JESUS' SERMON ON THE MOUNT SERMON SERIES7. Do You Want Mercy? |
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Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. 14For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What will happen in the judgment? God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing. Which law will be the standard in the judgment? Yes, the 10 commandments is the law that says, "you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill." You say, "I haven't done anything like that!" Good for you! Did you ever tell a lie? If you did, what does the Bible say?
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Everyone has sinned. We are all guilty before God. In the judgment do we want justice or mercy?
Of course we want mercy.
If we want mercy, what should we do?
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
We must show mercy.
Jesus told the following parable:
Matthew 18:23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 "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. 26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 "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!' 29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 "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. 32 "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, was explaining the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom, first of all is a spiritual kingdom. When Jesus comes again it will be a physical kingdom. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
In the parable that we read, what was the Kingdom of God compared to? Yes, that is right, a kingdom. Who does the king represent? That is right, the king represents God. The king began to settle accounts with his servants. What does this settling of accounts represent? Yes, it represents the judgment. Who was the one who had a debt? Yes, the servant, that is the citizen had a debt. How much was one man's debt? 10 thousand talents. How much money is that?
That is 213 metric tons of silver. In those days, 213 metric tons of silver would hire 10,000 workers for 18 years. If I calculated correctly this amount of silver would be 294 million TL. That's a lot of money. Could the servant pay this amount of money? It was not possible. Who does the servant represent? He represents us.
We have sinned and the wages of sin is eternal death. If we did good works forever, if we pray and give alms even, these do not cover the debt of eternal death. Jesus, who never sinned, took our debt upon Himself and died on the cross for us and He offers us free forgiveness. This is mercy. What did the servant want in the parable? He wanted mercy. The king had compassion on the servant and forgave his debt.
But the servant quickly forgot the mercy he had received and he did not behave mercifully to someone who owed him money. He only thought of his own advantage.
Humanity is like that. The heart of man, of its own, is cold, dark, and devoid of love. If a person shows a spirit of mercy and forgiveness, this is not of itself, but reveals the working of the divine Spirit on the heart. The Lord is the source of all mercy. His name is "merciful and gracious." He does not treat us as we deserve. He does not ask if we are worthy of His love. He pours the riches of His love on us to make us worthy. The Lord is not vindictive. He is not working to punish but to save. Sometimes when He shows Himself firm it is only to redeem the rebellious. This is God's character and the ones who want to enter the Kingdom of God must be like that. The one's who show mercy are partakers of the divine nature. You did hear that correctly.
2 Peter 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
By nature mankind is selfish and merciless. Only with the influence of the Spirit of God can a person show genuine mercy. This heavenly gift comes to us through Jesus. You cannot do this by yourself.
Why will we show mercy? Is it because in the judgment if it is seen that we have not been merciful then we will not have our sins forgiven? While this is correct it is not a complete picture. If we only show mercy in order to receive God's mercy then this is still a selfish motivation. God's character and law is love. A service that does not spring from love is not pure. If we want to do genuine good works, we must be under the influence of the Spirit of God.
1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
When we receive God's mercy and appreciate it, then we want to be merciful to others with a grateful heart.
In a practical way, what does it mean to be merciful? Perhaps we can gain some insight with the testimony of Job:
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.
Some people are living a life without hope. If you say encouraging words to them you will be like rain on dry ground.
Whatever you sow, you reap.
Do you believe that Jesus was a prophet? Good. Satan understands that but it is of no benefit to him because he doesn't accept the message that Jesus gave. To believe that Jesus is a prophet means to adhere to the words that God gave to Him.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What will happen in the judgment? God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing. Which law will be the standard in the judgment? Yes, the 10 commandments is the law that says, "you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill." You say, "I haven't done anything like that!" Good for you! Did you ever tell a lie? If you did, what does the Bible say?
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Everyone has sinned. We are all guilty before God. In the judgment do we want justice or mercy?
Of course we want mercy.
If we want mercy, what should we do?
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
We must show mercy.
Jesus told the following parable:
Matthew 18:23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 "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. 26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 "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!' 29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 "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. 32 "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, was explaining the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom, first of all is a spiritual kingdom. When Jesus comes again it will be a physical kingdom. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
In the parable that we read, what was the Kingdom of God compared to? Yes, that is right, a kingdom. Who does the king represent? That is right, the king represents God. The king began to settle accounts with his servants. What does this settling of accounts represent? Yes, it represents the judgment. Who was the one who had a debt? Yes, the servant, that is the citizen had a debt. How much was one man's debt? 10 thousand talents. How much money is that?
That is 213 metric tons of silver. In those days, 213 metric tons of silver would hire 10,000 workers for 18 years. If I calculated correctly this amount of silver would be 294 million TL. That's a lot of money. Could the servant pay this amount of money? It was not possible. Who does the servant represent? He represents us.
We have sinned and the wages of sin is eternal death. If we did good works forever, if we pray and give alms even, these do not cover the debt of eternal death. Jesus, who never sinned, took our debt upon Himself and died on the cross for us and He offers us free forgiveness. This is mercy. What did the servant want in the parable? He wanted mercy. The king had compassion on the servant and forgave his debt.
But the servant quickly forgot the mercy he had received and he did not behave mercifully to someone who owed him money. He only thought of his own advantage.
Humanity is like that. The heart of man, of its own, is cold, dark, and devoid of love. If a person shows a spirit of mercy and forgiveness, this is not of itself, but reveals the working of the divine Spirit on the heart. The Lord is the source of all mercy. His name is "merciful and gracious." He does not treat us as we deserve. He does not ask if we are worthy of His love. He pours the riches of His love on us to make us worthy. The Lord is not vindictive. He is not working to punish but to save. Sometimes when He shows Himself firm it is only to redeem the rebellious. This is God's character and the ones who want to enter the Kingdom of God must be like that. The one's who show mercy are partakers of the divine nature. You did hear that correctly.
2 Peter 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
By nature mankind is selfish and merciless. Only with the influence of the Spirit of God can a person show genuine mercy. This heavenly gift comes to us through Jesus. You cannot do this by yourself.
Why will we show mercy? Is it because in the judgment if it is seen that we have not been merciful then we will not have our sins forgiven? While this is correct it is not a complete picture. If we only show mercy in order to receive God's mercy then this is still a selfish motivation. God's character and law is love. A service that does not spring from love is not pure. If we want to do genuine good works, we must be under the influence of the Spirit of God.
1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
When we receive God's mercy and appreciate it, then we want to be merciful to others with a grateful heart.
In a practical way, what does it mean to be merciful? Perhaps we can gain some insight with the testimony of Job:
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. 13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.
Some people are living a life without hope. If you say encouraging words to them you will be like rain on dry ground.
Whatever you sow, you reap.
Do you believe that Jesus was a prophet? Good. Satan understands that but it is of no benefit to him because he doesn't accept the message that Jesus gave. To believe that Jesus is a prophet means to adhere to the words that God gave to Him.
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.