Hello and welcome to another broadcast. We're in Romans chapter 12, dealing with why people react the way they do. Stay tuned. I'm reading in Romans chapter 12 verse number 3 Paul said for I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think now most of the time we see this phrase among you he's talking about people in the context of a local church. And the Lord has given seven gifts for us to use in the service of the Lord. It says in verse six, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, number one, let us prophesy, number two, ministry or a servant let him wait on our ministry then he said he that teacheth on teaching verse 8 he that exhorteth on exhortation he that giveth let him do it with simplicity he that ruleth with diligence and he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness now we have these seven gifts here in Romans chapter 7 now with each one of these gifts comes a motivation that causes us to react and the way we do in any given situation. Last broadcast we looked at the Prophet today we're going to look at the mercy shore now in verse 8 it refers to he that showeth mercy let him do it with cheerfulness and we said the corresponding verse to that is verse 15 the mercy shore will rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep there's their motivation now we can learn a lot from Apostle John concerning this subject of being a mercy shore, for John was a mercy shore. First of all, we know that because he focused on love. The prophet, he focuses on that which is good and that which is evil. The servant, he will focus on meeting physical needs of people, and that's important. The teacher, he wants to help people to understand the Bible, that's important. The exhorter has a plan of operation that'll get a Christian from one victory to another. The giver, he will focus on finances that have to do with the ministry and how that should be done. And the administrator, He is going to focus on, well, either organized or agonized, would be his motto. Well, John was a mercy-shower, and his focus was on love, and that's extremely important. It says in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse number 2, Paul said, of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity or love, I am nothing." Now, you know, we can preach what is good and what is evil, we can serve people, we can teach people, exhort them, we can give and we can organize, but if we have not love, We are nothing. Now John, his motivation was love, and he reacted accordingly. John wasn't the kind of person that needed a seven-point outline on a sermon on how to love people. On the other hand, Peter could use one. Jesus said to him three times, Peter, lovest thou me? Now John, five times, he wrote referring to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Now, does that mean that John thought that Jesus loved him more than he did the other disciples? No. It was what this mercy shore focused on. He focused on love. Now, you know, it was the same John in John 11 and 5 that said Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. it was this same john who recorded in thirteen one referring to jesus having loved his own which were in the world he loved them unto the end it was john who said in john 19 verse 26 when jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple standing by whom he loved, referring to himself, he said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then said he to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. Now when Jesus was going to entrust somebody with his mother, he didn't look for a prophet or a servant. or a teacher, or an exhorter, or a giver, or an administrator. He looked to someone who understood the importance of love. Now John focused on the love of Jesus. The love of Jesus. That was his focus. Five times he used that phrase, Jesus loved. Now, the prophet, he would say, Jesus preached. And the servant would say, Jesus served. And the teacher would say, well, Jesus taught. Nobody taught like Jesus. And the exhorter would say, well, Jesus was an exhorter. He sure helped people to victory. And the giver would say, well, no, I would focus on Jesus gave. He gave his life. And the mercy shore, no, he focuses on the love. And the love, it better be the foundation of all of it, because the Bible says the greatest of these. Love and so John's major focus was on love John the mercy shore. Well, he also Had a reaction and we're trying to figure out why people react the way they do his reaction when friends were rejected well Luke chapter 9 the Samaritans were rejecting Jesus, and it was John that said, Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? Well, where's the love in that? Well, you know, with a mercy sure, this is how he's gonna react when friends are rejected. John's focus was on love, his reactions when friends were rejected weren't really that good, and Jesus rebuked him for it in that chapter if you read it. Now, John also had a very serious concern for fellow Christians. He wrote the book of 1 John, and in 1 John 1 and 4, he said, I'm writing this that your joy may be full. He wrote the book of 2 John, and in 2 John 1 and 12, he says that our joy might be full. That was his purpose. He wanted people to have joy. In 1 John 3, in verse number 3, he said that every man that hath this hope, he focused on joy, he focused on hope. 1 John, four times in 1 John, he used the word fellowship. And then fear, he said in 1 John 4 and 18, there is no fear in love. Perfect love casteth out fear. Now, the giver, he would focus more on the outward needs of a person. The servant, he would focus on the outward needs of a person, but the mercy shore is more concerned for inner peace and hope and joy and having no fear, much more concerned about that than the physical outward needs of a Christian, and both are important. And you can see why God has given us these seven gifts, as we said as we began this series. If all of us would just get to work in the area of our gifts, it certainly would be the end result would be a tremendous church. Well in 1st John 3 11 it says this is the message that ye have heard from the beginning that ye should love one another. 