Mercy, Mercy! — Don McClure

The Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes

Matthew chapter 5. And as we continue on in the Sermon of the Mount this evening and of course while you're turning to it but Jesus said or it tells us there in Matthew 5 that and seeing the multitude again this is Jesus there seeing the multitudes he went up onto a mountain and when he was set his disciples came unto him and he opened his mouth and he taught them saying.

And then he gave us of course the sermon. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted blesser of the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

Blesser are they was to hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure and heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they should be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you and men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely.

For my sake rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Father we thank you for your word tonight. We thank you Lord for your desire to take it and to write it literally on the tablets of our heart.

Lord we ask that we wouldn't just know it we wouldn't just even understand it. But Lord that it would be a powerful way that you would draw us closer to you give us a greater and deeper relationship with you.

And father that through these things as we discover what they mean to us may they strengthen our life and our walk our union our communion with you. Father we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Well of course so far we've been looking at these Beatitudes as they're called one by one.

So we've just been going to verse at a time but I promise you we will speed it up once we get through these. But the Beatitudes are fundamental to all human behavior. Jesus is going to go on in the Sermon on the Mount he's going to speak of so many things basically all other relationships in life.

I suppose there's hardly a topic of all of life in human behavior a human relationship and human thought in in life that isn't addressed somewhere in the Sermon on the Mount. It's most unbelievable message and it's actually it's only about a 17-minute sermon and takes the whole Bible understand it.

But it's something there what a standalone powerful message. It is the greatest as opposed in all of history safe to say that I believe. But it's something there that that the whole foundation of it though is built upon the Beatitudes the capacity to be able to enter in and strengthen all those relationships all those thought all this behavior all of the external things that he's going to discuss with us in the Sermon on the Mount are basically founded or predicated upon a comprehension and are entering into a personal experience of these Beatitudes.

And and the so they're so important for that reason they're also important for the very reason that it just says each stage one of the Beatitudes oh how happy there the Lord is looking to say this is the key to the happiness that every human soul is looking for.

The Beatitudes and True Happiness

What drives a person every day what it is so often when somebody is going about all of the pursuits of life that so many times or if I do this or I get this or I buy this or I do you know find this or I go there or I'm with so and so then maybe I'll be happy.

But happiness as far as God's concerned it isn't. It's much deeper than anything superficial. It's an abiding joy. It's a rich joy it's a true joy. And it's a joy I suppose as we said before the world knows little of it or probably nothing of it.

You worldly joys their human joys their creature joys their soup their superficial joys their circumstantial joys their joys that can be taken away. And but the joy there that Jesus here is talking about it it requires nothing external this this is an internal joy.

This is an internal joy that is built through a deep profound relationship with God. And these are the building blocks of understanding for that relationship. And so this is the great joy that the Lord has revealed to us.

And here as he tells us the first three as you recall blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they who mourn. And blessed are the meek. And here we have essentially there's somebody is so wonderful when you look at this because the Beatitudes are such a wonderful thing because of the fact it's it's it's it's where the absolute truth about man and the truth about God meet where man and God are absolutely open and honest and true with each other.

And man there well he's got to do. To really be happy is come to the place to do one of the hardest tasks I suppose there is in all of life and that is to be honest with himself and honest with God about himself.

And if a man will do that he'll have to you he'll always end up poor in spirit. It'll always end up somebody there that something's gone wrong. Sin has gotten into my heart in my life and it is devastated me it is it is dealt a fatal blow to me.

It's absolutely destroyed me so much. So is there's no hope left utterly spiritually bankrupt poverty-stricken. Jesus said that man's gonna be a happy man if he can be honest with step one with the fundamental truth.

It's not a hard thing to do and to to get there only based upon the difficulty of being honest with yourself coming to that place that we fight all of our life saying I'm better than this I'm really good I've got a potential I've got all sorts of things in my life yet undiscovered and give me another shot and I'll make it.

