Holy spirit gift of mercy

HOLY SPIRIT GIFT OF MERCY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
GOTQUESTIONS.ORG
Question:"What is the spiritual gift of mercy?"
Answer: In Jesus’Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes is “Blessedare
the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). Mercyis what we
express when we are led by God to be compassionate in our attitudes, words,
and actions. It is more than feeling sympathy towardsomeone;it is love
enacted. Mercydesires to answerthe immediate needs of others and alleviate
suffering, loneliness, and grief. Mercy addresses physical, emotional, financial,
or spiritual crises with generous, self-sacrificialservice. Mercyis a champion
of the lowly, poor, exploited, and forgottenand often acts on their behalf.
A goodexample of mercy is found in Matthew 20:29–34:“As Jesus and his
disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followedhim. Two blind men
were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by,
they shouted, ‘Lord, Sonof David, have mercy on us!’ The crowdrebuked
them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, ‘Lord, Son of
David, have mercy on us!’ Jesus stoppedand calledthem. ‘What do you want
me to do for you?’ he asked. ‘Lord,’ they answered, ‘we want our sight.’ Jesus
had compassiononthem and touched their eyes. Immediately they received
their sight and followedHim.” Notice that the blind men associatedmercy not
with a feeling but with an action. Their physical problem was that they
couldn’t see, so to them, the act of mercy was Christ’s intervention to restore
their sight. Mercyis more than a feeling;it is always followedby an action.

This gift has a practicalapplication of active service as well as a responsibility
to do so cheerfully (Romans 12:8). Additionally, we are all calledto be
merciful. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 that “whateveryou did for one of the
leastof these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.” Matthew 5:7
promises mercy to those who are merciful towardothers. As spiritually dead
and blind sinners, we are no better off than the two blind men in Matthew 20.
Just as they were utterly dependent on Christ’s compassion to restore their
sight, so are we dependent on Him to “show us His mercy and grant us His
salvation” (Psalm85:7). This bedrock understanding that our hope depends
on Christ’s mercy alone and not in any merit of ours should inspire us to
follow Christ’s example of compassionate service andshow mercy to others as
it has been shownto us."
Spiritual Gift of Mercy
All Christians are calledto be merciful because Godhas been merciful to us
(Matthew 18:33; Ephesians 2:4-6). The Greek word for the spiritual gift of
mercy is Eleeo. Itmeans to be patient and compassionatetowardthose who
are suffering or afflicted. The concernfor the physical as wellas spiritual
need of those who are hurting is coveredby the gift of mercy. Those with this
gift have greatempathy for others in their trials and sufferings. They are able
to come alongside people over extended periods of time and see them through
their healing process. Theyare truly and literally the hands and feet of God
to the afflicted.
The Holy Spirit gives the spiritual gift of mercy to some in the church to love
and assistthose who are suffering, and walk with them until The Lord allows
their burden to be lifted. The gift of mercy is founded in God’s mercy
towards us as sinners and is consistently expressedwith measurable
compassion. Thosewith this gift are able to “weepwith those who weep”
(Romans 12:15) and “bearone another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). They are
sensitive to the feelings and circumstances ofothers and canquickly discern
when someone is not doing well. They are typically goodlisteners and feel the

need to simply “be there” for others. See Romans 12:8, Matthew 5:7; Luke
10:30-37;James 3:17; Jude 22-23."
Institute in Basic Life Principles
What is the spiritual gift of mercy?
Mercy: A Spiritual Gift
the characteristics ofa motivational gift
A Christian’s motivational spiritual gift represents what God does in him to
shape his perspective on life and motivate his words and actions. Romans
12:3–8 describes “basic motivations,” whichare characterizedby inherent
qualities or abilities within a believer—the Creator’s unique workmanship in
him or her.
Through the motivational gifts, God makes believers aware ofneeds that He
wants to meet through them, for His glory. Then, believers can minister to
others through the ministry and manifestation gifts of the Spirit, in ways
beyond mere human capability and ingenuity, with maximum effectiveness
and minimum weariness.
Eachperson’s behavior will vary according to factors such as temperament,
background, age, gender, culture, and circumstances.However, it is not
unusual for individuals who share the same motivational gift to demonstrate
common characteristics. Beloware some generalcharacteristics thatare
typically exhibited by those who have the motivational gift of mercy.
GeneralCharacteristics
A mercy-giver’s basic motivational drive is to sense and respond to the
emotional and spiritual needs of others. Those with the mercy motivational
gift have a divine ability to sense hurt and respond to it with love and
understanding.

The mature mercy-giver is kind and gentle.
Mercy-givers sense andreflect the spiritual and emotional atmosphere around
them. Whereas prophets, organizers, and teachers tend to project their
attitudes to others, individuals who have the gifts of mercy and exhorting are
more likely to sense how others are feeling.
Mercies needto be needed. People with this gift must reachout and get
involved, or their mercy will turn inward, resulting in an introspective focus
that concentratesontheir ownhurts or fears.
To the mercy-giver, spirituality is not a textbook analysis but rather is an
emotional confirmation of God’s presence in his life. He is interested in
learning doctrine mainly so that he can acton it and then feelthat he has been
obedient. If no feelings accompanyhis experience, he tends to downplay its
significance.
Mercies are drawn to other sensitive people.
Believers who have the gift of mercy are the backbone of the prayer powerin
the Church. They feel they must pray. To them, prayer is an expressionof
their hearts to God, and nothing else they cando releasesthese emotions and
captures God’s heart better than prayer.
A Mercy’s Strengths
Mercies have a God-given ability to sense a person’s spirit or the atmosphere
among a group of people. They recognize the feelings that may be at work in
others’ minds and hearts. When mercies are walking in the Spirit, this gift
equips them to reachout to people who are suffering but who would likely be
reluctant to tell others about their needs.
Mercy-givers are attractedto people in distress;they love the people that most
of us tend to run away from.
Mercies love the unlovable, such as the handicapped, the elderly, the seriously
ill, and the wounded in spirit. They are drawn to the outcast, the out of
fellowship, and the rebellious. Mercy-givers run toward people who are
unpleasant or unresponsive, reflecting the heart of God towardneedy people.

Becauseoftheir sensitivity, mercies do not take sin lightly—their own or
someone else’s.
Mercies tend to embrace humility, because oftheir sensitive spirits and
awarenessoftheir own weaknessesandfailures.
A Mercy’s Weaknesses
Mercies canbe indecisive, tossedto and fro by their emotions. (See James 1:5–
8.)
Mercy-givers caneasilyallow others to become dependent on them, when the
individuals should be dependent on God. They often become rescuers ofthose
who do not need to be rescued.
The mercy-giver’s warmth can be falsely interpreted as personal, intimate
affection. They must learn to temper their demonstration of affections based
on the mindset of those to whom they are ministering. If they fail to do this,
both parties may be led into temptation.
Mercies are quick to take up others’ offenses, whichcan quickly leadto anger
and bitterness.
Becausemercy-givers try to avoid conflict of any kind, they often avoid
confrontation that is needed. Mercy-givers would rather hide from or ignore
their enemies than confront them, even when they are in authority over those
enemies. Delaying the inevitable always leads to more trouble—for everyone.
Immature or rebellious mercies tend to be harsh and impatient, reflecting
their own self-condemnationby lashing out at others whom they judge to be
as weak or sinful as they are.
Mercies tend to be introspective. As a person who is sensitive to hurts, it is
easyfor him to become overly sensitive to his own. If a mercy falls into this
trap, he will wallow in pastoffenses, cling to past bitternesses, and dwell on
past mistakes orsins.

It is easyfor mercies to develop a poor self-image, since they tend to be
introspective and remain acutely aware oftheir own failures. The longer the
mercy dwells on his failures, the more worthless and wickedhe feels.
Mercies tend to be worriers as a result of focusing on their own failures.
Attentiveness vs. Unconcern
Compassionvs. Indifference
Deference vs. Rudeness
Gentleness vs. Harshness
Justice vs. Fairness
Meeknessvs. Anger
Sensitivity vs. Callousness
What Is The Spiritual Gift of Mercy? How Do You Know If You Have It?
by Jack Wellman · Print · Email
W
hat is the spiritual gift of mercy? How canyou know if you have it? What are
the attributes of having this gift?
Mercy is

I love the definition of grace and mercy that I have seenover the years;grace
is where we receive that which we do not deserve but mercy is where we do
not receive whatwe actually do deserve. Godis not obligatedto be merciful
to us; He just is! BecauseGodis goodHe gives us mercy even though not one
of us deserves it. The Greek word for mercy in the New Testamentis “eleeō”
and canmean “to help one afflicted” and “to bring help to the wretched.” I
like the Hebrew meaning of the word mercy which is “rakh’-am” and its
meaning “womb” and “compassion.” So the full use of the Hebrew and Greek
definitions of mercy can be read like this; it is to help the wretchedand
afflicted, showing them compassion. Ilike that. That is exactlywhat God does
for eachone of us sinners. I believe there is a connectionfor those who have
the gift of mercy as we will read.
Romans 12 List of Gifts
Romans chapter 12 is not a comprehensive list of all of the gifts of the Spirit.
In fact, others are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 but I believe there may be more
spiritual gifts than these and not even be aware ofthem. Romans 12:4 says
“the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in
generosity;the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with
cheerfulness” so we know for sure that the gift of mercy is a God-givenor
more precisely, Spirit-given gift but what does mercy look like in the Bible?
“But because ofhis greatlove for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive
with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–itis by grace you have
been saved” Ephesians 2:4-5
Mercy Verses
Judge 1:22-23 “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching
them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment
stained by the flesh.”
Jude mentions the word mercy 4 times in this one chapter book and he says
that we should show or express mercy on those who doubt. Does he mean
those who doubt their salvation or maybe those who doubt at times of great

duress that God even exists? Perhaps, but either way we ought to show mercy
(compassionand help to the afflicted) to those who have doubts. Also, Jude
says that we ought to “show mercy with fear” which may be his way of saying
that we ought to tell the whole Word and give the whole counselof God to
unbelievers, telling them that the fearof God is the beginning of wisdom and
that those who rejectJesus Christ should fear the coming judgment of God
(Rev 20:111-5)because theyare under God’s wrath (John 3:36b) unless they
repent and trust in the Savior.
Showing Mercy is Forgiving Others
God has been merciful to all who have trusted in Christ but “judgment is
without mercy to one who has shownno mercy” (James 2:13). James is saying
that if you and I are not merciful to others, which means forgiving others
when they don’t deserve it, then God will not forgive us because we haven’t
been merciful or forgiving of others as Jesus said“forgive, and you will be
forgiven” (Luke 6:37). That’s why Jesus pronounceda blessing for those who
are merciful as He said “Blessedare the merciful, for they shall receive
mercy” (Matt 5:7). The opposite of this is also true because if we don’t show
mercy to others we will not receive mercy from God and that means we’ll miss
out on a blessing! That’s why Jesus said“I desire mercy, and not sacrifice”
(Matt 9:13) so “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neitherwill your
Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt6:15).
Evidence of the Gift of Mercy
I don’t believe everyone has the gift of mercy because Goddistributes the gifts
for the goodof the church and gives to eachgifts as He pleases and He wills as
it says in 1 Corinthians 12:11 “All these are empoweredby one and the same
Spirit, who apportions to eachone individually as he wills.” Believers might
have more than one gift but every believer has at leastone gift because it says
that God “apportions to eachone individually” so this leaves no one out. If
someone says they don’t have a gift of the Spirit, then they either don’t
recognize the evidence of their gift(s) they have or they are not using their gift
properly or at all.

