Mercy Ministry: What is it?

Transcription

1 Overall course goal: Mercy Ministry: What is it? This class is designed for FBC members to grasp the heart of God for marginalized people leading to acts of mercy. During this course we will focus on God s commands to the Israelites toward the marginalized in the Old Testament, and Jesus teaching and actions toward marginalized people in the New Testament. We will discuss how the writers of the epistles instructed their hearers to extend mercy and the church has responded to those in need throughout her history. This class will also provide practical applications to wisely extend mercy to the community surrounding FBC and the communities FBC members live in and serve. Or.. The goal of this course is for the scriptures to inform, conform and strengthen our hearts and minds to the heart of God for individuals in need of mercy. Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. I. General definition of mercy ministry a. What is mercy? i. Compassion shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence b. What is ministry? i. To meet the needs of another individual ii. To sacrificially invest in the life of another individual iii. To give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities Goodwill can be understood as, an individual with power meeting the need(s) of powerless individual(s).. Local organizations that have the power to meet the needs of powerless people: Urban Ministry Shelter Housing for New Hope o The mission of Housing for New Hope is to encourage and assist homeless people and other persons in crisis to move toward lives marked by increased levels of stability, dignity, hope, and independence. TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers) 1

2 o Is an innovative, multi-year residential program that enables substance abusers to be productive, recovering individuals by providing comprehensive treatment, work-based vocational training, education, and continuing care. Genesis Home o Works to end homelessness for families with children by providing housing and supportive services to foster independence. Individuals with the power who meet the needs of powerless people: Philanthropist-individuals who give great amounts of money, times and material goods for society o Bill Gates o Oprah Winfrey o Ted Turner Mercy ministry at its core is the involvement of an individual in power toward a powerless individual. True mercy ministry takes place when the individual in power takes action to help the powerless individual move out of their condition so that they can live an unrestricted life. What are some of the reasons people in power help those who are powerless? General mercy ministry takes place when an individual with power meeting the need(s) of powerless individual(s) to move them out of their condition in order to live an unrestricted life. Mercy Ministry or acts of kindness are part of the daily routine of individuals and organizations throughout the world. Individuals with power have the ability to choose whether or not they will help those in need. Those engaging in these acts of kindness do them for myriad of reasons. Even these acts of kindness, though not understood by all unbelievers are done because male and females have a natural understanding of right and wrong. How do people respond when you ask them why they should go to heaven? Good person Go to church Never killed, or stolen anything 2

3 Good works outweigh their bad works God knows their heart Atheist-doesn t believe in God, if God existed He would not allow bad things to happen. This understanding of right and wrong is distorted because of sin, but not lost. [S]ince man has sinned, he is certainly not as fully like God as he was before. His moral purity has been lost and his sinful character certainly does not reflect God s holiness. His intellect is corrupted by falsehood and misunderstanding; his speech no longer continually glorifies God; his relationships are often governed by selfishness rather than love, and so forth. Though man is still in the image of God, in every aspect of life some parts of that image have been distorted or lost. -Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine Pg. 190 The organizations and people who have the power and are helping the powerless are not acting outside of the sovereignty of God. Every act of kindness is a manifestation of the grace of God. It is not saving grace, but common grace. Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation.-bible Doctrine Pg. 273 Psalm 145:9, The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. Matthew 5: But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Acts 14: In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." General mercy ministry occurs when an individual with power chooses to meets the need(s) of powerless individual(s) to move them out of their condition in order to live an unrestricted life. Application: Our God is worthy to be praised for pouring out common grace in the whole of creation through organizations, people and any other means he chooses to use. As believers in Christ, based on the general definition are you the one with power or are you powerless? 3

