Rick Warren - Being an Agent of Mercy in the World—Part Two

Hello, and thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's

Daily Hope. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Rick Warren,

and today we are continuing in a series called the

Miracle of Mercy. Rick will show us how God's mercy

can lift your guilt, heal your wounds, and transform the

way you live. And now let's jump right in with

Rick with part two of a message called being an

Agent of Mercy in the World.

Here's the third principle, choose my words carefully. If you're

going to be an agent of mercy in the world

this week, you're God's secret agent of mercy, and you're

going out and you're showing mercy in the workplace and

in the neighborhood and in the grocery store and at

the post office. You have to choose your words carefully.

Mercy puts a monitor on my mouth. If I'm going

to be an agent of mercy, there are some things

I just can't say. Does that make sense. I can't

be mean to people, I can't be rude to people.

I can't be sarcastic to people, and I can't put

them down. I have to choose my words carefully. Colossians

four to six. When you talk, you should always be

kind and pleasant, so you will be able to answer

everyone in the way you should. Circle the word pleasant

and kind. You are never persuasive when you're abrasive. If

you can't get what you want in a grocery store

or at in a department store, at a restaurant, and

you're being offensive and you're being rude to the clerk

or the waitress, you are never persuasive when you're abrasive,

he says. When you talk, you should always be kind,

always be pleasant, so you'll be able to answer everyone

in the way you should. That's what agents of mercy do.

Let me show you another verse up here on the

screen Ephesians four twenty nine. Do not say harmful things

which tear people down, but say what people need. Words

that will help others become stronger. In other words, words

that build them up, not tear them down. Do your

words tear down people, they build them up, words that

will help others become stronger. Then what you say will

do good to those who listen to you. That's the Bible,

that's God telling you how you are to speak. If

you're an agent of mercy, you do not say harmful things.

But you say what people need words that will help

them become stronger. Okay, Now, how in the world do

I do that? How do I know if I've had

this pattern? Maybe you grew up learning. You're in a family,

it's common to put each other down. How do I

break that habit my life? You ask God for wisdom. Wisdom.

We talked about this a while back. Makes you patient.

The more wise you are, the more patient you'll become.

The more wise you are, the more merciful you'll be.

The more you understand the hurts of other people, the

more you cut them slack, the more gracious and merciful

you are. James three, verse seventeen. The wisdom that comes

from heaven is pure, and it's peace loving. In other words,

if I'm wise, I love peace, not conflict. There are

people on the internet who are not wise. They don't

love peace. They love conflict. They love arguing, they love trolling,

they love getting into a fight. They're not wise, they're unwise.

The wisdom that comes from heaven is peace loving. It's

gentle all at all times. When I'm not gentle, I'm

not being wise, And it's willing to yield to others.

Wisdom is full of mercy. The more your life is

filled with mercy, the wiser you're going to be. And

the wiser you become, the more merciful you're going to

be to people around you, even people who totally disagree

with you, even people who don't like you, even people

who consider themselves to be your enemy, you still show

them mercy because you're wise. Okay, now, let me give

you a fourth principle. Start looking and listening for people's needs.

Don't be offended by people's sins. Choose your words carefully.

And here's the fourth principle of mercy. Value saving people

over keeping rules. In God's books, saving people is a

whole lot more important than keeping rules. Rules are not

nearly as important as relationships. In God's book, rules are

not as important as relationships. You value saving people over

keeping rules. Now, Jesus modeled this over and over and over.

I gave you one example there, Matthew, chapter twelve. It

was against the law, a religious law, for you to

pick grain in a field on the Sabbath and eat it.

That was considered work in the traditions of that day.

And yet jesus disciples were hungry so you'll just get

some get some grain there, eat some of that. And

the religious Pharisees, the the legalists, they were indignant. They go, hey,

why are you guys breaking all this rule? Because they're

just hungry. He cared more about his disciples empty stomachs

than he did care about their traditions. And over and

over agin again, Jesus often broke rules to heal people

because healing people was more important than keeping rules in

God's book, that is, the God of mercy. Here's a

good example, Matthew, chapter twenty three, verse twenty three. Jesus

says this to the legalists, to the judgmental Pharisees, he said,

you know, you Pharisees, you're careful to tithe ten percent

of every part of your income. But he said, then

you ignore the other important matters of God's law justice,

you know, being fair to people, showing mercy, treating people

of mercy, and faith, having faith. Yes, you should tithe,

but he says you should you also shouldn't neglect the

more important things. I think this actually versus kind of

funny to me. Because Jesus did not get along with

the Pharisees. They did not like him, He was full

of grace and mercy, and they were full of legalism

and judgmentalism. The only thing that Jesus ever complemented in

the Pharisees was this. He said, you guys, tithe. He goes, you.