People who have the gift of mercy will live out this gift. Romans 12:4 says
“the one who does acts of mercy” so it is what you do, not what you feel; it is
actionoriented. Mercyis a verb more than it is a noun. Keep in mind the
Hebrew and Greek definitions of mercy. The person who has this gift will act
with compassion, they will help the afflicted, they will bring help and comfort
to those who need it, and they will have no outside motivation to do so. It will
purely be God or Spirit-driven. Remember the source of the gift is God, it is
not human generatedbut it will be oriented towardhumans.both inside and
outside of the church.
Applications of the Gift of Mercy
Whoeverhas this gift will show compassionon others. The word compassion
means “with” or “alongside” (com)“passion” so whoeverhas this gift will
come alongside someone andpassionatelyshow them tenderness, love, do acts
of kindness, cry with the brokenhearted, attempt to help and alleviate
suffering, give financially but also emotionally, physically, and spiritually (like
praying for and praying with them), help those in deep depressions, despair,
severe loneliness, andunbearable grief.
Conclusion
God has shownus His greatmercy. In what way? “Butbecause ofhis great
love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when
we were dead in transgressions–itis by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:4-
5). Paul says even“though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and
insolent opponent. But I receivedmercy because I had actedignorantly in
unbelief” (1 Tim 1:13) “But I receivedmercy for this reason, that in me, as the
foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to
those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Tim 1:16) but there is a
condition to receiving God’s mercy; “His mercy extends to those who fear
him” (Luke 1:50). If you fear God that means you will obey God and if you
have obeyed God then you have already repented of your sins and trusted in
Christ for “The times of ignorance Godoverlooked, but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge
the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he

has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). Is
that you? If so, then God has already displayed His marvelous mercy on you
so why not show mercy to others. Those with the gift of mercy most certainly
will.
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Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer"yes" to many of them,
then you may have the spiritual gift of mercy:
Are you often drawn to people who are suffering or in distress?
Does helping the sick, needy, disabled, elderly, etc. excite you?
Do you find yourself wanting to participate in ministries that work with job
placement, food pantries, shelters, assistedliving homes, etc?
When you considercollege, are you looking at majors like Psychology,
Sociology, Health Sciences, SocialWork, orMedicine?
Do people seek you out when they are having a tough time?
Spiritual Gift of Mercy in Scripture
Romans 12:6-8 - "In his grace, Godhas given us different gifts for doing
certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out
with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve
them well. If you are a teacher, teachwell. If your gift is to encourage others,
be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you
leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for
showing kindness to others, do it gladly." NLT
Jude 1:22-23-"And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.
Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to
still others, but do so with greatcaution, hating the sins that contaminate their
lives." NLT

Matthew 5:7- "Godblesses those who are merciful,for they will be shown
mercy." NLT
Matthew 9:13 - "Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this
Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ForI have come to
call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are
sinners.'" NLT
Matthew 23:23- "Woe to you, teachers ofthe law and Pharisees,you
hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you
have neglectedthe more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and
faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the
former." NIV
Matthew 9:36- "When he saw the crowds, he had compassionon them,
because they were harassedand helpless, like sheepwithout a shepherd." NIV
Luke 7:12-13 "As he approachedthe town gate, a dead person was being
carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large
crowdfrom the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went
out to her and he said, 'Don’t cry.'" NIV
Acts 9:36- "There was a believerin Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is
Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor"
NLT
Luke 10:30-37-"Jesusreplied with a story: 'A Jewishman was traveling on a
trip from Jerusalemto Jericho, and he was attackedby bandits. They

stripped him of his clothes, beathim up, and left him half dead beside the
road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he
crossedto the other side of the road and passedhim by. A Temple assistant
walkedover and lookedat him lying there, but he also passedby on the other
side. Then a despisedSamaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt
compassionfor him. Going over to him, the Samaritansoothedhis wounds
with olive oil and wine and bandagedthem. Then he put the man on his own
donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he
handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care ofthis man. If
his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ Now which
of these three would you saywas a neighbor to the man who was attackedby
bandits?' Jesus asked. The man replied, 'The one who showedhim mercy.'
Then Jesus said, 'Yes, now go and do the same.'" NLT
What Is the Spiritual Gift of Mercy?
The spiritual gift of mercy is one in which a persondemonstrates a strong
ability to empathize with others with compassion, words, andactions. Those
with this gift are able to provide some relief to those going through tough
times physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
It is important to understand, though, the difference betweensympathy and
empathy. Sympathy sounds nice, but often has a level of pity involved in the
emotion. Empathy is something that loses the pity and moves you toward
action. It is understanding the deep pain or needs without feeling sorry for
someone by being able to "walk in their shoes" fora moment. People with the
spiritual gift of mercy no not feel pity, but feel a pull towardmaking a bad
situation better. There is no judgment that comes from a person with this
spiritual gift. It is always about making a personand his/her situation better.
However, there is a side of mercy that can lead people to think they have
solveda problem by making things better for the moment. It is important that

we realize that trouble at one time can often be a symptom of a bigger
problem that needs to be solved. Also, people with this gift can sometimes
enable people to continue their poor behavior by constantly rescuing them
from bad situations. Mercydoesn't always involve making people feel better
at the moment but instead making them realize they need help, which will
ultimately make them feel better.
Another caution for those with the spiritual gift of mercy is that they can
appear naive or can be prone to others taking advantage of them. The desire
to make a situation better and not be judgmental canlead to a difficult time in
seeing true intentions lying below the surface.
The Gift of Mercy
The Gift of Mercy
November 09, 2014
By Charles F. Stanley
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D
o you have a real heart for people? Do you feel tenderness towardothers? Are
you concernedwith finding ways of showing kindness? You may have the gift
of mercy.
One of the people who best exemplifies the gift of mercy in the New Testament
is the apostle John. One of the foremostcharacteristicsofthe persongifted
with mercy is love, and of all the apostles, John is the one who wrote the most
about love - the love of God, the commandments of Jesus to love one another,
and extensive admonitions to the early believers about love. John valued love
highly and often referred to himself as "the one whom Jesus loved." To have
been loved by Jesus was the highest reward and the most meaningful mark of
identification that John felt he could claim for himself.
The gift of mercy has a number of outstanding qualities, including these seven
characteristics:
1. Those with the gift of mercy have a greatability to feelthe joy or distress of
another person or a group. They have a heightened sense ofdiscernment
regarding emotions. They rarely have to ask, "How are you doing?" They
intuitively sense how another personis doing emotionally. Those with a gift of
mercy desire to see those who are hurting alleviatedof their hurt.
2. Those with a gift of mercy are able to identify with others and to vicariously
experience what others are going through. They have a specialempathy and
understanding of those who are under emotional stress and are actively
attractedto those individuals. They have a great hope and desire to be able to
help others by their presence and friendship.
3. Those with a gift of mercy desire to see those who are hurting alleviatedof
their hurt. They see virtually no benefit in pain, suffering, distress, or sorrow.
They want to see all negative feelings healed and removed immediately. At

times they may clashwith those who have the gift of exhortation, who are able
to se benefit in suffering. The person with the gift of mercy must be willing to
allow the gift of exhortation to function fully, just as the person with the gift of
exhortation must be patient and kind toward the person who has a gift of
mercy.
4. Those with the gift of mercy are very sensitive to statements and actions
that may hurt others. They often reactharshly if their friends or family
members are rejectedor hurt in any way. They may respond in a defensive
and even angry way if they sense that a person is doing something that may
injure emotionally a person they love. They are very sensitive to criticism of
others.
5. Those with the gift of mercy have an ability to sense genuine unconditional
love and to detectexpressions oflove that are insincere or hypocritical. They
have a greaterability to be wounded themselves;they are highly vulnerable to
feeling emotionalpain. Those with the gift of mercy are very sensitive to
statements and actions that may hurt others.
6. Those with a gift mercy have a greatneed for friendship. They need to be in
relationships that are marked by commitment and steadfastness. Theydo not
have a high tolerance, however, forfriends who manifest a critical spirit.
7. Those with the gift of mercy are reluctant to speak againstany person,
regardless ofwhat they have done. The danger of course, is that they may not
speak up in times when they should confront evil. Mercy must always be
balancedwith justice. God is always merciful, but it is equally true that God is
always just.
Jesus was the very embodiment of God's love - He was God's "only begotten
son," sent to this world as an expressionofGod's infinite love for mankind.
Jesus always actedin a merciful, loving way to people in need. He saw and
responded to inner needs as much as to outer material or physical needs. His
desire and goalwas that mankind be reconciledto God the Fatherand
experience God's forgiveness and unconditional love.