But finally when somebody finally tires and says no I'm a sinner and I've failed and to the degree that they even mourn about it that something happens within them where they grieve over it. God what happened.

What is it that has occurred. And there's a deep sorrow as the sorrow of a death. That's what the word means there to mourn to mourn at the death. But the death that we're mourning is our own and that will produce a meekness not somebody coming before God shaking his fits.

God you owe me I got this coming. You know you look at the world and all the cheap little shots it makes it God. And that is if they're never going to be answered. You know where the world wants to turn say well how could a God of love.

How could if God's really outcome all of these things. Look at the wars and look at the trials and look at these things where in the world is a God. They had the arrogance to shake their fists and demand of God and put him down and to take shots at him.

There's a man that he knows nothing about himself. But when a man sits there and he's honest about himself instead of being before God and shaking his fist he'll find himself there a meek before God humble before God worthy of nothing.

Like the publican in the synagogue who came in and he couldn't even so much as look up under heaven but he smote himself on his breast and says God be merciful unto me a sinner Jesus that I tell you that man had his prayer heard.

And here Jesus says that your person is going to be happy when they're poor in spirit there's a they mourn over and it produces a meekness and those things absolutely drain a human being. They take us down to nothing.

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

But then that's what opens up this tremendous hunger this tremendous thirst. And it's a thirst to be right. It's a thirst for the first time in my life not just some other pursuit that I've run after before and before and before.

But now God I am hungry and thirsty to be right with God to be right with my created identity right with the Spirit of God right with all that you want to be all right with the Lordship of Christ. That's what I'm hungry and thirsty for.

And Jesus said that man is going to be filled and he's going to know a joy that few can only dream of. He's gonna enter into a joy that's not only you know one that's now and in real it's eternal. It's one that's a going on to come into a greater fullness one day and in a full satisfaction one day when as David says I'll be satisfied when I awaken my likeness that person's realized that one day God is going to awaken him in heaven and he's going to be in the very likeness the very image of God.

He's going to be conformed back into that man that he once was in Fay and fell out of in sin. But God through his love and his mercy is going to give it all back to him. And now here Jesus goes on and he says now what when the first attribute that he mentions about a person who has been filled there as he says the blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.

Mercy as the Character of God

And then he turns and he says now blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. And here's one of these amazing things is a you know in a sense that when you look at it you know of another wonderful key to happiness truly happy person.

You know when you stop to think for a moment how infinitely merciful God has been to us. You may wonder why has God been merciful to us. And that's a good question. I suppose we got the rest of eternity to try to figure that one out.

And but it's one there that all we know is that somehow another God has loved us. He's given himself for us and he has given us his grace. Unmerited favor is what the word grace of course means. God has just chosen to favor us.

We didn't merit it. We had no right to it. But God has favored us with forgiveness of sins he is for he has favored us with the promise to come and to fill our hearts in our lives. He has favored us that to ever live to make intercession for us.

He is favored us by presenting us faultless before God day and night constantly without wavering. And he has favored us to care for our every need knowing our thoughts and our needs even before we do but caring for us.

And there is his amazing favor one day to come back for us. His favor to take us to heaven conform us to his image and share his home with us forever and ever. But somebody may ask well why would God favor me this way.

Being a sinner being somebody there that walked out on God that rebelled against God there that sinned against God there that you may think you've never murdered. You know a lot of people say I've never murdered anybody.

I'm not a bad person. Well you killed yourself. That's one you know. And the and as far as God's concerned I mean the wages in his death. And we sin. And we murdered God's child conformed to create in his image.

We murdered ourselves. May say I never committed adultery. The Old Testament. The Lord spoke to Hosea and he says go take the wife of harlotry and children of harlotry for the land have committed great harlotry departing from the Lord.

God looked at the children of Israel whose hearts were created to love him. We were created to love the Lord our God with all of our heart mind soul and strength. And then we went off and we loved others.

We love the world we love ourselves we love praise pleasures anything else but him. And God looks at that as spiritual adultery. Our affections our heart given to another. In there we may say I've never you know stolen anything.

