PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS: SHOWING MERCY
A. Mercy is a quality that is so needed today.
COMMENT:
We live in a WORLD where it’s so easy to become CALLUSED and INDIFFERENT. We are bombarded daily with news of TRAGEDIES, VIOLENCE, and SUFFERING PEOPLE. Living SANELY in such a WORLD often necessitates developing a certain amount of THICK
SKIN.
However, THICK SKIN and a HARD HEART are often confused with one another. Instead of developing THICK SKIN, many develop a HARD HEART. As a result, you can find HARD, UNFORGIVING people everywhere in our SOCIETY. Consequently, their HARDNESS has made them CYNICAL and MERCILESS.
ILLUSTRATION:
Some years ago in the Dallas area, a young teenage boy was brutally MURDERED by another teenage boy. The whole community was OUTRAGED at such a SENSELESS and VIOLENT crime. But what I remember, living in Bowie, Texas at that time, is an INTERVIEW that was done with the PARENTS of the MURDERED boy. The parents were Christian people. And this REPORTER, as all reporters do, wanted a HARD-HITTING INTERVIEW. It seemed to me that he was really trying to draw out the ANGER of the PARENTS. But that didn’t happen. Here is the STATEMENT that these parents made, as I recall.
“The PAIN of our loss is almost UNBEARABLE. We miss our son terribly. But we thank God that our son is in HEAVEN. We agree that the MURDERER must PAY for his ACTIONS, but we FORGIVE him.”
COMMENT:
Now, I must admit that it’s HARD for me to understand that kind of FORGIVENESS. But it’s even more difficult for non-Christians to COMPREHEND. In fact, after giving that PRESS CONFERENCE, those PARENTS were publicly CRITICIZED for their FORGIVENESS. The COMMUNITY just didn’t UNDERSTAND it. They even questioned the SINCERITY of their LOVE for their SON.
B. The Bible teaches that “God DELIGHTS in showing MERCY”- Micah 7:18b.
1. I’m thrilled about that because Paul said that “We are all sinners who deserve DEATH”- Rom. 6:23.
a. Yet God, through the blood of Jesus, bestows His MERCY on us and gives us ETERNAL LIFE.
b. And because God has been MERCIFUL to us, we, too, are to SHOW MERCY to others.
ILLUSTRATION:
Those Christian parents in Dallas told the young man who MURDERED their SON on the day of his SENTENCING: “We want you to know that we FORGIVE you for taking our SON away from us. And a day will not go by that we won’t be PRAYING for you.” (That’s MERCY!)
2. Jesus- “Blessed (HAPPY) are the MERCIFUL, for they will receive MERCY- Matthew 5:7.
COMMENT:
Those parents in Dallas have an INNER HAPPINESS and PEACE that most will never EXPERIENCE. They understand the MERCY they RECEIVED from God, and they understand the importance of SHOWING MERCY—even to one who is UNMERCIFUL.
3. We are to be MERCIFUL because God is MERCIFUL, even when we don’t DESERVE it.
MESSAGE:
COMMENT:
The word “MERCY” is a unique word. The Latin word for mercy is “misericordia” – “misery of the heart.” The Greek word for mercy means “tenderness, kindness, or good will towards the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them.”
“MERCY” is PAIN of the HEART coupled with the desire and action to RELIEVE the HURT of another. It’s not just being SORRY for the HURTING. It’s not just FORGIVING those who WRONG you. But it’s taking the necessary steps to RELIEVE their MISERY.
I. PEOPLE OF MERCY ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED IN THE WORLD
A. SHOWING MERCY to people who are HURTING, people STRUGGLING with SIN, people
SHUNNED by SOCIETY, is simply a way of letting them SEE GOD.
1. MERCIFUL is a quality of God.
a. Jesus- “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”- Luke 6:36.
b. Paul praises God for being - “The Father of all MERCY . . .”- 2 Corinthians 1:3.
2. Mercy is what God is all ABOUT. And it’s what He wants us to be about.
ILLUSTRATION:
Brennan Manning in his book “A Glimpse of Jesus,” tells a marvelous story about a college freshman, studying to be a PASTOR, ministering in the inner city of Philadelphia for a summer.
The young man RELUCTANTLY made his way off of the BUS and onto the sidewalk of one of the worst looking housing PROJECTS in town. As he entered the huge, dark TENEMENT he was first greeted by a HORRIBLE ODOR. WINDOWS were out. No LIGHTS in the hall. He heard a
BABY crying and hesitantly KNOCKED on the door.
A woman holding a NAKED BABY opened the door slightly. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?!” she snapped. “I’m here to tell you about Jesus.” She CURSED him down the HALL, down the
STEPS, and out to the SIDEWALK. The young man SAT on the CURB and CRIED.