John wrote: "ForGod did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17 - New
American Standard Bible via BibleGateway(new window)"
href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?version=49&search=
John%203:17" target="_blank">John3:17). Jesus did not merely talk about
love in the most generous and merciful way - He gave His very life for the sins
of the world.
Characteristicsofsomeone with the gift of mercy:
Attentive - watchful over those who are in need, or have sorrow or trouble of
any kind.
Sensitive - aware of the needs in others, even without them saying anything.
Fair - desiring impartiality and fairness.
Compassionate- feeling the hurts of others as if they were their own.
Gentle - soft-spoken, tender, and caring.
Yielding - willing to give way to the desires and wishes of others so that
harmony and peace might prevail in a person's heart.
Sacrificial - willing to suffer if it will help another person.
Excerpt from Ministering Through Spiritual Gifts, by Dr. Charles Stanley.
The Gift Of Mercy
Contributed by Bruce Willis
Scripture: Romans 12:8-15
Denomination: Baptist

Summary: This sermon is the fourth in a series often on Motivational
Spiritual Gifts which communicates the characteristicsof the Gift of Mercyin
order to allow the Holy Spirit opportunity to revealthis gift to those who have
it.
Today is Mother’s day and the most appropriate spiritual gift to talk about is
that of showing mercy. Whether it’s a skinned knee or a broken heart
mothers are the ones we usually turn to for compassionand love. However,
there are just as many men who have the heart gift of showing mercy as there
are women. In fact, of all 7 of the motivational spiritual gifts, mercy is the
most distributed. One particular group of believers who teachdiscovering
your spiritual gift from this perspective, in their survey indicated that in the
distribution of gifts 30% make up the gift of compassionas they refer to it
most frequently. So that would mean that 30% of the Body of Christ are
compassionpeople who have the gift of showing mercy.
What we’re in the midst of is a series ofsermons on discovering your
MotivationalSpiritual Gift. As 1 Peter4:10 says, “As every man hath received
the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as goodstewards ofthe
manifold grace of God.” I believe every believer has been given one particular
motivational spiritual gift or heart gift as Charles Wise refers to it. Your
spiritual gift is a supernatural desire, a drive and a motivation out of which
you allow the life of Christ to minister to other people. It’s 1 of 7 gifts that
God has built into you and gives your life meaning and purpose. It’s what
shapes your personality. It’s who you are in Christ. It’s your heart!
So today it’s my prayer that as we look at the gift of showing mercy that you
will be open to and allow the Holy Spirit to revealto you if this is your
motivational spiritual gift or if it’s another to be revealed in the coming
weeks.So let’s look at:
I. The Characteristics ofthe Gift of Mercy
The meaning behind the word mercy in a negative sense is to hold back what a
person rightly deserves. In a positive sense, it’s to be understanding,
compassionateand loving – to have pity on, to be compassionate by word or

deed and specificallyby divine grace. So one who has the grace giftof mercy
has:
1. An Ability to sense joy or distress
The personwith the gift of mercy is always going to be reaching out to help
someone else emotionally. They have the ability to sense orfeel the
atmosphere of joy or distress where there’s misery, pain, suffering, grief or
tribulation. This kind of personhas a discerning spirit that’s able to
distinguish in a group or an individual what’s going on emotionally. They
have a sharp, sensitive awarenessofsomeone else’s needs. Thatability to be
understanding has an attractionin itself. Mom’s, do you ever wonder why
your teenage daughterlikes a certain guy and you wish she‘d never look at
him again? You don’t like the way he looks, dresses, oranything else about
him and you think he needs a real mother and a real father! Your daughter
has the gift of mercy and is attracted to him – he talks about his needs and all
these problems he has in his life & he needs this & he needs that and the more
he pours out – she just melts under that, she’s attractedto someone like that
and the reasonis, she has the gift of mercy. Or people are drawn to you, it’s
like you’ve got written acrossyour forehead – “Share all of your problems,
your life story with me” and you listen for an hour and ½ in Walmart when
this personis attracted to you and you’re available to meet their emotional
needs. You make it easyfor people to confide in you, you sense people’s hurt
and share the pain with them. Of course, you have to be careful because
sometimes people can take advantage of your sensitive nature. You not only
sense the joy and distress but secondlyyou have:
2. A Desire to remove hurts and bring healing
A person with the gift of mercy always wants to remove hurt feelings. They
say, “Yes, I know exactly what you mean.” Now, the person sharing may be
dead wrong, but the person with mercy isn’t trying to defend or correct, but
heal a broken heart or a broken spirit or a hurt spirit. A mercy heart is more
interestedin healing than in teaching some spiritual lessonthat another gift
may be interested in. They’ll have more concernfor mental distress than
physical distress. Last week we talkedabout the gift of serving and the server

heart is more interested in meeting physical needs while the mercy heart is
more interested in meeting mental and emotional needs. The personwith
mercy will be more interestedin a person’s emotional upheaval and their
inner struggles than maybe some physical things.
3. Avoids firmness unless felt beneficial
A person with the gift of mercy will avoid seeking to be very firm and will be
tender, sometimes to the point of agreeing ornot wanting to hurt anybody’s
feelings or whateverit takes to heal and satisfythe emotionalneed of the
moment. That’s goodsometimes and sometimes a need demands firmness. Of
course, this avoidance of firmness can appearas weaknessorindecisiveness.
But mercy is meekness notweakness.
4. Sensitive to hurtful words and actions
A mercy heart will pop up and say, “you really shouldn’t saythat! Do you
think that was kind?” Haven’t you been in a conversationwhenyou thought
everybody was in agreementand you said something that was a little sharp
and someone said, “Now, Idon’t really think that was kind.” And you just felt
it kinda twist off in you! Well, that mercy person was just reacting normally
because whenyou spoke againstsomeoneelse they literally felt the hurt. A
mercy heart senseswords and actions that will hurt another person and it
actually hurts them. All of us are that way to an extent. For example, when
you hear another man talk about his mother in a derogatoryway you feelthat
deep down inside. Or a young lady talk about her “ole man,” you feel that
deep down inside. When I hear someone criticize another pastorI feel that
deeply and it hurts. But a person with the gift of mercy takes that like a ton of
steeland they feelthe hurt and they can weepover someone else’s hurt – they
can feelit because they have such empathy. They empathize with hurting
people.
5. An Ability to discern sincere motives
The mercy heart is going to be completely poured out. There’s a discernment
they know when they’re meeting a need and when they’re not, because ofthe
sensitivity of their spirit. Now, it’s extremely important to have a sensitive

spirit, but is it not true that the more sensitive a spirit is – sometimes the more
easilyyou can be hurt. At the same time, the more sensitive a spirit is, the
easierit is for God to reachthat person and deal with that person giving you
revelation of His will and spiritual guidance. But like-wise, the easierit is for
that personto make a mistake or be impulsive. That’s a mercy heart. A
person with the gift of mercy feels:
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6. Unity with those sensitive to others
A mercy heart feels a oneness with those who are sensitive to the needs and
feelings of other people. When a person with the gift of mercy is in a group of
people who likewise care, there’s that sense of unity, joy and love that’s there.
But you put them in a group of people that don’t feelthe same way and
there’s static, there’s a tension and stress. A mercy heart is always reaching
out and loving people who need to be loved. In fact, there’s a real need for
deep friendships and loyalty to those friends. Of all the gifts this is the one
with the greatestcapacity, ability and sensitivity to feel and give genuine love.
But because ofthat, this person has a greatervulnerability to deeperand
more frequent hurts from people who fail to demonstrate sincere love. The
apostle John is probably the personwho personifies the gift of mercy more
than any other in Scripture. When you think about the gospelofJohn and the
epistles, John used the word “love” more than any other disciple. John’s
teachings and personalrelationships illustrate that his primary focus was on
love and unity.
A mercy heart has a need for deep friendships. John had a very close
relationship with Jesus and with Peter. In fact, John often refers to himself as
the disciple “whom Jesus loved.” A personwith the gift of mercy will
demonstrate love and loyalty to a friend even by reacting harshly toward
those who attack or rejector criticize their friend. You remember, when the
Samaritans rejectedJesus, Johnwas the one who wanted to calldown fire
from heaven on them.
7. Closing of the spirit to the insincere

A person with the gift of mercy will close their spirit to those who are
insincere or insensitive. This persondetects insincerity and what happens is –
it’s not that they become less merciful or tender, they just sortof close their
spirit and they don’t vibrate and express genuinely what’s on the inside when
they find themselves in the midst of a situation where there’s insincerity that’s
so easily pickedup by their sensitive spirit. They are always wanting to give
out, to give of themselves to someone in need. When their spirit reaches an
antagonistic spirit, it’s like throwing up a red flag, they’re able to understand
and detectit and they’ll close their spirit to the insensitivity or insincerity.
II. The Calling of the Gift of Mercy
As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “As every man hath receivedthe gift, even so minister
the same one to another, as good stewards ofthe manifold grace ofGod.” The
reasonyou have a spiritual gift is to minister to people in the Body of Christ
and beyond. You have a gift to help people grow up on their spiritual lives, to
build up the Body of Christ, to perfect it, to minister to the members of the
Body. 1 Corinthians 12:7 makes that abundantly clear, “the manifestation of
the spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”
God hasn’t given you a spiritual gift to make you feel goodor to feel
important or specialor spiritually superior. He’s gifted every born again
believer in order to be of service and ministry to the Body of Christ and the
Kingdom of God. Just this week within an hour’s time God sent 2 different
people to sayto me there is a need for HELP! One saidI need an army of
serverhearts to help me serve. I sensedthe other expressing the need for
mercy hearts to help meet needs. I’m hearing our church, the Body needs “A
Ministry of Helps.” What are you hearing the Spirit say to our church? Are
you hearing the Holy Spirit sayto you, “this is who you are, you’re a Mercy
heart, this is your gift?”
‘Cause You Delightin Showing Mercy