1st John 3 14 he said this we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. Now it's interesting too that someone has said opposites attract The mercy shore is sometimes attracted to the prophet, and they're very opposite. John spent more time with Peter than any other disciple. You read Peter and John together when they went to prepare the Passover. Peter and John together when they went into the temple in Acts chapter one. In fact, you'll find Peter and John's names in the same verse 18 times. You'll find John and Matthew once. You'll find John and Mark once. three times, you'll find John and Philip in two verses, and John and Luke in one, but when it comes to him spending time with Peter, 18 verses, you'll find those men together. Now we'll look a moment at the weaknesses of a prophet, because we can sometimes find out what our gift might be by the weaknesses more than we can the strength, and the whole idea the Holy Spirit would have us turn that all around. But sometimes the mercy sword can fail to be firm. It seems to be unloving. If someone's hurting, you can't be firm with them. You've got to just show mercy. Well, maybe that's why the Lord had Peter and John spend so much time together. That prophet Peter, he needed to learn a little bit more about love. And that mercy sword, John, he needed to learn a little bit more about being firm. Well, another weakness of the mercy shore is making decisions based on emotions. Now, the Bible says, God said, let us make man in our image, and he, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, he's a three-part being, and we are a three-part being. That is a body, a soul, and the spirit. Now the soul is made up of the mind, the will, and the emotions. And our spirit, the Bible says in Romans 8 and 16, the Holy Spirit beareth witness with our spirit. The Holy Spirit does not communicate with our mind. There's not enough there for him to have an intelligent communication. The Bible says again in Romans 8 and 16, the Holy Spirit beareth witness with our spirit. not with our emotions. Now the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are always in total harmony. And so Paul says, it says of him in Acts chapter 17 and verse 2, that he reasoned with them out of the scriptures. Now, we can't make emotional decisions. Well, we can, but we shouldn't, and it can be the weakness of a mercy chore. And Martin Luther wrote years ago, feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God, not else is worth believing. Well, the mercy chore. Be careful not to make decisions out of your emotions. Then, another area where there can be a weakness in the Mercy Shore is not understanding God's ministry of suffering. That is a ministry. The Mercy Shore wants to remove suffering. The Mercy Shore is motivated to do that. Well, the Exhorter, on the other hand, and we'll look at that in another broadcast, but the Exhorter, he understands completely God's ministry of suffering and can exhort someone through the whole situation. Another situation that might come along for the Mercy Shore is that he does not understand tough love. You've got the prodigal son, and he's sitting in the pigpen, and the Bible says he came to himself in Luke chapter 15, verse number 17. He came to himself. Why? Because no one was bringing him a home-cooked meal while he was there in the pigpen. Now, the Mercy Shore would want to do that. The Prophet, on the other hand, no. He made his choices, and with choices there are consequences, and he needs to understand that. And so we're talking about why people react the way they do. The prophet hits the response, well, the prodigal needs to learn. The mercy shower, that response, well, the prodigal, we need to love him. Who's right? They're both right. And so the Prophet needs to understand things from the Mercy Shore's point of view, and the Mercy Shore needs to understand things from the Prophet's point of view, and you can see why, if we're humble enough, we could help each other in these different areas. And so we have the prophet motivated to expose good and evil. We have the servant that wants to meet the physical needs of people. We have the teacher who says, well, we've got to help people understand the scriptures. We have the exhorter who's got a plan of operation that will help the Christian on to victory in the Christian life. And the giver who focuses on the finances that are necessary to make it all happen. And the administrator says, well, you better get it organized because you can't have a mess here. Who's right? They're all right. Well, in our next broadcast, we're going to look at the servant and see how the servant responses in any given situation. Be sure and tune in.