Before we get into our message for this week, let's see how much you remember from last week. Name one of the examples of a gifted giver that we looked at last week. There was two people that were offered as examples of gift givers out of the Bible, not including friend. And you just need to name one of them. There was two of them. Joanna. Good. Anybody remember the other one? It was the Good Samaritan. But I did talk about Joanna more, so that makes sense that you would remember that one. And what are some ways in which we can come alongside and pray for those with this gift? Do you remember some of the things that they might fall into that we could help them to not? Absolutely. But any particular ways of praying for them other than out loud? Yes. So not to give and focus so much on everything that they can do for the church that their own family goes without, which can be a risk for them. To not overextend themselves. That's good. So as we begin this week's message, I'm going to give you an example of someone that I know who has the spiritual gift.
It's not me because that was giving you a clue as to my top gifts. Plus, once we get to the The gift you'll know. Yeah, definitely not you. But someone that I know with this spiritual gift, I'm not going to tell you what the gift is. But after I tell you about her, I'm going to ask you if you know which gift we're going to be unwrapping in this latest instalment of unwrapping our gifts from God. But when we get to it, if you think you know which gift it is, don't say it out loud yet. This is your time to just listen like detectives and try and listen for the clues. Okay? So don't shout it out because there is a time coming where you're going to do something to let me know. Okay? All right, here we go. So in one place where I worked, my colleague and I were both what you might call strong-minded, rather firm-willed individuals who had actually no problem in speaking truth and honesty into each other's lives. We could debate on just about any topic there was, and we enjoyed our battle of wills immensely. But sometimes our daily debates would be witnessed by staff who would come into the office, and these witnesses would see our discussions as fighting with one another.
We never looked at it as that we were fighting with one another, and we couldn't understand why they saw it this way. But we just looked at it that we were passionately discussing things with one another. So have you ever had that experience with any of your friends where you're just talking about something really passionately, but other people tend to think, or with your spouse, yes, your kids or whoever think that you're fighting, but you're not, right? But you can imagine what it was like in the office. There were Sometimes when a friend that we had in common who also worked with us would witness one of our discussions, and unlike the other staff who tended to walk in, listen, turn around, and dart back out, this friend of ours would feel the need to bring about a peaceful close to our conversation. And because she was uncomfortable, even though neither party in the conversation were angry at the other, and we didn't see any need for intervention, but she felt the need to bring it to a close. So just picture it now. You're walking in your staff member and you're walking into the room and you hear the two of us discussing something.
What would you do? Would you be one of the ones to turn around and walk back out the door? Would you stay and listen? Would you just tiptoe backwards back out of there? Or would you try and help close the conversation like our friend did? So you're picturing that. So to bring a peaceful end to any discussion between my colleague and me, our friend would always find something to agree with in each of us. And then she would weave those points together and guide us into common ground, gently closing the conversation. You see, this friend of ours is a really sweet and gentle soul who always seeks to find the best in others, even when their actions fall short. Her sensitivity, her compassion, and her fairness make her a natural peacemaker and perfectly suited for the ministry God led her into. Which was daycare. She began a daycare within the church as a ministry to help children and their parents experience the love of Jesus. Now, my friend is very shy, and always, and I mean always, shies away from having any attention put on her. She dislikes public speaking immensely. But God had given her a vision for starting a Christian daycare, and she knew that she needed help in figuring out how to make that happen.
So her first step was to speak to the lead pastor of the church that she was attending at the time. And his response was that she, who was all of 19 years of age at the time, needed to bring a presentation of her ministry idea to the board of deacons and present it to them. Pretty much her biggest fear. It was a huge nightmare. It was the things that she would literally have nightmares about. Yet she did it. In time, the daycare was started. It began with three staff and four children. Twenty five years later, it now has 13 full-time staff members and 60 children, ranging in age from infant to grade five. It's probably the biggest outreach into the community that that church has. Now, the reason I mention this is because although it was her ministry, although it had been a vision that was given to her by God, and although she was the person who took the initiative to get it all started, She never wanted to be in charge of running it. Serve it, love the children and teach them about Jesus? Yes. But run it? No. And I asked her once why she didn't want to be the director.