Got that right.

Okay, okay, you got that one right. You tithe ten

percent of everything you make goes back to the Lord

to say it really all belongs to you, and this

is to prove it. I'm just honoring you with the

first ten percent. He said, that's a good thing. You

got that one right. But he says you can't use

as an excuse to not do the other stuff, like

treating people fairly, showing mercy, and having faith. By the way,

sometimes you'll hear people say Jesus never spoke about tithing.

Of course he did. There's one example. He says, you

should die, But he says that's minor comparison to treating

people with mercy and being fair and just with people

and not ripping them off, because that's the more important stuff. Yeah,

keep tything, you need to do that, but this does

not give you an excuse to overlook the other important stuff.

So you need to value saving people overkeeping rules. So

those are four principles of mercy. Now, what I want

to do is talk for just a couple of minutes

on six places to be an agent of mercy. I

could give you a bunch of them, but I just

want to give you six examples. And rather than having

me teach on it, you're going to hear a very

short little story from normal people who actually modeled this point.

So let me give you six ways that you can

be a secret agent, not even secret, just an agent

of God's mercy. This next week you might write these down.

Number one, here's the first way to be an agent

of mercy this week. Look for people in a crisis

and listen to them. They need to be listened to.

When people are in a crisis. Your ear is a

healing tool. You can heal people just by listening to them.

That's why people pay big money to have counselors listen

to them. There's healing and listening. Look for people in

a crisis and listen to them. Galatians six to two

says this carry each other's burdens, and in this way

you will fulfill the law of Christ. Okay, first, what's

a burden, Well, a burden could be a lot of things.

Could be a physical burden, could be a financial burden,

It could be a relational burden. But most of the

time burdens are emotional stress. And when people are under

emotional stress, they're burdened down. They're going through a crisis,

and it dampens their emotion. He says, you know, carry

each other's burdens. How do you do that? By listening?

When you listen to somebody who's going through a crisis,

you're carrying their burden. And he says, in this way

you fulfill the law of Christ. What is the law

of Christ? The great commandment? Love God with all your heart,

Love your neighbor as yourself. Anytime you listen to somebody

in a crisis, you were loving your neighbor as yourself.

Anytime you listen to somebody and they unload their burden emotional, physical,

or whatever on you, you're sharing it. You are showing

love for God and love for each other. I want

you to hear Rob's story. Would you give him a

warm welcome?

Good to see you saddleback. When I was a twenty

one year old working for a major construction and land

development company, I was a part of a three man

crew that did all the excavating work necessary for the

new subdivisions. I was a brand new Christian and I

wanted to share my faith in Jesus with others. My boss,

his name was Mitch. He called me a lot of names,

most of which I can't mention here today. Because I

carried a Bible on the dashboard of my truck, I

spent my lunches reading it and I would pray before

I ate, and invited my boss many many times the

church and I tried to witness to him about how

Jesus had saved me from both my addictions and even

from ending my own life. But my boss showed no

interest whatsoever. I just couldn't get through to him. I'll

never forget today that my boss came to work and

he was obviously distraught. It was clear that he was

in a crisis. I asked him what was the matter,

and he said that his wife had abandoned him and

their small son over the weekend. He was devastated. Wanting

to show mercy, I just listened to him. Then I

asked him if I could pray for him, and to

my surprise, he said yes. God was using this crisis

to get Mitch's attention, and over the next couple months

our relationship changed completely. And as I listened to him

poured out his pain, He'd begin to ask me questions

and I would listen and he would listen to me.

Sharing his pain with me made it easier for him

to handle. As I said, I was a brand new Christian,

so I listened a lot. Thanksgiving Day that year was

Min Dana's first Thanksgiving as a married couple. We knew

it would be a tough day for Mitch, so we

invited him and his son to our studio apartment for

Thanksgiving dinner. It was an act of mercy, and I

was surprised that Mitch accepted and showed up with his

young son. Spending that day together made a huge impact

on him, and just a few weeks later, in my

work truck with my Bible on the dashboard, Mitch prayed

with me and he opened his life to Christ. The

mercy of God has broken through this guy's defense, and

we've remained friends and brothers in Christ. God bless great

thanks Robing.