Brothers and Sisters,
Mosteveryone likes to receive mercy, but when it comes to extending mercy to
others, maybe we don’t get as excited about that. Today I would like to focus
on what is meant by mercy in relation to scripture and Catholic teaching. I
would like to distinguish the mercy which all Christians are commanded to
practice and what I will call the charism of Mercy.
Christ commands us to “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke
6:36)
The Catholic dictionary defines mercy as “The disposition to be kind and
forgiving. Founded on compassion, mercydiffers from compassionor the
feeling of sympathy in putting this feeling into practice with a readiness to
assist. It is therefore the ready willingness to help anyone in need, especiallyin
need of pardon or reconciliation.”1
In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiahrelates God’s desire for mercy
among His people:
“Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the
head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackclothand ashes? Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose:to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the
thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressedgo free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor
into your house;when you see the naked, to coverthem, and not to hide
yourself from your own kin?“ (Isaiah 58:5-10)
In the New Testamentwe see that mercy is what the Lord is looking for on the
Day of Judgement.
“Then the king will sayto those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed
by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave
me something to drink, I was a strangerand you welcomedme, I was naked

and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison
and you visited me.’” (Matt 25: 34-36)
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Another famous parable illustrates what is expected of followers ofChrist.
“But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he
was moved with pity. He went to him and bandagedhis wounds, having
poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought
him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii,
gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come
back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do
you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
He said, ‘The one who showedhim mercy.’ Jesus saidto him, ‘Go and do
likewise.’” (Luke 10:33-37)
Mercy is what we receive from God when He forgives us in the sacraments of
baptism and reconciliation. We come to the Lord with no right to be forgiven,
he forgives out of His loving mercy. He sent Jesus to redeem us, to pay the
price for sin that we could not pay. Jesus is the model of mercy for us. This
gift of mercy is available to everyone. So God is not asking anything of us that
He has not already given.
The Catechismof the Catholic Church defines specific “works ofmercy” in
paragraph 2447.
“2447 The works ofmercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid
of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.242Instructing,
advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving
and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporalworks of mercy consistespecially
in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the
sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.243 Among all these, giving alms

to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of
justice pleasing to God: 244
242 Cf. Isa 58:6-7; Heb 13:3
243 Cf. Mt:31-46.
244 Cf. Tob 4:5-11;Sir 17:22;Mt 6:2-4”
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With that backgroundof what we mean by mercy we can move on to what
makes the charism of Mercy unique. The charism of mercy is listed among the
gifts listed in the following passagefrom scripture.
“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us
exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in
ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching;if one exhorts, in exhortation; if
one contributes, in generosity;if one is over others, with diligence; if one does
acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:8)
Here are a couple of definitions of the charism:
“The charism of Mercy empowers a Christian to be a channel of God’s love
through hands-on, practicaldeeds of compassionthat relieve the distress of
those who suffer and help them experience God’s love.”2
“The Greek word for “mercy” (eleos)means “to show compassion,”or“to feel
sympathy of heart.” This gift is characterizedby the ability to suffer alongside
the personin pain, in a sense to feelthe pain with them and to want to help
them bear it. This extraordinary gift enables the believerto feela deep
compassionthat transcends natural Christian caring and to minister to
hurting people in a cheerful and sustained manner.”3
As with other charisms, certainindividuals are drawn to this type of service,
they are truly happy when they are able to serve others in this capacity. If

you find yourself feeling truly in touch with God in homeless shelters, nursing
homes or working with prisoners you might have this charism. One friend
who has this charism affectionatelyrefers to the people she serves as her
“peeps.” Forsome doing works of mercy might be a chore, for her it is
spiritual sustenance.
Peace ofJesus,
Dave
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=3484
9
Fruitful Discipleshipby Sherry Weddell, Page 59.
https://rcohiovalley.org/gifted-and-blessedtalk #4
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on ‘Cause You Delight in Showing Mercy
Optimism vs. EasterJoy
Brothers and Sisters,
“The strife is over; the battle done; now is the victor’s triumph won; O let the
song of praise be sung; Alleluia! “ The words of this familiar Easterhymn are
still resonating in this octave of Easter. I hope that all of you had a blessed
experience in the Easterliturgies or services that you attended.
Joy is contagious. Easteris brimming with it when seenin the proper light.
Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Joy draws us to those who possess
it. Joyis what Lent anticipates, but does not quite embody. Joywants to be
communicated. Joywants to multiply.
Becauseofthis I am afraid that joy can be a target to be attacked. If a heart
is closedto it, joy may not penetrate. Like any other gift or fruit of the Spirit
it must be encountered, received, and embraced. If it is encountered, blocked,
and rejected, it can produce bitterness, resentment, and even venom.
G.K. Chestertonin Orthodoxy says, “The optimist’s pleasure was prosaic
[lacking poetic beauty], for it dwelt on the naturalness of everything; the
Christian’s pleasure was poetic, for it dwelt on the unnaturalness of
everything in light of the supernatural.”1 Likewise, Easterjoy is fueled by the
supernatural encounter with the risen Christ. Those who experience life
merely in the natural will never understand the supernatural fuel that powers
authentic Easterjoy.
So our temptation may be to put our joy under our Easterbasket. If dealing
with people who don’t understand it appears to be more difficult than hiding
it under our basket, we may submit. But love screams, “No, don’t do it!”
Christ did not suffer and die, just to have us capitulate.

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Rather, Jesus models for us what our approachshould be. “ And Jesus
looking upon him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell
what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven;
and come, follow me.’” (Mark 10: 21 RSVCE) Notice that he looks athim and
loves him before he says anything. He does not hold back the hard word, but
he says it with the love that passes the man’s understanding. By doing that
bridges are not burned, they can still be crossedatanother time.
I always like to link these reflections to charisms. So which ones are
particularly useful in a situation that involves sharing joy with people who are
not particularly receptive? Perhaps encouragementwhich“empowers a
Christian to be an effective channel of God’s love by strengthening and
healing individuals in remarkable ways through his or her presence and
words.”2 Also hospitality comes to mind. “The Charism of Hospitality
empowers a Christian to be a generous channelof God’s love by warmly
welcoming and caring for those in need of food, shelter, and friendship.”3 In
other circumstances perhaps mercy would be best suited for an emotionally
wounded person. “The charismof Mercyempowers a Christian to be a
channel of God’s love through hands-on, practical deeds of compassionthat
relieve the distress of those who suffer and help them to experience God’s
love.”4
I have mentioned a few of the charisms that would be useful in this type of
situation, but regardlessofour particular gifting, if we have been filled with
the Holy Spirit this fruit of Joy will be presentin us. The more we yield to it
the strongerit will become. Fueledby deep times of prayer and worship along
with reflective meditation of God’s word, we can infect others with this Easter
joy. The grace available to us in the sacraments must also be more frequented
than our stashof jelly beans and robin’s eggs.
Dave

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, chpt. 5, pg. 56.
Sherry Weddell, Fruitful Discipleship, chpt. 6, Pg. 54.
Charisms in General, encouragement, Hospitality, mercy, What are the
Charisms?
Tags
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Joy, encouragement, Fruitful discipleship, G.K. Chesterton, Gifts of the Holy
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on Optimism vs. EasterJoy
The Service Gift of Mercy
God’s Gifts of Service, Ministry, and Caring for the Needs ofOthers in the
Church
Romans 12
I. Introduction
A. We have finally come to the last service gift, the gift of mercy. Maybe
you are not a prophet, teacher, exhorter, servant, giver, or have the gift of
leading. Well then, you might be someone who has the gift of Mercy. As we
have lookedat the gifts of the Spirit, my desire is that you have been able to
identify with them to know which gift you have. Then you will be able to do as
Paul wrote in 1 Peter4:10 "As every man hath receivedthe gift, even so

minister the same one to another, as goodstewards ofthe manifold grace of
God."
B. Also as Paul wrote to Timothy where he says "Neglectnotthe gift that
is in thee... (1 Tim 4:14)." We are calledto "...desire spiritual gifts “(1 Cor
14:1), and in doing so our desire will be to serve the body of Christ, this group
of people. As the hand serves the mouth a refreshing glass ofwater, so we will
be to our brethren as we seek to use the gift the Lord has bestowedon us.
Maybe you're a finger and you will point someone to Christ as you ask this
week for the Lord to use you. Maybe you're a foot and will support the body
during long days of work. Maybe you're a knee and you will be used to lift
someone up who is down.
C. The main purpose why you are savedis to serve, and God gave you a
spiritual ability to do that well!
D. Basic Truths About Spiritual Gifts
1. Mosteveryone has ONE dominate gift that they are to use to serve with,
and then a SECONDARYstrength…
2. We must learn to know our strengths and our weaknessesas Christians,
not just as humans…
3. There are many parts, one body… ALL ARE NECESSARY!
4. The List of Service Gifts
a. Prophecy (Preaching) – Proclaiming God’s Truth
b. Teaching – Instructing People in God’s Ways
c. Ministry / Helps – Supporting WeakerBrethrenso they can Stay their
Course
d. Exhorting – Urging and Encouraging Others to win instead of give up

e. Giving – Sharing what you have With Others so togetherGod’s work
can getdone
f. Governments / Ruling – Governing and Managing People as a Team
g. Mercy– Showing Compassionto Others
5. ALL seven of these gifts should be functioning in part in eachof our
lives to some degree
6. But we will always have one that is the strongest…
E. It's important to develop all of the Motivational Gifts (the gifts that help
you help others to serve the Lord togetheras a unified body) in yourself and
those who you have influence with…
1. No motivational gift is better than another one…
2. Many parts, one body… ALL ARE NECESSARY!
3. Many believers are frustrated because they are operating in an area
they are not equipped to handle… Their hearts are not in it… they are not
internally motivated to do it… so they geteasilydiscouraged!
4. Every task in a church needs to be done by God’s gift in you – just use
whatevergift you have to accomplishthe task – don’t try and use another gift
you don’t have. Do the work of the ministry, but do it with your gift! Just
because you don’t have what you think is the necessarygift to do something, if
you are needed, then just do what you canwith the gift you have!
F. The Truth about the Gift of Mercy - Not everyone has this gift (Job
16:2)! But everyone needs to develop this gift!