And she told me that although God had given her the initial vision, it took him working through others to make that vision grow far beyond what she had ever imagined. So for 23 years, she continued to serve this ministry, quietly flying under the radar planning lessons, teaching children, supporting fellow staff, loving the children and their parents, and never seeking any spotlight or recognition, and never wanting to be in a position of authority. Having the business side of the Ministry, having to have the tough discussions with parents about topics from payments to their children's behaviours was never something that she felt called to. She much preferred to focus on teaching the children and ensuring that those around her grew in their love for one another. And to her, these were much better options than making schedules or dealing with inspections and meetings. One of the things that I love about her is that treating people the way that she does through her gifting that we haven't yet mentioned is automatic for her. And she just seems to seek out and gravitate towards those who are struggling or hurting, and she desires nothing more than to help them.
Her spiritual gift gives her a desire for peaceful outcomes in human relationships and interactions, as I witnessed firsthand, as I mentioned earlier. And she will not put herself forward if or when she may have a different opinion, because harmony is more important to her than sharing her ideas and opinions. She can also put herself in the other person's shoes and feel as they do, empathising with them and thereby understanding their needs. So are you getting an idea of what this gift is? Don't say it out loud yet. But here, just as a reviewer, some of the characteristics. Have a heart for people. Want to see others love each other to a greater degree, sensitive to the needs of others. Compassionate, impartial, gentle, soft-spoken, will yield their position in order to allow harmony to reign. Now you know why I told you it's definitely not my gift. If you think you have a guess and you think you know what it is, take your piece of paper and the thick end of your marker and write down in big letters what you think the gift is. But keep it down. Don't hold it up yet. Everybody looks over at the tree.
While you're thinking, speaking of said tree, today was the deadline for putting your leaves on the tree, but I'm not going to report you if you haven't done it yet. But just to keep in mind, this is not about roping you into doing something. This is to allow us to see what God's vision for this church is moving forward. And in order to do that, in part, we need to see how he has gifted us as a church. That's why there's no names on it anywhere. It's just your leaves. And I have purposely been not looking when people put their leaves on, so you can't say that I'm coming after you. So if you haven't yet put your leaves on there, please do so. All right. Has everybody finished writing? Hold them up. Let's see who got it. That was not big letters. I said big letters. I'm blind. No. We got one. It's Mercy. We got two. Peacemaker. It's Mercy. Mercy is the one gift. Well done. Anybody up here have it? What was the big letter? That's another week. All right. Thanks, Alex. So the definition of mercy, slide, is compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.
And an example of this can be seen in the story of Jona. So I'm guessing everybody here remembers the story of Jona, right? So when God told Jona to go to Nineveh, what did Jona do? He ran away, right? Where did he end up? Yes, but then where else did he end up? In the belly of the fish. In the belly of the fish. That's right. So let's dive back in the story of mercy together. So God commissioned Jona to go to the Ninevites. Why? Because they were sinning against in the way that they lived. God sent Jona to claim his message to the Ninevites to repent and change their ways or punishment would be their future. And Jona didn't want to go. He hated the Ninevites, not without just cause. These were nasty, wicked, horrible people that did horrible horrible, horrible things. So he didn't want to go, so he tried running away from God. And we all know how well that works out for us, right? So eventually, after a trip in the belly of a giant fish, Jona does what God asks, and he went to Nineveh to tell them God's message.
And so I'm picking up the story in Chapter 3: 6. When Jona's warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh. By the decree of the king and his nobles, do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything. Do not let them eat or drink, but let people and animals be covered with sack cloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows God may yet relent and with compassion, turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. And God did hold off on punishing Nineveh because of their repentance, right? Verse 10 says, When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction that he had threatened. Things would change with the next generation, but this story demonstrates for us the definition of mercy, and it shows us how God sets the example of what it looks like. To live not for revenge on those that hurt us or with hearts that are hardened with unforgiveness, but with compassion and understanding that people mess up, us included.
Slide. We need to follow God's example, knowing that we have been recipients of his grace and mercy in our own lives, and that we reason to be thankful that he is a God of second chances. And for some of us, and third chances, and fourth chances, and it goes And while the story emphasises the sin of the Nineveh and God's mercy toward them, we can't forget that Jona himself was a recipient of God's mercy, too. After all, he dissipated God. He tried to run from him and then had the nerve to get angry with God because of his mercy towards the people that Jona hated. So after God had spared Nineveh, we read in chapter 4, he prayed to the Lord, Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarsish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Relents from sending calamity. Jona was angry at God because of his mercy, even though he himself had also been the recipient of it. Jona didn't want the Ninevites to be the recipients of God's compassion and mercy.