Okay, So there's a good example of looking for people

in a crisis and listening to them. That's what Rob

did okay, here's the second way to be an Asian

of mercy. Look for people with unmet needs and help them.

Practical needs. You know, you need a car, You need

me to drive you somewhere. You need somebody to do

an erran for you. Can I help you paint your house? Whatever?

Look for people with unmet needs and help them. That

is being an agent of mercy. The Bible says this

in Romans fifteen two and three. Each of us needs

to look after the good of the people around us.

There's that word look. You gotta see it. Look for

the good, after the good of people around us, asking ourselves,

how can I help? That's exactly what Jesus did. He

didn't make it easy for himself by avoiding people's troubles,

but he waited right in and he helped out. This

is what mercy does. We look for people downe met

needs and help them. I want you to hear an

example from Ashley give her one while.

Pastorik asked me to share an example of someone who

came to know Christ through the acts of mercy of

our HIV and AIDS ministry team. So I'd like to

share the story of Jacob while participating in an AIDS

walk at Irvine Park, Jacob saw Sadovac's HIV and AIDS

Ministry booth. At first, he was angry because he thought

we were there to protest those living with HIV, but

soon he realized we were there to support, love and

care for those living with HIV and AIDS. Jacob said

he'd never imagined that any church would do that, and

he wondered if stadle Bach Church would help him. Jacob

quickly learned that the answer was yes. Our HIV AIDS

Ministry began to show Jacob mercy in many many ways.

Sat a Back members brought him several weeks worth of

meals and he was too sick to shop. And what

meant even more to him was that people didn't just

drop off the meals, they stayed and ate with him

like a friend. A stato Back small group came over

and cleaned his apart, his garage and even his refrigerator.

Other Saddleback members walked his dog when he had a

foot surgery. In one small group, hearing that he couldn't

afford a medical scooter to keep his leg elevated, went

out and found one so that he could get around

more comfortably. Another small group took Jacob to the movies

because he hated going to the movies alone. Most recently,

when Jacob was hospitalized, it was not his close friends

or family that came to visit him. Instead, it was

people from Saddleback's HIV support group, and even members he

didn't know who stopped buying encouraged him because his critical

condition required extra projection from germs. Jacob's hospital stay was

in a room surrounded by glass. Jacob explained, but when

I awoke after surgery, people from Saddleback's HIV AIDS group

were there to support me. They hung out, they prayed

for me, and I no longer felt alone. It meant

so much to me, especially when others seemed scared of me.

As a result of all these agents of mercy, Jacob

eventually opened his life to Jesus. He said, I accepted

Christ and got baptized a Saddleback because their kindness and

extreme helpfulness. The fact that my HIV status is not

considered a hindrance for me becoming a Christian and being

a part of this church, well, I just don't have

the words for that kind of love. There's no stigma

or judgment. Here, no one questions me. Instead, I found

open arms embracing me and big hugs from everyone. God

continues to show mercy and kindness through satur Back members,

and it is transforming one life after another through our

ace ministry. I invite you to join us. A's changed

Jacob's life, but God's love through merciful Christians changed it

even more.

A third way, God wants you to be an Asian

of mercy this week, look for people who are grieving

and comfort them. Look for people who are grieving and

comfort them. Every day of your life, somebody around you

has a loss. They lose a job, they lose a

loved one, they lose finances, they lose their dream. Loss

is the universal problem in life. You're going to have

many losses in your life, and everybody around you is

going to have many losses in there. There is no

loss without grief and pain, and when that happens, God

wants you to be an Asian University. Are you too

busy to notice the people who are grieving where you work?

Do you even know those who are grieving? Do you

even know enough about them on what's happening in the

losses in their life? The Bible says in Two Corinthians,

Chapter one, verse three and four. God comforts us in

our troubles, so that we can comfort others who are

in trouble with the same comfort that we ourselves received

from God. I want you to hear an example from Vicky.

Give her a warm welcome right now.

HI, look for people who are grieving and comfort them well.

When I was teaching aerobics, I had an elderly couple

in my low impact class. They were there every Wednesday

morning in the front row, smiling through the entire class.