We stole our own life from heaven. We murdered our own life we adulterized our own heart. We're all guilty of the grossest of sins that we would ever look at any human being that's maybe done it down here on the you know the this side of heaven running around on the planet we see other people that have done those things to other people.

How much more should the child of God not. Look there and be honest they wait a minute everything even though one person may have done it to another person I've done it against God. I'm guilty of all of these things.

And there when they realized that God came to them and he and he forgave me. And then he extended his grace to me. He offered himself to me. You may send me. And then we have to ask why why did he do it.

The Old Testament Witness to God's Mercy

Which I suppose brings up the one of the deepest if not the deepest attribute is perhaps of God. And that is because God himself is merciful is merciful. Psalm 37 26 as he is ever merciful and his seed is blessed.

Psalm 78 38 says. But he being full of compassion. Or maybe in your version it says merciful means the same thing he forgave their iniquity destroyed them. Not. Yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up his wrath.

Here it tells us that God would stop there to forgive iniquity. I'm so grateful that God didn't just forgive sins. Sins I'm sure you know it's just to miss the mark. It's a it's sins is a word for a good guy that tried hard and still miss the mark he was trying to do well he just the poor fellow just because he's spiritually dead.

He can't do anything but just do dead stuff anyway. And so he misses. He can't hit it. And so we're all sinners. And we all miss the mark even if we try. But then there's something worse than sin. That's trespass.

Which trespasses are just like you would think the word. You know you're walking down the road. You want to go someplace you see a shortcut there's a sign there's no trespassing. But you look at it as a shortcut and I'm going to make it quicker I'm going to go that way.

And so we trespass. There's not somebody who is trying to do good and missed it. Now there's somebody who just deliberately came across an option and an opportunity to do some a different way there would expedite his journey and so he trespassed.

It was a conscious deliberate thing to actually go wrong. But then there's even worse than trespass and that's iniquity. That's a pre-planned that's a thoroughly motivated you know outline. It's not just somebody's walking down the road and sees a shortcut and has the pressure saying I got to do it.

I maybe it's not right but I'm doing it anyway. But iniquity is somebody that just gets up and says hey I want to do it. I'd maybe don't even have to but I wanted to sin. I want to sin big time. I wanted I got plans and I wanted to do all sorts of corrupt things.

And they plan on it they work at it they train for it in the in a day fulfill it. That's iniquity. And here the Bible says there God in his unbelievable mercy. He there you know he's full of mercy of compassion.

He forgives iniquity destroys them not many a time he he turns his own anger away and and does not stir up his wrath. But what does that is mercy. What does that is. God has this mercy within him. Psalm 86 15 says.

But thou Lord art a God full of mercy full of compassion and gracious long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth. Here the psalmist again he tells us God has this this kindness this long-suffering that graciousness.

But it is rooted in this thing called mercy. Psalm 103 8 says. The Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger plenteous in mercy. Here he starts with mercy and he ends with mercy. Psalm 116 5 gracious of the Lord and righteous.

Yea our God is merciful. You see the word though that. So we see here that one of the deepest attributes about God is he is merciful. He has this sense of mercy about him. And the word there again is sometimes translated compassion.

Same word oftentimes and sometimes it's used in the New Testament of bowels of mercy which also describes it because mercy is is it's a very emotional word. It's not just a mental behavior. It is a mental behavior that is rooted in emotional feeling of bowels of mercy bowels of compassion in the sense there what it's what it suggests there.

And I'm sure we've all had times where sometimes you've seen something you've seen some tragic thing. You've seen something so painful or so hurtful. Or you hear a story that it literally hurts you right in the gut right in the stomach right in the pit of your stomach you just ache something there happens within you.

You hear this great tragedy and in and in the bowels of mercies and something pushes there with it. The mental attitude has happened but some but you're gripped by mercy. And it's a word of pity. It is a word there of deep embedded sorrow.

