ATTN: We’ve been on this topic of happiness for last several weeks. Since the very first sermon Jesus preached starts out with “Blessed are the…” or “Happy are the…”, we know it’s important to God that we are happy. But what makes God happy? Ever thought what would make God happy? Well, since He is our heavenly Father, maybe I could get insight into what makes Him happy from my relationship with my kids, since I’m an earthly father to them. I asked myself, “when am I the happiest with my two girls?” And the answer is not when they do nice things for me or give me things, but it’s when I do things for them and I see them enjoying it. For example, they are little girls and so they will write sweet love notes or they will make something or draw something and give them to me. And I get tickled by that and I have a box where I keep all those memorabilia from the time they were very little. But when I’m the happiest is when I plan something big – like Disneyland or a trip to D.C. – and get to spend several days with them, just doing things for them, like buying them ice cream or funnel cake or let them ride a rollercoaster, and seeing them enjoy it! I enjoy doing things for them more than having them do things for me.
And I find the same thing with God in the Bible. God takes more pleasure in doing things for us than us doing things for Him. He is pleased or happy with our dependence on HIS work for us. So, to please God, we do not lean on what we can do for God, but we lean on what God does for us. A perfect illustration is the story of the prodigal son. There were two sons. The younger son collects his inheritance from the father and throws it all away on lavish living. When he runs out of money, he comes home with his tail between his legs. And what does the father do? He runs out to meet him, embraces him and is so delighted to see him that he throws a big party! But what did this son do? All he did was to come home. But that signified to the father that he was admitting his need, broken over his own sins, and now he was leaning on the father’s mercy. But what about the older son who never left the house? He worked hard for the father. He was the good moral son that might have even made some sacrifices. But that does not touch the father’s heart as what the younger son did – completely leaning on the mercy of the father, admitting his helplessness and need. You see, our God delights more in showing mercy to us than our doing great deeds for Him or making great sacrifices for Him. So, that is what will please God. A brokenness over our own sins – “a broken heart and a contrite spirit, O God, You will not despise (Ps 51:17)…. And the resulting hope in God, dependence on Him, and obedience to Him. These are what please God.
Now, how does that translate to what will make us happy? If our total dependence on God through hoping in him, praying, and obeying him makes him happy, what will make us happy? It is to be the kind of people that would be happy in making God happy! John Piper puts it this way, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” And I could say the same thing this way: “God is most pleased with us when we are most pleased in Him.” Or “God is the happiest with us when we are the happiest in Him.”
Now, putting this all together with what we’ve been talking about last few weeks make sense. Jesus said, 1) “Happy are the helpless. 2) Happy are the broken over their sins. 3) Happy are those who commit their cause to God. 4) Happy are those who strongly desire God’s rightness to be in us and in the world.” Why? Because these are the conditions that drive us to God – the source of happiness. These are the conditions that make us turn away from ourselves and turn to God for acceptance, approval, comfort, peace – the things we associate with happiness. So, we add two more today: “Happy are the merciful,” and “Happy are the pure.”
Beatitude #5: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy” (v. 7)
Notice that it doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who received mercy,” but rather, “Bless are the (Happy are the) merciful – who show mercy to others!” Why? Because it’s those who are merciful who will receive mercy from God. Why would that be so? Is God going to show us mercy based on whether we will be merciful to others? If that is true, then our being forgiven or being pardoned from our sin seems like it’s based upon our works – in this case, based upon whether we will be merciful to others or not. But, you have been taught that we are not saved by our good works. Rather, we are saved by the good works that Jesus has done on our behalf. And when we believe in His finished works, we are saved. Jesus is not saying that our being merciful is the cause of our salvation. But rather, our being merciful is the fruit of our salvation. So, when we are merciful to others, that demonstrates or proves that we are genuinely saved. The opposite is also true. If we are not merciful to others, it’s showing that perhaps we are not the children of God. Because God is merciful. And His children resemble their Father and they also become merciful. And if they are not, it may mean that they never belonged to Him to begin with.
