Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, September 25th. When you experience disappointment, Aren't you grateful for compassionate people who point you to the love of Christ? We conclude our series by learning about the vital role of believers with the gift of mercy. God has equipped us To relate to one another in such a fashion that not only can our needs be met, but also that the kingdom purposes, God's plan for the church and for the body of Christ and for the world can be met. And it's in this whole perspective of gifts and talents and skills that He's given us that you and I look at ourselves, look at other relationships, and ask the question: how can I use the spiritual gift that God has given me in a way that can accomplish God's purpose and plan for my life, and at the same time, learn how to relate to each other?
So, when we think in terms of spiritual gifts, you can't just relegate this to church. This affects every single aspect of your life. And we're going to talk about just one of those, this last one of these gifts, and they're all listed in Romans chapter 12, verse 6 through 8. You might want to turn there if you've never noticed these gifts.
So, if you'll notice what he says beginning in verse 6. Since we have gifts that differ, watch that. He created us all differently. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly. That is, I'm to exercise that spiritual gift that God has given me.
Listen. If it's prophecy according to our faith, If service in his serving, If it's teaching in his teaching, he who exhorts in his exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, and he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.
Now let me say something very carefully here. While we speak in terms of motivational gifts, we're talking about that inner drive, that underlying motivation that motivates us to do what we do the way we do it, think the way we think, and act the way we act. Because we're not all the same. In all the different personalities, on all the different spiritual gifts that God has given, He's given you a particular. Underlying motivational gift that suits you perfectly for your personality and the purpose for which God created you.
Well What about mercy?
Well, let's look at this first characteristic of the mercy, and that is the person who has a gift of mercy has the ability. To feel an atmosphere of joy or distress in the life of an individual or in a group. And what I want you to notice is this: while the person with the gift of mercy does not live by There are their particular emotions. They are extremely sensitive to other people's emotions. That's the way God has wired the person with the gift of mercy.
And sometimes they will say things we'll think, well, that must be your imagination.
Well, I don't see any of that. Remember this: the gift of mercy can feel on a level that more than likely most of us cannot feel. And so sometimes we don't understand why they think the way they think, why they are so merciful and so loving and so caring and willing to go to the 10th and the 15th and the 20th mile to help somebody. That's the way God wired the person with the gift of mercy. They just feel it.
And because they feel it, they're going to respond accordingly. Then, of course, there's the whole desire to remove hurts. Listen, remove hurts and bring healing to other people rather than to look for the benefits of that hurt. For example, A person who is going through some difficult situation. Let's say that they've gotten themselves in some kind of a problem because of their own disobedience.
The person with the gift of mercy is not concerned about that. The person with the gift of mercy. Getting rid of their hurts, helping them to get through this, relieving them. And so you have to be careful, the gift of mercy, that you don't get in the way of what God's trying to do in somebody's life.
Now, Someone else would say, Well, we should all be merciful and we should all be understanding and we should all try to help people who are hurting. Correct. But if you get in God's way, the person that God's working on that delays what God's doing in their life, and now He's having to work on you and the other person. Stay out of the way of what God's doing. And a person with the gift of mercy who's walking in the Spirit can discern.
This is something as God is doing, and I need to back off, let Him do it. Then I'll be there to catch them when they fall. I'll be there to wipe away the tears. I'll be there to encourage them and hold them up when the bottom drops out, and God's through sifting, sanding, and cutting away and working in their life. Then of course There's the greater concern for Mental distress than for physical, a person, for example, who has the gift of mercy.
They understand and they can have mercy and be tender and loving and considerate for people who have physical pain. But if you If you give them a choice or If they see two situations, they're going to be drawn to the person who has deep emotional problems. Because you see, They have a depth of feeling that probably the rest of us don't have. They're able to vicariously, and the vicariously means that they're able to get into, get under the pain and sense, and that is identify themselves with the other person's hurt. And the reason is oftentimes God will allow difficulty and hardship and pain and suffering to be experienced by those who have the gift of mercy so that they can genuinely and truly vicariously feel what the other person's feeling.
And so the person with the gift of mercy. They're going to be drawn toward that person who has physical, yes, but primarily mental and spiritual, emotional problems in their life.
Somehow, They are there to help them. and you will be surprised at the people that are drawn together. People who have an attraction to each other. And the only reason you can possibly think of, and I can think of so many illustrations, and I'd think, well, What do they have in common? Nothing?
