Embracing Mercy: The Power of Radical Generosity
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"We thank you for your word. We honor the Bible as not just a book, not just a religious text, but the very words of God inspired by you, by your Holy Spirit, written down by people so we can know your heart, we can know your character, and we can know your plans for our lives and the transformations that you want to bring through Jesus and how you want to save us from our sins. We thank you for this moment as we hear your word, drive it deep into our heart, cut out the things that don't belong, and implant the newness that we need to live changed. In Jesus' name, amen." [00:10:42] (56 seconds)
"The idea of this code was actually to limit revenge. To limit assault. To try man's energy and ways to bring change. Although it didn't work very well. I remember looking up the story and hearing a story from a man named Terry Crews. Anybody know Terry Crews? That famous actor, he's right here, thank you. Look at those biceps, you can see them from across. I bet you Sue can see those from over there. The sound booth. Terry Crews is a famous actor. He grew up in a home though that was abusive. His father was a drunk. His father would beat up his mom frequently. Terry remembers his first memory as a young man was his dad hitting his mom. He hit her as hard as he could." [00:152:15] (57 seconds)
"And Terry decides to implement the law of tit for tat. And he cleaned his dad's clock. Beat the snot out of him. And he sat on his bed afterward and cried because he realized all his life he had waited for the day to do that. And it didn't make him feel any better. Didn't change a thing. See, we've all felt the challenge of feeling mistreated. The feeling, the issue. of somebody coming and mistreating our lives. And what rises up in our heart is this desire for revenge. This desire to inflict the same thing. They have to feel what I felt by them. They have to feel the injury. I want to give it back to them. And even more I want it justified." [00:268:53] (53 seconds)
"Jesus understood this. God understood this. He understood that when it comes to the issues of life and when people hurt each other and they're outside of God's plan and they're outside of God's design because God's design and plan was that humanity on earth would cherish this world and would live in harmony with one another and they would be a blessing to each other and not a curse. But what happened is when man separated from God things became cursed. things became separate and man rather than blessing each other began to seek to dominate each other. Even in Genesis it says that you shall have dominion this is humanity's destiny over all of creation the natural world. You're the top. That's what God said. But what you shall not have dominion over is one another." [00:356:50] (63 seconds)
"I need to live a generous life that serves people, loves people, and honors people no matter what. Here's the idea. It's rather than allowing sin in somebody else to produce sin in me, what I allow is the righteousness and the goodness of God to produce goodness that flows out of me even when people don't deserve it. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs over revenge. It heals. So we come into our reference today. Matthew 5, we're starting in verse 38, and we're reading to verse 42. Let's read this together for a moment. You've heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or tit for tat. But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to the other also." [00:468:34] (59 seconds)
"With a broken society in the world around us, God's call always is to limit revenge, create mercy, and prevent the escalation of harm. That's God's heart. It's what echoes throughout the entire Old Testament, even when you hear the areas of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Our heart, as Christians, our starting place as we go through this passage, is to have the same heart as God. Is that in all circumstances, what we need to do is we need to adopt God's heart, to look to limit revenge, to have mercy, and prevent escalation. It's really good to sit before the Lord in times of prayer, in times of seeking, and really ask, where is my heart in this? Where is my heart in this? Where is my heart in this?" [00:680:26] (66 seconds)
"Because something has happened inside you. This is where Jesus is taking this. He said, again, you've heard it said, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, but I'm telling you something different. Although that law contained the heart and mercy of God, Jesus steps it up because he knows your heart's going to change. He knew that when he would die on the cross and we would come and he would die. Again, arms straight out, nails in the feet, crown of thorns in the head, bleeding, dying, suffocated. And he died three days. He'd rise from the dead anew that what this would do when people put faith in that. I believe that. I embrace that. That is truth. Jesus changed my life. Forgive my sins. Cleanse me. Come into my heart. Make me born again." [00:899:09] (46 seconds)
"That what would happen is that the part of us that would say, I'm just going to model and pattern after the world and do everything everyone else does. Or even maybe I'm going to be trying to be different, but I'm going to be different in my own way and not his way. What would happen is that heart that would want to do that would be pulled out and he put something new in. So that when I look back at these scriptures, I can understand that through his knowing him, the ability to change is present. You've heard it said eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But verse 39, but I tell you, I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. That was Matthew 5, 39." [00:945:01] (56 seconds)
