Bible Text: Matthew 5:7 | Preacher: PST. A. C. OHANEBO | Series: CHRIST’S SERMON ON THE MOUNT (PART 5)

INTRODUCTION: Today, we are returning to our series on Christ’s Sermon On The Mount.  Earlier in this series, we had considered: The Poor In The Spirit; They That Mourn, The Meek and They That Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness.  But two weeks ago, we veered off to study and learn from the biblical principle of Giving and Receiving.

 

In the study in hand which is Christ’s Sermon On The Mount (Part 5): Blessed Are The Merciful, we will look at it from these two apparent natural divisions: (1) The Merciful and (2) Their Blessedness.

 

(1) The Merciful (Matt. 5:7): The word merciful is the English rendering of the Greek word “Eleos” meaning Mercy or “Eleemon” meaning compassionate or benevolently merciful.  The merciful are those who have this divine attribute of mercy and compassion, borne out of love (Ps. 25:6; 36:7; 40:11).  These are those who are piously and charitably inclined to pity, help and succour persons in misery and woe (Jb. 6:14).  The merciful are those who put on God’s bowels of mercies and loving-kindness (cp. Col. 3:12).  And when such bowels are put on, they are manifest in readiness to assist those who are any way in misery and woe (cp. Jb. 16:5; Ps. 41:1; Lk. 10:30-37).

 

Besides, the truly merciful include those who are sufficiently spiritually sighted and aware of the wrath, misery and woe abiding on the impenitent and unsaved (Jn.3:18, 36); those who pity the ignorance of the perishing and go about to show them mercy through making all necessary effort and sacrifices to help them out (cons. Ps. 40:1,2; Jude 22, 23).

 

The second aspect of the Lord’s 3-Fold End-Time Project which is “Bringing About A Great Harvest Of Souls and The Revival Of The Entire Church” cannot be fulfilled at the hands of those who know nothing about mercy and compassion for the perishing; it cannot be carried out by those who are all-together blind to the neediness of the multitudes (Isa. 56:10; Eph. 4:18).  Jesus saw these multitudes as those not knowing their left from their right, and so His bowels of mercies and compassion were stirred up (cp. Jonah 4:11; Matt. 9:36).  Those who have dry eyes, stony hearts, whose bowels are empty of mercy and compassion, are total strangers to the fulfilling of this End-Time Project of the Lord (Matt. 15:14).  People who are always self-pitious and so pre-occupied with their personal needs will be too blind-folded by those needs that they would not be able to behold those of others, not to talk of being moved to help them; such also have dry-bowels.

 

Indeed, when our spiritual eyes are opened and we can see the multitudes on their way to eternal perdition in hell fire, bowels in which is mercy and compassion will be stirred up (Jud. 22, 23).  But if our spiritual eyes of understanding should remain closed and our bowels empty and dry of mercy and compassion, we will remain dry in our eyes and stony in our hearts  to the misery and woes of the needy and perishing, both spiritually and physically (Lam. 2:11; 3:48-54 ).

 

When we have bowels full of mercy and our eyes are opened to see the needy and perishing multitudes and the shortness of time, then shall we begin to fully appreciate the Lord’s 3-Fold End-Time Project.  And when we do, no sacrifice we make for it will be too great.  It is then and only then our tears will roll in prayers of intercession for, and preaching to, these dying multitudes (cp. Ps. 126: 5-6; Is. 58:1; 62:1-2).

 

(2) Their Blessedness (Ps. 41:1; Prov. 11:25; Matt. 5:7).  The Lord says the merciful are blessed, because they too shall be shown mercy (Ps. 41:1; Pro. 11:25; Matt. 5:7).  Apart from being shown mercy by men, the merciful also stand to receive the mercy of God (Ps. 18:25), the merciful stand to find God’s sparing mercy (Matt. 6:14), supply mercy (Pro. 19:17), sustaining mercy (Ps. 41:2); mercy in the day of trouble (Ps. 41:1; 2Tim. 1:18).  He shall have judgment without mercy that shows no mercy (Jas. 2:13).  The merciful shall be shown the mercy of God at last, and shall inherit the kingdom prepared for the merciful and righteous (Matt. 25:34-40).

 

Conclusion: Let’s go to the Lord in prayer for the necessary eye opening and bowels full of mercy and compassion so as to be able to show mercy appropriately, in order to also to obtain mercy.  Note that the dry-eyed and stone-hearted cannot be termed merciful.  What is your state?                                                      HSCF 163