“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
"If our greatest need was for information, God would have sent an educator."
"If our greatest need was for technology, God would have sent a scientist."
"If our greatest need was for pleasure, God would have sent an entertainer."
"If our greatest need was for money God would have sent an economist."
BUT SINCE OUR GREATEST NEED IS FOR MERCY, GOD SENT A SAVIOR.
E. C.S. Lewis quoted Augustine, who said, "God gives where he finds empty hands." Then Lewis noted that a man whose hands are full of parcels can’t receive a gift. II. To show mercy is to acknowledge our desperate need for MERCY
Our mercy on others feels the plight of their pain
Rather than blaming guilty for their suffering, we extend the hand of mercy.
Good Samaritan, picked up the hurting, helped him, ministered to him. Not the religious “pass on the other side” attitude
John 15:12-13
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Show mercy with acts of kindness
Evangelism, Outreach must all be touched with the tenor of mercy – Our goal is not to condemn or judge the lost, but extend the love of the Savior – to show the Bridge of Mercy
Ernest Hemingway tells a story of a father and his teenage son who had a relationship that had become strained to the point of breaking. Finally the son ran away from home. His father, however, began a journey in search of his rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in the newspaper. The ad read: “DEAR PACO, MEET ME IN FRONT OF THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE AT NOON. ALL IS FORGIVEN. I LOVE YOU. YOUR FATHER.”
The next day at noon in front of the newspaper office, 800 “Pacos” showed up.