Except once hurting and the one's the helper. Mercy is going to be there. Then of course there's this whole issue of sensitivity to words. and actions which will hurt other people.
Now, the gift of mercy Is the cheerfulness part and the joy part of the body of Christ. God's placed those mercy people there to do what? To sort of offset. Oftentimes, our insensitivity or a sense of criticism or a coming on may be too harsh. The gift of mercy will step up.
Speak up. And I've had it happen to me. Maybe I was criticizing something that I knew absolutely was wrong, and somebody else would speak something, and I knew the moment I felt so convicted, I thought, that's mercy. They know exactly what I'm saying is the truth. They know exactly the facts as good as I do.
And here they are, just sort of, you know, well, it's really not all that bad. And after all, nobody is perfect. And I'm sitting over here because that doesn't have to be my spiritual gift.
Now, I can be merciful, but. When I see something that's deadly wrong, absolute rebellion toward God and deliberate and willful, I'm not going to be, hmm, let's just let it go. Mercy is going to reach out no matter what. What does it do? It balances all the rest of us.
Sometimes we just need to keep our mouth shut, don't say anything, unless it's a wise, profitable, fruitful thing to do. Because you don't want to go around criticizing people.
Sometimes they don't even know why they've done the things that they've done. Then, of course, There's the ability to sense.
Now, watch this carefully. I want you to watch this very carefully because I want to look at these words. Look at this. An ability to listen, to sense genuine love. Genuine love and a greater vulnerability.
Listen. to deeper and more frequent hurts. From the lack of love.
Now, watch this carefully. the ability to sense genuine love. That is a person who has that gift of mercy because they are loving and because that's a part of their whole makeup. Not only Can they sense genuine love? But along with that there comes a greater sense of vulnerability.
To deeper and more frequent hurts from the lack of love. That is, the person with the gift of mercy. makes themselves vulnerable. and oftentimes gets hurt. But you know what?
The person with the gift of mercy. When they're walking in the Spirit, they're willing to get hurt. willing to be vulnerable, willing to be rejected by the person that they try to help. But sometimes And that hurt goes on and on and on and on. Even they.
can only handle so much. And they pull down the shade, build up the wall, encase themselves, and then wonder why and what it is they're missing in life. What it is they're missing in life is one of those blessings that God has intended for all of us. And when I think of the people who live under the same roof, Live under the same roof.
Some of them Oftentimes one of them is a prisoner. You wouldn't see that openly physically, they can drive together. Party together. Do this together, whatever it might be. But emotionally, when I was a prisoner, can't love.
Refuse. They've been hurt. And now they're in this relationship. And they just can't let go and be vulnerable to love once again. Very important we learn how to love.
Very important we learn how to be the kind of person that God wants us to be. Then of course there's the whole issue of measuring acceptance. Listen. by physical closeness and quality time together.
Now For example, any other gift. You can give that person a material gift or whatever it might be, recognition, fine. The person with the gift of mercy, you can give them all the gifts. that you can buy. There's no amount of money No amount of recognition None of that.
You know what they want? They want Closeness. They want you to be there. Closeness, physical closeness and quality time together. And I think if a person is married to a mercy, Mark it down.
You can't do enough of anything else to match Closeness, intimacy. And Time.
Now, it's interesting how parents will say, Well, you know, I give my kids everything in the world they could possibly think of. What else do they need? Closeness. and time. And the truth is, all of us do.
If you have someone in your life whom you love, if you genuinely love them, what do you want? You want them there. and you want to spend time with them. And if a person's married to someone, and either one of them or both of them. don't really have any real zeal about being together.
And he goes one way and she goes the other. They don't spend any time together. The person with the gift of mercy is devastated by a relationship that has no closeness, no genuine intimacy. Intimacy says, I want to hear what you have to say. I'm interested in what interests you.
I care about you. How can I help you? How can I encourage you today? What is it that you need from me? Please forgive me for what I said.
That was an oversight on my part. In other words, intimacy. It deals with every single aspect of our thinking. Mercy, listen, the need to measure acceptance by physical closeness and quality time together. Very, very important in life of mercy.
That principle alone The person with a gift of mercy. Can't handle it very well unless that's there. And here's what they do: watch this carefully. When the person who has the gift of mercy is married to somebody like this, here's what they do. since they don't get closeness.
