KEY THOUGHT:

Be merciful as your Father is merciful.

Blessed are the merciful? A central theme and message in ALL of scripture!

As we dig a little bit deeper, I think you will see that at the heart of this Beatitude is essentially the central message of the entire Gospel, and dare I say, the entire Bible. And if I was going to try to sum up the entire Bible, you might say that from the very beginning God created a people that were his very own that He would live with in perfect fellowship. Unfortunately, on like page 2…the fall happened. God’s people chose their own path and turned their back on God. Sin entered the world, and God’s people were separated from a Holy God due to sin. And you might say the entire rest of the Bible is the incredible love story of how God solved the problem. The story of how God sent his only son to save us and bring us back into right relationship with Him! Here’s the way Paul puts it…

o Ephesians 2:4-6 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”

So let’s sum that up real quick… we chose our own way, and turned our back on God. Because of this, the Bible says we are dead in our sins and the Bible actually refers to us as “Children of Wrath”. But pay attention to verse 4… “But God, being rich in mercy, (This is the heart and the character of God!) “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

A PEOPLE THAT ARE ALL HIS OWN-
A people that look like their father...

What do we mean when we say that God desires a people that are his very own? It means we were created to live in unity and fellowship with the Father. It also means that the children of God are going to look like and act like the Father! A people with the characteristics of the Father!
Which brings us all the way back to the Sermon on the Mount. And just after Jesus called the disciples to come follow him, we see that it say’s that he went up on a mountaintop… And then he sits down and says to them… do you want to know what my people look like? Do you want to know what my people act like? They look like my father!
I think its worth pointing out that from a Jewish perspective, it would have been very significant that Jesus called them to himself and then sat down to teach them on the mountaintop. And if you recall, it was Moses that brought the very word of God down to God’s people from the mountaintop. It’s also worth noting, that when Moses brought down God’s word to God’s people, that it was a list of do’s and don’ts. And honestly, I’m quite certain this is exactly what the disciples were expecting and possibly even desiring. They would have been just like the Rich Young Ruler when he asked… “What must I do to be saved?” But ultimately, that’s not what Jesus said! Because as you know… we are saved by grace! There is absolutely nothing that we can do to earn eternal life. So instead of a list of do’s and don’ts, Jesus simply tells them what it’s going to look like. You want to know what a true disciple looks like? It’s a person that looks and acts like my father!
And then Jesus jumps into the very basics of what it looks like to be a true disciple. And he started with the Beatitudes. You want to know what God’s people really look like? And then he starts into the very basics.

A STAIRCASE OF LIGHT

I think it was Charles Spurgeon the English Baptist Preacher that compared the Beatitudes to a staircase of light. Every step building upon one another. Every step supported by and dependent upon the previous. Every step leading closer and closer to the summit where you can finally see the whole Big Picture. This is what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus! This is what it looks like in the kingdom of heaven! This is what it looks like in God’s economy!

o And it all starts with being Poor in Spirit. (V.3.) The very starting place for the Gospel is that a person needs to be poor in spirit! A person needs to come to that place of recognition that we are hopeless, lost, doomed, and bankrupt on our own! We bring nothing to the table! That’s poor in Spirit! And that’s the starting place for the Gospel!
o And of course a person that is Poor in Spirit, is a person that truly understands their spiritual depravity, they have come to the end of themselves and can’t help but grieve those areas of our lives where we have allowed sin to affect our relationship with the Father! Blessed are those who MOURN! Blessed are those who are broken over their own sinfulness!
o And of course, when a person understands their own sinfulness & depravity, and when a person is broken and mourns over their own sin, then a person can’t help but be humble! Blessed are the Meek! These are people that have come to learn that I am NOTHING without Christ! These are people who can’t help but be humble because they remember their own rescue! They remember how God reached down and rescued them! Blessed are the Meek!
o These are also the people who have come to realize that outside of Christ, nothing satisfies! They have experienced the empty promises the world has to offer! And so these people instead, have begun to hunger and thirst for righteousness! No longer am I going after the things of this world… these are people who now hunger and thirst after God!
Can you see how the Beatitudes are building upon one another? Do you notice how with every step we gain a clearer and clearer picture of what a true disciple of Jesus really looks like?

WHAT IS MERCY?

If we are called to be merciful, it stands to reason that we should have a good working definition!