II. Message– The Service Gift of Mercy– Showing Compassionto Others
A. BestDefinition (Psalm51:1; Mt 9:12,13;Psalm 78:38)
1. The compassion, mildness or tenderness of heart which causes a person
to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he or she deserves.
The actof inflicting less punishment than justice demands.
2. Other words for merciful are: Comforter;Counsellor; Helper; Feeler;
Builder of broken relationships;Empathy; Pity.
3. In many ways, this gift is the exactopposite of the gift of prophecy!
4. Both have the capacityto look inside other people;
a. Where a Prophet sees a person's characterand motives, a Mercy
person will see and feelthe joy or pain that is in them.
b. Where a Prophet has to rebuke and correct, a Mercy personweeps
inside for the trouble, the pain, the burdens, the problems that lie behind a sin
or a failure.
c. Where a Prophet is concernedwith the challenge of presenting the
GoodNews and expects a positive response, anobvious commitment, the
Mercy personis concernedto express the overwhelming love of Christ and to
share his restoration.
5. Mercy is the HEART of a Body – this gift is at the heart of a Church,
and should flow throughout every ministry
6. A merciful personis:

a. A compassionate andcheerful person; a mediator; their goalis a happy
ending for everybody.
b. They are focusedon the emotional needs of others, full of compassion,
love, mercy, very forgiving; “can’twe all just get along?”
c. Their motivation is to notice and comfort those who are in distress.
d. Totallyblind to the faults of the personthey are working with – able to
overlook a whole loadof sin
e. The gift of mercy focuses on the needs of others, with specialconcern
and care and sympathy in meeting those needs. Emotional support is very
important to the Merciful, instead of just material support like the Giver may
try and supply. Of these people there cannever be too many.
7. Mercy is easilyunderstood by a simple illustration:
a. Many times, what irritates us about others, educates us about ourselves.
While driving, it is easyto get lostin thought so that we forgetto watchour
speedometer. Thatis until we see people around us quickly slowing down, and
we starting looking around for a Garda car.
b. "Pleasedon't let there be a Garda behind me," I often pray after
noticing I was going well over the speed limit.
c. Letting up on the petrol, I nervously look in my rear view mirror to
find I was being tailgatedby, a Garda car. Unsure of what to do, I signalled
and then merged into the slow lane. To my surprise, the Garda did not follow.
Instead, he sped past, appearing relieved to have me out of the way.
d. Yes, I reminded myself as the Garda car disappearedinto traffic, the
greatestgift we will ever receive is the one we leastdeserve—mercy.

8. Many modern day Christian men are way-out of balance on this gift –
either too effeminate, or too harsh
9. The CENTRE ofGod’s throne and Temple is more important than the
absolute commandments therein – because above the ark of the
commandments was a MERCYSeat, where sinful men, who have broken
those laws can find mercy!
B. The ConfusionWith Grace.
1. Generally, the conceptof mercy is often confusedwith the conceptof
grace as they are presentedin Scripture. When we talk about God's grace or
God's mercy, we sometimes don't distinguish betweenthem.
2. Example of how mercy works out in practice
a. Grace is extended to men in relationto guilt, which is a result of their
sin.
b. Mercyis extended to men in relation to misery, which is a result of their
situation.
c. Grace is related to guilt; mercy is related to misery.
d. Grace is God taking care of our sin; mercy is God taking care of the
mess we are in.
e. In the Old Testament, Godin His mercy kept getting Israelout of their
messes, andhelping them when they didn’t deserve help.
f. In the New Testament, Godhas takencare of the REASONS forour
messes – our sins, and our shame and guilt being removed by the cross!
g. Without God having Mercy, he would not be able to extend grace to us

C. Mercyis the CompassionofThe Heart.
1. Sympathy in Suffering. The gift of mercy is the enablement to
sympathize with a suffering person -- to come alongside the poor, the sick, the
destitute, the orphan, the widowed, and those in prison, and minister. And
maybe you won't give them anything, except your heart. 1 Corinthians 12:26:
"And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it...."
2. Sympathy with Joy – what a contradiction(without the Lord, sympathy
and sorrows cancrush the helper)
a. Romans 12:8 says to show mercy with cheerfulness - to gladly, easily
offer sympathy to the sufferer, believing in God, and His compassions and His
comfort.
b. Some of you are gifted in the area of mercy. The Spirit of God has given
you areas ofministry such as hospital visitation, convalescenthomes and shut-
ins, the poor, and the needy. Some people have this ministry, and God bless
them for it. If Godhas given you this enablement, use it flat-out!
3. Mostpeople only know cruelty because they have no mercy (Pr 11:17) –
and they hurt only themselves!!!! They never bless and are kind to others, so
they only harden and hurt themselves!
D. Some Important Scriptures.
1. Psa 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my
mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

2. Psa 106:7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they
remembered not the multitude of thy mercies;but provokedhim at the sea,
even at the Red sea.
3. Lam 3:22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions failnot.
4. Dan 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses,
though we have rebelled againsthim;
5. 2Co 1:3 Blessedbe God, even the Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
6. Php 2:1 If there be therefore any consolationin Christ, if any comfort
of love, if any fellowshipof the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
7. Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the electof God, holy and beloved, bowels
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,longsuffering;
8. Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
plenteous in mercy.
9. Psa 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is
merciful.
10. Luk 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
11. Psalm136
E. Characteristicsofa Personfull of Mercy.
1. Joyful when people are happy, and sad when people around are sad
2. Emotional, not always rational – not sure why they end up helping
some people, and being taken advantage of
3. Personalin their efforts with others – they don’t know how to separate
their help from their heart!

4. They get hurt a lot!
5. They have a need for deep friendships in which there is mutual
commitment (John 13:23)
6. They have a greaterconcernovermental joy or distress than physical
concerns (1 Jn 3:17)
7. They have a tendency to attract people who are having mental and
emotional distress.
8. They have a desire to remove the causes ofhurts rather than to look for
benefits from those hurts.
9. They express love, grace and dignity to those facing hardships or crisis
(1John 4:8)
10. They serve in difficult or unsightly circumstances, anddo so cheerfully
in spite of the undeserving nature of the needy without grudging or complaint.
11. They serve others with extraordinary patience.
12. They concernthemselves with individual or socialissues in which people
are treatedunjustly.
13. They have the leastnoticed, but most appreciatedgift (along with the
ministry of helps).
14. They have the ability to feel genuine pity and compassionfor people in
trouble (not like politicians).
15. They have the God-given ability to sense the pain of individuals and
groups, often by just walking into a room.
16. Those with the gift of mercy can discern, feel, and, on occasion, actually
suffer the distress of other people - especiallyafflictionor adversity which is
undeserved. They identify with and adapt their own feelings to the feelings of
others. They may actually take on themselves the hurts and heartaches of
others m(Cf Heb 4:14,15)
17. They are very sensitive to words and actions that may hurt others.

F. Problems with modern view of this Gift.
1. We all want mercy, but we do not like to give it – we don’t want the
other person to NOT have to pay
2. Merciful people forgetthe need for truth and sincerity. This is way-over
emphasized today, so that everybody just overlookssins today thinking it is a
goodthing to neglectrighteousness and obedience
3. Failing to be firm and decisive when necessary.
4. A tendency to reactharshly when intimate friends are rejected(Luke
9:53-54)
5. Basing decisions on emotions rather than on reason. Theymust not
allow themselves to be guided by their emotions. Their gift is to our emotions,
but they must learn to control their own feelings or problems such as
depressionor confusion will arise.
6. Promoting improper affections from the opposite sex. Attraction to the
troubled can be misinterpreted by opposite sexas having a romantic interest
rather than spiritual service. Mustbe sure to avoid allowing improper
affections from those of the opposite sex.
7. Cutting off fellowshipwith those who are insensitive to others.
8. Reacting to God’s purpose in allowing people to suffer. Can react
negatively to God's purposes in allowing people to suffer. Unlike exhorters
who look at suffering as a means of growing spiritually, those with the gift of
mercy find it hard to believe that God would not allow a person to suffer for a
goodpurpose. Their main concernusually is to remove the cause ofsuffering
as soonas possible. Theyneed to understand God’s timing. (Example: Bailing
people out financially who don’t have their priorities in order.)
9. Sympathizing with those violating God’s standards.

10. Establishing possessive relationships with others.
11. Becoming an enablerto those who need to make some difficult changes
in their life. Canbe clouded by emotions, sympathizing with those who
directly violate God’s laws.
12. Needto guard againstfeeling unappreciated, since some of the people
helped will not show or express any appreciation.
13. Becauseit is the most tender and sensitive of all gifts, it is easy to
become ultra sensitive and offended. They may severfellowshipwith those
who reflectinsensitivity or harshness, especiallytowards their friends. They
must learn to always walk in forgiveness (Colossians 3:13)
14. They reactdeeply to criticism from others and tend to close their spirit
to those who try to correctthem, especiallyif they sense a lack of sensitivity
and understanding.
15. Often have a lack of firmness; an inability to say "no" to others.
Mothers who have this gift may have trouble disciplining their children or
saying "no" to harmful things the child does. They need to be sure to follow
through on discipline. Failure to be firm will cause greaterharm.
16. They can sometimes attractpeople who have been correctedand are
rebellious toward church leadership. They may coddle, continue to listen to
them, and take up their cause and offence. Theymust not allow themselves to
be taken advantage ofand become a verbal dumping ground for those
walking in offence.
17. Can take on too many issues ofothers and getcaught up in their
problems - resulting in depression. Theymust rely upon God’s strength and
give mercy with cheerfulness. Theymust carry other people’s burdens only
long enough to place them in God’s hands and into His provision. They need
to keeptheir own emotional and spiritual tank full with consistentdevotions.
18. Emphasis on immediate priorities may appear as disorganization.

