Blessed are the Merciful

Father, we thank you, Lord, for today and all that you do. We are grateful for answers to prayer. We're grateful, Lord, that you hear us when we come to you and you long to be our merciful and faithful high priest.

We thank you, Lord, that as we gather together, we're able to understand what it is you have for us. Our prayer tonight, Lord, is that you'd open our hearts and minds to see the Christ as he truly is, and that, Lord, we would understand our responsibility to you as your children, that we might really learn to live like children of the king. We are grateful, Lord, for how it is you have been so good to us, and pray, Lord, that tonight we would understand how it is we can show mercy and goodness to others. We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.

Tonight, I wanna begin, I wanna begin with a test. I wanna give you an exam. Don't you just love exams? I had a professor in college who loved to give us exams that were not in the syllabus. In fact, he loved to watch us sweat and squirm as he would say, take out a pen and a piece of paper, and I want you to spend the next 45 minutes answering these three questions.

He was concerned that we would truly learn the material, not just memorize it for a quiz or memorize it for a specific test, but really make it a part of our lives so that we would be able to come in and take an exam, and with that exam, be able to answer whatever question that was asked us because the material that we were learning was truly a part of our lives, not something we would just memorize for a quiz or an exam or a paper.

So tonight, I wanna give you an exam, and the exam consists just of three points, that's it, and it's an exam about true religion. It's an exam about genuine religion to see whether or not you would pass the exam on whether or not your faith is genuine, whether or not your faith is really true, and so the half-brother of our Lord, James, who did not give his life to the Lord until after the resurrection, wrote an epistle, and in that epistle, he gives a series of tests .

In fact, he says this, basically, that if you truly are a believer, not only will you talk about it, you will show it, and so the title of the book of James basically is show and tell, show me the truth.

Don't just tell me the truth, show me the truth by the way you live, and James begins with these words in verse 26. He says, if anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his own tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless, worthless. In other words, if you say you are religious, if you say you are a believer, if you say you know the Lord, and yet you're unable to bridle your tongue, keep it under control, then your religion's worthless.

He says that because he knows that, as Christ said in Matthew chapter 12, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So the very first indicator and the clearest indicator of your spiritual condition are your words, your speech, how you talk. And so those with a true religion, those with a belief in the Lord Jesus, those who have given their life to Christ, they're a new creation, and part of that new creation is a new conversation.

We speak differently, we don't speak like we used to speak. Our conversation is cleaner, kinder, sweeter, simply because our heart is changed. And so out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

So whatever is in the heart is gonna exit through your lips, right? And James says that if your religion is true, you are able to control your speech, control your tongue. In fact, it was J.C. Philpot, in one of his sermons, said these words, a religion that does nothing for a man's soul is practically worthless, and a religion that never manifests itself in a man's life is as worthless as a religion that does nothing for the soul. Death is stamped upon both.

Religion, to be worth anything, must be a living religion, a religion that proceeds from a work of grace upon the heart, communicating life to the soul, and exercising an influence wheresoever it exists, and in whomsoever it resides. In other words, there is a change in a man's life. If there is no change, then the words you say are worthless words. They mean nothing, because there is a change in your speech.

So James says, I wanna give you a test. Here it is.

If you say that you are religious and you're unable to control your speech, your religion is worthless, because true religion changes from the inside out, and when the heart changes, the conversation changes. So, the Bible says in Isaiah 6, verse number 5, Isaiah, upon seeing the holiness of the Lord, said, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amidst of people with unclean lips. Isn't that interesting how Isaiah describes depravity? I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amidst of people that have unclean lips.

Not unclean lives, not immoral lives, not idolatrous lives, but unclean lips, because Isaiah knew that when you know the Lord, the heart is changed and the conversation changes. That's what James says. And then he says this, verse 27.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God, and Father is to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. So not only are you able to control your tongue, you're able to be consecrated from the world, unstained, blameless by the world, its influence, its culture, its mindset. It doesn't bring a stain and a reproach upon your life, because you have been called out of the world, you have been called unto God and his purposes, and therefore you want to keep yourself unstained and unspotted from the things of the world.

