The Beatitudes: Tender-Hearted Compassion

Senior Pastor Damein Schitter continues our series on the Beatitudes, preaching about mercy, or tender-hearted compassion

Transcript

The Kingdom of Mercy vs. Merit

Speaker 1 0:03

Hello everyone . This is Pastor Damian . You're listening to Sermon Audio from New City , orlando . At New City , we believe all of us need all of Jesus for all of life . For more resources , visit our website at NewCityOrlandocom . Thanks for listening .

Speaker 2 0:20

Please remain standing as we ask the Lord to illuminate our hearts together , Out of mercy . The covenant promises in your eternal Word do not change . Holy Spirit , enable us to respond to your gracious promises with faithful and obedient hearts through Jesus Christ , our Lord . Amen .

Speaker 2 0:43

Our scripture reading today comes from Matthew 5 , verses 1 through 12 . Seeing the crowds , he went up on the mountain and when he sat down , his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them , saying blessed are the poor in spirit , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . Blessed are those who mourn , for they shall be comforted . Blessed are the meek , for they shall inherit the earth . Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness , for they shall be satisfied . Blessed are the merciful , for they shall receive mercy . Blessed are the pure in heart , for they shall see God . Blessed are the peacemakers , for they shall be called sons of God . Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . Blessed are you , when others revile against you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account . Rejoice and be glad , for your reward is great in heaven , for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you . This is God's word . Thanks be to God .

Speaker 1 1:44

Well , good morning . My name is Damien , I'm the senior pastor and I'm grateful to get to preach again this morning and keep us moving through the Beatitudes , which is our sermon series here leading up to Easter , and today we've come to the Beatitude . Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy , and I want to invite us to consider this by telling a story about a man named Joe . So Joe worked in a startup tech company and at the time I'm about to tell you about six months in to the company and things were beginning to look possible Maybe not probable yet , but possible and Joe was a hard worker . But Joe found himself in serious trouble . He had made a series of risky and ultimately bad decisions that led to a massive loss for the company nearly a million dollars and this was a lot for this company at this point , and the CEO and founder was an understanding leader , but Joe expected punishment . So the leader calls him in to his office and , of course , joe's expecting the worst . He was prepared to lose his job and , because of the nature of his decisions , actually thought that legal action could be on the table . He wasn't sure what was going to happen and so the founder of the company reviewed the situation , invited Joe in and he began to recount Joe's past contributions to this young company and , seeing Joe's genuine remorse and understanding the impact of losing his job would have on Joe's family , this founder decided to have mercy . Joe , he said I'm going to give you another chance . I know that means we're going to have to absorb the losses , but you can continue working here . It's considered the matter closed , but it is very important that you learn from this .

Speaker 1 3:37

So , as you can imagine , joe was overwhelmed with gratitude . He couldn't believe the mercy that he had just been shown . But what was so interesting was about a week later Joe was in one of his direct reports named was Tim , and Joe discovered that Tim had accidentally overcharged a client by $200 . It was a mistake and an email and Joe the one that the founder had forgiven confronted Tim angrily in front of his peers and , despite Tim's apologies and explanation that it was an honest mistake , joe demanded that Tim be penalized and even threatened to take the matter to HR . He showed no willingness at all to forgive this small mistake . So eventually , word of Joe's harsh treatment of Tim reached the founder of the company and , disappointed , he called Joe again into his office . And he said Joe , I forgave you a tremendous debt , I showed you mercy , yet you refused to show even a fraction of that mercy to Tim , who made a tiny mistake in comparison . Have you learned nothing from my grace and mercy toward you ? The founder went on to say because you've shown no willingness to embody the values we hold dear at this company , I'm afraid we can no longer keep you on our team . And with that , joe was let go , not just for his initial mistake , no , but rather for failing to extend the mercy that he himself had received .

