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We are continuing our series in the King's speech, not this song, but the King's speech and this is really for those who are new with us, a sermon on the Mount that Jesus Christ the King of kings gave some 2000 years ago. It’s a tremendous sermon because it teaches us about spiritual realities, teaches us about what it means to be in the kingdom of heaven, what it means to be a child of God.

Jesus Christ begins by describing the people in the kingdom. This segment is what we call the Beatitudes. He gave eight Beatitudes, eight pronouncements of blessings that will describe the people of God. Now let me ask you a question. What is a Christian? How do you know if you're Christian? The world today answers it by saying “O, someone who comes to church, someone who wears a cross, someone who prays before his meals”. But if you ask Jesus, “what is a Christian based on the Beatitudes?” I would say a Christian is someone in whom his heart is radically changed. A Christian is someone who has a radical change of life. He's not just someone who professes faith, although that is necessary, but the real Christian, will evidence radical life change.

This is what John Piper has to say about the Beatitudes:

"With each beatitude, with each description of the child of God, another nail  is driven into a coffin. You say “what coffin?” Inside the coffin lies the corpse of a false understanding of salvation, that the person can be saved without being changed.

Many people today think that you can be a Christian simply by saying, you're Christian. But that's a false understanding, a real Christian has life change. Now, he doesn't change his life to save himself, but if he is saved by God, God will so work in his heart, give him a new heart, that he must evidence life change. You say what kind of changes should there be?

Well, Jesus says number one, a man who knows God, a man who is in the kingdom of God, he will be poor in spirit, that means he acknowledges and recognizes that he is bankrupt, spiritually. He recognizes he has no claim to stand before the holy God, he's humbled to the dust, he comes to God as a beggar. Well, that's the first mark of a man who comes to God. The first mark of a man who is in the kingdom, he's poor in spirit, but he does not only know this intellectually in his mind, but he feels it in his heart, because the second beatitude says, blessed are those who mourn, the word mourn there means to grieve heavily. It's used to describe someone who mourns over the death of a loved one. He is so broken about his sin, he's so grieved over his sinfulness, he's so overwhelmed by his own helplessness, he comes to God humbly with a broken heart.

Number three, a Christian is someone who will be meek. Now he's not weak but he's meek in that he is surrendered to God, he does not hit out, he's not full of vengeance, he's gentle and calm because he's yielded to his Lord.

Number 4, we looked at this last week and that is the Christian man hungers and thirsts after righteousness. He's hungry, he, he craves for righteousness. Righteousness is being right with God, he's not craving for healing of his sickness, he is not craving for, for good life or a good career, this supreme thing he hungers, a right walk with God.

Now what is a Christian? He has all this evidences, not perfectly, but progressively, he will evidence all these things, if he is really born again.

And then today we’re going to look at, number five, the fifth mark and that is, he will be merciful. You say what is mercy? That's what we are going to look at today, what is mercy, what is being merciful? In its very essence, it simply means someone who shows compassion to another person in need or in affliction, that's what it is, you feel for someone's pain and you do something to help that person. And I think one of the best definitions or descriptions of this beatitude is given by a preacher who lived long time ago, he is a Puritan preacher, his name is Thomas Manton, I love what he says about what this beatitude is.

He says, “This is really about a melting disposition whereby we lay to heart the miseries of others and are ready in all occasions to be instrumental for their good”. It's a great definition. What does it mean to be merciful, it means to possess a melting disposition. It means that you have such a heart condition, the condition of your heart is as such, that when you see someone in need, it does not harden your heart, but it softens your heart, you, you, you melt, you feel for the person, a merciful person has such a melting disposition.

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The word disposition tells us this is not just a once off act, you help person, one time and you say you done with it, but it is a constant, consistent posture and attitude. It focuses on your being and not just your doing. So, number one is a melting disposition.

Number two, you lay to heart the miseries of others. Very simple, you see someone in need you, you know that the person in this is in need. But so often, we see that and then we switch off, we walk away, we go somewhere else, you don't want to see the need. But someone who is merciful, sees the need, he does not switch off and watch, walk away, he lays it to heart, he considers, he thinks about it, he puts himself in the shoes of the person in that terrible plight, he get under his skin, that's what it means.