G. BestExamples of Mercy in Action.
1. John 8 verses 3 to 11; the story of Jesus dealing with the woman who
has been caughtin the act of adultery.
a. The people wantedjustice – false pretence, but it was valid
b. Jesus showedmercy
c. Jesus did not ignore the fact she had sinned
d. She had been humiliated and was in fear of both men and God
e. She was caught – she had no excuse
f. She was NOT judged, but was given anotherchance
g. But she was told to sin no more – mercy should free us from bondage,
not return us to it!
2. 1Samuel 22:1,2 - Young David was a greatleader who was strong, and
firm, and confident, and authoritative – yet the distressed, and the depressed
flockedto him – because he knew how to show mercy to them!
3. Jesus empathized with the needs of the crowds when He saw they were
harassedand faint with their troubles. They were helpless, castdown and
dejectedby their affliction. They were as sheepwithout a shepherd to guide
them out of their misery. The gospels indicate that Jesus was stirredto mercy
and compassionwheneverHe saw people afflicted by disease, injustice, grief,
hunger, or loneliness.
4. God towards Lot and his family (Gen 19:16)
5. Good Samaritan(Luke 10:33-35)– he had no other reasonto help than
it was part of his make-up

H. How to tell if you have This Gift.
1. You are deeply loyal to friends and will defend even their sinfulness for
fear of losing them
2. You need deep relationships, not just superficialuncommitted ones
3. You empathize with people’s troubles and hurts and pains – even to the
point where you feel what they feel (Rom 12:15)
4. You usually make benefit-based decisions – you choose whatis bestby
the outcome, not by what is just right to do
5. You find it hard to firm in your decisions
6. You are hurt most of the time by the people you are trying to help
because they will usually only take advantage of your mercy (just as they do
with God’s mercy).
7. You delight in removing burdens from off of people, and relieving their
pains and troubles. An Exhorter will try and show where a troubled person
can find benefit from their hurts, but a merciful person will just try and take
awaythat pain, and even take it onto themselves, to their own hurt!
I. Rightly Using Mercy – Don’t be Out of Balance in Your Mercy!
1. How to show this gift (Colossians3:12-14):
a. Feelwhat the other person feels - Empathy
b. Care about the little things - Attentiveness to people, and their needs in
fine detail

c. Be Compassionate
d. Comfort others instead of judging them only
e. Show more attention to people who are hurting than to the rest of the
church
f. Don’t look out for your own prestige, but rather that someone’s hurt is
lessened
g. Be very gentle with others, to a fault
h. Be sensitive
i. Tolerant
j. Kind
2. The Four-Step Rule to Mercy(Prov 16:6)
a. Extend Mercy – it needs to be available to everyone – no matter what
they have done
b. Require Repentance – no one should receive mercy without humility
(that’s why people in court act so sorrowful and quiet)
c. Show Mercy– hold back on exacting justice in direct proportion to
their repentance and softness. Ifthey are still hard and unrepentant, allow
justice to bring them low (Jam 2:13).
d. Explain that the payment has been made by the blood of Christ, and
offer grace now!An enablement that makes up for our failures, and restores
us to a right standing!
3. Practicalwisdom:

a. Don’t go to a prophet for mercy. While they may have it, don’t place
unrealistic expectations upon them. But don’t go to a mercy personwhen you
know you need to be “adjusted”, correctedor exhorted.
b. Every Christian is expectedto be merciful. This is a role that reflects the
fruit of the Spirit (longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, etc.). We are to behave
mercifully, even though we may not be thoroughly motivated to do so by our
own gift.
J. Ministries for the PersonWith This Gift.
1. Ministering to children
2. Deacons
3. Counselling and Emotional Healing
4. Community services
5. Hospital visitation
6. Nursery/Creche ministry
7. Prison ministry
8. Providing meals
9. Recoverygroup leaders and helpers
III. Conclusion
A. Luke 18:13

B. Rom 12:1
C. Colossians 3:12-14
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
www.biblebc.com
Do You Have The Spiritual Gift of Mercy?
October28, 2007 Ronald6 Comments
SPIRITUAL GIFT OF MERCY
Please readthe following Spiritual Gift of Mercy description and then rate
yourself on a scale of 1 through 5 both in passionand experience. This is to
help you from ignoring a gift God may have for you. For example, you may be
high in passionin the gift of “discernment” but as of yet God has not
manifested Himself in that way to you. If all you rated was experience you
may skip over this very important passionGod has given you. Likewise, if you
are deeply involved in “service” but are more pragmatic and less passionate
about it you may be tempted to ignore developing the gift of service in the way
God wants you to.
Rate Your PassionForThis Gift
The first rating has to do with your passionfor the gift. Are you really
motivated to actthis way? 1 means that you have no interestin or passionto
use the gift. 5 means that the definition describes you very accurately, orthat
you do have a strong interest/passionin the ability.
Next Rate Your Experience With or Evidence ForThis Gift

The secondrating has to do with your experience/evidence ofthe gift. Rate
your experience with or evidence of the gift.
1 means that you have no experience with or evidence of the gift. 5 means that
you have a lot of experience with or evidence of the gift.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS OF MERCY
In Romans 12:8 Paul writes, “if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully”
(NIV). In the Biblicallanguage, mercy means to be led by God to be
compassionatein your attitudes, words, and actions. It is more than
sympathy, which is pity. It is love in action. This empathy stirs deep inside you
and causes youto want to do something. You want to bring relief to the
immediate needs that you are aware of. Mercy can be used in helping someone
with physical, emotional, financial or spiritual situations.
Benefits
A church that is merciful can help meet serious needs in its own community.
This can be complemented with needs-basedevangelism. Mercycan also be an
effective part of the ministry of the church to its own members. Mercyhelps
relate the love of God to those in and out of the church.
Pitfalls
Mercy canoften give the impression that it is solving a problem when it may
be only treating the immediate situation. By just alleviating the symptoms we
could miss curing the person. We can “enable” people by constantly
“rescuing” them. Mercyis desperatelyneeded but we also need to strive for
long-term solutions.
It is easyto get frustrated with those that don’t getinvolved or don’t see the
problem. It is also possible to be hurt or angry if we are takenfor granted or
do not see change. A person with this gift can become overinvolved leading to
burnout or too much time awayfrom our family. It is also possible to become
proud of our “mercy” and become pharisaical.

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Ministry Opportunities
We canuse this gift in visitation with the sick and elderly, prison ministry,
homeless shelters, jobplacement programs and food pantries. We canbe
merciful by using our skills to enable organizations and committees to be
merciful. We can be on boards, help fund raise, mentor, counseland do many
other needed volunteer tasks.
Further Training
You can learn more about being merciful through seminars, literature and
volunteering with various agencies. You cango to college andstudy in the
socialservices, psychology, ministry, health, medical and education. Any of
these fields could allow you to have a careerin a mercy ministry.
RATE YOURSELF ON THE GIFT OF MERCY
Passion
Using a scale of 1 – 5, rate whether you have a passionfor helping others.
(1 = Notat all, 5 = Very much so)
PassionScore______
Experience/Evidence
Using a scale of 1 – 5, rate whether you have had significant experience in
helping others or evidence of the gift of helps.
(1 = Notat all, 5 = Very much so)
Experience/Evidence Score__
How to Rate Your Score

To be more accurate onthe Spiritual Gift you need to look both at your
passionwith the gift and the experience with or evidence of the gift. If your
passionis 3 – 5 then it is high. If your passionis 1 – 2 then it is low. It is the
same with the experience where you rate evidence of the gift in your life. Is the
experience/evidence high(3 – 5) or is it low (1 – 2)?
Plot your scores onthe grid
Notice that Experience/Evidence is on the vertical axis and Passionis on the
horizontal axis. So an Experience/Evidence score of 3 and a Passionscore of2
and would be in the number 2 quadrant.
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Quadrants
Quadrant 1 = High Passionand High Experience/Evidence
A Spiritual Gift that is in this quadrant seems to be one that God has given
you. You are passionate aboutthe gift and have experience and evidence in
your life that seems to confirm this. Continue to grow in this gift and use it for
His glory.
Quadrant 2 = Low PassionandHigh Experience/Evidence
A Spiritual Gift in this quadrant may indicate that circumstances have called
upon you to exhibit this skillor ministry in your life. For example you don’t
have to have a high Passionto be merciful to those that are hungry around
you. However, your church may have a large feeding program. Just because
you are recruited and spend a lot of time doesn’t mean that you have the Gift
of Mercy. Rather it simply could mean that you were obedient to God by
helping with a need.
Quadrant 3 = High Passionand Low Experience/Evidence
Scoring in this quadrant is common among the Supernatural gifts. Healing,
faith, miracles – you may feel really burdened in situations to pray for God’s
intervention in mighty ways. You pray believing and trusting that God can

and will act. If this is true then you must rate yourself high on Passion.
However, though you are passionate in your praying for healing your
experience may not be successful. You would rate your experience/evidence
score low. However, this does not mean give up. It is just an indicator of your
personalexperience up to this moment in time. If God moves in your heart
you deeply to pray for the supernatural let Him take care of the results. It is
better to pray believing and not see the results you anticipated than to be
disobedient and not pray. God has given you the gift, He will use it according
to His will. Be faithful to the passionHe has given you.
Quadrant 4 = Low PassionandLow Experience/Evidence
A score in this quadrant is usually a goodindicator that God, up to this point
in time, has not birthed in you this Spiritual Gift. This does not mean that in
time God may callupon you to work in this area. Godcan give any gift at any
time. He is sovereign.
Now that you have finished this self-assessment, how do you feel about your
discovery? Were you surprised or did you find the answerthat you expected?
Are you intimidated by the significance of the gift and what God may expect
from you or are you confident that God has and will continue to use you in
this way?
One way to confirm your findings is to ask those Godly people that know you
well. Ask them to read the definitions of the gifts that you selectedand
confirm whether they see this same gift in your life or not. Ask them what
they think you need to improve on. Ask them to pray for you that you may
have understanding and wisdom in using these gifts.
Another way to grow in your gift is to report to the member of your pastoral
staff at church that would be in charge of volunteers in the church. Share with
them your discovery and ask them for materials to study and opportunities
for service. Perhaps there is someone that they know that could mentor you in
this gift.
Finally, seek out others in your church that have the same gift(s). Meet
regularly as a group to learn, share stories and pray for eachother. As a

church, you function as a body of believers. You were given these gifts to help
eachother. There is no limit to what God could do as you and the others in
your church are Spirit-led in the use of these gifts."
MotivationalGift of Mercy Romans 12:8 He who shows mercy, with
cheerfulness.
Defined: Greek - “Eleos” -Compassionby word and deed, mercy;
Cheerfulness, readiness ofmind
Description:The gift of mercy is the specialability God gives to certain
members of the Body of Christ to feel genuine empathy and compassionfor
individuals, both Christian and non Christian, who suffer distressing physical,
mental or emotionalproblems, and the ability to translate that compassion
into cheerfully done deeds which reflect Christ’s love and alleviate the
suffering.
Matthew 5:7 Blessedare the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
People with this gift show:• Empathy • Attentiveness • Caring • Compassion•
Comfort • Deference • Fairness • Meekness• Gentleness • Sensitivity •
Responsiveness• Tolerance • Kindness
Characteristics:1. Express love, grace and dignity to those facing hardships
or crisis. 2. Have a sensitivity to what the need is - the surface and the root
needs. 3. Desire to remove the hurts of others. 4. Serve in difficult or unsightly
circumstances, anddo so cheerfully in spite of the undeserving nature of the
needy without grudging or complaint. 5. Serve others with extraordinary
patience. 6. Concern themselves with individual or socialissues in which
people are treated unjustly. 7. The leastnoticed, but most appreciatedgift
(along with the ministry of helps). 8. The ability to feelgenuine pity and
compassionfor people in trouble. 9. Have the God-given ability to sense the
pain of individuals and groups, often by just walking into a room. 10.

