Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy (5.7)

++The merciful care and reach out to help those that are in need, without demanding that they deserve such help.

+Perspective on heaven and earth

+ Unlike medieval kings who threw coins to the masses or modern politicians who make promises to the poor just before elections, Jesus had the ability to offer his audience lasting, even eternal rewards. Jesus had actually lived on the other side, and he who came down from heaven knew well that the spoils of the kingdom of heaven can easily counterbalance whatever misery we might encounter in this life:

Those who mourn will be comforted

The meek will inherit the earth.

The hungry will see God

Jesus could make such promises with authority for he had come to establish God’s kingdom that would rule forever.

+We could almost subtitle the Sermon on the Mount not the “survival of the fittest” but the “triumph of the victims.”

+Mercy is love toward those that are miserable, those that are wretched, and those that need some type of help or assistance.

+The merciful are those that are tender-hearted and who truly feel in the deepest parts of their beings the pain and the suffering of those who need mercy. But most importantly is the fact that the merciful are those special individuals who go out of their way and make the effort to help.

+If you want mercy from others – especially God – then you should take care to be merciful to others.

+ We as believers must show mercy to all men and we are to do this by both sympathizing with them and by taking care and tending to their needs. And we must do this with readiness and gladness, with affection and tenderness, always ready to give and to forgive. Our Lord instructs us to show the same type of mercy to others that he shows to each of us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God“.

+ God shows us mercy, not when we are good, but when we are miserable, helpless, wicked, ungodly, and powerless. He shows us mercy when we are his enemies and we are disobedient, unrighteous, dead in trespasses and sins, foolish, ignorant, suffering, and miserable due to the consequences of our sin.

+Each one of us needs the mercy of God each and every day. We need to be aware that we are still miserable sinners, and because of that, we are still in need of God’s mercy every single day.

B1+Describe how someone has been merciful to you. What was your response?

B2+If you want mercy from others – especially God – then you should take care to be merciful to others. Thoughts?

B3+Why should Christians be merciful?

B4+What are some roadblocks to being merciful?

B5+What things can you do to overcome the roadblocks of being unmerciful?

AA1+To be merciful as a Christian does not mean to perform isolated, occasional acts of charity. A Christian is to be habitually merciful, and all acts of mercy should be done in a thankful and cheerful manner.

What can you do to not “perform isolated, occasional acts of charity,” but rather live it out mercy as a lifestyle?

Social Justice Experience (Details coming soon)

B6+What social justice organizations/activities would you like to get involved with?

B7+How can you get involved in social justice in DuPage County?

I AM BLESSED BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO SHOW MERCY, EVEN WHEN OTHERS DON’T REALLY DESERVE IT. I SEE MUCH IN ME THAT IS UNDESERVING, YET JESUS HAS BEEN MERCIFUL AGAIN AND AGAIN.