WEBVTT 00:00:03.559 --> 00:00:06.320 Hey friend, welcome back here to the semi seminary. 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:08.339 And here we are another week, another episode 00:00:08.339 --> 00:00:11.240 of our Bible study series that we like to call 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:15.720 the Bible for grownups. We continue now in our 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:19.260 look at a portion of what we find as the sermon 00:00:19.260 --> 00:00:22.100 on the Mount in chapter five of the gospel can, 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:25.519 according to Matthew. And something we call the 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:28.960 Beatitudes, these eight things which Jesus tries 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:34.020 to explain what it means to be blessed. And everything 00:00:34.020 --> 00:00:36.780 that Jesus talks about to the people that would 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:39.200 have heard it then and hear it now, everything 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:44.700 seems to be turned upside down. And this is another 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:50.240 one. When we look at mercy and blessed are the 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.799 merciful. Hey friend, I'll see you on the other 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:58.750 side. Hey, and with that, if you guys don't mind, 00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:01.969 I'm gonna go ahead and get started. We are again 00:01:01.969 --> 00:01:04.230 in our Bible, same place we've been looking for 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:07.030 some weeks now. We're in Matthew chapter five. 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:09.609 Tonight we're looking at the Beatitudes. We're 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:12.870 looking at beginning with verse seven, specifically 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:15.670 in this instance, the fifth Beatitude of Jesus. 00:01:16.409 --> 00:01:18.989 But again, like we're gonna do each and every 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:21.590 time, I'm just gonna reread the whole of the 00:01:21.590 --> 00:01:24.519 Beatitudes. small portion of scripture, just 00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:27.140 so we can continue to absorb them in our lives. 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:29.819 Jesus says, verse one, and seeing the multitudes, 00:01:29.939 --> 00:01:32.379 he went up into a mountain and there he sat down. 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:35.560 His disciples came unto him. He opened up his 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:38.579 mouth and he taught them saying, blessed of the 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:40.829 poor in spirit. for theirs is the kingdom of 00:01:40.829 --> 00:01:43.049 heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they 00:01:43.049 --> 00:01:45.189 should be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for 00:01:45.189 --> 00:01:47.450 they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those 00:01:47.450 --> 00:01:49.370 which hunger and thirst after righteousness, 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:51.329 for they should be filled. This is ours tonight. 00:01:51.769 --> 00:01:53.790 Blessed are the merciful, for they should obtain 00:01:53.790 --> 00:01:56.750 mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they 00:01:56.750 --> 00:01:59.409 shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for 00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:03.370 they shall be called the children of God. Blessed 00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:05.810 are those who persecute you for righteousness 00:02:05.810 --> 00:02:09.699 sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed 00:02:09.699 --> 00:02:11.919 are you when men shall revile you and persecute 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.460 you shall say all manner of evil against you 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:18.240 falsely for my sake Jesus concludes saying rejoice 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.560 and be exceedingly glad For great is your reward 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:25.180 in heaven so persecuted the support so persecuted 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:28.159 They the prophets which were before you this 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.400 week ends the reading of the word this evening 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.860 be attitudes We're gonna study again to be attitude 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:35.400 rather we're gonna study tonight is blessed are 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:38.539 the merciful for they shall obtain mercy This 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:40.659 be attitude whether we realize it or not at first 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:43.280 glance actually will we and I hope to illustrate 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.620 tonight will be the remedy for the or the cure 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:50.159 for Bitterness in our lives whether in our families 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.460 or in our friendships in our own hearts in our 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:56.080 own minds if you like tonight Right if you have 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:01.219 lost relationships Because the relationship was 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:05.020 broken through bitterness If you have that problem, 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:08.020 this beatitude can be a message of liberation 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:11.060 for you. Let's think for a moment, recap, and 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:13.180 I haven't actually done this, but it's a good 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:15.500 time for us to do this. Let's recap the background 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:18.719 of the beatitudes. This sermon on the mount we 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:22.680 find in chapter five. If I actually return a 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:24.979 little bit to our scripture, go a little bit 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:27.819 back to Matthew chapter