Kingdom Ethics 2

You and I must be caught up in mercy.

And how do we then define this mercy that Jesus is talking about?

Extending undeserved blessing,

withholding deserved penalty, extending undeserved mercy,

extending undeserved mercy, withholding

deserved penalty.

Here's the other thing about mercy.

It extends kindness to the needy, even though,

you know, we find it difficult to show kindness and sometimes

we withdraw kindness when we discover that the one we are helping

caused his or her own problem.

We often withdraw kindness when we find out that the one who

we are helping created the problem, that they actually are

the reason for the problem, that they caused their own problem.

That's when we withdraw our kindness.

I used to work at Street Church on Hastings and Main and

there's a pastor there called Randy Barnston and Randy would

feed the poor and the homeless and the homosexual and the shelterless

and the drug addict and the prostitute and many would come and say

you're just enabling them.

You just allow them to come and you feed them.

You're enabling them.

They go from soup kitchen to soup kitchen to soup kitchen.

They shouldn't stop their drug habits.

Why are they using their welfare money to take on drugs?

And Randy's response was always that I am not here to figure out

whether they are here because they are the cause or they are not

the cause.

I'm here because I'm called to show mercy.

I'm not saying that there's a blanket statement.

I'm saying that we usually fall on the side of well, you better

get out of this.

I'm willing to help you show you mercy if there is a place for

that, but I'm just saying mercy extends kindness to the needy

regardless of the reason.

Here's the third thing.

This was kind of new to me.

Mercy involves risk, loss of time, loss of money, loss of reputation.

Mercy involves risk, loss of time, loss of money, loss of reputation.

Mercy involves risk, loss of money, loss of time, loss of reputation.

God knows why the man was beaten up by the bandits and left on the

streets in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Maybe he wasn't beaten up by bandits.

Maybe he got into a fight and he got beaten.

Maybe he had robbed somebody and the guys found him and beat him

up.

We don't know why he was lying there by the side of the road.

And the Levite comes and the priest come and both of them pass

by only because to show mercy would have cost them something.

To show mercy would have cost them time or would have caused a loss

of purity because if he touched the man he would be unclean.

And so because of the loss of time or the loss of reputation or

the loss of money people passed him by but one man the Samaritan

stopped and he lost his time.

He lost his money.

But that is mercy.

Half the time we don't stop.

I mean, did you see that video by the UBC professor?

He was being beaten up by a guy.

Nobody stopped.

So on the video you see being beaten up but no one stopped.

No one stopped.

No one's intervening to help.

Will I?

Will you?

I don't know man.

Because it will cost us time and money and a whole lot of money

cost us time and money and a whole lot of complications.

What a world we live in and what a world we are becoming.

What are what kind of people are we becoming?

Keep our noses clean.

I pray God that he gives us some time before he tests us on this.

I remember this is a day after I became a Christian.

I've wrapped up my Bible in newspaper because I don't want

anyone to know that I'm reading the Bible and I'm sitting in

this train and I'm reading and there's this really really poor

beggar like he's so poor.

He's hardly got a loincloth on and he's dirty and he's sitting

near the toilet and in those days toilets and Indian trains

in the unreserved compartment were filthy and they wouldn't

allow him to sit anywhere else.

He would only he was sitting in the toilet and I'm reading

this Bible and I've got pakoras and stuff like that and I'm

eating and as I'm reading the Bible I'm looking at this guy

and the verses seem to kind of contradict what I'm reading

and where he's sitting just didn't make sense and I'm only

one day old in this thing and I couldn't sit there any moment.

So I get up and I'm thinking about you go anywhere and sit

near to him and this whole compartment is going to look at

you funny scorn think who does he pretend he is and so I put

the Bible away took my pakoras and I went and sat next to him

by the toilet and started giving him food and in the language

that we were of that province.

I started telling him Jesus loves you Jesus loves you and

this guy starts weeping and it's an open compartment in the

sense of dozer the the not open compartment the doors are open.

You so we are sitting by the steps now and I'm he's taking

my food and he's crying and I felt so awkward because I know

everybody was watching and then after he finished eating I went

back and sat down where I was sitting and I could still see

him and then the strangest thing happens.

I look up again and the man is gone.

He didn't jump off the train.

He couldn't have gone to the other compartment because it

was blocked.

It wasn't a true thing.

This is the first day after I was born again and everything

was a gosh lot and then as I'm reading I come across the

scripture some have entertained angels without knowing.

It's such a strange scripture to come across.

It was hard.

It stuck with me.

That was more than 28 or 29 years ago.

Mercy I pray God that we don't get so used to Christianity

that mercy begins become something we do once a year when

we feed someone soup.

That this week we get opportunities.

If I'm not willing to extend mercy, it's because I failed to

recognize my own spiritual poverty.

It's because I my heart doesn't really grieve for anybody else

and it's because I'm not very interested in them enjoying

God's kindness to them.

Those are usually the reasons I don't.

I don't that's it.

That's usually why we don't extend mercy.

One because we forget our spiritual poverty.

Two because our hearts really don't grieve for someone else

who's not doing well and three.

I'm not particularly interested in someone else enjoying

God's delight or kindness.

If it happens, let it happen for me.

If it doesn't happen, that's fine too.

So I'm not here to say frankly, I don't want to do this.