So if you have true religion, not only do you have a controlled tongue, but you have a consecrated lifestyle. And then he says, if you have true religion, you have a concern for those in need. He says, pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their distress.

Now orphans and widows are representative of people that are in need. They're not everybody that's in need, but they are representative of those who are in need. And if you have pure religion, you have a concern for those in need.

And he specifically names widows and orphans because within the realm of the church, those people had the biggest needs. And if you have a true religion, you are concerned about them in their distress, whether it be an economic distress, whether it be a relational distress, maybe it's a physical distress, whatever it may be, there's a concern for those people. So James makes it very clear at the outset, listen, this is true religion.

This is the test. You have a controlled tongue, you have a consecrated life, and you have a concern for those who are in need if you possess true religion, if you understand Christianity, if you understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. So Jesus shows up on the scene and Jesus begins to preach about the kingdom of heaven.

And as he begins to preach on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, commonly called the Sermon on the Mount, the sermon is an exam. The sermon is a test. For in the sermon is an examination of their lifestyle, their commitment to following the Lord.

And with that examination will come an invitation. And he will invite people to come and be a part of his kingdom. But he first of all gives them an examination.

In fact, he will say later in the sermon, you have heard that it was said by the ancients of old, but I say unto you, you have heard this said by your rabbis, but I wanna tell you this is what is true. He gives them an exam because you see, if you're a Jew, you're a child of Abraham. And they believe that being a child of Abraham would get you entry into eternal glory.

After all, you're a descendant of the father of their faith. And because Abraham is your father, you're descendant of his, the religious elite would cling to that. They're going to glory, they're going to heaven because they are a descendant of Abraham.

And after all, they would keep the rituals and the ceremonies of their religion, and they would keep them faithfully. And they would think that all those things would add to the fact that they were a part of a true religion. After all, they were the chosen people of God.

So Christ comes on the scene and he's gonna examine their belief in their God. Do you really believe in your God? Are you really a follower of your God? You see, because in Isaiah 29, he says, this is the people that honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Later in Matthew chapter 15, Christ would quote from Isaiah those exact words.

Because you see, Israel, they would give all the rhetoric about God to those around them. And they would try to convince others that they were followers of God, but their hearts were far from the Lord. Jesus knows that.

So he shows up and begins to preach. And so his sermon in reality is an examination of where they stand with their God. And he gives them an exam because he wants them to understand this is entrance into the kingdom.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they and they only shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they're gonna inherit the earth.

And blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they are the only ones who are satisfied. So Jesus says simply this. Here's the exam.

Do you realize your poverty? Have you repented from your iniquity? Have you responded in humility? And do you remember your insufficiency? Because unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew five, verse number 20, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. But you must hunger and thirst for true righteousness, God's righteousness. But you see, they thought they were righteous in and of themselves.

So from the very outset of the sermon, Christ gives this examination to get them to look inwardly, not outwardly, not at all the external trappings of their religious system, but look at their hearts. Are you broken in spirit? Are you devastated with the fact that you have nothing to give to God?

I'm not talking about the fact that you are a child of Abraham. I'm not talking about the fact that you've been chosen by God as God's chosen people, and they were.

But they were chosen nationally, not necessarily salvifically. In other words, they were chosen as a nation to be God's representative to a pagan world. But they could not do all the things that God required.

He just wanted them to cry out to him for mercy and return from their sin and follow him. But in their pride and in their arrogance, they would not do that. Oh, they would honor with their lips.

They would give lip service to the Lord God of Israel, a lot like people in the church do today. They give a lot of lip service to being a follower of Jesus, right? But their heart is far, far from being committed to the Lord Jesus. We're good at playing the game, like the Pharisees were good at playing the game, the religious game.