He wanted them just wiped right off the earth. Perhaps you can feel some empathy for Jona. I know that some feel Jona was a bit of a jerk, yes, but maybe you can find some empathy because maybe you also find it a challenge sometimes to get past your own pain and act in love towards those who have caused your pain. But for those who have been gifted with mercy, they are able to see past personal hurts or anger and act out in love and mercy toward all. Now, be honest. Have you ever had someone who's hurt you, hurt you badly, hurt your feelings, and you really didn't want to have to be nice to them ever again? Thank you, Pat. Yes. Yeah, you're being honest.. One or two. There you go. Mercy means, though, choosing to love even when it's hard. And that's what makes it such a special gift. Slide. Mercy is one of the ingredients of biblical love. It's what we express when we are God-led in our compassion, in our choice of words, and in our actions. It's more than sympathy. It's more than empathy. Mercy is what can happen only through the action of loving.
Mercy makes us want to reach out to those in need and to supply whatever is required to fulfil those needs. It's in mercy that we want to alleviate suffering, that we want to comfort someone who is lonely, to be the shoulder to cry on for someone in their grief. Slide. Those with the gift of mercy will sacrifice of themselves in order to meet the physical, emotional, financial or spiritual needs of others, and they will do so cheerfully and generously. It's what Matthew meant for all of us to extend to one another when he wrote in the Beatitudes, 'Blessed are the mercies, for they shall obtain mercy. ' Just as we spoke about last week when it came to the gift of giving that we were all expected to give, even if it isn't one of our spiritual gifts, we are also all called on to be merciful. But those with the gift are able to so without having to think about it. It's how they're wired, how they innately think and act. They don't have to think about how they really want to respond and then go, No, you're not supposed to do that, and then act the way they're supposed to.
They just do it. Believers... Next slide, Alex. Believers who have this gift will take a fight for those who have no voice, the poor, the exploited, and the marginalised, and will act on their behalf. Slide. Those gifted with mercy are able to cheerfully and practically help others. They will step in and help those who are suffering or who are in need by putting compassion into action. This gift allows the person to identify others who are in need physically or mentally, and take the appropriate action. To care and to demonstrate that care, not just in words, but with acts of love that help those in distress. Slide. Mercy is love in action. And that idea that they can sense the needs of people without having to be told, that is a definite part of this gift. Now, an example of mercy as an action is found in Matthew 20: 29-34. As Jesus and disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed them. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, 'lord, son of David, have mercy on us. ' The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, Lord, son of David, have mercy on us.
Now, just close your eyes for a minute. Imagine that you're one of those blind men. You can hear the crowd. You know that Jesus is about to come by. You can't see him, but you can call out to him. You can call out to him, Lord, have mercy on me. And that's what did. And Jesus stopped for them. Jesus stopped and called them, What do you want me to do for you? He asked. Lord, they answered, We want our sight. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him. So what was mercy in the minds of the blind men? What did they think mercy was? Did they simply want Jesus to feel something for them? No. They equated mercy with action. They were blind, so to them, mercy was the action that Jesus took to give them back their sight. Mercy is more in the feeling. It is love in action. It's action that we need to all try more often to take. So unfortunately, the spiritual gift of mercy can have its downside. Provide for the person who has the gift. The compassion, mercy, and feelings of pity for others that those with this gift experience can expose them to pain themselves.
People with this gift may find that they are particularly sensitive to negative comments and that they feel emotional pain more deeply. Slide. They may find it more difficult to let the actions of others go. Because they find it painful to be around people who are constantly critical or who belittle others, they may stop being around them, which can hamper their use of their gift, as those are the people that may need mercy most of all. Slide. Something people with this gift need to be careful to avoid is doing too much or becoming too close to a person in need. Those gifted with mercy need to be aware of their propensity for impulsiveness, and they must always pray for God's direction when reaching out to others in mercy. We need to keep an objective view of each situation in person. They are easily motivated by emotion, but need to remember that God's work in each of us can often be painful to experience. And God may even break us in order to help us grow. And We can't get in the way of that. We need to be in prayer for those in our midst who have this gift.
