BLESSED – LORD HAVE MERCY, I NEED A PURE HEART
Matthew 5:7 (NIV) 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:8 (NIV) 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Mercy – compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” Oxford Dictionary
Ice Breaker: Tell about a time when someone showed you mercy by not giving you the punishment you deserved? Or tell about a time you withheld punishment for the sake of mercy.
Matthew 5:7 (NIV) 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
1.What do each of these passages teach us is the biblical understanding of mercy? (If you have time or on your own, see also Luke 18:35-43, Matthew 18:21-35)
a. Good Samaritan: Luke 10:30-37
b. The Prodigal Son’s Father vs. Older Brother: Luke 15:11-31
2. How is mercy more than just empathy, or sympathy?
3. How has God shown and will show us mercy? For what purposes has He shown us His mercy? (Ephesians 2:4-7, Roman 5:8, Romans 11:30-31, 1 Peter 1:3-4, 1 Peter 2:10)
Ephesians 2:4–7 (NIV) 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:8 (NIV) 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 11:30–31 (NIV) 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.
1 Peter 1:3–4 (NIV) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
1 Peter 2:10 (NIV) 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
4. Where does a Christian’s ability to be merciful come from? (Matthew 5:7, James 3:17, Romans 12:6-8, Galatians 5:22-23)
James 3:17 (NIV) 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Romans 12:6–8 (NIV) 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
5. Sermon Point 1: To Be Merciful Is To Respond To the Needs of Others With Compassion & Action. Are you aware of someone who is distressed or in need and what are some ways you can respond to that distress or need?
6. Sermon Point 2: Showing Mercy Is Directly Related To Forgiveness. (Share only if you are comfortable.) Who are the people in your life that have wronged you and that you would rather not forgive or show compassion (humanly speaking) and in what way can you show mercy to them (be merciful)?
Matthew 5:8 (NIV) 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
From Pastor Dave’s sermon: The Greek word for “heart” in Matthew 5:8 is “kardeeah” (like Cardio). This can be applied to the physical heart. But it also refers to the spiritual center of life. It is where thoughts, desires, sense of purpose, will, understanding, and character reside. So, to be pure in heart means to be blameless in who we actually are. (Sermon Point 3: THE HEART IS THE ENTIRE INTERNAL LIFE OF A PERSON, INCLUDING FEELINGS, MIND & WILL.)
7. What does it mean to be “pure in heart”? (Psalm 24:3-4, 1 Chronicles 29:17-18, Matthew 23:25-28, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Peter 1:22)
Psalm 24:3–4 (NIV) 3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.
1 Chronicles 29:17–18 (NIV)17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
Matthew 23:25–28 (NIV) 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV) 1Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
1 Peter 1:22 (NIV) 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
8. If “all have sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God” (Rom 3:23) How can we be “pure in heart”? (Acts 15:8-9, Romans 8:1-2, Hebrews 10:22, 1 John 1:7) What should be our response when we sin? (Psalm 51:10, 1 John 1:9, also Hebrews 10:22)
Acts 15:7–9 (NIV) 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Romans 8:1–2 (NIV) 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Hebrews 10:22 (NIV) 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
1 John 1:7 (NIV) 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Psalm 51:10 (NIV) 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
1 John 1:9 (NIV) 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
9. What are the blessings of being “pure in heart”? (Matt 5:8, 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, Heb 9:14, 1 Peter 1:22)
2 Corinthians 4:1–2 (NIV) 1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
Hebrews 9:14 (NIV) 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
1 Peter 1:22 (NIV) 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
10. What does it mean that the pure in heart “will see God”? (Job 19:26-27, 1 Corinthians 13:12, 1 John 3:2-3)
Job 19:26–27 (NIV) 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV) 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 John 3:2–3 (NIV) 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
11. If “we are blessed to be a blessing to a godless world” (Sun Grove’s theme for this year), how does being merciful and “pure in heart” bless others who do not know God?