We can get people to think that we're religious. We can get people to get us, or look at us and believe that we are religious just because of the things we do and the places we go. But is our heart truly committed? So he says, listen, those in my kingdom, they're broken in spirit.

And they're so broken, they mourn over their sin. But they receive comfort because they truly repent. There's more than remorse.

There's more than regret. There's true repentance over their sin. And they come humbly before God, and they're meek before him.

And they hunger desperately for God's righteousness. They thirst for a relationship with the living God. And then he says, blessed are the merciful, for they, and they only, shall receive the kingdom of heaven.

They receive mercy. There is something about their reaction to all that's happened on the inside. Those who are broken in spirit, those who mourn over their sin, those who humbly bow before God, and hunger and thirst for righteousness, have received God's mercy.

And therefore, they show God's mercy. So let's define for you, as we have in the previous weeks, define for you, as the outline says, the condition of merciful. And then we will describe the consequences, detail the characteristics, and then determine our course.

Same four points, every week, as we go through the Beatitudes. Let's define the condition of what it means to be merciful. Blessed are those who are merciful.

What does that mean? We'll look at it specifically, and then we're going to look at it comparatively. First of all, specifically. Blessed are the merciful.

That adjective is used only one of the time in the New Testament. That's Hebrews 2, verse number 17, which says that Jesus Christ is our merciful and faithful high priest. Now, the verb is used many times, but the adjective's only used twice, here and in Hebrews chapter two.

But we know that God is merciful. The Bible is replete with that. In fact, the Bible says in the book of Micah, the 7th chapter, that God delights in mercy.

That's just a great statement. God delights in mercy. Mercy is simply this.

I love this definition. It's not mine. I stole it from somebody else.

It says, mercy is God's tender compassion toward us in our distress that causes him to act on our behalf and rescue us from our suffering at the time and in the manner that he knows best. In other words, mercy is compassion in action. Mercy goes beyond seeing the need.

Mercy goes beyond feeling the need. Mercy goes beyond being sympathetic with those in need to actually doing something for those who are in need. That's mercy.

And our God is a merciful and faithful high priest. In fact, he's called the father of mercies or the originator or the author of mercies. Remember, mercy is who God is.

It says that in first Kings chapter three, his mercy is great. Psalm 86, his mercy is plentiful. Luke one, his mercy is tender.

First Peter 1, his mercy is abundant. Psalm 103, his mercy is everlasting. And so the Bible says in Psalm 103 verse number 8, the Lord is merciful.

Psalm 116, verse number 5, our God is merciful. Psalm 119:64, the earth is full of his mercy. Psalm 145, verse number 8, the Lord is great in mercy.

So when our Lord came, we read it earlier in chapter 4 of Matthew, he healed everybody. He didn't heal anybody conditionally. He healed everybody voluntarily because he's a merciful God.

So he gave sight to the blind. He gave those who could not walk the opportunity to walk by healing them. He would take care of those who were crippled.

He would even raise the dead. Talk about mercy. He's full of mercy.

He would see the need, he'd meet the need. He didn't see the need and walk by the need. In Jericho, on his way to the Passover, on the way to be crucified, two blind men cried out to him.

And he's being followed by hundreds of, and thousands of people. They're on their way to the Passover feast. And so amidst all the people that are walking with him, amidst all the conversation that's happening, two men cry out, son of David, have mercy on us.

He would not pass them by. He'd restore sight to those who were blind. Why, because our God is a merciful God.

He would see the need, he would meet the need. He had compassion on those who were crippled or blind or in some kind of physical need. But his greatest compassion was on people's spiritual needs.

That's why he preaches the gospel. That's why he teaches the truth. That's why he gives the exam as he does in Matthew chapter five, six and seven.

He's concerned about Israel's spiritual condition. He's concerned about the fact that their hearts are far from him. So he wants them to examine themselves, examine the inner man to see whether or not they truly are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So Christ begins and says, the people in my kingdom, children of the king, they're not takers, they're givers. They give to those in need. They see the need, they meet the need, they can't wait to help those who cannot help themselves.

