Friday March 26, 2004 - Mercy Ministries Lock-In
It was a great evening filled with lots of food, fellowship, and fun. If you were at the lock-in, you'll know who sang "Earth Song" and whether Brazil is larger than Australia, whether Uraguay is more north than Paraguay, and who the highest paid soccer player is. Pastor Stuart ended the evening with some stories about Jesus' mercy that we can find in the Scriptures. A lot of the stories were familiar ones, but seen through the eyes of mercy.
Mark 2 (The paralytic lowered through the roof)
- Most people saw the commotion and vandalism done, but Jesus saw into the hearts of the friends.
- The man came for physical healing, but Jesus also gave him spiritual healing.
- In the midst of the commotion at the orphanages, we too must see the hearts of the children.
- Look beyond their physical needs to their spiritual needs.
Mark 5 (The story of Legion)
- The demon-possessed man was outcast from society -- Jesus went and ministered to him
- The Father sent Jesus across the lake, to minister to this man alone. Jesus does not minister to anyone else on this side of the lake.
- *How determined are we to minister? To reach the unlovable?
- It's easy to show love to the cute, adorable children. It's not always the case with the children who punch, push away, and reject you.
- The Father went to great lengths for us to minister at the orphanages.
- We hope for transformation -- the man in this passage became one of the first missionaries; he went into the Decapolis (10 cities) and shared what Jesus had done for him
Mark 5 (A dead girl and a sick woman)
- In Leviticus law, bleeding people not allowed to touch others, so she probably felt guilty when Jesus asked who had touched him.
- Jesus saw her heart and her faith and didn't judge her.
- *Its hard to judge someone when you grow in love for them.
- Because Jesus took time here, Jairus' daughter died.
- Jesus had time for her - time to have mercy - even though someone else was dying.
- *We too must make time for the ophans, no matter what is going on in our lives.
- *Invite the Spirit to be powerful within us, like Jesus:
- Spiritual power - Jesus knew power had left Him
- Spiritual discernment - He knew it had left Him
- Pray that we too will be filled with the Holy Spirit everyday and for spiritual discernment. It has to become our lifestyle. We can't just ask to be filled on Saturday mornings.
Mark 8 (Feeding of the 4,000)
- The feeding of the 5,000 given as a sign of who Jesus was
- The feeding of the 4,000 was an act of mercy v.2 "I have compassion for these people."
- Jesus saw their need, had compassion, and met their need.
- *God may prompt us to do the same: sometimes the motivation is simple; it doesn't always have to be a super-spiritual experience.
Peter and Judas
- Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied Him -- thin line between the two
- Judas rejected Jesus' mercy:
- Last supper: Jesus offered Judas the bread and wine of forgiveness - one last chance
- *Even to His betrayer, Jesus offered mercy
- Peter accepted:
- Peter denied 3 times; Jesus offered reconciliation 3 times
- *Use forgiveness as an act of mercy
*Jesus our ultimate model of mercy. His whole mission on earth was a mercy ministry. -- He forgave us, even on the cross.
*Love that hurts, love that forgives... how far are you willing to go to touch the lives of the children? When we offer forgiveness and reconciliation, it will change lives.
Read the gospels over again and try and recognize God's heart of mercy.
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