Mercy, Mercy Me Part 2
Pastor Rollan Fisher
Showing Mercy to Others
The Great Expectation
The Great Realization
The Great Reconciler
The Great Expectation
The great expectation is that we live a life where we show the mercy of God to others.
Background of Micah
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
-Micah 6:6-8
Another word for mercy is kindness.
Mercy is not treating someone as their sins deserve.
We are required to show mercy to others because we are commanded to be imitators of God. God’s character is described this way:
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
-Psalm 103:6-14
What we need to understand when offering mercy to others:
Mercy is not at the expense of justice. However, mercy will always triumph over judgement.
For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
-James 2:13
Humility is a prerequisite to walking with God and having lasting, life-giving relationships with others.
Yet it is so hard to live this way when we are offended, have been violated, overlooked and mistreated time and time again.
The Great Realization
The great realization is that we are no better than those to whom we need to show mercy.
We are quick to condemn people for things for which we should be condemned.
Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
-Ecclesiastes 7:21-22
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
-Leo Tolstoy
When you show mercy to others, you cease being just the victim. You have become an advocate for another’s soul.
“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."
- Gandalf (J. R. R. Tolkein ~ The Hobbit)
The Great Reconciler
We must be transformed by the mercy of the great reconciler to be able to show the mercy of God to others.
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
-Luke 23:32-34
How do we live a life of showing mercy to others?:
Consider that the offending party may not be aware of the wrong they are committing
If they do know, remember that it will take an act of divine intervention to transform a heart marred by the cultural and experiential forces that have shaped them. People are slaves to sin. Jesus has come to set them free (John 8).
Begin to intercede for those to whom you need to show mercy. This is the pathway to forgiveness that Jesus demonstrated for us while he hung on the cross.
4. When able, communicate the why of the demonstrated mercy, that the offending party may meet Jesus, at the cross, through the gospel, just as you have.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
-Luke 23:39-43
There were two criminals on the cross:
-The justice of God was realized in the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross.
-Jesus offered mercy on the cross to the one who acknowledged his substitutionary sacrifice.
-Humility was the second robber’s passport into paradise.
It’s only at the cross of Jesus Christ that we truly receive the mercy that we so desperately need. By him paying the price for our sins, we are granted the pardon that we do not deserve. When our souls are flooded with and transformed (we are born-again) by this reality, we are then empowered to offer the pardon that we’ve received to others with the same reconciling mercy.
Second City Church - Mercy, Mercy Me - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2020