(Part 4)
by Seth
Burgan: Youth Pastor at Dayspring Community Church
“Blessed are the merciful
for they will be shown mercy.”-Matthew 5:7
What
does it mean to be merciful? One definition of merciful is: the ability to show
forgiveness or compassion toward someone whom it is within your power to punish
or harm. Whenever I think of mercy I am reminded of this quote by an unknown
author: “Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve and mercy is God not giving
us what we do deserve.”
Because
of sin we deserved death and eternal separation from God, yet while we were yet
sinners Christ died for us; taking the penalty of sin upon Himself. That is the
picture of mercy! It is at the very heart of who God is and who He wants you to
become. The blessing of showing mercy towards others is that it keeps the flow
of God’s mercy towards you unobstructed.
“Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God.”-Matthew 5:8
This beatitude has a special place in my heart
because of my past struggles with sin. Even after accepting Jesus Christ as my
Savior, I was still trying to do everything in my own effort or understanding.
I continued to battle, by myself, the sin that had taken over my life. I would beat myself up causing myself to
believe that I was never going to overcome and I was never going to be pure in
God’s eyes
In
part I was right. I was never going to be pure if I kept trying to do it
myself. When I finally let go of my pride and responded to the Word of God
putting it into practice; it opened the door to allow the Holy Spirit to purify
my life.
Purity
requires two elements: repentance and response.
Sin
separates us from God. So it stands to reason that we cannot see God if we are
separated from God by our own sinful behavior. Thus the pursuit of purity
always begins with repentance.
Then
we must respond to the Word of God. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto
our path. We are sanctified (cleansed, set apart, made holy) by the Word of
God; but we must do more than simply hear the word. We must be doers of the
word. It is the word that we put into practice that develops purity in us and
demonstrates the righteousness of God.
“Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be the sons of God.”-Matthew 5:9
The
main reason Christ came to the earth was to make peace between God and man; to
end the separation created by our sinfulness. It was a deliberate act, on God’s
part, to bring peace between Himself and mankind.
God
sent His word spoken through the mouths of judges, prophets, and priests to
lead the lost to find peace through faith in Christ.
There
is never a time we are more like our Savior as when we are sharing the good
news (the gospel) message of repentance and forgiveness of sins. The gospel is
a message of reconciliation. Peacemakers are called to carry the gospel message
to those who are still separated from God by their sin and help them make peace
with Him through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pastor
Seth Burgan
Youth
Pastor
Dayspring
Community Church
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