Suddenly they were not there for a few weeks, and

I was concerned that they may have fallen ill. So

I tried to find out their condition, but I couldn't

find any information on them. When they returned, I could

see that something was heavy on their hearts. They were there,

but their smiles were missing. So I talked to them

after class, and they had told me that their adopted daughter,

an only child, had been killed in an automobile accident.

They were devastated and they were in deep grief, and

they were worried because they were the only relatives left

to raise their young granddaughter. This elderly couple asked me

how I got through the loss of my dad, and

I told them about my faith in Jesus and the

comfort he gives us and our grief. Of course, I

invited them to saddle Back Church and they loved it.

They loved it, they started to serve. It was wonderful,

surrounded by all the love and mercy we all feel here.

They both accepted the Lord very soon after. Over the years,

they were constantly thanking me for showing them mercy and

telling them about Jesus. A few years later, their granddaughter's

long lost father suddenly showed up to take their granddaughter

from them. This was another huge loss that they would

have to grieve, but this time they were grateful that

they had Jesus and our church family to comfort them

through that loss. So years later, the elderly wife grew

quite ill and she asked me to come to her

hospital room to talk to her visiting granddaughter about the Lord.

I felt totally unequipped for such a big responsibility, and

I went anyway, asking God to show me mercy. As

I walked through the hospital parking lot, my mind was

just scrambling with what I would say. For some reason,

I looked down at the ground and on the wet

parking lot was a familiar piece of paper that I'd

see hundreds hundreds of times. It was one of Pastor

Rick's sermon outlines that someone had evidently dropped and from

a saddleback message that was just that weekend. So I

picked it up and guess what I found? Just the

words that the Lord had for me. It included the

same verse, the same verse that is on our message

notes today. Second Corinthians one three through four says God

comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort

others who are in trouble with the same comfort that

we ourselves received from God God. When I read that verse,

I started crying. It was God reminding me that when

we feel unworthy or unequipped to show mercy to others,

we're just not alone. God is with us, and he

will help us as we show that mercy. I now

walked into the hospital room with his words, not mine.

I still have the inkstate and outline as a reminder

to me. About a month later, Anne passed away and

went to heaven, and I had the privilege of helping

Pastor Glenn with her memorial service. I thank God for

the privilege of showing mercy to that elderly couple, knowing

that we will now be friends forever in heaven. And

I encourage you to show mercy to people that you can.

And by the way, here are my notes.

Thank you.

You know those sermon outlines are instructible. Make them. We

make them out of titanium, and only kryptonite can actually

cause them to do okay. Number four fourth way God

wants you to be an agent of mercy this week.

Look for people needing friends and show hospitality. Look for

people needing friends and show them hospitality. Now I'm talking

about people who are shy, people who are reticent, people

who are retiring, people who aren't the life of the party.

They might be socially awkward, they might feel uncomfortable in

social sittings, they settings, they might be unpopular. Everybody needs

friends in their life. God hates loneliness, and one of

the ways you can be an agent of mercy is

look for people who are lonely and love them and

just show them hospitality. Romans twelve, verse thirteen says this

look for opportunities to be hospitable.

Wow, what a great message from Rick today. You know

a lot of you already know that one of our

deepest needs is to feel peace in a world that

rarely slows down. But true, lasting, unshakable peace isn't found

in circumstances. It's found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

The Bible says his piece exceeds anything we can understand,

and one of the surest ways to draw close to

Jesus is by spending time in God's word. And that's

why Pastor Rick created a fifty two card scripture collection

called Experiencing God's Peace. You know as you read these verses,

you'll steady your heart on God's truth, let his peace

wash over you, and begin memorizing scriptures so that you

can recall it right when you need it most. And

these cards aren't just for you. You can use them

to encourage others. Give one to a friend and write

a personal note on the back. If a scripture speaks

to you, frame it. Place these cards where you can

see them throughout the day and be reminded that God

is with you. Request your set of Experiencing God's Scripture

cards when you give a gift to support daily hope

and help share the hope of Jesus with a world

in need. It's our way of saying thanks. Just go

to pastorick dot com to get your copy of this

great resource. That's pastorick dot com. Or you can just

text the word hope to seven oh three oh nine. Again,

that's the word hope to seven oh three oh nine.

Be sure to join us next time as we look

into God's word for our daily hope. This program is

sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial

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