4 II. Biblical definition of mercy a. Mercy-kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. i. 1a) of men towards men: to exercise the virtue of mercy, show one s self merciful ii. 1b) of God towards men: in general providence; the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ iii. 1c) the mercy of Christ, whereby at his return to judgment he will bless true Christians with eternal life b. The mercy of God i. It is God s nature to act on behalf of people in misery and distress Exodus 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, :The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, Psalms 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. ii. God s mercy is that aspect of his nature which moves him to relieve suffering and misery Ministries of Mercy-Timothy Keller Pg. 46 iii. God s mercy means God s goodness toward those in misery and distress- Bible Doctrine Wayne Grudem The mercy of God is his goodness toward those in misery and distress to act on their behalf to deliver them, so that they will live for the praise of His glorious name. (Luke 17:12-19) The Bible is the story of God s covenant to enable his chosen people to dwell with him for eternity and live for his glory, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3&4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. III. The mercy of God in the grand story of redemption God creates the world 4

5 Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Adam and Eve created to enjoy perfect fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden Genesis 1: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 2: The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." The fall-adam and Eve believe Satan s rather than God Genesis 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. The effects of sin and the promise to crush Satan Genesis 3:15 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." The 1 st act of God s mercy Genesis 3:21 clothed them. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and Abel, Cain & Seth 5

6 Genesis 4:1-2 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. Genesis 5:3 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Genesis 5: When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands." The flood-god destroys the earth through a flood, because of sin but one man finds favor in God s eye Genesis 6:5-8 5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Noah and his family are saved from the flood Genesis 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. God repopulates the earth through Noah s sons Shem, Ham & Japheth Genesis 9: God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth." 18 The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. Gods plan to crush Satan s head works out through the line of Shem (Luke 3:36) Genesis 11:11 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters. God calls Abram out of the Ur of the Chaldeans and makes a covenant with him Genesis 11: When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, 6

7 and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran. Abrahamic covenant Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 15:1-14 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Joseph taken to Egypt as the 1 st step toward the Israelites going into bondage Genesis 37: Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. The Israelites go into bondage for 400 years under the Egyptians Exodus 1: Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, "Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." God mightily rescues his covenant people from Egyptian bondage through his servant Moses Exodus 12: The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. 7

8 Exodus 12:51 51 And on that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. Mosaic Covenant-God gives his covenant people the stipulations of their relationship Exodus 19:4-6 4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." Exodus 20:1-Leviticus And God spoke all these words, saying Leviticus: Expansion of covenant law for the purpose of holiness among the people of Yahweh, since he will dwell in their midst-a Survey of the Old Testament Pg. 58 Leviticus 16: And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 29 "And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. 30 For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins. Day of Atonement-The sacrificial system enabled God to dwell with his people and His covenant people to dwell with him Numbers: Testing, purging, and purifying of Yahweh s covenant people in the Sinai wilderness wandering-a Survey of the Old Testament Pg. 58 Numbers 14: Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 'It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.' 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 'The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.' 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now." 20 Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 8

9 God pardons the sin of the people for choosing not to enter the land, but the people wander in the desert for 40 years until those who were 20 years and older had died. Deuteronomy: Covenant renewal and the second law-giving as preparation for entry into the land of the promise by the second generation of Yahweh s people- A Survey of the Old Testament Pg. 58 Moses gives 3 sermons to the descendants of those who died in the dessert to enter the land the Lord was giving to them, and to drive out all the people who currently lived in the land. If they would obey the Lord the covenant people would be blessed if they disobeyed they would be cursed. Deuteronomy 30:1-20 "And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 11 "For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. 15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your 9

10 offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." Joshua Joshua leads the people into the promised land and dies and God does not raise up another leader. Judges/Ruth-the Israelites do not drive out the people from the surrounding nations as they had been commanded to do by, Moses and Joshua. Rather than obeying the law the people do what is right in their own eyes. The cycles of the Judges period show how God demonstrated his power and mercy by delivering them time after time after his justice had demanded that he bring judgment. -A survey of the Old Testament pg. 235 Judges 2: And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. Judges 2: Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 1 &2 Samuel God gives the people King Saul so that they could be like the surrounding nations God chooses King David, who has a heart after God, to succeed Saul 2 Samuel 5:12 12 And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. 2 Samuel 7: When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 10

