good judge when it comes to how people should treat us… Mercy allows you to put yourself in the others person position and ask the question how would I like to be treated if I was living in their skin… having empathy for others is a big part of being merciful…
BOTTOM LINE
8. Mercy means we respond like Jesus…
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Jesus is our example… the cross is a demonstration of God’s great mercy towards mankind… It was my sin, it was your sin that nailed Jesus to a cross… Each and every one of us in this room are just as guilty as the roman soldiers who actually drove the nails in to this hands and feet… Because of our own sin we participated in the murdering of God’s son.
While we were still enemies of God. Having done nothing but hate, insult, and abuse, the God of the universe. In His great mercy he chose to offer us mercy instead of justice…
And because he has offered us mercy and grace we to should offer mercy and grace when we are hated, insulted, and abused…
I read a tragic story. A little five-year-old boy was playing in a deep ditch where a water line was being laid. He caught his foot between the pipe and the side of the ditch and could not free himself. A huge tractor was coming along, pushing the dirt back into the ditch, covering up the pipe. The boy screamed and shouted. He did everything he could to attract the driver’s attention. But the driver could not hear him over the roar of diesel engine.
So the little boy was covered with dirt and suffocated.
There are people crying all around us who are stuck in ditch, people approaching the point of desperation. But many of their cries go unheard.
The noise of this world, the noise of the self-oriented machinery of our culture is drowning them out and they are dying never having an opportunity to experience God’s mercy.
The world needs the merciful. The world needs the Church…
We all need someone who will identify with us. Someone who will live in our skin for a while… Someone who will hear our cry, listen, have empathy, and care. We all need some to help point us towards Jesus…
One final question before we pray…
Matthew 7:2 (ESV) Says
2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
After reading that verse, do you desire justice or mercy?
My challenge to you is that you live accordingly…
Let’s pray