William Barclay, another preacher commentator, I like what he paraphrased. He said, “O the bliss of the man who gets right inside other people until he can see with their eyes, think with their thoughts and feel with their feelings. O, the bliss of someone who is merciful because he lays these things to heart, he gets right into their shoes under their skin.”

Then thirdly, a critical element to Thomas Manton's definition or description, is that this person is ready in all occasions, to be instrumental for their good. In other words, he's not just a talker, he is not just someone who thinks or feels, he takes action. Many of us, probably feel compassion, many times, but real mercy is when that feeling, that thinking is now translated to practical deeds, action and giving.

You know Jesus gave a wonderful story in the Bible, I sort of modernize it alright today. He tells about a man who was along the highway of life and he just got beaten up and robbed, left for dead along the expressway and then a pastor, I say I modernize it aah, and then a pastor walks by, a pastor sees that man says, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, poor thing you,” and he walks away.

A second pastor comes up, maybe call him the, the, the reverend comes by, the reverend comes by, sees him and say, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk poor thing” and he walks away. He feels for the guy, but he walks away.

And then the third guy comes along, he's from another country, he doesn't he doesn't belong here. In fact, these two countries are not the best of friends but he is here, he sees this guy in need, he has no prior relationship with him, but he sees him in need. He gets off his BMW, he gets off his Mercedes, his Toyota, whatever it is, he grabs some Tiger Balm, he takes some precious oil and, and begins to soothe that man's wounds, take care of his needs, bandages his wounds, puts him into his Toyota, his BMW, drives to the hotel, drives to the hospital, says to the people there, this is, this is a man in need, please help him, this is all the money I have, I give you all the money you take good care of this guy and if it is not enough, I'll come back again and pay the rest.

Jesus then said, out of the three, pastor, reverend, foreigner, who do you think is the good neighbor? who is the one who loved his neighbor, the last one, because he showed mercy.

Mercy is not just seeing, mercy is not just feeling, mercy is acting and this is what Thomas Manton has to say, a merciful person has such a melting disposition, he does not dismiss the needs, he lays it to heart and he takes action. Now this is a stunning Beatitude, don't you think, the, the Beatitudes are very radical, they're very different from what the world values.

Now the world values self-confidence and ability, isn't it? But Jesus says blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are those who hunger and the, this beatitude is also very radical. Because in the days when Jesus was living in, the Romans, despised mercy. They value power, they value strength, they, they value vengeance. So if you attack me, I will definitely attack you, that's the way of life. They feel that the strength is good, but mercy to them is a sign of weakness. In fact, they call it the disease of the soul and if you think about it, mercy, today is also a radical value because let me tell you how you think.

You and I probably think that the blessed man is someone who has worked so hard, gained so much money and is able to now insulate himself from all kinds of problems. We consider a blessed man, a rich man, a well provided man, a well protected man, he has solved all his problems and now he is so blessed because he has no other problems, don't you think so. That's how we think right, the less problems, the more blessed.

But do you know, according to Jesus, blessed are the merciful, blessed are those who don't consider having no problems a blessing, but those who consider getting into other people's problems and solving the problems, that's blessed. It's radical, it's out of this world. We think eee, don't want to serve, eee I don't want to know too many people in church, eee, I don't want to be too involved in ministry, oh, I don't want to be counseling, why, because the more problems I know, the more problematic it seems for me. But the child of God says, it is a tremendous privilege to get into people's difficulties and to alleviate their miseries.

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I think Calvin puts this very eloquently. John Calvin, he says “the world reckons those are blessed who are free of outside troubles, to attend to their own peace. This is the way the world thinks, no problem, wonderful life. According to Jesus, they are blessed who are not only prepared to put up with their own troubles, but also to take on other people's, to help them in distress, to freely join them in their time of trial and as it were, to get right into their situation, that they may gladly expend themselves in their assistance, those who are doing this, those who have such a consistent posture and attitude, they are the blessed ones.”

Many of you are successful in life, in the way the world defines it, but if you want to be significant in the kingdom of God, if you want to be following Jesus, well it means getting into the miseries of others. You know what, that's what Jesus did. He could stay right up there in heaven. I mean, no problems, no sin, no sorrow, no misery. But He came right into the midst of our miseries and deliver us from our sins and from our misery and those who follow Jesus are the blessed ones who will do likewise. So this is what I'm trying to explain. I'm just explaining one word, merciful.