But let's look at it comparatively. I think it's good to compare mercy with other virtues. So follow this through with me.

Mercy is equated with truth. Mercy is equated with truth. The Bible says, these words in Proverbs chapter 3, do not let mercy and truth leave you.

Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart so you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man. Mercy is equated with truth. Listen to Psalm 36, verse number 5.

Your mercy, O Lord, extends to the heavens. Your truth reaches to the skies. So he combines mercy and truth together.

Then the Bible says these words, Hosea 4, verse number 1. Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land because there is no truth or kindness or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. He says there is no truth, there is no mercy.

Why? Because there is no knowledge of God in the land. Remember Jeremiah chapter 9? Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom or the rich man boast in his riches or the mighty man boast in his might. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands me. He knows me, that I am the God who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness. For in these things I delight.

So if you know God, you know truth. If you know God, you know mercy. But because my people do not act in truth and because my people do not show mercy, it's simply because they do not know me. If you say you know God, if you say you believe in God, two things are equated in your life, mercy and truth.

They go hand in hand together. They both reach to the heavens. They both reach to the sky.

Why? Because God holds them in high esteem. He is the God who exercises those things that if you know him, you know mercy and you know truth. So mercy is equated with truth.

Note this, mercy exceeds forgiveness. Mercy exceeds forgiveness. When you forgive, you show mercy. But there are many ways to show mercy when forgiveness is not at stake because mercy exceeds forgiveness.

The Bible says in Titus 3, verse number 5, according to his mercy, he saves. He saves us. We are forgiven according to his mercy. The Bible says in Ephesians two, verse four, God who is rich in mercy made us alive. So because of his mercy, he saves us.

Because of his mercy, he makes us alive. Listen to Psalm 130, verse number 7. Oh Israel, hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is loving kindness, there is mercy, and with him is abundant redemption.

Oh Israel, listen. With the Lord there is mercy. There is an abundance of mercy. And from that mercy comes redemption. So mercy exceeds forgiveness, but mercy is equated with truth.

The Bible says in Lamentations 3:22, it is because of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. Psalm 119:64, the earth, oh Lord, is full of thy mercy.

Mercy is bigger than forgiveness because God is merciful to us even when we don't sin. So mercy exceeds forgiveness. Forgiveness, mercy is equated with truth.

Number three, mercy emanates from love. Mercy emanates from love, Ephesians 2:4. God is rich in mercy, why? Because of his great love with which he loved us. See, love is all-encompassing.

So mercy flows from the love of God. Mercy exceeds forgiveness, but mercy emanates from the love of God. God is rich in mercy because of his great love toward us.

Mercy is the physician, love is the friend. The friend is always there, but you don't need a physician unless you're sick, right? So mercy's the physician, but love is the friend. Mercy is reserved for times of trouble, but love is always constant even when there is no trouble.

Mercy presupposes a problem, but love always acts even if there is no problem because love is all-encompassing. The father loves the son, the son loves the father, but they don't need mercy, why? Because mercy emanates from love. Mercy exceeds forgiveness, but mercy is equated with truth.

See, it's good to look at it comparatively as you look at scripture, to understand the terms that are involved. How about this one? Mercy escorts grace. Mercy escorts grace.

How many times did Paul open one of his letters and talk about grace and mercy, mercy and grace, why? Because mercy escorts grace. God, in his grace, gives me what I do not deserve, heaven. God, in his mercy, does not give me what I do deserve, hell.

That's why mercy escorts grace. Mercy eliminates the pain, grace grants a better condition. Mercy deals with the consequences of sin, grace deals with the sin itself.

Mercy pities, grace pardons. Mercy deals with the negative, grace deals with the positive. In other words, mercy relieves pain and suffering and grace grants a better condition.

Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? That's just a great illustration of mercy. Remember, it says in verse 25 in Luke chapter 10, and a lawyer stood up and put him to the test. I always think it's interesting when someone thinks they can put God to the test.

But this lawyer thinks that he could put the Lord Jesus to a test. So he says, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He's a Jew. Jews believe in a works-based religion that somehow I can earn my way to heaven.

And so there must be something I can do to get there. If you could just tell me what it is I need to do to inherit eternal life, I will do it. And Jesus said to him, what is written in the law? How does it read to you? The Jews would carry these phylacteries around their wrists and around their waist.

They were little leather boxes that would include Deuteronomy 6, Deuteronomy chapter 11, and they would talk about the law of God and they would memorize them. And they would always keep them there as if to always be reminded that they're to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

So Jesus says to him, well, you know the law, it's on your wrist. You know the law, it's tied around your waist. What does the law say? And so the man says, well, 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. Well, sounds good.

And Jesus said to him, you have answered correctly. Do this and you will live. What? Yeah, do this perfectly without exception, never failing, and you'll have eternal life.

But nobody can do that. It's impossible. Only the sinless King, the sinless Christ, can keep the whole law.

But a sinful man cannot begin to keep the law. So Jesus says, do it perfectly, you'll have life. So the man says, wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, who is my neighbor? In other words, instead of falling down on his face and begging for mercy, I can't do that.

He really wants to justify himself. He wants to be able to have the right answer. So he asked the question, who's my neighbor? If my neighbor is my best friend, I can do that. If my neighbor is my family, I can do that. If my neighbor is somebody close to me, I can love them. I can do that.

So tell me, who is my neighbor? So Jesus says, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among some robbers. And they stripped him and beat him and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road.

Now, stop right there. This is a real road in Israel between Jericho and Jerusalem. It's called the bloody way.

It's a very small way, but it was the fastest way between Jericho and Jerusalem. And so people would travel this road and there would always be robbers that were there. So he's telling this story that they would all be familiar with.

And so he says, by chance a priest was going down on that road and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side, very indifferent. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Not just indifferent, but ignored him altogether.

Saw the man, saw the need, might've felt pity for the man. Might've said, ooh, man, that's a deep cut. Ooh, wow, that blood, man, that's pretty bad.

The bruise, whoa, that's a huge bruise, but walked on by. But, remember the but-ologies of scripture? They are the biggest buts known to man. But, transition, but a Samaritan, a Samaritan.

A half-breed, not a priest, not a Levite, not a religious person, but a half-breed. A Jew who had married someone from Assyria and the Jews despised the Samaritans. But a Samaritan who was on a journey, came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.

And he put him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, take care of him. Whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.

He sees the need, he meets the need. He sees a man in pain and grants him a better situation, a better condition. Verse 36, which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robber's hands? And he said, the one who showed mercy toward him.

Now, what he didn't say is important. He didn't say the Samaritan showed mercy. He said, the one who showed mercy. He hated the Samaritan so much that he wouldn't even mention the name. He just said, the one who showed mercy. Then Jesus said to him, go and do the same.

So the question, who is my neighbor, has this answer. Anybody who is in need is your neighbor. That's the answer.

Anybody who has a need, whether it be a physical need, whether it be a material need, whether it be a spiritual need, whether it be a financial need, if somebody has a need, that is your neighbor. And if you love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, and your neighbor as yourself, you will demonstrate that by seeing the need and then meeting that need. That is mercy.

That's what mercy means. Compassion in action. Seeing the need of someone less fortunate than you and then making sure that that need for that man is met.

Here is a Samaritan who bandaged his wounds, who put him on the backside of his animal, took him to an inn, paid for him to stay there, gave the innkeeper even more money to keep him there, and said, if it costs more than this, on my return, I will give to you what I owe you. That's compassion. That's mercy.

