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Attitude's To Be In Our Lives Part 3 Series
Contributed by Tom Feola on Oct 24, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: God wants certain attitudes in our lives and the best attitudes that we can have are from the Beattitudes. This is part 3 of a 4 part teaching on the 9 Beattitudes that Jesus gave us.
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Matthew 5:7 (NKJV) Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:7 (AMP)Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous — with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!
Attitude 5 - We need an attitude of MERCY.
Mercy> to show compassion, forgiveness. Easton dict. says to have compassion on the miserable. That's me and God had compassion on me.
Jesus made being merciful, that is, showing kindness to those in distress a major part of the Christian's life.
Luke 10:29-37 (NKJV)
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 “Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 “Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 “So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 “On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Forgiveness and mercy are what God has and has demonstrated to us.
Did you know that the manner in which you forgive people is the manner in which you will be forgiven?
Those who are merciful now will find God's mercy in the final judgment.
Look at what it says in The Lord’s prayer:
Matthew 6:12-15 (NKJV)
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 9:13 (NKJV) “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
How should we show mercy and forgiveness?
Luke 6:35-36 (NKJV) “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
God has shown us amazing Mercy:
Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV) “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
So, We need to have an attitude of forgiveness and mercy.
And remember if we do this, we shall obtain mercy, when we need it.
Matthew 5:8 (NKJV) “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”
Matthew 5:8 (AMP) Blessed (happy, enviably fortunate, and spiritually prosperous — possessing the happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His grace, regardless of their outward conditions) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!
Attitude 6 - We need an attitude of PURE in heart.
This is a beatitude which demands that we should stop and examine ourselves. The Greek word for “pure” has a number of interesting facets. It was used for dirty clothes that had been washed clean. It was used to describe grain and flour that had been carefully sifted – cleansed of all impurities.
So this beatitude could be translated, “Blessed is the man who is genuine in heart, who is authentic, who is not a phony, who is real, because such a man will see God.”
Now what does that mean? It means one is pure. It does not mean that one is perfect – but that we strive to be clean. We take the mask off. We quit being phony, were real with God and ourselves.
Psalms 24:3-5 (NKJV) Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?