But let me move on to explain the second half, because this is where many people may be troubled, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. I know what you're thinking right here, including myself. The first time you read this verse, you would think that it should be interpreted this way: blessed are the merciful, because if you are merciful to others God will be merciful to you. Isn't it true, no, aah, I'm the only one that is weird is it? I mean every time I read this verse, I would have assumed Jesus is saying, blessed are the merciful, because if you are merciful to others, then God will be merciful to you. As if, if I'm not merciful to others, God will not be merciful to me, or if I'm merciful to others now, I earn God's mercy, I deserve God's mercy. Now, I say to you, that's absolutely not what Jesus meant.

Jesus is not saying that when you are merciful to others, God sees your mercies, aah, you good boy, I give you my mercy, no, not at all. You say why, because nowhere in the Bible does it teach that mercy is conditional, nowhere in the Bible is it said that mercy is given to those who earn it. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that grace, mercy and love of God is conditioned in such a way for sinners, no, it is unconditional and if you really think about it, if mercy is conditional, if mercy is earned or deserved, it is no more mercy. Mercy, by its nature must be given to undeserving people. If you earn it, it's no more mercy, it becomes justice, it becomes debt, but mercy is not deserved, it's given to undeserving people and that's God's mercy.

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So what is Jesus saying here, well, Jesus is saying, blessed are the merciful, because they are the people of God and they shall receive mercy in a sense, in a sense that even though I am already a recipient of mercy, today, of course, because of God's grace, but I will experience and see the full splendor of the mercy of God in the future kingdom when Jesus returns.

See, when Jesus comes again, He comes in vengeance and wrath, don't forget that. Today our idea of Jesus is that He's very soft, He's very forgiving, He has probably not very high standards and not so holy and will not judge, no, no, no, no,don't have the idea, because whilst He came as a Savior, some 2000 years ago, when He returns in the future, He comes as a vengeful judge.

He will deal with all sins and all sinners, the wrath of God will be manifested in its full glory. It's not that bad, out of proportion of, it's a holy, righteous, perfect wrath of God and in that day, those who know Christ, those who belong to Him would see the amazing mercy of God when we are spared that wrath and we are with Him.

You see, all the Beatitudes have a future component in them, in the promise, you look at the first one, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, now I'm not possessing the whole kingdom of heaven now, I'm not enjoying all the riches of the blessings that are promised as yet. But that's to come, don't worry, it will come. I'm, blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted, I'm, I'm comforted many a times in my life, but I'm also looking forward to that day when there will be no more sorrow and no more tears, there's a perfect fulfillment to come, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. I don't inherit yet, you don't inherit the earth. People are still fighting over 38 Oxley Rd. We don't inherit the earth yet, but we will inherit the earth. We are not fully satisfied yet but there will be a day where I'll be fully satisfied because I will be like Christ. And yes, I received mercy, today, but there will be a future experience and side of that mercy, that is to come.

So I think that's what Jesus is saying, blessed are the merciful, they are the people of God, they evidenced that with their changed lives and they are the ones who will receive an experience that full mercy. So a Christian is merciful to others because we know of God's mercy and we expect a tremendous experience of that mercy in time to come. That's what it says, blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Now it makes sense that God's children should be a merciful people, don't you think? It makes sense why? Because God Himself is merciful. So if you are born of God, the Bible says you are born from above, you're born again, you're given this new life, you're new creation, God has given you and implanted this divine seed, the seed of God in you according to 1John 3. If you are born again of God then you will take on the likeness of God and if God is merciful, you ought to be merciful, that's how you know you're born of God. God Himself says He is merciful. This is the self revelation of God to Moses many years ago, when He said the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. So, God describes Himself as merciful and gracious,

I'm not sure about you but I'm a guy who, who gets puzzled when I see two words like this, mercy and grace, what's the difference I say, seems to be both good favor from God, what's the difference?  I asked in the first service and the response is quite disappointing so I won't try here alright.

So what's the difference between mercy and grace. Now there are two ways generally people try to tease them apart or, or separate or make a distinction. I want to say that there is considerable overlap. Let's not pretend to say that we can dissect it so surgically. But if it helps you, I would say there are two ways people look at mercy and grace and try to distinguish them.

Grace is God giving us something we don't deserve and mercy is God giving, not giving us what we deserve.  Let me say that again, Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve and mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Wah lau, what are you talking about? Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve, salvation, eternal life, inheritance in heaven, we don't deserve it, He gave it to us, that's grace. Get that?

