Blessings in Disguise Lesson 3

Overview

Blessed Are the Merciful and the Pure in Heart

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" Matthew 5:7. Mercy in Scripture is more than a sentiment—it is concern that moves into action, flowing out of love. Paul writes that "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us…made us alive together with Christ" Ephesians 2:4-5. The parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:29-37 shows mercy in motion: the Samaritan does not weigh whether the wounded man deserves help or whether anything will be returned. He simply acts. James presses the same point—words of blessing without meeting bodily needs are empty James 2:15-16; love must be shown "in truth and action" 1 John 3:18.

At first hearing, the beatitude can sound like law: do we earn God's mercy by being merciful? The parable of the unforgiving servant Matthew 18:23-35 exposes how easily we resemble the man who, after being released from a staggering debt, refused to forgive a small one. Honest reflection brings us to confess that our mercy is sporadic, conditional, and incomplete. Yet Paul reminds us that God "saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy" Titus 3:4-5. Jesus became like us in every respect "so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest" who atoned for our sins. The blessing in disguise here is a holy cycle: God shows us mercy in Christ, that mercy empowers us to be merciful, and we keep on receiving His mercy. "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" Luke 6:36—what God commands, He also supplies. So the practical question becomes: to whom will God empower you to extend mercy this week, regardless of whether they "deserve" it?

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" Matthew 5:8. Purity here is associated with the heart—the center from which thoughts, motives, and actions spring. Scripture describes this purity as singleness of mind, the opposite of duplicity (Psalm 24:3-4; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22). But the Bible's diagnosis of our hearts is sobering: "the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth" Genesis 8:21, and Jesus says that "out of the heart come evil thoughts" Matthew 15:19. How then can anyone be pure in heart and see God?

The answer is not self-improvement but the gracious work of God, who cleanses "their hearts by faith" Acts 15:8-9. What looked like defeat at the cross was the great exchange: Jesus took our sin and clothed us in His righteousness. This is the blessing in disguise—not a 99% purity we struggle to attain, but the 100% purity given to us in Christ and applied in baptism, so that when God looks at us He sees the spotless garment of His Son. From that secure standing, we live as merciful people in a world that desperately needs mercy, trusting that the God who has shown us such grace will keep pouring it through us.

Transcript

Good morning. 1s

Good morning, let's pray. 2s

Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessings that abound, the blessings that 5s

you pour out. 12s

We thank you also, Lord, for these blessings, some so very apparent in others in disguise. 14s

Bless us today, as we continue our study on the sermon on the mount, may you be praised 21s

and glorified in Jesus' name. 28s

We have talked, as just a little brief review, in terms of blessings in disguise, looking 33s

at the sermon on the mount. 39s

We talked about being poor, and we see that being poor is a blessing in disguise when we 42s

discover the richness that is ours of being incorporated into the kingdom. 51s

We talked about mourning as being a blessing in disguise, that indeed when one is sad over 57s

their sin, they receive the comfort of the gospel. 63s

We talked about being meek. 68s

Remember being meek is controlled strength. 70s

Meekness is an expression of faith. 73s

We saw indeed the blessing in disguise that the meek will inherit the earth. 77s

We saw what that means biblically. 82s

That's heaven and provision, this side of heaven. 84s

We talked about the blessing in disguise in terms of what you don't often associate 88s

with blessings hunger and thirst. 92s

But when that hunger and thirst is after righteousness, we see the blessing in disguise that is 96s

indeed satisfied through Christ. 102s

So let's continue on in verse 7 of the sermon on the mount. 105s

Matthew 5 chapter, verse 7. 110s

Matthew 5 verse 7. 122s

And Jesus says this, 127s

Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. 131s

And remember what that word blessed means, blessed means more than happy. 136s

So blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. 140s

To examine this, let's start in Ephesians, the second chapter, 145s

1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians and then Ephesians. 151s

