As Harvesters we need to learn from Jesus how to have mercy on the lost souls of society. Here are some insights into the marvelous redemption of Christ Jesus and how we can apply His mercy today.
Listen to this sermonLESSONS IN MERCY

First preached by Andre Pelser 19.02.99
Aje Pelser: 17th Sept. 2006 – Harvester Reformational Church.

Scripture Reading:
Mt 9:9-13
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Who to have mercy on:
Have mercy on the lost, the poor and the ignorant.
God shows mercy to those who love Him and keep His commands (Ex 20:6)

Why have mercy:
God is rich in mercy (Eph 2:4)
People ignorantly talk against God, because they do not know His character (I Tim 1:13,16)

What mercy will do:
If you find mercy, it can produce faithfulness in a heart. (I Cor 7:25)
Mercy & truth go hand in hand. (II Sam 15:20/ Hos 6:6) Truth is knowledge of God.
If you have mercy, you will become a pattern of longsuffering ( I Tim 1:16)
Once you have obtained mercy, you will begin to trust the mercy of God (Ps 52:8)
Mercy keeps you in the love of God. (Jude 21)

Where to obtain mercy:
Come boldly to the throne of Grace (Heb 4:16)
He saved us according to His mercy (Tit 3:5)
Mercy rejoices against judgement (Jam 2:13)

Further references:
II Chron 20:21- victory shout: His mercy endures for ever! Enough to confuse spiritual forces who do not understand mercy at all. They did not know how to combat mercy. There is no weapon formed against it! Apostolic weaponry.
Psalm 136- His mercy endures forever…

MATTHEW THE TAX COLLECTOR AS AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO RECEIVED MERCY:
During Roman times, the tax collectors were enlisted from the native conquered provinces. The Jewish tax collectors were considered traitors. They were often corrupt and used fear tactics.
He was lost and ignorant when Jesus met and called him. He became a faithful follower of Jesus. He wrote the Gospel according to Matthew and never fell from grace.

PAUL AS AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO OBTAINED MERCY
HE WAS A BLASPHEMER AND A MURDERER, BUT OBTAINED MERCY TO RECEIVE A MINISTRY – THAT IS WHY HE NEVER LOST HEART ( II Cor 4:1)

MERCY. (Mic. 6:8) chesed (cheh-sed); Strong’s #2617: Kindness, mercy, lovingkindness; unfailing love; tenderness, faithfulness. Chesed occurs 250 times in the Bible. It may best be translated “kindness”; however, faithfulness is sometimes the main idea. Most often in Scripture, chesed is used for God’s mercy. In Psalm 136, the phrase “His mercy endures forever” occurs twenty-six times. Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 (“I desire mercy and not sacrifice”) in Matthew 9:13 and calls mercy one of “the weightier matters of the law” (Matt. 23:23). A derivative is chasid, generally translated “merciful,” “saint,” “godly,” “holy,” or “good” man (Pss. 4:3; 16:10; 18:25; 97:10; Prov. 2:8; Jer. 3:12). Kindness is thus a trait that God expects man to possess. Also (2 Tim. 1:16) eleos (el-eh-oss); Strong’s #1656: Compassion, tender mercy, kindness, beneficence, an outward manifestation of pity. The word is used of God (Luke 1:50, 54, 58; Rom. 15:9; Eph. 2:4); of Christ (Jude 21); and of men (Matt. 12:7; 23:23; Luke 10:37).

MERCY (HAVE). (Hos. 2:23) racham (rah-chahm); Strong’s #7355: To feel or show compassion, to love deeply, to show pity or mercy; to tenderly regard someone; to tenderly love (especially as parents love their infant child). Racham is the origin of the Hebrew word for “womb” (rechem). In Isaiah 49:15, God asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on [racham] the son of her womb [rechem]?” Fathers, too, can show this feeling for their offspring (Ps. 103:13). God wants parents to tenderly love their offspring and to show compassion toward all who are weak and defenseless. God sets the example by His constant compassion for the helpless and undeserving (Is. 54:8, 10). Also (Rom. 9:15) eleeō (el-eh-eh-oh); Strong’s #1653: Compare “eleemosynary,” supported by charities. To show kindness and concern for someone in serious need, feel compassion for, have pity. Those who take care of the sick are called eleeō or showers of mercy. In the New Testament the word is often used of Christ’s gracious faithfulness and proof of His benevolence. Mercy is not merely a passive emotion, but an active desire to remove the cause of distress in others.

MERCY SEAT. (Heb. 9:5) hilastērion
(hil-as-tay-ree-on); Strong’s #2435: Although used only here and in Romans 3:25 in the New Testament, the word is quite common in the Septuagint, where it primarily denotes the mercy seat, the lid of gold above the ark of the covenant. In this verse it has that meaning, indicating the place of atonement. The root meaning of hilastērion
is that of appeasing and placating an offended god. Applied to the sacrifice of Christ in that regard, the word suggests that Christ’s death was propitiatory, averting the wrath of God from the sinner.

Mercy in the Greek language:
G1656
ἔλεος
eleos
Thayer Definition:
1) mercy: kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them
1a) of men towards men: to exercise the virtue of mercy, show one’s self merciful
1b) of God towards men: in general providence; the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ
1c) the mercy of Christ, whereby at his return to judgment he will bless true Christians with eternal life
Part of Speech: noun neuter

G5485
χάρις
charis
Thayer Definition:
1) grace
1a) that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech
2) good will, loving-kindness, favour
2a) of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues
3) what is due to grace
3a) the spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace
3b) the token or proof of grace, benefit
3b1) a gift of grace
3b2) benefit, bounty
4) thanks, (for benefits, services, favours), recompense, reward
Part of Speech: noun feminine

Understand the concept of Propitiation
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

1Jo 2:1 My little child