three, let me show you 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:30.780 the context, the backdrop of what Jesus is actually 00:03:30.780 --> 00:03:34.610 preaching against. in the Beatitudes. Matthew 00:03:34.610 --> 00:03:38.009 chapter three and verse seven, go reading to 00:03:38.009 --> 00:03:42.490 10. But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees 00:03:42.490 --> 00:03:46.629 coming for baptism, he said to them, you brood 00:03:46.629 --> 00:03:50.810 of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:55.310 to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do 00:03:55.310 --> 00:03:58.250 not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham 00:03:58.250 --> 00:04:02.520 as our ancestor, for I tell you. God is able 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:06.659 from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.259 Even now the axe is lying at the root of the 00:04:10.259 --> 00:04:13.259 trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear 00:04:13.259 --> 00:04:16.339 good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:26.800 Now, Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:30.129 here. But not all of them. We get that mixed 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:32.709 up sometimes. We lump the Pharisees and the Sadducees 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:36.069 into one bucket, or two buckets, all in the same 00:04:36.069 --> 00:04:39.050 group. In fact, many of the people from these 00:04:39.050 --> 00:04:43.449 groups came actually to follow Jesus over time. 00:04:44.889 --> 00:04:47.290 But here, to those whom have missed the mark, 00:04:47.529 --> 00:04:49.509 he's speaking. The people who have missed the 00:04:49.509 --> 00:04:52.209 mark is people of God. He's speaking to these 00:04:52.209 --> 00:04:54.250 religious leaders who've fallen short of their 00:04:54.250 --> 00:04:57.949 religiosity. of a self -righteousness that their 00:04:57.949 --> 00:05:01.089 perception provided that if they looked all right, 00:05:01.209 --> 00:05:03.370 they talked all right, they walked all right 00:05:03.370 --> 00:05:06.009 on the outside, it didn't matter what was going 00:05:06.009 --> 00:05:09.389 on inside them. It mattered what was on the outside. 00:05:09.509 --> 00:05:12.430 They were men and women who followed the law 00:05:12.430 --> 00:05:15.470 of external holiness and thought that when it 00:05:15.470 --> 00:05:17.829 came to their relationship with God, that was 00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:22.410 enough. Let me turn past where we're at to Matthew 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:25.540 chapter 23 where we've... parked ourselves for 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:28.220 quite a while in Sunday school on Sunday mornings 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:31.540 at 10 a .m. And we again see the background, 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:36.199 the context of Jesus, what he was up against 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:39.279 as he ministered during this time in first century 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:43.699 Palestine. Matthew chapter 23 verse 27, he says, 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:47.160 well to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:49.980 for you are like the whitewashed tombs, which 00:05:49.980 --> 00:05:52.470 outwardly appear beautiful, but within, they're 00:05:52.470 --> 00:05:55.949 full of dead men's bones and uncleanliness so 00:05:55.949 --> 00:05:58.329 you also outwardly appear righteous to men but 00:05:58.329 --> 00:06:01.930 within you you're full of hypocrisy and iniquity 00:06:01.930 --> 00:06:04.949 he says you were like a dead tomb on the outside 00:06:04.949 --> 00:06:08.910 you look all clean you might even be fancily 00:06:08.910 --> 00:06:13.050 engraved covered in beautiful colors you may 00:06:13.050 --> 00:06:16.110 be perceived by all of those around you as pure 00:06:16.110 --> 00:06:21.029 and holy and white But within your very heart 00:06:21.029 --> 00:06:23.990 of hearts, your soul of souls, deep down in the 00:06:23.990 --> 00:06:28.750 real person, you're dead. What matters, I think 00:06:28.750 --> 00:06:31.410 Jesus is getting at here, within all of these 00:06:31.410 --> 00:06:33.769 Beatitudes, is it's not what's on the outside, 00:06:33.889 --> 00:06:37.550 it's what's on the inside, right? The change 00:06:37.550 --> 00:06:41.389 that has been wrought upon us by God through 00:06:41.389 --> 00:06:44.850 the Holy Spirit within the soul of every man 00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:47.709 and woman. The new birth, something that brings 00:06:47.709 --> 00:06:52.389 eternal life, to bear as a reality on our external 00:06:52.389 --> 00:06:56.149 life. One author put it like this, and I put 00:06:56.149 --> 00:06:59.990 this quote in here early, I think, because I 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:02.889 don't think we'll quite get this, but I hope 00:07:02.889 --> 00:07:06.329 to illustrate it by the end. Someone says, a 00:07:06.329 --> 00:07:10.689 Christian is something before they do something. 00:07:12.009 --> 00:07:14.009 The first four Beatitudes that we've studied 00:07:14.009 --> 00:07:17.920 over the past weeks really center upon inner 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.579 principles that deal with how good we are before 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:27.959 God, how we are ourselves. But we're looking 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:30.100 this evening, and we'll be continuing to look 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:32.800 at the weeks to follow as we close these out 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.079 from five on, the fifth beatitude on in verse 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:38.899 seven, and the beatitudes cease to deal with 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:41.579 primarily how we are within ourselves before 00:07:41.579 --> 00:07:45.310 God. To begin to deal with how we are before 00:07:45.310 --> 00:07:48.370 our own brothers and sisters, the people we're 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:53.009 around in the world, our attitudes to those around 00:07:53.009 --> 00:07:57.110 us. The first four are inner attitudes. The last 00:07:57.110 --> 00:08:00.769 four are inner attitudes that then manifest themselves 00:08:00.769 --> 00:08:04.709 outwardly. Okay? So verse seven this evening, 00:08:04.930 --> 00:08:07.269 our beatitude, blessed of the merciful, for they 