You so deeply heard inside and and this is in a sense what God when he looked at man and did we sin. Yes did we trespass. Yes did we blatantly shake our fist at him. Tell him what we thought of him go right out and do everything we possibly could against him.

Yes did we steal our lives. Yes did we run our own lives. And were we our own master and our own king and chart our own course and the captain of our own vessel. Yes and we loved it and we wanted it. And yet in the midst of all of this somehow or another God looks at us and he hurts he hurts.

Justice calls for death. But yet the inside inside God's heart is he looks at us said something calls for mercy something calls for compassion. It's a very deep in a wonderful thing. Perhaps you we've all seen I'm sure stories and followed them of some terrible rapist or murderer who has done it and done it and done it so wicked so evil so perverted so sick so totally wicked that virtually the entire planet rises up and says you're out of here.

We reject you the you are the reason capital punishment exists. You we we no longer accept you on this planet. You're going to die. And the old planet says if ever there's one that ought to go it's him.

You're off the planet and yet still somehow or another so often when all of that is true so often there is still some mother somewhere somebody that sits alone and with and it hurts and hurts and hurts.

And she weeps and she weeps. And something there in her bowels there in the depths of her soul she cries out because it's her son. Yes he did it yes he is guilty. Yes he is wicked. Yes he is terrible.

But he is my son. That's mercy. That's that's something there that cries out. And this is what God has had for you and what he's had for me. It isn't based on reason. It isn't based upon justice. It isn't based on truth or nim and invalid information.

It's based on something much deeper than that. It's something there that God looks at you and I. And there the wonderful thing that's happened is that this is what the cross is all about. This is the place essentially where God in his justice and in his mercy can meet with a human being and perfectly there and not violate either one.

The Cross, Grace, and Mercy

When a human being now comes to the cross and says it is true it is true I am wicked I am fallen I have sinned I have committed trespasses. I have an iniquitous heart forgive me may I have mercy. And God looks and he says you know it just seems to be a part of me.

And the wonderful thing is is that this is something there to where now Jesus as he turns in the Sermon on the Mount he now looks at the person there who's been poor in spirit himself that's met him at the cross.

He's mourned over his own sin. There is a meekness that's happened within his own heart. He's cried out to be filled and God has filled him with one of the most wonderful of all attributes of all heaven and earth mercy in the process there of God now meeting him there if he is truly met there if he's understood what is trend the transaction that happened there.

What God what God got up off of his throne sent his son down to die take all the sins of all the world of all time upon himself. And he who knew no sin became sin for us. How could it. Could God ever do a thing like that mercy.

He hurt he hurt like no one can dream of hurting. And there he came and he loved us. And when somebody meets him there meets him at the cross to where those two and natures meet. The fallen sad terrible wicked truth about man clashes and meets with with a glorious wonderful truth about God.

And then he cries out fill me. God then loves to turn to him says fill you I will. I'll fill you with me. And you can walk away with the greatest of attributes the most wonderful things. For here Jesus turns to man.

He says I'm gonna give you a happiness. I'll give you a joy. The world don't know anything about happiness there of having the life of God resident within you. And not only the life of God but the deepest things of the nature of God beginning to take over yours.

And here it is something to where. Sadly though many people they don't understand this and thus they're not happy. We walk away from the cross having had our sins may be dealt with. But we have yet to meet the heart and the nature and the character of God that gives great joy and where his nature is being poured upon us.

And and we walk away forgiven. But we don't walk away with the intent of forgiving. We walk away having received mercy but not necessarily being filled with it. But here Jesus he says I'm going to give it to you.

Mercy as an Inward Transformation

And oh how happy are the merciful the person there that discovers there that that God can literally put his nature. And let me make it clear mercy is not something you do. Grace is what you do. Grace is as great as we sing of God's grace and say you know and it's greater than all of our sin.

But as wonderful as grace is it. Isn't it good. Mercy is deeper you see mercy motivated grace. Mercy was something there because God so heard he's looking around. And what are we going to do. Not as if he didn't know but I mean look there in grace he says I'll do.