Speaker 1 5:18

Now , if that sounds familiar to you , it's because I rewrote the parable that Jesus tells of the ungrateful servant . That's from Matthew 18 . I took pieces of Jesus's story of the man who the master had forgiven a great debt and he turns him away , and that man who had been forgiven exacts a small , tiny debt from a servant of his . And so I wanted to put it in a different context , maybe closer to our context , where we could understand what is so insane about receiving great mercy and failing to be merciful . You see , what this parable ultimately is communicating is the reality of a direct relationship between giving and receiving mercy , between grace and gratitude . You see , in this beatitude , jesus invites us to a world of mercy , in the life of the kingdom that he's bringing .

Speaker 1 6:14

And so , this morning , what I want to do is explore the reality of mercy in Jesus's world , and we're going to do that by exploring that the kingdom of this world is a kingdom of merit , but the kingdom of the heavens is a kingdom of mercy . Merit versus mercy , in fact , that's it . That is the only point today , and it's actually a question , thank you . It's a question , and that is do you live and I mean you and me , do you live in a world of Mercy or merit ? That's the question , that's the question that the beatitude invites us into today . That's the only question I want to explore Do you live in a world of mercy or merit ? And I need you to know that I'm using the word world in a technical sense , but don't be scared , because you'll easily understand what I'm saying .

Speaker 1 7:05

So there's an author named Christopher Watkin , and he talks about how Christians have used the term worldview , which is fine , but he invites us to consider something a little more practical , something a little more visceral , and that is to consider that Christians are invited not only to a worldview but to a world and what he's doing is Think about this . We use this term regularly . You might say , well , that was true of the Victorian world , or that's true in the workaday world , or well , that would be possible in the world of Harry Potter , or the world of Lord of the Rings , or in the world of fantasy football , or in the world of the country club . Right , you see , when we talk about this , we talk about your world , or when your world , or well , in my world , well , in their world ? Right , we use this idea .

Speaker 1 7:55

What are we talking about when we use this concept of world ? We're talking about a mix of artifacts , ideas , styles , institutions , attitudes , rules . Right , in the world of Harry Potter , you can cast spells , but not in our world . You see , the world that you and I live in , around us , is a world of merit , with ideas and institutions and rules , and Because we live in a world of merit , we're called to embody the rules of that world . But what Jesus invites us into when we place our trust in him , is actually to live within a different world . In that world , you see , jesus sends us back into the world of merit , but he actually transferred us into a different world , the world of his kingdom or the world of mercy . And so Jesus , in this beatitude , is inviting us to inhabit what's actually core to God's heart , which is the world of mercy and all that comes with it . You see , a world of merit is a world where we always get what we deserve .

Speaker 1 9:09

Mercy is not a virtue in this world , it is a weakness , because in that world of merit you can be take advantage of if you show mercy . We think about this as parents . We we try to parent gospel center , but we actually parent like behaviorists . We're afraid , if we show mercy , that they won't learn . Well , they might learn , but what about when you're not in the room ? You see , the reality is is Jesus invites us to a world of heart change fueled by a world of mercy . Now , it's not new , this world of merit and seeing the world of mercy as a demerit , as one author put it .

Speaker 1 9:49

Classical philosophers even taught that mercy , indeed , is not governed by reason at all , and humans must learn to curb the impulse of mercy . Why ? Because the cry of the undeserving for mercy must go unanswered . Because pity was a defective character , unworthy of the wise , and excusable only in those who had not yet grown up , in other words , only in those who didn't understand how the world works . We use that , don't we ? Well , how does the real world work , pastor ? Well , the invitation is into a different world in the midst of what you're thinking of as the real world . And so do you live in a world of merit or mercy ? Jesus is calling us to inhabit a different world , his world , the true world .

Speaker 1 10:46

Now , what I want to point out here is that the emphasis in this beatitude is on receiving mercy , not giving it , and I want to show you what I mean . You see , in the world of merit , we read this verse as a type of earning mercy . So what we read is blessed are the merciful , for they shall receive mercy , and what we hear is oh so the , though it's a transaction . In order to receive mercy , I must give mercy first . Well , that is the right reading in the world of merit , but in the world of mercy , which Jesus lives in and invites you into , that's actually not the right reading . Why ? Look with me closely ? Look with me closely .