Mercy is, I deserve to go to hell, I deserve to be punished for my sin, I deserve to burn forever, but mercy says I'm not going to give that to you. Okay? So mercy or grace is God giving us what we don't deserve, mercy is God not giving us what we deserve, can or not? You sure, I point one of you go and say aah, come up here and explain.  Well, that's one way, if, if it's not already confusing, let me confuse you in another way.

I think another way of looking at grace and mercy is this. Mercy, think about it, mercy is given to those who are suffering in pain, alright. Grace is more about the problem itself, not so much the, the pain itself. So people say grace is God's favor shown to the undeserving and mercy is God's favor shown to the miserable, they are pretty much the same people, right same guy, he is undeserving and he is suffering, same guy. But if you talk about grace, it's more about the undeserving part, if you talk about mercy, it's more about the pain part.

So grace and mercy can be looked at it this way, grace is God's favor to the sinner and mercy is to the suffering, they are actually the same guy, we suffer because of sin, it's still God's love, God's favor to us, but grace and mercy can be distinguished, subtly but I think quite clearly this way.

Another way of looking at it is, grace focuses on the problem of sin, mercy is about the pain or the punishment of sin and grace is to the guilty, mercy is to the grieving, the suffering, the struggling, okay? This is side show, not, just for interest, because I'm interested, so you humor me alright.

So, God is a God of mercy. It is Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade who says, “God is the grand master of mercy. His very nature desires to relieve us of the self-imposed misery and distress we experience because of our sin.” What he says is true, we all sin and we bring upon ourselves through sin, misery.

Some of you don't believe it. Maybe if you're here for the first time, you don't believe it, you don't believe that your life is miserable. You don't believe even that your misery is because of sin in this world, but let me say this, the Bible is clear, when we sin, we bring misery upon ourselves, the wages of sin is death. But here is the amazing Gospel good news, Gospel means good news, the good news of the Bible is that God is a God of mercy. He sees man in their sins, He sees man suffering in sin and He wants to relieve us of this misery. How? by dealing with the root problem.

He doesn't just take away the pain, He takes away the root problem and the root problem is sin. How is He going to do that? He gave His Son to die and pay for our sins. He gives us complete healing from the root up and He did this unconditionally. This is mercy, and so apostle Paul says, God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, even when we could do nothing and we wanted nothing, God so unconditionally gave His Son so that He can make us alive together with His Son.

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So if your God, if your Father is so merciful, it makes sense that you will also be merciful, be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Makes sense. It makes sense. I have received mercy from God I, I, I if I know I'm forgiven so much, I forgive others and if I am born again and He lives in me now by His Spirit, then obviously I would also be merciful.

Moreover, when Jesus said these words in Luke 6,  He uses in the Greek, an imperative voice in other words, He spoke it like a command, it's not an option, it's not a suggestion. He says, be merciful, it's a command, God wants us to live out the reality of how we have been forgiven.

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So now, this is where the rubber meets the road. I've spoken about the theology, the doctrines about mercy, what it is and why we should be merciful, now let me, then close with what the applications should be.

So if I'm a merciful person, if by the grace of God, I'm living out His will, I, I want to be merciful, and that's what my heart desires, because that's the new nature and, what would it look like? Well, we do not have to think very much, because Jesus tells us what it should look like.

He says, love your enemies, do good and lend expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil, be merciful even as your Father is merciful. So he says, first of all, you will love your enemies.

How many of you here today have enemies? Can I see by a show of hands? One, two, three, four, five, okay, I at least have five honest people in church. How many of you have many enemies? One, two… this one just now didn't raise, I don't know why, convicted about your… okay, so we have two. How many of you have some enemies, can I see by a show of hands? one, two, three, okay, how many of you have only a few enemies, can I see by a show of hands? two, husband and wife, so each other, oh, no, no, no. How many of you have no enemy? hey, the rest of you who are…

I think the fact of the matter is all of us could think of one or two maybe. And when I say the word enemy, maybe in your mind, this face pops up, he may be a colleague, he may be your boss who just scolded you, he may be your classmate, it may be your mother-in-law, I say maybe why you laugh. It may be your, it may be your wife, your husband, it might even be someone in church, he might even the pastor, I hate this guy, but no choice, got to come church. We can think of someone who has said something unkind and did something wrong and you know, I've been in this church enough and I hear unfortunately, stories of bitterness and unforgiveness, even in this church.