We're gonna. We're gonna favor them. We're gonna favor them and without merit on their own. We're gonna bless them. We're gonna restore we're gonna bring them home we're gonna fill their lives. And we're gonna just give them ourselves again and again and again time and eternally.

But why does he do that. Because he hurts without us. Because he has this amazing compassion he has this deep profound love. And so grace is something you can do. Or you can at least try to act graceful.

Mercy is what you are. A merciful person is somebody there that you can't do it. It's what happens deep within the soul there when when now God has done such a work within them that they begin to see others in the very state in which God found them.

And the very pain that was in God's heart you know towards us now we have it towards others now his nature is literally being bequeathed to us in a sense. And it's a wonderful thing. It's a wonderful thing.

Jesus' Mercy in the House of Simon

But it only happens in Luke 7. You know the story I'm sure of Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus over to his house trying to find some occasion to accuse him bring him down you know catch him in a trap and something.

And there is he is invites Jesus over this woman and adulterous or a wicked woman comes in. And there this woman comes in and she begins to weep and she or tears you know she washes Jesus feet and then with her hair she's caring for him ministering to him and and Simon is thinking to himself.

It says there that if this man were a prophet he would know what manner of a woman this is. I love this verse in there because then it says in. Jesus answered him. Simon was just thinking to himself that's a scary thing.

You're just sitting there carrying on. If this guy knew why you're doing hi how are you. Nice nice to have you over. I thought we just have a little chat while he said there inside said this guy I don't have to get him.

He's got himself. If he knew what kind of woman this was that was there taking care of him right now he'd have nothing to do with her if she was. If he was a prophet he'd know. Therefore he's not a prophet.

Jesus answered him. He says I'm gonna have someone to ask you. And he says say on master. And he says there's a fella you know King who. He had a couple. You had a guy that you know a couple people when I moaned him a lot one owned him a little.

Neither one had a way to pay him and so he forgave him both. He says which one do you suppose loved in the most. He says well I suppose the one that he's forgiven most. Jesus said bingo it's in the Greek.

But he says bingo you know. He says you got it the and he said yes you struck gold. You do. You can think. But then he looks at him and he and he said you know I came in here. You've done nothing for me.

You didn't offer me a water. You didn't refresh me. You didn't you know do a thing and whatsoever. This woman came in here and her sins are many. I'm quite aware who she is. I know all sorts of things about her.

But he that is forgiven much loves much. And here as he looks there I mean the person so often that has the greater realization of the cross. And by the way every one of us are given the exact same amount.

I'm convinced it's just that more people most of the many people or some or a few or so. I don't know numbers. But anyway the the thing is is that some people are aware. I mean if we're all sinners and we're all dead how dead is dead.

I mean we're all dead now. Some people are nicely dressed dead you know or something. Some people had a beautiful funeral dead but they're dead now. Some people did a real job of it. I mean they just smashed themselves up a wall and there's a bloody dead but they're dead.

Some people just died a pretty death but dead is dead. We're all dead. It's just that some people are aware in a greater sense of what it was that the the mercy and the grace and the love and the power of the cross in their life.

And it had such a profound effect that they begin to love others greatly. And it in this you know grace is something there that it comes because of the heart and it is good and it and it knows this. But mercy engages the heart.

Mercy, Forgiveness, and Christian Relationships

Mercy is something that motivates behavior. This is a grace is an activity. It can superficial. We can be very nice to each other without having any mercy. We can carry on. And many people if people are graceful to them they're graceful to them.

If you be graceful to me I'll be graceful to you. If you're not so nice to me. Well might have might find another side of me. You didn't want to meet and be because that's where mercy comes in. You know.

But it's conditional and sometimes in the sense of people's grace you know it's like Romeo and Juliet. They can look beautiful and be playing the ground. It's a wonderful play or not. I've never seen it.

I just know Romeo. Romeo wherefore art thou you know. And he's that's all I know. I don't know where he was. I don't know what he said back but I just great love story or something. We're in reality they may hate each other.

