Mercy, Mercy
lanny smith
Reboot / Mercy and Compassion / Matthew 5:7
• (one of) my wife's school assignments this week was to watch “The Blind Side.” I watched it with her and was struck by how forcefully the story brings home the point.
• fictionalized bio of Michael Oher, an african-american football player who overcame an impoverished upbringing to play in the NFL with the help of his adoptive parents, Sean and Leigh Anne Touhy.
• The Touhy’s see Big Mike on the street and take him home.
• Slowly he becomes a part of their family although many around them (both in the projects and in the fancy restaurant) question the motives and actions Big Mike and the Touhy’s.
• As we watched the movie, it occurred to me that this privileged upper class white family could have kept on with their lives and never shown any kindness or mercy (care) for this physically intimidating, culturally distant young man.
• But they did and, in Leigh Anne’s words, “he changed my life.”
• The word mercy is not commonly used in this day and age.
• Many of us are never taught how to be merciful.
• That’s why Jesus’ instruction to us in the Beatitudes is so important.
• He defines mercy by his life and death for us and shows God’s people how to put it into practice.
• There is so much pain in our world, it is easy to overlook it or to offer easy answers.
• Jesus calls his followers to act with mercy, for only then will they experience the mercy he offers.
Matthew 5:7 (NLT)
7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
• Beatitudes one through four deal with who we are in relation to God; what God brings to us.
• Beatitudes five through eight deal with who we are in relation to others; what God brings through us.
• The fifth Beatitude is about the loss of judgmentalism and the development of mercy.
• Mercy is the first order of business. We are to be disposed toward mercy, because that is how God is disposed toward us.
• If we operate on the principle of “strike hard, strike fast, and show no mercy,” we’ve drifted from the heart of God.
• Mercy proclaims whether or not you’re living the Beatitudes.
Owning Our Need For Mercy
Matthew 5:7 NLT
7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
• Mercy = acting with compassion, attention to misery or pain.
God is pleased when I demonstrate compassion to others who are miserable, in pain and afflicted. I do this because He has done the same for me.
• How do you think God sees you?
• He knows I’m a sinner, but not any worse than anyone else.
• Overall, he’d say I’m doing pretty well.
• He sees me as sinful as a mass murderer.
• Every one of those viewpoints stands in need of mercy from God.
Romans 3:10–18 NLT
10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “They rush to commit murder. 16 Destruction and misery always follow them. 17 They don’t know where to find peace.” 18 “They have no fear of God at all.”
• The Scriptures consistently communicate that our pain and misery is God’s highest priority:
Isaiah 1:18 NLT
18 “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.
Ephesians 2:4–5 NLT
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
• For us to appreciate the blessing inherent in being merciful, we need to understand the mercy that has been shown to us.
• That means:
Mercy Means Understanding and Empathy
Micah 6:8 NLT
8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
• It’s a beautiful saying and one we heartily approve of.
• But getting out of our own heads and hearts to show mercy is difficult.
• Jesus tells a story to illustrate this:
Matthew 18:33 NLT
33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’
• Even though the 1st servant was forgiven a huge debt, he couldn’t see past his own greed and revenge to put himself in the other servant’s position.
• Who are the folks in your life who could use some mercy?
• A neighbor who makes an awful racket working on his car every Saturday morning?
• The person at work who extends every meeting (that could have been an email) with countless questions?
• The kid at school who dresses funny and smells weird?
• The person in line in front of you at the store who clearly doesn’t speak English well and is from “somewhere else?”
• I could go on and on but you get the drift.
• But Jesus intended us to do more than just “feel bad.” He expects us to act. We need to:
Give Some Relief
• Mercy is providing relief to someone rather than leaving them in pain.
• Far easier to advise “just ride it out. It’ll be better tomorrow.”
James 2:15–16 (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?
• Jesus went to great lengths to provide relief:
• Lepers were touched.
• Paralytics, the deaf, the blind were healed.
• Sinners were loved and called to a new life.
• A cross was endured to remove our greatest pain - our separation from God due to our rebellion.
Philippians 2:7–8 (NLT)
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
• When we say/think, “someone should do something,” we need to immediately reframe it to “what are WE going to do about that?”
Reboot
• Let the church be a place where the mercies of God are ministered in ridiculous fashion.
James 1:27 (NLT)
27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
• See someone in need and meet that need.
James 2:13 (NLT)
13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
• What would it look like for you and I to be “ridiculously merciful?”
• To put our “kindness in action?”