"Do not resist. Do not set yourself against the evildoer. Don't get ready for your fight. On the contrary, if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Suppose a right -handed man wanted to slap you on the right cheek. You know, Randy, can I use you? Can I pick on you? I always pick on Randy. Come on up, Randy. Everybody give Randy a call of applause. Randy, what I want you to do is very gently, I'm going to come down. Can you get the camera on us? Gently, gently. Because I'm not going to hit Randy. I want you to slap me on the right cheek with your right hand. Gently. Gently. Just very gently. Give me a love tap." [00:1348:25] (49 seconds)
"Yet Jesus could stand in his own trial and turn the other cheek because he never lived to be built up and gratified by the people around him. He stood with the Father to lay his life down in mercy. And that's the only way that you will turn the other cheek. It's about giving people, people around me, rather than having the ability to produce fruit inside me that's the word sin. Instead, he has produced fruit into righteousness inside of me. God has done a work. You know, I think of the old the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. That would happen. I think we should have a picture. Do we have a picture of that? Anybody remember this? Anybody who grew up watching these? Come on, somebody else. I remember being like, All right." [00:1734:01] (56 seconds)
"So now I wake up every day with Lord my prayer is that when people insult me help me bless. When people come against me help me speak life and blessing. Help me even defend without cursing. Lord change my heart so rather than living against the evildoer. I want to live to show love to the people in front of me. Jesus would say in Matthew 5 40 as for the one who wants to sue you and take away your tunic let him have your coat as well. So now we're turning cheeks and now we're giving away clothes. What's happening here? And so uh what would happen is that each man in this society uh he would have a tunic uh that he would wear. And when you were in a court of law or getting sued in this time you could actually give away your tunic as a pledge." [00:1849:15] (59 seconds)
"Philippians 2, 5 -10 says, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, being born of the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Notice the heart of God, that the sin of man didn't produce the vengeance of God, but the greatest demonstration of the mercy of God. And he came and died to forgive our sins and to desire to forgive us. Jesus is saying, rather than being like the world, seeking vengeance, seek to bless, seek to speak life to the people who don't deserve it. Because every single one of them, remember this, is made in God's image and was valuable enough to God for Jesus to die for them." [00:1976:44] (64 seconds)
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"The idea of this code was actually to limit revenge. To limit assault. To try man's energy and ways to bring change. Although it didn't work very well. I remember looking up the story and hearing a story from a man named Terry Crews. Anybody know Terry Crews? That famous actor, he's right here, thank you. Look at those biceps, you can see them from across. I bet you Sue can see those from over there. The sound booth. Terry Crews is a famous actor. He grew up in a home though that was abusive. His father was a drunk. His father would beat up his mom frequently. Terry remembers his first memory as a young man was his dad hitting his mom. He hit her as hard as he could." [00:152:15] (57 seconds)
"And Terry decides to implement the law of tit for tat. And he cleaned his dad's clock. Beat the snot out of him. And he sat on his bed afterward and cried because he realized all his life he had waited for the day to do that. And it didn't make him feel any better. Didn't change a thing. See, we've all felt the challenge of feeling mistreated. The feeling, the issue. of somebody coming and mistreating our lives. And what rises up in our heart is this desire for revenge. This desire to inflict the same thing. They have to feel what I felt by them. They have to feel the injury. I want to give it back to them. And even more I want it justified." [00:268:53] (53 seconds)
"Jesus understood this. God understood this. He understood that when it comes to the issues of life and when people hurt each other and they're outside of God's plan and they're outside of God's design because God's design and plan was that humanity on earth would cherish this world and would live in harmony with one another and they would be a blessing to each other and not a curse. But what happened is when man separated from God things became cursed. things became separate and man rather than blessing each other began to seek to dominate each other. Even in Genesis it says that you shall have dominion this is humanity's destiny over all of creation the natural world. You're the top. That's what God said. But what you shall not have dominion over is one another." [00:356:50] (63 seconds)