Speaker 1 11:24

Jesus doesn't say blessed are the merciful , for they shall be given mercy . He says blessed are the merciful , for they shall receive mercy . God is constantly giving you and everyone mercy . The breath in your lungs is all mercy . He's good and gives his mercy to all . The psalmist says he's constantly giving his mercy . Without his mercy you would be dead . The very fact that there's a change in pressure right now to draw from your diaphragm into your lungs oxygen is you in a sense receiving God's mercy because he's giving you air to breathe . The question is are you receiving his mercy ? That's the question . You can't earn mercy by mercy . You can't earn forgiveness by forgiveness .

Speaker 1 12:16

The point of this beatitude is that we simply cannot give the mercy and forgiveness of God unless we first repent and receive the mercy and forgiveness of God . And we cannot claim to have received his mercy and forgiveness if we are unmerciful towards the sins of others . That's the whole point of the ungrateful servant . Did he really receive the master's mercy ? The clear answer is no , because if he truly received the master's mercy , he would have given mercy . The opposite of mercy is a vindictiveness , it's a scarcity mentality , it's a I must get mine , I must run out , I get , but I don't give .

Speaker 1 12:58

To say it another way , jesus's point here is that we cannot give mercy unless we first received it . Isn't that simpler ? We cannot give what we have not received . So if you and I struggle with being merciful , it is not your biggest problem that you're not merciful . That is not your biggest problem . If you cannot and are not merciful , that's actually not your biggest problem . Your biggest problem is that you have not or will not receive God's mercy , because if you did receive God's mercy you would be merciful .

Speaker 1 13:31

This is what Jesus is saying . It's just true . God is constantly giving you his mercy . The question is will you receive it ? And the larger question is do you live in a world of mercy or do you live in a world of merit ? You see , the reason it's hard to receive mercy is because it's against everything in the world of merit , everything it grates at the world of merit because it's not just an idea of sympathy , it's not just an idea of mercy , it's not just an idea of grace , it's accepting and giving true mercy and true grace to true failure , to actual failure . That's real , that hurts people , that loses money , that breaks relationships , that betrays people . And real mercy is received and given in that place , not in an ideal fantasy land . To receive mercy is when you know you don't deserve it . That's why you grate against it , because you know you don't deserve it . But Jesus is constantly inviting us , wooing us , as we've been singing this morning at the heart of who he is his mercy .

Speaker 1 14:42

Now listen , if you're a Christian in this room and I imagine that most of you are I invite you to remember those moments , either when you first became a Christian , if , like me , you came to Christ as an adult , or if you remember back to your childhood , or even last week . Think about that joy of salvation when you truly are overwhelmed and almost undone by the fact that there's nothing you can do to earn God's love . Think about a time when that actually happened to you , when you were overwhelmed by this reality that , in the face of your failure and choosing sin , in choosing idolatry , in choosing addiction , god met you there in his mercy . Think about the joy and life that that gives . And what I want to invite you to consider is that when you and I have lost that joy and that gratitude , it's most likely because we've slipped back into the world of merit . Instead of living and basking in the world of mercy , we've just slipped back in .

World of Merit vs Mercy

Speaker 1 15:46

Let's talk about the world of merit , because it's not just outside the church , it seeps its way in to the church . The world of merit is rooted in a narrative of your performance . That's where it's rooted . It's birthed from a story of your performance . In his book the Reason for God , tim Keller writes that God's grace and mercy break decisively from this performance narrative .

Speaker 1 16:10

The performance narrative is when we attempt to ground our status before God , either partly or wholly , in our performance in any number of morality or rituals . So here's in the church . How's your quiet time going ? Oh , you haven't been doing it . Whoa . When's the last time you read your Bible ? When's the last time you prayed ? When's the last time you gave money ? Oh , you're not a very good Christian .

Speaker 1 16:44

Or what about your productivity ? You know , I'm just not what I think I ought to be . I'm just not performing up to the standards that I have for myself and that I believe others have for me . You know , my patience is so thin , my anger is so quick . I just destroy relationships around me and , of course , god remains distant from me . You see , if your status and my status before God is shaken by your performance in these areas , you are living in a world of merit . You just are , and God's inviting you to a world of mercy with all of its practices and all of its ideas and all of its fuel . You see the world of merit , and this narrative of performance is the air we breathe .

