ORLANDO HOUSE OF PRAYER GEORGE SOTOLONGO BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL AND BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART

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1 Blessed Are the Merciful Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7 (NKJV) - This is a quality that cannot be kept inside for oneself - To possess this quality, we must give it away to others - The immature in faith cannot express this quality, for they, like an immature baby, are focused on themselves. The VERY NATURE of being MERCIFUL is to think of OTHERS and their betterment, instead of your own. - Our task is to discover something about the role of mercy in being faithful to the Lord I. Mercy Defined A. Some have trouble separating mercy from grace. 1. They are often found together, such as in the greeting of Paul's letters 2. Grace carries the idea of undeserved and unmerited favor-grace is GIVING you something you DO NOT DESERVE (Example: We did not deserve Salvation, but GRACE gave it to us) a. Grace is God's provision when a person does not deserve it. b. Grace is God's blessing to those who cannot earn it. c. Grace is giving something positive when there is no reason to expect it. 3. Mercy, however, carries a somewhat different idea-mercy is NOT GIVING you something that you DO DESERVE. (Example: We deserve Hell, but MERCY did NOT give it to us! PRAISE GOD!) a. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. b. Mercy is God withholding from us what we have earned.

2 B. Mercy is the necessary balance to righteousness. 1. God is righteous, but if he were only righteousness, he would be hard, demanding, and impossible for man to approach. 2. People who are nothing but "righteous" are hard, cold, and so judgmental that there is no room for anything except perfection. 3. Mercy softens righteousness with compassion and understanding. 4. But righteousness is based in truth, and mercy never contradicts the truth -- it relieves the demands of justice. C. Scriptures on Mercy: For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13 (NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you. So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? And he said, He who showed mercy on him. Then Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise. Luke 10:30-37 (NKJV) II. A Brief Summary of Biblical Teaching on Mercy A. Mercy is part of the character and nature of God 1. "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9 (NKJV)

3 2. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34 (NKJV) 3. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Joel 2:13 (NKJV) B. Mercy enables God to be sensitive to man's distress. 1. Hear me when I call, 0 God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. Psalms 4:1 (NKJV) 2. Have mercy on me, 0 LORD, for I am weak; 0 LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled. Psalms 6:2 (NKJV) 3. Have mercy on me, 0 LORD! Consider my trouble from those who hate me, you who lift me up from the gates of death. Psalms 9:13 (NKJV) C. Mercy deters punishment for sin. 1. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness' sake, 0 LORD. Psalms 25:7 (NKJV) 2. I said ""LORD, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You. Psalms 41:4 (NKJV) 3. Have mercy upon me, 0 God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Psalms 51:1 (NKJV) 4. "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!' Luke 18:13 (NKJV) 5. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, Titus 3:4-6 (NKJV) D. Mercy is the answer to man's hopelessness.

4 1. Be merciful to me, 0 God, for man would swallow me up; fighting all day he oppresses me. Psalms 56:1 (NKJV) 2. Be merciful to me, 0 Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Psalms 86:3 (NKJV) 3. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) III. Examples of Mercy A. And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. Genesis 19:16 (NKJV) B. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Genesis 39:21 (NKJV) C. When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ""Son of David, have mercy on us!" Matthew 9:27 (NKJV) D. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ''Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demonpossessed." Matthew 15:22 (NKJV) E. "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. Matthew 17:15 (KNJV) F. "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" And he said, "''He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, ""Go and do likewise." Luke 10:36-37 (NKJV) ONE OF THE BEST SCRIPTURES DESCRIBING THE POWER AND IMPORTANCE OF MERCY IS FOUND IN JAMES 2:1 3 "FORJUDGMENT IS WITHOUT MERCY TO THE ONE WHO HAS SHOWN NO MERCY. MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT!" (PRAISE GOD)!! IV. Jesus Wants Us to Practice Mercy A. Mercy may affect all or some of the following:

5 1. The level of compassion and pity you feel for others. 2. Your ability to respond to the needs or cries for help of others. 3. The harshness with which you judge the actions and motives of others. 4. Your ability to show acts of kindness, gentleness to others. 5. Your ability to not seek revenge for the sins of others. 6. Your ability to stand for the truth and promote righteousness without destroying people in the process. B. Mercy truly demands a level of faith that not everyone is able to practice Blessed Are The Pure In Heart Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 (NKJV) Martyn Lloyd-Jones - "The gospel of Jesus Christ is concerned about the heart: all its emphasis is upon the heart." I. Defining the Terms To be pure in heart does not mean that one will literally see God in the flesh every time their heart is pure. What this text is meaning is that the purer our hearts become, the clearer we see God for who He really is in our lives. (See 1 John 3:2-3, Psalm 24:3-4 for powerful confirmation on what a heart qualifies us for). A. The word "pure" 1. KATHAROS -- a. clean (we get our word catharsis or cathartic here) thus the idea of cleansed or purified b. unmixed (a pure substance -- one not mixed with something else, like oil and water) 2. Note the use of the word. a. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and selfindulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matthew 23:25-26 (NKJV)

6 b. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. John 15:3 (NKJV) c. The LORD shall judge the peoples; judge me, 0 LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity within me. Psalm 7:8 (NKJV) d. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. Psalm 25:21 (NKJV) e. As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever. Psalm 41:12 (NKJV) B. The heart 1. Sometimes it is the emotions. a. Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. John 14:1 (NKJV) b. Therefore the king said to me, ""Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid. Nehemiah 2:2 (NKJV) 2. Sometimes it is the intellect or the mind. a. But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ""Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Mark 2:8 (NKJV) b. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) 3. Sometimes it is the will of man.

7 a. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8 (NKJV) b. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; Luke 21:14 (NKJV) 4. Altogether, the biblical picture of the heart is that it is the entirety of the inner man a. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV) b. These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Matthew 15:8 (NKJV) c. doing the will of God from the heart, Ephesians 6:6 (NKJV) 5. It is the heart that is the source of all man's trouble. a. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV) b. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 (NKJV) c. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man. Mark 7:21-23 (NKJV) II. Purity of Heart is a Characteristic of Mature Faith A. True Christianity is not simply a matter of reformed behavior. It is a matter of the condition and state of a person's heart

8 B. Hindu trader in India once asked a missionary, "What do you put on your face to make it shine?" With surprise the man of God answered, "I don't put anything on it!" His questioner began to lose patience and said emphatically, "Yes, you do! All of you who believe in Jesus seem to have it. I've seen it in the towns of Agra and Surat, and even in the city of Bombay. Suddenly the Christian understood, and his face glowed even more as he said, "Now I know what you mean, and I will tell you the secret. It's not something we put on from the outside but something that comes from within. It's the reflection of the light of God in our hearts. (M. Lloyd-Jones) C. Note the emphasis the Bible places on that which God does with our hearts. 1. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt 6:21 (NKJV) 2. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38 (NKJV) 3. clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) 4. and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:21-22 (NKJV) 5. "Guard your HEART with all diligence, For out of it spring the ISSUES OF LIFE. " Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV) (My favorite one):