Emphasize mental and emotional relationships in helping those in need. 11.
Measure acceptanceby physical closenessandquality time together. 12. Those
with the gift of mercy candiscern, feel, and, on occasion, actuallysuffer the
distress of other people - especiallyafflictionor adversity which is undeserved.
They identify with and adapt their own feelings to the feelings of others. They
may actually take on themselves the hurts and heartaches ofothers. Hebrews
4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
13. The gift of service seeksto meet the needs of others by giving practical
help, but the gift of mercy meets the emotionalneeds of those in difficulty. 14.
Tolerantof personal differences. 15. Very sensitive to words and actions that
may hurt others. 16. Desire to have Christians stop hating and hurting one
another. 17. Enjoy being with others who are mercy motivated. 18. Attract
people with motivational gifting of prophecy. 19. Are loyal in friendships and
expectthe same from others. 20. Easily detectinsincerity or wrong motives.
21. Mercy people are attractive to those who were hurting. Matthew 9:27
When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followedHim, crying out and
saying, "Sonof David, have mercy on us!"
Scriptural Examples: 1. Jesus empathized with the needs of the crowds when
He saw they were harassedand faint with their troubles. They were helpless,
castdown and dejectedby their affliction. They were as sheep without a
shepherd to guide them out of their misery. The gospels indicate that Jesus
was stirred to mercy and compassionwheneverHe saw people afflicted by
disease, injustice, grief, hunger, or loneliness. 2. Dorcas(Acts 9:36) 3. Good
Samaritan (Luke 10:33-35)4. Apostle John (1, 2 & 3 John) 5. Onesiphours (2
Timothy 1:15-18)6. Hosea (Book ofHosea)7. Joseph(the “legal” fatherof
Jesus)Matthew 1:16-24;2:13; Luke 1:27; 2:4-5; 3:23; 4:22; John 1:45; 6:42.
Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as the electof God, holy and beloved, put on
tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;bearing with one
another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against
another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these
things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Misuses:1. Becoming an enabler to those who need to make some difficult
changes in their life. Can be clouded by emotions, sympathizing with those
who directly violate God’s laws. 2. Needto be objective. 3. Needto guard
againstfeeling unappreciated, since some of the people helped will not show or
express any appreciation. 4. Becauseit is the most tender and sensitive of all
gifts, it is easyto become ultra sensitive and offended. Theymay sever
fellowship with those who reflectinsensitivity or harshness, especiallytowards
their friends. They must learn to always walk in forgiveness (Colossians 3:13)
5. They reactdeeply to criticism from others and tend to close their spirit to
those who try to correctthem, especiallyif they sense a lack of sensitivity and
understanding. 6. Often have a lack of firmness; an inability to say"no" to
others. Mothers who have this gift may have trouble disciplining their
children or saying "no" to harmful things the child does. They need to be
sure to follow through on discipline. Failure to be firm will cause greater
harm. 7. This lack of firmness may be misinterpreted by others as
indecisiveness, weaknessofcharacter, orlack of courage. Assertiveness
training can help. 8. A mercy motivated person seldomconfronts, yet hey need
to learn to speak the truth with love. 9. They can sometimes attractpeople
who have been correctedand are rebellious toward church leadership. They
may coddle, continue to listen to them, and take up their cause and offense.
They must not allow themselves to be taken advantage of and become a verbal
dumping ground for those walking in offense. 10. Attraction to the troubled
can be misinterpreted by opposite sex as having a romantic interest rather
than spiritual service. Mustbe sure to avoid allowing improper affections
from those of the opposite sex. 11. Can take on too many issues of others and
get caughtup in their problems - resulting in depression. Theymust rely
upon God’s strength and give mercy with cheerfulness. Theymust carry
other people’s burdens only long enough to place them in God’s hands and
into His provision. They need to keeptheir own emotionaland spiritual tank
full with consistentdevotions. 12. Theymust not allow themselves to be guided
by their emotions. Their gift is to our emotions, but they must learn to control
their own feelings or problems such as depression or confusionwill arise. 13.

Can reactnegatively to God's purposes in allowing people to suffer. Unlike
exhorters who look at suffering as a means of growing spiritually, those with
the gift of mercy find it hard to believe that Godwould not allow a personto
suffer for a goodpurpose. Their main concernusually is to remove the cause
of suffering as soonas possible. Theyneed to understand God’s timing.
(Example: Bailing people out financially who don’t have their priorities in
order.) 14. Emphasis on immediate priorities may appear as disorganization.
Practicalwisdom:1. Don’t go to a prophet for mercy. While they may have
it, don’t place unrealistic expectations upon them. But don’t go to a mercy
person when you know you need to be “adjusted”, correctedorexhorted.
90% will be won with compassion. 10%needthe spiritual mace
2. Every Christian is expectedto be merciful. This is a role that reflects the
fruit of the Spirit.
We are to behave mercifully, even though we may not be thoroughly
motivated to do so by our owngift.
James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shownno
mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Job’s Response to friends who lackedMercy:
Job 16:2 "I have heard many such things; Miserable comforters are you all!
Victory Life Church * P.O. Box1834 * Folsom, CA 95763 *
www.victorylifechurch.org
The Spiritual Gift Of Mercy: The Abilities And Strengths Of A Mercy-Giver

Spiritual Gift Of Mercy – it is a spiritual gift given to everyone by God. But
not every personmanifests or feels it. The Spiritual Gift Of Mercy is powerful.
It can cleanyour spirit and inspire it to live the life of a so called mercy-giver.
This “life-style” is an act of gratefulness and love towards God. And it makes
your spirit ready to enter The Kingdom Of godwhen the time is ready.
Spiritual Gift Of Mercy – The Abilities of a Mercy-Giver
A Mercy-Giver is kind and gentle – he knows deep compassion. He shows
mercy and kindness for everyone. He is gentle and friendly with everyone.
This is the manifestationof God’s love.
A Mercy-Giver lives spirituality – therefore, for someone with the Spiritual
Gift Of Mercy, spirituality isn’t just a concept. It is a lifestyle. He feels
spirituality and lives it as the only way that leads him to The Kingdom Of
God.
A Mercy-Giver feels the needs to pray – they feel the powerof praying. They
know that it is the best way to getcloserto God. And to have an intimate
conversationwith Him. Therefore, they pray daily, not only to ask for
forgiveness, but also to show gratitude and to thank God for his generosity.
A Mercy-Giver reflects his spirituality around him – when you are close to a
person gifted with mercy, you feelit. They project their attitude towards those
around. Therefore, they feelyou with a deep thirst for spirituality.
These are four important abilities of those who live the gift of mercy. But they
also have strengths. Which make them specialin this earthly life.
Spiritual Gift Of Mercy – The Strengths of a Mercy-Giver
They are attractedto people who need them – if you are a mercy-giver and
you what to help others, then God made sure that they will meet you. And
these people are those who lack the love of God from their life. They are

usually rude and unfriendly. But the mercy-giver has the strength to melt
their heart.
They are able to love the unlovable – the people who lack love, project
rudeness and unkindness around them. It manifests as a wall. Which makes
them unlovable. But a mercy-giver has the ability to climb that wall. He will
show the love and mercy of God to any person.
They sense your spirit – a mercy-giver knows if you suffer, even if you don’t
say it. He feels your heart and what you dealwith. Therefore, a mercy-giver
will almostinstantly recognize those who suffer in room full of people.
But a personwith the Spiritual Gift Of Mercy also has weaknesses.Therefore,
they often avoid confrontation. But if there is no way to avoid it, they tend to
do what’s not right. Also, they manifest love and mercy towards everybody,
which might seemintimate affectionfor a certainperson. It also leads to a
dependence that a person develops towards the mercy-giver and his presence.
They also often dedicate so much time to others, that they forgetabout
themselves. Which leads to a lack of self-love and self-esteem."
If you are someone who has the spiritual gift of mercy, you are probably
inclined to be gentle, yielding, and sacrificial. You are most likely to be
attentive to the needs of others and sensitive to their limitations and
challenges. In all your dealings, you try to be fair, as well as express
compassionfor the struggles that others experience in life.
People perceive you as someone with a big heart, someone they can trust,
someone who will listen to their woes. You are the epitome of kindness and
grace. Like the apostle John, you recognize that love is the glue that holds the
universe togetherand you always remember that one of Jesus’
commandments was for us to love one another.