00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:11.230 shall obtain mercy. So what does it mean? Well 00:08:11.230 --> 00:08:14.829 in humanistic philosophy and a lot of people 00:08:14.829 --> 00:08:19.170 interpret it this way They think well if you're 00:08:19.170 --> 00:08:22.189 good to everybody else Everybody else will be 00:08:22.189 --> 00:08:25.949 good to you Right there are many many Christians 00:08:25.949 --> 00:08:27.970 who that's how they interpret this. That's how 00:08:27.970 --> 00:08:31.089 they read this Does it mean that God cannot be 00:08:31.089 --> 00:08:33.269 merciful to you unless you're merciful to other 00:08:33.269 --> 00:08:37.669 people? Does it mean that unless you forgive 00:08:37.669 --> 00:08:41.750 others of their sins before that God can forgive 00:08:41.750 --> 00:08:46.110 you? Well, not so fast. The Greek word for mercy, 00:08:46.929 --> 00:08:49.470 within the Christian testament, simply means 00:08:49.470 --> 00:08:52.750 this. The definition is to give help to the wretched 00:08:52.750 --> 00:08:56.490 and to relieve the miserable. To give help to 00:08:56.490 --> 00:09:00.590 the wretched and to relieve the miserable. Therefore, 00:09:00.690 --> 00:09:03.029 there are a few comparisons. I think it's important 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:06.529 for us to really understand today, like to do 00:09:06.529 --> 00:09:11.350 a few comparisons, what mercy really is. how 00:09:11.350 --> 00:09:14.289 we obtain it, how we commit it, how we get it 00:09:14.289 --> 00:09:18.169 from God. And to do this, we have to make some 00:09:18.169 --> 00:09:20.590 distinctions and some comparisons to make sure 00:09:20.590 --> 00:09:23.269 that we truly understand the words that we are 00:09:23.269 --> 00:09:25.529 saying. First of all, we have to compare mercy 00:09:25.529 --> 00:09:30.169 and grace. Then we have to compare mercy and 00:09:30.169 --> 00:09:34.730 compassion. Then we must compare mercy and forgiveness. 00:09:35.570 --> 00:09:42.730 And we need to ask the question, what Mercy obtains 00:09:42.730 --> 00:09:47.470 mercy from God So let's compare first mercy and 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:51.009 grace and again This will take about halfway 00:09:51.009 --> 00:09:52.789 through these distinctions and then I think you'll 00:09:52.789 --> 00:09:54.889 start to see the picture Because at the first 00:09:54.889 --> 00:09:56.769 it's gonna sound like I'm just kind of talking 00:09:56.769 --> 00:09:59.110 out of both sides of my mouth But if you stick 00:09:59.110 --> 00:10:01.549 with me if you stick with me, I think it'll begin 00:10:01.549 --> 00:10:05.230 to make sense often within the New Testament 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:08.419 within the whole of scriptures The word grace 00:10:08.419 --> 00:10:12.860 and the word mercy are synonymous. They actually 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:16.659 mean the same thing. They mean God's goodness 00:10:16.659 --> 00:10:20.759 which has been shown to humankind. But often, 00:10:21.139 --> 00:10:24.620 within the New Testament especially, there's 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:28.299 a distinction between the meaning of grace and 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:32.620 the meaning of mercy. Grace simply means the 00:10:32.620 --> 00:10:36.100 love of God which has been shown to the undeserving. 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:41.899 us Okay, God's love towards other people that 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:46.620 have sinned against him His loving those sinners 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:50.559 that have broken his law that are guilty in the 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:55.960 legal sense right before God Grace is lavishing 00:10:55.960 --> 00:11:00.679 God's love upon those specific people But there's 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:06.440 a distinction Mercy is also compassion that is 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:11.379 shown, compassion that is shown to the miserable. 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:14.980 Like I mentioned earlier, it's a little bit difficult 00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:18.720 to see the distinction between these two things 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:23.080 right at first. But let's say grace is taking 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:27.799 away the guilt that is over us, right? God comes. 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:32.200 We don't deserve this gift of grace. We can't 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:35.269 do anything on our own to merit it. But God comes 00:11:35.269 --> 00:11:40.289 and he lifts that guilt away for our sin, which 00:11:40.289 --> 00:11:47.929 is our guilt by right. Even though we don't deserve 00:11:47.929 --> 00:11:50.490 to have that guilt removed from us, God takes 00:11:50.490 --> 00:11:55.809 it away. But mercy, mercy is the compassion of 00:11:55.809 --> 00:12:00.990 God. That when he looks upon our condition, when 00:12:00.990 --> 00:12:04.409 he sees us for the Sinners and the transgressors 00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:09.330 that we are out of his love for us it motivates 00:12:09.330 --> 00:12:14.190 him To love us that's compared. That's that's 00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:19.149 a compassion mercy The mercy of God speaks specifically 00:12:19.149 --> 00:12:22.870 to those that are helpless those that are miserable 00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:27.950 It's another word for compassion, right? He looks 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.320 and he sees those that are wounded in the world, 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:35.039 he sees those that are broken, that those that 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:39.200 are in sorrow, people that have no hope, the 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:42.919 hopeless of the hopeless, he looks upon them 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:47.960 and in his compassion, he sees their misery, 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:53.279 and he works, he does something to try to heal 00:12:53.279 --> 00:13:01.139 them. Grace is when God pardons sin, right? Grace 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:06.740 is, mercy is the compassion because of it. Then 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:09.179 we need to compare also mercy and compassion 00:13:09.179 --> 00:13:13.419 in this way. Because mercy, in this