When I was in 6th and 7th grade in a country school, some of the boys played a game during recess called Mercy. Two boys would put their hands up and interlock their fingers, and we would see who had the strongest hands. You would bend the fingers and hands back till your opponent cried out from pain, Mercy, Mercy! The game was over and there was a winner and a loser. Like I said, it was a dumb game.
That game reminds me of something in the Bible.
Mercy is a term used in the Old Testament 68 times and the New Testament 55 times.
The Biblical definition says, when God, out of His loving-kindness, withholds punishment that we rightfully deserve because of sin, disobedience
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.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 ...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 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 may boast.
Untold numbers received mercy from Jesus before His death on the cross; one thing, they sought Him out and asked Him for mercy or compassion.
Matthew 9:27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
Matthew 15:22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
Mark 10:47-48 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
One mistake we can make is to think we can do anything and just say we want mercy. It does not work that way. God will have mercy on whomever He wants and some He won’t.
Romans 9:15, 16, 18 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion,[a] but on God, who has mercy. 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Let us humbly approach God and ask for forgiveness and mercy.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,...
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Peter 1:3 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,...
Approaching the right attitude and asking humbly, we just might find forgiveness and mercy.
See you in Church next Sunday.