Scripture: Matthew 18:21 – Jesus tells a parable of a servant who owed his master 10,000 talents. I did the calculation and that’s, in today’s money, $7 billion! This servant would have to work for 200,000 years to pay off the debt! Since he couldn’t pay the debt, he begged him for more time. How silly! 200,000 years? But the master had pity on him and forgave him of all his debt – billions of dollars worth! But that same servant finding out that his fellow servant owed him 100 denarii – about $10,000 – went after him and demanded that he pays him back what he was owed. When that servant begged him to give him more time, instead this first servant put him in prison and demanded that he stay there until every penny is paid. When the master heard about this, he called the first servant back and said, “‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. (matthew 18:32-34)
How do we become merciful? How do we forgive those who have hurt us deeply? How do we show compassion to those who slandered us, spread rumors about us, fired us unreasonably, or even abused us when we were just little children, or abandoned us in a divorce? The answer is not, “Well, you be the bigger person and forgive them.” No. It’s remembering how much we have been forgiven. How great our debt was – something we could never repay – that the Son of God had to come and die in our place! If our destination was death and everlasting torment in hell, but Jesus has taken the 39 deep gashes on his back, crushing thorns on his head, rusty nails through his wrist and feet, and a piercing spear through his heart, how could we not show mercy to those who gave us a paper cut in comparison? If we do not show mercy, that simply goes to show that we didn’t understand what Christ has done for us, which would make us unrepentant sinners whose sins are not forgiven…
“Happy are the merciful…” They are happy because they had been shown mercy by God. They are debt free! They are not under condemnation! Their destiny is not hell, but heaven! Although they deserved the worst, they received the best instead. ILL: You owe millions in back taxes to the government and you get a notice saying that all your assets will be impounded and you will be in jail and your family will be homeless. When you are about to take your own life by jumping off a bridge, an old friend who made a fortune in tech business stops you and says he will pay your debt! How would you feel? How would you treat that friend from that point on?
APP: Would you be a merciful person? A merciful person does not remember everything someone did to hurt you and are simply looking for a way to get back. You are not thinking about what that person deserves and trying to exact punishment on that person for what he did or what he said to hurt you. You are releasing all that unmerciful thoughts. And you are at peace with yourself. You are not tormented by all the wrongs that were done to you because you were far worse to Christ and He forgave you of all…
Happy are those who show mercy because they have been shown mercy and will ultimately be exonerated from all sins and wrongdoings – past, present and future – because Jesus took it all.
Beatitude #6: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (v. 8)
“Pure” means to be whole. As in, it is made of one substance. It is not a mixture of things, so that it may look like one thing on the outside, but another thing inside, but what you see is what you get. Think of pure gold vs an alloy. A pastor put it, “to be pure is to be one willed.” It is to be single-minded. So a person who acts all lovey dovey in front of you but later gossips about you is not pure. He’s putting up a front and hides something behind that doesn’t accord with the front. If I can be sarcastic, it’s the opposite of being a good politician! Politicians are masters at hiding what their true feelings because they are afraid to step on toes and offend their constituents and lose votes.
Now then, does that mean that we always speak our mind and not care what anyone else thinks, to be pure? No. The Proverbs says over and over that only a fool would speak all that he’s thinking constantly. But a wise and pure would know what would be helpful and what is not. But what he does NOT do is to deliberately withhold information or say it or not say it in such a way to mislead the other person.
If we met a truly pure person, we can see right through him. We know what he is about and where He stands on issues. It is not complicated to figure him out. He makes it clear what he likes and what he doesn’t. He doesn’t play these political games to get on the good side of everyone. And he won’t be so careful not to hurt everyone’s feelings because he’s not thinking first about how he might come across. But there would be no doubt that he is for you. Although what he says might be hurtful, there is no doubt that it is for your good. He risks his relationship with you to tell you the truth. You know who I’m thinking of, don’t you? Yes, Jesus Christ. If He was like a modern politician, he would’ve never been crucified because the crowd would’ve never known what he really stood for. But Jesus was very very clear on being against the people who had the most political power of that day – the Pharisees, priests and governors! He was so crystal clear on where he stood – that he was pure – it was easy to hate him and trap him and kill him.
ILL: Children are pure in this respect. They make it known very clearly what they like and what they don’t like. If they like it, they will throw up their hands and cheer. If they don’t like it, they will cry. Oh, how I need to learn from the children. My job of being a pastor sometimes, in order to be so careful not to hurt people’s feelings, even though I feel strongly about something, I wouldn’t say it. That’s not being pure. That’s not what how Jesus would’ve dealt with people. I’m really thinking more about myself and how I come across than the well-being of that person.
What about you? Can I assume that you don’t have anything hiding in a closet? How you look on Sunday morning is how you really are behind closed door? Are you pure? Are you one willed? Are you single minded? I know I’m not….
