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@ The Bitcoin Church
2024-05-02 05:32:33The Inward Attitudes of a True Disciple is our theme for the next few Sunday mornings.
This series is based on the Beatitudes, found in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
The Beatitudes vividly set forth the inward spiritual characteristics of those who are ideal citizens of the kingdom of God.
Only when we are right in our inward attitudes can we be right in our outward conduct.
Today we are discussing, As I Had Mercy on You.
Text
Matthew 5:7 NKJV
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 18:21-35 NKJV
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
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.”
Introduction.
The parable of the unmerciful servant illustrates in reverse the truth of the beatitude “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
To the debtor to whom the king would have forgiven all of his enormous debt, had he in turn been willing to forgive his fellow servant a small sum, the king said, Matthew 18:32-33, 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?’
“Even as I had pity, or mercy, on you” this is the moral of this parable, and in substance it may be paraphrased like this, “Woe to the unmerciful, for they shall not receive the mercy of God.”
This is exactly the opposite of today’s beatitude.
This is a law of the moral realm that never fails and for which there is no appeal.
It is an absolute in the kingdom of God.
If God’s mercy is not awakened in our hearts some sense of mercy toward our fellow humans, we should not deceive ourselves by thinking we have received God’s mercy, for we haven’t.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Three things about this beatitude demand our attention.
Each one can be stated in one word.
- Mercy’s explanation.
Remember that in these beatitudes Jesus is not speaking of seven different individuals, rather, He is describing seven qualities of excellence He desires in one person.
But before Jesus commended these qualities to others, He exhibited them Himself.
His own life is the best commentary on them.
In Him all of the strength and tenderness, all of the patience, long-suffering, and compassion, all of the love of a God of love was illustrated before human eyes in His gracious life for our example and in His atoning death for our redemption.
Christ was long-suffering with error, patient with failure, and kind with stupidity.
How thankful we ought to be for that.
He was gracious and generous in His appraisal of people who were sincere.
Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus.
Looking past the rough qualities, the arrogance of the man as he was, Jesus spoke of him as he would become, “You are Simon the son of John, you shall be called Cephas (Peter)”
To be kind, generous, and gracious in our appraisal of our fellow humans, to look for the best rather than the worst, this is merciful.
Christ was forgiving in spirit toward those who wronged Him and sinned against Him.
His great love for sinners overflowed in free and full pardon and forgiveness.
On the cross, He prayed for forgiveness for those who crucified Him, pleading, in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
The only hindrance to Christ’s forgiving love was in the refusal on the part of sinners to receive it.
This is mercy, the forgiving spirit that longs to restore the fallen in their place.
Christ was compassionate in heart and deed toward all those who needed the care of the great shepherd of the sheep.
Jesus’ heart went out in deeds of love toward the suffering, the sorrowing, the needy, the distressed, the bereaved.
He was moved with compassion for the unloved, leaderless multitudes, the “distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.”
He helped them because He loved them.
Peter’s benediction on his life was that he went about doing good.
He had mercy on the sick, the lame, the blind.
His word to his followers was, Matthew 10:8, Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Mercy is Christlikeness.
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Purity, holiness, humility, and obedience are the characteristics of a worshipping church! How do you measure up? We don’t worship to get something, if that’s you, Stop it! Worship is not about singing, it’s about extolling God’s Word
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Mercy’s demonstration.
Who are the merciful?
Not those who can shed oceans of tears about the sins and woes of the world without ever harnessing their emotions to concrete action.
Some who think they exhibit the quality of mercy talk a lot, but by the time they get through blowing their trumpet, they have no breath left to make progress against the world’s woes.
Being sentimental is not being merciful.
To be merciful is to exhibit, to some degree at least, the mind and spirit of Christ in this hard and loveless world that knows so little of Him and has so little of His Spirit.
We are to do this not for our own glory or reward but for His sake and for His glory, that the world may come to know Him.
If we are merciful, as Christ was merciful, we will exhibit the generosity of His judgements of others.
Like Christ, we will search for the best, not the worst, in our fellow humans.
Like our Master, we will be slow to condemn and quick to commend our brother, and this is not out of a sense of duty but as a natural expression of a loving heart.
If we are merciful, as Christ was merciful, we will exhibit His spirit of forgiveness.
We will be forgiving in spirit, refusing to hold a grudge, casting hate by the Spirit’s power out of our hearts, blessing those who curse us and praying for those who persecute us.
How we need the compassion of Christ to flood our unfeeling hearts and to send us out to give and forgive and serve for His sake.
If we are merciful, as Christ was merciful, we will give ourselves for a world’s need as He did.
Is there any spark of His love for a lost and dying world in our hearts?
Are any of the tender mercies and compassion of Christ in us at all?
Mercy is to have its demonstration in the minds and hearts and deeds of those who have received God’s mercy and grace freely shed aboard in their hearts.
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There is change coming. War is coming to the streets of this nation. We must preach to the one percent that are going to get it! It’s time to ignore the Facebook prophets, and apostles, if they aren’t part of the church, have nothing to do with them. You need meat not milk!
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Mercy’s benediction.
Blessed are the merciful.
What is the benediction pronounced on the merciful?
“They shall obtain mercy.”
The blessing on the merciful is that they shall receive in the same manner in which they give.
This is a self acting law of the moral realm.
It never fails.
The certainty of that blessing is based on the reciprocal law of life that Jesus stated so often, a law more dependable than the law of gravity.
It is true of general experience that persecution never produces tolerance, nor hate produce love, nor cruelty produce kindness.
Life will pay of in like currency.
As we give, we get.
As we sow, we reap.
This holds true in an infinitely higher sense.
As between God and man, the merciful obtain mercy.
To be like Christ in His judgements is to claim this blessing.
To be gracious, generous, seeking and thinking the best, what if we are like that in our judgements?
Jesus said, in Matthew 7:2, For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
James told us in James 2:13, For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
To be like Christ in His forgiving spirit is to claim this blessing.
To have an unforgiving spirit is to forfeit this blessing.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
One of the partitions of the Lord’s Prayer is, “and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
The unforgiving heart cannot receive forgiveness, nor the unmerciful, mercy.
To be like Christ in deeds of compassion is to claim the blessing.
In the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus answered the question, “Who os my neighbour?”
When He had completed the story and asked, So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
And his questioner was compelled to reply, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
- Most of the church is unaware of what’s going on around it. The church doesn’t understand the times and seasons we are in. The tribulation is upon us and the church will not look like it does in three years.
If you want to reap what we are sowing, you must sow into the ministry, be it finances, prayer time, whatever you have. And remember, the Lord will fight for us, we just have to be still. There is a price to pay to be known as a son of God, we will be revealed in the middle of the tribulation. If the Word is not in you, it can never be life through you.
Conclusion.
In that picture of judgement in Matthew 25, to whom did Jesus say, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
He said this to those who had exhibited mercy in their lives.
To whom did He say, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
He said this to those who showed no mercy.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer. Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at The Refinery.
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us at www.refinerylife.org
2024 IS A YEAR OF DECISIONS AND OPEN DOORS
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