Upon noticing a STORE on the corner, he recalled the BABY had no DIAPERS and that the woman was SMOKING. He bought a box of DISPOSABLE diapers and a pack of CIGARETTES.
With fierce TREPIDATION the student made another TREK up those STAIRS.
Upon hearing the knock, the AGITATED woman opened the door. He quickly slid the DIAPERS and CIGARETTES across the THRESHOLD. She said, “Come in,” and then sternly, “SIT DOWN!”
He put a DIAPER on the BABY. And although he didn’t SMOKE, he took a cigarette from her when she offered one—but never LIT it. Eventually she asked what a NICE BOY like him was doing in a place like that. He told her everything he knew about Jesus . . . in about five minute. As he began to leave the woman humbly asked, “Will you please come back tomorrow and tell me more about Jesus?”
COMMENT:
Along with this naïve PREACHER STUDENT, we can SHARE in the MARVEL of MERCY—but only if are willing to be INVOLVED in a most RADICAL PROCESS.
B. Being MERCIFUL is not for the FAINT HEARTED.
1. MERCY takes RISKS for the HURTING
a. Parable of the Good Samaritan- Luke 10:30-36 (PARAPHRASE AND COMMENT)
COMMENT:
According to society’s standards, the Samaritan did all the WRONG THINGS. He didn’t ask for the WOUNDED man’s IDENTIFICATION—this could have been a TRAP. He didn’t know the CIRCUMSTANCES surrounding his CONDITION—he could have been the one who INITIATED the FIGHT. The Samaritan even left a BLANK CHECK for the INNKEEPER --how did he know the INJURED man wouldn’t run up an unnecessary FOOD BILL or the INNKEEPER wouldn’t charge him more MONEY than what it really COST. Yet, Jesus said he
did the RIGHT THINGS.
The Samaritan wasn’t moved by LOGIC but by MERCY. When Jesus asked the teacher of law, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” He replied, “The one who had MERCY on him.” Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
b. “GOING and DOING likewise” is the RISKY part.
COMMENT:
By being MERCIFUL toward the HURTING, you can be taken ADVANTAGE of. You easily can get in WAY OVER YOUR HEAD. It can CONTINUE until it becomes very UNCOMFORTABLE. Those you HELP can quickly TURN ON you, if you UPSET them in anyway. You can end up getting HURT. And, yet, Jesus says, “GO AND DO LIKEWISE.”
2. MERCY does not JUDGE the MOTIVES of FELLOW CHRISTIANS
a. It is so easy to look at the REPEATED TRANSGRESSION of a fellow Christian and quickly
JUDGE him or her as being INSINCERE in their REPENTANCE to OVERCOME that SIN.
ILLUSTRATION:
But if we were honest, we would all AGREE that there are certain SINS in our LIVES with which we STRUGGLE to OVERCOME, even though we PROMISE God over-and-over that we’ll NEVER do it AGAIN. Am I right?
Our SIN STRUGGLE, could by LYING . . . EMBELLISHING certain things about OURSELVES to make us LOOK BETTER. Maybe it’s GOSSIPING about a family member, a co-worker, or a fellow-Christian that we are having some DIFFICULTIES with. It could be that you are struggling with PORNOGRAPHY or DRINKING or DRUGS or other ADDICTIONS.
Whatever the SIN STRUGGLE, we TURN to God ASKING (begging, really) for Him to FORGIVE us and give us the STRENGTH to OVERCOME that SIN. (And by the way, that’s what God calls REPENTANCE.)
b. James 2:12-13 (READ)
COMMENT:
James reveals the difference between the “OLD LAW that demanded PERFECT OBEDIENCE” (vv. 10-11) and the “LAW of Christ that gives FREEDOM” recognizing that NO ONE is PERFECT and that we ALL struggle with SIN.
Therefore, INSTEAD of JUDGING our fellow-Christians MERCILESSLY in their STRUGGLE with SIN, we EXTEND to them the same MERCY God EXTENDS to us. “MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGEMENT!”
3. MERCY enables us to FORGIVE those who MISTREAT us.
a. Parable of the Unmerciful Servant- Matthew 18:21-35 (PARAPHRASE)
COMMENT:
The point that Jesus is making is, we need to REMEMBER how much God has FORGIVEN us before we decide that we will not FORGIVE another for the WRONG committed against us.
b. We can never REPAY God for our ENORMOUS DEBT of SIN. And, yet, God freely FORGIVES our SIN and bestows His MERCY upon us. But how often have we turned right around and refused to EXTEND MERCY when somebody WRONGS us?
