Sierra Vista Community Church
7 Keys to a Blessed Life
Part 4
Matthew 5:6 HCSB
Righteousness is . . .
… making my relationship right with God. (Romans 1:17)
… living the way God intends for me to. (Proverbs 12:28)
God’s Merciful Plan Is To Make You Right With Himself.
• He sent Jesus, His Son, to pay for your sins. “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) [NLT]
• You need to accept by faith what God did for you. “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.” (Romans 3:22) [NLT]
How To Stay Spiritually Hungry and Thirsty:
1. Remind yourself how much God loves you. “I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians. 3:17-19)
2. Read His love letter to you daily. “You must crave the pure spiritual milk [of the Word] so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment like a baby cries for milk!” (1 Peter 2:2) [NLT]
Showing Mercy To Others is Part of That Plan.
When God has been merciful to you, you have no choice but to be merciful to others!
“The merciful are blessed, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
• Because God has shown you mercy. “Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” (Matthew 18:33)
• Because God commands you to be merciful. “... 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.” (Micah 6:8) [NLT]
• Because you’ll need mercy in the future. “For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)
How Can You Show Mercy To Others?
1. Be patient with quirky people. (Ephesians 4:2)
2. Help the hurting. (Proverbs 3:27)
3. Give people a second chance. (Ephesians 4:31-32)
4. Get involved with the disenfranchised. (Matthew 9:10-13)
5. Value relationships over rules. (Matthew 12:1-8)