sense, again, 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:16.059 this is why these two words are so incredibly 00:13:16.059 --> 00:13:18.980 linked in definition together in the New Testament, 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:22.330 it's hard to really... uh, suss out the difference, 00:13:22.370 --> 00:13:28.029 but the distinction is important. So, uh, mercy 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:30.990 in the first hits does primarily mean compassion, 00:13:31.049 --> 00:13:32.809 but I want to stress this. This is what I'm trying 00:13:32.809 --> 00:13:35.149 to illustrate tonight. I want to stress this 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:39.490 in the strongest way that I can, that mercy is 00:13:39.490 --> 00:13:45.629 not just simply feeling compassion, right? Feeling 00:13:45.629 --> 00:13:48.110 compassion, it's been said, is the hurdle of 00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:51.570 spiritual imagination. the barrier to Christian 00:13:51.570 --> 00:13:55.029 intention. And look, this is something that we 00:13:55.029 --> 00:13:59.029 all fight every day, hour by hour, week by week. 00:14:00.870 --> 00:14:03.629 I suspect that these intentions of our Christian 00:14:03.629 --> 00:14:06.610 lives, these hurdles that we put in place in 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:09.950 our lives that keep us from truly acting on compassion 00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:13.070 is something we have to fight the rest of our 00:14:13.070 --> 00:14:16.009 existence, right? Because look, basically, what 00:14:16.009 --> 00:14:20.539 am I talking about? I know what I ought to do. 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:23.279 Because of the transformation as a Christian 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.539 that has taken place in your life, you look to 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:29.960 the world and you see where you can have an act 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:34.759 on with your compassion and you know you have 00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:38.799 a conviction inside that says, I ought to do 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:42.320 it. But no matter how much energy often we feel 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:45.440 like we can muster up in ourselves We can't ever 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:50.639 really bring ourselves to do anything about it 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:55.779 Compassion is not feeling compassionate It's 00:14:55.779 --> 00:14:59.799 more than a feeling It's actually an active verb. 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:03.580 It's something that is shown It's something that 00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:07.960 must be done So let me turn here to illustrate 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.230 this Let me turn to Luke 10. And it's in the 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:15.409 10th chapter, according to Luke, which we have 00:15:15.409 --> 00:15:19.190 the story Jesus tells of what we're trying to 00:15:19.190 --> 00:15:23.090 illustrate here. And what it is to have compassion 00:15:23.090 --> 00:15:25.450 on one another. And we have within the story, 00:15:25.549 --> 00:15:28.450 the story of the good Samaritan, which you probably 00:15:28.450 --> 00:15:31.669 have at least heard of, you know some of it. 00:15:32.070 --> 00:15:35.250 And there was a priest walking by the man on 00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:39.539 the road who was lying. bleeding beaten up and 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:43.039 there was a priest and a Levite a religious guy 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:47.820 and they both walked by this bleeding dying man 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:53.419 they looked at him and I am sure within the depths 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:57.019 of their souls when they did look at him they 00:15:57.019 --> 00:16:02.399 probably felt compassion for him but Jesus words 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:05.600 in verse 36 and 37 say which of these three do 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:09.909 you think The Samaritan, the Levite and the priest 00:16:09.909 --> 00:16:12.110 proved to be the neighbor of the man who'd fell 00:16:12.110 --> 00:16:17.210 amongst the robbers. The one who showed mercy. 00:16:18.629 --> 00:16:22.549 Right? And then Jesus says the key. He says, 00:16:22.809 --> 00:16:29.769 you, and he's talking to you. Me. You, go and 00:16:29.769 --> 00:16:34.820 do likewise. Right remember in this parable Jesus 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:38.220 asked him in who is my neighbor and then he told 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:42.720 how the Samaritan man was the good neighbor and 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:45.600 if you don't recall Samaritans were ethnically 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.919 socially politically Separated from the Jews. 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:55.320 They were enemies how his enemy came and Showed 00:16:55.320 --> 00:17:00.169 compassion to this poor man And then once illustrating 00:17:00.169 --> 00:17:03.950 this with the story, does Jesus turn to you and 00:17:03.950 --> 00:17:08.950 me? And did he say, now go and feel compassion, 00:17:09.970 --> 00:17:14.789 go and feel this way towards the poor? No, he 00:17:14.789 --> 00:17:20.369 said, go and do likewise. We find this in Hebrew 00:17:20.369 --> 00:17:23.390 scripture as well. The minor prophets specifically 00:17:23.390 --> 00:17:25.849 to, I mean, if you ever want to go and read these, 00:17:25.890 --> 00:17:27.750 this is kind of the background to both of these. 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:33.039 The Minor Prophets Amos and his prophecy chapter 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:38.779 five and the whole prophecy of Hosea talk about 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:42.400 false religion that they were experiencing in 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:49.480 the land that talks about preaches, writes about 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:54.519 professors caring for one another and caring 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:58.210 for the world around them. But the words are 00:17:58.210 --> 00:18:03.150 hollow and empty. There was a 19th century preacher, 00:18:03.410 --> 00:18:06.470 1800s, okay? He was coming along the highway, 00:18:06.789 --> 00:18:09.430 crossed his friend, whose horse had been killed 00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:12.589 in an accident. And while the crowd of onlookers 00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:15.250 stood by and began to express these empty words 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:17.869 of sympathy and about what had happened, the 00:18:17.869 --> 00:18:20.069 preacher stood up, put his hand in his pocket, 00:18:20.349 --> 00:18:23.190 and he turned to the loudest sympathizer and 00:18:23.190 --> 00:18:30.220 said, I am sorry $5. How sorry are you? Right? 