If you have the spiritual gift of mercy, you may have some, or all, the
following qualities:
1. You are able to quickly discern how others are doing, often reading
people’s equanimity or distress, joy or despairat a glance. You are excellent
at discerning the emotions people feel, even during those times when they are
in denial about how bad things have become for them.
2. You feelas if you were the other, understanding what they are going
through because ofyour power to feel empathy and sympathy. In a world
where many people have become numbed out due to the prolific nature of bad
news broadcastby the media, you remain sensitive to the suffering of others.
3. You are eagerto help, to do something that will ease the pain and suffering
that others are going through. You have no patience with judging,
condemning, or gossiping about others. Instead, you want to help, to heal, to
make a positive difference as quickly as you can.
4. You are tactful about what you say, knowing that harsh words can sting
like blows. You are keento avoid hurting other people’s feelings by making
callous comments or even making jokes at their expense.
5. You recognize that unconditional love was the realmessage ofJesus’life
and you try your best to open up your heart, even when you detect the
hypocrisy or insensitivity of others.
If you are someone with this gift, this spiritual gift of mercy, your life is not an
easyone; it requires that you be steadfastin your faith that the Lord will
provide. You enjoy the company of those who are determined to make a
positive difference in the world and often spend a greatdeal of time doing
volunteer work to help others better their lot in life."
The gentle gift of mercy

Apr 26, 2017 / Anne Lamott
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Stocksy
When we manage a flash of mercy for someone we don’t like — including
ourselves — we experience a greatspiritual moment, says writer Anne
Lamott.
There are times in our lives — scary, unsettling times — when we know that
we need help or answers but we’re not sure what kind, or even what the
problem or question is. We look and look, tearing apart our lives like we’re
searching for car keys in our couch, and we come up empty-handed. Then
when we’re doing something stupid, like staring at the dog’s mismatched
paws, we stumble across whatwe needed to find. Or even better, it finds us.
It wasn’t what we were looking or hoping for, which was usually advice,
approval, an advantage, safetyor relief from pain. I was raisedto seek or
achieve them, but like everyone, I realized at some point that they do not
bring lasting peace, reliefor uplift. This does not seemfair, after a lifetime
spent in their pursuit.
How can you not love mercy — kindness, compassion, forgiveness? It’s like
not loving dessert, or cheese.

Where, then, do I turn in these increasinglyfrightening days? Where do I look
for answers whenI’m afraid, or confused, or numb? To an elegantJapanese
sage? Adream-dancing Sioux grandmother with a tinkling laugh? No. More
often than not, the North Star that guides me through the darkness is the Old
Testamentprophet Micah. He must have lookedlike a complete stoneror a
Game of Thrones extra, and smelled like a goat, yet nearly 3,000 years ago, he
spoke the words that often remind me of my path and purpose: “What doth
God require of thee but to do justice and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with thy God?”
Oh, is that all? Justice, mercy and humility? That’s nice. Right off the bat I
can tell you that “walk humbly with thy God” is not going to happen anytime
soon, for me or my closestfriends — Arrogance R Us. My humility can kick
your humility’s butt. What Micah is talking about is grad-schoolcurriculum,
while, spiritually speaking, Iremain in junior high school, superiorand
cringing at the same time. And “to do justice” may be a trick, since we all
think we do this anyway. We think that if our values aren’t the correctones,
we would have other ones, which would then be the correctones.
Otherwise, these words are both plainsong and sublime. How can you not love
mercy — kindness, compassion, forgiveness?It’s like not loving dessert, or
cheese.If nothing makes people happier than service, especiallyto the poor,
why not tap into the model of the Buddha, Jesus or Wavy Gravy, the
knowledge that if you do loving things, you’ll have loving feelings?
Just to hear the words “mercy” or “merciful” can transform the whole day,
because as the old saying goes, the soul rejoices in hearing what it already
knows. Something lights up in me. We know mercy is always our salvation —
as we age, as our grandchildren go down the same dark streets that calledto
their parents, as the ice caps melt. But I wish it was something else. I wish it
was being able to figure things out, at which I am very good, or to assign
blame, at which I am better, or to convince people of the rightness of my
ideas. I wish it was a political saviorwho believes the same things I believe,
who possesses the force of greatmoral strength that (of course)agreeswith
my owndeepestvalues. But no, hope of renewaland restorationis found in
the merciful fibrillating heart of the world.

Mercy brings us to the miracle of apology, given and accepted, to unashamed
humility when we have erred or forgotten.
Maybe it would be helpful to ask what we mean when we speak ordream of
mercy. Here, off the top of my head, in no particular order, are severalthings
of which I am fairly sure.
Mercy is radicalkindness. Mercy means offering or being offeredaid in
desperate straits. Mercyis not deserved. It involves absolving the
unabsolvable, forgiving the unforgivable. Mercy brings us to the miracle of
apology, given and accepted, to unashamed humility when we have erred or
forgotten. Charge it to our heads and not our hearts, as the elders in black
churches have long said.
Mercy, grace, forgivenessand compassionare synonyms, and the approaches
we might considertaking when facing a greatbig mess, especiallythe great
big mess of ourselves — our arrogance, greed, poverty, disease, prejudice. It
includes everything out there that just makes us sick and makes us want to
turn away, the idea of accepting life as it presents itself and doing goodness
anyway, the belief that love and caring are marbled even into the worst life
has to offer.
In many spiritual and wisdompaths, it is written that God createdus to have
company and to be God’s loving eyes and hands on earth. But in certain
African Christian catechisms it says that God createdus because He thought
we would like it. This stops me in my tracks. We would like it?
Sometimes heavenis just a new pair of glasses. Whenwe put them on, we see
the awful person, sometimes even ourselves, a bit more gently.
Yes, of course we like the friendly, warm or breathtaking parts of life. But it’s
so hard for almosteveryone here, the whole world over, let alone my own
beloved. You cannot believe what the people I love most have lostthis year.
God thought we would like puberty, warfare and snakes?I could go on and on
— senescence, globalwarming, Parkinson’s, spiders?

Yes, because in the words of Candi Staton’s greatgospelsong “Hallelujah
Anyway.” Hallelujah that in spite of it all, there is love, there is singing,
nature, laughing, mercy.
Mercy means that we soften ever so slightly, so that we don’t have to condemn
others for being total shits, although they may be that. (Okay:are.) If I do so,
it makes me one. As FatherEd Dowling said, sometimes heavenis just a new
pair of glasses. Whenwe put them on, we see the awful person, sometimes
even ourselves, a bit more gently, and we are blessedin return. It seems, on
the face of things, like a decent deal.
Kindness toward others and radical kindness to ourselves buy us a shot at a
warm and generous heart, which is the greatestprize of all. Do you want this,
or do you want to be right? Well, can I getback to you on that? I want to
want this softening, this surrender, this happiness. Can I geta partial credit
for that?
The goodnews is that God has such low standards, and reaches out to those of
us who are often not lovable and offers us a chance to come back in from the
storm of drama and toxic thoughts. Augustine wrote, “Late have I loved you,
o beauty ever ancient. . . . You were within me but I was outside.” The storm
outside is just so much more enlivening, and for a writer, much better
material. Plus, I can be a hero in my storm, which is where I found a sense of
value as a child, as the tense little EMT in a damagedfamily. Crisis, self-
centeredfear, and saving people were home for me, with a wet bar serving up
adrenaline. The quiet, tranquil room of just being was boardedup. But love
reaches outand reaches out and reaches out. It is staggering thatit is always
giving me another chance, anotherday, overand over and over.
We’ve tried almostsuicidally for our whole lives to shake mercy from the
boughs of the material world’s trees.
When we manage a flash of mercy for someone we don’t like, especiallya
truly awful person, including ourselves, we experience a greatspiritual
moment, a new point of view that canmake us gasp. It gives us the chance to
rediscoversomething both old and original, the sweetchild in us who, all
evidence to the contrary, was not killed off, but just put in the drawer. I

realize now how desperately, how grievously, I have needed the necessary
mercy to experience self-respect. It is what a lot of us were so frantic for all
along, and we never knew it. We’ve tried almostsuicidally for our whole lives
to shake it from the boughs of the material world’s trees. But it comes from
within, from love, from the flow of the universe; from inside the cluttered
drawer.
My unloveliness, on the other hand, is always on tap, like draft beer — my
boring self-obsession, pettiness and schadenfreude. Wearing my bad pair of
glasses, Ilook around and see that I am surrounded by swine. How do you
expectme to react? But God, in Her guise as Coyote Trickster, goosesme, and
I accidentallylet go. I take a break from being prickly and judgmental.
I stop, pull back, take a breath. The next thing I know, I let others go first, or
see that perhaps now is not the time to demand an explanation or an apology.
Against all odds, I’ll somehow stopthe campaign for now. I start over. I’m
able to keepthe patient more patient. And I getme back. What’s the catch?
The catchis that there is no catch. This is so subversive. All I have to do in
order to begin againis to love mercy, if I am to believe nutty old Micah. Then
creationbegins to float by, eachnew day.
Excerpted from the new book Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercyby
Anne Lamott. Reprinted with permission from Riverhead Books,a division of
PenguinRandom House LLC. © 2017 Anne Lamott.
About the author
Anne Lamott A Christian, an activistand a former alcoholic, Anne Lamott
uses humor to weave through writing, loss, parenthood, faith and the cancer
diagnosis given to her best friend in beloved books like "Operating
Instructions," "Bird by Bird," "Small Victories," and "Help, Thanks, Wow."
The Gift of Mercy

Apostle John probably best illustrates the Gift of Mercy. People with the Gift
of Mercy are easily able to "Rejoicewith them that rejoice, and weep with
those who weep". Wouldn't the world be so much better of a place if we all
extended more mercy to eachother?
1. Someone with the Gift of Mercy is deeply loyal to friends.
He/She will demonstrate loyalty to a friend even by reacting harshly toward
those who attack the friend. When the Apostle John watchedthe Samaritans
rejectJesus, Whom he loved, John wanted to call down fire from heavento
consume them.
....andthe Gift of Mercy caneasily take up offenses.
The tendancy of one with the gift of mercy is to take up an offense for
someone who is being hurt by another person, especiallyif the one being hurt
is a friend.
2. A Mercy needs deep friendships.
The very nature of a personwith the gift of mercy usually requires close
friendships. These friendships, however, must have mutual commitment,
which is often reaffirmed. John enjoyed such a friendship with Christ. He
was not only closerto Christ than any other disciple, but he referred to
himself as the "disciple whom Jesus loved".
...but a Mercycan become overly possessive.
The deep need for commitment in a close friendsip can cause one with the gift
of mercy to monopolize the time and attention of others. As he experiences
disappointments in one friendship, the mercy tend to place greaterdemands
on a new friendship.

Holy spirit gift of mercy

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