Elements City Church
Around 700 hundred years before Jesus, we were given a proclamation from a prophet who was trying to get God’s people to follow Him again. They were God’s royal priesthood, a holy nation, blessed to be a blessing, but they were living below their calling. It is into this setting that the prophet Micah was called to bring a word of realignment. He challenged the people of God to return to a simple life focus... captured in one verse, but it was large enough to take a lifetime to live out. He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. -- Micah 6:8 ...following after God may not always be easy, but it was never meant to be complicated. We need to be people who walk in this way - way more. This is the way of Jesus.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. -Micah 6:8
The word Micah uses for “mercy” here is hesed, which is best summed up as “loving-kindness.” This was a term that described God’s kindness extended to his people, and thus the kindness his people are too extend to each other. Most translations refer to HESED as “steadfast love.” This is often aligned with the Greek word agape in the NT, which is an unconditional love.
Life of Peter... (ex: denial of Jesus)
Jesus is modeling how mercy puts a nuance on justice. We act justly, so we can show mercy.
Mercy is not commending. At no point does Jesus say, “What you did Peter, was right.” Or even, “I get it, we all make mistakes.” He acknowledges what was wrong. He calls it out. Then he offers mercy.
Mercy is not forgetting. Jesus had not forgotten what Peter had done. He addressed it. And then moved on. Granting mercy to someone in your life allows the relationship to continue, but it may take time for you to forget what has happened. If ever.
In a sentence, to love mercy is to extend kindness and compassion whether someone deserves it or not.
Luke 4 - women at the well encounter...
Jesus reminds us that showing mercy is not just for those in our circle, but for those who would never assume they could be part of it. Jesus widens the circle.
She's changed! The one who had received mercy . . . gave mercy.
Earlier in the letter to the Hebrews, the author gives us more detail as to what we can expect when we approach God:
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
-Hebrews 4:16
3 quick highlights of God’s mercy:
-God’s Mercy magnifies God’s faithful love.
-God’s Mercy never runs out.
-God’s Mercy is the epitome of the Gospel.
We can love mercy because it’s what God gives us.
We can love mercy because it’s what truly changes people.
We are simply to learn to pass along what we’ve been given an unending supply of…
we're to LOVE MERCY
We hope you have been blessed by your time worshipping with us -- through song and through the Word!
We'll see you back at Elements next weekend -- on-site or online -- as we continue our new series on one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible and how it challenges us to live... Micah 6:8