The Beatitudes – Part 6

When we ARE this:	It allows us to BE this:
Poor in spirit and realize our utter helplessness and reach to God as a spiritual beggar in need of rescuing then we can be…	Merciful. We can show mercy to those around us know matter what status they have in life, no matter what their past, no matter how different they are from us. We all start out in the same place with the same need with the same hopelessness.
Mourning over our sin beginning to understand the destruction it causes, our potential to indulge in it, and learning more and more how much it grieves God allows us to continue to grow….	Pure in Heart. Lesson 7
Meek and gentle learning to live in supreme confidence under supreme Holy Spirit control forsaking the need to pursue our “rights”, get what’s “fair” and defending our self against every perceived offense; we are now ready to be…	Peacemakers. Lesson 8
Hungry and thirsty for righteousness cultivating an ever increasing and single-minded hunger to server God and know Him better which gives us a foundation to endure being…	Persecuted. Lesson 9

Being merciful is the direct result of understanding our original condition, and realizing that we were no better off than any other person, nor any more deserving of being rescued by God.

When we strive to understand “poor in spirit”, it changes how we view other people. Instead of looking at someone as lazy, immoral, dirty, hopeless, unredeemable and not worth the effort; we now see them as a person who needs God, and needs the same rescuing God graciously granted us.

We all start out in the same condition. See people according to what
God can make of them, not what they are.

Modern America sees mercy as weakness. We are encouraged to:

· Be aggressive and unrelenting

· Be cut throat and look out for our self

· Pursue OUR rights, what’s mine, what’s fair, what I deserve

· Tough luck, too bad, should have thought of that, better luck next time

At the time Jesus spoke these words, mercy was unknown in general society. The Romans were politically unmerciful, and the ruling religious Jews were merciless in their hypocrisy.

Mercy must spring from a genuine internal change in our heart. We realize God saved us from our hopeless, pitiful state and He can do the same for ANY other person. As every Beatitude loudly proclaims, God is not interested in superficial external spiritual appearance or activity.

Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.

God wants our righteousness to flow out of our changed life, our recognition of God as our only hope.

Our motivation cannot be that we will be merciful because we will receive mercy in return for showing it (on a human level). Most likely it will be taken for granted, abused and unappreciated. The type of mercy God wants us to show to others is a direct result of our appreciation that God Himself has already bestowed on us the greatest mercy possible.

The merciful are characterized by a caring attitude towards those who are in physical and spiritual misery. They take the heartaches of others to heart.

Greek: eleemon { el-eh-ay’-mone} (merciful)

Mercy: eleeo { el-eh-eh’-o}

1) to have mercy on

2) to help one afflicted or seeking aid

3) to help the afflicted, to bring help to the wretched

4) to experience mercy

The result of being merciful, is to gain God’s mercy.

True mercy is genuine, compassionate, selfless giving of yourself to the needs of others. It seeks no reward, no recognition, no pay back. It is God’s love in action towards others in need.

• Psalms 6:2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak

  God shows mercy on us in our weakness, we should have the same compassion when others display weakness.

• Psalms 25:7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

  God mercifully forgets our sins, we owe the same mercy to our fellow man.

• Psalm 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

  The unmerciful will reap what they sow.

• Proverbs 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

  Have mercy, be happy. Simple enough.

• Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

  God showed mercy on us when we were dead, hopeless, destitute, wallowing in our sin; he can do the same for any other person and we are to see that potential in every person.

• Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

• James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

  God grants mercy to the merciful.

• Psalm 18:25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless

• Luke 6:36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

  We are to show mercy simply because we are imitating God when we do it.

• Luke 18:13b ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

  Then let me show the same mercy to every other sinner for if God shows me mercy as sinner, who am I to deny to another in the same circumstance?

• Matthew 18:23-35 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

  “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.

  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

  “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

  The lesson is clear. God shows us mercy. We are to show mercy. To fail to do so puts you in danger of God’s wrath. God forgave our debt (because Christ paid for it) and it is the height of ungratefulness to be unmerciful to another who is in need of the same mercy and forgiveness.

What are practical ways of showing mercy?

Tangibly in our everyday lives

• Give to the poor, help the needy
• Forgive and have compassion on those who mistreat us
• Never retaliate or seek revenge
• Avoid gossip or satisfaction in others failures

In our spiritual lives

• Pray for others, especially those we dislike or who mistreat us
• Witness to anyone and everyone despite our impression of the potential
• Love and care for those who are unkind to us or misuse us
• Preaching, teaching, praying and encouraging of all

Lesson 6 Notes – Blessed Are Those Who Practice Mercy

When we ARE this:	It allows us to BE this:
Poor in spirit	Merciful.
Mourning over our sin	Pure in Heart.
Meek and gentle	Peacemakers.
Hungry and thirsty	Persecuted.

We all start out in the same ____________________________.

See people according to what God _________________________________,

not _________________________________________.

Modern America sees mercy as weakness. We are encouraged to:

Greek: eleemon { el-eh-ay’-mone} (merciful)

The result of being merciful, is to .

· Psalms 6:2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak

· Psalms 25:7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

· Psalm 32:10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

· Proverbs 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

· Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)

· Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

· James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

· Psalm 18:25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless

· Luke 6:36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

· Luke 18:13b ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

What are practical ways of showing mercy?

Lesson 6 – Group Discussion, Private Contemplation & Application

Group Discussion:

1. Do you ever see someone and think they are worthless, not worth your time, effort or energy? Can you just “tell” they are passed the point of being used by God?

2. What is your attitude and treatment of those who mistreat you? Are you merciful to ALL, or do you pick and choose?

Private Contemplation:

1. In the private thoughts of your own heart, are you merciful? Do you find yourself characterizing others as stupid, worthless, hopeless? Do you position yourself personally or in business against others with the attitude of “too bad”, “tough luck”, “oh well”, “should have thought of that”…. In other words, are you merciful, or do you look at for yourself?

2. Identify the person(s) who mistreat you, persecute you, treat you unfairly, misuse you, lie about you and generally enjoy making your life miserable. Are you merciful to them?

Life Application Suggestions:

1. If you do not have a time of regular prayer, commit to spending the first ten minutes of each day this week asking God to instill mercy in you and to instill in you the true meaning of it.

2. Besides your spouse, choose one other person in this group and pray each day that God will make these truths REAL in that person’s life.

3. Read Matthew 5:1-12 one time each day this week and spend 5 minutes contemplating and meditating on the words. Ask God to reveal the truth of the words to your heart and mind..