So much so that if you see the other guy there, you will totally avoid that place, you, you will make a U-turn, you may be heading there and you see him you just turn. It's real, it's here amongst us, but Jesus says, love your enemies. I think it involves forgiving your enemies and the child of God who has received God's mercy, when we know how we are forgiven, we should forgive others.

CS Lewis, he says to be a Christian, is more than just going to church, reading your Bible, a Christian is someone whose heart is so changed, that he is merciful because he understands God's mercy and so to be a Christian means that you will forgive the inexcusable. You say I can never forgive that fella, you don't know what he did to me, it's inexcusable, but the Christian forgives the inexcusable, say why? If it's inexcusable, how then can I forgive? Because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

It's like what Paul said, be kind, be tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. You forgive someone not because he deserves it, he probably will never deserve it, but you forgive someone because God has forgiven you, so you don't look to the guy, you look to your mother-in-law, you don't look to your husband, you don't look to your wife, you look to God. The rationale, the motivation, the impetus for forgiveness is God-centered, not enemy-centered.

I read about a man who spoke to his pastor, “Pastor, I, I, I can't forgive that guy. Pastor ask him, why is it you can't forgive the guy? Oh, he did this, it's really terrible, no one will forgive him right. The pastor says, you really think you can't forgive him?  Yes, I can't forgive. Now let  me tell you, that there's a difference between the words can't and won't, you said you can't forgive him, but in my experience, many people actually mean they won't, because if you say you can't, then that means you may not have understood the forgiveness of God for your life and you may not even be a Christian, really, if it's can't. The man thought about it and says yes, pastor, it is, you're right, it's not that I can't, but I won't.

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I was just talking to a lady after the first service and she said, thank you for the sermon because I've been struggling with unforgiveness for two years, it is terrible. She said, it is hell for me, little words, hell for me. Literal words, hell for me. I wasted two years of my life, I can't serve God, I'm miserable and I find it so hard to forgive. And let's face it, it's very hard to forgive, because it's an emotional debt that the other person, you feel would never be able to pay off. And you want to hold onto it and that's what she did for two years until two days ago, she said, I by the grace of God, I, I, I forgave. It's hard, two years, but I forgave and thank you for the sermon this day, today that help me see it more clearly. Hey, maybe today you are struggling with unforgiveness. You say, he doesn't deserve it, but let me say this, God deserves it, don't you think?

A story is told of a lady named Corrie Ten Boom, you might have heard of her. She is a famous Christian, who wrote books like the Hiding Place and so on. She was a prisoner of war during the World War II, and she was forced to be in the concentration labor camps under the Nazi rule. And in that concentration camp, she and her sister Betsy were abused, tortured, treated with atrocities and her sister died in the camp but she survived.

Some years later, she got out of the camp and she was speaking in the church. After the service, a man walked up to her and says thank you for your sharing and I think it's amazing that the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from our sins. He reached out a hand to shake hers. She looked at him and immediately recognized that he is one of the guards in the Nazi camp and this is what Corrie Ten Boom said.

“His hand was thrust out to shake mine and I, who had preached so often to the people of the need to forgive kept my hand at my side. I couldn't, I couldn't shake his hand. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them, she said, Lord Jesus, forgive me and help me to forgive him.” She's struggling, like many of you might be today. “I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand, I could not, I felt  nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity, and as she continued, she again breathed a silent prayer, Jesus I cannot forgive him, give me your forgiveness.”

This is a tremendous example of how you struggle spiritually, you struggle at the throne of grace, you struggle in prayer, you keep praying until God's grace breaks through in your life. You are depending on Him you see. “And as I took his hand the most incredible thing happened, from my shoulder along my arm and through my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.” And she said, “and so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His.”

When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command the love itself. I think she has learned to appropriate the power of God. She has learned to appropriate the grace of God and so the Bible calls us to forgive, why? Number one, we have received mercy. Number two, our hearts are changed to be like the heart of our Father.  Number three, we have we are commanded to, to forgive, because He also gives us the grace to obey and so it's important to realize, love your enemies.