00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:34.019 Not talking about it, not preaching it, singing 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:39.019 it, reading about it, actually doing it. Mercy 00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:44.640 demands action. Mercy is, if you want to put 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.799 it crudely, putting your money where your mouth 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:52.460 is when it comes to being a Christian. Mercy 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:55.559 is more than a feeling. For the good Samaritan 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:58.619 looked and he saw the wounds and he didn't just 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:02.839 want to dress the wounds, he actually did it. 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:07.180 He saw a man cast down and he didn't just know 00:19:07.180 --> 00:19:10.119 that he should get him picked up and taken to 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:15.960 the inn, he did it. And Jesus says to us today, 00:19:16.099 --> 00:19:22.920 go and do likewise. Mercy, first of all, is compassion. 00:19:23.500 --> 00:19:27.059 Secondly, mercy and forgiveness. How does mercy 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:33.019 relate to forgiveness? We have to see mercy that 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.579 Jesus is speaking of in verse 7 here, and our 00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:38.579 beatitude is not just compassion, but it's also 00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:41.220 an expression of forgiveness. Mercy is the love 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:45.599 of God that forgives and the love of God that 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.140 allows for the pardoning of another's wrong. 00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:52.359 Okay, let me illustrate this one. So we have 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:56.299 Jesus ups Jesus. We have Joseph in the Old Testament 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:59.980 He may or may not know this story has these brothers 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:03.299 whom are all jealous of Joseph because of his 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:08.640 furred status amongst his father and They decide 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:12.640 they're gonna go and beat him up and kill him 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:16.039 and then a band of Marauders came through and 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:17.359 then they realized that what they could actually 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:23.299 do is sell him And they do. Expecting to get 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.220 a little bit of money, they sold him and expected 00:20:26.220 --> 00:20:29.500 that they would never see him again. He went 00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:33.920 to prison after that. But there was one day later 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.819 in his life when his brothers actually return 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:40.440 and are standing before him. And his brothers 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:44.220 wept. His brothers were broken because of the 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:46.539 predicament of the famine that was in their land 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:50.450 and within his own family. And Joseph as they 00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:54.890 stood his brothers guilty before him, right? 00:20:55.069 --> 00:21:00.430 They were in his hands to do with as he pleased. 00:21:00.970 --> 00:21:04.509 And what does he do? He actually goes out of 00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:10.849 the court to weep. Why? Because of the compassion 00:21:10.849 --> 00:21:15.470 he had for them. The nation, his brothers, his 00:21:15.470 --> 00:21:20.950 family are starving. And Joseph, because of his 00:21:20.950 --> 00:21:23.829 compassion, which includes forgiveness in this 00:21:23.829 --> 00:21:28.869 instance, he did not act upon them in the way 00:21:28.869 --> 00:21:32.009 in which would have been his right to do so. 00:21:32.809 --> 00:21:37.230 But he forfeited his right to retribution because 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:41.990 of his compassion. Go and do likewise. And I 00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:43.829 think as Christians, we would all argue that 00:21:43.829 --> 00:21:47.299 Jesus is the one who probably shows The greatest 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:53.220 amount of grace in the world, mercy. The most 00:21:53.220 --> 00:21:56.579 merciful human that ever lived. Because when 00:21:56.579 --> 00:21:59.160 Jesus looked around, he went specifically after 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:01.539 the deaf and the dumb and the blind and the lame 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:03.359 and the prostitutes and the tax collectors and 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:07.299 the drunkards and weak little children. There's 00:22:07.299 --> 00:22:09.500 a widowed woman, again we return to the gospel 00:22:09.500 --> 00:22:12.619 account according to the physician Luke, that's 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:14.859 following the coffin of her son. She's lost the 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:20.579 breadwinner. and her family. And now no one can 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:22.819 bring any money into their home because the only 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:26.160 one that could, her son, is now dead. Jesus stopped 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:28.960 the procession and he touched the casket and 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:31.500 he brought life back into this woman's life by 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:35.619 raising up her son. Why? Because he had compassion 00:22:35.619 --> 00:22:39.559 for her. In John chapter 8, if you'll join us 00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:42.279 on Sunday morning, we're talking about mercy. 