WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Kingdom Ethics 2 Publishing Date: 2017-03-05T05:00:44-08:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/kingdom-ethics-2/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.600 You and I must be caught up in mercy. 00:00:06.600 --> 00:00:09.600 And how do we then define this mercy that Jesus is talking about? 00:00:10.200 --> 00:00:12.400 Extending undeserved blessing, 00:00:13.100 --> 00:00:18.300 withholding deserved penalty, extending undeserved mercy, 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:27.900 extending undeserved mercy, withholding 00:00:30.400 --> 00:00:33.500 deserved penalty. 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:47.000 Here's the other thing about mercy. 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.400 It extends kindness to the needy, even though, 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:58.900 you know, we find it difficult to show kindness and sometimes 00:00:58.900 --> 00:01:03.400 we withdraw kindness when we discover that the one we are helping 00:01:03.700 --> 00:01:05.700 caused his or her own problem. 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:12.700 We often withdraw kindness when we find out that the one who 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:18.600 we are helping created the problem, that they actually are 00:01:18.600 --> 00:01:21.900 the reason for the problem, that they caused their own problem. 00:01:22.100 --> 00:01:24.500 That's when we withdraw our kindness. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.700 I used to work at Street Church on Hastings and Main and 00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:32.100 there's a pastor there called Randy Barnston and Randy would 00:01:32.100 --> 00:01:37.400 feed the poor and the homeless and the homosexual and the shelterless 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:40.200 and the drug addict and the prostitute and many would come and say 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:41.300 you're just enabling them. 00:01:42.300 --> 00:01:44.600 You just allow them to come and you feed them. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:46.100 You're enabling them. 00:01:46.100 --> 00:01:48.900 They go from soup kitchen to soup kitchen to soup kitchen. 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:51.200 They shouldn't stop their drug habits. 00:01:51.600 --> 00:01:55.700 Why are they using their welfare money to take on drugs? 00:01:55.700 --> 00:01:59.500 And Randy's response was always that I am not here to figure out 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:02.600 whether they are here because they are the cause or they are not 00:02:02.600 --> 00:02:03.100 the cause. 00:02:03.600 --> 00:02:06.900 I'm here because I'm called to show mercy. 00:02:08.600 --> 00:02:11.100 I'm not saying that there's a blanket statement. 00:02:11.100 --> 00:02:16.100 I'm saying that we usually fall on the side of well, you better 00:02:16.100 --> 00:02:16.800 get out of this. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:22.100 I'm willing to help you show you mercy if there is a place for 00:02:22.100 --> 00:02:25.600 that, but I'm just saying mercy extends kindness to the needy 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:26.700 regardless of the reason. 00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:29.000 Here's the third thing. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:30.500 This was kind of new to me. 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:37.000 Mercy involves risk, loss of time, loss of money, loss of reputation. 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:45.100 Mercy involves risk, loss of time, loss of money, loss of reputation. 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:52.200 Mercy involves risk, loss of money, loss of time, loss of reputation. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:59.600 God knows why the man was beaten up by the bandits and left on the 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:01.900 streets in Luke chapter 10. 00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:04.900 Maybe he wasn't beaten up by bandits. 00:03:04.900 --> 00:03:07.500 Maybe he got into a fight and he got beaten. 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:10.700 Maybe he had robbed somebody and the guys found him and beat him 00:03:10.700 --> 00:03:11.000 up. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.100 We don't know why he was lying there by the side of the road. 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:17.600 And the Levite comes and the priest come and both of them pass 00:03:17.600 --> 00:03:21.500 by only because to show mercy would have cost them something. 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:27.700 To show mercy would have cost them time or would have caused a loss 00:03:27.700 --> 00:03:33.200 of purity because if he touched the man he would be unclean. 00:03:34.100 --> 00:03:37.700 And so because of the loss of time or the loss of reputation or 00:03:37.700 --> 00:03:41.900 the loss of money people passed him by but one man the Samaritan 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:43.700 stopped and he lost his time. 00:03:43.700 --> 00:03:44.700 He lost his money. 