In fact, the stakes are high, because when people see you forgive, they see that you're the son of the Most High, they see the family similarity, the likeness because our God is kind and I'm kind to the ungrateful and the evil. That's how people tell you apart, not because of the cross, but because of your grace and mercy, in forgiving and John makes it very absolute, scary verse.

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death and everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. If you today, choose to keep bearing bitterness and grudges, this verse is a verse for you to examine yourself,  scary verse.

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So what does it mean to show mercy? Well, I think number one is to love your enemy, to forgive and Jesus also says loving your enemies means that or, or showing mercy involves doing good and expecting nothing in return. I think the good Samaritan is a great illustration, I will not go back to that, but I just want to highlight a situation in our church, all of you are familiar with and how I, I am blessed, how I'm encouraged by your act of mercy and we know, Joshua.

Joshua Carter, the man on the right. He was strickened with guillain barre syndrome, six weeks ago, paralyzed, life was in danger in Indonesia, we had to fly him here to Singapore. He is hospitalized, he was intubated, he was kept in ICU for weeks, if he would have not received any medical treatment, he would be in heaven right now, he would have died, absolutely because he can't breathe on his own, his muscles were pretty much all paralyzed.

Many of you don't know Joshua, the reality, that's true. I think just maybe a few of you would know about him, because he had been in Singapore with our church in years gone by, but when you knew about Joshua's situation, when we shared very briefly, that he's serving the Lord in Indonesia, many of you gave and over the weeks these, these are the facts, maybe you've not seen it before, but these are facts we have, that people over the past weeks have been giving to, to Joshua, meeting his needs.

Now this is the sum of money collected locally, there's another, I think equivalent amount quite amazingly in the US that is raised for Joshua, it has so far met the needs, he has still a balance of 20 over K. Hopefully, he will get out of the intensive care, by the way, he's much better now. All right, he's much better, he's sitting up, he is able to speak, his muscles, I think the powers are all recovering, but I'm just looking at this, I say wow, thank God for God's people.

You know who you are, who you are right here, I have no clue who gave, but what I rejoice in is, the heart of mercy that you have this melting disposition, you did not harden yourself and say aah, another guy who needs. It's a real situation, you, you stepped into his shoes and you did something practical to help.

Well I think mercy is not just giving money of course. There are many things and I think it involves simple things like giving people your time, now, I realize people today they need your time, they have no one to talk to, maybe they may need just your time.

And I wrap up with this story, a story that I think helps us understand this definition better, that we should have this melting disposition to see others as God would see and to serve them.

There's a story told of a pastor in New York, famous pastor, but not Tim Keller. So this pastor had a long weekend because it was Easter weekend, he  was preaching and he was actually very tired at the end of the day. So he got to the edge of the stage, he stood or, he sat down, his legs were dangling, he took off his jacket, loosened his tie, he was just looking at people, the counselors meeting with the newcomers and so on and there right in the middle of the hall, was a man who looked very unkempt, dirty and just messed up.

His eyes look like staring in blank space because he is so intoxicated with alcohol, it was a glaze upon his eyes. He saw that man and the man saw him and their eyes locked, and he knew that he would have to speak to that man. But in his heart he didn't want to because he was so tired, he was so tired, he said aah, another homeless guy. In New York there are many homeless people and, and he thought to himself, many of them come to church and they all they want is just money and he said, aah, what a terrible way to end my day.

So after a while, true enough, the man stood up and walked towards him and as he walked nearer, the pastor could smell him, you know that's how bad it is, it's it's a is a smell you have never smelled, it's a terrible stench and the more he got nearer, the more he feared and when he stood before him and began to talk, the pastor said in his sharing that he actually had to look away, breathing before he could say the next line.  I mean,it was that bad that smell.

He asked him, what's your name? My name is Dave. How long have you been in the streets? Six years. how old are you now? I'm 32, so where were you the night before? I was sleeping in an abandoned truck last night. He talked and he decided said, okay, it's not our church policy, to give money to the homeless but I'm just so tired, I don't want to talk anymore. So he reached his back pocket to draw some money, a few dollars to give to the homeless man. Dave then said to him, Sir I'm not here for the money, I don't want your money, but I heard you talk about that Jesus, in your message just now, I, I think I need Jesus because I'm in the streets for so long, and if I don't know Jesus I'm going to die. I need Jesus, could you tell me more about Jesus.