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. 154s

Ephesians chapter 2, picking up in verse 4, and there we read, 168s

But God who is rich in mercy out of the great love with which He loved us. 173s

Even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 182s

Notice how mercy flows out of love. 190s

Mercy is a response to a problem. 195s

It's being concerned about a person, about a situation, and then moving into action. 199s

You're not concerned with regard to whether or not the person is deserving or not. 207s

You're not expecting anything in return, but you are simply moving out in this mercy that flows out of love. 213s

A good example of that is the good Samaritan. 223s

Let's go to Luke, please, chapter 10, Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. 227s

Luke chapter 10, and we'll pick up in verse 29. 233s

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? 247s

Jesus replied, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, fell among the hands of robbers, 252s

who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 258s

Now by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 261s

So likewise, a Levite. 269s

When he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 271s

But as Samaritan, while traveling came near him, and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 276s

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. 283s

Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 289s

The next day, he took out two denariah, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 294s

take care of him, and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend. 299s

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? 306s

He said, the one who showed him mercy. 314s

Jesus said to him, go and do likewise. 319s

You see, that's a concern that then manifests itself into action. 324s

That's not a concern, is this person deserving or not of my assistance? 328s

It's not expecting anything in return. 335s

It is simply moving out in mercy. 337s

We see, for example, Jesus acting in mercy with regard to the cries of the blind man, the blind man in Luke 9, 340s

the Cane Knight woman in Luke 15, the father of the epileptic son in Luke 17. 348s

We see in Scripture that mercy is not just an attitude, but mercy is an action that is taken. 356s

Let's go to 1 John, chapter 3. 366s

Good way to find that is to go to the last book, Revelation, and then turn back. 369s

1 John, chapter 3. 373s

You'll quickly run into that. 375s

1 John, chapter 3, and we'll pick up in verse 18. 379s

Here we read, little children, let us love not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 393s

Now, don't go too far on the interpretation of that to say, oh, okay, so it just depends on the action that I take. 400s

No, do we love in word and speech? 409s

Absolutely. 413s

Are we to watch how we speak? 414s

Absolutely. 418s

Here the emphasis is, it's not just that, it is the manifestation of love into action itself. 420s

Or, let's go to James, chapter 2. 429s

Keep moving towards Matthew. 435s

You're going to bump very quickly into James, chapter 2, verse 15. 437s

And here we read, if a brother or a sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm, eat your fill, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs. 457s

What is the good of that? 472s

What is the good of that? 474s

You see, mercy expresses itself in action. 476s

Mercy is flowing out of love. 480s

With that as a backdrop, let's now go back to Matthew, chapter 5, 485s

Matthew, chapter 5, verse 7. 490s

Matthew 5, verse 7. 502s

Jesus says, blessed, more than happy, are the merciful for they will receive mercy. 507s

Blessed are the merciful, more than happy are the merciful for they will receive mercy. 516s

So what are we to make of this? 523s

Before the Lord shows us mercy, then he waits for us, then, to show mercy to others. 526s

That sounds like a whole heaping of law on that. 533s

Do our actions obtain the mercy of God? 538s

So what do you do here with this be attitude? 544s

Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. 546s

So let's dig into this a little bit. 553s

Let's go to Matthew, chapter 18, Matthew chapter 18, verse 23. 555s

Matthew 18, verse 23. 565s

For this reason, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king. 579s

Who wished to settle accounts with his slaves? 584s

When he began the reckoning, one who owed him 10,000 talents, 588s

and just put that in perspective, a talent was worth more than 15 years of labor. 594s

So this is an enormous debt. 600s

24 again, when he began the reckoning, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. 606s

And as he could not pay, his Lord ordered him to be sold together with his wife and children 611s

and all his possessions and payment to be made. 618s

So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 621s

Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything. 624s

And out of pity for him, the Lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 628s

But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. 637s

100 denarii was basically one day's worth of labor. 647s

So it's not an insignificant debt here, but when you compare it here to the debt of the talents, 651s