Speaker 1 17:38

Author Michael Sandel calls this in his book the tyranny of merit , and the tyranny of merit is namely the assumption that the only factor limiting success is a lack of effort or ability , and we can achieve anything if only we want it desperately enough . That is the message of the narrative of performance and merit , and there's so much truth in that . But the problem is is that when you embody that and you truly believe , your identity is based on the assumption that the only factor limiting your success is your lack of effort or ability , and if you want it bad enough , you will succeed . Problem is is that you will succeed a lot and then all of a sudden , you'll create a hierarchy and anyone else who isn't as disciplined as you , as talented as you , as smart as you , as wealthy as you , as networked as you , automatically you look down on them . Your whole world now is a world of hierarchy and merit , which is fundamentally against the kingdom of God and his invitation to the world of mercy , as one author said , so both in terms of religion and in terms of daily life , we rate our success and our worthiness by our performance , and the performance narrative is prominent in contemporary culture . It shapes our attitudes to almost everything and then it creates divisions between those who are justified or right and those who aren't , that is , those who are wrong .

Speaker 1 19:04

So this author goes on and talks about , for example , politics is a classic example . Both political liberals and political conservatives , for example , draw such lines . Conservatives may draw a line between those who live by traditional values and those who scorn traditional values , considering the first group , that is , those who live by traditional values , as justified and maybe deserving of mercy , which is a contradiction , whereas liberals may draw a line between those who are actively working for what they would call an inclusive society and those who are not , once more , considering the first group as justified . You see , we could go a million ways . We could talk about denominations , we could talk about all sorts of things , and right now you're nervous . You're saying listen , there really is right and there really is wrong . Yeah , I know , but the reality is is do you find your justification in being right ? Do you find your identity in being right or out of a faithfulness to God and reality . You wanna get to the bottom of it and see what's right and you wanna invite people in , not as enemies but as fellow sojourners . This is a question because in the world of merit , we might give some mercy to those who are in our camp , but definitely not those who are not in our camp . Why ? Because they don't deserve it . So my question is do you live in a world of merit or do you live in a world of mercy ?

Speaker 1 20:29

Let me tell you about my first memory of mercy I have as a child . Growing up , it was normal for my parents to invite people to live in our house . It was so against my nature . It was confusing to me as a child . I was in first , second grade . I remember regularly my dad was a sales engineer . He would go around and he would just bring people home with him . This happened with some regularity and then he would just tell us hey , listen , jim is having a hard time and he works over at such and such , and I saw him today and he's just gonna stay for a couple nights with us until he gets back on his feet . I was like what if he comes upstairs and hurts me ? I mean as a child . And I was like no , it's okay , he's gonna be fine , I promise . Do you even know Jim ? So this was normal . Another thing that was less hard for me , but still annoying , was that my family would regularly invite extended family on hard times to come and live with us . This would happen for weeks , months . One time it happened for two years , and that's the story I wanna tell you is the one that happened for two years .

Learning Mercy Over Merit

Speaker 1 21:33

So one of the things as a child this is a test , not I don't know what it's of , but you can fail . So here it is . Do you know what a silver dollar is ? A 50 cent piece . What would you call them ? Anybody Would you call the silver dollar ? Yeah , maybe a half dollar , a 50 cent piece ? What do you call it ? I'm sorry , don't I put him on the spot . He was like do you really want me to say it ? I get it sometimes I'm rhetorical . Right then I was really searching for help . So the reality is is that you can call different things , but it is an actual coin worth 50 cents and as a child I haven't seen one in a long time .