So, I find comfort in Proverbs 20:9, “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin?'” And with the disciples: “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus, with those ever comforting words, “With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” I can never be pure on my own. I care too much what people think. I care too much whether people will accept me or not, and how they see me. So, rather than leaning on my own strength and will-power, I lean on Christ and pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.” And as I do that, and as I behold His glory, He becomes greater and weightier, and my desire changes from glorifying myself to glorifying God, and I become happier…
CONC: Happy are the merciful. Happy are the pure. I want your maximum joy in God by commending to you to be merciful and pure. Purse mercy. Lean on, depend on, trust Jesus and find happiness in Him to the point where you release all your past hurts and anger. And strive, strive to stay that way in purity, to throw out and cut off whatever hinders you from seeing mercy, so that you will be singularly focused on the goodness of Christ for your maximum joy.
… he would give the clothes off his back to help a poor person. ILL: my fight against this as I grow older and understand the pchyche of the people better. To manipulate, to take advantage, yes, if I’m doing it for God, then
And of course that leads every sensitive soul to cry out with the words of Proverbs 20:9, “Who can say,
Create in me a clean heart. And renew a right spirit within me. Ask god for a heart change. More than resolving to do something, but no matter how strong your resolve is, when you are facing the temptation, it is your very “want to” that changes, is it? Our will is under our desire. Our will will follow what our heart desires. So, what must happened is a heart change.
As opposed to double-minded or duplicitous. Being politically correct
Purity of heart is to will one thing, namely, God’s truth and God’s value in everything we do. The aim of the pure heart is to align itself with the truth of God and magnify the worth of God. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with utter single-mindedness. Purity of heart is to will that one thing.
- pure – no guile. What you see is what you get. Whole. One willed. If you lust after a woman, you committed adultery. If you got angry with another person, you have committed murder. That’s impurity. Even though you have not done it yet, your outside is different from your inside.
If I owed the IRS $5 million in back taxes, and I got a notice saying that all my assets will be impounded, and I will be homeless, but my rich uncle steps in and pays back all my back taxes and I’m so relieved and thankful, and let’s say you owe me a $1,000 because you borrowed it last month,
ILL: it’s like saying sennah and serrie are
ILL: schindler’s list – “pardon”
Happy are you when you are a merciful person because you yourself have received mercy from God. It is mercy that flows from having received mercy. And what is mercy? Simply put, it is treating others better than what they deserve. They deserve punishment and scorn, but instead, we forgive them and love on them – that’s mercy because that’s better than what they deserved. And when we are this kind of person, we are happy. Why would this be?
Because we are not keeping a record of wrongs.
Ex) some of us had irresponsible or apathetic or just bad parents. And we vowed to ourselves that we will never be like them when we grow up. So, as grownups, that is still lodged in our minds and we will purposely not saying or act like how our parents did to us. But did you know that that means they still have influence on you? They still have a grip on you because you are acting or not acting based on how they were! They are still dictating what you or what you would not do although you are doing the opposite. That is a picture of an unmerciful person. What’s mercy got to do with it? Because you think what that person has done to you is so evil that you want to make sure that person pays for it and the way that’s going to happen is by you acting exactly the opposite. But mercy is treating that person better than what they deserve.
The key to becoming a merciful person is to become a broken person. You get the power to show mercy from the real feeling in your heart that you owe everything you are and have to sheer divine mercy. [piper]
Characteristics of unmerciful people:
- “I” is the standard of measurement – “I” wouldn’t do that. but that person did. That’s wrong. Could be. But you forgive anyway.
- others’ offense is always bigger than mine. I know I’m not perfect, but what I’ve done is nowhere near what that person has done.
- unhappy and rocky relationships. So many people have done so many things wrong in his mind that she can’t really associate with any of them…
ILL: have mercy on me oh lord a sinner! He is the one justified and not the unmerciful – I’m glad I’m not him – his offense is not as big. I is the standard of measurement.
Parable of the man who was forgiven of much debt. Just because you have been shown mercy does not mean that you will be merciful. We’ve all been shown mercy by God. God sent His only son to us – for all of us who would receive Him. But not all receive Him. Why? Because they don’t think themselves to be bad. Would a fish know it’s wet? Would a maggot that was born in a outhouse know it’s dirty? Everyone else is just as evil, so it’s like being born in a cave with no light and never having seen the light and we think everywhere is dark like that. but suddenly a hole in that cave and a glimmer of light! God’s mercy breaks in. and we see ourselves as we are for the first time.
Thank God if you know yourself to be a sinner deserving death and hell. That came from God.
He who is forgiven much will love much. He who is shown mercy and is thankful, shows mercy.
Why will only merciful people find mercy from God in the judgment day, if salvation is by grace through faith? Because their being merciful is a proof that they understood that they had been shown mercy.