00:03:46.500 --> 00:03:47.700 But that is mercy. 00:03:47.700 --> 00:03:49.400 Half the time we don't stop. 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:52.600 I mean, did you see that video by the UBC professor? 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:54.500 He was being beaten up by a guy. 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:55.200 Nobody stopped. 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:01.400 So on the video you see being beaten up but no one stopped. 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:02.300 No one stopped. 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:04.000 No one's intervening to help. 00:04:04.700 --> 00:04:05.200 Will I? 00:04:05.200 --> 00:04:05.800 Will you? 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:07.200 I don't know man. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:15.400 Because it will cost us time and money and a whole lot of money 00:04:15.700 --> 00:04:18.600 cost us time and money and a whole lot of complications. 00:04:21.200 --> 00:04:24.300 What a world we live in and what a world we are becoming. 00:04:24.600 --> 00:04:26.800 What are what kind of people are we becoming? 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:28.900 Keep our noses clean. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.900 I pray God that he gives us some time before he tests us on this. 00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:46.400 I remember this is a day after I became a Christian. 00:04:47.500 --> 00:04:50.400 I've wrapped up my Bible in newspaper because I don't want 00:04:50.400 --> 00:04:52.800 anyone to know that I'm reading the Bible and I'm sitting in 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:56.800 this train and I'm reading and there's this really really poor 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.100 beggar like he's so poor. 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:04.900 He's hardly got a loincloth on and he's dirty and he's sitting 00:05:04.900 --> 00:05:10.700 near the toilet and in those days toilets and Indian trains 00:05:10.700 --> 00:05:14.900 in the unreserved compartment were filthy and they wouldn't 00:05:14.900 --> 00:05:16.100 allow him to sit anywhere else. 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:20.400 He would only he was sitting in the toilet and I'm reading 00:05:20.400 --> 00:05:23.500 this Bible and I've got pakoras and stuff like that and I'm 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.200 eating and as I'm reading the Bible I'm looking at this guy 00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:30.400 and the verses seem to kind of contradict what I'm reading 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:34.300 and where he's sitting just didn't make sense and I'm only 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:40.500 one day old in this thing and I couldn't sit there any moment. 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:44.900 So I get up and I'm thinking about you go anywhere and sit 00:05:44.900 --> 00:05:48.000 near to him and this whole compartment is going to look at 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:53.300 you funny scorn think who does he pretend he is and so I put 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:56.900 the Bible away took my pakoras and I went and sat next to him 00:05:56.900 --> 00:06:02.200 by the toilet and started giving him food and in the language 00:06:02.200 --> 00:06:03.800 that we were of that province. 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:06.500 I started telling him Jesus loves you Jesus loves you and 00:06:06.500 --> 00:06:09.500 this guy starts weeping and it's an open compartment in the 00:06:09.500 --> 00:06:15.400 sense of dozer the the not open compartment the doors are open. 00:06:15.400 --> 00:06:18.400 You so we are sitting by the steps now and I'm he's taking 00:06:18.400 --> 00:06:22.800 my food and he's crying and I felt so awkward because I know 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:25.100 everybody was watching and then after he finished eating I went 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:28.000 back and sat down where I was sitting and I could still see 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.000 him and then the strangest thing happens. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:36.100 I look up again and the man is gone. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:39.100 He didn't jump off the train. 00:06:40.900 --> 00:06:42.800 He couldn't have gone to the other compartment because it 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:43.400 was blocked. 00:06:43.400 --> 00:06:45.000 It wasn't a true thing. 00:06:47.700 --> 00:06:49.900 This is the first day after I was born again and everything 00:06:49.900 --> 00:06:52.800 was a gosh lot and then as I'm reading I come across the 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.500 scripture some have entertained angels without knowing. 