I mean, it's miniscule, isn't it? 657s

28 again. 662s

But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii 663s

and seizing him by the throat, he said, 668s

Pay what you owe. 670s

Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 672s

Have patience with me, and I will pay you, but he refused. 676s

Then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 681s

When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, 688s

and they went and reported to their Lord all that had taken place. 691s

Then his Lord summoned him and said to him, 695s

You wicked slave, I forgive you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 697s

Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you and an anger, 703s

his Lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 711s

So my Heavenly Father will also do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart. 718s

This is a parable as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. 728s

So the contrast here are quite stark, but the question that we must ask ourselves when we read this parable, 732s

Do we have any resemblance with the one who had been forgiven the great debt, 739s

but then was unwilling to forgive a much smaller debt? 746s

Do we have any resemblance with regard to that? 750s

Put it another way, can our mercy be incomplete? 753s

Can it be sporadic? 758s

Do we address mercy when it is convenient to us? 762s

Have we ever used the phrase, but they don't deserve my forgiveness? 767s

They don't deserve my mercy. 775s

The law then comes out of this parable and instead of looking in this guy and saying, 781s

You know, can you believe this guy? 787s

Can you believe this guy? 790s

He is forgiven this incredible debt and then he has got this other debt. 791s

Here this absolutely comes along here and he is going to demand payment for that. 796s

Can you believe this guy? 803s

And then the law comes and says, Who is the guy? 808s

You see, to one degree or another, we are all that guy. 814s

We are all that guy. 819s

We have fallen short in our expression of mercy. 820s

We have fallen short in our extending of forgiveness. 823s

So where then does that leave us? 829s

If Jesus says, as He does, in Matthew 5, 832s

Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. 836s

And we look at our own lives and we say, 842s

Haven't been exactly quite up to par on that all the time, right? 847s

For who among us is perfect? 853s

Right? 856s

So what do you do then with that text? 857s

Where does it leave us? 860s

Let's go to Titus, please. 862s

Chapter 3, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and Romans. 863s

1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 867s

and you hit the tea books. 873s

1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, and then Titus. 875s

Titus chapter 3, verse 5. 882s

Titus chapter 3 will pick up in verse 5. 888s

Let's pick up in verse 4 so we're not mid-sentence. 897s

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God 901s

are Savior-appeared, He saved us. 905s

Not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, 910s

but according to His mercy, see the mercy flowing out of the love again, 914s

but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal, 919s

by the Holy Spirit, there's baptism. 925s

There's the vehicle whereby God takes the victory of the cross and the empty tomb 929s

and personally applies that to us. 933s

So we are washed in His promises. 937s

It's all an expression, not of what we have done, 939s

but it is an expression of what God has done in Christ. 942s

And the mercy flows. 946s

Let's take a look at Ephesians, the 2nd chapter. 950s

Turn left there, you're going to bump into Ephesians in a moment. 953s

Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. 956s

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, 975s

even when we were dead through our trespasses, 983s

made us alive together with Christ by grace, you have been saved. 987s

Notice what's connected there to the mercy of God, the very grace of God. 994s

His undeserved love toward us. 999s

Okay, let's go now back to Hebrews. 1003s

Hebrews chapter 2. 1007s

So keep turning toward revelation. 1010s

You're going to cross over the tea books. 1013s

You'll cross over Titus. 1014s

And you come to Hebrews, James is too far. 1016s

Hebrews chapter 2, verse 17. 1020s

Therefore, He had to become like His brothers and sisters in every respect, speaking of Jesus. 1031s

So that, He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God 1037s

to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the world. 1044s

Just a little aside on here, when you're doing your Bible studies, 1049s

you can diagram sentences. 1054s

It's one of the first things that when you're preparing a sermon, you'll do. 1057s

You'll diagram the text. 1062s

You'll see what is the main point, what is flowing, what is modifying underneath it. 1065s

And you start to sort the text out. 1071s

In 17, you've got therefore, so then the first question you ask is, well, what's that a conclusion of? 1075s