So I'm not here to say Franklin Graham is right or wrong in

critiquing homosexuals and stuff like that.

I'm saying that for every statement of truth that we make

maybe also make a statement that shows mercy which he may

be doing.

I'm not here to start a firestorm or critique things,

but maybe do both.

We don't extend mercy because I fail to recognize my own

spiritual poverty.

I have no grief for the plight of Jerusalem.

Jesus, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I long to collect you

like a hen collects its chicks and if you only knew the

peace I had for you, there was grief, there was lament,

there was mourning, blessed are those that mourn.

I don't have grief over the plight of Jerusalem and I'm

disinterested in seeing others enjoy a right relationship

with God.

The very thing we were talking about.

I'm disinterested in seeing others enjoy a right relationship

with God.

It's not one of my chief interests.

Guys, it's a farisacal spirit and boy do we come under it

every so often.

Boy do I come under it every so often.

It is a farisacal spirit that offers worship but holds back

mercy.

It's a farisacal spirit that offers worship but holds back

mercy.

Jesus said when they would not show mercy to a man who was

crippled, Jesus said I desire mercy not sacrifice.

Matthew 9 13.

Let me go finish.

Here's a beautiful thing.

When you and I walk in mercy, it becomes easier to recognize,

receive and relate to God as our faithful and merciful High

Priest.

When you walk in mercy, it becomes easier to recognize,

receive and relate to God as your faithful and merciful High

Priest.

Hebrews 2 17 says that.

Hebrews 2 17 says but we have a faithful and merciful High

Priest.

But here's the thing guys.

This is scripture in Psalm 18 verse 25 and 26 where it says

Psalms 18:25

To the merciful, I show myself merciful.

To the pure, I show myself pure.

You know what happens when you begin to live out a certain

quality, you begin to see God that way towards you.

Psalm 18 verse 25 and 26 with the merciful, you show yourself

Psalms 18:25

merciful.

With the blameless, you show yourself blameless.

With the pure, you show yourself pure and with the crooked,

you show yourself torturous as in the one who is crooked cannot

figure you out.

That's what the message says that when a man is crooked, he

can't figure you out.

But when he's pure, he's able to see you as pure.

When he's merciful, he receives you and sees you, recognizes

you as merciful.

Sometimes when you have messed up and you sin, why is it so

hard to go back to God and receive forgiveness because

sometimes we have refused to show others forgiveness and we

cannot relate to this high priest of ours as faithful and

merciful.

Oh no!

When you have done something impure, it is very hard to

relate to a God who is pure because of the impurity that

you walk in and then you crave and you ask forgiveness and

you sing songs and you do penance and oh, it's such a

pain.

Show mercy and you will see how quickly you receive mercy.

Odd how this works.

In an odd way, no, I won't say that.

Last line.

Go to 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10.

1 Peter 2, 9 and 10.

When we begin to show mercy, we become a royal priesthood

who becomes who become faithful and merciful here on earth.

Faithful and merciful priests we become.

1 Peter 2, 9.

1 Peter 2, 9.

And 10.

But you are a chosen people.

A royal priesthood.

A holy nation.

A people belonging to God.

That you may declare the praises of him who called you out

of darkness into his wonderful light.

We know that.

Now listen to verse 10.

Once you were not a people, but now you're a people of God.

Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received

mercy.

If you want to be a royal priesthood as in a priest of God

here on earth, two things that are required of a priest.

Faithfulness and mercy.

This is something the priest did.

A shedding the blood of bull after bull after bull after goat

after goat after goat after turtle dove after turtle dove

after turtle dove.

Why?

So that the mercy of God may fall upon those that had sinned.

And now we don't need to do that because Christ has shed his

blood once and for all.

But there is still the requirement as a people who have

received mercy to continue showing mercy.

If you want to be the royal priesthood of God here on earth

blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy.

What do you mean Jacob?

The Betty next time.

You do something that is wrong.

I will not.

I will withhold your deserved penalty and instead I will

give you undeserved blessing.

Next time Gillian that you mess up, I'll spend all the time

I need all the money that I need everything I need even lose

my reputation so that you may be restored.

And when God says he does that, you know how he does that

through people who will do that.

That's the beauty of it.

People will go out of their way to do for you what God wants

to do.

I don't like using the word karma because it's a Hindu term

but there is a scripture which says do not be deceived.

God is not mocked what you sow you will reap.

You sow mercy.

Mercy will come down in waves like a deluge like a flood.

You sow mercy.

You sow mercy.

Mercy will come down in waves like a deluge like a flood.

It'll come down on you.

And it'll come down through people through institutions

through governments through Kings here on Earth.

Why because the governing influence of the King of the

universe.

Altars shapes directs the affairs of men and it comes

towards you.

I pray God guys that this week you and I get opportunities

to do this.

Maybe we like the Samaritan.

I want to end with that song.

My chains are gone.

I'm set free.

Just sing that song and end and as you do, would you please

try and ask God father, could you do these two things for

me?

Give me a desire for right relationship and help me to be

someone who shows mercy.

Let's just ask for mercy.

Someone who shows mercy.

Let's just ask for that.

I can't do it for you.

I can't even do it for myself.

It's just a sheer work of the Spirit of God.

Just ask this for yourself.

It can be world transforming as in your little world

transforming.

When there are 70 people then there's 70 little worlds

transforming.

Let's just ask for that.