00:06:56.700 --> 00:06:58.700 It's such a strange scripture to come across. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:01.500 It was hard. 00:07:02.200 --> 00:07:03.000 It stuck with me. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:05.400 That was more than 28 or 29 years ago. 00:07:06.400 --> 00:07:10.500 Mercy I pray God that we don't get so used to Christianity 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:13.500 that mercy begins become something we do once a year when 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:14.600 we feed someone soup. 00:07:16.700 --> 00:07:18.400 That this week we get opportunities. 00:07:18.900 --> 00:07:22.700 If I'm not willing to extend mercy, it's because I failed to 00:07:22.700 --> 00:07:24.900 recognize my own spiritual poverty. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.300 It's because I my heart doesn't really grieve for anybody else 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.500 and it's because I'm not very interested in them enjoying 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:38.300 God's kindness to them. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:41.900 Those are usually the reasons I don't. 00:07:43.200 --> 00:07:43.900 I don't that's it. 00:07:43.900 --> 00:07:45.900 That's usually why we don't extend mercy. 00:07:45.900 --> 00:07:48.800 One because we forget our spiritual poverty. 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:54.900 Two because our hearts really don't grieve for someone else 00:07:54.900 --> 00:07:57.100 who's not doing well and three. 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:02.900 I'm not particularly interested in someone else enjoying 00:08:02.900 --> 00:08:04.900 God's delight or kindness. 00:08:05.300 --> 00:08:07.400 If it happens, let it happen for me. 00:08:07.400 --> 00:08:09.000 If it doesn't happen, that's fine too. 00:08:11.200 --> 00:08:14.100 So I'm not here to say frankly, I don't want to do this. 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:17.800 So I'm not here to say Franklin Graham is right or wrong in 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.300 critiquing homosexuals and stuff like that. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.700 I'm saying that for every statement of truth that we make 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:31.300 maybe also make a statement that shows mercy which he may 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:31.800 be doing. 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:36.200 I'm not here to start a firestorm or critique things, 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:38.300 but maybe do both. 00:08:44.300 --> 00:08:47.600 We don't extend mercy because I fail to recognize my own 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:48.600 spiritual poverty. 00:08:49.900 --> 00:08:52.500 I have no grief for the plight of Jerusalem. 00:08:52.900 --> 00:08:57.800 Jesus, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I long to collect you 00:08:57.800 --> 00:09:02.100 like a hen collects its chicks and if you only knew the 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:04.800 peace I had for you, there was grief, there was lament, 00:09:04.900 --> 00:09:07.200 there was mourning, blessed are those that mourn. 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:12.200 I don't have grief over the plight of Jerusalem and I'm 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:16.400 disinterested in seeing others enjoy a right relationship 00:09:16.400 --> 00:09:16.900 with God. 00:09:16.900 --> 00:09:18.200 The very thing we were talking about. 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:22.700 I'm disinterested in seeing others enjoy a right relationship 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:23.100 with God. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:24.700 It's not one of my chief interests. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:34.000 Guys, it's a farisacal spirit and boy do we come under it 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:34.800 every so often. 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:37.500 Boy do I come under it every so often. 00:09:38.400 --> 00:09:41.700 It is a farisacal spirit that offers worship but holds back 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:42.200 mercy. 00:09:43.300 --> 00:09:48.200 It's a farisacal spirit that offers worship but holds back 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:48.800 mercy. 00:09:52.400 --> 00:09:56.700 Jesus said when they would not show mercy to a man who was 00:09:56.700 --> 00:10:01.100 crippled, Jesus said I desire mercy not sacrifice. 00:10:01.300 --> 00:10:02.400 Matthew 9 13. 00:10:04.300 --> 00:10:05.300 Let me go finish. 00:10:06.400 --> 00:10:07.500 Here's a beautiful thing. 00:10:08.400 --> 00:10:14.700 When you and I walk in mercy, it becomes easier to recognize, 00:10:15.800 --> 00:10:24.200 receive and relate to God as our faithful and merciful High 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:24.700 Priest. 