The people that are playing the parts they may have a big contract dispute with their boss and you know and they don't want to play this thing. And I want another Juliet in here. I'm not being Romeo. No more whatever.

And you can do the same in life. You can act very graceful. You can go play a part you can say the words. You can get through the night's play so to speak but in reality not care a straw about the person.

Mercy on the other hand is something that goes deep. And when mercy is happening there the heart and the life is engaged something is transformed it. And that's the thing that that that God wants within us is to take our sinful heart and forgive it.

To take our trespass heart and forgive it to take our iniquitous heart and to wash it and cleanse it. And when he takes that out he puts in a merciful heart. That's why David one said he says if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me.

If I if I haven't been to the cross so to speak if I still have this gunk in this trash and I don't understand the power of the cross in my own life it'll shut down my spiritual life. And he says I can't live that way.

But you see the person is poor in spirit he mourns over it and he's meek and he hungers and thirst. That'll result in a merciful heart again. So often in our marriages our homes you know again if you're nice I'm nice you're good I'm good you know we just kind of go back and forth.

And until somebody slips up till somebody forgets to be nice. Oh no I was supposed to be nice. I forgot you know or whatever else in the or else there else that's just sin. Or else then we after we forget and then they tell us we forgot.

Then we decide well I'm gonna trespass and I'm gonna tell you not only did I forget I want to forget because you forgot last week you know or whatever else. And then the next thing you know we go to bed determined to wake up not just a sinner and not just trespass.

I'm gonna commit iniquity. I'm gonna tell her tomorrow what I really think of her you know or whatever. And back and forth we go because mercy has yet to have its power within our life. But mercy produces this wonderful thing of forgiveness.

The Merciful Person Forgives Others

And until we know it until we come there and realize God give me a merciful heart we'll never be happy. We'll never be happy. We did it because the true joy that God wants to give to us of sharing his life with us is being denied.

Until I look there and say God give to me take me to the cross. Just show me myself show me who I am. And then give me this merciful heart is if you don't you go right back and we'll be the same and be like the story of the fella.

You know maybe heard it. You know he's walking down the beach you know the old proverbial bottle comes up and he picks up the bottle. He pulls the cork on. A genie comes out and the genie says oh I've been in there hundreds of years thanks for getting me out of there.

And you get three wishes. Anything you want three wishes however there's just one little catch whatever you get whatever you want. Your mother-in-law gets twice as much. This guy hated his mother-in-law and he's thinking oh no I don't.

But he's saying well I still get three wishes. And so he's the first. He thinks well he says all right. I want a billion dollars in gold. And all sudden poof you know and smoke there and smoke clears and there's a billion dollars in gold right there.

And then he looks over and there's two billion for his mother-in-law. He's he's a little bummed by that but he still think I got my billion. You got my billion. Then he goes on and he thinks well this is I better think this material.

Next thing you know he says okay my second wish I want I want a hundred thousand acre estate hundred thousand acres. And I want Jets. I want a landing strip. I want golf courses and tennis and recreation and horses and you know all in every game and toy you can ever think of built into this thing.

And I want a hundred thousand square foot house with every invention there's ever been the greatest of things all the entertainment all the place. And I want pools and now everything and all of it and don't miss anything.

And then I want five hundred employees to take care of the place forever as long as I'm alive. If they're all taken care of and I'm just gonna enjoy my hundred thousand acre estate hundred thousand acre you know hundred thousand square foot house smoke.

He looks all of a sudden he's looking over this unbelievable hundred thousand acres. He's just looking out and seeing his sees his airstrip sees his pools and yards and his courses and his gardens in his mansion.

And but then he looks over and there's two hundred thousand acre estate for his mother a two hundred thousand square a thousand employees to take care of her joint. And these guys so bitter he's so angry.

He thinks on the third one he says my mother-in-law. He can't think what he says. Okay God heard the genie. My third request I want you to beat me half to death. Well that's a sad commentary on a lot of people's lives.