So that's the first thing you have to do, then you have to go backwards. 1084s

And understand why the writer of Hebrews has come to their fore. 1086s

And by the way, we don't know who wrote Hebrews, by the way. 1093s

But you come to their fore and say, okay, what are the writer of Hebrews? 1095s

What were they saying right before this? 1100s

What's the context? 1103s

Therefore, He had to become like His brothers and sisters. 1104s

And then underneath like, you put in every respect. 1109s

So then you're saying, okay, the every respect modifies the likeness. 1113s

You ask yourself the question, why did He have to become like us in every respect? 1119s

That leads you to more passages on that. 1126s

But it starts, you start to see the flow of the text. 1128s

So that, so there's a connection, so that, He might be a merciful and faithful high priest. 1134s

So underneath in every respect, now you start to qualify it. 1140s

So that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest, okay? 1145s

And then underneath the priest, you put in the service of God to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 1150s

When you diagram it like that, then you see the flow of the text, you see the main point, 1160s

you see what is the porting of it. 1164s

And then if you go, if you go to teach on it, or if you go to, you go to preach on it. 1167s

And when you, when you start to do that, then the people you're teaching to, or the congregation, 1172s

that's hearing your preach will say, I see, I see where you're getting this. 1177s

I see where you're getting this. 1181s

Because you just kind of follow, you follow the text underneath that. 1182s

Well, that's, that's the little side, nothing of that. 1188s

As we look at these texts here, the Lord is not waiting for sinners to show mercy before He is merciful to us. 1192s

Is He? 1201s

Because the mercy pours out of the love, the mercy pours out of the grace. 1202s

And the expression of mercy is a result of experiencing the mercy of God. 1207s

Let's go to Luke chapter, Luke chapter six, Matthew, Mark, and then Luke, 1215s

Luke chapter six, verse 36. 1221s

And remember the principle, we just, we see it every time, that if God exhorts it, He empowers it, right? 1232s

Here's another example, verse 36 of Luke, of Luke six. 1239s

Be merciful, there's the exhortation, here's the empowerment, just as your father is merciful. 1243s

So the empowerment for us then to be a people of mercy is the fact that we have been the incredible recipients of mercy of God. 1250s

So when Jesus says, blessed, more than happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 1261s

God gives us mercy in Jesus Christ, we become merciful, and more mercy continues to pour out from us from God Almighty. 1270s

It is a cycle of happiness, and that's the blessing in disguise. 1284s

The blessing in disguise is the cycle of happiness that is the result of by God's empowerment of us to be merciful. 1290s

We extend that mercy to others. 1302s

And then there's healing and relationships, there's pathways forward. 1307s

Why? Because there's the grace and the mercy that is ours in Christ Jesus. 1312s

So what's the blessing in disguise of this be attitude? 1317s

The blessing of disguise is it's a cycle of happiness that God brings us in, all generated, all born out of the mercy that He extends to us in Jesus Christ. 1321s

God's mercy has found you, so then the question is, who will He empower you to be merciful to this week? 1336s

Who will He empower you to be merciful to this week? It's not a matter of their deserving. 1344s

It's not a matter of their works. It's simply the expression of the grace that has been shown to us. 1352s

And when that occurs, there's happiness there. There's happiness there. 1360s

The blessing in disguise is hidden in the call of the mercy, is the cycle of happiness that God births. 1366s

In a few minutes that we've got remaining, let's go on into verse 8 now of Matthew 5. 1377s

Blessed, more than happy, are the pure in heart for they will see God. 1384s

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. 1394s

He was a chemist by the name of James Gamble, and he invented this soap that began to first be marketed in 1879. 1400s

And you know what soap it is, right? I've re-soped, right? 1412s

And what's the pitch there on that? But it's 99.44% pure. 1416s

Now, have you ever wondered about that other 0.56? 1425s

You know what I mean? But it's built as the pure soap, the soap that floats. 1432s

That's not with regard to its purity, that's simply how it's manufactured. 1440s

So purity is affirmed, but it also depends on what is purity associated with. 1446s

So if you say that drinking water is pure, that's that which is affirmed, right? 1454s