"I need to live a generous life that serves people, loves people, and honors people no matter what. Here's the idea. It's rather than allowing sin in somebody else to produce sin in me, what I allow is the righteousness and the goodness of God to produce goodness that flows out of me even when people don't deserve it. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs over revenge. It heals. So we come into our reference today. Matthew 5, we're starting in verse 38, and we're reading to verse 42. Let's read this together for a moment. You've heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or tit for tat. But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to the other also." [00:468:34] (59 seconds)
"With a broken society in the world around us, God's call always is to limit revenge, create mercy, and prevent the escalation of harm. That's God's heart. It's what echoes throughout the entire Old Testament, even when you hear the areas of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Our heart, as Christians, our starting place as we go through this passage, is to have the same heart as God. Is that in all circumstances, what we need to do is we need to adopt God's heart, to look to limit revenge, to have mercy, and prevent escalation. It's really good to sit before the Lord in times of prayer, in times of seeking, and really ask, where is my heart in this? Where is my heart in this? Where is my heart in this?" [00:680:26] (66 seconds)
"Because something has happened inside you. This is where Jesus is taking this. He said, again, you've heard it said, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, but I'm telling you something different. Although that law contained the heart and mercy of God, Jesus steps it up because he knows your heart's going to change. He knew that when he would die on the cross and we would come and he would die. Again, arms straight out, nails in the feet, crown of thorns in the head, bleeding, dying, suffocated. And he died three days. He'd rise from the dead anew that what this would do when people put faith in that. I believe that. I embrace that. That is truth. Jesus changed my life. Forgive my sins. Cleanse me. Come into my heart. Make me born again." [00:899:09] (46 seconds)
"That what would happen is that the part of us that would say, I'm just going to model and pattern after the world and do everything everyone else does. Or even maybe I'm going to be trying to be different, but I'm going to be different in my own way and not his way. What would happen is that heart that would want to do that would be pulled out and he put something new in. So that when I look back at these scriptures, I can understand that through his knowing him, the ability to change is present. You've heard it said eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But verse 39, but I tell you, I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. That was Matthew 5, 39." [00:945:01] (56 seconds)
"Do not resist. Do not set yourself against the evildoer. Don't get ready for your fight. On the contrary, if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Suppose a right -handed man wanted to slap you on the right cheek. You know, Randy, can I use you? Can I pick on you? I always pick on Randy. Come on up, Randy. Everybody give Randy a call of applause. Randy, what I want you to do is very gently, I'm going to come down. Can you get the camera on us? Gently, gently. Because I'm not going to hit Randy. I want you to slap me on the right cheek with your right hand. Gently. Gently. Just very gently. Give me a love tap." [00:1348:25] (49 seconds)
"Yet Jesus could stand in his own trial and turn the other cheek because he never lived to be built up and gratified by the people around him. He stood with the Father to lay his life down in mercy. And that's the only way that you will turn the other cheek. It's about giving people, people around me, rather than having the ability to produce fruit inside me that's the word sin. Instead, he has produced fruit into righteousness inside of me. God has done a work. You know, I think of the old the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. That would happen. I think we should have a picture. Do we have a picture of that? Anybody remember this? Anybody who grew up watching these? Come on, somebody else. I remember being like, All right." [00:1734:01] (56 seconds)
"So now I wake up every day with Lord my prayer is that when people insult me help me bless. When people come against me help me speak life and blessing. Help me even defend without cursing. Lord change my heart so rather than living against the evildoer. I want to live to show love to the people in front of me. Jesus would say in Matthew 5 40 as for the one who wants to sue you and take away your tunic let him have your coat as well. So now we're turning cheeks and now we're giving away clothes. What's happening here? And so uh what would happen is that each man in this society uh he would have a tunic uh that he would wear. And when you were in a court of law or getting sued in this time you could actually give away your tunic as a pledge." [00:1849:15] (59 seconds)
"Philippians 2, 5 -10 says, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, being born of the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Notice the heart of God, that the sin of man didn't produce the vengeance of God, but the greatest demonstration of the mercy of God. And he came and died to forgive our sins and to desire to forgive us. Jesus is saying, rather than being like the world, seeking vengeance, seek to bless, seek to speak life to the people who don't deserve it. Because every single one of them, remember this, is made in God's image and was valuable enough to God for Jesus to die for them." [00:1976:44] (64 seconds)
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