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:45.470 We're going to speak specifically to this portion 00:22:45.470 --> 00:22:48.130 of scripture. Remember, John chapter 8, we have 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:51.069 the woman caught in adultery. There were these 00:22:51.069 --> 00:22:52.930 religious men that were stuffed with their own 00:22:52.930 --> 00:22:56.349 self -righteousness standing around in long garments 00:22:56.349 --> 00:22:58.710 with their big scrolls and beards ready to throw 00:22:58.710 --> 00:23:01.390 stones at this poor woman. And they say, Rabbi, 00:23:01.890 --> 00:23:06.170 what should we do? Moses says, stone her. What 00:23:06.170 --> 00:23:09.990 do you say? And the merciful Jesus looks at the 00:23:09.990 --> 00:23:13.470 woman and says, neither do I condemn thee. Go. 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:18.240 sin no more. Jesus was full of mercy, so much 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.000 so that in the Gospel account, according to Mark 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:22.859 chapter two and verse 16, he's actually reprimanded 00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:26.380 by those about him because he hangs around with 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:29.140 the riff -raff of that first century Palestinian 00:23:29.140 --> 00:23:32.000 society, eating and drinking with what a lot 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:33.940 of people thought would have been the filth of 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:39.140 the world. And the two merciless systems at the 00:23:39.140 --> 00:23:42.319 time, the Empire of Rome and these religious 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:46.329 leaders who felt threatened by Jesus, they unite 00:23:46.329 --> 00:23:51.710 together in a merciless way before Christ to 00:23:51.710 --> 00:23:54.549 crucify him and ending up nailing him on a cross. 00:23:56.190 --> 00:23:58.170 The whole of the Lord's life, the whole of the 00:23:58.170 --> 00:24:01.089 Lord's kingdom of the Lord Jesus' teaching cries 00:24:01.089 --> 00:24:07.210 out that all of it is about mercy. He's full 00:24:07.210 --> 00:24:12.339 of mercy, but why? Because he saw us in our wretched, 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:17.099 pitiful state. He saw us in the way that we were, 00:24:17.180 --> 00:24:22.400 unescapably, in our sin, with all the wrongs 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:24.660 that we have, with all of the guilt, with all 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:27.960 of the ugliness of our filthy sores in sight. 00:24:29.099 --> 00:24:33.539 God did. And in that mercy, He sent us Jesus. 00:24:35.079 --> 00:24:40.599 God didn't have to do so. But He did. because 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:45.119 God is rich in mercy. The word of God says that 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.099 he declared the merciful, they shall obtain mercy. 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:51.619 And as he hung on the cross, Jesus, what was 00:24:51.619 --> 00:24:54.460 he praying for? Father, forgive them for they 00:24:54.460 --> 00:24:57.259 know not what he's doing. He's crying out in 00:24:57.259 --> 00:25:00.779 mercy. Stephen, his apostle, followed after Christ, 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:04.839 also walked after him in his own death. He says 00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:07.539 in the seventh chapter of Acts, lay not this 00:25:07.539 --> 00:25:09.869 charge against them, Lord. for what they're doing. 00:25:10.170 --> 00:25:14.950 Please forgive them. Mercy is not foolish sentimentality 00:25:14.950 --> 00:25:18.130 that excuses or ignores sin. Please understand, 00:25:18.250 --> 00:25:20.670 friends, that's not what I'm talking about. The 00:25:20.670 --> 00:25:23.650 only person that God shows mercy to is the person 00:25:23.650 --> 00:25:28.470 to whom he has impugned in judgment. What does 00:25:28.470 --> 00:25:33.109 that mean? God shows mercy towards us, not in 00:25:33.109 --> 00:25:36.109 some sort of sentimental, wishy -washy way, just 00:25:36.109 --> 00:25:39.839 because he feels sorry for us. Because remember 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:44.259 what I'm not saying here, okay? God must judge 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:50.539 sin. God must condemn sin. And any time that 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:54.920 you see mercy extended to humans in the story 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:58.859 as a result of sin, someone else had to always 00:25:58.859 --> 00:26:03.099 take the judgment. Think about it. It's the lamb 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:06.240 in the Old Testament. Praise God, it's the lamb 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.720 of God. the New Testament, Jesus. The only reason 00:26:09.720 --> 00:26:12.420 we have the mercy of God extended to us today 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:16.440 is because Jesus received the punishment. Christ 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:19.640 has been made a curse for us. And remember always 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:23.859 when we talk about mercy, Psalm 85 verse 10, 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:26.900 which says mercy and truth are met together. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:30.960 But finally, finally, I'm sure you're probably 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.529 ready to hear that. Finally, there's mercy in 00:26:35.529 --> 00:26:37.769 grace, there's mercy in compassion, mercy in 00:26:37.769 --> 00:26:41.309 forgiveness, but there's this mercy that obtains 00:26:41.309 --> 00:26:47.589 mercy. Now, this is misunderstood, I think. People 00:26:47.589 --> 00:26:51.190 have looked at this verse and said, well, you 00:26:51.190 --> 00:26:54.710 must be merciful if God is going to be merciful 00:26:54.710 --> 00:26:58.049 to you. I think a lot of people read it that 00:26:58.049 --> 00:27:01.619 way. You have to be merciful if you want God 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:04.920 to be merciful towards you. This means you must 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:07.980 forgive others if you are to be forgiven. And 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:09.299 then all of a sudden you go, oh yeah, that does 00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:13.200 kind of sound right. Wait, wait. Because if so, 00:27:13.420 --> 00:27:16.519 we're missing the point entirely. Because the 00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:21.400 idea is simply this. That by performing acts 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:25.619 of mercy, you show yourself to have received 00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:31.299 the mercy of God. That's the point that the person 00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:35.500 who has been shown mercy by God, the person who 00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:39.019 knows what it's like to actually have the sweet 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:43.980 taste of forgiveness of the mercy of God, how 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:48.480 can he or she be anything but forgiving? How 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:51.920 can we be anything but merciful to those who 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:55.920 we know that are around us that are in the exact 00:27:55.920 --> 00:28:02.819 same predicament. That's what this passage means. 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:07.779 That our compassion, our love for the lost, our 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:11.299 love for the poor is out of a heart that's been 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:15.119 forgiven. It's out of a heart that's been shined 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:18.259 upon by the grace and the mercy and the peace 00:28:18.259 --> 00:28:22.519 of God Almighty. And that's the standard that 00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:25.799 we must have with our own actions in our lives. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:30.079 When you've been the object of God's salvation, 00:28:30.500 --> 00:28:33.599 it should be that you in turn show mercy toward 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:37.460 those around you. And the greatest evidence that 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:40.380 God has shined in your heart is when you help 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:43.099 the helpless, when you lift the downtrodden, 00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:46.420 when you healed the brokenhearted. The old saying, 00:28:46.420 --> 00:28:49.599 I think, to get people to put more money in the 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:52.119 offering plate actually turns out to be true. 00:28:52.460 --> 00:28:55.579 You are never more like God than when you give 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:59.500 or forgive. You never are more like God in your 00:28:59.500 --> 00:29:03.160 life than whenever you give. And the more you 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:07.960 forgive and in each case The less rational your 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:14.200 gift is the more like God you are But the world's 00:29:14.200 --> 00:29:17.619 philosophy is coined in the words of a famous 00:29:17.619 --> 00:29:21.819 philosopher old old dude Ironically, well, I 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:23.819 mean he's from a long time ago, but his name 00:29:23.819 --> 00:29:27.039 was Seneca the younger He said Missouri mercy 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:31.019 is the disease of the soul that spells weakness 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:37.240 What he's saying is, what does the world preach 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:42.619 around us? My rights. Our rights. It's my right. 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:45.640 It's my right to do this. It's my right to do 00:29:45.640 --> 00:29:47.640 that. I have the right here. I have the right 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:50.799 there. If you were living in the Roman Empire 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:54.680 during this particular time, and you had a baby 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:57.680 that was born straight from the womb of the mother, 00:29:57.779 --> 00:30:00.640 if you were the father, you could put your thumb 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:06.000 up. or down and decide whether that newborn baby 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:10.240 had any right to live or not. That was your right 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:15.559 to do so. Now that you know that, put yourself 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:19.359 in their sandals and say, if you were a Christian 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:23.059 in that society, knowing you've had that right, 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:25.619 would you still use it? I mean, it's rightfully 00:30:25.619 --> 00:30:31.529 yours, but would you do it? You could... You 00:30:31.529 --> 00:30:34.690 could kill your slave and bury him. And that's 00:30:34.690 --> 00:30:39.410 it. End of story. You could even kill your wife, 00:30:39.710 --> 00:30:43.329 in most cases, and absolutely get away with it. 00:30:43.750 --> 00:30:47.170 Because she's your property. And it's your right. 