Speaker 1 22:07

As a child , I collected these so much of them my grandparents when they would go to the bank . They would just ask if there were any 50 cent pieces half dollars , whatever you call them and I collected them over time and at one point I had a couple of $100 of these things and my cousin who was living with us . Eventually , I mean , this was my treasured possession and I hid it and the only people who knew where it was were me and my parents . Well , eventually I let my cousin in , who was living with us . I wanted to show them where it was and we talked about it and they were like , oh , this is amazing , that's really cool . So then , some time later I don't know how long later it was I had two or three more half dollars that I had been given from my grandfather and I go into my secret stash to put them in there , and at least half of them were gone .

Speaker 1 22:52

Now , as a first grader , this is tragic . It's more than just wrong or annoying right . It's just money that can pay you back , but not in half dollars . And you see , what happened was is that I was not only angry , I was vindictive , I was judgmental . I wanted them out of our house . I was never gonna talk to them again and I remember my parents sitting me down and explaining to me essentially about mercy .

Speaker 1 23:24

Now , they didn't open the Bible we didn't read the Bible in my family but what they taught me was that I didn't get it because eventually I too would recognize that I do evil and wrong things too . And this wasn't like a just covered over everyone does bad things . It was a listen , damien , eventually you'll understand that you too will need mercy , that you too will transgress trust , you will rupture relationships and you will need mercy and forgiveness , and you need to learn this now . I'll never forget that that conversation has shaped me in some ways . I still think about it sometimes . I remember I was sitting on the foot of their bed as they stood and my mom had her hand on my shoulder and they're telling me about this and I'm crying . And they invited me to exercise mercy , but they didn't say do mercy , give mercy , because it's the right thing . They invited me to consider first the mercy that I had already received . It was really powerful .

Speaker 1 24:41

Now , listen , I need to say , of course , at this moment that grace and mercy don't mean there's no moral right or wrong . It simply erases any hierarchy of value of right or wrong . This is what I mean . Listen , when it comes to the gospel , the criterion for being on the right side is not mercy . I mean , is mercy not performance ? That's it . That's the only foundation of you . Being right with God is his mercy has nothing to do with your performance .

Speaker 1 25:08

Those who are saved by grace are not those who are smarter than others , more rational than others , better behaved than others , kinder or humbler or more generous than others , or better by any other criterion of performance whatsoever . Those who are saved by grace are saved despite their performance , not because of it . God didn't choose you because you were lovely . He chose you because he loved you and he's gonna make you lovely . That's the gospel . That's mercy versus merit .

Speaker 1 25:38

If I claim to be a Christian and do not acknowledge that my enemies are very possibly more moral and more intellectual , superior to me , more intellectually superior to me , I have simply failed to understand the gospel of Christ . I am still operating according to the performance narrative , the narrative of merit , not according to the narrative of grace and mercy . There is nothing in you that makes you deserving of God's love . There never has been , there never will be , and even as I say it , it just doesn't seem quite right to be honest with you , but it's the truth . Do you live in a world of merit or do you live in a world of mercy ? I'm gonna give one practical example and then for the rest of our time which isn't a lot I'm just going to wash over us with grace , wash over us with God's heart of mercy . Because if I emphasized on you giving mercy this morning in the second half of the sermon , I think it would be inconsistent with everything I've just said . What I think our biggest problem is is that we need to learn how to receive God's mercy afresh so that in that receiving it overflows into the giving of mercy .

Speaker 1 26:48

But here's a practical example . Say , someone at work steals your idea , and I don't mean a small one , the idea that unlocks the whole project , the idea that unlocks the actual product of the problem you're trying to solve . You've tried dozens of products , but you're still committed to the same problem , and then this particular suggestion just unlocks it , creates a new workflow , opens a new group of customers , and you've been having a conversation with this person , and this person just steps up and takes your idea . Now , if you live in the world of merit , you have a few options . One you can just call him out right there . Jim , that's my idea .

Speaker 1 27:38

We talked about it right then . Remember , there's a room full of people . What is everyone gonna do ? What's wrong with Damien ? You could do that , go for it . You could humiliate him or her . You can try to get your credit , that's fine . I don't even know if that's always wrong . Second , maybe you talk to your manager after the meeting , but let me ask you this what will you say ? Hey , listen , that idea that moved the whole company forward . I'm really upset because I didn't get credit for it . It just makes me mad . It was my idea . Your manager says yeah , that's sad , but so are you more concerned with the good of the company or are you ? I mean , if I don't get credit , I might not get promoted . Got it , got it , got it .