COMMENT:
I know that we grow TIRED of dealing with HURTFUL ACTIONS and WORDS of OTHERS. But frankly, I’ve done FAR WORSE than that to God, haven’t you? And He just keeps on FORGIVING us.
C. MERCY is absolutely the TOUGHEST LOVE.
COMMENT:
However, MERCY is the MESSAGE of God not because it always WORKS causing
PEOPLE to start treating us KINDLY and FAIRLY, but because it is His NATURE.
II. PEOPLE OF MERCY RECEIVE MERCY
A. Jesus is saying “when I extend MERCY to another, God will FREELY extend MERCY to me.”
1. So, if I’m understanding Jesus correctly, the LEVEL of MERCY we EXTEND to others on this
EARTH, is the LEVEL of MERCY God will EXTEND to us.
a. Again James- “Judgment without MERCY will be shown to anyone who has not been
MERCIFUL.”
b. After turning the UNMERCIFUL SERVANT over to be TORTURED and thrown in PRISON, Jesus said, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you FORGIVE
your brother from the heart”- Matthew 18:35.
c. “Unless you forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”- Matthew 6:15.
2. These passages give us good REASON to be MERCIFUL to others, don’t you think?
B. But do you know what the MIRACLE of God’s MERCY is? He is even MERCIFUL to the
UNMERCIFUL.
1. King David- “Have MERCY on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from
my sin”- Psalm 51:1-2.
COMMENT:
King David cries out for MERCY, but where was his MERCY when he sent Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, the woman carrying David’s baby that he committed ADULTERY with, to the FRONTLINE of a heated BATTLE and then had all the TROOPS pull away from him so that he would be KILLED by the ENEMY? And, yet, even though David was MERCILESS, God SHOWED him MERCY!
2. Apostle Paul- “Even though I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was
shown mercy . . .” 1 Timothy 1:13a.
ILLUSTRATION:
Do you think the Christians that Paul (then Saul) had TORTURED, PERSECUTED, IMPRISONED, and put to DEATH just because they LOVED Jesus would consider him MERCIFUL? Do you think some of them may have CRIED OUT for MERCY? Yet, Paul
said that he was shown MERCY!
He goes on to say, “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save SINNERS—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown MERCY so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his UNLIMITED PATIENCE as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life”- I Timothy 1:15b-16.
C. Aren’t you glad that we have a MERCIFUL FATHER?
CONCLUSION
ILLUSTRATION:
Chris Paul is a professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors. He is widely regarded as “the greatest point guard of all time.” But more importantly, Chris Paul is also a Christian who describes himself as being “devout in his faith.”
On the night of November 15, 2002, five boys ran across a park, JUMPED a 61-year-old man, BOUND his wrists…and BEAT him with PIPES until his HEART stopped. All for his WALLET. That man was Nathaniel Jones, the beloved grandfather of Chris Paul.
Nathaniel Jones, the man everybody called “Papa Chilly”, was the first black man to open a service station in North Carolina, and both Chris and his brother worked for him. Papa Chilly was known to let people set-up CHARGE ACCOUNTS when times got TOUGH. Plenty of times, he’d hand people MONEY out of the CASH REGISTER to get by. Chris called his grandfather, “my
best friend.”
Chris was a high school senior when his grandfather was MURDERED. Although he was deeply GRIEVED over the LOSS of his BEST FRIEND, just two days later Chris played one of his best games in his HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CAREER in HONOR of his GRANDFATHER. He SCORED 61 points against the opposing team, one for every year of his grandfather’s life. In fact, he purposely MISSED a FREE THROW at the end so that he wouldn’t SCORE more than 61, then RAN off the COURT and COLLAPSED into the ARMS of his father in
TEARS.
Chris wrote a book in honor of his grandfather titled: “SIXTY-ONE” about LIFE LESSONS FROM PAPA, ON AND OFF THE COURT.
Of the boys who KILLED his beloved GRANDFATHER without any MERCY, Chris Paul wrote, “At the time I hated those boys for what they had done to Papa Chilly. He would have given them his wallet and even more, if they only asked. But now, I can honestly say that I have FORGIVEN them for taking my grandfather’s life.” He even expressed REGRET that the KILLERS, who were 14 and 15 years-old at the time, are still serving TIME in PRISON.
COMMENT:
The reason that CHRIS PAUL, the PARENTS in Dallas, Texas, and YOU and I are able to extend MERCY even to the UNMERCIFUL, is ONLY because God is MERCIFUL to US when we don’t DESERVE it.
IS THERE SOMEONE IN YOUR LIFE THAT NEEDS YOUR MERCY?