00:30:48.569 --> 00:30:53.089 But would you do it? In Romans chapter 1, verses 00:30:53.089 --> 00:30:56.349 29 to 31, we read a description of the city of 00:30:56.349 --> 00:30:58.450 Rome, those that lived within Rome. They were 00:30:58.450 --> 00:31:01.779 described as many things. The very last word 00:31:01.779 --> 00:31:06.019 used to describe them is unmerciful people. Friends, 00:31:06.579 --> 00:31:08.500 the reality of this beatitude in verse seven 00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:13.980 is that what Jesus is saying to us, what we must 00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:19.440 grasp in our own Christian walk, is that if we 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:24.380 as believers do not show mercy towards the pitiful, 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:29.339 we must question the bounds of our spiritual 00:31:29.339 --> 00:31:33.559 relationship with God. And that might sound a 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:35.920 little bit strong, right? But I think it needs 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:39.119 to be told that way. Because the word of God 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:43.119 testifies to that truth. It was an answer to 00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:45.940 the Lord when he said, love the Lord your God 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:47.799 with all your soul, with all your heart, with 00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:50.380 all your strength, and love your neighbor as 00:31:50.380 --> 00:31:53.119 yourself. And what was that? It was the way to 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:58.240 be saved. To give everything to God. to show 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:03.160 that you're wrong and to trust God. They could 00:32:03.160 --> 00:32:05.000 even do it in the Old Testament. He said, who's 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:06.839 my neighbor? For the priest of the Levite that 00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:09.279 failed to love the neighbor as themselves, they 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:12.640 don't get into the kingdom. Don't get me wrong. 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:14.279 I'm not saying the opposite of that, that you 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:17.920 have to be merciful, that you have to be forgiving. 00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:21.059 I'm not saying that. But if we look into our 00:32:21.059 --> 00:32:24.380 lives and we search within the light of God's 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:29.009 holiness in our souls, And we see that we are 00:32:29.009 --> 00:32:33.650 actually unforgiving and unmerciful. Is that 00:32:33.650 --> 00:32:37.849 fruit of the Spirit? Well, what is the fruit 00:32:37.849 --> 00:32:43.710 of then? See? John in his first letter, 1 John, 00:32:43.990 --> 00:32:47.269 chapter 3 and verse 17 depicts this thought. 00:32:47.990 --> 00:32:50.470 In John's word, in this epistle, he talks so 00:32:50.470 --> 00:32:53.029 often about how much we ought to love one another. 00:32:53.450 --> 00:32:56.029 Listen to the implications here that emanate. 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:57.819 out of this verse. I mean, think about this. 00:32:58.019 --> 00:33:01.000 Listen, he says, but if anyone verse 17 of chapter 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:07.720 three, but if anyone has the world's goods and 00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:11.299 sees his brother or sister in need, it closes 00:33:11.299 --> 00:33:16.480 his heart against them. How can God's love abide 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:20.259 in them? He's saying what Jesus saying, if you 00:33:20.259 --> 00:33:22.519 don't have this compassion and this mercy in 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:28.829 you, then you may not have. God in you. Because 00:33:28.829 --> 00:33:33.269 that is the God part of you. And this could be 00:33:33.269 --> 00:33:36.630 surgical. This is dangerous. This is the scalpel 00:33:36.630 --> 00:33:39.369 of the Holy Spirit that goes right into our hearts. 00:33:41.369 --> 00:33:43.970 And this reality, friends, this is what should 00:33:43.970 --> 00:33:48.589 destroy us as Christians. As we see before God's 00:33:48.589 --> 00:33:52.769 Word so far, that we're poor, that we're broken, 00:33:54.049 --> 00:34:00.680 that with that we mourn for our sins, that we're 00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:03.700 meek in front of all humans, other people within 00:34:03.700 --> 00:34:07.259 ourselves, that we're empty and that God has 00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:11.260 to fill us, and then we realize that God has 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:14.920 shown mercy upon us. Therefore, we see the helplessness 00:34:14.920 --> 00:34:18.699 of humanity, not just spiritually, physically, 00:34:18.900 --> 00:34:21.900 and financially, no, in all ways, and we show 00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:27.670 mercy to those around us. We close with a theologian, 00:34:27.829 --> 00:34:30.190 D .A. Carson, today. He said of this relation 00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:33.369 to this beatitude, I am persuaded that should 00:34:33.369 --> 00:34:37.269 the Spirit of God usher in another period of 00:34:37.269 --> 00:34:40.389 refreshing revival in the Western world, that 00:34:40.389 --> 00:34:44.190 one of the earliest signs of it will be an admission 00:34:44.190 --> 00:34:47.190 of spiritual bankruptcy, which will then find 00:34:47.190 --> 00:34:49.570 satisfaction in God and God's righteousness, 00:34:50.130 --> 00:34:54.300 and then will then be lived out. to go on being 00:34:54.300 --> 00:35:01.639 merciful towards others amen any questions cool 00:35:01.639 --> 00:35:10.980 thank you guys you know for me as i listened 00:35:10.980 --> 00:35:14.400 to the episode as i went through preparing i'm 00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:17.940 sorry preparing for it and delivering it even 00:35:17.940 --> 00:35:21.159 as uh we met this evening and talked about it 00:35:21.449 --> 00:35:24.570 The thing that really continues to stick with 00:35:24.570 --> 00:35:30.090 me is this idea that compassion and being compassionate 00:35:30.090 --> 00:35:35.929 is an action verb. We get that wrong so often, 00:35:35.949 --> 00:35:42.030 I think. We think compassion is a feeling, but 00:35:42.030 --> 00:35:46.070 compassion is so much more than that. Compassion 00:35:46.070 --> 00:35:53.329 and mercy, those are actions. We have to not 00:35:53.329 --> 00:36:01.530 just feel them, but do them. If we want to experience 00:36:01.530 --> 00:36:07.110 salvation, liberation, enlightenment, whatever 00:36:07.110 --> 00:36:12.829 you might call it, we have to give away. We have 00:36:12.829 --> 00:36:17.929 to give away pride, ego, conceit, all of those 00:36:17.929 --> 00:36:26.119 things. and instead offer mercy. Again, like 00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:30.019 them all, it is so beautiful here to hear those 00:36:30.019 --> 00:36:34.659 words. It is so easy to say those words, but 00:36:34.659 --> 00:36:39.619 man, oh man, is it hard to live them out. Something 00:36:39.619 --> 00:36:43.219 to think about. Hey, I hope you will join us 00:36:43.219 --> 00:36:46.659 next week as we continue our look at the Beatitudes. 00:36:46.900 --> 00:36:50.409 And until then, friend, My prayer is that you're 00:36:50.409 --> 00:36:50.829 blessed.