If you say that was pure evil, well then that's not affirmed, right? 1462s

So it depends on what this purity is associated with. 1468s

Jesus says, blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. 1474s

So he associates purity with the heart and affirms it. 1482s

Well, how are we to understand that phrase, purity of the heart? 1488s

Let's go to Psalm 24. 1494s

Easy way to find the Psalms. Let's just go to the middle of the scriptures. 1500s

Psalm 24, verse 3. 1504s

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place? 1520s

Those who have clean hands and pure hearts who do not lift up their souls to what is false 1526s

and do not swear deceitfully. 1532s

Let's go to Psalm 73, verse 1. 1536s

Truly God is good to the upright to those who are pure in heart. 1551s

Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 1, 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 5, 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 5. 1558s

Paul writes, but the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, 1578s

and sincere faith. Or lastly, second Timothy, chapter 2, verse 22. 1587s

Sean youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 1604s

Each of the verses here points to a sincerity. It's the opposite of double-mindedness. 1617s

It is single-mindedness. When you look at the concept biblically of the heart, what you've got is the center of the human spirit. 1623s

Out of the heart then springs emotions and thoughts and motivations and actions come from the heart. 1635s

But if the pure in heart are the ones that will see God, how can a person have a pure heart? 1648s

Because the Bible is not too complimentary with regard to us. On this subject, let's go to Genesis chapter 8, Genesis chapter 8, verse 21. 1659s

And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground 1692s

because of humankind. For the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. 1699s

Nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. That is an indictment, isn't it? 1711s

When you hear the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth, evil from youth. 1719s

Let's look at Psalm 5, verse 9. 1732s

Psalm 5, verse 9. 1738s

For there is no truth in their mouths, their hearts are destruction, their throats are open graves, they flatter with their tongues. 1756s

Or lastly, Matthew 15, verse 19. 1768s

For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 1788s

These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile. 1799s

So then if Jesus says it's a heart problem that we have and he says, blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. 1807s

What do we make of this one? 1819s

Let's go to Acts 15, verse 8. 1822s

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, chapter 15. 1826s

We'll pick up in verse 8. 1832s

And God who knows the human heart testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and in catch this and in cleansing their hearts by faith. 1843s

He has made no distinction between them and us. 1859s

Our hearts then, through faith, are made pure. 1866s

They are cleansed, they are forgiven. 1871s

It's not 99.44%. 1874s

It's 100%. 1877s

That God looks at us and sees the righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ, his perfect righteous, sinless garment that we have been wrapped in. 1879s

Here's the blessing in disguise. 1893s

Jesus dying on the cross looks like defeat, but it was a blessing in disguise, wasn't it? 1895s

Because Jesus died on the cross and the great exchange occurred, he took our sin and he gave us his righteousness. 1905s

He gives to us of his purity. 1913s

Blessed are the pure in heart, Billsie God. 1919s

It's not an excitation to works righteousness as if we can somehow work our way up to, let's even say 99.44% pure. 1925s

No. 1935s

It is the 100% purity that is ours given to us as God claims us as His own in the waters of baptism and when God looks at us, God sees us in the garment of Christ. 1936s

Poor in spirit, we're rich in the kingdom. 1951s

Morning, we receive the comfort of the gospel. 1957s

Meek, that expression of faith, we inherit heaven and earthly provision. 1962s

Hunger and thirst, indeed a blessing in disguise, when we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we're satisfied through Christ. 1970s

Mercy and we'll obtain mercy. 1980s

Why the blessing in disguise is God's cycle of happiness. 1984s

As He forgives us, He empowers us to forgive and we continue to keep receiving His mercy and forgiveness. 1990s

The pure in heart, what looks like it defeat with Jesus on the cross, is actually the great victory where purity is obtained for us and given to us by God's gracious action. 1999s

Well, next week we're going to conclude this little four week class on blessings in disguise. 2016s

We're going to take a look at persecution and being reviled. 2021s

That's a blessing. 2027s

We'll pick that up next week. 2029s