The pastor heard that and something in him moved, he thought to himself, o my, I just blew it, I just blew it, I, I have been preaching a sermon about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am telling people that they need Jesus and when God sends a man who needs Jesus to me, I want to brush him off. He began to confess his sins before God and soon he began to cry. He cried and he prayed, God, forgive me, I'm not seeing people as you see, I'm not feeling for people as you feel and I'm tempted to just brush him off with a few dollars, forgive me and as he cried, that Dave was looking at him and said why are you crying?

But as Dave saw him cry, he also began to cry and so both of them were crying and they hugged each other and, and his dirty shirt on the pastor's white shirt and he cried and he cried and the pastor says, as I hugged him, it was the most amazing smell. He said this is the, this is the most beautiful smell, because I'm reminded, this is what I'm here for, I'm here for people who smell, Jesus left me here to serve people who smell and if I can't serve people who smell, I have no right to be here.

Well Dave, came to know Christ, soon after. He went for detoxification and got himself out of the addiction, he fixed his teeth, cleaned himself up. He started memorizing large portions of the Bible, he got a job in the church as a maintenance guy and one day, he stood up in church to give his testimony of salvation and the pastor heard him and immediately recognized that Dave is going to be a pastor one day and sometime later, he studied he trained himself and became an associate pastor of that same church. The pastor saw all that and he thought to himself, I could easily have just brushed him off, with a few dollars.

Maybe today, that's you and I, so busy, so focused on maintaining our own peace, that we didn't realize, that the way of following Jesus, the way of blessedness, is to step into the miseries of others and to be merciful, as God has been merciful to me. May this be a challenge to your heart.

Can you imagine what church would be like? If all of us would be merciful, not just in our workplace, in your homes, but together as a church, Gospel Light, we will be a merciful people, we are not just waiting for people to come to this hall, what a sad state church is, if all we do is wait for people to come to this hall, but we will go out and let our good works shine that acts of mercy will be seen, that world may know we belong to the Father, we are known as the sons of the Most High, what a day it will be.

Let's bow for a word of prayer. Our God is a God of amazing mercy, that's where it all begins. It does not begin with me, it doesn't begin with you, I’d like you to know mercy begins with God, He's the Grand Master of mercy. We have self imposed miseries because of our sins. But God rich in mercy, reached out to us and gave His Son. Jesus became sin for us, even though He was sinless, so that we who are sinful, might be seen as righteous and now delivered from the bondage of sin, we belong to Him,  we're given eternal life, inheritance to come, that is amazing mercy and today if you're here with us, you do not know what the Bible is about, you do not know what it is to be a Christian, I say this is what it is all about- God so love the world He gave His only Son, that whoever today, repents and believes in Him will not perish but have this eternal life, this is mercy. I beg you this morning, search your heart and if you're not saved, repent and believe in Jesus Christ, receive this mercy.

I speak also to Christians, maybe you have worked very hard to insulate your life from problems and you're quite successful, you have no worries about your retirement, you have enough money, you've made all the plans, you've settled many issues and you consider yourself blessed.

But let me remind you, Jesus say real blessing is when you step into the miseries of others and help them. Maybe, there's someone you need to forgive today, maybe there are acts of mercy you need to be about doing, maybe, as a church, you should be part of mercy and outreach and ministries that could be a blessing to the community.

Maybe you should have a greater heart of mercy, to bring the Gospel of peace to more people, seeing that they are sheep without shepherd, there are, there are souls without the Savior, that's mercy, folks, that's what it means to follow Christ. So whatever the Lord is saying to your heart, I pray you will respond to Him and choose today to not just hear a sermon but obey the Word of God.

Father we thank You this morning, take Your Word and let Your Spirit use it to change our hearts. We are not praying for just an occasional act of mercy or one or two ministries that will be starting in this church, Lord, we are praying for a melting disposition. We are praying for a consistent attitude and posture of life, we are praying for a consistent mindfulness of Your amazing mercy to us, we are praying for a church that would be full of good works. Who is sufficient for these things? only You can do this in our lives, so to take Your Word and blessed to each one, may we truly shine the light of the Gospel in word and in deed. Once again, we pray for friends who are here and who may not know Jesus as yet. Lord, this is an amazing revelation that You are merciful and gracious, may they learn to turn from sin and to believe in You and Your Son alone. Bless each one, once again, we ask and pray all this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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