20TH FEBRUARY 2022
Be merciful as your Father is merciful
1Sam 26, Psms 103, 1 Cor 15, Luke 6:27-38
• More than ever before, we live in a world that only knows of Justice that is not tempered with mercy. Revenge, violence and hatred have become our way of life.
• But the word of God today is reminding us that, God-like mercy is the stance required of Christian disciples in the face of opposition and hatred.
• Why should I be merciful just like My Father?
1. Because our God is a Merciful God
- Luke 6:36; “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful”
- Psalms 103:8; “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our faults.”
- Our God is always merciful, He is a God of: steadfast love; ever ready to forgive those who turn away from injustice and wrong doing.
- God loves us beyond our expectations, beyond anything that we can possibly imagine
- It is out of mercy of God that we were saved; John 3:16, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.”
2. Because God commands me to be merciful
- Luke 6:36; “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful”
- Micah 6:8; “The LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”
- To belong to the family of God, you need to do what is right with others: To love; To being merciful to others, and to live humbly in fellowship with God.
3. Because I will need mercy in the future
- We are all sinners in perpetual need of God’s mercy.
- We cannot receive what we are unwilling to give.
- James 2:13 says, “You must show mercy to others, or God won’t show mercy to you... But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment.”
- Mt 6:15; “But if you do not forgive others, then your father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”
4. Because showing mercy brings happiness.
- Showing mercy brings happiness. The Bible teaches over and over that the more merciful I am, the happier I’m going to be.
- Proverbs 14:21; “If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor; it is a sin to despise anyone.”
- A family where people are merciful to one another is a happy family.
- Being kind to other people actually blesses you and makes you happier in life. And mercy certainly produces greater joy in those to whom you’ve shown it.
- You allow people to find freedom from their past when you’re willing to show mercy.
- Unforgiving heart destroys. Revenge always escalates out of control. Violence always begets violence.
- Results of revenge are; ruined lives, stained reputation and shattered relationship.
• Dear friends, we are called today, to love as God loves, we are to be merciful as He is, beyond expectations and with a depth beyond imagining.
• Everyone needs mercy because everyone has messed up. We have all hurt other people and made mistakes. We have all sinned!
• Mercy changes the lives of people who have made mistakes, and we who have received mercy freely, can change the world around us, by showing mercy to others.
• May we accept in humility: to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, & to pray for those who abuse us.
“For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Luke 6:38
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