And they don't get this sense of intimacy, and this time they make the big mistake, they'll start looking around. The second one is the What else is out there? that may be able to meet some kind of need in their life. They get so hungry. for relationship, intimacy.
Here's the tragedy. Oftentimes, they step way down from God's plan and purpose for their life. trying to satisfy something. that is not satisfied. Then there's the tendency To avoid firmness.
Now, watch this: a person with a gift of mercy has a tendency to avoid. Firmness, unless they see how it will benefit the other person.
Now, we talked about how that person can get in God's way.
Well Oftentimes, the person, let's say for example, here's a parent, they know their son or their daughter is being disobedient, and somehow their gift of mercy, they don't want to hurt their feelings, they don't want to drive them away, and in their genuine loving caring for their child, oftentimes are not firm enough. and being able to say, no, you can't. Or you must not, or you must do this. And so they have a tendency sometimes not to be as firm as they should be.
Now, This does not mean that all mercies lack firmness, but it means, for example, when they're in the flesh, they can lack firmness, or if they're not mature enough. In their own relationship to God, to realize, watch this carefully, that being rejected by your kids is not the worst thing in the world. Being rejected by somebody, listen, is not the worst thing in the world when you have done the right thing, said the right thing, led them in the right way, giving them strong instruction to be rejected by them is not the worst thing in the world. Even worse than that is to fail to instruct them properly, to fail to be firm, and to fail to be supportive in the expression of that firmness.
Well, a person who has the gift of mercy. Can oftentimes find themselves in a position not being as firm as they ought to, or the husband will say to the wife, Will you do it? because he doesn't want to get rejected. And the same thing is true in the job. If you have a job and you have people working for you, if you're not firm about some things, you know what happens?
The whole organization falls apart because somebody is not taking a strong stand to say, this is the goal, these are the goals, this is how we operate, and these are the rules we go by, so that everybody can accomplish and achieve what we've set out to achieve. You have to be firm.
Sometimes that's very, very difficult for the person who has the gift of mercy. But that's the way they're just real tough. For a person the gift of mercy to say, know you not. But there come times when all of us have to say that. Then, of course, there's the whole issue of closing our spirit to those who are insincere and insensitive.
Now, because they are loving and because they are caring and because they genuinely want to help, when they see insincerity on a person's part, life in their life. and that see that they're insensitive. For example, the prophet, the teacher, the administrator can walk right by, and if they're in the flesh, they can be very insensitive or say things that are insensitive. The gift of mercy can't handle that. And so They close their spirit.
To a person who is insensitive and insincere. Why? Because remember what we said: loyalty, devotion. Caring, loving, it is the very opposite of what they feel and what they think. None of us like someone else to be insensitive to us.
We don't like someone being insincere, not telling the truth, not being faithful, not being loyal, not being devoted. When the person with the gift of mercy sees that. They close their spirit. because they cannot handle that.
Now. I just simply want to encourage you, listen carefully. I want to encourage you, don't lay these notes down somewhere. You're going to meet someone. Who has this gift?
Or it may be that you have this gift.
Now you understand why you act and feel the way you do. Oh, now you understand. Why your spouse, your friend, the person you work with. Why they react to you the way they do. Once you understand Once you apply these principles, here's what happens, you understand yourself better?
Understand your relationship to God better. That's the way He wired you, that's the way you are. And you understand the people you live with, that you work with, that you play with better. That makes all relationships better. when you understand and you're willing to apply to your life.
Now, you may be saying, Well, I'm not even a Christian, so how does that relate to me?
Well, let's put it this way: until you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, nothing's going to work. It may work for you money-wise, prestige, prominence, and all the rest, but you know what? Not contentment. Not joy. Moments of happiness may be yes.
but no genuine contentment, no real peace. No real joy. No real sense of achievement and accomplishment. that God has helped you in. but it's sort of you against the world.
It's either all of me or all of God. One of the two. When you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and your sin debts paid in full, you're forgiven of your sin. By simply asking Him to forgive you of your sin based on what He did at the cross? Recognizing That He has the right to your life, to guide you, direct you all the days of your life.
Once you surrender your life to Him, And the Spirit of God comes into your life. and grants to you a spiritual gift. Everything about your life begins to change. Why? Because now you are equipped.
to live life to the fullest, to the best. with the greatest sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. all the days of your life. and it shows for the asking. and the believing.
If you'll trust the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and trust the Holy Spirit. to do his work. in your life. Thank you for listening to The Gift of Mercy. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station.
And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