o Definition- “Mercy is a “Love that responds to human need in an unexpected or unmerited way. At its core, mercy is forgiveness. Mercy is compassion in action.”
You may have noticed, that within the definition of mercy, we also see the words LOVE, FORGIVENESS, & COMPASSION. And, you may also have noticed that one of the other words used in the definition of mercy was UNMERITED. And it is this word, UNMERITED, that I want you to pay special attention to, because this is really at the heart of the true meaning of mercy. And those of you who are Biblically astute, will notice, that this sounds a lot like the definition of Grace. The definition of Grace is unmerited favor. Well then, if God’s mercy is unmerited, and God’s grace is unmerited, then what is the difference between Mercy and Grace?
Well, one example that I found helpful was this. A guy breaks into your house. Young guy, addiction issues, unable to pay his bills or feed his family, etc. etc. Well, as most Alaskan’s, you’re of course heavily armed, and you catch this guy in the act. Mercy is this… that even though you’ve got this guy dead to rights, that you are not going to give him what he deserves. That even though what he deserves is jail time, if not a quick ride out of your house on a gurney or a shallow grave in the back yard. Mercy means he will not get what he deserves and his penalty is forgiven. Unmerited, undeserved forgiveness. Mercy
So what is Grace? Grace means that after you tell this guy… no, I’m not going to shoot you and I’m not going to call the police… Grace means that you then open up your wallet and you give him what cash you’ve got. It means you go to the pantry and load up some shopping bags of groceries for he and his family. It means you let him go use your shower while you open up your closets and pull out new outfits for he and his family, and while he’s getting dressed in your favorite outfit you make him a sandwich. Then you hand him your car keys and send him on his way in your new truck. God’s mercy and forgiveness is always accompanied by God’s grace! Not only does God NOT count our sin against us, but he then goes overboard and pours his blessings out upon us!
God’s mercy is ALWAYS accompanied by God’s forgiveness! And God’s forgiveness is ALWAYS accompanied by God’s Grace. Even though we deserve the worst, God forgives our debts, and pours his unmerited favor out upon us because of his great Love for us! If you want to get a clear understanding of God’s mercy and God’s grace, you have to truly understand this idea of Unmerited or undeserved!

We LOVE justice, vengeance, & retribution!
There is something inside all of us that loves seeing the bad guy get what he deserves! We love seeing the bully finally take a beat down! Don’t we?!?!? And if I’m honest… when someone has wronged me, the idea of knocking them on their rear end is pretty attractive!! And I know I’m not the only one, because this is the world’s economy! That you get what you deserve! That you reap what you sow! That’s Karma right?! We’ve got entire world religions based upon the notion that you get what you deserve in the end…
And as Jesus sat with his disciples on the mountaintop and described a true disciple… and described the Kingdom, He said that isn’t the way the Kingdom of Heaven works!!! And in fact, the very idea that you get what you deserve is directly at odds with Grace and Mercy! And the Good News of the Gospel is that you and I, who are as the Bible describes, creatures of wrath. Who are by nature sinful, broken, and flawed. Who no matter how hard we seem to try, continually miss the mark, fall away, mess up, blow it, screw up, and selfishly choose our own way. That we don’t get what we deserve, because our God is merciful!!!

A PICTURE OF MERCY...
On another occasion, it says Jesus was teaching and a lawyer came up to him to put him to the test.
o Luke 10:25-29- “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Once again, Jesus is confronted with this ingrained human idea that somehow there must be something that we can DO to deserve God’s favor! “What must I do to be saved?” That somehow there must be something we can DO to DESERVE or EARN eternal life! And so Jesus tells another parable. And he told the lawyer this story…
o Luke 10:30-35 “Jesus replied, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.”
So why did Jesus have the Samaritan as the hero of the story instead of being the guy in the ditch? I think It’s because he’s grilling home the fact that as believers, that you and I ARE the Samaritan in the story! Or at least I hope we are!
Notice how at the end of this parable, Jesus asks the lawyer a question. And this is a bit like the moral of the story. Look what Jesus asks…
o Luke 10:36-37 “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

So if we were to examine our own hearts this morning, where would we find ourselves in this story? Would we leave the guy in the ditch? Would we cross to the other side? I hope we can say that we would be a people that shows Mercy! Which is why I say we ARE the Samaritans in the story! The despised Samaritans!
We are the objects of wrath! We are the ones with enmity between us and God! We are the ones who have spit in God’s face and chosen our own way. We are the undeserving and unworthy! And it’s only those true disciples of Jesus that will ever recognize that they are the undeserving despised character in the story! Blessed are the poor in spirit. And it is only when someone recognizes their own unworthiness, that they will ever be able to stoop low enough to get down in the dirt and show mercy to those who are hurting and broken!

PRAYER AND COMMUNION:
As we head into our time of communion, I’d encourage you to examine your own hearts, and use the Beatitudes of Jesus as a tool of self-examination. And if Jesus has been drawing for us a picture of what an authentic disciple looks like, then it begs the question from each of us… Do I look like what Jesus is describing? Do I look like an authentic Disciple? I’d encourage you to use the Beatitudes as a marker to compare to your own life…

o Do I truly understand my spiritual bankruptcy that I am truly nothing without Christ, or do I still rely on myself? (Blessed are the poor in Spirit.)
o Do I truly grieve my sin or have I grown callous and complacent? (Blessed are those who mourn.)
o Am I humble and approachable like my Lord or do I still feel like somehow I have something up on those ‘other bad people’? (Blessed are the meek)
o Do I hunger and thirst after righteousness, or am I stuck in a never ending cycle of always seeking after something else that the world has to offer?
o Do I have a heart of mercy towards others because I’ve experienced God’s heart of mercy towards me? Or am I still focused on myself and oblivious to those who are hurting around me?
During this time of communion, I’d encourage you to examine your hearts. Allow the Holy Spirit to point out those areas of our lives that need work! Pray that God would point out those areas of your heart that don’t match the heart of the father! Pray for His continued mercy in your life and pray that God would teach you how to show that mercy to others!