Speaker 1 28:24

You could do that , that's fine . Or you could be merciful . You could step into the world of mercy , which is filled with abundance and not scarcity . You could step into the world of mercy . That knows , you did not come up with that on your own . Anyway , you probably read something and oh that , okay that that . Or you listened to something . Or if you believe in the Holy Spirit , maybe the Holy Spirit sort of carried you along . I'm just that's too much . That's the Bible . Maybe the Holy Spirit in some way opened your eyes to see something .

Speaker 1 29:03

What am I saying and what am I not saying ? Don't hear what I'm not saying . Don't hear what I'm not saying that you should be okay with toxic work cultures . I'm not saying that you should even not want credit for your ideas . What I'm saying is what world do you live in ? And it happens in the smallest things .

Speaker 1 29:18

I cannot say that I live in the world of mercy and in that meeting , let it just get under my skin . If that happens to me and to sort of jockey in the rest of the conversation , how can I humbly and christianly remind everyone that this was actually my idea ? Listen , do you live in a world of mercy which is filled with abundance and goodness or merit which is filled with vindictiveness , scarcity ? Okay , last part is I just want to talk a little bit about God's world of mercy . I'm going to read a lot of Bible and then I'm going to read some quotes and then we're going to be done , and my desire in this is to invite you into what I've spent a little bit of time doing in preparation , which is just letting the reality of God's mercy wash over me so that in turn I can become merciful .

Speaker 1 30:21

Because Jesus says that is the flourishing life Not vindictiveness , not scarcity . The flourishing life is found in tender hearted compassion . But God being rich in mercies the only thing God has said that he's rich in in the whole Bible . It's the only time God is rich in anything by name , but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses . He made us alive together with Christ . It's by grace you have been saved and he raised us up and seated us with him in the heavenly places so that in the coming ages I love this in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus . God just can't wait to keep pouring out on you his mercy and grace and kindness in the Lord Jesus . He just can't wait for that .

Speaker 1 31:23

Here's Peter . Once you were not a people , but now you are God's people . Once you had not here , it is received mercy , but now you have received mercy . How do you become God's people ? Not by giving mercy but by receiving mercy . And once we've become God's people . We receive mercy and overflow . We give mercy .

Speaker 1 31:46

Psalm 103, . The Lord is what . The Lord is merciful and gracious , slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love . 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 . If that's not enough , as far as the east is from the west , so far does he remove our transgressions for us . As a father shows compassion same word to his children so the Lord shows compassion or mercy to those who fear him . Psalm 145, .

Speaker 1 32:25

The Lord is gracious and merciful , slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love . The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made . So the question is not will he give mercy to all that he has made and everyone he has made ? Will we receive his mercy ? As Anselm said , you don't even know who he is . Probably you should read him .

Speaker 1 32:51

God , in his bountiful goodness , has , quote a mysterious bias towards mercy . I just love that he has a mysterious bias toward mercy . Well , why ? Because he's the fountain of mercy . He's , as one author said , a billionaire in the currency of mercy . Can you imagine if a billionaire picks up lunch for you , even a really nice one , a couple hundred dollars , that's a really nice lunch and then as you're walking out , he's sort of like hey , I have Venmo , so you can just hit me back with that . That's a cash app . If you don't know , people can pay each other on Venmo . That would be insane . Why would it be insane ? Because he's a billionaire , why ? Why would that be insane ? Because billionaires , they just give , they can just give and give . Well , god is a billionaire and in fact he's more than that he's infinite . In the currency of mercy , whatever you withdraw is nothing . It's nothing because it's never ending . That is the kingdom of mercy , not merit .

Speaker 1 33:53

So here's the thing if God simply possessed mercy and his true nature was actually something else , he would be limited in the amount of mercy he could offer . But if his fundamental nature of core to his heart is mercy , god is merciful and gracious . Remember when we were in Exodus . Moses said God , reveal to me your glory . And he said the Lord , the Lord , merciful and gracious , slow to anger and abounding , instead fast love and faithfulness . This core of who he is , and because this core of who he is , he can never run out of mercy , ever .