Jesus made up this story. Why did he choose to illustrate the opposite of mercy with a priest and a Levite? With a pastor and a minister of music? Is it not a warning to me and Dean and all of us that there are far too many people who are caught up in the mechanics of religious activity with no eye to see distress, no heart to respond with compassion, and no effort to bring the relief of the gospel?
It is easy to make up some religious activities and make them the measure of one’s acceptability with God. For example, in the Korean church culture I grew up in, you are more spiritual and more pleasing to God if you attend faithfully the morning prayer that begins at 6am every morning. Yes, every morning at 6 am, a Korean church will have a service and if you go to it every morning, then you are a good Christian and God will be pleased with you! Where is that in the bible?
That is what the Pharisees were doing. They came up with randome religious activities, like what you can do on Sabatth and what you cannot do, and if you live according to those customs, then you are somebody, but if you don’t’, then you are a nobody in God.
What does God judge us by? Mercy!
I desire mery can and not sacrifice. I don’t desire religious formalities, but I desire for you to show mercy to one another! Do justice to the poor. Why? Beause you have been shown mercy by me!
God’s will is that sometimes we recompense people with what they deserve, whether punishment or reward (call that justice). And God’s will is that sometimes we recompense people with better than what they deserve (call that mercy).
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
In other words, we don’t get so focused on doing the religious things that we forget the weightier matter, like how people live and love God, and find peace and joy in Him..
ILL: so focused on building the church and keeping up with high standards, they don’t counsel, show mercy, cut off, ignore, etc when their students fall apart.
How do most church leaders measure who’s close to God and who’s not?
1) do they attend church faithfully? 2) have they read through the bible every year? 3) do they give faithfully? 4) Do they work on Sundays?
We want you to read the bible and pray, and come to church, not so that that is the end goal, but so that you will grow in love and
Means become the end. The Pharisees mixed up the means with the end. To them, doing these religious things have become their end. But these are means to an end of approaching God and being near God.
How do we measure success?
1) awareness of our sins 2) thankful heart 3) the fruit.
How do you know you are growing in the Lord? Are you becoming more merciful?
The gospel ought to trickle down and transform all our thinking and practices.
Let me start with a question. How do we please God? What will please God? Isn’t that such a simple and obvious question that a Christian should ask? As children of God, we should naturally want to please God, like good children should want to please their parents. But what will please God? The most obvious thing to do to answer that question is to draw an analogy between God and our parents and think about what would please our parents. Well, we do something for them or give them something to please them! So, maybe that’s the answer to how to please God! As a matter of fact, that is what many Christians think. To please God, we must do something for him or sacrifice something for him, or give Him something big. But you see the problem with that answer is that God has everything! We cannot give Him something He doesn’t already have. Even if we give ourselves to Him, well, what did we give Him that wasn’t already His?
But according to the Bible,
It’s not the older son that didn’t leave the house and continued to work for the father that the father was pleased with but with the younger son, although made a mess of his life, came back humbled, and acknowledging that he’s nothing without the father and thus trusting him.
Helpless. That is what will make god happy – helpless, broken over our sin, committing our cause to God because we have nothing to show for on our own. All these are characteristics of the younger brother when he came back. The opposite is true of the older son – he was proud. He was’t broken over his own sin because he didn’t think he was too bad. And he trusted his own works because they were better than others. He in fact is the unhappy one according to Jesus’ definition. Those who are happy, truly happy, are those who are happy in God because he is accepted, forgiven, and honored by God. It is about the relationship! It is when our relationship with God is restored, mended, that’s when we are happy – when we are rightly related to God – righteousness in God’s sight!
We are so influenced by the world. Sometimes, we need to turn ourselves off from TV, social media, and listen to what God says about us rather than the million voices that the world says.
A broken and contrite spirit, you will not despise.
– moses wanted to free the people but not as a prince. What a great opportunity to do this. But God humbled him and waited 40 years to do what Moses originally wanted to do. This is a pattern. God hates the proud. He loves the humble.
- hope in god, prayer, obedience, faith.
- What will please God? (What will make God happy?)
- what will make us happy? To be the kind of people that would be happy in making God happy. (want to) Making God happy – glorifying God. We are the happiest when we are most pleasing to Him. And what will please Him? Admission, hoping in him, depending on him, prayer, obedience.
ILL: when David wanted to build a house for God, God said he will build a house for David! God take more delight in doing things for us than having us do things for Him.
Is it wrong to have holy ambition for God? Like, I want to win north Korea to Jesus, for example? No. absolutely not. But we will realize that long before we had the desire, God has already been doing things for us to accomplish that so that in the end, it was God enabling and giving us the desire to do what we wanted to do for God.
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