00:10:25.100 --> 00:10:33.500 When you walk in mercy, it becomes easier to recognize, 00:10:34.500 --> 00:10:44.100 receive and relate to God as your faithful and merciful High 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:44.700 Priest. 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:46.600 Hebrews 2 17 says that. 00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:52.300 Hebrews 2 17 says but we have a faithful and merciful High 00:10:52.300 --> 00:10:52.800 Priest. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:54.500 But here's the thing guys. 00:10:54.900 --> 00:11:00.600 This is scripture in Psalm 18 verse 25 and 26 where it says 00:11:00.800 --> 00:11:04.400 To the merciful, I show myself merciful. 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:07.600 To the pure, I show myself pure. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.800 You know what happens when you begin to live out a certain 00:11:12.800 --> 00:11:16.000 quality, you begin to see God that way towards you. 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:20.400 Psalm 18 verse 25 and 26 with the merciful, you show yourself 00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:21.000 merciful. 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:23.500 With the blameless, you show yourself blameless. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:26.800 With the pure, you show yourself pure and with the crooked, 00:11:26.900 --> 00:11:32.300 you show yourself torturous as in the one who is crooked cannot 00:11:32.300 --> 00:11:32.900 figure you out. 00:11:32.900 --> 00:11:35.500 That's what the message says that when a man is crooked, he 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:36.400 can't figure you out. 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.300 But when he's pure, he's able to see you as pure. 00:11:39.300 --> 00:11:42.800 When he's merciful, he receives you and sees you, recognizes 00:11:42.800 --> 00:11:43.700 you as merciful. 00:11:44.800 --> 00:11:49.100 Sometimes when you have messed up and you sin, why is it so 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:52.200 hard to go back to God and receive forgiveness because 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:55.900 sometimes we have refused to show others forgiveness and we 00:11:55.900 --> 00:11:59.800 cannot relate to this high priest of ours as faithful and 00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:00.500 merciful. 00:12:12.500 --> 00:12:13.100 Oh no! 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:18.500 When you have done something impure, it is very hard to 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:24.400 relate to a God who is pure because of the impurity that 00:12:24.400 --> 00:12:27.500 you walk in and then you crave and you ask forgiveness and 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:30.800 you sing songs and you do penance and oh, it's such a 00:12:30.800 --> 00:12:31.300 pain. 00:12:33.300 --> 00:12:35.900 Show mercy and you will see how quickly you receive mercy. 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:39.700 Odd how this works. 00:12:42.300 --> 00:12:44.000 In an odd way, no, I won't say that. 00:12:46.800 --> 00:12:47.500 Last line. 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:52.700 Go to 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10. 00:12:53.400 --> 00:12:54.800 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10. 00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:59.500 When we begin to show mercy, we become a royal priesthood 00:12:59.800 --> 00:13:03.000 who becomes who become faithful and merciful here on earth. 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:05.600 Faithful and merciful priests we become. 00:13:05.900 --> 00:13:06.900 1 Peter 2, 9. 00:13:07.900 --> 00:13:08.900 1 Peter 2, 9. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:15.700 And 10. 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:19.400 But you are a chosen people. 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:21.700 A royal priesthood. 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:23.500 A holy nation. 00:13:24.700 --> 00:13:26.100 A people belonging to God. 00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:30.400 That you may declare the praises of him who called you out 00:13:30.400 --> 00:13:32.400 of darkness into his wonderful light. 00:13:32.400 --> 00:13:33.000 We know that. 00:13:33.400 --> 00:13:34.400 Now listen to verse 10. 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:39.500 Once you were not a people, but now you're a people of God. 00:13:39.900 --> 00:13:44.700 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:46.200 mercy. 00:13:46.900 --> 00:13:51.000 If you want to be a royal priesthood as in a priest of God 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:53.500 here on earth, two things that are required of a priest. 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:55.300 Faithfulness and mercy. 00:13:57.500 --> 00:13:58.800 This is something the priest did. 00:13:58.800 --> 00:14:02.500 A shedding the blood of bull after bull after bull after goat 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:04.600 after goat after goat after turtle dove after turtle dove 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:05.400 after turtle dove. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:06.400 Why? 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.500 So that the mercy of God may fall upon those that had sinned. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:13.200 And now we don't need to do that because Christ has shed his 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:14.200 blood once and for all. 00:14:14.500 --> 00:14:18.000 But there is still the requirement as a people who have 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:19.700 received mercy to continue showing mercy. 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:22.200 If you want to be the royal priesthood of God here on earth 00:14:23.400 --> 00:14:25.900 blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy. 00:14:26.700 --> 00:14:27.700 What do you mean Jacob? 00:14:27.900 --> 00:14:29.300 The Betty next time. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:33.100 You do something that is wrong. 00:14:33.400 --> 00:14:34.400 I will not. 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:39.000 I will withhold your deserved penalty and instead I will 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:40.500 give you undeserved blessing. 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:46.300 Next time Gillian that you mess up, I'll spend all the time 00:14:46.300 --> 00:14:51.500 I need all the money that I need everything I need even lose 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:53.500 my reputation so that you may be restored. 00:14:54.300 --> 00:14:56.900 And when God says he does that, you know how he does that 00:14:56.900 --> 00:14:58.100 through people who will do that. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:00.900 That's the beauty of it. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.200 People will go out of their way to do for you what God wants 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:04.800 to do. 00:15:04.800 --> 00:15:08.000 I don't like using the word karma because it's a Hindu term 00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:12.600 but there is a scripture which says do not be deceived. 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:16.600 God is not mocked what you sow you will reap. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:20.200 You sow mercy. 00:15:21.400 --> 00:15:25.200 Mercy will come down in waves like a deluge like a flood. 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:27.400 You sow mercy. 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:29.200 You sow mercy. 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:34.300 Mercy will come down in waves like a deluge like a flood. 00:15:35.400 --> 00:15:36.500 It'll come down on you. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.700 And it'll come down through people through institutions 00:15:40.800 --> 00:15:42.900 through governments through Kings here on Earth. 00:15:42.900 --> 00:15:45.800 Why because the governing influence of the King of the 00:15:45.800 --> 00:15:46.500 universe. 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:52.200 Altars shapes directs the affairs of men and it comes 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:52.900 towards you. 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:57.200 I pray God guys that this week you and I get opportunities 00:15:57.400 --> 00:15:58.100 to do this. 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:01.900 Maybe we like the Samaritan. 00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:03.700 I want to end with that song. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:06.100 My chains are gone. 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:06.900 I'm set free. 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:10.700 Just sing that song and end and as you do, would you please 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.900 try and ask God father, could you do these two things for 00:16:13.900 --> 00:16:14.300 me? 00:16:14.300 --> 00:16:18.100 Give me a desire for right relationship and help me to be 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:19.500 someone who shows mercy. 00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:20.900 Let's just ask for mercy. 00:16:20.900 --> 00:16:22.100 Someone who shows mercy. 00:16:22.300 --> 00:16:23.300 Let's just ask for that. 00:16:23.400 --> 00:16:24.400 I can't do it for you. 00:16:24.400 --> 00:16:25.700 I can't even do it for myself. 00:16:25.900 --> 00:16:27.700 It's just a sheer work of the Spirit of God. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:29.300 Just ask this for yourself. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.700 It can be world transforming as in your little world 00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:33.500 transforming. 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:36.800 When there are 70 people then there's 70 little worlds 00:16:36.800 --> 00:16:37.500 transforming. 00:16:38.300 --> 00:16:39.300 Let's just ask for that.