Speaker 1 34:30

Charles Spurgeon said it this way he delights in mercy , just as some men delight in trade , some in the arts , some in professions , and each man according to his delight . This thing about what are you delight in ? This is what he's trying to draw up in us . Charles Spurgeon , you delight in starting new things , you delight in music , you delight in the work of your hands , you delight in gardening , you delight in national parks , whatever it is . Charles Spurgeon is trying to draw us , even analogically , into this that each man delights in something and according to his delight , he becomes proficient in pursuing a work for that love . So God is proficient in mercy . He addicts himself to it . He is most God-like , most happy as such a thing may be said of him when he is stretching out his right hand with his golden scepter in it and saying to the guilty come to me , touch this scepter and you shall live . He's delighting in his mercy .

Speaker 1 35:33

So you say , what's the problem ? The problem is this is that you and I are bent in such a way not to receive this mercy , because it blows all of our categories . Out of God's heart flows mercy , but out of ours there's a reluctance to receive it . As one author says , we are cool in calculating ones , not him . He is not , we are . He is open-armed , we are stiff-armed . I love this Well , because I drink coffee . Our naturally decaffeinated views of God's heart might feel right because we're being stern with ourselves , not letting ourselves off the hook too easily , and such sternness feels appropriately and morally serious . It feels appropriate and morally serious .

Speaker 1 36:20

But this deflecting of God's yearning , merciful heart does not reflect Scripture's testimony about how God feels toward us or what he invites us to . He invites us to mercy , over and over and over . And some of us this morning , our hearts are hard , they're calcified through bitterness , disappointment , anger , unbelief . But hear me , the way to soften your heart is not toward saying I guess I got to be more merciful . The way to soften your heart is to receive God's mercy . The only way a hard heart is broken down is when wave after wave of mercy washes over , slowly but persistently , turning that hard heart into one that is soft . And so receiving God's mercy I'll leave you with this doesn't reduce motivation in this life .

Living in a World of Mercy

Speaker 1 37:17

Some of you are like well then , what then ? Where is obedience ? You should be obedient , I mean . There's no doubt about it . But the question is , what is your fuel for obedience ? Is it merit ? Is it God will be happier with me ? No , it's that God wants you to have abundant life , and sin does not lead to abundance . Obedience , faithfulness , leads to abundance . So the point is this is that mercy doesn't reduce our motivation for holiness and obedience or a life of excellence . It just changes the fuel . The fuel switches from gaining God's approval to receiving the gift of his approval , and that's why we long to be wholly in obedient . It switches from a fuel of performance to that of gratitude , and I promise you this that fuel burns hotter and longer than fear and effort .

Speaker 1 38:12

And so this morning I invite you to a flourishing life . Drink from the well of God's abundant mercy , so that then you and I might overflow with mercy and grace to others . Let's pray , oh , father , open our hearts to this truth . Everything in us says this isn't right . It's just quite just not quite right , just a little off . Because of our hardness , because of our sinfulness , because of our doubt . And your goodness , holy Spirit , I ask that you would in fact help us experience and taste the mercy of our God that we've been singing about , your mercy that you pour out in our hearts . I pray that from the joy and relief that we experience , that from that you would grow in us a desire for holiness and obedience . And it's in Jesus' name we pray , amen .

Speaker 1 39:19

Okay , so this is the time when we reflect for a few moments silently , on what you may have received or heard or thought or felt , and it's a time of prayer . You're responding in prayer , and so I'm going to give you the same question I've been asking the whole time for you to reflect on , and that is are you living in a world of mercy or merit ? And maybe ask the Lord to reveal to you what that might mean practically . Now , if there's something else that you wrote down that you'd like to reflect on , of course you're free to do that , but if you're not quite sure , go with that one During this time . Ask the Holy Spirit Am I living in a world of scarcity of merit or of mercy ?