Have Mercy

Upside Down

Have Mercy

Matthew 5:7

“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” Abraham Lincoln

What Is Mercy?

• It is not just Softness
• It is not merely Sentiment
• It is Compassion In Action

Illustration: The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)

1. Mercy sees The Need
2. Mercy feels Compassion
3. Mercy responds in Practical Action
4. Mercy overcomes Differences

What Is The Basis of Mercy?

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22–23, ESV)

“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,” (Ephesians 2:4–6, ESV)

Because we have experienced this mercy from God we in our turn are to show mercy To Others.

“For what Jesus actually was saying was that we are to show mercy because we have received mercy and are confident that we will continue to receive it. Conversely, if we do not show mercy to others, we show that we either understand little of that mercy by which we have been saved or else have never actually received it.” James Boice

Two Areas Of God’s Mercy Toward Us:

• Common Mercy

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24–25, ESV)

• Saving Mercy

“though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:13–14, ESV)

How Can We Demonstrate Mercy?

1. Meet Needs in compassion

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:13–17, ESV)

2. Forgive as you have been forgiven (Matthew 18:21-34: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant)

“Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’” (Matthew 18:32–33, ESV)

3. Giving of our resources

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:16–17, ESV)

4. Sharing the Gospel

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9–10, ESV)

5. Praying for others

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

“move among men as copies of God.”  Alexander Maclaren

Lord Make Me an Instrument (Francis of Assisi)

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me show love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not
So much seek to be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying
That we are born to eternal life.

Making It Personal:

• Have you personally experienced the mercy and grace that only comes through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ?
• What can you do to more regularly reflect on and rely on the mercy of God toward you?
• Who in your life needs you to be an expression of God’s mercy in their life? How will you do it?
• Who can you share these truths with?

Ready to take your Next Step?

• Text Next to 803-637-8484
• Go to FBCFM.COM and click “Next Steps”