"God's Gift Of Mercy”

“God’s Gift of Mercy”

4/29/2007 - Marsing, ID

Ricardo Rodriguez – pastor_rr@yahoo.com

Matt 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

“Bienaventurados los misericordiosos: porque ellos alcanzarán misericordia.”

We live in a society of self. All revolves around self. Me, myself and I. Those are the three most important individuals in my life.

 I gave a little tea party this afternoon, at 3. "Twas very small, 3 guests in all - I, myself, and me. Myself ate all the sandwiches while I drank all the tea. "Twas also I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me. – Traditional.

 The trouble with some self-made men is that they worship their creator.

Bits & Pieces – October, 1989, p. 9.

When we talk about Mercy, we could talk about Justice and Grace as well but I will not focus on those today.

JUSTICE: Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French justise, from Latin justitia, from justus

1 a : the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments b : JUDGE c : the administration of law; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity 2 a : the quality of being just, impartial, or fair b (1) : the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action (2) : conformity to this principle or ideal : RIGHTEOUSNESS c : the quality of conforming to law 3 : conformity to truth, fact, or reason : CORRECTNESS

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Justice

GRACE is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: 1) benificence or generosity shown by God to man; especially divine favor unmerited by man: the mercy of God as distinguished from his justice; 2) a short prayer either asking a blessing before or giving thanks after a meal; 3) disposition to kindness, favor, clemency or compassion: benign goodwill; the display of kindly treatment usually on the part of a superior.

MERCY is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: 1) compassion or forbearance shown to an offender or subject; clemency or kindness extended to someone instead of strictness or severity; 2) a blessing regarded as an act of divine favor or compassion; 3) relief of distress; compassion shown to victims of misfortune.

http://www.studiesintheword.org/mercy_and_grace.htm

Mercy. The gift given to the guilty. Mercy is a word you will hear used in the legal system. After the conviction has been made, the jury has unanimously declared your guilt, and the sentence is about to be handed down, MERCY is begged for.

Your advocate may say, “We would like to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court.

(Mercy: God’s Greatest Blessing by ROBERT SIMMONS)

 “The man who refuses to show mercy destroys the bridge over which he himself must cross.” Unknown

We live in a time when hearts have grown cold and insensitive to the needs of others. As we become self-absorbed and not seeing our common plight in the needs of others. Take for instance, the current event that headlined with the Texan lady who ran down a homeless man and did nothing to help him, but ignored his pain and allowed him to die.

I. We must realize our constant need of MERCY

A. We are upheld by the mercy that brought us salvation

B. What it means to live under grace is illustrated by the life of John Newton.

Newton was born in London, half a century before the American Revolution, to a mother of superb spiritual qualities and a nondescript father. His mother died when he was six. Five years later he went to sea with his father who was a ship’s captain. He became a midshipman and for a time led a wild existence, living in utter disgrace. He rejected the God of his mother, he renounced any need of religion and he lived an irresponsible and sinful life. Eventually he became a slave trader, crossing the ocean several times as captain of slave ship, responsible for terrible human degradation among the captives he had crowded on board. But grace was always a factor in his life. He survived a deadly fever in Africa, and his ship survived a terrible storm which almost killed him.

Finally, dissatisfied with his life, he began reading the writings of Thomas a Kempis. Somehow, the Holy Spirit began stirring inside his soul, awakening him from sin, urging him toward salvation until he finally gave his heart to Christ. He was so thoroughly converted, in fact, that he felt a call from God to enter the ministry. He was eventually ordained in 1781 and accepted a pastorate in Olney, England.

You may have heard one of the beautiful songs written by John Newton, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. . .”

C. Our greatest need is for MERCY