And Jesus says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. And you read that, you think, wait a minute, does that mean that if I do the right thing, that God will be merciful to me? If I show mercy to someone, that means I'm gonna earn God's mercy back? No, that's not what it means. It means simply this, that if the first four beatitudes are true about you, that you're broken in spirit and mourn over your sin and turn from your sin and humbly bow before God in hunger and thirst for righteousness and cry out to him, the byproduct of that life is one that knows a God who is merciful and therefore, because you know the God who is mercy, you now bestow mercy on others because you have been the recipient of his mercy.

Which leads us to point number two. The next two will go a little quicker. Describing the consequences, mercy received and mercilessness rebuked.

You receive mercy. Proverbs 14:21 says, he that hath mercy on the poor, blessed is he. Blessed is he.

Remember, Romans chapter one tells us that the characteristic of the unbeliever is that they are unmerciful. Not merciful. They see a need, but they're not willing to meet that need.

They're not willing to help the person who has a need. They might feel for the person. They might even understand the pain of the person, right? They might have pity and sympathy and empathy for the person.

But to meet the need of that person? Well, that's reserved for those who truly know the God who is merciful. But mercilessness is rebuked, James 2:13, for judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy. Why is that? Because those who show no mercy have not received mercy.

But those who have received God's mercy can't wait to demonstrate that mercy to those who are in need. Remember the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25? When the Son of Man returns, he will take the sheep, put them on the right, take the goats, put them on his left, and say to the sheep, when I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.

When I was in prison, you visited me. When I was naked, you clothed me. And they will say, time out.

When did we see you hungry? When did we see you thirsty? Prison? Naked? When? And Christ says, when you did it to the least of these my brethren, in the context, it's the Jewish people, Israel, you did it as unto me. You see, when you're a child of God, when you're a child of the King, right? You have the DNA of the King. You are a partaker of the divine nature of the King.

He is merciful. So you, by nature now, demonstrate that mercy to others. So much so that you do it automatically.

You don't even know you're doing it. That's why they said, when did we see you naked, hungry, thirsty, in prison? Ah, you did it to the least of these my brethren. And then he puts the goats on his left and says to them, when I was thirsty, no drink. Prison, no visitation. Naked, no clothes. Hungry, no food.

And what did they say? When did we see you hungry? Naked? In prison. Ah, when you didn't do it to the least of these my brethren, you didn't do it unto me. Depart from me, ye cursed ones.

See that? The unbeliever, it's not part of his DNA. The unbeliever doesn't have this inkling in his heart to put compassion into action, but the believer doesn't. He does it in such a way that he doesn't even know he's doing it because he doesn't have to think it up.

He's not sitting in his house thinking, okay, can I be merciful to somebody today? Who can I be merciful to today? Who can I go visit today and show them mercy? No, no, believers don't do it that way. It's just a natural byproduct of their life. And that's why it's so important to understand that those who are merciful are blessed because they are the ones who have received mercy.

And that mercy continues on into eternity. That's why Paul said to Onesiphorus, in 2 Timothy chapter 1, may the Lord grant him mercy until that day, the day of the Lord's return. May God continually grant him mercy even into eternity because of the great love he had for me, the apostle Paul.

Detailing the characteristics, two, physically and spiritually. Physically, pretty simple. You see the need, you meet the need.

There's a need that's there, you wanna reach out and meet that need, right? I love what the Bible says in 1 John chapter 3, verse number 16. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us and we had to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Why? Because mercy equates with truth. Mercy emanates from love. And therefore, if you say you love God and you love the brethren, if you see the need, you're not gonna just speak about the need in word and in tongue, but in deed and truth, meet that need.

Because that's what children of God do. There's a physical need, but there's also a spiritual need, right? Because, listen, spiritually, mercy is seen when you pray for those who do not know the Lord. Mercy is seen when you preach the gospel to those who do not know the Lord.

In fact, that is the most merciful you can be, is to preach the gospel to those who have yet to be recipients of the mercy of God. So you show them that because of his great mercy, they can be made alive again by the spirit of the living God. And therefore, spiritually, you can meet the need, not just physically.