And when you look at our tree, there's quite a few that have mercy as their spiritual gift. As with all the spiritual gifts, Jesus is our ultimate role model. He always acted mercively towards people in need, whether the needs were spiritual or physical or material. Each of us is dependent on Jesus to show us mercy. This is the very foundation of our understanding of our salvation, yes? Our hope depends on Christ's mercy alone, and it's this hope that should inspire us to follow Christ's example of compassion and mercy towards others. Jesus wanted all people to experience the love and the forgiveness and the grace of God, and he was willing to die to give people the chance for reconciliation of their relationship with the Father. Jesus did not just talk about love or command others to love. He demonstrated it in the most merciful way by giving his own life for the sins of the world. The gift of mercy is helpful in balancing some of the other spiritual gifts, such as prophecy. Because do you remember what one of the downsides of the prophetic gift was? It was how they see everything in black and white, right or wrong, there was no grey area.
Well, when you level that out with the gift of mercy, how you play out that prophetic gift, how you demonstrate it, is going to be softened. It's going to be more balanced. Now, remember at the beginning of this message, I told you about the discussions my colleague and I had, the passionate debates that we both loved having, but that caused others to be uncomfortable because they thought we were fighting? What did our friend with the gift of mercy do? Yeah, she would step in and bring useful resolution to the debate. God will ensure his church also has those gifted in mercy so that they can bring about peaceful resolutions to the heated discussions so that they can counteract some of the repercussions of other gifts by seeking out and gravitating towards those who may be hurt by people with some of the other gifts. We need those who are sensitive attentive to the feelings of others, who are attentive to the needs of others, and who have compassion for the pain of others, and who are able to maintain impartiality. The church can only be made better by those who are gentle, who do not look to see what's in it for them when looking to help a brother or sister.
And it's interesting that in any given church, there are probably more people who feel that they have the gift of mercy than any other spiritual gift. But That's a good thing. Slide. The church should be a reflection of the love, forgiveness, kindness, and mercy of God. So any church that is overflowing with these traits will be a healthy one. These are certainly the things our world needs more of, don't you think? I mean, think of the impact worldwide if there are more people around with this gift. What a beautiful example the church has the opportunity of setting to be the community that anyone would want to be a part of, to be so different from the world in all the right ways. So let's hear from some of you. What is a word that comes to mind when you think or you hear the word mercy? What comes to mind? Not assuming. Can you unpack that one for me? What do you mean? Well,. Because it's often the negative that we jump to, right? Good one. Yeah. I hadn't thought of that. Go ahead. Compassionate. What else? When you hear mercy. Gentle. To be honest, before I did the first message I ever did on this spiritual gift, when I heard the word mercy, I pictured the movie Braveheart.
At the end, when he's being tortured, then they all start yelling, Mercy, mercy. That's what kept coming to mind. So this did a lot of good for me. I mean, they were calling out in compassion, but their compassion was to have them killed, so we don't want to go there. So No, compassion. I like that. Not assuming. Not assuming the worst of somebody, mainly. Yes. What else? Non-judgmental. That's a hard one for us humans, isn't it? Speaking for myself. I can't. I'm not judging you. I'm not being not judgmental. There you go. About kindness, forgiveness. All these are such beautiful words, and they're beautiful when you think about that that is what God wants his church to be full of. Luke 6: 35-36 gives us a glimpse of what we're to aim for. But love your enemy do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. When I think of my friend who has the gift of mercy and remember how gentle she is, how she never puts herself or her ideas forward without invitation, and how she purposefully seeks out the lost and the hurting and tries to help without ever thinking of herself first.
I wonder if I could ever come close to her example. Now, perhaps you're thinking the same, especially when you look at Jesus as our example. How do we come close? But that doesn't mean that we stop trying, that we sit back and say, Oh, well, I'll let people that are more gifted help that person. No, because each of us has the recipient of the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ. So I'm going to finish with the words of Paul as our closing prayer, because he expresses the meaning of mercy much better than I ever can. So it's from first Timothy 1: 17. I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
But for that very reason, I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.