11 1&2 Kings/Chronicles After King Solomon s ( ) death the kingdom (12 tribes of Israel) are torn apart Northern Kingdom 10 tribes and the Southern Kingdom 2 tribes Good and Bad kings rule in both kingdoms WISDOM LITERATURE Job/Psalms/Proverbs/Ecclesiastes/Song of Solomon Prophets God raises up prophets to call his people to repent of their sin or face the ultimate punishment by being removed from the land as it says in Deuteronomy The proclamation of the prophets is an act of mercy on the part of God. God wanted his people to repent of their sins and return to Him, rather than send them into captivity. Isaiah 43:25 25 "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Jeremiah 3: And the LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, "' Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. 14 Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. Jeremiah 23:5-6 5 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.' Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. Amos 4: "I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 7 "I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; 8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 9 "I struck you with blight and mildew; your 11

12 many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 10 "I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. 11 "I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD. Micah 7: Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old. Because the Northern Kingdom does not repent they go into captivity in by the Assyrians (720) 2 Kings 17:6-8 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7 And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods 8 and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. God promises to fulfill the Davidic covenant, even as the Babylonians are on the verge of destroying Jerusalem and the temple Jeremiah 33: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.' 17 "For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever." The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the temple (586) Jeremiah 39:1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. The Southern Kingdom is taken captive by the Persians 12

13 Daniel 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans- Haggai-1 st wave of Jewish exiles return to Jerusalem in 538-ESV Bible Ezra-temple rebuilt Nehemiah-walls rebuilt Zechariah-encourages the returning Jewish exiles to repent and renew their covenant with God-ESV Bible Malachi-writes a short time after Zechariah calls the Jewish exiles to repent Intertestemental Time-400 years of silence New Testament The promise God made in Genesis 3:15 he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel and the promise in 2 Samuel 7:12&13 I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body. And I will establish his kingdom has not been fulfilled Adam, Able, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, the Kings of Israel, and the prophets could not fulfill any of those promises. God displays the greatest act of mercy when He sends his one and only Son to the earth. Gospels Jesus Christ -the promise Messiah, the righteous branch, the Davidic King, and the one to crush Satan s head comes into the world Jesus Christ is crucified on a cross paying the price for sin that came into the world through Adam and Eve John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Luke 18:31-34 And taking the twelve, he said to them, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. Jesus perfect life and crucifixion satisfies the wrath and justice of God so that all who believe in Jesus Christ enter into a relationship of eternal peace John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 13

14 John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Jesus Christ has other sheep: Gentiles John 10:16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ACTS The Church is born on the day of Pentecost The Church spreads and people believe in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The Epistles The General and Pastoral Romans 9:14 & 15, 18 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.so then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. Ephesians 1:3&4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Ephesians 2:1-10 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one 14

15 may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. 1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The book of Revelation is the recording of the revelation of Jesus Christ to John on the island of Patmos of the end times The book ends with God separating the righteous (all who have trusted in Jesus Christ) from the unrighteous (rejected Jesus Christ). The earth and heavens are destroyed and made new and God dwells with his chosen for eternity as He was going to do in Eden Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Application from the Grand Story of Redemption Believers are to be the conduits through which mercy flows to believers and unbelievers, because they have been and are daily receiving mercy from God. Throughout God s story He merciful acts on behalf of undeserving people forgiving, commanding, choosing, and leading them. IV. Definitions of mercy a. General mercy(goodwill): occurs when an individual with power chooses to meets the need(s) of powerless individual(s) to move them out of their condition in order to live an unrestricted life. b. Mercy(biblical definition): kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them c. The mercy of God: is his goodness toward those in misery and distress to act on their behalf to deliver them, so that they will live for the praise of His glorious name. d. Post cross mercy ministry: Mercy ministry is the natural action of a believer to sacrificially meet the spiritual and felt needs of a believer or unbeliever for the joy of the LORD 15

16 1. Believers should be the conduits through which mercy flows because they are recipients of God s mercy in salvation. (Rom 15:8&9; 1 Tim 1:12-14; Titus 3:4) 2. Believers should be the conduits through which mercy flows because they are recipients of God s mercy every moment of every day. (2 Cor 4:1; Heb 4:16) a. Name some ways believers daily experience the mercy of God? 3. Believers should be the conduits through which mercy flow because God by the Holy Spirit is conforming every believer into the image of Jesus Christ who is full of mercy. (Rom 8:29&30; 2 Cor 3:18; 2 Tim 1:2) 16