You can give them water. You can give them food. You can put clothes on their back.

But if you don't preach the gospel to them, if you don't share the truth with them, if you don't help them understand the motive behind everything is the gospel of truth, that they might receive the gospel because they could be naked again. They could be hungry again. They could be thirsty again.

But if they know the Lord, then their soul is right before him. And therefore, you have shown them the mercy of the living God. Lastly, determining my course.

Number one, experience mercy. Have you experienced the mercy of God? The Bible says over in 2 Peter, or 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse number 3, those great and glorious words, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Have you experienced that? Have you experienced the fact that God is a merciful and faithful high priest? He is the only one who can sympathize with your weaknesses.

A common priest cannot. And that's why Christ in the book of Hebrews was shown as a better priesthood because they could not sympathize with your situation, but the merciful and faithful high priest, he can. Have you experienced the mercy of the living God?

The Bible says these words in Psalm 86, verse number 3. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto you daily. Remember the psalmist, Psalm 23? Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Remember the hymn at Calvary? Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary. Have you experienced the mercy of God?

And then number two, do you extend the mercy of God? How do you know you've experienced it? You extend it, you demonstrate to others.

The Bible says in Micah chapter 6, verse number 8. He has shown you, O man, 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.

Do you extend that? Luke 6, verse number 36. Be therefore merciful even as your Father in heaven is merciful. Romans 12, verse number 8, says we are to show mercy, are you ready? With cheerfulness.

Show mercy with cheerfulness. You don't go out and say, wow, there's a homeless guy, I guess I gotta give him some money or buy him a meal because the pastor's talking about mercy tonight. No, it's not that.

You do it with cheerfulness, great joy. Why? Because you're extending God's mercy to others by showing them mercy in their point of need. The Bible says, Hosea six, verse number six, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

An acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings. That is, if you know God, you will be merciful. So you extend mercy.

Listen to what Jude says. Jude says it this way, verse number 21. Keep yourself in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.

And have mercy on some who are doubting. Save others, snatching them out of the fire. And on some, have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Have mercy on the doubting. Have mercy on the defiled. Have mercy on those who are destined for hell.

Extend mercy to them. And then exemplify mercy. Having experienced it, you extend it.

Having extended it, you exemplify it. Psalm 37, verse number 21, the wicked borroweth and payeth not again, but the righteous showeth mercy and gives. James chapter 3, verse number 17.

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, and full of mercy. Wow, not the wisdom of the world, but the wisdom from above. The wisdom that God gives, right? It is full of mercy.

In other words, you overflow with mercy. It's easily exemplified in your life because of the mercy of God shown your way. The Bible says in Ephesians 3:19, Paul's prayer was that they would be filled with the fullness of God.

And God is a God of mercy. And therefore, you'd be filled with his mercy. Experience it.

If you've experienced it, you'll extend it. If you extend it, you'll exemplify it. If you exemplify it, you'll exclaim it.

Psalm 59:16, I will sing aloud of thy mercy. Psalm 89, verse number 1, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord. Listen to Psalm 108, verse number 1.

My heart is steadfast, O God. I will sing, I will sing praises even with my soul. Awake, harp and lyre.

I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples. And I will sing praises to you among the nations.

Why? For your mercy is great above the heavens and your truth reaches to the skies. Remember Psalm 117? Says these words. Praise the Lord, all nations.

Laud him, all peoples. Why? For his mercy is great toward us and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Those who have experienced the mercy of God can't wait to extend the mercy of God.

So much so that they exemplify that mercy and then exclaim that mercy with loudest praise because of what God has done for you. Blessed are the merciful for they and they only shall receive mercy. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight, the opportunity to be challenged once again with the truth of your word. Our prayer is that, Lord, we would live in light of your word, honoring you day by day. May our lives demonstrate the fact that the mercy of God has been shown to us and therefore, because of your great mercy, we want others to know how merciful our God is, that they might experience what we've experienced through the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.